Be My Princess

The Rolls was now driving along the main alley boarded with flower beds of the luxurious garden that had frontage on the royal palace. At the back seat, Angel Yav, third of the name, crown prince and heir to the throne of Ruund Kingdom, was looking at the breath-taking scenery spreading out the window without much of emotion.

After six years spent in London for his university studies, he was finally back home for good. But the feeling was bitter-sweet…

In London, he had been free. Free from the suffocating atmosphere of the palace, and free from the weight of the requirements of his position, he had enjoyed the liberty of being nothing more than a mere young university student among thousands of others. And that taste of freedom had been the overall reason why he had made his returns to Ruund during holidays very scarce, choosing to roam through Europe with his classmates instead. However, back then and even now, he was always happy at the idea of seeing his grandmother, Isabella Yav, the queen mother, whom he missed the most every time he was away from home.

From an early age, his most precious and endearing memories in the palace had been made with her. Her tenderness and love always came off as a counterbalance to his parents' strict and demanding attitude towards him. Often, Angel wondered if his parents ever saw more to him than the title he was carrying; whether they even cared to see the man he was beyond his royal status…

The car stopped in front the Central Palace's main entrance, and Peter, Angel's personal guard, jumped off from the front passenger seat and circled around the car to open the door for him.

On both side of the palace's main entrance, servants and handmaiden were aligned to welcome the crown prince. And as he came out of the car, George Chang, the royal secretary, greeted him.

"Welcome back, Crown Prince Angel." The royal secretary said with reverence.

"Wajikitanyi*, Nswann-Mulap** Chang. It has been a while." Angel replied with a formal smile.

"It has indeed, Your highness. These years away from Ruund have finished to turn our young crown prince into a man."

Angel's smile warmed up at the old man's sincerity and his gaze on him softened. George had started working as royal secretary when King Angel Yav the Second was still a young prince.

*Ruund form for 'Thank you' with honorifics.

**This title can refer to Prime Minister or Home Secretary. In this context it best fit a royal Secretary.

Angel always held the elderly man in high esteem and had a lot of admiration and respect for his loyalty to the Throne. Though he was now in his seventies, George Chang was still very strong and proficient in his capability to handle all the tasks befalling the secretarial office of the Throne. And even if Angel could now dominate him in stature, the crown prince still felt humble in the face of the royal secretary's wisdom and skilled knowledge of the palace affairs.

As Angel started to walk towards the palace entrance door, George Chang slightly bowed in curtsey and announced: "Mwant Yav* has requested to see Your Highness right away."

Angel's body stiffened. Even though he was back earlier than scheduled – at his parents' request, he did not expect to be called in as soon as he would arrive at the palace.

"May I be excused for a short moment…?" Angel asked. "I'm just arriving from the airport and I would like to freshen up a bit."

But the old man bowed a bit more down. "I am afraid Mwant Yav is insisting. Everyone is waiting for Your Highness in the private office."

Angel was going to go greet the elders of the royal family anyway; what was so urgent to discuss about that he couldn't even be given time to arrive at his apartment first?

* Mwant is a respectful title placed before the name of a person of high rank. Literally, it means venerated or honourable; and even today, uRuund people use it before people's names a form of honorific. Mwant Yav is the authentic title given to the Emperor.

But stubbornly arguing would achieve no more than making things distressful for the royal secretary; hence, Angel simply nodded and followed after George Chang through the palace's long corridors until their reach a small office adjoining the King's office.

The private office was furnished with modern sofas set around a luxurious wooden coffee table with beautiful carved patterns. The royal family was sitting around the coffee table, enjoying their afternoon tea, when George Chang entered the room first to announce the arrival of the Crown Prince.

Queen Mother Isabella turned to look at the door with excitement, and immediately open her arms wide when she saw her grandson enter in. Angel smiled wide, rushed to her side, and got down on one knee to hug his grandmother.

"Ngaak*!"

"My prince!"

*Ruund for grandmother/grandfather or the jury/jurors (in court).

Isabella released him from her hug, but held his hands for a while to take a look at her grandson. His face had taken most of his father's features. His deep set of almond eyes, tall fine nose, full lips, and strong chin were handsomely borne by his rectangular face. He had now become as tall as his father, with the same athletic figure Angel II had at that age. Angel's light skin tone and chin-long wavy hair, inherited from mixed-race marriages, was the 'cherry on top of the cake' feature that made all women in the

kingdom squeal at his passing.

Indeed, Isabella Yav, nee Da Silva, was a white woman of Spanish descent. King Angel the First had fallen for that daughter from a highly decorated Spanish General's family while he was studying in London. His determination to marry her had never wavered in the face of his father's opposition or the high-counsellors' reluctance. Reluctance that was in fact not much towards the young woman's race – interracial marriages were no longer an issue by that time – than it was towards the fact that she was totally stranger to uRuund culture.

But in the end, Isabella's ability to assimilate everything relating to the requirements of the Throne, especially her quick mastery uRuund, had succeeded in winning over the king, the High Counsel and, later on, the uRuund people. King Angel II had, in his turn, married Sophie, daughter of an uRuund peer who had also married a white woman.

When Isabella finally let go of his hands, Angel stood back up, turned towards his parents and bowed to greet them. They both nodded and his mother smiled at him.

"I hope you had a good trip." She asked.

"Yes, Maaku*."

*Ruund for Mother/Mom.

"You must be tired from such a long trip." Isabella added. "We understand that you need to rest; but we need to discuss of an urgent matter with you."

Angel sat on the sofa left to the chair his grandmother was sitting in, and facing his parents. King Angel II looked at George Chang, who was still standing by the door, and nodded. At the signal, the royal secretary stepped closer and spoke up.

"Lately, handling the affairs of the Kingdom has taken its toll on the King's health, and the doctor is requesting that some responsibilities be lifted off his shoulders to facilitate a quick recovery."

Angel lifted concerned eyes towards his father.

"The doctor is just worried that my health could take a turn for the worst if I keep burdening myself with all the weight of kingdom responsibilities." The king explained to reassure him.

"In addition to that," George Chang continued, "the crown prince's 25th birthday is approaching. And as per tradition in the royal family, the future crown princess is to be presented on that day."

Angel's heart skipped a beat. His gaze shifted to his grandmother when he noticed that she was motioning to talk.

"For many years, your grandfather shared a strong and deep friendship bond with the late Commander of the Royal Guard, Kalaal* Isaac Tshikut. In the times your grandfather and I were still fighting to be accepted of the king, Isaac was actually the one who always helped us meet in secret…"

*Ruund for General

Isabella chuckled with nostalgia at the memory. Angel wanted to smile… He had always liked when his grandmother regaled him with the tales of her youth; but he was dreading the turn the conversation was taking so much that he could not bring himself to join his grandmother's mirth.

Since, at the time the oath was made, the commander's daughter

mwas already betrothed to another man, they decided on marrying their grandchildren instead. It is only when he was on his death bed that my late husband finally revealed to your parents and I everything about this promise."

And there it was! The kind of arranged marriage it could be practically impossible for him to escape from. Beyond tradition, it was about honouring his grandfather's promise; fulfilling a royal engagement.

"We are currently trying to find the whereabouts of the late Commander's family." George Chang reported. "So far, we have discovered that his only daughter, Charlotte, left the kingdom soon after she got married to a Congolese businessman. Royal investigators have already been sent to DRC to track them down."

"Wajikitanyi, Nswann-Mulap." The king replied.

The royal secretary bowed then took back his place by the door.

"You might not be thrilled at the idea of being betrothed to an uRuund-Congolese commoner…" The king started. "But it is a

duty for all of us to ensure that the promise made by King Angel I is fulfilled. The honour of the royal family is still at stake even though the promise was not publicly proclaimed."

"I understand." Angel simply replied without emotion.