Be My Princess

The following day, Angel was standing outside the entrance of the West Wing, breathing in the fresh morning air, when Peter approached him and bowed.

"Walankanyi, Crown Prince Angel."

"Mwanyi mwa vude, Peter."

"I hope His Highness has had a good night."

"Yes; thanks for enquiring."

Peter placed himself next to Angel and cast his gaze on the beautiful scenery displayed in front of them.

"What does Your Highness have in mind for today?" He asked, his eyes still looking forward.

Angel gave his guard a puzzled look. "With regard to what?" He asked in return.

Peter turned his head towards the prince. "Your Highness has not forgotten that he is scheduled to interact with the maiden today?"

"No, Pete; I haven't. But, as you can see, I don't have much time at hand to waste trying to find a way to entertain a woman."

Peter slightly bowed his head in capitulation and brought his gaze back to the scenery.

"And by the way, I was only asked to interact with her. Nowhere was it mentioned that I have to take her out!" Angel added, slightly irritated by his guard's silence that was still saying way too much.

One corner of Peter's mouth slightly lifted. Still looking in front of him, he added: "Your Highness is totally right." He then looked to the sky. "The weather is really nice today; ideal for horseback riding."

At that moment, Tiana approached him and curtseyed.

"The maiden has come down for breakfast." She announced.

Angel nodded then cast his gaze back on Peter. But he could not find anything to tell him.

"So meddlesome…" he ended up mumbling before he walked back in.

At the dining table, Kat had already taken her seat at the right side of his. Once again, the sight of her undone hair haloing around her face stirred up an emotion that baffled the crown prince. How could he feel such a strong urge to venture his fingers in that dense nappy vegetation?

Angel rubbed the palm of his hand with his thumb then balled his hand into a fist as he took his seat. Breakfast had already been served, but Kat had had the courtesy to wait for him before she could start eating.

"Walankanyi, Crown Prince Angel." Kat said with a smile.

"Mwanyi mwa vude, Changadim Kat."

"Did you sleep well?"

"Yes, thank you for asking. And yourself?"

"Yes, me too."

Angel dived in his meal and Kat imitated him. From their post, the maids exchanged a disapproving look at their crown prince's distant attitude; all thinking that he should be more engaging if he were to ever win the young woman's heart.

After a moment eating in silence, Kat asked: "So, how was your week."

Angel lifted his head to look at her. "You know, you don't have to force yourself to exchange pleasantries with me over breakfast. I am perfectly fine with us eating in silence."

The maids dropped their heads then shook them in desperation.

"I'm shocked!" Kat ironised.

"Really? I thought you would expect that coming from an arrogant man like me." Angel retorted in the same ironic tone.

Kat's jaw dropped at his clever repartee. Was it that both princes had been affected by the words of her argument? For a moment, she scanned Angel's face, but couldn't make out whether he was just humouring her or was truly upset by her comment on her first impression of him.

"I never thought my words would affect you. I'm sorry about that." She risked.

"Well, I get that. You do think I have ice instead of blood running through my veins, right?"

Kat scoffed. "This man can sure hold a grudge!"

"Touché." She said in capitulation.

They went back to eating in silence for a short while, then Kat turned to Angel again.

"What do you have planned for today?" She asked.

Angel placed his tea cup down. "Do you want to go out with me?" He asked in return.

"Isn't it the goal this entire Courtship Program?"

"For as far as I know, the goal is for us to get to know each other. We can just as easily achieve that without going out."

Kat slowly placed her elbows on the table, brought her hands together and placed her chin on her intertwined fingers; looking at Angel with a faint smile.

"What is it?" He asked, bothered by her mocking expression.

"Until now, I've thought that duty fulfilment was a drive strong enough to even make the members of the royal family go the extra mile in what they are requested to do…" Kat started. "That somehow forced my admiration. But here you are, proving me wrong by doing the littlest possible in the name of duty."

Angel squinted his eyes and his hold on the tea cup handle tightened. He was still looking for an adjusted retort when Kat stood up abruptly.

"Your Majesty." She respectfully greeted as she curtseyed.

Angel looked in the direction of the entrance and stood up as well.

"Maaku." He said as he walked towards the queen, took hold of her shoulders and placed a light kiss on her cheek. "What brings you here? Is there a problem?"

"What is so unusual about me visiting my son that you will think there might be a problem?" Sophie said with a smile.

"Sorry, Maaku." Angel replied as he led his mother to the table.

However, Angel was not dupe; and neither were the maids. The queen practically never visited the West Wing unless she had a private urgent matter to discuss with her son. The Central Palace was the designed place where the royal family members would meet and interact.

"Would you like to have breakfast with us?" Kat proposed joyfully, as the queen took the seat facing hers.

"Bwat mwanyi[1], wajikitanyi. I've just had breakfast with Maaku and Mwant Yav." Sophie answered. "I just wanted to see you before you start your day. So, where are you two going today?"

Angel smiled while he took a sip of his tea. There was the real reason why his mother was at the West Wing that particular morning! She wanted to appraise his performance in winning the heart of the maiden.

"Well, if I believe Crown Prince Angel…"

"Horseback riding." Angel interjected before Kat could finish her sentence.

"Really?" Kat exclaimed ecstatically.

Angel smiled and nodded.

"That's a great idea!" Sophie commented. "And today's weather seems perfect for a horseback ride around the Royal Estate."

"But I don't know how to ride a horse." Kat pointed with a suddenly gloomed expression.

The hope of escape that rose in Angel's mind at that moment was immediately shot down by his mother. "This is not much of a problem; Crown Prince Angel can teach you; right Angel?"

"Really?" Kat exclaimed with new risen hope.

Angel alternately looked at his mother's ordering gaze and Kat's hopeful expression.

"Of course I can." He answered with feigned enthusiasm.

"Yay!" Kat let out in excitement.

Though she could sense that the crown prince was not truly happy to have to teach her, Kat was still very much looking forwards to learning how to ride a horse.

Kat took a last look in the mirror. The entire riding outfit, from the helmet down to the boots, passing through the coat, shirt and breeches, was a perfect fit.

She internally praised whosoever had been in charge of selecting her wardrobe; it was truly amazing how every cloth she had worn since she had arrived at the palace were all fitting her physical frame without flaw.

She left her room and immediately spotted Angel standing at the bottom of the staircase, waiting for her. Kat could not deny the fact that Angel was looking even more handsome than usual in his riding outfit. As she gradually walked down the stairs, her eyes stayed riveted on the crown prince. She had been taught by her mother that it was impolite to stare; but she just couldn't stop herself.

"The Great Artist of the universe has blessed me to come across such a beautiful work of His hands; how can I not admire it." She thought in her own defence while her eyes went up to down, then down back up until they met his.

Startled to have been caught staring, Kat temporarily lost focus, tripped on her own foot and toggled forward, at two steps from the bottom of the stairs. The maids placed their hands on their mouths to repress their screams of fright, but Angel swiftly stepped forward to block her fall.

"Are you okay?" He asked calmly.

Feet on the second step, body leaning forwards and face pressed against his chest, Kat answered with a muffled voice: "I think I'm fine…"

With awkward movements, Kat placed her hands on Angel's forearms and took support on them to redress herself. She then walked down the last steps and quickly glanced in his direction.

"Wajikitanyi…" She said with embarrassment, scolding herself internally for letting such situation occur a second time.

"Don't mention it." He replied with an amused smile that made her feel even more embarrassed. "I've always been told that I have the kind of looks that could make women fall head over heels. Now I'm starting to believe it."

Her embarrassment immediately swept away, Kat shot him an irritated glance. "Don't think so highly of yourself, Crown Prince Angel! I just tripped on my foot."

"Sure you did. But I suppose that would have not happened if you were not distracted by my handsome face." Angel added with a chuckle before he headed towards the door.

Kat opened her mouth, but couldn't find any argument to refute his inference. She looked at the maids and caught them trying their best not to burst into laughter. In a mix of resurging embarrassment and irritation, she stomped her foot, let out an exasperated sound then followed Angel out.

Outside, Peter could barely hide his pleasure to see Angel dressed in riding outfit.

"Don't!" Angel ordered to stop his guard from making a single comment.

Peter smiled and bowed as Angel and Kat passed by him, then followed suit. The trio circled behind the West Wing to get to the stables faster. And, as they passed the chapel, Kat decreased her pace and signalled for Peter to approach.

"Can he really teach me how to ride?" She asked, while pointing in Angel's direction with her chin, as soon as Peter had bent his tall figure low enough in order to place his ear close to her mouth.

"Crown Prince Angel is the best horse rider in all Ruund." Peter replied. "In his high school years, he came in first place at the Ruund Youth Horse Riding Championship three years in a row then just stopped competing because he felt he wasn't being challenged enough." He added with admiration.

"How loyal!" Kat thought as she rolled her eyes. "That's all nice; but that's not where my trepidation lies. Has he ever taught anyone else before me?"

"Well… no."

"So I have a reason to worry." Kat argued. "Being a great rider does not automatically make one a good riding teacher. We all know that one grand virtue any teacher needs to have is patience; but I am not sure whether our crown prince here has much of it."

"Oh, I do have patience."

Kat and Peter looked at Angel who was walking two meters ahead of them. Without stopping his progression, the prince glanced back at Kat and added: "But you should really not try it."

Befuddled, Kat looked at Peter. "Does he have super hearing or something?"

Peter only smiled, not knowing what to answer. As they reached the vicinities of the stables, Angel stopped and turned towards Peter.

"You don't have to stay with us, Pete. I don't think we will be needing you during the teaching session." He said.

"Wait a minute!" Kat exclaimed as Peter bowed and motioned to leave.

Both men looked at her with interrogative eyes.

"Don't go back just now. Hang around a bit…" Kat paused and looked at both men with feigned fright. "At least long enough to make sure that Mr Grouch here won't lose his patience and aim for my neck." She finished jokingly, while pointing at Angel with her thumb.

Peter cleared his throat to refrain himself from laughing; but Kat laughed heartily until her eyes met Angel's.

"I'm just kidding." She explained when she saw his serious expression.

Angel leaned closer to her face and replied with a weird smile: "I know you are… But you really shouldn't be giving me ideas."

For a moment, Kat was rendered speechless. The proximity of his face was making it difficult for her to think straight.

"Y… You… You should normally add something like 'just kidding' after making a joke like this." She finally stammered.

Angel's smile widened.

"You're kidding, right?" Kat insisted.

Angel signalled Peter to leave and resumed his walk towards the stables. Kat turned to the guard and pointed in the direction of the crown prince.

"He's kidding right?"

Peter shrugged then bowed. But as he turned around to leave, the corners of his lips curled up. He knew the crown prince was only teasing the maiden, so he had chosen to play along; happy to see that his master was slowly warming up to the young woman.

Kat braced herself and followed the crown prince. She wanted to believe that his comment was intended as a joke; but since Crown Prince Angel was really a person difficult to discern, it was impossible for her assert of it without a doubt.

At the entrance of the stables, a man was waiting for them. He had the strong built and sunburned dark skin look of men used to hard labour under the sun. And with his cowboy hat and boots, denim western shirt, and washed-blue jeans under his leather chaps, he looked as if he was coming straight out of a Western movie.

The man bowed and greeted the crown prince as soon as they had come closer; then he looked at Kat, removed his hat and grabbed her hand to kiss. "It's a pleasure to finally meet the fair maiden. People were not exaggerating about your beauty."

Kat smiled. "Pleased to meet you too, Mr…?"

"Oh, no need to be so formal with me." The stableman protested. "Just call me Joshua."

Kat nodded. "Alright, Joshua." She then looked closer at the 30 years old man. "Have we met before? Your face seems familiar."

"Did you attend Church service this Sunday?" Joshua asked.

"Yes." Kat answered, trying to recall whether she had caught sight of his face in the congregation that Sunday.

"Then you must have met me from the future." Joshua calmly replied.

[1] Bwat means 'no'; mwanyi is added for the polite form in the response.