Be My Princess

"We have arrived!" Peter announced.

Kat looked through the window. The Forest Palace was not a construction as majestic the main palace, but rather a beautiful and cosy cottage in the middle of the woods. No wonder the crown prince would choose to come to such place in order to calm himself down; the atmosphere around the modernly designed abode was truly peaceful.

"You can go in first while I park the car." Peter said.

Kat looked at the guard with hesitant eyes and he smiled at her in encouragement. She got off the car and followed the paved pathway cutting through the lawn that led straight to the entrance door.

"Crown Prince Angel?" Kat called at the threshold of the house when she noticed that the door was open.

She then stepped through the open door and immediately met with Angel's astonished eyes.

Sitting at the dining table, Angel frowned. "What are you doing here?"

"Wow! Some welcome, huh!" Kat replied as she stepped further in.

"How did you get here?" Angel asked again, unmoved by her comment.

"I came with Peter." Kat answered.

Angel raised an eyebrow. "Peter…? My guard?"

"Yes. Since he had to bring the document you asked him, he proposed that I accompany him. He is parking the car right n…"

Kat stopped when she noticed that Angel was squinting his eyes in suspicion. She slightly furrowed her eyebrows, wondering why the prince was acting that way, then rushed outside to check on the guard. The car was nowhere in sight. She walked up to the main road; nothing. When she walked back to the house, she found Angel waiting at the door.

"So I guess you did not call Peter here." She simply said.

Angel took out his phone and initiated a call. At both their surprise, the cellphone in Kat's hand started ringing. Looking at the device, Kat realised that she had forgotten to give it back to Peter.

"He was showing me something in his phone and I forgot to give it back to him." Kat explained when she met Angel's interrogative eyes.

Angel knew Peter was not a scatter brain. Surely, his guard had already made arrangements so that every worker at the palace would either ignore his calls or simply disobey him if he ordered them to come fetch the maiden.

But they might listen if the request came from the maiden…

"You need to call the maids and ask them to send someone for you."

Kat motioned to reach for her phone then slapped her forehead. She had left the West Wing in such a hurry that…

"I forgot to take my phone with me." She recalled.

"Well, you need to find a way to get yourself back to the palace." Angel indifferently replied. "Because, I don't entertain guest at this place."

"Do you suggest that I walk my way back to the main palace?" Kat retorted.

Angel smirked. "Can you?"

"Why can't I just go back with you?"

"Because I don't entertain guests here."

"Well, it's too late for that. We're going back together whether you like it or not! I assume you did not get here by foot."

"I rode Tornado." Angel replied with a malicious expression. "And he accepts no one on his back but me."

"Then I can only pray that he makes an exception for me!" Kat declared as she walked past Angel and entered the house.

Angel breathe out heavily and took out his phone once more. He had to at least try and call the maids.

Kat took a look around. The living room was a spacious. From left to right were an open kitchen; a dining space comprising a square table with four chairs and a standing cabinet; and a sitting space furnished with a recliner, a two-seat chesterfield sofa, a coffee table and a TV stand extended with bookshelves. After the sitting space was a door to what she supposed might be a corridor leading to the bedrooms. In every aspect, the manly décor and furniture were made of the finest and richest materials.

Kat's eyes circled the room then fell back on the little dining table. On it were an open chest shaped box and a few pictures. Kat took a closer look. The box contained a ring case, a heart-shaped pin and a few more pictures. She picked up some of the pictures that were on the table. They were all of Angel and Natacha in London…

Suddenly, the pictures were snatched out of her hands; and she met Angel's angry eyes. "Were you never taught not to snoop into other people's stuff?" He asked while putting the pictures back in the box.

"You can hardly call it snooping when it's lying out in the open like this." Kat replied defensively.

Angel closed his eyes and used all the strength he could possibly summon to stop himself from strangling the young woman. "Why are you here?"

"I was supposed to have a horseback riding lesson today but my teacher went MIA. For what I know, it's because a malevolent person exposed aspects of his private life on the internet; so I came all the way here to check on him and make sure that he is doing okay."

"I am fine." Angel replied dryly. "You didn't need to trouble yourself for nothing."

"Whoa… 'Fool me once' like they say…" Kat said, looking straight in the prince's eyes.

"I'm sorry?" Angel said, failing to understand.

"As the saying goes: 'Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.'"

Angel's eyebrows creased a little more as he kept looking at Kat, still not understanding her point.

"I was once fooled to think that you are a man with feelings that can get hurt and all; but that's not going to happen again." Kat explained, half serious half teasing.

Angel simply locked the box and walked to his recliner without a response. Kat followed suit and sat on the sofa. They sat quietly for a short moment before Kat finally brought herself to ask the question that was burning on her lips.

"Do you want to be with her?"

Angel looked at Kat.

Did he?

Had he been pleasantly surprise to find Natacha standing in the doorframe when he opened the door of his hotel room…? Had he enjoyed spending that day roaming the streets of the Congolese capital city with her…?

The work he had had to do in Kinshasa had been wrapped up sooner than initially presumed; therefore he had had all of Friday free. He had been thinking of heading back to Ruund that very morning when Natacha had popped at his door.

So yes; he had been happy to see her; and yes; he sure had enjoyed playing tourist with her in the streets of Kinshasa. But why was it that, when they had kissed goodbye at the end of that afternoon, his thoughts had immediately drifted towards…

"Earth to Crown Prince Angel!" Kat called, pulling the prince out of his daze.

Angel kept looking at her, but did not answer her question. His silence and dazed expression, however, where enough of an answer for the young woman.

Seeing that Angel was still not reacting, Kat continued: "And at this point, it's no longer possible for us to stop this Courtship Program."

Kat mulled over the situation with a concerned expression for a few seconds; then her face lit up. "How about I just reject you?" She proposed.

"You reject me?" Angel repeated.

"Yes! In the end, the decision mainly belongs to me. So we can keep up with the interactions, but I just don't choose you at the end of the three months period. That way, you can get to be with the woman you love." Kat exposed. "So for me it's going to be either choosing Prince Francis or going back home."

The proposal was more than fair; a win-win case that would satisfy all parties. But, somehow, Angel was not quite satisfied with it. "What if you end up falling for me?" He couldn't help but ask.

"Don't worry about that; I'm really not into emotionless robots." Kat replied with a chuckle.

"I'm serious." Angel insisted.

A little taken aback by the fact that the crown prince was so eager to hear her answer, Kat replied with honesty: "Well, if I were to fall for you… then I'd be doomed."

"Doomed?"

"Your heart already belongs to another woman. I cannot dare to take what's not mine. So I will still not choose you and go back home with a broken heart."

Angel stared at Kat for a moment, amazed by her way of thinking. The more he was getting to know her, the more he was surprised by the quality of woman she was. Indeed, what kind of woman would still think of going back to her common life after being presented with the opportunity to embrace palace life and all its privileges for the rest of her days?

Due to that, he was starting to feel like he could open up to her…

"Would you like to see the waterfall?" Angel proposed after a moment.

"There is a waterfall here?" Kat exclaimed with excitement.

Prince Francis entered the West Wing and looked around. But, at the exception of the maids curtseying before him at that moment, no one else was in sight. His mother's plan to use Angel's secret love against him was already shaping up to be a success; and he wanted to fulfil his end of the bargain.

He already knew that his cousin had left the palace after an altercation with the king, and he could easily guess that Angel had gone in isolation to the Forest Palace. Hence, he wanted to take advantage of the situation and steal the maiden for the day under the pretence of trying to take her mind off the crisis.

"I've just heard the news." Francis said to the maids with feigned concern. "Is Crown Prince Angel in his room?"

"The crown prince has not returned to his apartment since the king summoned him to the Central Palace this morning. We were informed not long ago that he has gone to the Forest Palace" Jane answered.

"I see… And what about Changadim Kat? Is she in her bedroom?" Francis asked with feigned detachment.

"The maiden had left for the Central Palace in search of the crown prince. Peter, the crown prince's guard, has just informed us that he has dropped the maiden at the Forest Palace as she seemed very concerned about the crown prince's well-being."

"Oh…" Francis could barely hide his discontentment. "I'll be on my way then."

The maids curtseyed as he turned around to leave, then looked at each other and giggled once the prince was out of sight. No matter how well he had played it, the maids were still able to understand that the main goal of his visit was to see the maiden.

Francis absent-mindedly walked along the corridor. He was not at peace with the fact that, at that very moment, Angel and Kat were alone in a place as secluded as the Forest Palace.

A faint thundering sound brought the prince's attention to the sky; dark clouds were gathering…

"Just the two of them… in a place where no one can disturb them… under the rain…" He thought.

And he did not like that thought. Even with his cousin's bad temper, the set up was way too idyllically intimate for something not to happen between them.

Kat had followed Angel around the cottage then along a small path that had led to an enchanting glade surrounded by trees and, on one side, a wall of rocks from which a small river was gently cascading before following its stream past the glade.

The river bank was covered with green grass sprinkled with colourful small flowers often visited by tiny white butterflies.

The quietness of that peaceful natural setup was only broken by the musical plashing sound of the waterfall and the chirps of birds. Even under the gradually darkened sky, the whole place made her think of a cradle of harmony in the midst of a chaotic world.

"Wow…"

Kat couldn't say more than that simple word, awe-stricken by the beauty of the décor.

"This place is the reason why I like to come to the Forest Palace when my mind is restless." Angel explained. "Somehow, when I stand here, the magnitude of any problem I may have at that moment whittles down in a second."

Kat looked up at Angel's face. What she saw in his eyes was yet again differing from what she had seen in them while he was playing the piano or while his was riding Tornado. What was transpiring from his eyes at the moment he was looking at the waterfall was actually warmth and serenity.

Angel suddenly lower his head to look at her and she quickly diverted her gaze towards the waterfall.

"What is it?" He asked.

"Nothing…" She answered hesitantly, avoiding to meet his eyes.

Her heart was thumping so hard in her chest that she was afraid he could be able to hear it. What was happening? Was she being moved just by seeing his serene expression? Or was it just that the surrounding atmosphere was stirring unusual emotions in her? Opting for the latter, Kat redirected all her focus to admiring the waterfall.

"I just understand why you like to come here in search of peace." She finally added.

They savoured the peaceful and harmonious atmosphere of the glade in silence until the gurgling sound of a hungry stomach interrupted their moment. Angel looked at Kat and she gave him an awkward smile.

"I skipped breakfast." She explained. "Do you have anything eatable here?"

"Well, the fridge and food cabinet are restocked regularly; I'm sure you can find anything you need inside." Angel then looked at the sky. "It's getting really heavy, let's go back in."

The two rushed back and reached the entrance of the cottage just as big drops of rain started to fall sparingly. Once inside, they both stood by the window and watched as the rain grew heavier by the second. That was probably one of the last rains of the season.

"Let's hope it won't rain for long." Angel said. "Otherwise it will be difficult for us to get back to the palace early."

At that moment, Kat was reminded that Tornado was their ride back to the palace.

"Where is Tornado by the way? Is he safe?" She asked.

"Don't worry about him; there's a shack built inside the garage where we can keep a horse warm and cosy." Angel replied as he moved away from the window.

Kat imitated him and followed him to the kitchen where he opened the food cabinet for her. Kat scanned the cabinet then looked at what the fridge had to offer. There was enough variety of food commodities to make any kind of meal.

She looked at her wrist-watch. "It's almost lunch time. I'm guessing you didn't have time to eat either; so I'll just have a little snack to pump some energy in my body, then I'll cook us a good meal."

"Alright. I'll have my snack over there." Angel announced as he moved to the sitting area.

Kat looked at him getting comfortable in his recliner with a raised eyebrow.

"Are you planning on getting your snack telekinetically?" She asked when she saw him pick up a magazine.

Angel moved his eyes from the magazine to Kat. "I'm planning on having the snack served to me." He calmly replied.

"Served? By whom? Last time I checked, there's no maid or servant in this palace." Kat retorted.

"True. But today, there is a very obliging guest." Angel replied with a smile.

"And since when is the host to be served by his guest?"

"Since the guest decided to make herself at home and take over kitchen duty."

Kat could only acknowledge that the prince was a strong opponent in the game of repartee; so she capitulated and searched the food cabinet for a kind of snacks that would not ruin her appetite but just give her enough energy to cook. Snacks in hand, she then went in search of small plates and spotted them on a shelf quite beyond her reach. She placed the snacks' packs on the counter and tiptoed with her arm stretched to the maximum but could barely graze the edge of the shelf. Concentrated on her task, she did not notice Angel leaving his seat; so she was slightly startled when she felt his presence behind her. She quickly turned around and almost bumped into his broad chest.

Angel reached for the plates then placed them in Kat's hands. She slowly looked up and met Angel's eyes. Standing between the kitchen counter and the crown prince, and under the intensity of his gaze, she felt yet again an inexplicable rise in the temperature of her entire body.

"Wajikit." Kat said timidly as she diverted her gaze.

"Shorty!" Angel mumbled derisively before he walked back to his seat.

Kat stood prostrated for a short moment; leaning against the kitchen counter for support and holding unto the plates as if they were a lifebuoy until she could regain her countenance.