Be My Princess

"This is really delicious!" He said in genuine appreciation. "You are a good cook."

Kat was at loss of word. She was expecting a mocking comment or a tease; but instead Angel was openly and honestly complementing her.

"You are a confusing man, Crown Prince Angel." She finally said.

Angel raised an eyebrow. "How so?"

"You can make a person want to punch you in the face one moment; then make them regret they've ever had such a thought towards you the very next second."

He smiled. "Does it apply to you?"

"Of course! You always get me on a rollercoaster of emotions."

Angel took support on his elbows and lean forwards, placing in his face about 20 centimetres from Kat's. "Really? What kind of emotions precisely?"

Kat blinked repeatedly. "Err… Y… You're going to get food on your shirt if you keep leaning like this." She stammered while pointing down.

Angel looked down and noticed that he was leaning too close to his plate. He redressed himself but kept looking at Kat with a smile. Kat met his gaze then slightly wrinkled her brows. Angel seemed very much to enjoy stirring all kinds of emotions in her…

"I'm astonished that you are eating without cutlery." She remarked to change the subject as the current conversation was taking a very awkward turn.

"Fufu taste the best when you eat it with your hands." Angel replied.

"Couldn't agree more!" Kat exclaimed. "People often think of eating fufu with cutlery as a show of sophistication; but I think that it just puts a damp on the way this dish should be savoured.

Their eyes met again. Angel smiled, enchanted by the way she was so passionately defending a mere dish, and Kat felt yet again the need to create a diversion.

"I was wondering; since no servants or guards are permitted here, how is this place guarded? I mean, is it very safe here?"

"I could say that it's safer than the main palace." Angel replied.

"Really?" Kat insisted, sceptical.

"This place might even be considered the safest place in all of Ruund. There is actually an alarm system in the house that will totally shut down the place if it's set off."

"Shut down?"

"The window are already bulletproof, but there are also bulletproof shutters that will rolled down on the entrance door and the windows as soon as the alarm is set off."

"And what if the power is cut?"

"The shutters are programmed to automatically roll down 15 seconds after a power is cut because it can take up to 14 seconds for the generator to start up."

"Whoa! No one can imagine that this small house is in reality an impenetrable fortress."

A smile of pride traced on Angel's lips as he continued: "There are no surveillance cameras inside or outside the house because the crown prince's privacy must be preserved; but camouflaged cameras and motion sensors are scattered among the trees and along the main road and any pathway leading to here; so an intruder can be quickly spotted before he can get to the house."

"So it's like the surveillance system in the Natural Park." Kat commented.

"It's exactly the same. And if the intruder still manage to pass all these barriers, there is a secret tunnel that links my bedroom to the small guardhouse situated at five minutes from here from which I can escape. Only a few trusted guards are given information about the location of the cameras and sensors; and even fewer know the existence of the tunnel."

"Impressive! So there a guardhouse not far from here."

"Peter must be there at the moment. Guards also make scheduled rounds and check the house in and out when I'm not there because the alarm system is deactivated during that time."

Kat nodded. "The crown prince is never left without protection indeed…" She muttered to herself.

"I'm sorry?" Angel enquired.

"No, nothing. How come you trust me with all this information?"

Angel was caught off guard. Why indeed was he divulging such confidential information to an outsider with so much ease?

"Easy, if you ever dare to sell this information, we will know where to find your family." He replied with the same ambiguous expression he had had a week before, while he had insinuated that her joke might give him ideas.

Kat didn't know how to react to Angel's answer. The crown prince was really hard to read…

After they were done eating, Kat cleared the counter then started to do the dishes while Angel stood next to her, a perfect spectator.

"You're not even going to offer to do the dishes?" Kat exclaimed after she had started soaping the first glass.

"Obliging guest." Angel replied while pointing at her.

"Tsk. Have you ever cleaned something in your life?"

"Hey, in case you have forgotten, I'll remind you that I've spent some years away from the palace for my studies." Angel pointed out.

"So?" Kat retorted. "Can't maids be hired in London?"

Angel let out an irritated sigh and Kat chuckled.

"Well, this place is squeaky clean though it doesn't allow personnel, so I guess you can clean." Kat conceded.

"Actually, personnel is mainly prohibited when I am around." Angel confessed. "Maids are still sent here three times a week to clean or restock everything necessary. Always under the watchful eyes of guards of course."

Kat smirked.

"But, in London, I did take care of my apartment by myself." The prince insisted.

And to prove his point, he moved next to Kat and started rinsing everything she had already soaped. Taken aback by his unexpected move, Kat stared at Angel for a moment, speechless.

"For being the only one here at the palace to ever have the privilege of tasting your cooking; I think I should repay by helping you do the dishes." The prince explained without looking at her.

"Well, if I choose to marry Prince Francis, he will have that privilege too."

Unbeknownst of Kat, Angel's right eye had an irritated twitch.

"It's not the place of a princess to cook." Angel replied calmly.

"Where is that coming from? I didn't see that in the palace set of rules." Kat argued.

"It's simple palace etiquette."

"So there's actually no rule that forbids me to cook for my husband." Kat concluded. "You should be happy about this as well. If I get married to Prince Francis, I won't only cook for him, but the whole family as well. You'll get to taste my cooking again."

Angel knew that Kat's last comment was intended as a tease, but he could not take the joke. To his befuddlement, the simple idea of her marrying his cousin was stirring a nonsensical feeling of anger in him. Hence, to avoid being found out by the young woman, Angel was now the one to divert the trajectory of the conversation.

"Giving how knowledgeable you are of the palace rules, I guess your lessons are going well." He remarked.

"Yes, they are going well. It's a lot of information to take in in a short amount of time; but I like it. Especially my Tuesday lessons; the history of your people is fascinating." Kat answered with excitement.

"My people?" Angel enquired with a raised eyebrow.

"Sorry, our people." Kat corrected when she understood the meaning of his query. "Though I speak uRuund, I've only been Congolese so far in life; Maaku taught us her native language but did not talk much about her land of origin. So I often forget that Ruund is just as much my home as DRC."

"Your mother did not talk much about Ruund? Isn't she a History teacher and an expert in Ruund History?" Angel couldn't help but ask, intrigued.

"She is indeed. I know it comes off as weird, but I've come to understand why she was unwilling to talk about her childhood at home given that it would have ultimately triggered the painful memory of Ngaak…"

Angel waited in silence, leaving it to Kat to choose whether to continue with the story or not.

"You see, my grandparents had had my mother at a rather advanced age. It was a miracle in fact, as my grandmother was already in her mid-fifties and my grandfather in his sixties. Because of that, they very much doted her. And when her mother passed away, Maaku's bond with her father grew even stronger.

Hence, when Maaku brought Tatuku home to meet Ngaak, it was a big blow on him. He didn't have any reproach towards his daughter's suitor but one: that he would be taking his daughter far away from him. It was the first, only and biggest challenge to Maaku and Ngaak's relationship."

Kat reached out for the steel wool then looked at Angel pensively for a moment before she started scouring the inside of a cooking pot.

"In fact, our grandfathers made the oath to marry their descendants when Maaku was still trying to convince Ngaak to accept the man she loved. So Ngaak had tried to convince Maaku to marry your father in hopes to keep her close but she was unyielding."

"Really?" Angel exclaimed with astonishment.

"Yes. There was once the possibility that we could have been born as siblings." Kat commented with a chuckle. "Anyway, my grandfather ended up conceding to my parents' marriage. My mother promised to visit him as much as she could, but Ngaak died of heart failure before she could make her first visit.  

To this day, Maaku still feels bad for not having been by her father's side to accompany him in his last moments. That guilt might have subsided with time, but it is the reason why she has always avoided the Ruund subject at home… or even at school; because, to think of it, Maaku only taught classes that did not have the Ruund Kingdom subject on their History program.

If the royal family did not come to knock at our door and remind Maaku of the covenant binding our families, I don't know if she would have ever come to open up to us about her past."

Angel stayed quiet for a moment, mulling over what he had just heard.

"So I owe it to your mother that I have to put up with you for three months!" Angel teased to break the emotional intensity of the atmosphere.

Kat sprinkled some foam at his face in response. "Very funny! Hanging out with you is no picnic either."

Used to play such games with her little brother, Kat did not think twice before lifting her hand to playfully sling foam at the crown prince's face with her fingers. Angel cupped his hand and placed it under the running water while he gave Kat an implied look. Her eyes went from the prince's face to his hand, then back to his face; and she slightly shook her head.

"Sorry… I… I really didn't think this through…"

One corner of Angel's mouth curled up as he looked at her pleading expression; then, after a short moment, he spread his fingers to let go of the water and passed the wet hand on his face to remove the foam before resuming his rinsing task.

Long after the sun had finished its setting course in the uRuund sky, rain was still pouring heavily and was showing no sign of ending or even subsiding.

"It looks like we will have to spend the night here. The rain won't be stopping anytime soon." Angel observed while looking out the window.

"Really?" Kat joined him at the window and checked the outside. "Maybe they will send a car for us."

"I highly doubt that." Angel replied as he took seat in his recliner and turned on the TV.

"Why do you say that? They will surely worry if they don't see us back."

Angel chuckled. "They know perfectly that we are safe and sound here. I've already tried to get the maids in West Wing to send someone for you; but to no avail. If they were bothered by the fact that we are all alone here, they would have sent a car for you a long time ago."

Kat moved from the window to the sofa. "Are you implying that they would be all for the two of us spending the night in this place?"

"It's not an implication. Do you think that you were installed in my apartment because the king is always set on following palace protocol?"

"You mean that…"

"I don't know what you did to impress the queen that much, but she wants you as my wife… by any means possible."

Though she did not believe that the queen could be the scheming type, Kat had no ground from which she could stand to refute Angel's reasoning.

"Alright then. Can you indicate me to the bedroom I will be using? I need to freshen up."

"This is the crown prince's private place of rest. There's only one bedroom." Angel calmly replied.

"What?"

"I told you that I do not entertained guests here. This place was designed to accommodate one person… Or maybe a couple."

Kat raised her eyes to heaven. "Lord, is this some sort of joke?"

"I'll be going in first. I'll try to find an extra set of pyjamas for you to wear." Angel said as he headed for his bedroom.

After a refreshing shower, Kat spent some time in front of the bathroom mirror, combing her hair. Looking at her reflexion in the mirror, she realised that even rolling up the sleeves and pant legs of the pyjamas Angel had lent her was not enough to hide the fact that the clothes were both too big and too long for her.

Kat exited the bathroom and was startled to find Angel sitting on one side of the bed, book in hands, and the lower part of his body under the covers. When he had announced that we would go in to shower first, she had assumed that he would let her have the bedroom for the night.

Angel looked at her and could not repress a chuckled when he saw her practically floating in his pyjamas. "You look like a little girl wearing her father's pyjamas." He commented.

"Where am I sleeping?" Kat asked.

Angel gestured towards the other side of his king-size bed.

"You must be kidding!" Kat exclaimed in disbelief. "I'm not sharing a bed with you."

"As you wish. Then, I suggest that you choose between the recliner and the small sofa in the living room."

Kat frowned. "Shouldn't you be the one to make that choice?"

"I did. And I chose one side of my very spacious and comfortable king-size bed. The sofa is already too small for a shorty like you, and the recliner doesn't lean far back. So, if you yourself cannot fit on the sofa or sleep at ease in the recliner, how would I be able to do so?

I am charitably offering one side of my bed to you; but, since you're not interested, you can go for one of the two very uncomfortable remaining choices." Angel explained with detachment. "I hope you don't mind falling off during your sleep or waking up with a stiff neck and back pain in the morning." He concluded as he brought his eyes back to his book.

Kat stared blankly at the man sitting in the bed, stunned by his total lack of gallantry. Angel read a few lines in his book then looked back at the young woman still standing a meter away from the bed, visibly indecisive.

"What's so dreadful about sharing a bed? Are you afraid you might not be able to control yourself during the night?" He teased.

Kat scoffed. "I think it should be the other way around." She retorted as she finally gave in and circled the bed to take the other side.

Angel chuckled. "Don't worry. That will most certainly not happen."

Kat, who was lifting the covers to get in the bed, stopped to mull over Angel's statement.

"Interesting how a statement can sometimes turn out to have both a positive and a negative connotation to it."

"How so?" Angel asked, intrigued by her comment.

"Your statement. I can either take it positively as you saying that you are a gentleman who would never take advantage of a woman in this situation; or negatively as you saying that I am not attractive at all."

Angel nodded with a pensive expression while Kat slid under the covers and gave him her back. He looked at her back profile for a moment, impressed by her power of reflection, then went back to his book.

[1] Dumpling like dish made only with maize meal and eaten accompanied with vegetables and fish or meat. It's a basic dish in DRC.