Be My Princess

Sunday kicked in with an early wake for everyone in the South Wing in order to attend Church service. Very much to Kat's surprise, Angel obediently woke up and got prepared to go with them. And her surprise – together with that of the servants at the third service – was even greater to notice that the other members of the royal family had made the effort to attend as well.

After the service and a short exchange with Pastor Elisha, the Samas were taken on a tour of the Central Palace. For Charlotte, who had had few peeks of the inside of the palace on the rare occasions her father had brought her there when she was young, revisiting the large corridors, while listening to her children's marvelled comments as they roamed from one room to another, could only stir up the nostalgic remembrance of her father's endeared smile at her own marvel.

"I can say with certainty that none of your school friends will ever boast to have a better bridal home than yours." Michael whispered to Kat's ear as they exited the Throne Room.

Kat intended to shoot her most angry gaze at her little brother, but her resolve melted away as soon as she met his laughing eyes. There was really no point in getting upset as it would only fuel Michael's desire to tease.

When they got to the Heritage Hall. Charlotte was left speechless at the sight of all the artefacts it displayed.

"All these items belonged to past uRuund rulers; from as early as we could collect them." Queen Sophie explained.

"No wonder we can't find anything like this in our museums back home." Charlotte commented with amazement.

"The paintings start with the first Mwant Yav to have ever come in contact with white explorers."

They moved to the next painting.

"His successor was the one who boldly fended off King Leopold II when he was tracing the limits of his 'private property'*; his tenacity in the face of invasion had earned him the respect of the Belgian king. We owe him what Ruund is now."

They moved to the following painting.

"This painting represents the moment he entered a trade agreement with the Belgian Parliament after it had taken over the Free State. It's from him that Ruund passed from Empire to Kingdom and the throne became hereditary; so he is the first King in our dynasty. And His son was actually the first Mwant Yav to convert to Christianity."

"And what is this?" Kat asked, pointing at a glass case displaying a white basket containing what appeared to be a copper carved bracelet.

"That, my dear, is the Rukan ." Isabella replied.

"Oh my!" Charlotte let out in awe as she approached to take a closer look. "The famous Rukan Mwad Rwej received from her father, Numi Nkond?"

"The very one!" Isabella replied.

Kat's face suddenly lit up.

"Oh! I've read about this in one of the history books. Numi Nkond had three children; two sons and one daughter. History is not very accurate on what happened between the Numi and his two sons; some say they tried to kill their father and his daughter was the one to defend him, and others say that they just quarrelled. But as a result, Numi Nkond chose to pass on the Rukan to his daughter Rwej; the first and only ruling empress of Ruund.

Mwad Rwej then married a Luba hunter named Tshibind Irung to whom she passed the Rukan. It is from their son that the Mwant Yav title was formed. Mwant Yav was actually his name, but then turn to become the king's title ."

"Wow!" Her siblings and sister-in-law let out in united awe.

Their marvelled expressions together with Kat's rapid assimilation of Ruund history brought proud smiles on the lips of the royal elders.

"The history of Ruund we learned at school is not that much detailed." Joseph commented.

"If you look closely, you will notice that the carvings on the bracelet are the same as the ones done on the current royal and princely crowns." Isabella added.

"In this room is also displayed the old ceremonial outfits worn by the king and the Tubung." Queen Sophie explained as she led the group to the display cases protecting mannequins dressed in the different outfits worn by past rulers and members of the Tubung throughout Ruund history.

From the simple loincloth to a tunic covered in ornaments, and down to modern clothing adopted by the time of the colonial era, all the ceremonial outfits were accompanied by a leopard skin cloak and a toque – made of woven feathers first then skilfully crafted with strings and small beads – for the king and queen, simply a leopard-skin cloak for the princes and princesses, and antelope skin cloak for the Tubung.

"As our kingdom took a gradual modern turn, our ceremonial attires were also modernised. The royal and princely cloaks are still made of leopard skin, but the members of the Tubung – which name has changed to High Council – now wear sashes made of antelope skin instead of cloaks." Queen Sophie added.

"Maaku, can we move here? Standing in this room, and listening to all these stories suddenly makes me want to embrace the uRuund part of me to the max!"

At Michael's comment, everyone broke into laughter.

"Your brother never ceases to amuse me." Francis commented when he had walked up to Kat's level. "You sure don't get bored with him at home."

"I definitely don't." Kat confirmed with a smile. "Even though he likes to tease me a lot, I still miss his bantering very much."

"Was he only joking when he said that you already have your heart set on one of us?"

Kat looked at the prince and was a bit startled by what she read in his eyes. She initially thought that he was trying to tease her, but something unsettling was lurking in the depth of his dark brown eyes.

All of a sudden, and for the first time since she had met him, Kat was feeling slightly uneasy in the presence of Francis. The prince was still displaying his usual charming expression, but his gaze had hardened. And, even though he was trying to hide it behind his teasing tone, Kat could sense that something was different in his attitude towards her.

"There must be something bothering him." She thought. "He was definitely joking."

Kat raised an eyebrow then smiled. "That, you will get to know in three weeks only."

The prince was obviously unhappy with her answer, but Kat was not about to tell him on whom her heart was already set.

Francis leaned closer to her ear. "I can keep it a secret until the end of the Courtship Program if that's what's concerning you." He whispered.

At the feeling of his breath brushing against her earlobe, Kat instinctively took a small step away from him, then slightly shifted her position to face him.

"That is not what I am concerned about."

"Then why won't you tell me? Is it bad news for me?" Francis asked, all the more persistent.

The two families still roaming from one artefact to the other ahead of them, Angel was the only one to witness their exchange because he had stayed behind. Even though he could not clearly hear what they were saying, Francis' unusual attitude towards the maiden could not escape his sharp eyes. And since Kat appeared to be in a very uncomfortable position, Angel decided to intervene. But just as he was motioning to intervene, a servant entered the room and announced that lunch was ready to be served.

Kat took advantage of the opening provided by the fact that Francis was briefly distracted by the servant's entrance to escape the uncomfortable situation. She quickly stepped away from him, caught up with her sister-in-law and hooked her arm.

"The two of us didn't even get to have a proper one-on-one since you guys have arrived." She remarked.

"Now that you point it out, I have to admit that it's true." Rose concurred.

Arm on arm, the two women followed the group out of the Heritage Hall under the watchful eyes of the prince.

"Why are you acting so oddly towards the maiden?"

Francis diverted his gaze to look at his cousin. "I'm not acting oddly."

"Brother, even from afar I could see that she was uncomfortable while talking to you. She practically ran away from you." Angel argued. "Did something happen between the two of you? All seemed fine last night."

"Let's go eat." Francis simply reply.

Angel silently followed his cousin, secretly rejoicing at the fact that cracks were starting to form in his cousin's so far flawless courting plan.

A few steps before the princes, Kat was still walking arm in arm with Rose.

"I must admit that I'm a little envious of the bridal home you're going to enter in." Rose commented jokingly while admiring the paintings decorating the walls of the corridor.

"Oh, no! You too, Sis?" Kat let out.

"Me too what?"

"You too speak as if I have already made up my mind. I still have three weeks to go before I can make a definite decision."

Rose looked at her sister-in-law straight in the eyes with raised eyebrows. "Come on, Kat! You've been here for over two months already. I'm sure that your heart has already settled on something by now, and that something will hardly be changed in the three weeks to come.

Kat nodded. "I can agree with that. But why do you all think that that something is marrying one of the princes?"

Rose tilted her head a little while mulling over Kat's question. "I don't know… Maybe because we all can see a change in you. The kind of change love usually provokes in a person."

Kat looked at her sister-in-law with squinted eyes for a few seconds before letting out: "Yeah right!"

Rose chuckled then added: "Well, at least I can say that the queen and the queen mother are already settled on making you a member of their family…" in a whisper, as they enter the private dining room.

With the king absent, Queen Mother Isabella was the one to take the presiding seat. On her right-hand side, Queen Sophie took the first seat, followed by Angel, Lady Josephine, Francis then Michael; while her left-hand side was taken by Charlotte, Kat, Rose then Joseph.

After everyone had sat down, Queen Sophie said the grace then invited everyone to enjoy their meal, signalling by that to the servants to start helping everyone dish their plates.

Rose started by dishing a plate for her husband before dishing her own; then she leaned towards Kat. "I suppose you think that the elders' approval is not all; so I will add that I've noticed quite some intensity in the eyes of both princes when they look at you." She whispered.

Kat leaned a bit closer. "Really? Both?"

Rose straightened up in her seat and gave Kat a triumphant smile. Understanding her sister-in-law's play, Kat bit her lower lip in embarrassment as she redressed herself. Reacting the way she had just done was equivalent to confessing that her heart was already set on one of the princes.

When Rose's attention shifted back to her plate, Kat's eyes instinctively went across the table and met Angel's. He seemed to have been looking at her for a while…

At that moment, it felt like everything around them had come to a pause while a warm sensation gradually enveloped her. In that time and place, it seemed as if a new world was being woven around the two of them. A world that was exclusive to the two of them.

Her mother's arm grazing against hers was what succeeded in bringing her back to reality. She immediately redirected her gaze to her plate and decided to keep it there until the end of the meal.

On the other side of the table, Francis was rather unhappy to not have Kat in his vicinities as usual. With an unsettled heart, he turned towards Michael.

"So, do you really think that your sister has already chosen one of us?" He asked while trying to make his tone as nonchalant as possible.

Michael looked at the prince with amusement. "You actually believed me? I was just teasing my sister. I have no idea whether she had already chosen one of you guys or not."

The obvious disappointment that painted prince's face was unmissable. "Really?"

Michael nodded. "Kat is set on letting us know her decision only when this three months program will be over. And I know my sister enough to be able to tell you with certainty that nothing will make her go back on that resolution."

At Michael's words, Francis' mind seemed to drift for a moment before he nodded and resumed eating. But as the prince's gaze went back to his plate, Michael's stayed on his interlocutor for a moment. With a slight frown, he scrutinised the prince's face while replaying in his mind the unsettling flash that had passed through Francis' eyes while his mind seemed to have drifted away.

Michael was very good at reading people, and he could tell that something was definitely off with Prince Francis. But, having no ground on which he could make a definite assertion, he chose to keep his gut feeling to himself for the moment.

After the meal, everyone moved to the open sitting room where Queen Sophie insisted that Angel and Kat regaled them with the song they had played at Francis' birthday.

While for Josephine and Francis it was pure torture to relive that moment, the rest of the audience enjoyed the presentation with glee, and could hardly peter out of praises and compliments when the duo had reached the end of their performance.

"Crown Prince Angel is the one who composed this piece?" Charlotte asked the queen in amazement while her sons were appreciating their sister's improvement on the violin.

"Yes. He has a quite extensive repertoire." Sophie answered with pride, throwing triumphant glances at her sister-in-law at the same time.

"How do you get inspiration for your compositions, Crown Prince?" Joseph asked.

"I get my inspiration from my daily life experiences. Most of my compositions are influenced by the way I felt in the face of a certain circumstance."

Having been taught since a very young age to always bridle his emotions had had the counter-effect of making it very difficult for Angel to express openly any sentiment he might have. So very quickly, the crown prince had found in his piano skills the perfect channel through which he could convey everything he could not voice out.

"That's nice," Michael commented. "What emotions are you conveying with this composition?"

Angel smiled. "What I create in music is often based on emotions that I do not express out loud."

Michael smiled back in understanding. "I see."

"How have you named this one, dear?" Isabella asked.

Angel looked around the room. Though he was always able to hide it perfectly, he did not like being put under the spotlight like his grandmother was doing at that moment; and he knew that she was well aware of that.

The crown prince was just as much unwilling to answer Isabella's question that he was to answer Michael's because answering that question would come close to revealing the emotion he was feeling while creating that composition.

He always titled all his compositions according to the emotions that inspired them. And if the names of his past compositions were never a secret, that particular work that had been inspired by the incomprehensible emotion that had stirred in him not long after his first encounter with a quite uncommon commoner was not something he had intended to divulge.

No one at the palace was supposed to hear that song in the first place. And hadn't Kat played it at the ball, no one would have ever had.

The feeling behind the composition was so deep that he had already felt vulnerable just by putting it into music. Hence, his grandmother's question was making him feel like he was asked to expose his heart to everyone present in the room. But, looking at the expectancy in all the eyes locked on him, there was really no way for him not to give an answer.

"Longing…" He let out.

_____

Rukan = bracelet kept in a kaolin basket made of sinew at first then in copper that was worn by uRuund emperors as a symbol of power.

Numi = Chief (old title)

Luba = another tribe in DRC that was an empire