The first meeting

The maids who were standing behind our chairs opened the closed plates and kept our spoons next to us.

Unable to ignore the call of the delicious food in front of me, I raised my spoon and made to take a scoop of the chicken rice, but the gasps from the girls, made me pause.

I slowly glanced up to know what might have caused such collective panic.

Only to see them staring intently at me.

“Huh? What's wrong?”

“How dare you eat before a royal?” Pixie glared at me.

Huh?

What does that have to do with me? Do I have to stay hungry if he refuses to eat?

Spare me that.

The prince ignored her outburst as he took a spoonful of what looked like Qut (a rice-like meal) and like one the girls followed suit after him, but not without Pixie giving him a loving look.

Father in heaven, how the hell are these girls able to admire someone in a veil?

A god damned veil!

Well, it's not my cup of tea. I have a mission, and that's to assassinate the king. I don't care for anything else aside from food.

The girls, Pixie included, were surprisingly quiet the whole duration of the meal. I thought it will be quite difficult for the prince to eat with the veil, but I was proven wrong.

His expertise with the veil depicts years of learning. Prince Charming will kill his mother for a bit of this mysterious, veiled Prince’s pro-table manners.

Dessert was served after the third course, and all the girls declined the sweets, but I who don’t joke with chocolate-sprinkled doughnuts proceeded.

The prince never altered a word besides his opening speech —that’s what I dubbed his greetings — much to my disappointment.

Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t disappointed that I missed his silky voice, I just wanted to know if he was mimicking another person — that's all.

He dropped his cutleries on the table and joined his hands. “Thanks for having breakfast with me,” he murmured.

"It was our pleasure, my Prince." The girls murmured as one, ready to please him more than anything else.

The prince retired to a small chamber near the dining after that.

The moment he turned his back to us, the girls picked up their conversation on the floor, which fell on when the prince arrived.

Bik —one of my guards —appeared from the same door the Prince walked into, a parchment in his hands.

He looked at our table, seemingly searching for someone. When his eyes alighted on me, he winked.

The gesture wasn’t lost on the now quiet girls as they all glared at me.

If looks can kill, I bet I’d be ten thousand feet beneath the ground. But that's if I don't throw my star arrows at them.

He cleared his throat in a bid to get their attention.

“As you were all briefed by your ladies in waiting, each one of you will have to spend a maximum of 30 minutes with his royal highness. This is the first test. During the short time, you will familiarize yourself with him.

As you all know, half of you will leave after this; so, try your best to impress him, or else you will have to kiss the royal grounds goodbye."

He looked around to check if his words had the desired effect, which they did. 

“The first person to grace his presence is Malvinas Alphosee!”

The girl sitting close to me rose. With her nose stuck in the air, she walked majestically to the door and disappeared to the other side.

“The rest of you can adjoin to the library where you can be easily assessed when it’s your turn," Bik said, closing the parchment in his hand.

The other girls turned and left the moment he said those last words.  I was the last to leave since Bik thought it was ok to exchange pleasantries with me, not knowing he was adding more fuel to the fire.

Thankfully, the library was adjacent to the dining we just evacuated. With the door open, we can watch the girls walk past.

The girls conversed in groups keen on making me feel unwanted, not that I wasn’t already feeling it.

Ignoring them, I browsed through the romance section and my eyes landed on a novel 'Rejected'

The name was catchy, and it made me eager to read it.

I sat in a comfortable recliner and got lost in the fantasy world. This was one of the things I loved about the base. We have more than enough books to read from.

I must have read for seconds, minutes, hours, days, or even years before I heard my name.

A glance at the wall clock showed that I’d been reading for only three hours.

Damn.

The room wasn’t filled as it was when I started reading, which means half of the girls had gone in.

Bik was already waiting for me at the door.  Unlike others, he was here to escort me.

If only they know who I am. I bet they won't treat me with so much care.

They will hang me on the gallows or behead me in the guillotine.

I felt eyes on me as I followed Bik to the door. He opened it with a bow and I walked in.

It’s a small room with intimate settings, clearly for intimate meetings and assignments.

Its walls were painted a deep scarlet colour, and rose vases were in all corners of the room, giving the room a sweet, strong aroma.

Pale light from the lamp shines on a table, giving the room a purely romantic vibe.

There’s a stool, upon which people could sit or recline as the occasion might call for.

The prince is sitting on a plush couch in the far corner of the room, shrouded in shadows.

The room isn't as stuffy as you might think based on how small and cosy it looked. It's quite cool, and I was mesmerized by its sheer beauty.

The prince cleared his throat to get my attention.

I narrowed my eyes at him. How dare he interrupt my thoughts?

I glared at the shrouded figure of the prince — his hideous face still obscured.

You would have thought he will do his brides - to be the courtesy of seeing his hideous face, no matter how ugly he might look.

Who knew why he took great pain in covering a face we already knew to be hideous?

He probably looks uglier than Belle’s beast. Not that a girl will love him to the extent of confessing her undying love to him.  I giggled at the thought of the poor girl and the hideous beast.

Most of the Earth novels I read are funny.

“What’s funny?”

His silky voice washed through me, leaving goosebumps in its wake.

I leaned forward unconsciously, his voice hypnotizing me.

“Please enlighten me more on what could amuse you to the extent of lightening up your pretty face.”

His words made me snap out of the hideous, veiled prince’s world.

I admonished myself for staring at him as long because of how beautiful his voice is. 

This must be one of the beast’s ways of luring prey to his den, where he does away with their sanity.

“None of your business," I snapped at him.

He chuckled, “you’re a feisty one aren’t you?” he motioned for me to come closer, “although you don’t seem feisty. You look so fragile a man would love to cradle you and shelter you from the harsh realities of life."

I bit my tongue to stop me from retorting. I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction he needs.

I sat on the couch nearer to the door —it doesn’t hurt to be on guard.

The mistress normally says, “he who dines with the devil should do so with a long spoon”

And the position of the couch gives me a clear advantage to bolt if push comes to shove.

The prince looked at me in bewilderment —I can tell he is, although the veil covered his entire face. Call me a psychic if you wish — guess he’s not accustomed to people having their ways instead of his.

“Oh my," I palmed my heart in mock fear, “I forgot to curtsy in the presence of his majesty. Hope your feelings aren’t hurt. Though I think you don’t have any to be hurt."  I relaxed on the couch, counting down the minutes until I leave his honoured presence.

I'm not here to play house.

“Your nonchalant nature amuses me," he chuckled, “my sister can learn a thing or two from you, she needs to let go of her uptight nature."

I placed my palm on my heart, feigning surprise, “Is that humour I detect from the beast? Hell must be frozen over," I twirled my golden necklace.

“That’s a nice necklace you’re putting on, it must have cost a fortune," he said.

His words reminded me of my conversation with Rama when she saw my necklace for the first time.

*Recap*

“Your necklace almost looks like a royal heirloom, where did you get it from?”

She didn’t look hostile or accusingly as she said those words. She looked curious, which was why I was prompted to answer her questions.

“I don’t exactly know. I grew up wearing it," I vaguely answered. No need to tell her a boy I liked according to my mistress gave it to me when I was seven years. Although I can’t for the life of me recall his face, I reserved a special place in my heart for him.

“Are you sure it looks exactly like the royal family’s heirloom?” I peered at my necklace.

She waved me off, “forget I said anything. Enjoy your day with the prince," she winked.

*End of the recap*

The necklace in question has a pendant with the image of a grey wolf and a human. With the human resting on the wolf’s back. Strange words were written under it.

Maybe what Rama said is true. The necklace is the royal family’s heirloom and my friend must have picked it or worse still stolen it before he gave it to me.

“Yes, what about it?” I glared at him.

He shrugged, “the gold looks real…" He paused, “and come to think of it, gold is rare in Avon — if I'm not mistaken."

“If you must know, it’s a gift from a friend!”  I snapped.

I know Avon is a poor country, but for him to rub it in is bad for him. I don’t entertain a person who insults my kingdom, as it’s all I’ve ever known since I was little.

“A male or female friend?” he tilted his head.

“Why do you care?” I angrily stood up.

I've had enough of this prince and his cocky, bossy ways.

I made to leave, but before I could take a step, the door opened and Bik stepped inside.

He bowed to the prince before he turned to me and did the same. “My prince, it has been hours since she came in here, and the other girls are getting restless. Do you need me to dismiss —"

I walked towards him, “that should be my cue to leave if you don’t mind, your majesty.  It was a pleasure meeting you, your high…ness," I smirked as I walked towards the door.

“The pleasure is all mine agápi mou and if I failed to mention it, red looks excellent on you, mi corazón.”

“Whatever those words meant," I strode out of the door and headed towards the one that led out of the room.

“Whore, she was probably doing what she knows how to do best in there, which explains our delayed session!”

The girls murmured, but I paid them no heed.

“Ladies, I'm sorry to announce that your remaining sections with the prince today are cancelled. I'm afraid the prince is tired and wishes to retire," Bik explained.

If I thought their scowls were devilish earlier, the devil will be jealous of the one they are currently spotting.

I strode out the door to avoid being left with the scowling she-devils. I need to complete my task and get the hell out of here before I end up murdering all the girls.