11 Yishumi nanye

I leaned back on the hood of the armoured car, allowing the sun to wash over me. I had my arms comfortably behind my head – it almost helped me forget my current level of irritation.

The sound of a throat being cleared caught my attention. I didn't look down immediately. She made me wait for over an hour for her, the brat could wait for a few seconds while I soaked up the blissful sun.

"Nikola," she seethed. I only smirked and sat up, stretching deliberately slow.

By the time I climbed off the roof and stood in front of the princess, her hazel eyes were stormy, and her cheeks were red with anger. I chuckled and made a show of opening the door for her. The driver followed suit and we were finally off. Riley's was still getting her braids in a bunch and glaring out of the window. I smirked. I loved seeing her in discomfort; it serves her right for making me wait so long. We sat in a semi-comfortable silence for the five hours I took us to get into the territory where the summit was taking place. I offered Riley my arm, a formality, which she reluctantly took as we exited our vehicle. The rest of the security unit would ensure that our luggage reached our respective rooms. We walked up the driveway and through the double doors, open for us by colourfully dressed men posted at the entrance.

"Can you at least pretend to follow my lead while we're here, Riley?" I whispered in the princess's ear. She only scoffed and glared at me.

"I am here as the princess. You're following my lead this weekend," she spat out in a hushed voice. She was wearing a regal smile, but her eyes were still stabbing me. I almost snapped at the chocolate skinned brat beside me, but we were interrupted by an overly cheery voice. It belonged to a blue haired man with mahogany skin and a floral suit. He exchanged the usual pleasantries and gave us an enthusiastic rundown of the weekend's itinerary.

We were having an introductory dinner in the evening but most of the festivities would start from tomorrow.

After he brought us to Riley's room, I stopped him and asked him where I would be rooming. You are sleeping together, he replied sweetly. This was not the reply I wanted. I caught Riley smirk from the corner of my eye and that only fuelled my fire further. Sensing my rising anger, the infuriating princess thank our concierge and leading him out of the door.

When she closed the door, I snapped at him, "What the hell, Riley? Why did you not arrange a separate room for me?"

She shrugged," Tata wanted to make sure that we stayed close all weekend. You're my guardian after all." She seemed pleased with herself. I knew that the chief orchestrated this so it wasn't entirely her fault, but he wouldn't have gone against his daughter's wishes. So, in the end I had every right to be pissed at the young woman standing in front of me.

Deciding to be the bigger person, I announced that I would be getting a sleeping mat from downstairs and sleeping on the floor for the rest of the weekend. It was too late to secure a room last minute that was close enough to Riley so I would have to suck it up.

I made my way back to the reception and requested that a sleeping mat be delivered to "Princess Riley Mpande's room". The women behind the desk was quick to reassure me that it would be set up by the time we retired for the night. After the banquet, of course. I offered her a polite "Enkosi" and moved to leave.

"As-salamu alaykum, princess," a smooth voice said behind me. I knew he was talking to me – I would recognise that syrupy drawl anywhere. I turned around slowly and tried to play it cool, wearing a faux scowl.

"St'll a brooder I see," he said with his usual smirk. He might as well get an operation and make it official – that damn smile never left his face.

"Wa ʿalaykumu s-salām, jackass," I replied. I was matching his smirk now. He raised an eyebrow and then chuckled, stepping towards him. We met in an embrace. We kissed each other's cheeks as we parted.

"I did not expect you to be here, princess. But I am … definitely not complaining," he said, his eyes shamelessly scanning my body. That earned him a hard punch to the arm. He only chuckled and offered me his forearm. I rolled my eyes, taking his arm under my own and walking beside him. He led me out to the grand garden. There was a long pond that stretched the length of the garden, drawing my eye to the greenhouse at the far end of the grounds.

"What are you doing here, Quaahir," I asked. He smirked, his light brown eyes sparkling.

"I could ask you the same, qalil Orisha," he said playfully. I nudged him.

"I'm not so little anymore, jackass," I quipped. He chuckled, looking at me appreciatively.

"You most certainly are not," he said. I wanted to slap that stupid smirk off his face but instead, I rolled my eyes. I turned my attention to the landscape again.

"I'm here with Riley. She needs to find a good match if she wants to ascend to the throne," I informed the prince. He offered a 'hm' in response.

"I was under the impression that she was already matched to someone," he said. I glared at him. He chuckled, released arm and raising his hands in defence. That didn't stop me from punching him in the shoulder again. I really should stop hurting him, a bruised princess tends to cause concern, I reprimanded myself. But I found that I enjoyed hurting the raven-haired prince far too much to stop.

"That ship sank years ago. Besides I'm committed to someone else," I said with a grin. I couldn't even pretend to be sullen when I thought about a certain brunette. Quaahir noticed my improved mood.

"Ohh, I must know who stole the dragon's heart," he said, with an encouraging smirk on his face. He was always a gossip as a child. There wasn't a single union or conflict he didn't have the scoop on.

"Her name is Melissa. She's beautiful," I smiled down at my hands, before meeting his honey eyes, "She's quite something. And she makes me feel like I… that I belong."

I felt his hands on my shoulder and he pulled me into his side before speaking, "Crown or not, you're always going to be one of us." I look at my hands again because I could feel the tears burning behind my eyes.

"Nikola Achebe," Riley's angry voice barrelled down towards us. I was almost grateful for the distraction. Quaahir released me and stood up, fixing his burgundy shirt before bowing in the presence of the fuming princess.

"Princess, It is my honour," he said smoothly, placing a kiss on her hand. That helped bring her out of her furious state for just long enough to notice that we were, indeed, not alone. Her cheeks flushed in embarrassment and the Quaahir smirked down at me. I joined in his amusement at the flustered princess.

He bid us both a temporary farewell, not before he whispered, "it would appear that you still know how to trigger the little lioness." With that, he bowed in Riley's direction again and walked away, leaving me alone with the angry Riley.

"Why didn't you tell me that he was here," she fumed. I shrugged.

"I didn't expect you to come storming down here all fire-eyed and screaming," I said calmly. She glared at me. I rolled my eyes; I wasn't in the mood for another temper tantrum from Riley, so I stood up from the bench and walked inside. I managed to make it up the stairs and into our passage before she could shout at me. It was hilarious that she needed to control her temper while in the public eye.

"Nikola!" she seethed when we got into our room. I ignored her and started to unpack, looking for an appropriate outfit for the banquet. I only stopped when she grabbed my hands so that I was looking at her.

"Who in the hell was that, Nikola?" she asked. I rolled my eyes and stared at her.

"Quaahir. You know the princess of the North-East kingdom," I stated. I was calm and that annoyed her more.

"Whatever! Why was he hugging you?" she asked. Now I was even more annoyed, this was all because of her stupid jealousy.

"I can hug whomever I please, Riley," I said. I didn't have the energy to deal with her royal bratiness today.

"No, you can't! You came here with me! You are only supposed to be hugging me – not some random prince. You belong to me," she screamed. Thank goodness for soundproof walls, I thought to myself. I was trying to remain calm, but the wailing girl was not helping me in this.

"I. Am. Not. Yours," I spoke carefully. I was not about to beat around the bush anymore.

"Melissa has my heart. As for my loyalty, that belongs to the orishas. They are the only reason I care whether you live or die. The quicker that you get that through your thick skull, the quicker we can get this weekend over with and get you married. Then you will be some other unlucky bastard's problem and not mine," I said. I knew I was hurting her, but I didn't care. She would never have me – not like before.

That seemed to shut her up effectively. She silently excused herself to the bathroom to get ready. She put on the tap, but I could still hear faint sniffs. I tried to ignore them but, without the anger drowning my inhibitions, I could stop the guilt from bubbling in my stomach. I walk towards the bathroom but before I could knock, she opened the door. She was fully dressed up in a flowing pantsuit with lace sleeves and her arms and neck were beautifully adorned with her ancestral pendant along with other jewellery. I was having trouble forming coherent thoughts. I recognised one of the necklaces, it had an obsidian stone engraved with my family crest. I stared at it – I hated that she still wore that but a part of my felt happy seeing it.

"Get dressed. Dinner is beginning soon," she said. Her voice was soft and formal, bringing me out of my momentary shock. With that she walked out of the room, leaving me to wallow in my remorse.