TWENTY-TWO

[LADY SULTAN]

"While all the drama in the kingdom kept rolling, The prince and the princess thought of ways to meet again in secret

This author says: Why meet in secret when they already know each other? Well, the princess is not given the freedom to go beyond the palace walls."

"These birds are so beautiful, Charles, never seen anything like it before." She said as they strode down the centre of the town square.

"The happiest moments of my life have been spent in town, aboard a ship and with you by my side." She smiled at his compliments.

"You're too generous for your good."

[SIGHS]

"Are you alright, Kleo, you look a little agitated, you care to tell me?" He watched her as she sat on the trunk of a tree.

"[SIGHS] The lieutenant came to the palace yesterday to visit my father." She whispered as I say there quietly listening to her.

"And what did he say... Did he touch you? " He asked clenching his hands in a fist. She rubbed his hands, releasing the tension from the grip.

"He still stands by the deal and he would be taking it to court, to settle it, since my father doesn't want me to marry the man." She wept He brought her into his arms, comforting her.

"I won't make that happen to you, Kleo." He promised, but she raised her head in shock at his words.

"And how are you going to stop him? "She asked.

"I will be your lawyer and investigate The lieutenant. " He whispered.

"Investigate? Be my lawyer? "

"Yes! I went to law school for six years." He looked away to the ground. she was so amused by his multi-skills

"How do you want to carry the investigation, Charles this plan is so impossible." She cried.

"Aye! look at me Kleo, I made a promise to help you, and that I will do... First I will search for his background and places he has ever been. So calm down, Kleo." She nod.

[SILENCE]

[LEAVES RUSTLE]

[WINDS HOWL]

"Some news reached my palace. About the execution, planned for the American. Is everything okay, back at the palace?" He took her hands in his own, they were a bit wobbly.

"Oh, The American,[SIGHS] well, he is to implant highly teched weapons in the kingdom but his plan all along was to embezzle our Gemstones. He exported some to India, last week and it was recorded that... Some gold was transferred to Kansas." She breathed heavily.

"What did your brother say about the Robbery, I believe it leads to a punishment in the line of the American." He said.

"Charles, there should be another way for the American to be punished but not executed by dawn. I am afraid the death of this American will lead to a war between the Americans and Egyptians." She forced herself to breathe at a normal rate.

"War! The will be no war and everything will be alright. Worry not about the execution but happy thoughts." He smiled.

"[CHUCKLES] Are you going to tell me why you are still dressed as a commoner instead of a prince." She said.

"[chuckles] I should ask you the same." He laughed.

"Mine! Is a different reason Charles, I cannot leave the palace in my royal linens for I will be caught. [BLUSHES] It will be easy for the palace guards to notice me in them. Since I already said my reasons, what is yours?"She asked.

"Well...."

[HORSE NEIGHS]

[HORSE CLIP- CLOPS]

"Princess!"

"Oh no, Kleo! You got to hide at once." Charles pulled Kleo into the woods to hide from the palace guards. How had they found her. was she followed? Or was it, Rashida?

"Did you tell anyone that you were coming to the town?" He asked.

"No! Why should I ever tell anyone that I would be leaving the palace... to the town..." She whispered- shout.

"Shhh! " He said.

"Princess! Your father has sent the whole army to search for you! " One of the guards said.

"Oh no, the whole army!" She faces bumped herself.

"You are very lucky. " Charles laughed. As they both tried to run to the back of the tress, Kleopatra's dress stuck to a branch. Charles tried to take it out gently, not destroying her dress, but it couldn't bulge. Not the patient type, she tore the hem of her dress, immediately, making a loud noise as she scurried off with the prince behind the tree.

"Princess, are you there?" The guard asked.

Charles and Kleo squeezed themselves to avoid being caught, but luck was not on their side, a bird kept crowing on the tree, and they were hiding. One of the guards grabbed the princess's hands, while the other guards, dragged Charles and chained him.

They were taken to the palace and brought to the king, queen, prince and her sister.

"Kleopatra, hadn't I gently warned you, never to go anywhere near the gates?" The king growled. Kleo stared at the ground, counting the lines of the design in the tiles. Suddenly interested her.

"I believe you heard your father, speak, Kleopatra." Her mother spoke. She looked up immediately.

"Yes, father." She said in a low tone.

" Speak up!" Her mother hollered.

"Yes, father" Kleo screamed.

"Good. So why then did you disobey my orders." Her father asked.

"I... wanted to see the town once more, I wanted to see the children..." She smiled sadly.

"Children? " Rashida said irritated.

"Yes, Shida, the children. father, have you ever wondered why I always go to the town." She asked.

[SILENCE]

"To see the What is behind these walls, the happiness, the children, the world, the..." She kept dreaming as she spoke.

"Stop there Kleopatra! That's enough. This is my new rule for you as my daughter. You will not pass these walls again. You will have extra guards watch over you, day and night and I promise you, you will not like it at all." Her mother said.

"But, mother... Father, please beg Mother. Rashida, please. Ramses.." She pleaded for their help but none of them gave her an ear.

"And as for you, Town boy, I will not spear your life. I will not give you another chance, to lure my daughter into your immoral act, she is a princess, so you will stick with commoners like you, not a royal." Her mother roared at Charles not recognizing the prince's face. He was calm the whole time because he was the only one with Kleo that knew the face hidden behind these simple looks.

"Mother, he is..." Kleo looked at Charles's reaction when she wanted to say the truth about the prince. Charles shook his head in disapproval.

"Not, another word from you, You have done a lot. Guards! " Her father roared.

"Yes your grace." One of the guards ran to the throne room at once.

"Take her to her room and make sure, she doesn't escape from your sight, or else, your organs will be served to the king for dinner," Ramses ordered. Kleo couldn't believe her ears, her brother sided with her parents, and no one listened to her and that is what broke her down to pieces.

"GUARDS! Take him to the prison, his head will be hung tomorrow after the execution of the American, so keep an eye on him." Ramses spoke so soon. Charles's heart leapt from his chest, as his death was prepared. He needs to come up with a plan to get back to his palace before his death. Or is it foolish of him not to let the king and his family know that it was him?

The guards chained him to the walls in the prison, underground in the palace...

His promise to the princess truly was an ambushed plan... It will only work if the guardian angels will save him from this terrible reproach.

******************************

I hid my anger and thought of the plans my father and my brother came up with for Charles, will they actually, kill him? No! My father will never do that, even though he can be hard at some things, sometimes, my brother won't let him do that, will he?

"Miriam! Will my father kill Charles?" I asked her that night.

"Somewhat" she stopped brushing my hair and caught my eyes for a moment over the top of my head in the looking glass. I had since she wanted to avoid this talk but she couldn't, she is my maid and my best friend, so she will tell me everything.

[BREATHS HEAVILY] "We have to stop him from doing so." I said, turning my chair to face her.

"But... my princess, you know that will not be possible." She said.

"Yes, of course, it will not be possible but we still need to do something before he kills him, and I can't sit here in my chambers, knowing fully well that my father is about to murder the prince of England," I yelled in a whisper.

"[SIGHS] I understand, my princess. [INHALES] So what do you plan to do?" She asked.

"[EXHALES] Free him!" I said.

she relaxed then and smiled at me before helping me to tie my hair in a bun.

"Count me in, princess." She said.

*************************

As soon as the whole kingdom sleeps, Miriam and Kleo ran through the palace halls down to the underground prison, it was dark, cold and a bit spooky. Certainly, her father had ordered guards to guard the prison for no escape. And this plan was going to be a tough one.

"Princess, I will distract the guards, while you go save the prince," Miriam whispered.

"Wait! How are you going to distract them." I whispered back.

"[SIGHS] Watch! I will give you a signal then you will go ahead with the plan." She said before leaving. Miriam walked to the guard at the front of the prison, the price stayed, she whispered some things to his ears that she couldn't make out. Out of the blue, Kleopatra saw Miriam kissing the guard with passion, something, Miriam wouldn't do. They walked to the corner. Kleopatra still in shock, stood there staring at them. Wait! Was that the signal? The kiss? She kept looking at the two strange couples making out deeply before Miriam kept wiggling her legs pointing to the prison.

"Yes! That was the signal." I said, running towards the prison door, and opening it quietly.

"Kleo!" I turned to see Charles chained to the ground. I ran to him quickly, taking off the handcuffs before hugging him tightly.

"We have to go, quickly, before the make-out session of those two couples ends, and they catch us escaping," I said.

[BOTH CHUCKLING]

Walking out of the prison room, Miriam and the guards were still kissing, I get the steam between them was flamy but she needed to stop because it was getting weird. I tried running and that is when the guard, Miriam was kissing looked at me, pushing Miriam to the floor before roaring.

"Guards! The prisoner is escaping." Jeez, Charles needed to run out of the kingdom without being caught. I kept directing, Charles out of the Palace, but the sound of someone falling stopped me on my track. Charles and I turned to see Miriam holding a stone in her hands, above her head, panting heavily and a guard laying on the floor bleeding furiously on his head.

"Jesus! I just killed someone" Miriam cried dropping the stone to the floor shakingly.

"Shh! Miriam, stop shouting, other guards are going to hear you confess, I will figure a way out of that ok, let's just get Charles out of this palace at once," I said.

******************************

"I just killed a man, Oh Jesus!" Miriam kept passing in my room while I sat down thinking of solutions to come up with.

"Are you not going to say anything, your grace? I just stoned a man to death." Miriam groaned.

'No you didn't stone anyone to death Miriam, you just hit him with the stone as a defence... to the princess." I said.

"That is practically the same thing I said. What am I going to do? Will I be killed by the king? Or am I going to be banished from the only home I have ever known?" She asked.

"Aye! Calm down, Miriam, I will find a way. My Father will never know who killed the guard ok... Go to sleep! By tomorrow everything will be alright, I promise." I said.

"Are we ever going to talk about the steamy make-out session I just saw back there?" I chuckled.

"It was disgusting, I pray to never kiss another man in this palace again. I only did that as a distraction." She said using a napkin to wipe her tongue from the remaining taste of the guards in her mouth.

[KLEOPATRA CHUCKLES]

"Promise not to tell anyone about the kiss." She pleaded.

"Sure! I promise." I smiled. Giving her a blanket to sleep on the bed by the window.