Chapter Seven

Five years later, Catherine and Joanna were still stuck together like bread and butter. They were gradually becoming adults and Catherine no longer needed permission to go where ever she wished to go. All she needed to make an adventure were just a royal chariot and a body guard. She boldly visited Joanna even when Mrs Isabella was at home and Mrs Isabella was supposed to do nothing about that because she was a princess and she had the right to pay any one a visit without being questioned. Joanna's cover had been blown in the Queen's Castle and as was expected, the queen was very disappointed at her, but as a favor to Catherine and because Joanna's charisma had won her affection, she didn't take it too far and she did tell Joanna that the punishment of the crime she committed would only descend on her the very moment she stopped coming to the Castle to keep her daughter company, in other words the tide had been turned and to maintain their friendship, Joan would be the one always paying Cathy a visit. Catherine blew her friend's cover. She did so because she felt they were adults and there was no need for Joanna to hide her true identity when ever she visited the Castle. She simultaneously invited Joanna and the real Monica to the palace one day and as usual, Joanna appeared in the palace as Monica and while she was saluting the queen, the real Monica pop in and bowed before the Queen. Catherine her self was already in the palace waiting for the two 'Monicas' to collide and have her friend's cover blown once and for all.

"Who are you and why are you here?" The queen asked Monica curiously.

"Your highness I am Monica, daughter of the duke of Salisbury. Catherine Invited me to the palace, she said you need my assistance." She replied and the queen was shocked. Joanna became downcast and ashamed of her self, little did she know that the invitation was just a trap, but it was for good.

"But this young lady is also the daughter of Edward and she is Monica- Whats going on here?" The queen asked in perplexity and Monica was terrified, she pointed to her self in deep confusion and responded nervously,

"I think there must be some kind of misunderstanding your highness. I am Monica- Monica Edward. I will not lie to you, i promise."

"No mum you didn't get it!" Catherine intervened on Joanna's behalf immediately, "she's Joanna not Monica. I made that up when we were kids because i thought you will not accept her for whom she was."

Joanna raised her face and gave Catherine a sad look for she realized it was her plan, and in immediate response, Catherine beckoned to her to stay calm for she knew what she was doing.

"Mum Joan is like my twin sister and she had always kept me company," Catherine continued and broke into tears "You've always said that she is an experienced woman clothed in the garment of a child, You are right mum because she taught me lots of things about life which no one would have taught me. She made me realize that the people of England have a genuine love for our family. When i was a child, i thought every body was afraid to associate with me, I thought no one wanted me, but Joan came into my live and proved otherwise to me. Mum am sorry."

The queen was simultaneously shocked and disappointed. She remained silent for she was deep in thought and after a suitable interval and to everyone's surprise, she burst out laughing.

"You little brats." she said at last, "what an act of creativity." She continued "Catherine you took such bold risk because of your friend?" Then She diverted her attention to Joanna who was downcast and continued, "Come here you knuckle head." and in great panic, Joanna walked close to her.

"Closer." she ordered and Joanna went a bit closer, she suddenly grasped Joanna and gave her a knock on the head.

"Even the one I trusted?" she said to Joanna disappointingly.

"Here, sit on my laps." she continued and Joanna sat on her laps very nervously. "Are you ashamed of whom you are?" she asked with a calm voice.

"No your highness." Joanna responded timidly.

"Then why did you lie to me? How are your parents?" the queen asked.

"I don't have a father." Joanna responded.

"You can stay with us in the Castle, you know, be part of the family." The queen said. "But no matter how tempted i am," She continued Jokingly, "I will never hand over the throne of the queen of England to a special breed like you."

"My mum needs me at home, no one will keep her company if i choose to stay in the Castle." Joanna responded timidly.

"Wow! you are an Angel from above and am very proud you. But i will punish you for the crime you committed the very moment you stop coming to the Castle to keep my daughter company. Now go to Monica, ask her to forgive you because you impersonated her and she would have been held responsible for any mischievous act of yours." The queen said.

Joanna went down to Monica and tried to kneel in front of her, but Monica stopped her.

"I am sorry." she said in tears.

"Joanna will hang out with me?" Monica asked immediately for she was mesmerized by Joanna's Charisma and Joanna turned to Catherine to see her reaction.

"Princess will you and your friend hang out with me? Monica diverted her question to Catherine for she sensed Joanna was waiting for her approval.

"That depends. Have you forgiven us or not?" Catherine responded.

"very yes i have." Monica replied in broad smile.

"Alright sister, we can hang out together." Catherine replied in smiles too and the three hugged each other happily, the sight so pleasing that it nearly made the queen who watched them shade tears.

"You ladies are invited to my brother's birthday party next week in Salisbury. It's Charlie's birthday, but its gonna be a ladies' party!" Sounded Monica's voice.

"Alright sister." Catherine responded. Yes the whole thing was dramatic in the start, but it became an incident which resulted to Joanna freely visiting the Queen's Castle without hiding her identity.

Antonio was nineteen and he hadn't given up his dream to make Catherine the love of his life. Oliver his elder brother had quit his job as a royal guard, thus it narrowed down Antonio's chances to get in contact with the princess and off course make her recall their discussion years back when she was a kid. Joanna may not render much help to him this time since he had refused to take her to the garden because he needed the princess to get there first. Antonio believed Catherine would eventually fall in love with him, for he saw it written all over her face the first day he talked to her about love and after making series of futile advances to get in contact with her, he decided to seek Oliver's help. He consulted Oliver and told him his heart desire and the first question Oliver asked him was.

"She is a princess and you are just a hunter, do you think you can handle this?"

"Yes i can, We've discussed this before." He replied hopefully.

"How about her friend Joanna? to me, she is prettier." Oliver suggested in a bid to discourage him for he thought the princess may not give him the attention he needed.

"I want Cathy not Joanna." He replied desperately and Oliver's wife who was present joined the discussion inquisitively,

"Whats going on here?" she asked and Oliver replied playfully,

"Young man here wants to try out the princess." She gave an uproarious laughter for it sounded too funny to her and then she held Antonio on the shoulder and said to him with a calm voice.

"Son better cut your coat according to your cloth."

Then to grant his brother's wish, the next day Oliver wrote a letter and sent it to Catherine through a palace guard. In the letter, he asked Catherine to pay him a visit for it had been quite long they met each other. Catherine prepared at once and was driven to Oliver's house in a chariot. On Arrival, she jumped out of the chariot and hugged Oliver who came forward to welcome her for she was happy to see her childhood body guard again. Oliver took her in and they discussed in private. After a long discussion which was focused on the happenings in the Queen's Castle since Oliver left his job, Oliver went straight to the point and relayed to her everything his younger brother told him.

"Little mistress do you remember my brother Antonio?" He asked.

"Of course i do." Catherine replied.

"He needs to talk to you about something." He said.

"love." Catherine responded immediately.

"How did you know?" He asked.

"He already told me that a million times. He also spoke to me about some garden." Catherine responded.

"That was long ago, you were too inexperienced to understand the language he spoke." He said.

"I understood every thing he told me and...and he even tried to kiss me." Catherine responded.

"What?" He exclaimed.

"Yes and i prevented him." Catherine responded and laughed.

"The next time he tries to kiss you, do not resist okay? " He said and Catherine leaned back in her chair surprisingly and asked,

"Why should i let him kiss me?"

"Because he likes you and he needs your attention." He responded and Catherine chuckled inwardly and was dumb founded.

"Princess give him some of your time for he desperately needs to talk to you, please do this for me, Okay?" He persuaded.

"How about my friend Joanna? we promised to stick together." Catherine replied reluctantly.

"Know this, Joanna can only be your friend not your bridegroom -you know, like dad married mum and gave birth to you, hello!" He said and Catherine fell into silence, and after a long interval, she finally nodded and spoke up,

"Okay Oliver."

Then Oliver moved closer to her and whispered, "And if he tries to kiss you again do not resist because it's just a sign of love, okay?"

"Yea i know." Catherine replied still nodding and in the end, Catherine accepted a date with Antonio. Then she returned to the palace and wrote a letter to Joanna reminding her of their promise to hang out with Monica. Monica's brother's birthday party was the next day and they must attend it looking fly. Catherine wasn't in a haste to tell Joanna about Antonio, for she felt it was against their commandments and Joanna could freak-out if she learn that she was about to go out on a date with him.

Indeed the birthday party of the duke of Salisbury's one and only son was remarkable. When Catherine and Joanna arrived, Catherine was announced by the hostess and they were warmly welcomed and while the party was in progress, Monica took them round her beautiful home. She also took them to her mum and dad, and finally, she took Catherine alone to the celebrant for she needed to hang out with Joanna privately.

Charlie Edward, for that was the name of the celebrant, fell suddenly in love with Catherine at first sight and he refused to let her go or to check on her friend who split with her and was no where to be found. He busied Catherine with discussion until Monica and Joanna pop in from no where and intercepted. The party continued and the hired instrumentalists made it lively by giving it a nice and melodic sound and as Monica promised, a good number of young ladies from different parts of England who were in some kind of ladylike gathering, gradually turned Charlie Edward's birthday party to a ladies' party. Joanna herself used the opportunity to link up with more ladies from higher classes of the society for Monica Edward who seemed to have developed interest on her tried as much as she could to introduce Joanna to her friends. The presence of Catherine made the ladies' gathering even more charming. Towards the end of the party, Charlie Edward who couldn't leave Catherine's path followed her and Joanna to the royal chariot to bid them farewell and when they entered chariot, he grabbed Catherine's hand and gave it a decorous kiss.

"Till we meet again princess" He said.

"Bye ladies!" Monica said to them.

"Bye sister!" They responded and the Chariot drove off at once in other to reach London in time.

"I want to meet her again!" Charlie's voice sounded.

On their way to London, Cathy and Joan sang the song which they dedicated to their friendship hugging each other. It was about to rain, the wind blew a little bit hard and there were slight thunder and lightening.

"like God and his creations are bound by love

So shall me and you be bound by our lasting love

Indeed, our strong bound shall last forever, we forever in love..."

They sang it repeatedly and to scare Joanna a little, Catherine decided to tell her a creepy love story which she had composed.

"Once upon a time," she said, "two young ladies who were besties simultaneously fell in love with a man called Antonio and this led to a very tragic end of their friendship…"

"Antonio? Why Antonio?"