Chapter 21

"The carriage is ready." Queen Mahama spoked.

"Thank you my Queen..." Princess Alesa replied.

"Heh! Hold it there, I am not your Queen, neither am I your mother, so don't you dare talk with me with such referral is that understood?"

"Yes , Your highness.." Princess Alesa replied her and frowned as she remembered how her stepmother had warned her never to call her mother too, since when she was a child, she immediate look downward to hide her teary eyes.

"Good!" Queen Mahama replied, "You can now be going, or did you come here with anything, isn't this cloth you are putting on, one of our palace maids cloths?."

Hearing the Queen's questions she shook her head replying, "Yes, Yes, I had wanted to ask one of the maid for Prince Ali chamber," Princess Alesa replied, but Queen Mahama frowned hearing Prince Ali chamber, "To do what?" She asked. "Just leave already, you can go with the cloth you are already putting on, I wouldn't mind asking the seamstress to resow another clothes for the maid" Queen Mahama said as she dismissed her.

"No, sorry my queen, no I mean your highness, but I can't return back home like this," Princess Alesa replied still bowing her head low.

Queen Mahama stiffened, "Why? What's so special about your cloth?, or didn't you know the maid clothes you are putting on is also expensive even though is our maids whom uses them, the cloth are still costly, so what's special in your cloth, Will you just leave here this minute" Queen Mahama thundered and Princess Alesa startled backward in fear, She tried to keep her cool so as not to unknowingly unleash any magic as many maids and guardd where in the hall, because of Queen Mahama presence

"Am sorry your majesty, but I can't leave without my cloths" Princess Alesa replied bowing her head.

"Why?" Queen Mahama questioned as she had wanted to walk away, but seeing the girl was hesitant on taking her clothes with her, she wandered what's so special in her cloth that she didn't want to leave.

"What so special about your cloth if I may ask, as far as I remember you didn't even come in here with any cloth, Am quite certain it was a cheap light cloth I saw on you that day" Queen Mahama replied.

"No, not about the material of the cloth, I have to go back with my veil on" Princess Alesa replied.

"Oh, I see, Are you married?" Queen Mahama asked seeming amused that the beautiful girl was actually married, but to her disappoint Prince's Alesa shook her head indicating no. She replied "Not yet, but my father had me betrothed," Princess Alesa said, not wanting to mention the forbidden kingdom her betroth was from, to the Queen's ears.

Queen Mahama eyed her and ask, "Since you are betrothed why then did you reveal your face to my son as I didn't even see you on with any veil since that day?'

Princess Alesa didn't reply.

"I see you are quite shameless, where is your cloth then? The carriage is already ready, so you can leave us, if you can reveal your face to us, am quite sure you are not a princess, but not to worry, the carriage will be taking you back to the Acan kingdom palace, as I have asked the guards to confirm if truly you are a princess, I wouldn't want to believe a betroth princess will be as shameless as you are, so leave"

Princess Alesa didn't reply.

"Where is her clothes?" Queen Mahama asked the guards and maid whom stood behind watch the Queen yelling at the strange girl Prince Ali had brought to the palace, Queen Mahama was beginning to loose her patience, so she yelled at the guards, "Hurry up and go ask Ali if he her cloth with her or had seen it" She ordered and one of the guards standing immediately rushed up the stairs going to Prince Ali chamber to ask him

The guards came knocking and went into Prince Ali room, when he asked Prince Ali, he didn't even remember her cloth or where it must have been, he called on his shadow guard samsom to ask from him, "Did you see the princess cloth on that day, I can't remember where it must had fallen into?" Prince Ali asked.

"No , am sorry My prince, but I only meet her with the light clothes you had used in covering her up" Samson replied bowing his head low, as he remembered the woman was slightly naked that day, only that he dare not look or admire her body as he saw her with Prince Ali.

"Oh that means we didn't carry her clothes back to the palace then, Tell her we didn't bring back her clothes," Prince Ali said to the guard whom had come to ask him, but before he could correct his sentence the guard had already rushed out and gone to deliver his message to the Queen as he had spoken it.

Coming back to meet Queen Mahama the guard bowed his head as he knelt on one knees to deliver Prince Ali respone, "Your highness, he said he didn't carry her clothes back to the palace and didn't bring her cloth to the palace."

"What?" Queen Mahama stiffened, "How did he find her?" Queen Mahama didn't want to believe her instinct, just then Prince Ali was seen coming down the stairs, he looked and saw the princess with her head bent low, he came a little bit forward and his mother questioned him, "Where's her cloth?."

"Oh, I do not think we brought it to the palace mother, we forgot it at the river bank," Prince Ali shameless replied scratching his back hair.

"River bank, what were you doing with her at the river bank Ali?" Queen Mahama questioned, and Prince Ali stiffened, "Mother you seem to worry to much, nothing I was only helping her" he said

"Is that so?" Queen Mahama questioned him again, and Prince Ali sighed , "Yes mother, or didn't you saw she was helpless that day, mother just give her another cloth to go back with," Prince Ali said as he passed as final glance at Alesa where he stood, he turned and left them going outside to ride his horse.

Queen Mahama shook her head and asked the maids to find and cloth to serve as veil for Princess Alesa, so she can leave their palace, and a maid immediately went in and later come out holding a short piece of cloth, she handed it over to Alesa as the short wrapper could serve as a veil, Alesa collected it and thank the Queen whom totally ignored her.

Princess Alesa went outside of the Palace, and the sun shines brightly on her blonde hair, she saw Prince Ali standing beside his horse staring at her and she waved him good bye, while she entered the Carriage as the guards standing beside, whom were supposed to follow her back to Acan to confirm her identity, was already waiting for her to enter first, while they followed suit.

Princess Alesa sat in between the two mighty guards that were escorting her back to Acan kingdom to confirm if she had actually lied to their Queen, she wandered what they might do to her if eventually she had lied. She shook her head to fight back her tears, as she didn't want to go back home, she want to spend more time with Prince Ali, bonding with him and getting to know him better, She had thought as she was in Kande Kingdom, she wouldn't need to go back home again since she had given her pride to him, he will accept her and allow her stay in the palace, but she was wrong. She knew once she get back home to Acan, her father will never allow her go outside of the palace again and even singlehandedly hand her over to Prince Fedina of Jalin to become his wife, and she didn't want to marry Prince Fedina. She frowned as she thought of how she will escape from the carriage before it gets to Acan borders.