Chapter 9

"Well, I was planning on showering him with flowers." That did it, the sisters burst out laughing at Shimpi's plan. She always had the wildest ideas.

Now if her bold sisters were feeling that way, what would a timid Shinja do? She did not know how all of it had happened. Her heart was drawn to the prince the moment his gray eyes pierced her brown ones.

It was a sure thing that she could not confess to him how she felt because she thought to herself that those feelings were flimsy. Her presence before him had been the least from all the sisters there is no way she would make the same impact in his heart. He did not love her back. Love? Where did that come from? Was it love she felt? He was going back to his kingdom and all of this will be far behind them.

Oh, so she thought!

The following morning while in his room, the Silver prince attended to by his most trusted footman inquired of him.

"Quad, remind me the name of the chief maiden of this palace."

"Her name is Jen, milord," Quad replied continuing with the task at hand, folding his master's clothes.

"Yes, now I recall. Could you have her come to my door right now?" Actually, he did not know the name initially but he pretended that it had slipped his mind to disguise his intentions.

"Why milord, is there something that you need? I could get it for you."

"No Quad, do as I ask, no questions." He was trying to hide his intentions by sounding stern and impervious.

"I am sorry milord. Right away sir." Quad put down the garments that he had been folding and walked out of the room to attend to what his master had summoned him to do. He did it so fast and was back shortly.

"Maiden Jen, milord," he announced curtsying as he turned to leave. He left as his master got up to meet the chief maiden whose eyes were downcast as she stood by the door not taking many steps into his room. He knew the kind of power his family held over the Green kingdom beyond all doubt better than the other kingdoms.

He had figured out a way to get the youngest princess come to him. He would call for her, he would use his power as it had come to that.

"Jen is it?" He asked acting as if he had forgotten her name in the short time period that had passed.

"Yes, milord!" Jen replied shivering out of fear or respect, the prince did not care that much.

"Have the youngest princess bring me a fruit basket. I will be in the park." He did not take time to listen to her reply. He wanted this to look like any other common command that he would give. Jen hesitated but went away from the prince. If she had anything to say, she did not.

A tap on the door roused Shinja out of her siesta. "Who is there?" she plopped off her bed dropping a book as she proceeded to open the door. She bent down to pick up the book as she did she spotted Jen from her side view as she came in through the door.

"Oh Jen it's you. You woke me. What is the matter?" She asked before her eyes dropped down to the fruit basket in Jen's hands.

"What are those for? I did not send for any fruits."

"They are for the prince, princess." Jen replied offering up the fruit basket as if to answer Shinja's question.

"Then why bring them to me?" Jen could tell the princess's confusion but she did not have any answers that could clarify what she was said next.

"The prince says that he wants you to take this fruit basket to him in the park."

"And he asked for me in particular?" Shinja's eyebrows shot up her hairline in wonder.

"Yes, my princess."

"You are sure about this?"

"Yes, my princess." The maiden's voice sounded strained, irritation evident in how she spoke.

"But he does not know my name. Are you sure it is me he asked for? He could have meant any of my sisters." Shinja was starting to sweat and she saw that her questions were making Jen uncomfortable.

"Which prince did you say it was?" She had quickly assumed that it was the prince from the Silver Kingdom that had summoned for her presence but it could be any of the other princes.

"It's the prince from the Silver kingdom. The one occupying one of the rooms down the hall." The Silver prince had been given the most lavish guest rooms in the Green palace. Jen, the poor thing looked like she would combust from all the rage she was holding back.

It was her fault Shinja thought, the maiden did not know anything. She had been simply given orders and she was following them. What Shinja did next startled both her and Jen. She grabbed the fruit basket from Jen's hands and walked out of her room past Jen into the hallway without saying another word to her.

She left the palace following the route that led to the park. The prince would explain why he had asked for her and not her sisters. Shinja was never one to defy orders from anyone not even her sisters. That is why her father found it easy to give directives to her sisters through her. Even her sisters found her the easiest route to reaching their father. Whenever they had a next to impossible request, Shinja would be the one to pass it on to their father. They loved her for her good heart.

As she approached the park, she took a moment to investigate the contents in the baskets. Apples, bananas, grapes, cherries... guessing to herself she made out that Jen did not know what fruits the prince would prefer so she put together whatever she could find. Shinja did not know either so she went with whatever Jen had come up with.

The park was what it was, a park. The trees were thrown each from the other organized in horizontal lines. The sound made by the leaves as they slapped against themselves was tantalizing. She stood there for a minute taking it in breathing in mesmerized. Thinking about why she had never come to the park before. It was dizzying in its beauty. The red-orange flowers littered the ground of the park.