two

“Hey.” He greeted me.

“Hi.”

Awkward. This was why I didn’t prefer social interaction.

He grinned, “I am Wyatt!” Then he proceeded to extend his hand forward. I shook it, and gave him back a smile without actually showing how awkward I was feeling. I hoped others couldn’t see my awkwardness.

“My name is Jane.” I introduced. I awkwardly let go off his hand, and wet my upper lips. What was even an appropriate behaviour from my end to the prince? Education didn’t teach me that.

I heard Alexis snicker lightly. She knew how I tend to over think social interactions. Between the two of us, she was the natural people expert.

“Alright, prince! Get in.” She patted his shoulder. I wish I could be that friendly with people.

The four of us came inside.

“Oh, hello!” My parents bowed. Shit. I forgot that it was a custom to bow to the royal family. I mentally slapped myself, but at the same time I did acknowledge that it was not an everyday thing to meet a person from the royal family. Of course, I wouldn’t remember a rule like that.

The prince bowed back, “You have a lovely house.”

My mother’s smile broadened, and she giggled lightly. I could see the guarded emotion disappearing from her brown eyes. This man was charming.

“That’s so kind of you to say.” She then turned to look at Alexis, and her eyes softened.

“Welcome!” My mother hugged Alexis, “How come you have become this skinny?” She turned her head to Harsh, “Are you treating her right?” I saw my sister’s husband stiffen, “Yes, of course!”

I wanted to laugh at how scared he sounded. A 5’11 man being scared of my short mother. It was honestly a comical thought.

“Did you guys forget to bring in your luggage?” My father questioned. They indeed forgot.

“We are coming back!”

I helped my sister and his husband to bring inside all the luggage from the car. The prince wanted to help too, but my mother was adamant that we could do it on our own. She didn’t want the prince to work, and we shared the sentiment.

“How should I address him? Wyatt? The prince? Your highness?” I asked my sister as she locked the car. She gave me an amused look, “This is not the 16th century! And he is only the prince, not the king or the queen. Call him Wyatt, dumbass!”

“Hey! It’s not every day that I meet one of the princes of this country. He is going to be the next King, isn’t he?” I asked.

“Yeah, he is!” Harsh said with a nod of his head.

“That’s scary. I need to be polite to him.”

“You are always polite with everyone, Jane. You don’t have to worry about that.” Harsh laughed as he pushed open the front door.

I noticed that my parents were laughing loudly at something. And I was sure it was definitely something at Wyatt said. My eyes flickered to him, and noticed that he had a small smile on his face too.

He was a people person too, I quietly thought to myself.

Through the rest of the day, I came to realize that the prince; Wyatt, was exactly like a prince. He carried himself with grace. When he sat, his back was so straight that it made me self-conscious of my posture. I straightened up looking at him. He always had a smile on his face, and he always seemed to know what to say. Because of these reasons, he came across as a little fake. But I quickly erased that trail of thought.

It was not fake. He was a prince, and that persona was a part of him. I had to understand that. He had to be charming and polite to do his role. That was his duty. Common people like use tend to gravitate towards a polite and charming person with power.

I bet everyday thousands of people had his eyes on him. No wonder he looked like he couldn’t relax. I shrugged away my thoughts.

The day continued; my father showed the prince where he would sleep, we had our dinner, and then everyone was on their way to sleep.

“You like reading Philosophy?” A voice cut through my thoughts when I entered my room. I would have had a heart attack if I didn’t know the person who carried the voice. Wyatt stood near my window, and in front of my tiny book shelf.

“What are you doing in my room?” The surprise was clear in my voice. I didn’t close the door as I would if I were alone. I kept it open, before walking towards him.

“I just noticed the books. I was curious.”

“Oh.”

“So, you like philosophy?” He questioned, again.

“Yeah, but the existential crisis that comes along with it doesn’t feel good.” He laughed, and my eyes couldn’t help but flicker to his dimples. Great, this man has a dimple too.

“Do you?” I asked him.

He shook his head, “I am not into it. But I can see why people would like it. I have read Camus though.”

My eyes brightened when I heard his name, “He is awesome, isn’t he?”

He chuckled, “I cannot say that I found him boring then.”

I let out a dramatic gasp, “You did not just insult him in front of me.”

Wyatt just laughed, and continued looking at my bookshelf.

“My father has some of the books from here too.” By his father he meant the king of this country. The most respected man. It felt surreal to even think the prince of this country was standing right in front of me. Prince… The next king of this country.

I wondered if it was okay for me to talk to him this casually. Should I had been looking down, or straight up kneel down?

“He has a great choice.” I didn’t refer to him as the king. It felt too awkward for me to mention that.

“My father is an intelligent person. I am simply assuming you are too, because of the shared interest.” He told me as his blue eyes flickered to me for a second before again eyeing the books on my shelf.

I was a little surprised at his comment. It was a bold compliment. But it did make me happy. But comparing me to the king was a little insane.

“I think you are making assumptions.” I objected.

“Well, my assumptions are always correct.” He grinned, raising his eyebrow.

Hmm, a little bit arrogant. But I supposed when you were the prince of the country, you had to be a little arrogant.

“Sure, Mr. Always correct.”

“How do you know Harsh?” I asked him. I was genuinely curious about this. The only reason the prince was even in my room was because of Harsh. But how did both of them meet? Harsh was not a royal person.

“My childhood friend.” He answered. So, the prince must be 26 then. I knew that Harsh; Alexis’ husband, was four years younger than her.

A year younger than me.

“Why aren’t you married?” The question stumbled out of my mouth before I could even re-think, or even re-phrase the question because I simply assumed that he was going through the same situation as me.

But his situation was different. A woman when she turned old, society deemed her useless. A woman was awed for her beauty, and younger women were always the epitome of beauty.

Men, on the other hand, were seen as more mature when older. He didn’t have the same problems as me. Women must flock to him.

And asking the prince of the country why he wasn’t married? Yeah, that definitely didn’t seem polite, and seemed a little intrusive of his privacy.

But he didn’t seem to mind, or maybe he did mind but as a prince, he had to keep up the pretence of being polite. I would never know the answer.

He thought for a bit, “I need someone who can keep up with me.” He told me, “And who would understand a little bit of palace politics. It’s hard to find a non-royal match who have both the qualities.” So, he didn’t want to marry someone of a royal background. It was just day 1 of the Prince being here, and I already got to know what kind of person he wanted marry.

I scrunched my nose at the mention of politics. He laughed, “See? That’s how everyone reacts. So many intelligent people I have met, and yet none of them likes politics.”

“I like politics. I like to read about it… sometimes. But I never want to get involved in it. Sounds too messy.” I didn’t like reading about politics; the terms involved were too complicated. I had read a few books, and I was very happy when I finally completed the books. I never read it again.

He sighed, “I don’t have the luxury to not get involved in it.”

“It’s fine. I like to think everything will work out one way or another.”

“Did you find this somewhere in one of your philosophy books?”

I laughed, “No, it’s just something I chose to believe in. Keeps me sane.” I whispered the last part.