Chapter Two: The Arrival "Kamberly. Kamberly. It's me, Keith. Wake up!" Prince Keith said. "You had a good night sleep in my room." "Oh, I'm so sorry. My room is too scary to sleep alone," I said while yawning. "Come on. Wake up!" he said while pulling me up. I finally sat up and he sat beside me. He let out an alarm clock sound from his mouth. I woke up. I saw my mischievous brother beside me, alarm clock at hand. He was seriously pulling this off. "Why did you wake me up? It's still 7:30 in the morning! I'm going back to bed," I said and then my mom barged in. "Sweetie pie! Rise and shine." Oh, great. "You need to fetch the Prince from the airport at 9." THE PRINCE? My eyes flashed open. I totally forgot. I got out of bed despite being so lazy. That Prince! He has to pay for taking 30 minutes of sleep away from me. I sat at the dining table and ate my pancakes in silence. "Honey! Don't give me that gloomy face. Are you worried? Don't worry. Mommy's got your back," my mom said, with a really annoying sweet face. Anyway, I didn't respond. I was so not in my mood. "Tip Number One: Smile. Boys like girls who are smiling. It helps them feel at ease while they're talking. Show them that you're interested. But, don't be too submissive. You have to voice out your own opinion too. Or else, when you get married… how will you get equal sides of the decision?" My mom continued, "Tip Number Two: Enjoy. Have fun with each other's company. It's just a date. Be friends. Get to know each other. Do fun things. You'll get to know the person more by making memories." "And lastly, Tip Number Three: Be yourself. It doesn't matter who you are, as long as you are who you want to be. Let him love you as you and not as someone else. So, when you stand in front of the altar and say your vows… your love will last forever. And you will love each other UNCONDITIONALLY." I smiled at the thought of having a happy ever after. "Thanks mom. That was nice." But, he's a Prince and I'm merely a commoner. I can't imagine how things will work out between us. It's just… impossible. "You know… if you're thinking about your social gap, nothing will come out. My dear, this is a common quote but indulge in this: Love knows no boundaries. If you really love each other, heaven is a place on earth," my mom said. "Ugh! I don't get that stuff. Is love like war? Why are there boundaries? I don't want to study about this stuff. Mom, is there a subject like this in school? Because, I think I'm going to flunk it," my brother asked. "Fortunately, no. There's no such thing as LOVE subject I school." "Great." After a few minutes of listening to my family's exchange of words, I excused myself to freshen up. In the end, I chose a red NEW DAY shirt, black skinny jeans and rubber shoes. I braided my hair to one side and added black shades to my look. I went down to the living room to say goodbye but my mom protested. "WHAT IS THAT?!" she asked, a bit too loud. "A casual outfit." "That is greatly unacceptable when you meet the Prince. You should dress regally." "REGALLY?! I am not a 30-year old, mom." "It's royal etiquette." "Mom, may I remind you that the Prince should like me as me and not as a teenager looking like Mary Poppins." "I'll let you get away with this one time. Now, run along. Take the cab," she said and waved me goodbye. I took the cab to the airport and arrived there the same time the plane has landed. I looked around, looking for an overdressed regally looking guy tagging approximately 4 large suitcases. But, what came to me was greatly unexpected. I felt someone tap my shoulder. I turned around and saw a playboy-looking handsome face with blonde hair and black shades on. He was carrying a backpack and a laptop bag. Definitely not the Prince, I thought. "Who are you?" I asked. "I was wondering if you happen to be Kamberly White?" he asked. "How do you know my name?" I said, nervously. I was making up my escape plan, in case he was a criminal of some sort. Instead of kidnapping me, he removed his shades and I saw who he was. "Prince Keith?! Oh my gosh. I am so sorry for being so rude. Forgive me, Your Highness," I said while making a 90-degree bow. He made me stand straight and looked me in the eye while holding my shoulders. "For the meantime that I'm here, visiting you, call me Charles. That shall be my codename. I don't want any of this out to the paparazzi. Understand?" "Yes, Prince Kei-. I mean, Your Highness. Oh no, Charles." He chuckled and smiled, "Nice to meet you. I'm Charles, for the meantime that we're out in the public." He let out his hand and I shook it. "I'm Kamberly. Kamberly White." We boarded a taxi and went to my house. "Charles, why did you die your hair blonde?" I asked. "It's part of the disguise." "Oh," I said. "You never tried dyeing your hair?" "No. It's school policy." We arrived at our house, only to see my mom wearing the most regal dress she ever had. Large pearls dangled at her neck and she was wearing a huge hat. "Kamber! You brought a guest," she said, despite knowing that I was going to. "Yeah. Mom, this is Charles, you know. The ehem -," I said, signaling her not to say anything. "Oh, right. Charles. I'm Kamberly's mother," she said, shaking his hand. "A pleasure to finally meet you," he said rather casually. "Come in." We walked in the house and sat on the living room. My mom offered juice but he politely declined. She went to answer a call from her phone. We were left alone. "You know, you have a nice house for a nice family," he said. "Yeah. Thanks." But beyond it all, I knew that my brother was hiding behind the staircase. "Darren! I know you're behind the staircase. Come out!" "How did you know?" he asked with a long face. "You always stay there." He sat on the chair near the Prince or Charles or whatever he's called. "Hi. I'm Kamberly's brother. The name's Darren White," he said and nonchalantly shook the Prince's hand. "Are you my sister's boyfriend? Or suitor? Or fiancée? Or worse, husband?! "What? NO!" I said, defensively. "Might be. Soon. But, Darren… your sister and I are different," the Prince said. "Labels will not measure our relationship because unlike regular couples, we didn't meet naturally. We met on purpose. And, you can't call me a suitor because I did not court Kamberly. Neither can you call me her boyfriend because I didn't even ask her. Nor can you call me her fiancée because we're not engaged. And above all else, you can't call me her husband because we're not married." "Your… "whatever-he-is-to-you"… is a smart ass," Darren said. "That's what you get for talking to a 17 year old who was accelerated to college," I said. "Well, what a nice thing to see you communicating with yourselves," my mom said. "Kamberly, lead Charles to his room. We're going to have lunch at 11:30." My mom left for the kitchen and my brother went out to the lawn and played with our dog. I grabbed Charles's backpack and made my way to the stairs. That's when he stopped me by holding my hand. "Wait," he said. "I'll carry that." "No, Charles," I said. "I'm completely fine. I can manage and… you're a royal. You shouldn't be hurting your own back." Still, he didn't let go of my hand and looked at me sternly. His eyes were brown. It was so charming and wild. And, it was clear. "For once, can you please stop treating me like I'm 100 places above you," he requested. "But you are," I responded. "Just, put that down and I'll carry it for you," he said while getting the backpack off me. "Even if I am a royal, I am man and you're a woman. I keep my manners. I still respect you. And, it's not good to make a woman suffer while a guy is with her." Maybe, the Prince isn't so bad after all. We arrived at the guest room and I said, "This is the coziest room we could provide you. So, please bear with it." "Are you kidding? The view in your house is so… fascinating. It's simply rejuvenating," he said. "I'm glad you liked it. Charles, please freshen up. Because, after lunch… we're going somewhere public. But, no one will notice you. Wear something casual," I said. I got down at 11:30 and saw Charles do so too. We ate lunch together. While Charles was still communicating with my dad and my grandparents regarding the security and state of the nation, I excused myself to get dressed. When I got in my room, I saw an outfit: a light blue floral sleeveless fitted ensemble, a yellow cardigan, light blue flats and a gold necklace. I put my hair down to keep it simple.. Beside it, there was a note saying: Wear it on your first date. If you don't, I'm going to kill you! Good luck! Get out there, be yourself and you'll rock. ~ Mommy In the end, I wore it. I brought my beige sling bag and put my phone and wallet inside it. I went to the living room where I saw Charles talking with everyone in the house. He was wearing a white undershirt, a light blue polo (which he left open), jeans, black Chuck Taylors and black shades. He had a camera dangling from his neck. "There she is!" my mom said. "You look beautiful." I nodded at Charles and he stood up. "Dad, I'm going to give Charles a tour around the city." He stood beside me when my grandma said, "You two look good together!" I laughed a bit and said, "It's not like that." "Be home before 10," my dad said. "Okay." When we got out of the house, we boarded the taxi to the Central Park. We arrived there at 2:30 and decided to roam around the city. We stopped in front of the tallest building in our city. We got in and rode the elevator. The elevator was spherical and goes up to the highest peak where you can see the entire city. Inside the elevator, there were only four of us: Charles, an old married couple and me. "This is the Peak Tower, the tallest building in the city. Here, you can see the whole city from above. They say it's the most perfect place for a first date or a proposal or anything related to love because it's so romantic in a way that everything is within sight," I said. "My best friend, Grey, had her first kiss here. Or so she says." "It's beautiful, like you," he said, complimenting the city… and me. "Thanks," I said. "What a bizarre comment." "Can we take a picture?" he asked. I nodded. We stood beside the window and took our first picture together. "Are you together?" the old woman asked. The elevator descended. "No. It's complicated. Considering, that I have just met her," Charles said. "Are you courting her?" the old man asked. "No." "Are you arranged?" the old man asked. "Something of that sort." "You know, I was also arranged with this man. But, look; it's been 60 years now. Back then, I despised him for getting me into this because I had just gotten over a heartbreak that time and it was still painful. But, he healed the scar. I realized that love will come when you least expect it. At the right time. At the right moment. With the right person," the old lady said. "Yes. That's a great experience, ma'am," I said. "I hope I'll end up like you." "Oh, you will. With that guy," she said, pointing Charles. The elevator door opened. "Good bye!" the old man said. "We're Mr. and Mrs. Travis, by the way." "You know, that couple has its own way of amusing me," he said. "Me too. But, they're pretty inspirational." And we got out.