I got asked what country the princes live in. It's a very small, fictional country that lies between Oman and Yemen and also borders the Arabian sea. The palace is in the richest part of the country by the sea (as you probably guessed) and though the country didn't originally have a name, Bavan came to mind, and I liked it. So there we go, the princes of Bavan!


The minute I walk out, the hall is all abuzz with people rushing around. My eyes widen as Arabic phrases frantically spew around me, and it would appear that the medals have not been found. I look around in awe, realizing the heft of the situation. As the people (whom I assume are palace employees) scramble about, the need to join them grows stronger. I know what Prince Lambert said, but I'm sure they could use all the help they can get. I look back and forth; which way to go? Where is Prince Lambert?

I join the rapid pace and decide to head towards the main hall where the King's throne is. I arrive fairly quickly, but it's not empty like usual; it's filled with people anxiously waiting. They're facing the throne, and it's obvious they're waiting for the ceremony to begin. The anticipation that fills the room makes me anxious as well, and I strengthen my resolve to help. Not seeing Prince Lambert or any member of the royal family anywhere in the room, I duck out.

I rush again towards a door right by the main hall, where no one is waiting. This has to be a waiting room, where they go before they go on stage. I peek in, and sure enough, there are the princes. Prince Lambert is pacing back and forth, no longer showing the complete composure he did back in Prince Jun's room. It's clear he's stressed out, and he doesn't pause for even a moment. Alvah is standing in the middle of the room, watching Prince Lambert pace and trying to console him. Mel is leaning up against what appears to be a vanity, and is casually sipping a drink (is that whiskey?) as he watching Prince Lambert with an amused smile. The lilac haired prince (crap, what IS his name?!) is sitting in a chair next to Mel and is flipping through pages of notes. The youngest prince (Nagit?) is on a smart phone, chattering away in Arabic with a concerned look on his face. What's more, Dania is present, and she's sitting on the opposite side of the room. She tries to get Prince Lambert's attention everytime he walks to the left side of the room, but he turns away before she ever gets a word in edgewise. Everyone is so taken in by the scene that I've gone unnoticed.

I shut the door behind me, and everyone instantly looks up.

Prince Lambert stops his pacing and his expression becomes cross. "What are you doing here? I already told you, there's nothing you can do."

I would think his stress level is causing this type of talk, except to me, this is how he always is. I clear my throat and speak calmly. "I came to let you know that Prince Jun has not seen the medals."

Prince Lambert sighs and looks at the ground. "It figures." He looks back up and continues his cross glare. "Well, if that is all, take your leave. The ceremony will start in 30 minutes and I can't have you around hindering things."

I'm about to speak up when Mel drains his glass and walks over to Prince Lambert. "Relax bro. She's not hurting anything."

Prince Lambert now glares at Mel. "Enough is going on without her serving as a distraction, it won't do."

As if on cue, Dania stands up and poses defensively by Prince Lambert. She glares at me in a similar fashion. "Prince Lambert is quite busy, he does not have time for you."

Oh, what'd I do?! Some women, sheesh. Alvah rolls his eyes and the younger princes look over at her. Prince Nagit has stopped his phone conversation, and the other looks shyly over at me after looking at Dania. He then goes back to his notes.

Mel shakes his head. "I think you two need to calm down. Everything is going to be fine-"

Prince Lambert cuts him off. "It will not! In less than 30 minutes, one of the most important events in those soldiers' lives is going to happen, and the symbol of our country's gratitude is missing! You cannot tell me everything is going to be fine!"

Mel looks over at me and shrugs, like he's asking 'what can one do?' and walks over to the room's bar. Like every other room I've seen so far, this one is donned with every amenity a person could want, and is done in style. It'd be real glamorous if it wasn't filled with such tension. Alvah looks at me and shrugs as well. They're all clearly at a loss.

What can I do? "I don't understand, who would take the medals? Surely everyone wants to see the soldiers honored."

Prince Lambert crosses his arms. "You would think, but if we knew who would take them, we'd already of found them, wouldn't we?" He and Dania continue to glare. He positions himself next to her. "The confusion here is who slipped past security? The medals were carefully guarded."

Dania inches closer to Prince Lambert, clearly willing to show any way that she can that this is her man. "Prince Lambert, isn't there a thief amongst us right now?"

Instantly, it's all eyes on her. Mel stops mid drink, Prince Lambert looks at her curiously, and the others look surprised. She smirks and looks at me again, like I'm holding a big bag with a dollar sign on it and am donning a black mask. "Maybe you can take a bracelet and get the King's forgiveness, but he will not forgive this."

I can't believe my ears. Oh, this bitch…

Prince Lambert contemplates this, Mel and Alvah stare at her in disgust, and the others look confused. Dania peers at Prince Lambert and continues. "Has anyone checked her room?"

Prince Lambert looks like a light bulb just went off over his head, and I feel my stomach drop. Oh no…

I put my hands up quickly. "I did not take anything, in fact I'm here to help."

Dania laughs, the melody of her voice almost masks the evil lurking behind it. "Help? You? An American? How can an American help? You only care about your own interests."

Mel sets down his glass. "Now just a minute-"

Alvah clenches his teeth and glares at Dania. "You don't even know-"

But both are interrupted by Prince Lambert. "No one searched her room, I'll have that happen now." He snaps at the youngest prince. "Nagit, call Ivan and have him send security down that way." He glares at me. "If we find the medals, you're in big trouble, bracelet bearer or not."

I gawk and look at Nagit, who's shaking his head. "Lambert, I cannot-"

"I am your older brother, and I am in charge of this ceremony. Do as I say."

Prince Nagit's eyes go sad, then he looks at me and mouths "I'm sorry" before dialing the phone. Oh crap, this is bad, this is really bad…

Wait, no it's not! I didn't take the medals! I widen my stance and cross my arms. "Fine, search. For all the good it'll do you, tear my room apart."

Prince Lambert's eyes narrow, and Dania still looks proud of herself. This bitch…

Mel and Alvah approach me at the same time. Mel's arm automatically goes around my shoulder. "I know you're stressed little brother, but this is no way to behave."

Alvah nods and stands on my other side. "There's no way she took them, she was with me all morning."

The tension in the room has escalated significantly. Prince Lambert and Dania continue in their anger against me, and I can tell Mel and Alvah are scaling up their intimidation factor. Prince Nagit is walking over, clearly intent on making peace, and the other is still reading his notes. Despite the situation, I can't help but stare at him. He's so quiet and studious, and if the situation is bothering him at all, he's not showing it. Crap, if only I could remember his name!

Prince Nagit has reached us and is saying something, which the others are responding to, but I don't hear them. I keep watching the silent one, who suddenly reaches behind him. I hadn't noticed until this moment that there's a ton of food on the table behind him, and he's delicately picking up something that looks like a sumptuous version of cheese and crackers. Wait…cheese?

Mouths keep moving around me as I continue to be surrounded by nothing but the sound of this prince's silence. Cheese…ch…chee…cheez…em…

"CHEZEM!" I suddenly shout, jumping up and down in excitement.

Prince Chezem's head shoots up, stunned by being summoned so, and the others look at me in surprise.

I start to laugh. "Prince Chezem, I'm so sorry, but I couldn't remember your name! It's so wonderfully unique, and it just now came to me!" I jump up and down again, laughing, then I run away from the others towards Prince Chezem.

He's looking at me like I'm an elephant stampede. This look registers and I slow down right as I get to him. He slightly reclines away from me, his papers neatly organized on his lap with his hands folded on top. Slowly, he lifts his right hand towards his glasses (which I hadn't seen when I met him, they must be reading glasses) and tilts them a bit down his nose, peering over the lenses at me. He doesn't look scared anymore, he just appears to be studying me like he was his notes. The contemplative look he's giving me makes his beautiful eyes stand out, like two polished tiger's eye gemstones dazzling in the sun.

"It is Prince Chezem, right?" Crap, I could be wrong.

He closes his eyes and gives a quick nod, looking back at me afterwards. He's still tilting his glasses. I can feel the eyes of the others upon us. I have no idea what to say, and he appears to still be soaking the moment in.

He pushes his glasses back up and looks down at his papers as he picks them up. "You'll have to excuse me, I've never heard someone get so excited over my name before."

With that, laughter explodes behind me. Prince Chezem looks around me and watches his laughing brothers, and I turn around myself to see what he's seeing. Mel, Alvah, and Prince Nagit are in various throes of laughter, and while Dania still looks angry, Prince Lambert has the closest thing to a smile I've seen from him on his face. Really, his lips are still in a straight line, but the corners have turned up ever so slightly. The laughter has calmed the aura of the room considerably, and I can't help but smile myself.

Prince Chezem, on the other hand, sighs and stands up. He walks over to Prince Lambert and hands him the stack of papers. "Your speech is well written, I saw no errors and it shall go over well." He gives him an odd little salute of sorts. "I'll be in the library until the ceremony begins. Bash on then."

With that, he leaves. Guilt washes over me as I realize I'm responsible for this sudden departure. I sigh and look down at the ground. Three men down, how many more left to offend? Or maybe I should just make that four, since my very presence offends Prince Lambert…

The door opens. I look up, hopeful that Prince Chezem changed his mind and has returned, but instead, it's Ivan. He glances at me briefly before looking over at Lambert. "Master Lambert, the room has been searched, and the medals are not in it. We are continuing our search as we speak, but I think you might want to consider canceling the event and rescheduling."

Prince Lambert looks at me for a moment, then back at Ivan. "Absolutely not. I will not let these men down and inconvenience everyone else in the process because security was breached. They have to be around here somewhere."

Ivan nods. "As you wish." He goes back out the door without saying anything else.

I look at the clock in the room. Twenty minutes until the ceremony. Can this really be pulled off?

Prince Lambert turns and faces me. "I guess I gave you too little credit. At least there's one less place to look."

I shrug. Guess that's as much of an apology as I'm going to get, but I can't blame him too much. He's stressed, and he just wants the medals. "Do you feel any better?"

He straightens up and glances down at his speech. "It was going well, we were ready to have a good ceremony, and then this happens."

Dania puts her hand on his shoulder. "We'll make this work, and you are going to do great."

Ugh…crazy woman, make me look like the bad guy then cozy up to her man. And does she feel bad at all? Of course not.

But the look on Prince Lambert's face snaps me out of my funk. He's clearly upset, and I see hints of resignation on his face. I'm not sure if it's because he doesn't want to disappoint the soldiers, or because he doesn't want to look like an idiot, but either way, it strengthens my resolve. No matter his reasons, the show must go on.

I snap my fingers. "Well, one unlikely place down, I'll go knock out another one." I start walking towards the door.

"Where are you going?" Mel asks.

I turn back around. "There's still time, and there's no sense in sitting here waiting. If this is going to end differently, then we have to do what we can." I motion towards the door. "I got an idea. If we all look in the least likely places, maybe they'll show up."

Mel gives me a skeptical glance. "That's an interesting proposition considering the most logical explanation is usually the simplest one. Simple would be they got stolen for monetary purposes, what makes you think they didn't get taken off palace grounds?"

I contemplate this. "Ivan was still looking. Ivan knows everything…well, almost everything anyway, and if they weren't around here somewhere he'd know it. Security may have been breached once but he didn't let it happen again." I look back at the door. "They're here somewhere, and I'm going to help find them. The rest of you should really join."

I open the door and walk out.


I can't explain why I thought the garden would hold any answers. All things considered, Mel was right. Maybe the medals did leave palace grounds and have joined the black market with my passport. However, I can't shake the feeling that Ivan doesn't believe that, and if Ivan thinks they're here somewhere, then so do I.

I scan the garden's massiveness, well aware of the time crunch. I really hope the others are looking in case I'm wrong. I keep scanning. Hmmm, if I were a medal, where would I be?

I walk quickly around the edges, trying to find clues. How Nancy Drew of me. I'm not going off of anything but a hope and a chance. It's the smallest of chances, but it's a pretty big hope, so maybe, just maybe…

One year, a few Academy Awards were stolen, and one ended up in a dumpster. It seemed funny at the time, but now it's making more sense. Someone thought they could get away with something, got scared, then reverted to acting like a child to deal with the situation. What do kids do to hide things? Put them under their bed, in the trash, or bury them. I've found a good number of treasures and mistakes in my class trash can and in the playground sand. I should probably stop pointing it out or my kids will find better hiding spots, and I'll be up a creek!

I stop in my tracks. The beds got checked, the garbage is getting checked, but buried…

I quicken my pace along the edge. If someone was dumb enough to bury them, whatever the reason, it'd most likely be out here. I just need to find freshly dug dirt.

I continue to run along the edge, scanning all areas and more hopeful now than ever. But this is crazy! Would someone seriously BURY a medal? And am I seriously looking for freshly dug dirt in a daily maintained garden?

My hope sinks a little, until I see the sabi star tree. I smile. They sure are beautiful. I put the one Alvah gave me in a little vase in my room. I find myself walking towards it, for no other reason than to enjoy it. I remind myself of the time so I won't daydream amongst them, but I'm sure a minute won't hurt. When I'm a few feet away, I notice what I had been looking for at the foot of the tree. A dirt mound! Wow, that might be it! That might actually be it!

I run and quickly fall to my knees once I reach the tree. I can't scoop through the dirt fast enough. Maybe it's just dirt, but maybe…

Suddenly, my fingers hit something cold and hard. I gasp, and dig faster. Something surfaces and catches the sun, shining beautifully. I grab it and pull it out. It's one of the medals, a red sash follows behind it. The medallion is heavy, and clearly very expensive. I dust it and the attached sash off. The sash is solid red, and the medallion is quite exquisite. It looks similar to an Olympic gold medal, with the country's flag popping up three dimensionally on the front and an inscription in Arabic is on the back. I can't help but stare. It's no wonder Mel thought they were gone, this thing is worth a fortune.

The medal looks fine, but the sash is ruined. Dirt stained it and sullied the silken crispness to it. This can't be presented to a hero…

But before I can figure that out, I keep digging. It's possible the other two medals are in the same spot, and sure enough, two more surface. I dust them off and try to get off as much of the dirt as possible, but much like the first one, the sashes are ruined. The stains put a damper on what should be a victory, and I know we're all running out of time. I can't return these like this, everyone will stress out again, but what can I do? At best, I have fifteen minutes, what can I do in fifteen minutes?

Then, it hits me. Yes, that just might work! I hold the medals close to me and run like hell towards my room.


My fifteen minutes have passed, and I'm running once again back to the waiting room by the wings of the stage, the medals clutched tightly to my chest. The ceremony is clearly going to be delayed, but I think that will be forgiven. The important thing is the medals have been found, and they actually look a lot better.

I burst into the room. This time, it's not full of people. There's just Prince Lambert, who was slouched over in a chair looking quite forlorn, but the minute he sees me he stands at attention.

I look around. "Where is everyone?"

He looks from side to side then slowly approaches me. "When you left, it seemed to inspire everyone to check odd places as you suggested. You actually had a good idea, so I sent Dania out too. They should all be back any minute, but I doubt they had any luck."

The minute he says that, he looks down at my hands. "Wait…are those…"

I hold out both my hands towards him, the medals sitting in my palms. "They were buried in the garden."

He picks one up quickly and inspects it. "Buried?" He keeps looking it over. "These don't look like they spent any time in the ground."

I look down at the remaining medals in my hands. "Well, the sashes were dirty, so I replaced them."

He looks up at me, surprised. "What?" He looks over the sash. "What did you replace them with?"

"I have so many accessories in my closet, and I know they're only on loan and they're not really mine to use as I please, but the wide hair ribbons…there were so many, and so high quality, so I thought…"

Prince Lambert loops the sash over his wrist and watches the medal hang down. He looks closely where the ribbon is connected, and looks back at me. "You sewed this?"

I nod. At first, I was just going to slip the medals on the ribbons. I figured they could be tied for the ceremony and sewed later, but even that seemed like too much of a difference. Much to my surprise, there was actually a sewing kit in the drawer of my vanity. I'm not a sewer, but I can make straight stitches, so I did. They were big and quick, but since they're on the underside, maybe no one will notice.

Prince Lambert flips the sash and looks at the stitches. Yeah, so much for that. He studies the stitches, and looks at me. "Well, they're big, but even, and seemingly sturdy." He peers over at the clock. "Only five minutes past, this is actually going to happen."

He looks at me and nods. "I don't know how you did it, but you've saved this ceremony, and these medals look rather sterling. Thank you."

I smile. He takes the other medals and motions towards the stairs leading towards the wings. "You may watch the ceremony if you like."

I smile even bigger. "Really?"

"It would have been cancelled without you. The others will be here shortly, I called Ivan to round them up before you got here."

As soon as he finishes, the others appear. This time, it's not just the princes and Dania, but five other ladies are with them as well. They are all stunning like Dania, and I realize quickly that I'm looking at the six sisters Alvah mentioned. They must be here for the ceremony as well.

Dania notices my close proximity to Prince Lambert, and immediately rushes to his side. She looks at the medals in wonder. "Oh Lambert, you found them! I knew you would!"

He shakes his head as the others look on in awe. "I didn't, all thanks belong to her."

Dania looks over at me, looking surprised herself, and the others begin to approach us. Suddenly, the sound of trumpets bursts forth from the stage. It's starting!

Prince Lambert motions towards the ladies. "Well then, file out. As soon as you all sit down, we'll follow."

They all nod demurely and walk single file towards the stage. As they pass me, they smile. I smile back. They seem pleasant, but then again, they could be just like Dania. I look forward to meeting them during a more in depth introduction, and I see the princes line up.

Prince Nagit smiles as he walks by, and to my surprise, so does Prince Chezem. I smile back, and then up comes Alvah. He reaches out and hugs me, and I hear Mel chuckle. Alvah quickly pats my back. "Good work." He files past me, and Mel is right behind. He looks over at Prince Lambert, who I guess is going on last because he's the host, and puts his arm around me. "Go on ahead bro, I'm going to stay in the wings with her."

I expect Prince Lambert to get upset, that Mel is breaking protocol, but instead he nods and goes on ahead. I look up at Mel as Prince Lambert goes by. "Is this alright? Are you sure you don't want to be out there with your brothers?"

He chuckles and leads me up the stairs so we can stand in the wings and watch the ceremony. "I'll go out towards the end to present the national anthem, they don't need me sitting out there. It's just as well, my military service was pretty boring and the soldiers would not be impressed."

I look over at his chest and see he has on his red badge too. Come to think of it, they all had one on, except Prince Nagit of course. Mel's badge looks different from Alvah's; it has a different emblem on it. "Oh Mel, I doubt they think like that. Everyone who serves deserves respect."

Another chuckle. "It's different in a country where everyone serves, sweetheart. Sure, there's respect, but it's much tougher to impress when everyone has a story."

Having never served, I can't think of a response. I look at his badge further. He notices my looking then looks back out at the stage. I look as well. The ladies are all sitting to the right of the stage with whom I assume is the prime minister (and their father), and the princes are all to the left of King Tamir, who is sitting in his throne and watching Prince Lambert. Prince Lambert is at a podium in the front of the stage, and the soldier are to his right. He's speaking in Arabic with great conviction; he's a powerful speaker.

Mel nods towards Prince Lambert. "Shall I translate?"

I shake my head. "I caught a few words…courage, heroic, service, country, gratitude…I'd rather just listen to the Arabic. Things get lost in translation, and I'm enjoying listening to him speak."

Mel nods. "He's a great speaker, and he's well suited for this crowd." He looks down at me, arm still around my shoulder. "He served in the front lines, you know."

I look up at him in shock. "What?!"

"Yes. We had a month long war with Oman that happened to coincide with his term of service, and he demanded to be in the thick of everything. None of us wanted him to do it, but he couldn't be persuaded."

I look at Prince Lambert in awe. I'm curious about this war, which I never heard of, but I'm more curious by Prince Lambert's choice. The front lines? But why? "He doesn't seem like the type who'd want to do that."

Mel nods. "Father thought he just wanted to fight, but I think he wanted to be treated the same as the others, like he didn't deserve special treatment. I asked him about it, but he never said why." He gives a quick sigh, and I can see admiration and pride as he looks at his little brother. "He wasn't the same when he came back." He pats my back. "The Lambert before his service wouldn't have called you a commoner."

Now this is interesting. "Tell me more."

He shakes his head and Prince Lambert speaks on. "It's not my story to tell, and I was just making a few quick observations."

"I understand." I point to his badge. "Tell me about your service then."

"It's seriously not interesting. I was a mechanic, and would repair the tanks and jeeps."

A mechanic?! "Really?"

"Yes. I happen to be really good with my hands." He looks back down at me and winks, the hand on my shoulder suddenly starts massaging it. He ain't lying.

I look up and smile. He smiles back, and looks back at the stage. "How did you find the medals?"

I tell him the same thing I told Prince Lambert. As I retell it, I get excited all over again. Wow, I actually found the medals! I found the medals! And Prince Lambert thought they looked…sterling? I think that must be a good thing.

Mel smiles. "That's wonderful work sweetheart. You've gone above and beyond the call of duty, and it's not even your country."

I think about saying that I only did what anyone would have done, but instead, I feel a sly grin come across my lips. Between Prince Lambert's stirring speech, the adrenaline from the medal hunt, and Mel's compliment mixed in with the massage, I feel impulsive.

"That's not even my area of expertise." I mutter, the grin widening as I look up at Mel. He begins to grin in a similar fashion as his eyes meet mine. "Oh? And what would that be?"

I grab his tie and pull him in close. Before he can react, I plant a lusty, solid kiss on his lips. When I finish, I release his tie and look back at the stage. Though the audience can't see in the wings, Prince Lambert sure can, and he's currently looking at the both of us with impatient (and slightly astonished) eyes. My own eyes widen as I realize he must have just summoned Mel, who looks a bit woozy. He looks at Prince Lambert and grins, then looks back at me.

"Talk about sweet oblivion…" He winks and prepares to walk out. "Looks like you put forth damn fine work in all you do."

He enters the stage and takes Prince Lambert's place at the podium. The other princes are holding up the country's flag (which looks pretty cool; it's maroon in color, with a silver border, and a sideways silver crescent moon is in the center with three silver stars above it) while Mel recites the national anthem, and Prince Lambert bows before the soldiers then dons them with their medals. I wish I had my camera.

"Don't worry, there will be plenty of pictures of this auspicious ceremony."

I turn around quickly. It's Ivan. "Oh hi Ivan! No wonder you were busy all morning, this must have taken so much preparation!"

He nods. "It did, and it's going well. I understand that you not only found the medals, but fixed them as well?"

News travels fast. "I thought I should join the search."

"It's a good thing you did, this would not be happening otherwise. I'm glad you are watching."

I smile. "Me too, I'm learning so much!" I look at the others, who are wrapping up the ceremony. "Maybe I'll even know the national anthem before I leave, wouldn't that be something?" I look back at Ivan, and recall this morning. My face goes solemn. "Ivan, about this morning-"

He shakes his head. "There's nothing to say, miss. We clearly misjudged each other, and I think we've both learned from it."

I nod eagerly. "Definitely, and while I really appreciated the free time today, I look forward to continuing my lessons tomorrow."

Ivan smiles. "Good, you can learn horseback riding with Prince Nagit." He turns to leave, then pauses. "Oh, and tomorrow evening, the daughters of the prime minister will be joining us for dinner. I encourage you to observe them; they will serve as good role models."

I look over at the ladies, who are standing up and shaking the hands of the soldiers, and I find myself hoping with all my might that the other five aren't Dania clones.