Hello again, everyone!
I hope you enjoyed the first chapter!
Marinette still had that jaw-drop look and dilated eyes for the next few moments.
It was Aisha. The Princess Lalla Aisha of the royal Kyautauna family of Nikenobia whom Adrien met some time ago when his famous fashion designer father, Gabriel Agreste, designed a princess' wedding gown.
"Marinette?"
"Huh-huh-huh?" Ms. Sabine Cheng snapped her daughter out of her longing trance. "Uh-uh…Princess Lalla Aisha…of Nikenobia," Marinette finally got the words out of her mouth. "A real…real princess, mother."
"Oh, my! How do you do?" Sabine did a little curtsy. "You two know each other?"
"In a way, ma'am, technically," Aisha answered. "Adrien Agreste has told me quite a lot about you, Marinette. If I may call you that," she backtracked on the last sentence.
"Uh-uh…yes!" Marinette gave a thumb's up. "That's my game—I mean, name-name." she ended the sentence with a nervous smile.
Aisha held her hand out, hoping Marinette would shake it back. "I hope we get a chance to be better acquittanced. I'm…going to be staying here for a while."
Marinette shook her hand with such fierceness. "Yes-yes! I hope we do."
"Indeed…oh!" Aisha smiled before she looked back at her taxicab. "It was nice meeting you two!"
Sabina flapped her hand. "Goodbye!" she giggled. "She seemed really nice, don't you think so, honey?"
Marinette just shook her head. "Mmm-hmm…ooh! I'm gonna be late!" she kissed her mother on the cheek. "Love ya, bye!"
"Buh-bye, sweetie!"
Marinette ran towards the school after crossing the street and looked back again. Tikki popped out of her small purse. "Was that the princess Adrien met with his father when he was in Nikenobia?"
"Yeah," Marinette said. "I wonder what's she doing here?"
The taxicab stopped within a few minutes before a large, fenced-gated estate. Aisha got out, looped her satchel bag over her shoulder, and took her two-wheeled luggage bags out.
"Thank you very much, ma'am," she gave the driver her money, including a generous tip.
"You're welcome, mademoiselle," said the taxi driver. "And enjoy your stay in Paris!"
Aisha waved as the taxicab drove off and whispered to herself, "Oh, I will, indeed." She let out a sigh and walked over to the gate. She rang the doorbell; a chime pinged, and a hidden camera compartment emerged.
"Yes?" said the camera. "May I help you, young lady?"
Aisha told the camera, "My Uncle Chi lives here with his wife and children."
"Oh, yes! We've been expecting you."
Aisha smirked as the black ironed gates opened. "Thank you very much." She walked through the gates and into the large courtyard, staring at the tan-cream-colored four-five-story historic stone estate.
She strolled up the small steps and knocked on the arched front door, which automatically opened and closed once she was in.
"Welcome, Ms. Aisha," said one of the tall security guards, greeting her and politely taking her bags upstairs. "We've been expecting you."
Aisha lightly patted her hands on her hips. "Thank you, sir,"
It was a beautiful two-story foyer with an equally beautiful staircase and marble walls with extraordinary detailing, moldings, columns, and antique paintings. Above the back of the stairs was a large frame portrait of her Uncle Chi and his family looking so classy but so happy at the same time.
If only her family portrait was like that…
"Aisha!" a posh voice filled the foyer. Sashaying in was a tall statuesque woman with a flawless dark complexion, long dark hair in a sleek high braid, and an elegant dress that showed off her slim hourglass figure and her heels clink-clanked on the polished floors. "How are you, my darling?"
Aisha returned her hug. "I'm fine, Aunt Geneviève. How are Aliko and Sarah?"
"They are wonderful," Geneviève smiled. "They're at school right now, so…"
"I get it," Aisha understood. "And I bought some treats from Tom & Sabine."
Geneviève gasped. "Yes! I love their pastries, which reminds me. I have to call them and see if they could cater an event I'll be throwing soon."
A deep voice echoed throughout the foyer. "Is that my niece I hear?" A tall gentleman with deep brown skin came in a tailored suit and shiny dress shoes. "Asha!"
"Uncle Chi!" She hugged him tenderly. "Thank you for letting me stay here…"
Chi gently placed his hand on her shoulder. "There's nothing I wouldn't do for you, my girl. You can stay here for as long as you want to."
Aisha smiled softly.
"You can stay here," Geneviève led Aisha down the clean hallway to a stunning-looking bedroom. It reminded her of her bedroom back home. It had a bay window with a window seat, a little sitting room, a balcony, cool-warm paneled walls, a Queen-sized canopy bed, a walk-in closet and private bathroom, animal pattern printed rugs, silk bedding, and curtains.
Aisha placed her bags on the bed and inhaled the cinnamon scent. "It's lovely, Aunt Geneviève."
"Do you need help settling in?" Geneviève asked, wringing her hands.
Aisha began unzipping her bags. "I got it, thank you."
Geneviève nodded her head, turned around, and strolled out just as Chi came in—he gave his wife a cheek kiss and stopped when he got to the door, crossed one leg over the other, and watched his niece unpack her belongings. "Aisha, uh…I know why you, uh…"
Aisha sighed roughly when she looked at her crinkled top. "Look, uh…" she bit her inner cheek. "I just…wish to be alone right now. Please."
"I understand, my girl," Chi shook his head. "I do. And as I said before, you can stay here for as long as you want to."
Aisha wiped a single tear that drew from her eye and sniffed. "Thank you."
It was lunchtime for the students of Collège Françoise Dupont. Most of the students from Ms. Bustier's class gathered around a table.
"No way, Marinette," Alya couldn't believe her bestie chatted with an actual princess. "You talked to her?"
Marinette answered, "Actually, yeah. It was kinda short, but...she was nice."
Rose squealed. "Cool!"
"Awesome!"
"Nice!"
Chloé snarled. "Why would she waste her royal breath on you, baker girl?"
"Well, we waste ours on you daily," Marinette retorted, getting everyone hollering and Chloé to fold her arms and huff her nose in the air.
Adrien's phone vibrated, and he went to get it. He saw it was a text message from the Princess. "Oh! She said she's going to be staying here for a while and wants to meet you all."
The gang exclaimed.
"Ridiculous! Utterly ridiculous!" Chloé stormed off, and Sabrina followed her.
Aisha spent the majority of the day in her room. She barely touched her dinner plate that had her favorite skewered beef, jollof rice, sauteed vegetables, and lime cake dessert. For the past hour, she kept looking at her phone. Nerves sent waves throughout her body.
She had to do this. Aisha dialed the private number on her phone and pressed it to her ear.
Oh, I am not prepared for this, Aisha said in her head before someone on the other line answered.
"Hello?" asked the receiver. "Hello?"
Aisha gulped the lump that developed in her throat. "Hello, Father."
"You have a lot of nerve, young lady," her father, King Umar, growled. "You had your mother, brothers, security team, and even me worrying about you. You sneak off in the middle of the night? Have the audacity to leave a note to justify your actions? And for what? Have you forgotten your duties and responsibilities as a princess? To your country? The family? Me? You…you…" he released an exasperated groan. "I…I'd been even more frustrated at you right now if I didn't have an ounce of…empathy for you. You…you…you really let me down. You know what? Stay away from the country. As far as I know…you really are a disgraceful disappointment."
Her father hung up on her. Those words and how he said them burned her mind, and no one could extinguish the fire. Her spirit. And even her heart and soul. It even numbed her. Shattered into pieces. To be called a disgraceful disappointment. It was as if someone carved her heart out of her chest, ripped it out, and stomped on it a thousand times until it was unrecognizable with scattered red paint.
It left Aisha in shivering tears, collapsing to the ground and shaking.
A/N: Again, let me know what you think of the story...
