The Legend of the Great Empress

Chapter 2: The Mystery Girl

That night, I lie awake in my bed, unable to sleep. For some reason, the thought of the prince possibly seeing someone else kept bothering me, especially since it's been a while since he and I spent genuine time together. Why was he spending that time with someone else? Eventually, I told myself that it was probably nothing serious, and managed to get to sleep.

The next morning proved to be a very busy one for me. Overall, it mainly consisted of a few court meetings for discussing new ordinances, fundraisers, and upcoming national holidays. After the meetings, I had lots of paperwork to go through and approve. Requests for improvements for our parks, letters of complaint concerning certain behavioral problems among people of assigned authoritative positions, even a few invitations to formal events in other countries, littered my desk. I was very tired as a result of all the work, but I also managed to somehow get all of it done early in the day.

I was leaving my office when I saw the prince walking down the corridor. He looked like he was in a hurry to go somewhere. I decided to catch up with him.

"Prince, where are you going?"

He stopped walking and turned around, surprised to see me.

"I thought you was still busy."

"I just finished my work."

"Well, I was just leaving the castle for a bit."

"If it's not important, you and I can 'leave the castle for a bit' together."

The prince began to look hesitant. Then he put his hands on my shoulders and spoke.

"Actually, it's not a good time for you to come with me. You should stay here."

"Antonio, it's been a long time since you and I have done anything together as an engaged couple. What could possibly be so important that you have to leave the castle yet again, this late in the afternoon at that?"

"I understand, and we will spend time together. But I just really have to go right now, ok?"

With that, the prince turned and walked away, even faster than when he was walking before.

I decided to return to my office. I stood against the door after shutting it firmly behind me and began to wonder what the prince was really up to, and why he was making me so suspicious of him. Then, the thought of him possibly going to see that girl again began to linger, frustrating me because I thought I completely put that thought behind me the previous night. I really wanted to do something about it to put me at ease and keep me from thinking of that possibility. Then, I got an idea. I looked out of one of the windows in my office to see if the prince left the castle yet. It didn't look like he had, so I ordered that a plain-looking carriage be prepared for me right away.

It was a clear, late afternoon as I rode steadily in the carriage down a narrow path. I was a great distance away from the prince's carriage, but not too far. I could still see him, and it was impossible for him to detect that I was following him.

Before too long, I followed his carriage into a nearly derelict-looking area. I began to wonder why he would come to an area like this. A few minutes later, his carriage came to a complete stop. I had the driver stop my carriage safely behind some trees.

I watched him get out a few seconds later, and there she was, a very chubby girl, running towards him from out of nowhere, giving him a very tight hug.