Kamila

Proposal Accepted

Chapter Nineteen-

King Zulu never left my side. It was tiresome but I knew what I could get from him in the end so I played along, smiling like I actually cared. His accent amused me. His tongue was heavy and his pronunciations were short.

"I love the scenery here," King Zulu smiled as we took a stroll through Mordina. "It is beautiful."  

"Thank you King Zulu. Pharaoh pays his architects, gardeners, and landscapers a great deal to keep it beautiful," I smiled as I held onto his arm.

"Back in Lybbya there is but miles of savannah with few trees."

"Oh, that seems a little sad."

King Zulu seemed worn out from speaking in Belibian. He got lazier with each word.

"It is."

I then chose at that moment to speak in Efrican, the native language of all countries in Efrica. The only thing that separated each Efrican country's language was their dialect and heaviness on their tongues.

"Let us speak in your native tongue, Your Highness," I said to him.

His eyebrows raised in surprise. "You can speak Efrican?" he asked in his native tongue.

"Why of course! I find it much better than having a translator."

He grinned. "I think so too! I get tired of going to countries where no one knows any language but their own."

"I completely agree. Royals should be required to learn at least two different languages if they expect to make an alliances of foreign tongue."

"Exactly."

We stared into each other's eyes for a minute and I saw how overjoyed he was to meet someone who knew his native tongue.

"You would not believe how many princesses I have met who knew no other language but their own," he sighed.

"I can believe it well. I live with one of them."

"Who is it?"

"It is Lotus. She gets too distracted-" and distracted her tutor if you know what I mean"- so she knows but a few words in other languages."

I could tell by me saying that Lotus instantly became his least favorite of my sisters.

"How many languages do you know other than Belibian?" King Zulu asked to get off the topic of Lotus.

"I know and speak five other languages fluently at the moment. I am in the process of learning my sixth."

King Zulu suddenly stopped in the shade near a palm tree. He stared at me and gave me a pleased smile. He took my right hand and said, "Princess the more time I spend with you the more you surprise me," and with that he kissed my hand. His kiss was not what I had expected it to be. Instead of it being soft it was hard, not that it was actually hard. It was forceful and left me believing he wanted me more than I thought.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

King Zulu had been here for a month now. Adilah and Lotus were always hungry for his attention but he ignored them and paid attention to me. Every day he was with me. He ate breakfast with me, he went to Mekdabah with me, and he sailed along the Ummera with me. It was obvious of his affection for me, and I wasn't the only one who noticed. As if that were a surprise.

"So, you and King Zulu eh?" Queen Kiya asked me in the royal gardens one day.

I was silent. It would be better if she thought of us that way. It would protect me.