The Translator

Chapter 9: The Game Show

"Let me see. Who has the most checks?" Princess Eadlyn asks, having the maids help her count. "Hale has six. So do Raoul and Ean. Bravo, gentlemen!" There is a round of applause before everyone realizes what is coming next. "Okay, now, who has the most X marks?"

The maids immediately point to our corner where Henri is covered in black X's. "Oh no, Henri!" The Princess exclaims, laughing as she tries to communicate how little he knew.

"Who else do we have?" she asks, looking around again. "Burke and Ivan...not too terrible. Thank you all for indulging me this morning, and I will keep this information in mind as I continue to narrow down suitors in the next few weeks. Congratulations on being so intelligent!"

We all applaud as the cameras power down, the suitors giving each other pats on the back for their efforts. I look up at the Princess as she stands up and clears her throat.

"Before you go, gentlemen, I have one last question;" she says, eyeing them all dubiously. "and it comes from some very recent history, so you all had best get it right. If you know the answer, feel free to just shout it out. Ready? When is it acceptable to put your hands on me without my permission?"

The entire room goes completely silent, each of the suitors exchanging nervous glances to see who will answer. Hale seems to be the only one brave enough to speak up.

"Never!" Hale calls out.

"That is correct." Princess Eadlyn says stoically. "You'd all do well to remember that. Jack Ranger was let off east, with nothing more than a punch to his face from my brother and the shame of his ejection. If another one of you attempts to touch me without my consent, you will be caned or worse. Are we clear?" The entire room is still, not a one of them daring to speak or even breath. "I'll take that as a yes." With that, the Princess walks out of the room letting her words linger after her.

Immediately the suitors break out into murmurs as they all begin filing out of the studio. We had all heard about what Jack had done, but we had no idea that he hadn't been punished for it. Hale, Kile, Henri, and I are the last ones out of the studio, chatting about the game show.

"Well that was fun," Kile chuckles.

"You had a pretty good advantage over the rest of us!" Hale accuses playfully. "Having grown up in the palace, you knew almost all the answers!"

"I still don't think I should have played because of that," Kile says honestly. "It would have been better if I was the one coming up with the questions!"

"I bet you could have come up with some great ones!" Hale chuckles and Henri joins him after I've translated.

"Did you enjoy the game, Henri??" Kile asks, turning to look at him.

"Piditkö pelistä?" I ask for Kile.

"Ah...game?" Henri asks, slightly confused before it all clicks. "Oh! Yes! Good, good!"

"Good, I'm glad," Kile smiles, turning to me. "Fox, Burke, and I have come up with an idea for a combined date with the Princess and i wanted to run it by you before we relay this to Henri."

"Alright, what's your idea," I say with a nod.

"We figure the Princess is such a busy woman that she rarely has enough time to date each of us individually," Kile begins to explain. " So we figured we could help her out by planning a combined date where all she has to do is show up and have fun. You with me so far?"

"Yep," I nod, glancing over at Henri who looks very confused.

"We were thinking of maybe trying to get the kitchen so we can prepare and cook a three-course meal," Kile continues. "Fox and Burke are already in on the plan, but we wanted to see if Henri might be interested in joining us too. We heard he enjoys to cook."

"I don't even need to ask Henri to know he will want to participate," I chuckle. "He comes from a family of Finnish chefs and speaking from experience, they are the Gods of making delicious meals!"

"Wonderful! Maybe he can help us plan it out a bit more then!" Kile smiles, shaking my hand. "Will you tell Henri our plan and maybe ask him if he can come up with some things for us to make?"

"I most definitely can," I say, firmly gripping his hand. "Thank you for including Henri without my asking..."

"Anytime," Kile says seriously. "I enjoy spending time with both you and Henri."

"And we enjoy our time with you," I smile, shaking his hand before he walks away.

"Mistä oli kyse?" Henri asks curiously.

I quickly explain what Kile and I were talking about, watching Henri's face the whole time. As I continue explaining, the smile on Henri's face grows bigger and bigger until it can't possibly grow any more. Once I have finished, Henri immediately begins babbling about cooking being a wonderful date idea and what to make with the Princess. As soon as we are back in our conjoined rooms, he sits down at his desk with a pen and paper, labeling the top Ateriaideoita a.k.a. meal ideas. By the time I am all ready for bed, Henri has a paper full of meals they can make with the Princess.

"Sinun pitäisi mennä sänkyyn," (you should go to bed) I say from my doorway.

"Okei. Luuletko, että he pitävät näistä?" (Okay. Do you think they will like these?) Henri asks, showing me his paper.

"Älä huoli, he rakastavat heitä" (Don't worry, they will love them) I say reassuringly. "Nyt nukkua. Huomenna voi olla ensimmäinen päivä prinsessasi." (Now get some sleep. Tomorrow may be your first with the Princess.)

"Hyvää yötä Eiiko" Henri says with a small smile.

"Hyvää yötä Henri," I say, closing the door between our rooms before heading to my very comfortable bed. I climb under the covers and close my eyes, falling asleep within minutes.