On arrival at Shashi village, my father and I received a royal greeting. The King and Queen of the village were exceptionally sweet and humble, unlike my father, who made sure people felt his presence as a King. He was a proud man, and I did not want to be like him as a man or a King. Instead, I was going to be better, and I always told myself that my Kingdom deserved better.

After the greeting, Queen Roe invited everyone to join her at the dinner table, and every seat was marked with a name tag. While we were sitting down, the Princess walked in wearing a pretty blue dress. She looked amazing, but I unfortunately still felt like their butler was more attractive. Something about the way he walked and talked just gave me chills. He was very confident.

After a while, the introductions were made, and while we were eating, the butler stood behind Princess Runi, which made it more convenient for me. Everyone thought that I was flirting with Runi, everyone except my father. He could tell who I was looking at, even though he seemed fully preoccupied with their conversation about how our two Kingdoms were going to soon become one, and how it will benefit both of them.

After dinner, Princess Runi was instructed to give me a tour of their Kingdom, with the hope that we would get to know each other.

“Before they leave, can I have a word with Prince Pano?” my father asked.

“Ok!” I responded, walking towards him.

When I got to my father, he led the way into the next room, then pined me against the wall when we got there. “Listen boy, if you think life’s miserable, then wait until you mess this union because of your inadequate selfish reasons,” he said. “I’ll make your homosexual life a living nightmare if you pull a stunt like that again.”

“What are you talking about?” I asked.

“Don’t act dumb,” my father responded. “I saw you looking at their butler. So, if you want to keep your perfectly miserable life as it is, don’t mess this up. Are we clear?” He paused. “Answer me boy!”

“Clear,” I responded.

When we were done talking, my father walked out of the room while fixing his suit, and I stayed behind while taking a breath and drying a tear. When I finally walked out, I found Princess Runi waiting for me. Then we started the tour of the Kingdom, and they truly had a beautiful Kingdom.

“You are not like other guys, are you?” Princes Runi said during the tour.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“I get that you probably respect me, but I couldn’t help but feel like everything you’ve been doing, from the complimenting to the gentleman like gestures, is all rehearsed,” Princess Runi responded. “I feel like it’s not the real you, is it?”

Before responding, I looked down so I could lie to her face. “This is the real me,” I said. “I’m not faking it at all.”

“Why don’t you look into my eyes and tell me that again,” Princess Runi said. “Look, I get it, you don’t feel that way about me, nor do I about you, but do we really have a choice? Let’s make a deal, you show me the real you whilst we’re out here, and I’ll do the same before we go back. We’re expected to be all royal.”

“Are you sure you want the real me?” I asked.

“Yes, please,” she responded. “We can pretend to support this union, but we cannot pretend to be friends.”

“Wait, why are you pretending?” I asked. “Don’t you want to marry me?”

“I’ll tell if you tell,” she said.

“Fine, you go first,” I responded.

“I’m in love with someone else,” Princess Runi said. “His our cook’s son. My parents say we’re two worlds apart, and they say our union will not benefit the Kingdom in any way.”

“Wow, I’m so sorry!” I said.

“Your turn,” Princess Runi said, trying to divert me from feeling sorry for her. “The truth please,” she went on.

“Well, promise me you will keep this between us,” I responded.

“I give you my word,” she said.

“I like men, not women,” I said, and I did not expect that sharing that with a woman who was in love with someone else would make me feel as embarrassed and broken as I felt.

“I know!” Princess Runi said.

“What? How?” I asked.

“I heard rumours, and I saw the way you were looking at my butler,” Princess Runi responded.

“It was that obvious, huh?” I asked.

Princess Runi seemed totally okay with it, and I was astonished and overjoyed at the same time when I realised that. “So, what we are you going to do?” she asked. “I mean, we’re going to get married. Both our parents made it clear, and there’s no two ways about it.”

“I don’t know,” I responded. “I wish I could change. I tried, even my father tried, but …”

“I know,” Princess Runi said, cutting my statement short. “We can a have a pretend marriage.”

“I don’t understand!” I said.

But, just as Princess Runi was about to explain, we were interrupted by a royal guard telling us it was time to return. We went back and said our good byes, and my father was wearing a smile on his face for the first in forever.

***

Tell us: Do you think having the fake marriage will be able to help Prince Pano and Princess Runi find the love they want?