WHAT DO YOU SAY?

As Athena stared at Mason from her room, she recalled the conversation she had shared with Meela when she clocked eighteen.

Meela had told her the truth about her birth. In her exact words, "you are my true daughter, the one who sprang from me while Kathy is the queen's daughter. I swapped you both at birth after making a powerful witch place a curse on Kathy. The reason is that I want you to live the best life and I will do it all over again if given the chance."

Athena had been quite shocked at the revelation. She had wanted to doubt Meela but couldn't do so because Meela had always shown her so much love and hated Kathy.

There were times when she had wondered why Meela treated her own daughter so badly but after Meela told her everything, it made sense to her. She came to understand why Kathy was so ugly and why everyone hated her so much.

Her hatred for Kathy also doubled because if Meela had not done what she did, Kathy would have been living the life of a princess and she would have been Kathy's maid.

Kathy was a threat to her life and her position and if it weren't because Meela told her that Kathy couldn't leave the kingdom, she would have already instigated the king and queen to banish her. It would have been quite easy since they hated Kathy so much.

Mason's behavior toward her had convinced her beyond doubt that he was head over heels in love with her, just as she was with him. After seeing his reaction toward Kathy however, she became disturbed. Could it be that Mason was subconsciously in love with Kathy? Would he have really kissed Kathy if she hadn't pushed him and run away?

It was a good thing that Kathy ran, at least she knew her place. If she had allowed Mason to kiss her, her punishment would have been unimaginable. This did not mean that she was going to let her off the hook, afterall she had not given her permission to leave. She needed to do something about Kathy.

She had decided never to discuss the issue of her birth with Meela again because it was dangerous. It was a secret she needed to take to her grave but with the arrival of Mason and his seeming attraction to Kathy, she had to seek Meela for advice on what to do.

Mason felt ashamed of himself for what he had almost done. The last time he had accused Kathy of bewitching him but now she had her back to him. It was also obvious that she wasn't willing to be kissed by him. This certainly meant that it wasn't her doing. She was too ugly for his liking so what was it that kept pulling him towards her?

Something was definitely wrong. He recalled the way Damian had looked at him and felt guilty. He wasn't quite sure but it seemed that Damian had fallen for Kathy.

That was quite frightening considering how ugly she looked but it was also shocking because Damian had come in contact with beautiful maidens both back at their kingdom and in the course of their journey yet he had been cold towards them all.

Jackson was usually the friendly one and he knew that Jackson liked princess Athena but Jackson had never envisaged a future with her. He had come to the kingdom with the intention of just seeing her and going back so there was no need for him to be upset.

It was obvious that what he felt for the princess was mutual and he couldn't apologize for that. For the first time in his life, he had loved someone enough to want to spend his life with them, and that happened at first sight. There was no way he was giving up on Athena to spare Jackson's feelings. He could not see that happening.

Kathy kept running until her body forced her to stop. Everywhere began to spin and she felt dizzy. She turned her back and saw Damian running towards her right before she fell to the ground and fainted.

Damian lifted Kathy from the ground and carried her in his arms until he got to where their horses were tied. He carefully dropped her on the floor and took out a bottle of water from his bag which was tied to his horse.

He poured the water all over her face before opening her mouth to pour some of the water inside. After doing that, he began to apply compressions to her chest until Kathy opened her eyes.

When Kathy opened her eyes and saw Damian staring at her, she quickly sat upright and apologized, "I'm so sorry if I troubled you."

"It's no trouble at all," Damian replied. "I can tell that you haven't had anything to eat all day. You must be very hungry."

Damian went back to his bag and took out a bunch of bananas and three apples. Placing them before Kathy, he urged, "eat them quickly so you can regain your strength."

Kathy stared at him in surprise and suddenly began to cry. Damian looked at her in surprise. He could not understand why she was crying and he didn't have any experience with women.

After watching her for a while, he recalled how parents would console their children when they cried and went much closer to her. He sat on the grass beside her and pulled her body to his.

He stroked her hair as she kept crying and after a few minutes said, "I don't know why you are crying but if it would make you feel better then don't stop crying."

Kathy suddenly realized what she was doing and pulled her body from his, "I'm sorry, please don't be angry. I just became emotional because since I was born, you are the only one who has shown me kindness. I know that I am ugly since everyone tells me so but I've never been able to understand why everyone hates me."

Damian wiped the tears from her eyes, "go ahead and eat Kathy. We can talk after you are done."

Katherine thanked him and began to eat the fruits. She offered an apple to him but he refused and said he had already eaten at the palace.

Kathy however insisted until Damian accepted the apple from her and began to eat it. He saw her smile and asked, "are you happy now?"

Kathy nodded her head. When she was done eating, she stared at Damian who was also looking at her. When she had looked at him for so long, he asked her, "is there something you want to ask me?"

"Yes, there is," Kathy replied. "As I said before, everyone I've met has treated me badly throughout my life except you. Why are you so nice to me?"

Damian laughed, "I really don't know why Kathy. To be honest, I've also asked myself the same question but I wasn't able to come up with an answer.

I see you suffering, I see your pain and it hurts me so much. I just want to make you feel better. I can see that the life you are living here is horrible. Even your mother is cruel towards you and it pains me that I can't do anything to her, but there is something I can do."

Kathy looked at Damian in surprise, wondering what he could possibly do to make her situation better.

He moved a little distance away and sat in front of her, "Kathy, back in my kingdom, Helot, I have a house and I have a farm which you can survive on. I will like to take you away from this kingdom and give you a new life. I will give you my house to live in and show you how to fend for yourself and after that, I will continue on my journey with Mason.

What do you say? Would you like to leave this kingdom and begin your life anew in a place where no one will ever maltreat you again?"