The Three Princes

“They say that the third prince is like an angel sent from the heavens above to mess with the hearts of women on earth. Prince Florian is so beautiful. His red hair shines like rays of the setting sun and his green eyes sparkles like the most precious emeralds,” Salena said with a faraway look in her eyes.

Great, so this prince Florian supposedly looks like an angel…

“Have you seen him?” Jessie asked excitedly.

“No, only in photos. I’ve seen all the princes’ photos. I guess just like other towns, it’s very common for people to hang their photos up on walls to show respect,” Salena said with a smile.

“If prince Florian is an angel, then prince Darius has got to be the dark prince of knights or something. Apart from the dark mystery and complications surrounding his birth, prince Darius is known for being as cold as ice. He’s strict and doesn’t talk much. However, he’s probably the most respected out of all the princes,” Jessie said, and I could hear the respect in her voice for him.

“Prince Darius is nicknamed the ‘Dark Prince’ because of his dark black hair. His grey eyes also make his gaze cold…and a little scary…” Salena added.

Jessie gestured with her hand for the two of us to come closer as her eyes looked around as if to check that there was no one else close to us or within earshot.

“The other reason why he earned his nickname of the ‘Dark Prince’ is because of the dark conflict that came about because of his birth. You see, although Prince Darius is the second prince, he was in fact born before the first prince. He’s the eldest out of the three. However, because his mother wasn’t crowned as queen, Prince Leonard got the position of the first prince instead. It’s well known just how much the ministers were split on that decision…” Jessie whispered to us.

I never knew any of this. There seemed to be so much politics involved with the princes and everything that went on in this palace. Thankfully, I am just a lowly maid and none of that should impact my life. All we could do was look on and gossip just like we were doing now.

“I see…” I mumbled.

My mind went to the first prince while I wondered what these two had to say about him.

Prince Leonard…what is he really like?

‘Your name?’

I could still hear his voice as I recalled the first words that he ever said to me. In the end, I never got around to giving him my name.

‘You’re right. People should never be bought and sold…’

That was what he told me after I yelled at him that slavery is wrong. I remember my shock at how readily he had agreed to my opinion although his actions were the direct opposite of his words. He did end up buying me; however, I wasn’t sure if I was exactly his slave. Just like the other girls here, I’m just a maid.

“As for our first prince…hmm…” Jessie said before she trialed out with a thoughtful face.

Salena eyes glanced upwards as if she was struggling a little to find the words to describe him while I was left anxiously waiting for what the two had to say about the first prince.

“He’s…a public mystery, I guess…” Salena murmured after a while of thinking.

What exactly is a ‘public mystery’…?

“What does that even mean?” I asked curiously.

“Like…he’s a very public figure because he is the first prince, so we’re supposed to know him well but at the same time, he’s a mystery and we all feel like we don’t know anything about him at all…” Salena managed to explain.

I wasn’t sure if I understood her well.

“I feel the same way. Prince Leonard is supposed to be the closest to the people but at the same time he seems the furthest away. He’s the perfect prince. A beautiful combination of the strong points of his two brothers combined and with a touch of humanity. Blond with clear blue eyes, he’s the image of prince charming. Outstanding abilities in all fields just like prince Darius with the looks to rival that of prince Florian…” Jessie provided her own version of what the first prince was like.

“Sounds too good to be true…” I mumbled my honest opinion.

Since when did I start being so cynical and suspicious of things?

Maybe since I was fooled and sold at an underground auction?

What kind of perfect prince attends those kinds of auctions anyways? What kind of prince believes that slavery is wrong and then proceeds to bid on me anyways?

With those many questions floating around in my mind, I had to admit that the girls were right about at least one thing: he was a ‘public mystery’.

It seemed like when it came to the topic of the princes even Salena could get talkative. I was quite relieved in a strange way to see her show enough interest to talk.

Jessie shook her head at me like I didn’t know any better. I laughed a little before returning my attention to the leaves at my feet.

We worked so hard that my back started to ache a little. The sun had started to set, and the sky was dyed with an orange tint from the sun’s rays. That was when an unexpected person turned up. I lifted my head just in time to see a beautiful woman dressed in a maid uniform walk in with two other maids at her side.

“That’s Claudia…a senior maid…” Salena whispered to us.

“Is Milla here? The new girl?” Claudia said immediately after coming to stand right in front of us.

I see, she doesn’t know my name…

“We’re all new girls here…” Jessie replied before she rolled her eyes in annoyance.

“Oh, talking back to your senior already? If you keep on behaving this way, I’ll make sure that you never progress up the ranks!” Claudia spat loudly.

Seeing that a fight was about to break out, I quickly stepped in to answer her summon for me.

--To be continued…