~When I looked in your eyes, they shone, they shone so bright that I felt maybe, I deserve some light in my life too~

-Affu-

In the Kingdom of Tezpur

Tezpur Palace

"Why do you need to meet Sheriff FT?" the same man asked, while moving towards where my friends and I stood.  Faking a sweet smile, while bowing down deep, I gave an innocent look to him. "Sire! I am here, because of this." I gave him the ad placement paper, and he had a look of it.

"Oh! For the Caretaker's post?" he asked, while staring at me with his eyebrows raised. Do I feel like rolling my eyes at his judgemental look? Oh hell yeah, buddy!

"Yes, Sire!" I bowed again. Why the hell do these people want us to bow so much? Do they have some problem in us standing with our heads held high?! "Well, come on in then. Uh-oh, but--who are these guys? Your bodyguards?" the guy spoke seriously in the beginning, but ended up chuckling to himself at the end.

I stared at him blankly.

Arya stared at him blankly.

Abhi stared at him blankly.

And then, we faked a laugh. "Oh, that was funny." I said, but the guy in front of us, looked rigid.

In fact, he was staring at us blankly, now. And then he faked a laugh too. "That was not funny." he laughed out, before plastering a stern expression on his face. "I was not joking." he said.

"Whaaat?" Arya cried out. "You mean, you think we are her bodyguards? Dude, we've got  a reputation to take care of." he winced, while staring at me and I shot a glare towards him. "Um..I beg your pardon, Sire. He's just..offended. Actually, they are my friends." I justified Arya's outburst, with a fake smile.

I am going to have swollen cheeks by the end of this mission!

"Oh! Let me ask you something dude. Why the hell would you come for your friend's interview, that too with a bulged out body?" the guy asked, in a frustrated tone, and I stared at Arya, whose chest was puffed out.

Oh for heaven's sake, dude! Why the hell is your body screaming out that you are no common man, but an investigator?!

"Because, we care for her." Abhimanyu spoke so sweetly, before pulling me towards his chest and taking me in, for a side hug. Excuse me? I hate body contact, dimwit! "You see! She's such a fragile doll. We didn't want any unwanted attention from the males of this palace. I mean, it's not just the Royals living in here." he said, while patting my head.

What am I? Your pet?

"Yeah! She's our only family, you know." Aryamann too chimed in, and I faked a smile at both of them, before staring at the guy. "Now! Can I meet Sheriff FT?" I asked the man, and he smirked.

A proud smirk!

"I thought, girls were intelligent enough to recognize handsome men." he said, and I crooked my eyebrows at him. So, he is Sheriff FT? Well, he's got that looks, though. "I didn't understand, Sire." I lied, and he let out a sigh.

"I am Sheriff FT. Now, follow me." he said, and I faked yet another expression. "Oh my God! I didn't know, Sheriff. I apologize." I bowed again, and forced the guys to do the same.

"Ah, not needed. Come on, now. Prince D will be in his office." he said, and we followed him quietly. I pushed at the boys' chest, to get rid of their hold on me, and I started to look around.

What's so good about living in a palace? 

"This looks beautiful." Aryamann muttered, and I rolled my eyes at him. Yeah, right! All I can see is a huge building, with shiny paints, painted over the walls. 

"Good morning, Prince D." Sheriff FT entered, a lavish office. We followed his trails, and to be honest, this must be the first time an interior of a room has impressed me.

I mean, it has got plain blue interiors, with nothing fancy. It looked Royal, yet there was nothing to be called as a Prince's office room. Had it been Sheriff FT's office room, it would have made sense to me.

"She is here to fill your Caretaker's post." and that was when I turned my head towards Sheriff FT's voice, only to see a tall man, in front of him, but staring at ME.

Uh-oh!

Was I staring at the interiors for more than required time? Wait! He said, I am here to fill YOUR caretaker's post, which means, this tall man's, which means, he's the Royal that I need to do my mission on.

I stared at the tall man wide-eyed, before doing what I've been doing all this while.

Bowing down!

***

"Have a seat. Sheriff, join us for a cup of Tea." the Prince said, and I gaped at him.

Er..wasn't he supposed to look..intimidating?

"Have a seat, Miss and Misters." the Prince said again, which was yet again POLITE. We took the seats, obediently, while glancing at each other silently.

"Nandini Bhat! Hails from Veerpur Kingdom. Why are you here, and not there, then?" he leaned forward, while keeping his hands on the table, and I stared at him. No crooked ways to get to know the real me? "Um..actually, these are my friends, my only family. And in Veerpur, I don't have anyone, so I didn't want to work there, after completing my studies." I said, with hesitation, pretending I was nervous to speak with him.

"I heard that the King of Veerpur is a very good person. I am surprised that you felt lonely in there, when the people of Veerpur must have been just like their King." he said, staring at me and I did feel nervous.

I mean, why is he so damn polite?!

"Oh yes. They are all very good people. It's me the problem. I mean, I am an introvert, so I couldn't mingle with new faces. They had to leave me, when we were kids, and I didn't have friends then." I spoke, while pointing at the boys, who nodded in positive at the Prince.

"Why are you here, for your friend's interview?" he asked, to my friends. "Ahem! Actually, we told the reason to Sheriff FT as well. The thing is, we were scared for her safety. She's quiet new to this Kingdom, and we couldn't just trust your Palace guards, since we don't know them." Aryamann justified, and the Prince nodded at him, in understanding.

He doesn't feel offended? I mean, Aryamann literally meant, he doesn't think I am safe in this palace, and the Prince didn't mind? Heck! How the hell is he getting rejected by each and every Princesses he meets, then?!

"Alright! So, I'll tell you the supposed-to-be duties of my Caretaker. She or He is supposed to be in the Palace, during the breakfast time, which is at 9 a.m. Schedule the meetings that I will have to have for the entire day. And just be with me, to remind me about everything I forget. That's it." he completed, and I nodded in positive.

"Okay!" I said, and he stood up, letting us to be on our toes as well. "Perfect! See you, tomorrow Miss Bhat." he forwarded his hand towards me, and I stared at him for a second, which was the first time my eyes came in contact with his pair.

Those were blank. Void of any emotion, and I wonder how can a person be just like me.

"See you, prince." I said, and took his hand in mine for a handshake, but the moment my skin touched his, I felt it. A weird feeling. A kind of feeling that I never felt ever in my life.

Looking at his hand weirdly, I moved my gaze up, to his face, only to see him staring at my hand. "Indeed." he muttered, before looking up at me, and I noticed his eyes again, but this time they weren't emotionless.

They had life in them!

What have I gotten myself into?!

~~~

"You didn't test her abilities." I heard Cabir, and I kept staring outside, through the window. "She'll be tested, while she's at work." I replied.

What was it?

That feeling. That touch. That miss of a heartbeat. That flicker in her eyes. That smile, which never reached her eyes. That quiver in her lips.

Every damn thing about her feels so special, and I don't know what, but to feel skeptical.

Skeptical about my emotions, from the moment I looked in her eyes!

"There was something special in her, wasn't there?" I heard Cabir again, and I turned to face him. "If not, the Devil Prince wouldn't have stared at her for more than required." he smirked at me, and I stared at him.

"She looked different." I commented. "Beautiful, did you mean? That's how a guy compliments a girl." he said. Indeed, she was beautiful, but it wasn't the beauty that caught my eyes. It was her eyes. Why were they so special to me?

Like, I kinda want to know them better.

"I don't know. All I can say is..she's different, and I am willing to know more about her." I said, before glancing at the greenery outside.

Nandini Bhat!

***

"Good morning, Prince." I looked up, from my breakfast to her. The lady who got me dark circles under my eyes. "Good morning, Miss Bhat. Have a seat." I said, while pointing at the chair, on my right.

"Um..I had my breakfast already. Thank you!" she denied, politely. "It's food, we are talking about. One should never deny it. Even if you do not feel like having it, just fill your plate with a bite that you would need, and leave. That would never be an insult to the food or the person who made it, but grateful towards you." I remarked, and started to have my breakfast.

I am thankful to my Lord that the King is not here, to spoil my mood. I don't know why, her presence makes me..happy?

"Why aren't you still on your seat?" I asked, on not seeing her in the seat. She took the seat, and started to fill her plate with a doughnut. I smiled at it, before continuing with my food.

"Good. Let's talk about my schedule, once we get done with our breakfast." I said, and she nodded at me.

No words? That's so like me!

***

"You have nearly 5 meetings for today. Should I cancel any, Prince?" she asked, and I nodded in negative. "No. Those meetings were fixed, last week. I cannot cancel any meetings, at the last moment." I said, matter of factly.

"Why not? You are the Prince, after all." and for the first time, I heard her asking me something, without hesitation. "What right does it give me to cause a problem to someone? Just for my comfort, I cannot let others bear the consequences." I pointed out, and got to see her staring at me.

"Oh!" she said, and looked down, in her notepad. By staring at her nose, which was red, I wonder why that fair skin of her's has become red so suddenly. She wasn't blushing, because her eyes were emotionless.

What must be the reason?

Though, I find it adorable!

"What about your lunch, Prince? Shall I include a Meal of rice, or something else?"  she asked her next question, and I stared at her weirdly.

"Why are you asking about my Lunch menu, Miss Bhat?" I asked, confusedly and she gave me a similar expression. "Why--would you ask that? I mean, I'm your Caretaker. I am supposed to take care of your meals, as well." she said, and I let out a chuckle.

"Miss Bhat. I need a Caretaker, just for reminding me those I forget, as I tend to forget important stuffs. But meals really don't come in that list. Especially, not the menu." I said, and she stared at me the same way.

"Strange!" she muttered. "What's strange?" I asked, and she stared at me apprehensively. "I beg your pardon, Prince, but you act strange. I mean, it's totally different from the Princes I've come across off." she said, and for some reason, I felt happy that someone looks at me differently.

"Now, I can't change myself, can I?" I asked, while nodding at her, and moving towards our next scheduled meeting.

"Probably not!" I heard her, and I smiled.

~~~

How come he's so different?

There's no arrogance.

No overconfidence.

No cringeworthy acts done.

No power hunger.

Nothing! I can find nothing bad in him, that each and every Princess would reject him. Why the hell would a girl reject a guy like him?

What reason?

Clenching my fists, I moved towards the dungeon. It's been nearly 2 weeks, since I have started to work with the Prince, and I feel frustrated that I find nothing wrong in him.

Also, I find him too good which is really not a good point!

"So, you ain't gonna accept?" I halted in my tracks, and I looked up to see the Prince staring at a guy, tied up in a chair. Oh! I think, I am interrupting something. Maybe, this is not the time to let him know about his next meeting.

"Sheriff!" before I can turn around, I widened my eyes on seeing Sheriff FT pushing a bunch of grapes in the person's mouth. "Chew it." he gritted his teeth, making the person to chew and the next second he was getting choked by the Sheriff.

Well...I really don't regret coming here!

"I..I..accept. It was..my mistake." the person coughed out, and I stared at him blankly. That's all it took Sheriff FT to get him accept his mistake?! 

Impressive!

"Well, thanks!" and I gasped, on seeing the ever polite Prince Manik Vedh Singh, plucking out that prisoner's eyes, from it's sockets.

"Nandini!" I turned my gaze to an emotionless Prince, with the very same look on my face.

What is he in reality? Polite or Cruel?

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How was the chapter?

Alright! So I'm letting y'all know that this is a short story. I hope you remember me writing short stories, like those four or five shots, don't you? This one is same. Only one or two chapters are left. 

Also, please do note that this book comes under Royal Series. Like, whenever I feel like writing a story with the concept of Royals, it will be counted as Book 2, Book 3 and so on, of Royal Series, meaning this is the Book 1 of Royal Series.

YOU'RE GETTING A SURPRISE..Check out the update that I'm gonna post in YEARNING TO BE LOVED AND SHE MEANS LOVE, in few minutes!

Love,

Affu.