"Why do I have to go and help out?" I asked my mother.
"Because, Asar, I need help with serving the guests. You should know that the King has requested for me to help out and he offered to pay." Mother explained.
My eyes suddenly widen as I gasped. "He offered to PAY? How much?"
"I'm not sure, but he said he'll pay a lot if I do a good job and I need your help. You should want to help. We're not getting by as it is and I won't stand to see you steal one more thing from a local shop. Do you hear me?"
I sighed then nodded. "Yes, mother."
She smiled. "Good. Now let's get going. The King wants us to be there early so we can get a head start on setting up."
Then, my mom started to walk out of the house and I followed after her. My name is Asar and I was born into a poor family. So poor that it's been hard for my parents to find a decent job. Though, lately my mom has been working for the King of Egypt. He normally doesn't pay mother so it's a huge surprise that the King is willing to pay a lot of money for mom to serve stuff at his party. I've also been stealing too because since we're poor, we never have enough money to buy decent food so sometimes we go to bed at night hungry. I'm pretty much used to not eating but I can't stand seeing my little sister, Layla, go to bed hungry and whenever we DO get food, I would give Layla my share because since she's younger, she's going to need a lot more food to consume than me. I really wish life wasn't like this but there's nothing I can do.
Mom and I started to make our way towards the Palace. I've never met or seen the King or any of his family before, but my mom has because she sometimes works for them. She's told me before that the King has a son around my age. I wasn't really thrilled about meeting the King or his family because i'm not sure if they're stuck up or not and I'm not sure if the Prince is going to tease me for being a poor commoner.
***
When we got to the Palace, mom and I have been working our butts off to get everything in order for when the guests arrive. Now all we have to do is stand around and wait for the place to be filled with other rich people. I sighed as I looked around the large room in the Palace when my mom came over and started to ruffle my black hair.
"What are you doing!?" I asked as I squirmed to break free from her.
"Just because we're poor, it doesn't mean we shouldn't look our best in front of other rich people." She said as she tried to fix my hair which wasn't even messed up in the first place.
"I can't wait till this is over..." I mumbled then I stared down at my dirty blue jeans and open toed sandals.
"If someone makes a smart comment about you, don't argue back okay? Just ignore them." She said, giving me tips.
I nodded.
"I don't want the King to think we're disrespectful and never hire us again. This is the only job I can get these days..." She sighed.
I looked at my mom's face and instantly felt bad. She and my dad work so hard to raise me and my sister. I just feel guilty sometimes to be an extra weight on their shoulders.
***
The party started off okay. While my mom was walking around, serving wine, I was busy serving appetizers. A few people would look at me then at my clothes and scrunch their faces up, but I would ignore them like mom said. The last thing I want is to cause a scene and get mom fired from her only job. I made my way back over to refill my tray when I started to feel my feet ache from standing and walking all night. I walked over to a nearby gold chair and sat down then took one of my sandals off and started to rub my feet. I know that this is probably inappropriate to do at a sophisticated party like this, but my feet are killing me. That's when I heard a glass being clinked. Everybody looked over to the stairs to see the King himself. The King is probably around forty something years old and he has a small black beard. He was wearing a gold crown ontop of his head.
"Thank you everybody for coming out tonight on this special evening. I have a dream of this country being the most successful country in the world. But sadly, I cannot be the King for long so that's why I'm wanting my son, Prince Akil, to take over my place when he gets older. Right now, my wife and I are looking for an eligible Princess to be his wife. Now, I will introduce you to my wife, Isis and my son, Prince Akil." He spoke then turned around. Suddenly, a young beautiful woman wearing a smaller crown starts to walk over to the King and next to her is I'm guessing the Prince. I couldn't believe the young man was the Prince. He looked like a Prince too. Mom said he is around my age, but he looks much older than seventeen. I would have to guess nineteen would be the age that he appears.
"Now, I will allow my son to mingle with all the beautiful young ladies in here." The King said then took his wife's hand and stepped down onto the floor. Prince Akil followed after them.
I quickly stood up and slipped my shoe back on then hurriedly tried to refill my tray so I can serve the King and everybody else. I hadn't felt this nervous before until now. I can't mess this up. I have to remember to be polite and watch what I say. I grabbed my filled tray and started to walk through the room and serve the guests. As I was serving guests, I came face to face with the King, the Queen and Akil.
"Hello, young man." The Queen greeted me.
"You must be Kakra's son right? What's your name, son?" The King asked.
"M-my name is Asar, sir. Would you like an appetizer?" I asked, holding out the tray. The King and Queen both took an appetizer.
"Thank you, Mr. Asar." The King said. "This is my son, Akil. Your mother has told me that you two are the same age." He said.
I glanced over at Akil to see him smile a charming smile. He looked much cuter up close. I started to feel my cheeks flush.
"U-um...Yes! I'm seventeen also." I replied.
"Well, it was nice chatting with you, Mr. Asar. We must be going now. Come along, dear." The King said then he started to walk away with his wife.
I let out a soft sigh of relief once they walked away before I glanced over at Akil to see that he hasn't left yet.
"Asar is it?" He asked.
I nodded.
His smile deepen. "Your mother has good taste in naming her children."
I wasn't sure what that was supposed to mean, but I decided to take it as a compliment.
"Um...thank you?"
Akil continued to smile. I started to feel bad for the guy. I bet his face hurts from all that smiling.
"Doesn't your face hurt from all that smiling?" I blurted out my thoughts. Oops. I just realized I shouldn't have said that.
"I...I mean..."
Akil started to chuckle lightly. "Charming, but yes. Though, it's required for me to smile in front of guests. Especially the beautiful ladies tonight."
I nodded. "Well...I should get back to serving the guests." I turned around to walk away when Akil grabbed my wrist and stopped me. He then leaned in close to my ear.
"Why don't you take a break for awhile? You've been working so hard tonight." He whispered softly.
His voice was soothing and I felt his warm breath on my ear. It gave me chills down my spine. I turned around to face Akil and he continued to smile that charming smile at me.
"Thanks for the offer but...your dad-"
"Forget about Father. Come with me to my room." He quickly said, cutting me off.
I blinked my eyes. "Woah...Woah...what's going on?"
"Ask questions later now hurry up and set the tray down then follow me." He ordered.
I quickly nodded then set the tray down on a table and followed after Akil upstairs to his room. I couldn't believe my eyes when I stepped inside his room. It was gold and silver and filled with silk curtains and jeweled bed sheets. It was definitely the room of the Crowned Prince.
"Your room is..."
"Amazing yes? Thank you." He said as he walked over to his Egyptian cat and started to pet it.
"So...why did you bring me up here?" I finally asked as I watched Akil sit down on his bed.
"You're the only one down there my age."
"No I'm not. There are other girls down there that's OUR age."
Akil nodded as he stared at me then he stood up and walked over to me. I narrowed my eyebrows in confusion as I backed up to the wall. Then, Akil placed his hand on the wall next to my head.
"Wh-what are you doing?" I asked.
Akil sighed. "To be honest, I don't want to marry a beautiful Princess."
I stared at him in confusion. "Why not? You have to in order to be a King."
He nodded. "I know. I want to be King, but I want to marry someone who I love. Not someone who is just a toy."
I was seriously confused right now. "Okay...Why are you telling me this?"
"Because," Akil leaned in close to me. "I think I like you."
My eyes slowly widen. "B-but we just met!" I quickly said.
Akil smiled. "Love, have you ever heard of love at first sight?"
I slowly nodded. "Yeah but..."
"Do you not believe in it?" He gently grabbed my chin. I started to feel my heart racing.
"A-Akil...what if your parents-"
"Shh. Do you not believe in love?"
I stared into Akil's golden eyes. They were entrancing and I couldn't tear my eyes away from them.
"I...I believe in it. After all, that's how my parents got married."
Akil smiled softly. "So you know. Tell me this, have you ever been in love before?"
I shook my head. "I...I don't really have time to date. Or let's say...nobody wants to date a commoner like me."
"What if someone wants to date you? What will you do then?" He asked.
"I...I dunno. I guess it depends on the person. I can't fall for anybody."
Akil nodded. "Exactly. My parents want me to marry some girl who I probably won't be able to fall in love with."
I continued to stare at Akil in confusion, not sure what he's getting at. "I still don't understand. You took me away from my job and brought me all the way up here to tell me this?"
"Not only that, but to do this." Akil said then he pressed his lips against mine. My eyes widen at the sudden physical contact, but then they slowly closed as I kissed Akil back. Though, reflexes came in and I quickly pulled away and pushed Akil back.
"I....I should get back." I said then turned towards the door and started to open it when Akil quickly placed his hand on the door, stopping me from opening it. "Why don't you stay here for a little while longer?" He whispered into my ear.
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