The Lost Princess

Flashback - 14 days ago

POV Prince Adrian

As a royalty, there are very few moments where I have the opportunity to be a normal human, not a Crown Prince, not the future leader of a nation or a businessman but just another man enjoying the present moment. Tonight is one such night where so far, I have managed to keep my identity hidden along with my assistant Oliver Black and my chief bodyguard George Wilson. We are playing the part of three English businessmen. It was like playing the same game that I use to play in childhood with my two siblings whenever we were overseas. People usually strive to achieve popularity where they are well known but they have no idea the level of power being anonymous provides.

Currently, we are sitting in one of the high-end bars in the capital city of India, Delhi. I’m here on behalf of the Confederation to provide the donation for the contribution of Dr. Ruchita Davies, an Indian-origin Psychologist who has done a commendable job towards raising the importance of mental health and wellbeing in our countries.

We were just talking about a recent encounter of George with an Indian beauty when a girl walked toward our table.

I tensed in fear of being discovered when she stood by my left, extended her hand, and asked me, “Can I have a dance with you?”

I was used to getting looks from the female population from an early age and being royalty hasn’t helped with that either. But it’s been a long-time since someone has looked at me the way this beauty was looking. There was fierceness and determination in her eyes and when I looked in the direction she came from, I realized the reason for it. She was given some kind of a challenge and she was determined to win it. That impressed me, so I took her hand and moved in the direction of the dance floor.

We moved our bodies on a few of the rock songs when the beats of music changed to that of a slow one. She hooked her arms against my neck and we started dancing to the music. For the first time in a long time, I felt the time has stopped while we stared into each other’s eyes and in the next moment, she bridged the remaining gap and kissed me. I turned stiff for a moment but then she combed her fingers in my hair and I all the hesitation left my body and I allowed myself to fall in the moment.

The next thing I knew was that we were devouring each other’s mouths in my bedroom where I took her hands and forced them against the door restricting her movements. I had given her enough time, now it was my turn to dominate. I was a switch inside the bedroom. As much as I enjoyed dominating my partner, I also relish giving up control. Not many people understand the sensation of euphoria submitting to someone else grants. I like my woman capable of taking charge, both inside and outside of the bedroom and I’m not hesitant to ask for it. But this woman has given rise to some distant feelings which are making me lose my control, hence the need to dominate her.

I entwined my fingers with that of her against the door when I felt something cold on my wrist and I pushed myself further into her against the door. But being still not satisfied with our progress, I picked her up and moved towards the bed while kissing her and then dropped her on it, t took off my jacket and t-shirt, and looked at her only to find her in her inner wear and sprawled on the bed. She did a hooked motion with her index finger calling for me when my eyes again fell on the bracelet that she was wearing. taking hold of her ankle, I caressed her skin and moved upwards, relishing the feel of her soft skin against my palm. She was under me when I pulled back from our kiss again, only to find her looking at me with a small innocent smile, but there was something in her eyes that just pulled me toward her and it was more than a physical attraction.

Trying to prevent my mind from going into overdrive, I bend downwards to again capture her lips and allow myself to live in the moment when my phone rang. My movements were halted and looked back trying to locate the mobile only to find it on the floor near the table beside the door.

Pushing back myself from the woman in my arms, I gave her a sorry expression and said, “I need to attend to this, it might be something important.”

I went to pick it up, knowing that there are high chances for it to be my five-year-old son. Being a single father, I always try my best to be there for him every moment, but in moments like this, I wish he can also find the same comforts as other members of our family too.

I took the call and went to the balcony and said, “Hey buddy!”

My son was my life and soul. After my wife passed away when he was just a year old, we found solace in each other and became dependent on one another. Many said it’s not good for the child’s development but how do I explain to them that when your child has already lost a parent, it was natural for them to have the fear of abandonment. That’s something Dr. Ruchita explained to me when we were going through that difficult phase of our lives. That’s how I met her and came to know about her work. All the help that she has provided me in dealing with my loss and helping with my child made me realize the importance of professional guidance in dealing with emotions and motivated me in promoting her work.

My son was sitting with his pet Bucky, a one-year-old German Shephard that his grandparents gifted him last Christmas, “Hey Dad, look today I helped Maria with Bucky’s bath!”

I saw that the said puppy indeed looked clean and his coat was still wet, “Yeah, he’s looking clean.”

Probably seeing my current state he asked, “Dad were you sleeping? Maria told me that you might have gone to the bed but I thought you would be awake that’s why I called. Did I disturb you Dad?”

Groaning at his innocence, I lied, “Yes buddy, I was actually in bed but it’s okay. You did a good job by taking care of Bucky and helping Maria but please try to listen to her when she tells you something.”

He beamed at my reply and said, “Okay Dad, you can go to sleep, I will remember to follow Maria’s instructions next time.”

Bidding a good night to each other, I came back into the room when I saw the woman in my bed looking distressed, I went close to her and the next thing I know was that she was puking out on herself.

While trying to manage not to come in contact with the vomit, I took her to the washroom and helped her clean herself. Later I called the room service to clean the room and her dress while making sure she doesn’t drown herself in the bath or worse end up falling and getting hurt. When we came out, I saw that the room was clean and put her down on the bed when I again noticed her bracelet. Finally, it dawned on me as to why my eyes kept coming back to it as the bracelet consists of a charm which was, in reality, an emblem, to be precise, the Royal Emblem of Palmier, a neighbouring nation of Cadmont and a member of Confederation along with Cadmont and Regalia.

When the woman in front of me turned on one side and the bedsheets covering her fell, revealing her back to me, only for me to find the three dots there, that are placed precisely on the T1 vertebrae of the human vertebral column. The shock of this discovery forced me to move back from the woman in my bed.

I immediately contacted my two other companions from the night and asked them to return to the suite as soon as possible. Turning towards the woman, I tried to process the fact that I may have accidentally discovered the long-lost Princess of Palmier who was abducted on her very first birth anniversary from the celebration at Confederation Palace 26 years ago.

George and Oliver were knocking at my hotel suite within twenty minutes.

While George was examining me from head to toe, Oliver asked, “What’s the matter, Adrian? Why did you call for us and where is the woman who left the bar with you?”

Hearing this George was about to open the door to my bedroom when I called, “Stop!”

His hands froze on the door handle and he looked at me confused when I replied, “We need to sit down for this.”

Both George and Oliver were tense when I sighed and asked them, “Remember the incident that happened years ago, where the daughter of King Artemis got abducted by her aunt?”

George was still confused and asked, “Yes, I remember that. There was so much upheaval among all the three nations at that time, the Royal Confederation was on the verge of breaking. But why are we discussing this?”

My eyes shifted to Oliver and he gasped, “Please don’t tell me it’s what I think it is!”

I gave him a tired smile and said, “Looks like we have just discovered the lost Princess of Palmier.”

After discussing the issue, we finally concluded that we should first investigate the alleged Princess and gather all the information about her before informing the Royal House of Palmier. With the assistance of Oliver and George, I tried to gather the basic information throughout the night. Sometime in the early morning, the housekeeping brought back her dress and I laid it at the foot of the bed.

In the morning, Oliver handed me the basic information we had gathered about the woman in the suite.

Name - Dr. Ishani Mitra

Age - 27 years

Occupation - completed her education in Medical Science and was undergoing an Internship

Father - no entry

Mother - no entry

Siblings - no entry

Guardians - Late. Ashok Mitra and Late. Lata Mitra

Remark - no living relative; currently living with her long-time friend and colleague Dr. Ishita Sinha

Being stressed due to the dramatic turn of events, I went for a quick run with George and returned to the suite sometime later only to see that the woman responsible for the lack of our sleep was nowhere to be found. On questioning the royal guards, we found that she left the place minutes before we arrived. Frustrated with the situation, I went to get ready for today’s agenda as we already had her address and can check up on her later. Today was the day when the event for which I originally came here was to be held and coincidentally it happens to be the same one where Princess was an Intern.

I arrived at the hospital with Oliver and George and was introduced to the heads of various departments in the hospital. I was supposed to give a small speech followed by a presentation of the donation check and some formal introduction with fellow doctors. During the whole event, my eyes were busy trying to locate her in the crowd. What frustrated me the most about the current situation was that she didn’t even bother to wait for me to arrive, before leaving.

Later, the head of the hospital was giving me a tour of the place when my eyes landed on the woman who has made me restless from the moment I met her, as she was standing near the nurse station with her friend and by the looks of it, was trying to avoid my gaze. I tried to control my anger and thought better off than contacting her when she was not surrounded by a huge

only wrapped up the event in the evening and I instructed George to take us to Princess’s place. The emotions this woman invoked in me were making me restless as no one had managed to make me feel like this in a long time. It’s been a long-time since I felt any strong emotion; my son, my family, and my duties towards the crown of Cadmont were the only highlights of my day since the love of my life left me in the mortal world. But I have a feeling that the lost Princess is going to cause many more troubles in my life and this is just the beginning.

We reached her apartment and rang the bell, the Princess opened the door, only to give me a shocked expression and to shut the door to my face.