"Zeze, I am Vaughn," he said with a smile full of warmth.
The guards were quite surprised when they saw the smile on the prince's usually stern, cold face. They'd always thought that they would never get to see the day when the prince had a kind of warm expression on his face.
"It's nice to meet you big brother Vaughn."
"Are you here with your parents? Where are your mother and father?" Vaughn was a bit curious.
"I came with my mother, father, and brothers. Are you alone big brother?"
"No, I came with my father and some of our people," Vaughn explained.
"Oh, you must be a guest. Where are you from?" The little girl asked innocently.
Vaughn was about to tell the truth when he changed his mind. He decided that it was best for little Zeze not to know anything.
"I came from another kingdom far from here. Are all the children in this kingdom free to roam around inside the palace?"
Zeze laughed a little before answering. Vaughn was charmed with the sound of Zeze's laughter.
"No, I can go anywhere in the palace today because we are celebrating the prince's birth. Also..."
Zeze made Vaughn lower his head so she could whisper in his ear.
"My father is Ovid Anisen. You may not know this, big brother Vaughn, but my father is a very important official in Ishelon. They said that he could easily overturn King Jarod's reign if he wishes to do so." The little girl stopped saying anything and stared at Vaughn for a long time.
"What does overturn mean big brother?"
The little girl's face was a picture of innocence and naivety. Vaughn sighed as he tried to find the right words to explain.
"It means to take over the reign. It is best if you don't speak of such things in front of the others. You may put your father in danger."
"Okay, whatever you say big brother." She smiled once more and Vaughn's heart skipped a beat.
He met a lot of beautiful bride candidates back in Tissuria, but he never met someone as lively and enchanting as the little girl before him. He liked every minute that he spent with her, and he wished that the day would never turn into night.
Vaughn knew who Ovid Anisen was, and he was grateful that he did not tell the little girl where he came from. He knew that the little girl knew nothing about the two kingdoms' dispute. He felt quite guilty looking at those innocent pair of eyes. But then again, he did not exactly lie to her. He just did not tell her the name of his kingdom.
"Shall we go for a walk big brother? I will take you to all the beautiful places near the palace."
"Do you want to show them all to me?" There was a hint of excitement in Vaughn's tone.
"Of course! You're a guest in our kingdom and my mother told me that we should treat our guests well. I should not tri…" The little stopped and changed her wording, "-trouble our guests."
The little girl smiled once more, although beads of sweat started to form on her forehead. She almost blurted out the taboo word "trick".
Vaughn did not notice the change or simply ignored it. The most important thing for him at that moment was to spend more time with the lovely little girl.
"I will be in your care then," Vaughn told the little girl and gave her a smile.
The shadow guards began to sweat profusely upon seeing that smile. They had been with Vaughn since he was young, and they did not see him smile like that. It was like looking at a different person, but they knew in their hearts that he was the Crown Prince that they had been serving for ten years now.
"See that boulder over there?" The little girl pointed at a big rock covering the entrance of a cave.
"What's in the cave? The boulder seems to cover the entrance."
"Yes, you're correct big brother. That boulder is covering the entrance of a cave to prevent the big bad bear from escaping." The little girl was beaming with pride as if she was the one who trapped the beast in the cave.
Vaughn heard of a legend regarding a secret tunnel that connected Tissuria and Ishelon. The former kings decided to seal it off for good. He had doubts whether it was the same cave as in the legend. He tried to look for the cave in Tissuria and found nothing. He was not able to uncover whether there was truth in that legend.
"Zenzen, where are you?" A voice not so far away could be heard. It was Nanny Roshe.
"Big brother I got to go. My nanny is calling me." The little girl ran to where her nanny was.
"Wait!" Vaughn called out to her.
Zeze stopped running and turned her head. "What is it, big brother?"
"Would you like to meet me again here tomorrow at the same time?"
"Sure." Zeze smiled and went on her way.
Vaughn felt a bit odd. He clearly heard the nanny called the little girl 'Zenzen'. He did not think much about it and went to the courtyard where he needed to stay temporarily.
"Nanny Roshe, why are you shouting?" A little child wearing a beautiful dress approached the middle-aged woman.
The woman turned around and was completely shocked at what she saw.
"Why are you wearing your sister's clothes again Zeze?"
"It's because big sister Zenzen told me to." Zeze, who was dressed as a little girl, pouted as he explained.
"The madam will scold both of you again when she finds out!" The nanny reminded little Zeze.
Not far from them, they saw a little girl with the same type of dress as she ran to their direction. It was Zenzen!
"Nanny, here I am! You don't need to shout so loud." Zenzen announced while gasping for breath.
"Where did you go? Your mother had been looking all over for you." Explained the nanny, the worry was written all over her face.
Zenzen did not mind what was said to her as she turned her eyes on her younger brother Zeze.
"Whoa! Zeze," she said as she circled around him.
"You look just like me!" Zenzen declared excitedly.
"Are you going to play with me now? I did what you told me." Zeze felt wronged.
"Humph, we always wear your clothes to prank someone. I want us to be both girls this time." Zenzen proudly said.
"Let's all go back." Nanny Roshe led the two children back to their mother.
The last time these two dressed in Zeze's clothes, everyone thought that the Anisens had twin boys. Zenia and Zekiah were about the same height and Zenia acted like a mischievous boy. Zekiah looked more like a girl. They caused a ruckus back then, and they were doing it again. Nobody knew who would be the unlucky victim this time around.
"Zeze, I found someone to prank." Zenia beamed.
"Who?" Zekiah asked excitedly.
"His name is Vaughn."