It was bad enough that Kayla had a lot on her mind that she couldn't sleep. She had to deal with the ruckus outside – a flurry of servants and guards, moving about, bringing bouquets and tapestries and other decorative stuff. She watched them from her window, wondering where they were for, until it was close to midnight. Then she returned to the most comfortable bed she had ever experienced and laid herself, only to rise from it minutes later. No matter the exhaustion she felt from the travel and the day of working and roaming around with Eric, her mind just wouldn't rest.
She peeked at the hallway and saw the lights still on, giving her a clear, warm view of the white and gold walls, the red curtains and the large framed photographs right above mantels and vases of fresh floral arrangements.
The palace guards, wearing black and red suits, were too hard to miss at every corner, every turn of the hallway, and she wondered if they would allow her to the kitchen. She was hungry. She hadn't had much to eat at dinner because of what Eric said to her, and it wasn't helping her at all now.
She tiptoed her way to one guard and asked where the kitchen was. The guard stepped his left foot away from his other with so much force that she was certain the hallways heard his move and gave her instructions. She thanked him and he stepped his foot back to resume his statue-like stance.
Kayla quietly went through the hallways, remembering the lefts and the rights of the palace guard, but took her time to look at the paintings off the walls. Most of them were of the royal family from the past generations, she supposed.
But there were others, which she spent much time staring at, were of grasslands and fields of crops that were too bountiful to be real. Some were of women, almost half-naked with their floral skirts and white blouses, falling off their shoulders, revealing part of their ample breasts. On their heads, they wore white triangular head scarves to keep their big curly hairs in place, while they did the laundry and pressed flowers and grapes.
"Come to think of it, you look like you belong with some of them," a deep voice startled her.
Kayla jerked towards the direction of the man, walking slowly to her, and she hissed. "Alex! You scared me!"
Alexander chuckled. "You shouldn't be lurking about these hallways. You might get lost. And the palace is filled with secrets. You might stumble on some of them and I do not know how forgiving the princes would be of you."
Kayla was trying to catch the joke in his statement, but she couldn't hint any. "You're lurking around, too. But I'm sure since you are a…"
"Son of a marquess," he said softly, filling in the term that was lost in Kayla's knowledge.
There was only little hint of pride in Alex's voice, something that Kayla was not used to, since she had known him to be conceited and egoistic, and it pleased her. She felt at ease, if only for a small amount.
"The son of a marquess," she acknowledged. "Since you are called Sir here, I am certain you won't get into much trouble."
"On the contrary, I will be in more of a trouble that you will be," he said, walking to her side. He stood a foot taller than her and he peered into her face. His gentle gaze and smile placed a smile on her lips.
Alex waved his hand towards the end of the hallway, signaling the continuance of their walk. He allowed Kayla to take the first step and he followed, his hands behind him. "So where are you headed to, Ms. Kayla?"
"I want to eat. If that is allowed."
Alexander laughed, aloud for the first time, and Kayla felt a sense of familiarity. This man's who he truly was. "I was watching you at dinner. I am uncertain as to whether it was your seat that fell so close to the princes or the food that stole your appetite."
"The food was great, actually. I didn't mean to not enjoy them," she replied.
Alexander led her to a winding stairway with lighted walls on each side. "No one noticed. Just me, I guess. And Prince Sebastian. He was looking at you quite intensely. Observing. Even noting some of your actions."
"Why would he do that?"
Alexander shrugged. "He does that sometimes." He paused. "So why did you not eat?"
"Try being here with no information of what you are about to do. See if you could eat." Kayla chuckled at her words, but to it, Alexander remained silent.
Before they even reached the last of the step of the stairwell, Kayla heard shuffles of footsteps and commands given in the country's native tongue. The language sounded too foreign to her ears. It wasn't like any of the Asian languages she had heard before. Sort of Latin and German and Russian and Japanese all at once and spoken so romantically.
A wide hallway greeted them. The double swinging doors at its end showed the kitchen, where more than a dozen servants went in and out, panicked but still composed.
"Is it always like this at the palace kitchen?" she asked as they stopped midway.
"No. The Queen is returning from her business travels at dawn."
"Abroad?"
Alexander shook his head, leading her to a room, where some of the servants are having their break.
They hurriedly rose from their meals and greeted the two, carrying their trays of food to find another spot to stay in. But Alexander stopped them and asked that they brought midnight snacks instead to where they would stay.
"Miss Kayla would like a sandwich and milk," Alexander said and then winked at her. "I will have the same. We will be at the east wing balcony."
Kayla chuckled. "You know I don't drink milk."
"I know."
Some walk around the corridors and hallways of the palace, Kayla and Alexander reached the glass cathedral doors to a balcony that overlooked the same gardens as that outside Kayla's bedroom window. And though the sky and the horizon had turned royal blue in the midnight hour, dotted with tiny specks of twinkling lights, the near-full moon provided silvery lights that highlighted the trees with silver linings and the nearby stream with luminous shimmer.
Everything about the place appeared surreal to Kayla, like scenes taken off photographs and scenes from movies. It was so magical that she couldn't help but take in a long, deep breath of the cool spring air and smile.
"This is not what I'm used to. The traffic lights and howling cars, the drivers. The warm and polluted breeze," she said, chuckling at the thought of Manila. Then she imagined what her province was like and she missed being there. "My hometown isn't as beautiful. But it is peaceful and I love how my family warmed up the evenings. The moon shone to rice fields and sparsely lit old houses. And you can hear the insects, going about their businesses." She laughed.
"You miss home."
"Yes."
They sat on either end of a round iron table. Alexander placed his car keys and phone on its glass top and crossed his legs as he looked straight at the moon.
"The Queen went home in time for the blue moon," he commented. "A good omen of our days to come."
"I didn't know you're superstitious."
"I have to be. I am working for the monarchy now."
They both were.
"So, the Queen, the princes' mother, is she… queenly?" Kayla asked, awkward in her words.
Kayla wanted to know what the Queen was like even before she met her. It would be the first time she'd meet a woman of great power and strength. A woman of authority. Sure, the Queen only married into the throne, but she stood by the King all those years. And she couldn't imagine what that was like.
Kayla's father married her mother, a woman from a notable business family, but even that didn't feel like a proper comparison. For her father left her mother and everything fell apart. Had it been Kayla in her father's position, she knew she'd do anything and everything to support the person she chose to be with. No matter the cost.
"She is motherly," Alexander replied, much to Kayla's satisfaction. "She is the face of peace and prosperity in this country, this kingdom as we call it. And it is through her during her husband's reign that conflicts never pass on to become war."
"Conflicts?" Kayla stopped as Alexander did when their midnight snacks arrived. They were served with a turkey sandwich filled with fresh vegetables and a glass of warm milk each.
When the servants had gone, Alexander laughed. "You will find it rather ironic. When King Gregorious died months and months ago, rumors of rebellion began to spread. It was as if he was the advocate, the peacemaker, and not the Queen."
"What's the rebellion about?" Kayla felt goosebumps travelling through her arms.
"We have yet to find out. I'm sure the Crown Prince and the Queen are working on it now. Nothing to worry about." Alexander placed his sandwich back into his plate after a bite. "But as far as rumors go, there are too many reasons. Some say it's because the Queen had made too many enemies because of the King's visions for the country. And now that the King is no longer able to protect her, the people are starting to take action."
"You mean they do not wish the advancements?"
"Some of them, perhaps. In technology, most especially." Alexander shifted in his seat. "Khazkatians with deeply-rooted nationalistic feelings may not be so keen about changing their ways."
"Are you?" Kayla wanted to know, although she had a feeling about his answer already.
"Very much. I've been around the world and in love with it. I returned to this country against my will. I'm pretty sure you are aware of that," he said shyly, avoiding her eyes and taking another bite of his sandwich. "But yes, I would love our country to stand alongside advanced and modern societies."
Kayla smiled.
They were quiet for a moment, until they finished their snacks, watching the flurry of the servants still preparing for the royal breakfast with the Queen.
At the sight of several men moving an iron gazebo, looped with garlands of white, red and peach roses the size of coffee cups, Alexander jerked from his seat and took a short, sharp breath, as if realizing something.
"Is something wrong?" Kayla asked, following his gaze.
He shook his head and sat back quietly. When he spoke again, he rose from his seat and signaled for her to follow him inside. "I don't think Prince Eric would be very pleased to know that his best friend is out here at this time of dawn. Besides, breakfast will be earlier tomorrow than usual. Time to retreat."
Kayla said no more as she followed the route Alexander directed her through to get back to her room. Before finally leaving his sight, he called out to her.
"I want to apologize for having left you before. It wasn't my intention to hurt you."
Kayla nodded, feeling some heavy burden lifted off from her chest. Upon laying on her bed, sleep immediately caught her and dreams of a royal ball flooded her slumber.