The faint clinking of shoes and the murmured conversation of the elders and king's wives filled the hallway as they headed to the grand dining hall.
Moremi, still reeling from the demonstration earlier, walked beside Prince Yovana, her distaste for him barely concealed. His arrogance was palpable, and every word he spoke seemed calculated to bolster his own image.
Yovana cleared his throat, his chest puffed up with pride, not letting Moremi's sudden stance disorient him. "What I meant, dear princess, is that taming your fiery spirit will be my greatest challenge yet." he explained, not knowing how silly he sounded.
Moremi quickly understood what he was saying. She knew the rumours people sent across kingdoms of her being a strong headed woman, stubborn and unyielding but instead of acknowledging Yovana's statement, the cunning princess feigned innocence, making him look like a fool.
"Tame me?" she repeated, her voice calm but dangerously sharp. "Am I a wild beast, Prince Yovana, that you think I need taming?" she asked, blinking repeatedly like she didn't understand a word he said.
Yovana blinked at her as well, hesitating momentarily as he was thrown off by her directness. He turned to observe the servants who were now subtly glancing at him, waiting for him to answer the question as to what he meant by taming their princess.
It annoyed him that the Mandingan servants of the palace couldn't hide their curiousity in situations like this.at times as he had noticed such behaviour since he arrived in this kingdom.
In Azura his kingdom, no lowly servant dared even lift their head to a royal or look at them in an embarrassing situation with having their eyes bulged out.
Behind him, Vekar shifted uncomfortably, his expression betraying his unease. This was why he hated to let the prince know certain information as he was one to not know when and where to keep shut. "I merely meant—" Yovana wanted to defend but Moremi's sharp gaze met his.
"You meant to suggest that my strength and independence are flaws," She interrupted, her gaze unwavering. "I assure you, Prince, they are not. And if you think for one moment that I will bend to your will, then you truly have no understanding of who I am or the people of Mandinga." she replied him, her head held high as she spoke.
The hallway fell silent, and all eyes turned to the pair.
The guards and maids that followed kept mute as well as Vekar who was also surprised that the Mandingan princess had made such a statement on their first meeting and what was worse, it was to someone regarded as her future husband, a prince who she was supposed to hold in great respect.
Wasn't that too bold? He thought as he raised his glasses up the bridge of his nose with narrowed eyes.
Even King Jelani paused mid-conversation with King Malawi who was ahead with him, his attention drawn to the exchange as he tried to signal to Moremi to behave herself but she blatantly ignored his eye messages, facing Yovana again..
Meanwhile, Yovana's face darkened, feeling his ego bruised. He clenched his jaws at the unfiltered words of the Mandingan princess as though, he had kept in mind that she might be difficult, he didn't expect she would outrightly call him out like that.
Yovana was not used to people speaking to him disrespectfully and not facing the consequences. He always had the upper hand when it came to control but in Moremi's current station, he could not do anything about it and with people watching including her father, it would be stupid to do or say anything mean to her as a reply.
At least, he was smart enough to understand that.
"Princess," he said, his voice tight as he tried to control his anger with forced politeness, "it would be wise to watch your tone. I am, after all, your future husband."
"Wise?" Moremi's lips curled into a faint smile. "Wisdom is earned, Your Highness, not demanded. And as for being my husband, the future is uncertain. Perhaps we should focus on the present."
The maids standing by the walls struggled to suppress their laughter, Ayanna biting her lip to keep from grinning outright. Nyala, ever the bolder of the two, couldn't help but whisper to Ayanna, "She's not holding back tonight."
Seeing their exchange, a few others turned to the servants, wondering what gave them the audacity to even breathe when the royals were speaking. Were they courting death?
Yovana noticed the maids' barely concealed amusement, and his pride couldn't take the hit. He balled his hands into fists. "Your maids seem to find this amusing," he said coldly, glaring at them. "Perhaps they need a lesson in respect." he told her and turned to them, about to walk up to them in anger.
Nyala saw this and quickly closed her mouth, not wanting to get on the nerves of her Princess' betrothed as she realized he seemed to have anger issues.
"Lock her up in the dungeon!" He suddenly shouted to a guard who was behind him as he pointed at Nyala, startling the young man who moved back in shock.
What...?
Everyone began to exchange glances, whispering incoherently as they turned to Nyala and the Azuran prince before their eyes settled on the guard who now seemed disoriented.
He opened his mouth, attempting to say something but nothing came out except his breath.
The order Yovana had given was not a difficult one to obey immediately as Nyala was a mere maid and held no importance to the king so on a normal day, dragging her to the dungeon for such disrespect to a guest was nothing.
However, that was only if this princess was not standing before them.
Moremi narrowed her eyes at Yovana, apparently also shocked that he would dare make such a command in her kingdom and to her serving girl.
Unlike Akan's punishment that had scared her as it had been her father's command, Moremi rather found Yovana's order to be very silly.
Who did he think he was?
Nyala had hidden herself behind the princess in protection, looking frightened when the guard actually did attempt to move towards her but Moremi's sudden glare sent him moving backwards quickly.
She stepped forward, her posture commanding as she sent a bloody glare Yovana's way, almost making him flinch. "No one touches my maids," she said firmly, her voice echoing through the hallway. "If you cannot handle a little laughter, Prince, perhaps you are the one who needs taming."
Everyone erupted into murmurs, some gasping while others exchanged uneasy glances.
Queen Zaria and her co-wives were among them as they finally turned to the king, expecting a reaction from him.
Malawi watched the scene unfold with a mix of annoyance and disbelief, while King Jelani remained calm outwardly, his expression unreadable even though he was fuming at his daughter right now.
"Remi." He called her name, throwing her a death stare.
He looked at his guest who seemed furious at the disrespect this woman had just shown to his son in front of servant men and women.
This was something that no one dared to do in Azura as his son was feared and respected.
Yovana was seething with embarrassment, clenching his fists so tight they almost turned white.
Jelani could already see things would go out of hand if he didn't do something and he immediately apologized, "Prince Yovana dear," his voice rang in the silence as Yovana's attention turned to him while he cleared his throat to speak again, "I beg that you ignore my daughter's remarks. Moremi is very awful with conversations. I believe she will learn to speak right soon enough." He said calmly, making Moremi turn to him in confusion, her brows furrowed.
Before Malawi or Yovana could reply, he chipped in, "The dining hall is set now. We should head there immediately before the food turns cold." He added, demonstrating with his hand for them to move forward.
Hearing about the food, the others including his wives and the elders began to walk ahead again as they followed the cleared path of the hallway before reaching the dining hall that was not too far from there..
Moremi's unapologetic gaze met her father's and for a brief moment, her confidence faltered when she saw how angry he looked.
"You will regret this, Princess," Yovana hissed under his breath before storming towards the dining hall, making everyone clear out the way for him.
Vekar followed quickly, his face twisted in a grimace as he was aware his prince was not one to let little things go easily.
However, this was just the beginning for Yovana.