The Unexpected Princess (Completed)

Chapter 3

Anthony Tloung stared intensely at his ringing cell phone screen. It was his ex-girlfriend calling to check on him for the fourth time that day. To check if he’d changed his mind, she’d said.

His handsome face contorted in disgust, he hung up and sat the phone on the passenger seat. The traffic at the entrance of Ga-Tloung was congested as usual. It will take him an hour if he tried to push through it, Anthony thought as the car in front of him moved forward and then stopped. He shook his head, and then decided to stop at the market to let it lessen. He maneuvered to get out of traffic, and came to a stop at the side of the road.

His phone started to ring again on the passenger seat. Anthony felt his anger rise a bit, when he saw who was calling again. She was treating him like an object she could control, nag and turn into a puppet, because she didn’t want to understand that their relationship was over.

What made women like that? What caused them to change? Anthony asked himself lacking an answer.

Veronica had been bold, striking and challenging. Anthony had seen her as a distraction from his hectic and sometimes dull business life. Her casual approach to the kind of relationship he sought from any woman – which was free and without attachments, had suited him best. Plus her supermodel like body and looks had been satisfactory.

Their liaisons had been short and satisfying. Then she had started to become clingy and sulky, wanting things from him he wasn’t capable of giving, not only to her, but to any woman. He didn’t believe in love. The emotion that poets colourfully spoke and wrote volumes upon volumes about was unreal to him. He wasn’t a player. He just didn’t believe in it. He didn’t believe in an emotion that rendered men weak and unthinking. And if it did exist he was yet to experience it. But at twenty-nine, he doubted it will ever happen.

His phone had stopped ringing. He picked it up and jammed it into his jean pocket as he got out of the car. Immediately the damn thing started to ring again. He pulled it out intending to shut it off. Before he could, he saw his brother's name displayed on the screen.

Anthony answered and placed the phone to his ear.

“Hey,” he said his grouchiness barely veiled. He felt the stares of the people on him as he walked by. They were awed by his presence at the market. He rarely came home and when he did he didn’t stay for long, which didn’t leave room for walking around the village. The people were not used to him walking about. Anthony waved to them as they greeted him with a slight bow of their heads.

“Hey, yourself,” Mogale’s voice came through sounding cautious though his voice maintained its powerful nature. “Are you there yet?”

“Yeah, but I would rather you do this,” he said walking from stall to stall looking at the wares being sold with nothing catching his eye, while he nodded and waved to those who stopped and greeted him. “You chose a hell of a time to go on your honeymoon.”

“It’s no big deal, Anthony. You just lead the dance, light the main fire and everything progresses on its own from there.”

“Do I look like I can lead a dance?” he said his voice remote.

Pulo ya Dikgoro dance was held every two years in June when the moon was full and hung low. He didn’t know everything that happened at the dance because as the first born son Mogale had performed that duty, and Anthony hadn’t bothered himself with it. But he’d heard stories about magical phenomenon that were mysterious and fulfilling occurring. The people called it being caught by the glow. And they flocked from far and wide to the dance looking for something, with hope in their hearts that they will find it.

“You can do anything you put your mind to, brother, remember I know what you’re capable of,” Mogale said sounding confident, and then his voice turned playful. “Just be careful, don’t let the glow catch you.”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence,” Anthony said laughing, “as for the glow. I think it has better people to catch. Plus, I don’t believe in anything I can’t touch or feel,” there was a slight pause, “is everything final with the hotel? I didn’t foresee the zoning being a problem for us.”

“We’ll be back in construction when I get back. I plan to call everyone that owes us a favour,” Mogale said.

Anthony couldn’t help but smile at that. His brother in business mode was lethal. Anthony believed they will be celebrating their grand opening by this time next year. So there were no worries there, except this dance he had to lead.

“Say hi to Lesedi and my nephew.” He said as his eyes got caught by a small stall with colourful bead work on display. He moved towards it.

“Will do, I’ll see you when we get back.”

“Okay, just pray I pull this off. And I don’t embarrass us both.Father wouldn’t be very pleased,” Anthony said still smiling. He pushed the hang up button, as he came to stand in front of the stall.

And then he noticed her for the first time.

She was facing the other way, her form hunched. From what he could see of her she looked plain and homely – she had a white cloth wrapped around her head covering her hair, and a white frilly shirt with dark pants covering her long legs.

Her body heat radiated towards him creating a charged tension taking him by surprise. He stared at her for long moments unsure of what he was experiencing.

He liked his women beautiful, bold and a little feisty. She looked nothing like that. But why was he staring at her with the desire to see her face?

Naledi was still sitting at the stall waiting for Dineo. She couldn’t believe she was allowing her to match-make on her behalf. What would the doctor think when he saw her? Would he think that she was a coward, sending her friend to find her a man?

Naledi hurriedly stood up, deciding to go after Dineo and find herself love. She had fantasized about it, now it was time to put her fantasies into reality.

Naledi turned around and almost collided with the man standing behind her. She suddenly moved back as his hands immediately came up to steady her. She stared at him awestruck. Naledi gasped as she realized who he was.It was one of the prince brothers. She would recognize them anywhere.

Anthony Tloung, the prince. His name popped into her mind. Her stomach flipped and squeezed at the sight of him. Her breath hitched in her throat, and she had to literally force herself to breathe. He stared at her with intense concentration. And he didn’t seem to be able to look away.

She’s never been this close to any of them. And she immediately felt strange standing there. She quickly bowed in greeting, but he just stared at her as though she hadn’t moved.

Naledi felt her stomach flutter from the intensity of his stare. She didn’t know which way to turn to make herself invisible. His eyes were piercing. Her insides fluttered again, this time accompanied by a tingles that started at the base of her spine. An intense silence filled with something Naledi didn’t understand surrounded them.

Naledi turned to escape it…him.