The Sultan's son

7. The proposal

The Sultan did not sit at the head of the table but in the center of the rectangular table. To his right, he had his wife with Joridey, and to his left, Quarin with Charmant. Regina wanted to sit in front of the child, but the Sultan gestured for her to sit in front of him. So, she sat in the center with her parents to her right and her brother Leone to her left, who, with his playful manner, immediately began to entertain the child. Regina was dying to know what her father and the Sultan had discussed, but she didn't dare ask in front of the royals, so all that remained for her was to eat. The food was delicious.

After the first courses, the Sultan addressed her. "My dear, now that we are at ease, I can discuss the proposal I mentioned this morning."

"Of course, Your Majesty."

"Since you aspire to learn cooking at the level of a Michelin-starred chef, know that we have an excellent chef on board, Chef Senshaw. He manages a four-star restaurant in my country and kindly accompanies me on this cruise to prepare meals for us. Would you like to work here on my ship until we return to Kruphaw? The journey will last another 6 weeks, providing you with ample time to learn and improve under Chef Senshaw's guidance. He is an excellent teacher; in Japan, he runs his own culinary school, with many aspiring chefs vying to enroll. I am confident that with dedication and hard work, you could one day open your own restaurant, even overseas."

Overseas? Her own restaurant? She couldn't even fathom it. What an incredible proposal... she didn't know if she would be up to the task. But his son? How would he take it?

Regina briefly looked at him. He stopped eating and gazed at his father with concern. It was evident that he did not approve. She didn't want to provoke another conflict.

"Thank you very much, Your Majesty, but it's too much for me, I don't have such grand ambitions..."

“Well it's time to have them, isn't it? What's the purpose of being young if you lack ambition? And what are ambitions if they’re not grand? You are young, miss; you have the duty to dream big. If your goals are small, you won't have the motivation to work hard and achieve your dreams!"

"You are right, but... I'm not sure..."

"Perhaps you don't want to quit your current job abruptly? Do you consider it inappropriate?"

She thought about her boss and how many times he had mentioned that employees could be replaced overnight, especially when they dared to ask for a raise. Her contract allowed her to be dismissed without notice, but there was no penalty if she decided to quit her job on the spot.

"That's not it, Your Majesty, I'm sure they can manage without me at work."

"So, what's the problem then? In case it wasn't clear, you would receive a salary on par with my staff. Here's what we'll do: take some time to reflect on it, discuss it with your parents, and then let me know your decision. I'll be waiting for your answer in my cabin."

Regina thanked him and continued eating, while her parents expressed gratitude for such a wonderful opportunity.

After lunch, they all retired to their rooms, except for Quarin who went to his father's room.

“Father, forgive me, but hiring that girl is a terrible idea. You don't know her; how can you bring someone like her to live here? I don't trust her. We have jewels, rare paintings, and expensive technology on board! Living on the ship, she can easily rob us and dispose of the stolen goods without us noticing! We can't keep our eyes on her 24/7!"

"Son, I appreciate your concern, but I know what I'm doing."

"But it's dangerous, Father!"

“Don't worry, Quarin. I'm a bit older than you and I can judge people. That girl is not like Petra, son. Although I must admit, she bears a striking resemblance to her. Actually, she is much more beautiful than her, don't you think?"

“It doesn't matter what she looks like. I don't like her, and I don't want her here!"

"I have already given my word, and I won't take it back."

"Fine, Father, but if something happens, don't say I didn't warn you!"

Angry, the Prince stormed out of the room.

Regina thought and reconsidered the proposal carefully. She had to reject the offer; she didn't want to deal with the Prince, who couldn't stand her. She had hinted at it to her parents, but they hadn't believed her since she hadn't provided all the details. Thus, they couldn't understand the depth of the Prince's animosity towards her. Her father acknowledged that the proposal was promising, but he felt she was too young to leave home for such a long time, especially on a ship. Her mother, on the other hand, encouraged her to accept. In the end, they allowed her to make the decision without any pressure. If the circumstances were different, she would have jumped at this opportunity, but the current situation made it complicated, even though it might be a once-in-a-lifetime chance. So, she decided to talk to the Sultan to provide her response.

As she was heading towards his cabin, she ran into Quarin.

"YOU!" He exploded. “You played your cards well, I give you that. But don't you dare accept my Father's proposal! I don't want you on my ship! If you have an ounce of intelligence in that empty head, decline the proposal, or I assure you, I'll make your life a living hell!"

Anger surged inside her. How dare he! She couldn't stand the idea of having to obey him like this, so out of sheer spite she replied,

"But the decision is not yours, I was just going to tell the Sultan that I accept his kind offer, and you... go drink a tanker of chamomile, because you'll have to put up with it!"

Infuriated, he turned his gaze away, muttering through clenched teeth: "Idiot..." Then, looking back at her, he leaned his face closer to hers, snarling with a cruel smile, "Very well then, brace yourself, you'll be my favorite entertainment!" He then marched away.

She was incredibly shaken. She had made a mistake, she shouldn't have made him even more of an enemy.

Regaining her composure, she took a deep breath and knocked on the Sultan's door.

"Come in."

She didn't enter right away. "Your Majesty, it's me, Regina."

The King opened the door. "Come in, my dear, have a seat. Are you here to talk to me about my proposal?"

She settled into one of the brocade armchairs that adorned the Sultan's suite living room.

"So? What have you decided?" urged the Sultan.

Unable to sit still, she fidgeted with her dress. "Your Highness... You see... I truly would love to accept, but I can't."

"Give me a good reason, my dear. But tell me the truth."

"Well, Your Majesty, to be frank, I don't get along with your son. To be even franker, he hates me. He sees me as a cunning leech who sees you only as a cash cow! With all due respect, Your Majesty," she added, realizing she had made an unfortunate comparison.

He smiled. "I believe I understand why, my dear."

"Really?"

"Yes. But let's keep this between us. You should know that in the past, my son fell in love with a girl who stole from us and ran away, breaking his heart. He truly believed he had found the woman of his life, but she turned out to be an unscrupulous profiteer. After receiving lavish gifts and money, she took everything she could, including the jewels belonging to my first wife, Quarin's mother, and disappeared. She was, in fact, a skilled professional thief, but she deceived Quarin into thinking that she was deeply in love with him. As a result, he lost faith in women and became convinced that they were only interested in his money."

"But he must have moved on since he's with that gorgeous girl. So, what does that have to do with me?"

"That girl means nothing to him, she could leave him tomorrow, and he wouldn't bat an eye. As for you, my dear, well ... his ex-girlfriend was a stunning woman, and you, my dear, resemble her a lot."

Regina had to take a moment to process those words. Did she resemble a stunning ex-girlfriend of the Prince? No, that couldn't be possible. She was just average-looking, if not plain. Moreover, she was overweight! But perhaps there was some similarity that triggered his hatred towards her. If that was the case, maybe his awful behavior towards her was an indirect vendetta against his ex. Wasn't she lucky? Well, it was better than being targeted on a personal level, she supposed.

"What? No, Your Majesty, I can't possibly resemble someone beautiful. I'm nothing special, and no guy has ever shown interest in me, so..."

"I understand. And do you go out very often?"

"Well, not much, I work all week ... but I do know many guys, my brother's friends, sometimes we go to the beach all together ..."

"Ah, now it's clear, your brother ... the same brother who glares at any waiter who approaches you, trying to drive them away? I'm sure he must have forbidden his friends from flirting with his sister!"

She suppressed a laugh, clearly the Sultan was wrong. Perhaps, at fifty, he could appreciate a healthy and curvy girl, but a peer of her age certainly not. The type preferred by men was someone like Charmant – tall, slender, and blonde – the epitome of beauty.

"I don't think it's like that, Your Majesty, but thank you for the compliments. Unfortunately, I have to decline the opportunity."

"But weren't you the one who told me that it would be tremendous personal growth to work alongside star chefs and first-class maîtres? Are you willing to give up all this and a salary that is more than double the average, just because you are afraid of my son?"

She looked at the ground and replied,

"Your son is quite scary, sir."

The Sultan burst into laughter at such candidness.

"What if I tell you that my son will disembark from the yacht in two weeks? We will go to the Canary Islands, where there is a well-known casino, and he will stay there, while the yacht continues for another month in the Mediterranean. I am old, and I can afford a long vacation."

She was about to reply that he wasn't old at all, but she didn't want her compliment to be misinterpreted as an attempt at seduction. Sometimes, like father, like son ... Instead, she simply replied that she appreciated his offer and would like to reflect on it one more night.

"Of course, the night brings advice. To help you with your decision, I will have the head butler, Bernard, accompany you to get to know the staff and the work areas. You can trust him, and you can share any discomfort you have with him. Ask for the telephone number of the secretariat; usually, Bernard himself answers. Please let us know your final decision tomorrow morning."

He rang a bell, and the butler appeared, escorting her as instructed to the deck below.

Bernard was very polite and cordial, putting her at ease. So much so that at one point, she mustered the courage to ask the question that was important to her.

"Excuse me, Bernard, I wanted to ask you ... does the staff often have to work in the presence of the owners, or can you be, let's say ... invisible?"

"Why this question, miss?" he replied, a little taken aback by the question.

"Well, the Sultan knows it already, so it's not a problem if you know too... the fact is that the Prince can't stand me, and the less he sees me, the better," she said, her cheeks flushing.

"I can't believe that, miss, the Prince is fair and courteous to all his employees, especially women."

"Believe it or not, he threatened to make my life hell if I accepted the job!"

The butler frowned, looking at her with a newfound awareness. "Is that so? Well, we can have you work in the kitchens instead of the dining area, or perhaps, if you don't mind, sometimes you could handle the cleaning below deck."

"No problem, work is work, I've done all sorts of things in the past, I don't mind cleaning bathrooms or scrubbing floors, just keep me away from the Prince and I'll be eternally grateful!"

The butler smiled warmly, already taking a liking to the girl.

"Consider it already done, miss."

She felt elated within herself. The next day, she would inform the Sultan that she would accept the job.