The Princess Secret Affair

First Encounter

Several successive drops of water on her face woke her up the next morning. They came from the leaves of a low tree that almost kissed her cheek. She wiped it away upon opening her eyes. She surveyed her surroundings and discovered she was beside a river with a gentle flow of shallow water. She quickly sat up, remembering that there were people chasing her. And while getting up, she felt a slight pain at the back of her head.

After a moment, she stood up upon hearing a noise from the other side of the river. She looked for a place to hide and found refuge behind a nearby large rock. Soon enough, she saw a man hastily walking along the riverbank, carrying a young boy whose hands were tightly gripping his neck.

He passed by her, and in that moment, she gazed at the man's face. Her eyes widened as she recognized him. She couldn’t be mistaken; he was the man who had been making headlines in the past weeks.

"Quick! That man is still here! He hasn't gone far yet!" she heard someone shout, who she knew was pursuing them.

The man increased his pace, passing by her. However, she didn't expect him to turn and take cover in the same hiding spot she had chosen.

Both of them froze as they faced each other.

Suddenly, the young boy in the man's arms started crying. She couldn't understand why, but the child raised his hands as if he wanted to join her.

The man tried to comfort the crying child, but the boy couldn't stop crying. Concerned that they might be discovered, she took the child from the man's arms to console him, fearing that both of them might be traced by the people chasing them.

In less than a few minutes, the child stopped crying as she held him in her arms. He nestled against her chest as if finding a motherly figure. For the second time, she and the man locked eyes just as another man spoke.

"Follow the riverbank. Hurry! He might reach the road. He might escape and leave this place. It'll be harder for us to find him!"

That’s what they heard, the reasons for them to hide and pressed themselves against the side of the large rock. Unintentionally, their bodies brushed against each other. Though she felt awkward, she had no choice. They needed to hide to avoid being seen.

In the following moments, they listened together to the sound of three men's footsteps as they traversed the length of the river.

"Princess Amira?" the man called to her when he was sure the men chasing them were far away.

She couldn't utter a word. It turns out, he also recognized her.

She directed her attention to the child, who she hadn't noticed had fallen asleep on her shoulder. She gently returned him to the guy.

"If I were you, I'd surrender. Return the child, he's looking for his mother," she told the man, feeling the need to make him reconsider the kidnapping from the child's real mother, who had a past relationship with the man. That was the news she remembered involving the man when she heard it on local television.

The man burst into sarcastic laughter. " And you have the nerve to tell me that! How about you surrender yourself?" he retorted to the girl. After saying that, he began walking out from behind the large rock.

She fell silent. It seemed he also knew about her escape from her family. Surely, she has become the subject of news on television and in newspapers nowadays. She remained composed and left her hiding place as well.

"Don't you dare follow me!" he warned the girl, raising his palm in front of her.

"I'll just accompany you, but when we reach the highway, we'll part ways," she said, continuing to walk.

"Even so. If they see us together, my case will only worsen. Datu might even have me killed," he said as he began to walk in the direction the men took earlier. "Why did you have to escape when you already have a beautiful life?" he added.

She focused her gaze on him, raising an eyebrow. In the first place, he knew nothing about her life story, so he had no right to question why she ran away from her own family. She crossed her arms over her chest and remained silent.

With that gesture, the man walked away from her. They are now positioning themselves on either side of the river, traversing the path toward the highway.

After almost half an hour, they spotted a paved road connecting to various nearby towns. They ran individually when they saw a truck with what seemed like a load of vegetables at the back. The man hailed it, catching the attention of the driver. He widened his eyes upon seeing that she had also signaled the driver to stop.

"Can we hitch a ride for my child?" he asked the driver as the truck stopped in front of them.

"Where are you headed?" the driver inquired.

"Well, where are you going?" the man returned the question.

"I'm just transporting vegetables to the neighboring town," the driver replied.

"Alright then. Just drop us off there," he said.

"Three of you?" the driver asked, glancing at the woman beside the man.

"Yes," she quickly responded, still keeping her face and half of her body hidden behind the man. She was avoiding being recognized by the truck driver. "We're a family," she immediately followed up on what was said.

The man turned to her, raising his eyebrows as if condemning her statement.

"Oh no, my truck is already full. I don't know if the three of you will fit in the back," the driver complained.

"It will fit. We're not that big. Right, Darling?" she added to the man in front of her.

The man's look worsened.

"Up to you. Just don't sit on my merchandise," the driver said dismissively.

They quickly went to the back of the truck and climbed on. Once they settled into their seats, the man signaled the driver by tapping the side of the truck, indicating that they were ready to leave.

"If I get involved in what you're doing—" the man seemed to threaten her, looking straight ahead at the place they came from.

"Excuse me!" She raised an eyebrow again. "You're escaping from prison. Even if you don't get involved with me, you're still heading back to jail once they catch you! I should be the one worrying about being associated with you," she retorted sarcastically.

"Then why did you even join me?" The man spoke.

"Well, this is the only plan I could think of," she replied. "If I were you, just go along with my plan. It will benefit you anyway. Besides, it’s just temporary, until we manage to get far away.”

"Where are you headed?" the man formally asked.

"I don't know, I just want to get away from here," she answered seriously.

"So, are we instantly one happy family now? What should I call you? Darling? Like what you called me?" The man said sarcastically, but she took it seriously.

She agreed immediately to avoid further discussion between the two of them. That became their setup until they got far from that place and managed to slip away and reach Manila. When they arrived in Manila, they tried to go their separate ways, but they realized that they could better hide their true identities by sticking to the current situation. They continued this way until they reached the city of Baguio. In that remote place, they started a new life together in one house, along with numerous restrictions.

***

"Darling, I'll just go out. I'll get some firewood. I think it's going to rain heavily again. Our dried wood might get wet, and we won't be able to use it," Rudolfo said after they had lunch.

She lifted her head from reminiscing about the events that happened to them several years ago. She looked at her husband, who was already at the entrance of their house.

"Sure, just call me if you need help," she added as he quickly walked towards the woods, which was a distance away from their house.

Several hours passed, and Rudolfo had not returned yet. Heavy rain had started, accompanied by thunder and lightning. She felt a certain worry for him, so against her will to leave the child alone, she followed her husband. After all, Utoy was currently taking a nap during that time.

Some parts of their small farmland were already flooded. She also saw the pieces of firewood her husband mentioned earlier. She was puzzled that it seemed untouched. She noticed the rushing water coming from somewhere. Perhaps, her husband prioritized diverting the water to prevent flooding in the crops they just planted.

Using an umbrella to avoid getting wet in the rain, she turned to head back home. After a few moments, a strong wind suddenly blew, causing her to drop the umbrella. She tried to chase it, unintentionally drawing attention to a large animal not far from her position. It was a black horse taking shelter under a tree. She was about to approach it when she heard a loud thunder. She was about to follow the horse when she noticed a man who was with the horse, also hiding under the tree.

They both had surprised reactions upon seeing each other. She, who hadn't seen another person for a long time, and the man, who had been staring at her face for a moment, lowered his gaze to her wet white dress.

In embarrassment, she covered her front with her arms and palms. Along with furrowing her brows due to how the man was looking at her, she turned away and ran back to the house.