The Princess Needs A Prince

[Chapter Twenty]

"Here," he says. Cepos rolls out a large piece of paper on the floor. He holds a cup filled with a variety of markers, colored pencils and paintbrushes. A pan of paint sits at the edge of the paper. The pan is filled with an array of colors. From black to white.

"Come sit." His hand pats the empty place on the wooden floor. I shrug and kneel beside him. I shift my white dress out of the way and smooth the ruffles at my waist. My heels are tucked beneath my bottom and my knees stick together.

The open window makes a cool breeze and it tickles my cheeks. The soft wind makes the edges of the paper flap up and down slowly.

Cepos takes me by surprise when his fingers gently cup my chin. They're soft and tender. He moves my head from side to side and angles it up and down. Cepos smiles happily at me. I smile too.

His head bobs before turning to the paper. He takes his hand and dips it into the paint. Colors of pink and yellow mix together on his fingers. He let's it drip above the pan before removing it above the surface of the paper.

His hand is fisted while his palm smears a huge line on the white paper. His fingers move with skill and speed. Those bright eyes are focused. He smears more lines after dipping his fingers in paint. Colors swirl together on the paper. The tips of his fingers are coated with paint repeatedly.

I watch carefully and observe his concentration. His face still contains a faint smile. His body moves to reach different parts of the paper as his arm stretches from one end to the other. I continue to watch in awe as the colors blend beautifully together, creating great shades of white.

For a moment his back blocks my view. His muscles move with such excitement. But when he moves away, he reveals his masterpiece. As I look closer, the lines form a girl.

It's definitely me. There's no doubt. The white dress. The hair. The eyes. It looks exactly like me. But in that amount of time. How much skill was required for this much talent.

"Nayla. Pretty Nayla." He says and grins widely. I flush. Pretty?

"Th-this is, amazing. But that word brings no justice to this painting. I don't know..." I stare in amazement. My mouth gapes open.

"You like?" He asks. I laugh at his concern.

"Of course! It's, it's, just wow."

"Good. You like, then good," he says. "Now your turn," He chuckles at my expression. I don't even want to know what horror was framed upon my face.

"You can't be serious," I deadpanned. He cocks his heads to the side.

"Fun! You see me?" He asks and points to his smile.

"Yes, I saw you," I reply. He really did look like he was enjoying himself. I glance at him again. His face is filled with worry. I sigh. "I guess I could try."

His expression lights up almost immediately. He takes my hand and guides it to the paint pan. He coats my fingers before smearing a line of paint on a blank sheet beside his. His hands guide me through every stroke, every line, and every smear.

"Mom always says, 'Have brain, then easy'." He quotes as we work. I laugh. That's one tough mom.

"I like her already," I say. He grins. "Do you miss them?"

"Yes, I do, but I like here. Very nice," he pauses. "I like you too. Your nice. Mom n' dad will like you too."

I smile. "Thank you." I focus back onto the artwork. We paint a simple chickadee and I loved it. The puffed out chest and the small beady eyes were adorable. I admire our finished project.

Cepos stands up first. I follow too, my hands are still dripping with paint. But when I stand. The hem of my dress is longer than I expected and my hands reach out to grab the closest object. The only thing is, it wasn't an object. It was Cepos's flawless pink dress shirt. Now it's not so flawless. The paint is smack on his chest. I stand upright and gasp. He looks down at his shirt and back at me. "Oh my! My apologies! I really didn't mean to do that." He grins. "Wait. What are you doing? Wai-" I exclaim.

He takes his dripping finger and swipes it right down my cheek. I gasp with wide eyes. "This is war," I say. My lips curl up. His smiles turns into a mischievous grin. I take my hand and run it all the way down his arm. He raises his eyebrows at me.

Cepos puts me into a bone breaking hug. I squeal until he releases me. My whole chest is covered in a mess of paint. "Oh no you didn't!"

"Oh yes I dids," he replies. I giggle at his response before swiping his nose with a mix of blue and black paint. He blinks twice.

His finger brushes my elbow as he grins. "Cepos!-"

"Prince Cepos!" Two Egyptian guards burst through the door. They hold up their weapons up.

"Princess Nayla!" Two familiar faces also appear at the same time. My guards.

Cepos and I stand there, frozen. We must look ridiculous. Our body and clothes are covered in paint. One man clears his throat. "My apologies, Prince Cepos, Princess Nayla." They give silent bows and walk back out the doors. Well then.

Some time passes before Cepos and I grin at each other. "Thanks for meeting me today, Cepos."

"Happy to, Nayla."

"Tell your mom I'm finally starting to get why she loves art so much."

"I will."

"And that her son needs some work on his finger painting skills." I hold out my cheek and point my elbow that drips with paint.

"I will think about that." His dimples grow deep.

***

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I just wanted to say thank you so much for 1.05k reads!!!

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Yours always,

Bookworm101

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