Hidden Secrets

Chapter Three

Mehdi woke up in a foul mood. Not because he had a bad sleep, but because he remembered that the princess was coming today.

    He slowly got out of bed, sliding on his robe. He strutted over to his closet, picking out a light blue suit with gold lacing. He got dressed and put black dress shoes on. Mehdi stood in front of his floor-length mirror, depicting anything that was out of place. His hair was a little messy, but he fixed it with a comb of the hand. Good enough, he thought with a shrug of his shoulders. He didn't want the princess to get the wrong idea, so he didn't want to look his best.

    Mehdi walked out of his room and put on his best fake smile. He could hear a commotion coming from down the stairs and rolled his eyes. As he walked down the stairs, he could see his parents talking to, what he guessed, the princess. She was decent-looking. She had wavy dirty blonde hair that rested just below her shoulders and was wearing a knee-length gown that was light pink.

    Mehdi wasn't noticed yet, so he continued his way towards his parents. His mother glanced in his direction and called him over. "Mehdi, I would like you to meet Princess Reyan Thornton of Panlea," his mother demanded. Reyan had a soft smile written on her lips and curtsied. Mehdi bowed in return.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Your Highness," the princess exclaimed. Her voice was silvery and soft.

"Same to you," Mehdi replied.

"Why don't you take Reyan to the lounge room," Mehdi's father suggested. "I'm sure she is exhausted after her travels." Mehdi knew he didn't have a choice, so he nodded his head and held out an arm for the princess to take.

He guided them to the lounge room and closed the door behind them. Before he could say anything, Reyan spoke out. "Look, listen, I'm sure you're a sweet guy and all, but I can't love you. I left someone back at home that I love, a lot, so I'm sorry if this comes out as rude, but I can't lead you on," she explains, breathless by the end.

The prince was not expecting this at all and stared at her, his eyes wide. "No way! I was just about to say the same."

Reyan looked at Mehdi relieved and said, "What, do you have a lover too?"

"Ha, no, I wish." Mehdi looked at Reyan with a hesitant glance. Should I tell her, he pondered. He looked at Reyan again, who was scanning the room with curious eyes. She doesn't look like someone who would spill secrets. Mehdi finally came to a conclusion. "I don't" —Reyan turned her attention back to Mehdi— "uh, um, I..."

"Just spit it out, I'm sure it's not even that bad," Reyan said, getting impatient.

Mehdi swallowed thickly before he spat out, "I'm gay."

The princess looked at him like he's grown an extra arm and then burst out laughing. Mehdi gave a nervous laugh. "Oh, that is bad! The only heir to the throne is gay! Who would've thought!" she continued to laugh. "The king and queen must be furious," Reyan said and looked to Mehdi. Mehdi wasn't looking at her anymore but was looking anywhere but her. "They don't know! Wow! This just keeps getting better and better," she exclaimed.

Mehdi whipped his head back towards Reyan. "Hey! You can't say anything about this. No one knows, okay? So, just keep it to yourself. If somebody finds out about me being gay, the monarchy will have a dilemma."

Reyan stopped laughing at hearing the panic in his voice. "Okay, okay. I won't tell anyone, and I wasn't planning on it anyways. You have the right to come out when you're ready," Reyan assured.

"Thank you," Mehdi breathed.

A smirk formed on Reyan's lips. "So...do you have anyone in mind?" Mehdi blushed fiercely and moved to the couch that was next to a window. "Ooh, he does. Do tell," she said as she moved to the couch. The window overlooked the guards' training field which was scattered with guards. They were doing some sort of training skills. Mehdi was watching them, trying to calm the blush that was splayed across his cheeks. Reyan studied the prince as he spoke up.