There was a brief silence as the four of us stood in the courtyard, looking at one another. However, this did nothing to dispel my anger.

"Prince Antonio. What is the reason for your visit, and why did you bring her here?" I asked.

"I have something to tell you," Prince Antonio answered.

"...Is that really all? Either way, that doesn't give you the right to bring some random stranger to my abode without my permission. Where has your common sense gone, Prince? She is to be escorted away immediately."

"...Um..." muttered Prince Juan, "I can escort her away for you..."

"...If it's not too much trouble, Your Highness," I said as I looked over at Prince Juan, wondering just what kind of relationship he had with Kendyl, "that would be nice."

"Oh, it won't be too much trouble at all. But I do hope to enjoy another nice walk with you in the future."

"...Of course. In the meantime, there are a few of my servants available on your way out. Please ask them to lead you to the castle's entrance and send your friend away."

"Yes. I will. Goodbye, Your Highness. Kendyl, come with me."

I watched as Prince Juan took Kendyl by the arm and led her away, with Prince Antonio watching him inquisitively. When Prince Juan and Kendyl were gone, Prince Antonio turned back to me to speak.

"Talking to other guys, huh?" he said.

"So, it's a problem for me to just simply speak to someone of the opposite sex now when you waltz around all day with a girl you're not even engaged to? If you ask me and people around you, Prince, my behavior isn't half as problematic as yours."

"Hmm. Ok."

"What is the purpose of your visit, Prince? By the way, it's good that you're here. There's an important discussion that you and I need to have."

"...I've decided to keep Kendyl as my mistress."

"...You...what?!"

"The other night, I spent the night at the mansion I got for her and we...we had sex."

"..."

"But look. You and I can still work out. We'll still get married, and I can still take care of Kendyl at the same time."

"This..."

"And you won't complain. Right?"

"...This...completely eliminates the need to have that serious conversation with you."

I turned my back to the prince in great disbelief and anger at what he told me he's done.

"...Well, that's great. So, you agree?" the prince asked.

"You...you take your little mistress and get out of my castle, Prince."

"What about your answer?"

I turned back to look at the prince directly in the eyes.

"You're still welcome to come to the castle's New Year's celebration party. By then, you will have your answer. In the meantime, you take that girl and leave my presence. Now."

I watched as the prince simply just walked away. And when he was gone, I nearly fell to my knees in grief.

Meanwhile, Prince Juan and Kendyl were promptly led outside of the castle. Once they were there, Prince Juan wished Kendyl a good day and was about to go back inside when Kendyl stopped him.

"Wait," she said, "Can I talk to you? It will only take a few minutes."

After asking the princess's servants to standby and wait for him, Prince Juan took Kendyl a little distance away from the castle to speak.

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"So, what do you want to talk about?" he asked.

"Don't you miss me?" asked Kendyl.

"..."

"You know I didn't forget you, right?"

"...And I didn't forget what you did and didn't do, Kendyl."

"..."

"If you don't have anything important to talk to me about, I'll get going."

"Wait. Please, listen. You and I...we can get back together. I missed you...And there's no reason for you to be talking to that princess."

"Then what are YOU doing with that prince?"

"I..."

"See? You're still the same. You haven't changed, even after all this time. Just leave me alone, Kendyl. And don't try to find me."

With that, Prince Juan took his leave, returning to the castle and leaving Kendyl standing where she was.

As Kendyl watched Prince Juan walk away, she started to hear whispering nearby. Turning her head slightly, she noticed that there was a small group of women not too far from her, whispering to each other.

"Is that her?" one of the women asked.

"The rumors are true. And she really is a fat pig. Eww," said another woman.

"But what the heck is that thing doing here?" asked yet another woman.

After concluding that the women were talking about her, Kendyl confronted them.

"Hey!" she shouted, "I'm standing right here, and I deserve respect! Don't go running your stupid little mouths about me!"

At this, the women exploded into laughter.

"Oh, so the pig speaks," said one of the women.

"Does a parasite like you really deserve respect when you're nothing but a fat, ugly homewrecker?! How dare you interfere with our great princess's engagement?!"

"Sh-shut up or I'll beat all of your little asses!" shouted Kendyl.

"You'll beat us, eh? Oh, don't be silly. We're not afraid of you. As women of the land of Morado, we, as well as other women, are very well encouraged to be strong and know how to defend ourselves. We may look docile like this but trust me. We really do pack a punch. The best thing for YOU to do is to stay away from the castle. We would like to continue to feel safe coming here in its proximity to socialize. If you do not comply, because you threatened us first, WE'LL beat YOU. And if we aren't satisfied with our own damage, we'll get our men to beat you, too."

"..."

"And with that vulgar, uncouth mouth of yours, you don't sound like you're from here anyway. How does that prince even like you?...But then again, he is from the west, and given how those people act, there's no wonder he's attracted to someone like you. Tsk Tsk. Old habits die hard. This makes me feel even more sorry for our princess. I do hope you aren't also from the west, brat."

As the women began to laugh among themselves again, Kendyl ran off a little distance away from them with tears in her eyes, hoping they wouldn't follow her. When she thought she got far enough away, she stopped behind a bush to catch her breath. Soon after, she overheard a few men talking.

"Did you hear about or see what happened with that guy the other day at the castle?" said one of the men.

"No. What happened?" asked another.

"That guy had the nerve to try to force himself into the castle and demand to speak to the princess. Not only that, I heard he offered to be her suitor."

"What?"

"No way! Really?"

"Yup."

"But who was that guy, anyway. He sounds like some stupid drunk, or something."

"You know that darn prince of the west? The guy who did all that nonsense is his attendant, apparently."

"What?" whispered Kendyl to herself.

"Kendyl!" shouted Prince Antonio as he appeared behind Kendyl, startling her, "Why are you here? I've been looking all over for you."

"I-I got lost, that's all."

"Come on. I'm going to take you somewhere to eat."

"...Actually, I don't feel good right now. Can you take me home?"

"You sure?"

"Yeah. Also, I would like to spend the night alone in my mansion tonight."

"Really? Why?"

"...I don't want to get you sick."

"I can just sleep in another room."

"Please, Antonio. I need some space."

Looking a bit annoyed, Prince Antonio reluctantly agreed to allow Kendyl to spend the night alone in her mansion and promptly took her home.

Later that night, Kendyl was sitting alone in the dining room, staring off into space, waiting for Mike to show up. When he finally did, she continued to sit and stare, not even bothering to greet him. Mike eventually seated himself at the dining room table where Kendyl was sitting and helped himself to some cold chicken that was sitting on the table.

"Mmm...You got a problem or something?" said Mike, "Why you not talking?"

"...Mike," began Kendyl, "There's something I heard about earlier today."

"Oh, really?"

"Is it true that you tried to get with the princess?"

"What? No."

"Don't lie to me, Mike."

"I ain't try to get with no god damn princess."

"...There were some people who said that they clearly saw you go to the castle, make a fuss, and offer to be with her. And another one said that they recognized you as the prince's attendant. And the prince only has ONE attendant."

"..."

"How could you do that, Mike?! After all I've done for you, why would you try to cheat on me like tha-"

Suddenly, Mike got up from his seat and slapped Kendyl so hard, she tumbled to the floor. Shocked, she looked up at him as he walked over to her, knelt down, and grabbed her by her face.

"Look here, you fucking slut," said Mike, "If it weren't for ME, you wouldn't be in this situation where you could have a nice house and nice clothes and shit. And how do I know you won't betray me when that prince finally gets with you? I know y'all fucking, too. So, you ain't no different. You better remember that I'm the only one who knows you're a fucking harlot from the west, and if you don't fucking act right, you better believe I'll tell the princess who you are, and she'll deport your ass back there in a heartbeat."

"AND I'LL TELL HER YOU'RE FROM THE WEST, TOO!"

This time, Mike punched Kendyl in the face, sending her face down on the floor before he stood back up.

"Go on ahead and try that shit!" he said, "I'll fucking kill you if I have to!"

Mike then grabbed his cold chicken, turned out all the lights in the dining room, and went upstairs to one of the rooms, leaving Kendyl alone on the dining room floor, sobbing.

"