Chapter 45: No Maids, No Horses, and Midnight Drinks
The sun was high and hot over the palace fields as Prince Kimo stepped out for his daily walk. It was supposed to be peaceful. Birds. Breeze. Some flower petals drifting lazily through the air.
Until he heard screaming.
"Hold it! Pull together—pull together!"
He turned sharply.
A group of female maids were tangled in rope, desperately trying to lead a large, very angry horse into the barn. The horse had clearly skipped breakfast, hated its job, or just didn't like Mondays.
Then—BAM—it kicked one of the girls into a haystack.
"STOP!" Prince Kimo shouted, leaping down the stone steps in a flash.
The horse froze.
So did the maids.
And then they panicked.
"IT'S THE PRINCE!!"
"Oh no I'm not dressed for royalty!"
"Save yourself!"
They screamed, ran into one another like startled chickens, tripped, bumped heads, knocked over a bucket, and collapsed in a pile of skirts, aprons, and confusion.
Kimo blinked. "What… just happened?"
One brave (but dizzy) maid poked her head out of the tangled heap. "Your Highness, we were just... managing the horse."
"The horse just managed you!" Kimo shouted. "Where are the male workers?!"
"Hiding from the horse," someone whispered.
Kimo sighed and helped the kicked maid to her feet. "From today onward—no female maid is allowed to do heavy labor! And no more horse wrangling, ever!"
The maids cheered.
Then one accidentally cheered too hard and fainted.
That evening, Prince Kimo paced his chambers, frowning at his reflection in the mirror. "How do normal people 'bond' with others again?" he muttered.
He turned to Oki, who had just entered the room holding a tray.
"Should I... invite them to drinks?"
"Drinks?" Oki asked, raising a brow. "With the guards?"
"Yes. It's a normal human thing, right?" He nodded to himself, ignoring her chuckle. "I'll invite them for 1:00 a.m. That's quiet. Peaceful. Good timing."
That night, five male guards stood frozen in the hallway outside Prince Kimo's door, eyes wide, knocking elbows nervously.
"Are we really going to knock?"
"Who even drinks at 1:00 a.m.?"
"What if it was a test?"
"What if it wasn't?! What if this is our only chance to be bros with the prince?!"
One of them wiped sweat off his forehead. "Okay. Rock, paper, sword. Whoever loses knocks."
They played.
All five picked paper.
One guard started crying from stress.
Finally, the door creaked open on its own.
Kimo stood there, completely casual, holding a tray of royal wine and cups.
"Come in," he said.
They tiptoed in like terrified kittens.
By the time they were all seated, awkwardly sipping their drinks, one guard blurted out: "My prince... your room is very... clean."
"Is that... a wolf skull on your bookshelf?" another whispered.
"No! That's art," Kimo said. "Probably."
The laughter was slow at first. But it came. And by the end of the hour, the guards were howling with laughter at Kimo's attempt to explain how he accidentally challenged a squirrel to a duel once.
From the corridor, Oki leaned against the wall, arms crossed, smiling softly.
"I guess that's progress," she whispered.
To be continued....