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Haya.

She stood in the middle of the hall, finding her father and mother engrossed in a detailed conversation. Judging from their facial expressions, they genuinely seemed concerned.

Their worried expressions, worried her as well. Usually, whatever time they did spend with one another.. they always looked extremely happy and joyous.

There wasn't much to worry about when they both were together with each other. But today, that did not seem like the case.

What if they were discussing her? Had she done something? She did not remember doing anything other than the slightly firm conversation that she had with her mother.

Since she could not bare the side of her worried father, she walked towards her parents.

She greeted them with a smile, then proceeded to take place beside her father.

"Dad, is everything alright?" She questioned straight to the point. He clearly seemed concerned over something and knowing him, it would affect his health one way or the other.

Her father was a sensitive soul.

"Yes, Haya. Everything's fine." He managed to say, not even ready to start the same conversation again.

Haya frowned. What was the problem then?

Before she could press on the matter, her mother spoke up..she sounded disappointed.

"Your brother has refused to attend the event in DC. The press statement has already been released and your father can not exactly travel right now."

Oh.

Her brother was a good man, hard working one at that and quite intelligent. He had been brought up in a way that he knew his responsibilities and his duties.

He was the Crown Prince of Buredaan, how could he refuse something like this after a commitment had been made?

"And why did he refuse?" Haya questioned, not understanding why he would say no.

He was usually up for such things and since he had a good grasp on words and the usage of words, he was liked by a lot of people.

"He says that he is already working too hard and he hates going to America."

Well, that was true. The states was not exactly his most favourite country in the world but it wasn't like Yusuf was going on some vacation anyway.

Haya shook her head, slightly annoyed at her brother for making father worried like that.

"As if he's not the Crown Prince. Should I go knock some sense into him?" She questioned her parents, she found her mother shrugging..as if she did not know.

On the other hand, the King shook his head. He did not want his youngest to argue with his oldest.

"No, Haya. He should realise his responsibility on his own. I have never forced my choices upon my kids." The King responded, sounding like the wise father that he was.

There were not a lot of parents in the world who let their children find their own path, at least not the ones with power. Yet here he was, being his utterly wise self.

Haya smiled at him, agreeing.

"Then who is going to attend the event? Surely we can't just cancel."

She asked, pondering for a moment before a grin appeared on her face and she urgently leaned forward to stare at her dad.

"Can I, father?" She asked, inhaling a breath.

The King didn't look surprised, he obviously knew that his daughter would ask something like this.

"Can you go to DC in your brother's place?"

"Yes."

The King did not know exactly what to say. He knew that his daughter was invested in such things and she would not embarrass him but at the same time, knowing her activist nature..he was not sure if she would be able to remain neutral and diplomatic.

Seeing the uncertainty on his face, Haya squeezed her father's hand.

"Look, dad. I understand that I can't take the authority but you know that I am good enough to take a lead on such things."

She thought he was uncertain if she was good enough or not.

"If you were my first born child, I would have given you the authority with closed eyes." He said instead.

He looked at his wife, finding her staring at Haya as well.

"Can I go then?" Haya asked, hopeful.

"You can not call anyone a hypocrite, can not critisize the west for racism, discrimination, can not talk anything that might land our country in trouble. We need allies, Haya. Not enemies." He said first, knowing that his daughter would not hesitate in calling people out the moment she got close enough.

She would blow up on them without thinking about the consequences. She would probably talk to the press too and give them a good scoop.

Haya looked at him like he had asked her to cut her tongue off.

"But-" He lifted his hand to stop her and shook his head.

"No. Promise me and I'll allow you to go." He negotiated, Haya pouted but nodded anyway.

If she wanted to go, she had to agree.

"Fine. I promise." She said with such a long sigh that it seemed like she was doing everyone the biggest favour.

Her parents chuckled at her attitude as she stood up, mumbling and grumbling about the world being hypocritical and pathetic.

---

The moment she reached her room, the first thing she had on her mind... It was definitely to call the Prince. The Prince who was going to be present at the event, the Prince who she would have another chance of meeting, the Prince who she liked more than just a little.

She dialed his number, even though she knew this wasn't exactly the time where he would be sitting idle.

When she was outside, requesting her father to let her go and attend the event, the thought of the Crown Prince had not really crossed her mind.

But the moment she entered her room and thought about how incredible the entire event would be, all she could think about was the Crown Prince.

She was not sure that he was attending and she did not want to ask any official employee when she could just call him and ask.

She vaguely remembered him mentioning his upcoming visit to the states but she still had to make sure and then pack her wardrobe accordingly.

Instead of leaving a text, she made a quick call. It rang for a few seconds before she heard the voice of Prince Amir.

"Two calls in one day? You're really turning fond of me, hmm?" He greeted with a small playful sentence, repeating the words that she had said to him before.

A smile broke out on Haya's face and instead of denying it, she simply told him that she was definitely turning fond of him.

"So what if I am?" She questioned, expecting him to come up with a sweet reply due to his nature but instead she got a very soft voice, asking her if it was okay a to talk in a little while.

"I'm actually in the middle of something, can I call you back?" He questioned, Haya just shrugged.

If he had the time to attend her call and greet her with such a playful sentence, he could spare a few more seconds.

"Then I won't take long. Are you attending the event in DC?" She spoke out.

"Yes. I am." He confirmed, her heart fluttered just a bit.

"Well, I guess I will see you in DC then." She stated, ready to hang up on him since he was busy.

She felt Amir prolong the conversation on his own.

"So you're the crown Prince then?" She expected something else instead of this question but he was a curious  man, who definitely wanted to know the reason behind her attendance instead of her brother.

Lately, Amir had developed the habit of checking everything related to Buredaan and mostly, things about Haya were quite highlighted.

While her humanitarian work and her style were mostly discussed, there was an entire website dedicating all their hardwork to Princess Haya's wild days. Her partying, her involvement with men, her friends, her blunt attitude.

Her older brother Yusuf, the Crown Prince of Buredaan and the minister of finance was very famous among his people, some websites claimed that he was the King's only worthy son. The other two merely enjoyed the wealth and Royal status, Amir didn't know if it was true or not.

"My brother is quite busy at the moment so so I am taking his responsibility for once." She answered vaguely, knowing that she could not tell him about her brother's lack of interest in going to the states again.

"I figure you asked your father to let you go. Your foreign minister would have adjusted himself there just fine." He pressed on the matter, Haya frowned.

"You should be happy you'll get to see me again." She reminded him and got nothing but silence in return.

She was ready to end the call once again, but then she heard his breathy voice and that affection attached to it.

"I am happy." She heard him say, she smiled.

"And I can't wait to see you again."

Haya couldn't wait either.

@Haya : DC.

"And I'm sure you have met Crown Prince Amir bin Abdullah."

His eyes, brown and honey colored at the same time, had the same warmth as the last time she had peeked into them. There was warmth and gentleness in his eyes, but also power.

There's so much power, the kind that can be both beautiful and hazardous.

His eyes shone a shade of a golden as he shook his hand with her, pulling her out of the slight daze that she was in, they were surrounded by people and Haya was almost staring.

"Yes, I had the pleasure already. How are you?" Haya greeted him back, her hand still squeezed in his as she got introduced to the Crown Prince of Maraaish once again by the American secretary of state.

Amir smiled at her, his eyes gazing at her face longer than he was required to gaze at a woman's face, longer than he was permitted to.

"Alhamdullilah. I am good. How are you, Princess? I'm looking forward to hearing you speak at the event."

"Thank you. Your speech was quite informative, a mind opener infact."

"Was it? Well, that is nice to hear." They looked at the US secretary as he watched them chat, telling them that he would be back in just a bit.

They were thankful that he actually left.

Haya pointed to her team from Buredaan, asking them to scatter and talk to people. Amir, he did the same.

Even if they were around a hundred people, they could still have a moment of peace together.

For the event, Haya had worn a black long dress. It hugged her body, in a way that even though it was tight, it did not show her curves and a sheer thread of modesty covered her. She had dressed this way because of Amir and also, because she did not want the people to talk about how Princess Haya of Buredaan looked, she wanted them to hear what she had to say.

Sure, Haya had promised her father that she would behave but that did not mean putting out a speech that gave out a fierce message without offending anyone. She could be diplomatic like Amir. She could try.

Her hand was still held by his own and as she stared at him and then at his grip on her hand, she knew it was about time that she snapped him out of it. There were people around.

"Hey." Haya whispered, greeting him again with a personal touch.

"Hey." Amir whispered back, Haya smiled.

He was so busy staring at her that he didn't even realise he was holding her hand.

"You can leave my hand, you know. People are watching." She told him, gesturing towards his grip on her hand.

Amir nodded, pulling his hand away and grinning at her.

"You look wonderful." He complimented, Haya nodded knowingly.

"You look handsome." He grinned at her again, revealing his dimples. The ones that she had a special attraction towards.

"And your dimples look great." She added, Amir tried to show a normal professional smile but he could not help himself as his eyes shone and his smile widened every time he stared at her.

"Don't make them pop out too much." She joked, Haya chuckled.

"I'm sure they are going to remain there for as long as I'm here." She said back, smug.

"Look at that confidence."

"I thought you'd be used to it by now."

"Oh, I am. Your confidence is one of the many things in your personality that I genuinely enjoy." He told her, Haya raised an eye at him.

"Many things? Care to elaborate?" She asked. What else did he genuinely enjoy about her?

"You're already not modest enough, Princess. I don't want my words to get into your head." Amir responded, playfulness dancing in his eyes.

"I am quite modest, Prince." She argued, even though he was right. She had this sheer confidence about herself, about how she looked, who she was.

"There, I disagree." Amir replied, she was ready to open her mouth and give him a smart response too when they felt a presence in front of them and Haya turned, standing by Amir's side to have a better look at the woman who had walked in.

She had a UN badge attached to her blouse and a large smile on her face.

"Good evening." She greeted them, continuing.

"I'm Emily Wheeler from the UN Council. It is a pleasure to meet you both." She pulled out her hand in front of Amir first.

"Hello, I'm Amir."

"Haya, pleasure to meet you." Haya shook the woman's hand but she did not seem very interested in Haya, she was more interested in Amir.

Her constant stare was a proof of that. She raised an eye at her. She had confidence though and while she looked like a very attractive woman, Haya instantly knew that she was just trying her luck with the handsome Prince.

"I actually wanted to personally thank you for your recent initiative. You seem like you have a golden heart." She said to Amir, who smiled at her politely.

"Well, thank you."

"And your speech was everything that I expected and more. On behalf of the UN Council, I'm glad that you spoke on vast subjects. We need more people like you." She said to him again, somehow trying to prolong the conversation.

While Haya was intrigued by the woman before, now she just wanted her gone. She already had a very little time with Amir.

Amir, who wanted the woman to leave just as much.

"Did you know that Princess Haya  actually is a human rights minister and is very devoted to the UN?" He still said, piking Haya's attention.

She made a disgusted face at him.

"I'm not exactly. I think they're a bunch of old fat lazy-" He pinched her side.

Did he really pinch her side to stop her from saying ugly shit about the UN? While it wasn't even a proper pinch, she still clicked her tongue as she got reminded by him about who she was representing and why she shouldn't say anything bad.

"Yes, yes. I am. Extremely devoted." Haya told her, correcting herself with a forced smile.

"That's very nice. I'm very glad. But then again, your initiative was wonderful, Prince Amir." Her entire attention was on Amir.

"Thank you."

"There's no need to thank me, Prince Amir. You're certainly going to reform the middle East."

Damn.

Did she really say that?

Haya let out a soft chuckle, leaning into Amir's ear as she heard him thank her again.

"Thank you again, Emily."

She leaned a little forward, being a little close to him so she could hear what he had to say.

"I think the amirs of Qatar, Kuwait and Dubai are going to kill themselves if they heard this." She mumbled in his ear, his face broke out into a grin, his dimples popping out yet again.

"And what can I say more about your work with the-" Okay now she was almost getting into Haya's nerves.

She actually liked how polite the woman was enough complimenting already.

"Emily, as nice as it was to meet you..the Crown Prince and I were in an important discussion before you arrived and we would like to get back to it." She told her, a gentle smile on her face.

"Thank you for your kind words." Haya shook hands with her once again and Amir remained quiet, only shaking hands with Emily who was ready to leave.

"Right. Well, thanks for your time and I look forward to seeing you again."

The woman finally walked away and Haya groaned out loud, turning in front of Amir once again.

"That's what they do at the UN council truly. The women drool over men they can't have?" He stared at the slight frustration on her face, squinting his eyes at her.

"Were you jealous?" He enquired, intrigue filling his own face.

"More like uncomfortable." Haya added, rolling her eyes.

"Jealous it is."

"You don't enjoy women's company anyway, Amir. They make you sin, remember?" She reminded him, he shook his head.

"No, that's only you."

"She was buttering you up."

"So I'm not going to reform the middle East?"

"You could try."

Amir was about to say something more when Haya saw her team coming towards her, pointing that it was time to take seats and start the event in a proper manner.

Maraaish and Buredaan had three more countries in between them.

"I have to go." She breathed out, looking at Amir.

"I'll text you."

"Okay." She was all set to walk away but his gentle voice stopped her.

"Haya."

"Hmm?" She waited for him to speak.

"You're just as vibrant as the last time we met." He told her, Haya smiled a smile that reached her eyes.

"It's really good to see you again, Amir." 

"You too."

--

Thoughts?