Page 1 of The Princess and Her Mercenary

Chapter One

Ndari was bored, and when Ndari was bored things tended to get interesting. She wasn’t one to sit around and wait for exciting things to happen, she preferred to be the one to make them happen. Of course, this penchant often got her in trouble. But nothing she couldn’t handle. After all, the last time she’d fucked up big, her brother, the Crown Prince Sal Kamala, sent her to Jakarta to become the companion to the wife of one of his contacts.

The entire experience had been amazing. She’d met and become good friends with Jaya Vogel, wife to an arms dealer. Jaya just happened to be the internationally renowned hacker, XSource, and was in the process of helping Ndari out of her current situation of being locked up in a palace with nothing to do and no shopping in sight.

Source: I should be able to shut down the power long enough for you to get through the door locks. How’re you going to get off the palace grounds?

Ndari: Think you could open the main gates remotely?

Source: Child’s play. But you shouldn’t go through the main gates. Aren’t they crawling in security?

Ndari grinned and replied: Exactly. Everyone’ll be running to the gates to figure out why they opened while I slip out the side door.

Source: Diabolical, dear friend.

Ndari: You know it. Still going to meet me in Paris for some shopping?

Source: Ivan’s in Mexico so it shouldn’t be a problem. I have permission to go shopping as long as I have an adequate security team with me.

Ndari: On another continent?

Source: Meh, he wasn’t specific about where I should or should not shop.

Ndari snickered. She suspected Ivan Vogel, husband to her talented friend, would become more specific when his wife jetted off to France without his permission.

Ndari was laying on her stomach on the bed, her feet kicking in the air, her iPad in front of her. She and Jaya messaged almost daily. It helped alleviate some of the boredom, but Ndari longed to see her friend in person. It had been five months since Sal, or “Sally”, as she preferred to call him, summoned her home to attend her princess duties. Cutting the ribbon on a new bank, babysitting her sister Alyssa, and nursing their ornery aunt as she died with painstaking slowness from an unknown illness that had been killing her for the past fifteen years. Ndari suspected that the illness was boredom and the need to drive everyone around her insane. If she didn’t start dying for real, then Ndari was going to help her along with a little poison in her soup.

Ndari’s attention was drawn back to her iPad as it dinged with an incoming message.

Source: When do you want to do this?

Ndari thought about it before replying: Tomorrow?

She needed to pack a few things and get her hands on the Crown Jewels, the ones that belonged to her anyway. She couldn’t leave the palace without taking her babies with her.

Source: Awesome! I’m so excited to see you! We’ll break you out of the palace tomorrow and meet in Paris the day after for a little R & R.

Ndari’s heart soared. She was going to see one of her closest friends and go on an adventure. No more stuffy palace, no more autocratic brother, no more pretend dying aunt. She was going to be free and she couldn’t wait.

Ndari: I’ll be there!

Source: Love you, girl. Be careful, stay safe.

Ndari: Back at you! XOXO

Ndari rolled off the side of her king sized plus mattress and stood, closing the cover on her iPad and tucking it into a drawer. Thank goodness her brother had a terrible understanding of technology. Of course, he had a team to help with things like computers, security and any other technological needs. But the beauty of him being a technophobe was that he didn’t know enough to wonder what Ndari got up to. He might suspect she had plots brewing in her brain, but he wouldn’t think to have his team do more than check her emails and text messages. He had no idea she was meeting with Jaya in dark web chatrooms.

She sang softly to herself as she opened her closet doors and walked into a space that was big enough to fit another bedroom. She hit the button on the wall and watched with sharp eyes as the racks slowly revolved, showcasing each of her favourite outfits.

“Desert formal?” she pondered as a conservative outfit consisting of a long skirt, silk blouse and headscarf paused in front of her. She shook her head and waited for the next one.

“Oooh, schoolgirl chic.” She touched the short plaid skirt that she knew did amazing things to her legs, giving them the illusion of length, then shook her head again. Too informal for planning the theft of her Crown Jewels.

The third outfit was a gorgeous day gown. Well, she called it a day gown because she was going to wear it during the day, but it was actually a formal evening gown; more appropriate for an evening at the opera than lounging around a dusty old palace. It was dark blue with crystals set in the hem and around the waist, like a faux girdle. The colour of the dress made the crystals shine light blue. She hit the button on the wall, stopping the rack from taking another turn.

The colour would complement her dark skin. She would wear it with her silver cloak, inset with feathers. Outrageously inappropriate for pretty much any occasion except visiting foreign royals, or possibly getting married, but Ndari had decided long ago that beautiful things were meant to be worn, not just looked at. She pulled the items off the hangers and examined them. Perfect for yet another day of lazing around the palace, caring for her aunt and torturing the palace guards.

Tossing her chosen outfit on the bed, she began stripping out of her pajamas-- a short silk nightie with matching panties in royal blue. She kicked off her slippers and walked naked into her ensuite bathroom. The light flickered on as she entered.

She paused to look in the mirror, admiring the soft curves of her body. She’d always been comfortable with herself. Ndari was blessed with her mother’s looks. Natalia had been a Malaysian Princess who was married to a Prince from a desert country far from her own. Rounded curves, long dark shiny hair, graceful posture and pleasant features defined both Ndari and her mother. The only standout was Ndari’s eyes. Like her father, Ndari had eyes that were so dark brown they looked nearly black. Ndari knew she wasn’t exactly a head turner, but she was pretty enough. She loved the way she looked.

She turned the shower on and adjusted the temperature before stepping in. She relaxed as soon as the hot water hit her body, working the tension from her muscles. She was feeling much better now that there was a plan to get her out of the palace. She loved her home, she really did. But she didn’t belong in the ultra-conservative country where every part of her was frowned upon as being too much. She was too outspoken, too outgoing, too mouthy, too opinionated. She was everything women were told not to be. And though her brother loved her, he loved the status quo more. He didn’t know how to manage his younger sister, so he locked her up and threw away the key.

Well, Ndari was taking the key back and she was getting out. She would return eventually, because Sally always called her home, citing her duties as too important to ignore. And she allowed it, because she didn’t want the entire burden of the monarchy to fall on his shoulders. But before she took up the reins of her duties once more, she was going to go and have an adventure with her best friend.

The moment that thought left her head the lights went out and Ndari was left standing in the dark in her shower. She frowned in concern.

“One day too early, Jaya,” she said with a sigh and reached for a towel. She was going to have to get this show on the road if she wanted this escape plan to work. “Off to steal some jewels then!”

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