My Prince, My mate

1. Annoying Encounters

It was high noon. The pathway in between the thick stone buildings was empty except for one woman, who was walking briskly in the middle of the grassy lawn. She was an eye-sore in the picturesque view of Unibersidad de San Pedro. A dark dot against the clear blue sky in the background.

She was wearing a lacy dress that hugged her body at the waist. It was topped with a suit, with shoulders puffing up. Her skirt was flaring out like an inverted bell, giving her an hourglass silhouette. Then, to finish it off, she puffed her hair into a bun to accentuate her square jaws.

Her name is Carmelita. She was running late for her afternoon class, yet she still needed to change her attire. It was frowned upon to use the morning dress in an afternoon class. Dresses, in the first place, were treated as status symbols of wealth.

She walked on the grass like her life depended on it. She was going back to her dorm after spending hours in the library. Spaniards were fond of taking their siestas, but not her. For Carmelita, siestas were just another excuse to avoid reading more books.

The sun was shining brightly, and it was prickling her body with intense heat, making her want to tear her long-sleeve dress apart. The inner shirt of her dress was extending up to her neck, and it wasn't helping her cool down. It was itchy. Although the design of her dress was meant for the autumn, she was used to the cold breeze brushing over her smooth, tanned skin.

She couldn’t wait to be back in her dorm and strip off that dark blue dress. Just being in it for a few hours already made her feel like a walking stick.

Finally, she had arrived outside her dormitory. It was a three-story, arched building inspired by the Celts. Bricks were stacked to create walls, and boulders were used to create columns. Its solid look complemented the intricate roofs and window frames that were made of wood. The windows had square glasses in between the wooden frames, letting one see inside the building.

As soon as she went inside her room, she removed the upper layer of her clothing. Its tight fit meant that she could not bend as much or slouch while sitting. She hung the dress outside her closet and had it ready to be washed tomorrow. Then, she took another wardrobe for her afternoon class.

Unlike in La Punta, where they used two dresses, one during the day and another in the evening, this place required three different kinds every day. She couldn't help but miss the small-town vibes in the tropics. It was simply much better than the elite-vibe in Madrid.

Leaning on the wall beside her bed, Carmelita arched her back and rolled her eyes in frustration. It was almost the start of her next class, yet she still hadn’t changed.

"Ugh, why are these buttons too hard to put in place?" she grumbled while reaching behind her dress. Its puffy long sleeves, blocking her view as she tried to look behind her, didn’t help at all.

"Do I look presentable?" she asked, and then twirled in front of Natalia, her best friend s***h roommate. They were about the same height, and their similarities stopped there. She had brown straight hair and deep-set eyes, while Natalia had auburn hair and big, round, puffed eyes.

"If you are aiming for Professor Emilio’s attention once again, then yes, you look presentable. Honestly, what did you see in that horrendous man?" Natalia said while tying her hair up in a sophisticated bun. She was dressed in a button-up shirtwaist paired with a flat skirt that emphasized her buttocks for their class.

"He is dreamy, not horrendous. Those thin, soft lips of his are too irresistible. The way he speaks my name is all I can think of. Remember the first day he called each one of us? The way he stared at me. It was as if I was the most important person in the room while I introduced myself. That is what I am looking for in a man." Carmelita sighed as she looked at herself in the mirror. She could feel the heat from her body rising to her cheeks at the mere thought of him.

If only she was in La Punta, she could have asked her papa to arrange their marriage. However, things were complicated in Madrid. The laws were very different. Women here had fewer rights than men. And heck! They even denied her when she applied to study law. That was the only course she wanted to take to succeed her father.

Society in Madrid viewed women as homemakers. Men ruled the government, and they relegated women to childbearing and less desirable tasks. For the first time, Carmelita felt powerless.

"Come on, we need to hurry. You will see him in a few minutes. Stop moping around." Natalia pulled her to stand properly with her five-foot might. It was funny, as they were both petite compared to the rest of the Spanish women on campus.

She cooperated with her. Making sure she looked decent after she washed her face and tied her hair into a bun. Then she grabbed another notebook from her drawer for a class in Fundamentos en Ciencias Políticas (Fundamentals in Political Science).

"There, all set." She beamed a smile, proud of her accomplishment. Taking their snacks into her bag, they both went out of the dormitory room. The locks clicked, and before she knew it, they were going down the wooden stairs.

The balusters of that dorm had intricate metal designs. In the middle of each of them were two Ps, and on top of them was an S, like the initials of their university. They were connected to a long wooden handrail shaped like a U, making the staircase wider on the bottom than the upper part.

Outside the building, they were greeted by a pathway made of uneven cobblestones. It connected the buildings to each other as grass and trees covered the spaces between the buildings. It was an effective way to provide shade for everyone.

"Excuse me, ladies. I must make haste." A random guy bumped into Carmelita. He was a foot taller and had a muscular body.

Taken by surprise, Carmelita lost her balance and fell to the cobblestones. "Ouch! Watch where you are going!" she shouted at him, flinching after she scratched her palms when she leveraged on them.

She wanted to follow him and punch his face to make sure he learned his lesson. However, he was too fast for his height. Not even one minute, and he was already strutting away.

Instead of running after him, Carmelita used her connection with nature and commanded a tree to raise its roots from the ground. With a few hand gestures, the cobblestones in front of the man cracked, and the pathway turned uneven, showing some of the tree’s roots. It caused the guy to stumble and fall face-first on the pathway.

Carmelita laughed at his demise, and so did the other students present. Good for him.

After a few seconds, the guy hurriedly covered his face and went on running again. It was as if his life was in danger and someone was running after him. That was a bit weird because Carmelita couldn't see anyone following him at all.

"That’ll do for now," she whispered to herself while still lying on the pathway. She was physically hurt, but then it was even now. He was hurt as well.

"Are you fine? Do you need to change?" Natalia felt sorry for her and lent her a hand to stand.

"Thanks. I am fine. I can just dust this off. Besides, we are running late to my favorite subject." Carmelita changed her expression from scowling to smiling. All she could think of was Professor Emilio. She ran her palms through her hair, and then patted her dress to straighten it.

"Who was that guy?" she asked Natalia. She had a feeling that it wouldn’t be the last time that their paths would cross.

"I don’t know. He went past us before I could take a closer look at him," Natalia replied.

***

They had been silent until they reached the building for their classes. Thus, the buzzing energy in the lobby stole both of their attention as soon as they stepped in. Everybody in there was whispering about a student who came from a royal family, making Carmelita's senses tingle nervously. Did they find out about her?

"Mel, let’s go." Natalia had to literally drag her towards their classroom. It was a good thing that their classroom was on the first floor. If not, she would have stumbled on the stairs, guessing what everyone was talking about.

They had just sat in their seats when the door opened and Professor Emilio came in with a new book in his hand. He was a tall man with a buff body. He had a chiseled jawline, paired with high cheeks, and a mustache. It was really the mustache that drew Carmelita's attention to him.

She wanted to stand up and give him the snack she made. However, Natalia held her arm and shook her head. It forced Carmelita to timidly place the snack back inside her bag.

"Later, then," she whispered to herself.

"Buenas tardes (Good afternoon), please take your seats and listen. Today, we will discuss a contemporary novel. You will dissect the first chapter of the book, and the rest will be your homework due next week," announced Professor Emilio as a handsome young man with curly brown hair and sea-green eyes walked towards the center of the platform in front of the class.

The young man was oozing with pheromones and confidence, making Carmelita's molars water with his manliness. When the stranger smiled, butterflies in her stomach fluttered just in time as the other students groaned with the amount of homework they needed to do. She felt quite odd. Even more so when she noticed that she was the only one who was smiling back at him. Weirded out but happy, she nested her face in the palms of her hands.

"Ms. Jiménez , are you with us?" Professor Emilio called her out.

"Si, Professor," she immediately answered as she sat straight, feeling her cheeks turn warm with embarrassment.

"Very well. Jorge kindly read the first paragraph of the first page." The professor nodded as he continued to conduct his lecture.

Her classmate stood up and read, but he was stuttering. Some of their classmates giggled at his behest.

"Silencio." (Silence)," Professor Emilio reprimanded them, making the classroom ghost silent all of a sudden. She could even hear the birds chirping from the outside.

Jorge stopped reading for a bit. A tear ran down his cheeks as his face turned pale from shame. He wasn’t from Madrid, just like her. He was born and raised in the colonies, those islands that were conquered by the Spanish in the name of The King. Often, those islands were thousands of miles away from España.

"Jorge, please continue, and this time be confident," Professor Emilio commanded in his thick Spanish accent.

The student did as he was told, and the rest of the class went smoothly. However, one of the students mocked their professor, saying, "Professor Terror strikes again." The long list of students who had cried in his class could vouch for his nickname. Carmelita tried to defend their professor, but Natalia stopped her.

A few minutes more, and she went out of the class with Natalia. "Poor Jorge. He did not deserve such humiliation earlier." She felt his struggles and knew exactly how uneasy it was to fit in. Their accent was different from the natives.

"He needs to learn. He chose to study here, so he should face the consequences," Natalia replied without batting an eyelash.

"How about me? You helped me during the first few days I was here. Can we do the same for him?" Carmelita wanted to help Jorge, but seeing Natalia’s reaction made her rethink her idea.

"We already have enough on our plates. Besides, you are even taking extra classes on top of our current ones. How do you even manage to study all of those?" Natalia raised her eyebrows at her. Then her friend crossed her arms above her chest, silently telling her that she was far from agreeing.

"Fine. I will help you with our homework if you can cover for me later. I still have another class." Carmelita smiled and showed her puppy dog eyes. She knew her best friend could never refuse her.

"It's not like I have other choices, right? Those books are too old for my taste, anyway." Natalia sighed.

"Thank you, Nat. See you later." Carmelita waved her hand as she walked away.

"Don’t forget about the snack," Natalia reminded her about what she planned to give their professor.

That prompted Carmelita to take the snack out of her bag and go back to the classroom. However, Professor Emilio wasn’t there anymore. Knowing that he would go back to the faculty room, she quickly chased him. She knocked on the door and opened it slightly.

"Professor..." She took a deep breath before opening the door fully.

"This is no place for women. What are you doing here?" a man with an authoritative yet sexy voice spoke to her as she stood on the doorstep.