Taming A Billionaire

The third point of view:

Akim sat down to eat his food and prepare for school when a piercing scream reverberated across the palace. He dropped his spoon with a sigh, he didn't need to guess, Jasmine must be missing again. She was the only person who could cause such pandemonium in the palace. 

"Princess Jasmine!" one of the servants called out confirming his suspicion.

His sister Jasmine has gone missing again, his mother would go crazy once more.

On cue, his mother appeared in the dining, panicking,

"Akim!" She rushed to him, "Have you seen Jasmine?!"

"Isn't she supposed to be in her room?" He asked his mother who was going crazy with worry.

"The maids had bathed her and left the room, intending to get her governess, but she was nowhere to be found when they returned," She explained, pacing up and down the room.

While other kids went to school, Akim and his sister Jasmine were home schooled. Well, not anymore - on his part. Jasmine would need to get a little older before she could be let to study outside.

Akim knew his parents were only trying to protect them, it was beginning to get suffocating. It was no wonder Jasmine escaped the palace grounds with every little opportunity she had.

After the rebellion, it took a lot of years to stabilize the kingdom of Lincolnshire. They thought everything was good until the prince was attacked on his tenth birthday.

It was a failed assassination with some of the attackers caught and interrogated. There the truth was revealed, the families of the traitors who escaped execution tried to get back at them. But then their plan was thwarted and the security around the palace tightened.

Thanks to that assassination, Akim's freedom was restricted for five years as his father worked hard at trying to fish out those traitors. It wasn't until his fifteenth year, he threw quite a huge tantrum and he was sent to a private school at last - with heavy security.

Sincerely, Akim enjoyed his mother's anxiety - even though he didn't want to. He just wanted his parents to give them a bit more freedom; he felt like a beautiful caged bird. 

He knew Jasmine was probably hiding somewhere and would be caught before she moves far. His mother was just overreacting. What's the worst that can happen anyway? The palace was so tight that even a cockroach could not crawl. They should not fear for Jasmine's safety, if anything, they should pray she's not tero

"Have you checked the cameras?" Akim decided to lend a helping hand knowing he wouldn't be able to make it to school if his sister wasn't found.

"Yes!" Emily gasped, "The cameras," How could she have forgotten that?

Some might call her an overprotective mother but she was just trying to protect her kids. It was a big miracle to Emily when Jasmine came along because no one expected she would ever conceive again. 

There was a huge celebration in the palace and kingdom when the news was released. However, having the baby was not the only problem, would the child survive in her womb? That had been the next trial to overcome. 

Emily remembered clearly, during the months of being pregnant, she was treated like a fragile egg. Doctors and nurses were at her beck and calls at any slight discomfort in her body. She was placed under strict supervision and at the nineth month delivered through a cesarean operation. 

She was named after the gemstone, Jasmine. Jasmine was God's gift to her and she would keep her safe especially from those bloodsucking traitors. Jasmine and Akim were her live now, she would die if anything happened to either of them. 

"I should check the cameras!" Emily said to herself and was about to head to the control room when an announcement came, 

"The princess is in the courtyard!" one of the servants screamed. 

Without further notice, the both of them hurried over to the courtyard the servants were pointing at. Upon entering the green patch of lawn with a footpath, the both of them were dumbfounded as they stared at Jasmine up on a tree.

"Jasmine!" the emotional Emily screamed and tried to walk over to the tree but Akim held her back. 

"Don't!" He warned her, "You might startle her! We want her in one piece, don't you?"

"Y-yes," Emily's senses returned and she clasped her hands together in prayer. 

"What's going on here?!" a voice boomed from behind and Akim took a deep breath. Thank God, the king of this kingdom was here to resolve this issue. Now, he could go to school in peace. 

Emily didn't say anything, rather she pointed to the treetop and there was their daughter happily seated on one of the branches.

Princess Jasmine's face lit up as soon as she spotted her father from that height.

"Daddy look, I'm a monkey!" She stood up and waved at him. However, in the process of waving, the girl slipped and fell - almost fell. Somehow, she regained her balance and stood tall at the branch with a grin as if she had intentionally teased everyone.

"No, Jasmine!" Emily's heart almost jumped out of her chest when the girl slipped. She closed her eyes and lost unconscious immediately.

"Emily!" Judy caught his wife immediately. He then glared at the employees, "What are you still waiting for?! Get her off that tree!" he commanded before carrying his wife out of there.

The servants tried to climb up the tree but no matter how much they tried, they ended up falling back to the ground. It happened that it had rained in the early morning hence the barks were slippery and wet. How Jasmine had climbed up the tree without slipping and breaking a bone? They all wondered.

Seeing that they were unable to climb the tree, they decided the next approach was to convince Jasmine to get off the tree and break her fall. 

Immediately, some of the students hurried outside only to return with a mattress big enough to catch her. 

"Princess Jasmine jump!" ordered one of the servants but the girl shook her head stubbornly. 

"No! Leave me alone!" 

"It's for your sake, princess!" 

"No, I'm comfortable up here! Just leave me alone!" 

"It's not befitting a princess to live on a tree," They still pressed. 

"Then I won't be a princess!" She wrapped her arms across her chest with a huff, "I'll tell mommy not to make me a princess then so you won't have to take care of me anymore and I'll be free to climb trees whenever I want," The seven-year-old girl already made up her plans. 

The servants were exhausted, they didn't know what to do anymore. They could not bellow at her since she was a princess of their great kingdom and would be treated with respect nonetheless. Neither could they startle her else she falls in the wrong direction.

The servants knew they couldn't entice her with chocolates and sweeties since she had access to all those in the palace. What then could they do? The king would kill them if his precious daughter was still up there by the time he returned.

"Princess -"

"Let me try," Akim said to the servant who had tried desperately hard to get her off the tree.

He came to stand at the front, staring up at the high tree. He couldn't help but admired her, she would be a talented climber. Unfortunately, those qualities were useless on a princess.

"Get off the tree, Jasmine," He told her.

"No," She stood her ground, "Even you can't change my mind. I like it here,"

"Really?" Akim knew she was lying, "You like the wet, uncomfortable, rough bark?"

The girl looked down at the branch, biting the inside of her mouth unsure. She simply shook her head, unable to come up with an excuse anymore.

"I'll take you to the upcoming festival outside the palace," Akim said and the girl's features lit up at once.

"You will?!" She was hopeful.

"Yes," 

Suddenly, she narrowed her gaze at him and shook her head, "No, you're just trying to get me off the tree. You're lying to me," 

"Have I ever lied to you?" Akim fixed her gaze on her. 

Jasmine pulsed her lips, fidgeting with her hands, "No?" 

"Then trust me as you've always done,"

"You would really take me to the festival?" 

"Yes, I will," 

"Cross your heart?" 

"Yes, cross my heart," Akim promised her, "Now get down," 

"Sure," The girl stood from the branch, clearing the back of her skirt and before anyone could guess what, jumped from the tree. 

Akim's eyes widened at once and instinctively reached out his hands to catch her, her weight bringing them both to the ground. He groaned softly, the air knocked out of his lungs because of his sister's weight and the momentum of her jump. 

"My prince! My princess!" the servants rushed to their aid. By the time Akim got to his feet and realized he was okay, he was as furious as hell. 

"What did you do that for?! You could have killed yourself or even me?!" He bellowed at her. 

Jasmine pouted her lips and blinked innocently saying, "You told me to get down,"