"Reunited..." - Chapter Ten

Reunited...

Chapter Ten

By Douglas E. Gogerty

Princess Angelina found out that the Google was an interesting and vast source for information on the internets. The words she would type brought a vast selection of results. However, most of these results were no longer there. Thus, when she would use the strange pointing device to click on the items, they returned an error page. However, the item labeled cache on the Google would return a result.

Thus, most of the ancient technology still worked. However, much of the infrastructure was no longer functioning. Nonetheless, the Princess gained access to much of the information available on one of the internets. One of the first things she learned was that the ancient civilization was obsessed with sex. It was as if these internets were made for pornography.

She searched for some of the names that she had read in some of her books. In this way, she found out more information about the leaders of this former civilization. She devoured everything she could find. Sometimes she ended in a dead-end, but there was plenty other things to read.

Princess Angelina spent hours and hours on the internet. She studied the ancient culture with great fascination. In ways, she found the ancient civilization to be much more advanced than her own. The opportunities for everyone were great. She wondered how such an advanced civilization could throw it all away.

Nonetheless, women in the former times were still objectified. It was evident in some of the images she found. However, some women had real power. Women were not just mothers. They had a say in how their lives went. They would not be traded for hunks of land.

If the women back then realized the power over men they had, she thought they could have taken over the world. At least stop the war...

That gave her the idea. Perhaps men had not changed. Perhaps women could still influence men with their appearance. Perhaps a pretty face could still manipulate the opposite sex. Perhaps she had some power that she could wield.

At this moment, she remembered the reaction Prince William had on her entrance. He would be a good test subject. She just needed to determine how far it would go. She would have to be careful. Men had the power because of strength. An angry man could be difficult to handle, especially for a petite teenager. An angry confrontation could be harmful and even deadly.

Nonetheless, she was sure that her rise to power was going to be through her looks. She felt bad about this. History would not judge her on her merits, if all she had was that men were susceptible to her charms. She had studied hard. She had a thirst for knowledge. It would be a shame to have the history books remember her solely for her beauty. However, in her current circumstance, that is all with which she had to work. Once in power, she would make sure she was known for more.

She decided that she would test her allure on Prince William. She hoped she could quickly determine how far he was willing to go and for what. The first goal would be to find him. She had left him at a hotel to do whatever he wished. It was a largish city, and he may be difficult to find.

She washed up and put on some clean clothes she believed made her look attractive. She stepped outside and the sun was not out.

What day is it? she wondered. What time is it? How long was I at that?

She could not remember the last time she ate something. Her stomach grumbled. Thus, before she would go looking for Prince William, she would get something to eat. Her experiment would have to wait. Or would it?

While it was important to work on people in power, she could also test her hypothesis on any man. She could even test it on the men visiting from across the ocean. The world just opened up with possibilities. The first step was dinner, or lunch, or whatever.

She walked the several blocks back to the hotel where she had left Prince William. It had a fine restaurant, and perhaps the Prince had not left. Suddenly she felt that the world was a different place. She noticed men looking at her. She smiled inwardly.

She walked in the door to the hotel. A guard was on duty, and he greeted her.

"Good Morning Princess. You are up early today."

"I wanted to take a walk," replied the Princess "and it is simply to hot to do during the day."

"A fine idea."

"Is the kitchen open?"

"Not for another hour."

"Oh! But I am really hungry."

"I will see what I can do."

"Do not bother. I will handle it myself."

The guard had orders, and she was the daughter of the king. Thus, he would not be a good subject for her experiment. The kitchen staff might be a different story. They were younger and more removed from the King's influence.

She entered the kitchen and a few of the staff were busy readying themselves to open. Some were checking inventory. Some were gathering supplies. Some were cleaning up a little bit. They all stopped when the Princess walked into the room. She walked up to the man who had been telling others what to do.

"I do not want to be an inconvenience," the Princess began "but if I could get a little something to eat, I would greatly appreciate it."

"Certainly!" the head chef stated. "Sit down! Sit down! What would you like?"

"I do not want to be a bother."

"Nonsense! Whatever you want."

"Well gosh, what is normally served at this time of day?"

"The special this morning is a crevette with a mornay sauce served in a Provencale manner with shallots and aubergines garnished with truffle pate, brandy and with a fried egg on top."

"That sounds very good," replied the Princess with a twinkle in her eye. "But, it sounds like it would be an awful lot of trouble."

"Not at all! We will get it right away!"

The chef clapped his hands and the kitchen sprang to work. The Princess sat there wide eyed watching the kitchen spring to life. So far, her test was successful.