The Prince and His Harem - Final Inspirations

OT Object	Chapter	OT thread
"always be by my side"	Ch 47, Ch 79	trope
"Blushy"	Ch 8	224
"Kotohuadan" (Thank you in Kadazan)	Ch 18
"Pillow Prince"	Ch 75	224
"sequinned silver-thread-embroidered harem pants"	Ch 29
"Why, do I sparkle?"	Ch 16
Alliteration	Ch 66
Back hug	Ch 33, Ch 75	trope
Bourbon's Bar	Ch 11, Ch 17, Ch 25	223, 235
bubble tea	Ch18	220, 229
chocolate cake	Ch 12, Ch 33	224
coconut ice cream	Ch 12, Ch 33	224
CREATIVE SPARK	thread 56.4.2	223
Durian - "buttery pungent goodness"	Ch 16	221,223,
Durian (name)	cake, Ch 8  fruit, Ch 16, Ch 74	224
Eyelash wish	Ch 34
"Fruits" instead of "fruit"	Ch 74	238
green apple (cruelsummer's paint color)	Ch 16
Hiding in a cave	Ch 73, Ch 74
Hospital Gurney run	Ch 55	trope
In some bad book / Kdrama	Ch 37, Ch 58	trope
Internet in Malaysia	Ch 9, Ch 16, Ch 47	233
Korean Pop	Ch 81	trope
Nasi Lemak	Ch 4	221, 226
Number One on the Speed Dial	Ch 60	trope
Nutella	Ch 60, Ch 76
Patrick Starr boxers	Ch 43
Raine's cello rant	Ch 11
Rickie's Abs shot	Ch 74, Ch 75	236
Soju	Ch 11	trope
Tragus piercing	Ch 5, Ch 13	223
Tucking hair behind ear	Ch 31, Ch 75	trope
White Bathrobe	Ch 29	223
Wiggle and pout	Ch 25	ongoing

The Prince and His Harem - Glossary

Glossary and Information

Abang – “Older brother” in Malay

Air Harimau Bintang -  The name of Rickie’s boat “Water Tiger”

Apa khabar – “How are you” in Malay

APMM – The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency and the equivalent of the US Coast Guard.  The acronym comes from Malay: Agensi Penguatkuasaan Maritim Malyasia

The Astana - The Astana is a palace in Kuching, Sarawak, on the north bank of the Sarawak River, opposite the Kuching Waterfront. It is the official residence of the Governor of Sarawak.

Bapa – “Father” in Malay

BKN –  Malaysian’s National Security Division.  The acronym comes from Malay: Bahagian Keselamatan Negara.  It is a department under the Prime Minister, and is responsible to oversee and regulate the intelligence community for the country

Compliant Tower (CT) – A form of petroleum platform that consists of a flexible narrow tower permanently attached to a foundation on the seafloor that extends up to the platform, used in deeper water (up to 3000 ft) wells

Damnoen saduak – The Floating Market in Bangkok, Thailand; it’s a famous area where hundreds of boats sell everything from produce to hot food

Duanwu / Dragon Boat Festival – Held on the 5th day of the 5th month based on the lunar calendar.  The focus of the celebration is eating rice dumplings known as zongzi, drinking realgar wine, and racing dragon boats, similar to sculls.

Durian – A spikey-skinned fruit popular in Southwest Asia, with custard-like edible seedpods, and is native to Brunei, Indonesia, and Malaysia.  It is known for have a strong odor

En – Malaysian honorific; the equivalent of Mr. / Ms. / Miss

Engkala – A fruit-bearing tree that grows wild in the Philippines and Indonesia, and cultivated in Peninsular Malaysia

Farang – “Foreigner” in Thai

FLNG – Floating Liquid Natural Gas platform –  A petroleum drill that extracts natural gas from underground petroleum deposits and concentrates it into liquid form for shipping

Forteen – A four-boy Malaysian idol group

Gawai Dayak – A festival celebrated in Sawarak on June 1st.  It starts at sunset on May 31st, and includes a ritual cleansing of the family home, visiting relatives or going to the ancestral homes, dancing and other forms of celebration

Ibu – “Mother” in Malay

Itaewon - Shopping area in Seoul, Korea, known to be the main area where foreigners shop

Jalan – “Road” in Malay

Kakak – “Sister” in Malay

Khabar baik – “I am fine” in Malay

Khao San Road – An area in Bangkok, Thailand which is known for eclectic clubs and fancy restaurants that is a favorite with travelers and tourists

Kotohuadan - "Thank you" in Kadazan

Kuching, Sarawak – A port city on the South China Sea

Leftenan Komander – A Grade 41 Major position in the APMM

Leftenan Madya Maritim - A Grade 32 Lieutenant position in the APMM

Michael Veerapan –A Malaysian jazz pianist

PASKAU – The acronym comes from Malay: PASukan KhAs Udara. A special counter-terrorism force and special operations tactical within the Royal Malaysian Air Force.  It’s main responsibility is to conduct combat search and rescue missions and the recovery of downed aircrew and is a fully-qualified coutnter-terrorist assault unit

Perempuan – “woman” in Malay

Perempuan bodoh – A very strong insult, the equivalent of “stupid woman”

Pulau Burung – An island off the coast of Penang

Pulau  Serasan -  A small island in the South China Sea between Malaysia and Indonesia

Putrajaya - Capitol and government seat of Sarawak

Sayang – “Beloved” in Malay

Selamat pagi – “Good morning” in Malay

Selamat petang – “Good evening” in Malay

Selamat sejahtera – A formal greeting in Malay

Selamat tengah hari – “Good afternoon” in Malay

Seruling – A small wooden flute native to Malaysia

Si Manis – “sweety” in Malay

Siti Nurhaliza – An internationally-known Malaysian singer, songwriter, and record producer

The Solianos –  A four-generation vocal group specializing in 7-part harmony

STAR – Acronym for Special Task and Rescue, it is the Special Forces for the MMEA, tasked with hostage rescue works in shallow waters under MMEA jurisdiction, as well as anti-terrorist action in Malaysian waters alongside the Malaysian Navy

Terima Kasih – “Thank you” in Malay

Tuanku – Traditional honorific for Malaysian individuals that are descended from certain royal lines

Yusof Ghani – Malaysian sculpture artist, specializing in stylized metalwork

Additional Trivia

The speech by the Chinese Foreign Minister in Chapter 30 is fairly accurate to an official statement made in September 2011, disputing India’s state-run petroleum explorer’s 3-year agreement with Petro Vietnam for developing long-term cooperation in the oil sector in certain blocks of the South China Sea.

In February 2011, PETRONAS awarded the first contract for a FLNG platform to a consortium that included Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering.  It was scheduled to have a capacity of one million tons per year.

The Prince and His Harem - Ch 81 & 82

Chapter 81

“I can’t believe this whole time you were working for the group that killed my parents,” Meaghan ground out between clenched teeth, as anger and hurt overcame her fear.    The object  of her anger just shrugged.

“Our goals and responsibilities are heavy burdens, but we gladly bear them.  It’s important that the world understand that we are a force to be reckoned with…”

A snort interrupted her.  She looked sharply over at Rickie, his hands on his hips and a cheerful smile on his face.

“You are some of the worst operatives I have ever seen, Berry.  After all this time, you didn’t manage a single goal, and your so-called responsibilities are a joke.” 

The mercenary flinched as if he struck a physical blow, but then she straightened up and stared malevolently at Rickie, who was standing tall but relaxed, as if she was a guest in the house.  Meaghan looked at him with growing concern.  What was he doing?  She almost immediately answered her question: he was making himself the center of attention, and forcing Shel to become angry enough to make a mistake.

Rickie began ticking off on his fingers.

“You failed to destroy or even significantly damage my FLNG tower.  You failed your kidnapping attempt.  You failed in procuring the data file.  You’ve lost troops with no casualties on the other side to balance it out.  Let’s face, perempuan,” Rickie deliberately put as much contempt as possible in his voice, “there was no significance in anything your little group planned.”

Shel narrowed her eyes at him before visibly forcing herself calm.  She took a step behind her and picked up her bright cellphone.

“I still have the card, and with this knowledge, we will correct our mistakes and disappear.  Then your precious BKN won’t discover our next mission until it’s too late.”

“It’s all false information on the chip,” Rickie said bluntly, “I even added some Korean Pop music to it.  Big Bang, to be exact.  I thought it was apropos.” 

Rickie now openly laughed at the incredulous look on her face, and couldn’t resist. “It’s fantastic, baby.”

“Stop laughing.”  The calmness was now gone, and the terrorist was vibrating with anger.   "Maybe this will change your tune.”  And she swung the barrel towards Meaghan, who was still standing near the coffee table throughout this exchange.

“Now!” A deep voice yelled to their right. 

From their respective locations, Rickie and Meaghan sent a startled look over at their family members as Tina unexpectedly leaped from her chair, the fireplace poker in her hand.

The rest of what happened was a blur in Rickie’s mind, yet crystalline clear in slow-motion. 

He saw the mercenary swing her handgun towards the younger girl, sensing the threat that bloomed from that area, and he knew he was too far away to stop her from bringing the gun to bear. 

His father came to life and grabbed a crystal ashtray with his good hand. He tossed it, and the object arced through the air until it connected with Shel’s arm and knocked her gun aside, spinning her slightly so that she now faced Rickie.

Rickie hesitated a moment too long, torn between protecting his love, and saving his family.

The hate from Shel’s eyes was almost palpable as she took aim at him. 

Meaghan felt her heart speed up when she realized how unstable her former neighbor was. Without a thought for herself, Meaghan lunged for Rickie and pushed him out of the way.

The sound of a single shot was loud in the ensuing silence.

Chapter 82

“Meg!”  Tina’s cry was faint over the sound of her blood pounding in her ears.  Face down on the floor, for a brief moment, she thought she was hit.  But there was no sharp pain, only a dull throbbing where her body impacted the floor.  She scrambled to her knees and crawled over to Rickie, who was still on his back, staring at Shel.

“Are you okay?” Meaghan cried, cupping his face and staring into his eyes.  Realizing her back was to the mercenary; she twisted around and placed her body between Shel and Rickie.

Shel was standing, arms akimbo and with the gun hanging loosely in her grip.  A bright red stain spread quickly across the front of her blue t-shirt, as she stared uncomprehendingly past the couple, then, with almost a graceful movement, the woman collapsed to the floor.

Meaghan swiveled around and saw that JoAnne was standing by the door, a vicious looking handgun still pointed at the now-prone extremist.  She walked over to the body and competently checked for a carotid pulse.  Satisfied, she holstered the weapon and smiled at Meaghan, who was stock still for a moment.

“Great timing, JoAnne,” Rickie said, as Tina dropped the andiron and ran to Meaghan, where she hugged her older sister and cried.  Rickie touched Meaghan on the shoulder, not wanting to break in but needing to make sure she was okay.  She gave a steady nod of her head and turned back to Tina.
 
Rickie stood up, brushed his pants, and walked over to his father, who was watching the two sisters.

“Are you okay, bapa?”  He grabbed both of the older man’s hands; he nodded and squeezed back.

“It was Tina’s idea for me to pretend to be incapacitated.  Even with this almost-useless hand, I was able to untie her while we were alone.  Your sister hid among the staff, but since that woman knew Tina, we couldn’t do that for her.”

The sound of pounding feet was heard outside the still-open door, and soldiers poured into the room with drawn weapons.

“Glad to see the troops have finally arrived,” JoAnne stated sardonically.   Rickie left his father’s side and talked briefly with the lead soldier; he gave him the location of the house staff and Sethe.  The soldier gestured at the other men to withdraw room.  The lead snapped off a salute and followed behind his team after promising to update Rickie.

Meaghan held fiercely onto her trembling sister and stroked her hair, barely noticing the troops leaving the room.

“I was so scared,” the younger girl hiccupped, “but I knew I had to pretend in order to protect everyone.  Why, Meg?  Why did Shel become our friend?”  The last part was said with bewilderment.

“She was after something she thought our parents had,” Meaghan replied.  She decided not to bring up the facts of their parents’ deaths, until she could find a quiet moment with just the two of them.  “I found out that she had our house confiscated, just to find some electronic file.”

“You mean, like a memory stick?  Like this?”  Tina reached into the front pocket of her jeans and pulled out a small blue SD card.

The Prince and His Harem - Ch 79 & 80

Chapter 79

Rickie held a headset to his ear and handed a phone to Meaghan.  With hands that were only trembling a little, she took the offered cell phone, and dialed the familiar number.    Shel picked it up by the second ring, and Meaghan identified herself.

“Meaghan!  So nice of you to call.  I just had a chat with your sister, and was wondering when you would show up.  Did you bring the files I requested?” 

The voice was so calm, as if she was talking about a grocery list, and Meaghan knew that the madness she had glimpsed in the boat now had finally taken over her soul.  She desperately tried to think of something, anything to protect her sister and the other hostages.

“I found it in their belongings, just like you said, Shel.  It was a small memory card; that’s why I couldn’t find it before.  I have it with me, though.  Can I come in and give it to you?”

Ricky vehemently shook his head, but Meaghan ignored him, listening to Shel’s low laughter.

“I know you would find it, Meg,” Shel said with satisfaction, “I always knew you were bright.  Now, what to do about that information.”  Meaghan heard a faint tapping noise, and realized it was Shel’s nervous habit of tapping her front teeth.  'Perhaps she wasn’t as in control as they thought', Meaghan thought, and filed that away in her head.  The tapping noise stopped.

“Ok, Meg, I’ll let you in through the back door, but know your sister’s life is forfeit if you try anything.   Oh, and you can bring your lover along, too.  After all, this is his house and he is the head of household.”

Meaghan felt a cold stab of fear.  “What did you do to Rickie’s father?!”

“Nothing,” Shel,stated matter of factly.  “What can you do with something that just stares and drools?  Your sister, however, is tied and gagged, and the servants are locked in a closet, so I would strongly suggest you cooperate.  Just you, Ahmad, and that file.”

Meaghan could feel the anger rolling off Rickie, but she focused on the leader of this operation.  At the commander’s nod, Meaghan replied.

“Okay, Shel, we’ll do it your way.”

As soon as she disconnected and returned the phone, Rickie grabbed her wrist and pulled her away from the command vehicle to a small stand of palm trees.

“Why would you volunteer to go in?” he all but hissed, “It’s too dangerous!”

Meaghan winced a little at the violence in his voice, but knew he would never hurt her.  Reaching up with her free hand, she gently cupped his face.  With a deep sigh, he pulled her into his embrace.

Muffled against his broad chest, she replied, “If I can help keep our family safe, I’m willing to do it.”  She pulled back and looked into his eyes. “I can do this, because I know you’ll be by my side.”

His anger gone but not his fear, he gave a swift kiss to her nose before he released her, then he reached for her hands.  He entwined their fingers and gave a little squeeze.

“Then we do this together.”

Chapter 80

Meaghan stepped up to the rear door of the house, aware of Rickie just a short step behind her.   The SD card containing false information seemed to burn her hand as she took a deep breath and knocked on the solid teak door.

It opened a crack.

“Let me see the card.”  Meaghan held up the card at eye level, then dropped her arm and pushed the card into her front pocket.

“I want to see my sister,” Meaghan spoke firmly in spite of her terror.  Shel opened the door slightly wider.

“Let’s make sure neither one of you is carrying a weapon. Ahmad, lift your shirt and turned around slowly.”  Rickie complied, aware that the lives within the house were in the balance.

“Now, Meg, your turn.”  Meaghan repeated Rickie’s actions.

“Please, Shel, may we come in now? I want to see my sister.”

The extremist looked past them at the soldiers standing at the perimeter, but, after a brief moment, gave a brusque nod, and opened the door just wide enough to let them both enter.

~     ~     ~

The house was blessedly cool after standing outside in the humid sun.  Shel quickly closed and locked the door, then turned to the two of them.

“Ahmad, you go first, and remember, I’ve got my gun trained on Meg.  You know where we are going.”

Silently, the trio walked through a spacious dining room into a hallway and passed two doors before Rickie turned and opened a door to the right and proceeded inside.

“Alright you two, stand right there.”  And they came to a halt as she sidled around them deeper into the room.

A swift look showed Tina sat in a chair next to the ornate fireplace with her hands tied behind her.  His father alarmingly looked slack-jawed and unseeing to Tina’s right, a small table between them.

Rickie curled his hands into fists, knowing that his father may have had another stroke, but there was nothing that could be done until the immediate threat was neutralised.

Shel was several feet to the left of the pair, standing so that she had both the hostages and Rickie and Meaghan within her field of view.  Her handgun was steadily aimed at Meaghan.
Meaghan looked over at the hostages. “You okay, Leaf?” she asked softly.  Tina glanced over at Shel and her eyes began to well.

“Y…yes, Meg.  I’m okay.”  Meaghan nodded and gave an encouraging nod.

Shel cleared her throat.  “Ok, reunion over.”  She lowered down to the floor, eyes still on the standing pair, and placed her phone on the floor.  She straightened up and, with a push of her foot, slid it towards Meaghan.

“Put the card in the phone and give it back to me.”  Meaghan picked up the pink phone, turned it over, and inserted the card into the reader; she took two steps towards Shel.

“Now place it on the table here.” With a flick of the barrel, she pointed to the coffee table to her right in front of a beige leather couch.  Meaghan complied, aware she was placing herself between Rickie and Shel, and dropped the phone with an audible thump on the mahogany surface. 

She turned and glared at her ex-friend.

The Prince and His Harem - Ch 77 & 78

Chapter 77

Once on shore, there was another happy reunion of the Harem; several of them had arrived early to the Command to assist in rescue efforts, only to be told the couple had been found. 

After another short debrief, Rickie firmly declined any other attempts to talk to them and quickly ushered Meaghan out to the parking lot, where his SUV waited.

Meaghan stretched and yawned.  “I am glad to be out of there.  Are we going over to your house now?  I want to see if Tina is okay, and I know you probably want to see your father.”  Rickie grabbed her arm and backed her into the side of the Rexton.  Meaghan looked up with wide eyes.

His lips lightly touched her forehead as she gripped his arms.  Then he swooped down and planted a quick but delicious buss across her soft lips.

“Let’s go home.”

~     ~     ~

Rickie called ahead on their way to his house.  The phone was given to his father by one of the staff.

“Meaghan and I have finished debriefing and we are heading there now.  I just wanted to let you know.  How is everything at the house?”

“Everything is well.  I’ve prepared a room for your Meaghan right next to her sister, as I’m sure she will need to rest.  Then we must decide what to do about their house and belongings.  They will stay here until we can make sure they are safe and secure at their own residence.  However long that may take.”  The elder Ahmad said this with satisfaction, and Rickie knew that Meaghan had a worthy adversary in his father if she and her sister decided to return to their terrace house.  His father continued.

“JoAnne has gone to collect the final reports regarding the fire at our France branch, but she return by the time you arrive.  I’ve gone ahead and set up a small supper in case you were hungry.”

“I appreciate it; I’m sure we could both use a little food.  Have the girls been behaving today?”

“Once I told Tina her sister was okay, she sprung right up.  Your sister and Tina are entertaining a neighbor, who just came by see Tina.  I haven’t met her yet, but Tina vouched for her.  She had heard about everything that happened, and wanted to visit and make sure the girls were safe.   Her name is Shel Berry.”

“Thanks, bapa.”  He put his hand over the cell phone and told Meaghan, “Your neighbor En Berry just showed up to keep your sister company.  What’s wrong?”  He asked in alarm as the color drained from Meaghan’s face.

“Don’t let her in the house!  She’s the one that kidnapped me!  She killed Ivoire!”

Rickie swerved out of traffic to a screeching halt on the side of the road, and looked disbelievingly at the now-frightened woman in the passenger seat.

A single curse, then he heard his father drop the phone and call for his servants.

“Bapa!  Hello!  Hello?!”

Rickie tossed his phone to Meaghan, then threw the Rexton into gear and powered into the traffic, ignoring the blaring horns from the other drivers.  “Call Raine and JoAnne.  Let them know what happened.”  He reached with his hand and squeezed Meaghan’s icy fingers. 

“We’ll get there in time, don’t worry.”

The words sounded hollow even to his own ears as they headed at breakneck speed towards his home.

Chapter 78

By the time they arrived, the street had been cordoned off by the local police, no doubt set up by Raine.  After showing his credentials, he was allowed to proceed to the estate compound.  Meaghan sat upright in the passenger seat, her hands on either side of her thighs, gripping the smooth leather of the seats.

They drove to the staging area for the command, next to the wall around the compound, the cheerful pink of bougainvillea at odds with the seriousness of the situation.

Rickie was out of the truck almost before it stopped running, and strode over to where Scene Command was staged.  The box-style truck, packed with electronics and communication gear, was a hub of activity.   After introductions, the couple was escorted to desk and chairs situated under an attached awning.  The scene commander began without any preliminaries.

“By the time we arrived, all access to the building was secured; it appears your security system was reset once the suspect entered the grounds, and cannot be remotely accessed any longer.  We have completed a perimeter check, and all doors and windows are locked.  There has been no answer to our hails or telephone calls.  We wanted to discuss our options before taking this further.”

“If she managed to surprise everyone, there should be four servants, my father, my sister, and my sister-in-law,” Rickie spoke tersely, ignoring Meaghan’s sudden start.  She reached out and laced her fingers with his and held on tightly.  “JoAnne, my father’s assistant, was outside the house at the time, but was on her way back.  I thought she would make it here before us.”

The officer made a few notes on the pad in front of him.

“Tuanku Ahmad, any idea where the hostages would be kept? And are there any blueprints of your house that we could review?” 

Rickie shook his head. “Any blueprints would be in my father’s study in the house itself.  My guess is that she would still be on the ground floor, since she wouldn’t know where the elevator is, and my father is wheelchair-bound.   More than likely she would be in the study; it’s one of the smallest rooms downstairs and only has a single window partially covered by sago palm.” He flipped the page over on the pad and began a rapid sketch.

“This is the ground floor footprint.”  He marked one room with an X. The officer looked over the drawing and nodded.

“My thanks, Tuanku.”  He keyed the mike attached to his ballistic vest, and sent soldiers to various points outside the perimeter.   After finishing, he turned back to Rickie.

“I have a sniper in place aimed at that window.  The next question is communication; we have been unable to do any type of negotiation because the suspect won’t respond.”

“I can help.” Meaghan popped up, causing everyone to turn and stare at her.  Slightly flustered at the focus of so many stares, she took a quick moment to gather her courage. 

“Shel was my neighbor this past year, so I have her phone numbers.  If she has her cell phone with her, she will probably talk to me.”

The officer took several steps towards Meaghan, held out his hand, and said.  “Give me that phone number and my negotiator will call her.”

“No,” Meaghan refused with a small shake of her head. “I want to talk to her first.”

Rickie grabbed her elbow.  “Meggie, their negotiator is a professional.  It would be best if the police handle this.”

“No,” she reiterated stubbornly, “I know she’ll talk to me, because she is looking for my parents’ files.  I want to make sure my sister is safe, and she might open up to me enough to get more information.”  Rickie nodded, and ran his hand along her arm before releasing her and turning to the scene commander.

“I think Meaghan should try, sir.  I believe that would be the best course of action, especially since she knows her.  The commander thought a moment, and then gave a crisp nod. 
Reaching to a cell phone on the table, he handed it to Meaghan.

“This phone automatically records any conversation.  Okay, if you are ready, En Torno, let’s do this.”

The Prince and His Harem - Ch 75 & 76

Chapter 75

Hours later, Meaghan woke up from her slumber, and startled, looked around.  Rickie was curled on his side, away rom her.  She reached out to touch his shoulder, but thought better of it.  Unable to go back to sleep, she stood up and walked out of the cave until she reached the stand of palm trees at the edge of the beach.   Daybreak was only a short time away.
Meaghan placed her elbows on a fallen palm tree and looked out unseeingly as the muted colors of the sky gradually brightened.

Rickie eyes opened in the darkened cave, his back feeling cold now that his Meaghan had left.  Sitting up, he tested the bandages and found that no new blood had seeped through.  He carefully stretched, stood up, and padded towards the cave entrance, where he stopped at the sight of her silhouette against the fiery tones of the sky.  After a moment, he walked up next to her and leaned against the same tree.

Meaghan sighed.  “I hope Tina is okay at your father’s estate.  I normally know everything she’s doing, and I’m worried about her.”

“I spoke to her when I was looking for you,” Rickie replied, “and she was fine.  She’s a good kid.”

“Thank you.  I feel a little bit better.”

“You’ve been taking care of her for a while,” Rickie said admiringly. “Your parents used to talk about you two.  Your mother said you were the caretaker and your sister was the free spirit.  I know they were very proud of both of you.”  He didn’t add that her father had called her the ‘mousy’ one, when the reality was so far from that.

Meaghan felt a pang thinking about her parents, but this was an opportunity to get more information.

“Can you tell me anything about what happened to them?”  Rickie heard the plaintive note in the question, and hesitated about replying.  This was not what he expected this morning, but it was important to clear the air regarding her parents.  He dragged a hand across the stubble on his face.

“I can’t talk a lot about what they did at the division.  At that time, a year ago, they were going to Shanghai to meet with one of our operatives, in order to check up on some rumors of Chinese nationals attempting some type of sabotage.  There was nothing in the radio chatter to indicate any problems with the plane.  It just…disappeared.”  Rickie took a deep breath and continued.  “We performed an extensive search and located the wreckage of the plane, but it was in the deepest section of the sea.  We were unable to retrieve anything from the seafloor that could indicate it was a terrorist act, but our experts believe, based on the debris field, that it broke up midair possibly due to some type of explosion.   There was no indication that anyone survived the impact, so we filed our investigation as presumed dead.”

Silence. Then a single sob. 

His heart broke a little, knowing the pain Meaghan was feeling had to be overwhelming.  He stepped behind her and wrapped his arms around her, kissing her right ear before he tucked his head on her shoulder and gently rocked back and forth.  She leaned back and savored the feel of his warm strength around her.  Her muscles slowly unknotted until he was almost holding her up.  He turned her around until he back was against the trunk and his arms bracketed her.

Rickie realised that was the pose they had in her kitchen, so long ago.  He searched her face, and saw the lines of weariness that weren’t there before.  Without another thought, he scooped her up and strode back to the cave, gently placing her on the pallet she had made for them, before stretching out beside her.   He gently pulled her head until it was resting against his heart.

Meaghan tried to pull away.  “We have to somehow find something to contact help…”

“Shhhh”, he said as he tucked back her hair and kissed her nose.  “Just rest for now.”

She sighed and snuggled against him, her arm curled trustingly across his bare abs right above his makeshift bandage.  He could feel her lips curve against his chest.

“Thank you, my Pillow Prince.”

Chapter 76

Rickie floated on his back, directionless light everywhere.  The warm weight at his side told him his Meggie was there.  He curled around his beloved, and felt a measure of peace and contentment he had never experienced before.  He wanted to slip deeper in this wonderful dream.

“Do you have a lot of time to be slouching about?”  An amused voice broke into his dreams, and he frowned, his eyes still closed.  Raine?  What was she doing in his dreams?  He cracked an eye open and nearly yelped when a shadow leaned over him. 

Beside him, Meaghan stirred and slowly sat up.  She looked around fuzzily for a moment, and then brightened up with a squeal.

“Raine!”

The reunion was swift and satisfying.  The pair was transport by junket back to the main ship, and Rickie was seen by the unit’s corpsmen.  After a shower and clean, though utilitarian, clothes, they were now digging into breakfast with gusto while Raine explained what had transpired last night.

Much to the chagrin of the APMM forces, the gray cigarette boat managed to avoid their dragnet and escape.  Given that it had been damaged in the collision with the Bayliner, the search grid focused on the area between the Kuching waterfront and where Rickie sent his message.  They were now widening the search to including the Bayliner wreck.

And how were they found?

The Bayliner had a built-in emergency beacon that activated when it sank.  The APMM
found the signal, but had to wait until sunrise to launch the rescue forces.  The helicopter had canvassed the island, but there was no place for it to land, so a Nusa-class ship was launched and was currently offshore.  Divers were also combing the wreck for clues; the body of the extremist had been recovered.  Raine and a small group of APMM forces were dispatched to the island to look for survivors.

“And that,” Raine stated with satisfaction, “is that!”  Meaghan looked amused for a moment before again applying her concentration to the full breakfast in front of her.  Rickie, equally ravenous, nevertheless made sure that the basket of bread and jar of Nutella was conveniently near his woman’s elbow, before grabbing a knife to smear a healthy dose of the hazelnut-and- chocolate spread on his own puri bread.

“So what did the two of you do last night while waiting for rescue?”  The bright spark in her eye showed the Raine was enjoying their discomfiture as they looked at each other and blushed.

“We just managed to reach the island, and all we did was sleep.”  Rickie firmly stated, well aware of the sidelong grins from the crew members.

A noncommittal grunt was all that was heard from Raine, and they reapplied themselves to the food.

After satisfying their hunger, the two of them, along with Raine, met with the command staff to debrief about their adventures.  The APMM forces managed to prevent escape and capture a smaller boat from the terrorist organization; they never made it out of the harbor, and were currently undergoing interrogation regarding their activities.

The gray boat that they chased ultimately escaped; the commander believed that was the same boat that rammed the Bayliner.  Neither the boat nor its murderous crew member had been seen since.

The Prince and His Harem - Ch 73 & 74

Chapter 73

The sun was close to the horizon when the island came into view; its shadow reaching out towards them as if in welcome.

Rickie pushed the wallowing boat as best he could, and prayed they would be able to reach it before the engine quit.  Already, it was struggling as water pooled around the inboard.   Meaghan’s attempt to keep the water out of the engine compartment was only delaying the inevitable, but he wanted every possible second.

Meaghan’s arms and wrists ached with the effort to keep the manual pump working.  She paused for a second when, with a gurgling cough, the engine finally died.  She wiped her forehead and squinted through the cabin door at Rickie, who grimly measured the distance still to go.

Rickie felt a moment of panic overcome the throbbing in his belly, and tasted fear when he thought about what they must do.  He took in a breath, ignoring both the pain and the terror. 

“Well, Meggie, we’re within the surf line, but it will still be a bit of a swim.  Are you ready?” 

He turned and looked at her; even disheveled and battered, she snapped a saucy salute and said, “Aye aye, Captain.”  Rickie smiled and felt his panic recede, proud of her attitude. 

“That’s my girl.”  He reached into the hold and pulled her out.  They both stood by the wheel and looked at the green and grey outcropping rising up from the water.  They were close enough to see individual features, but they were still many meters away from the shoreline.

Rickie placed a bright orange life vest on Meaghan, making sure all the straps fit snugly, before he strapped on his own.

By then the forward motion of the boat ceased; it now wallowed between the waves, directionless and still sinking.  Rickie grabbed up the remaining life vests and what useful equipment he could find, and roped it together.  He reached out his hand and linked the two of them together.  He pulled her into his arms and kissed her gently on the lips as she molded herself against him.

“Are we ready?”  He asked as he leaned his forehead against hers.  Meaghan cupped his cheek by way of a reply, and then squared her shoulders.

“Let’s do this.”

Rickie nodded, and using a piece of the rope, tied it around Meaghan’s waist, playing out approximately ten feet before securing the other end around to himself.

By now the vessel was low in the water, and rapidly filling up influx of seawater through the cracks in the hull.  It was only a matter of minutes before it was gone, and Rickie wanted to be away from it by then.  He lifted Meaghan into the water, handed her the precious package of belongings, and slipped into the water.  They both began paddling towards the shore, and neither noticed when the Bayliner and its grim cargo finally disappeared under the waves behind them.

What seemed like hours later, they finally found footing in the white coral sand and all but crawled until they reached the warm dry sand above the tide line.  Taking a moment, Rickie untied them and put the rope with the packet of possessions. 

“Let’s go see if we can find some shelter for the night.  It’s already close to sunset.”

Somehow they managed to stagger to a small cave in the rocky cliff a short distance from the water.  It offered little comfort, but was better than spending the night exposed on the beach.  Rickie sat down and leaned against the cave wall, and motioned Meaghan to join him.

As she approached him, Meaghan glanced down at Rickie and her eyes widened in alarm.  The spreading stain on Rickie’s shirt appeared like a black abscess on his abdomen in the fading light.  She dropped down to the cave floor and focused on the injury.

“What did you do?” She demanded, and Rickie stood still as his Meaghan reached out and touched the stain; she pulled her hand away and saw the smear of fresh blood.  “Sit here, and don’t move,” Meaghan ordered Rickie before going back outside and looking around the area for useful items.

Chapter 74

Rickie leaned up against the side of the cave, holding his hand over his wound.  The flow of blood had appeared to stop, but he was afraid it would start again with the slightest provocation.  Instead he was forced to watch Meaghan as she prepared for their stay tonight.

Meaghan first brought back several armfuls of palm leaves, which she arranged on the cave floor before folding over a part of the tarp that had come with them from the boat to form a pallet.  Next, she gathered together several stones into a circle and filled it with dried leaves and small branches, with another fuel pile placed against the cave wall.  The supplies from the Bayliner included waterproof matches and several bottles of water, but no rations.

As time passed, it became totally dark, and Rickie carefully stood up, intending to go look for her.  Once past the artificial light of the fire, his eyes adjusted, and he was able to see with the help from the starlight.  Meaghan was just returning, her face flushed and triumphant. 

She carried an armload of bright pink globes, and Rickie winced when he realised what they were.

“I found some ripe engkala, so we won’t starve tonight!” 

Meaghan’s bright face shone in the faint light, and Rickie decided to grin and bear it.  “Did you manage to find a rice cooking tree as well? Or at least a durian or two?” 

She playfully bumped his hip as she carried her cargo back to the cave and laid them on a palm leaf.  She began to prepare the fruits, popping off their caps and stems.  Rickie ate his share with good grace, even though he normally didn’t like the avocado-like taste.  They shared a bottle of water, sitting across the fire in perfect camaraderie. 

Rickie loved watching the colors from the fire play across her face, as she finished the meal and turned her eyes to his wound.

Meaghan carefully unbuttoned and pulled back the shirt.  The sight of his hard abs momentarily distracted her before she zeroed in on the wound.  The bandage was completely soaked through, but she didn’t want to remove it in case it was slowing the blood loss.  Using the arms of the bloodied shirt around his torso, she fashioned a sling around his waist.

Rickie lifted his arms over his head as Meaghan came in close under his arm to wrap the shirt around his torso.  He couldn’t resist dropping his arm across her shoulders and kissing the top of her head.

“Rickie!” she admonished, smiling a moment before applying herself to her task.  Once done, she pulled back and looked at her handiwork.  The majority of the shirt was folded into a crude bandage; the sleeves tied around him to put pressure on the bandage.  She hoped it would be enough.  She assisted him down until he was supine on this pallet.

The light from the mouth of cave had gradually faded as the sun went down, and the temperature began dropping.  Rickie began shivering, and Meaghan curled up next to him and pulled the edge of the tarp over both of them, in an attempt to give him her body heat.  He turned into her and wrapping his arms around her, effectively trapping them together. 

She looked with marvel at his face, tracing the lines of fatigue with her eyes.  Her poor prince.  She traced the arched wings of his eyebrows with her finger, and then lightly kissed his lips.  He stirred slightly and tightened his arms around her, but never woke up.

She laid her head upon his arm and also fell into a deep sleep, done in by their ordeal.

Engkala fruit.