If I was going to die here then I wanted her to know I'd always suspected her. That I'd been so close to figuring out how she was doing it. And now I was right at the heart of her evil lair with the evidence shining back at me.
“How unfortunate for you then, Gothel,” I forced a smile onto my face. My training had taught me never to show weakness in front of an enemy and hell if she was going to see me so much as flinch in her company. “Because I'm not Aladdin Nazari.”
I opened the door and raised an eyebrow at the Princess as she looked up at me with a glimmer of trepidation and excitement in her eyes.
“Hi,” she breathed and I leaned against the doorframe with a smile pulling at my lips.
“To what do I owe this pleasure?” I asked, wondering what the hell Cassian had managed to pull off to get her sneaking through the hallways in the middle of the night to seek me out. I’d expected him to set back my progress with winning the Princess over but the look in her eyes said the opposite. Somehow he’d heightened her interest instead of dampening it.
I’ll have to thank him when he finally shows up. Which could be at any moment and then we’ll be in trouble...
“I umm,” Rapunzel tucked a lock of her blonde hair behind her ear as she glanced along the corridor. “I just wanted to apologise for Gothel. She can be a little... domineering at times. And I was a bit concerned after she followed you out in case she said something to you or did something...”
“Did something to me?” I asked with a teasing smile. “What would that bitch be able to do to me?”
Rapunzel gasped as I insulted her stepmother but I didn’t miss the pleasure she found in my words. “I never said that,” she breathed, trying to hide her amusement.
“No. But I did.” The lock of hair fell forward again and I reached out to tuck it back behind her ear before she could.
Her cheeks heated at my touch. “It’s not obvious to everyone. Not my father at least...” She seemed to want to say more but thought better of it, letting the silence build between us.
“Do you want to come in?” I asked. Her eyes widened at the implications of what I might mean by that and I smirked. “For a drink. Nothing else, I swear; I’m a gentleman after all.”
She laughed in response to that, seeming to know as well as I did that that wasn’t entirely true. She turned to look down the corridor to make sure no one had noticed her arrival before stepping forward. I leaned back to admit her but didn’t move out of the doorway so she was forced to brush past me. She looked up at me as her chest was pressed to mine for a moment then stepped inside.
I wonder what Balthazar and the others would think if they could see me now, alone with the Princess of Osaria in the goddamn palace of all places.
I pushed the door shut with a snap and she inhaled sharply as if she’d just realised she’d crossed a line.
“You can leave if you want to?” I offered, though I didn’t think she would.
“I shouldn’t stay long,” she hedged, looking around at the chambers I’d been given. “Where are the rest of your household?”
“I only brought two servants with me,” I said, knowing my lack of companions was seen as strange though I still didn’t explain it. My maid is in her room. My guard is... out. I imagine he’ll return before long.” Though hopefully by the time he did she would be gone or he wouldn't have my face anymore because if he did that was going to be almost impossible to explain.
Where the hell are you anyway, Cassian?
“He’s not doing a very good job of guarding you if he’s not even here,” she commented. “Where is he?”
“Probably off whoring if I were to guess.”
“What?” she gasped and it occurred to me that maybe the nobility didn’t admit to such pursuits openly. Though I’d certainly seen enough of them slinking in and out of the brothels to know that a lot of them did it.
“I’m teasing,” I covered smoothly. “He’s gone for a run if I remember correctly. He likes to keep in shape.”
“Do you like running too?” she asked, her gaze slipping over my muscular torso.
“I find myself running from one thing or another most days,” I agreed. Like the royal guards, angry homeowners, disgruntled husbands...
“Maybe you wish to be free too then?” she asked.
I arched an eyebrow at her, having no idea what she was talking about and presuming it was something she’d discussed with Cassian while he was impersonating me.
“Why don’t you remind me what you said about that?” I murmured, stepping closer to her.
She frowned slightly like it was strange that I’d ask her that and I smiled as I sidestepped her, taking a bottle of wine from the table and pouring two glasses.
“Just that: that I wish to be free...” Rapunzel said slowly.
“Right.” I frowned, wondering how you could be much freer than being royal but if I questioned her on it again she might realise something was up so I held my silence on it. “To freedom then.” I passed her a glass and tapped mine against hers.
Her eyes were alight with curiosity as they burned into mine. It was like she was assessing me and I had the feeling she was noticing the difference in my personality.
“I can’t figure you out Count Nazari,” she said slowly.
“Probably best not to try,” I said. “And I’d prefer it if you just called me Aladdin.”
I didn’t mind lying about what I was but who I was was something else. If I won this contest then I was going to marry her and I didn’t want to fake who I was for the rest of my life.
“You don’t act like any noble I’ve ever met before,” she commented.
“I’m not like any man you’ve met before, noble or not. Besides, for all you know, I could be lowborn.”
The Princess laughed. “That would explain a lot,” she teased.
“More than you know,” I agreed.
She frowned at me and for a moment I was sure she believed me. I was tempted to admit it and find out if this Princess would care about such a thing. There was no rule against a lowborn man entering the pageant, the only requirement for entry was being able to pay the dowry. Which I’d done. But the fact that the price was so high was reason enough to exclude any lowborn man from entering. Until me of course.
“Tell me about your home,” she said as the conversation stalled.
“Not much to say really. Osaria is a much more interesting kingdom than my own.” I hoped she didn’t push me on that because I had no idea what Carubai was like. Cassian hadn’t thought it was important enough to teach me much about it with our limited time and I’d agreed. I’d never left Osaria in my life. Never left the slums for any length of time until recently. If she wanted to discuss the world with me she would end up sorely disappointed with my knowledge of it.
“How about your family?” she asked, seeming to struggle for a subject to land on.
“My father is dead, my mother remarried. I have no siblings.” I shrugged. I didn’t know anything of family and it wasn’t something I could easily lie about. I wasn’t even sure where to start. No one had ever loved me growing up.
“Sounds like you’re almost as lonely as me,” she commented and I frowned. She was the second person to say that to me in as many days and I wasn’t sure I liked it. I’d never been one for moping and self pity and the way it was being pointed out to me was like I was missing something.
“You get used to being alone.” I shrugged, dismissing the idea that I wasn’t perfectly content. “But sometimes it’s more fun being with company. Why did you come here Princess?” I placed my empty glass down, pinning her in my gaze.
“I... I told you, I was worried about Gothel following you and-”
“And?” I took her glass from her and stepped into her personal space. She backed up a step, bumping against the table as she looked up at me.
I leaned forward to place the glass down behind her, my chest almost brushing against hers as I did so.
“I’m n
ot sure,” she admitted. “I felt like we weren’t quite done... talking when Gothel interrupted us. And there are hidden passages all over the castle so when I returned to my room I just...”
I gave her a smile which had won me many hearts before. I could see what she wanted from me written all over her face without her having to spell it out. But I was quite enjoying watching her squirm.
I reached for her hand, running my fingers along the exposed skin of her arm and up to her shoulder. She watched me, not moving to stop me as goosebumps rose beneath my touch.
“Is this what you want from me?” I asked, raising an eyebrow as I toyed with her.
She looked into my eyes and I could see her answer there but I wanted to hear it. After the strange interaction I’d just had with Kyra, I wasn’t going to presume anything. The way she’d looked at me, the way my body had reacted to her touch... and yet I’d barely touched her at all. But my thoughts still felt scattered from it, like her magic had cast a spell on me and I’d been powerless to pull away from it.
I forced my mind away from the genie and whatever weird effect her power had had on me and focused on the beauty before me instead.
Rapunzel was still looking at me like she didn’t know if she’d made a terrible mistake in coming here but I was sure no woman had ever regretted taking pleasure from me before and she wouldn’t be the first.
I pushed forward, gripping her waist as I pressed her back against the table and her hands landed on my chest.
For a moment I thought she was going to push me back but she didn’t.
“If no man ever saw your face before, does that mean no man has ever done this either?” I asked her.
“No,” she breathed, her gaze dropping to her hands on my chest like she couldn’t quite believe she was doing this.
“And what exactly would happen if anyone knew you were here?”
“I don’t know,” she admitted. “But I’m not sure I care either.”
“Do you want me to win you, Princess?” I asked.
“I don’t want any man to win me,” she muttered, almost pulling back.
“Well I’m not any man,” I countered and before she could respond, I kissed her.
She bowed to my desire, sliding her hands up and around my neck, pulling me closer as I pushed her back against the table.
My grip tightened on her waist and I dragged her against my body, a smile pulling at my lips as I realised a boy from the slums was kissing the Princess of Osaria. A soft moan escaped her mouth and a thrill raced down the length of my spine in knowing that I was the subject of her desire. This woman, the most prized treasure in the twelve kingdoms was caving to my need.
Her hands slid up, winding around my neck as her fingertips pushed into the short hair at the nape of my neck. I pressed forward, more than any gentleman would have but I didn’t think she liked me because I was gentle. This girl had a wildness in her soul despite her sheltered upbringing and she wanted me to set it free. She didn’t like me because I was a Count; she liked me because on some base level she knew that I wasn’t.
I shifted my hands from her waist, spreading one across the base of her spine as I held her firmly against the length of my body, her soft curves moulding to my hard lines. I pushed my other hand into her hair, tangling my fingers in the golden strands that every noble prized so highly.
Her lips were sweet and coy at first where she’d just been responding to me but as the kiss deepened she started to meet my passion with her own, desire burning between us. This was the woman every man in Osaria dreamed about. This was the woman men paid a fortune to covet. This was the woman who the greatest warriors had pledged to fight to possess. And in that second, she was all mine.
I had what every man dreamed of and I didn’t think I’d ever for want anything else if I could find a way to keep her.
It had all just seemed like one big game until this moment, but with her here in my arms, the reality of it fell in on me and I suddenly wondered what the hell I was doing.
I pulled back, breaking our kiss and giving her a grin as she looked up at me.
“What if I told you I am lowborn? Would that change what you think of me?” I asked her. Because suddenly this crazy fantasy of becoming the Emperor and marrying the fabled Princess with unimaginable beauty didn’t seem so insane anymore. I’d beaten Kalaviv and if I managed to win two more bouts then the fantasy could just become reality. And did I really want to be married to a woman who might never accept me for who I truly was?
Rapunzel laughed like I was joking but I held her gaze, letting her know I wasn’t.
“But... the dowry... you’re a Count. How could you possibly be...”
“Forget all that for now, just ask yourself the question. Would we be too different? Would you rather someone like Kahn?”
Her nose wrinkled with disgust and I could tell she wouldn’t but that didn’t mean she’d want me either.
She still hadn’t answered me and I stepped back. “You should probably think about it,” I said. “And you can sneak back to my rooms again if you decide you like me despite our differences.”
Rapunzel released a breath of laughter and moved towards the door. “I don’t know what to make of you, Aladdin,” she admitted as she placed her hand on the door, ready to leave.
“Well that’s what makes it exciting, love,” I promised, throwing her a wink before she pulled the door open and slipped outside.
I leaned back against the table as I was left alone, reaching for the bottle of wine and drinking from the neck until I felt the warmth of it pooling in my gut. My mind was a whirlwind of warring ideas and I wasn’t entirely sure what had possessed me to make that admission to the Princess. But I couldn’t bring myself to regret it. If she was going to have to marry me at the end of this, then the least I could do was to make sure we weren’t strangers come our wedding night.
My gaze travelled to Kyra’s door and I frowned as I thought of the way my body had reacted to her. I’d never felt anything like that before and I wasn’t sure what to make of it. She was definitely attractive and it made sense for me to desire her as I did most beautiful women, so I could only imagine that her looks combined with the presence of her magic had been what drove me to madness when she’d touched me.
I wondered what she’d think of me kissing Rapunzel before realising she wouldn’t care. She’d shown no interest in anything like that and had even gone so far as to point out how unattractive she found me at every available moment. It was infuriating but I also felt like she didn’t desire any man in the way I might want her to so any pursuit of her was futile.
I shook my head, wondering why I was thinking about her at all when I’d just had the Princess in my arms. I smiled as I thought of that, especially when I imagined how outraged Cassian would be when I told him...
Kyra pushed her door open, looking out at me with a frown. “I’m worried about Cassian,” she said.
“I thought you would have asked what the Princess wanted,” I replied, wondering if any piece of her might have been jealous but seeing no sign of that in her eyes. When she didn’t respond to my statement, I decided to respond to hers. “Why are you worrying about Cassian?”
“Because he’s not back and it isn’t like him to wander off. I think we should go and find him.”
I sighed. “Really? Don’t you think we should wait until morning to start worrying?”
Kyra didn’t reply but her lips twisted with something that almost looked like disapproval.
“Are you annoyed with me?” I asked in amusement.
“No, Master! Of course not, it’s just that Cassian might need us and he’s your friend-”
“My friend?” I asked with a frown, not bothering to point out that she’d done the Master thing again though I wanted to.
“Yes,” she said with such obvious belief in the fact that I didn’t have the heart to correct her. “And I think we should go and find him so...”
“So we should go,”
I agreed, having the feeling that this guilt trip wasn’t going to end until I went looking for him anyway.
A smile gripped Kyra’s beautiful features and I fought back a grin at knowing I’d pleased her. “If you wish for us to find him then I could create a magical compass that points to him and-”
“Yeah, okay I wish for that.”
Kyra’s eyes lit up and I almost laughed at the pride shining in her gaze. If she wanted to believe I was a better man than I was then that was okay by me. No doubt she’d be disappointed in the end though.
Gothel released a low laugh, tossing her white hair over her shoulder. Her face was a picture of beauty but all I could see was the monster she'd revealed herself to be.
“What is that supposed to mean?” she growled and I could sense that she was worried I’d told the truth about not being Aladdin. “I see the man before me with my own two eyes.”
“I'm not him,” I growled. “This is a disguise.”
Her eyes narrowed sharply. “A disguise? That would require magic and what purpose would it serve you?”
I plastered a smug grin onto my face, saying no more. Her eyes flashed with doubt and rage. She strode toward the open chest beyond the cauldron and snatched a small bottle out of it.
“I will indulge you then. But if this is just a ploy to delay the inevitable, Nazari, then you really are wasting your breath. Better we finish this sooner rather than later.” She strode toward me, uncorking the bottle and the scent of pine and ammonia hit my nostrils.
She pinched my nose and I kept my lips clamped together. My lungs burned. My eyes watered. I'd been trained to hold my breath underwater for several minutes. And this hag was going to have to wait if she wanted me to drink that acrid-smelling substance.
She did wait and I glared at her the entire time. My lips pursed and my face started turning blue. Eventually I was forced to take a breath and she poured the liquid straight into my mouth.
I jerked violently against the chains as the horrid mixture hit the back of my throat. I coughed and spluttered but some of it went down. My eyes seared as the disgusting taste engulfed my senses.
Forbidden Fairytales- The Complete Series Page 25