Then an idea occurred to me, and my lips curled up into a smile. Of course, it was so obvious. Why hadn’t I thought of it right away?
It was Gabriel, stopping by to take a peek at his future bride. I grinned. He must have been impressed, and not able to wait for the wedding night, so he had to spy on me to get a better look.
Part of me was pleased and flattered that he would go out of his way to do this, but another part still stung from his words. That part wanted a little bit of revenge, and I knew just the way to get it.
Nonchalantly, I sat up in the bed, keeping my eyes away from the door. “I’m thirsty,” I mumbled to myself, loud enough for my watcher to hear, and got off the bed and stood. I grabbed my robe off the bedpost and put it on, then walked in the direction of my table, where a water pitcher sat. I knew that I would be out of sight of my watcher from that angle, and when I got to the table, I sidled along the wall towards the door.
This was going to be good. I grinned as I thought about the shocked look that would appear on Gabriel’s face when I pulled the door open and caught him there. It would certainly give me the upper hand in our relationship, and a little bit of power too – unless he wanted me to inform his mother that he was a peeping tom.
I reached the door and placed my hand on the knob. Pausing for a moment, I took a deep breath.
I twisted the knob, and yanked it open. “Aha!” I exclaimed, grinning like a fool.
My smile quickly disappeared when I saw who it was. Instead of Gabriel, it was his brother, Bartholomew. And worse than that, his pants were around his ankles and his cock was in his fist. I opened my mouth to scream, but only got out a short cry before he moved quickly and pressed his hand to my face.
It was the same hand that had been on his cock, and my nose was filled with a musky stench as I felt disgusting moisture on my lips and cheeks. I struggled to free my face, but he moved closer and held me in place.
“Don’t scream,” he said, “Please?”
I stared at him with wide eyes, still trying to loosen my face from his foul hand. I could also feel his still-rigid cock pressing against my thigh.
“Shhhh,” he said, trying to calm me. “Don’t scream and I’ll let you go.”
I nodded, willing to do anything to get his hand off my face. He removed it and I took in a deep breath, welcoming the fresh air. I began to wipe whatever was on his hand from my face.
“What are you doing?” I said.
“Shhh,” he replied, looking over his shoulder. “Keep it down.”
“What are you doing?” I repeated in a whisper.
He gave me a halfhearted grin. “Just taking a peek.”
“You are a pig!”
He shrugged. “Maybe.”
“I’m engaged to your brother.”
“He doesn’t want you.”
I felt my anger flare. “That makes no difference. I’m going to be his wife.”
His grin widened. “That’s why I’m getting my looks in now. You are very pretty.”
“I’m telling your mother.”
“No you won’t.”
“And why not.”
“Because if you do, I’ll tell her what I saw you doing in there.”
I looked at him in shock. “I wasn’t doing anything.”
“I know what I saw.”
I fumed. “You were doing the same!”
He laughed. “I’m a man. We’re supposed to do that. You, on the other hand, are a lady, a future queen. It wouldn’t be good if the word got out that you were being sinful.”
I frowned. “Get away from me, you toad.”
He laughed again. “Don’t be like that. What do you say we have some fun? Gabriel won’t care.” He pressed his cock harder against my leg.
“Let go of me!”
“Shhh, just relax. I’ll make you feel good.”
“What’s going on here?”
We both turned in shock to see Gabriel walking towards us with an angry look on his face. Bartholomew took a step back away from me.
Gabriel stopped when he reached us. “I said, what’s going on? Answer me!”
Bartholomew gave his brother a smile as he pulled up his pants. “We’re just having a little fun, brother. Since you don’t want her, she wanted a try with me.”
I stared at him with my mouth gaping. “I did not! This pervert was peeping through my keyhole!”
Gabriel’s gaze turned back to his brother with a questioning look.
“She’s lying,” Bartholomew said. “She was in her room crying because you refused to marry her, and I tried to comfort her. Next thing I knew, she was kissing me and pulling down my pants. I guess if she couldn’t have one brother, she wanted the other.”
“You are the liar!” I said, pointing at him.
Gabriel looked at me with scrutiny. “Why are you outside of your room without your clothes?”
“I already explained that. Your brother was peeping at me, and I opened the door to confront him.”
“Why wouldn’t you get dressed before you opened the door?”
“Because I thought it was y–” I stopped myself before completing the sentence, not believing I was about to admit that.
Gabriel looked at me in shock. “You thought what?”
My anger flared again. “You know what? Fine. I was trying to seduce your brother. If that gets me out of marrying you, you can think that all you want. I don’t care.” I stepped back into my room and slammed the door, turning the latch to lock it. I ran to my bed and hurled myself on it, hugging my pillow and not fighting the tears any longer.
* * *
I felt terrible all the next day. When Beatrice and Victoria arrived to help with my morning activities, I sent them away, telling them I wanted to be alone. I thought there might have been repercussions from the incident outside my door last night, but no one came to my room and called me a harlot. I was hoping they would, and then kick me out of here, where I could be free to do whatever I wanted.
Freedom. The word pecked at my brain like a bird. Every time I remembered that tomorrow was my wedding day, I felt a shortness of breath in my chest, and dizziness came over me, causing me to sit. This couldn’t really be happening.
Freedom. I imagined myself out in the country, living my life away from all of the royal trappings. That would be nice, wouldn’t it? I’d marry some farmboy and we would have our own small plot of land, where we would plant our crops and raise our family together. I smiled when I thought of it, thinking of that small farmhouse with our bed tucked away in a corner upstairs, where my husband and I would spend our nights reveling in the pleasure of each other’s bodies.
I sighed aloud, staring at the ceiling of my bedroom, the sadness returning as I realized it was all just a fantasy, and that I wouldn’t be spending my future in the arms of that farmboy, but instead with a callous man who didn’t love me.
The idea began as a slight flicker, and then burst into a flame. The flame burned brighter and brighter until it consumed my entire mind.
I could just leave! That’s right. I wasn’t a prisoner here, manacled to the walls. I could just walk right out. They could have their silly wedding without me. I grinned wide and formulated my plan.
I called Beatrice and Victoria back in, telling them I was feeling better, and was in the mood for dinner. They seemed happy to hear this, and scurried off to accommodate my wishes. I knew I had to act normal before I executed my plan, plus, I needed food in me for what I had in mind. As I ate, I hid the two biscuits in my bag, and asked for more. When those came, I hid them also, then asked for two more. Beatrice raised an eyebrow and asked me if I was sure, and when I said yes, she walked off in the direction of the kitchen, muttering something I couldn’t hear.
With my stomach full and my bag filled with biscuits, I was ready. As night fell, Beatrice and Victoria seemed excited, telling me they couldn’t wait for my wedding tomorrow. I played along with it, despite the fact I planned on being very far from here by the
time the wedding was to begin. Finally, they said goodnight and left me alone.
I lay awake until midnight, listening to the noises of the castle become silent. When I was sure no one else was awake, I slipped from my bed and changed into my clothes. That afternoon, when I had taken my walk, I found an old pair of trousers and a hooded shirt that had been discarded by one of the gardeners. I had secreted it back to my room, and now I put them on. Pulling the hood up over my head, I looked into the mirror with satisfaction. Even if someone saw me, they wouldn’t recognize me as a woman, let alone a princess. It was time to go.
I left my room and walked quietly down the hall. There were a few guards in the great hall, but they were on the other end, and I quietly slipped out the door to outside. The night was warm and the moon was a crescent, and I kept to the shadows as I made my way across the tree-lined plaza in front of the castle. As I came out the other side, I almost ran into two castle guards walking their sentry path. I froze in fear, but they hardly noticed me, giving me a simple “Move along” before they walked past. I grinned. My disguise had worked perfectly.
As I made my way through the town, I noticed it was decorated festively, and I wondered what holiday they were celebrating. It wasn’t until I was almost all the way through when I realized the reason for their celebration was me. They had dressed up the town in honor of getting a new queen tomorrow. I felt a pang of guilt for leaving them like this, but they would be better off when Gabriel found a wife he could love.
After the town came a small wood, and on the other side of that was the river. When I had arrived in my carriage a week ago, we had been carried across the river by a large, flat ferry boat, and tonight I had made sure to bring some coins with me to pay for my way back across.
I walked down the road to the ferry station, and up to the ferryman, who was sitting in a small shack.
“Excuse me sir,” I said, keeping my hood on and making my voice as deep as I could, “but I would like to get across the river.”
He nodded. “That’ll be three pence.”
I reached into my pocket and handed him the coins.
He counted them slowly, then said, “Good, come back in the morning.”
“The morning?”
“Ya, the first run is at dawn.”
“But I have to get across now.”
He shook his head. “Nope. In the morning.”
“Please? Could you do it for me? I’ll pay you more.”
His head continued to shake. “Takes two men. Me and the one pulling from the other side. He don’t show up til dawn.”
“But I don’t have anywhere else to go.”
He shrugged. “You can sleep on the bank over there.” He pointed to a large grassy bank that led down to the water.
My shoulders slumped and I walked over to the grass, sitting down and considering my predicament. Dawn would be too late. By then, they would be looking for me, and the first thing they’d do would be to shut down the ferry. This wasn’t good. I had to think of something.
I was sitting there still thinking several minutes later when I saw a dark figure approaching the ferryman. I hunkered down, afraid it was one of the castle guards, looking for me. The figure seemed to talk to the ferryman, and I heard bits of what they were saying. It almost seemed like the same conversation I’d had with him, even with the ferryman telling him to go over and sleep in the grass.
The dark figure began walking in my direction, and I crouched lower, prepared to run at a moment’s notice. He was wearing a hood, just like me, and kept his head downward, as if hiding his face. He noticed me at the last moment, and veered away, taking a seat higher up on the bank.
So, it looked like we were here for the same purpose – to catch the ferry across. But it looked like we both had to bide our time.
But the problem was, I couldn’t wait. I had to get out of here now, ferry or no ferry. I looked closely at the river. It didn’t look too deep, and I wondered if I could wade across. I might get wet, and ruin my biscuits, but that was better than going back to what was waiting for me at the castle.
I stood, resolved to get this over with. I couldn’t sit around any longer. Walking down the bank to the river, I looked across. I could do this. I even knew how to swim if it came to that. I was ready.
I stepped into the water and began my way across. I thought I heard someone call from behind me, but I ignored it. I was only focused on getting away.
The water was cold, and quickly rose to my knees, and then my thighs. I considered going back for a moment, but the look on Gabriel’s face as he questioned me in front of his brother came back to me, and I forged on. Soon, the water was rushing by my crotch, and I had a flashback to my warm bed from the night before, when my fingers had been busy between my legs.
I heard another call from behind me, and I ignored it. Perhaps the stranger had recognized me after all, and was trying to capture me. I forged on. The water was now up to my stomach, and I realized the current was much stronger than it looked from the shore. I could feel it trying to drag me downstream with it.
I looked across to the opposite shore, and decided I was almost halfway there. It would be silly to go back now, since it was probably going to get shallower as I went on. I took another step towards my destination.
The bottom must have dropped off quickly, because my foot didn’t touch ground. Instead I found myself slipping completely into the water until it was over my head. The current picked me up and tossed me around, and I felt myself going with it. I struggled to get to the surface, and I managed to for a brief moment, but then the current took me under again.
Despite my experience in the water, I could feel the panic rising in me. This was bad. Real bad. Out here in the dark, with the water taking me under, I knew that I had made a terrible mistake. One that I probably wasn’t going to survive.
I bobbed to the surface again, and gasped another quick breath before the current took me back under. I could feel my body weakening as I struggled against the force of the water. I pumped my arms and legs, trying to reach the surface, but it was no use, I was finished. I looked up and saw the crescent moon shining above the surface of the water, and realized it would be the last thing I would see.
I could hold my breath no longer, and I opened my mouth, sucking in a mouthful of river water. It went down my throat and I gagged, seeing the darkness encroaching from the edges of my vision. I turned my mind to happier thoughts, of growing up in my castle, and dreaming about falling in love.
Suddenly, from nowhere, a strong hand encircled my wrist, clamping on tightly and pulling me upwards. My head broke through the surface, and I gasped for air, but my throat was still full of water. My rescuer’s powerful arm encircled my chest and squeezed tightly, expelling the water from my lungs and throat. It came rushing out in a stream, and then I was able to breathe in glorious lungfuls of air.
I clutched at his arm and held on tightly as he swam in strong strokes towards the opposite shore. Finally, the river bottom came up to meet us, and he dragged me from the river, and we both collapsed onto the bank.
I lay there gasping for breath, feeling pain with each inhale but happy to be alive. My hood still covered my head, and I had to push it away from my nose and mouth.
My rescuer lay beside me, catching his breath and spitting up some water. Finally he sat up, coughed, and then spoke.
“What the hell is wrong with you, sir?” he said, in a hoarse voice. “I told you not to go into the river. People die in there all the time. Are you feebleminded?”
I took a few more deep breaths, and turned to him. He was still wearing his hood also. “Thank you for saving me. I owe you my life.”
I realized too late that I had failed to disguise my voice.
“You are a female?” he asked.
I hung my head. “Yes.”
“Uncover your head and let me see.”
“I’d rather not.”
“I didn’t ask. Uncover your head.”
> “I don’t want to.”
“In the name of the King, I command you to show me your face.”
I looked up in alarm. It couldn’t be!
He pulled his hood back, and I was staring into Gabriel’s clear blue eyes. He reached to me and pushed back the hood from my face. His eyes went wide in shock.
“Kathryn?”
I hung my head in shame.
“What are you doing out here?” he demanded.
I remained silent.
“Answer me!”
“I was running away,” I said softly.
I felt his eyes staring at the top of my head, but he didn’t speak for a long moment. When he finally did, his voice was soft also. “Running away from me?”
“Yes.”
He was silent, as if lost in thought.
“Are you angry?” I asked.
“No, I’m not.”
“Why not? Are you glad to see me go?”
He shook his head. “No, your running away makes me sad. But I can’t be angry with you for doing the same thing I did.”
“What do you mean?”
“What do you think I was doing out here?”
I thought for a moment, then I looked at him in shock. “You were running away too?”
He nodded.
“You were running away from your kingdom, just to get away from me?”
“Kathryn, you said it yourself. You don’t want to spend your life with someone who doesn’t love you. Why should I be any different?”
“Am I that horrible?”
“I can ask you the same question.”
“Of course you’re not. But you don’t love me.”
“And you don’t love me,” he said, with a twinge of sadness in his voice.
“This is so unfair, to both of us,” I said. “If they would have given us a chance to know each other, we may have fallen in love.”
He was silent for a moment, then said, “Do you really mean that?”
“Yes. When we first met, I was afraid you would be a mean person. But when I saw you, I saw there was kindness in your eyes.”
He smiled softly. “And then you saw my stubborn side.”
Virgin Tales - Arranged Page 3