BABY ROYAL

by Bella Grant

  Her words bruised Jason, and he winced. “You really believe the Wyatts would be better than us? Please. You don’t know the pillaging, plundering kind that they really are. Once they had the kingdom, they might turn you all into slaves.”

  Elena turned up her nose. “You’re only saying that because you’re jealous.”

  “Of what?” he half shouted. “What we are doing might seem selfish, but it is for everyone’s good, believe that.” He turned from her and shoved his hands into his pockets and stared out the window. He was silent for a long time, and she stood behind him with nothing to do but search the room with her eyes and finding nothing interesting. “I wish I didn’t have to be here. I wish there was a different way.”

  The sadness in his voice triggered a measure of sympathy in her, and she walked closer to him. “There is. You can simply choose someone else.”

  Jason moved his head to the side, enough so he could see her out the corner of his eye, and he shook his head in disbelief. “That simple, huh?”

  “It could be.”

  “Well, it isn’t. Despite what you think, I don’t want just anyone, or I would be long gone.”

  Elena was flattered he was saying all these things, but she still wasn’t certain he meant any of it.

  “You’re my choice, Elena,” he said, with his back turned. When he looked at her after he heard nothing, he found she was staring at him.

  “I was hoping you wouldn’t say that, and that maybe it was a one off thing – that maybe it was me being one of the stupid women in the village who let you have sex with them.”

  “One of the… Elena, I only slept with you.”

  She would have done cartwheels if he wasn’t standing in front of her, but her heart made leaps and bounds in excitement. Still, she fought against it. “So, I was the only dumb one.”

  “Tell me something. Why do you think I sent you all those gifts?”

  Elena was reminded why she had ventured to the cottage in the first place. “I’m glad you mentioned that.” She grabbed the box still on the steps. She tossed it at his feet. “Satin dress? Pearls? Expensive perfume? The flowers I get, but the dress? You know I’m not into all that fancy stuff. What’s a farm girl going to do with pearls?”

  “Well, I was hoping she wouldn’t be a farm girl all her life.”

  “This isn’t me,” she told him.

  “But you’re a woman. What woman—”

  “Me!” she shouted in anticipation of the rest of his statement. “I’m the kind of woman who doesn’t want jewelry and fine clothes.” She tugged at the sleeves on her jumper. “This is me.”

  “No, it’s not,” Jason insisted. “I saw you in a dress once—”

  “Once. And that was the second time I wore it. Are you really that clueless?”

  “No,” he said, and his voice wavered as he did. “I simply thought—”

  “You thought wrong.” She walked back to the door like she was ready to leave.

  He rushed over and placed himself between her and the door. “That’s it? I tell you I’ve chosen you and you want to leave?”

  She shrugged. “What else do you want me to do? You can’t force me to marry you. I don’t want to leave the village, so unless you plan on moving here, I don’t see how this would work.”

  He saw her lips moving, but being so close to her provoked his desires, and he leaned in and kissed her.

  She backed away. “Don’t,” she told him, and placed her forefinger over her lips.

  Her eyes were glossy, like she was about to cry, and Jason touched her chin and tilted her face. “But I do want to kiss you, Elena. Why don’t you stop fighting me?”

  “Because…”

  She stood motionlessly before him, incapable of finishing her thought, and her hands fell to her side. As he observed her, he understood she wasn’t a material girl at all. He had thought she wore those clothes because she worked on the farm and it was the sensible thing to do. When he had seen her in the white dress, he was a little more convinced she would wear nice things if she had them. His mother had planted that seed firmly in his mind. But it dawned on him in that moment, as he looked from her to the boxes of unopened gifts, that she didn’t want money or material things. She had led a simple life, and she valued it.

  “What do you want, Elena?”

  “Nothing,” she replied and walked away from him.

  “No, everybody wants something.”

  She looked into his eyes, and he felt a pull in his heart. But she turned away before he could sense anything. It was as if she wanted to tell him but didn’t know how to.

  “Can I see you again?”

  She didn’t respond.

  “We can go to the tree together,” he teased and moved closer to her. “I’m giving it back to you, but only if you share it with me.”

  She smiled. “I don’t know.”

  He could see the torment in her eyes and he wanted to reassure her, but he wasn’t sure of the extent of what she struggled with. “You know, you don’t have to worry about your parents if we get married. They would be taken care of.”

  “I know,” she replied, but her spirit wasn’t lifted.

  “Okay, let’s make a deal. I won’t send you any more gifts if you spend time with me.”

  “That doesn’t sound like a fair deal. I lose.”

  “You call spending time with me losing?” He grinned.

  “It’s losing because I don’t get what I want out of it,” she said softly.

  “Oh, so you do want something,” he surmised.

  “I didn’t say that,” she defended quickly.

  “Doesn’t matter if you did.” He bore down on her, his eyes playing a seductive game with hers, his body teasing her more than she would like. “You want me. Admit it.”

  The fire in her eyes returned, and she pressed her hand against his chest and pushed him away. “I need to go.”

  “Wait!” Jason ran after her, but there was no stopping her this time.

  “This is all one big joke to you, right?”

  He was at a loss for words. He didn’t understand how she came up with the things she did. He hadn’t said anything that would suggest he was playing. Granted, he hadn’t lost anything materially. Those gifts didn’t significantly injure him. But for her to think he would do all of that as simply a grand gesture or as a part of an elaborate game was beyond his understanding.

  “I’m not letting you go this time,” he said as he reached for her.

  “You can’t stop me. Unless you plan to make me your prisoner.” She waited for him to pull her back inside. When he didn’t, she grabbed the knob and pulled the door open. “I thought so.”

  She stepped outside and made it all the way to the gate before Jason convinced himself he couldn’t let her go this time. Not when he didn’t know when he would see her again. She wasn’t sure about him, so he would prove to her he was serious. Maybe that was all he needed to do before she would be his. The thought brightened his face and gave him hope that he hadn’t come to the village in vain. He chased after her for what felt like the hundredth time.

  Elena

  Elena was confused as she stumbled from the cottage. She was aware of the angry looks she was receiving from some of the other women. Apparently, word had traveled fast—Charlotte must have been the bearer. She stood across the street and glared at Elena as she left the yard.

  The farm was a little way from the store, about a half mile, and Elena thought instead of returning to the farm to wallow in self-pity, she would be useful. She knew they needed some supplies. It felt like walking to the gallows or like she was paying some form of penance for something she did wrong. More and more people streamed from their hiding places, or so it seemed because they weren’t all visible before. Bit by bit, heads poked out and curious onlookers stared at her.

  She had never been friends with any of them, always fielding negative comments about her attire or strangely preferring to be alone. Who would want to socialize
with any of them? She was much better off in her own company. Yet, that morning, her legs felt heavy and her head swelled as she walked amongst them, and she tried not to listen to the hurtful words they hurled at her.

  Elena didn’t realize Jason was tailing her until she felt his hand on hers. She thought it was one of the women, maybe Charlotte again, and she turned and immediately shoved the accoster. Her eyes bulged when she realized it was him.

  “Ooh,” someone mouthed.

  “I…I… are you following me?” She scowled, transferring her anger to him. Elena was on the brink of apologizing until it dawned on her he was deliberately following her.

  “I am,” he admitted.

  “You’ve got to be kidding me,” someone said. Jason looked around and saw Charlotte, her face plum red and her hands on her hips like she was about to scold him.

  “Excuse me, but is there a problem, miss?”

  Charlotte was almost livid with anger. “Don’t miss me! You know my name. Or you did when you agreed to go to the river with me.”

  Everyone gawked at the prince, and Elena felt her heart skip a beat. “You what? And I was thinking you were serious,” Elena said with contempt.

  “I am serious. And I didn’t promise her anything. She asked, and I sorta blew her off.”

  “Didn’t seem that way to me,” Charlotte persisted. She stepped closer to Jason and twirled her hair around her index finger. “I bet if I had more time, I could have made him do a lot of things.”

  Jason shrank away from her, and Elena swelled with anger. She gave Jason a sinister look and pressed through the crowd that had formed around them.

  “No, wait, Elena!” Jason shouted and tried to follow her, but the other women blocked him.

  “Prince Jason, you can do better than that,” a voice called, but Elena didn’t stop to figure out who it was. She had known all along he had to be lying to her. And he had eyes on Charlotte? Of all the girls he could have chosen, it had to be her?

  “Get out of my way!” Jason shouted, and the crowd parted. He rushed through and caught up to Elena. “Stop walking away from me!”

  “Or what? Huh?” she yelled as she turned to face him. “Are you sure you don’t want to go to the river with Charlotte?”

  “Why the hell would I do that?” He wore an expression that told her what she was insinuating couldn’t be further from the truth. Before she could say anything else, he took her hand and turned to face the audience behind them. He held Elena’s hand in the air and prepared to speak.

  “What are you doing?” she asked, yanking at her hand.

  “Everyone, this is for the record. I have made my choice. I want to marry Elena Rose, and I would appreciate it if you all respect that. Thank you!”

  Instead of elation, her eyes drooped, and her spirit dampened. Elena didn’t know how to respond to his announcement. She was infuriated that he had chosen her out of a sense of duty and not out of love. She knew the kind of lifestyle he led, and she knew he couldn’t give her the one thing she wanted—love!

  “Why did you do that?” she screeched, rooted to the spot.

  “Because I mean it.”

  “This isn’t a game, Jason.”

  “You let her call you Jason?” Charlotte asked in disbelief.

  “What’s going on?” Emma asked as she arrived on the scene.

  “Jason just told us he chose Elena,” Charlotte answered, adding emphasis to his name used without the title.

  Emma’s eyes instantly filled with water. “What?”

  “That’s right. He chose the village farmer,” Charlotte spat.

  Jason didn’t have to fight hard to ignore them. He was totally focused on Elena, trying to convince her he meant what he said.

  “It isn’t a game to me,” he said emphatically so they all could hear. Then he narrowed his gaze and sized up the crowd. “I have to convince her to marry me.”

  There was a hushed silence at first, and other than Emma’s sobs, everyone burst into laughter. Though Emma was distraught, she walked over to Elena.

  “What’s wrong with you? He chose you, and you act like…like it’s nothing. Any of us would gladly say yes.”

  “Well, maybe one of you should take him.”

  Elena knew she might look like an idiot, but she didn’t need to be true to anyone but herself. Sure, Jason was gallant now, but what about when they were alone and he had whisked her off to the castle to spend forever standing on the balcony, gazing at the life she wished she had? She didn’t plan on being a senseless princess, but she knew there was no point in saying any of that. She wouldn’t marry anyone for anything less than love, and when she looked at him, that’s not what she saw. Or felt.

  “Why don’t you go back to your castle on the hill? We don’t need you here,” Candace’s father shouted. “I offered you a perfectly good woman, and you tossed her back like she was worth nothing. And now you tell us you chose a woman who doesn’t even want to marry you? Pathetic!”

  Jason clenched his jaw and turned to face his aggressor. “What’s pathetic is watching a grown man whining because I didn’t choose his daughter. I couldn’t choose everybody.”

  “Yeah, but look at what you chose. You may as well have not come. That’s like forfeiting the deal.”

  Jason looked at Elena, who flushed with embarrassment, and he wanted to whisk her off to a place where these people couldn’t hurt her. He could have left, but he felt the need to defend her.

  “Do you see how you are all behaving now? Your reaction to her? This is exactly why I chose her, because she is nothing like the rest of you.”

  “What’s wrong with the rest of us, other than that we like to smell like perfume and not shit?” Candace chimed in.

  “Candace, watch your tongue,” her father scolded.

  “But, Papa, Elena?”

  “Now we know for sure we are better with the Wyatts,” a burly woman in the back said. “That’s not a choice. That’s mockery.”

  Elena wasn’t going to stand among them any longer and listen to their railings. She had grown used to it, but not like this. Sure, they had criticized the way she dressed and smelled sometimes when she had run out of the pigs’ sty and gone into town, completely unaware of her attire or odor. She had lost many friends by that means, but she wasn’t necessarily going to cry about it.

  “Okay, that’s enough,” she heard a familiar voice say. She turned her head to the left and discovered Adam. He had a weak smile on his face, and he rubbed his hand over his head after he spoke, like he was afraid of an imminent assault on his person.

  “Adam, shut up!” Charlotte screeched.

  “Just saying…nothing is wrong with her.”

  “Really? Have you forgotten how she treated you?”

  Elena hadn’t. He had been one of her closest friends, and they had spent a lot of time together—mostly him helping her around the farm so he could be close to her. She hadn’t returned his affections, and he soon grew weary of cleaning filth and mowing the lawn. It had been obvious she wasn’t interested in him, and his love had gone unrequited. He had withdrawn from her, and the two had been only acquaintances since.

  “Hey, you can’t force a girl to like you. Or a prince either,” he said in Jason’s defense too. “Just get over it!” He winked at Elena and left the group of angry people before they tore him apart.

  With him gone, Elena took the spotlight again, but she hurried away, no longer to the store she had intended to visit but to the safety of her farm. She checked behind her several times, but Jason didn’t follow her. She was relieved. The first sign of tears appeared as soon as she stepped onto the farm, and she clutched her chest in anguish.

  The tears were fully formed and flowing by the time she reached the kitchen. Her mother was making dinner as the devastated Elena burst through the door. She dusted the flour from her hands and hurried to her.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “He did it,” she cried and collapsed against her mother, who
held her tightly, worried about her wailing.

  “Who did what?”

  “Jason. He told everyone I’m his choice. Right in the town square,” she cried, wiping her hand down her face. “He keeps making things worse.”

  “Oh, honey,” Olivia consoled her and pulled her back to her. “It will be all right.”

  “It won’t be. Don’t you see, Mom? He’s the prince. He can do this if he wants to. It’s merely a game to him—to come to the village and choose a woman to marry. Never mind that the woman doesn’t want to, or that he could have anyone else. Why is he doing this to me?”

  Her mother was silent for a minute, and then she inhaled deeply. “Maybe he does have feelings for you.”

  Elena’s whimpering stopped immediately. “Feelings? That’s all he needs to get married to someone?” Her shoulders sagged as her face drooped. She rose to get a glass of water from the refrigerator. She felt a bit calmer after drinking it. “I’ve always wanted more than just feelings.”

  “I know, sweetheart, but still, that’s a good place to start.”

  “Why are you defending him? I don’t want to marry Jason.”

  “And you don’t have to if you don’t want to,” she reassured her. “But I’ve seen him and the way he is around you. Maybe you feel something too, and you’re afraid.”

  The glass in her hand clattered to the counter as she turned and clamped her hand down on the edge. She closed her eyes, wishing she was currently somewhere else having a more appreciated conversation. “I feel nothing towards him but anger for doing this to me. I never asked him to come here.”

  She stormed off to her room. Olivia remained in the kitchen, jerking when Elena’s door slammed. Elena might not be aware of it, but a mother could tell when her daughter has fallen in love.

  Jason

  Jason didn’t know how to do right by Elena. Every time he tried to make the mood between them pleasant, he ended up making the situation a whole lot worse. He had thought making the announcement would have cemented the fact that he wanted her and no one else. He had even expected her to cry. She had been angrier than when she had brought back the gifts.