The second handmaiden gave me the same golden jewelry as I had worn before, which still matched beautifully with my new dress.
The third handmaiden no longer gave me a mask. She took out the little blunt golden blade. “The king’s request,” she said. I throbbed with renewed excitement as she lifted my skirt and shaved my nether lips naked again. Then she sent me to the river.
The boat was waiting for me, and Will was standing in it.
I ran to him, and he stepped forward and held out a hand to help me inside. He clutched me against him and the boat swayed. We both stumbled and almost lost our balance. “Let’s not do that again!” I cried. Then we laughed.
“Evaline. I’m so sorry. I moved heaven and earth to find you, I sent messengers and spies to check on you, but those damned bits of iron…”
“Messengers and spies? Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I didn’t want to get your hopes up, only to fail. At least I could see that you were safe enough, in a convent.”
“You should have told me,” I said. “Even if I never saw you again, at least I would have known.”
“That’s what my sister said. I fought her about it. I figured you already knew I would do anything to find you…”
I looked at him. He seemed different. He looked the same, I suppose, except for his golden eyes. Still more human than faery on the surface, but he seemed taller than I remembered, somehow. Stronger. He was finely clad now, in a doublet of brown velvet and had golden buttons on his boots.
“You look like a king now,” I said. “You carry yourself like a king.”
He smirked in a pleased way. “Jeannie said I’ve gotten even more obnoxious than before, ordering everyone around. But half of it is because I was so crazed to find you.”
“Your sister? Is she here, then?”
He nodded. “I can’t wait for you to meet her, and tell you everything I’ve been up to. But first, darling…I hope you’re as hungry for me as I am for you.”
I smiled. “Maybe more. I’ve been in a convent.”
“Well, I’ve been watching everyone else have fun.” He pulled me onto his lap and lifted the oars, putting them in my hands. “Why don’t you take a turn here?”
“I have to row? What will you—“ I cut off as his hand pulled up my skirt and his fingers shoved between my legs.
“Go on,” he said, pumping his fingers against my clit. “It’s a lazy river, I don’t think it will give you any trouble. I see your handmaiden followed my directions. You’re nice and smooth and already so wet for me.”
I dragged the oars through the water, but I was not rowing very fast. I spread my legs a little wider as he pushed two fingers into my entrance.
“I’m going to lead you through the revels. And then I’m going to pin you to that tree,” he said. “I want to see every fleeting expression on your face. I want to take your clothes off, slowly, and tease you as I do, with my tongue, my teeth, my hands, and finally I will take you with my cock—“ His fingers thrust deep into me, a preview of what was to come, and the oars flailed in my hands— “until I must carry you to your bed, and then I have a surprise for you.”
“Oh, you do, do you? I bet it’s not as good as the surprise I have for you.” The words leapt out of my mouth before I reconsidered that the surprise also had a slightly unpleasant caveat. The witch’s bargain.
He looked like he wanted to ask about my surprise right away. Then he suddenly wrapped his other hand around my waist and held me tight, stroking my hip, with a touch that conveyed a world of yearning. “Eva, I’ve missed you,” he said. “They say the revels has showed human girls how to be free, but it’s saved me too, unlocked me from my bitterness. It’s pained me to see the other dancers, without you there. I haven’t sung a note. I’m waiting for you.”
“I’m here now,” I said softly, stroking his cheek.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Will
I quickly came to realize that being the King of the Wicked Revels was basically being the host of the wildest party in all the known realms. Which was no small task, when you think about it, although I’m not sure the former king had. If the revels was an escape from all the troubles of the world, I had to make sure it was a good one. I talked to the musicians, the chefs, the winemakers, the seamstresses. I made it my business to know their names and their jobs, how they used magic—which they did use, in intimidating abundance. Most of all I needed to make sure the dance was safe but without losing the edge of danger that made it an exciting escape, a place where it was possible to let go of one’s inhibitions. I think some of them were annoyed to have their new king poking around and meddling, but it helped keep my mind off of worrying over Evaline.
Well, to a certain extent.
I never really stopped thinking of Evaline.
But now she was here, and I would never let her go.
I had been disbanding all the magic of the masks and the trees that had so entranced the former king. I think he was a different sort of man, to woo all of Evaline’s sisters, and who knew how many other women over the years. I was more of a one-woman sort of fellow.
But I wanted that one woman very badly. There was one spell I would never disband. I liked that when Evaline was bound to the tree, I was completely in control of her, and completely in tune with her, so that I knew exactly what would bring her the greatest satisfaction.
That night, I gave Evaline everything I had promised her, and she gave me everything I could dream of. My once-nervous little princess was now a wanton beggar for my touch, aching to be bound and mounted to my tree and fucked again and again.
Finally, I took her down and carried her across the threshold, and now that I had finally satisfied my burning hunger for her body, I could hopefully begin to satisfy all the buried dreams of her soul.
“Will…,” she said, struggling in my arms. “Put me down. Did you get all of these for me?”
I had filled the room with instruments. A harp, a lute, a mandolin, a violin, flutes, pipes, drums; even an concertina, which no one here knew what to do with, but there it was.
“I know you dream of making music yourself,” I said. “Well, the trouble is always deciding what to play. I wanted you to have every choice to mess around with. If you settle on something, we can always give the extras away, but maybe you’ll be brilliant at all of them. Or maybe you won’t be brilliant, but you’ll simply enjoy it.”
“It’s perfect!” she said, running her fingers over the different strings. “You’re exactly right. I’ve never even gotten to touch instruments before. I hope the musicians will show me what to do.”
“I think they’ll be thrilled.” I gave her another moment to tap the skin of the drums, to blow on the flute, and then I couldn’t stand it anymore. “What’s my surprise?”
“Oh, your surprise? Well…” She took my hand and placed it on her stomach.
I met her eyes. “This doesn’t mean…what I think it means, does it?”
“It’s a son, Will. At least, that’s…that’s what the old woman said. It’s a baby, at least. But that’s the only thing…the old woman…” Her eyes cast down.
I hardly heard that at first. “A son?” I picked her up again. I wished I was more agile to swing her around.
“Yes. But…when he comes of age, we have to send him to Torina. That was the bargain I had to make. The old woman said she gave you the cloak that allowed you to do all of this in the first place, in the hope of putting a good king on the throne. Our son needs to be that king.”
“I see,” I said. I scratched my chin, considering all of this more deeply. “It’s hard to imagine even raising a child in a place like this, now that I think of it.”
“He will certainly have a different kind of life,” Evaline agreed. “Even if we shield him from some of it. But…that might be exactly what Torina needs. Anyway, it’s a long way off. I thought it was fair. I didn’t have much choice, but…daughters usually go away to marry. For us, it will jus
t be…a son going away.”
“It is true that I wouldn’t be here without the old woman’s aid,” I said. “So I think it was the right decision. We’ll have a long time to make sure he’s ready.”
Epilogue
Evaline
Eighteen years later…
“Have you packed everything? All your clothes?” I knew he had, but it made me feel better to fuss.
“Yes. I packed ten hats, one see-through shirt and a pair of leather pants. That’s enough, right?” Roland smirked.
“Ha, ha,” Will said. “You think this is going to be easy?”
“He gets that from you,” I said. We were teasing each other, but really, I was on the brink of tears. How had eighteen years passed so quickly? How had my chubby cheeked little baby turned into this man who was eager to escape the revels? He thought they were dull and oppressive. He was excited to go to the human world, no matter how much I warned him about it.
So it goes, I told myself. I had more sympathy with my own parents with each passing year. I would never agree with a lot of their choices, but I also understood how easy it was to second guess oneself when it came to children. I wasn’t always sure what to do with Roland, growing up among the wild faeries, and it was even worse when the girls came along. The faery women had to keep reminding me not to coddle the girls more than the boy.
Jeanette and Alexia, at least, were easier than Roland. He was a “fire sign”, the elves and goblins said—they were big believers in astrology. The girls had followed in our musical footsteps, Netta as a violinist and Alex as a composer, both of them collaborating in a sisterly harmony that made me miss my own sisters. But we all made music together, many a night. I favored the flute because I could carry it with me everywhere I went, and Will still had the best singing voice in the family.
“I wonder who you’ll meet there,” Jeanette said. “You’re going to shock the pants off those human girls.”
“They don’t wear pants,” I said. “Not ever.”
“I know that. It’s an expression.”
Will looked at his pocket watch. “You’d probably better get along the path. Your grandparents are waiting.”
“Try and be…patient with them,” I told Roland. They had accepted him as the heir. I suspected some magical persuasion was involved, but who knows? Maybe they just missed me. I’d exchanged letters over the years, trying to smooth the way for his arrival. But I still imagined Roland would be the talk of the town for a long time. Maybe not always in a good way.
“Yes, you’d damn well better behave yourself,” Will said. “Or I’ll come out there.”
Jeannie was cleaning up the dishes from our farewell dinner. She had married a wood elf man shortly after her arrival. Happy as she and Olvar seemed, she still spent a lot of time at our house fussing over the kids, since she never had children of her own. She paused and lifted her eyebrows. “Oh, to spy on the scenes to come,” she said.
“I don’t think the best play in the world will top the arrival of Prince Roland to fair Torina,” Olvar agreed. “Perhaps we could try a scrying pool and ask for a glimpse.”
“You’d better not,” Roland said. “Anyway, my parents have given me a pretty big reputation to live up to.”
“Good luck, Rol.” Will clasped his hand and then pulled him in for an embrace. “Write every day.”
“Every day? Sure…good luck waiting on a letter every day. But I’ll try for every week.” Then he hugged me.
I was getting a little teared up. Actually, a lot. Jeannie quietly handed me a handkerchief.
Netta and Alex didn’t fare much better. We were all a mess as we fumbled out further goodbyes and waved to him as he set off on the path.
“Don’t cry!” Will said, although I thought I saw a tear in the corner of his eye as well. “This is a good day. A new day, for our old home, and the fulfillment of a promise. I know he’s going to be a wonderful king, and I think he’s going to find a wonderful queen out there as well, once the season begins.”
“And I’m not there to see it…!” I cried. But it was a good sign that Torina had a ‘season’ these days. When my sisters were growing up, my mother didn’t allow such festivities.
Later that night, I was still feeling very sentimental as I came to bed. Will sat beside me, wrapped his arms around me, and kissed the crown of my head. “Still as gorgeous as the day I met you,” he said.
“I’m feeling quite ancient, seeing Roland off. It really feels like yesterday…”
“Well, you were still a young thing yourself when he was born. And how far we’ve come. But he’s ready for responsibilities of his own, and I meant what I said. I do think he’ll be a good king.”
“I hope he’s happy,” I said. “I understand my parents better now, yes, but sometimes I still think of how gloomy that castle was for me, and I shudder. There is nothing I’d rather be than your queen.”
“And there is nothing I’d rather be than your king.” He slid a hand beneath my dress, encircling my breast. “I, for one, will be glad when all the children have found their own happiness, at this point. I love them more than anything, and yet…”
“They are distracting. And always hungry.” I smiled.
“I could use a distraction myself,” Will said. “The girls are out with their friends. I would like to remind my queen where she belongs.” One of his hands freed the clasps of my dress while the other hand slid lower.
“That,” I said, “is impossible. I know exactly where I belong.”
Thank you for reading! I hope it was a pleasant escape! If you enjoyed this book, consider leaving a review. Amazon will ask you to give a star review when you’re done, but that doesn’t actually count. I don’t know what that is. Amazon is trickier than a fairy. And to make sure you don’t miss a release, follow me on Amazon and on Facebook. Is there a fairy tale you’d like to see? Let me know! I like less common ones too and I already have a few in mind, but next up…Rapunzel meets a prince of the shadow lands.
Fairy Tale Heat Series
Every book is standalone and can be read in any order, although some characters might pop up in later books!
Book One: Beauty and the Goblin King
Book Two: These Wicked Revels (A retelling of The Twelve Dancing Princesses)
Book Three: Rapunzel and the Dark Prince
Book Four: The Beggar Princess (A retelling of King Thrushbeard)
Book Five: The Goblin Cinderella
Keep reading for a preview of Rapunzel and the Dark Prince!
“Rapunzel and the Dark Prince” Preview
It gets pretty lonely, spending your entire life in a tower. The Witch told me she was keeping me safe from a dangerous world. But one day, when I let down my hair, the Witch wasn't the one to climb up.
His presence was so overwhelming; his hands steady on my back, his lips and tongue marking me forever with the taste of a man. I was used to being alone a lot of the time, and wandering around the tower sort of aimlessly, trying to decide what to do once the chores were done.
Now his mouth was telling me what to do and oh, it was good.
Prince Dorin of Yirvagna, from the darkling lands, is tall and dark, with horns and a tail...and the first man I've ever seen in my life. He tells me I'm his bonded mate and I must come with him, and if I'm not so sure about this (admittedly charming) prince, the Witch's plans for me are worse. And when Prince Dorin stands in her way, her retaliation is swift. I taste freedom for the first time at the cost of Dorin's eyesight...but can I find a way to lift his curse?
Chapter One
Rapunzel
Spending your whole life in a tower isn’t as dull as you might think.
First, when I wake up, the birds are always singing, and I always break up some of my breakfast into crumbs to feed them. At first I had to leave it on the sill, but I kept getting closer until I could feed them out of my hand. They’re like my little pets.
Certainly, they are better than the “pet” the Witc
h got for me when I begged and pleaded for one. I wanted a cat, and she came home with a stuffed crow. It is permanently fixed with its mouth slightly open like it’s cawing, and she told me I could pretend it was talking to me.
She means well. I try to tell myself that.
I think she got it very cheaply, though.
Anyway, once I’ve fed the birds and myself, it’s time to tend to my hair. My golden locks are my pride and joy, and when they are loose, they are as long as my tower home is tall. I usually keep them plaited, but they get messy when I sleep, so every morning I undo the plaits and comb my hair from roots to ends. It takes a long while, and from there it must be plaited again, which takes another long while. Occasionally I weave a ribbon into it just for my own fancy.
Of course, if the Witch shows up, I have to undo the whole thing again. But even that I don’t usually mind. It keeps me busy and sometimes I’m desperate for someone to talk to, even if that someone is always the Witch.
She can be very lovely, really. She makes her stew with dumplings in it, and tells me interesting stories while she stirs the pot, if she’s in a good mood. Usually, she is, as long as things are tidy. The Witch likes everything just-so.
If it were up to me, I really wouldn’t care, but idle hands are the devil’s work, or so she says. So every day I sweep the floors and tidy up the place and then I made myself a little schedule for other things that don’t need to be done as often: dusting and so on. Once she told me I would make a nice little wife for someone, and I should have asked what she meant at the time, but I was too surprised because it was the only time she ever implied such a thing. A nice little wife for who? No one ever sees me.
These Wicked Revels Page 12