Royal Pains

by CN Thornton

  I quickly glanced around and saw that we were in a parlor of sorts. Large sofas filled the center of the room in deep reds, and off to the back was a fireplace and a large bar with several decanters filled with amber liquids.

  "I have warned you too many times," he said, advancing on me as I backed away.

  "Don't you dare. I swear to God I will..."

  Before I could finish my sentence, he yanked me to the couch, pulled me across his knee and began slapping my ass. In defense I bit him hard on his thigh, causing him to release me. Without a second thought I pushed myself to my feet and ran to the door.

  I ran down the hall as fast as I could, taking lefts and rights at random before throwing myself into a room.

  I paused to catch my breath before observing the room I was in, which appeared to be an oversized broom closet. It could have been a pig pen for all I cared. I was away from Theodore, and that was all that mattered.

  I didn't know what time it was when I finally came out of my little hiding spot, but the castle was quiet and the light from the day no longer shone through the windows.

  After getting lost several times in the many long corridors, I managed to find my way back to the room. I had just closed the door behind me when I noticed I wasn't alone.

  "Don't bother trying to run off," his voice spoke from beside me.

  I froze in my spot.

  He took me by the arm and led me across the room, my body trembling the entire time.

  When I managed to find my voice, I mumbled a feeble apology that he didn't seem to acknowledge.

  He steered me into my sitting area and waved away my ladies, who hurriedly rushed from the room. When he finally took a seat across from me, he seemed tense.

  "Your behavior is completely unacceptable and needs immediate correction."

  "Please, don't hit me anymore," I said in a small voice.

  He steepled his fingers, bringing them to rest in front of his lips as he watched me.

  "I honestly have no idea where to begin with you. How do I get you to behave?" he asked.

  The only answer I had was one he wouldn't accept, so I shrugged my shoulders.

  His lips pressed together into a hard line. "Young ladies do not shrug their shoulders," he said through gritted teeth.

  "Yes, sir," I responded.

  He sat back in his seat and I allowed myself to relax a little. If he was getting comfortable, he wasn't about to punish me.

  "If your behavior does not change, I will have no choice but to send you to the Ameliorate Academy."

  I leaned forward, curious. "Ameliorate Academy—what is that?"

  "It's a residency meant for behavioral correction."

  I quickly rose to my feet. "It's not going to work." I shook my head. "Did my mother give you this idea?" I asked as memories of my mother placing me in an institution as punishment danced through my mind.

  The look he gave me said no.

  "This has been done to you before?" he asked.

  I leaned on the back of the couch. "Yes, twice. Once in my childhood and once in my youth."

  "How did you manage to get out acting the way you do?"

  I raised an eyebrow. "Simple. I'm not crazy like everyone else in the mental hospitals, and they quickly figured that out and released me."

  "Wait. You think I'm going to send you to an insane asylum?" he asked, seemingly amused.

  I nodded my head, only for him to chuckle.

  "The Ameliorate Academy isn't an insane asylum. It is..." He paused. "It is to teach you how to be a proper Linacrean woman. They keep you away from society until they think you are ready."

  Like that was any better. Personally, I'd rather go back to a mental hospital any day than to a friggin etiquette school for Linacrean women.

  "Yeah, I refuse to go to there."

  "Good. Then it is safe to presume that your behavior will change for the better. I do not want to send you away, but it isn't exactly my choice. If my father thinks I cannot control you, he will make the decision and what goes on with you will no longer be in my hands."

  I nodded my head. He rose to his feet and crossed to the door.

  "You should've picked a different girl," I whispered, just as he closed my bedroom door.

  In a matter of seconds, my ladies bounded on me, suggesting an aloe bath to soothe the rawness of my skin. Though he had barely gotten any smacks in before I’d run off, I was still sore and didn't dare turn it down. Plus, the warm water was soothing.

  "I seriously cannot stand that man," I ranted as Moana washed my hair with rose-infused water.

  "He means well," she said.

  "No. I don't believe it."

  "The king, during his engagement, would correct the queen at least twelve times a day—eight on a good day."

  "Yes," Peyton agreed. "And she was born and raised in Linacre, so she was already very proper."

  "He is being gentle with you. If he were correcting you like is expected of him by his father, he wouldn't be taking you across the knee like he does," Moana explained.

  "Yes, the king would have him flogging you, without a doubt," Peyton added.

  I thought about that. If what they said was true, then the prince was indeed not correcting me like he should have been.

  "I can't believe that," I finally said. "There has to be some other reason why."

  "You did notice that the king and queen were nowhere to be seen at lunch?" Moana said as she brought me from the tub and wrapped me in a towel.

  I had noticed that.

  "I heard from Anya that he requested to have lunch with you alone. That is why they weren't there. He didn't want to take a chance on you acting out in front of the king, because he knew what his father would have him do."

  I shook my head, unwilling to accept what they were saying. It just didn't make any sense that Theodore, the guy who seemed to despise every bit of who I was, would hold back on correcting me. There certainly had to be something more to this.

  After I was dressed in my night clothes, I wandered into my sitting area, sat back down on the couch and stared across the room.

  "Moana," I called, and she was quickly at my side.

  "Princess," she said, sinking into a deep curtsy.

  "If I write a letter, will you please see to it that it gets mailed out?"

  She seemed almost grateful to be trusted with such a favor.

  "Thank you," I said as I rose to my feet and crossed over to the desk.

  I searched the desk, but only managed to find parchment paper and a weird-looking pen with a sharp tip that only worked when dipped in an ink well.

  I began writing.

  "Dear Bash,

  Sorry I didn't make it.

  I'm here in Linacre. Arrived about six days ago.

  It sucks here, everything is so different, but I am okay.

  I love and miss you so much, Bash.

  Write me soon.

  Emmaline"

  Though it wasn't much, I knew it would give him some relief. This short letter would let him know I was okay. I could only imagine the worry that must have gone through his mind when he’d been unable to find me.

  Folding up the letter, I jotted our Australian address on a makeshift envelope and sealed it before giving it to Moana.

  "Thank you," I said, then headed off to bed to call it a night.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  "Time to get up, Princess." Moana pushed aside the curtains to let in the morning sunlight.

  "Yes, we must get you ready for your lessons," Justine chirped as she turned down my blankets.

  Groaning, I rolled over and slipped out of bed. Last night, as I had been waiting to fall asleep, I’d told myself that from here on out I would start trying to do better with the cards that had been dealt to me.

  There was no point in trying to fight it, especially if there was no possibility that I would get to go back home. The only thing I could do now was to try and make it easier on myself.

  After my b
ath, I was dressed in a simple navy skirt, white blouse, stockings and black dress shoes. It reminded me of a school uniform, only it covered more and I wore a corset under my blouse.

  "I look pathetic," I mumbled as I looked at myself in the mirror. I turned to face my ladies-in-waiting and gestured to myself. "I look like I'm about to go back to school."

  "I think you look nice," Layla said as she fixed my collar.

  I rolled my eyes.

  My lessons took place in the east wing of the castle. Anya was waiting for me when I arrived, another woman standing beside her with gray hair pulled into a high bun. Her face looked as if it had once been kind, but now it held nothing but a severe expression.

  "Whenever you enter a room, you do so gracefully. Keep center, make sure your posture is proper and do not look around as if you are visiting a zoo; it is rude," the woman—Paisley, I soon learned—snapped.

  "You will enter again," she said and I was back out the doors repeating it all over again.

  "No! No! No! Keep your gaze forward. This is not a zoo!"

  After being yelled at six more times, I put my foot down.

  "Honestly, how am I supposed to know where I am going if I can't look around?"

  Paisley sighed. "Your ignorance is setting us back quite a bit. You are a princess, yet you do not know your place."

  She had me take a seat towards the front of the room, then pulled a thick book from a shelf and placed it in front of me.

  "This is your book. You will study a chapter a day and practice the techniques until you can do them in your sleep."

  She sifted through the shelf for another book that was much smaller and placed it on top of the other.

  "What is this one for?" I asked her.

  "This one is the history of Linacre." She placed two more books on top of it. "These two are about the monarchy."

  I curiously opened the book to a random page, only to close it. "Why do I need to know about the monarchy?"

  "Sometime in the future, you will be Queen. A queen must know her country and its people."

  I shrugged. "Makes sense."

  The remainder of the lesson lasted about forty-five minutes, during which Paisley lectured me on proper seating and then had me practice entering a room and taking a seat the proper way.

  According to her, the king always sat at the head of the table, with the queen to his right and his children to his left. His firstborn sat to his immediate left, with his princess—if he had one at the given time—next to him, and any other children would fall in after her.

  That meant I would be sitting between Theodore and his brother—just inches from the king.

  After my lesson ended, I was whisked away to get changed into a proper outfit to have lunch in. Only, instead of going down to the dining hall like yesterday, I was told I would be eating in solitude with Theodore. That alone had me nervous, but not as nervous as the thought of eating with the king.

  It was just after eleven-thirty when I heard a knock on my door from the dressing room. Moana left me briefly to answer it and came back a minute later.

  "Princess, Prince Theodore has arrived and is eagerly awaiting your presence," she said as she hurried back over to help finish buttoning the back of my dress.

  "Oh, joy." I sighed.

  Theodore was standing by the balcony doors, looking out beyond the walls of Court, when I entered the room. He turned when the clicking of my heels announced my entry and bowed slightly.

  "My Lady."

  I curtsied, bowing my head slightly and forcing a decent smile onto my face. "Your Highness."

  He held out his arm expectantly and I hesitantly took it.

  "Where are we going?" I asked as he led me from my room and started down a long hall.

  A crooked smile played on his lips as we continued forward.

  "Anya told me we would be eating alone," I added.

  We stopped at a pair of doors long enough for the guards flanking either side to open them, and continued out onto a balcony not too far from my own.

  "I thought, after being confined inside for the past few days, that you might like some fresh air whilst we eat. And then, maybe a stroll through the grounds."

  "That is awfully kind of you, Your Highness," I responded.

  One thing for sure was that everything my mother had forced me to learn about being a respectable lady was sure coming in handy now. Many, if not all, of the behaviors she had instilled in me for her socialite way of life also worked with the Linacrean lifestyle. Because of her, I wasn't completely in the dark.

  She had known the entire time that I was to marry the prince of Linacre, and despite her attitude, nastiness, and keeping me in the dark about it all—she’d made sure I was as prepared as she could get me. I made a mental note to thank her one day, even though I knew she had probably only done it for herself.

  "I hope you like seafood," Theodore said as a butler placed covered trays in front of us.

  When they removed the lid, a small fish fillet sat in the center of a beautiful silver plate, decorated with a berry sauce, leeks and some herbs.

  "I do, very much," I said as I cut off a small piece. "I love all kinds of seafood—shrimp, crab, fish, oysters. I can eat it all."

  Theodore's lips twitched as if he wanted to smile. "Wonderful. I shall make sure seafood is made available for you whenever you may want it. My fishermen only bring in the biggest lobsters and crabs, and my chefs make the finest dipping sauce known in the country."

  My forehead creased slightly at his words. Why would he do this for me? Especially after yesterday.

  "I will not pretend to not notice your melancholy. You must know, though, that as your husband in practice, I want nothing more than your happiness."

  I tilted my head slightly. "Why? You act as if love can one day play a role in our inevitable partnership."

  "Marriage," he corrected.

  "Please don't sugarcoat what this really is. This arrangement is only so you will be eligible for the crown, and I respect that. You are willing to marry a complete stranger you will more than likely have no chemistry with and won't be able to stand being around, just to take on the responsibilities of this country."

  Theodore frowned. "Yes and no. Yes, that is why we are to be wed, but no—I hope that one day, love can be present."

  "Why?" This made me curious.

  "Because, even though I may have been groomed into this lifestyle, that doesn't mean I entirely like it."

  "What do you mean?" I asked, sitting straighter in my chair, not wanting to miss a single word.

  "Simply put… arranged marriages—I don't support them."

  He doesn't support arranged marriages...

  "So, if you didn't have to marry me, you wouldn't have?" I asked.

  Without hesitating, Theodore shook his head. "Most likely not."

  Part of me felt a surge of what I could only describe as disappointment mixed with anger. Only, I didn't care… right?

  "But that is completely beside the point. None of how I feel about anything matters. We are royal, so we do what is expected of us. There will be a masquerade ball in a fortnight and you need to look presentable." He pointed at my hair. "Your hair color before was inappropriate; thankfully, you took it upon yourself to dye it back to its natural color, so that is one less thing to worry about. Your nails need a bit of cleaning up, and your skin has received too much sun for a royal woman."

  "Don't you think that is a little bit much? I get the hair, sort of, but my skin and nails…" I bit my lip.

  "Linacrean women have rules. And royal Linacrean women, even more so. Only peasant women should show this much sun on their skin, and only because they regularly must tend to their gardens to feed their children. Royal women don't. And when they do venture outside, their ladies are expected to keep them shaded by holding a parasol."

  I rolled my eyes, prompting a look from Theodore. "How do you expect my skin to be lightened? Are you going to make me bathe in bleach or some
thing?"

  "Your ladies will take care of any worries you may have. Now, apart from the change in appearance, you must study your etiquette. The royal families from the North, South, East and West will be joining us, along with many nobilities from the royal courts.

  "Every day, including today, you and I will be in the ballroom, practicing our dance."

  My mouth dried almost instantly. I had to dance with Theodore? I saw two things wrong with that, the first being that I didn't dance. The second, I wasn't particularly fond of the idea of dancing in front of all those important people—with Theodore. What if I did something to embarrass myself or Theodore, or even the king.

  I could only imagine what my punishment would be.

  "Do I have to be there?" I asked.

  Theodore's lips pressed together into a hard line and his brows furrowed, bringing to view his signature intense look.

  "This ball is to introduce you to the society as my fiancée. You will be there and you will be excellent."

  "I have two left feet. There is no possible way I can be anything resembling excellent, especially when dancing."

  "That is what practice is for," he quipped.

  . . .

  We finished our lunch and then began our stroll through the gardens. We walked in silence for a few minutes before Theodore spoke.

  "I do hope that one day you can be happy here."

  I glanced at him and saw the usual look he got when he was thinking hard on something.

  "It doesn't take much to make me happy," I confessed.

  "Then why aren't you happy?" he asked me, as if it wasn't common sense.

  I came to a stop and turned to face him so I could look him in his brilliant brown eyes.

  "Think about it," I began. "I was already being manipulated and treated like complete garbage by my family. Then I was sold to a random guy, and forced to move to his country and change everything about myself."

  "Once again, I must—" he began, but I quickly cut him off.

  "Theodore, with all due respect, don't talk. Hust think. Put yourself in my shoes. Imagine everything I went through. Only then will you truly understand why I am not happy."

  He didn't speak as he stood there, staring at me. I thought for a moment I would be in trouble for the way I’d talked to him, but then he seemed to frown.