I felt utterly helpless, panic lancing through me as the heavy white silk of my gown was lifted away from me, my corset unlaced and removed. A row of guards stood behind Augustus, their eyes carefully held away from me, but I knew they saw me anyway.
Augustus was watching me as they pulled my shift off my head. I didn’t know what to do or where to look. No man had ever seen my naked body, and now he could see every inch of me as the women untied the garters that held up my stockings and stripped the silk off my legs. My blonde hair tumbled free over my shoulders. I pulled it over my breasts.
“No,” he said. “Let me see you, Princess. You belong to me now.”
Yes, I realized that was true. That was the bargain. It certainly felt different than mere words on a paper as I stood there before his dark, penetrating gaze. It seemed like such a strange thing to say to a wife; I couldn’t imagine my father had ever said such a thing to my mother. The way he said it was strange to me too. It was like a command, but his voice was not unkind either.
“Step into this for a moment.” One of the girls fitted a piece of wood around one of my ankles and spread my legs a little so it could fit around the other. She closed shackles around my ankles so I was forced to stand with my legs spread. “We don’t want to cut you.”
“What is happening?”
“Hold very still now, Princess,” the countess said, as she lifted a tiny golden blade to the hair between my legs. It glowed faintly with some enchantment.
“This is always the faery custom,” Augustus said.
I flushed all over even as I was shivering, my toes clenching against the cold floor. I looked down and saw all of my pale white skin, my breasts and stomach and then my little folds bared as the curled hair there was stripped away. And Augustus watched it all, as if it was his right. It was, I realized. I couldn’t stand it but I also didn’t want to shrink away from my future husband. The gold links of the watch bracelet hurt my palm because I was clenching it so hard, but I forced myself to look at his eyes as he watched me.
The way he looked back produced a coil of tension that seemed to travel around my belly and then down between my legs, and I felt a gush of wetness come out of me.
“She must find you handsome, Your Highness,” the countess said with a smile. “She spills her nectar for you.”
“Good.”
Was this…how faeries talked? I knew they were more comfortable with bedroom affairs than humans; I knew prudish people whispered about them and told young people to stay away from them, but I could never have anticipated this. I was paralyzed, being the subject of this strange attention, my body responding as if it no longer belonged to me. My quick tongue was certainly not in evidence. Mother would be proud, I thought, sarcastically, because in fact I’m sure she would not want to think of me in this position.
“It will take us a week to travel to the palace,” Augustus said, as the countess finished her careful work with the tiny blade. “There, we will have our wedding ceremony and a grand banquet and ball to celebrate our union. I will not see your precious skin again until our wedding night. Are you eager for our wedding night?”
“I—I don’t know.” How was I supposed to answer that?
“Do you have any experience with what happens?”
“My friends have—told me—some things.” I spoke haltingly.
I was too stunned to say more than that. I felt completely possessed by him and he hadn’t laid a finger on me. I didn’t know how to define the resulting emotion. It was not quite excitement, not quite resentment; it was somewhere between surrender and defiance. I don’t know how I could feel two emotions that were so opposite at the same time.
The attendants lifted a linen chemise over my arms, secured new stockings to my legs, laced a new corset around my waist—all of them faery-made, from my new wardrobe. One of the gowns was brought forth like a treasure, gowns I had been forbidden to wear until my entry onto faery soil. It was still one of the simple ones, for our travels, but the fabric was a pale blue silk that settled over my body with the weight of majesty. The skirt extended over a foot past my hips at each side, held out by basket-shaped panniers at my hips.
In Osteria, because my curse had ruined our fabric industry and everything must be imported, our fashions had become very reserved. I had never experienced anything like this faery gown. It was so lustrous to the touch, trimmed with bows and ribbons in colors that were so saturated they seemed more real than the flowers or the sky. As light as it looked, I felt weighted down with majesty. The idea that I would become queen someday was no longer an abstract idea, but something I felt placed upon me in this moment. Even my hair was pinned up very carefully with flowers and rosettes of ribbon woven through it so I was almost afraid to move my head.
Prince Augustus held out a hand to me. “Let me be the first to welcome you now as a citizen of Ellurine.”
I took the hand and let him tug me forward, the electricity of his warm fingers hitting me as desire shot through me from my core. He took both of my hands in his own fingers now and held them between us as we stood close.
“Have you waited for this moment as long as I have?” he asked gently.
And I remembered how much I had wanted all of this. To be a woman at last, and no longer under my mother’s strict supervision; to be gazed at by a husband who loved me precisely the way he was looking at me now. Because I couldn’t deny the look in his eyes. I was used to being looked at with admiration, but Augustus gave me more than that. He had spent as many years as I had anticipating this moment. He must have worried over what I would be like, and what to say to me in his letters, and now this long-awaited moment had come for him as it had for me.
“Yes…”
“Your fingers are so cold.” He wrapped his hands more tightly around them and rubbed them. “It’s a warm day.”
“I think I’m just a little scared.”
“Don’t be scared.” He whispered, “I have a contact who will secure your dog for you. No one will know it’s a Osterian dog when it returns.”
“Oh—”
“Does that help?”
“It does.” I smiled.
“Come on. We have a picnic and a sip of wine might help as well.”
“Okay.”
He smiled back, his beautiful lips tipping upward as his shadowed eyes soaked in the sight of my face before lingering briefly on my creamy breasts, pushed upward by my corset only to be barely constrained by my dress. I had never seen a man who could tell me, with just a look, that he would soon possess every inch of me. I was sure none of my friends had married a man like this.
He kissed the tops of my fingers and then moved beside me, leading the way outside to a bridge that crossed the river on the other side, into Ellurine. Members of the faery court were waiting, cheering our entrance.
“Welcome, Princess! Welcome!”
“My bride to be,” Prince Augustus said. All eyes were on him as much as they were on me, even though they must see him every day.
But I understood. Of all the handsome faery men, there was still something about him. He already seemed like a king, in his presence and confidence. But then, there was something in his eyes that was dark and troubled, almost sad. I remembered hearing that his parents and older brother had died of the black fever when he was young, that he was never meant to be the heir at all.
I tried my best to fix the names in my memory as he made introductions, because I knew there was precedence here. I was introduced to the most important people, and I could see some of them taking it in stride while others seemed anxious until the introduction had passed and they could relax knowing they were included. I took notice of one young woman, around my age, with beautiful dark eyes that seemed kind and lively, but I was not introduced to her, which told me that she was not worthy of introduction.
Too bad. I liked her anyway.
On the grassy banks, blankets had been spread with sliced meats, fruits and cheeses, bread and butter and jam,
flagons of wine and numerous sweets. I settled onto the blanket, settling my skirts around me, and some of the ladies gasped.
“Look how poised! She is as graceful as they say!”
I don’t know why this made me so nervous. I should have appreciated the compliment, but I couldn’t actually help being graceful.
The faeries were very graceful themselves, even down to the older people and the small children in attendance. I watched a little girl who could not be more than six eat her fruit with a knife and fork, very daintily, as she quietly listened to the adults talk. When she saw me staring at her, she flushed a little as she flashed me a shy grin, and turned away.
I ate a little and drank more. The wine made me feel loosened up.
“I always heard faeries were so wild,” I said to Augustus, who was lounging beside me now, eating bread. Men could still manage a lounge in their clothes, but the women were mostly sitting up.
“Looks can be deceiving. We realized at some point that if we wanted to control our part of the world, we had to show the world how civilized we are, and that’s how we got the reputation of being the strictest court in the land,” he said. “Some people still think we made a bad bargain.”
“I didn’t say that. It’s just, that poor little girl. At her age I would’ve still been running around the river bank.”
“It’s a little early to be criticizing your new home, isn’t it?” he said in a lowered voice.
“Oh—I’m sorry. That’s the quick tongue Mother is always scolding me for. I shouldn’t drink.”
“I already like you,” he said. “I think you might have a hard time in the palace. But you’re exactly what I hoped you’d be.”
“I am? I’m sorry my letters weren’t as long or descriptive as yours.”
“Well, I’ve been told my letters are too long. When I was a boy I compiled my own history and description of the forest surrounding the palace. My little brothers found it years later in the library where I’d shelved it among the real books, and they’re still teasing me about it.”
I smiled. “I think I like you too, Your Highness…”
“I’m glad you do now. You might like me a little less when you realize what you’re in for. But I’m told no one else would dare to marry a cursed princess.”
“Oh, so you’re my last resort?”
“Yes. I am your only choice. Remember that, if you should ever be angry with me.” He added, “Their loss.”
When we had finished the picnic, the entire party boarded in the splendid royal carriages. The prince helped me inside one of them, where we would ride together, but not without chaperones: Countess Noria was with us as well as a middle-aged half-faery gentleman with nut-brown hair softly curled around his face. This was my new tutor, Count Mercinel, who would continue to help instruct me in navigating my new home and report back to my mother on my doings. This carriage had more privacy than the one that had carried me here, although we left the windows open for the people of Ellurine.
I was eager to get moving again. When the carriage jostled, Augustus’ knee and mine would bump against each other. When we hit a bump, he would put a hand on my shoulder. Of the four of us in the carriage, he easily took up the most space, both with his long legs and the sheer force of his regal presence.
But we didn’t talk much, on account of the chaperones, just small talk here and there. I was a little disappointed that the view out the window wasn’t drastically different over the border. In the fae lands, buildings had more fanciful touches, carved statues guarding over houses and gardens and charms dangling from tree branches along the roadside, offerings for the forest gods. Overall, peasants were peasants and they didn’t have much, but they were excited to see our retinue pass by. I waved at all the smiling children. I had never been allowed out of the Osterian palace to see so many people.
When we stopped for a break, children swarmed us and people offered their food to us. An ancient faery woman came up to me and clutched my hand. “May you live as long as I have, dear princess!” I knew faeries lived a bit longer than humans, but when the villagers told me she was past a century and a half, I was not even sure I wanted such a blessing! I still thanked her and all the children gave me flowers.
“They already love you,” Augustus said. “Copies of your portrait have been circulating for years.”
“Well, it sounds like they love my portrait, then. I hope the real me lives up to the expectation.”
Countess Noria gave me a sharp look that instantly reminded me that I shouldn’t contradict the prince’s compliment or the love of the people. “Most of them will never be lucky enough to know more, Your Highness.”
“Of course,” I said, chastened. I was constantly getting scolded for opening my mouth at home.
As the afternoon stretched on into early evening and the carriage grew stuffy, the two older people fell into naps.
“So much for chaperones,” Augustus said as Noria’s head bobbed with a sputtering snore.
“I’m sorry about my quip earlier. I have a habit of speaking before I think. I’ll try not to open my mouth in the Palace of the Sun.”
“A quick wit is important at the palace,” Augustus said. “You do have to be careful when you use it, however.”
“My ‘quick mind’ was supposed to be a blessing but it’s been more of a curse. It seems to be all or nothing with me.”
He leaned closer to me, his voice tickling my ear as two of his fingers touched the spot where my dress ended and my neck began, and he slid them lightly up to the nape. “If you say something you shouldn’t, Princess, I’ll make sure you don’t do it again. Trust me in that.”
“Knowing me, I will certainly say something I shouldn’t, sooner or later…”
“Well, then. I will have to remind you of your place.”
I should have been afraid. I still had Caroline’s letter in my pocket and I still had only the faintest idea of my fate. To be married to a man like this was no small thing. I knew my mother would have rather sent me to any kingdom but this one.
My body was responding in a way that was a little like fear. My hot little center was slowly pulsing like a heartbeat, my skin flushing. My fingernails dug into the seat of the carriage.
And yet, was nothing like fear.
The carriage jolted past city gates. I realized that people were surrounding us, trying to look in the windows. I realized we must be stopping in this town for the night. I had to compose myself.
Augustus kissed the corner of my mouth.
“No more, my beauty, not yet…but soon.”
Chapter Four
Rose
The journey to the Palace of the Sun seemed very long with anticipation, but also very short because I was still nervous about arriving at my new home. I knew the Palace of the Sun was like a self-contained world and once the gates shut behind me, I would rarely leave again. Whatever awaited me there, I couldn’t escape. My own palace was no different, but it was home, so of course I had grown up to fit in there, the way a plant will adapt to its surroundings.
The entrance of the palace was through tall golden gates adorned with a sun and the symbol of the first king of Ellurine, King Enri the third, the one who had first tamed his faery court within the walls of this palace. We arrived early in the morning, and the bright light caught the golden gate and all the windows and gilding of the palace beyond, turning the tan stone a pinkish gold.
I had heard countless rumors and stories about this court. Ever since its inception, it had been almost more…infamous than famous, because of the way it was run like a show. There were six great roles. First, the King of the Sun and the Queen Who Bowed. Then, the Master of Delights, often played by the king’s brother, who was supposed to be the playful foil to the king’s majesty. The Lady of Towers was usually the king’s mother or another older woman of the court, who kept things in line. The Sword of the King was a gallant commander who oversaw the military. And then there was the Mistress of Many Loyalties
, the great courtesan who didn’t have to marry and in theory could seduce as many men as she liked, but I had heard she was the King’s Favorite.
King Emriel’s wife had died, so currently the palace had no Queen Who Bowed, only a Mistress of Many Loyalties.
Every other person in the court also had a role in the show, but they revolved around the six main players, who were attended to every moment of their lives. This was the reason my mother allowed me to marry into this court. There would never be a chance for me to touch a spindle, because I would never again have a moment alone. But I didn’t really know what this meant.
The palace was larger and more grand than the one I knew. The massive gate looked like solid gold. It caught the sunlight and flashed in my eyes as we approached, briefly leaving the imprint of it even when I closed my eyelids. It was twice the height of our carriage, and topped with a brilliant sun and crown and the symbolic griffons of the royal family. Beyond, the roof of the palace was coated in the same gold. The gates swung open without a creak, and I could hear the merry trot of the horses on smooth pavement and more cheering crowds. My new home was three stories tall but each story was, itself, marked by floor-to-ceiling windows with numerous panes. It must have cost a fortune in glass and I could already guess the rooms inside had very high ceilings and lots of light.
The building seemed almost endless. How many people lived here? It was twice the size of the palace in Osteria and surrounded by gardens for what seemed like miles, and forest beyond that. There was no sense of a capital city anywhere, just an isolated world—as much as such a large place with so many inhabitants could be isolated.
We rode up to the doors, where the court awaited us. Augustus helped me out and we walked into the palace, showered by flowers. Everyone was dressed in such finery that I could hardly stop staring. The women wore very wide skirts, wider than the dress I wore now, and their hair was swept up with tall confections of ribbons and feathers. Their dresses were adorned in elaborate arrangements of ribbons, tassels, flowers, spangles and sequins. Every faery woman was lean, elegant and graceful. I could hardly believe Augustus found me special at all.
The Surrender of Sleeping Beauty Page 3