One Shots

Vanity (MxF) *SFW*

Sydney looked at the place around her and could tell the person who owned it loved what they had. There were also several portraits on the wall of a man with long blond hair, a sharp and regal nose, and plump pink lips and Sydney couldn’t deny that the man was quite gorgeous, if not a little vain about it.

She wondered why she was here, after all, it wasn’t every day you get summoned by a prince to his castle, especially one of the seven princes castles. She felt giddy even just stepping onto the marble flooring and gazing up at the diamond chandelier that glittered rainbows around the room.

“Right this way, my lady,” the man, a butler apparently, ushered her through the corridor to a sitting room that was just as magnificent, right down to the beautiful rug on the floor that showed a scene of a man standing over his subjects as they worshipped him.

“His Royal Highness will be with you shortly,” the man said as Sydney sat on the stark white couch.

She internally laughed at the formality the butler used when speaking about the prince. It wasn’t enough to say ‘The Prince’? He wanted his staff to use ‘His Royal Highness’? Even when he wasn’t around? It seemed a bit pompous but what was she to think anything of it?

Everything in the room was so pristine that Sydney was scared that if she sneezed she would immediately get sent to some kind of dungeon.

She began picking her nails and then had to stop herself in fear of getting any specks of anything on the rug that was probably worth more than her life and chose to, instead, fluff out her dress a bit more.

Sydney wondered if the portraits did the prince any justice and stood to look out the window at the kingdom below her.

If she had owned this castle, she knew this is where she would be at all times as the view was so beautiful, it took her breath away.

As she was marveling at the sight before her, she heard a throat clear and turned around, seeing the most beautiful man she had ever seen.

She knew there was something she should be doing when in the presence of a member of a royal family but she suddenly couldn’t remember. Even her lips were parted, just trying to taste the breath this man was taking.

Her brain wires finally uncrossed and she curtsied as low as she had ever curtsied before.

“Please forgive me, Your Royal Highness, I must’ve lost my mind for a moment,” she tried to save face, as her eyes were turned toward the rug.

“Please, call me Van,” he spoke and his deep voice sent chills down Sydneys spine.

“Yes, Your Roy--, Van, sorry,” she corrected herself, still curtsying as if her life depended on it though her legs were starting to hurt.

She heard footsteps and saw a pair of finely made black shoes step into her view before she felt a finger lift her chin.

“Your name, little dove,” he whispered as he led her to stand and look into his enchanting dark grey eyes, his fingers ghosting from her chin to her temple and back down.

“Sydney Dryden...Sir,” she whispered and gasped as his thumb rubbed against her bottom lip.

“You are beautiful, Miss Dryden. I’d be very pleased to possess such a rare bird as yourself if you’d let me,” he let his fingers roam down her neck and play along her collarbones.

“Um,” was all she could get out as though he had taken all her thought. She had no words and her mind was a fog as his fingers danced against her skin, moving lower and lower to the tops of her shapely breasts which almost spilled out of the dress her mother made her wear to meet him.

Sydney’s heart was racing and her breath was coming in pants now. She had never been in this situation before and sure, Van was gorgeous but was she willing to share a bed with him so soon? Was she willing to be tossed aside once he got what he wanted? And was she willing to walk through the streets of the village and be cast as The Princes w***e?

Van’s fingers were now at the back of Sydney’s dress, slowly pulling at the strings of her dress, ready to have his way with her right here in his sitting room and that did not sit well with her.

“Wait, Van, please,” she panted and stepped a half step back from him.

“Are you not attracted to me? Am I not pleasing to look upon? Do you not wish to say you shared the bed of the prince,” he asked, his voice sounding a little hurt, his eyes glowing the color of a deadly storm.

“Your Highness,” she said with a bit more aggravation than she should’ve while speaking to a prince, “While you are attractive, pleasing to look upon, and the centerpiece in every womans, and few mens, dirty fantasies, I will not be your w***e. I will not be made to look cheap in my village and I will not let you use me. Good day, Your Royal Highness,” she curtsied and pulled up her skirts as she rushed for the castle doors.

“Sydney, wait,” he called after her and followed behind her but she didn’t care. She wouldn’t stay any longer and fall victim to his charms. Although she had only been in his presence for a few minutes, she already knew that he possessed some very powerful magic that was able to charm and captivate her to the fullest.

She felt his hand grab her upper arm to halt her retreat, “I order you to stop this instant and...and--”

“--And go to bed with you,” she spit her venom at him and pulled her arm out of his grasp, “Well, Your Royal...son of a b***h--"

Van gasped at the insult.

“--I will not be made a fool by you,” she finished and huffed, throwing her black hair behind her back before crossing her arms over her heaving chest.

The prince appeared to be absolutely fuming, his dark grey eyes almost black now, his face a deep shade of red, “You dare insult my mother? Who are you but a lowly little girl who should be grateful I even saught her out? Do you know how many women would kill to be in your shoes right now? How many women actually line up outside the castle gates to have even just a look at me?”

“Then take one of them to bed because you won’t be getting me anytime soon you absolute asshole,” Sydney yelled, turned around, and headed for the door.

“You will be back, Sydney. Mark my words,” he yelled as she slammed the castle door shut behind her.

He was taken aback at how much of an impact the little raven-haired girl had on him but brushed it off. Girls had crushes on him, girls chased him, girls wanted him...not the other way around.

He would just have to get that through her head.

***

Over the next few months, Sydney and her family were invited to court for all the royal balls and celebrations, all the dances and the festivities. Beautiful dresses and jewelry were sent to her and though she never wanted to go, her mother always made her, and though she never wanted to act polite around the prince, her mother always made her.

She wore the finest dresses, had her hair fixed so as no pieces were out of place around the prince and they were paired together during dances but once the song ended, Sydney high-tailed it as far away from him as possible.

She and her family were around the castle so often that Sydney became friends with a few members of the staff though none of the servant girls cared much for her though she was gifted two of her own that helped her dress in the morning, followed her through the village, and helped her undress every evening.

And when she tried to get the girls to leave in the beginning, they cried and said that the prince would not hear of them abandoning Sydney. They said that if Van ever found out they were not at their station beside her, they would pay the price for disobeying His Royal Highness.

Sydney eventually gave in and let them do their work but it was coming up on five months of day-in and day-out servitude from the girls and she was starting to get sick of having to have them beside her every day. She had heard what they were saying when they thought she wasn’t in earshot and she was all but fed up.

She headed up the hill to Peccatum Castle to give Van a piece of her mind.

Coming upon the royal guards, she gave them her most fearsome look and they stood aside for her, even going as far as to open the door as she stormed inside, yelling at the tops of her lungs, “Van Peccatum! Get your ass in here right now, Your Royal Highness! I have a bone to pick with you!”

At the mention of his name and title, he sauntered down the stairs, a smirk planted on his plump bubblegum pink lips, “Miss Dryden, welcome back to court. How I have missed your ostentatious presence. You are looking more lovely than ever with some color in your cheeks.”

She huffed and curtsied as he stepped before her, he was still a prince after all, before she stood and pushed the tip of her forefinger into his well-defined chest, “You will give the girls a day off!”

Leaving out the part about them speaking badly about her, she feared that if Van found out, he would have their lives and she didn’t want that on her conscience.

“Who then, pray tell, will keep an eye on you for the day that they are off,” he smirked as he pulled the finger she poked him with up to his lips and kissed the tip.

She gasped and pulled her hand back, “They are spies for you?”

There was no wonder they hated her so!

He pulled her in by her waist and brushed a lock of hair from her face, “Of course, darling. If you won’t come here, I’ll have to go to you...well...in spirit anyway.”

He was fully aware that it was him who was crushed by the infatuation he had for her, he yearned for her, he chased her so and he wanted her more than he wanted the jewels his brother possessed.

She pushed and squirmed against him but he still had one arm around her waist holding her to him and her head was starting to swim, as it usually did when she was near him.

“Van, you can not just spy on me,” she huffed and gave up trying to get out of his embrace, letting his fingers trace the features of her face, nipping his finger as it ran across her lips.

He smirked at that and leaned in, kissing her forehead, “You naughty girl,” he said before he tilted her head up to him and planted a soft and fleeting kiss to her lips.

One that Sydney found aggravating as it was just too short but it also just...was!

She was trying to remember why she hated him.

“You can not just kiss me either,” she whispered, lightly pushing against his chest, half of her hoping he would let go and she could flee, the other half hoping he would pick her up and take her to his chambers and have his way with her.

Her heart was racing as was her mind and Sydney was sure Van could tell and the smirk only grew before he leaned down and planted another kiss to her lips.

“And why not,” he whispered against her lips, “Do you not consent?”

She said nothing for a moment before growling lowly, “You are so maddening.”

“Because you’re finally coming around to the idea that maybe, just maybe, you want me,” he chuckled before kissing her again, this time a few seconds longer than the few before it.

“I wanted you when I first met you Van, but then you opened your big mouth and nothing but vile incompetence spewed out and I’ve tried my very hardest to avoid you ever since,” she said, a playful smile on her face.

She hated to admit it but being around him so often these last few months had slowly started chipping away at her hardened armor and now she was left standing almost as bare as the day she was born, her heart on her sleeve as if begging him to take it and shred it to pieces.

“I was a fool when I first met you, Sydney, I’ll admit it here and now and as God as my witness. There are no words to say to ever make up for assuming you would be an easy lay but I do apologize sincerely. I want to court you, seriously. I’d like to show you that my feelings have grown for you and I want more than just you in my bed now,” he pleaded, his grey eyes as deep and dangerous as the raging seas but for some reason, Sydney felt safe in his arms.

“This isn’t just a ploy to get me into your bed,” she asked, still so unsure though she saw the truth in his eyes.

“No ploys, no lies, no games. Just me and you, being our true selves and seeing where we go,” he assured her.

She inhaled sharply and nodded, “Okay, we’ll see where we go.”

***

Over the next few weeks, the prince took Sydney on marvelous dates out into the country, he fed her meals she never knew even existed, but most importantly, he made her feel as though she were royalty herself.

They were sitting on a blanket in a grassy meadow one day, having just shared a plate of fine cheeses and fruits while sipping wine when a group of butterflies flew by.

Sydney had never experienced anything like it. Sure, she had seen a butterfly or two before but never in a group like this.

Some of them even being brave enough and landing on Sydney, causing her to let out the cutest laugh Van though he had ever heard. He looked at the woman before him, adorned in the finest fabrics he could afford, a swarm of butterflies, and smiles. Her hair was billowing in the breeze, her beautiful green eyes bright and shining like emeralds...and he thought she had never been more beautiful, so carefree and happy.

“I love you,” he murmured, too low for her to hear over the sound of her cheerful laughing and the gusts of winds sweeping through the trees around them.

And so the Prince of Pride found another thing to be prideful of.

He prided himself on all of his luxury things, his exquisite taste in decor and fashion. His kingdom was the grandest of all of his brothers but none of that meant as much to him now as they had before knowing Sydney Dryden. He possessed the most beautiful and precious jewel ever made and she was a short and feisty raven-haired girl who had stolen his heart right from the start.

As the last butterfly fluttered away after its group she turned her thousand-watt smile Vans way and took his breath away for a moment.

“What are you staring at? Do I have something on my face,” she asked, bringing her hand to her face.

“Yes,” he chuckled, “come here and let me get it for you.”

She leaned forward to him and he planted a kiss to her lips, “Got it,” he whispered.

She giggled and pushed him lightly, “You’re so silly.”

***

Van had finally worn Sydney down so much that she agreed to stay a night in the castle. She packed a small overnight bag and rode a horse that he had provided for her to shorten her trip back to him.

But she only agreed to stay on one condition, she was to have a different room so that they would not be tempted to do anything as they had agreed to wait until they were both ready to take that step and she was still unsure for some reason.

They ran around the garden, Van chasing after Sydney before pushing her up against the garden wall and kissing her until her head started swimming.

Only then did she pull away panting, “You weaseled your way into my heart, Van,” she whispered, “But there is nowhere else I’d rather you.”

“I feel the same,” he smiled and kissed her gently then.

“You won’t hurt me, right,” she asked, just wanting to be reassured that he still wanted what she wanted.

“I’d never dream of it, my love,” he professed and kissed her as if his life depended on it.

There was a throat cleared behind Van’s broad shoulders and when they pulled away from each other, Sydney saw that it was one of the girls charged to her.

“Yes, Emily,” Sydney asked, feeling a little mischevious and petty being seen with Van with Emily so close.

Usually, when they went off anywhere, Emily and Claire stood back, as to give Sydney and Van privacy so they got to kiss and pet without such harsh glares but here Emily was, giving Sydney the meanest look she thought she had ever gotten.

Sydney admitted to her self that if she were in Emily’s shoes, she too would be jealous and might even act ugly and hateful as well and that thought did not sit well in her conscience.

“Dinner is ready,” Emily told the prince before she smirked at him and turned away.

And Sydney thought that was rather strange.

“Let’s go eat, darling,” Van kissed her once more before grabbing her hand and bringing her to the dining room.

Once in the dining room, their chairs were pulled out for them and pushed in once they were sat.

Their food was placed in front of them before Van looked across the table at Sydney, “What would you like to drink tonight, my love?”

“Some of that fantastic wine again, please,” she smiled and watched as Van signaled Emily to take care of her drink.

After a little more than a moment, Emily placed a cup in front of Sydney, “Here you are,” she said in a snarky manner.

She and Van ate their meal, which was delicious, drank their wine, which was a little different than the last time she had tasted it but chalked it up to the food she was eating as well, and then they sat at the table and talked and laughed but after about 30 minutes Sydney felt the first signs of cramps coming on, but she brushed it off as it being close to her time of the month.

But the cramps became intense and persistent so much so that she was doubled over in pain.

“Darling, are you alright,” Van asked, clearly worried about her.

“I am, I just need to lie down. I am so sorry to cut our night short,” she grimaced as another cramp hit her hard.

“I’ll hear nothing of it. Your health is more important. Emily, bring a cup of water to Sydneys room so she can stay hydrated,” he commanded and picked Sydney up as though she weighed nothing.

“I can walk,” she tried to argue but was racked with another cramp, this one bringing tears to her eyes.

“Why walk when I can carry you, my love,” Van whispered before placing a kiss to her cheek.

“I am very sorry for ruining the evening,” she sniffed as he laid her down in her bed.

“You did not ruin the evening, Sydney. Later, if you wake up, ask for me and we can go downstairs for a midnight snack and play a card game if you are feeling up for it then, okay?”

“Okay,” she whimpered as he tucked her in and blew out the candle beside the bed before closing the curtains around the bed.

“Sleep well and feel better, darling,” was the last thing she heard before she passed out.

***

Sydney woke up feeling better than she had but her head was now groggy.

She looked to the window and saw it was still dark, it was either late night or very early morning but Van insisted that if and when she woke up to ask for him and he would come, so after she cleared her throat she called for Emily with the intentions of first finding out what time it was.

“Emily,” she called a second time with no response.

“Claire,” she tried and got nothing.

She huffed and pulled the curtains away before setting her feet over the edge. The fire in the fireplace was still lit so Emily had been here within the last hour or so but Sydney figured she had fallen asleep.

Grabbing the candle holder, she brought it to the fireplace and lit the candle wick and made her way to the door.

She opened it expecting someone to be there but as she looked to either end of the hallway, she saw she was alone.

Admittedly, the castle was a little spooky at night so she clutched the candle holder tighter, ready to use it as a weapon if needed as she padded down the hall to Van’s room.

She found it strange that there were no guards outside the door and a small pit opened up in the bottom of her stomach. There had to be a reason though, she tried to tell herself.

As she stepped closer, ready for just about anything, she heard noises coming from the room and quietly opened the door.

The noises coming from the closed curtains of the bed were noises that almost anyone would recognize. It was the sound of primal and nasty s*x and it had Sydneys stomach in knots and her eyes glossing at the thought of finding Van with another woman.

Though surely it wasn’t her prince, it couldn’t be Van...it simply just couldn’t be.

Maybe a guard was using Van’s bed while Van was downstairs or something.

Whoever was in the bed certainly hadn’t heard her so she was free to stalk forward and pull the curtain open and what she saw...the imagine would forever be burned in her brain.

Van, blindfolded and naked, with a smirking and equally as naked Emily sitting atop his lap. Sweat had matted their hair to their face and Emily made no move to cover up as Sydney covered her mouth and her eyes grew wide.

“Darling, what’s...what’s going on,” Van asked, grabbing Emily’s hip in one hand, and taking an edge of the blindfold in the other.

Sydney hadn’t even realized that tears were now flowing like rivers down her cheeks as Van moved the blindfold up to his forehead, letting his eyes adjust to the soft light.

A sound finally came from Sydneys open mouth, the sound was a broken sob and her eyes were almost too glazed over with tears to see but once she made that sound, Van’s eyes cut to her and his face instantly fell before he looked at Emily who was still sat atop him.

Sydney felt like a thousand years had already passed as she realized that they were still joined, the thought making her gag.

“No, no, no, no,” he cried out and pushed Emily to the side and grabbed a pillow to cover himself just as Sydney finally found the use of her legs and walked backward until the backs of her thighs hit a table and she quickly turned so as not to fall.

Van was putting on his pants at this time, his lips had been moving but all Sydney could hear was a ringing in her ears.

He had his hands up in a gesture to show he meant no harm as though she were a wounded animal all the while moving slowly in her direction.

Her heart was racing and she was panting as though she couldn’t get in a decent breath before she heard a scream and something break, though she couldn’t place where it came from.

“Sydney, darling, my love,” she heard the faint sound of Van’s voice, “I thought she was...Tricked me...”

“I hate you,” she found herself saying, “I hate you, I hate you...”

And then she was screaming those three words as she ran through the castle and to the front door with Van on her heels.

“I thought she was you,” he yelled after her, “I swear to you, Sydney. I love you! She blindfolded and tricked me!”

As the cool night air hit her face and her feet touched the cold stone ground, she took off, running as fast as she could, hoping to run as far as her feet and lungs would take her.

A guard at the gate sat atop a horse and she knew she needed it.

“Let me have your horse,” she yelled, climbing up as fast as she could once she made it to the horse before sending it racing down the road.

All the while, Van was yelling for her to stop and listen, to understand, to let him make things right.

But nothing would ever be right again. The thing that broke when she had heard that scream in Van’s room?

It was her heart.

The heart she knew the Prince of Pride would break.