The Princess's Dangerous Betrothal

chapter 15

By the time Eiley had returned from the hunt, bathed, and eaten, she was still considering whether to invite Warren to go out with them. On the one hand, he was obviously insufferable. But then he’d let the fox go free.

She mulled it over while she fixed her makeup. She put her hair in intricate braids so she could rely on it’s curl when she took it down. Tonight the festivities were not exactly court sanctioned, and she couldn’t get away with having a maid do her hair. She had just finished dressing when Ronan arrived.

“You’re not coming with us,” She told him.

Ronan dropped himself on her sofa. “Nonsense! Someone has to look out for you three.”

“And who’s watching out for you? No one cares if we vanish in the night, but the crown prince of Saint Galame!”

Ronan scoffed and said, “I’m not letting you go without me. I’m going to perish if I have to spend another night pouring over inventory.”

“What, is it changing?”

Ronan ignored her. “We’re not even in active conflict, and the army takes up half my meetings!”

“Please don’t make it take up this one too!” Eiley whined.

Ronan groaned, but they were stopped from further political discussion by Teresa’s arrival.

“Annabelle is right behind me, or so she said.” Teresa searched the room for the ever present carafe of wine, squinting at Eiley in confusion when she didn’t find it.

“I had too much ale on the hunt, I’ll get something when we get there.”

Teresa huffed, but then approached Eiley to examine her dress.

“Do you approve?” Eiley asked, spinning in a circle.

Teresa considered her then said, “It needs…something.” She snapped her fingers, and her form of seamstress magic appeared with a spark. The inner bodice of Eiley’s dress crinckled and creased and when it settled, a hollow lacy pattern spread across the cloth, leaving artful openings covered only by the outer chiffon.

“Teresa!” Eiley’s voice was scandalized, even as she remembered some of their more risque designs. She smiled as she looked at the new arrangement in the mirror, and unbidden, her mind pictures Warren’s warm fingertips brushing against the holes in the silk.

“Did you decide if you’re going to invite the visiting Prince?” Annabelle asked as soon as she walked in the door.

Eiley flushed and glared at her friend. “I regret confiding in you, and no. I’d rather die than spend the evening with him too.”

Annabelle raised her eyebrows. “Forget I asked.”

Eiley checked a clock and said, “It’s time!”

The four of them gathered at the door in practiced unison. Eiley peaked out the door counting the guard rotation. At her signal, they dash into the hallway and down the secret passage behind the portraits. Eiley closes the door behind them, and they make their way through the passageway silently in the dark.

Soon, they arrived at the exterior door and stepped out into the cool night air. Eiley adjusted the greenery, hiding the door again and let out a sigh of relief. She grinned and the ladies couldn’t help but giggle.

Ronan stretched out his arms with a satisfied groan. “Finally,” he whispered.

No matter how many times they snuck out of the castle, those first moments of freedom always felt weightless. Eiley used to marvel that she never floated off into space when. The first several months, they would just wander around the gardens, but eventually, through comfort and boredom, they began venturing further and further away. Until they found the public taverns.

They headed to one now. One where Eiley knew there would be dancing and cards tonight. Where Teresa adjusted her old dresses to be more flashy, all of the women already there were wearing their finest attire. Eiley waved to a woman she knew, and Ronan ducked into the crowd, vanishing to play at whatever cards or dice game he could scrounge up.

A tall man walked up to them and pinched Eiley. “Jordan!” she shrieked, but she didn’t move away from his touch.

“I wasn’t sure you were coming out tonight,” he said with a warm smile. His cheeks were flushed, and Eiley was sure he had already been drinking that day.

“What would stop me!” Eiley said, with a more carefree attitude than she felt. Regardless of their familiarity, none here actually knew of her identity. She intended, needed, to keep it that way. She casually took Jordan’s hand and dragged him into the dancing. A successful distraction.

Eiley always loved the tavern dances. At court, each beat had a predetermined step. Here, the steps were free. She picked up the edge of her skirt in one hand to keep from tripping and twirled around. She flashed her grin at Jordan, but the glee she felt sunk into her very bones. There are no meticulous lines here. No perfectly matched couples to hold the line. In the tavern, dance is for fun. Eiley took the hands of Janie, the barkeep’s daughter, and they spun around each other laughing. She danced until she was breathing hard, and only then, she stumbled away to find her friends.

Annabelle was seated next to Ronan, laughing at something he said.

“Here, it’s your turn!” 

He tried to press a set of dice into Annabelle’s hands, but she just giggled and said, “I don’t know how!”

“That’s nonsense!” He held the dice in her hand and closed her fingers around them. “Just throw them. We’ll tell you how to calculate the score.”

“I can’t!”

“Do it!”

He nudges her with his elbow, and she drops the dice onto the table with a yelp.

It must have been a good roll, because Ronan and his friends cheer, but Eiley doesn’t notice because Jordan took her hand and dragged her away.

In a quiet corner, mostly hidden from view, Eiley pressed her hands to his chest, and he leaned forward to kiss her. She kissed him back eagerly.

“Where have you been,” he whispered against her skin.

“Busy,” she replied simply. Then she kissed him again. For a brief moment, she could forget all of the hassle and formality of court life.

She smiled when he groaned softly. It wasn’t the first time they’d kissed. He wasn’t even the first commoner she’d kissed. She’d told people here she worked in the castle, which wasn’t technically a lie. It just wasn’t the whole truth. Kissing him was one thing, one fun thing for that matter. Even still, she didn’t trust anyone here with the whole truth.

“Come upstairs with me.” Jordan pulled away from her, breathless.

Eiley was about to lead him out of the room, but something nagged at the back of her mind, stopping her.

“Please,” Jordan whispered, oblivious to her hesitation. Something flashed across his expression, but it was gone too quickly for Eiley to identify it.

“I…can’t?” she said. They had left together for some discrete activity before, but today something told her not to. “I think I need to go.” Eiley suddenly felt deeply unsettled and stepped away from Jordan, leaving him alone in the tavern.

She moved to gather up her friends, but they seemed to sense her moving towards the door and met her there.

“Ready so soon?” Ronan asked. He threw an arm around Annabelle who looked at him with a small smile.

“I’m tired tonight,” Eiley said, not making eye contact with anyone.

Ronan, Annabelle and Teresa hardly noticed her distraction, and spent the walk home joking together.

Eiley crossed her arms over her chest, suddenly chilled. Why not sleep with Jordan? It wasn’t even their first time. She audibly scoffed at the thought that it was Warren causing her hesitation. An arranged engagement to a stranger had never stopped her in the past. She just had a faint memory in the back of her mind, that she’d been here before, and it had ended badly. She scowled deep in thought, then forced herself to shake it off.

“So how did Annabelle end up at dicing?” she asked, edging her way into the conversation.

“She was fantastic!” Ronan beamed at her, and Annabelle flushed.

“Is she your new good luck charm, Ro?” Eiley locked the door to the passageways once everyone was inside.

“Oh but, Annabelle,” Teresa whined, “I thought you were my good luck charm.”

Eiley led them down the hall. “Imagine how I feel! Being displaced as Ro’s charm!” The three girls giggled.

“Do I get a say in all this?” Ronan asked, with mock solemnity.

“NO!” all three girls answered at once.

Without looking ahead of her, Eiley pushed open the door to the final portrait. The one closest to her rooms.

“Be quiet!” Teresa hissed, but she couldn’t keep the laughter from her voice.

“Ladies, ladies, relax!” Ronan said, slurring his words.

Eiley turned around to glare at him. “Never tell me to relax, Ro! We’ve talked about this.” She took a step back, and her heel caught on the carpet.

“Eiley, WAIT–” Ronan reached for her, but she was already falling.

She hit the lush carpet of the castle floor laughing. Her hair covered her face, so she didn’t immediately see that it was Warren who took her hand to help her up.

“Are you okay, my lady?” he asked softly, ignoring the snickers and wide eyes coming from Teresa and Annabelle behind him.

“How did you find me?” Eiley asked, her pulse racing. Her focus zeroed in on the hand that Warren was still holding.