“The king?” I repeated.
“Yes, the king! C’mon, let’s hurry.”
I stashed the flower Prince Warren had given in a pocket in my dress and thought about what Brook was telling .
The king was summoning all of the girls, and we were ant to make an appearance–and a good impression on him.
However, I was in no position to do that in my current state–not that it really mattered to . If I had my way, I wouldn’t be interacting with any of them at all, except for maybe Prince Warren. I’d rather they didn’t notice I was there. Or not there, as the case may be.
“I don’t know whether I should go...” I murmured.
“You don’t know?” Brook repeated. “Ciana! It’s the king!”
I thought up so excuses. “But... I have to feed the animals. You see, I still needed to feed the tiger, and there were other chores that needed to be done for the animals. If I were to leave now, my work wouldn’t be completed, and this was a task the prince had assigned to ....”
“You do know that it’s important to make a good impression on the king whether or not you win Prince Theo’s hand, don’t you? I an... he’s the king! He can just as easily decide the fate of our packs as the prince.”
“I know, I know. You go ahead,” I told her. “I’ll see what I can do.”
“But Ciana—” she pleaded.
“Brook, you shouldn’t be late on my account. Go! Take care of yourself and your pack, and make sure the king sees how wonderful you are. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
She hesitated, but her eyes flashed between and the palace, and I understood that she was struggling with the burden of trying to be a good friend while not disobeying the king and missing her opportunity. “Please hurry,” she urged .
I gave her an encouraging smile. “Of course. Now, go! Don’t be late!”
“All right,” Brook said, and with a sigh, she turned and ran back toward the castle doors.
I couldn’t help but smile after her. She was such a kindhearted person to even co out here to tell , and I felt very lucky to call her my friend.
But I didn’t intend to go. Knowing Brook, she should be able to navigate the scenario on her own.
Enough girls would doll themselves up and do their best to look beautiful and elegant in front of the king. I had intentionally put myself in a position where anyone who looked at would think I was a ss. It was the best way to stay out of the royals’ way and survive these three years so I could go ho.
I’d never been one for entertaining dignitaries anyway. Let the other girls bat their eyelashes, show off their gowns, and fluff their curls at His Majesty. I would be out here with those I trusted most—the animals.
If anyone asked, I’d simply tell them the prince had given an order, and as his servant, I was fulfilling my duties.
With my mind made up, I picked up the handle of the bucket holding the tiger’s food and headed back to the “zoo,” certain he’d be starving by now. I would need to give him extra belly rubs to make up for my tardiness.
“Here you go, Samson!” I called the tiger, tossing the at to him. He was keeping his distance today, possibly because he was irritated that I was late. Once he’d nibbled on a few morsels of raw at, he was up for so petting, and I spent so extra ti with him to make up for being late.
Then, I had headed to a shed to return the bucket I’d been carrying and see what else needed to be done when I heard a familiar slithering sound.
“Well, if it isn’t my dear friend the python!” I said as he grew closer to . “Now, what are you up to today?”
He made a circle around on the ground, and I thought I saw a gleam in his eyes as if he really wished he could tell sothing.
I sat down on the grass, and soon enough, he was slithering across my lap, letting run my hand along his bright yellow scales.
“You are such a handso fellow,” I told him. “I know another handso fellow.” I felt a blush creep into my cheeks just thinking about Prince Warren. “To think, here I am sharing my happy news with a snake. Well, of all of the snakes in the castle, you’re the one I trust the most.”
He seed to appreciate that as his long, forked tongue darted from his lips and kissed the skin of my hand. I continued to pet him, giggling at his antics as he wound his way around my arm but never squeezed.
My mind continued to wander back to Prince Warren and that bracelet, which I had only caught a glimpse of. He seed to have changed a bit since I’d given it to him. I recalled a withdrawn, lancholy boy, but now, he was outgoing and friendly.
“I’ll have to confirm that it’s him, you know?” I asked the python. He looked at with an expression of understanding in his eyes.
“Ti changes everyone, that’s for certain. Besides that, I’ve dreamt of my mystery boy for so many years. It’s possible my dreams and my mories have beco intertwined and reality is now frad through a different lens, isn’t it? Could it be him? Even though he’s not so shy now?”
The snake hissed an agreent that made smile. Then, he gave a little nudge, and I got the impression he wanted to show sothing.
Getting up off of the grass, I smoothed my skirt. “What is it?” I asked him. He glided over the ground but didn’t go far before he turned to look at . “Do you want to follow you?”
His head rocked up and down just a bit, so I took that as a yes. And then, I was off with the python taking this opportunity to do a bit of exploring in the rest of the courtyard while the others were with the king.
***
*Theo*
A sigh leaked from my lips as I watched the remaining won line up before my father. I’d done my best to keep it at bay, but it couldn’t be helped.
My father walked slowly in front of them, staring through the crowd to catch a glimpse of each of them. He took his ti, as if he were admiring a work of art, and then, when he’d gotten a solid enough first impression, he retreated to where I was standing quite a distance from them—but not far enough.
“Well, my son,” he said in that deep voice of his. “What do you think of the young ladies?”
I managed to sound believable when I said, “They’re just fine, Father.”
“Fine?” he repeated, and I realized imdiately I’d offended him. “Only fine?”
I didn’t want to lie to him. If I gave him the impression I was overjoyed with this venture, who knew what he might pull next? “That’s correct, Sire,” I said with a bow of my head.
My father scoffed at . “These are the most beautiful, elegant, well-bred ladies in all of the kingdom, Theodore! But to you, they’re only ‘fine’?”
The last thing I wanted to do was argue with him in public, but frustration was beginning to well up inside of at his intrusion; the very fact that he’d decided to do this was irritating beyond belief. Keeping my voice low, I repeated to him the sa warning I had made when he’d first told of the idea only a week ago. “You cannot force .”
“I cannot force you?” He had a gleam in his eye that told he disagreed with my assessnt. “Theo, I am ordering you to find a mate. There are eighty of them. At least one has to be to your liking!”
“Seventy-three.” I corrected him.
My father’s eyes snapped back to my face. “What’s that now? Seventy-three?” He looked around the room, taking a mont to understand my aning. Turning back to with an air of disbelief, he said, “Are you telling seven of them are dead already? It hasn’t even been a week!”
All I could do was shake my head. “You shouldn’t be surprised, Father. After all, I am related to you. Your blood runs through my veins.”
He didn’t find my comnt amusing at all, and fury ignited within him. “I don’t care if it’s eighty, seventy-three, or a hundred and sixty! If these girls don’t work, I will find more! You will choose one, Theo!”
His voice carried to the won, and I heard several shocked gasps. I really didn’t want to have this conversation here, but since he was pressing the issue, I needed to be firm. “I do not want a child.”
“You may not want a child, but I need you to have one. And I will not continue to waste ti because you feel uninspired to find the right woman. If you still need so persuasion,” he paused and warned , “think about your mother.”
I shook my head slowly as I thought about the audacity he was displaying. He was really going to try to play on what little sympathy I had by bringing Mother into this? “That sounds like a threat, Father.”
My father sighed and placed both of his hands on my shoulders, and for a mont, he looked like a father, not the king, but my actual dad. But he and I both knew that I was nothing more than a pawn to him.
“Listen, I’m doing what’s best for you. You are my son. This needs to be taken care of. So... if you don’t want to deal with all eighty of them, select a few. Make them your personal attendants. Perhaps one or two will stand out to you then, when they’re close to you.”
I didn’t want anyone close to . Ever. But he wasn’t going to let up.
“Fine.”
“Good.” He nodded. “Which ones would you like?” He turned and looked over his shoulder. “There are so beauties over there.”
My eyes raked over them as well. I’d seen them all before, and I wasn’t impressed. Most of them were far too weak in every way to be a match for . “I do not want a timid mouse,” I told my father. “She will never last.”
“So of them look fairly strong,” he replied. “Like they’ve gone through warrior training.”
That wasn’t exactly what I ant, but as he spoke, an idea ca to .
“They can prove their toughness to by paying a visit to my pavilion.”
My father’s eyes were back on —wide with displeasure once more. “Your pavilion? You want to ask these girls to traverse your dangerous zoo to reach the center pavilion? Your animals will tear them apart.”
A chuckle departed my lips as I reminded him, “If they can’t outlast my pets, they will never make it more than a day with , Father. You know that. I will not accept a weakling as my wife. They will have to prove themselves strong in every way.”
The king lifted a finger to his chin as he considered my words, and then, much to my surprise, he nodded. “Very well, then. We shall give it a try.”
He signaled to his Beta, who had been standing close enough to overhear our entire conversation.
Xavier stepped up in front of the won with my father and I looking on. “Ladies, I have so wonderful news! The prince has decided to take a few of you as his personal attendants!”
The won’s faces lit up, and murmurs of excitent rippled through the crowd.
“In order to qualify for this extrely privileged task, all you will need to do is make your way to the pavilion within his private zoo. The ladies who arrive first will be assigned to take care of Prince Theo.”
I watched as the girls’ faces fell. So of them were wide-eyed with shock. I was sure that in the past few days, they’d learned enough about to know about my animal pals.
I turned around and smirked. This was exactly what I expected. They would never last in my courtyard. In fact, I doubted many of them would even think of trying.
And anyone who did... well, Perceval would take care of them. He wouldn’t let anyone enter the pavilion without my approval.
I doubted any of these won had a desire to be swallowed whole by a python....
#
Reviews
All reviews (0)