4. The Stolen Bride
Finally, I had my chance to escape.
After hours of pleasantries and unwanted dances, the orchestra was winding down. Couples were parting on the dance floor. Soon, everyone would gather at the refreshment table, filling their cups and dance cards for the next round.
I moved carefully along the edges of the stifling, hot room, trying not to draw undue attention to myself. After all, I was the hostess. It was impolite for me to even consider leaving.
But outside, the hum of the night–cicadas, bullfrogs, trickling fountains, and the ocean breeze–called to me. It cast a spell on me I couldn’t ignore.
I made a beeline for my younger sister, grabbed her hand, and tugged her toward the open french doors. She followed instantly. This wasn’t the first ball we had snuck out of this summer, and it was unlikely to be the last.
A sheer curtain blew invitingly in the breeze. We stepped out onto the cobblestone patio. A pyramid of champagne flutes waited on an elegant, linen-draped table. With no one looking, I snagged two glasses and then an entire bottle of champagne.
My sister grinned and pulled me through a gap in the rose bushes. Then she took off at a run, sloshing her glass of ill-gotten champagne. I followed, running and laughing. For once, I didn’t try to restrain myself or seek to be the perfect princess my father and kingdom needed.
We traveled under the old moss-strewn trees, past the ornate fountain, and down the lane. When our stately home became small in the distance, I threw my head back and laughed, spinning and sipping and looking up at the stars with my sister’s hand in mine. I felt so free.
”Beautiful,” I heard someone whisper.
I whipped my head around, but I didn’t see anyone. I shook my head. I was worrying about nothing. No one had followed us. Even if they had, we would soon lose them in the thick undergrowth.
My sister and I detoured into the low brush. No doubt my hemline would be filthy, and I could feel briars catching the delicate fabric of my gown. I didn’t care. Not really. Soon, we wound our way to our favorite spot–a pond with an old weathered dock. It was hidden away from the main path and blanketed under the stars.
I wasn’t acting my age. I certainly wasn’t acting my station.
On my next birthday, there would be no more balls. There would be a marriage instead. I had met the men I would likely marry, and I wasn’t interested in any of them. Tonight’s new addition was no exception.
I shook those thoughts from my cluttered mind. That day wasn’t today. Overhead, the stars shone in an inky black sky, and I was grateful to be free.
In our hidden spot, I kicked back the entire glass of champagne, and the bubbles went straight to my head. My sister, only fifteen, did the same, but I took the last half of the glass. ”You’re not old enough to have but a sip,” I teased before downing her glass, too.
She groaned, but then her eyes lit up with mischief. My sister was nothing if not absolute trouble. One day, I feared she would bring herself to ruin. ”Let’s take a dip like we used to,” she said with a grin. ”This fabric barely breathes.”
I couldn’t agree more about the fabric. It was a stifling hot summer evening, and the air was as thick as molasses. Before I could answer, she undressed down to her shift and cannonballed into the smooth pond, forming ripples across the water.
I looked around; there were none but the crickets to see us. Maybe the bubbles had gone to my head, for I convinced Maggie to come back out and loosen the laces on the back of my gown. I stripped down, draped my ball gown across a tree branch, and submerged myself in the water. We floated on our backs, sighing and replaying the night’s highlights.
I saw small golden eyes glowing on the other side of the water. So many creatures lived here—turtles, foxes, rabbits, birds, frogs. One eye winked at me, and I laughed and winked back.
I hadn’t felt so carefree since... No, I mustn”t think of my elder sister. My hand immediately went to stroke my golden shell necklace, the one I always wore, the one containing a mere echo of my lost sister, stolen by the fae five years ago. I wore this golden shell always—a precious memory.
When I held the shell to my ear, I could hear her final words to us. There was no sound of a skirmish, nor a plea to find her, nothing mysterious or uncertain, just… I love you.
I submerged my head under the water, hoping to free myself of this seeping melancholy. I arranged my long, golden hair to fall behind me and emerged. Then, I heard a branch snap.
”Maggie?” I called, searching the underbrush for my sister.
Instead, I saw her floating on the water blissfully several feet away. My head jerked toward the bank, and I saw the vile boy, Eldon, the third son of the archduke. Just seventeen and more immature than a schoolboy, he had followed us here.
”Be gone,” I shouted, feeling my cheeks turn crimson. I sank beneath the water.
He snatched the nearest dress from a tree and took off into the forest. I could hardly follow in my state. Luckily, my sister’s gown remained. She hurried from the water, wrung out her hair, and shimmied back into her gown, grinning. ”Don’t worry. I’ll chase him down yet.”
”That’s not what I was worried about,” I breathed as I watched her retreat. I was not worried for myself but for her. I should never have gone along with this swim. Now, my only remaining sister was traipsing through the dark alone.
I clung to the dock, my heart in my hands.
I didn”t wait long. Moments later, I heard my father’s booming voice in the distance. ”What are you doing out here? Is your sister with you?”
”No, papa.”
”Then where is she?”
”You know her. She snuck back to her room to read by candlelight.”
He grunted. ”Get back to the palace immediately. Go through the servants’ entrance. If your departed mother could see you...”
I heard footsteps as they walked away. There was no help coming now. I would have to find my way back to our mansion in my shift.
Foolish. Reckless.I chastised myself.
The party must be nearly over if father had excused himself to find us. Perhaps, I could sneak up my trellis and through my window, as if I were but sixteen when I was twenty years old.
I swam a few laps, considering my options. There was nothing for it. I could not stay here.
Then I heard someone clear their throat. I looked around, expecting my sister or perhaps that beast Eldon. Instead, I saw a tall man with piercing green eyes and an adorned cloak. He was handsome.
Suddenly, I came to my senses. I was dressed in a shift, and from where I stood in the water, my collarbone and the tops of my bosom were exposed. The fabric stuck to my silhouette, leaving no curve to the imagination. Any hint of modesty or decorum was lost. I felt my face and chest flush in embarrassment.
Before I could speak, he said, ”Forgive the intrusion.”
”I should be the one apologizing,” I said in a rush of breath. ”It’s just so hot out this evening, and my sister and I?—”
”Ah, the girl with wet hair. I saw her at a distance.”
My heart quickened. ”Was she okay?”
”Naturally. She was near the palace doors when I turned onto this path. What’s happened to your gown?”
”It was stolen,” I admitted, my cheeks flushing.
His lip quirked upward in a sliver of a smile. ”Stolen? It’s unusual to see highway robbers so far from the open road.”
Was he teasing me?
”I’m afraid I do not have a spare gown. However, I am more than happy to lend you my cloak.”
His eyes were striking, a bright green, and his hair was as dark and shiny as a crow’s wing.
Without thinking, I waded toward the shore, my shift clinging to my body and nearly see-through. My bosom, stomach, and strong thighs were visible. Finally, I stepped onto the bank and reached out a hand to accept his cloak. Then I pulled back, realizing what I had just done. What had come over me?
I caught the faintest flicker of a smile before he turned his back modestly and held out his cloak.
I accepted it from his long, nimble fingers. My hands swept gently against his. His were smooth, not the sort that did hard labor. He was a noble, royal, or gentry. Not a commoner. Not staff. As his hand brushed mine to hand me the cloak, I could feel the buzz of more than alcohol on my skin. Pure electricity. He excited something within me. Something dormant until now. Something wild.
Who was this man? If he was a guest, a noble, a suitor, perhaps my fate was not so glum as I had imagined. I shook my head. Was this all it took to shake my resolve? One handsome face. One small act of kindness.
I would not give up on my dream. Somehow, I would find my lost sister. Then she could marry and rule. I would be more than happy to return to my rightful place as the middle sister. Pretty enough but easily eclipsed in style and charm.
To my surprise, his cloak was lightweight and long. It should well conceal my figure.
He brought my hand to his parted lips but rather than kiss the top, he turned it over and kissed the inside of my wrist gently. ”I’m glad we met, princess,” he said.
Then, he was gone. I followed the forest path, stuck to the trees, and climbed the trellis to my own window. There was a note from my sister and a lit candle waiting.
Father knows nothing. Sorry to leave you.
I breathed a sigh of relief that she was safe. I blew out all of the candles. In the last flicker of the flame, I thought of those piercing green eyes.