Today's entree is roasted reindeer, and Leon is in a good mood. He had already eaten more than the last time. But he took care of my stomach first, as he always did, and when he saw that I had several pieces of meat in it, he slowly brought them from his fork to his mouth. Leon moves gracefully, even the way he chews his food. By Jove, I am stuck in this mess! "This is the last dessert of the evening, my prince!" Lola's impossibly gentle voice appeared behind her, and she came to Leon's side with a silver tray in her hand. Lola had nothing to dress for to-night; she was only in her regular maid's dress. She kept her head down, and her eyes did not linger on Leon. Lola laid down her dessert and immediately withdrew, finally leaving the dining-room in silence. I saw Leon's eyes glance casually at Lola, but there was no ripples in his eyes. There was no surprise or joy as I had expected. It seemed that Lola was just another maid, and Leon never looked at her again. He shifted his gaz
"Lola, does the corset really need to be that tight?" I was almost out of breath, and my waist already looked smaller than usual in the mirror, but Lola was still trying to shrink it. "Miss Emily, you don't know that those aristocratic ladies don't eat or drink for three days before the feast, just to show off their slender curves and proud breasts!" Lola stuck her head out from behind my waist and looked at me in the mirror. "Trust me, the ladies will be privately commenting on everyone's dress and body. Their comments at dinner parties will be passed off as gossip by slave girls too! Miss Emily, I really don't want you to be in those negative comments!" Then Lola let go her hands at last and stood aside, looking at me for a long moment after her relief. It was like a painter admiring his final work. "Very good!" Lola complimented, "I'm sure you'll shine at the party tonight!" I looked at myself in the mirror, dressed in an off-the-shoulder rose gown with a sparkling jewel neckl
"Honey, don't put too much pressure on the kids, just smile, okay?" Queen Catharine nudged the king with her elbow, and gave him a look which implied that he should be kinder to me. The King glanced at Queen Catherland, and then gave me a slight sneer. Instantly a chill ran down my spine. The sense of uneasiness increased. Queen Catharine glared at the old king, who bit back his sneer. He turned his head toward the dancing girl directly in front of him. Eyes still distant! "Father, if you will excuse us!" Leon's tone was slightly sour, and he took my hand and returned it to its place. As soon as we were seated, a porter hastened to Leon's side and whispered something in his ear. I saw Leon frown, and then he said to me. "I need to leave for a while, I'll be back!" Leon kissed my forehead and followed the porter. My heart felt empty as I watched Leon's retreating back. Why should not even a brief separation from him be acceptable now? I am such a stupid woman! Then the song of
Was not the man before me the same nobleman I had met in the garden? If I remember rightly, his name was William. Before I could decide whether to accept or reject him, the man reached out with his slender fingers and pulled me onto the dance floor. William placed one of his hands lightly on my waist, and I could barely feel it. His footwork was graceful and fluid. I followed his lead on the dance floor, and based on how little I had ever danced before, I almost stepped on William's foot several times. But each time he dodged with prescient ease. When I looked up at him awkwardly, his expression was as calm as though nothing had happened. "You're quiet tonight, Miss Sparrow!" William's voice filled my ears like a gentle breeze. "Based on your last statement about wanting to see my head on a high wall, I guess I'll have to keep quiet, Mr. Bamboo!" I deliberately lengthened the ending and had to return the compliment when the man actually gave me a nickname. William's face was calm
I turned, and was met by three women dressed as expensively as flowers, the most dazzling of whom sparkled like a golden rose in full bloom! The Golden Rose woman was looking at me with her large, fascinating eyes. I could not believe that Princess Madeline had reached out to me. "My name is Madeleine. Nice to meet you!" Princess Madeleine smiled upon me, followed by the two ladies. Both women had smiles on their faces, but I could see the smug arrogance in their eyes. Even though I dislike dealing with people like that, I have to pretend to cater to them in public. I thought they would simply come, say hello, and leave, but Princess Madeleine took my arm warmly and chatted warmly with me. "So you're the mate Leon has been searching for, the woman who can break the curse on him?" Princess Madeleine's tone was plain, but she did not know it. She kept asking me for all sorts of information about me. "When I found out Leon had finally found his mate, I was absolutely stunned! I tho
Vivienne and Lydia scattered from Princess Madeleine, and I saw them whispering to the other nobles. No doubt they were inviting the nobles into Madeleine's game of mystery. I wish I could take that back. But Princess Madeleine kept taking my arm and pretending to be an old friend. She rattled off innocuous things to me along the way. Her dog, for example, was so bloated from eating too much meat that she beat the slave girl who cared for it. Then there's her recent acquisition of new jewelry and fancy clothes. Before I knew it, she was leading me down the long corridor until I was outside a closed room, where Princess Madeleine glanced at the guards standing outside, who immediately opened the door. Madeline took my hand and went into the room, which was already lighted with candles. Camryn Court is so large that I did not have time to know every room in the castle. The room was smaller than the hall in which the ball had been held, but the furnishings were still sumptuous, with s
"Aah! Aah!" The room was now hushed, as the groans of the maids were accompanied by a steady throbbing, and almost every one stared at the two lovers making love at the table. Princess Madeleine lay on her side closest to the table, a smile playing about her mouth, her painted fingers eating a plucked banana. She looked as if she were in the moment, gazing with lustful eyes at the men and women at the table, while she slowly ate her banana. None of the aristocratic men and women present felt uncomfortable, but instead shared Princess Madeleine's interest in the ongoing sex competition. It was evidently not the first time they had played this game, and I saw one of the older, portly aristocrats slip his hand into the dress of one of the maids, who wore a pained look, but dared not make a sound. Disgusting, absolutely disgusting! It turns out that Princess Madeleine's so-called endurance race was really a sex race. It was stupid of me, how could I go into a game like this with my hea
"Your Highness, Princess Madeleine, it seems that the country girl doesn't care about you at all!" Lydia was fanning the flames. Princess Madeleine stared at me for a long moment with those cold eyes, and the scene fell silent. William looked on in silence, the corners of his mouth twitching carelessly. "Listen girl!" Princess Madeleine's tone hardened, "Even though you are Leon's destined mate, you are not yet married to him. Every man standing here is of a higher birth, and of a higher rank, than you. Thou art as low as a slave in my eyes! Now, do as I bid you! I don't think you will forget what I have just said so quickly!" I clenched my fists and fought back my anger. The eyes were fixed upon Princess Madeleine. She has so flagrantly disgraced my self-respect that I cannot bear it! Shirley, my wolf, was agitated; she could feel my anger plainly, but she was telling me to be calm! "How dare you look Her Royal Highness in the eye!" Lydia called out to me. "Those who disregard H