Rumpled 1

Rumpled- Book 1 of The Steamy Fairytale Collection

Eighteen years ago, when Rian, the greatest elf lender, was banished for asking for his payment—the young princess promised to him, he sought shelter in an old, dank castle. Filled with hate and resentment, his heart darkened with malice. But when a simple maiden, Ciara, asks for a warm bed and a hot meal, his once dark heart and other unmentionables twitch in desire once he realizes that she is his promised princess. As punishment for the kingdom’s ostracizing, Rian imprisons her, his only drive, to satisfy Ciara beyond her imaginations till she desires him… in return.

An erotic retelling of Rumplestiltskin.

CIARA

When my parents insisted that I join them at the dining table, I already had a pretty good idea what it was all about. I couldn't understand why they wouldn't just leave me alone. I was sick and tired of putting up this perfect princess role for them. I wanted to live my life freely like a normal person and not a puppet or a caged animal. 

Besides, I never asked to be born a princess, it was just too tiring. I was tired of this scripted life I was living. I didn't need anyone telling me what and what not to do even as an adult. 

"Ciara, dear, the Duke will be coming over tomorrow," my mother informed me and I just wasn't surprised. I knew that was the reason they requested my presence. "I've informed your stylist to find something elegant for you to wear in case you two are going somewhere." My mum smiled, obviously feeling very pleased with herself. 

"I'm not going anywhere with him," I said blatantly. Both my parents looked up at me with a knowing look. Their eyes were basically saying, "don't start this right now" but I didn't give a rat's ass about what they were saying or what they wanted. I wasn't going to marry the Duke. I wouldn't even let him court me. "I'm not going anywhere with him," I repeated myself for it to sink in. 

"This is not up for a debate, Ciara. You're getting married to the Duke and that is final," my father spoke, a grown marrying his face as his voice boomed. "So the sooner you stop acting like a child and take up your responsibility, the better for you."

"What fucking responsi—" 

"Language!" my mother scolded. 

"I'm not your puppet, okay? And if I say I'm not getting married to some Duke, then I'm not getting married to him! Find someone else that you can boss around, not me!" I yelled, looking from my mother to my father. They both had a look of anger and frustration on their faces but I didn't care. 

My father breathed out, clenching his fist and pointing at me as he spoke. "Ciara, listen to me, I will not tolerate this rebellious attitude of yours. You have a duty to this kingdom as princess and heir to the throne and you will fulfill it whether you like it or not!" He thundered, banging his fist on the table for emphasis but that didn't scare me one bit.

"Your father is right, dear. You need to get married and have a child—secure the line of succession," said my mother, sounding like she wanted to reason with me but to me, all she was saying was bullshit. 

"So that's all I am to you? That's all that matters to you? Securing the line of succession?" I asked them, my voice breaking up. "What about my own happiness? Does that not matter to you?" 

"You'll be happy with the Duke," my father simply said, returning to his food like that was the end of discussion. To him, his words were final and no one else had a say in anything. But I wasn't going to let him dictate my life to me. 

I stood from my seat, ignored my parents as they called out my name and demanded I sit back down and I stormed out of the dinning room. Some of the servants stared at me as I made my way to my like I'd lost my mind. And maybe I had. The palace was making me lose my mind. The entire kingdom was making me lose my mind. 

But I knew what to do. It was time I took control over my own life. And there was clearly no way I could do that while in this godforsaken kingdom. I needed to leave. I needed to find my own way. Where I would go? I did not know but anywhere that wasn't the palace would do. 

I went into my room and sent the servant that had dressing my bed away. I began packing a few necessities hastily. But then I started thinking of how the hell I was going to sneak out of the palace without anyone knowing. It was going to be very hard, if not impossible. The palace was filled with guards. But then I got the perfect idea on what to do. 

I would summon one of my trusted servants and give her my bag to hide somewhere outside the castle, she would then later leave with the excuse of going on a walk and that would be it. I wouldn't come back. I wouldn't even look back. I wanted to live my life. I wanted to see what was out there for me. I was tired of being confined in this unnecessarily large castle. 

And so after I'd made sure that Mary the maid had done what I'd instructed to do with my bag, all I had to do was wait till dawn. 

When it was time, I put on a hoodie, a pair of jeans and boots. I told the guards at the entrance that I was going for a walk and I didn't need anyone coming with me. They were skeptical at first but I was persuasive and besides, my wish was their command, they had no right to stop me from doing what I wanted. And so I wandered off, leaving the palace and I instantly felt this sense of liberty and freedom that I hadn't felt before. But a part of me was worried my parents would send out the guards to find me once they realized I'd left the palace. 

I got to one of those trash cans just outside the palace gates to find my bag. I'd told Mary to put the bag in the fifth trash can from the gate and thankfully, she had done just that. The trash cans leading up to the palace were always empty so I wasn't worried about having to rummage through garbage. I pulled over my hood, put on the sun glasses I'd stuffed in my pocket, and picked up my bag before making a run for it. I was already a little far from the castle and there was no way anyone could sight me from there but I ran just in case. 

Hartfield was a very busy kingdom. And a very big one too. And to be quite honest, I knew nowhere. So as I began making my way through the lonely streets in the middle of the night, fear began creeping in. Honestly, I wasn't feeling so free and liberal anymore. But I'd already come so far and I couldn't go back. Going back would mean getting married to the Duke. And I was definitely not doing that. I just needed to find a reasonable hotel where I could spend the night. In the morning, I'd be off to Spain or France before anyone would be able to recognize the heir to the throne in a hotel. 

But then things weren't going as planned. I realized I'd been walking for over two hours and there was no one on the streets anymore and I didn't know any hotels around. Hell, I didn't know anywhere in this godforsaken kingdom. I was the supposed heir to the throne and yet I didn't know the ins and out of the kingdom I was supposed to rule one day. Wow. I was doomed. And to make matters worse, it looked like it was about to rain any minute. I'd definitely chosen the wrong day and time to run away, huh? 

I hastened my steps even though I had no idea where the hell I was going. The rain began pouring and I just had to start running. It was terrible! Would you believe me if I told you I'd never been beaten by the rain before? I'd watched movies with kids dancing under the rain and laughing but I'd never tried it. Now I was getting harassed by the rain, I wondered how those kids enjoyed it. I should have brought a raincoat with me but then again, I'd never really had a need for one. 

They always checked the weather forecast before my parents and I left the palace for a long period of time. And even that one time we got caught up in a storm, we had to stay in the car and we barely even felt the downpour. While thinking of this, I realized that leaving the palace meant leaving everything behind. And by everything I meant my birthright and all the privileges that came with royalty. I never really thought much about those little things until that moment. My hoodie was already drenched. Everything I had on me was already soaking wet and with the way I shivered, I knew I was definitely going to catch a cold. 

When I thought things couldn't get any worse, I realized I was literally in the middle of nowhere. I didn't even know if I was still in Hartfield anymore. If I was then this part of it was very deserted. I was mostly surrounded by vegetation. The rain seemed to be stopping but that did not change the fact that I was looking like a wet rat. Not so far away, I could spot a big white building. The building looked neat and welcoming but at the same, it looked a little ancient. I began making my way towards it, praying to God that it was a hotel. And even if it wasn't, then I hoped the residents would let me spend the night. I was that desperate at the moment. 

The gates of the building or should I say white mansion, were just as big as the one at the palace. The more I thought of it, the more I doubted it was a hotel. There was no security at the gates so proceeded to press the button there and the gates just went open. I had to stand there for a couple of seconds, looking shocked and confused as to why the gates would open that easily but then, I started getting the feeling that someone was controlling them from inside. Maybe they were watching me from CCTV or something. 

I shivered my way through the gates. The rain had completely stopped being replaced by the chilly wind that sent shivers down my spine. I was just so cold. I got to the door and pressed the doorbell but unlike the gates, it didn't just open. In fact, it didn't open for twenty seconds and I was growing impatiently cold so I pressed it again, and again. Until it the door finally and slowly swung to reveal a man. A very handsome and young looking man actually. His eyes were so green and his hair was so red—those were the first two things that caught my attention. His skin looked like he had a permanent blush but his face was so smooth. 

What I didn't understand however, was the whole Victorian, ancient vampire attire he had going on. It was a nice suit, don't get me wrong but it looked like something straight out of an ancient vampire movie.

"How can I help you?" he asked, obviously not fazed by the fact that a teenage girl drenched by the rain was  at his doorstep in the middle of the night. His voice sounded so soft but at the same time so enchanting. 

I cleared my throat. "Good evening, sir. I just came into town and I got stranded, couldn't find a hotel and I had to walk in the rain…" I trailed, hoping my lie was convincing enough. "I just need somewhere to spend the night and in the morning, I'd be on my way."

The man stared at me like a zombie for a good ten seconds—I was counting—before he nodded slightly. "Very well, then. You can spend the night here, I'd be happy to have you."

I smiled and sighed in relief and gratitude. "Thank you very much, sir." I said as he made way for me to enter the house. 

If I thought the exterior looked ancient then that was just an understatement compared to the inside. The palace was the oldest building in Hartfield but it never looked so historical from the inside compared to what I'd noticed here. 

"You can call me Rian," he said, bringing me out of my thoughts. I turned around to meet him watching me. 

"I'm… Natalie," I lied. There was no way I was going to give him my real name. 

He came closer and offered his hand and I took it, instantly taking note of how soft they were. But then I noticed something else I hadn't noticed before. His ears. 

His ears were weird looking. They were a little pointed and funny looking. But I wasn't going to laugh, he might just send me out of his house.