Royal Pains

by CN Thornton

  "I hope you don't mind me sleeping in your bed with you. If you are not ready to share, I can sleep on the couch," he said as he closed the bedroom door behind us.

  I bit my lip. I was nervous, yes, but at this moment the idea of sleeping without Theodore was more unsettling than that of sleeping with him.

  "Stay. Please," I said as he reached back out for the door handle.

  Once the lights were out, we climbed into bed and I lay stiffly on my back, nervous to have Theodore lying beside me in nothing but his undergarments.

  "Would you like to lay in my arms?" he asked me.

  I felt myself begin to tremble and then Theodore sat up in the bed. "What is wrong?" he asked me.

  "I..." I bit my lip. "I've never been like this with a man before, and the day after tomorrow I will have sex with you in front of all those people. I've never had sex before. I know the theory, sure—who at my age doesn't? I've just never... I don't know what to expect. How will it feel? What do I do during it?"

  Theodore lay back down and pulled me into his arms so I was on my side and my head was resting on his chest. We lay in silence for a few minutes before he took a deep breath and finally spoke.

  "I will not lie, I have had sex before," he began. "When I turned sixteen, my father thought it ideal that I knew how to handle myself, so he got me a whore and..." His voice trailed off.

  I nodded my head, feeling disappointed that he wasn't a virgin. Then again, part of me had already assumed that.

  "How was it?" I asked him, killing the awkward silence forming between us.

  He took a deep breath. "Well, she taught me several things about pleasing a woman. You see, that was the most important thing for me to learn. I wanted to be able to please you."

  "Can you—er... tell me?" I asked.

  He paused. "I don't think I'd be able to. But I can show you," he finished with a slightly wavering voice.

  Is he nervous?

  A huge part of me wanted him to show me. I wanted to feel him. To be close with him like last time.

  I brushed my fingers over his cheek and ran them through his hair before pulling his lips down to meet mine. Our kiss began slowly at first, and then my lips parted to allow his tongue to begin an erotic dance with mine. Suddenly our lips were mashing together, and he moved me so I was on my back before positioning himself above me.

  Then his mouth was on my neck and a moan slipped from my lips. His kisses trailed up to my ear and then his hands were at the buttons of my nightgown. The second my gown fell away, he took my tender breasts into his hands and began kneading them.

  My back arched slightly when he took my nipple between his lips and began suckling. The feeling growing deep inside me was unbelievable. I wanted more. I wanted him inside me, and from the feeling of his erection pressing against the inside of my thigh, I knew he wanted me too.

  His lips went back to my ear again, nibbling and sucking at the lobe. Then he whispered into my ear, "I will not take you entirely tonight. You will be an honest woman at our wedding."

  And I felt put out. We weren't going to have sex tonight. But then he positioned himself above me so his manhood was against my sex, and he began moving his hips so his erection would rub against me.

  This wasn't sex, but it felt nice. Even with our undergarments on, the friction of him rubbing against my clitoris set my insides on fire. The pressure building up inside me had me biting my lip as I wanted to cry out loud. Even Theodore seemed to be enjoying himself, because he started moving against me faster and harder, and every breath he took came out heavy.

  Then the pressure inside me exploded and my body began trembling as I cried out loud—I couldn't hold back any longer. When my body finally came down, I opened my eyes and saw Theodore gazing back at me with a look I had never seen him give me before. It was tender... passion.

  He nuzzled against my neck and then pressed his lips to mine once more before moving back to lie flat and pulling me into his arms.

  "I love you, Emmaline," he said.

  "I love you, too." And it was true.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  It was like I blinked and it was the day of the wedding... my wedding. For as long as I could, I lay in Theodore's arms. By nine o'clock, my ladies rushed him out of the room and led me into the bathroom to begin bathing me.

  "We made a new scrub for you, Emmaline," Layla said.

  "Actually, Saoirse did. It's freesia and gardenia. It smells amazing," Peyton said as she began scrubbing my body with it.

  And it did. The scent was the perfect blend. As I sat in the large sunk-in tub and they scrubbed my body with the mixture Saoirse had made for me, I began to doze off. Only when they rinsed me off did I snap awake.

  Then I was whisked from the tub and dried off before being moved into my dressing room, where they began dressing me in the several layers of undergarments. I felt overwhelmed as I stood on the platform in front of the large mirror, so I closed my eyes.

  Once my corset was on, I felt the fabric go over my head and drop snugly against my body. The weight of the dress was noticeable, but I didn't want to look. Not yet.

  Even after I was buttoned up and they took me to my vanity to do my hair and makeup, I still kept my eyes closed. I just couldn't believe that I was about to get married to the man that had bought me for a million dollars... and that I had actually grown to love him.

  If anyone had asked me if I could see myself happy with this man on the day of the auction, I would've laughed in their face or asked if they were joking. It was different now.

  If anything ever happened to him...

  It had taken me several long weeks to fall in love with him, and several more to realize it.

  "You look so beautiful, Emmaline," Moana spoke. "Your father would be so proud of you for the woman you have become."

  At the mention of my father, I opened my eyes and saw a beautiful woman dressed in white staring back at me from the vanity mirror. My eyes were lightly framed with black eyeliner and my lips were a gentle pinkish-nude color. My hair was braided in a single loose French braid that hung down the middle of my back, and single pearls dotted my hair here and there. To finish off my regal wedding look was a beautiful silver tiara with a large blue sapphire stone nestled at the top.

  "Wow," I breathed. "Even I can't deny how beautiful I am today."

  "Oh, Theodore is going to absolutely love you!" Justine gushed as she fastened a necklace around my neck. This one was a single pearl.

  Then Anya, my adviser, entered the room. I stood once Peyton and Saoirse had finished fastening my heels. Anya took one look at me and broke into a smile—the first smile she had ever given me that didn't seem to be forced in some way.

  "I have something for you," she said as she opened a long rectangle box. Inside was a silver bracelet—a small infinity charm set between two thin silver chains.

  "You didn't have to get me anything, Anya," I breathed as I looked at the bracelet.

  "I didn't; it belongs to you. This was found amongst some of your father's personal things. I believe it originally belonged to your great grandmother, Emma. See?" She pointed to a name engraved into the lid of the box and a date that read nineteen forty-one.

  I made a mental note to request to see all of my father's things sometime in the near future. Maybe I would even be able to find some of my things from when I was a child.

  There was a knock on my bedroom door, and Lady Saoirse quickly shuffled from the room. When she returned, a handsome and formally dressed Bash was at her side.

  I brought my hands up to my mouth in surprise. "Oh my gosh!" I breathed. "You look so handsome, Bash!"

  "It's Lord Bash, Your Royal Highness." He winked. "Theodore gave me the title just yesterday."

  I smiled. Theodore was surprising me more and more every day, proving his love to me with these simple things. Just yesterday Bash had officially moved into his own apartment on the third floor.

  "Well, Lord Bash," I teased. "What brings you
to my humble abode on this fine day?" I flourished my hand to the room.

  "I've actually come to collect you. I believe it is time." He held out his arm and I took it.

  "Er, actually," Anya began. She moved my arm and adjusted his so it was now bent at the elbow with his forearm behind his back and hand in a closed fist. "There, that is proper for a lord escorting a woman of a substantially higher class. "You do not touch at all in public unless you are dancing, and even then he must ask permission from Theodore or you must be passed to him by Theodore."

  Bash grinned. "Sounds complicated."

  "It takes some getting used to, but if you do not want your hands removed, I'd suggest you do well to remember it," she warned him.

  Sebastian raised his eyebrows at her extreme comment and we started from the room. Once the door was closed behind us and we had begun descending the stairs, Bash let out a long, single-toned whistle.

  "Some of the rules in this joint are a bit cray cray, don't you think?" I suppressed a grin as we turned a corner and started to the ballroom. "Theodore gave me a few books to read on manners and formality and etiquette, and it is..." He made a motion with his hand.

  "You get used to it."

  "Well, if you can do it then I guess I can, too," he said as we turned another corner and came to a stop outside the door to the ballroom. He bowed to me and then slipped inside.

  The guards on either side of the door waited a few minutes, then gave me a double door entrance. I stood in my place just beyond the doors, my eyes staring down the aisle at a decorated stage. Flowers had been placed everywhere they could possibly be hung, giving off a citrusy floral smell. Chairs were set up on either side of the long aisle, and along every six to twelve inches of the runner, tall glass tubes boasted beautiful blue rocks and a lit candle in each.

  At the end of the runner was a stage and an old intricately carved wooden arch. Behind the arch, a beautiful stained-glass window had a pink rose in the center, surrounded by simple blue glass.

  Then there was Theodore. He looked so striking in his formal royal suit—navy blue with a light blue sash, black boots, and gold epaulets on his shoulders. The wrists of his uniform jacket and the collar were a deep red, with gold buttons starting from the sternum and going down on both sides. There were even several different ribbons decorating his left side that had me wondering at their meaning.

  Somewhere in the room, a quartet began to play Pachelbel's "Canon in D." Hearing the first measure brought goosebumps to my skin, and my stomach dropped. When the song reached the appropriate measure, I began my walk down the aisle.

  Each step had to be carefully thought out every two seconds. Stand straight, keep my head held high and chin parallel to the floor, don't look around, don't walk too fast, I kept reciting in my mind. It didn't help that I could practically feel everyone's eyes on me. Their gazes burned into my skin, causing my whole body to warm uncomfortably.

  Keep your eyes on him. Look at Theodore. He is the only person that matters, I thought to myself.

  And I did. The calm expression on his face, the warmth in his eyes... It took every ounce of will I had to not sprint down the remainder of the aisle and jump into his arms.

  Then I was finally there next to him, and we turned to face each other with the priest standing before us.

  "I love you," he mouthed, and I suppressed a grin as I mouthed it back.

  I did. I loved this wonderful, handsome man.

  Then the priest began. "Dearly beloved: We have come together in the presence of God to witness and bless the joining together of this man and this woman in Holy Matrimony. The bond and covenant of marriage was established by God in creation, and our Lord Jesus Christ adorned this manner of life by his presence and first miracle at a wedding in Cana of Galilee. It signifies to us the mystery of the union between Christ and his Church, and Holy Scripture commands it to be honored among all people.

  "The union of husband and wife in heart, body, and mind is intended by God for their mutual joy, for the help and comfort given one another in prosperity and adversity, and, when it is God's will, for the procreation of children and their nurture in the knowledge and love of the Lord. Therefore, marriage is not to be entered into unadvisedly or lightly, but reverently, deliberately, and in accordance with the purposes for which it was instituted by God.

  "Into this holy union Prince Theodore Edward Fallmonte and Princess Emmaline Charlotte Lefevre now come to be joined. If any of you can show just cause why they may not lawfully be married, speak now, or else forever hold your peace."

  There was a pause in which I half expected my mother to jump out of her seat and shoot off at the mouth, until I remembered that this was what she had wanted since day one.

  Then the priest addressed both Theodore and myself. "I require and charge you both, here in the presence of God, that if either of you know any reason why you may not be united in marriage lawfully and in accordance with God's Word, you do now confess it."

  I took an easy breath, knowing I no longer had any reason the two of us shouldn't be married. When I had first arrived in Linacre, my reason would've been that there was no true love in this relationship.

  That was no longer true, and I couldn't have been prouder.

  "Emmaline, will you have this man to be your husband, to live together in the covenant of marriage? Will you love him, comfort him, honor and keep him, in sickness and in health, and, forsaking all others, be faithful to him as long as you both shall live?" the priest asked me.

  I looked confidently into Theodore's beautiful, brown, long-lashed eyes and smiled as I said, "I will."

  "Theodore, will you have this woman to be your wife, to live together in the covenant of marriage? Will you love her, comfort her, honor and keep her, in sickness and in health, and, forsaking all others, be faithful to her as long as you both shall live?"

  Without missing a beat, he responded, "I will." There was an expression on his face... pride?

  "Will all of you witnessing these promises do all in your power to uphold these two persons in their marriage?"

  The entire room around us erupted in a simultaneously spoken "I will."

  Then the priest had us bow our heads as he said a prayer. My heart knew what was coming next, and it began pounding in my chest. It would be our turn to speak our vows to one another, in front of everyone. I was terrified of messing up.

  When the prayer was over, Theodore took my right hand into his left and began speaking. "In the Name of God, I, Theodore Edward Fallmonte, take you, Emmaline Charlotte Lefevre, to be my wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish until we are parted by death. This is my solemn vow."

  I took a deep breath as I felt his hand slacken on mine, and with my left I took his right hand into mine and did my best to steady my voice. "In the Name of God, I, Emmaline Charlotte Lefevre, take you, Theodore Edward Fallmonte, to be my husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, until we are parted by death. This is my solemn vow." I blew out a steady breath after I finished and allowed a small smile to turn up the corners of my mouth.

  Our hands loosened again just as Theodore's brother Alexander came to stand before us holding an antique pewter box. Very carefully, he lifted the lid and held it out to us. Inside were two silver filigree rings with sapphires.

  Theodore took one ring from the box and placed it on my finger as he said, "Emmaline Charlotte Lefevre, I give you this ring as a symbol of my vow, and with all that I am and all that I have, I honor you, in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit."

  Then it was my turn to place the ring on Theodore's finger and recite my lines. When I was finished, Theodore and I joined our right hands and the priest spoke.

  "Now that Theodore and Emmaline have given themselves to each other by solemn vows, with the
joining of hands and the giving and receiving of rings, I pronounce that they are husband and wife, in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit."

  After a prayer to bless our marriage, we shared a chaste kiss and were officially announced husband and wife by the priest.

  Festive music began to play somewhere on the other side of the room near the open ballroom floor. Theodore placed his hand on my lower back and guided me through the throng to the open dance floor, and with a bow and curtsy exchanged between us, we began our first dance as husband and wife.

  Like I had been taught by him and Peyton, I waltzed gracefully with Theodore across the room, stepping and turning effortlessly. A smile graced my face the entire time I spun with him. Without announcement, he dipped me and quickly pressed his lips to mine before pulling me back up. It was a simple move, but it filled my stomach with butterflies.

  "My wife." He grinned at me and I saw that very same look he had given me during the beginning of our ceremony. Now I was sure it was pride.

  "My husband," I breathed back.

  We began giggling like giddy teenagers as we continued waltzing, and then the song ended and we were applauded by our guests.

  Dinner was served shortly after and it was short but filling. After came a bountiful dessert I had little room for, but I tried a few bites of various things Theodore fed to me in a romantic gesture. When we finished with a toast to our marriage, it was announced that the "witnesses" for the officiating would be gathering in Theodore's bed chambers in thirty minutes.

  Hearing those words made my stomach drop, and every ounce of bravery and excitement faded away. Theodore must have sensed the sudden change in my mood, because he took my hand into his and began strumming his thumb gently over my skin.

  Theodore and I were excused to go and prepare for the officiation, and as I rose to my feet I could have sworn my legs turned to jelly. Just as I thought I was going to fall, Theodore wrapped his arm around me and pulled me close to his side, then started from the ballroom.

  When we were out of earshot of the rejoicing and laughter from our guests, Theodore turned a corner and steered us through a door into a room that had a desk and a few chairs in it. From the layer of dust on the desk and the sheets covering the chairs, it was clear the room hadn't been used in ages.