by J. P. Uvalle
Estevan rushes over to me. “Sorry, to disturb your peace my Princess, but I needed to see you.”
“You’ve seen me—”
“Don’t dismiss me again.” His hands cup my cheeks.
“We can never be. How many times do I have to say it?” I break away from him.
“This is your thinking spot, isn’t it? If you’re so sure we won’t work, why are you here?”
“Because of tonight at the Royal Ceremony…I must choose a prince.”
Zanna interrupts our circle. “But, that decision doesn’t have to be made until the last day of the festivities. Why in Lord’s name is she making you choose tonight?”
“I have no idea. How am I suppose to choose when I’ve refused to spend any time with them.”
“That’s easy…choose me.” He stands tall, confidence bouncing off of him.
“With all due respect, Prince Estevan, you are not an option.” I start to pace.
He takes my hand in his and gets down on one knee. “I am serious. Grant me the honor of being your King. To rule beside you in love and in war.”
“Have you lost your mind? We could be exiled from our kingdoms or worse—executed. Although I despise Gwendolyn greatly. Why are you so insistent on escaping your arranged marriage? I demand you to tell me the truth, all of it.”
He rubs his jaw. “Only a few know the truth. King Balavarr is responsible for the fallout between our founding nations. He pitted them against each so he could come out as the reigning king, the hero. This alliance is nothing but a scheme, and my father is too blinded by greed and power to see it. So, yes. I can’t allow him to destroy everything my mother tried to build. I want to spend my life being your king, but I have to rebel this marriage for the fate of my kingdom, my people.”
“Why didn’t you tell me this last night. You lead me to believe you would just throw everything away for a chance at love.”
“I wanted you to decide because you wanted to be with me not because you felt forced for the sake of my kingdom.”
His words sing to me like a sweet melody. “You do care about your people as much as I care about mine.” My mother and father taught me we royals were nothing without our people, so I always held them high in those respects and anyone who believed the same. For the first time, I am not afraid to let myself fall. I no longer need to deny my feelings for they are sincere, unwavering. My palms burn with the need to touch his tan skin. I reach out and graze my finger along his five-clock shadow. He exhales a breath, closing his eyes and warmth fills my chest, my heart, my mind. The man I’ve waited my entire life for is standing right in front of me.“You, Prince Estevan are going to be a magnificent king. A king I’d be honored to stand beside.”
Hungry, his lips soar to mine, devouring them with full strokes of his tongue. I instinctively curl my mine around his, matching his powerful energy. My body melts into him, his taut muscles enclosing around me.
Squawk!!!
A sound of a bird breaks our blissful connection, and we look up to find a white hawk gawking at us. We all turn to look at each other dumbfound. I’ve never seen such a magnificent creature, and curiosity gets the best of me as I slowly approach the hawk, its eyes stay trained on me. One with a snowflake pattern around it. I look down at my necklace, noticing similarities between it and the bird. What does this all mean? Then a memory from my past hits me. “My mother told me a story about a white bird once with a scar in the shape of a snowflake. Much like my necklace. Where do you get it?”
He opens his mouth, but no words come out.
Zanna glares eyes of death at Estevan.
“Estevan?” I cross my arms over my chest.
Lord Cedric enters our circle. “A hooded maiden…I didn’t catch her name had shown up to court with the necklace and gave it to me. Said she knew you and that you’d love it, and before Estevan and I could question her further…she vanished.
“Vanished?” I scream.
Prince Estevan hangs his head. “Sorry, to disappoint you again.”
“Ah huh.” My hands go to my hips. “What else have you been keeping from me?”
“Nothing, I swear.” He rubs the length of his face. “What were saying about the story your mother told you?”
“Clever. Way to change the subject.” I blow out a puff of air before continuing on. “Well, she said any white creature is considered sacred because of the rarity of them in nature. Their purpose is to give a message…a sacred message if you will. White is the color of purity and truth.”
“You don’t say…” He scratches his head as if to recall a memory. “Wait…” His eyes light up. “I’ve seen this bird before. In the woods by my castle.”
The hawk continues to stare right into our souls.
“Oh, wow…if this is the second time you’ve seen this creature, then maybe the message here is…two.”
“I don’t follow, princess.”
“Two is a feminine number. It is the number of balance and beckons us to summon our natural power of judgment to do what is best for our souls. Two is also some partnerships, connections, and communication.”
He laughs. “If that doesn’t assure you choosing me isn’t a mistake than I don’t know what will.”
“Oh, there’s plenty of time before tonight to change my mind.” I give his shoulder a shove.
“You wouldn’t.”
Slyly, I reach down to mold snow it into a medium-sized ball, the bitter coldness stiffening my fingers. “I would.” Launching the snowball into the air, it hits its target—Estevan square in the face. I backpedal with a giggle.
“Oh, now you're going to get it.” He throws one in my direction, but I shield my face with my fur coat.
“You’re gonna have to try better than that, Prince Charming.”
Soon Lord Cedric and Zanna join in, and it’s an all-out war between the four of us. I round a snow bank before Zanna can hit me with hers. The hawk becomes an intrigued spectator and chaws everytime someone hits another with a snowball.
I dart up quick enough to stick my tongue out at her before ducking back down. Her miss lands inches in front of me. That’s when I decide to make a break for it and run to hide behind a tree before she gets closer to nail me with one. Peering from behind the tree, I realize Zanna has lost interest in me as her target and is bombing Lord Cedric with them in the shoulder. Watching them I lose track of where Estevan is, and my heart jolts forward not seeing him in plain sight. I back up deeper into the woods, the snow getting crushed underneath my boots until my back bumps up against something I suspect is tall, dark and incredibly sexy.
Estevan's hands glide down my back to my ass, and he doesn’t hesitate to squeeze it. Heat immediately zips through me and soon his strong arms wrap around my waist, pulling me into him. His front flush with my back. I feel the warmth of his breath on my ear.
“Mmmm…I’ve been waiting to do that.” His hands travel slowly up my abdomen to my chest, cupping his hands around my breasts. “And that.”
A choppy breath leaves me forming a plume of cold air in front of me. “What else have you been waiting to do?” Thinking of all the possibilities, scorching heat rushes to the bundle of nerves between my thighs.
He whips me around so fast. Next thing I know, we’re on the ground, and his bod of steel is crushing me underneath him. He doesn’t answer, reconnecting his soft lips with mine.
I moan into his mouth. “Estevan I want you so bad.”
In reaction, he smashes his pelvis into mine, his hard cock rubbing against my pussy through my dress, creating warm friction between our longing bodies. A taste of ecstasy. “Fuck. I want you too, Winter.” He bits my lip before descending the length of me. He hovers above my heaving chest with a wicked grin, and with one quick motion, he springs my breasts from the top of my gown. Ravenous, Estevan takes one of my nipples into his mouth, sucking it hard.
The sensation triggers flow down below, and I can’t withhold a pleasuring cry. It echoes around us.
He covers my mouth. “Shh…do you want them to find us?”
I shake my head, and he lifts his hands away.
“Just don’t stop doing whatever you're doing to me,” I moan.
With a smirk, he rolls one nipple back and forth between his fingers while continuing to tease the other with his wet tongue.
Rolling my eyes back into my head, I bit my lip to keep me from screaming. He’s only getting started, and I find myself about to burst from the inside out. How will I manage to hold all this excitement in?
Chapter Eight
ESTEVAN
Dreams do come true. I have the most beautiful, kindhearted princess in all the land beneath me, completely at my mercy to do whatever to her as I please, but all I want to do is satisfy her needs. Love her with every ounce I have inside me. Appreciate every curve of her gorgeous body. I continue my descent down and lift her dress waist high. The smell of her arousal even in the biting cold has found my nose, making me lust for a taste.
She giggles. “What are you doing down there?”
I smirk at her. “Oh, you’ll see.” I wink, making a trail of soft kisses down her abdomen to her navel and stop just above her panty line. Even as a virgin, her body arches up to me, responsive and in tune with what’s about to take place. I gently move her legs apart and lower my mouth down to kiss her sweetness through the fabric. Her whole body stiffens, and she whimpers, trying to close her legs but I push them back open.
“Estevan…” her voice is embedded with lust.
“You like what I’m doing to you princess?”
She gives me a slight nod, biting her lips and shoves my head back in between her legs. “I’m ready for more.”
Atta girl! I growl into her swollen lips covered by silk. She’s grinding her pretty pussy against my face, pushing me over the edge. Ripping her panties from her body, I dive my tongue in between her slickness. Honey drips onto my tongue as I swirl circles around her nub. A low hum vibrates in my chest the wetter she gets. Life couldn’t possibly get any better.
Squawk!!!
The sound echoes throughout the forest, a heaviness comes over me as I stand to my feet.
“What’s wrong?”
I take a step forward. “Winter…something doesn’t feel right.
An arrow zips past me, nearly missing my face and spears into the tree next to us.
I grab her hand, pulling her from the ground and we start running further into the forest. Black armored suits appear, some riding on horses and soon we’re surrounded by Balavarr’s army. They have Lord Cedric, and Lady Zanna held captive, their hands bound by rope. King Balavarr parts his army like the sea with Gwendolyn and my father trailing behind them.
“King Balavarr, let them go,” I roar.
He tilts his head at me. “I don’t think you’re in any position to be making demands, prince.” He draws out the word, spitting onto Cedric’s face.
Gritting my teeth, I glare at my father who cowers behind him. “Do something.”
He averts his gaze away from me.
“If you hurt them, I swear you’ll regret it King Douchebag.” Winter’s hand tightens around mine.
King Balavarr whips out his sword and points it in Winter’s face. “Watch that tongue, princess or I won’t hesitate to cut it off.”
“Guards seize them.” King Balavarr orders and his army marches up to us.
I shield Winter from their grasp, punching one of them.
“If you fight this marriage, Estevan I will kill your little whore.”
Gwendolyn’s evil laugh surrounds us. “Or I will.”
“Fuck you,” Winter says, her fist in a ball.
That’s when I realize this is a fight that can’t be won. Not now. We are surrounded by an army, weaponless, and I’ll never forgive myself if something happens to Winter. Fighting this marriage is not worth risking her life. I see that now. “Fine, I surrender.”
“No, don’t do this.” Winter continues to fight the guards as they drag me away from her. Seeing her losing her mind, hitting them left and right rips my heart to shreds. I will always love you, my precious Winter. Turning away from her I feel as if I have left my heart by her feet.
Chapter Nine
WINTER
Days later
The dungeon harbors no light, the darkness devouring my soul until nothing is left. I have no desire to eat or drink. My quarters smell of mold and smoke. Hollers and screams find their way to me, then there’s a deafening silence. I fear my people are dead. At this point, I see no reason to live. My life is officially over knowing what today is—Gwendolyn and Estevan’s wedding day.
The door slides open for the first time since King Balavarr has locked me away.
My vision is blurry, so it takes a minute to adjust to the light. “Oh…it’s you,” I snarl.
“Did you think it was your knight in shining armor coming to whisk you away. The only way you’re getting out of here is if you get on your knees and beg for it, princess.” He bounds my wrists with rope and drags me out of the dungeon and down the hall by my hair. My scalp burns from the pain. He throws me into a nearby bedchamber, his fist still tightly clinched to my hair, giving me no leeway to move. He unzips his pants with the other, releasing a semi-hard cock. “Show me with your mouth, how much you want your freedom,” he expels through his teeth with a slow hiss.
I rub my wrists raw, trying to loosen the thick rope bounding my hands behind me. “No.”
He bends down to slap me, the sting consumes my entire face. “You’ll do what is asked of you, girl.”
That’s it. Once lifeless, I decide there is no way I am going to let him rob me of the only things I have left—my dignity and my virginity. I surge forwards with all my weight and headbutt him in the crotch. “It’s Princess Winter to you, asshole.”
With a few more rubs, I free my hands and immediately reach for his sword. I hover above his skull with the sharp point dangling above him.
“Princess, please. We can renegotiate.”
“Renegotiate this.” I slice into his skull with a crunch and twist it a few times before removing it. I marvel at the sight of blood dripping off it. I give him one last kick. “Don’t worry, I’ll make sure Gwendolyn knows you won’t be there to walk her down the aisle.” Swiftly, I turn, coming face-to-face with two of his guards blocking the doorway. “If you’re smart…you’ll let me walk out that door unscathed.”
“Kill her,” the taller one says. They charge forward, and I duck their swings ending up behind them. Thinking fast, I take the torch from the door and light the rug on fire, the flames burn in their direction, and I close them in their tome. Without any further hesitation, I zip down the hall towards the stairs.
“Winter,” a cough follows.
Creeping up to the dungeon door, I peer in. “Who’s in there?”
“It’s me…Zanna.”
My eyes go wide. Oh, my Gods! I pull relentlessly on the door handle, soon realizing it will do me no good if I don’t have the key. Damnit! King Balavarr does, but I set the room on fire. Good going, Winter. The guards must be dead for they haven’t followed me. I look at the sword, at the door and back to the sword. Hopefully, this works. Shoving the sharp point into the lock, I turn as hard as I can. Surprisingly, I hear a clicking sound and the lock pulls apart. I swing the door open and dive down on my knees. I grasp her face in my hands. “Zanna…are you hurt?”
She nods. “I think some of my ribs are broken.”
No! What did they do to you? I frown. “Don’t worry, I’ll get you some help but for now…?” I ponder a temporary solution, and when my eyes find my bodice, I get an idea. I quickly undo it, wrap it around her and carefully pull the strings giving her enough room to breath but tightening it enough to minimize the pain.
“Stop,” she moans in agony. “Just leave me be. I’ll only slow you down. You have to get to the prince.”
My grip on Zanna’s face becomes more firm. “Listen to me. You are my best f
riend, and I certainly will not leave you here to die. So, we are going to stand up and walk out that door. On the count of three.”
“Winter plea—”
“One,” I wrap my arms around her waist.
She tries to push me away, groaning in pain.
“Two,” I hoist her up, but she is wobbly on her feet.
“Three.” I move forward. She loses her balance, and I readjust my hold to support more of her weight. We speed toward the stairs with the fire stalking behind us.
“Winter, we don’t have much time. Please leave me.”
I ignore her until we finally reach the top of the stairs. Craning my neck, I look up and down the hall to make sure the coast is clear. I gasp when I see several Stoneshire knights spiraled out on the floor…dead. “What happened here?”
Zanna coughs. “Balavarr’s army seized the entire kingdom.”
“Where’s Lord Cedric…is he okay?”
“I have no clue, we got separate after they took you and Prince Estevan.”
“Where is the ceremony being held?” Closing the heavy doubles doors, I seal in the fire below and sneak us into the hallway toward the medicine room.
“Stoneshire Bridge, near your thinking spot.”
“Oh, how poetic,” I snarl.
I prop Zanna up onto the bed, and quickly whip up her some hot tea.
She takes a few sips before laying down. “Thanks, Winter. I hope to live to see the day you become queen.”
I caress her cheek. “Don’t talk like that, Zanna. You’re not going anywhere.”
Tears fill her eyes as she nods. “Okay.”
A soft kiss I plant on her forehead. “You rest. I’ll go save our men.”
She tries to laugh but winces instead.
“Sorry.” I leave the sword for her protection.
She smiles. “A souvenir.” Her eyes brighten a little. “Enough talk, now go.”
Nodding, I turn to leave, locking her in.
Where is my that wretched woman, I call stepmother? I tip-toe through the empty hallways bathed in blood, rounding a dark corridor. A blue light illuminates from my necklace. Oh, Heaven’s! As I continue to walk further into the darkness, the brighter it shines. If I walk back, it dims. Huh? I reach a certain point in the middle of the hallway, and oddly the necklace starts to vibrate against my chest. A thought occurs to me, maybe it’s not just a necklace…perhaps it’s a key to something, and whoever gave this necklace to Lord Cedric seems to know a lot more about me than I do. Uneasiness shifts in my belly from the revelation.
