What is this? Was the previous queen on a diet or something? Come on. Give me some real food. Give me a turkey, a leg of lamb or some chicken. I crave chicken.
My tummy growled again. Lucy glanced at me with those flighty eyes of hers before she flitted them away.
“Lucy,” I called to her, and she almost jumped out of her skin. Did I really startle her that much? “Why is the portion size so small?”
“Your Majesty prefers this portion size,” she replied.
“Really?” So, my guess was right. The previous Clarissa Rose was on a diet. I waved the thought aside and gestured for her to come closer. “Come, Lucy. Be my companion. And Belle, you come here, too. Don’t just stand next to the door like you’re about to run. Both of you, come join me. I hate eating by myself.”
Always eating with Amy and the other kids at the orphanage, it felt a bit strange now that I would have to eat by myself with them watching over me. Lucy was more nervous than ever when I suggested she joined me, and Belle, she hadn’t moved an inch from her spot.
“Come on, now. Let’s eat. I need eating companions,” I urged them, and pulled Lucy down to sit beside me on the bed.
Lucy scrambled down in her flustered state but before her bottom hit the soft bed, she hurriedly jumped back up and stood beside me, taking up her perfect rigid pose. As for Belle, she managed about ten paces, now taking position beside Lucy.
“No, Your Majesty. Please.” They chorused at the same time.
“Fine,” I mumbled, giving up on my persuasion. I turned my attention to the meal placed in front of me and took the first bite.
Wow. Just... wow. This... whatever it was... was super delicious.
I was by no means a vegetarian but I could seriously eat this every day. And the dressing of the salad, my lord, it was to die for. I munched and munched.
“Say, Lucy? Who found me in the bathtub?” I started putting a plan into action, collecting data between chewing.
“It was Belle and me, Your Majesty,” Lucy answered.
“I have to thank both of you then, for finding me. I owe you guys one.” I smiled, taking another bite of the salad. “Good for me, you guys found me in time. I must have felt tired and fallen asleep in the bathtub,” I commented.
Lucy looked at me strangely again. “Your Majesty, you... you... had the door locked. We had to break the door to get you out.”
“Oh! Maybe I wanted some privacy,” I said absentmindedly, taking an interest in the nuts now.
“Your head was bleeding when we found you.” Belle added.
“Oh, I must have tripped and fallen into the bathtub, then,” I lamely said, and continued with my vegetarian meal.
“Your Majesty?” Lucy asked after some time.
“Mmmm,” I mumbled with a mouth full of salad. “Whhaat... essss... eetttt?”
“Your Majesty is acting really strange.”
I caught on the word strange and almost choked to death with my next swallow. Well, there goes my perfect impersonation out the window. I coughed and spattered, inducing tears to run from my eyes.
Belle was generous when she brought me a glass of grape juice to relieve my stressful state. I took one gulp and sprayed the whole red liquid out again, with some dripping down my chin. The liquid burned my tongue and stung my eyes.
“Belle,” I yelled, with tears still streaming from my eyes. “Are you trying to kill me?”
Belle dropped down to the floor and shook, her head instantly touching the floor again.
“Your Majesty, I’m sorry. I’m sorry,” she mumbled like a chant. “I didn’t mean to make you angry. Please don’t slap me. Please don’t tell Lady Cecilia.” The girl was on the verge of crying.
“Your Majesty, please forgive Belle,” Lucy bowed down and apologized on her behalf too. “She didn’t mean it. If you want to punish her, please punish me instead.”
“Belle. Lucy.” I managed to say after wiping the drool off my chin. I sighed, seeing them both on the floor again, their whole bodies shaking like leaves. The previous Clarissa Rose must have traumatized them to the point of them acting witless. “You guys. Get up. I’m not going to slap either of you.”
Belle lifted her head, her eyes growing wider with horror, at the words I’d just spoken. “Then... then... you will kill us?”
“What?” Shesh! I face palmed myself. Their imagination was getting wilder by the second. “I’m not going to kill you.” Belle looked up at me with tears glistening in her eyes. “And I won’t tell Lady Cecilia either. Now please get up, both of you.”
I helped both girls up from the floor. Belle stood on shaky legs. She glanced up at me with frightened doe eyes. The poor girl was really scared out of her wits.
“Thank you, Your Majesty. Thank you for forgiving us,” Lucy said, having stabilized her legs, as well.
I smiled at them, and once they had calmed down, I asked them gently. “What was it that you gave to me to drink? And I know it tasted nothing like grape juice because grape juice is my all-time favorite drink, and whatever that beverage was, it tasted horrible.”
“Your Majesty, that was the finest red wine in the palace,” Belle said.
“What?” I almost went into overdrive again. “You served me wine from the palace?” I wasn’t even at legal drinking age yet and here Belle had served me alcohol like it was water.
“Your Majesty, we are sorry,” Lucy hurriedly said. “Next time we’ll serve you the finest wine in all of Alyria.”
“Wait. What? No. Don’t,” I said in a hurry. “That’s not what I meant. Next time don’t serve me that beverage. It tastes awful. Why don’t you give me water instead?”
“But Your Majesty only drinks fine wine,” Belle said in confusion, looking up at Lucy for support.
“Your Majesty had also informed us in the past to serve you only fine wine during your meals. We were punished once for serving you a substitute,” she supplied timidly.
Mmmm. That explained their previous behavior. Still, I couldn’t blame them. The previous Clarissa Rose was a true alcoholic. No wonder she fell into the bathtub and hit her head. Must be because she was drunk all the time.
“Look, from now on, serve me water. And if it must be some sort of beverage, then give me grape juice. I like that.” Lucy gave me one of her weird looks again. “What? Did I say something out of character again?”
Lucy nodded mutely.
“Well, remember what Dr. Ford said. I lost a good portion of my memory. So, if you see me acting strange or weird, then you know why. That’s where you both fill in the gaps for me, so I can start regaining my memory faster.”
Lucy and Belle both nodded again, but this time, there was a small warm smile lingering on their lips. Somehow, I got the feeling I had won their affections.
After the meal, Lucy cleared away the dishes and Belle informed me of a bath.
Yes. I was allowed to take a bath. Staying in this weird tunic-like dressing gown had me scratching to no end. I wondered what kind of material they used. Taking a closer inspecting of the material, I looked down at the garment for the first time since I woke up in this new body, and saw two mounds on my chest.
Breasts. I have breasts. I almost jumped for joy. In my previous body, my chest was as flat as a surf board.
Then a thought struck me. I realized I hadn’t seen what this Clarissa Rose looks like? Was she as beautiful as the models I saw in Vogue Magazine? In my previous body, I had brown curly hair, brown eyes, and a cute button nose. Just an average American citizen.
Excited to see what I look like now, I stripped the blanket back and jumped out of bed, marching straight to Belle who was busy folding some dresses.
“Belle, where’s the mirror. I want to see myself.”
“Your Majesty should take a bath. There’s a mirror in the spa room.”
“I’m having a bath in the spa room?”
“Yes.” She nodded smiling.
I stood there, smiling at her. Belle looked at me and then at
the door, wondering why I wasn’t moving to the spa room. Nodding her head, she asked slowly, “Your Majesty has forgotten where the spa room is, too?”
“You’re a smart one,” I grinned, catching on to her words.
Belle led me to the spa room, which was only down the hallway from the room I was currently staying in, but the journey itself was a fascination of its own.
The palace was gigantic with interesting architecture, reminiscent of the Renaissance era. The ceiling was so high, with cool chandeliers hanging down like droplets of rain falling from the sky. There were many guards lining the outside of my door and in the hallway, as if I was under surveillance. Then again, I had never been in a palace before. I supposed this was how they would protect the royals. Well, I could rest assured now that I would not be killed a second time.
Belle led me to a room filled with steam. At first, I thought it was a sauna, until I spotted a small swimming pool with flower petals floating on top. And there was Lucy, responsible for pouring the petals in the water.
She turned to me, smiled and said, “It’s all ready, Your Majesty. You may take your bath.”
And that was when it started. They came and attacked me on both sides, peeling at my tunic gown.
“Whoa. Whoa. Hold up there. What are you guys doing?” I screeched, pulling out of their hold.
“Your Majesty. We are helping you undress,” Lucy explained.
“No way. I can do this myself.” I refused. I had four limbs, just like them. There was no reason for me not to do it myself. Although I felt a bit weak, I could still manage.
“But, Your Majesty,” Belle said, not ready to let the subject drop.
“Please leave. Both of you.” I issued my order. “I’m fine. I want to do this myself.”
After some internal battle between the two of them, Lucy finally relented. “Yes, Your Majesty. We will wait outside. Please call for us if you need anything.”
I won’t need anything, I was about to say, but just nodded my head.
I had always been a shy girl. Never had I let anyone seen my naked body. And it would stay this way. So, there was no way they were coming near me again when I bathed.
They both bowed gracefully, before leaving me to my own devices. Thank the lord for that. And as soon as the door was closed, I rushed to the nearest mirror and inspected myself.
Holy Cup Cakes! I had to do a double take. To say I was beautiful was an understatement. I looked gorgeous. With long silky blonde curls adorning my oval shaped face, eyebrows the shape of crescent moons, eyes the color of pastel blue, skin the color of fine ivory, and ruby red lips that didn’t need lipstick to look sexy, I was the epitome of a rose, a goddess descended into this steamy spa room. Not to mention my new nose was extremely adorable. But I had to admit, I looked quite mature compared to my old self. I was nineteen in my previous body but in this new one, I looked like I was twenty-five. I just bumped six years off my life. Oh well, no use complaining about my current age now. At least I got a new one.
I grinned cheekily. Time to inspect my new body.
I discarded the articles of clothing one by one and sucked in my breath, again and again, as each inch of skin was exposed to my eyes.
“Sweet Spaghetti,” I cried, when only a thin silk dress was left on my body.
Dear Grim and Reaper. You both couldn’t have found a better-looking corpse than this , I thanked them. I could practically grace the front cover of Vogue Magazine with this figure. If I were a lesbian I would definitely fall for myself right now.
Ample breasts that should be called breasts now, unlike my previous life, and a figure of a slim body, I was way over the moon with my new appearance. I bent my body backwards and forward, contorting my body in different poses, looking for the perfect angle like a model in a photo shoot, as I viewed myself in the mirror.
“Gee, you’re so hot Tami. So very hot,” I mouthed at myself in the mirror. “And your teeth are all straight and nicely aligned, too, with pouty red lips like you’ve had Botox done.”
Feeling confident of my new body, I threw away the last remaining article of clothing, the dress, neglecting to look at my body until I took it all off. And then with a smile on my face I cast my eyes down south and...
“Holy Cow,” I screeched, when I looked down at my body. Painted in strokes of deep blue color were welts and bruises, decorating all over my beautiful new body.
Dear Lord. Had someone abused this body? Or did the previous Clarissa Rose have a thing for S&M.
I shuffled the nightgown back on, to cover my naked body, closing my eyes and inhaling more air to calm myself down. No wonder I felt so tired after I had woken up. And here I had thought it was due to that hurricane that had carried me here.
A sudden anger flared inside of me. Okay, Clarissa Rose. You’re dead now. You’ve drowned yourself in the bathtub, and you have abused this body through this fetish of yours. For that alone, I cannot forgive you. From now on, I’m taking over. And I will love this body.
I threw the nightgown off again, and hugged a large white towel around my body, then made my way toward the edge of the pool. I was determined to wash myself clean of her past and start anew.
I dipped my toe in the pool and felt the heat of the water radiating all the way to my heart.
“Nice,” I smiled.
I was about to slip into the water when a deeply timbered voice from behind startled me, making me drop my towel.
“Waiting for me, have you Clarissa Rose?”
That Hot Intruder who makes my heart pound
Chapter 3
“ W aiting for me, have you Clarissa Rose?”
My heart pounded the second I heard that deep voice. I whipped my head around, to see the silhouette of a man who had somehow entered my private area, while clumsily trying to grab the towel to cover my naked state.
“Who... who are you?” I demanded of the intruder, clutching the towel to hide my nakedness.
“Hahaha.” The voice boomed out with laughter.
My eyes skittered to the destination of that voice. I couldn’t see him clearly because the steam inside the room was fogging the air.
“Who are you?” I shouted my demand again. “Answer me this instant!”
And then the man appeared out of the thin fog; the fog parting for him like he was the king of Alyria. Forgetting that I was by the edge of the pool, I inched backward when the man advanced toward me.
The man looked arrogant; like none I had ever seen before. He wore some sort of loose shirt, like those men in the Victorian era, with those sleeves rolled up to expose his tan arms. His chocolate-brown hair was swept to the side, a few long strands covering his eyes.
I was scared half to death at being caught in my naked state, so I cursed him.
“You brute!” I demanded, with my authoritative voice. “Get out of here. Or I will call the guards.”
My eyes scrambled in all direction of the room, trying to calculate all of the possible exit points, if the man decided to attack me.
The intruder obviously did not obey my command, as in the next second he prowled toward me. I couldn’t do anything as he came closer. I was so scared I started walking backward, until there was no ground left and I was literally flapping my arms about in the air like a wingless turkey. With my mighty flapping, I ended up splashing into the pool below. The water wasn’t deep, so I fell in my disheveled state, floundering about, looking for the white towel that had somehow flown away when I fell into the pool.
I saw the damned towel, floating at some distance away from me. I gave it a curse then remembered that I was still in the presence of the intruder.
Suddenly, violent waves rippled around me and when I looked up again, the intruder was already in front of me, his hand tightly grasping the back of my head in a death-like grip. He pulled my face up to greet his.
Before, I couldn’t see him clearly, what with all the fog of the hot pool obscuring his facial features, but now up this close, this man w
as hot. His eyes were pieced with gold hazel color, like the sun, cutting through all the dark secrets anyone wished to hide. They were full of mirth and a slight hint of evil. Plus, with a straight nose adorning his face, and contemptuous lips, which spoke of arrogance and a haughty behavior, he was the manly hero I liked to read about, the one who would make my heart swoon if I were to meet one in real life. And my heart did swoon. It pounded for that intruder.
“I heard you stupidly hit your head in the bathtub and almost drowned yourself, if not for the maids seeing you in time, your body would have blown up to the size of a whale by now.”
Oh, why does my hero have to have such a bad mouth? The brute.
“You!” I struggled out of his death grip, but he only gripped my head tighter. “You brute. Let me go,” I yelled.
“Hahaha.” The intruder sniggered and held me tighter, pressing his thigh in between my legs. I gasped, feeling an unfamiliar sensation rushing through my body. He moved my face closer, until his nose was grazing my cheek. I watched in alarm when his fingers began the journey down south, making small lingering circles around my breast. I had thought my command from before would be effective in keeping him at bay, but instead we were plastered together like glue.
In my shocked state, I somehow managed to push him off and swam as fast as my legs could take me to the edge of the pool. Having no escape route because the water was starting to get deep, I clung onto the edge of the pool for support.
He gave a lazy laugh and swam toward me at a leisurely pace, as if I were his prey and he could attack me at any time. I felt threatened and frightened. When he got closer, I used my leg in an attempt to kick him. But failed miserably. He caught my legs with both hands, holding them firmly in place. I tried kicking again to loosen his grip, but all I achieved was energy expenditure. By the time my energy ran out, I was still dangling on the edge of the pool, clinging for dear life.
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