Note: You can change font size, font face, and turn on dark mode by clicking the "A" icon tab in the Story Info Box.
You can temporarily switch back to a Classic Literotica® experience during our ongoing public Beta testing. Please consider leaving feedback on issues you experience or suggest improvements.
Click here
"Yes, Oh yes. I'll be on your side," whispered Clara in a rush as she stared hypnotized into his deep blue eyes.
"Do you think, that perhaps you could do me a really big favor and let me know what things? I would hate to be snared into a marriage, where I had no feeling for the person. Wouldn't that be horrible," whispers Ethan to Clara.
"It would be horrible. Of course I'll let you know if they are planning anything to trick you into marriage. It would be my duty and honor to serve you," stated Clara with a fire of righteous passion in her eyes.
"Thank you, that is such a relief for my mind," said Ethan and smiled at her in a loving way.
He could see her swoon a little at his smile. Taking the tip of his finger he leaned forward and traced the outward edge of her plump bottom lip. She gasped in surprise. Leaning forward he placed a gentle kiss on her lips. A mere whisper of two lips touching, but in the fertile minds of maids it might as well have been a passionate embrace. Standing up slowly, he picked up his coat and draped it smartly over the crook of his arm and he made his way towards the library door. Her fingers touched the bottom of her lip as if it were foreign to her.
"Good night, Clara," he whispered and shut the door behind him.
One the door was shut he took off his cravat and draped it over his coat. He leaned against the door for a moment before he headed off to his own suite, smirking to himself at how easy it was. He now had accomplished having a spy for the visiting princesses and all it took was a few honeyed words and something he didn't even consider a token of affection. Not that he thought it was going to be all that hard any way. Almost all the maids had heard the story of Cinderella and thought it could be their own personal story. Ethan knew that he wouldn't ever marry a maid, not matter if she was a princess in disguise. He wasn't sure if he wanted to marry any of them, but if he had to, he would. A prince always needed to be married before he would become king. It was law. If his mother was pushing them to marry, then she must fear for the king's health. Some one has to succeed the throne and to do so a wife must be attainted. As long as the princesses were at least half descent and had all their teeth, it would be the most malleable one of the all he would marry, so that he could go on with his merry way of flipping whatever skirt possessed the most amusement for him.
Chapter Seven
The castle could be seen out of the carriage windows as dawn started to break. It illuminated the castle making it glow and shimmer in the night, like an impossible dream. The sky a brilliant hue of colors made the white wash walls of the castle stand out like a beacon of hope. All the windows seemed to have perfectly painted black shutters and large oaks lined the drive up to the castle. If Violet didn't know any better should say it was storybook perfect, but nothing was ever storybook perfect.
Violet glanced at the picturesque view, hoping that the sight of such a vision would certainly mean they would be getting out of the carriage some time soon. Another sleepless night made her ache all over and it seemed that the closer they got to the castle the achier and more tired she felt. She was beginning to wonder if she was even going to be able to get out of the carriage if it ever came to a stop, since she felt so stiff and brittle.
Her sisters chattered endlessly over the beauty of the castle and how finely it was situated. The all mused that it would be tolerate able place to live and that if they had to they could surely find something to love about such a beautiful looking home. With the turning of each carriage wheel Violet could feel her begin nausea grow. It had been five days stuck in a carriage and she had not yet made an embarrassment of herself by losing the contents of her stomach, but she was not sure if she would be able to prevent such an event from happening today.
It seemed the glancing out of the windows only made the unsettled feeling in her stomach worse. Closing her eyes, she pinched the bridge of her nose, trying to keep the little bit of toast she had for breakfast at bay. Breathing slowly she was able to keep the bile down one more time. It irritated her endlessly that her sisters didn't seem to have the same sort of luck she was having. Not once did any of them complain of not feeling well, or of having butterflies in her stomach or a splitting headache. They all seemed to be well acclimated to traveling. It was almost like they had spent their entire life on the road and didn't have time to feel ill. Violet knew that it was lie. They had hardly ever been in a carriage in their life and none of the sisters with her today had ever been out side of the kingdom.
Closing her eyes, she tried to not think about the jostling of the carriage or the cramped quarters or the rolling of her stomach. She thought peaceful thoughts exploring the library and hoped that there would be lots of books to go through. She had no idea if either of the princes were fond of reading at all, if there were no books for her to get lost in perhaps she could go meandering around the castle gardens. Part of her really didn't care what she did as long as she could get out of the carriage and not get back in it for a long time.. She was pretty sure that if there was a hell, being trapped in this carriage was at least one of the seven circles or perhaps it was the reincarnation of boating down the river Styx. Closing her eyes, she sat back and tried to relax for the millionth time and her sister inadvertently elbowed her in the ribs trying to get a better view of the castle.
Part of the relaxing must of worked because when she opened her eyes next, they were pulling up to the front of the castle and hordes of foot men where line up waiting for the carriage to settle before they descended. Still battling the nausea in the pit of her stomach, she watched as her sisters, primped and preened before the livery opened the doors of the carriage. Violet was amazed at the talent of her sister's talent at the feminine wiles. The feathers on the hats that were once drooping in fatigue were sitting straight up like tulips in a well-manicured garden. The wrinkles in gowns seemed to almost magically disappear and the pallor that had graced the faces of a few of her sisters was suddenly radiating. Violet couldn't believe the change. It was almost as if a miracle had happened to every one in the carriage but her. The nausea in the her stomach made her less worried about her untidy appearance and more worried about making a spectacle of herself by empting the meager contents of her stomach in front of every one.
The doors of the carriage opened, and the bright morning sunshine bore into the carriage, making Violet feel a little less bilious. One by one her sisters gracefully made their departure out of the stifling carriage into the graces of Queen Raz and Prince Ethan. Violet struggled to her feet, feeling stiff and numb from sitting in the same position for so long, she stumbled out of the carriage. Only keeping from falling flat on her face by the deft hand of a footman who caught her elbow before she completely fell forward. Smiling gratefully at the footman, she straightened and took her place beside her sisters, giving Queen Raz and Prince Ethan a small smile as she curtsied.
"Ladies, welcome. It is such a pleasure to have you all here. Unfortunately, much to Prince Collins utter regret, he is not able do join us this beautiful morning to help you settle in. However, weep not fair ladies, because Prince Ethan is more then willing to make up for his brothers impertinence by guiding you to your suites. I hope you don't mind that I paired you up in rooms. I thought it would be too heart breaking to completely separate sisters. " Said the Queen sweetly smiling at them, then without much of a pause she continued.
"I want you all to know that I am excessively pleased to have you here with me for the holiday season. I am hoping to get to know each and every one of you personally, as if you were my own sweet daughters. I will leave today for rest and recuperation and tomorrow we will start getting to know each other. Ethan, if you could please show them to their quarters, I am sure they are all very exhausted from their trip," finished the queen looking straight at Violet as she said that. Violet could feel the heat rise to her face.
"Yes, Mother it would be my pleasure," replied Ethan with a deep bow and a charming smile that showed off the dimples in his chin.
For the first time in what had felt like weeks, Violet smiled a real smile. The smile showed off her pearly white teeth and brightened her whole face. The idea of rest and recuperation sounded like a little slice of heaven to Violet. The queen noticed Violets face brightening up to match the glowing looks of her sisters and chuckled a little to her self, thinking that Ethan's innate charm with women had perked the wilting princess up. She left them in Ethan's capable hands as she made her way to her personal study to return correspondence to various kingdoms and to send a missive telling the King that his daughters had reached her safely and a day early. Glancing back at the crowd she just exited, she saw Ethan go into an over dramatic bow and start sorting out who was who. In all honesty, she wasn't sure whom was whom, she was give a list by the king as to whom he might be sending it, but none of that had been confirmed.
"Ladies, I fear that you have me at a disadvantage, it would seem that you all know who I am, but I am in the awkward position of not knowing who is who? Might I please be so rude and ask for an introduction?" asked Ethan with a charming smile that showed off his white teeth some more and trying to look extremely sincere. Violet wasn't all that impresses, but before Violet could even say a word, Zinnia spoke up in a very clear and authorities voice.
"Rest you mind at ease, I will take mercy on you and not make you guess who is who. I am Zinnia, third youngest princess of our fair land, and by far probably the least shy," said Zinnia with a confident smile, and paused dramatically before she continued. Several of her sisters blushed at her boldness.
"The twins to the right of me are, Rose and Rosemary, my younger sisters and the twins to the left of me are Petunia and Poppy. The one next to Petunia and Poppy is our oldest sister with us, Violet. There are a total of twelve of us, but you are only blessed with seeing only half of us at once. We would fear for you sanity if you were to see all twelve of us at once, because such beauty is overwhelming," teased Zinnia, flashing her own set of pearly white teeth for Ethan to view. A little taken back at such bold talk for a lady so young, he paused before he responded.
"Thank you for you infinite kindness of introduction and concern for my sanity. If you would please follow me, I will show you to your rooms, so that way you can refresh. Afterwards, I will let you explore our grounds. Please take a servant with you before you explore our garden mazes. I wouldn't want any of you lovely ladies to get lost," said Ethan with a smile that didn't quite match his eyes. Rose and Rosemary simpered and blushed in response. Violet followed along just hoping that she would soon get to see the room she was assigned. Laying down for a brief nap before dinner sounded wonderful to her. As she walked a long the horde of footmen that had been unloading the baggage followed behind.
After several twists and turns in the castles corridors that left Violet rather confused, she sat on the edge of the large canopy bed with pretty a yellow quilt that had white roses on it in her suite. Zinnia was puttering around the room, making sure that her hair brushes were straight on the night stand and that all of her clothing was put away in a precise way. Zinnia stopped for a moment to fuss with some lace on a dress she wanted to wear to dinner that night. The dress was a dark sapphire blue and the white lace stood out boldly against the color and was sure to make Zinnia look ravishing. Violet could not help but notice that the lace that was being paired with the dress was the lace that was missing out of Amaryllis's room when she was trying to pack for her honeymoon. Making a fuss over the lace now would not do anything to make co existing with her sister any easier.
Violet was not all that surprised that she had been paired up to share a room with Zinnia. They were the only ones that were not twins. Twins always stayed together. Non-twins always got paired together. Violet sincerely wished that Amaryllis were there to talk to. It wasn't that Violet did not like Zinnia; it was just that their personalities were so different they seemed to clash more often then get along. Zinnia was rather bold and out going and never was one to make her opinion unknown. She often tried to bully her sisters into doing what she wanted and always seemed to have a plan up her sleeve. She very rarely ever saw eye to eye with Violet and most conversations with each other with awkward at best. As to where Violet could spend half her day talking with Amaryllis, the oldest sister. Sharing a room with Zinnia was going to bring a Violet to a new level of patience, because she was sure that they were going to disagree before too long.
Thinking about Amaryllis brought a little pang to her heart. Violet knew that that she was happy that her sister had married some one that she was fond off, but she missed having some one to talk to. Violet probably know more about the curse they were under that had compelled them to dance then any of the sisters, but she hadn't minded the curse all that much because felt closer to her sisters every time they danced. The hard part was explaining to Amaryllis how to break the curse, so that she could be with the Duke that she had fallen in love with. With the dancing stopped, it felt like the sisters were all going their separate ways.
The door to the bedroom shut with a definitive click, bringing Violet out of here reverie. Zinnia had left the suite, most likely to explore the castle, mused Violet. Taking a looking around, she noted for the first time the delicate splendor of the chamber they had been given other then how large the bed was.
Delicate yellow rose wallpaper graced the walls of the room. A sturdy oak amour sat in the corner between the stain glass window and the fireplace with a cheerful little fire in it gave of the bedroom plenty of light. Thick dark green rugs were on the gray stone floors, to prevent the cold from seeping through a persons bare feet in the morning. Two worn but well kept dark green upholstered wingback chairs with little yellow pillows sat in front of the fire with small table poised in the space between the two chairs. A small doorway to the right of the suites entrance, looked like it went into a blue and white powder room. The room gave off an over all feel of being set in a middle of a field and felt very comfortable to Violet, because it was not overtly fancy.
Violet stretched her arms out over her head, trying to get some of the kinks out of her shoulders. She felt some her shoulder and her neck pop a little as she tried to work some of the kinks out of her system. The room was warm with the afternoon sun beating down in the windows, giving little color designs to the carpet. Twisting herself to the side, she cracked her back in a couple of places. Violet the laid flat out on the mattress to see how comfortable it was and quickly fell into a much-needed sleep, missing any and all the summons for dinner.
Chapter Eight
Ethan sat back in the study thinking about the princesses he had been introduced to. It was hard to tell what to think. They were all lovely and charming for the most part. When they came out of the carriage one by one he was impressed with how refined they all looked for spending almost a week on the road. That is except for the last one that looked like she had been trampled on by her sisters, several times along the way.
The golden haired beauties that he was pretty sure the youngest set of twins had tried to fill in him on the details of the entire adventure to the castle and he would have had to listen to, if it had not been time for supper. Supper was an interesting experience. He had never had a private supper with so many females before, after a while they almost all forgot he was in the room and talked rather frankly. That is except for the youngest set of twins. When they were not pouting at something one of the other princesses had said, they would be looking all moony eyed at him.
It was only a little curious that the oldest princess had not joined them for dinner, but the dark haired beauty that he was pretty sure named Zinnia had apologized for absent princesses lack of manners, saying that she was resting in her room and would be down in the morning for breakfast possibly. Then the rest of the princesses started to almost verbally bash their older sister, saying what a drag she was to travel with and how her face had almost always had a perpetually green look it when they were in carriage and how she had tried to hog the seats constantly. Ethan was so far not impressed with the oldest princess at all. Even though he realized that her sisters might not be painting her in a positive light, because they were trying to impress him, he was sure that some of what they said was true about the absent princess. If only a fourth of it was true, he sincerely doubted that she would have the poise and refinement that would be needed to be a queen.
The rest of the meal he listened to his mother subtly grill the princesses on their back ground as the servants refilled wine glasses that seemed to magically empty. Taking a moment to savor the flavor of his meal, he let the perfectly cooked chicken in a brown sauce melt into his mouth. Savory flavors of sage and rosemary tickled his taste buds. Taking a sip of his red wine, the rich fruity taste of the wine pared well with the chicken, finding a sort of harmony among his taste buds. If one was to believe heaven could be found on earth, most likely the castle cook had found it.
Ethan sat back once he had finished sampling all of the food on his plate. Watching his mother at the opposite end of the table made him glad that he wasn't sitting near her. If anything she was in her element. Having the undivided attention of six women of noble blood had the queen positively glowing. The only other time she ever glowed more was when his father was home. That was mostly a rare occurrence to have him home, since he was primary negotiator for the empire. Every now and then he would break away and spend time in the kingdom. Mostly it seemed to be to go over issues with the high court and to check on treasury. Ethan couldn't understand how he could be a good king, if he was never in the kingdom. Things would be different when he became king. The only thing worse then having his father as king would be to have his brother Collin as king. That underdressed buffoon probably couldn't manage his way around the high court any more then he could manage his way with a comb. Ethan had long ago decided that it would be in the kingdoms best interest if he took over. He would guide them into a new age of style and entertainment and make a fortune doing it. Smiling at the princess next to him, Ethan took a large sip out of his wine glass and nodded along to what ever the red haired beauty was prattling on about.
From the shadow of the door way Clara stood and watched Ethan. She could tell that he wasn't even paying attention to what was going on. It made Clara all warm and fuzzy on the inside. If he wasn't interested in any of the pampered beauties in front of him, it meant he was most likely interested in her. After all he had kissed her the night before. Slinking back from the shadows, she went back up the stairs the guest chambers and started to fold down the beds. She was sure that some of the pampered little pet princesses would want to turn in.
