The Prince's Brother

It has been a while! Hope you guys enjoy, and happy Halloween :)

****

It was late in the day and the market was busy. Sabina had sold most of her produce, red apples, and was eyeing her final customer with wary suspicion.

The man had conveniently waited until money changed hands before scrutinising the product. "This apple is bruised," he drawled, holding it out to her.

He was middle-aged, with coarse tanned skin and seedy blue eyes. He dressed pretentiously in low-quality clothes with an air of arrogance that suggested Sabina should be flattered by his attention.

Sabina turned the fruit in her hands, ignoring his lecherous stare. The apple was flawless. "You can have your money back."

"You could offer a new price," he smirked.

"I don't haggle," Sabina retorted, disgusted by him. The man wasn't the first to proposition her.

Sabina was wholesomely beautiful, with light-brown hair that fell to her waist and deep blue eyes. She dressed plainly for market, a loose, grey dress that reached close to her neck. Even so, men glanced to the hidden curves of her breasts, as though they might see through the material.

Her customer had done the same, then settled for staring at her face. His lusty admiration turned resentful as she rebuffed him. "I have friends in the region," he leered. "Your business could suffer."

Sabina was unimpressed by the threat. She normally sold out long before closing.

"My name is Irah," the man introduced himself.

Sabina maintained her silent hostility.

"Perhaps if you accompany me after your last sale," Irah added. "I could treat you to a meal at-"

"I thank you, no," Sabina said shortly, dropping his money onto the counter. "You were my last sale."

Irah gripped the basket before she could withdraw it. "I purchased this."

"You can keep the apples for the price agreed, or return them for your money," Sabina shot back. "Either way, I won't bed you, Irah."

Irah seized the front of Sabina's grey dress, half dragging her across the small counter. "Do I look like a man to be refused?"

"Did you just call yourself a man?" she sneered.

Furious, Irah went to slap her, and a terrible pain shot up his arm. He flinched, glaring up at the newcomer before turning pale. "W-Who are you?"

Standing a full head taller than Irah, the newcomer wore an impressive black uniform. Sabina did not know the markings, but they were distinctively military and not low-ranking.

The stranger was also quite handsome, despite his foreboding face, with shoulder-length blonde hair secured in a tie and intelligent, dark brown eyes. "What is your name?" he asked in a tone that made Sabina step back.

"I-Irah Samuels," Irah stuttered.

The man leaned close. "Get out of here."

"Y-Yes, my Lord," Irah nodded, standing transfixed by the other man's glare, nodding a few seconds longer before remembering to leave.

"Thank you," Sabina said, straightening the ruffled front of her dress.

About to speak, the man turned with surprise when someone pushed into him.

"Sabina, I'm sorry," wheezed Graham, another stall owner who had sprinted from across the path. "I saw that brute. Did he hurt you?"

"She is fine," the stranger said impatiently.

"Sabina?" Graham queried.

Sabina pulled herself together. "I'm fine, thank you, Graham," she smiled. "Go back before your goods are stolen."

They watched Graham navigate his way, then the visitor turned to Sabrina, his eyes touching on the display apples artfully arranged across the bench, before settling on her face. "What have you left?"

"What?" Sabina said stupidly, before realising what he meant. "Two baskets," she said. "With one apple apparently blemished," she muttered sarcastically.

"Apparently?" the man echoed, humour softening his face. "I'll take both baskets." Without asking the price, he held out a thick, gold coin.

Sabina paused with surprise, then shook her head at the large piece. Gold and silver were rarely used at market.

"That is too much, my Lord. Have you anything smaller?"

"You're concerned about being overpaid?" he mused, still offering the gold. "Singular."

"I only engage in honest dealings," she said pointedly.

The man considered her a moment, then swapped the gold for two silver pieces. "Will this suffice?"

Sabina looked discomfited, and the man took away one silver piece.

"What about now?" he grinned.

"It still surpasses their value," Sabina said, taken aback by the way he was smiling at her. "But I'll accept it."

The last thing she needed was for her mother to find out she bargained a better deal for the customer.

"Your village fares well during the All Hallow's Eve season," the man said conversationally, glancing around the bustling market, his face severe again.

Sabina smiled sceptically. "The same as any other. I don't heed myth."

"It is not the same as any other," the man said, his stern gaze directed at her. "The Black Eve is two nights away. Don't go out in the evening."

Sabina indignantly opened her mouth, then took notice of his rich attire and changed her mind. Knowing her luck, he was probably related to the King, and she didn't need that kind of trouble.

"As my Lord says," she shrugged.

The man observed her pout with a smile. He inclined his head, then walked off with the apple baskets.

After watching his tall figure vanish into the crowd, Sabina began to gather up the scattered display apples, stacking them into a smaller basket. Turning, she came face to face with Corbett.

Of a stocky build, blonde hair and green eyes, Corbett was passably handsome and utterly full of himself. From a wealthy family, he'd pursued Sabina since her beauty caught his eye. She evaded him whenever possible.

"Corbett," Sabina said with dismay.

Corbett was usually impeccably dressed, but today was sweating and panting with less dignity than usual, as if he'd run a long distance.

"Sabina," he panted, nodding since he was too close to bow. "I've just come from your mother's house."

"My mother?" Sabina frowned.

"Yes, my parents are still with her."

Sabina felt suddenly sick. "Y-Your parents?"

"I thought to tell you myself that we're to be married."

Sabina turned away. It was no secret Corbett wanted her, but she never considered him a real threat. His parents would never allow such a low match, so she'd thought.

"I'm not eligible for you," she said uncomfortably.

"My parents were of the same mind," Corbet said, waving a hand. "But that was before I explained you are educated. More importantly, they didn't know your great uncle on your father's side was an Earl, and-."

"How do you know that?"

Corbett's chest puffed triumphantly. "I knew your features were more regal than your status, so I inquired into your heritage. My parents are satisfied you're of respectable blood, and when they saw you-"

"You inquired...? W-When did they see me?" Sabina choked. Corbett's parents kept to opulent settings, and she couldn't imagine where she might have encountered them.

Corbett laughed. "You're here every second Sunday to sell fruit. They observed for themselves; mother has a keen eye for good lineage. I knew if I could convince them to see you, they would agree."

He resumed in a more intimate tone. "You are unusually pretty Sabina. My parents are very partial to comely grandchildren."

Alarmed, Sabina was having difficulty holding her basket. "Corbett, I must...I must speak with my mother before anything is decided."

"But it's not your decision," Corbett said, confused. "You'd never find a better match. Your mother is delighted."

Sabina stared at him.

"Shall I accompany you home?" he continued. "I will carry your basket. It's better people see us together more often if we are to be..." he frowned, lightly tugging the basket that Sabina refused to release. "Sabina?"

"I have to pack up my stall," she said tersely, looking around her.

"You never pack up the stall," Corbett countered. "Though when we're married, you won't work at the market. Mother says it's a servant's occupation."

"How do you know I don't pack up my stall?" Sabina demanded.

"I watch you, obviously," he said, as though it was a perfectly normal thing to do.

Sabina put her basket down and took a moment to compose herself before looking directly at him. "Corbett, I cannot marry you."

"What?"

"I..." Sabina wildly thought for a good excuse. There would be a terrible uproar if she pretended to have the plague. "I don't care for you, at all."

Corbett gaped at her, then recovered. "That is of no consequence," he said stiffly. "I must say, you're being very rude."

"Please leave me alone." Dismissing him, Sabina began to tidy the stall.

Corbett glared, until he was bumped by an irate fisherman. He exchanged heated words with the man then stalked off, wanting to avoid a humiliating public scene. Seeing him go, Sabina sighed with relief.

A half hour later she checked the area was clear before leaving. She went the long way home and was almost there when Corbett stepped out from behind a tree.

"I thought you might take this path," he said. "I've decided it was wrong to surprise you unceremoniously. I should have taken you somewhere nice, and-"

"No, Corbett," Sabina interrupted. "I'm sorry for not expressing myself more delicately, but I don't want to marry you."

"Why the Hell not?" Corbett snapped, his anger returning. "You'll displease my parents with this behaviour, and it would only be more unpleasant when you come to live with us."

A horrible chill went up Sabina's spine at the nightmarish idea of living with Corbett and his uppity family. "Corbett, you must leave me alone," she said with more force. "I won't marry you."

"You will," Corbett argued. "Your mother said you will. She said you might not be as eager as I'd like but that with time, you'll appreciate your good fortune." He paused and uncomfortably ran a hand through his blonde hair. "I should hate to see you forced to the altar, Sabina."

Infuriated, Sabina tried to pass him. When Corbett grabbed her arm she cried out, dropping the basket. The display apples spilled everywhere.

"Sabina!" Corbett chastised, as though she were childish. He picked up her basket and began to gather the rolling fruit.

Sabina fled home, hearing him call after her and not stopping until she was through the front door.

Corbett's parents were long gone, obviously not wanting to linger in an inferior dwelling. Sabina leaned against the door and let her emotions out, sobbing hysterically for a few minutes before catching her breath, pressing a fist to her mouth until she was calmed.

Dropping the money bag on her mother's desk as usual, she went straight upstairs to her room. Minutes later, her mother, Teyla, answered the door to Corbett.

Sabina's relationship with her mother was always strained. They had little in common and avoided spending time together whenever possible. Lately, Sabina was distinctly aware of her mother scheming to marry her off to a suitor.

Teyla's shrill voice burst through the floorboards. "Sabina! Come and see Corbett!"

"No!" Sabrina rudely shouted back.

An embarrassing silence followed, before her mother resumed speaking to Corbett in quiet, oily words that Sabina strained to hear but couldn't decipher. Then Corbett left, his whistling carried down the street like an ominous omen.

The bedroom door banged open, and Teyla stamped in. She was a short, fat woman with dull brown hair. Teyla's deep blue eyes were her only likeness to Sabina. Everything else Sabina had inherited from her father's lighter, comely features.

Sabina's father had been related to an Earl, was remarkably handsome and tragically disowned when he fancied himself in love with Teyla, who was more fetching in her youth. He disappeared before Sabina could remember him.

"What is wrong with you?" Teyla snapped. "Mistreating that handsome lad-"

"If he's so handsome, why don't you marry him?" Sabina said angrily.

Teyla reared up indignantly in what Sabina knew was the beginning of a horrible debate. The heated argument quickly budded into a screaming match, which ended when Teyla stormed out and locked the door.

Sabina skipped dinner and slept terribly. When the sun poured through her room, she groaned into her pillow, dismally pondering the chances that Corbett's parents would change their mind about her. Perhaps if she dressed like a hag and blackened her front teeth with coal...

"Sabina?" Teyla called from the doorway, her hands clasped in front of her, suspiciously amiable. "I've made breakfast."

Sabina followed her mother downstairs, wondering what ploy Teyla would try next. They were halfway through the meal when Teyla broached the topic on their minds.

"Sabina, you are far too pretty to die an old maid," she reasoned. "And a match like Corbett won't come again."

"I'd not realised you had propositioned every eligible suitor in town," Sabina retorted, unable to help herself.

"Fine," Teyla flatly conceded. "It is unlikely a suitor with Corbett's wealth will offer for you."

"And why should I marry for money?" Sabina challenged. "We are not peasants, mother, and it's too late to pretend you want grandchildren." She shrewdly met Teyla's eyes. "That is, unless you have designs upon exotic silks and diamond trinkets."

Teyla broke gaze, her cheeks reddened. "I won't force you to marry him," she said. "But at least consider the match. If you promise to spend time with Corbett and still find him distasteful after a month, well..." she tilted her head. "The wedding can be cancelled."

Sabina focused on her bread.

"You dismissed Corbet outright," Teyla added. "At least consider you might develop feelings for him."

"And if I don't, then I won't have to marry him?" Sabina slowly clarified, looking up.

"Yes, that's right," her mother nodded, stuffing a large piece of bread into her mouth.

Sabina forced her features to relax. "I can agree to that," she said, understanding the precarious truce.

It was clear Teyla never quite recovered from her shattered dream of marrying into a rich family. Sabina knew the proposal was just a temporary ruse to keep her obedient until the ceremony, at which point she would be forced to the altar.

Sabina could feign compliance. She needed the time to plan without being suspected. If she voiced strong objections, she wouldn't put it past her mother to lock her up until the ceremony.

Corbett's family would be unaffected by the minor issue of her consent. She was pretty and not a peasant; that was all they cared about.

Sabina calmly reached for another slice of bread. "Corbett's proposal took me by surprise," she said honestly. "I could relax more in his company knowing there is no pressure."

As anticipated, her mother's eyes gleamed with satisfaction.

***

Two days later, Sabina walked awkwardly alongside Corbett, both on opposite edges of the long dirt path. It was a quiet afternoon, and Sabina was uncomfortably aware that Corbett had deliberately chosen an isolated route.

"I saw your mother's fruit at market," Corbett said finally, to break the silence. "I wondered if you would be there, but it is more respectable that a servant continues the trade. Father says your mother's apples are the finest in this region."

Sabina's stomach was in knots, and the topic of her hateful mother didn't help. "Her trees respond well to the season," was all she could think to say.

Corbett cast her an annoyed glance. "How am I to know you better, when you won't speak with me?"

"I do speak," Sabina said defensively, knowing exactly what he meant.

"We're to be married soon. I would have authority to encourage compliancy from you then, I suppose," Corbett said dismissively.

Sabina bit her lip and focused on the foliage by the path, a gorgeous green. Like her mother's apple tree. She recently fantasied about hanging her mother from it.

Corbett laughed at Sabina's troubled silence and took her hand. "I have always admired you. I am very happy you accepted my offer."

Anger churned through Sabina, but she refrained from contradicting him. "You once waited by the road to pelt me with tomatoes-"

"I was a child," Corbett said, laughing again. "A stupid little boy with no idea how lovely you would become." He observed her glum demeanour. "I'm a grown man now. I would never throw anything at you."

He'll do much worse. Sabina wanted to free her hand.

Corbett looked up and down the road. "It will be dark soon."

"We should go back," Sabina said as the sun slowly lowered to the horizon. "We shouldn't be out after dark in... this... season."

"Oh, the perils of All Hallows Eve!" Corbett rolled his eyes. "Idiots are murdered or disappear on every other night, Black Eve makes no difference. I'm surprised you give weight to such flights of fancy. But then again, you are a girl," he mused, as though this aspect excused an unfortunate flaw.

"It is engraved on the town hall square," Sabina irritably countered. "The decision to warn was made by men, the engraving completed by a man."

"Probably to allay the fears of scared little girls," Corbett smirked.

Sabina glared at him.

"You're not really afraid, are you?" Corbett asked, suddenly serious as he watched her mouth. "Afraid of ghouls? No one will miss us. We've hardly spent time together."

"Some believe the rumours!" she insisted, more afraid of the threat in front of her than any ghoul.

"Your cheeks have turned a pretty colour," Corbett smiled, tracing the glowing skin with one finger.

Sabina jerked her head and tried to free her hand. "Corbett! We have to go back!"

"Not yet," he said softly, stepping forward until she was backed up against a tree. "I want to know you better. You should be flattered your beauty is so tempting."

Sabina began to panic as he closed in. "Corbett! Stop!"

"Why?" he muttered, his fingers creeping up her neck and into her soft hair. "No one will see us. And there's no shame or scandal since we're to be married. Why should I wait? You're so beautiful, Sab-"

Sabina slapped him, hard, and pushed his chest. Corbett stumbled back with surprise, touching his face where the blow landed.

"D-Did you just hit me?" he said incredulously.

"I said to leave me alone!" Sabina cried, running away. This time, Corbett caught her easily.

They fell on the path together. Corbett quickly gained control and straddled her. Sabina yelped when he seized her wrists in a painful grip and pinned them to the ground.

"I tried to do this the way father said," Corbett huffed, staring at Sabina's heaving chest, her comely face. "But the truth is you need to be taught a lesson, Sabina. I know just the way to..."

"I'm sorry!" she begged in a rush. "Corbett, I'm sorry. Please, let me up. I was just scared, that's all. I thought you wanted to hurt me."

Corbett considered her. "A wife never strikes her husband, Sabina."

"We-We're not married yet," Sabina gulped, desperate to appease him. "Please, let me up. You're hurting me, Corbett. I'm sorry. Please. I want to like you, Corbett. I don't want to be afraid of you. I want to be a pleasing wife and I can't be if I'm scared of you."

Corbet considered her plea, obviously swayed by the idea Sabina might be less difficult when they married. Touching her, being on top of her, was very exciting. And if she could be willing whenever he wanted...

"Very well," he allowed, helping Sabina to her feet. He dusted her skirt, his fingers digging into the material, tracing the shape of her leg.

Voices and collective footsteps approached from the distance, and Corbett quickly pulled Sabina off the path to hide behind a large hedge.

They waited tensely.

"Who is it?" Sabina whispered nervously. "Are they dangerous?"