*Long Chapter*

-William-

William went upstairs to his chamber; the bath was drawn and ready for him as he entered. The water was steaming hot. His cold body longed after the sensation of warm water all over him. As he closed the door, he let out a sigh and got undressed. He struggled somewhat because his fingers were partially numb from the cold. However, they still recalled the feeling of touching Jade's body as he had lifted her. He couldn't control himself when he had reached out to help her out of the carriage. He knew that she could easily just had exited it herself, but he wanted to touch her... He had wanted to feel her close to him without her thinking he was being rude or rough. The way she had looked at him in pure surprise was etched into his mind.

William stepped out of his trousers and underwear. He felt blood rush down to his crotch as his thoughts lingered on Jade. While shaking his head he tried to free himself of the thoughts of her and ran his fingers threw his hair. As he did, he realized it was too long. He had to get it cut...

Those blue eyes... That sharp tongue... His thoughts frustratingly enough found their way back to Jade. William felt himself fill with blood when he failed to think of other things. He lost control over his body. Completely naked, he walked to the tub and got in. The water scolded his skin for a second but he lowered himself into it anyway. The water made him shudder all over as it now reached his jaws. He sat up and leaned against the edge. Slowly, he closed his eyes and fell into the memory of the day he had told his parents about Jade. It wasn't more than a week ago, but it seemed like forever.

A week earlier...

William threw himself off his horse as soon as they entered the courtyard. He left the horses and his belongings to his mother's personal guard ser Thomas to tend to. He couldn't wait to tell his father about Jade, and that her father had finally agreed to give him her hand in marriage.

William ran up the steps towards the entrance of the castle. The guard on duty didn't notice him until William ripped the door open himself and continued towards his father's study.

When he entered the room he could hear his parents fight as they always did. Sometimes, he wondered if they had ever enjoyed each other's company.

"I don't want this whole room full of your damned books, Uldard!" William's mother hissed.

"Where would you like me to keep them? This is my study." His father answered, tired of their argument. "I will not have you fill every room in this castle with flowers and statues. Books have a higher value."

"I will not-"

Both of them became quiet when they felt the presence of someone else in the room. Both of them lit up when they noticed their son.

"My son!" His father exclaimed with a sudden pleased look on his face. He was probably very happy that William had arrived, so he didn't have to quarrel anymore with his wife. "Finally! You have returned!"

"I need to speak to you." William said as he quickly walked up to them. His mother sat down on a chaise lounge close with concern in her eyes. "I will be leaving again, as soon as possible." He added and the concern in his mother's eyes increased.

"What is it?" She asked. "Did something happen while you were away?"

"No." William answered shortly. 

He was surprised that she suddenly seemed to care about whatever problems he might, or might not, have. Mostly when he said something, she sighed at him or said something snide. William didn't know why his mother seemed to dislike him so much... but she did, and she had always treated him like this. However, his mother's biggest concern when it came to him was his appearance and the lack of a future wife. William's mother had made it her personal quest to find him the girl she wanted him to marry. Unfortunately for her, he beat her to it. William smiled as it brought him joy that he had found his wife, without his mother's assistance or meddling.

"Spit it out, boy. I don't have all day!" His father urged him impatiently.

William took a deep breath, feeling a little nervous about telling them. Only one of his parents would be happy for him, and it wasn't his mother. She was looking at him, also urging him to speak, but without words.

"I found the girl I want to marry." He declared. "I want you to accept her when I tell you where she comes from, and what she comes from." He continued. "Because, it will not matter what you think." He said and gave his mother a sharp look. "I have made up my mind and nothing you say will change it." He said the last sentence with a harsh and dark voice.

If he didn't stand his ground, his mother would tear him apart when he told her that the girl wasn't even of noble blood.

"You visited King Sirion as I asked you to in my letters!" His mother exclaimed joyfully and clapped her hands once. Her eyes glistened of happiness. "Which one of his daughters did you choose? It doesn't matter! They are all so beautiful!"

William held up one hand to stop her from saying anything else.

"She is not one of Kings Sirions's daughters." He explained. "It is a girl from two kingdoms away... She is not of royal blood."

William's father's face turned into one of shock. He watched his father's eyes turn to his mother, waiting for her reaction. He looked worried that she was going to explode into a fit of rage, as she always did when she did not get her way. His father's mustache twitched rapidly to each side, twice. William's mother looked like she was going to fall down.

It's a good thing that she is already sitting down... William thought.

"But she is of noble birth, isn't she?" His mother asked in a very low voice. It was almost a whisper, like she was afraid of the answer.

"No." William answered. "No, she isn't, and it doesn't matter."

"Is her father a wealthy man? Does she inherit something from him?" His mother asked and he could hear how she was getting very anxious. This was not what she had in mind for her son. The future King of their kingdom. He already knew how disappointed she would be when he told them the rest, but none of it mattered. All he wanted was Jade.

William hoped that his father would at least be happy for him.

"She will not inherit anything. Her father is a farmer and has nothing for her to inherit." He answered. The panic in his mother's eyes was almost screaming at him. Screaming that he had made the wrong choice and that this girl couldn't become his wife.

"They are... as you would put it: poor."

"You know this is not possible!" His mother hissed. The panic in her eyes turned into anger, as he had predicted. "Tell him, Uldard!" She demanded. "Tell your son that this simply will not happen!"

"What do you want me to say?" His father asked and scoffed at her. "Did you not hear your son? He already said that he had made up his mind. If the boy want's to marry-"

"Tell your son that he cannot, and will not, marry some girl he found on the side of the road on his way home!" His mother raised her voice. "It is not acceptable!" She shrieked.

"It is not up to us, dear." His father answered with an indifferent tone, not caring at all that she was on the verge of going insane. "It is William's choice, as it was mine to marry you..." He continued. "If he wants this girl to be his wife, I don't think it is any of our concern... As long as he marries someone." His father chuckled at the end.

William grinned for a second.

"I am happy that he found someone he wants to spend his life with, I was getting a bit worried that he was making it harder than it needs to be..."

"It wasn't hard when I found her." William stated and they exchanged a look of agreement. He felt relieved that his father took his side in this.

"I know, my son. When you know, you know." His father said and smiled. A broad smile crept up on William's lips... This was actually going to happen. He was going to get his way and marry Jade.

"Go my son. Come back with the girl you have chosen." His father said and waved him off with one hand.

"No!" William's mother screamed, slamming her hands down on the chaise lounge. "The church will not accept it! I WILL NOT ACCEPT IT!"

"The priest you took in sees us all as equals in front of God." William's father muttered and rolled his eyes. "I don't think he will oppose your son's choice." He added with a calm voice. He was far too familiar with her fits of rage, so he didn't give her the attention she craved. "And if the priest doesn't approve, I'll have him replaced."

William tried his very hardest not to laugh out loud at his mother's defeat. 

"I cannot fathom how you can take this so lightly, Uldard!" She sighed in frustration. "Besides, he cannot go. He promised to help you with the upcoming hunt." She reminded her husband and a content grin spread across her lips. William raised an eyebrow at her. If she thought that a hunt would keep him away from Jade, she was sorely mistaken. 

"My dear, our son has found the woman he wants to spend his life with, what is the problem exactly? He has turned down so many girls." He moaned and enunciated the words 'so many'. "You of all should know this, since you were the one bringing most of them here."

William was losing his patience but kept quiet, he wanted to leave. Now. However, his father was doing all the work for him concerning his mother. So, he stayed. 

"And as for the hunt. It will not go anywhere. The girl, however, might. So he will leave, immediately." He said and shot his son a sharp look. "Now."

With that last word, William had left his parents.

-Jade-

After her bath, Jade sat on the edge of the tub, dressed in a robe of silk. One of the girls took her hands and motioned her to stand. The girls then gathered around her and started taking her measurements. One straightened her arms out, the second measured her around her chest and waist. The other two measured her from head to her toe. Jade felt swarmed by hands and fingertips as they worked. The woman watched with a calm expression on her face.

When the girls were done with Jade, they repeated all the measurements to the woman and discussed which dress would fit her the best.

"Give me the black one." The woman said and pouted her lips as she studied it. Two of the girls held it up for her while she examined it. "Hmm... Yes. This will do until the tailors has made her new dresses." 

The black dress was very beautiful and it was decorated with a dark grey shade of lace. The sleeves were long and reached down to her hands and the cleavage were revealing but without being scandalous. Although, the black dress was beautiful, Jade couldn't take her eyes of the green one. Black was such a dark color and she would feel more comfortable in something of a slightly lighter shade.

"What about the green one?" She asked. 

"It is much too big for you, child." The woman chirped. "The black one is the closest to your size."

Suddenly, one of the girls removed Jade's robe at the woman's order. Jade covered herself as best she could, feeling very exposed. What surprised her was that the others in the room didn't even care that she was naked. It seemed perfectly normal to them that she stood there without a thread on her body while they were fully dressed.

Jade didn't have much time to think of the matter because now the girls were approaching her with different garments in their hands. A pair of undergarments were held out close to Jade's feet. She stepped into them. Next, a thin top was pulled overJade's head. After that, a corset was placed around her waist. The woman stood behind her, grabbed the ends of the corset and started tightening it. 

Jade had heard of noble girls fainting due to the tightness of their corsets and felt a bit nervous as she could feel it pressing her torso into a smaller size.

Why do people do this to themselves? She thought and lost her breath. The woman pulled hard on the strings as she laced the corset. Jade inhaled deeply and it would likely be the last deep breath she could draw until the corset came off.

A while later, Jade was almost fully dressed. On her feet she had on black socks, they reached all the way up to her knees. The woman was securing the last knot on Jade's corset and she was actually feeling a little light-headed. It was quite tight.

"That will do!" The woman said and walked around her so she could take a look on Jade's new waist. "Would you look at that! You didn't need that much! You already have a lovely figure." She smiled.

"Then why do I have to wear this?" Jade asked and put her hands on her waist. "It is awfully tight. I can't breathe."

"Every noble or royal woman wears one." The woman replied. Jade tried to turn her upper body but it wasn't possible, she had to turn her whole body if she wanted to move.

This is so stupid. A waist like this isn't normal! She wondered which sane man thought that a girl actually looked like this.

"If you think this is much, you should see how much the queen needs her corset tightened!" One of the girls giggled at Jade. Her snickers quickly died when she received a deadly look from the woman. Jade couldn't resist to grin. At least someone had a sense of humor...

Finally, Jade was ready. She was standing in front of the mirror in the black dress and even though she wasn't wearing the green one, she felt beautiful. The dress was very nice and the needlework was so lovely and well crafted that she couldn't take her eyes off it. The woman combed her hair carefully as Jade studied her dress.

"This dress seems too nice." Jade mumbled. "Are you sure it's not too much for dinner?" She asked nervously.

"No, child. If you have forgotten: you are having dinner with the king and queen. You cannot walk in there in any dress. It has to be perfect!" The woman answered and waved the brush in her hand around in the air. "Now." She said and Jade was seated on a stool. The woman gently started pulling her hair. "What should we do with your hair?" Jade kept silent, she had no idea of how she was supposed to wear her hair. She never thought of that back home. She only thought about how to keep it out of her face as she worked. 

The woman tried different hairstyles on Jade, but she couldn't find one she was happy with. After a while, Jade asked for a simple braid and the woman agreed. Jade's father preferred her in a braid, but she tried to keep him out of her thoughts. Her heart still ached at the thought of her parent's betrayal. 

When Jade was completely done, she was placed in front of the mirror again. Jade didn't recognize the girl in the black dress looking back at her, it was someone else. The dress was so beautiful and it looked like it had been made just for her. Which she quickly remembered that it was... Around her neck there hung a golden necklace. Jade could hear the girls whisper about how she looked, only good things thankfully, and she felt... happy. For a brief moment.

"Thank you..." She whispered to all of them. She turned around to look at the back of her dress.

"There's no need for thanks." The woman said. "Let us see how he likes it when he sees you in real clothes." She said and Jade inhaled nervously. She had forgotten all about William for a moment.

"Is he attending?" She asked. 

Of course he is going to be there when you meet his parents...!

"He is the one who brought you here. Of course he will attend!" The woman laughed warmly. "He has to introduce you to his parents, doesn't he?"

. . .

The woman lead Jade through a corridor, out into a great hall and then continued up a very large staircase. On their way to wherever she was taking Jade, girls studied her and snickered behind her back. Jade figured that they were the servants that had done the same in the courtyard. She blushed and instantly felt uncomfortable.

While the woman led Jade to wherever they were going, she explained that she was Jade's governess and that she could always call on her if she needed or wanted anything. However, what Jade really wanted was to know her name so that she could actually call her by something and make her more... human.

The woman stopped in front of a massive wooden door and knocked on it. "... so you just send a guard or servant for me and I will be there to aid you. Whenever you need my help. I am awake before dawn until late in the evening." The woman said. Jade realized that she hadn't been listening as the sound of the knocking awoke her from her mind. 

"You really don't have to." Jade said shyly. "You should not stay up late for me, if you work so much I feel it would be very rude of me to call on you... The only thing I think I will need help with, is getting the corset off..."

"This is what I do, child. There is no use in arguing with me." The woman answered and Jade could tell that she had offended her. "What would the prince say if I wasn't taking care of you as he is expecting me to do?" Jade didn't answer. It didn't seem to help to object when it came to this woman, so she wasn't going to. 

Suddenly Jade could hear footsteps from the other side of the door. "Can I ask you something?" She turned to her governess.

"Yes, child."

"What is he like?" She asked. A spark was lit within the woman's eyes. However, she didn't get the chance to answer before the door opened. Warm light of burning candles shone on them as a guard opened the door. 

"Now then, in you go." The woman gently shoved Jade into the next room and then exited herself. Jade turned towards the door as it closed. Two guards stood on each side of the door and stared into nothing. Neither of them so much as looked at her. It felt like she was invisible to them. 

Jade turned around and took in the room she had been brought to; it was enormous. Heavy dark blue curtains hung around each window. Jade walked two steps. In the middle of the room stood a long table and at the opposite side of it there was a fireplace. Above it was a portrait of a man that resembled William, but it wasn't him. The man in the painting was older but he shared the same facial features as William. The color of his hair was exactly that of William's, but it had streaks of grey in it and he had a beard. It had to be the king... William's father.

The table was exquisitely set with flowers in different colors, the most beautiful plates and glasses of crystal Jade had ever seen. The cutlery was made of silver and Jade watched the candle light reflect in them. Eight plates were set, and Jade counted how many she thought was going to attend. Something didn't add up when she finished counting. 

Why are there eight plates? Was it not just four people who will be attending? She wondered. Are there others joining? Does William have siblings?  

Out of nowhere, a servant came up to her and showed Jade to her seat. In front of her plate was another and she hoped it wouldn't be William's. She really didn't want to sit this close to him while eating, not after what happened last time they shared a meal together...

Jade heard the sound of another door open and turned towards it. William entered through it and her breath momentarily slipped out of her; He was dressed in a black jacket with matching trousers, perfectly matching Jade's dress. She wondered if it was deliberate or just a coincidence. Either way, he looked truly handsome. His garments excellently revealed how muscular he was beneath them, causing her to bite down on her lower lip. She quickly stopped when she realized that he could see her.

Stop looking at him... She berated herself. Meanwhile, the image of his broad shoulders and impeccable chest was etching itself into her mind. He's handsome at the very least... She thought a bit timidly to herself. Very handsome... Stop it!

When she looked at him, William was already looking directly at her. The normally stoic and emotionless face had a look of surprise and muteness to it. It seemed like he was surprised about her presence. For a couple of seconds his eyes lingered on her. then suddenly, as if he had been hit by something, the expression on his face became one of stone and he looked away. Jade lowered her gaze shyly and felt confused about how he was acting.

Directly after William, a couple entered and Jade knew it had to be his parents. The man resembled the one in the painting above the fireplace. The woman was beautiful, however, her face was strict, like she hadn't smiled in years. Her lips were shaped into an indifferent line and her eyes searched the room. A part of her strict demeanor reminded Jade of William, but ever so slightly. Fortunately, it seemed that William had mostly inherited his father's looks. 

She looks bored... Jade thought and tried to breathe normally. She became more and more nervous with every step the royal family got closer to her. It felt like a pack of wolves coming her way. Ready to devour her at the first sight of weakness. 

As William and his parents walked past the servants they bowed and curtsied before them. Jade realized that she should do the same, but she couldn't move. The queen instantly noticed her lack of respect and a frown appeared in her face. Jade swallowed anxiously, frozen by how intimidating the queen looked. 

When they reached the table, Jade nodded politely at them in an attempt to make up for her mistake. The king gave her a nod back and she could almost see a smirk through his beard, the queen looked like Jade had spit in her face. She obviously expected Jade to curtsy. Nothing less. William said and did nothing but take his place on the opposite side of Jade. His eyes burned holes in her.

Why is he staring so much? She wondered insecurely.

Lastly, four men entered. They weren't as nicely dressed as William but their clothes were still fine. Jade studied the newcomers as they walked to their seats. William's parents then took their seats before everyone else, at the far end of the table. Jade and William sat at the other end. It made her a bit more comfortable since she could feel the queen glare at her with distaste. Why she did still not know... could it only be because she hadn't curtsied?

As the rest sat down, Jade waited a couple of seconds and sat down when she was sure that the king and queen was sitting. William's eyes were fixed on her for every second it took her to sit down and join them. Unlike the queen, his eyes were not filled with distaste. Jade wasn't sure with that his eyes were filled with, but it felt like admiration...

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I hope you liked it! Thank you all for your kind votes and comments! They meant the world to me!

Updated: 21st of September 2020

Love Jenny