Copyright © 2008 Esmerelda Bishop
All rights reserved, Freya's Bower.
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From his bedchamber window, Prince Henry watched the fair princess walk along the water’s edge. Longing tightened his chest.
Princess Madeline.
His Princess Madeline.
A mere sennight ago she’d arrived in the kingdom—the guest of the king and queen. He knew his parents’ agenda: for him to fall in love. They had succeeded in that. Princess Madeline had stolen his heart the moment she had graced her first smile upon him.
He’d been in hiding ever since.
Unable to view the future that was outside his grasp, Henry turned away from the window. He understood his parents’ pressure, understood that he would one day be king. That one day, he would have to produce an heir. The latter was impossible. No one knew his secret, a dark, deadly secret that he’d carried deep within him for the last five years. One moment of arrogance had cost him his life.
In hindsight, he deserved the punishment, but until meeting Princess Madeline, he had not completely understood the repercussions. He peered through the window. Hair, the color of wheat, cascaded around her tiny waist, the wind gently whipping the blonde strands into the air. Her cerulean gown was made of the finest silk and caressed her body in ways his hands wished to do. She was a vision, a siren who stirred his most primitive instincts. As each day passed, he found it increasingly difficult to stay away. Today being the hardest.
She bent down and trailed her fingers in the sand, leaving winding grooves in the wet earth. His longing intensified. What would it hurt to speak with her?
He could not act on his feelings, but that did not mean a conversation was out of the question. If he stayed aware of his actions, kept an iron-handed control over his emotions, he could get to know the beautiful maiden.
The notion of speaking to the princess lifted the heaviness from his heart.
His decision made, he hurried from the room and down the spiral stone staircase. He burst from the castle; warm, salty air greeted him, and he rushed across the lush green lawn. Yet, the closer he came to the sound of crashing waves, the more nerves churned his stomach.
What was he doing? This was thoughtless.