Chapter Seven - Ella

I couldn’t believe I was back at the castle again, this time in a dress I’d borrowed from Gretchen. A dress I was wearing just for Prince Tristan, a dress with nothing underneath. I felt daring in it, bold, sexy. Like someone a prince could be interested it. I didn’t know if it was true, if I was those things, but listening to Tristan’s message several times had given me the best kind of nerves, the excited ones.

I wasn’t sure what I was signing on for, what I was up for. If Tristan wanted to have sex with me tonight, was I ready for that? Was I prepared to have sex with this man I didn’t even know? Would he even want to have sex with me knowing I was a virgin, inexperienced and unconfident? Would I know what to do? Did I even want to? What about Frederick?

I shook all these questions out of my mind and decided to see where the night took me. I was probably ahead of myself. Prince Tristan would probably find me boring after spending more time with me, would probably not even want me. I took a breath and followed a servant to a small room.

“Hello, miss,” a tall woman in a lab coat said when I walked in. The servant walked back out and the woman in the lab coat motioned me to a table.

“What’s going on?” I said although I had a sinking feeling I knew. In Ladorian law, there was a marriage stipulation, an old one that, much like the festival, no one had never thought to change. It stated that only a virgin could marry royalty. I thought, irrationally, of so many nights with my face in my own pillows, desperately pushing my own fingers inside myself, making myself come in the quiet of my bedroom. I wondered if this doctor would be able to tell. I knew that was ridiculous.

“I’m Dr. Teler, and this is a simple and quick test,” the doctor said, pulling out a rod shaped object. “I know this is invasive, but by law, I have to check if you’re a virgin.”

“Okay,” I said, nodding and wanting to get it over with quickly. I spread my legs open wide, embarrassed to not be wearing underwear.

“Ready?” she asked.

I nodded again and winced as I felt the object slide into me. It was cold, but smooth and small. I gulped at the sensation. Dr. Teler left it still for a few seconds, and then pulled it back out slowly, and smiled at me.

“Looks like I don’t even have to lie on the form,” she said, putting the probe into a plastic bag and removing her glove.

“Oh, that’s it?” I said, flushing, not sure if I was glad or mortified the test had known.

“That’s it,” she said, “go on up now, he’s expecting you.”

She started filling out paperwork, and I got up, pulling my dress back down and trying to calm the flush I knew was on my cheeks. A servant was waiting for me outside the door, and I followed him up the stairs and into a beautiful room.

There was a bed and a small table in the middle, with candles and food and Prince Tristan himself, who was smiling broadly at me.

“Ready for dinner?” he asked, getting up to pull out a chair for me.

“Yes,” I said, nodding. His eyes traced my body contours again, lingering even longer than they had the day before. I shuddered and bit my lip.

“You look beautiful,” he said, sitting back down across from me. The servant excused himself, leaving us alone.

“Thank you,” I said, feeling color on my cheeks again.

“Let’s have a toast, to this trial,” Tristan said, raising his glass. I lifted mine too and clinked my glass with his. His gaze made me feel studied and exposed. It made me feel alive.

“To the trial,” I said, bringing the glass back to my mouth and taking a long sip of the sweet wine inside.

“I want to know all about you,” he said, after a long gulp of his own wine.

“About me?” I said. The meat in front of me looked tender, and the sauce smelled delicious. I cut it into small bites, trying to be bold and clever, to make the most of this. “I don’t know how much there is to tell.”

“I doubt that,” he said, “right now all I know is that you’re incredibly sexy. Tell me more.”

“I study law,” I said, and he grinned, beginning to eat his food.

“Smart and beautiful, what else?” he said.

“I live at home, with my mother and younger brother,” I said. “When I was young, I thought I’d be out on my own by now. I wanted to see the world. But I’ve hardly seen much of Ladoria. They needed me at home, so I stayed,” I said, not sure why I was telling him so much.

“Me too,” Tristan said, a wry smile on his stunning features. “I haven’t seen much outside the walls of this castle. Unless I’m sneaking into the village, I never get out.”

“Really? I would have thought--” I stopped and bit my lip. “I would have thought you would have traveled, or gone to school in another kingdom, at least.”

“Private tutors right here,” Tristan said, shaking his head.

“Why?” I asked, honestly curious. I always thought of royalty as well-traveled, seeing distant lands to make peace agreements and blend cultures.

“Security. I’ve been next in line for the throne since the day I was born, and,” Tristan said, stopping to whisper the next bit, leaning close, “years back, there was an heir to the throne who was kidnapped as a baby. The queen did not have any other boys, and Ladoria was nearly ruined.”

“Was the baby ever found?” I asked, wondering why I had never heard this story in school. I had studied the history of Ladoria fairly extensively, so this seemed like something I should have come across.

“The body was,” Tristan said, frowning.

“Oh,” I said, wincing.

“That was how my mother came to inherit the crown. That baby was her brother,” Tristan said. “It has led to a lot of fears. My parents see enemies everywhere. So I was hidden away for most of my life.”

“I had no idea,” I said. He must have been so lonely, being so isolated. I wanted to reach for his hand, but it felt too familiar, too informal, so I took another long gulp of wine instead.

“No one does,” Tristan said, shrugging. The gesture was casual but his eyes were still intense, boring into me.

“So you’ve never left?” I asked. He shook his head slowly.

“Never,” he said, “what about you?”

“No,” I said, smiling a little, “when I was young I used to race. I was really good at it, I was really fast, and I loved it, and I thought maybe one day I’d be a professional and travel the world to compete.”

“Do you still run?” Tristan asked.

“I haven’t in years,” I said. There had been a time when I had thought that if I ran fast enough, I could change my whole life. Now, I was sitting in a palace, across from a prince, a drastic change to my life, but one I had not even asked for.

“You’re not running now. Do you ever want to run away?” Tristan asked. He said it low and loaded like he was talking about more than races. Like he was talking about this, the trial, him, and maybe the things the evening could lead to.

“I think I’m done running,” I said, holding his eyes.

“Good,” he said, a small smile on his lips. I wondered if it was true, if I really was done running, if I was really prepared for everything this conversation might lead to. Looking across the table at him, I thought I was.

We talked more as we ate, Tristan’s eyes still on me, watching me. I told him about my studies, my professors, my mother, and Gretchen. He told me about a favorite tutor of his and what bars he liked to sneak to in the village. The more we talked, the more comfortable I felt with him, with letting my eyes linger on him, on his handsome face, his muscled arms, and his broad shoulders.

After dinner, plates were cleared by servants who moved in a flurry. The whole time I felt Tristan’s eyes on me, more intense than ever. Once we were alone, he stepped toward me.

“Ella,” he said, “is this the dress you’re wearing for me?”

“Yes,” I said, flushing. He stepped even closer, so close we were almost touching. “I thought about this, about you,” I admitted.

“It’s perfect,” he said, “but I think you’ve had it on long enough.”

“Oh,” I said, in a single breath, feeling like there was air caught in my throat. I stepped toward him and nodded. There were a million reasons not to do this, but under his gaze, I couldn’t remember any of them. I was already turned on, and I wanted him to touch me, wanted him to do anything he wanted.

“You don’t have to do anything. There is no one here but us,” Tristan said, putting a hand on my shoulder and playing with the strap of my dress, “but if you want to--”

“Yes,” I said, feeling bold, letting myself be bold. Tristan smiled, and then took the straps of my dress, pulled them down, tugging my dress to the floor.

“You’re so fucking beautiful,” he said, running his hands down my arms before sliding a hand up my ribs, to my breasts. “And tonight, you are going to live your fantasies. Tonight, I am going to make sure you never forget me.”

He put a hand on the small of my back, pulling me toward him and kissing me hard.

Forgetting him was the last thing I was ever going to be able to do.