Elena’s eyes fluttered, and she rubbed them free of the sleep still weighing them down. She twitched as she felt a kink in her neck, and as she stretched to work it out, she noticed she was outdoors. She almost leapt to her feet, and then she saw Jason. Her surprise dissipated and was quickly replaced by panic when she realized she had spent the night with him under the tree. She reached over and shook him by the shoulder.

“Jason, wake up!” Jason groaned and rolled from side to side like he was trying to get comfortable. “Jason!”

“What! What?” he cried, and rubbed his eyes. He started when he saw Elena and looked around him in confusion. “Oh,” he replied casually and rubbed his eyes, like waking up to her in the field was the most natural thing in the world.

“We need to go,” Elena said worriedly, and looked around her with concern. She stood and was busily trying to gather herself when she noticed something moving behind a clump of bushes a stone’s throw away. She trained her eyes and squinted until she recognized the pink dress Charlotte always wore. “Shit,” she muttered.

“What?” he asked as he followed her line of sight. Charlotte stood a few meters away, wearing a scowl that quickly changed to mischief before she balled her fists and walked away.

“No, this isn’t happening,” Elena wailed and clambered to her feet. “I’ve got to go home. My parents must be wondering what happened to me. I didn’t mean to stay out here all night.”

“Calm down for a minute,” Jason replied as soothingly as he could. “It’s not as bad as you’re making it out to be. I’m sure your parents—”

“Not as bad?” she snapped. “That was Charlotte. By midday, the entire village will know I was here with you.”

“So? They already know I chose you. What’s the problem?”

“You don’t get it,” she said as she brushed the dried blades of grass from around her ankles. “You never get it.”

Elena ran away, leaving Jason under the tree with the blanket and the uneaten goodies in the basket. It had been a lovely night, unlike anything she had ever experienced before. But the morning had come with a bitter aftertaste. Her heart beat heavily against her chest as she hurried home, looking around her for any sign of Charlotte. She hoped she would see her so she could tell her nothing had happened. But what would be the point? She wouldn’t believe her anyway.

Her hands grew clammy as anxiety overcame her. Elena crossed the damp, grassy field that led to the kitchen. Her father was sitting in the old iron chair by the steps.

“D-Dad,” she stuttered. “What are you…”

“Where were you?” he asked frankly, pressing his right palm against his right leg.

“I…I… Dad, I’m sorry, but Jason…”

“Jason. Jason—the same Jason you wanted nothing to do with. Did you sleep at his house, because I don’t remember seeing you come in?”

“No,” Elena replied quickly. “I didn’t sleep at his house. He came over when I was in the barn,” she gesticulated, pointing to the places she mentioned. “I was about to come in, and he had this basket and he asked me to have supper with him, and I went and… I didn’t mean to fall asleep.”

“You know, because he chose you does not mean you have to act like this. You’re still a young lady, and I expect more from you.”

“More what? I didn’t do anything. I merely had some food. What’s so wrong with that?” She hated arguing with her father, and the tears stung her eyes as she tried to force them back.

“I thought you didn’t want to have anything to do with him,” he said, stirring the guilt in her.

“I didn’t. I don’t.” She shrugged and wiped her hand down her face. “I don’t know. He isn’t the person I thought he was.”

“He isn’t the person you thought he… you don’t know this man. You begged me to protect you from him, and then you run off and sleep with him.”

“It’s not like that,” she cried, and she couldn’t stop the tears. “I’m sorry, but I must have been tired, and we simply fell asleep. Mom!” she called to her mother as soon as she saw her head stick outside the kitchen door, no doubt wondering about the ruckus outside. Elena was hoping for a little more sympathy from her.

“I don’t know what to say. You are a grown woman now. You need to make good decisions.”

Elena was heartbroken because they didn’t even believe her. She hadn’t slept with Jason—not in that sense and not last night.

“But it was—oh, forget it,” she replied sadly and attempted to go around him. She stood at the entrance to the kitchen as if some force was keeping her out, but it was only her stubborn refusal to deal with anything else that might happen she didn’t want to talk about. She turned robotically and walked to the barn.

She heard whispers as she went, but she was too hurt to care what they were saying. She had disappointed them, but it wasn’t as if she had set out to spend the night with Jason. Or to have had sex with him in the barn. What would they say if they knew about that? She heaved an exasperated sigh, and her shoulders sagged as she visited with the horses. Not even their happy neighing and whinnying were enough to put her in better spirits, and she went about her daily tasks by rote.

She fed and watered the horses and the pigs, and checked the chicken coops. Elena cleaned the watering troughs, raked the barn, and even pruned the vegetable garden. Anyone watching would think she was trying to avoid going inside the house to face her parents. They wouldn’t be wrong.

By the time she was finished, she was sore and it was almost midday. She hadn’t eaten anything since the fruits and sandwiches with Jason, and although her stomach rumbled, she had no appetite for food. She felt adrift at sea, wind-tossed and without bearings. She had no refuge from her sea of emotions—she couldn’t escape to her room because her shame had followed her there; she couldn’t go to Jason because that would cause even more trouble; and she was nervous about going into town. After what Charlotte had seen, she could only imagine how the tongues wagged.

She felt sick, and as the thoughts bombarded her, her stomach twisted inside her and she bent over quickly as nausea flooded her and she hurled onto the grass. She gripped her knees and waited for the feeling to pass. She had pretended to be sick before, and her lies had finally caught up with her. As soon as she felt better, she wiped her hand across her mouth and headed to the house. She was passing through the kitchen when her mother appeared from nowhere.

She handed her a slip of paper. “Your father wants these from the store.”

Elena groaned. “Now?”

“He said you aren’t married yet. You still have a job,” she said, but her voice was more sympathetic. She reached out and caught Elena by the chin. “What’s wrong with you? You look pale.”

Elena wriggled her head from her mother’s hand. “I’m hungry.” She took the piece of paper and headed out.

“I’ll make something for you when you get back,” her mother called after her.

Elena didn’t respond or look back. She was tired, more tired than she had been in quite some time. She could feel the exhaustion seeping under her flesh and into her bones, and she was weighed down by it. By the time she ran into the first person on the street, Mrs. Ray, the farm owner a few houses down the street, she knew something was up. She was always pleasant with her, but she looked at her and quickly away, like they had had a quarrel Elena was oblivious to.

Elena wrinkled her brows, but she ignored the woman. Maybe she was having an off day. But when she ran into Emma, who not only avoided speaking to her but also moved further away from Elena, almost tripping on the curb to get away.

“Emma, what’s wrong?” Elena asked the girl. “Did I do something to you?” Usually, Elena would ignore the village people, but she always maintained civility with Emma and the nicer ones who didn’t go out of their way to put her down.

“No,” she hastily answered. “You’re lucky. I hope he makes you happy.”

“You hope he…what?”

“I have to go.” She hurried past, looking back occasionally to catch glimpses of Elena.

Elena was passing Julianne’s house a few minutes later when the woman, upon seeing her, fled from the porch and hurried to the gate.

“Elena,” she whispered loudly and called her over in a hushed tone like they were conspiring to do something Elena hadn’t discovered.

Elena was taken aback, but, not to be rude, she ventured closer. “Yes?”

“How was it?” she asked, her eyes bright with wonder and her tongue tracing her lips. “I’ve always wanted to know what it would be like to fuck the prince.”

Elena’s eyes almost popped out of her head, and she clamped her hand to her chest. “Where did you hear that?”

“Is it true?”

Elena didn’t know what to say, and she felt her cheeks flush with embarrassment. Without answering Julianne, she stumbled back onto the street, totally aware that the reactions she had received so far were a result of rumors. But what had they heard? Julianne was her best bet to get the exact wording. She hurried back to the woman, who was more than anxious to talk.

“What did you hear?”

“Well,” she began her story, like all gossips did, “Charlotte found you and the prince under that oak tree you always go to. You were naked, like you two had been going at it. As soon as you saw her, you covered yourself and threatened to tell everyone she had slept with him if she said anything.”

Elena felt like throwing up again. “That’s not what happened.”

Julianne looked confused. “You weren’t under the tree?” Like that was the only part that didn’t make sense.

“Yes, I was. But it wasn’t like that.”

“But you did fuck him, right? Please tell me you had the common sense to fuck that man. The things you could have gotten from him,” she uttered, and her eyes glazed at the thought.

“Nothing happened,” Elena retorted and walked back into the street.

“Does that mean I can have him?” Julianne shouted, which drew more attention to her.

“She could at least have waited until she got married first,” two old women whispered to each other as she got close to the store. They turned their noses up and walked away.

Elena had never been quite so self-conscious until that moment. It was hard to ignore a lie, but she had no one to blame but herself. Tears blinded her as she handed the slip of paper to the grocer and he handed her the items. He glowered at her, but she didn’t care. She knew how news spread like wildfire in the village, which was why she kept to herself most of the time. She had been a victim of it before, but not like this. The worst part was she hadn’t even done anything, not last night, anyway. Everyone thought she’d fucked the prince under the oak tree. How could she live that down? It was bad enough she actually did have sex with him, but everyone had their own version of it now.

Jason had brought her nothing but bad luck, and it would serve her better if she stayed away from him. He couldn’t force her to marry him, and if he didn’t want anyone else, he would have to return to the comforts of his castle without a bride. With any luck, she wouldn’t see him again, and the gossip would die as easily as it had started.

As she thought about it, she knew it wouldn’t be any time soon. Like a prisoner to the gallows, the trudged back to the farm amidst stares and rude remarks. She felt like she was making a walk of penance, except at the end of the journey she would not be purged.

How could such a beautiful night turn into a day like this?