One Hundred Refusals (2)

A serialised romantic fantasy novella

Previously...Chapter 1

*the unfinished map

She woke up covered in hot sweat with the morning sun blazing through the gap in the curtains. The day of the feast was a hot one. Scorching sun burned the treetops of the magnificent Blackwood forests, covering most of Hebeny. Though the sun couldn’t break through the emerald-green leaves, the moist heat of the forest was truly unbearable.

Princess Gema of Hebeny was getting ready for yet another hunt for a suitor. Her prey had to be a gullible soul since her bad reputation was well known in the Noble circles. Gema sighed; the poor fool will definitely be ugly. Not a dashing Autumnian prince for sure. Oh, those were the best kissers, but Gema was forced to refused them as well.

“Oh, no need to be discouraged, princess. You still have plenty of time,” a voice full of ridicule hummed near her ear. Ashier! Gema jumped up startled. He had slithered into the chamber through some hole as a snake and turned into a man behind her.

“Very nice,” he noted looking at the princess in the mirror. Her fiery-red silk dress had a low-cut front, revealing as much cleavage as it possibly could.

“Get out of my chamber before I call the guards!” She yelled.

“Save your strength for your suitor. I think it’s going to be a very long and a very hot night.”

Indeed, poor Gemma was hot and sweaty in the heavy gown. Ash traced her neck with his cold finger. Even all this heat could not warm up the cold-blooded Snakeling.

“Or you could end the curse this very moment by accepting my offer.”

“Never!” Gema said spitefully, still she observed their reflection in the mirror. Ash leaned down and kissed her neck. Gema shivered from the touch of his icy lips. The Snake prince turned into a black grass-snake and slithered away.

“I hate you!” she yelled.

Cinnia shower up shortly after.

“What took you so long?!”

“Forgive me, my Lady! I saw a perfect fool among the arriving guests; a Noble man from overseas, who doesn’t know a thing about your reputation,” Cinnia explained.

“Is he handsome?”

Cinnia grimaced and shook her head.

“I thought so…” Gema sighed, “oh, well! Just three left. Let’s hope this one at least has a good breath.”

Oh, Gema could write a whole book about her kissing adventures. The one thing she despised were men with extremely bad breaths.

“I hate pretending to be a passionate lover, when all I want is to vomit,” Gema whined.

“He is not an Autumnian prince, my Lady, but you have refused all of them already,” Cinnia shrugged.

“Alright, Cin! Let’s start the hunt! Show me the man you found.” Gema pushed up her breasts to make them appear even more plump and marched out of the chamber.

Cinnia did not lie, the potential ninety-eighth on their list was a sturdy, bearded man, whose height barely reached Gema’s breasts.

Oh, well, that’s not such a bad thing after all, thought Gema, because the poor man stared at her cleavage right under his nose with a violent appetite. Easy prey!

Gema flashed a victorious grin at Ash observing her. He shook his head suppressing a smile of ridicule.

Laugh all you want, Bastard! This one is eating from the palm of my hand already!

The feast had barely begun, Gema danced with the man, his eyes full of joy looking at her breasts bouncing cheerfully in the rhythmic music.

Gema did not chase her poor prey all the while, she knew the power of keeping her restraint. It also made her appear somewhat virtuous, at least for the sake of her father. King Ulrich sat by the table oblivious to the happy noise surrounding him, staring blankly at the dancers with his eyes clouded by tears.

Gema bowed her head shyly to her possible suitor and went to greet the King.

“Oh, dear father,” she smiled at King Ulrich sympathetically.

“You do look lovely, my dear. But… I’m afraid your mother would greatly disapprove your choice of attire,” he sighed and wiped a teardrop from the corner of his eye.

“I miss her too, father…”

“…every day,” he finished the sentence. Both pressed their foreheads together.

“Do behave, my dear girl, for your mother’s sake.”

Gema hated herself every time she promised father to behave because that was a lie. She knew very well, her next move would be dancing with her prey much closer than she should, whispering in his ear an invitation to the garden and then… well, seduce him with the art of kissing and touching.

Cinnia was sitting on her shoulder, the little birdie chirped in her ear everything that might be useful in the game.

Gema saw the man approaching with a lustful smile all over his round face, she took a deep breath, but… a tall, slender figure dressed in black hurried to slither in front of the bearded man.

“May I have this dance?” Ash bowed and looked into her eyes with the coldest smirk.

She squinted her eyes hatefully, but could not refuse, because her father’s face lit up at the sight of Ash; he was always happy to see his councillor, who had become one of the King’s closest friends.

“Wonderful, Ash! I’m glad to see you here enjoying yourself. I did not expect you to come,” King Ulrich exclaimed.

Gema took a deep breath and bowed approvingly. The court buzzed with bewilderment; what was this Snakeling about to do? All knew - Snakeling men were not to touch a woman if not wed to her!

The dance was a pavane; the dancers would hold hands and march gracefully around each other. Instead, Ashier held his hands locked behind his back, but he did not shy away from coming close each time they were supposed to. Their bodies stopped just a half an inch from each other. So did their lips. Sparks flew from their eyes. It wasn’t a dance; it was a battle. The guests stared in awe - the fire clashed with ice.

The guests had no doubt the Snakeling would go on one knee after the dance. Nothing else could proceed such an open display of desire. Just before the final chords, the doors of the dance hall slammed open, and with the blazing red light of the setting sun, a tall manly figure entered. All eyes tuned to him; a stunning young man, impeccably attired with a short wave of golden hair and eyes black as a hot, starless summer’s night.

Gema noticed deep dislike on Ashier’s face. He turned and disappeared in the crowd.

“Young Lord Valeur of Thilia valley,” the Master of Ceremony declared.

The young Lord marched to the King and bowed, with the guests assessing his every move. He was perfect in every way. Lord Valeur bowed to princess Gema and kissed her hand courteously. Gema had stopped counting how many times her hand had been kissed by men, but this one made her heart skip a beat and butterflies flutter in her stomach. As her eyes followed the young man’s tight buttocks, Cinnia chirped on her shoulder,

“Are we changing the suitor? This one is very handsome indeed.”

“Too handsome, Cin. I don’t want to lose my head.”

“So, the sturdy lord? Oh, what was his name?”

“Yes, the same. Let’s just get on with it,” Gema sighed.

She joined the Sturdy man, as they called him, by the table. They drank wine and the Lord could not stop bragging about his huge fleet and his giant castle, and Gema was not listening, because she caught Lord Valeur looking at her again and again. Of course, she wore the brightest and the most obnoxious gown of all the ladies present. For the first time in these last years, Gema wished her dress would be less revealing… what must he think of me?

She was convinced Lord Valeur would gladly dance with her, but she had to sacrifice each dance to her cause; the Sturdy Lord was obviously quite pleased and nearly ready to propose. He just needed a little taste of the forbidden fruit, to embolden his appetite…

Gema led him to the half-collapsed pavilion deep in the darkest corner of the garden. The roses smelled richly, the daybed was covered in silk and velvet and a lantern was casting soft light on it. Thank you, Cin!

The Sturdy Lord did not stop blubbering about his large realm with the highest towers, but Gema was in a hurry to get rid of him. Maybe she could make it back to the feast just in time to dance with the handsome Lord Valeur, or… maybe not. If he’s a decent man, he would want nothing to do with her. Gema sighed woefully.

Whatever the Sturdy man was saying, Gema pulled him close by his west and kissed him the best she could. It felt like kissing a bucket full of rotten fish. Indeed, he had been feasting on seafood just earlier. Gema released him and ripped her lips from his face. Hideous! She straightened her back and expected a passionate confession of his feelings and a proposal. She did not expect what happened next; the Sturdy Lord pushed her onto the daybed, laid on her with all his weight and forced a kiss upon her, simultaneously ripping open the front of her dress.

Although shorter, he was undoubtedly stronger. Gema couldn’t speak, when not pressing his fat lips on her face, he held her mouth shut with his hand, manically trying to undress himself with the other hand.

“Let go of me! Help! Help!” Gema managed to scream, whilst fighting back.

The man yelled in pain and looked at his shin - a black snake had bitten him. But before he got back to his violent business, Sturdy Lord received a fast blow to the face, and fell off the bed. It was Lord Valeur, who grabbed the bastard and shoved him out of the pavilion, kicking his buttocks.

“And stay away, you dirty swine!”

Lord Voleur’s melodious voice was the loveliest sound Gema had ever heard.

“Are you alright, My Lady?” he rushed to her with his eyes lowered, though Gema had covered her nude breasts with a blanket.

“You saved me, Lord Valeur! Thank you!”

“At your service,” he bowed.

Cinnia appeared near them.

“Oh…” she could only gasp at the sight of the handsome man. Lord Valeur escorted the two women to the castle and alerted the guards to throw the vile Sturdy out of the castle grounds.

“I shall not deprive you from sleep, my Lady. Tomorrow it will all seem like a bad dream, nothing more.” He winked at her with the most charming smile. Gema smiled back speechless; what a man!

“Oh, isn’t he just… change of the suitor, my Lady?” Cinnia chirped excitedly.

“Change of the suitor, Cin, but tonight I don’t want to think about men.”

Gema drank a glass of wine that the courteous Lord Valeur had ordered the servant to bring her and snugged in her blankets.

She woke in the black of the night, crying and covered in cold sweat.

“It was just a bad dream. He will never touch you again,” a familiar voice said.

“What do you want?” Gema yelled at Ash, who had turned up on the side of her bed.

“To see that you’re safe.”

“Why? Don’t fear, your desired prize - my virtue, is still intact!”

“I never wished for that to happen.”

“It’s all your fault!” Gema cried, “why did you have to propose to me?!”

“I admit having been hasty with my proposal. But I came to this court unprepared - the Snakeling court is very different. I was dazzled with all the splendour, the colours and with… you most of all. I had never seen such beauty. For a whole week I could not think about anything else but you. I couldn’t eat or sleep. It was a disease, and I needed a remedy. I am a Snakeling, not some half-wit Fishling, I knew you would refuse me. I hoped it would cure me from you. What I did not expect was your cruel laughter. I would gladly settle for a civil refusal, but no man’s honesty deserves to be ridiculed,” Ash went silent after his confession.

“Rest now, I’ll leave you alone,” he added.

“I don’t want to be alone,” she said, “I’m…scared.”

“Don’t be. Do you… want me to guard you?”

Half-asleep the princess nodded and snugged back into her blanket. She felt the cold touch of his lips on her forehead and fell into a peaceful dream.

Was Ash’s presence also just a dream? Gema could never tell because he never gave himself out. At daytime Ash was his usual cold-blooded self.

“That did not go well. We’re still three suitors short,” Gema said after breakfast in bed. Cinnia smiled.

“Maybe not, my lady. Young Lord Valeur stayed here overnight, and he had a letter to your father from his father, Lord of Thilia valley. I presume he wants to stay in our court for a while,” Cinnia couldn’t hold back her excitement.

“I doubt he’ll want anything to do with me.”

“But yesterday…”

“He was just being courteous, Cin. I don’t believe we should expect a proposal from this one, therefore no matter how handsome, I cannot afford to waste my time on him,” Gema replied and got out of bed. She had merely a month left to find the missing suitors.