Beffiting a Queen

Chapter 7: The Black Swan

The entire night was followed by silence and the loud sounds of thunder above the castle grounds. The tension in the room was unbearable and although I was freezing under the shirt I was wearing, I wanted to remove it and do things that would probably make my mother gasp with anger in her grave. Why did this stranger who had never shown me his face keep me so entranced? Maybe it was due that he was the only man to show me kindness or maybe he was the first person I'd ever spent so much time with and I was just projecting my feelings of loneliness on to him.

This night was different though, he didn't look at me the entire night and he wouldn't even allow himself to get close to me. He probably regretted the kiss we shared. He also probably realized I wasn't even worth wasting time with. I wasn't as beautiful as most of the girls in the kingdom and although I grew up hearing about my beauty from my mother, I knew that my mother only saw me that way because she loved me.

How could anyone love a gutter rat like me? While other young ladies would get the opportunity to fall in love, wear beautiful things and have children of their own; I would die alone. The only purpose I had in life was to fulfil my revenge and meet my mother on the other side. Any other fate would be too much to ask for.

For as long as I can remember, I never shed a tear for anything. Back in the asylum the nurses would be shocked when I didn't whimper or cry as they poked and prodded me with needles. For the first time in ages, I felt a cold tear run down my face, the feeling was as painful as when I saw my mother give her last breath. I felt like a small child lost out in the big bad world.

I quickly wiped the tear away and felt two strong arms hug me from behind. He was comforting me and I wanted to break away, but he held on tighter. He could feel my resistance, but he continued to hold me tight. As I wiggled around to his face, I noticed a piece of his hair plopping out from under his mask and cape. It was a silver strand of hair and suddenly a rush of fear swept over me. As I took a closer look at his eyes, I knew I had seen those dark blue eyes before, but I didn't want to face the truth.

This person who seemed to know this castle very well and who hid in the shadows was no ordinary stranger. I had met him before and for whatever reason, he wanted to keep his identity a secret and I more than anyone understood his intentions. I pretended not to notice and gave him a smile. Now I knew more than ever that this relationship could never be.

I pulled away from him and stood up. I held out my hand and thanked him for saving me and told him I had to leave soon and that I would probably never see him again. As I walked towards the tunnel leading to the outside, he stood up pushed me to the side of the concrete wall and began to kiss me. I tried to pushed him away, but my feelings thwarted my plans and gave into the moment. His lips and body felt as though they were telling me that they had been yearning for me all along and I too had felt that way. 

Before I knew it, we were both on the ground with our bare bodies connected to one another. As he removed his mask, I finally confirmed the reality of our situation. My masked savior was prince Adrien and I knew this was wrong, but the way our bodies connected to one another as we lay together made it harder to back away. He cared for me as much as I cared for him and even if this were to be out last night together, I would always remember this night.

His hands feeling every inch of my body sent shivers down my spine. His tongue tasted every inch of my heart and soul and the feeling of his body between my legs made me feel like nothing else mattered. The harder the rain poured outside, the harder our bodies moved. In this moment, I was in love with the feeling of his soft silver hair through my fingers as I held onto his head. His chest on top of mine allowed me to feel the loud sound of his heartbeat and it was so beautiful.

We continued this dance all night as if it were our last. I felt saddened when I thought of this night as something out of  a tragedy novel, but I decided to stop overthinking it and live in the moment. As he gave me my last sweet kiss, his tongue held onto mine as a way of reassuring me that I was his and he was mine. He lay on my chest without saying a word and although I had so many questions, I decided to remain silent.

He assured me that he would tell me everything in due time and that was enough for me. As we heard the rain stop, we gathered our clothing and decided it was time to part ways. As we walked out he held my hand tight the entire way and as we had to go our separate ways, I felt like this was our last goodbye. I would forever remember my beautiful swan like prince who preferred to hangout in the shadows like a black swan hiding from everyone in sight.

I would have enjoyed getting to lay on my bed and get a good nights rest, but it would be sunrise soon and Queen Gwenovere would need me to polish every inch of the castle today and I didn't plan on getting on her bad side. As I heard her call out to me, I got dressed and made myself as presentable as I could. Before I could forget, I had to hide my mother's letters because I would finish reading them tonight. I would finally know the truth about everything.