Eva was dreadfully bored.
The ball had been much less than what she'd bargained for, and she found herself dancing distractedly with men who she was certain were looking for another notch in their bedpost. She had no intentions to be their sixth or their seventh or their anything, so she kept her head turned to the side while they spoke, staring off into space and wondering if something interesting would happen. By far the most exciting thing that had occurred since she arrived in the kingdom was her run-in with the miller's daughter. Oh, it was delightful to watch the peasant fall. Truthfully, Eva wanted to feel bad about tripping her, but watching her be reprimanded for dirtying her slippers was much too satisfying to regret. She found herself remembering the woman's face, resentful and rebellious, a combination that piqued her interest.
"Are you not enjoying our dance, Your Highness?"
The man who had his hands on her waist spoke up, and she reluctantly turned her attention to him. He wasn't terribly attractive. His face reminded her of a very confused looking dog, what with the way his eyebrows knitted together as if he were pondering an extensional crisis. It made her want to laugh, but she bit her tongue, smiling at him instead and speaking in her best regal tone.
"Oh, I do apologize. I've been so dreadfully distracted all day...if you wouldn't mind, dear sir, I'd like to retire to a table."
He nodded stiffly, his previous welcoming charm evaporating in the face of her rejection.
Oh, but Eva smirked at him, letting him twirl her before she walked away.
She was still so bored.
She did as she said, sitting at a table alone, legs crossing and a drink in her hands. Alcohol always burned, but it was such a sweet sting, and with that thought she downed another glass of wine. A tipsy princess would be a disgrace, and a tipsy princess would cause a scene, but she wasn't sure if she wanted to ruin her reputation her first day in the kingdom. Sighing, she leaned back in her chair, loose tendrils of hair falling out of her eyes as she let her hair fall back.
A hand on her shoulder made her jump, and she briefly wondered if it was the man from before. She sat up straight, twisting around and oh, did her heart pound when she locked eyes with the miller's daughter. She was dressed divinely, all red lips and pinned up hair, with a mask in her hand. She placed a finger to her lips before affixing the mask back on her amused looking face.
"May I have a seat, princess?"
She nearly purred, and Eva was far too stunned to refuse. She gestured to the empty seat beside her, and Cora took it, leaning back in her chair and appraising the princess.
"What brings you here? You're not exactly fit to be at this ball."
At this, Cora chuckled, legs crossing, and the gesture caused her dress to expose her legs. Eva swallowed hard, struggling to ignore the flash of skin as she waited for something rude to fall from the peasant's lips.
"I can do whatever I please, child."
Cora smirked, and the expression was positively wicked. She reminded Eva of the witches from the storybooks she read as a child. Beautiful, soulless creatures, who delighted in the corruption of young, innocent girls—like herself.
She wondered if Cora could do magic.
"I'm surprised you managed to find a dress to wear that wasn't covered in dirt and straw."
Eva smiled, proud of herself for the remark. It was catty, but she was proud in all the ways she shouldn't have been.
"Mm, you'd be surprised of what I'm capable of, dear."
And Cora smiled, a smile that bled with bad intentions. It made Eva shiver, an awful tickling up her spine that made goosebumps rise on the skin of her arms.
"I know you're capable of tripping and ruining my slippers."
She needed to combat the effect the woman was having on her. No peasant would ever be allowed to make her shiver with a delight from hell.
"And you're capable of being a liar."
Cora's smile was so sweet, as if she were offering Eva candy. And if she were, Eva prided herself on knowing better than to take anything the witch had to offer. She wouldn't take her bait, she wouldn't succumb to the seductress act that she was so obviously peddling. And besides, Eva didn't want a woman. Inexperienced lips and clumsy hands in all-girls finishing school didn't mean anything. She needed a man, she needed royalty, and no flash of skin or ample cleavage could sway her.
"I know what you're doing," Eva began, leaning in close to Cora, eyes sparkling with nerve and revelation, "you're trying to seduce me. What's the matter, do princesses get you off?"
Cora laughed, placing a hand over her mouth in a mock-gesture of stifling it. She was laughing at her, and if there was one thing Eva loathed, it was being laughed at. She hated being made a fool of, and that's what she felt now, in the face of Cora's disdain—a fool.
"Best keep your ego in check, pretty princess. I'm not trying to do anything of the sort. I just came here for the free food."
Eva enjoyed playing the victim. It was a nasty habit, but it was as a good a defense mechanism as anything. So, she attempted to look utterly scandalized, as if Cora had been the one to suggest something even remotely inappropriate.
"But let me tell you something," Cora began, leaning in close, her lips mere inches away from Eva's ear, her breath hitting the side of her neck and fuck, it made her heart skip a beat; "if I really wanted you, I would just take you."
Eva opened her mouth to protest—I am not one to be just...taken! But Cora placed a finger to her lips, and it took every ounce of self-control Eva had not to tremble.
"I'd grab you by your little waist," she let her hand grip Eva's thigh, she let her lips brush against her earlobe, "and throw you up against a wall. Oh, I bet you'd moan."
She was right, and Eva admitted it to herself with an all-too obvious twitch of her hips. Cora's voice was the most seductive purr she had ever heard, and she knew the fucking peasant was casting some wicked enchantment over her.
"Maybe I'd kiss you, or maybe I'd just go straight for your neck."
A whimper caught in Eva's throat, and her eyes fluttered shut, and she prayed to god no one was looking at them.
"I'd mark you. How would you like being a peasant's whore, princess?"
Eva could barely stifle the moan that desperately pushed against her lips. Instead, it stuck to her tongue, and she struggled not to notice the way Cora's teeth were nipping at her neck now, or the way her breath was so deliciously hot and sweet.
"Oh, I'd run my hands up your thighs, and my dear princess, I'd kneel for you like I know you want me to. I'd get between those pretty little thighs, and lick your precious royal cunt."
Eva jumped.
As soon as "cunt" dripped from Cora's lips, she was gone, standing beside her now and staring at her with an unreadable expression. All Eva could do was stare, breath coming out in short little puffs, chest heaving and arousal pooling between her legs. She was so frustrated now, and with an internal groan of defeat, she knew exactly what she would be thinking of before bed that night.
"You are much too easy, princess,"
Cora sneered, turning on her heel and leaving Eva with a mess between her thighs.
-fin.