This story is getting more attention than I could've ever dreamed of. Thanks a lot!
Due to a family emergency, chapters will most likely take a little longer to pump out and will be (slightly) shorter than what they normally are.
Here's the next chapter!
Judy slowly paced out from her bedroom and onto her private balcony, letting the crisp night air and the chilled marble floor cool her overheated body. It was nearing midnight, yet sleep still avoided her. All because of a certain fox who she couldn't keep out of her thoughts...
It had only been two days since her father and the Emperor informed her that they wished for her to marry Nicholas Wilde. The Nicholas Wilde. The most chivalrous mammal on this side of the River Rhine! No matter what she did, she simply couldn't stop thinking about him. She wasn't tired at all from her sleepless nights - just excited! What was Prince Wilde like? How much taller was he than her? Was he as kind as the stories said he was? Did he already have a wife? Was he her age?
These questions remained unanswered, though. Neither her father nor the Emperor had the time to discuss her marriage, and all other foxes who could speak the common tongue and who personally knew her groom were too busy micro-managing the palace and capital or preparing the throne room for the feast which was being held tonight. So, with her apparent isolation in mind, she had decided that instead of waiting around for someone to answer her questions she would instead figure them out for herself once her groom arrived.
Judy finally stopped walking when she reached the edge of her balcony, resting her arms on the elaborately carved stone railing that ran around the edge of the terrace and that ensured that she wouldn't plummet the fifty feet between her balcony and the grassy courtyard below. She let loose a bored sigh as her gaze swooped over the battlements and walls surrounding the palace and eventually rested on a small gateway between two of the giant towers.
Theoretically Prince Wilde was supposed to have arrived at the palace today. Hence why a feast in honor of his and her union was being thrown by their fathers and half the nobility from the Empire and the Burrows as she spoke. But much to her disappointment no word had come through about his arrival, and only a few hours before the feast was to begin a messenger had met with her as she strolled around the palace's gardens and apologized that the Prince wouldn't be arriving until tomorrow morning. She had been greatly looking forward to meeting him this evening, and his absence only spurred her away from the drinking and political discussions which she was positive would eventually envelope the feast and which she had no desire to become embroiled in alone.
So here she was, waiting for one more sleepless night until her questions and anxious mind would finally be put to rest. She stared, bored, at the moon as it continued its ascent over the wide valley which she and a half million rabbits like her called her home and let loose a disappointed sigh.
She couldn't wait one more night to meet her prince. She wanted him here, now.
As if on cue, the low-pitched sound of another mammal sighing interrupted Judy's thoughts and her ears perked up from behind her head as she realized how close to her the sound had come from. She whirled around to look at the wide doorway which led into her bedroom, but no mammal was standing in it, nor was any mammal in her fireplace-lit bedroom. She turned back to the night sky and searched the walls close to her balcony for any mammal who could've made the sound, but the only mammals she could see were a small patrol of foxes who were too far away for even her and her excellent sense of hearing to hear. The sound must've come from somewhere below her...
Judy peered over the edge of the balcony and scanned the grassy clearing below for any mammals, yet there were still none to be found. But out the corner of her vision she caught the flick of a bright orange tail. As soon as it appeared it disappeared, though, and she swiftly moved around the perimeter of the balcony, leaning over the edge as she tried to find where the tail had gone. Once she rounded the corner she finally found the mammal she was looking for, and her eyes widened as she stared at him.
The fox was standing on a balcony much smaller than hers that was part of one of the many guest suites reserved for the palace's more noble guests. But judging by his appearance, the fox didn't seem noble at all. He was shirtless, only wearing a simple pair of black pants with a thin, green band around the top, and he looked bored and weary as he stood hunched over, resting both his arms on the rabbit-sized stone railing that ran around the perimeter of his terrace with his eyes locked onto the moon as it slowly ascended higher and higher into the night sky. He looked well-built, almost like a veteran, and Judy couldn't help but stare at his bulky chest and large arms. She didn't know foxes could become that muscular. Actually, she didn't know much about foxes, period.
This is exactly what I need! She eagerly thought, a plan quickly forming in her head. I can't just walk in and meet Prince Wilde without knowing anything about his species except for the rumors and reports I've overheard my brothers and their subordinates speaking about. This could be my only chance to find out what a fox is like before tomorrow! In addition, the fox down there could shed some light on what the Prince is like!
Judy smiled and slowly climbed on top of her balcony's railing. She knew exactly what she had to do.
"Good evening, my lord!" She politely called with a courteous bow of her head as she continued to stare down at the fox at least a floor below her. The fox's eyes widened at her greeting and he turned back to stare at his darkened doorway, just like she had done only a few moments prior. She couldn't help but giggle as the fox became almost frantic when he continued his search for her by leaning over the edge of his balcony and scanning the grassy clearing below.
"Above you, my lord!" Judy called out again, stifling a chuckle. The fox turned his eyes upward, and when he finally caught sight of her he straightened himself and bowed, one of his paws behind his back while his other moved to rest on his chest.
"Good evening, my lady," He greeted, his stunningly green eyes never breaking away from hers. "A little late for a rabbit like you to be talking to a fox, isn't it?"
Judy caught a twinge of sarcasm in the fox's voice and sent him a stubborn smile. She had heard that foxes could be quite sarcastic with foreigners, and it appeared that this fox was sticking to that stereotype.
"I can talk to whoever I want, whenever I want, my lord," She humorously responded, lowering herself to sit on her balcony's stone railing with her feet perilously dangling in the air.
"I wish to speak to you about urgent matters, if you will permit me to," She politely informed as she scooted closer and closer to the edge of the railing, her breaths becoming shaky. "I hope that you catch me, my lord, else I'll fall to my death."
The fox's eyes grew large as he continued to stare up at her, and he raised his arms up and waved both his paws at her in protest.
"My lady," He began, his voice filled with wariness. "It isn't safe for you t-"
Judy ignored the fox, cutting his warning short by moving her rear off the edge of the railing and letting herself fall from her balcony. The cool, midnight air whirled around her for several seconds and her vision blurred as her heartbeats became heavier and heavier. But almost as soon as she fell from the balcony the turbulent air around her calmed was back on solid ground again.
The fox had caught her mid-air a few feet above the stone floor of his own balcony, both of his paws curled around her chest and the white, long-sleeved blouse she was wearing. He was staring up at her with a small smile and a wary but witty gaze.
"You rabbits are much lighter than I expected," The fox casually joked as he gently placed her beside him and returned to rest his arms on the railing and stare up at the moon. Judy smirked at his comment and turned with him, resting both her paws on the balcony's stone railing as she continued to stare up at his face. It had so many edges and curves and points! She would have to be careful around Prince Wilde if she didn't want to have her eyes pecked out by his muzzle.
"Well, my lady, you wish to talk? " The fox rhetorically asked without turning towards her, a courteous smile forming on his face. Judy turned her gaze up to his eyes, which she hadn't realized were looking in her direction. She quickly turned away from him, her face becoming hot and her ears falling behind her head in embarrassment. Staring straight at the fox's face without uttering a word would send him the completely wrong message. She had no intention to lead him on!
"I do, my lord," She politely answered, the embarrassment in her dying down as she turned to stare up at the ever darkening night sky. "I am hoping you could shed some light on your kind. You see, I am to be married to a fox soon, and it unsettles me that I know so little about his species."
The fox's eyes darted away from the sprawling canvas of black, a surprised expression on his face. Judy met his curious gaze with her own wary one, focusing in on his piercing eyes.
"Princess Hopps?" The fox asked in bewilderment, leaning in to study her face, and Judy carefully nodded. When his eyes stopped flying from one corner of her face to the other his gaze warmed and his eyes came to a rest on hers, a respectful grin emerging onto his face.
"Prince Wilde is lucky to be marrying you," He commented, turning back to watch the night sky. Judy's eyes widened at the mention of her groom, and her paws moved to tightly grip the edge of the railing.
"You know Prince Wilde?" She eagerly questioned, her ears perking up and her eyes suddenly alight with excitement. The fox nodded without turning toward her, his stunningly green eyes still stuck to the moon.
"He is a very close friend of mine," The fox explained, tilting his head in her direction and locking eyes with her as a sarcastic smile came onto his face. "You could say we've been best friends since birth."
Judy's mind became filled with questions at his mysterious answer. She could feel herself beginning to bounce up and down in a fit of sheer eagerness. This was exactly what she wanted! Not wanted - needed! But what question to ask first? Oh, so many choices! Should she leap straight in and ask about her groom's habits? Or should she be polite and first inquire about him in general? Maybe she could even ask about his career in the army! She couldn't decide!
The fox next to her lightly chuckled at her indecisiveness and looked back to the sky, and Judy calmed herself and turned back to study the awesome sight as well, an apologetic gaze coming onto her face and her mouth clenching shut.
"I'm sorry, my lord," She apologized, looking at the fox out of the corner of her eye. "That was very unladylike of me."
"It is of no concern, my lady," The fox chuckled in understanding. "I would be just as eager as you if I were marrying the Prince!"
Judy couldn't help but grin in amusement at his witty comparison. This fox was quite a lady's man! It wasn't like she was falling in love with him or anything, but it was good to talk to someone who wasn't always strict and who didn't talk down to her. Maybe they would become good friends once she married the Prince...
But a troubled thought popped up inside her head, and her nose twitched at her ignorance. Here she was, talking to a fox who was quickly becoming her friend but of whom she didn't even know the name of! How very impolite of her!
"May I know your name, my lord?" She asked, turning towards the fox with a sincere expression in an attempt to correct her mistake. The fox continued to stare at the moon in silence, slowly rocking back and forth on his feet as his tail minutely twitched.
"Piberius," He eventually answered. "You may call me Piberius, my lady."
Judy bent legs and bowed her head to the fox, lifting her white gown out to her side with one of her paws while the other remained on the balcony's railing.
"It is an honor to make your acquaintance, my lord Piberius," She politely said, and a glowing, almost humorous smile came onto the fox's face.
"May I know more about you, my lord?" She asked, turning back to the night sky, and Piberius gave a small nod.
"Of course, my lady," He answered, his nose beginning to twitch as if he was deep in thought. "There isn't much to tell, though. As you can well see, I am a fox, and I serve the Empire as one of the Emperor's many marshals. For my entire life I've been under his instruction, and in that time I've seen a great many of the burrows. However, if you must know the truth, I have never visited any burrow in a time of peace, although I am hoping that will change in the months to come."
Piberius turned towards her, his arms folding over one another as he continued to lean against the balcony's railing, and locked his gaze with hers.
"But that is enough of me," He finished, smiling. "I am not the fox you came to learn about tonight. Tell me, my lady, what do you already know of Prince Wilde?"
"Not much, I must confess," Judy answered, her ears falling behind her head in disappointment. "I've heard many stories about his campaigns in the burrows and many more about his chivalry and compassion he has shown to those he has captured, and I am also aware that he has never taken a life in the heat of battle, but I know next to nothing about his character away from the battle."
"And what do you want his character to be, my lady?" Piberius asked, turning back to the night sky as his eyes scanned the stars with interest. Judy stared up at the fox, reluctance taking over her mind and body. Piberius's question was incredibly personal - far too personal for a lady like her to answer. It was almost uncouth! Would she truly reveal what she hopefully dreamed about the Prince's character to be to a fox she hadn't even known for a night?
Piberius turned toward her again, a curious expression on his face. All Judy could do was stare breathlessly at it - there was something important about it that she couldn't put her finger on yet was influencing her nonetheless. It was filled with such care and warmth, as if they had been friends for a great number of years and he was gently nudging an answer out of her. His whole demeanor just seemed so very trustworthy. If she was going to tell anyone about what she wanted in the Prince, then it would have to be this fox.
"I wish for him to be kind and fair in rule," She truthfully began, finally succumbing to the spell cast on her by Piberius's welcoming expression. "and I wish for him to treat me with the same respect he treats other rabbits with. He must spend his time with me whenever he can, and must not abandon me when I need him most. He must be well mannered and educated - I have no desire to marry a brute - and he must know his romance as if he is a son of Aphrodite herself."
Judy could feel herself blushing at her final statement, but a polite smile from Piberius urged her on.
"Most of all, the Prince must be perfect," She carefully finished. "I know that is much to ask from him, but the Prince of my dreams is nothing but perfect! If he is not so, then... Then I'm not quite cert-"
Piberius abruptly stopped her with a slight raise of his paw, his expression becoming understanding and reassuring.
"My lady," He gently began. "There is no reason to think about that unfortunate - and completely fanciful - future. I can assure you that Prince Wilde is the most exemplary mammal I have ever had the pleasure of knowing, and that he will even exceed your exceedingly high expectations."
Piberius turned away from her, his eyes brightened by the moon's ghostly white glow. Judy turned with him, a small, comforted smile coming onto her face and her ears perking in elation as her eyes skipped from star to star.
"Prince Wilde is, truly, the jewel of the Empire," Piberius went on, his easing words ebbing the weight pressing down on her mind. "I daresay he may even be the jewel of the known world! He is everything you ask of him and more. You wish him to be kind - he is kinder than even the poorest of anchorites. You want him to respect you? My lady, that is of no concern, for he respects all mammals of all orders! And he has been well trained in the common tongue and literature; I can guarantee that you and him will have many great conversations about the classics."
Judy's smile grew exponentially as more and more reassurances flowed from Piberius's lips, and for the first time in days she finally felt at peace. This night couldn't have gone any better, and it still had yet to end. Not only had she spoken with a fox on a personal, private level for the first time in her life, but she had learned about her groom - and from the sounds of it, she had been completely overthinking him! She had been foolish to worry and let anxiety plague her. All would turn out well in the end. The only thing she had to do now was wait until dawn to meet with him...
"Although, as you would expect with any mammal, he does have some characteristics which are an acquired taste," Piberius humorously continued, sensing her more joyous aura. Judy turned to the fox, of whom she was beginning to feel she was quickly becoming a friend of, and cocked an eyebrow.
"Such as what, my lord?" She asked in a tone of mock suspicion, and Piberius shrugged, watching her from the corners of his eyes.
"For one, his sense of humor can be considered 'foreign'," Piberius blithely began, and Judy huffed in amusement at his quip. If that was the only foreign part of the Prince then she'd be damned! "And many describe him as being overly witty and far too astute - even for a fox!"
"If those are his least favorable traits, my lord, then I will still gladly call him my groom," Judy swiftly rebuked, turning to look at the night sky and inciting a chuckle from Piberius.
"If that is your decision, my lady," He gleefully conceded as his chuckles ended. "But now I must, regretfully, tell you of Prince Wilde's most prominent flaw."
Piberius turned away from the balcony's railing, leaning over so his muzzle was only centimeters away from her head. Judy perked her ears in interest and a curious expression came onto her face as Piberius slowly opened his mouth, letting his hot breaths exhale onto the side of her face.
"He's standing right next to you," He barely whispered, his tone still filled with humor.
Judy felt her heart jump into her throat at Piberius's words, and she turned to stare wide-eyed at the fox. Had he really just said what she had heard, or was her sleep deprived mind playing tricks on her?
"Prince Wilde?" She asked in disbelief, and Piberius backed away from her and politely bowed, a huge, sly grimace on his face.
"That is my name, my lady," Piberius confirmed, his jocular eyes refusing to depart from her shocked ones. Judy watched him cloesly as he moved back to the balcony's railing and rested his arms on it, her mind processing every aspect of what had just happened. She hadn't been talking to some fox who just happened to be a friend of Prince Wilde - she had been talking to the Prince himself for the entire night! He had created a fake persona by the name of Piberius just so he could reveal his true identity and dismay her! How very rude and Machiavellian of him!
"Still speechless, my lady?" Prince Wilde rhetorically commented, noticing her continuing to stare at him out of the corners of his eyes. "Maybe discussing how the Prince is a 'son of Aphrodite herself' will help calm you."
The shock finally began to ebb from Judy at the Prince's mockingly rude repetition of what she had revealed to him a few moments earlier, and the vacant emotional space was soon filled with anger and outrage. How dare this fox treat her like nothing but a common street wench? She, Princess Judith Hopps, daughter of one of the most prestigious kings the world has ever known, was nothing more than an amusing toy to this Prince - if she could even call him that! She wouldn't stand for that for even an instant.
"You fiend!" Judy fumed in outrage, turning her body towards Prince Wilde with both of her paws tightly clenched into fists as they stiffly hung at her sides. "You vile, lying fiend! I demand an apology at once!"
Prince Wilde softly chuckled at her as he turned to face her head on, his sly smile and relaxed, innocent expression only fanning the flames inside of her small body.
"My Princess, I have done nothing which requires an apology," He coyly replied. "I have been nothing but an innocent fox on this night."
"Hardly so!" Judy exclaimed in outrage, stomping up to him and pushing him away from the edge of the balcony with both her paws. The Prince stumbled away from her and into the center of the balcony, his eyes suddenly filled with surprise.
"You have been nothing but disrespectful to me tonight!" Judy continued, beginning to march toward him again. "You lied about who you were so you could coax secrets out of me, you were uncaring when it came to how keeping your identity secret would affect me, and worst of all, you were and are not acting like a Prince should!"
Prince Wilde sent Judy a partially calm, partially panicked smile and began to retreat from her advance, keeping his eyes locked with hers.
"My Princess-" He began, raising both his paws out in front of him to try and stop her aggressive strides toward him, but before he could explain himself Judy interrupted him.
"Shut it!" She growled, ducking underneath his arms and giving him a hard shoved which pushed him out of the white moonlight illuminating the balcony and into the darkness of his suite. She followed him in, her eyes quickly adjusting to the gloomy room whose only source of light was the open doorway that led out onto the balcony she had just left.
"There is no defense for your actions tonight," She fiercely exclaimed, pursing Prince Wilde further into the darkened room even as an overtly worried expression consumed his face and his ears fell behind his head in fright. "And I only expect one thing from you from now on!"
Prince Wilde, unaware of where his retreat was taking him, stumbled on a low dresser no higher than his ankles resting at the foot of his bed and fell back onto its red cotton sheets. Judy continued her advance toward him, determined to show him how domineering she could be when she was used and mistreated. Prince Wilde scrambled to the far end of his rabbit-sized bed, his head resting against its backboard and his back against the white pillows as he stared at Judy with a pleading and terrified expression.
"I expect you to be Prince Wilde," Judy hissed, resting her foot on the dresser and placing her paws against her hips. "The mammal I met tonight is not the mammal I will meet tomorrow morning. Do you understand, my Prince?"
Prince Wilde vigorously nodded his head in answer.
"I do, my Princess Carrots," He answered, his voice frightened but his mind not wise enough to keep the rude nickname for her to himself. The anger which had begun to die down in Judy re-ignited itself at the name, and she felt her eye beginning to twitch in an overpowering desire to murder the Prince. He was as good as a dead fox.
"Carrots?" She whispered, her voice menacingly quiet, and she stepped up her other foot onto the dresser and crawled onto the cool, red sheets of the bed.
"My lord," She growled, crawling closer and closer to Prince Wilde's petrified face. She didn't notice as she crawled on top of him, her paws holding her up from in-between his arms and chest, her legs straddled over his waist, and her face not even an inch from his twitching nose and large, frightened eyes.
"If you ever call me that name again, then I will have no choice to take the most drastic of measures," She threatened, her voice calm but stern and her ears falling behind her head in annoyance and anger. The stare between her and the Prince lasted for what seemed like an eternity, and only ended when, much to her dismay, the Prince smiled at her, his whole demeanor changing from submissive to dominant in an instant.
"Measures such as this?" He rhetorically asked, his voice filled with humor as he moved his paw up from limply lying on the bed and to grip her rear, making her jump in surprise and turn to look back at herself. It was only then that she realized how close she was to him.
All she managed to do was nervously open her mouth as her eyes widened to the size of two moons while all the blood drained from her expression. During her long and fiery tirade she had absentmindedly wandered into an incredibly intimate position with Prince Wilde, her legs straddling over his waist, her white nightgown halfway rolled up her legs, and her body hovering only a few paw-lengths above his shirtless chest. She could feel waves of heat radiating out of the paw resting on her rear and onto the fur around the base of her tail, and her heart began to beat out of her chest as a hundred different possibilities of what would happen next played out in her head.
She had never been in such a private position with any other mammal before. From what she had read in many of her books, being in such a position only meant one thing - and Judy gulped in nervousness at the idea. But before she could even have a second thought about it, the soft, strange touch of velvet rubbed against her chin, and a tight grip guided her face back towards the fox who she was so close to laying on top of.
Prince Wilde had his free paw holding her chin while a witty, amused smile and a half lidded gaze were carved into his face. Judy couldn't help but motionlessly stare back at him, her face heating up in embarrassment. Oh, how the tables had turned.
"I am offended at what you said, my Princess," Prince Wilde lightheartedly chided, his paw moving up from her chin to tenderly rest on the side of her face and his expression turning innocent. "Do you truly think me to be nothing but a fiend?"
"I- I-" Judy frenziedly stuttered, stopping her attempt at an explanation when the Prince took his paw off her face and held one of his fingers against her lips. There was something almost soothing in his eyes which made her racing mind slow down and butterflies erupt in her stomach. She didn't quite know what the new feeling she was experiencing right now was, but she didn't feel she had any need to know. All she did know about it was that she wanted more. An extraordinarily huge amount more.
"Princess Hopps, I can assure you that I am no fiend," Prince Wilde assured, moving his paw up from Judy's lips and forcefully stroking her ears as they lay limp against her back. Judy closed her eyes and shivered in delight as his velvet paw slowly made its way down the full length of her sensitive ears, taking an almost guilty pleasure in every moment of it.
"I would also like to assure you that I am no liar - and that I am not rude nor uncaring as well, for that matter," Prince Wilde continued, his voice as smooth and soft as silk. "I have many names, my lady, and Nicholas and Piberius are but two of them. I have never lied about who I am on this night. Piberius is my time in war and Wilde is my time in peace, but together they make the mammal you'll marry in the very near future, of whom I can already tell you have feelings for. Am I wrong to assume that, my Princess?"
"No," Judy barely breathed, her mind in a state of ecstasy as she cracked her eyes open, only revealing a blurred image of the Prince's orange and white facial fur.
"That's music to my ears, princess," Prince Wilde continued as a devious smile came onto his face, his claws beginning to join his paw carefully stroking her ears, only plunging her deeper into the depths of euphoria. "But if we are to marry one another, then you must be aware of my traits which are quite... unique. You see, my Princess, I can say with great confidence that I am far more witty and crafty than any rabbit you have ever met. I will use you, and in return I expect you to use me. But I can guarantee that I will never be anything else besides the mammal you have met tonight; you will never hear me utter any unkind words about you, and whenever we meet I will treat you how you should be treated. As my Princess."
Judy felt Prince Wilde move the paw resting on her rear down to the back side of her knee, her half rolled-up dress inviting his paw to wander around her thin leg fur.
"Now then, my lady," Prince Wilde suggestively began, and Judy's eyes widened as he leaned in a little closer to her face. "Would you like to discuss Prince Wilde's romantic habits?"
"Yes, my Prince," Judy exhaled, not feeling embarrassed like before but instead eager, and at her answer she felt one of Prince Wilde's claws dig into the back of her knee, hitting a nerve she didn't even know was there. She gasped in surprise as both her legs suddenly gave out and she collapsed forward onto the Prince's exposed chest, her chin plunging into the soft tuft of fur at the top of it while her arms clung to his broad shoulders and her hips landed on his lower core. Her face heated up as she stared up at the his amused but caring expression, and she couldn't help but burrow herself a little deeper into his fur. She knew what was coming next - and she didn't want to have to wait for it for a single more second.
Judy closed her eyes and leaned closer towards Prince Wilde's muzzle, and as her vision turned dark she caught him doing the same and felt his paw wandering up from her knee to rest on her rear again. She felt his warm breath on her face as they edged closer and closer to one another's lips, her heart beating so fast that she was beginning to wonder if she needed to call a physician. But underneath his fur Judy could feel his heart beating just as fast as hers, and the thought of him being equally as awake and excited as she was spurred her onward at even greater speeds. This was a magical night for the both of them...
Their muzzles weren't even a paw's length away from one another now, and Judy could almost taste the Prince's lips. But before they could truly embrace one another, the startling sound of a mammal knocking against wood interrupted them. Judy's eyes flashed open as quick as comet, as did Prince Wilde's, and they stared at one another in surprise and confusion, their muzzles so close that Judy could feel the Prince's twitching nose against hers.
"Prince Wilde!" A muffled voice called from behind the thick, oak door that led out of the single-roomed suite and into the hallway. Judy immediately recognized it as her eldest brother, Prince Gregory's, voice, and instantly darted up to her knees. Prince Wilde's paw laying atop her ears slid down to the base of her tail as she straightened them, visibly startled by her brother's sudden appearance.
"King Hopps and Emperor Canus request your presence!" Prince Gregory belligerently shouted, his voice quaky. Judy could only assume that he had participated a little too much in the night's drinking contests. Prince Wilde continued to keep his eyes on hers as a humorous, devious expression took control of his face.
"I regret to inform you, my good rabbit, that I cannot join in the celebrations this evening," The Prince yelled back in response, his body not moving an inch towards the door, completely complacent. "Tell my father and the King that I am familiarizing myself with a much more important and... private matter of state."
Judy suppressed a snicker at the Prince's wry response, not wanting to alert her brother to her presence. She was curious to see how the conversation would play out...
"Private?" Judy heard her brother mumbling under his breath before his voice raised, suddenly filled with heated suspicion. "What foul deeds do you make, vile fox?"
The sound of a doorknob turning entered Judy's ears, and her head flew toward the doorway in panic, breaking her and the Prince's stare. Slowly, almost cautiously, Prince Gregory was turning the doorknob to open the door, and Judy's mind began to panic at the thought of her brother walking in on her and the Prince while they were in such a very compromising position. She turned back to the fox she was sitting on top of, but he didn't seem bothered by her brother's intrusion.
One of his eyebrows was raised in curiosity and a genuinely interested smile was chiseled into his muzzle. He wasn't going to stop her brother's encroachment. Without even saying a word he was forcing her to reveal her presence to him. And she definitely was not going to allow him to storm in and ruin the volatile and passion-driven night she was having.
"Prince Gregory!" She shouted in anger as her head flew back to stare at the now barely cracked-open door. "Halt your advances at once!"
There was a moment of silence from the other side of the door, and in that brief time she sent Prince Wilde an annoyed glare out of the corner of her eyes.
"Judith?" Prince Gregory eventually exclaimed in surprise, and Judy growled at the drunken hostility in his voice.
"Yes?" She rhetorically snapped back. "Why have you interrupted my night, Gregory? Didn't father warn you not to disturb me?"
"Of course he did!" Prince Gregory arrogantly spat. "But I came to Prince Wilde's quarters, not yours!"
"Well I am accompanying Prince Wilde, and currently he's preoccupied with something!" Judy ferociously rebuked, and she felt the air heating up in light of the quickly escalating situation. Prince Gregory growled from behind the door before slamming it shut, the small strip of light coming from its crack snuffing out.
"Fine!" The rabbit shouted as loudly as he could, trying to draw attention to himself in the otherwise silent hallway. "Sleep with a fox, see if I care! It'll be you who'll regret this tomorrow!"
Judy growled at her brother as she listened to his light and erratic footsteps march down the stone floor of the hallway. As soon as they became as faint as a leaf on the wind she turned back to Prince Wilde with a stern and serious gaze, but the fox just stared at her with a smug smile. A feeling of annoyance pulsed up inside her, yet it wasn't an angry annoyance like it had been before but instead a lighthearted, almost jovial feeling.
"Your brother seems like a truly stellar mammal, my Princess," Prince Wilde joked, and Judy scoffed at him, slowly collapsing back onto his chest and jabbing him in the gut with her paw, which drew a surprised grunt out of him.
"My Prince," She gently began, resting the side of her head on his chest and wrapping both her paws around his neck as a relaxed smile came onto her face. "If you ever force me into an uncomfortable position again, then I must say I'll have to take-"
"The most drastic of measures?" Prince Wilde finished, moving the paw laying on her lower back up to cup the side of her head. "My Princess, is your solution to everything I say or do which displeases you to climb on top of me?"
Judy chuckled at the Prince's dirty quip, letting her straightened ears fall onto the back of his paw. She normally would only scoff at crude jokes, her formal and ladylike mindset not allowing her to becoming amused at such things, but in the presence of the Prince she felt like it was alright to be humored by it. In fact, she felt really and truly comfortable in his presence, both physically and mentally. He wasn't like any other royalty she had met, and she had met plenty of other ladies and lords at the banquets of her father. His laid-back personality, his moderately vulgar humor, and his ability to break down her barriers so she could just be who she was inside were beginning to touch her in a very pleasing way.
Judy smiled and pressed the side of her face deeper into Prince Wilde's chest fur, closing her eyes and letting sleep begin to take control of her mind. The night hadn't gone as planned, but that didn't mean it was a disappointment. It was embarrassing, rage-filled, and personal, yet at its conclusion she had met the mammal she would marry - and he was even better than she could have ever expected.
"Goodnight, Prince Wilde," She mumbled with a large yawn, and she felt the Prince shift slightly, moving her into a far more comfortable and close position.
"Please, my Princess," He gently responded, slowly stroking the side of her head. "Call me Nicholas."
Judy smiled at the Prince's words and relaxed her body, giving him complete control of holding her however he pleased.
"As you wish, Nicholas," She warmly whispered as exhaustion finally consumed her and she drifted off into a euphoric sleep.
Talk to you all again after Thanksgiving!
Rewritten 6/23/17