The New Life

a novel by Mark Robert Whitten

Chapter 20

Leslie sat by her windowsill, watching the rainwater running in streams, like tears down the outside of the glass. As the thunder crashed overhead, Leslie saw a tiny bug swept down by the water and wished she could wash away her troubled thoughts so easily.

As P.T. cowered in her arms, shaking in terror, her thoughts turned to Jess and how she had not yet told him her secret. She enjoyed playing with him, sharing her secrets and dreams but there were some things she knew he wouldn't understand. In her mind she tried to justify her decision, to tell herself she was sparing him some pain.

Leslie reprimanded herself. She knew that she wasn't sparing him anything; she was just sparing herself from having to tell him. As she ran a gentle hand over her trembling dog, she considered the reason she hadn't told him was because she had so much fun with him. She remembered the day they had met, last autumn, when they began to work the farm. She smiled at the memory of his family, such nice people. Jess was her favorite, her best friend. They were always together in the woods, or the fields or staying up at night and whispering to each other about their secret hopes and dreams.

Since coming to the castle they had spent much more time together. Many months had passed and as they shared their days, Leslie found that Jess' wide-eyed wonder at her world made everything seem better. She had become so accustomed to her life that she often didn't realize just how wondrous it really was; Jess often brought out the joy that she had come to neglect. She had never had a friend like him. Throughout the winter they told stories beside roaring fireplaces after having running snowball fights through the courtyard. She had never in her life fought with snow and she found the experience of pelting Tom most enjoyable. Jess refused to throw any at Miss Edmunds, but Leslie directed a thick slush-ball at her backside and when it smacked her in the bottom and she spun around to see who threw it, Leslie pointed at Jess. All he received from her was a stern lecture about how to properly treat a lady, but Jess stood red-faced the whole time.

He secretly promised Leslie he would pay her back for her mischief. Leslie laughed. Tom knew the truth of course and teamed with Jess to punish her but the winter passed and nothing ever came of it.

When spring arrived and the blankets of snow gave way to the songbirds and sunshine, Jess finally got his revenge. They were playing one of their simple board games, one Leslie had taught him over the long winter and one he had picked up quickly. While Jess was a fast learner, to Leslie, who had played the game since she could walk, he still wasn't much of a challenge. She was sure she had him beat when he declared himself the winner. She frowned at his premature boast and told him it wasn't yet over. "I have you beat, Leslie." His grin was making her anger bubble. He swiped a hand back through his hair and leaned forward to whisper to her, "I'll bet you anything that I have you in three moves."

She glared at his arrogance. "Name your wager."

He smiled as if he had been expecting her to say exactly that. He scratched his neck and seemed to consider her challenge. "Loser jumps into the pond in the courtyard after the game."

"Excellent," she agreed.

"Stark naked."

Knowing she had him beat, her smile widened. "Even better." The thought of Jess jumping into the courtyard pond naked was enough to make her giggle.

The bargain struck, play resumed. Somehow—Leslie still wasn't sure exactly how—Jess had slipped out of his corner and killed her king. Leslie's smile fell away.

Jess had won.

They both stood in the courtyard that very night—Leslie wrapped in only a towel—surrounded by more than a dozen servant girls and quite a few boys. The girls held her clothes, wrapped in a bundle ready to help dry and dress her when she finished but the boys were just there for the show. Leslie bit her lip as she looked at her eager audience. Her face went red as she saw all the boys and girls watching her, their grinning features softly illuminated by the candlelight. Leslie winced at all the wide eyes watching her, freckled faces she had known since birth, all anxiously waiting for her to disrobe.

Leslie took a deep, steadying breath, which turned into a sharp gasp as she felt Jess yank away her towel. She staggered forward a step, completely exposed.

"Get a move on!"

She felt a hand give her bare rump a sudden smack, making her jump. She squealed as the girls giggled and the boys cheered. She shot a hot glare at him and started toward the lake followed by the girl's continuing laughter and the approving whistles of the boys.

She had never felt so exposed, so embarrassed, but as she made her long walk to the pond she didn't attempt to cover her bareness. Let them look, she told herself, throwing her head back and marching along. They won't shame me. Leslie moved slowly, feeling all their eyes on her naked rear end. She didn't stop, didn't look back to acknowledge the comments about how round her bottom was, how fine it looked in the moonlight or the scarlet mark they said they could see where Jess' hand had made contact; she just kept her bare shoulders back and her blonde head held high. She was a noble. She was better than to make any vain attempts to rush through this and limit her humiliation at the expense of her dignity.

As she strode resolutely through the moonlit courtyard, Leslie realized that in spite of what was happening to her, she couldn't help but grin at the silliness of it all. Jess was getting his revenge for scolding she had arranged about properly treating ladies. It seemed that the lecture wasn't severe enough. Leslie had resolved to find a way to pay him back for this but she found that she had a hard time thinking of anything but how much she wanted to cover up. By the time she neared the shore, she could barely stand her embarrassment.

When she at last reached the shore and her toes dangled over the dark water, she winced at the cold. Leslie paused then to have thoughts about drowning Jess. Then she grinned with an evil thought. She might not kill him, but she would definitely pull him in when he came to help her out. She was nude and could dry off and dress, but he would have to trot all the way back inside, dripping wet, and peel off his soaked clothes before being allowed to slip into something warm.

Thoughts of her impending revenge swirling through her mind, she forced the smile off her face and turned back to view her waiting audience.

Jess stood at the center of the knot of servants, his arms folded across his chest. Straining to keeping a straight face, Leslie saluted him. Jess, wearing that smug smirk, returned it. She faced the water then, took a deep breath, and plunged headfirst into the freezing depths.

It was colder than she expected but as she reached the bottom, her feet pushed against the dirt and propelled her upwards. When she breached the surface with a gasp she glanced to where her audience waited with a towel, intending to call Jess over so she could pull him in.

They weren't there.

Leslie gasped at the sight of all the boys and girls rushing towards the castle—with her clothes! As she ran to the spot where they had stood, she noticed a piece of parchment had been left on the ground atop her boots. Water dripped off her fingers as she bent to pick it up and she shivered in the cold as her eyes roamed over the words: Now we're even!

Leslie lowered the letter in trembling hands and whispered into the darkness, "Jess, you despicable fiend!" She stormed towards the keep door, knowing she would walk the halls of her own home dripping wet and completely naked. Fortunately there weren't many servants awake at that hour and she was able to avoid the patrolling guards by ducking into alcoves on her way to her room. By taking the servant corridors, which wove their way through the walls of the castle, she was able to reach their quarters. She confronted a group of giggling girls who were supposed to be asleep and demanded a towel and a dress. As mad as she was, none dared refuse and when they had finished helping her, she stepped through the halls again and made her way to her room.

Her feet moved more quickly as she approached the hall that led to her chambers and as she turned the corner she bounced off the chest of someone she hoped not to see.

Lowering her scarlet face, she groaned aloud.

Tom stared down at her in surprise. Leslie stood silently, refusing to look up at him. Miss Edmunds was beside him, her slender arm wrapped around his thick bicep. The two of them were obviously going for a romantic stroll when she came upon them. Miss Edmunds gasped. "Leslie? What's going on? You're dressed like a servant."

Leslie wanted so much to make a snide comment about how obvious that was but all she could do was shrug as Miss Edmunds asked why she was dressed in her servant's simple brown dress.

Leslie glared at Tom's smirk, knowing at last where Jess got the idea for the whole thing. She threw up her hands in exasperation and shouted her answer to Miss Edmunds questioning frown, "Because boys are crazy!" before storming off.

She finally reached her room only to find Jess was waiting for her.

He wore a smug grin that made her want to smack him.

As she approached, he bowed low at the waist. "Welcome home, your bareness."

Her face heating, she pushed past him and jerked the lever of her door.

It was locked. She pulled harder, not wanting to be outside another moment. Jess held up a key and grinned. She snatched it out of his hand and forced her way into her bedchamber, slamming the door in his smirking face.

She stood there then, gasping in the dark, content that it was finally over.

The next day proved her utterly wrong.

When she arrived at the door to her morning class, Leslie paused, feeling like she was about to plunge headfirst into the pond again.

She took a deep breath, opened the door and strode into the room.

At the sight of her, everyone cheered.

Leslie groaned and covered her blushing face with her books as she made her way to her desk. Miss Edmunds quieted everyone but Leslie still saw the knowing smirks of some of the boys and heard the whispers and giggles of the many girls. Some bragged that they had been there personally and the rest said they wished they had. Leslie bit her bottom lip and hunkered low in her seat, her face burning hot as they talked in low tones.

It was all she could do not to run screaming from the room.

Jess was very kind to her after that, generously hiding his pride at having successfully gulled her. She didn't speak to him for the rest of the week, not wanting to yell at him and hurt his feelings when she was really only mad at herself. Still, in spite of the grim humiliation, Leslie actually felt somewhat liberated by what he had put her through; girls who had never been brave enough to look her way before came up eagerly to ask her about the experience with wide eyes and silly grins. Leslie would politely explain that being stark naked in front of boys wasn't quite as bad as they thought and snidely suggested that they should consider trying it sometime.

They would then tell her how brave she was and that they could never do such a thing.

Leslie often wondered why she had gone through with it herself.

Of course, while the girl's questions were polite, the boy's questions were far more nettlesome, as they teased her about seeing her bare form and even dared each other to pinch her bottom as she strutted past. They had many laughs for weeks about the ones who succeeded in making her jump and those whom only received a gentle smack in the face for their efforts.

After more than a month of teasing, when Leslie finally thought it was over, a blond-headed boy she had known since she was six walked up to her and asked her if she wanted to go for a swim.

It took her a moment to reason out why he would ask such a thing but when she did, her mouth hung agape and her face heated at his bold suggestion. As she worked at trying to find the words to answer him, the boy ran off to the safety of his friends and they all rushed off laughing, clapping him on the back in congratulations.

Leslie stood there in the center of the hall, staring wide-eyed at the departing group. It occurred to her that the boy had been dared to say it and after a moment, Leslie simply shook her head and rolled her eyes at the silliness of boys.

It seemed that everyone who had once feared her now thought she was charming. Girls talked with her about boys and boys talked about how pretty she was—or dared one another to pinch her bottom. She blushed at their kindness and even had to dodge a few pranks involving water buckets or mud from high places. Leslie had always known they pulled pranks on each other but they never tried them on her or let her in on them, thinking she would get them in trouble or worse.

Now she was just one of the girls. Seeing her without clothes took away the fear with which she had been enshrouded and revealed that she was nothing more than a young girl, like every other. It seemed that for her whole life, Leslie had felt like she was living under some strange spell that separated her from the other children. She had often times found herself wishing that she could be just like them, playing pranks on the adults and laughing at jokes, or telling stories when they should be sleeping. She had enjoyed only a month of that life when she lived with Jess and it hardly seemed enough. Now, with his little trick, Jess had managed to break the spell and Leslie found herself being included in things. Of course the stories Jess told of their farm life helped with that—and sometimes added to Leslie's embarrassment.

None of the servant girls avoided her anymore or shied away when she asked them about their day. They all seemed to be more relaxed, as if all the times she had assured them she wouldn't hurt them were suddenly being taken seriously.

She felt more liberated than ever.

But she knew it wouldn't last. Jess had freed her from a minor prison, but he couldn't save her from a more permanent destiny. Still, he had helped and Leslie thanked him by helping Jess learn the names of birds during spring. There were many he named as his favorites, mostly by color and song, and Leslie almost didn't mind his references to how lovely Miss Edmunds was when she became a bird. Leslie liked Miss Edmunds—always had, in fact—but the way he went on about her became quite annoying.

There were warm days when the sun shone down while the two of them sat on a bench, talking like they used to, when he would suddenly wish aloud that Miss Edmunds were there or quote something she had told him. Leslie would smile and wait patiently while Jess told her that he would like to see her again and ask her about spring. Leslie always nodded and changed the subject as gently as she could. Tom was her favorite subject, but she never used him to bother Jess in return. Still there were times when she wished he couldn't talk so much about Miss Edmunds. She wished even more that she didn't have to see Tom with her. While Leslie knew she had no right to feel the way she did, especially about something so silly, every time she saw Tom and Julia together she could feel the hot claws of jealousy rake through her insides.

She wanted to stop thinking about Tom and wished Jess would forget Miss Edmunds but she knew they couldn't; they were stuck on them like bees on honey and nothing would change the way they felt.

When summer came and the midsummer festival began its dreaded approach Leslie knew it would all change. Everyone was prepared for it, it seemed. Except her. And Jess. He still didn't know. Leslie wanted to tell him. She had tried to tell him, but the words wouldn't come. She stroked a gentle hand over Prince Terrian's furry head and sighed. What she wouldn't give to change places with her beloved pet. If she were a dog, then a bone every now and then, a tummy rub and a nap in front of a cozy fire would be all she would have to worry over. He would never have to worry about telling Jess his secrets. She knew Jess could never understand and as time went by she forgot about her promises to explain her feelings and hoped that Jess would forget as well. But every time he looked at her, she felt a shiver of guilt at what she kept from him. Leslie never let it show but she didn't know how she could go on much longer without letting him know.

Leslie scratched Prince Terrian behind an ear to calm him as another lightning bolt lit the sky. The warm summer day was wasted, their plans for games and fun drenched in the downpour. A crash of thunder cracked the sky making Leslie gasp. Tears were forming, blurring the image of the dark courtyard before her and making her tremble. Seeking a memory to bring her some solace, she remembered when Jess told her of his sister's marriage.

Last fall Ellie had wed a man her father had brought home when he delivered Jess to the castle—Henry was his name. A letter arrived informing them of the nuptials. Jess told Leslie that he was the son of an innkeeper they met while staying in town on their journey to rescue her.

It was seven months ago when they received the news of the successful arrangement and by all reports, Ellie was very fond of her handsome new husband. Jess was happy for his eldest sister and sent her a lovely gift: a jeweled choker. Leslie had helped him buy it in the marketplace. Jess wondered about the gift, unsure if it was right for his sister. Leslie knew that Jess understood little about girls and less about wedding gifts but she assured him it was appropriate. He seemed satisfied by her answer and sent the gift along with the monthly stipend to help pay for the wedding. As much as he may have pretended otherwise, Leslie knew that Jess admired his sister and felt satisfaction that she was finally free of the farm and starting a family of her own. Ellie became pregnant that spring and Jess was soon to become an uncle. Leslie was happy for both Ellie and her husband, but she couldn't help but feel sorry for herself.

She would never have half of what they enjoyed.

As she turned away from the window, she set Prince Terrian on the floor of her room. There was no use putting off what she knew was inevitable.

It was time to tell Jess the truth.