DISCLAIMER: If you are still reading this.you are seriously confused.
Author's Note: Thank you for all the wonderful reviews! Keep it up! By the way, a reader pointed out a mistake I make in Ch. 8.Jason's eyes are hazel, not green. Sorry for the inconvenience.
~~Chapter 10~~
It had been nearly eight years since Godfrey and I had first met on my tenth birthday. Three years since I learned of our engagement. Each summer, the Prince still came to visit, and each summer I detested him more. The little weasel remained short and scrawny. His pale blonde hair and light- green eyes gave him a very washed out appearance. Even his leering, crooked smile ignited flames of anger inside me. However, the more abhorrent as he became, the more my mother loved him.
It was the eve of my eighteenth birthday. Tomorrow a ball would be held in my honor and my engagement to Prince Godfrey formally declared. I had moped around the castle for most of the day, pestering Maximus in his tower laboratory until he finally threw me out into the gardens. Jason had found me wandering around the rose bushes and had taken it upon himself to bring me out of my dazed latitude.
"Rose, wake up," me prodded me in the back, "Are you alive?"
Irritated, I snapped, "Of course I am! I imagine I have the right to think if I wish!"
"You're upset, and I don't blame you. But can't we take your mind off of it somehow?"
"Gosh Jason, I don't know," I replied in a sarcastic voice, "Tomorrow is my eighteenth birthday. I'm going to be married off to the most moronic person in the entire world, and forced to spend the rest of my life in some foreign palace, raising children and sewing tapestries of my idiot husband's so-called escapades, with no friends, no family, and no one to love!" My voice broke on the last word and I fell into Jason's arms and began to sob.
"I hate him! I hate him! How could she do this to me? How could my own mother make me wed this vile person?" I buried my face into his shoulder and wrapped my arms around his neck. Through the violent shakes of my body I felt his arms encircle my waist and their warm reassurance spread throughout my flesh.
"Tomorrow, will be the last day I ever spend here at Eldron. The last time I ever ride Delilah through the meadow, the last time I ever swim in the lake or sleep in the hay loft, or even see you." I lifted my head from his shoulder and gazed into his deep hazel eyes, "Jason, you are my best friend in the entire world, and after tomorrow, I will never see you again. What will I do without you?" For a moment our faces were within an inch of each other, a strange tremor seemed to come through me and then-
Jason released his grip on my waist and stepped backwards. His eyes were slightly anxious and he shook just a little. A cold feeling came over me and I felt slightly off balance. I wasn't sure just what had happened, but it unnerved me. Why had that little shock felt so nice?
"Rose, I don't know what to tell you. I don't know even if there is anything we can do. You and I have always found a way out of sticky situations, but," here he paused, as if it cause him a great effort to say it, "I'm not sure there is a way out of this one. You are a legal subject of the Queen and must do as she commands. I could not move to Linderly for you even if I wasn't stuck here until my apprenticeship with Maximus is through. Godfrey hates me with a passion and would never allow me on his grounds." Jason looked upset and for the first time in his life said, "He's a prince. I am nothing. Just a stable boy. I have no money, no power, not even a good name. I wish,--I wish I was a prince. Then I could take you away from all this."
My stomach was twisting it's self up in knots. Why were all these butterflies stirred up all of a sudden? The feeling frightened me and I leaned against an oak tree for support. It took all the energy I had to force out my next words, "Jason, don't say things like that. You are better than Godfrey. He is crude, spoilt, and obnoxious. You are kind, loyal, just, and honorable. It is you who is the prince, not him." The words began to come to my mouth easier. I rose from my limp position against the standing timber and faced Jason.
"When I was younger, Mother used to read fairy tales to me at night before I went to sleep. She never seemed to want to leave my room," I smiled at this, remembering one of the few warm memories of my mother. "In the stories, the beautiful princess was always rescued by the handsome Prince Charming who dashed gallantly to her side. Then, like an idiot, the girl would marry the dashing stranger and they would live happily ever after." Here I stopped and looked Jason directly in the eyes, "But life is not a fairy tale. The princess does not always fall in love with her rescuer. Nobility is not a measurement for worth. Just once, I would like the princess to kiss the frog and have him turn into-" I searched for a word, "well, a stable boy."
There was a moment of silence and Jason said quietly, "You are much to good for him Briar Rose." Then with a flick of his hand he summoned a rose to himself from the bushes ten feet away. The rose floated gently above his hand for a moment and then flew towards me.
"Here," he said with a boyish grin, "Maybe this will cheer you up."
I took the flower and smiled, "Well, you have been working hard with Maximus. Jason, you-"
A voice sliced through the air, "Rose! Rose come inside, I need to alter your gown! Rose!" My mother was calling.
"I have to go," I said hurriedly to Jason and with an apologetic glance, ran off towards the castle.
~~****~~
I arrived breathlessly in my bedroom. Mother was pointing out something on the gown bodice to a young seamstress. When she saw me enter the room she lifted the dress and brought it over to me. She set the garment upon a stool and gently rotated my body to undo my lacings.
"You're a mess! Look at you! Sweaty, puffy red eyes-" she lifted off my frock. "Honestly Rose."
As I turned to put on my dress I dropped the rose Jason had given me onto an end table. I began to pull on the half-sewn, half-pinned ball gown and was aware of Mother's movements out of my peripheral vision. She picked up the rose. There was a puzzled expression on her face.
"Where did you get this, Rose?" she held up the flower.
"Rose garden," I mumbled through the thick fabric, for some reason I did not want to tell her exactly who had given it to me.
Mother reached up and pulled the dress below my head. She set the rose back on the table and began to lace up my gown. "Where were you this afternoon?" she asked, her voice sounding slightly tense.
"Rose garden," I repeated, then added casually, though I wasn't sure why, "With Jason."
Mother suddenly gave an extra hard tug on my lacings and said quietly, "Did he give you that rose?"
"Yes-" I said slowly. What was she playing at?
"You know I don't like you to spend so much time with him Briar Rose. You're a princess. He's a commoner. You know I don't like that."
The stress of the day was wearing on me, "So what?" I snapped, "He's a better man than Godfrey."
Mother jerked me around to face her. Her cold brown eyes searched my blue ones and she uttered in deadly quiet voice, "What do you mean, Rose?"
The young seamstress dropped a brief curtsey and scurried out of the room. I stood my ground. "I mean that Jason is courageous, kind, honorable, and virtuous. He outshines Godfrey any day."
A look of dawning realization illuminated my mother's face. She clenched my arms tightly and growled through gritted teeth, "Briar Rose Elfleda Calanthe Regina.you are not to see that boy again."
"What! Why?" I gasped and shoved her hands away from my shoulders.
"I forbid it."
"But you must have a reason!" I cried.
Her eyes flashed, "We will announce your engagement to Prince Godfrey tomorrow night. Then you will depart for Linderly. Jason will no longer be a-a distraction to you."
She turned on her heel and marched out the door, slamming is shut behind her in the process.
I sank to the floor in wrenching sobs. A few of the pins in the dress pricked me, but I paid them no mind. The red, flame-like rays of the dying sun scorched the sky, and the Borandon Ocean seemed to flow with tears of blood, matching the salt ones pouring down my cheeks drop for drop.
Author's Note: Thank you for all the wonderful reviews! Keep it up! By the way, a reader pointed out a mistake I make in Ch. 8.Jason's eyes are hazel, not green. Sorry for the inconvenience.
~~Chapter 10~~
It had been nearly eight years since Godfrey and I had first met on my tenth birthday. Three years since I learned of our engagement. Each summer, the Prince still came to visit, and each summer I detested him more. The little weasel remained short and scrawny. His pale blonde hair and light- green eyes gave him a very washed out appearance. Even his leering, crooked smile ignited flames of anger inside me. However, the more abhorrent as he became, the more my mother loved him.
It was the eve of my eighteenth birthday. Tomorrow a ball would be held in my honor and my engagement to Prince Godfrey formally declared. I had moped around the castle for most of the day, pestering Maximus in his tower laboratory until he finally threw me out into the gardens. Jason had found me wandering around the rose bushes and had taken it upon himself to bring me out of my dazed latitude.
"Rose, wake up," me prodded me in the back, "Are you alive?"
Irritated, I snapped, "Of course I am! I imagine I have the right to think if I wish!"
"You're upset, and I don't blame you. But can't we take your mind off of it somehow?"
"Gosh Jason, I don't know," I replied in a sarcastic voice, "Tomorrow is my eighteenth birthday. I'm going to be married off to the most moronic person in the entire world, and forced to spend the rest of my life in some foreign palace, raising children and sewing tapestries of my idiot husband's so-called escapades, with no friends, no family, and no one to love!" My voice broke on the last word and I fell into Jason's arms and began to sob.
"I hate him! I hate him! How could she do this to me? How could my own mother make me wed this vile person?" I buried my face into his shoulder and wrapped my arms around his neck. Through the violent shakes of my body I felt his arms encircle my waist and their warm reassurance spread throughout my flesh.
"Tomorrow, will be the last day I ever spend here at Eldron. The last time I ever ride Delilah through the meadow, the last time I ever swim in the lake or sleep in the hay loft, or even see you." I lifted my head from his shoulder and gazed into his deep hazel eyes, "Jason, you are my best friend in the entire world, and after tomorrow, I will never see you again. What will I do without you?" For a moment our faces were within an inch of each other, a strange tremor seemed to come through me and then-
Jason released his grip on my waist and stepped backwards. His eyes were slightly anxious and he shook just a little. A cold feeling came over me and I felt slightly off balance. I wasn't sure just what had happened, but it unnerved me. Why had that little shock felt so nice?
"Rose, I don't know what to tell you. I don't know even if there is anything we can do. You and I have always found a way out of sticky situations, but," here he paused, as if it cause him a great effort to say it, "I'm not sure there is a way out of this one. You are a legal subject of the Queen and must do as she commands. I could not move to Linderly for you even if I wasn't stuck here until my apprenticeship with Maximus is through. Godfrey hates me with a passion and would never allow me on his grounds." Jason looked upset and for the first time in his life said, "He's a prince. I am nothing. Just a stable boy. I have no money, no power, not even a good name. I wish,--I wish I was a prince. Then I could take you away from all this."
My stomach was twisting it's self up in knots. Why were all these butterflies stirred up all of a sudden? The feeling frightened me and I leaned against an oak tree for support. It took all the energy I had to force out my next words, "Jason, don't say things like that. You are better than Godfrey. He is crude, spoilt, and obnoxious. You are kind, loyal, just, and honorable. It is you who is the prince, not him." The words began to come to my mouth easier. I rose from my limp position against the standing timber and faced Jason.
"When I was younger, Mother used to read fairy tales to me at night before I went to sleep. She never seemed to want to leave my room," I smiled at this, remembering one of the few warm memories of my mother. "In the stories, the beautiful princess was always rescued by the handsome Prince Charming who dashed gallantly to her side. Then, like an idiot, the girl would marry the dashing stranger and they would live happily ever after." Here I stopped and looked Jason directly in the eyes, "But life is not a fairy tale. The princess does not always fall in love with her rescuer. Nobility is not a measurement for worth. Just once, I would like the princess to kiss the frog and have him turn into-" I searched for a word, "well, a stable boy."
There was a moment of silence and Jason said quietly, "You are much to good for him Briar Rose." Then with a flick of his hand he summoned a rose to himself from the bushes ten feet away. The rose floated gently above his hand for a moment and then flew towards me.
"Here," he said with a boyish grin, "Maybe this will cheer you up."
I took the flower and smiled, "Well, you have been working hard with Maximus. Jason, you-"
A voice sliced through the air, "Rose! Rose come inside, I need to alter your gown! Rose!" My mother was calling.
"I have to go," I said hurriedly to Jason and with an apologetic glance, ran off towards the castle.
~~****~~
I arrived breathlessly in my bedroom. Mother was pointing out something on the gown bodice to a young seamstress. When she saw me enter the room she lifted the dress and brought it over to me. She set the garment upon a stool and gently rotated my body to undo my lacings.
"You're a mess! Look at you! Sweaty, puffy red eyes-" she lifted off my frock. "Honestly Rose."
As I turned to put on my dress I dropped the rose Jason had given me onto an end table. I began to pull on the half-sewn, half-pinned ball gown and was aware of Mother's movements out of my peripheral vision. She picked up the rose. There was a puzzled expression on her face.
"Where did you get this, Rose?" she held up the flower.
"Rose garden," I mumbled through the thick fabric, for some reason I did not want to tell her exactly who had given it to me.
Mother reached up and pulled the dress below my head. She set the rose back on the table and began to lace up my gown. "Where were you this afternoon?" she asked, her voice sounding slightly tense.
"Rose garden," I repeated, then added casually, though I wasn't sure why, "With Jason."
Mother suddenly gave an extra hard tug on my lacings and said quietly, "Did he give you that rose?"
"Yes-" I said slowly. What was she playing at?
"You know I don't like you to spend so much time with him Briar Rose. You're a princess. He's a commoner. You know I don't like that."
The stress of the day was wearing on me, "So what?" I snapped, "He's a better man than Godfrey."
Mother jerked me around to face her. Her cold brown eyes searched my blue ones and she uttered in deadly quiet voice, "What do you mean, Rose?"
The young seamstress dropped a brief curtsey and scurried out of the room. I stood my ground. "I mean that Jason is courageous, kind, honorable, and virtuous. He outshines Godfrey any day."
A look of dawning realization illuminated my mother's face. She clenched my arms tightly and growled through gritted teeth, "Briar Rose Elfleda Calanthe Regina.you are not to see that boy again."
"What! Why?" I gasped and shoved her hands away from my shoulders.
"I forbid it."
"But you must have a reason!" I cried.
Her eyes flashed, "We will announce your engagement to Prince Godfrey tomorrow night. Then you will depart for Linderly. Jason will no longer be a-a distraction to you."
She turned on her heel and marched out the door, slamming is shut behind her in the process.
I sank to the floor in wrenching sobs. A few of the pins in the dress pricked me, but I paid them no mind. The red, flame-like rays of the dying sun scorched the sky, and the Borandon Ocean seemed to flow with tears of blood, matching the salt ones pouring down my cheeks drop for drop.
