Hey. Thank you for the reviews. I'll try to reply personally to every review, but forgive me if I miss you in future chapters.
Hawk: Thanks for reading. I appreciate the review.
Lithui: Thanks for having enough faith to read, "another AU." Very cool birthday coincidence too. Thanks
I'll be referring to Ginny with three names. She calls herself Ginevra now, so I'll call her that when no one is speaking. For people who know her, she will be Ginny, but to those who knew the 17th century version of her, she'll be G, at least for a while.
Thank you so much. Happy April.
Blessed Be.
Rayne
The Moments That Change Our Lives
Chapter 2
Selection
Ginevra woke in the same unfamiliar bed as she had before. She was in the same stone room, with the same bare furnishings. She saw the tearstains on her pillow and knew that everything that had happened the day before was true.
Suddenly, she heard a harsh knock on her door. "Wake up sluts. The king wants to pick his maiden for the horse ride." Her door was unlocked and a gown was thrown at her. "Put on the dresses or I'll have the stable-boys do it for you."
Ginevra held the gown up and inspected it. It was made of cheap material, but the quality was obviously not the important feature. The neckline was almost low enough to expose her nipples and the corset tight enough to cut off her breathing.
The woman from the day before stood in the doorway and shouted to Ginevra. "Put it on, slag!" She ripped off the silk robe and shoved shoes into her chest. "Come into the hall when you need to corset tied." She shut the door and marched down the corridor.
Ginevra pulled the gown over her head. It was a deep green, trimmed with darker lace. It had no sleeves, a sign that she was not a woman of good standing. The neckline showed as much as possible without showing her entire breasts. The corset, even untied, already accentuated and created curves she hadn't had before. Ginevra put on the matching green shoes and entered the hall. There, she saw at least a half dozen other girls wearing dresses of the same cut.
"Ginny!" called one.
"Lavender?"
"Who else would I be silly? That dress looks gorgeous on you. Let me help you with the corset."
Ginevra reluctantly turned her back and allowed the other girl to assist her with her gown. With practiced fingers, Lavender pulled the strings and forced Ginevra's breaths out in force. She spoke without stopping while tying the corset. "Oh, I hate that woman. Some days I want to just smack her." She spoke as if these were the most devious of plans. "I wish someone would just stand up to her and say, 'Ms. McGonagall, we are not sluts. We are well-provided-for young ladies who happen to screw the British royalty.' Ha. That would shut her up. By the way, who do you think will be chosen? It was Pansy last year and I know the prince has a special preference for you, darling. Oh, all done. Can you tie mine now?"
Ginevra never said a word and Lavender continued speaking even while her internal organs were being crushed. Her speech was mostly inane, and all Ginevra could gather from it was that they were the whores of royalty and today the king or one of his advisors would be stopping by to pick a girl to ride a horse in celebration of the summer solstice.
"Oddly enough, G, a virgin is supposed to ride the horse, but, well, where are you going to find one of those in this palace?" She laughed loudly at her own joke and only stopped when she saw that no one else thought it funny.
Ms. McGonagall came back and brought the girls into the large chamber at the end of the hall. There, she arranged the girls in a line, tallest to shortest, which meant that Ginevra was last. "Now, do not speak unless asked a direct question and do not try to seduce the poor man. That is for later tonight. Arrange your dresses how you please, but remember, they are looking a for a maiden, not the town whore. Do not move. He's coming."
Draco woke the next morning in the same bed. He looked to his right and again saw Blaise with a concerned look on his face.
"Blaise, please tell me yesterday was an elaborate joke."
"Well sir, you were rather amusing, but no, it was not a joke. I have an urgent message from your father. He says you are to come to the women's quarters to select a maiden."
"Fuck my father, I need some time in here." Draco was already falling into his part of a spoiled prince.
"SHH! Such coarse language! You are a prince, not a blacksmith. Please, I beg of you, stop cursing. If not for your sake, for mine. I will have my tongue cut out for such language from you. Please." Blaise had his head outside the door looking frantically for anyone who could have heard Draco's outburst.
"Fine, I'll stop my 'cursing,' but you have to tell me how to get to the women's quarters."
"My Lord, surely you know how to get there. You frequent that area almost as much as your father."
"Well, I'm not in the mood to argue. Lead me there."
Blaise dutifully lead Draco to the "women's quarters," and once he got there, he was pleasantly surprised.
"Bloody hell! I was expecting a load of oafs and slags. These ladies are…well, I think I can handle this." He was silently thanking Merlin for his luck. He may have landed in some bizarre universe thanks to that whore's tricks, but at least it was a universe with beautiful women. Suddenly, his eyes fell on a certain girl in the line. She was short, and busty, with beautiful red hair. "That's the woman from last night! You Blood!"
He was cut off by a kick in the shin from Blaise. Apparently, the other man thought he would soon have another reason to have his tongue cut out.
Slowly, Draco gestured for the girl to come forward. She lowered her head and stepped toward her fate."
"He's coming," said McGonagall.
In walked two of the most beautiful young men Ginevra had ever laid eyes on. Immediately she recognized the blonde as two things; one – the man from the night before, and two – Draco Malfoy.
It seemed he recognized her as well because he began to shout, but was quickly silenced by the man on his right. When she was called forward, she knew this meeting could not be pleasant. "Yes Malfoy?"
Ms. McGonagall stormed to her side and slapped her smartly across the face. Her own face was red with anger. That is not how you address royalty, slut. You'll be sorry you ever said that."
Ginevra was lying on the ground, cradling her face. She had suddenly become quite scared out this world and this woman in front of her.
A hand was extended down to her and she took it without thinking. She looked at the owner and saw it was the other man, with darker hair.
Meanwhile, Ms. McGonagall was apologizing profusely to the prince and begging him to allow her to take Ginevra away.
"That won't be necessary. I was actually going to take her. Thank you for your help." He made eye contact with Ginevra and held it until she looked away from his intense gaze. He continued to stare at her until they reached a larger part of the castle.
"You look familiar and I know it's not only from last night. Do I know you?"
"Malfoy, you know me and you've known me for the past 5 years. I'm Ginevra, and up until a month ago, I was Ron Weasley's sister," she said with a more than a hint of iciness.
"Holy shit! I shagged a WEASEL!" Blaise began to run, trying to avoid any punishments that could come to him due to Draco's speech.
"Yeah, well, I don't feel any better. I shagged a ferret, but at least I got paid for it."
"Wait one second here. Since when are you getting paid for sex? Last time I checked, you would have paid a dog to shag you."
" 'Last time you checked?' You've been checking my romantic status?"
"I make a point to know the basic status of most of the girls in school. I won't check on complete cows like Bulstrode, but yes, I do check," he said with a smirk. "Does that make you feel special, whore?"
"You have no right to call me that! I w-"
"I have every right to say what's true. I paid you for sex and you live in a brothel. You are a whore. By the way, you are looking a mite better than when I last saw you. Little Red grew up over the summer didn't she?"
Some girls at Angels did some of it, but yes, I have grown up and that's the reason I was in that filthy place anyway."
"Well, we can continue this revealing conversation later, " he said with a significant glance at her revealing dress, "but I need to get you to the stables. You'll be riding a horse tonight for me. What a treat."
"Why am I the treat? Why did you pick me? Why not the prettier girls?"
"I picked the prettiest girl in the room."
Thanks for reading. I hope you all liked it. PLEASE review, even if you hate it. I'd love some feedback. You can send in suggestions or criticisms. Just know that I write the next chapter while I'm posting the previous one. I'll try to update a few times a week, but I'm extremely busy. Thank you for reading! I love every single reviewer.
Rayne
P.S. – How long does everyone think this story should be? It can't be too long, but I want to know what everyone thinks. I'm writing this for you guys, so I'd like to know what you want. Thanks.
P.P.S. – There's a bit of a mistake in the last chapter, and, well, in all of this. The story was originally going to happen in France, but I just don't know enough about that…so it became English…that seems more fitting in hindsight. But, my original research was for French celebrations, and I don't know how the English celebrated Midsummer. So, yeah, I stuck with the French celebration in an English setting. That okay with everyone?
