Author's Note: This is not a new chapter. The story has been updated on 21st August 2014. The update resulted in an extra chapter. Chapter 1 and 2 became chapter 1,2 and 3. From chapter 4 onwards the story is unchanged, except for a correction here and there.

FINDING PRINCE CHARMING

Chapter 8

At the end of February the snow still lay thick on the ground. One morning the lookout, who had been taking life easy, heard the sound of a horn at the main gate. A man asked to see King Henryk. He didn't have fancy armour or even a horse; he only had a sword and was dressed like a common soldier. The lookout went to see Henryk and told him a challenger was at the gate.

"I'm so sorry. I didn't see him coming. I didn't think anyone would come. I'm so sorry. It was my duty and I failed. I'm so sorry"

The poor guard kept apologising even after Henryk had told him that nobody, not even he, had expected anybody to come this early in the year.

Henryk went out to see the zealous suitor. The man was not at all what he had expected.

"Is it true that the princess Esmeralda is held prisoner here?" the soldier said. "If so, I have come to fight your king, to try and free her."

"Yes, the princess is here. I'm King Henryk. Come in and have a rest."

"I mean to fight you to win her freedom."

"I know, but perhaps you want to rest first. I know you have come a long way."

The soldier looked at his strange adversary who offered him a rest instead of taking advantage of a possibly tired opponent.

"I have been here since last night. I'm well rested and ready to fight you."

Henryk went to fetch his sword. On the way he met Margaret.

"There is a new challenger," he said. "Could you take Esmé to the balcony room, Margaret?""

"This early in the year? That's being eager."

Henryk shrugged his shoulders.

"Right, I'll go and fetch her."

"Margaret …"

"Yes?"

"Tell the men that nobody is allowed to interfere … even if I'm beaten."

"Yes … I'll tell them."

Margaret was worried. Henryk had never talked about losing before. Her fears caused her to be curt towards Esmé. After all the girl was to blame for the danger Henryk was in.

"Come, I'm to take you to the balcony room," she said "Someone's come to fight Henryk again for you."

Margaret saw Esmé worried look and relented. Really, she thought, this is as much Henryk's fault as Esmé's. He had, after all, kidnaped the girl.

"Don't worry," she said to Esmé. "Henryk has done this before. He will be fine."

ooOOoo

The fight had started by the time Esmé came onto the balcony. Whether it was because he had not been prepared for combat, or because his heart was no longer in it, or because the soldier knew more about winning a battle than making it look good, whatever it was, Henryk did not have an easy fight. A couple of times he only just managed to stay on his feet and Esmé was really worried about him. She realised this was not a game put on for her entertainment but a deadly serious encounter between two men, and Henryk seemed to be on the losing side. She could no longer bear to watch and ran down to put a stop to the duel.

On her way down she kept thinking, "Let him be alright, please, let him be alright."

She would be devastated if anything happened to Henryk. And it was all her fault. Because of her stupid pride, Henryk was now in danger. And if this man were to kill him? For a moment the thought stopped her mad dash down the stairs. No … no … No! No! No! That couldn't be, mustn't be. Her feelings for Henryk overwhelmed her like an avalanche, obliterating all her doubts and her thoughts of Prince Charming. She started running even faster. She had to stop the fight or she would lose the man she cared for more than she'd ever thought possible.

She virtually flew down the stairs, shot through the door into the tunnel, collided with somebody, pushed him out of the way, ran through the big gate into the courtyard … and stopped. Relief washed over her, Henryk was still alive. Then she saw that he had been defeated. The soldier had disarmed him and had tied his hands together. He was injured as well; blood was trickling from a wound on his head. It hurt Esmé to see Henryk like that. Vanquished, beaten. He just shouldn't look so crushed.

Henryk had been waiting for Esmé to come and thank her victorious hero. He was surprised when she entered the courtyard far quicker than expected. He saw her deep sigh, in relief no doubt because she was finally free, and she could punish him, the beast that had imprisoned her. He had failed to win her heart and now he never would. His hopes and dreams had come tumbling down and he stood crushed amid the broken pieces.

"You have won, princess," he said.

Esmé didn't listen. She was looking round for something to cut his bonds. She saw his discarded weapons; his sword and dagger. She picked up the dagger and turned towards Henryk who hadn't moved; who just stood there waiting for things to come as if nothing mattered anymore, as if he had truly given up.

Henryk saw the weapon in Esmé's hand and thought she was going to kill him. Her revenge for what he had dared do to her. Ah, but death was preferable to living without her.

"Do you hate me that much, that you want to kill me yourself? Shouldn't you wait for your father? He might want a public execution to discourage people from kidnapping his daughter."

He didn't say this to stay her hand. He just hoped she would answer, say something, anything, just to hear her voice one more time.

Esmé shook her head. What was he talking about? Hate? Execution?

"What execution? Whose execution? What are you talking about?"

She cut the rope that tied his hands together and looked up at him.

"I don't want to kill you," she said. "I don't want anybody to kill you. Why would I? And I don't hate you I stopped hating you a long time ago."

Why didn't he know? Why did she have to tell him? She continued anyway.

"You believed in me. You made me realise what a terrible person I have been and gave me the chance to prove I could be different. I know you must hate me for the things I've said to you, for the way I treated you when you offered me your heart."

The knowledge that she had lost him stabbed her through the heart. She blinked back the tears.

"I wish I could undo that day. I wish I hadn't been so rude and heartless. I wish I had understood sooner …"

She couldn't stop the tears any longer. Her pride told her to go, to hide her feelings for this man who surely didn't want them any longer. But she ignored the thought. Henryk wouldn't mock her or deliberately hurt her.

Then with her head down, partly because she didn't want him to see the tears in her eyes, partly because she didn't want to see the compassion in his eyes, she added in a low voice, no more than a whisper, "Today, when I feared for your life, I realised that … that I love you but I know you can no longer love me."

Love? Did she just say she loved him? Henryk could hardly believe it.

"Princess Esmeralda, look at me."

"I'm just Esmé," she said in a small voice.

He smiled.

"Esmé, please, look at me."

Henryk took Esmé's face in his hands and lifted it. He saw the love shining through her tears and she saw that he loved her too; they saw in each other's eyes what they could have seen weeks and weeks ago if they had dared to look. Intense joy filled their hearts; they kissed and felt it in every fibre of their bodies. Then they looked at each other again, because they could, because they finally dared.

Henryk thought Esmé was more beautiful than ever, now that she had lost the harshness of her cold pride. Esmé gently stroked Henryk's scar. She was sure it had faded. It was not as violently red as she remembered. And in his eyes she saw all the love she thought she'd lost. They kissed again long and slow. Nothing existed any longer till life interrupted them as it always does.

"What is going to happen now?" said the soldier.

He'd been the person Esmé had collided with in the tunnel. She'd pushed him aside so violently he'd lost his footing and fell. When he'd gotten up he'd followed Esmé to the courtyard and had patiently if embarrassedly waited for the lover's to finish kissing.

Eventually he had decided that the end of the world would arrive sooner than the end of their kiss and interrupted them.

Henryk and Esmé looked at him in shock. Of course, this man had defeated Henryk. They knew that according to her father's promise she was to be his wife.

Esmé recovered first. Just because she was no longer the proud Esmeralda didn't mean she should be meek and let herself be led like a lamb to the slaughter. If that man expected her to drop Henryk and become HIS wife, tough. SHE hadn't made any promises.

To the soldier she said: "I am sorry, I'm afraid I cannot be your wife. But you are welcome to my father's kingdom."

Henryk smiled inwardly when he heard the old haughtiness in her voice. Esmé had become a nicer person because she'd wanted to, not because her spirit had been broken. Her body felt as tense as his, though. Both of them expected problems but neither was going to give up what they had found after so much pain.

"Begging your pardon, ma'am, but I never wanted you for a wife. Nor do I want your father's kingdom. I have a girl, my Sophie, and we want to get married. All I want is enough money to buy a farm and cattle and everything else I need."

The relief at the soldier's words was immense. There would be no more trouble.

"I'm sure my father will give you anything you want. I'll make sure he does," Esmé promised.

Henryk added, "You can have some of my price animals as well. You can have anything you need. I owe you my happiness."

"I didn't do all that much," said the soldier. "I expected a lot more resistance. The stories that were told about you, described you as a veritable devil, a demon with enormous strength, a fighting fiend. You didn't really want to fight, did you? You gave up too easily."

"You're right. I'd given up all hope of winning Esmé and I didn't care if I lived or died."

"You could have been killed." Esmé shuddered at the thought. "And it would have been my fault."

All was well now and even Henryk's wound was not serious, a mere scratch. They went into the castle to the big hall where the people had assembled, anxiously waiting for the outcome of the battle. They didn't know what to think when Henryk and Esmé entered, closely followed by the soldier. Who had won? When Henryk said there would be no more fighting and announced his engagement to Esmé everybody was overjoyed that King Henryk was safe. They cheered for him and his bride. When Margaret saw Henryk's happiness, she was ready to forgive Esmé everything, including a nasty character.

Jane was a bit shy when she realised that her friend would be the queen, but Esmé told her that they would always be friends.

"After all," she said, "it was your friendship that helped me to change."

ooOOoo

About a week after the soldier had arrived, Esmé asked Henryk what made him think that she might become a nicer person.

"I would have thought it natural if my behaviour had put you off for life."

"I never ever wanted to come anywhere near you again in my life!" he answered.

Then he told her when and where he has seen her, and what made him decide that perhaps he should be the one to try and get rid of the brat in her.

Esmé kissed Henryk.

"I'm so glad you got rid of the brat."

They had to wait until April before Henryk thought the weather was good enough to travel to Esmé's father. The journey was uneventful and eventually they reached King John's palace. Esmé ran straight to her father and embraced him – something he wasn't used to. After the exuberant greeting she told him about her engagement to Henryk.

It took some time before King John understood that his daughter really wanted to marry King Henryk. She had so obviously been disgusted with him and then he had abducted her, even if that had been done with her father's approval, but clearly, to King John's relief, she didn't know that.

Though he had trusted Henryk implicitly, King John still asked his daughter. "Are you really sure you want to marry him? You are not forced into this? He didn't … nothing happened that makes you feel you have no other choice but to become his wife? This is your own free choice?"

"Yes, father, I really, really want to marry Henryk. I love him so much. And if the handsomest, wealthiest Emperor in the world asked for my hand I would say no because he's not Henryk."

Then he asked Henryk. "And you, Henryk, do you really want my daughter? You stormed out once because of what she said. She's not the easiest girl to get along with. Are you sure you can cope?"

"Sir, I have loved your daughter for a long time and I won her love even though I treated her abominably. The happiest day in my life was when she finally said she loved me. I think … no, I'm sure we will be happy together."

Then, to show King John that he would never divulge to Esmeralda that her father knew of the abduction, he added, "If you can forgive me for the sorrow I've caused you when I abducted her, then please, give us your blessing."

When King John finally realised that Henryk's plan had worked, and that his daughter and his friend's son loved each other despite the rocky start to their relationship he was really delighted with the planned wedding.

"This would have pleased your father so much, Henryk," the king said. "We talked about this when you were dancing with Esmé on her sixteenth birthday."

"You're mistaken, father," said Esmé in a gentle voice. "I've never danced with Henryk on my birthday. I saw him the first time when he gave me his rose."

"You two played together when you were children. Thick as thieves you two were; the scourge of the kitchen. Always after something sweet; and woe betide the poor devil who refused to give your Harry his favourite biscuit."

"He's Henryk."

"Of course he is, but you always called him Harry for some reason."

Esmé looked at her father, then at Henryk.

"Oh my god, you are my Prince Charming. And I didn't recognise you."

"I'm no Prince Charming anymore, Esmé. The accident didn't only change my face. I'm no longer the light-hearted boy I was then."

"That's good," said Esmé, "Prince-Charmings really are a boring lot. Besides, I hope I'm no longer the silly girl I was then."

And Esmé kissed Henryk, her Prince Charming; no, better, her beloved, her fiancé, her man.

When summer came and the roses were blooming there was a small wedding when Jane married James and, as promised, Esmé was Jane's bridesmaid.

There was also a bigger wedding when Esmé married her ugly king. Well, she didn't think he wasn't all that ugly really; he just had a scar on his face and Esmé didn't notice it anymore. Of course King Henryk gave her a big bunch of the deep red velvety roses as a wedding bouquet.

"They finally have a name," he said. "James agreed with my choice. They are now called Rosa Princess Esmeralda."

And Esmé blushed when her father said to her: "I thought you didn't like roses."

The gardener whose roses Esmé had destroyed beamed with pleasure when he was given two rosebushes for his garden: a Rosa Princess Esmeralda and a Rosa Lovely Jane, the first to be grown outside King Henryk's country.

Esmé and Henryk lived long and mostly happily, as both knew that compromise is sometimes necessary in a marriage, even – or perhaps particularly – in a royal marriage.

One thing they agreed on without question. None of their children was allowed to become a spoilt brat. Even as children they had to keep their rooms tidy, and help in the kitchen and the garden. When they came of age they were sent out to go and work as servants somewhere and if they found a partner who loved them without knowing that they were princes or princesses so much the better.

When their eldest son was working as a groom …
but that is another story.

ooooOOOOoooo

THE END

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Authors Note:

Here ends the story of Henryk and Esmé. I hope you liked it. Please let me know what you thought.

Eventually there may be a sequel to this story.