Chapter I
In Another Life
One stride forward with a gaze filled with lustful intent was enough to make her step back. She contained her serene expression, contradicting her panicking heart. It would come to this, she knew, yet she did not try to put a stop to the bulky man towering before her.
Oh, how she regret granting him of the privacy he requested. Timothy, her loyal guard, went missing for she dismissed him, saying that she wanted to have a word in private with the duke.
“Milford,” she was thankful her voice did not tremble as much as her knees did. “If my father ever hears of this…” she threatened.
The duke merely grinned. He was a large man, with wide shoulders and of tall stature. A mop of brown hair rested on his head and his blue eyes was dark and filled with lechery that made her shudder.
“Nay, your royal highness,” he cupped her cheek and she immediately recoiled. His voice was low and gruff, making the ends of her hair stand in revulsion. “You aren’t going to tell the king.”
He sounded so sure of himself that she almost scoffed. “Why not?”
He leaned to her ear and said in a breathy whisper that was more disgusting than seducing, “You won’t be able to tell the king if you’re going to like it.” he leaned back to see how she was accepting the claim.
Then he dropped dead.
It all happened so fast. Stephanie gasped audibly as she stared at the fallen duke with eyes wide with surprise. One second he towered over her and the next, he sprawled unconscious with blood dripping from his forehead. Aye, relief washed over her, but how did he suddenly faint?
Beside his body was a round and hard material, stained with crimson red: a bloodied stone.
Panic took over her again. Was he dead? Who was the attacker? Was she in danger? Where in heaven’s name were her guards? Why did they comply with her command when it was their duty to see to her safety?
Then the second shock of her life happened.
Next to her, someone dropped from the sky with a loud thud. Stephanie jolted in surprise. She spun, expecting to see a mighty warrior but what she saw gave her the third shock of her life.
Erika brushed the dust off her bliaut. It was, after all, her favourite dress. A royal blue silk, adorned with white embroidery and white ceinture, which she braided herself, wrapped twice around her waist. She specifically wore her father’s colours. Tossing the mass of white blonde hair over her shoulders and met the astonished grey eyes, she grinned.
The victim was a beauty, Erika observed. Braided loosely and tossed to her side were the fine locks of black and her eyes, as grey and intense as the storm clouds. She wore a pretty white and gold gown and an even prettier face; eyes that gave a critical stare, rosy cheeks, perfectly carved nose, and supple red lips.
The smile the bonny stranger offered did nothing to help Stephanie calm herself. If anything, it only made her flustered all the more. It was charming and at the same time, cunning. Looking into the striking green eyes, she made out tiny emerald chips that glinted with mischievousness. She was mesmerised.
She quickly trained her expression to a serene one and averted her gaze to take the distracting image out of her mind.
“Who are you.” She questioned not but commanded to; an order that the woman introduce herself to her.
Erika shrugged, taking no offense. She got the impression that the woman was dictatorial, and that sorry trait made her amused. “I go by the name Erika.” she curtsied. “Daughter to Baron Wexton.”
Stephanie nodded and stern grey eyes gazed into the clear green ones. “’Tis unbecoming of a lady to jump off the roof like that, Lady Erika.” she admonished, frowning.
“’Tis unbecoming of a lady to not express gratitude to someone who just saved her dignity.” She relentlessly stared back into the grey eyes. “Is it not so?"
Stephanie was offended, however. “Sorry?” she exclaimed, her voice raising just a notch. “Do you realise who you’re talking to?”
Erika critically scanned the woman, whom she now categorised as someone who got what they always wanted. She was beautiful, aye, but she felt no recognition.
She shrugged again, coming off more and more nonchalant to Stephanie. “I’m afraid not.”
Stephanie took a breath and straightened her posture, buffing her chest out and tilting her chin up with pride. ’Twas plausible for the woman to fail to recognise her for she did not wear her circlet, though how could she not recognise her princess?
“I am Stephanie, daughter of King Henry.” she held her posture, expecting a grand reaction from the blonde. Perhaps she would now kneel and beg for forgiveness, she thought.
However, Erika maintained her serene expression and more importantly, did not even bend or move a muscle at the revelation. Stephanie was most infuriated. How dare this woman not bow down to her princess?
“I said, I am Stephanie, the Princess of England.” she repeated, emphasising the royal title, “Your princess, young lady,”
This time, Erika flashed another one of her lopsided grins, surprising and confusing the princess. “I heard you the first time, your royal highness.” she said. “However, royal blood or not, ’tis still unbecoming of a lady to not express gratitude to someone who just saved her dignity, is it not?”
Stephanie frowned. What was this chit talking about? “And? Are you someone who saved my dignity?” she questioned.
Erika merely smiled. Stephanie was about to question her further but the woman curtsied and her heels. “You should go and tell the king about this man, your royal highness. He deserves punishment for his deed and intent.” she walked away. Something slipped out of her sleeve and dropped to the ground.
Grey eyes trained on the retreating back until she could not see it any longer. Erika intrigued her and at the same time, sparked a flame of irritation in her heart. The lopsided grin and the mischievous green eyes affected her more than she was willing to admit, thus, the cause of irritation.
She shook her head, trying to get the beautiful image out of her head and walked to the object Erika dropped. Perhaps she should return it. Nay, she needs return it. ’Twas only right so. She could send one of her guards to send it for her.
She picked up the object, examining it in her hands.
A slingshot.
By then she understood and a smile inadvertently made its way to her face.
—————
“Is that so?”
Erika sat on her bed, getting her hair braided by her mother, Madelyne, who had asked the earlier question. She had just finished recounting her encounter with the Princess of England and the Duke of Milfordhurst and the story seemed to amuse her mother.
“Aye, mother.” she chuckled. “The princess was most intriguing.”
“And impolite.” Erika could hear the frown in her mother’s voice.
“She was not aware of my heroic deed, I believe.” she countered, voice still dripping with amusement.
Madelyne made a noncommittal sound. “However, I do agree that ’tis unbecoming of a lady to jump off a roof, Erika. I did not raise you to become one with the monkeys.”
She fought the urge to roll her eyes and failed. It did not matter, she told herself. Her mother was unable to see it anyway for she sat behind her.
“Don’t roll your eyes at me, young lady.”
Or maybe she was able to.
She smiled. Her mother knew her all too well. “Aye, mother.” she said, her tone mocking. Madelyne was a gentle woman but Erika knew better. Beneath the trained serene expression lies a feisty personality, which her mother profusely denied and everyone else in the manor agreed on.
Her mother had finished braiding her hair and stood before her with her hands clasped on her back. The woman was elegant and gracious, the exact opposite of her daughter. Erika was nothing elegant and gracious, though she looked like it. She was the nightmare of the household. Servants and soldiers dreaded to see what she was up to for everything she did were careless and dangerous for a young mistress. She heard servants talking about her personality and they unanimously agreed that it was a trait that she inherited from her mother. She had asked her father about it and the man merely laughed and said that she indeed took after the woman.
What she did not get from her mother, her father told her in clear relief, was her accuracy. Her eyes were sharp and her calculations were perfect. She could hit anything from anywhere with her slingshot without trouble and her father was most proud and pleased of that.
Madelyne exited her chamber, telling her to go downstairs and join them for breakfast. Her uncles and aunt were present and it excited her. She had, after all, learned a lot from them.
Erika stood, walked to the mirror and put on a serene expression that her mother had taught her to always wear in public. She climbed down the stairs with a light spring on her steps. It had been a while since they have dined as a complete family.
Eyes landed on her as soon as she stepped in to the dining area. Every person seemed to forget what they were doing as they froze and stared at the young mistress with jaw agape and eyes clouded with awe. Her father sat on the head of the table with her mother on his right. Her uncles and aunt were there, too, surrounded with her father’s commanders.
Lady Erika was most graceful and the peaceful expression on her face was most beautiful. Her mother had taught her not to let her emotions show to the eyes of the public, ’twas a weakness, she said. Since her childhood, she had always been prim and proper in other people's presence.
Duncan smiled at the sight of his daughter and beckoned her over. Erika caught her mother’s eye and nodded before starting towards the table with a serenity that took the breath away from everyone in the table.
But the people in the household knew better. Erika was the human manifestation of mischief. Due to her petite build, she easily slips through her guard’s grasp during the day, wandering around the woods, which her father banned her from, with her slingshot and a basket of meat to feed her mother’s wolf, and easily slips in, as she slipped out, during nightfall.
However, knowing their young mistress’s real personality or not, ’twas still a fact that she was a beauty to behold. The long blonde hair braided back meticulously by her mother spilled off mesmerisingly off her shoulders and she was clad in pure light blue silky bliaut that when put together with her visuals, people would say, suggested that she was more than human. Erika always thought that compliment was an exaggeration.
“Good Morning.” she greeted everyone in a sweet voice as she took a seat on her father’s left, across her mother, after giving her aunt and uncles a hug and her parents, a kiss on the cheek.
Servants were called and in came the sumptuous amount of thick, freshly baked loaves and yellow cheese. Bowls of pottage were also served along with platters of boiled potatoes followed by the platters of roasted peasant and small bowls of almonds, a goblet of ale placed on each person’s side.
Everyone dug in. The men started a loud conversation about politics and war games while the women listened, dabbing their lips gently with the square of linen. Uncle Edmond and Uncle Gilard were in the middle of telling Duncan about the issues in their respective lands when the baron’s squire came running inside, breathless. Heads turned to the young lad, waiting.
“What is it.” Duncan’s voice boomed, deep, gruff, and demanding.
A tremor passed through the squire’s body visibly. “T-The princess, my lord!” he blurted out.
Duncan frowned, making his features even more frightening than it already was. “What princess?”
“The Princess of England is in the borders of our land and requests for permission to enter.” the squire managed to blurt out.
Erika raised a brow both in amusement and surprise. The Princess of England? Stephanie, that haughty and ungrateful princess? Just what in heaven’s name was she doing in the borders of their land, seeking for permission to enter?
Questioning blue eyes bore on her from across the table and she shrugged in reply. She did not have a single clue on the princess’s agendas. Hell, she did not even expect her to come knocking at her doorstep.
Perhaps, Stephanie was just as interested and intrigued as she was, Erika supposed but she quickly scratched that thought. Just because they had a short encounter a week ago did not mean that the princess went through all the trouble to get to their land just to see her out of mere interest. Perhaps, she had some business with her father. Aye, that must be it.
“Ready my mount. I shall meet the princess there.” Duncan stood, towering over the table. “Anthony, come with me.” he ordered gruffly before walking away, but not without giving his wife’s shoulder a gentle squeeze.
The squire immediately ran off to the stables, tripping over his own feet once or twice in his haste. Without thinking, Erika shot up from her seat as well, making heads turn.
“I will come with you, father.” she announced.
The man stopped in his tracks and turned, making her see his frown. “Why is that, lass?”
Erika blinked. She did not know the answer to that question. Because I want to see her too. “Because Princess Stephanie and I are good friends.” she lied through her teeth. If there was another thing she did not inherit from her mother, ’twas her excellent ability of lying. “We met last week, during your visit to the king.” she added, putting in a dazzling smile to spice up the story.
Grey eyes pointedly scrutinized her through a narrow gaze. “And how did you become good friends in such short period, daughter?”
Her mind was in turmoil but she maintained her calm expression. “Oh, you know, father, things women do. We chatted.” she lied again.
“What did you talk about?”
“Typical matters. Like gossips and boys.”
Her father’s scowl deepened. “Boys? The last time I checked, you’re not the type to talk about boys.”
“Well, you should check again.” she flashed a smile. “Boys, oh, boys. I love them.” she caught her mother pursing her lips to suppress her laughter. Oh, Madelyne can see through her lies, all right. Thankfully, her mother always sided with her.
Duncan grunted, giving it a thought or two, and concluded that it would not be disadvantageous to let his daughter come with him. “In that case, bring Keith and Calum with you.” he said, referring to the two skilled warriors.
Erika let out a grin and discreetly shot a wink to her mother before bounding after her father, followed by the two soldiers. They walked to the stables and she gave the stable master a smile as a greeting which caused blood rushing up to his cheeks.
Serenity, her loyal steed, trudged out. It was a pure black stallion. She caressed the shiny dark coat and whispered sweet words to the mare in greeting before mounting with ease despite her petite stature. After petting the black mane, she took hold of the reigns and galloped after her father’s warrior.
The five of them stripped through the woods in high-speed that the trees decreased to a mere blur and Erika’s hair that glimmered yellow gold against the sun flew freely behind her. Anthony, her father’s loyal vassal, led the pack, followed by Erika and the two other soldiers who rode close beside her, and her father galloped behind them, protecting their back.
Erika might have never noticed that they have reached the borders if not for Anthony skidding to a stop. She almost ran over the man and immediately pulled the reigns, manoeuvred slightly to the right to avoid getting the vassal trampled down, and Serenity reared up; a move that might have tossed the petite woman off its back if she was not as skilled as she was. The black beauty went back down to its front hooves, whinnying and Erika soothingly patted its neck for comfort.
And she finally looked up, only to have her breath taken away. She met the grey gaze with her green ones and felt her heart pick up pace. The princess was gracefully perched on a snow-white stallion that had its blonde mane braided neatly. The mare was a beauty but even more so was its rider. Stephanie was a fine lady. Her black hair braided and tossed, draped over her right shoulder was her white cloak, embroidered with golden threads. She looked very much like a princess that she is.
The Wexton Lady's riding skills astonished Stephanie. The way Erika’s black stallion reared and the way the blonde rider skillfully held on while looking oh so gracious with her blonde hair bouncing off her shoulders and her milky white skin that seemed to reflect the sun’s brightness caused her breath to get caught in . Lady Erika was too bright to look at that she had to squint. The sunlight seemed to make her glow and Stephanie thought that if deities did exist, they must have looked like this.
“Princess Stephanie,” a deep and gruff voice stole her attention. She looked at the baron who dipped his head low in greeting and when he looked up; she almost fell off her saddle. Aye, Baron Wexton was frightening. He wore a deep scowl that suggested she was not welcome and she began to regret her reckless decision of coming to the holdings. “’Tis an honour to have you here, your royal highness,” The baron said, though his frown contradicts his statement.
Stephanie shook her head and wore a smile. “Nay, baron. The pleasure is mine.”
The baron’s scowl was constant. Stephanie wondered if it was his default expression. “You came here alone?” he looked over her shoulder.
“Aye, baron. I came here alone.” she answered, thinking it would please the baron that she had no guards with her. However, the scowl on his face intensified instead. “But I did leave my father a note.” she quickly added in hopes to appease him. She had come a long way and she was not about to back down.
Stephanie herself did not know the reason behind her rash action. ’Twas the first time that she broke an order. Walking around without an was prohibited for her, yet she did. And she did not just walk around. She travelled hundreds of miles, day and night, unarmed, for heaven’s sake. She thanked God for the safety that He provided. Indeed, ’twas a miracle that she was not attacked by a wild animal during her journey to the Wexton Holdings.
However, there was one reason she knew of and tightly hung on to. The slingshot in her satchel. Aye, she travelled miles and miles just to return a forked stick to a certain beautiful lady. ’Twas an outrageous reason, indeed. A reason she, too, did not understand.
“You left him a note?” Baron Wexton sounded incredulous. “Your royal highness, are you saying that the king did not know of your departure and possibly still does not if he had not read your note?”
Stephanie kept her calm expression. “Probably so.”
The baron shook his head. He was in distress. “Do you know what foolish of a deed that was, m’lady?”
Stephanie nodded. “Aye. I am aware of my foolishness.” she admitted. “However, now that I am here, are you not going to let me in? I heard that you’re an honourable man, baron. Surely, you would not send a lady, who barely made it here alive, back to her castle, would you?” she asked, hopeful.
The baron shook his head again. “Nay. Of course not.”
Stephanie flashed a smile. “Then shall we enter your holding?” she took hold of her reigns, ready to nudge her white stallion to a start.
“Before that, may I ask the reason for your presence? Surely, you did not go through such measures just for the sake of stepping into my land.”
Stephanie bit her tongue. She did not know how to answer that. There was silence and she was growing more and more fidgety under the intimidating gaze of the baron. ’Twas not an option for her to say that she came to return the slingshot, or that she came to see his daughter.
Hold that thought. She came to see his daughter? The realization sent her mind in turmoil. She travelled a great distance, slept in the wilderness alone for the first time in her life, and tired herself out, just to see the petite blonde woman? Nay, she was not going to accept that reason.
“She came to see me.”
Stephanie almost flinched at the deep velvet voice. Heads turned to their young mistress who was staring straight at the confused and shocked princess.
The baron’s features hardened. “Explain yourself, daughter.”
Erika turned to her father and smiled, unperturbed by the frightening scowl. “She came to see me, father. I told you, we were great friends. I sent her a letter of invitation and I guess my mischievous ways rubbed on her. You know how I am,” she let out a laugh, a sweet tinkling sound. “Why, she ran from her castle without permission! I’m proud of you, Stephanie.”
The men looked at her as though she had gone daft. Their young mistress had just regarded the princess by her first name, without the titles. In truth, Stephanie was mildly offended too but the fact that Erika remembered her name gained most of her attention which was foolish. She was the princess. Of course Erika should remember her name.
“Princess, is this true?” Baron Wexton fixed his scrutinizing gaze on her but she was busy gaping at the blonde lady’s lie.
Erika raised her brows twice at her and winked. She took the signal and shifted her gaze to the blonde’s father. “Aye. Your daughter speaks of the truth,”
Grey eyes studied her critically for a moment before the man nodded. “Very well. In that case, welcome to the Wexton Holdings, your royal highness. Please follow us inside.” he turned. “And you, Erika, meet me in my chamber as soon as we arrive.” he ordered, his voice as hard as steel.
Stephanie grew worried. Had she put Erika in a dangerous place? The lady had saved her dignity yet again but all she did was put her in danger. Is the baron going to lash out at his daughter? Nay, he was an honourable man and she believed that. However, is Erika going to receive an earful of lecture?
Erika felt the worried gaze fixed on her and turned to meet them. As soon as the grey and green clashed, she understood at once that the princess worried about her wellbeing. She was pleased. Did the brunette care about her after all?
To appease Stephanie, Erika shot her a reassuring lopsided grin and a quick wink before turning and following her father inside the holding. The gesture did comfort Stephanie but it also made her hang on to her reigns, for she almost fell at the sight of the dimpled chin.
Oh, what had she gotten herself into?
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