The Princess and the Lumberjack Read online

  "Come Gertrude, you need to eat then start getting ready for our guests tonight." Evalyn motioned me towards my dining table.

  For so long, I had been the submissive, quiet Princess. What was two more weeks to keep the peace? It did not go unnoticed that she did not rise when I entered the room, curtsy or address me correctly. When we were alone, Evalyn never failed to show me that she did not respect me. That I disgusted and disappointed her in some way. When I was younger, I tried telling Mother and Father. They either didn't care or didn't believe me. In company Evalyn was a model lady, following all rules and traditions.

  Not playing into her manipulative game, I sat at the table and began eating. The kitchen had sent up my favourite dish, beef and vegetable stew with fluffy mashed potatoes. I smiled, someone in the kitchens had likely remembered it was my favourite and decided to give me what gift they could for my birthday. Eating in silence was common for me, I ignored Evalyn as she sat there watching me eat. I’m not sure what she was hoping for, a reaction of some kind maybe. Half way though my lunch, Evalyn stood, and without another word left the room. Perfectly timed as always, the moment the last spoonful entered my mouth, my lady’s maids entered the room.

  "Evalyn has asked me to shower you and wash your hair, as you had spent the morning in the gardens" the first maid told me.

  It was a dig I was expecting, Evalyn did not condone me spending so much time outdoors alone since the farm boy incident. Even though I had showered this morning, I decided it wasn't worth arguing. Evalyn would get her way in the end anyway and refusing would only cause the lady’s maids more trouble than they needed. I left the dining table and took myself to the shower, at least I could be alone in here. Washing out my hair, I lost myself within my mind, thinking about all the 'what ifs' that existed in my short life.

  What if I wasn't a Princess?

  What if I wasn't betrothed to Prince Charming?

  What if I never told Evalyn about the green-eyed farm boy?

  What if I was friends with the lady’s maids?

  What if I allowed Evalyn and Mother to corrupt and change me to be like them?

  What if I was the real Trudy, and let my true self show?

  What if Prince Charming was worse than Mother and Evalyn?

  I was drawn out of my thoughts by a knock on the door and one of the maids went to answer it. Looking down I realised I was dried, dressed and styled for the evening. I was dressed in a soft aquamarine gown, styled to sit off my shoulders and with a sweetheart neckline. The dress had no beading or lace designs and was quite plain. The maids had dressed it up with a chunky yet jewelled necklace, and my hair was bound in a curly bun with a tiara sitting on top. I looked glamorous and elegant.

  "That was the footman, Your Highness. We have fifteen minutes before your guests are due to arrive. The Queen would like you to be present for the welcome downstairs." The maid informed me as she re-entered my dressing room.

  "Am I ready?" I asked with a sigh, looking over my appearance in the mirror again. After spraying me with a floral perfume, the maids deemed me ready and I walked into the hallway to the waiting footman.

  Two

  I joined Mother, Father and Harrison in the formal sitting room off the main entrance hall. This is where we met and greeted all our guests. I had hardly sat down when the footman announced the arrival of King Kryler and Prince Charming.

  Charming had grown into an odd-looking man. I had heard him called handsome, but I had a feeling that had more to do with his title of Crown Prince than his actual appearance. He is pale and plain. As I was five feet tall, most people towered over me; at five foot two, Charming did not. He had been tall for his age at thirteen but hadn’t grown since then. He is stick thin, with next to no muscle definition or strength. He has the body of a spoilt Prince, who has never had to work or do anything for himself in his life. Charming looked nothing like his younger brother Ambrose. He was what I liked to call a "typical knight" in all mannerisms and looks. He stood tall at 6 feet. He had the same black hair as his brother, yet it always looked wavy and windswept. He was tanned from spending too much time in the sun, and his muscles had muscles. I watched as Harrison looked around the room, probably searching for Ambrose. Those two had formed a friendship after being separated from Charming and myself several times. Ambrose had always been kind and friendly to me, it would have been nice if he were here to celebrate my birthday too.

  "Greetings, dear friends," King Kryler began speaking to my parents. "Sorry Ambrose could not make it tonight, he is off on another quest and would not quit it. You know how stubborn the boy can be."

  My eyes still on Harrison, his shoulders sag, and a flicker of disappointment and pain flash across his face, before smoothing back into his easy grin. I wonder what was behind that.

  Evalyn had raised me to play the same role when I was in company. I was to be quiet, to speak only when directly asked a question and to follow Mothers orders. I was forgotten and pushed to the sidelines. As a good Princess should be. Usually I enjoyed falling into the character created for me, it allowed me to keep my distance and avoid connecting with anyone. Today, I do not want to be quiet and forgotten. Walking directly to Charming, I injected myself into his conversation with Harrison.

  "Good evening, Your Highness," I curtsied and looked up at him from under my eyelashes. We always spoke with proper titles, even after all these years of friendship.

  "Good evening, Princess Gertrude. Hope you are well." Charming grumbled without turning to me. It was clear he didn’t want to speak to me tonight. Harrison looked triumphant; probably delighted that he will have one more thing to tease me about.

  "Yes, I am quite well, yourself?" I persevered.

  Charming let out a heavy sigh and answered again without turning back to me. "Yes, I am excellent."

  The door opened and the butler entered the room, cutting off my attempt at further conversation.

  “Your Majesties, Your Highnesses, dinner is ready.” The butler bowed and held the door open as we fell into rank and walked into the dining room. Mother and Father entered first, followed by King Kryler, Harrison, Charming and myself last.

  I would have thought that due to it being my birthday celebratory dinner, and having two weeks until our wedding, Mother would have sat Charming and I together. However, I was seated between King Kryler and Harrison.

  Dinner was spent discussing trades and state affairs, I stopped paying attention around the entree, and tuned back in when King Kryler asked me a question as dessert was being served.

  "Gertrude, is there not to be a ball or any celebration for your upcoming birthday?"

  Upcoming? It's today, surely you dingbats realise why you are here?

  "This is all the celebration I require, Your Majesty." I looked down at the plate as it was placed in front of me and smiled softly. It held a large slice of chocolate sponge cake with a dollop of whipped cream, covered in melted chocolate and topped with a strawberry. Looking around the table, my smile grew noticing that everyone else had a vanilla cheesecake. They had remembered my birthday after all!

  "Well, Charming is having a ball next weekend for his twenty-first birthday. I am sure we will all have a great time celebrating his birthday," King Kryler continued.

  "And we must not forget about our announcement," Father added.

  "Of course not," Charming replied, never looking in my direction.

  Shortly after dessert, King Kryler and Prince Charming left, returning to their Castle. Usually, they would stay the night due to the long journey home.

  I went to bed that night, disheartened and full of despair. No one had even said Happy Birthday to me. I received no gifts or acknowledgements, other than the cake for dessert, and my favourite lunch. I smiled at the thought of that huge slice of cake. Someone in the kitchens remembered and cared. I wanted to go and thank them. The thought of the admonishment I would receive from Evalyn stopped me. All I could do is cherish that slice of hope, knowing that someone reme
mbered. That someone cared. Even if they thought of me as a cruel and heartless bitch.

  Three

  The week after my birthday passed quickly, and today was Prince Charming's twenty-first birthday. I was so excited for the ball tonight, even the storm clouds rolling in couldn't affect me. Our engagement will be announced tonight, then I only have one week to wait before we are married. The thought of marrying Prince Charming had been an abstract certainty all my life. I had known it would happen, ever since I could remember. Now that it was here, it was a little daunting. Would Charming expect me to consummate the marriage with him straight away? Would he be gentle and caring or demanding and rough? Does Charming have experience with sex and women?

  After Charming's behaviour at dinner for my birthday, I knew that our relationship was going to be a lot of hard work, but I was willing to persevere to get away from this Palace. It was perplexing to think that our mothers had been planning this for eighteen years. Two years ago, Queen Pomona passed away, leaving King Kryler with his sons. King Kryler was growing ill and now seemed determined to ensure his throne was secured with Charming married and settled with an heir of his own. This match is beneficial for both Kingdoms, securing an ongoing alliance between us. In the centuries that the Kingdoms have coexisted there has not been a marriage between the two.

  Unable to go outside due to the weather, I spent my morning reading and watching the rain, waiting for Evalyn and my lady’s maids to attend me. I was lost staring out the window when I heard footsteps approaching and someone knocking at the door.

  "Enter," I called out without moving, my eyes remained staring out at the rain, assuming it was Evalyn. It was rare for her, or a ladies' maid, to knock. They usually just let themselves in and did what they wanted, yet on occasion they would knock and seek my consent to enter.

  "What a surprise. You are sitting around doing nothing." The rough clear voice of my brother Harrison broke through my revelry, whipping my head around to look at him.

  "Harrison, what are you doing here?" Shocked and hesitant I rose to bow to Harrison. He may be my brother, but he is the Crown Prince. Harrison only sought me out to antagonise me, unless it was required, or he needed something.

  "Can your brother not come in to wish you well on this magnificent day of yours?" the sarcasm in his voice was so thick, like I could reach out and touch it.

  "Of course, you can," I turned my back to him, so he could not see my eyes roll. "Are you looking forward to the ball tonight? Hoping you can snare a fair maiden's attention? How is that wife hunt of yours going, brother dear?"

  Harrison's eyes bulged, clearly annoyed with me or the notion of wife hunting. I smirked and batted my eyelashes over my shoulder, only setting him off further. He was a Prince though, with years' worth of political debates and war meeting training. He could manoeuvre any conversation easily. I think he forgot that I was also trained to handle political debates and was raised to be a Queen.

  "Tell me, Gertrude, do you plan to show any emotion, despite hate, tonight? Plan on telling Charming that you are not capable of love? Or just skip straight to the consummation of the engagement and hope that will make you feel something?"

  I had years of experience of dealing with Harrison when he behaved like this. I scoffed "Not capable of feeling love! Good one Harrison! How long did that take you to think up? Now, is there anything else I can help you with? If not, I have a ball to prepare for."

  "It is noon. Need four hours to get ready, do you?" He scoffed, "It won't help your hideousness." He started laughing to himself as he walked out of my rooms, calling over his shoulder, "Don't forget to trim up if you plan on giving Charming any of the goods."

  The lady’s maids entered as Harrison left, and the next four hours were spent washing, drying, styling and dressing me for the ball. Often when it came to clothing for balls, I was not allowed any input in the design or choice in what I wore. However, as today was my engagement announcement, I had requested a specific dress that Mother and Evalyn had approved.

  I was dressed in an elegant sea green floor length ball gown with matching slippers. The ball gown had a high lace neckline, fitted tight across my torso, and held up with a small beaded button and the back neck. The dress was backless down to my waist and had cap sleeves with random sea glass beads placed across the shoulders and bodice. The gown then flared out into the skirt that trailed behind me as I walked. With the way the beading caught the light, I looked like I was shining. My waist length chocolate brown hair was unbound and styled in soft waves cascading down my back. I was not a vain person and did not believe that the world began and ended with good looks. However, I was not ashamed to think myself beautiful at times and believed this dress to capture and accentuate all the good features I possess.

  I met Mother, Father and Harrison in the entrance hall. Father and Harrison were dressed in matching pale grey tailored suits, with sky blue dress shirts. Grey and sky blue were our family’s colours and Father and Harrison usually wore this attire to formal events we attended. Father and Harrison both had long hair past their shoulders as in our family it was tradition for the men to have long hair. Fathers greying chocolate brown hair was up in a ponytail while Harrisons was un-styled. Harrison and I got our colouring from Father. Mother wore a vibrant orange dress that washed out her features and, in my opinion, was too overpowering for her. Her pale blonde hair was styled in a large elegant bun, adorned with several colourful pins. We each wore a crown, showcasing our status to those that would be at the party tonight.

  We were quiet as we all loaded into the carriage and travelled to the ball. The carriage ride was as quiet and peaceful as possible. I was not allowed to bring my book for the journey, as the last time I brought a book to a Ball I spent the entire time sulking. We had arrived at the Ball at the exact moment I got to the best part and wasn't allowed to pick up my book again for hours. With no book today, I spent my time watching our Kingdom as we travelled through it. I saw enormous forests on either side of the main road, and small villages popped up sporadically. Our carriage stopped briefly on the outskirts of a village called Adaira. We did not get out of the carriage, only waited long enough for the horses to be swapped for the rest of the journey. We would stop and swap them here again on our journey home.

  Arriving at 8 o’clock the footmen helped us exit the carriage and I fell into line shadowing my family as we walked into the Castle that was soon to be my home. I had been here several times and it had never felt more welcoming than it did now.

  Mother and Father were introduced to the ballroom first, followed by Harrison than me. We were always introduced in this order as they out ranked me and took priority. The ballroom is large and extravagant, it has never looked this beautiful before. The room has over twenty chandeliers lighting the space. The gold grand staircase led down to a white marble floor, which tonight is full of women in colourful dresses and men in tuxedos or suits. The centre of the room is opened for when the dancing will commence, and along the right wall of the ballroom there were tables covered in food, drinks and delicacies from all over the Kingdom.

  “Good evening, Your Majesties, Your Highnesses,” Charming greeted us with a bow.

  We all said hello then moved further into the ballroom, allowing him the time and space needed to continue welcoming the other arriving guests. Thrumming with excitement I cannot stop myself from watching Charming. The line of arriving guests is dwindling and soon I will finally get my chance to open the ball, joining Prince Charming in the first dance.

  Charming headed in my direction with a resigned look on his face, I lit up. This is it! Halfway across the room, Charming stopped in his tracks distracted by the entrance of a late guest. Unknown to me, she let herself into the ballroom, unaccompanied and not waiting to be announced. The whole room is quiet as we turn and watch her enter. This mystery woman is wearing a glittering and shimmering silver and golden ball gown, with clear glass slippers peeking out as she descends the staircase. Her blonde hai
r is up in a twisted bun, with a decorative black hair band, and has captured the whole room with her beauty.

  I stood there aghast as Prince Charming walks directly to this mystery woman, bows and starts conversing with her.

  “It’s okay. He needs to greet all his guests,” Mother mutters to me. “Mason, do we know who she is? I cannot recognise her.”

  “I do not know who she is Cynthia. I have never seen her before.” Father answered keeping his voice low.

  “Neither,” Harrison added on.

  “Find out. Now.” Mother ordered in a whisper, sending Father and Harrison off into the crowed room.

  NO! No! This could not be happening. Charming was dancing with this Mystery Woman. My mouth fell open in horror and fury. He is opening the ball with this woman? This is my rite, my duty, and she just walked in and took it.

  “What does this mean, Mother?” I ask under my breath. Careful of the ears that could be listening.

  “I don’t know, Gertrude. We will sort this mess out when your Father returns. We watch as Charming twists and turns her all over the dance floor. A heavy weight sags on my shoulders. That was meant to be me. Finishing the dance, Charming escorted her outside into his garden. I am tempted to interrupt them; I was raised better though. I know I could not make a scene in public.

  What should I do? Should I follow him? I turn to Mother for guidance and as I open my mouth to speak, Father cuts me off as he re-joined us.

  "No-one knows her name. King Kryler did not know that he was speaking to or interested in any other women. The King, like the idiot he is,” Father spoke under his breath, “does not know what is going on, but the engagement announcement is to go ahead as planned once he returns from the garden with her." Father stated, looking between me and Mother.

  "Prince Charming is in the garden with her?" Mother asks, her voice rising as she spoke, anger lacing her tone. I glance around the room, checking if we have any attention on us, and cannot see anyone staring. It is unusual for Mother to let her reactions show like this when we were amongst company. "He is probably just catching up with an old friend. I'm sure you have nothing to worry about. He is aware of the arrangement for him to marry you. Yes, we confirmed plans only the other day." She spoke like she was trying to convince herself, rather than me, of this and appeared to calm down.