Taken by Darkness

At dawn the next morning, Ashley found himself wide awake and well-rested. Unbeknownst to everyone, Lady Trista made sure he got the worst bed possible without being a beggar, and were it not for his status as her adopted daughter, he’d be wearing rags, for certain. While waking up in such a soft bed and a silken nightgown was a wonderful sensation, it instantly reminded him of the situation. He was essentially using the palace as a boarding house, and even then, it was only temporary; he would eventually have to return home, and he knew it.

Determined to remain in good spirits during his stay, he stretched slightly before attempting to rise for the morn. Although a bit apprehensive, Ashley grabbed an outfit from the wardrobe from which he’d borrowed the nightgown he wore. He ignored his swollen, throbbing loins as he dressed in the adjoining water closet, knowing young ladies weren’t supposed to pleasure themselves.

KNOCK KNOCK!

“You may enter!” he called out, wincing as he brushed the knots from his hair.

“Good morn, Lady Ashley.”

Turning at the very deep voice, he saw the Prince. “Good morn, Sir Andrew.”

“Sir Andy in private, if you will recall,” he chuckled, a twinkle in his cerulean eyes.

“My apologies, Sir Andy,” Ashley said, holding the hairbrush as he dropped into a shallow curtsy.

“No need for apologies. Would you care for some assistance in pinning your hair?” the young man asked him.

“Oh, no. Improper though ’tis, I usually leave my hair unbound,” he answered.

Andy gave him a curious look, one brow arched in question.

“I am prone to headaches that leave me abed for days, and pinning my hair up makes them worse and more frequent,” the adolescent explained. “Truth be told, my head still aches a bit from having it pinned too tight for too long yesterday.”

“Ah, I see. I shall have our healer, a close friend of mine, bring you some willow bark to chew on,” he told him. “In the meantime, I can try a more informal style his wife helped me practice for when I am out hunting or otherwise on horseback.”

“You will not hurt me, yea?” Ashley asked uncertainly.

“Yea, Lady Ashley, I will do my best not to hurt you,” the Prince answered.

Still a bit uncertain about letting someone who was all but a perfect stranger help him with such an intimate part of his daily routine, he nodded and sat on the little vanity stool. The slightly older man took up the hairbrush he’d just been holding and began to pull it gently through the raven tresses that reached the bottom of his shoulder blades. It was the first time anyone else had brushed his hair for him since the last time his mother had the night he was taken away.

Andy chuckled softly as he continued brushing the adolescent’s hair, smiling as he relaxed into his touch and closed his eyes. Once he’d brushed every knot possible out of the pin-straight tresses, he gently set the brush aside on the vanity table. He began to part the tail he’d drawn his hair into, trying to part it into three even chunks. After getting the chunks as even as he possibly could, the Prince began to gently plait them into a semi-tight braid that started at the crown of his head. He made sure to plait it tight enough to avoid unraveling, but loose enough to keep it from pulling on his scalp, which would only aggravate the lingering headache he’d said he had.

“Wow,” Ashley breathed upon looking into the mirror moments later.

“’Tisn’t took tight, is it?” the Prince asked.

“No, Sir Andy, ’tisn’t too tight at all,” he answered, turning to face him. “’Tis perfect. Many thanks!”

“You need not thank me, Lady Ashley,” he chuckled. “Now, shall I escort you down to breakfast?”

“Yes, please,” the adolescent answered shyly, blushing. “I fear I do not know my way around the palace as well as you.”

“It takes time to learn one’s way through these old halls,” Andy reassured him as he offered his elbow. “Despite growing up here, it took even me a while to learn my way around.”

Although he was curious about the Prince’s age since he didn’t look much older than himself, he wasn’t so crass as to ask.

“It has taken me the better part of my five and twenty years, especially since I am forever finding old, forgotten parts of the palace when I explore in my free time, but I could likely go anywhere in here, even if I were blind,” the Prince continued.

“You are five and twenty?” Ashley asked, eyes wide with surprise.

“Yea, I am. How old did you think I am?” he countered.

“Surely no more than two or three years older than my own age of five and ten,” the adolescent answered shyly. “You look younger than you truly are, and you are unwed.”

“Yea, I have always been babe-faced, as Mother says,” Andy chuckled. “And I remain unwed because I patiently await the day the one who stole my heart is old enough to wed.”

“Who stole your heart, if you do not mind my asking?”

“You.”

That one-word response made Ashley jerk to a sudden halt.

“Lady Ashley? Are you feeling ill?” He stopped, as well, and turned to face him.

“Just surprised,” the adolescent answered, shaking his head to clear it. “I just never thought that I was…attractive…to anyone, certainly not you.”

“Truth be told, I fell in love with you the night you were first brought to the palace ten long years ago,” the Prince admitted softly. “But I knew I could not wed you at that time; you were but a mere child. And ever since, my love for you has only grown.”

Looking around to check for witnesses, he prepared to admit his secret, which could easily break his heart. “Sir Andy, you do realize that, beneath this fine gown and these effeminate features…I am truly a male, yea?”

“My sweet Lady Ashley…” Andy chuckled. “Yea, I know the truth of your gender, as do Mother and Father. ’Tisn’t your gender I fell in love with, although I will admit that does make you all the more beautiful in my eyes, but rather who you are at heart.”

“R-Really?” he asked, even more surprised than before.

“Yea. I admire your loving and caring nature, the strength and fortitude that got you through being orphaned at such a young age, and most of all, how you did not allow that to cause you to become bitter and jaded.”

It took Ashley a moment to regain his wits and composure before he spoke. “I admire your own loving and caring nature, your now obvious patience, and how despite being Prince of Silverstone, you have not allowed such power, fame, and fortune to inflate your ego when many others out there in the world would have done just that.”

“Well, for now, let us go down for breakfast, lest Mother send someone up to fetch us,” the Prince said, his subject change a bit abrupt. “We shall continue this conversation and getting to know one another afterward.”

Nodding his agreement, he smiled up at the man who’d become the object of his fascination from the first moment he’d seen him in the middle of town square. Granted, back then, he’d thought he was a mere commoner, maybe the son of a nobleman, at best. To find out he was actually the Prince of Silverstone was a pleasant surprise, and one he’d felt blessed to receive.

Andy returned the sweet smile with a dazzling one of his own, gently raising his free hand to press an equally gentle kiss to it. This made the adolescent at his side turn a light, but pretty shade of pink, and he figured it was mostly because he now knew he’d long ago fallen in love with him. The Prince was intelligent enough to understand that he may very well not be in love with him, as well, and that such a situation might never change. While he intended to make him his bride, and would be crushed if he rejected his romantic advances, he would settle for mere friendship, if he had to.

Upon their arrival in the private dining room, they were greeted warmly by the Queen, who’d already taken her seat. As he held out a chair for Ashley, which he then pushed in for him, he asked if his father would be joining them shortly, or taking breakfast in their chambers. Shaking her head, Amy told them she’d insisted he stay abed today since he’d woken with a terrible headache. She was quite capable of keeping the castle running smoothly, and as Prince, Andy could make any important decisions in his stead.

“If you do not mind, Mother, I intend to spend time with Lady Ashley,” he told her.

“I do not mind, provided you do not allow yourselves to be found in compromising circumstances,” Amy said, a bit of a suspicious glint in her eyes.

“Mother, while I will admit a high attraction and eventual intention to wed, I am more noble and chivalrous than that,” the Prince admonished her gently.

Ashley felt his face flush from his exposed collarbones at the top of his bodice all the way to his hairline as he listened to his admission.

“I am just making sure, my son,” she told him, holding her hands up in surrender. “But I must ask…what if Lady Ashley rejects your romantic advances, whether ‘she’ has an interest in another or not?”

“Then I shall settle for mere friendship and chaperoned visits and outings,” Andy answered confidently. “And yea, my response shall remain the same if and when we both wed, should we wed anyone aside from each other.”

Lady Amy’s smile was so wide it could only be described as a grin. She and the King hadn’t raised their son to be a little hellion intent on taking anything he wanted, even if it wasn’t offered. To hear her son say that his intentions were naught but honorable was music to her ears. The fact that the one he intended to wed hadn’t had an easy life after the deaths of his parents made her even more relieved to hear that.

Although the talk of potential futures for him was embarrassing, Ashley was also glad to hear the Prince’s responses. He didn’t usually trust others very easily, considering some of the things Lady Trista’d tried doing to him from a young age. Then again, something told him he could trust the royal ruling family, so he doubted he’d deny Andy if he asked for his hand in marriage.

Not long afterward, Andy offered his elbow to the adolescent so he could take him out to the garden. He’d seemed happiest out there the day before, and he saw no reason not to ensure his young companion’s happiness during his stay. Then again, that was only if he didn’t become a permanent resident of the palace in the near future. While he hoped he wouldn’t be made a broken-hearted fool, he knew there was always the possibility that young Ashley would reject both him and his marriage proposal. To avoid causing a premature case of depression for himself, he pushed such thoughts aside in favor of enjoying himself.

By the time they retired later that evening, the adolescent felt more at home at the palace than he ever had in Lady Trista’s manor. He was really hoping Andy proposed to him because, despite barely knowing him, he already knew his answer would be yea. The Prince didn’t strike him as being abusive in any way, shape, or form, and he was already treated more like a member of the family than he had been since the night he was taken. Despite remembering that Sir Christopher’d ordered he be brought to the palace that fateful night, Ashley fell asleep with a smile on his face.

Notes