Earning the Love of a Princess-Chapter 230: Flashback: Suffer

As he eventually walked out of Gerron’s workshop, self doubt began assaulting William.

Had he done the right thing buying those rubies and instructing the old man to thread them onto ribbons? Were they too extravagant?

What if Camilla didn’t like them? What if she just thanked him, using that calm tone of voice that made him want to punch a window, only to throw the ribbons into a chest and forget about them?

I’m not the right person to do this, William growled to himself. What would I know about buying gifts for a woman? I’ve never had to do such a thing in my life!

Stupidly blind, ignorant girl for forcing me into a corner...

William made his way into his apartments and hurled himself face down on his bed, ignoring his startled head page. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

"My lord, is there anything you need-" Casimir’s nervous voice reached his ears.

"No." William replied curtly. "I’m tired and want to be alone."

He heard Casimir practically run out of the room, which made him chuckle with dark humour. Rolling over onto his back, William stared up at the velvet canopy over the bed and thrashed his limbs in frustration.

He was a mess. A burning, twitching, foul tempered mess over some girl.

Why the hell wasn’t she more attracted to him? Why was she fighting him? Was it because she was still a maiden?

If he was very honest, that was part of her appeal. Most of the women William romped with were definitely not maidens. While he didn’t mind that at all, there was something to be said about a girl experiencing her first time at everything with him.

He wondered what that would be like, to slowly undress Camilla and then feast upon her pristine flesh. To hear her gasp and sigh and finally beg.

Yes, he’d make that shy little thing beg shamelessly, after all the trouble she’d put him through. He’d have to move very, very slowly to avoid scaring her. Which would be a challenge in itself but certainly an enjoyable one.

Would she be sweetly submissive like he imagined, or would she fight back and try to dominate?

He tried to picture the utter shock that would cross her face when he pressed his mouth between her legs...

William rubbed his closed eyes with the heels of his hands, feeling his entire body throb.

This was agony. A wise man would probably use the stupid bejewelled ribbons to strangle the princess and end his own misery, William brooded.

But of course, there could be no end in sight to his misery. He had to face her again for dinner. She sat at his side at the high table that night, poised and elegant.

At least she didn’t seem angry at him any more, the way she had been earlier in the day, William supposed.

Then again, it was a hollow victory because she was now back to treating him the way she always did - with faint, polite smiles and cool detachment in her voice. William wanted to yell at her and pound the table with his fists, anything to get some kind of reaction.

Camilla served herself a little from the platter presented to her by a servant. "Would you like any of this, my lord?" William heard her ask him, perfectly pleasant.

"No." he snarled back.

Camilla’s delicate eyebrows twitched at his tone, before she merely shrugged. "You should really do something about your temper, my lord."

"My temper?" William hissed under his breath. "My temper? I’m not the one who was stomping around furious earlier, all upset about a stupid kiss!"

Stupid kiss? Maybe that wasn’t his best choice of words...

Camilla stared back at him, her eyes filled with glacial calm. "I agree. And as you can see now, I’m no longer upset. It’s as you said earlier, just a silly, meaningless tradition. You promised never to attempt a similar stunt again. So I’ve let it all go."

But I don’t want you to let it go, a voice howled in William’s mind. I want you to think and obsess about that kiss without end, like I do! I need you to fucking suffer like I do!

She merely blinked back at him, her striking dark eyes completely unreadable, then turned to look at something taking place in the banquet hall.

William clenched his fists in his lap.

- - -

A few days later, he received a message from one of his pages, that Gerron had humbly requested his presence in his workshop.

William was heading down the twisting corridors when he crossed paths with Robin Sainsbury.

"Hey, Will. Where are you off to in such a hurry? Weren’t the two of us supposed to be meeting the others at the training grounds?"

William decided to ignore the first question and only answer the second. "I’ll still be there. Tell our group I’ll be slightly late to training but will see them very soon."

Robin nodded but then gave him a sideways glance. "So where are you headed now?"

"The jeweller." William saw no point in lying. Everyone knew this end of the corridor led to either the jewellers’ workshops or the dungeons. "I have something to pick up."

"Oh really?" Robin grinned, clearly interested. "You have me intrigued. You’re not the type to procure anything fancy for the ladies. Who’s the lucky recipient?"

"The queen." William replied impassively. "She has been struggling with her health and I wanted to arrange a New Year’s Day gift for her."

"Oh." Robin’s expression instantly changed to a discouraged, bored one. "Well, I’ll leave you to it. The others and I will see you shortly?"

William nodded and kept walking.

He entered Gerron’s workshop silently, finding the old man fussing over an enormous beryl ring. He startled and bowed low when he saw the prince, then presented him with a slim, flat box.

William opened it and saw what lay against the pale silk lining - several ribbons made from elaborate gold lace. The round rubies had been strung along each ribbon’s length, gleaming like winter embers.

They were were uniquely, utterly breathtaking. Even he, who knew nothing about or cared about women’s trinkets, had to admit that.

Though no more beautiful than the woman who’ll wear them, the thought popped into William’s head, completely unannounced.

He dismissed the thought immediately. He’d never been one for romantic shit and he wasn’t about to change that about himself now. He was simply keeping his word to Queen Celia and getting something so the Moraigthian girl wouldn’t sit through the gift exchange ignored by everyone. That was all.

"Are the trinkets to your liking, Your Highness?" William heard Gerron’s timid voice at his elbow.

"Yes, these will be suitable. I’ll send one of my pages with the remainder of your payment no later than midday tomorrow."

Gerron bowed his thanks, a smile of obvious relief on his lined face.

William walked back to his apartments and tossed the box almost carelessly onto his desk. Then he quickly got changed into his training shirt and leather trousers. He didn’t want to think about the ribbons or what message they sent.

He wanted to avoid thinking about that girl at all.

- - -

The gift exchange was underway in the queen’s presence chamber. It was a merry affair, full of laughter and plenty of spiced ale. Usually, William enjoyed himself very much and would stay up drinking well into the night afterwards with his cousins.

That day however, William felt as if things were...off. Camilla sat quietly and smiled, but he could see sorrow in her eyes.

It struck him how much she’d be pining for her own family. Everyone who loved her was dead.

Despite that, she’d given him a gift, ever polite and decorous. William couldn’t remember feeling such a thrill at opening a box before, and then seeing the beautiful set of golden darts inside. He saw the envious looks some of his cousins exchanged.

He then slid his own gift box across the table to Camilla and watched her. She froze, then stared at him. Everyone in the room stared at him too, but William ignored them and focused on the dark haired beauty who was sitting very still and stunned.

She clearly hadn’t been expecting him to have gotten her a gift at all, eyeing the box in front of her as if she feared even touching it.

"Are you going to open it or just stare at the box all night?" William asked, amused.

He saw her throat move as she swallowed, then she bit her lips. Her kissable, heart shaped lips.

Both of them knew it would be the height of rudeness for her to refuse to open a gift given to her. And princesses were drilled in good manners. Camilla slowly untied the ribbon and lifted the box lid, as if bracing herself for whatever was inside.

To William’s immense satisfaction, her face flushed rosy red as she peered inside the box and saw the contents. Almost as red as the rubies he’d chosen for her.