Earning the Love of a Princess-Chapter 50: Piece of Cake

25 December, 1358. Westerhaven Palace, Islia

Camilla stumbled through her presence chamber and into her bedchamber, feeling more than a little dizzy. The Christmas banquet lunch hosted by the king and queen had just concluded, having been in full swing since mid morning.

Camilla had sat there for hours as servants had brought out platters of the most extravagantly decorated food and a near limitless supply of wine.

She had lost count of the number of toasts she’d had to raise her goblet to and the amount of dishes she’d been pressured into sampling. Dancing had followed after that and she had been spun around the room by Francis Lowell, Robin Sainsbury and even Prince James a few times. It had been an exhausting day.

Camilla was now determined to lie down for at least a little while and catch her breath. She sprawled on her bed face down without even bothering to take her shoes off and closed her eyes, willing the room to stop spinning.

Just as she was starting to drift off, she was startled by frantic knocks on her door. "Come in." she sighed, hoping and praying it wasn’t a maid trying to offer her more food.

Instead, her three ladies-in-waiting stepped inside the room and seeing her motionless on the bed, all crowded around her and peered down with concern.

"Are you feeling unwell, my lady?" Elizabeth sounded anxious.

"Just a little dizzy, Bess. And my feet hurt from dancing. I think I’ll just take a nap." Someone placed their hand on her shoulder and started shaking her gently. Camilla frowned sleepily.

"You can’t fall asleep, my lady!" Katerine had shrieked in horror. "You must attend the garden party with us!"

"Hmmm? What garden party?"

The three ladies all talked over each other to try and explain the old tradition of attending a small party in the queen’s rose garden immediately after Christmas lunch. Apparently, a special cake was shared at this gathering every year.

Camilla grimaced and shook her head at the thought of cake. She already felt a little queasy.

"Why do I need to attend? Can’t you three just go without me? I’m too tired to face more people." Camilla’s eyes started drifting closed again as she lay snugly in her fur trimmed gown. The comforting sound of burning logs crackling in the fireplace was making her even drowsier.

"No! Your Grace, you don’t understand how important this tradition is!"

Her ladies begged and pleaded for her to rise from her bed, trying to emphasise why this particular gathering was so significant. Inside the special cake there was a coin and whoever found it...In her wine addled state, Camilla pretended to listen to her ladies’ descriptions of the event. She heard them speak of special wishes and a lucky coin but her hazy mind paid no real attention.

In the end, she mumbled a promise to only rest for a few minutes and then attend the garden party. Her friends reluctantly left her apartments, calling out to remind her to head to the gathering and meet them there as soon as she could.

More than a few minutes passed while Camilla dozed on her bed. Eventually she dragged herself upright, splashed water on her face from a bowl near the fireplace and reluctantly left her apartments.

Moving down the corridors and grand central staircase, she decided she would make a polite appearance and retire as early as possible.

Camilla she passed through the arched colonnade that led directly from the castle to the rose garden. The garden itself was completely bare of any blooms and slightly chilly from the damp winter breeze. The weak, golden afternoon light beamed through the bare branches, giving the garden a dreamy atmosphere.

She noticed a large timber table had been set up the garden, surrounded by two dozen young courtiers, all of who were now reasonably familiar to her. Everyone was talking and laughing. The remains of what looked to have been a cake of significant size sat in the middle of the table, with smaller plates and forks scattered all around it.

Camilla grew annoyed when she realised there was little point in having rushed down here to attend. The early winter sun would be setting soon and it looked like the gathering was on the verge of ending anyways, given everyone had already eaten their share of cake. Even if she had arrived earlier, she didn’t think she could have eaten a single crumb of anything more.

She would’ve rather just stayed in her room and napped, she thought to herself, irritated.

Giving the guests who had seen her arrive a polite bow and a small wave to her ladies, she turned on her heel to make her way back to the solitude and peace of her apartments.

"Wait, Your Grace." William’s mellow voice cut through the noise of the chattering guests. "Look up above your head." Everyone’s eyes turned in her direction and their conversation abruptly stopped.

Camilla turned back to face the garden and looked up. She noticed the colonnade arches above were decorated with red holly and another plant that was studded with tiny white blossoms. It didn’t seem out of the ordinary to her, as much of the castle had been decorated with winter greenery.

"And so?" The prince was fixing her with a piecing stare. She looked back at him with some apprehension. There was a peculiar look on his face - a mixture of mischievousness and something else she couldn’t quite define.

Something predatory?

"Does that plant look familiar to you, Your Grace?" There was a note of challenge in William’s bland sounding question.

Camilla shook her head and looked over for help at her ladies-in-waiting, who were already seated at the table. The three of them looked like they wanted to speak but couldn’t, torn between laughing and blushing.

"It’s mistletoe." The prince kept his eyes firmly on her. "Don’t step out from under it until I say you can."