Earning the Love of a Princess-Chapter 51: A Wish Granted

Was that plant supposed to mean something to her, Camilla wondered? And since when did the prince order her around?

Camilla started heading towards the table when a chorus of amused voices all called out that she wasn’t allowed to move. More giggles filled the air.

"Why can’t I move? What is all this?" She was getting increasingly confused and flustered.

William slowly stood up from the table and held up a small silvery coin to her. She just shrugged, not making a connection.

Francis Lowell was kind enough to explain. "Every Christmas, a wishing cake is baked, to be shared by all the unmarried young people of the court." He gestured towards what was left of the cake sitting on the table, along with a mess of crumbs.

"There is always a silver florin baked into the cake. Whoever finds the florin in their slice becomes the wish keeper for that Christmas. They can be granted one wish over the next day, before having to return the florin to the royal kitchens for safekeeping until the following Christmas." Francis hesitated and then continued with an apologetic smile on his face. "William found the florin this time, so he must have a wish granted."

"And his wish is that I stand here for no reason?"

The courtiers started to laugh. William laughed as well, seemingly charmed by her ignorance. "No, Princess. My wish is to have a kiss under the mistletoe."

The men started to slap the tabletop and whistle. Camilla paled. "What...with me? Right now?"

"Yes."

"You mean, in front of everyone?" Camilla was sure he had to be jesting.

"Well if it’s not in front of everyone, then no one would know if my wish came true or not. There has to be witnesses." William’s beautiful face lazily scanned her own, a half smile on his lips.

"Wait! You’re not all making this up because I don’t know your country’s traditions, are you?" Camilla wondered if this was all just a trick was being played on her, though she hoped that her own ladies-in-waiting wouldn’t do such a thing to her.

Meg looked at her with a mixture of laughter and sympathy. "It’s not a lie, my lady. Ask anyone in Islia, from a peasant to the king himself. The Christmas wishing florin is one of our most famous traditions."

"What happens if I don’t agree with this tradition?" Camilla’s throat had started to constrict, her voice coming out high and thin.

Prince William’s intense stare held her in place. "Well, you can try. But denying the wish keeper is said to bring the worst of luck. This same florin has been found at every Christmas feast in this court for eight generations of royalty. No one has dared to break tradition all this time. Are you sure you really want to take the risk of being the first? Especially," William’s smile was impish, "as I would think someone like you needs the very best of luck for the coming year, wouldn’t you agree?"

Camilla’s eyes widened as the prince approached her with slow, deliberate steps. As she tried to slink backwards to escape, her back hit the stone pillar of a colonnade arch, leaving her feeling trapped. She placed both palms against the pillar, her pulse thudding. With so many eyes on her, where could she even escape to?

And what if breaking a tradition eight generations old did actually bring her bad luck?

She wondered in a corner of her mind if William was insulted by her efforts to get away, but when she looked at his face she couldn’t see any annoyance. On the contrary, he looked amused with a sly glint in his eyes. She felt him cup his hands gently around her face so her eyes were looking into his.

"No need to look so startled. It’s not like this is even your first kiss. We’ve been here before, haven’t we?" His voice was a smooth hum.

Camilla looked at him bewildered for a moment until understanding dawned on her.

Port Canfirth Palace, all those years ago. He remembered.

Camilla felt herself blush, which made him smile wider. She hated herself for being so embarrassed when he obviously wasn’t. She tried to look away but couldn’t. Why was he tormenting her like this? Why did he enjoy seeing her suffer?

"How many other kisses have you received since then, little Princess?" He whispered to her.

He’d know if she lied, so there was no point trying. "None."

It was evident William was pleased with her answer.

She felt his thumb stroke one of her cheeks while he smirked. "Really? That is adorable."

She tipped her chin in defiance. "You can hardly make the same claim, can you my lord?"

He didn’t look even a little abashed. "No. Not even close." He lowered his face close to hers until their foreheads were touching and Camilla felt her eyes drift close. "Luckily for you, you get to now benefit from all my experience." His warm breath tickled her lips.

His mouth gently brushed against hers. Camilla thought maybe that was the end of it, but this William obviously had different ideas to the youth she’d once caught eating a stolen apple at her uncle’s court. He brushed his warm lips against hers again and again, as if just teasing her.

Camilla felt herself shiver a bit as her hands clenched on the stone surface behind her. He softly pressed his lips to hers, the sensation frightening her and making her curious for more in equal measure. She felt him brush the tip of his tongue against her lips, as well as whisper.

"Mmmm. You taste like honey."

Camilla started feeling lightheaded. She sighed against his lips. Slowly he pulled back and she opened her eyes. He was watching her, his dilated pupils almost swallowing up the pale green. For a moment she thought there might have been even the slightest connection between them. Then he smirked at her again in triumph and turned to walk away, back towards the table. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

"Thanks for granting my Christmas wish, little Princess." He tossed the silver florin in the air and deftly caught it.

Camilla finally remembered her surroundings, that there was an entire group of young courtiers who had just witnessed what happened. She glanced, towards the crowd, mortified. Her three ladies were all in fits of giggles. The other women were staring at her and pouting with obvious jealousy. The men in the group were laughing and clapping, a couple even stomping their feet. Camilla wanted to vanish, especially when she saw William wasn’t even the least bit uncomfortable. He walked languidly towards his seat and threw her a teasing grin over his shoulder while she stood there, paralysed. Upon returning to his chair, she saw Prince Thomas and Robin Sainsbury thump him on the back in encouragement.

Camilla picked up her skirts and ran. She wanted to flee from the scrutiny and teasing laughter. She bolted into the colonnade and then through the nearest door into an empty corridor. She leaned against the cold stone wall and touched her lips with her cold hand.

She loathed herself for feeling something during the kiss.

But she loathed William more for not just feeling nothing, but for using the kiss to deliberately embarrass her in front of everyone. He’d obviously kissed so many women that it meant very little to him. Why did he have to be so vindictive, though?

- - -

"My lady! Please open the door!" Camilla was determined to ignore her ladies’ cries and knocking on her bedchamber door.

"Go away! I’m not opening the door!" Camilla was sprawled face down on her bed, face burning with humiliation. "And I can’t believe you three let that happen without trying to put an end to it!"

"You can’t go against the wish keeper! And the wish must be fulfilled in front of witnesses." Meg called out plaintively. "Besides, at least it was only a harmless kiss. Last year when Prince Thomas was the wish keeper, he completely humiliated Sir Richard Bentworth by making him eat - oooooff!" It sounded like someone had elbowed Meg to shut her up.

"Please open up, my lady!"

Camilla reluctantly heaved herself up from the bed and walked to the door, unlocking it and slowly swinging it open. Her three friends tumbled in, looking guilty.

"Did you know the prince had this planned?" Camilla gave each girl a hard stare.

"No, my lady!" each one cried out.

"No one could’ve predicted Prince William would find the florin - everyone watched the cake being sliced and distributed fairly." Elizabeth reasoned. "And when he found the coin, he didn’t really look like he knew what he planned to do with it."

"It was only when you showed up late, that he seemed to decide what his wish would be." added Meg. "Look at the bright side, my lady. You’re now the envy of every woman in Westerhaven. And His Highness certainly looks like he knows how to kiss!"

Camilla cast her eyes down and gave a short, self conscious laugh, despite herself. That he does, a little voice in her head agreed. Heartless bastard.

"It wasn’t our intention to see you embarrassed, Your Grace. Truly. But we Islians are a superstitious people. No one wants to break an ancient tradition, especially one that brings an entire year of bad luck!" Katerine looked close to tears.

Camilla sighed in resignation. "Alright. Perhaps it wasn’t your intention to embarrass me, but it was his."

She refused to even say his name.