anthology Once Upon A Prince (Ellora's Cave) Read online

  ONCE UPON A PRINCE

  An Ellora’s Cave publication written by

  SAMANTHA WINSTON

  And

  MARY WINTER

  MS Reader (LIT) ISBN # 1-84360-548-1

  Other available formats (no ISBNs are assigned):

  Adobe (PDF), Rocketbook (RB), Mobipocket (PRC) & HTML

  Princess Lily © Copyright Samantha Winston

  Prince of Logos © Copyright Mary Winter, 2003.

  All Rights Reserved, Ellora's Cave.

  Ellora's Cave Publishing, Inc. USA

  Ellora's Cave Ltd, UK

  This e-book may not be reproduced in whole or in part by email forwarding, copying, fax, or any other mode of communication without author/publisher permission.

  Edited by Allie McKnight & Briana St James

  Cover Art by Christine Clavel

  Princess Lily

  By Samantha Winston

  Prologue

  A woman stared into a magic mirror. It was a lovely mirror, encrusted with diamonds made to look like a sprinkle of snow. It didn’t show her appearance. It showed her the past and the present, but not the future. This morning, the sparkling looking-glass showed the history of a queen, now dead, and her lovely daughter. The woman smiled into the mirror and her melodious voice echoed in the white birch grove where she sat on a fallen log.

  “Let me introduce myself. I am Fairnight Winter Violet Frost, but you may call me Violet. I am a fairy, and more importantly, a fairy godmother. Being a fairy godmother is hard work. It’s not fun and games all the time, I can assure you. I have responsibilities—the fate of a nation or the tender heart of a young lover often hangs in balance, and believe me, they’re equally important!

  “For example, fifteen years ago my dearest friend, Queen Summer Willow, died. On her deathbed, she begged me to care for her daughter. She asked me to be her child’s godmother. My heart was breaking for the loss of my friend, but I agreed. That pledge bound me, stronger than chains. With it, my life as a frivolous fairy ended.

  “I had to spend my days—and nights—near the royal palace in order to be near the little princess. I had to give up my trysts in the forest glens, my smooth-bodied lovers, fairy and mortal, and curb my fiery need. It was a hardship at first, for we fairies are a lusty bunch and our bodies need caresses just as you need air to breathe.

  “But I have no regrets. Lily has always been delightful, and no trouble at all. My sweet Waterlily. Her given name is Princess Crystal Spring Waterlily, but everyone calls her Princess Lily. Gaze into this magic mirror with me, and learn her history.”

  * * * * *

  There once was a kingdom ruled by a wise and peaceful king. His wife, the queen, was wondrous fair, with hair the color of pure gold and eyes like the summer sky. Tragically, this beautiful woman died while giving birth to her first child, a little girl. On her deathbed, the queen begged the king not to marry until he’d found someone with hair and eyes the exact same shade as her own.

  Distraught, the king promised, and then spent many years in mourning for his bride. He forgot about his infant daughter. Even when she was old enough to be present at certain court functions, he barely glanced her way. Years passed, and she grew old enough to marry all without the king sparing her a thought. So it came as a shock to him when one day his steward came to him and said, “Sire, you must remarry. The kingdom needs a male heir. Your daughter, Princess Lily, needs to find a prince charming to marry, as well. Perhaps we can arrange for her to marry a prince whose land is adjacent to your own. Then shall your territories be united and gain strength. Here I have a list of likely candidates.” Ever diligent, the steward handed him a rolled parchment.

  The king looked at the list and drew his eyebrows together. “I will consider this further when I have seen the princess.” He therefore called his daughter before him. She was summoned, and when the lass with golden hair entered the room, he realised he’d seen her before but had never paid her any heed. As she drew near, her beauty struck him with the force of a lightning bolt.

  When he could gather his thoughts, he said, “Are you my daughter, the princess Lily?”

  The young girl curtseyed, holding her dress up and bowing low. “I am, sire.”

  “Where have you been, child, all these years?”

  “In the royal nursery, sire. My nanny, Nurse Marie Sophie, took very good care of me. But she died last winter, and ever since, I have been without a nanny.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that. But you are far too old for a nanny now.” The king waved his hand dismissively.

  “‘I know that, sire,” said Princess Lily with a charming blush.

  “What did she teach you, daughter?” the king asked, looking at her keenly.

  “‘She taught me five different languages and the history of the world. I can do advanced math and calculate—”

  “Did she teach you anything practical?” asked the king, leaning forward with a frown.

  Lily paused, and then said, “Sewing, painting, singing, and cooking. I loved helping in the royal kitchens. I can make you some crêpes Suzette, if you’d like.” Princess Lily gave her father a bright smile. “I love to cook, sire.”

  The king stared at her, his mouth pursed in thought. Then he leaned back and declared, “You have the same shade hair as your mother, my dear Summer Willow, had, and your eyes are blue as the summer sky.”

  “So I have heard, Your Majesty. I am sorry I never knew her.” The young princess sighed and closed her eyes. But at her father’s next words, her eyes flew open in shock.

  “It has been said that it is time I sought a suitable bridegroom for you. Now that I have seen you, I have decided that I shall marry you myself. Would you like that? You will be a queen!” he exclaimed.

  Princess Lily drew back in dismay. “Daughters don’t marry their fathers. I think you had better reconsider…Your Majesty.”

  “I am not your father so much as I am your king. You will obey me. There is nothing more to be said.” The king snapped his fingers commandingly at his steward. “Let the wedding bans be announced!”

  Violet looked up from her magic mirror. Behind her, the wind whipped the tree branches. The sky grew ominously dark—a storm approached. The looking glass dulled as the images faded and Violet put the mirror into a silken pouch so the raindrops would not touch it.

  “That was this morning. Soon Princess Lily will come seeking my aid.” Violet sighed theatrically.

  “My work begins! She will need a magic walnut and an enchanted ring.” She pulled both from the silken pouch and examined them, a smile playing about her full lips. “A walnut and a ring may not seem like impressive tools, even magical ones. But Lily has something more powerful than magic, though she knows it not. Her body is made for the art of love. As a fairy, who better than I to initiate her to that mysterious enchantment?

  “My job will be to see that she is suitably married before her father can claim her. Suitably? What am I thinking? No, deliriously, happily married is what I meant. With a handsome prince, no less! Let’s see, is there one in my address book who will suit our lovely Lily? He must be handsome and brave, strong yet tender. Ah ha! Here is the very man–Prince Lupin. He lives far to the west in a charming country. He is just her age, and has a very sexy smile.

  “Perfect! Now, let the story commence.”

  Part One

  Princess Lily ran to her apartments, her father’s horrible words ringing in her head. She flung herself on her bedspread and sobbed. A storm broke, and the thunder and lightning drowned out the sound of her crying.

  She wished her royal nanny, Nurse Marie Sophie was there. But no one could help her. She final
ly ran out of tears and calmed down enough to try to think of a way out of her dilemma. However, visions of damp, dark dungeons or having her head chopped off for refusing to obey the king’s orders assailed her. She didn’t despair. Instead she uttered a strangled scream and hurled a silken pillow across the room. How dare he ignore her all these years then out of the blue command her to marry him? She’d never give in, never!

  Her temper tantrum over, Lily wandered aimlessly through her rooms for an hour or so. Finding no solace, she went into the woods to consult her fairy godmother. She knew that her mother had begged Violet to take care of her, and although fairies were reputed to be frivolous and sex mad, Violet was usually around when Lily wanted to see her. Lily had never seen one of Violet’s paramours although she had tried on occasion to sneak up on her fairy godmother.

  But not today. Today she just wanted some advice.

  The spring storm had ended, and the air had that fresh-scrubbed smell about it. Raindrops sparkled on fern and flower like diamonds.

  “Violet! Where are you?” Princess Lily advanced into the forest, taking the well-worn, familiar path by the stream. “Violet! I need you!”

  She peered into a thicket of birch trees and parted a strand of weeping willow branches, but her fairy godmother was nowhere to be seen. “Violet!” she cried, and then she sank down upon a soft patch of damp green moss and pounded her fists into the moss.

  “Damn those flippant fairies,” she cried. “And damn the king too, while I’m at it. Why I’d like to—” A flash of lime-green smoke cut her words off.

  “My heavens, what a ruckus. Is that you, Lily, my love?” Violet appeared, wearing a frothy gown of lavender chiffon and a crown of fragrant white jasmine in her long, apricot-colored hair. As a fairy, she could appear and disappear at will, though Lily usually found her in this small grove of white birch, lilac and climbing roses.

  Lily looked up, her face streaked with angry tears. “Where were you? Oh, Violet, it’s terrible. My horrid father wants to marry me!”

  Violet looked at the girl and sighed. “I thought this might happen. Have you looked at yourself in the mirror lately? You look just like your mother and she made him promise to marry someone who looked just like her. Your father was madly in love with her. I’m afraid he lost his reason when she died.”

  “But he never noticed me before!” Lily snorted.

  “You didn’t have those delightful round breasts before, Lily. Your body has changed. You are no longer a child but a woman. When he looks at you now, your father sees the very image of your dead mother.”

  Lily glanced at her bosom and raised her eyebrows. “Fine. But I can’t very well get rid of these. What shall I do?”

  “Fear not. I have a plan.” Violet tapped her chin with her finger.

  Lily felt better already. She trusted her fairy godmother to help her. When Violet wasn’t busy lusting after her paramours, she actually had good sense. Even her nanny, Marie Sophie, had sometimes gone to Violet for advice. So, Lily dried the last of her frustrated tears with her skirt and looked up at the lovely fairy. “This plan of yours?”

  “You must agree to marry the king and—”

  “Agree? Never! Violet, how could you?” Lily stomped her foot, then subsided as Violet gave her a stern look.

  “Hush child, I’m not through yet. You’ll simply pretend to agree, and you must make your father promise to give you three different colored dresses before the wedding.”

  “Three dresses? Have you lost your mind? How will three dresses help me? I have three hundred as it is!”

  Violet’s expression grew pensive and she put a gentle finger on Lily’s lips and hushed her. “Listen carefully my sweet, delectable princess. You will insist on three dresses of different hues. The first shall be a dress the color of desire. The second dress shall be a dress the color of lust, and the third…” Violet thought for a minute, and said, “The third shall be a dress the color of true love.” As she spoke, Violet stroked Lily’s arms and shoulders, her fairy eyes turning from light blue to dark, sea-green.

  Lily drew her breath in as her body started to burn. Violet’s caresses made her head feel strangely light, and watching her eyes change was strangely exciting. She tried to remember what they had been speaking about. “Three dresses? The shades of desire, lust and true love? What colors are those?”

  Violet laughed her beautiful, silvery fairy laugh. “I have no idea, but it will give me time to think of a way to save you from this unnatural marriage. Now, kiss me, go back home, and don’t worry about a thing.”

  Much relieved, Lily kissed her godmother on the lips and strode purposefully to the castle to see her father. She sent a message asking for an audience and received an immediate reply. First though, she washed her face and put on a clean dress, for her other dress had grass, snot, and tearstains on the hem and would never do for a formal meeting.

  Her nanny, Nurse Marie Sophie, had taught her all about court etiquette. Even the thorniest etiquette quandary had a solution according to Marie Sophie. For instance, when a neighboring princess comes to visit and steals your favorite doll, it is not permitted to bloody her nose the next time you meet in public. For one thing, bloodstains never completely wash out of white gloves. And for another, neighboring princesses scream piercingly when they have bloody noses. Princess Lily wondered where she’d put her notes. Perhaps Marie Sophie had said something dealing with kings wanting to marry their own daughters. She resolved to find her notebooks and look them over very carefully that evening. That decided, she summoned her page and bade him take a message to the king.

  The king sent his own messenger back with a handwritten note, inscribed on a thick piece of creamy vellum. Lily took it and read aloud. “King Henri will receive Princess Lily in the throne room in precisely fifteen minutes. Signed, HRH King Henri from the kingdom of Barvars, Rex.”

  Once in the throne room she gave a deep curtsey and formal greeting. Then she stood, her fists balled tightly behind her back. She didn’t want him to see how panicky she was. She lifted her chin and tried to appear sure of herself.

  “What have you come to see me about?” The king leaned back in his throne.

  Lily took a deep breath. “I have decided to become your queen, but first you must promise to give me three dresses of my choice.”

  “Fine, fine.” The king smiled, which made him look a little less crazy, Lily decided. “What dresses would you like? Note this, scribe.” He snapped his fingers at the thin man dressed in black robes sitting at a desk near the throne.

  The scribe had a sheaf of vellum and goose-feather in hand. He smoothed a piece of vellum on the desk, dipped the feather in a little glass jar of ink, and then looked expectantly at the princess.

  “I would like my first dress to be the color of desire. My second dress shall be the color of lust, and the third dress…” she hesitated, but then said firmly, “the third dress must be the exact color of true love.”

  The scribe started writing, then stopped and looked up at the king, an expression of puzzlement on his face. “Excuse me, Your Majesty, but what color is desire?”

  “I have no idea,” said the king. He frowned at the princess, his fingers tapping impatiently on the arm of the throne. “Explain yourself.”

  Lily drew herself up and called on all of Marie Sophie’s training. She imagined she was once again in front of the little tramp who’d stolen her favorite doll. Only this time, she wouldn’t lose her temper. “I have no explanation to give. I am a royal princess and you gave me your word as king. I simply ask for three dresses. It’s up to you to execute my wish.” She raised her eyebrows. “Perhaps you don’t intend to honor your word?”

  The king flushed and cried, “What kind of caprice is that? I’m warning you, I don’t take kindly to fancies! When we marry, you’ll have to behave like a queen.”

  Princess Lily curtseyed. “I promise, sire. But first you must give me these three dresses.”

  “Done,” sputtered
the king. “Now, off with you. Prepare your trousseau and the guest list. Since you are so clever in the kitchen, you can oversee the wedding feast.”

  Princess Lily curtseyed once more and hastened to the royal kitchens to give orders for a banquet that she hoped would never take place. She could have gone back to her room, but she didn’t want to be alone. She needed the bustle and warmth of the kitchen to steady her nerves. Looking back, she was glad she hadn’t lost her temper and punched the king in the nose. That was a start. Now, if Violet came through with her plan, maybe everything would work out.

  The weeks passed as the king sent for seamstresses, weavers, and artists in order to satisfy his daughter’s wishes. The first dress was ready within the fortnight, and Lily was forced to admit that the gown—woven of shimmering silver velvet, was perfect. It stirred such strong longings in her heart that she felt that if she didn’t touch the dress right away, she would cry. She put it on, and whirled in front of the mirror. As she watched, her hands smoothed over her trim waist and thighs, then up and over her round breasts. They lingered on the soft curves, and she saw her nipples pressing against the fine material. Her fingers played with her nipples, stroking and pinching, until she could hardly breathe.

  The dress’s fabric was so soft, so fine, and so velvety smooth that she couldn’t take her eyes or hands off it. She knew it had to be the magic of the dress that made her want to stroke herself, but she couldn’t seem to stop. As her hands grew bolder, rubbing her breasts harder and then dipping downwards to her belly, a burning feeling started to grow between her legs. The feeling made her want to lift the dress up and press her hands to the junction between her thighs. She quickly took the dress off, her breath coming more quickly than usual.

  She knew what she was feeling, of course. Marie Sophie hadn’t just told her about etiquette, but about the birds and the bees as well. She knew that someday she would marry, and her husband would part her legs and press an erect cock to her cunt. Marie Sophie had been very explicit about that, for a royal princess has to be educated in all things.