He gently caressed my cheek as he approached me for another kiss. This kiss was different.
More wanting. It created a feeling in me I had never felt before.
As he lie upon me, he whispered, “Amelia, I want to be the only man that beds you. Give yourself to me and I will forever be true to you. We have come this far together and I love you as much as you love me”.
I shyly smiled and said “I’d give anything to be with you, Thomas. You are all I have ever hoped for and wanted.”
He smiled and kissed me deeply.
His eyes penetrate my soul as did he.
We stared in each other’s eyes the whole time.
Our souls have become intertwined and we were now one.
One heart, one breath, one love.
It was magical.
As we rode back to the Castle, he would glance at me and smile.
“Could this be heaven?” I asked myself.
I could not believe Thomas and I had shared such
an intimate moment. I rode in a daze the entire time. David seemed to suspect something was different between us but never questioned it. Upon reaching my bedroom door, Thomas reached for me and whispered “Sweet Dreams my angel, I love you”.
I smiled, mouthed I love you, and entered my room.
My lady in waiting, Shyanne was waiting for me with her arms crossed. She floated across the floor towards me.
“Amelia my lady, where have you been?” She asked sternly.
I shuttered and replied, “I went out with David and Thomas, as I do every week”.
“That I see, but you seem a bit strange, my lady” she added.
I giggled and said “Tonight, my world has changed. Thomas has made me woman”
She looked confused and said “What do you mean?”
I could not stop smiling. I was in a dream state.
“Oh, OH MY! She added.
“You and Thomas?” she asked.
I shook my head in agreement. She ran towards me and hugged me tightly.
“Amelia, oh my? How was it? No, do not answer. I’m so happy for you. Oh my, when will you tell your parents?” She asked.
Right then I immediately snapped out of it.
“Ahh, I do not know, I really did not think about that,” I replied.
Reality had just smacked me in the face. Father was going to be furious. Mother not so much, she would understand being a woman and all.
She hugged me and walked me to my bed.
“It’s late, we will talk more tomorrow. I do not want Your Majesty to hear us giggling and get upset”. She whispered.
She winked and made her way to her quarters.
I could not sleep.
The moment kept replaying in my mind. Thomas’ sweat-shimmering body was etched in my mind forever.
“If only this feeling could last forever,” I thought.
I awoke startled by yells in the corridor. It was David and Thomas play arguing as they fenced. They did this often but today I was not having it.
I opened my door and shouted, “Do you know how dangerous it is to play with sharp objects in such a small corridor?”
They both laughed.
“How dangerous, my lady?” said David in a teasing voice as he bowed.
“This dangerous” I replied as I grabbed Thomas’ sword and pinned David to the corner.
“Touché”. David taunted.
Thomas laughed and joked “Did you forget she has the same weapons training as we do, brother.”
Smiling he looks at me and winks.
David put his arms around my neck and said “Let us go, Mother awaits us.”
“I will be there shortly I must dress,” I answered.
As I walked back towards my room, Thomas bumps me and says “Meet you later at the stalls? We will go riding, yes?”
I shook my head in agreement and smiled.
Our meetings became more and more frequent. So frequent that Thomas decided he would just sneak into my room every night, instead of sharing our moments with the horses. He said the horses; Toby and Beauty watching us gave him the willies. I think everyone knew about us but no one said a word. We were inseparable.
So inseparable that Mother began to question me about us. As I returned from riding, Mother had requested I visit her chambers.
Thomas raised his eyebrows and smiled, “Don’t worry, you are not in any trouble, I hope”
I was not afraid of showing my love for Thomas. I just did not want to disappoint my parents especially when they expected me to marry David.
As I reached her door, I inhaled deeply and knocked.
“Come in my child.” Mother said.
I walked towards her, she sat near the window watching her sons practice their battle moves.
“Sit here, Amelia” she added as she motioned next to her.
“Is there something wrong, Mother?” I asked.
She smiled and answered, “Of course not, my child, I just want to spend a few moments with my daughter.”
I felt relieved but a little uneasy.
“So tell me,” she said.
I quickly interrupted her “Tell you?”
She smiled and continued “Yes, we do not speak much, how are classes with your new tutor? You have not spoken of any suitors?”
My heart completely stopped.
“Oh sweet child, I know you are bequeathed to David but there will be other suitors” she added.
I could not lie so I decided to confide in her.
“Mother, I carry someone in my heart who may disappoint you and Father,” I whispered.
She smiled and whispered “Thomas?”
“Yes, how did you know? I asked.
“I have noticed you both, the glances, and the smiles.” She replied.
“Mother I do not know what to do?” I responded worriedly.
She stood up and leaned towards me.
“Amelia, you must not do anything, your heart has chosen Thomas and I know his heart has chosen you. This is not a disappointment, it brings joy to me. It reminds me a lot of your Father and me.” She confided.
I still felt tense.
“But Father? He will not be happy” I added.
“Don’t worry about your Father, I will tend to him. If your love is meant to be, no one, not even your Father can intervene.” She assured me.
She hugged me tightly and said, “Just tread lightly until the time is correct to tell your Father.”
Months had passed and our relationship was stronger than ever. Since Mother knew, we had a bit more freedom with it. Father was too busy ruling our Kingdom, he barely had time to eat or notice us.
David had begun preparing to bring Elizabeth to the Castle to meet Mother and Father.
As always Mother knew, she was our biggest advocate. But she was a bit uncomfortable with this. Father was not going to approve but David had his mind made up.
As every week, we would meet at the stables before leaving for town. David seemed nervous. Revealing his true love for Elizabeth would also
disclose our visits to town, disrespecting our parents and that was a cause for punishment.
Thomas nervously paced back and forth as David brushed his beloved horse, Hemi.
“David, are you sure you want to do this?” Thomas asked.
“She is my true love and Father needs to know, she will be my wife,” David replied.
“That will put Amelia and I there and Father will not hesitate to punish us also. Do you not care about our fate?” Thomas exclaimed.
“Brother, I will not tell Father about you or Amelia accompanying me. If there is to be punishment I will receive it solely.” David answered.
I just stood there quiet.
“You both stay home tonight; I will go on my own as not to implicate you.” David continued.
I looked at Thomas concerned.
“You cannot go into town unaccompanied Brother that is out of the question,” Thomas said.
“We can follow far behind as if we were going to market,” I suggested.
“Yes, that is what we will do”. David agreed.
I was so excited for David, even though we all knew this would not end well.
Thomas pulled me aside and said “I cannot believe you suggested that, are you mad? Father will have our heads for this.”
He began to pace again.
“What was I supposed to do, either way, he was going to go,” I replied.
“We are putting our love and happiness in jeopardy for his, which is unconventional and will be unaccepted. It is not fair!” Thomas continued.
I had never seen Thomas that angry. He walked away towards the Kings Men stables. As he entered the stables, Thomas saw the men congregating. He walked over to them and said “I was just told something unbelievable, wait until you hear.”
He stood in the middle and began whispering to them.