Chapter 11 Unaware

Part I

Things were going as usual as always in the village. A whole month had passed since the latest events in the castle. Every time the girls went to do laundry, Am had to tell and retell the story of that romantic ball when she danced with the prince and enchanted a rich duke. And each time she narrated the fairy-tale-like part of the dance with the prince, her heart became a turmoil and her stomach a butterfly nest.

Every night she dreamt recalling the unreal events that took place in the ball with Prince Alasther. She also dreamt with absurd duels between Lord Roderick and Prince Alasther; or between Maik and the Prince... it had become a fuss in her mind but Am cherished those moments in the castle. Moments she knew will never repeat again...

The girls felt very happy for Am, and for her, everything seemed like a fairytale. And in that fairytale, Am's friends had already predicted the outcome: she would marry the duke, and they will live happily ever after. The girls learned to love charming Lord Roderick through Am's narrations and the vivid descriptions of the events in the castle. The handsome duke was very kind and a fine gentleman the time they spent together during the ball and the tournament.

Lord Roderick and Am had become acquainted and even though, the duke was attending some affairs out of the kingdom they kept in communication by exchanging letters for the last month.

'My beloved Lady Amalthea,

It's being an eternity since that wonderful time we met at the King's Castle. I was blessed with your company for I had great time. Your good character and kindness for my person is something I cherish deep in the lovely memories I share of you. My heart beats with the image of the splendor of your essence and it longs for the day we meet again to contemplate that innocent beauty once again.

I wish you can consider me a friend. I put myself to your service unconditionally. I promise that I will find the way to visit you, but for now I am attending some business out of the country. But I keep your lovely face with me in my mind wherever I go.

I send you a humble present with this letter as a seal of our friendship. I hope you enjoy it. Now I must depart.

Yours friendly,
Roderick Gustemberg,
Duke of Lannishire'

The duke sent with the letter a beautiful pair of leather sandals adorned with pearls and sequins. They were extremely beautiful, and everything but humble. Am felt so flattered for the letter and the gift and immediately she replied sending a letter back, not that romantic, but thanking the gift and his friendship.

Who seemed not too pleased with all the theme of the duke, was Maik. He was lucky because he could see Am every day and be her friend, yet he wished to be in her heart, not only as her best friend. Maik knew he would never be able to compete in elegance and charms with that pompous duke. Deeply in his heart, he was sure that nobody could never love her as he did. He loved her since forever, and this recently emerged duke won't steal Am's love.

Maik knew Am very well to be certain that she didn't care about fancy shoes or elegant gowns... She was unpretentious and natural. The red haired young lady loved the simple things of life he enjoyed too, moreover if they were together. In fact, Am and Maik spent a lot of time together. They had fun going to the woods to pick fresh fruits or sitting my the river to fish together. The best moments were the time spent at the Pillars, where thay sat for hours, sometimes talking nonsense, and others just laying down, face up, staring at the different shapes the clouds made.

Am was unique and she was all his... Furthermore, he thought, he had the lead in this race: a first kiss. Accidentally and confusing, yes... but she chose him to give that tiny kiss, and she knew how he felt for her already and those were merits to consider.

That pedant duke was far away from her, and there he must remain. Losing her was something Maik will never conceive. He would die of sadness if that would ever happen.

Part II

Time flew fast in Abhainn and another month passed by. It was a sunny day, and the girls prepared all the baskets filled with clothes and food for their laundry day. They walked together along the wood's path that lead to the Angeleag Waterfall. They passed the village well, walked by the first cottages that bordered the village; crossed the main road that diverged Abhain Woods, where they met with the king. Then the girls followed the short path that lead to the waterfall and finally there they started to do some laundry and sing pretty songs as they always did.

After they washed all their clothes and hung them to dry, the girls took all their clothes off and dived into the lagoon formed by the waterfall. They swam and splashed in the water. It was a funny time twice a week when they went to the river, and talk about their girl things...

Am was the first one to walk out the pleasant waters. She was the one in charge of preparing the picnic by the river's creek. The girl moved quickly and shivered feeling the not too warm breeze of early autumn caressing her naked and wet body. She grabbed her now clean and dry clothes from the branch they were perching to get dressed.

Am hid behind some bushes placing aside her robes and holding her under garments, she was ready to get dressed. Suddenly the maiden heard some noises coming from the bushes right behind her. She was really scared recalling the bed time story of the Barbarians that intended to rape the girls in the legend of the Angel Fall.

The red head was standing backwards to the bushes. In a hurry she turned around feeling that someone was approaching from behind. But no matter how quick she turned around, the person was already there. Amalthea turned to face a horse's wet and cold big nose. Its rider... was in silence looking down at her.

Am didn't know what to do or say. The person mounting the big brown animal was Prince Alasther, and she was wet, naked, only holding a thin piece of cloth barely big enough to cover her bosom and her delicate part. Everything else could be seen by the Prince, who already saw everything on her before she could react. She was shocked and trembling, feeling ashamed and she could do nothing but look at the prince. There was nowhere to run or anything proper to say in that delicate situation.

Both of them remained in silence looking at each other. Prince Alasther admired her in all her beauty. He could feel his member hardening with that sight. She looked so fresh and angelical. Her bronzed rosy skin, not as paled as others he saw before, seemed to be made out of silk. Her round and firm breasts barely covered with that see-through white fabric, were like fresh fruits ready to be picked. The maiden's silhouette, softly carved in her womanly curves, flowed perfectly from her arms, down to her waist and tights where her long and sleek legs held her trembling body... 'Trembling body! Oh, for the God's beards! What am I doing?' He thought alarmingly to himself.

Swiftly he dismounted his horse and talked to Am gently, trying to ease her. "My apologies Lady Amalthea. It was not my intention to scare you or to cause you any harm with my impromptu appearance. Here, cover with my cloak." He kindly covered Amalthea who was shivering of cold and embarrassment. "Are you by yourself in the river?" He asked.

"Th- thank you for the cloak... I'm with my friends... They... they are in the river... I f-feel uncomfortable with your presence, Prince, for I am s-still naked. If you can turn around and let me dress, I will be more than grateful." Am spoke nervously. He quickly turned around allowing Am to get dressed. She put on her clothes immediately and went to warn the other girls that he was there so they might got dressed in a hurry as well.

While the girls were dressing, Am and Alasther arranged the baskets and the food for the picnic.

"I want to apologize once again for my intruding. I never expected to find you nak-... I mean someone here bathing in this part of the river." Prince Alasther was sitting next to
Am on the floor and grabbed an apple from a basket.

"It was my fault your Majesty. I was too confident in this place and ventured myself to get dressed that far from the creek. I was a fool. We come here twice a week to do laundry and have a picnic after. This is the first time we are surprised by a... man. Praise the gods it was you and not some evil burglar or maniac!"

"And how is that you come alone. I mean, where is your big best friend to protect you?"

"Oh, you are talking about Maik. No, he never comes with us. He is not allowed. You can figure why, your Highness. Besides, he goes in hunting missions deep in the woods every Tuesday and comes back on Thursday every week."

"Oh, well. I see... That explains his great skills with the bow... Is he your... em... betrothed?" The prince looked straight to Am's eyes, as if urging for extract that answer from the bottom of her core.

"Oh, no, Your Majesty. He is my best friend. We know each other since we were kids." Am's answer was sincere, but she avoided the prince's stare at all cost. She knew deeply how Maik felt for her, and that always made her feel unease.

The rest of the girls arrived and joined Am and Prince Alasther by the picnic site. They took their time dressing up, not wanting to disturb the couple who seemed to be immerse in some sort of private conversation.

The group ate and joked, having a good time. It was a pleasant surprise to have the Prince having lunch with them on the grass, by the river. Prince Alasther conversed with the girls with ease and learned quickly each one of the girls' names. He asked Am to sing once again for him, and she promptly accepted. She stood and started singing. Am sang as beautiful as always. The prince sat motionless, breathing slowly, thinking of nothing else than the fair maiden in front of him. While she sang and moved gracefully her arms and body with the tune of the melody she was singing, images of her naked body came to his mind, disturbing him a little. He couldn't conceive so much beauty and charms were out of his reach.

The girls were listening to Am but they were not unaware of how the Prince looked at Am. He was totally subdued, immerse in some sort of spell... Am's spell. When Am finished her song, all of them gave her an applause. Prince Alasther stood up promptly and spoke to Amalthea. " It will be a pleasure for me to have you... with all these fair ladies of course, once again in my castle, to have the blessing of listening to that marvelous voice of yours, Lady Amalthea."

Brhim jumped from her place and burst with excitement: "You are so lucky my dear friend. First, the handsome duke, writes you letters asking for your company, and now the Prince requests for your presence in his castle. I envy you!" All eyes were on Brihm. The prince face changed colors and Am looked severely to her impetuous friend. Luanne, noticing the tense moment and the imprudence committed by Brhim, interceded and reprimanded her: "Brhim, loose tongue, those are personal matters to Amalthea. You must be ashamed of your tomfoolery!"

Prince Alasther inquired promptly with graveness in his voice: "Who's this duke you are talking about? Is he Lord Roderick? Has he offended you with his harassment, Lady Amalthea?"

"No, my Prince. Lord Roderick has never offended me. He has become a good friend of me and my mother. We just exchange correspondence. That is all." Am spoke.

Prince Alasther composed himself. He noticed his body language spoke different than his apparent calmed speech. He addressed now in a more tranquil manner: "I beg your forgiveness, Lady Amalthea, it was not my intention to disturb you with my inquiries. It is not of my business if you are friend with the Duke or not. I just consider you a friend of mine too and I wanted to be sure he was behaving as he is expected to behave with a lady." He scratched his head as he felt some hot current flowing from his feet up to his face. He felt the urge to leave. The Duke's letters thing was not a pleasant matter for him, so the man turned to face once again the girls and trying to look composed, he spoke. "Now if you beautiful ladies excuse me, I had a wonderful time with you, but I must depart to attend some... important issues. Thank you for your kindness and company. Food was delicious. Adieu my ladies." The Prince mounted his horse and waving to the girls, without looking to Amalthea, departed riding swiftly along the path.

Am remained in silence on the way to the village. All the girls noticed the way the prince and Am looked at each other. Definitely it was something there. His reaction when Brhim mentioned the Duke's name was an evident eruption of jealous and madness. But none of the girls dared to share their conjectures with Am. At least not now for she seemed to be in some sort of distress.

Brhim apologized for her imprudence a thousand times on their way home. Finally Am broke her silence: "Look, there's nothing to be sorry of. You spoke nothing but what is true. However, for a next occasion, I would rather prefer to keep those topics in the privacy of our confidence."

And the theme finally was taken out. " Yes, but you can't deny the way the prince was looking at you with so much tenderness." Luanne teased Am.

"That's nonsense Luanne! There were no such looks! He is the Prince, and he is engaged to beautiful Lady Katharina." Am answered immediately.

"Am, he might be the prince, and he might be engaged to that pompous girl daughter of some wealthy earl or king, but you are as beautiful and charming as any other fine lady. He looked at you with allure all the time... And the way he reacted when Brhim mentioned your friendship with the duke... Oh my! It was a jealous outburst for sure." Luanne continued talking and all the girls agreed with Luanne's rationale nodding cheerfully.

"Oh, Am. You are so fortunate. You have three gallant men whispering for your love: The Prince, The Duke and Maik... awhhhhh... It's so romantic!" Thai sighed deeply as she spoke.

"Yes, but out of the three gentlemen, we all know who she will marry at the end... my handsome brother, of course. Am will be part of my family very soon." Maeh embraced her best friend's shoulders reassuring her statement. Am grounded her sight in the grassy path... For Maik... She wasn't sure...

After a short walk, the girls finally reached the village amongst laughter, songs and gossip. Each one of them returned home. Am couldn't set her mind apart the moment she was in front of the Prince. The way she looked at her, was like if he could penetrate her skin and bore her to the soul. She knew there was something in his eyes, yet she prohibited herself to think he felt something for her as the girls were insinuating before. She was just a common girl, a village maiden. He had his Lady Katharina who was more beautiful and enchanting than her.

Later that night, laying on her bed, Am recalled once more the night of the royal ball, and the way she felt floating in Alasther's arms. But it was no use of thinking of the prince in that way. The undeniable fact is that the prince was engaged and she didn't belong to that society. Am knew she belonged to the village and to her simple world... Maybe Maik... Well... It was time to think about things more properly.

In the castle, Prince Alasther stood looking out the tall glass panel of the window in his chambers. He let his sight get lost on the horizon, where the woods seemed to be endless. He was in those woods a couple hours before. He constantly was assaulted by the image of Am's beautiful bared silhouette. He had met other women before. He had slept with women and contemplated naked bodies before. But Amalthea was so tender and exquisite. The prince remembered the way she stood there nude yet so great in all her beauty. If he was attracted by her stunning looks when he saw her the first time in the throne salon two months ago, and fully dressed, he felt how this attraction grew more in the instant he saw Am in all her splendor. "Oh, Amalthea. What spell have you casted in me? Since the very instant I first saw you I was enchanted. I never imagine I would see you again. But destiny became an excellent ally... I must be the most fortunate man on Earth."

The Prince shook his head in the moment he remembered Brihm's allusion to Lord Roderick. His face and thoughts now change to preoccupation. The instant he heard of her friendship with Roderick, he felt as if fire was consuming his body and exploding in his chest. That fool was courting the maiden... his beautiful Amalthea... He couldn't stand the possibility of his friend wooing HIS AMALTHEA. "I think is time to pay a visit my friend the duke."

Hello lovely people of Abhainn. The story is turning complicated for the lovely Amalthea. What do you think would happen next? What do you think the prince will do?
Leave your comments and votes if you are enjoying this romantic story.