By P.K. Silverson
© Copyright 2009
By The Author
All Rights Reserved
In a castle by the bay in a land so far away, sheltered from the stormy sea, lived the Princess Rosalie.
As the only daughter of a good and powerful king, the Princess Rosalie was considered the realm’s Bachelorette Number One. Suitors lined up from sunrise until the end of business hours to plead for her hand.
Naturally, all this attention went to her head. In a very short time, she became quite conceited.
“If she carried her nose any higher in the air,” one royal court wag was heard to say when the good and powerful king was safely beyond earshot, “one could mount a revolving restaurant on it and charge a pretty penny for the view.”
And that was all there was to it.
If anyone in the kingdom had a reason to be so self-centered, however, it was the princess, for she was very beautiful indeed. Her eyes were radiant emeralds, the fire of which were matched only by the flame in her soft copper hair. Her figure was the envy of every woman in the realm and the object of desire for every able man.
Often, the peasants who dwelt in the town spread at the base of the castle by the bay would line the garden path between the royal quarters and the king’s forest just to catch a glimpse of Princess Rosalie. She certainly cut a handsome figure in her riding habit as she set out astride her favorite horse out for her daily spin.
Oh, my,” the peasant women would say as they covered their faces with their hands to hide their jealousy.
Oh, my, my, my,” the peasant men would say, keeping their hands firmly in their trouser pockets to avoid drawing attention to their very pronounced, very private reactions.
Princess Rosalie would gracefully wave to her adoring subjects and ride on smiling, basking in the sunshine of their attention, certain it would always be hers for the taking.
And that was all there was to it.
Frequently, the princess would take a less traveled path through the good and powerful king’s forest to a small glen, where an abandoned woodshed stood. The princess had, over time, renovated the tiny structure to suit her own purposes.
When these purposes came to mind, Princess Rosalie would invite a suitor who had captured her passing fancy to join her at the abandoned shed. There, they would enjoy each other’s company and delights until the princess grew bored with the rendezvous and returned home.
Her invitations to these secret meetings were always accepted eagerly by her willing suitors, who felt that by satisfying the lust of the princess, they could gain her good graces and perhaps win her heart as well. But, sadly, this was never so. For the most part, the event itself created so much pressure on these poor swains that they could never perform up to Princess Rosalie’s standards or expectations.
And that was all there was to it.
There was an exception, however. Early on, one particular suitor had the good sense to understand Princess Rosalie had only her own personal agenda in mind. This realization relieved the young man of all pressure. The beautiful princess sensed his relaxed attitude at once. She enjoyed his love-making as never before, and bade him to return to the woodshed soon.
This wise young suitor accepted her invitation with customary eagerness. So pleased was Princess Rosalie that she began issuing her invitation to this favored young beau on an exclusive basis. Naturally, rumors race through the palace speculating on how the princess had taken on a steady.
All was well until one day, a visitor came to call on the court of the good and powerful king. Princess Rosalie had just returned from her daily constitutional when she entered the great hall of her father’s palace. She found the nobility quietly exchanging gossip about the presence of a bold and handsome prince.
As she approached her father’s throne, the beautiful Rosalie caught her first glimpse of the subject of the court’s rapt attention. The bold and handsome prince was, by far, the most divinely attractive man the lovely young noblewoman had ever laid her eyes upon. Then and there, Princess Rosalie made up her mind that, whatever the cost, the bold and handsome prince was to become her husband. The sooner, the better.
And that was all there was to it.
Princess Rosalie took her customary place behind her father’s throne. She stood there quietly, as was her duty, although she longed to take the bold and handsome prince into her arms and have her way with him. But that would have created a scandal, and, as such, was simply out of the question.
And that was all there was to it.
As she gazed steadily at the object of her most overwhelming desire, the beautiful princess felt her tender nipples harden to their full firmness. A familiar, pleasant moisture spread between her legs. It was a wonder she was able to maintain her composure.
The bold and handsome prince, who had been fully aware of her presence from the moment she had entered the good and powerful king’s great hall, returned her steady gaze in kind. He was barely able to keep his mind on the business at hand, nodding vacantly as his host spoke expansively of this, that and the other thing. It was a wonder he did not burst through his cod-piece as he shifted his weight uneasily from one foot to the other.
Finally, the good and powerful king finished his discourse. He looked up at his daughter and smiled. “I’d like to present my daughter, the Princess Rosalie,” he said to the bold and handsome prince.
The young and beautiful princess felt her heart race as the bold and handsome prince bowed deeply before her. She offered her hand to him. He kissed it tenderly.
“I have often heard the tales of your legendary beauty, Your Majesty,” the bold and handsome prince said in a rich, baritone voice which sent chills of ecstasy spiraling up and down Princess Rosalie’s spine. “But I hardly imagined such legends could be so pale in the face of the actual truth.”
The fair princess blushed a royal shade of crimson. It blazed against her fiery hair. “Your Grace is too kind,” she murmured.
“Not at all,” the bold and handsome prince said with a smile that would have disarmed any resistance the Princess Rosalie might have, if in fact she had any resistance in the first place. Which she didn’t.
“Walk with me a way, kind sir,” the Princess Rosalie instructed the focus of her fascination.
“With your permission, Your Majesty,” the bold and handsome prince inquired of the good and powerful king, making sure not to err in protocol at such a delicate juncture in time.
“Of course, dear boy, of course,” the good and powerful king nodded enthusiastically. “You two kids run along and have a good time. I’ll see you both at the feast tonight.”
And that was all there was to it.
Princess Rosalie led her bold and handsome prince quickly to the royal mews, where her horse had only just been groomed after its long ride. Nevertheless, the steed was quickly resaddled, along with the mount the bold and handsome prince had ridden in on. In short order, the pair raced off together down the garden path from the royal quarters in the castle by the bay, passing quickly through the town and out toward the good and powerful king’s forest to where the abandoned woodshed stood in a small glen.
Once in the privacy of the woodshed, Princess Rosalie instantly discarded all her pretenses. She gathered the bold and handsome prince in her anxious arms and smothered him with her most passionate kisses.
“I’ve made up my mind that, whatever the cost,” she confided in the bold and handsome prince, “you will become my husband. The sooner, the better. Take me now, please me. Enjoy me and I will be yours forever.”
She expected, as always, that her invitation would be accepted eagerly by the object of her desire. She was prepared to extend her good graces and her heart as well, without the merest thought for whether the bold and handsome prince could perform up to her high standards.
But, sadly, this was not to be.
While the bold and handsome prince returned her every embrace enthusiastically, he seemed in no hurry to adopt her generous proposal. He kissed her once, twice, and three times more tenderly on the lips while removing her hands before they could explore the region Princess Rosalie most ardently wished to discover.
“My most beautiful darling,” the bold and handsome prince said in his rich, baritone voice as he took one step back from her, “you are the most enticing creature it has ever been my pleasure to meet. I would be so very honored to be the recipient of your most magnanimous offer. But I am on a mission from God. I must be true to my cause.”
Princess Rosalie was struck dumb on the spot. Simply nobody, but nobody, had ever refused to make love with her before. It was absolutely, mortifyingly unthinkable.
And that was all there was to it.
Yet, the bold and handsome prince was rearranging his tunic to hang in its proper place on his broad, muscular frame. With a smile, he continued, “I must prove my mettle against the Heathen Infidel and return that which belongs to the True Believers before I can be one with earthly love. You must understand.”
“Of course,” murmured Princess Rosalie as if in a daze. “How long do you think this will take?”
“Oh, not long at all, I hope,” the bold and handsome prince said cheerfully, strapping his hand-sword and scabbard back to his waist. “A year or two at most, I think.”
“A year or two!” the beautiful princess moaned with despair. “How shall I survive ’til you return?”
“It won’t be so bad,” the bold and handsome prince promised. “You’ll see.”
“Can I at least visit you on weekends?” Princess Rosalie pleaded, desperate in her desire.
“I don’t see why not,” the bold and handsome prince answered thoughtfully. “That might be quite nice, actually. A real break from the tedium of the task. Why, yes! I think I’d like that very much!”
“And will you take me in your arms in your tent, like this?” the beautiful princess smiled her most alluring smile at the bold and handsome prince. She drew herself softly against his powerful body.
“Of course I will,” the bold and handsome prince answered. “I’ll be most happy to see you.”
“And will you kiss me with all your passion, like this?” the beautiful princess touched her lips ever so gently against his, making sure he felt her trembling before quickly sliding her tongue into his surprised, yet willing mouth.
“Why, certainly,” the bold and handsome prince assured her when she finally let him up for air. “I will be most happy to see you.”
“And will you caress my eager body, like this?” the beautiful princess took his large, strong hand in her grasp and placed it against the willing curve of her magnificent breast, making sure his fingers were strategically placed against the firm point of her eager nipple.
“I should say not!” the bold and handsome prince pulled quickly away from her and mopped the line of perspiration gathered about his brow. “I’ve already told you I must prove my mettle against the Heathen Infidel and return that which belongs to the True Believers before I can be one with earthly love.”
With that, he took his leave of the abandoned woodshed. He mounted his great steed in a single leaping bound, then he rode off quickly through the good and powerful king’s forest to the garden path leading back through the town to the castle by the bay. Princess Rosalie was completely humiliated. Simply nobody, but nobody, had ever refused to make love with her before.
And that was all there was to it.
She returned to her chambers in the royal quarters of the castle by the bay in the land of far away, sheltered from the stormy sea shortly before twilight fell. She ignored the summons to the good and powerful king’s feast honoring the bold and handsome prince in the great hall, preferring instead to dine alone in her private suite.
The next day, the news reached her that the bold and handsome prince had embarked on his quest to meet and beat the Heathen Infidel. Princess Rosalie refused to come out of her rooms. She had her food sent in and she sent back her empty tray when she was done.
And that was all there was to it.
Time passed, as time always does. One day, she received a message from her once-most-favored young beau. The brief note simply relayed how much her former lover missed her warm embrace. He suggested they meet as soon as possible at the abandoned woodshed in the small glen of the good and powerful king’s forest. The inquiry did not raise the merest smile to her lips. She tossed the note into her waste basket without a second thought.
Still, Princess Rosalie remained the only daughter of a good and powerful king. As such, she was still considered the most-eligible bachelorette in all the realm. Suitors lined up from sunrise until end of business hours to plead for her hand. But the beautiful princess paid them no heed.
After a few weeks, the line began to dwindle. After a few months, only a few desperately lonely suitors showed up at the royal quarters of the castle by the bay at all. In less than a year, the quest for the hand of the Princess Rosalie was old news and was barely mentioned in polite conversation.
The despondent princess remained locked in her rooms, not allowing visitors or even personal mail. Then, one day, she heard the sound of pebbles clicking up against her window panes. Curious, she went to see who had caused the noise. Standing in the courtyard below, she saw her once-most-favored young beau.
“Rosalie,” he called to her, “come on out and play.”
The sad princess neither nodded or smiled. She went back to her bed and threw herself upon it.
The acutely depressed princess remained locked in her rooms, allowing neither personal callers nor inquiries. But the next day, she heard once again the sound of pebbles clicking up against her window panes. Curious, she went to see who had caused the noise. Once again, she saw her once-most-favored young beau standing in the courtyard below.
“Rosalie,” he called to her, “don’t be such a hard heart. Come with me. Let’s have some fun.”
But in her sorrow, the princess neither nodded or smiled. She simply went back to her bed and threw herself upon it.
The next day, once again, Princess Rosalie heard pebbles clicking up against her window panes. Once again she went to see who had caused the noise. Once more, she beheld her once-most-favored young beau standing in the courtyard below.
“Rosalie,” he called to her, “don’t be a cold bitch. If you won’t come with me, I’m going to have to come up there with you.”
With that, the once-most-favored young beau threw a grappling hook up over the turret above the beautiful princess’s room. He climbed the rope tied to it until he reached the fair Rosalie’s window.
“Open up, Rosie, or I’ll kick in the glass,” her once-most-favored young beau smiled from the other side.
The princess, in her distress, did not know what to do, so she ran to her bed and threw herself upon it.
Behind her, she heard the sound of shattering glass as her once-most-favored young beau propelled himself through the window and into her private quarters.
“I’m here with you at last,” he declared as he began to strip off his clothing.
Princess Rosalie sat up and looked at him. Deep inside, she felt a primal hunger for his familiar touch. But she denied it.
“You must go before father sends his guards,” she warned her once-most-favored young beau.
“You can stop them with a word,” the once-most-favored young beau reminded her as he continued to slip out of his clothes.
“But I won’t,” she answered. “I wait for the touch of another.”
“Haven’t you heard?” the once-most-favored young beau kept peeling off his garments.
“Heard what?” the princess demanded.
“Your royal boyfriend bought it at the front,” the once-most-favored young beau told her. “The Heathen Infidel was waiting for him at the border. He never even got ashore.”
“We were to be married,” the princess wailed despondently as she collapsed on her bed in a sobbing heap. “We were to share divine love forever.”
“Not anymore,” the once-most-favored young beau said. “Life goes on.”
“Not with me it doesn’t,” Princess Rosalie shouted at him with her fullest anger.
From the hallway, there came the sounds of many running footsteps, and then hard pounding at her large wooden door.
“Princess Rosalie are you all right?” called the voice of the good and powerful king’s Captain of the Guards.
The once-most-favored young beau looked helplessly on as the beautiful princess smiled coldly and called, “No, good Captain. I require your help this very minute.”
With a crash, the royal guardsmen broke through the large wooden door and spilled into the chamber, finding the once-most-favored young beau standing there before their princess in his altogether.
The grabbed him roughly and hurried him from the room, bearing him off toward the bowels of the good and powerful king’s dungeons. As he was carried off down the stone corridors of the castle by the bay, sheltered from the stormy sea, the beautiful princess heard him call to her.
“I’m your last chance for happiness,” his voice told her just before he vanished from the face of the earth forever.
It was true. No suitors ever called again on the castle by the bay in the land of far away to inquire after the hand of the beautiful Princess Rosalie.
And that was all there was to it.
Moral: Don’t worry about “what might have been.”
