“Your heart is far too strong for that.” She waved away my concern. “I have seen these libertines and find them to be quite handsome and intelligent. I think you shall too.”
“Oh, yes,” I agreed. “They're very good-looking men. I don't argue that at all. But I still don't want to be fucked and cast aside, like every other woman they've touched.”
“No man will cast aside my daughter!”
“Sure, Mom, okay.” I rolled my eyes.
“They won't, Madelyn,” she insisted. “I shall enchant you. If they seduce you tonight, they will only bind themselves more securely to you.” She waved her wand about in a worrisome manner over my head. “They will become so obsessed with you that they will know no peace until they stand before you once more. And every time they leave your presence, they will return to their suffering, until they have wed you.”
Golden sparkles fell around me, and I batted them away.
“No! I don't want to marry those bastards!” I stamped my foot. “I just want to leave this kinky kingdom and go somewhere safe. Can't you take me back to Tir-eggnog with you?”
“Tir na nOg,” she said patiently.
“Yes, there.”
“No, darling, I cannot,” she said sadly. “Only full fairies can enter the world of the Fey. It's why I left you with your father all those years ago. Now, I must do as much as I can for you in the time I can stand to remain here. I will see you safe and crowned, ruling over these foul women who dared to mistreat you. That is the best I can do for you, Maddie, and I will do it.”
I sighed deeply. “Fine, Mother, do your worst, your best, whatever. But I warn you; these men are not going to marry me. Just look at me. They'll laugh me out of the ballroom.”
“Oh, sweetheart”–she chuckled–“I'm not sending you to the Ball looking like that.”
My mother started to wave her wand again, and terror shot through my body.
Chapter Four
“I can't believe I'm going to a sex ball in a pumpkin,” I muttered to myself.
My elaborate carriage– which my mother had made from a pumpkin–coasted down the road, led by four, white horses which started the night out as mice. My footman had been a frog, and the coachman a rabbit. Mother made do with what she had available, or so she said. She also transformed my rags into the most exquisite ball gown I'd ever seen; dripping with sparkling diamonds. My hair had been curled and set with more shiny stones, and my face adorned with a radiant glow. At the last minute, she remembered my shoes.
There was nothing left to transform, so she pulled her own shoes off her feet and handed them over. They were a perfect fit, but they were glass. Glass! I asked her if she was mad. Who walked around in glass shoes? One false step and your feet would be sliced to ribbons. But she insisted.
So, there I was, primped and ready for the perverts. I watched the shimmering castle come into view, my heart racing at the thought of what waited for me inside it. Maybe they wouldn't notice me. Maybe I could attend the Ball and leave a free woman, and then my mother would have to concede defeat and find another way to take care of me.
The carriage stopped before the massive set of stone stairs that led into the castle. Right; I'll need to navigate those carefully–glass and stone don't pair well. I got out of the carriage with the help of the frog–I mean footman–and then was escorted up the stairs by a castle guard. The carriage pulled away and parked beside the other carriages as I walked into the castle.
There were people everywhere, but they were all dressed. I breathed a sigh of relief, wondering if all the tales of lewdness had been false. Maybe I was mistaken, and the princes were nice men who were looking for a good woman to marry.
I walked into the ballroom as Prince Ashton strode out of a room behind the thrones. He was escorting a woman who was still tying the ribbons of her dress. As soon as she was at the edge of the dance floor, Ashton started scanning the room for a new victim... er, partner.
“If one of Their Highnesses approaches you for a dance,” the footman at the door said to me with a lifted chin, “follow him into the audition room and perform for him as best you can.” He looked me over and then did a double take. “My lady,” he added. Then he lifted a hand to catch Prince Ashton's attention.
The Prince saw us and his eyes widened. He started moving through the dancers with expert speed. I rolled my eyes. Here we go. I didn't know what the footman had meant by “dance” and “perform,” but I knew I wasn't about to do either of those things. The Prince could just...
It was the first time I had been close enough to see the color of Prince Ashton's eyes. They were a pale gray, like storm clouds, and they were set intensely upon my face. His blond hair was swept back into a club, the pale skin of his throat was just beginning to flush, and his breathing was going ragged.
“My lady,” he whispered–a velvet sound, “I am overcome. Please, tell me your name.”
Oh hell no, I wasn't giving this guy my name. So, I went with my mother's name instead.
“Lily,” I whispered.
“Lily of?”
“The valley,” I said with a smirk.
“And she has a sense of humor,” he said with amazement. “Dear God, this night may not be such a sham, after all.”
