Two Princes

Chapter 3

"Theo!" a voice hissed, and then a hand gripped her arm and shook her. She wrestled herself out of sleep, pulling herself away from a dream of a handsome dark stranger who smelled of rosemary and rode a huge black stallion like a demon. Reluctantly opening her eyes, she struggled to see in the midnight darkness of her tiny bed chamber, but she knew who it was without being able to make out his features.

"Nikolai," she croaked. "What are you doing here?"

"I needed to talk to you," he said, lying down beside her and creating space for himself by nudging her with his broad shoulder.

Theo groaned. "It's late. I was asleep. I'm really tired Nikolai! Unlike you I work hard all day. I wish you would stop doing this."

"But I had to talk to you."

"Have you been drinking?" she asked as the yeasty smell of his breath reached her nostrils.

"Maybe. A little."

"I'm not talking to you if you're drunk. You're an imbecile when you're drink. Remember last time?" and Theo blushed a little as the memory assailed her. Nikolai whispering sexily into her ear and then kissing her.

"I haven't forgotten," he said huskily. "And I haven't forgotten the clout you gave me either. I won't be doing that again, don't you worry."

Theo remembered how he had been as a child: arrogant and infuriatingly cocky, always having to have the last word, trying to manipulate her with that crooked smile and those navy blue eyes but it hadn't worked on her. And now he was all grown up it still didn't work. Not at all. They had grown up friends of sorts, despite the constant sparring, but the gulf between them caused by their social statuses that had not existed when they were children had become wider and wider as they grew to adulthood. Now Nikolai was nothing to her, or at least he ought to be nothing, someone who inhabited a different country that was totally foreign to a lowly apothecary's daughter, a country of courtly manners and ritual and rigid hierarchy. Theo would think about this as she tended her father's herb beds and watched over his experiments and recorded his findings and dreamed of the day she could escape the confines of these Palace walls and roam free and unfettered and experience the joy of complete autonomy, away from the likes of his Royal Highness, Prince Nikolai. There must be somewhere, where everyone was equal - no servants and masters, no peasants and aristocrats - and if there really was nowhere, maybe she could help create it.

But here was the Prince in her bed yet again, and she was cross.

"You have to stop doing this," she repeated in a tired voice, sinking back into the hard mattress and closing her eyes.

"What if I don't want to?" he whispered, so close she felt his breath on her cheek.

Oh no, there it was again - a shiver of desire at the sound of his voice. Theo resolutely kept her eyes closed and forced her wayward body to behave.

"I know you usually get what you want," she said. "But I am different and I refuse to fall prostrate at your feet."

"I can't say that hasn't conjured up some rather interesting images, but I know you are different. That's why I need you."

"You're being so selfish," she said, her eyes still firmly closed. "What do I get from these nocturnal visits?" Theo opened her eyes and stared at him, a little taken aback that his blue eyes were so close and fixed intently on her. "I get nothing," she said more softly. "Nothing at all except a disturbed night's sleep."

"Maybe I could give you something?" he murmured in a smooth voice that had her whole body on full alert.

"Yes, the clap!" she laughed in an attempt to lighten the mood. "Don't you start this again Nikolai, you said you wouldn't."

"And since when have I kept my word?" He was still gazing at her intently, his eyes so dark they were no longer blue. Theo wanted to reach out and touch his cheek, but she kept her hands in tight fists beside her. "Oh relax Theodora!" Nikolai laughed. "I had my fill of a comely little wench earlier today. I'm pretty rung out, in fact. You will remain unmolested."

"You're a polecat, Nikolai."

"Well we can't all be as virtuous as you."

"You're getting married next month."

The easy smile left his face. "I am well aware of that."

There was that urge to touch his face again. "Do you want to get married?"

He sighed and dropped his head back onto the bed. "This is one of those rare occasions when what I want is immaterial. I have been betrothed to Helene for as long as I can remember and i will marry her."

"Have you spoken to your mother about this? Told her how you feel?"

He ignored that question and said, "Helene will make a very good Queen. And who knows, she may be good for me. She's so well mannered and serene that she will probably temper my wild side." He turned his head to look at Theo once again. "I think it's probably time that my wild side was tempered don't you think?"

Theo shrugged her shoulders. "You're only twenty-two, Niko. And I quite like your wild side."

Nikolai smiled, one of his most glorious smiles that filled his face and showed off his straight teeth. "But you hate it when I tell you about the girls I screw."

"No I don't!" she cried indignantly.

"Oh yes you do! You get a pinched look on your face and your nose twitches," and he pinched the end of her nose with his fingers.

"What bunkum," she blustered making Nikolai laugh.

Then the laughter stopped and he said in a soft voice, "Theo? Can I sleep here with you tonight?"

"No you can't," she said without complete conviction. "What if my father found you here?"

"I'll leave before dawn."

"You'll be still asleep and snoring well after dawn. You know you will. And I will have the devil of a time trying to rouse you."

"Go on, Theo. Let me. I'm tired and it's a cussed long way back to my chambers and your bed is warm."

Theo said nothing which he took as consent and he got off the bed and pulled his shirt off and then his boots and britches. This was a very bad idea, Theo thought. Every time Nikolai disrobed in front of her she had this thought. Somewhere along the way he had developed a mouth watering physique - broad shoulders, arms roped with lean muscles, a flat belly - all covered in flawless golden skin. He was a vision from fantasy, but here he was in all his glorious reality and getting back into bed beside her. Theo turned her back to him and he curled around her and slung a bare arm around her waist.

"Good night, my little blackbird," he murmured into her hair and immediately fell asleep.