4 Princes

XVIII

ROOK
"I DO NOT HAVE a sexual attraction to feet."

This was the one and only time I would ever have the opportunity and honor of sitting on the Throne. And I was squandering it.

Adam laughed next to me, his hand over his mouth. Father was in his bedroom, probably having sex or getting drunk— most likely doing both.

Jack was off with Red, wedding planning. Hera was, God knows where.

My only company was Adam and a line of women that stretched out of the front doors of the castle.

A pair of doves were visiting too. They flew in through the open doors and landed on the steps. I didn't have the energy to shoo them away.

I was so tired of hearing the same things, of the same sentences and lies being spewed out from different women. I hated liars.

"Well— that's what this is." The girl in front of me closed her eyes and looked up, stomping her foot. "Just a way for you to see all of the girls' feet in the castle." She turned and stormed away. The minute she was out of my sight, I couldn't even remember her hair color or what she was wearing. She was girl number 34, though, I knew that. Of 89 women.

"Leave the shoe!" I shouted after her.

She came back and set the gold shoe on the ground before stomping away. Again.

I looked at Adam and sighed. "This is hopeless," I said.

My mystery royal was somewhere in this room. I was forcing everyone to try on the shoe. Half of them wanted to leave, begged and told me they weren't my lady. But my mystery lady didn't seem like someone who wanted to be found in the first place.

Adam shrugged and rubbed the back of his neck. "You could just marry the prettiest girl in the room and call it good, brother."

At the sound of that a bunch of the women squealed and grabbed the arm of their friends and mothers.

God no.

"No. I want my lady," I said forcefully.

And the smiles in the room dropped. I liked their melancholy and boredom more than their high pitched yelling and shrieking. Although, it was quite nice for my ego.

A huge part of me wanted to crawl back up to my bedroom and just lay in my bed. With Ella in it. I scrunched my face up and shook it. I didn't need her body against mine, I didn't need her.

I didn't like her like that.

But something had changed in us after she told me her story. I couldn't understand why she didn't think it was big deal to be treated like that. Was it because I faced it every day and wouldn't wish it upon anyone else that I hated it so much? Is it a normal thing?

No. And if it was a normal thing than I wanted Ella to be an oddity. More than she already was.

"It's going to fit. My foot is a little swollen though from all of our dancing so it might be a tad small," the girl in front of me smirked. She put the shoe on and I watched it be too big. "Did I say swollen? I meant shriveled."

"Next," I said boringly.

She frowned but shrugged and walked away.

And it was like that for hours upon hours. I sat in the throne, a cushion underneath me. Adam came and sat on the thick arm rest, leaning back against the outline of the throne. I feared he had fallen asleep at one point.

The line diminish down until I was at the last three girls.

And then I got a familiar face. I smiled.