The Last Princess of Lorrea Ch. 15

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Henry victorious.
8.7k words
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Part 15 of the 17 part series

Updated 06/07/2023
Created 09/03/2013
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Elena looked out the window, the crowd of noblemen and dignitaries below growing minute by minute. She saw flashes of light as the dying sun reflected off the jewelry worn by the women and from the elaborately decorated sword sheaths fastened to the men's sides. She sighed and turned away from the window, catching sight of herself in the large mirror, her elaborately painted face staring back at her amid a sea of white satin and lace. Elena looked down at her wedding dress, fighting back tears as she remembered how she once imagined her wedding day, the glaring differences like knives, cutting her everytime she breathed. For one thing, she thought to herself, the marriage she imagined was not one of convenience and secondly, her parents would be there.

The thought of her parents caused her brave façade to crumble. Tears leaked from her eyes and rolled down her cheeks, as the reality sunk in, that she was going to walk down the aisle alone.

"Princess, oh don't! Please don't cry!" Catherine called from across the bedroom. Elena turned to look at the young girl, who walked quickly towards her and began dabbing her face and eyes with a handkerchief. At first Elena was somewhat touched at Catherine's attempt to sooth her, until she realised that Catherine was more worried that Elena would ruin the soft tones and colours she had spent hours applying to Elena's face.

"Thank you Catherine, but I can do that myself," Elena said somberly, taking the handkerchief from her. "You are excused now, I'm ready," she said, dabbing her eyes.

"I'm sorry Princess, but King Henry ordered me to stay by your side until the ceremony starts."

Elena turned away from the mirror and faced Catherine. "There is no need for that, I hereby relieve you of your duties for the rest of the evening."

Catherine bit her lip, clearly undecided. "I'm sorry Princess, but I don't think I can do that, King Henry - " she started to say before Elena cut her off.

"FINE," Elena said, exasperated. "But I need a few minutes alone, please. If you wish, you may stand outside the door until I call you in or the ceremony is about to commence."

Catherine, hesitated for a few moments, but she curtsied and walked quickly from the room, closing the door softly behind her.

Elena walked back to the window, noting that the crowd was now streaming into the castle gardens, where a great number of chairs had been placed on the grass, with a long white gap separating the seats into two clusters. Looking closer, Elena saw that the whiteness was in fact a long stretch of silk that started from within the castle and ended on a raised dais. She shivered suddenly, the reality of her situation thrown into sharp relief before her very eyes. Elena's heart started to pound as she knew that soon enough there would be a sharp knock on the door, starting the chain of events that caused her throat to run dry and her heart to race.

Turning back to the mirror, Elena dug her nails into her palms, willing herself to calm down. "You lived in the forest on your own for years, you can surely survive a wedding," she said to her own reflection.

A soft knock on the door, which opened, without waiting for an invitation. "Princess," Catherine said, her face alight with excitement, "the ceremony is starting."

Elena sighed and reached out a trembling hand for the bouquet of purple flowers that lay on her bed. In her opinion, they were quite ugly, but the flower is somehow significant to the Kravaolian nation and the man assigned to the running of the whole affair said that it would offend too many guests for it to be overlooked. In the grand scheme of things, Elena thought it insignificant and backed down from her request to change the floral bouquet.

Catherine opened the door wide, stepping back as Elena passed through it. She scurried around behind her, fixing Elena's veil and fluffing out the skirts of her dress unnecessarily. As Elena walked through the hallways and down the grand staircase, she barely noticed the flowers that covered every surface or the red and golden hangings draped over many pieces of furniture. She concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other - nothing more and nothing less.

At the doorway leading to the gardens, she was stopped by Catherine, who quickly pulled her veil over her head, adjusting it so that is sat just right. Elena was grateful for the veil, as the fabric was rather thick - preventing her from having to look to closely at her guests and vice-versa. Elena took a deep shuddering breath as another Lorrean custom came to her, the father's blessing. It was customary for the father to bless the bride and then lower the veil himself. She shook her head and clenched her jaw, which helped her get her emotions under control.

"Princess Elena?" asked an unfamiliar voice to her left.

"Yes?" Elena croaked, her throat suddenly as dry as sand.

"Good," said the voice. He cleared his throat and announced loudly to the courtyard at large, "Kings and Queens, Princes and Princesses, distinguished guests. I present to you, Elena, the former princess of Lorrea."

Somewhere to Elena's right, someone blew a short blast of trumpet, causing her to jump slightly.

"Go," whispered Catherine from behind her, prodding her back.

Elena's feet felt encased in lead, rather than the woven material that they were actually wrapped in.

"Just get it over with," she mumbled to herself.

Elena stumbled forwards, her pace picking up as she swept up the aisle, looking nowhere but at her feet. In a few short seconds, she arrived at the dais, her breath coming in shallow, quick bursts. Elena covered the trembling of her hands by gripping the stems of the flowers more tightly.

Suddenly, a large strong hand cupped her elbow, essentially lifting her up to the dais. She looked up and could vaguely make out the towering shape of King Henry standing beside her.

"The veil, King Henry," said a rasping voice in front of her.

Elena saw Henry's fingers grasp the veil lightly, before he lifted the material swiftly over her head. Elena looked up slowly, to find Henry staring at her with a large smile. Elena couldn't quite put her finger on it, but the look on Henry's face - was it triumph? She couldn't tell. She didn't spend much time thinking about it though, as she was taken aback at how well groomed Henry looked - by far the most handsome she'd seen him. He wore a sharp looking shirt of sky-blue colour, over form fitting white pants which were fastened at the waist by a thick belt which held a large golden, ruby encrusted sword. Atop his dark hair sat a golden crown, sparkling in the dying light of the evening. As much as Elena hated to admit it, he really DID look quite dashing - no doubt her mother would have been thrilled with their pairing. Elena shook her head at the memory of her mother, getting a handle on the emotions that were bubbling beneath the surface - she wasn't going to cry in front of so many people.

"The bouquet," rasped the small, ancient looking man in front of her.

A hand, belonging to someone Elena had never seen before, gently tugged the flowers from her grasp.

"King Henry, take her hand in yours," instructed the frail man.

Henry covered Elena's shaking right hand with his massive left hand. The small man bent forwards and started to wind a long strip of silk around their hands, tying them together.

"King Henry," the man wheezed. "Is this the bride of your choosing?"

"Yes," he said confidently, squeezing Elena's hand in what she could only imagine he thought to be a reassuring gesture.

Elena's jaw clenched. In Lorrean weddings, the bride was asked for her consent too. However, the man whose job it was to oversee the whole wedding day, explained to her that Kravaolian law did not require the consent of the woman in question. Elena had fumed for quite some time when she realised that she would have no say in her own wedding ceremony.

"And what be her name?" asked the man, snapping Elena back to the present.

"Princess Elena," Henry replied, omitting her heritage.

"And it is your understanding that by wedding this woman, she will become Queen Elena of Kravaolia?" he rasped.

"Yes," Henry replied, looking quickly at Elena with a smile. Elena just looked straight ahead, a faint taste of bile filling her mouth.

"Then so it shall be," he wheezed, raising his feeble arms into the air. "As this fabric, woven from the silkworms of Kravaolia, binds your hands together, it shall be that your destinies are now as one, entwined from now and to eternity," he declared loudly.

A short blast of a trumpet caused Elena to jump in fright again. Henry squeezed her hand again as the crowd clapped and cheered.

The old man lifted a golden crown, matching Henry's but slightly smaller in circumference, from a purple pillow to his right. He approached Elena, lifting the crown high above her head, the crowd falling silent once more.

"From Princess to Queen, I hereby declare it so," he said, placing the crown on top of her head.

Elena felt a sudden weight fall on her head, even though she was sure that the weight of crown wasn't really the reason for it.

The old man fumbled to untie the silk fabric that bound their hands together. Once freed, Henry slipped his fingers between hers, pulling her with him to turn and face the gathered crowd.

From behind them, the small man rasped loudly: "All hail King Henry and Queen Elena of Kravaolia!"

The crowd before them bowed their heads before shouting in unison, "Hail King Henry and Queen Elena!"

"If you will follow me, King Henry and Queen Elena," rasped the little old man, stepping around them and leading the way up the aisle.

As they followed the diminutive figure, Elena looked around at the guests seated on either side of her. Some looked at the royal couple with happiness while others with sour, calculating looks - more often from a female princess. Elena assumed that they were clearly unhappy that Henry, the most sought after royal bachelor in the land, was no longer available.

"Where are we going?" Elena asked Henry in a whisper.

"Kravaolian custom," Henry replied simply, looping an arm around her waist, pulling her closer.

"Which custom?"

"You'll see."

The frail old man led them away from the crowd, back into the castle. They walked slowly in his wake, Elena's anxiety building with every step. Not long after they entered the castle, the old man stopped before a heavy oak door and turned to Henry. "I'll be waiting here, my King, you can show me when you're ready."

Henry nodded at the man and pulled Elena gently by the hand into the room, closing the door quickly behind them.

"Henry, I don't understand, what did-" Elena started to say before Henry pushed her up against the closed door, his hands cupping her face as his lips pressed tightly against hers. Momentarily stunned, Elena kissed Henry back, before putting her hands on his chest and gently pushing him away.

"Wait Henry, I don't understand, why are we here? What is he waiting for?" Elena asked, confusion in her eyes.

Henry took a step back, allowing Elena to get a better look at the room. It was not very large but it was decorated lavishly, a large bed in the center, a table with wine goblets and a fruit platter in one corner.

"It is Kravaolian custom, dear Elena, for a newly wed royal couple to retire after the ceremony for a little while for what is known as, well - I don't remember the exact Latin of the phrase, but it's called something like "the connection room" - it sounds better in Latin."

"Henry, what exactly is expected of us? I don't think I understand."

Henry looked away, contemplating his response. "In the past, when the queen was a virgin, she and the king perform their first marital act, here, in this room. Immediately after, the bed sheet would be shown to the man who officiated the marriage, confirming their union and the Queen's purity," Henry said quickly, in a monotonic voice.

Elena's skin prickled with anger, her hands balled into fists. "How dare you - he - I will not - " Elena spluttered in rage, before Henry cut her off quickly.

"Calm yourself, Queen Elena," Henry said soothingly. The new title caused a shiver to run down her spine. "I do not intend to do any of that! We'll just bide our time before leaving, let him think what he wants about what may or may not have transpired on that bed," he said, waving his hand at the bed behind him.

"But Henry - if you say he's expecting to see some - well, blood on a sheet, what are we going to do?" Elena said slowly.

"Do not worry my fare Queen, I have a plan," he said, walking over to the bed as he rolled up his sleeve. He pushed the material higher up his arm until his muscular bicep was revealed. Henry unsheathed his sword and grasping the hilt with a strong hand, he flicked it ever so slightly against his arm. Henry winced but otherwise made no sound, sheathed his sword and pulled back the heavy animal furs and blankets to reveal snowy white sheets. He raised his arm over the sheet, pressing the area around the incision to help the blood drip from the wound.

"See?" he said to Elena, a smile on his face.

Elena nodded with relief, but something else troubled her.

"Henry," she began, "I thought you said that you would change the law - wasn't that what you said?"

"Yes, I did say that," he said, looking at her kindly. "It is in the process of being changed - but after all, it is a laborious and tiring process, changing ancient laws - what i'm doing here, it's only for traditions sake - nothing more. As far as i'm concerned our union is legal - and really, I AM the law," he said smiling widely.

"There - that looks sufficient for that old badger outside," Henry said, looking down at the sheet. He pressed a finger to the wound, stemming the flow of blood. "Would you mind handing me that napkin from the table over there?" he asked her, nodding at the table with the fruit.

Elena retrieved the napkin and brought it to Henry. "Could you tie it around my arm please? I'd do it myself but it's easier if you use two hands," he said jokingly.

Elena wrapped the napkin over the wound, fastening it tightly against the cut, staunching any further bleeding. Henry inspected the wrapping, before rolling his shirtsleeve back over his arm, hiding the wound from sight. It was as if it never happened.

"There - see? All done, no problem," Henry said, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her tightly against him.

"Yes, no problem," Elena repeated quietly.

"What is it? What's the matter Elena?" Henry asked, lifting her chin gently so he could get a better look at her face.

"N - nothing," she replied, hitching a dazzling smile back on her face. "I'm just getting used to the idea of us, that's all."

"I know you, something is wrong," Henry persisted, a frown forming across his handsome features.

Deep inside, Elena was terrified. They had not discussed one of the most important aspects of the wedding day - the wedding night. Being alone with Henry so soon after the ceremony, in a room where the focal point of said room was a large bed, caused Elena to be deeply uncomfortable and nervous. She wanted to talk to Henry about it, but she just couldn't. Not yet - maybe after they attended their wedding reception, after the guests have left. After. Later. Not now.

"It's nothing, really," Elena said. She decided on a half-truth, knowing that if you are to tell a lie, it needs to sound true, so you inject a little truth to add plausibility. "I didn't want to say anything," she continued, not looking Henry in the eye, "It's just that - these crowns- they're so heavy! How can you stand it? My neck is so sore!"

Henry chuckled and pulled Elena towards him, turning her around as he spoke. "Hmm, yes, they can be quite heavy to some people - especially a delicate young queen such as yourself," he said, placing his hands on her shoulders before moving up to her neck, kneading the stiff muscles gently.

"I'm not delicate!" Elena snapped playfully, before giving into the exquisite feeling of Henry's massage.

"Mmmm, no, of course you're not," murmured Henry, his lips grazing her bare neck, sending delightful little pulses through her system.

"I've never seen you wear a crown before," Elena said breathlessly.

"I usually only wear it for weddings and funerals - things like that. As you said, they are quite heavy."

"Henry, do you think, well, has it been long enough? Can we leave now?" Elena asked in a small voice, a blush rising in her cheeks.

Henry laughed, squeezing Elena tighter against him, his powerful arms wrapped around her stomach. "Maybe for the common man - but I am a king, so I think we need to wait just a few more minutes," he said as his lips planted small kisses along her neck.

"Henry!" Elena gasped, as she felt his hands cup her breasts gently through the dress.

"Sorry," Henry said with a laugh, his hands sliding back down to her stomach and hips.

"That's not what I mean - I mean yes, that too - but Henry, do you think he can hear us?!" Elena asked in an anxious, low voice, her eyes staring at the door as if she could imagine the tiny old man with his ear pressed against it.

Henry's lips parted contact from Elena's neck and moved to her ear. "You may be right," Henry whispered hotly against her ear.

Elena bit her lip as a wave of - well, she wasn't sure what it was, but she felt something course through her when she felt his hot breath against her skin. "Hen- Henry," Elena managed to say weakly, her breath catching in her chest. "Won't he know then?"

"Mmm, I do love the way your mind works Princess," Henry whispered as he turned her around to face him.

"I'm a queen now, remember?" Elena said, pulling Henry's hands back over her hips, as they had been slowly sliding downwards.

"I know, but I don't know why, it just sounds better to me for some reason - something seductive about the way it sounds... princess," Henry murmured as his fingers traced her jaw line.

"What does my mind have to do with that old man eavesdropping on us?" Elena asked sharply, intent on not allowing Henry to distract her with sweet nothings.

"You were proposing giving him - shall we say, something to listen to, no?" Henry said to Elena, his eyes twinkling mischievously.

"I was proposing nothing of the sort!" Elena hissed, her hands on his chest, pushing him away roughly.

"Well, that's what it sounded like to me," Henry laughed, as Elena's face turned a brilliant shade of pink. "But I think you're right either way - he does need to hear SOMETHING," Henry said seriously, lifting his crown to scratch his head.

"Henry," Elena said, folding her arms over her chest, "I know that you and I, we will - er, I mean... that is to say... we will... consummate our marriage," she said in embarrassment. "But not like this - not with that man listening outside our door!"

"Consummate our marriage," Henry repeated with a chuckle. "Really Elena? I know your chaste upbringing has given you an extensive vocabulary, but you can say 'make love' - it's not rude, my delicious prin- I mean, queen," he said with a grin, as he sat down on the bed.

"It is not proper to speak of-" Elena said haughtily, before she was cut off by Henry's booming laugh. "Stop laughing Henry! It's not funny!"

Henry smiled, his laughter slowly dying down. "Alright, Alright, calm yourself -there's no need to get upset," he said with a hiccup, suppressing a sudden wave of laughter.

"Now, what do you propose about..." Elena asked, pointing at the door.

"Easy," Henry said, pushing himself off the bed and pulling Elena against him. "On the count of three, you'll scream and I will moan, alright? Very simple."

"I most certainly will not! I'll do nothing of the sort -thank you very much!" Elena said, her tone a few octaves higher than normal.