Summary: Kenna and Raydan’s son Adrian visits Lykos for romantic reasons, with unexpected results.
When he and his family had last visited his aunt Adder in Lykos, Adrian had become acquainted with Florinda Tartassis. They spent several enjoyable days together, and he had promised her that he would return for a visit. Now the moment had arrived, and he was back in Lykos, this time without his family. It was the first time that he had ever traveled without his parents, but he was now an adult and could make some decisions on his own. They had expressed some concerns about his choice, considering who Florinda’s parents were. They had first met Florian Tartassis when he was regent of Ebrimel. They said he had been a harsh ruler that was obsessed with work and productivity, and that his much younger wife was a social climber who had married him to gain entrance into the nobility. However, Florinda wasn’t necessarily like her parents. After all, King Diavolos was a better man than his father Luther had been.
A servant greeted him at the door, and announced his arrival. “Lady Florinda, Prince Adrian Rys-Lykel is here to see you.”
As Adrian moved towards Florinda, she smiled and motioned to him. “It’s so good to see you, Adrian. Come this way.” As she began walking, she called out, “Please bring us some wine.” She guided him through the house and into the sitting room.
As they sat down, she moved close to him. “I’ve missed you.” Before he could respond, she leaned over and kissed him, then wrapped her arms around him. They continued kissing for several minutes, until they heard footsteps.
“Oh! Excuse me. I’m so sorry.” The young woman blushed. She began moving toward the table to set the wine down.
“Can’t you see that we are busy?” Florinda snapped.
The woman looked down and bit her lip. “But you said…”
Adrian looked at her sympathetically. “It’s quite all right. Thank you for bringing the wine.”
The woman smiled gratefully at Adrian, and hurried out of the room. Adrian turned to Florinda. “That was rather harsh.”
“She should have walked away as soon as she saw that we were busy. And did you see the way she was looking at you?”
Adrian sighed and reached for his wine. “Let’s talk about something else. Maybe I should say hello to your parents. This is their home, after all. And my parents asked me to give them their regards.”
Florinda frowned, then stood up. “I’ll go find them. Wait for me here. I’ll be back soon.”
After Florinda had left, Adrian stood up and walked out of the sitting room. He looked around and spotted the young woman who had walked in on them. He moved closer to her. “I just wanted to be sure that you were all right. You looked upset.” He smiled. “I’m Adrian.”
She glanced at him tentatively. “Prince Adrian Rys-Lykel? The Crown Prince of Stormholt?”
He nodded. “Yes, that’s me. What’s your name?”
“Mina. Mina Landais.”
“It’s very nice to meet you, Mina.”
Mina looked nervous as they heard the sound of voices approaching. “I’d better get back to work. It was a pleasure to meet you, Your Highness.” She rushed out of the room as Florinda and her parents approached.
Adrian sat up in bed. “I should really get back to the guest room. I wouldn’t want your parents to find me in here.”
Florinda frowned. “Oh, come on! Stay here for the night. You can sneak out early in the morning.”
“I really shouldn’t. I don’t want to take a chance.” True, he probably could slip out in the morning without being caught. He was his father’s son, after all. But he wanted to get out of there. He knew he had made a big mistake. Florinda was not the person he had thought she was. He had begun to realize that soon after he had arrived. He knew he shouldn’t have slept with her, but when she had invited him to her bedroom, it had been difficult for him to refuse. She was rather aggressive, and very persistent. And it wasn’t anything they hadn’t done before. Remembering the hot times they had shared earlier had made him weak.
He dressed quickly and, despite her protests, slipped out the door. As he walked down the halls, he heard someone crying. He followed the sound until he was standing before a door. He leaned close and listened. Sure enough, the sound was coming from inside. He knocked, and the door opened a few moments later. Mina stood before him, her face red and her cheeks streaked with tears.
Her eyes widened. “What are you doing here?”
“I heard you crying. What’s wrong? Do you want to talk about it?”
She blushed and stepped back, hiding herself behind the door, and peeked her head out. “I…I’m not decent…”
“I’m sorry. If you want to talk, I’ll wait out here while you get dressed.”
Mina nodded and closed the door. After she had changed out of her night clothes, she opened the door. “Come in.”
He looked around the candlelit room. The only place to sit was the bed. She sat down on the far end. He looked at her and motioned to the other side of the bed. “May I?” She nodded, and he sat down, keeping a respectful distance.
She sat quietly for a few moments, and then began to speak. “It’s Lady Florinda. Maybe I shouldn’t say anything. I know you’re close to her.”
“It’s all right. Whatever it is, you can tell me.” He smiled at her tenderly.
“She’s so awful to me. You know she was upset with me earlier. Then later she yelled at me, and she…she slapped me across the face. And it’s not the first time.” She paused. “And she’s threatened to do worse to me. I don’t have anywhere to go. I don’t have any family. I try so hard, but she always gets angry with me.” Mina burst into tears again.
Adrian moved over and took her into his arms, holding her close as she sobbed. Finally she pulled away, and her eyes met his.
“Why are you being so nice to me? I’m just a servant girl.”
“Everyone deserves to be treated with respect.” He reached out and patted her hand. “I’ll be going home soon. How would you like to come with me? You’ll be safe there.”
“Really? Do you mean that?”
He nodded, and began telling her all about Stormholt, his family, and the others who lived at the castle. Her spirits lifted noticeably as she thought about the life that she could have. She slipped her hand into his, looked into his eyes, and moved her face close to his. He leaned forward and kissed her gently.
Mina wrapped her arms around him and deepened the kiss. Finally Adrian pulled away.
“We should stop before we get carried away. I don’t want to take advantage of you.”
“You’re not. I don’t want you to stop.” She reached up and stroked his long black hair.
“Are you sure?”
She nodded, and he moved closer and began kissing her again. He lay down on the bed and pulled her down with him, and they made love.
Afterward he lay beside her and held her close. She snuggled beside him and looked up. “After we leave here, will things be different?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, you’re the crown prince, and I’m a servant. I doubt that your family would want us to be…involved.”
Adrian reached out and stroked her cheek. “My family wants me to be happy. And you’d be surprised at what they would think. My grandmother wasn’t from a royal family, but after my grandfather died, she became Queen of Stormholt and tried to unite the Five Kingdoms. My father wasn’t royalty either. He grew up on the streets of Lykos. But my mother married him anyway. She loves him for who he is, not where he came from.”
Mina smiled at him, and they cuddled for the rest of the night. As the sun was coming up, Adrian rose. “I’d better get out of here, before everyone gets up.” He got dressed, and Mina walked him to the door.
“I’ll see you later. We’re getting out of here today.” He pulled her close and kissed her deeply.
As he turned around and faced the hallway, Florinda rushed at him. “What the hells? You leave my bed, and tell me you’re going back to the guest room, but you go to HER?” She glared at Mina, who began shaking with fear. “You’ll be sorry. You both will.”
Florian emerged from his bedroom and walked towards them. “What is going on here?”
“Father!” Florinda pointed to Adrian. “He spent the night with this strumpet!”
“How dare you treat my daughter this way? You’re a disgrace to your family.” Florian led Adrian away, berating him as they walked down the hall.
Adrian sat in the sitting room and waited. Florian had demanded that he apologize to Florinda before leaving. As disgusted as he was with Florinda, he knew her father had a point. Although she had behaved badly, he had as well.
“I’m sorry,” he said as she walked into the room. “Your father is right, I behaved inappropriately.”
“Damn right you did. I want you out of my house.”
“I’ll be leaving in a moment.” He paused, remembering his promise. “Is Mina all right? You didn’t hurt her, did you?”
“How dare you bring her up?” She stared daggers into his eyes. “No, she’s not all right. I had her executed. She had it coming.”
“You WHAT?” He stood and began moving towards her, enraged. Florian rushed into the room and grabbed him.
“You’re leaving. Now.”
Mina lay in bed, aching all over. Her body was bruised from the beating that Florinda had given her. She thought of Adrian’s words to her: “How would you like to come with me?” She couldn’t get out of there soon enough.
The door swung open, and Florinda barged into the room. “Get up, you lazy swine.”
Mina sat up slowly. “Adrian won’t let you get away with this.”
“How will he know? He left.”
“He left?” Mina stared at her in shock. “But he said he’d take me with him!”
“And you believed him? You stupid girl. He doesn’t care about you. He was only using you. You’re not the first, and you won’t be the last. Now get the hells out of bed.”