The Letter V

Nathan wasn’t sure what exactly pulled him from his sleep the next morning. One moment he was dreaming peacefully of the night before - the smell of Violet’s hair, the feel of her skin beneath his fingers, the touch of her lips - and the next, he had been pulled back to reality.

He had a sneaking suspicion that it was the bucket of cold water that had done it.

Nathan sat up, sputtering, cursing under his breath. “Bloody hell!” He blinked a few times, trying to focus on who was standing in front of him, trying to get himself to process anything other than how cold that damned water was.

The ostler laughed and dropped the metal bucket on the floor with a rough clank. Nathan didn’t recognize him immediately, due to the water in his eyes, but he could make out that he was a younger man with blonde hair, and that he must have been hired while Nate was away. He couldn’t be more than twenty, Nate thought, wiping his hair away from his face.

“Apologies, your ‘ighness,” the ostler said, still chuckling. He bent down and offered a hand out to Nate, who took it begrudgingly. “Rough night last night?”

Well, it hadn’t been that rough - wait. Nathan looked around frantically. “I - have you seen -” He finally looked back at the ostler. “Rough, yes, you could say that.”

Where the hell was Violet? He remembered falling asleep there in the rafters, talking with her into the late hours of the night. Naturally she should still be there when he woke. Unless she had woken up earlier, and simply left him alone. That didn’t sound like Violet. Perhaps he had merely imagined everything that had happened the night before - the wedding, the storm, that kiss… His body promptly informed him that no, he hadn’t imagined that.

The young boy ran a hand through his hair. “Sorry to hear that. Storm must’ve caused quite a racket, what with the horses and all.” He grinned. “Not that I’m sure that mattered - you could sleep through anything, I’m sure. Been trying to wake you up for ‘round half hour now.” He dipped his head. “Apologies, sir.”

Nathan shook his head to get the water out of his hair. He’d always been a heavy sleeper, and there was no question that the alcohol from last night definitely hadn’t helped. And that kiss…

He cleared his throat awkwardly. “Right, no trouble. Thank you - I think.” He glanced around the rafters again, trying and failing to get his bearings. “Sorry, I don’t believe we’ve met - Nathan Morganstern. You are?”

Nate held out his hand in greeting, but the boy just raised up his own in a gesture of surrender. “Sorry, sir, ‘course I know who you are. My name’s Xander - I suppose I started here a few years back, you probably wouldn’t know that.” He nodded his head in the direction of the horses. “I have been working with your new horse, though - wanna see?”

Xander clearly looked excited, so Nathan knew he couldn’t tell him ‘no’ - even though his mind was everywhere other than on his horse. “Alright - I’ll be down in a moment.”

The ostler nodded and scampered down the rafters, clearly excited at the prospect of showing off his recent work with the horse. Nathan probably would have appreciated it more if he hadn’t been distracted by his own thoughts.

The prince ran a hand through his hair and tried the best he could to make himself look presentable. It was clear that he still had on his tunic and trousers from the night before - the rest of his clothes were folded neatly in a pile near the ladder. On top of the small pile was his mask, cleaned from dirt and placed delicately in the center, as though it were staring back at him. Violet had clearly done this before she left - Nate vaguely remembered discarding his wet, wrinkled clothes haphazardly, too focused on Violet to care where they landed.

As he bent down to pull the rest of his garments on, a glint of gold caught his eye. It was a small golden flower, set with a clear jewel at its center. He knew that necklace all too well - it was haunting his thoughts, teasing him.

Nate glanced quickly at the ostler, then back at the necklace. Before the younger boy noticed, he snatched it up and thrust it into his pocket. No one could know Violet had been there - it was bad enough that he had been spotted. As long as the necklace was the only proof, then they were safe.

The prince climbed unsteadily down the ladder and found himself face-to-face with a massive chestnut-colored stallion.

“Oi! Heel!” The ostler poked his head around from the horse’s other side, pulling on the bridle to keep him calm. The stallion was clearly not impressed. “This is Ranger - he’s got a bit of an attitude problem, if I’m honest. Whoa!”

Nathan squinted his eyes at the horse. He certainly looked powerful. Ranger was clearly bred to be a war horse, or a sport horse - strong, lean, but massive in size. His coat was clearly well-bred and well-groomed. But there was a look in his eyes that told the prince everything he needed to know - though he appeared tamed and groomed, Ranger was clearly wild at heart.

“What happened to Puckett?” Nathan asked, surprised.

Xander finally stopped struggling as Ranger calmed himself. “She’s around, out with the rest of the old horses. Not fit to ride, really, not for a prince like yourself.” Xander sighed. “Funny, Violet said the same thing. D’you know Violet? She’s real nice, she is.”

Nathan’s eyes went wide. Did he know something? Looking at his curious face, he figured that no, he probably didn’t. Nathan knew he was being paranoid. “Right, uh… I think so. Knew her years ago, haven’t seen her since we were children.”

Xander nodded, before becoming impossibly distracted with the bridle. “She’s worked here her whole life, I reckon. I’ve only been here a few years but she’s - she’s always been the nicest to me.” Nathan could see a blush spreading across the boy’s cheeks. “Plus she’s beautiful. You should see her now, your highness. I guess I’ve always sort of fancied her.”

Nathan wasn’t listening, because his mind was flashing back to the feel of his hands wrapped tightly around Violet’s waist, pressing her body into his, completely consumed in her lips. He wasn’t about to let a stable boy’s fantasies ruin the memory of his actual night.

But Xander’s face was rather innocent, and Nathan didn’t want to gain a bad reputation with the staff, not when he was newly returned and still subject to gossip. He knew that if the staff weren’t fond of you, they could make your life miserable. Since he’d be here for the considerable future, it was best not to ruin the boy’s fantasies.

Nathan ran his hand over Ranger’s coat, admiring the feel and the glisten. “Very nice horse, he is. I’ll be sure to take good care of him. How does he ride?”

Xander shrugged. “Haven’t broken ‘im yet, exactly - still working on staying in the saddle. Shouldn’t be too long, though.”

The prince nodded again. “Well, thank you, friend. I really should be going - someone is undoubtedly looking for me.”

The ostler smiled before he was roughly jerked to the left, following unwillingly behind Ranger. “Anytime, your Highness!”

Nathan bolted out of the stable before he could be roped into a longer conversation with the ostler. His mind was whirling, partially from last night’s alcohol, but mostly with questions. Where was Violet? Where had she gone? He tried to remember the events of the previous night, but found himself struggling.

Nate pulled Violet closer to him, breathing in sharply through his nose. Is this what it was supposed to feel like? He’d never felt the sensation of being so close to a woman before - his senses were working overdrive. He felt as though fire were pumping through his veins. He could hear his heart thundering in his chest. His head was spinning. His breathing was shallow and labored, like she was taking his breath away.

But what drove him insane was the fact that he could feel her body reacting the same way.

Violet let out a small noise of pleasure as her lips parted. Nate felt his entire body coil with anticipation. It was a primal instinct, as though all rational thought had escaped him. He prided himself normally on his ability to think clearly, but he had lost all control, choosing instead to give himself into his body.

Violet pulled on Nate’s shirt, guiding him toward the massive pile of blankets in the corner. Effortlessly, they fell into the pile, still connected in the kiss, a tangle of arms and legs and fabric.

Nate leaned down to bury his head in the crook of Violet’s neck. He could smell the scent of her hair. He could feel the bite of the cool metal locket against his cheek. He could hear her heart pounding, synched to the rhythm of his own.

“Nate,” Vi moaned breathlessly as he ran his lips over her neck. He smiled against her skin as she arched her back, pressing herself into his torso. He could feel his body react to hers, fueling the fire in his veins.

Suddenly, Violet pulled away from him, gently pressing her palms on his shoulders. She didn’t seemed panicked - rather, she pulled away from him to make eye contact. Nate was blown away by the look in her eyes - they were wild, passionate, but soft and concerned.

“What are we doing?” Violet asked quietly, running her hand through his hair. Her touch sent shivers down his spine. “This is a bad idea.”

“Vi.” A strangled groan escaped Nate’s lips. “You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to do that.”

Violet giggled, biting her lip as she looked at Nate’s. “So much better than I imagined it.”

Nate couldn’t help the smile that found its way to his lips. It was there only briefly, as his lips were soon busy with other, more important pursuits.

“Prince Nathan!”

The prince shook his head abruptly. His breathing was shallow, and he could feel that his face was warm. He looked around again, confused and disoriented.

The ostler was standing in front of him again, this time with another horse in tow. “Are you well?” the younger boy asked, furrowing his brows. “You look rather flushed.”

Nathan cleared his throat. “F-Fine. Too much to drink, perhaps.”

Whatever was happening to him, he needed to get it under control. As he exchanged farewells with the ostler, he reached into the pocket of his trousers. He felt the cool metal of the necklace brush up against his hand. He made no move to remove it - he would return it to her later, when all had blown over.

Still, the weight of it was a small reminder of what he’d done last night. As if he’d ever forget.



“You did what?!” Carletta screeched, leaping out of her chair. The mending she had been doing fell dismally onto the floor, forgotten.

Violet held her hands out in surrender, glancing quickly around to make sure that no one was standing nearby, listening. It was rather empty in the servants quarters, given that most of the staff were working on the effort to clean up after the long reception the previous night. If they weren’t, they were attending to the multitude of hungover guests that were staying in Alvandor for the weekend.

“Keep your voice down!” Violet hissed. “Elisabeth would have my head if she knew!”

“Penelope made you a bridesmaid?!”

Violet sighed and put a hand on her hip. “I apologize, alright?”

“Vi, what were you thinking?!” Carletta noticed she had dropped her garment, and promptly started glancing around for it. “You could have been caught!”

Violet looked down at her feet. If only Carletta knew what she’d done after the wedding…

“I know, Lettie, just keep quiet-”

“I spent the entire day catering to those, those pompous-”

“You’re speaking very loud-”

“-And I can’t believe you just flaked out on all of us when there was so much work to be done!” Carletta crossed her arms over her chest, her face mussed in annoyance.

Violet sighed, and reached for her necklace. She often would play with it, absentmindedly, when she was feeling nervous or stressed. But when she went to reach for it, she felt only her own skin.

Oh no.

“Lettie, I need to go,” Violet said tersely, scooping up her basket of linens that she was meant to wash. It was the reason she had even come to see Carletta in the first place.

Her friend saw the blood drain from her face. “Vi, what is it?” She eyed the hand that was placed limply at her neck. Carletta narrowed her eyes. “Where is your locket? I’ve never seen you without it.”

Violet’s eyes widened. “I-I don’t know.” It wasn’t entirely a lie - apparently it had vanished sometime over the course of the night, but she couldn’t speak to when exactly that was.

Nate lips drew across her neck. The feeling sent a rush of shivers down her spine. His lips made their way up, leaving a trail of soft kisses from her collar, to her ear, and then finally to her lips. She must have been dreaming - she had dreamt of it before, but this was better than she imagined.

“Vi,” Nate breathed against her neck.

“Vi!” Carletta barked. “Everything alright?”

Violet shook her head, pulling herself out of her thoughts. “N-no, I-”

“You’ve been acting strange for the past week. What is going on?” Now Carletta’s voice was soft, full of concern - she could tell by the look on Vi’s face that there was something clearly wrong, more wrong than she had believed.

Violet wanted very much to tell her everything. About Nate, about their friendship that had turned into something much deeper. About how she thought about the way he laughed and the way it felt to kiss him and how safe his arms made her feel. About how he read slowly and carefully to her, making sure she understood. About the way her body reacted to his touch. It was all territory that was so unfamiliar to her. She wanted so badly to know if it was real, or if it was all in her head.

But she couldn’t tell her. Not if she wanted any of it to continue.

“Nothing,” Violet said quietly. “The wedding is just - my head's a mess.”

Before Carletta could interrogate her further, Violet scurried off with her laundry, lost in her own thoughts.