In a Heartbeat

Brian’s POV

I was waiting around the corner in hope that Evangeline would not allow the Prince to stay with her. Every second that passed made me more nervous, and caused my hope to die a little bit more. The longer he was in there for, the more of a chance he had of winning and staying. I did not want that to happen, not one bit...

I was very surprised when the door opened after a very short amount of time and that Prince Matthew’s figure stomped down the corridor and then disappeared. She did not let him… My Princess denied him, and did so very quickly… I breathed a sigh of relief, but my relaxed state did not last very long. An uneasy feeling took over me as I knew what I was planning on doing tonight had to happen now. Taking in a deep breath in one last attempt to calm myself, I walked back to Evangeline’s room and knocked on the door.

“Enter,” her sweet voice called to me from inside, so I walked in and closed the door. I instantly spotted her sitting on her bed with her head hung low. She sniffed before looking up at me with teary eyes. "Brian? What are you doing here?”

“What is the matter, my Princess?” I asked as I hurried over to her. There have been a few times in the past when I have witnessed her being like this, in total distress about things, usually family issues, and I always did my best to aid her even though a slave was not supposed to. Somehow, we were different. We had something special. I knelt down in front of her so she could no longer hide her upset face from me.

“It is just Prince Matthew, Brian. It is nothing…” she whispered, but it clearly was not nothing. “I apologise for the way he talked to you. I am certain that you would not have talked back.”

“Do not worry about that…” I mumbled as I looked away from her teary face. My eyes drifted away to the beautiful decorations that James and I had set up earlier for the sole purpose of enticing the young royal couple into bed together. It disgusted me, as I did not want that fate for my Princess because of my feelings for her, but also because of her unhappiness when with the Prince. “How was the meal?”

“It went great, but now that means that both of our parents are very happy about the marriage so I doubt that I can back out of it now…” Evangeline explained, her voice wavering as a few tears fell down her cheeks. “I have tried to like him but there is something about him that I do not like. Brian, I really do not wish to marry him…”

“I know, my Princess, I know…” I sighed. I hated how I was so powerless. A slave essentially never has a voice, but definitely does not have one when it comes to something like this… “Princess, may I sit next to you?”

“Yes.” I picked myself off the floor and placed myself cautiously on the bed to the left of her, sitting as close to her as I thought I could get away with. I did not wish to risk her feeling uncomfortable and dismissing me. I had to tell her how I felt for her. Before I could open my mouth to start to try to explain what was in my heart, Evangeline broke into tears again, her body shaking as she wept.

“Um, Princess, I do not wish to make you feel uncomfortable, but I wish to show my support for you, so…” I said gently before slowly placing my right hand on her left one. I held onto it firmly but still gently, hoping I was conveying the correct ideas to her.

“Oh Brian, I just do not know what to do!” she exclaimed, her weeping slowing down a bit. “When I was in Matthew’s presence, we held hands multiple times, but it did not feel right… It makes me dislike him even more…”

“I am sorry for doing what he did,” I said, frustrated with myself. I was trying to make her forget about that Prince, not remind her of him. Though I did not want to, I let go of her hand, putting my hands together in my lap.

“I do not mean to sound too bizarre, but…” Evangeline began. I looked up at her encouragingly, really wanting to hear the end of the sentence. “But… Your hand feels more right to me than Prince Matthew’s…”

“Pardon?” I gulped, hardly able to talk. Was she returning my feelings? Or was I imagining things?

“I am sorry, that was unnecessary… You are my servant and I should not feel that way, but it is true. The way I felt when you touched my hand is far greater than what Matthew made me feel.” Then, my Princess did something I thought she would never do, though I had dreamed about it so often. Evangeline took my hand in hers and entwined our fingers. The romantic setting with the flowers and candlelight almost made me cry from joy.

“I would hate to be inappropriate, but… to me… this is a perfect fit…” I whispered while giving her hand a squeeze. Our eyes met and I gazed into her beautiful blue orbs, becoming lost in the wonderful creature that she was. It made me extremely delighted that she was no longer crying. I did not wish for her to be saddened, especially in my presence. I just wished that I could fix everything for her so she was content. Suddenly, she frowned and her free hand reached to her stomach.

“I feel unwell again…” she scarcely said, making me worry.

“How much did you eat and drink?”

“Not too much food, because I was not that hungry, but I had a lot of wine…” Evangeline answered, wincing a little. “I really like you, Brian… You are a good servant to me, though I wish… I wish you were a Prince…”

“Me too…” I whispered, though I was not certain if she heard me or not. I pondered for a second on how to make her feel better, than spoke up in my slave voice. “Princess, I will fetch you a drink of water while you change into sleepwear. I think it is best if you drink some water and then sleep.”

“Alright…” she agreed before standing up. My hand was still in hers, so I stood up with her too, facing her and staring down into her stunning eyes again. One of her fingers ran across my hand, feeling perfect as it did so. This must be a dream. It cannot be real… Unexpectedly, she let go and glided across the room to her changing area, so I left to fetch a glass of water. At the bucket of fresh water, Princess Abigail’s slave Zachary was there too, filling up a glass.

“You will never guess what is happening right now with me and the Princess,” I hissed excitedly after I had checked the hallways to see no one was around.

“Have you told her your feelings for her?” he asked with wide eyes.

“Yes and no. I did not directly tell her, but there has been a lot of progress and I think she might return some feelings for me!”

“Are you serious?”

“Very.”

“Well, I bid you good luck and goodnight,” Zachary said kindly before walking away and letting me use the bucket. As my friend, he knew how important this was to me, though probably an unreachable goal, and he supported me. I returned shortly afterwards to the Princess’ sleeping chambers where she was already in bed, but sitting upright. After passing her the water, I walked around the room to blow out the majority of the candles and did so in silence. It was almost as if our conversation and first physical contact did not happen moments ago… I stole looks at her immense beauty as I busied myself serving her. Was a woman like her, a Princess, really interested in a pathetic powerless slave like me? It was impossible. I must have been fantasising or over exaggerating before…

“Thank you for the drink, Brian…” her voice called out to me as I moved her dress onto a hanger and placed it on the correct place on the rack of dresses.

“Is there anything else I can do for you?” I asked half-heartedly as I walked back to her. Perhaps the wine had gone to her head and made her not mean what she said before. Maybe it was too good to be true. Evangeline hesitated shyly, as if she was uncertain about what she was thinking of.

“Stay with me?”

“Pardon?”

“Stay in my bed with me tonight, Brian?” Princess Evangeline asked me. I had to concentrate very hard on not letting my jaw rudely drop from the shock. This was definitely a dream. It was impossible that a princess would desire a slave in her bed with her. Yet she just asked me. I remained frozen on the spot, unsure of how to answer. Of course I wished to be in her bed with her, but that was a risk. What if someone walked in on us in the morning? I could receive the death penalty, and Evangeline could have her princess powers removed from her, or worse… Was it worth the risk? “Brian? I order you to stay in my bed tonight.” It was as if she sensed my doubt.

“Of course, my Princess,” I said after hesitating again. I did not want to get in trouble with my King. But is that not why she commanded that I stay in her bed? Is she not protecting me from taking any blame if we were caught? Slowly and cautiously, I took off my dirty servant clothes until I was only in my underwear, which is what I slept in. Evangeline did not seem to react, though she did not stop looking at me with wide eyes. I walked over to her bed, my stomach full with restless nerves, and picked up the heavy blankets to let myself in. She shuffled over a little to make some room for me, then lied down next to me and gazed into my eyes.

“I like you, Brian…” she mumbled with a little grin before closing her eyes. She looked so peaceful, despite the fact there were still tell-tale signs of her crying still drawn across her face.

“I like you a lot, my Princess…” I said back as I watched her fall into a deep sleep. It was not long until I too was asleep, in my Princess’ bed… This was heaven…