Enchanted by Alethea Kontis

Author:Alethea Kontis
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Romance, Fantasy, Fairy Tales, Young Adult, Fiction
ISBN: 9780547822358
Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers
Published: 2012-05-07T14:00:00+00:00

12

Beautiful Stranger

“LOOK!”

Gasp.

“Over there.”

“Oh, my goodness!”

“Who is she?”

“Have you ever seen anything so beautiful?”

Sigh.

It was the first time that night the full attention of the assembly was not upon him, and so Rumbold saw what everyone else saw. He noticed when the next woman in line did not extend her hand in greeting. The prince looked past her powdered yellow curls, plump shoulder, and equally plump bosom, following her gaze to the opposite side of the ballroom, just to the right of the main stair, in the direction that Velius and Sunday had gone after the last dance. The chatter lowered to whispers, and a sea of eyes turned to ogle the events.

Only two people in the castle would have commanded such attention, and to the best of his knowledge, his godmother still rested in her chambers.

The dancers scattered like autumn leaves on the polished floor, and the king swaggered through them, his boots rapping a confident Me, Me, Me, Me as he crossed the room. Everything about him gleamed: his hair, his boots, his hose, the stitching on his coat. His perfect form caught eyes, but his face held them. For the first time in as long as anyone could remember, the king was not brooding or scowling or looking ready to eat someone alive. No, he seemed . . . giddy. Enchanted. Energized. The company stared, many open-mouthed. Rumbold forced his own mouth to stay closed. He wished, too, that his father had ever glanced in his direction without disdain or duty.

“About time, if you ask me.”

“He deserves some happiness, lonely man.”

“Isn’t she a picture.”

“Why, she doesn’t even look surprised.”

“Probably in shock, the poor dear.”

It was the fantasy of every woman in that room that few dared dream for fear it might never happen: To be so singled out. To be so special. To be so unabashedly wanted by such a man. To be held in such arms and whisked away with such strength. That promise was what had brought most of these bodies to the assembly tonight. As the king strode across the room, each woman he passed wished with all her heart that someday someone would look at her with that much desire. All of them would be disappointed.

He could not have known her; the king made a point of being intimate with none of his subjects so that they might all speak with one voice. His indifference meant their equality. It also meant that the object of his current affection was nothing more to him than a beautiful stranger.

“I can’t believe it.”

“Could it be?”

“Oh, I wish . . .”

Sigh.

Rumbold experienced a moment of panic. He had a sixth sense when it came to Sunday; he now knew where she was in the room even without looking. Didn’t everyone else notice her? Every time he closed his eyes, he dreamt of her. Each blink brought him the sound of her voice, the shape of her lips, the curve of her neck, the smell of forests and firelight and candles, and his heartbeat as they danced.

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