Sleeping Beauty Novels by Anne Rice

Author:Anne Rice [Rice, Anne]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: General, Fiction, Romance, Horror, Erotica
ISBN: 9780452156616
Publisher: Plume
Published: 1932-04-29T00:00:00+00:00

The Claiming Of Sleeping Beauty

Lady Juliana was beaming at her.

“Ah, Beauty, sweet Beauty, is the Queen pleased?” And as she stroked Beauty’s hair and pushed her back to sit on her heels, Lady Juliana glanced at the Queen politely.

“She is all that you said she would be,” answered the Queen. “But I wish to see more of her to judge properly. Use your imagination, lovely one. Do as you please, for me.”

At once Lady Juliana motioned to the Page. He opened the door to admit yet another young man who carried a great flower basket filled with pink roses.

Lady Juliana took the basket over her arm, and the two Pages retired to the shadows. They stood as still as guards, and Beauty wondered that their presence meant so little to her. For all she cared, there might have been a row of them there. It did not matter.

“Look up, precious, with those beautiful blue eyes of yours,” said Lady Juliana, “and see what I have prepared to amuse the Queen, and further demonstrate your lovliness.” She lifted a rose which had a rather short stem, no more than eight inches. “No thorns, my pet, and this I show you so you fear only what you should fear, and not carelessness or blunders.”

Beauty could see the basket was heaped with such carefully prepared flowers.

The Queen gave a cheerful laugh and shifted in her chair. “Wine, Alexi,” she said, “sweet wine, this room is rather permeated with sweetness.”

Lady Juliana burst into soft laughter as though this were a wonderful compliment, and she danced about the room, twirling her rose-colored skirts, her braids swinging.

Beauty watched her in wonder, her vision still unclear from her crying, and the woman seemed, like the Queen, immense and powerful. She turned her smiling face on Beauty like a light. And the glare of the torches flashed in the deep red brooch she wore at her throat, and in the jewels sewn skillfully into her heavy girdle. Her pink satin slippers had silver heels and she danced up to Beauty and kissed the top of her head lovingly.

“But you look so forlorn and that is not good. Now kneel up, fold your arms behind your back to show your exquisite breasts, that’s it, and arch your back more becomingly. Her hair, Felix, brush it.”

And as the Page hastened to obey, gently untangling Beauty’s long locks down her back, Beauty saw the Lady Juliana take from a chest nearby a long oval paddle.

It was very like the paddle used on the Bridle Path, but nothing as big or as heavy. In fact it was so flexible that Lady Juliana, setting down her basket of flowers, could make it vibrate when she pressed the tip of it with her thumb. It was white, smooth, and limber.

It will sting, Beauty realized, but it will not truly hurt as badly as the Queen’s hand, and it will hurt nothing as badly as that weapon on the Bridle Path, yet she realized her

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