Chapter 10

Gene was in complete and utter shock. She had expected a beating, and instead had been saved by her very own prince. Sure he was an enchanted one, but she didn't hold that against him. She had never in her seventeen years heard her father apologize to anyone ... Not ANYONE. And yet he had just done so to her.

She looked at Patrick and could feel then tension running off of him in waves. The usual teasing smile was gone from his lips. His normally warm, and startling, blue eyes narrowed upon her father as if suspecting that the man might yet pounce- and knowing her father as she did, it was certainly a possibility. She had only seen the gentle, teasing, side of him and this new side him both scared and enthralled her. She briefly wondered if that anger could be turned on her, but she instinctively knew that that kind of animosity was not something that would ever be turned her way.

Shaking herself from her musings, she stepped forward to claim her father's attention and bobbed a quick curtsey to dispel some of the tension. With her father's eyes focused on her she said: "welcome home father, and congratulations on your marriage."

That seemed to spark something in her father's eyes. Casting a sullen look upon the elusively familiar intruder, his daughter's would be protector. He again asked his question, this time directing it at someone he knew he could intimidate. "Gene, who is this person, why is he here?"

Gene grew flustered not knowing where to begin her tale, but she was saved from answering by the appearance of her two sisters. Gene never would have believed it possible, but she was actually glad to see the two creatures, who could at least help her explain the presence of a strange man in their home.

"Father." Greta bobbed a curtsy to her father. Her eyes, though, remained on the man she had only caught a glimpse of before. This gorgeous man, this would be prince, was more beautiful than she remembered. He was impossibly tall and muscular, his features seemed to be chiseled from some perfect piece of living stone, His eyes were piercingly blue, his mouth sensual, his chin strong, his hair full and wavy. Here was an opportunity that could not be missed. If she played her cards right she might be able to catch herself a crown.

Gertrude, on the other hand, remained silent. She could only guess the direction of her sister's thoughts, for they probably ran along with hers. This enchanted prince was absolutely mouth watering, and she could only fantasize about how good he would be in bed. She was not so dumb to think her father would hand her over such a prize when the obvious favorite was Greta, but she had no qualms about sharing. If her sister could capture this particular crown, then she would inevitably be able to taste the fruit of her sister's bed. This game only needed a little push from a crafty mind such as hers.

"I see you've met our guest," stated Greta with a smile. "Meet the fabled, enchanted prince. Heir to the thrown ... Patrick Paul Hue, wasn't it?"

Popo nodded once.

The shocked eyes of Lord Overton swung his way and locked with his. "No!!"

And the portly, blustery, Lord Overton- recognizing the face from a forgotten portrait which hung in the king's own bed chamber- felt the blood pool to the bottom of his stomach and his vision grow fuzzy.

"NO!" he whispered once before he fainted.

By the time Lord Overton had roused himself, Gene and Popo were gone down to the kitchens to find something to eat. This was accomplished at the urging of Greta and Gertrude who wanted to "talk" to Lord Overton about their guest.

Feeling as if she had been given a reprieve, Gene gladly left the explaining of the situation to Greta and Gertrude. She did not know that in leaving the two girls to their "explanations", trouble would soon come to her.

Lord Overton came to with a start and as he sat up he searched frantically for the man who had threatened him, the man who would be king. Finding him gone, he turned to his daughters. "Where is he? Gods, do you know who he is? How could I not have recognized that face immediately? Do you know what this means? The stories are true! He still lives! Our good sovereign, foolish and honest man that he is, still holds the thrown for him! Still talks about how his family has only held on to the crown in trust for some lost and enchanted prince. And now that he has no heir, when this kingdom could go to someone of use to us, this thing, this prince appears. Not only that, but I have offended him. He nearly killed me just then! Gods! What are we to do?"

The two sisters could only gape at their father's panicked ramblings. Looking at each other briefly, they turned back to him and said: "Father, we have a plan!"

And so the two- well, mostly Gertrude, who was the true brains behind the pair- came up with an idea to snare a prince. The plan was as follows: offer the prince a splendidly appointed chamber as befitting his station, send in Greta to tempt him, and while they were in a heated embrace Lord Overton would enter the room and catch them in the act. And wham-bam-thank-you-mam, shot gun wedding!

As far as Lord Overton was concerned it was a splendid idea. To his way of thinking the plan was fool proof. How could the prince resist the tempting Greta, she was certainly one of the most beautiful women in the land. Her perfect face and luscious body was enough to tempt a saint! And it was obvious by the way the prince had defended that useless girl Gene, that the prince was a man of high moral standard. Once caught in an indiscrete embrace, with a girl from the nobility no less, how could he refuse to do the proper thing.

And so, with things settled between the three, we return to our hero and heroine, Popo and Gene.

"You'll have to make do with sandwiches for the time being dears, that woman is demanding a 'selection of delicacies' as she put it to be served privately in her chamber. Has the staff running scared and hoping to please, but I'll tell you I'm not liking this one bit. You should have seen the rags she came in. Don't know what Lord Overton was thinking...". Cook took a breath and pointed at a tray of sandwiches piled on the counter before she continued. "Never seen the like I tell you. We all know what a proud man your father is Genie, Can't imagine what your father was thinking."

Gene could only nod mutely as she and Popo sat at the counter and helped themselves to the ham and cheese sandwiches.

"I have to apologize your highness for the meager fare, but we've a new mistress to impress. I tell you she won't be an easy one to please that one." This comment was directed by Cook to Popo before she turned back to Gene who was nibbling on her dinner while she stared in wide-eyed surprise at the women who had practically raised her but was, in name only, a servant to her. Popo waved a hand at Miriam to show that he was not offended, and dug in to the meal with a gusty sigh.

"You should see the state of this woman. Sure she's a beauty, rivals Greta she does. But that won't save her if she sires another girl off Lord Overton. You mark my words! For all her hoity-toity attitude she'll soon discover what her new spouse is like. But I will say that we were all shocked by the deference that he showed her; despite her obvious low upbringing. Half the kitchen is betting that the woman is already pregnant. It's the only reason for Lord Overton to marry again, especially beneath his station..."

Miriam continued grumbling but she had lost the attention of her audience. Mostly because the pair had linked hands beneath the counter. It was almost as if they both needed the physical contact despite the fact that they sat right next to each other. Gene didn't mind the smallness of his shrunken hands, or their wrinkly texture. She knew what lay beneath the surface of his enchanted form. It was not his beauty that took her breath away, it was his overall goodness. He was a good man who would not stand by for injustices. His defense of her had proven that to her more than mere words ever would. To her he was a good man who would be a good leader of men. She could only hope that he would not forget her too soon; that he would find a space in his life for her, because to loose him now would surely break her heart and spirit.

Popo was having similar thoughts of Gene. He was constantly amazed at the goodness and sweetness that he had found in her. Gene was a true innocent, who despite the bullies and wickedness of her family, had blossomed into the pure spirit she was now. She was a strong girl who had no fear of standing up for what she thought was unjust, despite the hardships that caused her with her family. She was physically beautiful, in her own quiet way, but it was that combined with her very essence that made her stunning. Popo would be glad to be out of this house and would be even happier in taking her with him. He couldn't imagine even a moment without her, let alone a lifetime.

The moment that thought passed his mind he realized that he had fallen in love with Gene.

Oddly enough, this did not come as a surprise to him. How could you not love her once you got to know her. She was the perfect, but more importantly, she was perfect for him! He wanted to bask in her presence. He wanted to hold her in his arms, to inhale her scent, to keep her safe and to never let her go. Thinking this he gave her hand a squeeze and turned to look at her.

At the squeeze of her hand Gene turned to look at him, and found herself locked to his penetrating gaze. There was nothing beyond his gaze. She felt as if he was looking straight into her soul, and she into his.

It was the slamming of two glasses of cold milk before them that allowed them to break apart both hands and eyes. Both looked up with guilty eyes at Cook, who had finally managed to quit her grumblings long enough to notice the intense look the two were sharing. Casting a probing look at both of them she nervously cleared her throat and turned to Gene.

"Yes, well, up with you now dear. I've prepared a bath for you up in your room, I'm sure you'll be needing it to get the smell of horse off you." Then she then turned to Popo and said: "we'll have one prepared for you after Gene has finished your highness. We'll also see about getting you a room prepared. You're welcome to wait here while we see to it."

Popo thought about that for a second. The thought of Gene in a bath instantly filled him with need. He could feel his mouth salivate at the thought of Gene naked in a tub full of hot scented water, droplets of water clinging to her smooth and soft skin. He ached to be the one there to lift her out of the tub and dry her luscious body. He would dry every inch of her, but not with a towel; he would love the opportunity to taste and explore every delectable morsel of her.

Shaking his head at Cook he instead offered to go for a walk. What Miriam didn't know was that where he intended to walk was out the back kitchen door, around the house, through the front door, and up to Gene's bed room. He was tired of being denied his taking of the woman he loved. He felt no shame in the thought for he knew that it was not just sex he wanted. What he wanted was more primal. He wanted to finally claim his woman, his other half. He would worry about the details later. He knew he wanted to marry her, it would be his pleasure to do so. Not only would that bind her to him, but it would remove her from this house where the only love to be had was from a woman who was technically a servant.

With a sigh, Gene pulled away from the table. Casting one more look at Popo she turned and kissed Miriam on the cheek before heading upstairs. A nice soak would be just the thing to sooth her after the encounter with her father.

When she had left, and before Popo could jump off the stool he sat on, he felt a warm hand cover his own. Looking up he was startle to find that Cook stood next to him looking on him with a concerned look on his face. Instantly he was weary.

"Be gentle with her, you Lordship. She's all I have; and she's the most important thing in my world. If your intentions are less than what they aught to be, I beg you ... Leave her be. She has lost so much in her life that a broken heart would crush that lovely spirit of hers ... Please don't break my Gene..."

Popo smiled indulgently at Miriam. Stretching out to his human form he took the lovely woman in his arms and gave her a gentle hug. Taking her face in his hands he looked deeply in her eyes he bade her a promise: "Aye, I promise to be true to her Miriam. What you don't yet realize that she is also the only thing I have left in this world. Everything I knew, everyone I loved, died long ago. She doesn't know it yet but I love her, and she loves me. I would not betray that for the world! I will take her from this place and she will know only happiness for the rest of our days ... I promise you!"

Cook started weeping happy tears: "Bless you sir!"

Popo gave her one last hug and pulled away from the weeping woman. Shrinking back to his enchanted form he gave her a wink and walked out the back door. Cook's approval was the only approval he felt he needed to get. She was the only one to have loved Gene and now that he had made his promise to this woman he felt more than free to claim the woman he loved.

Love. Funny how it snuck up on you. It was a quiet small emotion until you acknowledged it and then it consumed your whole world. It made the dark bleak future seem somehow brighter. It gave purpose to your life, and a hope for the future.

By the time he got around to the other side of the large manor, through the door, and in front of Gene's door he was hard, hot and randy. The anticipation of claiming what was his had him grinning like a fool. He paused briefly wondering if he should knock or just enter her door. He somehow knew she would welcome him, but he was not sure if she was alone or if she had a maid attending her.

While he might not mind shouting to the world that Gene would soon be his, he doubted she would appreciate his exuberance.

The decision was made for him when the door opened before him and a maid made to walk out. But she was called back in by Gene. "Molly, you may go to bed. I'll finish my bath and go straight to bed. Best if I ignore father for the rest of the night, don't you think?"

The maid giggled and said: "Yes, miss. Probably best. 'Night." With her parting words the maid turned back to the open door and left, shutting the door behind her.

What neither girl knew was that Popo had managed to slip into the room unnoticed. What he saw had left him rooted to the spot beside the maid. Gene was more beautiful than he had imagined. The large tub sat before the roaring fireplace and her skin, what he could see above the water was glowing in the firelight. Her wet hair, freshly washed, was piled atop her head in some loose knot with some loose tendrils floating down and in the water.