A Rock and a Heart Place (gxg)

Prologue

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A/N - I hate having to do this, but since NovelHD has already started to pirate some of my books, here we go. These works are mine. My poor little brain came up with the plots and characters, and I'd really prefer you to not steal them. If you're reading this on a site that is NOT Wattpad then it is most certainly stolen.Thanks!

Loiosh

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41 Years Ago

"This day can't end soon enough." The young woman complained as she stood still, her arms outstretched, weighed down by a heavy silver gown.

"Oh, Princess Inez, be happy. By the end of the day, you'll be wed to a King!" the seamstress who was pinning her dress up gushed.

"You're not helping Penny. No woman in Appalya would want to be married to Hudd," the Princess countered sourly. "In fact, almost none of his own citizens would want to."

"Inez, you'll be fine. I'm sure he'll find his mistresses, so he'll leave you alone. That way you can find a few young ladies of your own," an older maid flashed the princess a wink. Gettle was almost a second mother to Princess Inez, who never worried about formalities with the woman. It was also well known that Inez didn't like men but had an eye for some of the maids instead. "You know you'll still have Aethyl waiting upon you."

Inez couldn't help but blush as that, as did Aethyl, currently wading through the fabric in the back of the dais. The pair had been together for a few months now, though obviously statecraft necessitated this wedding. Inez was bitter, because her father, King Gerard, had been able to pursue a love match, wedding her mother who was certainly no royal. She always remembered the stories her parents told her about their meeting. Her mother, Surasa, had been a caravan guard, a swordswoman of great renown from the Caliphate of Dallinia to the east. She had a chance meeting in the throne room as she escorted a merchantman presenting gifts to the king.

It turned out that the best gift the merchant brought was the king's future bride, as her father had been smitten as soon as he saw the young woman and had married her within a month. Inez had inherited the dusky skin and dark hair of her mother, and the blue eyes of her father, and all would agree that she was a beautiful young woman. She had also trained zealously with weapons, as did her mother, and always had a blade of some sort nearby. Hudd may want to marry her, but he also knew she could slice him like a melon with little effort. Hopefully, that would keep him away from her bedchamber.

Aethyl was a few years older than Inez, 22 to the princess' 19, but the pair had formed an immediate bond. That bond had turned romantic over the summer, and Inez was wondering if their feelings could turn to love, though it was much too soon for that in her mind. She wanted to feel a true spark, and while Aethyl was much fun, it wasn't what she had heard stories about. Otherwise, she could have wed the maid later this year before Hudd had offered the choice of war or marriage. A war would be expensive and cost many lives, they'd been through it before with Winterhaven, and so the wedding was agreed upon. Inez's only hope was that the older King, already 31 and a widower two times over, would die before she would, and soon at that. She also hoped to keep Aethyl safe from him. Inez could protect herself, but there wasn't much she could do if Hudd learned about her relationship with the maid. Sooner or later, he would find a way to get to her, and then Inez would be in trouble. Her only hope was to keep the young woman safe in hidden quarters that were attached to her own and keep her as a secret mistress. It wasn't ideal, but her maids were loyal, and what Hudd didn't know about, he couldn't ask about.