The Princess? And the Pea

By

Cat

Copyright © November 2001 Cat

This work is not to be reproduced in any way without the express written permission of the author.

*****

Prince Nicholas sat on a bench and stared at his lover Prince Jason. “A… a… wo… woman?” he gasped in shock. His eyes brimmed with hurt and bright spots of color filled his cheeks.

Jason grasped the small brunette’s hands in his holding them gently. “I know Baby, I’m sorry. They want me to marry.”

“But a woman!” the other Prince exclaimed again.

“Nicky, do you love me?” the dark Prince asked softly his eyes suddenly unsure.

“With everything I am,” Nicholas murmured his small pale hand cupping his lover’s cheek.

“Then this is our only chance. You know my father will never change the law unless he must,” Jason chided. “This is our only chance to make him change the law.”

“But how can we be sure this is going to work?” the brunette questioned. It wasn’t dressing as a woman that bothered him. He did that all the time, well when his own family couldn’t see him. But he was afraid that if it didn’t work or he was found out that word would get back to his family and he would be ruined.

“I have made a pact with my Father. He may choose nine maidens, any nine he wishes and I may choose the person of my choice. You, Baby,” Jason explained. “He has set a test and the one who passes the test is the one which I will marry.”

“But it must be a maiden,” Prince Nicholas pointed out calmly.

The big Prince grinned. “Oh no. In the contract which my Father and I signed, it clearly states ‘the person’ who passes the test is the one I will marry.”

Nicky smiled at his lover’s duplicity. “So why must I pretend to be a woman then? Can’t I just wear my dresses and be truthful.”

“I don’t want my Father to place an unfair test upon you. Something that only a maiden could win,” Jason replied.

The brunette nodded in understanding. There were a lot of ways that he as a man could be eliminated if the King set the test as something only a woman could pass. Size of breasts, monthly blood, even the family’s history of childbirth. It might still come down to that, but he doubted the King would do something so embarrassing unless his hand was forced. So he saw the logic of making sure that Nicky fit in with the other contestants.

“All right leave everything to me. I will take care of everything on my end,” he said finally and leaned in to kiss his lover.

The big man hugged him tightly. “Thank you, Baby. Just remember our future depends on this.”

Nicholas smiled ruefully. “Do you think you could lay the stress on any thicker?”

The older Prince chuckled embarrassed. “Sorry Sweetheart.”

*****

Jason stood beside his Father’s throne three weeks later and looked at the nine maidens the King had chosen. He had to admit they were all beautiful and intelligent. But none of them held a candle to his Nicky. He wondered where his small lover was. If he didn’t arrive in the next few minutes he would be forfeit. Just then a trumpet sounded from outside and a small beautiful young woman, her long curly hair dotted with small yellow rose buds walked regally into the room.

“Her royal Majesty, the Princess Nicky,” the herald announced.

“My apologies your Highness,” she said making a deep graceful curtsey. “It was a very long trip from my Father’s kingdom.”

The King smiled graciously, completely enchanted by the lovely, petite young woman. “That is perfectly all right my dear. I hope that your trip was uneventful.”

“On the contrary, though there was no trouble. I must confess that I made the driver slow down because I was so taken by the splendor of the country side and your subjects,” the Princess answered peeking at the King through long dark lashes coquettishly.

Jason hid a grin behind his hand, watching as his lover wove a spell around his father. He began to wonder if the King might not simply call a halt to the contest and choose Nicky outright. He barely contained a snicker as the other nine contestants glared at the newcomer.

“Why thank you, Princess Nicky. I’m glad that the scenery made your trip enjoyable,” the King smiled broadly charmed by his son’s choice. If it weren’t for the promises made to the Fathers of the other nine young women, he would cancel the contest right now.

“Father the contest?” Jason inquired quietly trying to seem as if he was still worried.

“Oh yes, of course. As it is so late I think we shall adjourn to dinner and then bed. We will do the contest in the morning if that is acceptable to everyone?” he questioned.

The maidens all nodded and smiled. Stewards approached each young woman to escort her from the throne room and down the hallway to the dining room.

“Jason, why did you force this contest. Your choice is lovely, I would have been happy to agree to the marriage,” the King chided his son.

“I wasn’t sure you would be happy with her as she is so small and so much younger than I am,” the dark Prince replied diplomatically.

“Nonsense, you know that has never been an influence on my decisions. Oh well what is done is done. All we can do now is play it out.”

Jason smiled deviously as he followed his Father down the hallway to the dining room.

*****

Nicky stood in the bedchamber assigned to him and stared at the bed with wide horrified eyes. Mattresses had been stacked one on top of the other until there was only three feet between the top mattress and the high ceiling of the room.

“I will not sleep on that!” he exclaimed rounding on the hapless steward who had escorted him to his room. “I could roll over and fall from the bed and be killed. My Father would be very displeased!”

“But your Highness….”

“I will not sleep there. I will stay up all night if I must. But you can be sure that my Father will hear about this total disregard for my safety,” he interrupted the man his eyes snapping.

“Please your Highness I will go and talk to the King.” The Steward hurried away, wiping sweat from his brow. He would not want to be on the wrong side of that young woman if she ever became Queen.

The King listened with a small smile as the Steward blurted out his reason for coming. He wasn’t surprised. He’d already had similar complaints from the nine maidens he chosen. Though he had to admit that none of the other stewards had looked quite so desperate to appease his charge as this one. She must be quite a little firebrand to cause this much fear. He grinned liking her even more.

“Very well, tell her that all but five of the mattresses can be removed. I wouldn’t want any harm to befall her. If she still complains then I guess she will have to stay up all night,” he told the man finally.

The Steward’s eyes widened at the thought of conveying that message, but he simply nodded and hurried from the room. The Princess wasn’t happy but agreed that only five mattresses were better than twenty. She flung herself into a chair and sat pouting as she watched the servants carry away the extras and remake the bed.

“Finally!” she muttered as the last servant left, leaving only her and the Steward. “I didn’t think I would ever get to go to bed. I am thoroughly exhausted from my trip. I shall look miserable tomorrow if I don’t get some rest.”

“My apologies your highness. If you need anything just ring for me,” he told her as he bowed out of the room.

Nicky sighed and looked at his ‘lady-in-waiting’ who was actually Jessie, his best friend and valet, also in drag. The man smiled at his Prince. “You were brilliant, your Majesty.”

“I hope so,” Prince Nicholas sighed and yawned. “I really am exhausted, help me out of this and into a gown, please? I just want to sleep and sleep and sleep.”

Jessie grinned and began to undo the laces at the back of the silk dress that the brunette had had specially made just for this. He folded it carefully over the back of a chair so that the sewn in breast forms were hidden from prying eyes. Then he laced him into a form fitting nightgown that had the same built in breasts just encase they should need to call a Steward in the night.

The small Prince sighed and crawled into bed, waving tiredly at his valet as the man went into his own small bedchamber next door. He fluffed his pillows and settled down to sleep, a deep yawn stretching the pretty lips.

A small frown pursed his forehead as he shifted to try and get comfortable. But no matter where he moved there was a hard little lump poking him. He tried both edges of the bed. He tried lying on his side hoping his slender form would help him bypass the annoying bump in the mattress. But nothing he tried helped. Finally he climbed out of bed and went to the door of Jessie’s room knocking quietly.

“What’s the matter, your Majesty?” Jessie asked looking at Nicky in concern.

“I’m sorry, but there is a lump in my bed and no matter where I lie, I still feel it. Will you summon the Steward and have them change out the top mattress for another. I’m going to try and rest in the chair. If I don’t get any sleep, I’ll be useless tomorrow,” the brunette said apologetically.

The valet smiled and pulled a robe on over his own specially made gown and leaned in to kiss his friend’s cheek. “I’ll be right back. I understand how important this is to you. So don’t you worry, I can rest tomorrow if I have to.”

“Thank you,” the Prince murmured and hugged the other man tight. He watched as Jessie left and then went over and curled up in the hard chair by the window. He couldn’t believe that there wasn’t even a cushioned chair in the room.

Several minutes passed and his valet returned with the Steward assigned to Nicky and several servants bearing a new mattress. They quickly stripped the bed and removed the old one. When the fresh mattress had been placed and the bed remade the Steward stepped over to the Prince and smiled nervously.

“I am so sorry your Highness. I hope that this mattress works better for you.”

“So do I,” Nicholas groused unhappily. “As it is, I will look like hag tomorrow from lack of sleep.”

“Never, your Majesty. You would be lovely I’m sure, if you were to stay up dancing all night long,” the Steward replied and bowed his way out of the room.

Nicky rolled his eyes, but smiled in pleasure none the less at the compliment. With a deep sigh he sank down on the bed ready to get a good nights rest. Five minutes later he was back up, knocking on Jessie’s door.

“Nicky?” the larger man asked looking at the Prince’s distressed face.

“This mattress has a lump too!” the brunette exclaimed angrily. “I’m never going to get any sleep!”

“Sh, it’s all right I’ll go and tell the Steward,” he replied soothingly.

Three times the Steward was called and the mattress changed. But nothing seemed to help. The last time the servants changed all five mattresses and still the annoying lump persisted.

Nicky looked at the door to his valet’s room and shook his head. It was nearly dawn now and his servant hadn’t had any more rest than he had. Sniffling he took several pillows and tried to make himself comfortable in the hard chair by the window. He cried quietly realizing that as exhausted as he was he would never be able to win the contest for Jason’s hand.

*****

Jason sat nervously in a chair by his Father the next morning as the first young woman was brought before them for the contest. The others were being sequestered in a sitting room until their turn came.

Prince Nicholas sighed miserably as he sank into one of the comfortably large and soft chairs in the sitting room. Uncaring of how it might appear, he curled up and rested his cheek on one hand, falling instantly asleep.

“Good morning!” the King said jovially to the first young woman as she was brought before him. This was his favorite of the ones he’d chosen. He was sure that she would pass his test. “How did you sleep?” he inquired anxiously.

“Wonderfully, your Majesty. It was like sleeping on a cloud,” she answered.

The King frowned unhappily and asked her several simple questions before returning her to the sitting room and calling for the next. As each maiden was brought in he asked her the same questions and his frown got deeper and deeper.

Jason watched his Father. He knew that the King was unhappy but so far all of the young women had answered his questions perfectly. He was beginning to wonder what the contest was. Finally Nicky, as the last contestant, was brought in and Jason stared horrified at how exhausted and unhappy his lover looked. There a was a small red mark on one cheek as if he’d been sleeping on it and his eyes were red rimmed and his lower lip trembled.

“Good morning,” the King said gently taking in the sight of the unhappy girl before him. “How did you rest my dear?”

Prince Nicholas’s eyes filled with tears and his lower lip trembled harder. “I didn’t,” he blurted, then burst into tears. “There was a lump in the bed and no matter how often they changed the mattress it was still there. I didn’t sleep all night. I’ll never be able to concentrate on the contest.”

“Father!” Jason exclaimed in outrage as the King laughed joyfully. He strode down from the dais and pulled his lover into his arms trying to comfort him. “How can you be so unkind!”

“I’m sorry, I don’t mean to laugh. But I feared that my test was a failure,” he explained as he walked down the stairs and over to his son and the small young woman. “Your Highness. Of all the maidens who slept in the palace last night only you did not actually sleep. You passed my test and have won the contest.”

Nicky lifted tear-drenched eyes and stared at the King in confusion. “I don’t understand.”

“Come I’ll show you,” the big man led his son and the brunette out of the throne room, followed by the steward who had been assigned to him.

They made their way through halls and up stairs until they reached Prince Nicholas’s room. The steward had grabbed several servants along the way. Once inside the bedchamber the servants removed all the mattresses until only the box spring was left.

The little brunette stared wide-eyed. Set about a foot apart across the top of the box spring, in a single line, were six tiny peas. They were so small they almost couldn’t be seen.

“I’m sorry your Highness,” the steward said apologetically to Nicky. “After the last time we changed the mattresses I really wanted to remove them because you were so unhappy. But I knew you were winning as none of the others had summoned their stewards to complain.”

The King laid a hand on the small brunette’s shoulder. “A true Princess or Queen will notice any small problem. That is what makes them so attuned to the needs of their family, their people and their guests. It was that, which I was testing for. You of all the young ladies passed the test.”

Nicholas didn’t know whether to laugh, cry or scream in rage. All he really wanted was to lie down and sleep anywhere. Even the floor looked like a perfect place right now. In the end he just buried his head in Jason’s chest and cried in exhaustion. The understanding that his horrible night had won him the right to marry his lover made him cry all the harder.

“That was cruel Father, Nicky is exhausted and miserable because of your test. And what if all the others had spent the same horrid night?” Jason growled.

“Then they would have had harder questions to see how well they met the challenge of dealing with problems even while exhausted and under stress. Another need for a good Queen,” the King answered caressing the brunette head pressed to his son’s chest.

“Well at least after this I feel less badly about what I am going to tell you,” Jason replied smugly. “Princess Nicky is really Prince Nicholas of the Kingdom of Hayward.”

“What?” the King shouted.

“Nicky is my lover, has been for a year. We love each other. That is the only reason I agreed to this contest. Our signed contract states that I will marry the ‘person’ who wins the contest. Not the woman,” Jason informed him calmly.

His Father stared at him incredulously for several minutes then burst out laughing. “Well, I have been well and truly duped. You shall be a wise and sly King my son and you will have a beautiful, intelligent and sensitive Consort. I’ll have the law changed by tomorrow so that I can get the two of you married before he decides he doesn’t want us for family.”

Jason grinned ecstatically realizing that not only had he won his hearts desire. But that he’d actually made his Father proud of him with his choice and his clever manipulations.

“Come on Baby,” he murmured lifting his lover in his arms. “I’ll take you to my room where you can…” he broke off a tender look filling his eyes as he saw that the small Prince was already asleep in his arms.

“He hasn’t slept for three days, because of last night and from practicing to be ready for the contest. He wanted to be prepared for anything,” Jessie said quietly coming out of his room.

“Poor child,” the King murmured. “He wanted this very badly didn’t he?”

The valet nodded. “He loves Jason very much. He’d do anything to be with him.”

The older man smiled as he watched his son stride from the room with his lover. Then he shook himself and started out the door. “I think I had better get to work. I have a law to change. Oh and you will get rid of those won’t you?” he asked Jessie, looking at the peas on the box spring.

“With pleasure,” the young man said striding purposefully toward the bed.

The End