THE PRINCE AND THE PRINCESS

          As the story goes, Annette was taken in by a wealthy landowner, when his son found her lying unconscious and near death, in the gutter of a street in the slum section of an old English River Villa.  She had been hit by a carriage and left for dead.  Jay, who had often visited the slums to play with friends that he had there, had seen her often and liked the girl.   She was known to be homeless, so he decided that the best thing that he could do was to take her home to his father, to see if he would see that she was taken care of.

          It was near dark and he knew that the law was that no one from the slums was allowed in the wealthy residential area after dark where he lived.  He had to carry her through the dingy dimly lit areas of the slums, to the outskirts of the area separating the two parts of town. 

          Once in his own section, he hailed a carriage and told the driver who he knew, that this was his friend that was visiting from out of town and that she had taken ill and to take them to his home.  He had wrapped her in a blanket that she had been carrying, so as to hide the dingy clothes that she was wearing.

          When they arrived at his home, he reached into his pocket to give the driver ample payment for the fare and the driver nodded and gave him a knowledgeable wink before driving off.   Carrying the girl inside, he hastily told his father what had happened and after a slight mild argument, his father told him to take her up to the guest room and he would bring the maid up to attend to her. 

        As she was being attended to, the maid removed a locket that she was wearing around her neck and set it on a nightstand.  Jay watched as his father walked around the bed and picking up the locket, held it in his hand for a time, looking at it before opening it.

        When he did, his father gave an unexpected gasp when he looked at the picture of the woman inside the locket and then looked at the girl, and then repeated this several times before he closed it. Then telling the maid to see that she was to give the girl the best of treatment possible, he ordered Jay to go and fetch the doctor and to tell him to come as fast as possible.

          Later, after the doctor left, having said that the girl had suffered a mild concussion and had regained consciousness, but that she was undernourished and that with proper care she would be all right, Jays' father called him into his study.

         When he arrived there, he noticed that his father was still holding the locket, opening and closing it unconsciously.  His father asked him what he knew of the girl and he told him what little he knew about her.  Then his father told him that she would be staying with them for awhile.

          As it turned out she was accepted by the family as if she was one of their own and grew up to be a very intelligent girl.  Annette and Jay were together a lot and affection grew between them that seemed strange to some people, but then it was known that they were not really related.

          Shortly after their teens, Jay seemed to change and to withdraw away from her.  When she would ask what was wrong he would always say that it was nothing, but she often caught him looking seemingly longingly at her. His father told him that he wanted them to be married and even though Jay protested, he had to give in when he was told that he would lose his inheritance if he didn't.  Soon after, they were married.

                Even after they were married, Jay did not cultimate the marriage and Annette became frustrated in her need for him.  She knew that he wanted her, but what was the matter.  They started to argue over little things, but always when they were alone.  As far as his father knew, everything was going all right between them.   

          That is when it happened.  She woke up one night, and they were cuddled up close together, and her need for him was more then she could bear. She knew that he was awake, by the way that he was holding her. 

          "Jay, I want you to make love to me."

          "I'm sorry, but I can't."

          "You can't!  Jay, tell me; what is it that is keeping us apart?”    

          “It’s nothing, go back to sleep.”

           “No, I won’t.  I’m going to find out what it is, and you’re going to tell me.  If you don’t, I’m going to tell your father that our marriage is hopeless and I’m moving out.”

          “That’s just it,” he blurted out, he’s not my father, he’s your father.”

          “What!  What’s this foolishness?  What do you mean that he’s my father?  I don’t understand?”  Annette sat up in surprise, putting her pillow up against the headboard, so she could use it as a backrest.  “Jay, what do you mean?” 

          Jay got up and sat at the edge of the bed.  The light from the gas lamp out on the street illuminated his face.  “Annette, I’m not his son.  I’m the one that should have been out there in the slums.  I was taken in as a stable boy, when I asked for work, as I had no family.  After a while he asked me to stay on full time, and I jumped at the opportunity.  Then he treated me as his own, allowing me to sleep in the house instead of the stable.  His wife had died many years before this.  He dated other women, but he never remarried.”

          “But you said that he was my father, I don’t understand.  What did you mean by that?”

          “After his wife died, from what I understand, he had different maids working for him over the years.  He fell in love with one of them, and then she found out that she was going to have a baby, so she left in shame.  He tried to find her, but it was as if she disappeared.”

          “But what about me?  You said that he was my father!”       

          “He is, Annette.  When I brought you here, you had a locket around your neck.  The same locket that you are wearing now.  I thought that there was something odd when he looked at it and then opened it.  Then he kept looking at you and the picture of the woman in it.  I didn’t think much about it then, as I was still young.  Then my friends in the slums told me about stories that they had heard.  About how you and your mother had shown up after a while from another city.  Then your mother had died and you were mostly left on your own, as many of us have been.”

          “But I still don’t understand.  You said that he’s my father.”

           “Annette, your mother used to be a maid for him.  You’re about the same age as when she suddenly moved away, and nobody knew where she had gone.”

          “But what about us, Jay.  Why have you drawn away from me, when I know that you want me?  Why won’t you make love to me, when I know that you want me?  Why won’t you even touch me or make love to me?”

          “I’ll tell you why, but let me explain something to you first.  A while before we were married, I found out that your father has Royal Blood in him, but he is barred from his rightful duties as a part of Royalty.  I think it was because of his association with your mother, who came from the slums.  When I found this out, I realised that you weren’t meant to be in the slums.  That’s where I belong, as that’s where I came from.  But you, Annette, you’re a Princess and I have no right to make love to you.”

          “So that’s it, is it!” she exclaimed, as she suddenly threw the covers aside, got out of bed and walked around in front of him.

          When she stood there, in the full illumination of the outside lamplight, she suddenly removed her night-gown, and tossed it to the floor.  “Look at me, Jay” she said as she slowly turned around in front of him.  “I’m a woman like any other woman, and I have needs and desires.  In fact, I look better then most women.”  Which she did.  “And I want you to make love to me, Princess or no Princess.”

          As she said this, she jumped into bed again, pulling him on top of her.  As they were kissing, she knew that things would be alright between them from then on.  

          Soon, all the heated up passions that had been denied her were there for both of them to enjoy. 

          Later, as she lay cuddled in his arms, there was happiness and a smile on her face.  She was thinking back to her childhood and the years of growing up into womanhood.

         Finally, she thought, I've finally found "My Prince."

Story By  James Westhouse