Fake Marrying the Monarch

Chapter 1 - Ishmael

“Liza!” We hear someone knock on her closed door. “Liza, are you in there? Or have you fallen asleep already?”

“Come on!” I whisper, balancing on a tree branch outside her bedroom window. I stretch out my hand toward her. “If you don’t come now, we’re going to get caught.”

“But Ishmael, I’ve never done anything like this before!”

Liza flinches, causing her chestnut curls to bounce as another hard knock comes at her bedroom door. There’s fear in her eyes, but also joy. Excitement. A desire to break free from the reins that hold us down. Exhilaration. The feeling of being alive.

“Coming?” Raising a brow, I wait for a moment. There’s a chance she’ll say no and return to the comfort of her bed. She’s done that before out of fear of her parents. “Make a quick decision, please. I might fall off this tree otherwise.”

Sucking in a deep breath, she grabs my hand. I help hoist her out of the bedroom window, careful not to get her dress caught on the branch. My hands graze her sides, and she giggles softly. It’s hard to move, or even think, really, when I’m this close to her.

As we descend the tree, I gently guide her and tell her where to put her hands and feet so that she doesn’t fall down. It electrifies me to feel her clinging to me, knowing she feels safe in my arms, and knowing I’ll always protect her.

When she lands on the ground, she lets out a deep sigh. Then, she turns to me with a glimmer in her eyes. “Do I still look okay?”

“Ravishing.” I take her hand and kiss her knuckles. Even her fingers are beautiful. “We’re going to be late to the party.”

“Oh, who cares?” Liza releases my hand and links her arm with mine instead, which gives her the ability to rest her head against my shoulder. “Walter and the others don’t mind latecomers so long as you bring a dessert or treat of some kind.”

“But we’re not bringing any of that.”

“Then they might have to toss us out.”

Liza doesn’t mind what happens to us as long as we’re together. Ever since we met, that’s how it’s been. I didn’t know much about love and relationships before I met her, so this is all new to me. Every kiss, every longing stare, every small moment we spend together, they’re all cherished and stored away within my mind.

The only meaning of the word ‘love’ that I know of is her. 

When we arrive at the party, we stick by each other’s side. She never leaves my peripheral vision, and when she does, I search the crowd until I can find her again. And once I do, she sends me the sweetest smile as she tucks a strand of curly hair behind her ear.

“Ishmael, you’re staring at her again,” my best friend Jonathan remarks, smirking as he takes a sip of his drink. “The guy gets a girlfriend and suddenly thinks he doesn’t need his friends anymore.”

“That’s not true. I wasn’t staring.”

“Uh-huh. So, what did you think about what I just said?”

“You, uh…” I scratch behind my ear, scrunching my nose as my mind goes blank. “What did you say again?”

“See?” Jonathan chuckles. “You weren’t paying attention to a single thing I said. I can’t blame you, though.” He turns and looks in Liza’s direction as she chats with a few girls our age. She outshines them all easily with her smile and soft demeanor. “She’s a beauty.”

By the night’s end, we make the joint decision to stay at Walter’s estate. There’s no way we’ll be able to get Liza back home quietly enough for no one to notice.

Secretly, I’ve been hoping for this to happen. Getting Liza alone is a dangerous thing for the two of us, but it sends a rush through my body that’s comparable to nothing else I’ve experienced.

“Ishmael?” Liza whispers, beckoning me over with her hand. I can hardly see her in this dark bedroom, but then it dawns on me that there’s only one bed to share. “Can you lay with me for a while?”

“Of course.”

If she wanted me to, I would have gladly taken a blanket and a pillow and made myself a bed on the floor. Liza takes the lead, picking her spot on the bed. I follow close behind, wrapping my arms around her and burying my nose into the crook of her neck. She lets out a small sigh, reaching behind to run her fingers along my skin.

Closing my eyes, I allow her to take the reins. She doesn’t usually go after what she wants, but when she does, it’s an aggressive pursuit. Liza contorts herself to kiss me, caressing my face and everywhere else that she can reach.

It’s not long before I start doing the same. My hands travel from her neck, down her shoulders, to the curves of her waist. Liza gasps and writhes beneath my touch, so I keep going. I’m unable to stop myself when she starts making noises like that.

Just her moans, apart from anything else, raise my temperature and send pleasure coursing through me.

“Ishmael,” she whispers into my mouth, just as my hand reaches between her thighs. “We’ve never gone this far… I’ve never done this before.”

“Me neither.”

“How will it… fit?” Liza says the last word carefully, eyes widening once they meet mine.

I smile, gently trailing my hand along her chin. “Want to find out?”

After a moment’s pause, she nods. That’s all I need.

***

“This isn’t a good idea,” Liza says, shaking her head. “We’re going to get in trouble.”

Meanwhile, I keep on toward the small brown house in the distance, surrounded by tall grasses and wispy trees. “No, we won’t. We didn’t get in trouble last week when we snuck off to Walter’s place and stayed there all night. We’ll be fine this time, too.” 

Feeling in my pocket, I make sure for the umpteenth time that the key to the cottage is still there. I would hate to ruin a moment like this with any type of carelessness. Liza deserves better than that. “The groundskeeper leaves the property each evening, so there’s no chance we’ll get found.”

“But…”

I hush her playfully, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and bringing her close. Liza nearly stumbles, but then she wraps her arm around me as well. 

It’s a scene I want to cherish for the rest of my life. Liza and I running away together, spending some time in a hidden cottage where the world can forget about us.

It would be nice to make that vision a reality one day, but for now, this will suffice.

“This house belongs to one of my father’s courtiers, you know.”

Liza frowns. “All the more reason why we shouldn’t be on this property.”

“You worry too much for your own good, my love.”

Fumbling to get the key out of my pocket, I compose myself and open the door. The wood creaks below our feet as we make our way inside. A small cat on the windowsill of the living room scampers off at the sight of us.

One whiff of the air and all I can smell are books and dust. Liza’s hesitation makes me laugh, so I grab her hand and pull her into my chest. She weakly pushes against me, but I’m not having that. Instead, I coax her into a small dance in the middle of the living room.

“We’ll do this one day when we’re married.”

Liza sucks in a deep breath. Her hand tightens around mine. “What am I going to do about Felipe?”

“Forget about him.” The mere mention of that man’s name makes me want to throw a chair into the wall. “We’re going to find a way to get you out of this situation. I promise.”

“And if we don’t?” Liza’s voice wavers. “What if my father and stepmother get what they want and marry me off to that man? I don’t like him. I don’t want to do it, Ishmael, I –”

Shushing her, I cradle her head and pull her against my chest. Liza wraps her arms tightly around my upper body, digging her nails into the fabric of my shirt.

A subtle wetness forms on my shoulder. She’s crying.

“He’s so much older than me,” she whispers. “And he doesn’t care about love or romance. He only cares about… status. He’s so cold behind closed doors. One moment, he can be smiling with the crowd, but once you’re alone with him, he turns to stone.”

“Felipe is nothing to us, my love.” Pulling away from her, I cup her chin. “I’ll never let him take you away from me. That’s a promise.”

“Really?”

I nod. She rises up on her toes to kiss me, narrowing her eyes and involuntarily biting her lower lip. She wraps her arms around my neck, and I fall into her effortlessly. The dance between us reignites into one born of passion and fire, with my movements matching hers and driving us into the nearest bedroom we could find.

With a laugh, she falls on top of the bedroom sheets. Clean and pristine since they haven’t been used for ages. She opens her legs, and I slip between them naturally.

Liza’s become so much more audacious since the first time we had sex that it’s hard to believe that it was just a week ago. It drives me wild.

“Do you really think we’ll be able to survive this, Ishmael?” she asks, propping herself up on her elbows to shrink the distance between her lips and mine. “I want to marry you.”

“I love you, Liza,” I say earnestly. “I’d give you the world if you’d let me.”

Her eyes flutter close. “You’ve always had a pretty way with words.”

“To match the pretty woman I’m in love with. The beautiful woman I’ll make my wife.”

She brings her lips to mine.