Sarah had a healthy sense of humor, but she had nearly reached her limit. When the toady, hunched groom referred to her as 'another of those blasted princesses', she couldn't help but grin. And when the man servant presented her at court with a river of rainwater still draining from her clothes and hair, she stifled a smirk at the spectacle she must have made.

But now, the queen was prodding at her hips and saying, "They're rather too thin. Not proper hips for bearing sons. And her hair is poker straight. With Prince Analdo's curls, their children will look like God knows wha--"

"I don't want to marry your son," Sarah snapped, her good will exhausted.

"Of course you want to marry the prince. Why else would you be here?" the queen asked. There was an annoying little titter of laughter from the watching court.

"Because it's storming. And I got stuck out in it. I'm just looking for a place to stay the night and the loan of some dry clothes." She shivered despite the blazing fire.

"Trying to buy more time with Analdo, are you?" The queen winked at her.

"No," Sarah said quickly, snatching a quick look at the coveted Prince Analdo. He had a fleshy face and a heavy brow and a general air of disinterest. "I just want--"

"Don't worry my dear." The queen lowered her voice and the room grew quieter to hear her. "I can respect a girl with tactics. I've used more than a few tactics to get where I am."

Sarah clutched at herself, her teeth audibly chattering, and wondered if she wasn't better off out in the storm.

A girl's voice sounded from the back of the hall. "Mother, I hate to interrupt, but I'm afraid that this is a rather egregious breech of protocol." Everyone, including Sarah, turned to see a strawberry-haired girl in a sky-blue gown making her way through the loitering court. "You wouldn't want her to return to...." The girl turned her eyes to Sarah. "...where are you from?"

Sarah's heart gave a couple of quick beats. She had a sudden, inexplicable urge to brush her fingers over the freckles on the blue-eyed girl's cheeks. "Savoy," she finally answered, hoping her voice was steady.

"You wouldn't want her to return to Savoy and tell her father that she was so ill-treated, as to be presented at court without so much as a moment for her toilet, would you?"

The queen looked shaken. She turned to Sarah. "Of course, we mean no insult. We only wish to offer you the finest of hospi--"

"Come," the blue-eyed girl said, taking Sarah's hand. Her skin tingled up to the elbow. "Accept our apologies. I have some dry clothes that will fit you. And then we'll present you properly before dinner.

#

"You must forgive my mother," the blue-eyed girl said, pulling Sarah into a warm, cozy bedchamber with a blazing fireplace. "She's a touch deranged, just now. Get warm by the fire while I fetch towels." She skipped out of the room.

The heat from the fire showed Sarah just how cold she really was. She shivered, not wanting to sit on the hearth and have the cold, wet material of her traveling frock touch her any more than necessary. The rain rattled against the windows.

In a moment, the girl was back. "I'm Beth." She wrapped Sarah's long braid in a towel and worked the buttons at the back of Sarah's gown. "We have to get you dried off. You'll catch your death."

When Sarah's sopping dress fell to the floor, her cheeks grew hot. She wondered if her hips truly were too thin. But that thought slipped away as Beth unfastened her drenched undergarments and stripped them away, as well. The soft, efficient fingers were too distracting. Soon Sarah was wrapped in a large towel and sat on the stone hearth while Beth unbraided her hair and blotted it dry.

Sarah tried to ignore the burn in her cheeks and hoped Beth didn't notice her embarrassment. She took a breath. Maybe having a conversation with this kind girl would calm the fluttery bubbling in her stomach. "Is something special going on? I feel like I arrived at a bad time."

"It's utter foolishness, that's what it is," Beth said, working a comb through Sarah's hair. "My brother, Analdo, just turned twenty-one. He's officially of marrying age. Princesses have been showing up from all over the region to make their availability known." Beth's voice hushed. "He's my brother and I love him, but he's a bit of a tool. The only reason for all of the excitement is that no male royal comes of age for another ten years."

"Oh dear," Sarah said.

"What about you?" Beth asked. "How did you happen to be here?"

"I was traveling with a troupe of performers--"

"Performers?"

"Acrobats. They go from village to village and live on the donations from their show. It's very progressive."

"I thought you said you were a princess," Beth said. She abandoned her comb and sat next to Sarah on the hearth. Her voice wasn't accusatory so Sarah didn't feel defensive when she answered."

"I am. In Savoy. Have you heard of it?"

"No."

"Savoy, Savoy, never blessed with a boy?"

"Nope."

"I have twelve sisters. When I asked my father if I could travel incognito and see the world, he couldn't agree quickly enough. I suppose thirteen girls are quite a handful."

Beth's face turned wistful. "I wish that I could do that."

"I don't see why you can't," Sarah said.

"Maybe I could, if I had someone like you as a traveling companion." Their eyes met for a moment and a warmth spread through Sarah's chest. Her ears could have sparked a fire.

"Anyway," Sarah said, "my eldest sister is getting married to some Duke so Father called me home. On my way, I got caught in that storm."

They fell quiet. Beth returned to Sarah's hair, braiding it and wrapping her fresh braid around her head like a crown, pinning it deftly into place. She lay a stack of garments, including a rose-colored gown, on the hearth. Sarah slipped into the dress, which was lovely but rather low-cut.

"Are you ready to go back into the arena?" Beth teased.

"Will you be there?" Sarah asked.

"Unfortunately."

"Then, I'm ready."

#

"Savoy?" the queen said in an airy way as she watched the servants carve the roast pig. "Is that the dreary little kingdom to the north?"

Beth rolled her eyes from across the table and it gave Sarah just enough good humor to answer. "I've never heard it described as dreary, though we are to the north."

"I imagine it's cold," Analdo said in his first words to Sarah.

"Only in winter," Sarah replied.

"What brings you so far from your home unattended?" the queen asked, accepting a plate of food.

"I wanted to see the kingdom. I was traveling incognito."

Beth smirked an impish grin. "She's an acrobat!"

"I thought she was a princess," Analdo said.

"She's both," Beth answered.

The queen lifted her arched eyebrows. "Really." She sounded neither interested nor approving.

Sarah shared a smile with Beth. "Yes, really," she replied, accepting her own plate of food.

"That's the problem with this princess business," Analdo said. "If I ask someone to prove that they're an acrobat, she could give me ready evidence. But if I ask her to prove she's a princess, what's the verification?"

Beth narrowed her eyes. "Her word isn't sufficient?"

"There seem to be more princesses than cockroaches in the kingdom these days," he replied. "Remember the one from yesterday who was covered with red blemishes? And the one last week who passed gas with abandon? Certainly, they can't be real princesses."

Sarah looked at Analdo. She was so stunned, she didn't know how to answer.

The queen answered before Sarah could compose and answer. "Certainly not!" she said. "Princesses are delicate skinned and boned. They speak barely above a whisper and people strain to hear their wisdom. When she enters a room, it's as soundless as the breeze, but every head still turns. She eats like a bird--" this said as Sarah put an overloaded fork of meat into her famished mouth. Beth noticed and a laugh burst through her nose. The queen turned a cold eye on her daughter. "--and she never snorts."

Beth burst out laughing. "Sorry Mother," she said between giggles. "I suppose I'm just not a princess."

"If I hadn't borne you myself, I would also wonder," the queen said with an icy edge.

"What we need is a test," Analdo announced.

Beth looked at him. "A test for what?"

"Something to confirm that a maiden is a princess." He turned to his mother. "What would you say is the leading trait of a princess?"

She thought a moment. "Without a doubt, sensitivity."

"Then I leave it to you to design a trial to confirm a maid's sensitivity," he said to the queen. "Whoever passes the test will become bride to the crown prince."

He dropped his napkin on his plate in a dramatic flourish and strode out. The queen's eyes glittered, as if the task ahead of her was the greatest treat she had ever known.

Sarah met Beth's eyes. They wore matching looks of concern.

#

When the queen led Sarah to a guestroom, she noticed that it was on the same short hallway as Beth's room. The idea gave her a tremendous thrill. Beth's sleeping body only a few rooms away from her own, her bright plaits on her snowy pillow, the way she imagined Beth's lips parted when she slept. Sarah shook herself.

The queen opened the chamber door and Sarah stepped inside. Then she froze. And stared.

The bed--if you could really call it that--was at least twenty mattresses, one piled on top of another. Another twenty featherbeds were stacked atop that. There were at least six overstuffed pillows scattered on the featherbeds. The whole mountain of bedding was at least the height and a half of a full grown man. Someone had carefully placed a ladder against the monstrosity.

"What on Earth," Sarah managed.

"Your bed for tonight," the queen announced, like it was the most common thing in the world.

"Don't you have anything..." Normal?.

"...lower?"

"These are our finest accommodations," the queen said crisply. "You wouldn't insult me by refusing them, would you?"

The rain still drummed against the window. Sarah didn't really have much of a choice. "I would be honored."

"Excellent, the queen replied. "Then, I'll see you in the morning."

The queen left without a backwards glance. Sarah surveyed the bed for a moment. She stripped off the rose gown and put on a fresh, white, cotton nightshirt. Then, she surveyed the ladder, which looked none too stable.

"Here goes nothing," she said aloud. The climb to the top of the bed was precarious but acrobatics had put her in precarious situations before. The real shock came when she slid from the ladder to the feather mattress and sank so deeply, she feared that she was stuck.

"This is asinine," she muttered.

She struggled to sit up and peeped over the top of the bed clothes to locate the ladder. After another few moments of struggle, she was back on the ladder and, soon, safely on the floor.

What now?

Sarah knew what she wanted to do, but dare she? This was very different than diddling the tightrope walker. Beth was a princess. She pinched her lips together, looked at the stack of mattresses, and grabbed the candle.

She left her room, padding down the hall in her bare feet. When she got to Beth's door, she hesitated--but only for a moment--before she knocked.

It was a few seconds before a bleary-eyed Beth answered the door. "Sarah? Are you all right?"

Sarah's words came out in a rush. "Can I sleep in here with you?"

Beth didn't ask why; she just broke into a broad grin, took Sarah by the hand, and drew her into the bedroom. She put Sarah's candle on her nightstand and drew back her comforter. They both climbed into the bed.

"Oh, you're freezing," Beth said, rubbing her arm as they lay on their side, facing each other. Sarah prayed the girl couldn't hear her pounding heart. Beth's hand's pressed harder against Sarah's arms. "You're so muscular. For a girl."

"It's the acrobatics."

"Do you think you could teach me a little?"

"I'm sure I could." Sarah loved the feel of Beth's fingers stroking her arm. She loved the smell of the girl: like vanilla and pine. She dared to put a hand on the spot where Beth's hip dipped into her waist. The caress of Sarah's arm slowed; fingers strayed off of her arm to the side of her breast. Her nipple went taut so fast, it ached.

"How far away from your home have you traveled?" Beth asked, her hand stroking the length of Sarah's arm again, down to her hand, and back up to her shoulder.

"At one point I was more than a month's carriage ride away." Sarah let her hand slip a little lower on Beth's hip and let it rest there. She wished to God that she could see the girl's face better.

"That far?" Beth asked. Her voice sounded breathy. "That was very bold of you."

"Do you think so?"

"I do," she said, her hand brushing the side of Sarah's breast again and this time it felt more deliberate. "What's the boldest thing you've ever done?"

Sarah bit her lip; her body was urging her. She made a decision. "I haven't done it yet," she said.

She brought her hand up to Beth's face, touching the silky cheek. Sarah scooted closer, using Beth's cheek as a guide, and kissed her gently. Soft lips stirred against hers. Sarah opened her mouth and Beth welcomed her tongue. For minutes, they just kissed.

Sarah had to grip her hands into fists to keep from pulling off Beth's nightdress. Kissing was one thing; what Sarah wanted to do was quite another. Reluctantly, she pulled back and whispered, "That's the boldest thing I've ever done."

To her surprise, Beth pushed her on her back, straddled her, and lifted her own nightdress over her head. She was all soft curves in the candle light, completely naked and completely beautiful. Her long braid fell over her shoulder and she gave Sarah an impish smile.

"I'll bet we can be bolder," she said.

"I know I can," Sarah breathed, tugging on her own night dress until Beth helped her dispense with it.

They returned to kissing but this time, Sarah let her hands roam, lightly scratching down Beth's back, hearing her sigh, thinking it sounded like music. She felt Beth's backside, firm and high and always so hidden by a volume of skirts. Beth wiggled her hips; it just made Sarah want her more.

"Have you done this before?" Sarah asked.

"My chambermaid and I have been at it since I was seventeen," Beth said. She mouthed Sarah's breasts, alternately sucking and lapping at her nipples. "These are magnificent," she said. "I gave you the rose frock so I could look at them."

Beth kissed down her body, urging her legs open, licking her thighs, and finally using the very tip of her tongue to tease in the most maddening way. Sarah opened herself wide and Beth started using her tongue in a way that made Sarah's toes curl.

She stretched into the touch but Beth slowed down, taking her in a lazy way, using soft lips, kissing, only licking for seconds at a time. She penetrated Sarah with her tongue and moaned against her sex, dipping inside again and again. It was mind-altering. When Beth pulled back it was all Sarah could do to not follow her.

"You taste so much better than Marie," Beth said.

"I'm a princess," Sarah said breathlessly. "My cunnie is spun sugar."

Beth giggled against her, sending a jolt through her. "I know what to do with candy," she teased.

Her tongue went to work, finding a rhythm, trapping Sarah's thighs with her arms, and riding her swaying hips as she stroked. Sarah bit her lip, unable to stifle her moan. Beth's eager tongue moved around, lapping at her fingers sometimes, getting her closer to orgasm by ignoring her need. Then, she returned to the source, licking mercilessly until Sarah breathed, "Beth, please."

Her pressure and speed doubled. It was what Sarah needed. She shot into her climax, undulating against Beth's mouth, biting her fist to keep silent. She could only imagine how her passion would carry along the stone corridors. When she was done, Beth cleaned her with a soft, careful tongue. Then, she kissed back up to Sarah's mouth, her lips salty and musky.

"I can taste myself," Sarah said. "Now I want to taste you."

"Yes, your Majesty."

Beth crawled up Sarah's body and straddled her mouth. Sarah's pulled her plump thighs wider and opened her with her thumbs. She nibbled over her very wet sex, loving the feel of the puffy stiffness against her lips. Beth moaned softly and leaned forward, holding herself up with the wall while Sarah found a pace and roughness she seemed to like.

Beth's hips rocked over her mouth. Sarah stiffened her tongue, just letting Beth work herself on it. That seemed to be what she needed. Her hips twitched. Sarah pressed her fingers into soft flesh, widening her more. Beth worked herself harder. Then she settled over Sarah's mouth and gasped, "Heavens!". Sarah knew she had climaxed; she pulsed against Sarah's mouth, trembling against the wall, making sounds that had Sarah wanting her all over again.

When Beth was done, she crawled under the covers next to Sarah and gave her a long kiss. Sarah pushed her on her back, stroking her breasts.

"Come with me when I go tomorrow," she said. "We'll go to Savoy and then catch up with the troupe."

"I wonder if I dare," Beth said, stretching like a cat under the covers. "It would send my mother to bed with a sick headache for at least a week, I'm sure."

Sarah shrugged. "What does she need you here for? There won't be another prince to marry for ten years."

Beth smiled at her in the shadowy candle light. She pinched Sarah's left nipple playfully. "I don’t want to talk about my mother," she said. "I want to see if we can be even bolder."

"Yes, Princess," Sarah said. Her hand dipped low, and they began their pleasure anew.

#

Sarah had just enough time to open her eyes, register where she was and what she had spent hours the night before doing, and acknowledge a little tingle of excitement when there was a loud knock on Beth's door. Beth sat up, startled, disheveled, and beautiful, and grinned at Sarah. Sarah sat up beside her. "Yes?" Beth called.

"It's your mother. Have you seen Princess Sarah?"

Beth and Sarah looked at each other.

"I'm in here," Sarah called. "I apologize. I couldn't sleep on the guest bed.

The door burst open. Sarah was exceedingly glad that both she and Beth had put their nightshirts back on before they went to sleep. Not just the queen entered, but Prince Analdo, too.

"Mother!" Beth protested.

The queen ignored her. She headed straight for Sarah. "The bed was uncomfortable?" the queen asked.

"Extremely."

"You couldn't get comfortable?"

"No."

"This," the queen said, making a broad gesture at Sarah, "is a princess. I hid a pea under twenty mattresses and twenty feather beds. Only the most sensitive maiden would have detected it and suffered lack of sleep." The queen beamed.

Sarah couldn't think of anything to say, but it didn't seem to matter to Analdo, who fell to one knee by the side of Beth's bed next to Sarah. "My Darling. My Princess. Make me the happiest man in the kingdom and promise to be my bride."

He looked expectantly at Sarah. She almost felt bad for him. Almost. "No," she said.

"No?"

"No. And I really must be on my way."

Analdo blinked at her again. "No?"

Sarah turned to Beth. "Are you coming with me?"

The queen's face turned an outraged magenta. "My daughter will not leave this house!" she cried. "Certainly not with a hussy that tread on my hospitality and refused my son. Do you hear--"

"Mother!" Beth cut her off. "Be quiet." Beth's fingers entwined with Sarah's under the covers. "Yes," she told Beth. She dimpled into a smile. "I'll go with you. It will be the second boldest thing I've ever done."