The Prince that Saved Me

{Piper’s POV} I sighed, as I heard my lady’s maid Vitoria outside, knocking loudly on my door. “My Lady, it is time to get up, I must begin your dressing, and style your hair!” She cried from the other side of the door. I had already been up for hours, but I’d rather pretend to be asleep, and hope that she’ll leave, rather than deal with what I’m sure is going to be a terrible day. My mother has some “good news” for me, but my mother solemn has good news. Her happiness normally means my, or my father’s misery. Her torment is what I believe led to my father’s untimely demise. She has always been a bitter woman, and when I refused to debut into society like a proper young lady, she decided that she would take matters into her own hands. I warned her that I would never take a husband, but that only made her more frustrating. She would bring home men of all stations just to try to impress me. She said that we needed the money, and so I should carry on my family lineage, and legacy, whether I wanted to or not. No doubt this is another suitor for me to turn down, once again embarrassing her. I groaned, walking to my door and flinging it open, finding my lady’s maid looking at me with wide eyes. “If this is another suitor, tell my mother that I will send him running for the hills before the evening sun has even had a chance to break across the sky.” I sneered, turning and making my way back into my room. “Your mother asks that I bathe you, fix your hair, and get you dressed in time for lunch. I’ll go heat up the water!” She said, walking to my fire place with a bucket of water and placing it over the open flame. I groaned as I sat down at my vanity, looking at myself in the mirror. My dark brown hair laid wildly in loose curls down my back, the length falling just above my knees. My skin was pale, and I had freckles that sprinkled across my face. My eyes were a pale, sage green color, and I couldn’t help but see the dark circles that were formed around them. I was short, one of the shortest women in my family, standing at only 5’0, and my body was curvy, so much so that my mother often told me that I was blessed, and would be a perfect wife and mother. I have been sought out for my beauty, and my curvy figure much too often, but none of these suitors have ever cared enough to ask one question about myself. Only boasting of their accomplishments, and telling me how beautiful I am, and how with my wide hips that I’d be great for child bearing, the lot of them make me sick. Soon the bath was drawn, and Vitoria ushered me into the bathroom. She removed my nightgown and my undergarments, quickly helping me into the bath. She began scrubbing my skin roughly with a brush, making sure of my cleanliness by rinsing me off, and scrubbing again. Once finished with my body she moved onto my hair, washing and rinising until she was content. I stood, as she wrapped me in a towel. She dried me off, and helped me get dressed. The gown was lovely, a bit over the top for lunch, but I already knew that this was much more than a simple lunch with my mother. It was pale pink, a color my mother always adored on me. The sleeves were puffed on top, and tight around my wrists, the neckline staying above my breasts, as my corset hugged them to tightly. The bottom was ruffled, with rows and rows of tulle. Once dressed, she fixed my makeup, keeping it matching with the soft pink theme. She then braided my long hair, and spun it into a bun that surrounded the crown of my head. “You’re ready, my lady, now, if you’d follow me.” She said, opening the door from my bedroom, out into the long hallway. When my father died, his younger brother took over as the new Lord of Byron Hall, kicking my mother and I out. He sent us back to live with my grandparents, my mother’s parents. We were forced to take back the name Martins, and even shamed by society because of my mother’s inability to have a male heir. I followed Vitoria into the parlor, I was expecting to see my grandfather and grandmother, but instead it was my mother who sat in one of the large chairs, along with an older gentleman, a much older gentleman. “Mother.. I thought we were supposed to be having lunch in the dining room, whatever are you doing here?” I asked, not sparing a second glance to the elderly man. “There you are, my darling Piper, I was just discussing some business with Lord Farrenhall, and we have come to an agreement.” She smiled, a smiled that was almost malicious in its intent. “It has been decided that by the end of this week, the two of you will be wed. You will have him at least one healthy son within the first year of marriage, and once that is achieved he will help us reclaim our lost home!” She walked to my side and turned me to face the man. He was at least 60 years of age, his eyes scanning me over in a sickening manner. The hair on top of his head was gone, while the hair around the sides and on the back were completely grey. His eyes were a dull brown color, and his skin wrinkled, and spotted. He was old enough to be my grandfather, and yet my mother serves me up on a silver platter to him. “She will make a fine wife, and with a body like this, she will be sure to have many boys for me!” The old man groaned as he struggled to stand from his chair. This couldn’t be happening, they couldn’t be serious. No matter how much my mother wanted revenge on my uncle for his mistreatment of us, she wouldn’t really sell me off to this disgusting pig of a man.