Working For The Prince (BxB)✔

Chapter 20 - Donna

Donna was not like Theo or Becky. She was rugged looking, with thick furs decorating her body and a long strawberry-blond braid down her back. She was tall and tending to her horse as she packed some of her broidery work, preparing to leave.

Theo nudged the tall woman with a grin. When Donna turned, Asher found that Donna was rather pretty with high cheekbones and a slender chin. Her eyes were bright green with flecks of gold, and they showed a strength in them.

"Hello Theo." She said with a faint smile, too focused on her work to steer her full attention towards the woman. "What brings you here?"

"Remember that story I told you before? About the monster in the castle that needed to find a wife?"

"Yes." Donna nodded absently as she draped a satchel over the horse's back. "It was an intriguing story."

"And remember you said you wouldn't mind marrying someone if it helped them?"

"Yes."

"Well, I did say it was true didn't I?" Theo stepped closer, invading the taller woman's space. "And I have a friend here who can prove it. He knows the way to the castle."

Asher was baffled by her bold approach, and even more so by the woman's blunt agreement over a marriage. He began to suspect that perhaps she was only being so agreeable because she didn't actually believe Theo after all.

Donna sized Asher up with disinterest. Her skin was tanned from working outdoors, with a small scar on her chin, possibly from a childhood scuffle. From the looks of her, Asher could easily imagine this woman beating up thugs in an alleyway for fun.

Donna held out a hand with a polite node. "Nice to meet you. I'm Donna."

Asher shook her hand, not at all surprised by the strength of it, and smiled back. "I'm Asher."

"Are you really trying to marry off your monster friend?"

Well that's one way to put it.

"Yeah. The thing is, that was supposed to be a secret." He scratched his head. "So um, maybe not say that so loud?"

"Why a secret?" She asked, head cocked in curiosity. "Wouldn't it be better for your friend if more people knew how to help him?"

"It would be, but there's a lot more to it than that. It's really complicated."

"He just needs to find someone to marry." Theo interjected. "I'm sure you can talk him into an agreement of some kind...If you don't get on his bad side."

Donna noticed how the two suddenly got nervous and folded her arms. "Alright, what does that mean exactly?"

Asher and Theo glanced at one another before he spoke up to explain. "When I took Theo to the castle last time, he caught us alone together and he sort of...Kicked her out."

"You two were sleeping together? Even though you were trying to get him to marry her?"

"No!" Asher blurted. "We weren't! It was just a misunderstanding." He shot Theo a look so she wouldn't say anything to counter his explanation. "He took it the wrong way and thought we were doing more behind his back."

"And you weren't?" The servant didn't miss the look she gave Theo and wondered if she had already claimed something else had happened.

"No." He replied plainly. "Look, I understand if you're suspicious and have a lot of questions, but if you don't want to do it then I won't ask you to."

"All he needs is to get married, correct?" Donna asked.

"Er...Yeah? That's what he said."

"And afterwards he won't require anything else for the curse?"