Page 25 of Bound By Honey

To Sage's horror, it was Prince Finn.

He stared at her with such intensity that she thought he would yell at her. But instead, he bent down and carefully collected the pieces of glass, not saying a word.

Sage dropped to her knees and placed the bottles on the ground. "Stop. You need to remove any wet clothing this instant," she said.

"Excuse me?"

"I can clean this up. Do not let that touch your skin. That was one of the anti-love potions. If too much absorbs into your skin, fights will break out for reasons other than lust."

The prince looked at her, unmoving.

Sage waved her hand at him expectantly before he rolled his eyes and stood to strip off his shirt.

She held out her hand to take it. "I can clean it for you. Plus, it will be safer for me to pick these shards up with your shirt than my bare hands. The last thing I need is to get too much on my skin and have the four of you decide I'm an enemy. I'm pretty sure I wouldn't survive that outcome."

Sage's heart pounded as the prince reluctantly handed her his shirt and stepped away from the mess. His muscular chest was pale in the hallway's light. Sage's eyes kept making their way to the prince, which she quickly remedied, feeling embarrassed and a little ashamed of herself.

"Do you have more in reserve now that it's covering my clothing, or are we out of luck for the night?"

"I have a small amount that didn’t fit in the bottle. You probably shouldn't apply any tonight, though. I don't know how much has gotten on you."

Prince Finn didn't reply, which Sage took as her cue to finish cleaning the mess.

She quickly scooped up all the pieces she could see, placing them inside the prince's shirt and tying it so that they were safely contained before cleaning up whatever oil had spilled on the floor. Careful not to let it get on her.

When she finished, she carefully held up the bottles again, looking between them and then back at Prince Finn. Careful to avoid staring at his bare chest. He stared back at her with a quizzical expression as if he was waiting for something else from her.

Sage swallowed hard. “There's one for each of you. Can you deliver these after you change? Make sure you drink all of it before going to the ball.”

Prince Finn nodded and took the remaining three bottles. “We will. Thank you for your help,” he said before turning away to get changed.

Sage felt a mixture of emotions. On the one hand, she was relieved that her clumsiness hadn't ruined the night and could now focus on getting ready for the ball, but on the other, she was embarrassed and ashamed that she had been clumsy enough to cause this mess in the first place.

But she had done her job, and hopefully, no one would ever find out what had happened there tonight.

The Ball

Sagemadeherwayto her room, feeling the day’s fatigue wash over her. How would she make it through tonight when she was already this exhausted?

She had just reached her room when she saw a large black box outside her door. She swung the door open and carried it into her room, placing it on her bed.

Her heart pounded as she slowly untied the ribbon and opened the top. Inside was a beautiful dress and a note.

Sage,

I didn't have enough time to change up the dress completely, but I did a few minor alterations and sent over some accessories to complete the look. Have fun, and remember to return this tomorrow!

-Faith

The sparkling stones on top remained unchanged, but Sage gasped in surprise at how stunning it was once she removed the dress from the box. It was much more beautiful than anything she had ever seen before.

The bottom of the ivory dress had been covered in delicate but sharp swirls made from gold lace appliques climbing up the dress as if it were frost. The dress felt entirely transformed.

She couldn't believe it was hers, even if just for one night, and held it against herself before twirling in delight.

She had to admit that she was starting to look forward to tonight. The last thing she wanted was to miss the ball because of her clumsiness.

Sage quickly changed out of her regular clothing and into her new ball gown, admiring herself in the mirror as she twirled in delight. In the reflection something caught her eye. Still inside the black box was a small blue one.

---