Jaspra couldn’t help her lip curling in disgust as she looked at her betrothed. As Jaspry, he would have found him incredibly attractive. But now that she was a woman, she found men unappealing. She would much rather wed one of the many former men that her father had transformed into beautiful women. But she would do her royal duty as instructed by the King. If that meant marrying a man and bearing his children, so be it. She could always have a secret female lover on the side.
“Please, walk with me,” Sir Cynrad said, holding out an arm. Jaspra took his arm and the two began to walk towards the gardens. She was frustrated. After spending his whole life loving men, now that he was a woman and thus allowed to love men, she had instead switched to loving women. And what a shame it was! Cynrad had the ruggedly handsome features Jaspry would have drooled over, with a strong chin, curly brown hair, and soft green eyes. He was also incredibly muscular.
“It is nice to meet you,” Jaspra said diplomatically. Cynrad smiled, but the expression was visibly forced.
“It is nice to meet you as well,” he said. His voice was deep and warm. Yet Jaspra felt not a single stirring of attraction to him. “I actually requested you.”
“Oh? Why?”
“The rumors are that you, ah, prefer the company of womenfolk.”
“Why would those rumors make you wish to wed me?” Jaspra asked.
“Because I prefer the company of menfolk,” Cynrad replied. Jaspra’s eyes widened. “I did not wish to wed a girl who would fall in love with me when I could never do the same to her. But with you, I think we can make a fine arrangement. We can put on the appearance of loving husband and wife, but remain only friends, and have secret romantic partners that suit our sensibilities.”
“That would be quite nice,” Jaspra said. Relief washed over her. Perhaps life as Jaspra wouldn’t be that bad after all. As Prince Jaspry, he could never have been able to make an arrangement like this. “We will have to lay as man and wife to have at least one child.”
“Oh, yes, of course. But that is part of pretending to be a happy married couple.” Cynrad raised an eyebrow at Jaspra. “Well? What say you?”
“I say yes,” Jaspra said, pleased. Sure, she was not looking forward to laying with Cynrad for purposes of conceiving children, but to her surprise, she was excited to become a mother. Perhaps part of that had to do with Cynrad’s good looks. Their offspring would be most comely. The two betrothed walked through the gardens in a companionable silence, happy to have found a spouse to suit their needs.