Chapter Text
The summer sun was high in the sky when Colin Bridgerton stumbled upon Eloise and her best friend making flower crowns in his mother’s garden. They both wore cotton dresses, his sister in blue, Penelope in yellow. For once the redhead’s outfit suited the circumstance. The dandelions in her hands were the exact shade of her gown. Colin initially thought the outfit was made of the blooms. For a moment Penelope Featherington, normally a rather plain girl, was transformed into a fairy and the sight stopped the young man in his tracks. For the first time in his life Colin Bridgerton truly looked at Penelope Featherington. Fae or not, the girl captured his attention.
He lingered a moment too long because Eloise, who like most children could sense when one of her siblings was close, beckoned him forward. He reluctantly made his way to the two girls.
“Colin,” Eloise said abruptly, handing him a rather gnarled stick, “You can be the prince and defend Princess Penelope from the dragon.”
“Why aren’t you the prince?” he asked.
“Because I’m the dragon, obviously,” she replied tartly.
“Right,” he nodded. He turned to face Penelope. He immediately noticed that there were little streaks of pollen across her cheeks. The yellow dust served to highlight her freckles. He blinked, his stomach swooping. Suddenly Colin was quite sure he had never seen anything or anyone quite so beautiful.