SOLVED. Adult Historical/ Fantasy. Opens with a rape scene? She might be dead or unconscious; described him wiping his "seed" off of her thighs. Read around 1999-2001. [s]

[Jamie]

Simi wrote: "The Baker's Boy
Very early on some wizard goes into the Queen's chambers and rapes her while she's unconscious. There definitely is mention of his 'seed', and wiping off her thighs, al..."

Alright, I got my hands on a copy, and can finally confirm: YES, it was "The Baker's Boy". As you said, the exact details were slightly off, but overall the scene is what I remember. I'm not sure why I was so confident that winter was involved...but the year this was published and the middle-school-looking cover makes sense for how it ended up in my middle school library.

Phew! Finally solved that mystery!

[Simi]

I'm glad it's the one.

[Rainbowheart]

Yay, glad it's solved after all this time!

[Jamie]

Rainbowheart wrote: "Yay, glad it's solved after all this time!"

Haha, only took 7 and a half years from when I first posted!