Together, Nicholas and I stumbled into his room. We had trouble moving, since we couldn’t keep our hands off of one another. As soon as the door closed behind us, Nicholas worked at the fasteners of my dress, not content until the offending garment was removed from me and forming wrinkles on the gro

Bridget. The girl that Julian had said he loved who Nicholas had stolen away from him. This girl in the picture, wearing a bright smile, wedged between Julian and Nicholas, was her. A younger version than who she was now, but at least I finally had a face to place with the name. Even as a young

Nicholas Piper wanted to distance her heart. She felt she was too close to me. She needed space before she could kiss me again, or touch me, or let me please her the way I wanted to. I understood her feelings. I knew as well as she did that we could never be together. But… to be apart from her l

“It’s not a fault to be dependable,” I said. “It is if it makes you immovable. You have to be more willing to be wrong.” I closed my mouth and glared at him. As usual, my sharp looks seemed to bounce right off of him without taking hold. “Come on,” Julian began walking. He didn’t look back, ex

The next morning, as Elva played with her toys, I sat and drank tea with Charlotte and Mark. Per the competition rules, I wasn’t allowed to watch television to keep up to date with current events, but Charlotte and Mark were, and oftentimes, we would sit, just like this, and go over the thoughts a

Things were direr than even Charlotte had made it seem. My stomach twisted into knots. The people’s accusations weren’t limited to singular nouns. They weren’t just talking about Terry and no one else. The use of plural told me they meant the entire royal family, including Nicholas. This meant h

I thought of my twin sister, a child trailing along in my shadow in her pigtails and plaid dress the same as mine, skipping away from me and down a dark alleyway. At the far end, a shadowy figure held out their hand. Jane, willing and happy, accepted that hand and welcomed the shadow around her too.

In the following days, new rules were assigned to the candidates. None were allowed to wander the palace without a personal guard. No one was allowed outside, not even into the gardens. The King and Queen had totally barricaded themselves away. Joyce had too. Only Nicholas and Julian could occasio

With the cameras arranged, I was immediately escorted by Nathan to the other side of the room where Julian was teaching Elva how to hide a card up her sleeve. Behind me, the King and Queen were escorted by guards out of the room. I crossed my arms as I peered down at Julian. He smiled sheepishly u

There was no question who him meant. Nicholas. With Nicholas, I wouldn’t be playing pretend. I looked at Julian. The curves and planes of his face weren’t all that different from Nicholas’s. If I squinted… Better yet, if I closed my eyes entirely. Julian’s fingers were softer than Nicholas