As Nicholas asked out Lilliana, I stood in the back of the crowd of watching girls, my heart down on the floor. I had no right to be upset. I knew that. I had given up the right to be upset a long time ago. Yet I couldn’t deny the feeling. First, Nicholas had returned the handmade gift I made

“I have no intention of backing away from the choosing game,” I said. He stepped closer. “Do as you wish, but know this. I will uphold my duty to protect the royal family from any and all threats. No matter in what form those threats appear.” His words sent a chill up my spine. I had thought t

Today was the day for Nicholas’s solo date, and I was trying my very best not to think about it. Ever since receiving Joseph’s threatening letter, I’d been hiding out in my room as much as I could to avoid him and the mean-looking guards. With the First Ball fast approaching, I used the extra ti

“I should have the girl forcibly removed for ruining Prince Nicholas’s date,” Lena said, voice sharp. “I’m sure Prince Nicholas himself is furious.” “Nick-lass is mad at me?” Elva sniffed. “No,” I said at once. “He should be, if he isn’t,” Lena snapped. “You are a very nasty little girl, who –

My whole heart shattered. “No, no, that’s not true. Prince Nicholas likes you a lot.” Elva pulled away to look up at me with large, watery eyes. “But she said Nick-lass is mad at me. She said I was naughty.” “We can’t listen to her, okay?” Her cupped her face with my hands and wiped away her t

I looked in the mirror, barely recognizing myself. It was the night of the First Ball, and I was dressed in my beautiful, shimmering yellow gown. It was sleeveless, with a tasteful V-neck bodice. One of my maids had tied my brown hair into a tight up-do, with a few loose tendrils tucked behind my

Nathan waved Elva and I forward, close to the edge of the front stair. “Now introducing,” Nathan said. “Piper and her daughter Elva.” The polite applause abruptly ceased. In its place, whispers and murmurs erupted in the room. “Mommy?” “It’s okay, honey. Just remember, you are a princess.”

Without thought, I placed my hand in Nicholas’s waiting one, and let him tug me away from Julian’s arms and into his own. He was good at leading, even more so than Julian. Watching him, trusting his guidance, I didn’t need to count my steps anymore. I simply followed him as we danced around the ba

No, that was a foolish notion. He was kind to Elva because he was a kind person. At the end of the day, Elva and I were going to be eliminated from the competition. We’d leave the palace, return to our little apartment with Anna, and never hear from Nicholas again. We’d probably see him on televis

My throat went dry. “Your Majesty, I had no intention of –” “Whatever your intention, you have still insulted me,” the Queen said. I straightened at the shortness of her tone. I was terribly confused. What had I done that was offensive? Was it because Julian, Nicholas, and I had broken the ord