“Don’t be coy, now, Your Majesty,” Terry said with an easy smile. “You should tell the girls that I will be helping to judge the Second Ball.” The King nodded. “It is as he says.” The candidates began to chatter. If Terry was to be a judge, then it would be beneficial to earn his good favor. Y
The servants brought out soup bowls for each of us seated. Terry and Julian both received theirs before me. To do something with my hands, I was eager to lift my soup spoon and stir, even though it was yet too hot to eat. I couldn’t look at Terry anymore. I didn’t want to see the way he was lookin
Charlotte and I scoured through some magazines, looking at design ideas for new gowns for the Second Ball. Since us candidates needed to conceal our true identities as part of the challenge, Elva and I couldn’t match this time. Therefore, every time we saw a cute kids’ costume, I showed Elva to se
Five minutes after that, I excused myself from the party when Mark called for me. As I headed to the door, I nearly tripped over my feet, spotting Nicholas waiting there. “Prince Nicholas,” I said. “What a surprise.” “You wanted to go to the store?” he asked me. I glanced at Mark, but he jus
With the Second Ball only a few short days away, the dressmaking was underway and took up most of my time. My room had become something of a command center, with Charlotte, Elva, the nanny, Mark, and I as regulars. Susie visited quite often, sometimes with a maid or two in tow. Her gown, leopard-t
I sidestepped into his path, blocking him. His eyes narrowed marginally for a moment, before his overly-friendly expression returned. “Forgive her, sir,” I said. “It will take her some time to come around to a stranger.” “This is what I am attempting to rectify,” Terry countered. “I don’t wish
Nicholas I wanted to talk to my father about the state of the people that I had seen when I had taken Piper shopping, but the King was too busy to see me for several days. When I was finally allowed audience inside of his chambers, he had his war map stretched out over the dining table. My mothe
If I wanted to help the people, I would have to do it on my own. As for the border, I could only hope Terry’s arrogance didn’t lead us into full-scale war. “I’m not sure it’s wise to send that many troops north,” the King said. “If this is an innocent endeavor on their part, we might then look the