Liam’s POVI knew that I couldn’t demonstrate any kind of possessiveness towards the princess, but I must confess that right in that moment my blood boiled in my veins seeing that Reichart guy try kissing her. I swallowed that pill hard and fought to keep my composure.When he finally left the corridor, I noticed the princess looking at me. She probably knew that I'd seen them, and she looked as pale as a ghost.We weren’t alone in the corridor, though. I had a couple of other guards watching the princess’ quarters. She saw that we couldn’t speak freely. She opened and closed her mouth a couple of times like a fish trying to breathe on the surface, and then she opened her bedroom’s door and closed it after herself.I was boiling in anger, and I couldn’t do a thing. Maybe she had a plan and was making me jealous so she could contrive on whatever plan she had to get rid of him. I had to keep it cool and preclude her from doing so, because we never knew what kind of future effects these i
Caroline’s POV “So, were you even considering telling me that you are seeing someone?” I asked Lucille the moment Liam left my room. I crossed my arms in my chest because I was angry at her. Well, she was the first person that knew about Liam, and probably the only one that I trust, to be honest, and she was telling me nothing. What kind of friendship was this? “I was going to tell you, Care, at the right moment…” she told me and trailed off. “And the perfect moment would be…?” I shoot at her. “Well, when he asked me out for a second time, which didn’t happen until now,” she told me a little disappointed. Oh, poor Lucille. I was going to demand a proof of her friendship now but I lost my courage. She was really uneasy because of the waiting. I didn’t have a lot of advice to give to her, considering that my experience was an inch bigger than hers, so I put a hand on her shoulder and told her: “he will. Or, at least, you will call him tomorrow to help us and maybe this little reunio
Caroline’s POV: I woke up in that morning to another common day in the palace. I did not need an alarm, because there was always someone to wake me up, and normally this someone was Lucille, my personal servant, and best friend. Lucille was 20, two years older than me, and this made me consider her as my older sister. She was tall, with strawberry blonde hair that was always stuck on a bun at the top of her head, and covered by a maid’s hat. Her hearted-shape face and sweet eyes were always alert to my needs, and she could read me better than my parents. This time, my best friend was opening the curtains of my room, letting the light in. “Urgh! So early!” I said, hiding my face. “I am sorry, Your Highness, but it is time already.” Your Highness? That always means that she was not alone. She was allowed to speak freely when there was just the two of us, but every morning there was a small army of maids invading my room - too early in my opinion - to prepare me
Caroline’s POV:I ran back to my room and put aside any princess’ behavior convention, ignoring all protocols of how an heiress to the throne should hold herself. This was not normal my usual manners, so I realized that all the servants that I passed by looked at me in amazement and easily got out of my way. I silently thanked the heavens for this posture because I am sure I could not hold back the tears any longer if someone decided to stop me in a corridor and ask me what was going on.I opened the door to my room and threw myself on my bed, where I knew I could finally cry without being disturbed. The tears had been blinding me since the beginning of the corridor that took me to my rooms, and because of that I did not realize that there was anyone else in my room.That someone was Lucille, who was polishing my jewelry. It was still early, so there were too many tasks ahead of her to-do list. She was more startled by my sudden arrival than I was wh
Caroline’s POV:"Can all the maids and jacks, please leave us alone?" My father, the king, asked everyone in the room. I knew it could not be good. My father almost never wanted to be alone with us. There was always some witness to his actions.All the people who were not of our family made a small bow and left through the several doors that gave access to the dining room. When all the noise of movement was over, my father turned to me, took a deep breath, and decided to start the conversation:"So, Caroline, I heard you had afternoon tea with your Mom yesterday, and the conversation between the two of you did not go very well, right?" He asked me."With all due respect, Dad, no, the conversation did not go very well, but it seems to me that the words my Mother said yesterday did not come directly from her. Do you know anything about it?" I replied. In a way, having woken up and decided that I was going to stomp on this issue gave me a little more c
Caroline’s POV:The two weeks following my father's official announcement to my family were perhaps the quickest I have ever lived. I had the impression that there was a feeling of acceleration of time in the air, as when we do not want something that is in our future to happen to us. It seems that fate is running to find us faster. I do not know if that was the feeling or the fact that there were really many things to be decided before my mysterious fiancé’s visit, so my head and hands were always busy.The day after my father's announcement, my mother and I started to work at the reception for the entourage. My mom always brought Madame Tremblay to our meetings, so I brought Lucille with me, and when my mom asked me why Lucille was there, I told her that she was there to learn from Madame Tremblay as much as the princess was there. to learn directly from the queen. My mom
Caroline’s POV:When the car doors were opened, I had a small panic attack that left me speechless for a few moments. Luckily for me, I did not do anything wrong, I just stood there, staring at the tall, slim, imposing young man who had stepped out of the car. To my relief, there was a short flight of stairs and a few yards between the incoming entourage and our position, and I used those moments to compose myself. I absolutely did not want to embarrass our country in an event that had as much weight as this one. If anything went wrong, it would be seen as some more ammunition to Lord Deveraux and my father's other advisors who told him every day how unfit I was to take the throne.Last night while I was unable to sleep, I decided for myself that I would not do anything wrong today. I would be a perfect lady who would stay away from the entourage, but still be polite. I wanted to show my 'fiancé' that I was superior to him, and th
Caroline’s POV:"So...?" Lucille asked me as soon as she lockedthebathroom door behind her.“So what?" I pretended to not understand her. Lucille looked at me with an air of displeasure, as if she was saying 'stop playing with me’. I laughed at her irritation, which made her even more irritated."Spit it out, Care. What is he like? What is his name? Where does he come from? What are your first impressions of him?" She told me as she quickly worked undoing my first hairstyle to create a new one.I sighed and then turned to her and said, "Oh, where do you want me to start?""From his appearance, for sure!" Lucille asked me eagerly. I had to laugh at her excited attitude. She was excited about this whole story and was an incorrigible optimist and an incurable romantic. Sometimes I would love to borrow her pink glasses with which she used to see life through."Well
Caroline’s POV “So, were you even considering telling me that you are seeing someone?” I asked Lucille the moment Liam left my room. I crossed my arms in my chest because I was angry at her. Well, she was the first person that knew about Liam, and probably the only one that I trust, to be honest, and she was telling me nothing. What kind of friendship was this? “I was going to tell you, Care, at the right moment…” she told me and trailed off. “And the perfect moment would be…?” I shoot at her. “Well, when he asked me out for a second time, which didn’t happen until now,” she told me a little disappointed. Oh, poor Lucille. I was going to demand a proof of her friendship now but I lost my courage. She was really uneasy because of the waiting. I didn’t have a lot of advice to give to her, considering that my experience was an inch bigger than hers, so I put a hand on her shoulder and told her: “he will. Or, at least, you will call him tomorrow to help us and maybe this little reunio
Liam’s POVI knew that I couldn’t demonstrate any kind of possessiveness towards the princess, but I must confess that right in that moment my blood boiled in my veins seeing that Reichart guy try kissing her. I swallowed that pill hard and fought to keep my composure.When he finally left the corridor, I noticed the princess looking at me. She probably knew that I'd seen them, and she looked as pale as a ghost.We weren’t alone in the corridor, though. I had a couple of other guards watching the princess’ quarters. She saw that we couldn’t speak freely. She opened and closed her mouth a couple of times like a fish trying to breathe on the surface, and then she opened her bedroom’s door and closed it after herself.I was boiling in anger, and I couldn’t do a thing. Maybe she had a plan and was making me jealous so she could contrive on whatever plan she had to get rid of him. I had to keep it cool and preclude her from doing so, because we never knew what kind of future effects these i
The next day dawned too soon, and the hours seemed to pass by until the afternoon when my suitor and soon-to-be fiancé knocked on my door. Lucille opened the door for him, but I wasn’t far, and I could see behind Stephan that Liam made a face. He didn’t like my idea to get rid of Stephan, but at the same time, he wasn’t enjoying this story at all. Well, good for him. It was silly of me, but I believe that causing Liam some jealousy could help me to get him on board with my idea or give him any other one that we could use in our favor.Too soon, though, Lucille closed the door and excused herself to my dressing room, murmuring something that I could not understand. Stephan avoided the awkward silence and started talking:“Good afternoon, Caroline. I hope you are doing fine.”He seemed so formal towards me, that a little laugh escaped from my lips.“What are you laughing about?” He asked me promptly.“I’m sorry, Stephan. Good afternoon. I’m fine, and you?” I told him, but before he coul
“Well, I don’t know what you are talking about,” I told Stephan with a smile plastered on my face. I wouldn’t admit anything that easily.“Maybe you do, maybe you don’t. The fact is: do you remember the last time that I walked you to your room and we talked about respect? Well, this would be a flagrant disrespect. Something that I can’t accept in our relationship,” he told me. He wasn’t actually threatening me, but there was a small discomfort on his tone. Something more than his words were saying. Was he trying to tell me that he would harm me or Liam?“Do you remember, Caroline?” he insisted.“Yes, Stephan,” I told him upset. So, he finally decided to show a little bit of his true colors. My tipsy me wanted to fight with him and throw in his face the fact that Liam really existed, and that even though he didn't have a royal title, Liam was worth a thousand Stephans to me.“Well, I might not have known your favorite color until this morning, but I do have my pride, and I will defend
“I know, darling! It is a lot to process, but don’t worry, honey. This party is going to be spectacular!” My mother took advantage of my silence and continued to chatter as if the news she had just given me was the best news ever.“But mother, I thought that we were going to take it slow…” I tried to dissuade her from this idea. Of course, we were not taking it slow. They never suggested that, actually. I was the one trying to delay my engagement and eventual marriage as long as I could.“Don’t be silly, darling! You know that our families are longing to be as one!” My mother answered me.I swallowed a couple of times, with no idea what to say to dissuade her, and she continued talking, clueless as if I was quiet because of the excitement.“You know, your birthday parties are always epic, and this one will be the biggest one ever! Stephan&rsquo
Caroline’s POV:“So, are you or are you not going to tell me what is going on? What did you find, Liam?” I asked him at the very moment he passed through my bedroom door the next morning. I purposely decided that I wouldn’t have breakfast that morning with my parents and that I wanted to be alone just because I wouldn’t like to waste one more second without knowing what Liam learned in his last meeting with the revolutionaries.“Well, I’m going to tell you what I can,” he told me carefully.“What do you mean when you say that you’re going to tell me what you can tell me? I thought that you would tell me everything you have heard!” I complained.“Which means almost nothing,” he murmured as an answer.“Then tell me what you heard, and we can decide together if this is almost nothing or not,” I demanded of him.He nodded acknowledging my reques
Vanessa looked at me with a wide smile spread on her face. Steppenwolf noticed immediately that we knew each other, but he didn't look as surprised as the others."Hey, looks like you two know each other!" Jack said pointing at Vanessa and me."Of course, they know each other, Jack. Our boy was shot, and our sweet nurse Vanessa took care of him," Steppenwolf said with a smile on his lips."Wait… was everything planned, including the shooting?" I asked in disbelief.Steppenwolf grimaced and said to me, "Of course not, kid. We didn't want to lose one of our own, but the aftermath of it all resulted in you being close to the princess and that positively surprised us, that's all. The fact that Vanessa took care of you is just a plus."I let out a breath I didn't even know I was holding. At least they weren't that morbid."He knows me, Dad, but he didn't know I was part of the group," Vanessa said turning to Steppenwolf.Dad? Did I
Liam’s POV:I left the princess’ room thinking about how I would contact Steppenwolf this time. Of course, I had the excuse that we were looking for Guttenberg, but I also had the responsibility to find out more about who was Morgan and what was that "nurse mission" mentioned in Vanessa’s letter. I just had no idea how I would connect both subjects in my next conversation with them, and if I would be allowed to know such a thing.Well, at least I didn’t have to wait a lot for another meeting. In one of my breaks on the next day, I went to my room as I always do, and tucked into my pillowcase there was a small note that simply said:Tonight, 11 o’clock. Same square.Sure, you don’t have to be a genius to understand where this note came from. In the next opportunity I had, I let the princess know that I was going to m
Caroline’s POV:“So…? Did you guys find anything?” I asked Lucille and Liam at the moment they got into my room and closed the doors. Curiosity was eating me alive, and I was extra anxious because my conversation with Vanessa didn’t go the way I planned.Lucille sighed a little frustrated and told me: “Well, not really. She got nothing about you guys, at least, not in her room. Any threats that she could launch couldn’t be sustained by proof.” Damn it. The worst part was to know that all the tension on the tearoom was for nothing.“Well, thank you, guys,” I murmured to them, and then I continued: “I guess that we are back to square one, after all.”“Don’t say that too soon,” Liam told me, and a small light of hope emerged on the horizon. I looke