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PROLOGUE
ELISE
“I am not doing it, mother. I refuse to be one of those princesses whose life is chosen for her. This is after all, the twenty-first century.” I feel like I am having an out-of-body experience. I have known princesses who have been in arranged marriages, usually ones beneficial to their kingdom, so I am not naive. I know it happens, but for some weird period of time, I didn't think it would happen to me.
“Young lady, we have indulged you, allowed you privileges other princesses haven't had. That may be our mistake. But right now, at this moment, I am putting my foot down. You will be married to Prince Asa of Spring Landing, and that is final.” I am so stunned by his proclamation and the finality of his statement that I lose the ability to speak for a moment.
I am standing in this spot in the throne room in front of my parents, and it is like I don't know them at all. I could have sworn they knew me better than this. How could they not know that the moment they issued this decree and made it something I have to do, I would revolt against it and flee?
From the angle at which I am standing, there is a mirror behind the chair my father is currently inhabiting. I am staring at my pale reflection, hair the color of snow, and eyes much like ice, and I don't recognize myself. My cheeks are a shade of pink, a brush stroke of cotton candy hinting at just how incensed I am, and I know without a doubt I am going to leave this place and never return. “Now that the matter is settled, your mother and I have a function to attend to.” He dismisses me like the stranger I am starting to think they are. I don’t respond. I simply turn and walk out of the room right in my bedroom.
With the door closed I pull my suitcase from the closet and begin throwing in any and everything I think I will need. I am so angry I can't find the will to cry and mourn the loss I feel inside of me. To be truthful, I can handle leaving my parents. They are my parents. They have raised me and taught me the ways of our kingdom and my place in this world, but them I could do without. My siblings, on the other hand, I love them something fierce, and leaving them could kill me.
Very unlike modern-day royals, my parents sired a lot of children. There is me, of course, the eldest and the one destined to take over the throne when my parents have departed. There is my younger sister, Anya, followed by my brother Lotus, sisters Spruce and Rose, and finally, baby Pine. I say baby as he is the youngest, but he is a big boy at a strapping ten years old.
“Elise, I heard the…” Anya barges into my room and stops when she sees what is happening. “Elise, what are you doing? What is this?” she asks, picking up a handful of clothes that are on my bed.
“What does it look like, dear sister? I am leaving this place and finding my own destiny.” The words taste new and fresh on my tongue, but they also feel scary.
“Surely you cannot be serious? You are leaving? Where will you go?” Yeah, I haven’t thought that far ahead.
“I don’t know but anywhere that I can make my own decisions and be who I want to be is better than being a robot merely turned on when needed and off when not.”
“But… I mean, what will me and the others do without you? Are you not going to miss us?” I can hear the emotion in her voice, and I have to fortify myself against it. Either one of them could get me to change my mind with a single tear. They are my entire heartbeat, but I have to do this. So I pull her into my arms and hug her.
“Don’t be silly. I am going to miss all of you. I love each of you, but I have to do this for me, Anya. Surely you understand? I have never made a noise about being ruler one day. That is something I look forward to, bringing our kingdom to the new times and helping people, but somewhere in my mind, I always thought I would be allowed to find love, not duty. Finding out I have been daft this whole time… I just… I can’t abide it.” She wipes her face and nods her head.
“I understand, I just never imagined a life without you in it.” She is really trying to break me.
“This is not goodbye forever, Anya. Just for now.” I zip up my suitcase and walk out my open bedroom door. I am more than relieved when I run into no one else in the corridors, and the guards seem to be otherwise occupied.
When I finally make it outside the palace walls, I sigh a relief before it really settles in that I have no idea where I am going. Pulling out my bag, I see I have enough for what I am unsure about, but I must first make it beyond the forest.
Our castle is separated from the town in two ways. One is the royal road that no one can take unless invited or on palace business. That road leads to town and from town leads to our palace. The second way is through the forest I am looking at. In all of my twenty-one years, I have never gone beyond the wall itself, but right now, as we speak, I am throwing my bag over and scaling it, silently giving thanks to the gymnastics classes and wall climbing classes I insisted on having some time ago.
Finally, safely on the other side, I begin my journey toward town, or so I think. Each rustle of leaves and unrecognizable sound makes it clearer how sheltered I have been and how out of touch I am. I don’t even know if I am going the right way.
Finally, after what feels like hours of walking, I come upon a sign.
Welcome to Wintergreen. King Leyland and Queen Orchid welcome you.
Oh boy. What have I done?
PROLOGUE
FROST
My mind is racing a million miles a minute. My lovely parents just informed me that I’m getting married to someone not of my choosing in less than a month. To say that I’m pissed would be an understatement.
“She’s really pretty,” my mother says, jarring me back to the present. I can’t believe what I’m hearing. My parents are really forcing a marriage on me. I’m pissed. This shouldn’t be happening. I’m not one of those princes who does nothing for his country. At thirty-one years old, I’ve done my duty; I’m still doing it. I’ve been in The Royal Army since I was eighteen. All Wintergreen citizens must do their two-year stint if they are physically able to do it, but I made a career out of it. In thirteen years, I’ve made my way up the ranks to Major General. I’d like to think that I earned the rank on my own merit, but I’m not sure. Either way, I’m not a child, but being scolded like one by my parents sends me over the edge. I don’t know why I’m surprised, though. A prince of Wintergreen isn’t his own man until he’s king. It’s just par for the course, but I have to draw the line at my parents telling me who I will sleep with for the rest of my life. And it would be that because I’m a firm believer that marriage is forever with the one person God created for you.
“Who is it?” I demand, pacing the throne room of King Balsam and Queen Isis, my esteemed parents. For a moment, I wonder where my siblings are. I know they are within earshot; they always are when someone is getting yelled at. My younger brother's twins, Rudy and Donner, are twenty-five, and my sister, Vixen, is only fifteen. They love gossip, and this is juicy for this family.
“Princess Lavender of Springlandia,” my mother says, hope in her voice.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” I shout. Lavender has a reputation. She’s known to be horrible. Servants, paparazzi, her siblings, her parents. It’s insane to think that I’d ever be happy with a harpy like her.
“Don’t shout at your mother, boy.”
