“Iamnotdoingit,mother.Irefusetobeoneofthoseprincesseswhoselifeischosenforher.Thisisafterall,thetwenty-first century” Ifeel like Iamhavinganout-of-bodyexperience Ihave knownprincesses who have beeninarranged marriages, usuallyonesbeneficialtotheirkingdom,soIamnotnaive.Iknowithappens,butforsomeweirdperiodoftime,Ididn'tthink itwouldhappentome.
“Younglady, we have indulged you, allowed youprivileges other princesses haven'thad Thatmaybe our mistake But rightnow,atthismoment,Iamputtingmyfootdown.YouwillbemarriedtoPrinceAsaofSpringLanding,andthatisfinal.”I amsostunnedbyhisproclamationandthefinalityofhisstatementthatIlosetheabilitytospeakforamoment
Iamstandinginthis spotinthe throne roominfrontofmyparents, and itis like Idon'tknow thematall. Icould have sworntheyknewmebetterthanthis HowcouldtheynotknowthatthemomenttheyissuedthisdecreeandmadeitsomethingI havetodo,Iwouldrevoltagainstitandflee?
WiththedoorclosedIpullmysuitcasefromtheclosetandbeginthrowinginanyandeverythingIthinkIwillneed.Iamso angryIcan'tfindthewilltocryandmournthelossIfeelinsideofme.Tobetruthful,Icanhandleleavingmyparents.Theyare myparents. Theyhave raised me and taught me the ways of our kingdomand myplace inthis world, but themI could do without Mysiblings,ontheotherhand,Ilovethemsomethingfierce,andleavingthemcouldkillme
“Don’tbesilly Iamgoingtomissallofyou Iloveeachofyou,butIhavetodothisforme,Anya Surelyyouunderstand? Ihave never made a noise aboutbeingruler one day. Thatis somethingIlookforward to, bringingour kingdomto the new timesandhelpingpeople,butsomewhereinmymind,IalwaysthoughtIwouldbeallowedtofindlove,notduty FindingoutI havebeendaftthiswholetime…Ijust…Ican’tabideit.”Shewipesherfaceandnodsherhead.
“This is notgoodbyeforever,Anya Justfor now”Izipupmysuitcaseandwalkoutmyopenbedroomdoor Iammore thanrelievedwhenIrunintonooneelseinthecorridors,andtheguardsseemtobeotherwiseoccupied.
WhenIfinallymake itoutside the palace walls, Isigha reliefbefore itreallysettles inthatIhave no idea where Iam going.Pullingoutmybag,IseeIhaveenoughforwhatIamunsureabout,butImustfirstmakeitbeyondtheforest.
“She’s reallypretty,” mymother says, jarringme backto the present. I can’t believe what I’mhearing. Myparents are reallyforcingamarriageonme.I’mpissed.Thisshouldn’tbehappening.I’mnotoneofthoseprinceswhodoesnothingforhis country Atthirty-oneyearsold,I’vedonemyduty;I’mstill doingit I’vebeeninTheRoyal ArmysinceIwaseighteen All Wintergreencitizens mustdotheir two-year stintiftheyarephysicallyabletodoit,butImadeacareer outofit.Inthirteen years,I’vemademywayuptherankstoMajorGeneral I’dliketothinkthatIearnedtherankonmyownmerit,butI’mnot sure. Either way, I’mnota child, butbeingscolded like one bymyparents sends me over the edge. Idon’tknow whyI’m surprised,though AprinceofWintergreenisn’thisownmanuntilhe’sking It’sjustparforthecourse,butIhavetodrawthe lineatmyparentstellingmewhoIwillsleepwithfortherestofmylife.AnditwouldbethatbecauseI’mafirmbelieverthat marriageisforeverwiththeonepersonGodcreatedforyou.
“Who is it?” I demand, pacingthe throne roomof KingBalsamand QueenIsis, myesteemed parents For a moment, I wonderwheremysiblingsare.Iknowtheyarewithinearshot;theyalwaysarewhensomeoneisgettingyelledat.Myyounger brother'stwins,RudyandDonner,aretwenty-five,andmysister,Vixen,isonlyfifteen Theylovegossip,andthisisjuicyfor thisfamily.
“You’ve gotto be kiddingme,” Ishout. Lavender has a reputation. She’s knownto be horrible. Servants, paparazzi, her siblings,herparents.It’sinsanetothinkthatI’deverbehappywithaharpylikeher.
“Don’tshoutatyourmother,boy”
“Mum,youcan’tbeserious.Wewon’tsuit,”Itellher.Surely,sheknowsaboutherreputation.It’severywhere.How can shenot?
“She’sgoingtobeallwarmthandheat.YouknowIcan’tmarryanyone,letaloneSuzySunshine,”Ishoutinsteadoftelling her whatIknow to be true aboutLavender. Myanger gets the bestofme as ice shoots frommyfingertips directlyinto the fireplace,instantlyputtingthefireout.Thedraftycastleneedsafireineveryroom,butIdon’tcarerightnow.
“Control yourself, boy,” Dad shouts, movingto stand infrontofmymother Like I’d ever hurther Inall myyears, I’ve neverhurtanyonewithmygift,ifyoucancallitthat.Ithinkofitasacurse.Itmakestouchingpeopleimpossible.It’swhyI’m stillavirginafteralltheseyears Atfirst,thatfrustratedme,butnowIknowFatehassomethingbiggerformeinstore It’snot PrincessLavender,that’sfordamnsure.
“Whathave youbeendoingthis glorious morning?” He is puttingawaythe food, and somethingaboutitfeels domestic Shakingmyheadtogetridofthatthought,Iansweredhiminstead.
“Ithoughtyoucouldusesomethingtoholdinyourhands,youknow”Iblinkafewtimes,amazedathowwellheseemsto get me in such a short period of time. Not thinking and purely acting on instinct, I lean on my tiptoes and kiss his cheek. Suddenly,Iamhitwithashortsparkthatmakesmylipsfeelliketheyareonfire Iassumeitisonlymeuntilhishandtouches hischeek.
Iimmediatelyputmyhandonmycheek,mirroringheractions.It’sasifneitherofuscanbelievethisfeelingisreal.Theheat thatIfeelthereisunlikeanythingI’veeverfeltbefore Idon’tunderstandwhat’shappening,butIwantmoreofit ThemoreI gettoknow Elise,the more Iwanther.I’mata loss for words rightnow.Itake another steptowardher as she takes a step back.
Don’tbe afraid, Princess Letme ” Itrail off All Iwantto do is pull her into myarms and make her mine Iquickly calculatehowIcanmakethathappen.
“I try,” she says, lookingthroughthe books that I brought her. I watchas she pulls out a romance novel I found inmy parent’ssittingroom Forsomereason,Iknewshewasgoingtopickthatonefirst IdobelievethisisthefirsttimeI’veever beenjealousofapicture.
“Son, you need to come home. Your future wife and her parents are here. You’re late, and you are embarrassing your motherandme Now,don’tmakemesendatacticalteamtofindyou”
“Momand Dad are pissed, butotherwise, itseems to be goingwell. The parents are havingdrinks together inthe West Parlor.DonnerandVixenareintheEastParlorwithyour future wife.”Thewayhesaysfuturewifegivesmepause.
“Stupid Iamsostupid”Ihavebeensayingthistomyselfinbetweencryingandself-pity Imean,Ibarelyknowhim,andit's not like we are dating or anything, so why should it bother me that he hasn’t been here in two days? He doesn’t owe me anything Hehasdonemorethanhisshareofnicethingsforme Sothen,whythehellamIcrying,andmyheartfeelslikeitis breaking?WhydoIcare?
TheteakettlebeginsyellingatmeremindingmeIwasinthemiddleofdoingsomethingbeforeIonceagainbeganthinking abouthim.WhenIreachforthekettle,Inoticemyhandsarethawedout.“Damnit,”Icursebeforepouringmytea.WhatIneed tobeworriedaboutiswhy,whenIthinkofhim,mybodyturnsintoaninferno.Imean,noneofthishappenedtomebeforeImet himand as muchas Itell myselfitis unrelated and would have happened anywayeventually, Ican’thelp wonderingifitis reallyconnectedtohimsomehow.
Tea inhand, Isitonthe couchand pull outmylaptop Igive a silentthanks so thatno one cansee whatIamtypingin becausenormalpeoplewouldthinkIamcrazy.Asitis,nooneinmykingdomknowsaboutthespecialpowersIhave,suchas puttingoutfireswithaswingofmindorshootingicefrommyfingers It’snotsomethingIsharewithanyone Theonlypeople whoknowaremyfamily.
Initially, it was terrifying. At ten, whenit started happening, I felt like anoutcast. Amonster. Myparents had the royal physiciancometothehousenumeroustimesaweek,tryingtofigureoutwhatwasgoingon Then,oneday,Goober,myparent's advisor,cametothemwithsomeancientscrolltellingthemthisissomethingthathappenedeverysomanyhundredyearstoan ancestor,anditisagiftfromthem Agift Iwouldn’tcallitthat
Ispentyears indoors tryingto figure outhow to control notthe power butmyself. Ihad to retrainmybrainnotto touch others,nottogetangry,andnottolashout.Yep,loadsoffun.Finally,whenIwasfifteen,Igotthehangofit,andIwasallowed toleavethepalaceandperformmyroyaldutiesasthenextinlineforthethrone,andsofar,Ihavemanagedtodoalright.
King Leyland and Queen Isis of Wintergreen are proud to announce the engagement of their son, heir to the throne, Prince Frost to Princess Lavender Windemere of Springlandia.
OnceithaspassedandIhavebrushedmyteeth,IbeginthinkingofwhatIamgoingtodo.Ihavetogetawayfromherefrom him Irushoutoftheroomandintothebedroom,shovingthingsintomysuitcase IgrabeverythingIdeterminetobevitaland walkintothekitchen.
Ipickup the book, and a page falls open Apparently, he broughta copyofthe historyofWintergreen The page thatis openedmentionsawoman,anapothecary,aswecall themnow.Somecall themwitches,otherspsychics.Accordingtothis, shelivesontheoutskirtsofthiscountry,hoursfromhere,hiddeninthewoods,insolitude.Onlythoseshechoosestoreveal herselftoarewelcomeathercottage,excepttheKingandQueen,ofcourse.
“Yes. That is who Ineed to go see.” Withmymind made up, Icontinue to shove what Ihave inthe livingroominmy suitcase RememberingIleftthebraceletLittleRosegavemeonthebedroomsidetable,Iwalktowardtheroom,andthefront dooropens.
“OhGod,”Iwhisperwhenhismouthtrailsdownmyneck.Histonguetakesthepathofhismouth,andmybodybeginsto quake It's a motion I am used to when I would get upset, and this urgent anger would push through me, but this, this is somethingelse.
“Please,Frost Leave”LeavebeforeIpassout Iamnolongerlookingathimbecausemyconcentrationisonthefloor I amtryinglikecrazynottopassoutfromthepain;pissedheisn’tfeelingittoo.
“Fine Iwill leave for now For a moment, butIwill return, and we will finishwhatwe started” The minute the door closes,thepainfades.Seriously,itdisappearsasifIconjureditinmymind.Standingupstraight,Isimplystandinonespot, unsureofwhatishappening,butIamalsopositivethatIneedanswersandtobeawayfromhim.Frostbringssomethingoutin me, something foreign and something I have no idea how to navigate, and considering he is getting married, I don’t need whateveritisdeveloping,furthercomplicatingmylife.
Withaplaninmind,IpulloutthemapIsawofWintergreentheotherdayandsearchforwherethemosttreescanbefound “Ha.Gotcha,”IsaywhenIspotwhatlooks likeanabnormallytree-infestedsectionofthis forest.Iplotthecoordinates and graballofmystuff Notlookingback,Iwalkrightoutthedoorandawayfrommyheart
“So nothing Acleanslate is better “Once we were free ofthe British, two prominentfamilies who were eachroyal in theirownright,theArensandtheJacksons,decidedtoruleasonekingdom,splittingduties.Weknownowthatwasamistake. Greedovertookbothfamilies,and civil war was inevitable Insteadofconceding, theyallowed their people to suffer while theyfoughtoverwealthandpower.”
“It’s nothing but true. They decided to divide the kingdoms up eventually into what you now know as Evergreen and Wintergreen,butnotbeforemanydiedfromstarvationandpoorhealthcareduringtheircoldwar.Awitch,onemuchlikeme butmorepowerful,cursedthefuturerulers ofbothkingdoms Shesaidthatjustwhenthatkingdomis goingtobeatits best, borntotheroyalfamilywillbeachild,anheirwiththepowertodestroyalltheyhavebuilt.Thiswastobetheirpunishment fortheirselfishness”
