Chapter Fourteen

Daniel

“And I promise, sincerely, to pledge myself to your service, as so many of you are pledged in the service of our great nation of Eldonia.” I swallow in a dry throat but force myself to continue. “As I go about this task of accepting my birthright, claiming the Eldonian throne, and becoming King, I shall strip away my name and become a Harwell in heart, in body, and mind. I give myself to you and—”

“No. No. No.” Eva taps a finger on the piece of paper. “I pledge myself to Eldonia, and all the peoples who live in this Kingdom. I know I am a young leader, only seventeen, but it is my hope to grow along with this great country, and lead it into prosperity.”

I snatch up the paper. “Hey, that last part wasn’t even in the speech.”

“I know. I just thought of it.” She grabs the paper back and starts scribbling away.

I tilt back in my chair, scrubbing my face with my hands, before looking around the study. Eva dragged me in here a couple hours ago—although it feels like days—to go over my speech for the ball. It’s where I’m to formally announce my claim to the throne and it has to be flawless—her words not mine.

“Just face it, Eva,” I say. “This is hopeless. I can barely even read this out loud with the paper right in front of me. How am I going to memorize it?”

“You don’t have a choice, Dan-Dan,” Eva says, as if this fact will suddenly make me some charismatic public speaker. I’m no good at public speaking. I’ve had some pretty cringe-worthy after-game interviews for local news stations, but none that ever bothered me. Hockey players aren’t supposed to be particularly eloquent.

“You’re just so much better at this than I am.” I look over at my sister who is rewriting my speech for the hundredth time. “It should be you taking the throne. Heck, even Lyle would be better at this than me.”

Eva casts me a single glance. “No. Lyle’s a creep. If I were to marry Lyle, I’d have no say, no power, no right to make decisions. It’d be like standing by a fire, watching everything you love go up in flames and being powerless to stop it.”

“Well Lyle’s pretty good at burning things,” I mutter, but when she doesn’t laugh, I look up and say, “That’s, uh, that’s pretty dark, Eva.”

“You should read the Harwell family history. There’s some dark stuff in there.” She steels me with a glare. “Someone with Harwell blood needs to rule.”

“And that person should be you.”

She throws down her pen, and her face grows bright red. I may have accidently shattered some of that cold demeanor of hers, and I’m not sure I’m prepared for what’s underneath.

“You don’t think I want to rule, Dan-Dan? If I were a male, I would take the throne in a heartbeat. This is my home, these are my people.” She clutches a hand to her heart. “This is what I love.”

She stands and walks to the window. I follow her.

I look past the stone steps and out to the palace’s lush garden. “I wish we could go there and disappear, the way we used to as kids.”

“The Magic Garden,” Eva says lightly.

“You remember?” My eyes trace the tall hedges, the rose bushes, all the twists and turns. It’s a place Eva and I can never escape to again.

“I love you too, you do know that, don’t you?” Her voice is soft, delicate. “You think I wanted to drag you here? Take you away from everything…and everyone you love?”

“Eva…” I wrap my arms around her, and she falls against me.

“I’ve tried, Daniel…” she says. “I’ve searched every loophole, every dusty old document. But there’s nothing. Only a king can make a law.”

We look at each other, and say at the same time. “And Dad is dead.”

…

Madison

My stomach feels like a snake pit.

“I don’t think this connection is working.” The warped voice of Xander Bell comes across Alice’s laptop. His concerned face fills up the entire screen. “We’ve been Skyping for like twenty minutes and I don’t think I’ve heard Madison once.”

“Ha ha,” I say. But he’s right. All afternoon, I’ve hardly made one peep, except to comment on the absurdity of the team Eva sent for Alice and me. They buzz around the room right now—four hairdressers, two makeup artists, three stylists, and SIX ladies-in-waiting. I didn’t even know those still existed. Does Eva really think we need fifteen people to get us ready?

Still, it is an important day.

Today is the grand ball where Daniel will go in front of all the VIPs of Eldonia and declare his intent to claim the throne.

“And,” Eva had whispered to me before I left the community event, “once he does that, I’ll set up the audition for you. You’ve done great.”

“Yeah, seriously, what’s with you?” Alice says, then groans as one of the hairstylists pulls on her hair.

I stare into the mirror. Two of the stylists are busy at work, giving me rolling barrel curls. With my glittering eye shadow and highlights to die for, I can pretend I am a princess. Or at least, the real girlfriend of a prince.

But I’m not. That’s just a lie. A lie Daniel and I have constructed together.

But worst of all is the lie I’m hiding from him. That all of this—the fake romance, the community bash, bringing in his mom and teammates, wasn’t just to help him. It was to help me and my foolish ambition.

“Okay, that’s it!” Alice says, and leaps from her chair. “You haven’t said a word all night. Something is seriously wrong, and you’re going to spill it.” She turns apologetically to the army behind us. “Think you guys could, uh, give us a minute?”

The fifteen of them all seem to nod in unison, then, like ducklings in a row, file out of the room. Finally, when I hear that reassuring click of the door, I sink into my seat and let out a breath. Alice’s gaze burrows into me.

“Guys,” I say. “I’ve spent the last week trying to turn Daniel into something he’s not. I’ve lied to my parents, I’ve lied to Daniel…” I swallow. “And I’ve lied to myself.”

“What are you talking about?” Xander says, his voice cracking over the lousy connection.

I take a deep breath. “I…I don’t want Daniel to become King of Eldonia.”

“WHAT?” Xander screeches. Alice glares at the screen and reaches over to turn his volume down.

I play with a fold in my dress, unable to look at Alice or Xander’s gaping face on screen. “I got so caught up in everything, because I know the only way my parents will let me go to acting school is if I prove to them I can make a career out of it. And I know the only way Daniel will ever like me is as his fake girlfriend.” Finally, I meet their gazes. “But now I see the truth. Even if Daniel becomes King, it’s still all temporary.” My voice shakes. “I’m going to lose him, either way.”

Alice grabs my hand and gives it a reassuring squeeze. “But Madison, that’s not true. For once, I think you’re wrong.”

“What do you mean?”

I’ve never seen her face so soft. “You try so hard at everything you do. But you know…you could just ask for what you want.”

“Yeah,” Xander says. “Just tell your parents you’re going to Juilliard, and they can accept it or not.”

“But—”

“And,” Xander says, his crackly voice cutting me off, “just tell Daniel.”

My mouth is dry as a desert. “Tell Daniel what?”

“Everything,” Xander says. “About how you feel about him. About the audition. He’s going to be King, whether you tell him or not. What have you got to lose?”

“Only my best friend,” I say.

“No matter how hard you try, you can’t please everyone,” Alice says. “What’s the point of doing all this if you’re not happy? You’re already miserable, so there’s no point in not asking for what you really want.”

I can feel my pulse. “T-tell Daniel the truth? At worse, he’ll never forgive me. At best, he’ll reject me, and I’ll never be able to look him in the eye ever again.”

Xander snorts. “Don’t be dramatic—”

I can see Daniel’s face in my mind, the revolted expression when I tried to kiss him for a second time. “I-I can’t. There’s no way. I just have to stick with the plan.”

“What plan?” Alice cries. “If you don’t tell Daniel now, you’ll lose your chance forever.”

I can’t look at either of them. “You’re right. Daniel’s about to become a king. And I won’t have him worrying about me.” They both start to grumble but I interrupt them. “I made a promise to both Eva and Daniel that I would help get him ready to take the throne. That’s why I’m here.”

“No, it’s not,” Xander says. “You’re there because you love him.”

My body stiffens at the words.

It’s true. I do love Daniel Sacachelli.

And that’s why I have to choose his friendship over losing him forever.

Alice stands beside me. “Love isn’t nearly as scary as you think it is.”

“I’m not afraid of being in love with Daniel Sacachelli,” I say. No, I have lived with this yearning for so long, it’s like an old friend.

I turn to the mirror and stare at myself. I think of Eva, and the mask she wears around the palace, and I realize I wear a mask too. The trainer. The actress. The best friend.

And I realize, I am terrified to stand in front of the Prince of Eldonia and ask him if I’m enough. Because I already know the answer.