Bonus Story 2
Part 1: Priscilla
Is the destiny of a princess—especially one blessed with beauty so universally praised—truly as fortunate as it appears?
Priscilla sat still as Marie, her maid, brushed her hair, gazing absently at her reflection in the mirror.
“Not at all.”
“Your Highness?”
“Make me look like a tragic heroine today. Perhaps a hidden daughter, locked away in a tower all her life by her devilish father.”
Marie, who had served in the palace since before Priscilla’s birth, smiled sympathetically at the only princess of Swanton. “Do you resent His Majesty so much?” she asked.
With her younger brother Charles set to ascend the throne as soon as he came of age, Priscilla’s fate had been sealed—a political marriage to the Duke of Carter from the neighboring duchy.
“Marie, have you seen the portrait of the man I am to spend the rest of my life with?”
“No, Your Highness, how could I—”
“Of course you didn’t. I threw it into the fireplace the moment I received it.”
