Page 11 of Royal Resistance

Even my head feels strange without a crown.

For years, I would put on a dress and then put on a tiara. It was my uniform. My armour, even, because as any woman in the public eye can tell you, comments are often harsh, and protection is mandatory.

The Avelaine Sapphire Tiara would have looked perfect with this dress.

I’m still not used to wearing bright colours or anything that could be considered fashionable. Avelaine is a conservative kingdom, and tradition has been instilled in me since birth. My stylist preferred me in dark blues and blacks, or the odd gray or brown. Simple, clean lines, no fuss. She said it was because my beauty needed no adornment.

She dressed me like a sixty-year-old matron, and I went along with it because, as the future queen of Avelaine, I had an image to protect.

I’m done with that now.

I may be pretty, but that doesn’t mean I shouldn’t enjoy a little sparkle.

This dress, with the sparkly straps and low dip in the back, can actually be considered sexy. I picked it out myself, with some help and a lot of encouragement from my former assistant, Courtney.

I focus on the little wins these days.

I followed Papa to Ottawa because I didn’t have anywhere else to go. For the first time in my life, I could have gone anywhere in the world, and I followed my father to Canada.

Seeing him happy makes it easier. He has Lorraine, and they are making a life together. He got a job with the Governor General of Canada, because no one would give a former king a position that has to do with running a country. But advising a ceremonial role is perfect for him.

Courtney came to Ottawa with us, saying there was nothing left in Avelaine for her if we weren’t there. And there was no way I would have stayed, even if Papa decided to. Seeing Julian take over Papa’s rooms in the palace…

Courtney has found her place as well as her person. My best friend is pregnant. As soon as she was no longer the personal assistant to the future queen of Avelaine, Courtney went out looking for a life. And she found one.

Who gets married three months after meeting?

Eight months, and I still haven’t met anyone worth a second conversation. Courtney keeps trying to set me up with friends of her new husband, but it’s difficult to believe true love might be possible when, for my whole life, I had expected to marry for duty.

I had planned on marrying for duty. Because once Darren told me he no longer wanted to marry me—a convenient three days after the news of Julian’s succession as king of Avelaine was made public—I knew I had never loved Darren.

Maybe I was still too devastated about losing the crown, but it was too easy to get over Darren. And it wouldn’t have been if I’d truly loved him.

Darren is out of my life, and Courtney thinks I need to find someone. I don’t. I have a career, and while it’s not the one I planned on, it has the potential to be quite fulfilling.

It helps to stay close to my father and Courtney, to have something familiar around, because this new life has been a lot to get used to.

And Laandia is a world away from what I’m used to.

I can’t even begin to compare the castle with our home in Avelaine. It’s rugged, perched on top of a cliff, and built by Vikings to withstand the Arctic gales, as well as any invading force.

The Winter Palace in Avelaine is far larger, spreading across the streets of Valenne. There’s never been an invasion of any sort, and the weather is much nicer back home. But the palace seems untouchable compared to here. Unlivable, even. Everything is structured and rigid. Even the gardens are set in strict lines of precisely clipped hedges and flowers growing in the spots they were allotted.

The Winter Palace was built to impress, and it does. The marble and the art and the gold… But I was once told by a visiting monarch that they felt like they had to hold their breath when they were admitted through the doors, in case they disturbed anything.

People seem to actually live here.

My father and I both received invitations to King Magnus’s Coronation Ball. Papa had been friends with King Euan and was deeply saddened by his sudden death.

There is no one to announce us, but there is a receiving line. My father escorts Lorraine, Courtney, and me over to where to the newly crowned King Magnus greets his guests with a big smile pasted firmly in place.

I know of Magnus. We’ve met several times over the years, both as children of monarchs. He’s spent years touring the world with his band, and I know his coronation has surprised more than a few people. Me included.

Not that I would ever say that.

I can’t help but wonder if this is the life he wants, or the life duty has chosen for him.

“Lord Theodor,” Magnus booms, reaching for my father’s hand as if he’s pulling him into an embrace. “So glad you could make it. I’ve heard you’re doing good things in Canada for the Governor General.”