A sheltered and naive young princess is given a single year to find her true love in a land full of wonderfully eccentric and handsome princes! Romantic adventure and unexpected love await in the fantasy land of Seraphia!
"Wow...! Azura! Cassius! Crystal! You have to see this!"
I stand in the carriage with my entire upper half stretched out of the window, squealing in delight as we slowly approached the giant shimmering gates to the Goldencrowne Kingdom. The others groan as I awake them with my excited chatter, but in no time they're sticking their heads out of the window to stare in awe at the beauty that lies before us.
From a distance, you can see the tall towers, the incredible buildings. The very center of the lively, golden city is a tall castle with a giant golden owl shaped into the top. I simply can't wait to enter the kingdom — to meet the prince, the people, just to see something new for once!
I'm excitedly jumping out of the carriage before we even arrive, causing my company to panic and chase after me. I run as fast as my legs can carry me, right up to the gates to admire the golden bars. My hands come up to touch them when I hear a rough voice at my side.
"And who add you, outsider? State your name and business!" It's a Knight with a helmet shaped like an owl. A sword came out to block me from my right, nearly slicing my hand. I hadn't noticed the other night to make 2 on either side of me! I jump back and fall into Cassius' arms, unconsciously turning into him for comfort. He wraps an arm around me and glares fiercely with his sparkling brown eyes at both of the rather unwelcoming guards of the Goldencrowne bridge.
"How dare you! This is Princess Noel of the Arcadian Kingdom who has journeyed long and far to meet your Prince Hawthorne! I doubt he'd be in approval of the welcome committee!" He gestured toward me and the Arcadian crest on his breastplate.
When the knights heard who I was, they fell to their knees in apology and retracted their swords. They must have begged forgiveness for nearly 5 minutes before I finally stepped out of Cassius' arms and told them to rise.
"It's alright, I didn't quite expect you to know just by looking at me!" I gestured for them to stand up. I hadn't had too long to do the usual with my appearance, but Crystal managed to get me into a beautiful, flowing white dress and helped decorate me with jewelry and hairpins in my curly brown hair.
The guards hurriedly opened the gates, but just before I could run inside, Azura grabbed my hand and held me back.
"We'll be riding toward the castle in the carriage, m'lady."
❤︎
Of course, it was no fun to view the entirety of the city from a window! I wanted to get out and meet the gorgeous people, learn more about them. From what I could see on the kingdom streets, the more common folk were just as healthy and thriving as the golden kingdom itself. I liked the prince already! I could already tell he and the royal family cared about their people.
I escaped the carriage again and ran toward the guarded front doors of the castle. I screamed my name and the guards quickly let me through before I can slam into the front doors. The others shouted for me to slow down, but I was much too excited!
We're directed through the gorgeous, sparkling inner pathways of the golden castle until we reach the throne room. The doors have already been open to await me, and my name is announced the moment I set foot on the marble floors that span out to the grand throne where the young Prince Hawthorne is sitting.
And my, is he breathtaking.
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His entire body is adorned in jewels, flowers, feathers. A massive headpiece rests on top of his silver head like a crown, only much, much more incredible. It adds even more to his regal aura. With bright blue eyes, he looks at me and his mouth parts in an audible gasp. He stands from his throne and walks toward me in a hurry.
The closer he gets, the younger and more astonishing he is to me. He looks to be at least a couple of years younger in his early teen years, either that or he's just got a youthful face.
"Princess Noel?" He says, a touch of surprise in his voice. He smiled slightly, but it's a glowing, genuine smile. Though he had extended his hand toward me, I close the distance between us and wrap my arms around his neck in a hug, laughing joyously.
"Prince Hawthorne! How lovely to meet you!"
Hawthorne wraps his arms around me gently, hesitantly. It's barely even a squeeze! Realizing he must have been shy, I step back to look at him, beaming.
"I'm so happy to be here! It feels like a dream!"
Hawthorne examines my face, seemingly taking in my appearance. His blue eyes seem to shimmer just like the gold about him. He gazes deeply into my eyes, so boldly in fact, that it catches me off guard.
Falling to his knee, he takes my hand and smoothly presses his soft lips to the back of it. When he looks back up at me, his cheeks have begun to bloom a rosy pink color.
"My princess, you are like a dream. And I am so happy that you're here. I'm eagerly looking forward to getting to know you." What draws me in about him is his genuinely and seemingly precociousness and wisdom. I was so excited to court with him that I almost took off running to view the rest of the castle.
Luckily, my company knew me well enough to hold on tight before I could even take a step.
