All good things must, in fact, come to an end.
The judges spent nearly a month looking over your stories, and they all remarked that they were very good - which made it hard in the end to narrow down the top three stories. Everyone that did participate will be getting stickers to mark their Wattpairs book, regardless of anything else.
So, without further ado.
Third Place Winner
Wandering with You by Jazzy1983
Thomas has it all: a title, money, the girl, and a prestigious position waiting for him at the family law firm. But when he thinks about the life ahead of him, his chest constricts, and he can't breathe. With his final exam approaching, it seems there is nothing else to do but accept his lot. Until his friend proposes a gap year. Armed with a guide book, his backpack, and one-way ticket, he sets off for Peru. However, budget hostels and dodgy buses are a far cry from what he is used to. Then he meets the slightly neurotic Nadia who speaks her mind and makes him want to scream, and he realises that life might hold more excitement and adventure than he bargained for -- if he'll embrace imperfection.
Nadia flies to South America to reunite with her boyfriend, Khai, and start the trip of a lifetime. Unfortunately, Khai quickly shows his true colours, and she soon finds herself dumped, abandoned, and almost out of cash. But true love isn't supposed to be easy. It takes hard work. Plus, she needs the money he owes her. So, Nadia determines to meet up with him in Cusco to work things out. Just as she is on her way, she is approached by the out-of-his-depths Thomas, who convinces her to let him join her. Soon, Nadia finds all her beliefs about relationships challenged as they wander through the Andes.
Second Place Winner
Child of Night by LaynieWrites
Fifteen year-old Avery has taught herself not to feel. It's the only way to survive the foster care system and her horrible luck. When an ordinary field trip to Salem goes sideways, she discovers her magical heritage and chaotic emotion-based powers.
Using her newfound abilities releases a dark force inside her mind and if she isn't careful it will consume her completely. The only way to save herself is to find her counterbalance, the twin sister she's never known.
With the help of the one boy in school who doesn't think she's crazy, a Godsent foster mom, and an amulet full of her dead ancestors she sets off on a journey that will make her question everything she's ever known about the world.
First Place Winner
Imperial by PaintingTheRosesRed
Welcome to ancient Persia, a land full of magic, gods, and power- and ruled by the single greatest empire in the world...
Shah Jamshid al-Hassan, king of the Parthian Empire, is dead. He is succeeded by three heirs, each of whom claim the throne for themselves: Esfandar, the crown prince, Soraya, the forgotten daughter, and Roshani- the one who killed him.
Roshani felt no remorse shoving her sword through her father's heart. Nor does she have any doubts about imprisoning her cunning grandmother in the depths of the royal prison, where she can't cause any more trouble. The tyrannical tendencies in the young empress only seem to be tempered by Kasra, her infant half-brother born shortly before the coup. To protect Kasra, Roshani is determined to kill her other siblings and end this conflict once and for all. But spies and betrayers abound in the palace, and Roshani may have more enemies within than without.
Esfandar's mind has always been more attuned to war than to the politics behind it. Shocked and outraged by his sisters' betrayals, he seeks to reclaim the throne that is rightfully his. His troops rally in support of their emperor, retaking the north from Roshani's forces. Yet doubt soon creeps into the young prince's mind. As his armies forge ahead, Esfandar will discover that governing and conquering are not one and the same.
The large personalities of Esfandar and Roshani have always outshone Soraya in the palace. Neither the shah nor the other palace lords ever concerned themselves with the quiet girl hiding behind her mother's skirts. But now, having escaped Roshani's coup, the empire has been forced to consider Soraya a threat. Protected by the priests and magis of the fire temple, Soraya's claim to the throne is the weakest. Her only hope is a strange power from the gods, one she's not even sure she can control.
Three siblings.
Three armies.
One crown.