Not Your Princess

Prologue

ONCE UPON A TIME there was a kingdom on the brink of war.

It was a small kingdom that was nearly landlocked save for one small harbor on the western side of the kingdom. What it lacked in size, the kingdom made up for in riches since it had an overabundance of materials.

With enemies far too close to the north, the king was desperate for allies. He approached many kingdoms with requests for an alliance, claiming to aid their kingdoms as long as they aid him.

Each country denied the king's offer and would turn their backs on him.

Growing desperate, the king turned to his advisors for suggestions. They told the king to offer materials in exchange for friendship. So, the king offered his neighbors unimaginable riches and goods.

These kingdoms, however, still rejected the king's offer. Many of them were already rich enough, they didn't need riches from a kingdom on the brink of being conquered.

Frustrated by his failed attempts, the king sought comfort from his queen.

The queen was an intelligent woman. Tactical and wise, she had gained information about each of their potential allies. She learned of their cultures and traditions. She studied each member of the royal families.

Within a few days, the queen proposed an arranged marriage between their eldest son and one of the daughters from a kingdom to the opposite side of their enemy. With no other choice, the king offered the idea to the kingdom as a final effort to save his people.

To the monarch's surprise, the rulers agreed to the marriage in a desire to overtake the enemy country that lies between them. And thus, a tentative alliance was formed.

A large ball was organized in order to celebrate the alliance, with an invitation extended out to every family that could attend. The ball was planned for the night before the wedding between Prince Augustus of Weldain and Princess Juniper of Degrais.

The prince had no desire to marry the princess. He had no interest in marrying anyone at the time. Thus, he made the decision to not attend his own engagement ball as a way to protest.

Meanwhile, in the village nearest to the castle, a young woman with remarkable abilities was finishing her assigned chores so that she could attend the ball. After the invitation was delivered to their door, her father and stepmother had issued out their list of conditions to allow her to go to the ball.

Each task was more grueling and outrageous than the last, but Aschleigh Baker had been able to finish them with plenty of time left over. With the remaining time that she had left, the young woman decided that she was going to attempt to bake bread— a task that she has never been good at.

Neither the prince nor the poor village girl were aware about how their lives were about to permanently change by these decisions.