Falling for Royalty

Chapter One

I slowly walk the rest of the way home from my afternoon classes. The sun beats down on me and my head continues to spin from the overwhelming summer heat. Summers in Venira were times of heat, heat, and, well, more heat. I cross onto the dirt road that leads to my house and feel relief as dark splotches dot the soil. I look up at the sky and smile as rain drops slosh onto my cheeks. I hurry to my house and push open the door, the cool air immediately hitting me head on as I walk into the family room. I close the door and slide my satchel off of my shoulder and set it down on the small table in the middle of the room. Lexi, my 10 year old sister, looks at me with wide eyes and rushes over to me, squealing. "What are you so happy about, Lex?"

She grabs my arm and pulls me into the kitchen where my mom was starting dinner. "Mom, mom! Can I tell her? Please, please, please!!" My mom nods, a small smile plastered onto her face. "Prince William is looking for a princess!! And you fit the requirements! You could be part of the select group that goes to the castle to compete for his heart! Every girl who is age 16-18 will have their name put into the bowl where they will draw names! You could meet Prince William!! He's soo dreamy. Those blue eyes and dark brown hair that falls into his eyes."

I laugh. "Maybe your name should be the one put into the bowl. Look Lex, I'm so happy you are falling head over heels for him, but I don't really see what the big deal is."

She frowns. "Eve, you must not know who Prince William is, or you would be just as excited as me! You know, they are drawing the names tonight!"

"On such short notice? Didn't they just televise the message today?"

She nods. "Yep but he's coming to age and they want him to be able to find the perfect girl to fall in love with as soon as possible. Then, he might ask for her hand in marriage! I hope your name gets pulled from the bowl!"

I just nod before walking over to my mom and helping her get the food ready.

We eat on the floor in the family room in front of the TV, the channel turned to World News. The king, queen, and prince are shown on screen sitting prominently in their seats staring into the camera.

Luke Freemont walks into camera view, holding a microphone. "This is World News and this fine evening, we have King Phillip, Queen Cynthia, and Prince William as our guests to speak about the up coming match making for Prince William." Lots of clapping coming from the audience and from my mom and Lexi.

Queen Cynthia smiles into the camera and folds her hands into her lap. "Ah, yes. Tonight, we will be drawing the names of the 25 lucky girls who will come to the castle. And one of those girls will capture my son's eye and make him fall in love. He is coming of age and needs to find an appropriate young lady to ask for her hand in marriage. Then he will become the next great and successful king of Avalon." More clapping. "Now a few words from my son, Prince William."

Even more clapping. He smiles into the camera.

That was Prince William. Just another stuck up, arrogant jerk who is going to sleep with 25 girls and pick whichever one he thinks is the best. I roll my eyes and watch the TV screen again as they begin the drawing.

The queen puts her hand into the bowl and pulls out a tiny slip of paper folded into a neat square. She gently unfolds it and reads the name aloud. "Dakota Winslet." The girl's picture flashes across the screen. Straight black hair, brown eyes and bold lips with bright red lipstick. The queen puts her hand back into the bowl and grabs another slip of paper, unfolds it and reads the name. "Sarah Wagener." Her picture flashes across the screen. Curly blonde hair, blue eyes, and pale skin. The process continues. The queen puts her hand into the bowl for the thirteenth time and pulls out another slip of paper and reads the name. "Evelyn Edmondosa."