The Secret Princess

Prologue

The Aenatopian Empire wasn't always just ruled by Queen Harmony. Of course, if you went back a few years, the kingdom had been ruled by the queen alongside King Olivander. The king and queen had also had a daughter, Princess Sophia. The family ruled the kingdom kind and fairly but all was not to end up as a happy ending. Due to the tragic accident leading to the King's death, Queen Harmony did the most reasonable thing she could do to protect her daughter. She sent her far, far away from the kingdom.

Their daughter was supposed to grow up in the castle of Aenatopia, under the guidance of the king and the queen but the simplicity of that was not to be. On the first day of spring, when the young princess was no older than twelve months, the kingdom was threatened.

A bomb was set up in one of the lower courtyards on the castle grounds, where King Olivander had always paced in the afternoons. None of the public eye knew of the King's afternoon walks so evidence suggested it was a member of his own quadrant.

The kingdom was unsafe and Queen Harmony had no other choice but to send her daughter to an orphanage in hope that she would find a family who would be able to take care of the princess, at least until it was safe to return to Aenatopia. The queen entered the princess into the orphanage under a different name to her original royal name as she didn't want to cause any suspicions. Harmony made her plans alone and when the night came, she dressed in rags, wrapped her baby in layers of blankets and headed for the airport.

Queen Harmony knew that she had to protect her daughter as well as she could. She couldn't send the princess to an orphanage anywhere in her kingdom as her daughter would be too recognisable. The queen placed a finger on her daughter's golden necklace, kissed her forehead and whispered, "I'll be back soon, my little princess," before leaving her on the orphanage steps and walking into the darkness of the night.

Author's note:
Hi, so this is the first book I've ever written. I bet no one will actually read this but I'd accept constructive criticism to make future chapters the best they can be. Thanks for reading the prologue of my short novel!