A Royal Kiss

A Royal Kiss ♡ Prologue

i know how unoriginal this is, but i just love aimee teegarden (oh my god, have you guys seen her with blonde hair?! so weeeeird) and she looks just like i pictured queen gwendolyn to be

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The Selection. A chance in a lifetime. The opportunity to escape the life laid out for the twenty selected girls since birth. To be swept up in a world of glittering gowns and priceless jewels. To live in the palace and compete for the heart of her son.

Queen Gwendolyn was supposed to be happy about it; she was supposed to enjoy the thought of making at least twenty of her people happy in Illéa. And after that make whole Illéa happy when the winning girl would become the next Queen. Not just any girl; a girl from a lower caste than a One.

But she wasn't happy.

Once, Gwendolyn was a part of the Selection. She'd been the one to steal Laurence his heart. Otherwise she'd still be a Three. She just didn't want one of those girls to feel alone or sad because they couldn't see their family for a long time. One top of that, she didn't want her kids to feel pushed away or like they didn't matter. Especially now Charlie and Chloe were ready to do whatever it took to keep their family as one.

The window Gwendolyn was facing reflected a person standing in the doorpost. It was a young boy with light brown hair and sparkling blue eyes.

"It's almost time", said Gwendolyn, a smile plastered on her face like she always had.

Lucas started walking toward his mom. His hands were buried in his pockets, like he was afraid to show them. "What if they don't like me?" he said and let insecurity break his smile. A frown, almost unnoticeable, somehow always managed to get Gwendolyn worried. Like there was something wrong.

"They won't like you....", Gwendolyn said and took his hand in hers, "they'll love you." She gently rubbed his hand with her thumb. Then kissed his forehead and laid her other hand on the side of his head, on his short brown hair which he also had inherited from his father. Her hair was dark red.

"Thank you, mom," he said, slowly letting go of her warm hands. "But what if I won't have any time, dad is taking me everywhere and nowhere the moment he sees me."

"He just wants you to be a great king. He tells me every night how much he still wants to show you. If you could only see how excited he is... He wants you to make the best decisions and even rule Illéa better than he can", she quickly assured Lucas. "Of course, he wants you to find a girl who understands your choices, your decisions. Who can rule this country the way it's supposed to be ruled."

Lucas sighed and looked down at his feet. "So he's expecting me to find a decent girl with powerful parents who'll want a bond with Illéa after our marriage... I don't like that kind of girl, mom, I don't want someone that only marries me because of the bond and not because she fell in love with me..."

Gwendolyn sighed and cupped his head in her hands, like she wanted to make sure that he heard what she was about to say. "But I want you to find true love, I don't mind about how she looks or what Caste she's from. Someday you're going to meet someone that makes you happy, beautiful and stands by you even when you feel like you don't deserve them. One day, you'll find the one who will love you because you were you."

Lucas smiled, proud of having Gwendolyn as his mother. "Thank you. I love you." He walked back towards the hallway and disappeared out of sight.

Gwendolyn stared outside. The sky was blue, even though it didn't fit the circumstances outside the palace - fights, hungry people, everything but peace. It was weird that she was standing here in one of her favorite dresses - a purple gown that fitted perfectly and seemed to fly all around her waist down where it touched the ground - and that there were people outside the palace walls without maybe even clothes.

She sighed, suddenly feeling very tired. "I hope this will work out with all the rebel attacks already starting..."

Lily walked through the hallway. She saw her mom standing in the living room. She stood there often, with a small frown that made her look older than she really was. She looked tired, almost like she was thinking too hard.

"Hey mom", said Lily. She was fidgeting with the hem of her pink knee length dress. Her two curly pigtails fell on her small shoulders and danced along with every movement.

"What's wrong, sweety?" Gwendolyn asked, trying to hide her concern. She wondered if this would have happened too if she married someone of her own caste; hiding her concern and putting up a fake smile like everything was well. Though, Gwendolyn knew for sure that if she married a rich Two, she would have never known how lovely Lawrence was and she definitely wouldn't have had four amazing children.

A knock interrupted their moment. After a 'yes?' from Queen Gwendolyn, a butler walked in and bowed deeply. His name was Garron, Lily knew. He was the head butler, like the King of all butlers.

"Your highness", the butler began, "King Lawrence has requested to see you this instance. He said it is urgent."