All the world's a stage. No one knows it better than New York's royalties, to whom every social outing is like a well rehearsed play. But there comes a time when the actors leave the stage and take of their costumes, that's when the scandal happens. The monarchy is nothing but a curtain of lies, backstabbing and betrayal. As in every good play, no matter how brilliant the actors were, at the end they have to remove their masks and it's time for the curtains to fall down. When that happens Miss Perfect, The Heir of The Throne, Prince Charming, and The Life Of The Party, won't be anything but masks. You can create any mask you want for yourself, so you can be whoever you want to be, but who'll you be when the curtains fall? You can hide your true nature behind a shiny mask, but can you hide from yourself?
Author's note: If you haven't noticed in my story New York is not just the city-that-never-sleeps is the monarchy that never sleeps. The most influencial families still rule the city, but only they wear a crown on their heads. But if you think it's an ages-old monarchy you used to study about in History class, you are mistaken. It's a modern tale of kings, queens, princesses, princes, crowns, love, betrayal, scandal, all wrapped up in this Teen Fiction.
"I don't want your crown," he murmured, "just the parts of you you've never given away."
He kissed her like he meant it. Lied to her like he didn't.
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Once upon a time, in the mist-laced hills of the Gilded Kingdom, a princess was born - not merely to rule, but to become the greatest queen Aurelia had ever known.
Raised behind the palace walls she was taught to walk with grace, speak with poise, and bury herself in the ancient tomes of the Great Library.
But what becomes of a princess who dreams not of silk gowns, but steel blades? Who craves not a throne beside a king, but the freedom to forge her own fate?
When the time comes to select her consort through the age-old contest, Lydia finds herself suffocating in a world of masks and manners. Among the peacocks of polished nobility that now swarm her home, she must navigate deception, ambition, and perhaps, the stirrings of something far more dangerous than politics.
As snow falls red upon the palace grounds, whispers stir from the far reaches of the world. The Nine Kingdoms are rising. And destiny - long buried in blood and prophecy - begins to awaken.
Lydia's path will lead her to a choice that could shatter her crown, her heart, and the very foundations of her realm. Her hand is at stake. The prize is her kingdom.
Because when fairytales end... only steel remains.
#1 of The Gilded Kingdom series