The Crown & The Cinderleaf
A tale of forbidden love, fragile duty, and a choice that could change the fate of a kingdom.
Seventeen-year-old Princess Alariel of Elowen has spent her life behind marble walls and golden expectations. Trained to rule and destined to marry for power, she knows the weight of the crown she's meant to inherit. But in the quiet corners of the palace gardens, she is simply Ari - a girl who laughs too loudly, questions too much, and shares secrets with the one person she was never meant to love.
Talen Cinderleaf is the son of a palace seamstress - an elf whose heritage makes him invisible in a court that values bloodlines more than truth. Raised in the shadows of power, he's watched Alariel grow from stubborn child to would-be queen. And though he knows his place, he cannot stop his heart from betraying him.
When the king commands Alariel to begin courting suitors, the illusion of childhood shatters. As noble heirs parade through the halls, Alariel begins to see the court for what it is - and Talen for who he truly is.
But love, for a princess and a servant, is treason.
Torn between the life she was born for and the love she never expected, Alariel must decide: obey the crown... or follow her heart into the unknown.
