Dedicated to, written for, and inspired by:
-CherrybombShelby
-TruestMemories_
-demiwitch1
Serafina and Marilyn: polar opposites. Fourteen-year-old ladies-in-waiting to the vain, secretive, mysterious, queer, malevolent, dangerous, possibly magical and almost silent Princess Alexandra. Best friends since youth, and nothing could change that.....or so thought the world.....
One night, Serafina and Alexandra are left alone for a few hours, and Alexandra actually opens up to the younger blonde. She lets her walls collapse for no more than two hundred and ten minutes, and Serafina is shocked to find that she and the formerly distant heir have a lot in common. Alexandra shapshifts in Serafina's mind from a monster.....to a human. A human with a heart....one that's been shattered so many times that it rarely ever beats for anybody anymore. Alexandra starts trusting Serafina, and the two slowly become friends.....
When Marilyn discovers the bond between the two, at first she's unshaken. But when Serafina starts leaving Marilyn out in the cold to spend time with Alexandra, she grows suspicious, especially since Serafina starts acting much less like herself. When Marilyn confronts Alexandra, the princess claims that she's committed no foul play, convincing everyone in the room, including Serafina. When a shocking discovery takes place, so does a horrid effect.
Zachary Gryson is an ambassador to the kingdom that Alexandra will preside over. Serafina is enchanted by the prince almost instantaneously upon initial glance, as he is with her. But when she discovers that he's actually there to be betrothed to Alexandra, she grows to despise the princess, leaving Alexandra in a literal nightmare for the youthful heir, who will soon suffer a tragic loss and become a premature ruler. Without a husband, her claim is questioned.
But she loves another besides her betrothed, a mystery who no one knows. With all such problems surrounding & fiends circling, how will Éttena fare?
A Tangled Web of Truth | Complete (ONC 2021 Shortlister)
22 parts Complete
22 parts
Complete
[Shortlist | Ambassadors Pick] Alicia DuMont is telling the truth. Unless you count lies of omission, which she decidedly does not. Twenty-four and finally standing on her own two feet as a hairstylist, she is surprised when she and her friends receive an invitation to the prince's Coming-of-Age Masked Ball. Knowing they are right out of the running for marriage to the prince won't stop them from having a little fun, though!
Prince Alejandro has a truth he can't share: his country is weaker than it seems. At nearly twenty-one, his dream of marrying for love is tied up in somehow falling for a down-to-earth woman who can strengthen the monarchy. Hoping his Coming-of-Age Ball will throw such a girl into his path, he's determined to make the most of it. And when he meets the mysterious Alicia, he is immediately drawn to her.
When Alicia and Alejandro decide to begin a relationship, royal conventions throw them straight into an engagement. They may be the epitome of poise and grace in public, but behind the scenes questions of Alicia's suitability mix with the threat of national unrest. Every day their connection grows deeper, but if they can't find a way to quiet the growing discontent, they risk losing not only their relationship but also their country.
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This story was written for the ONC 2021 based on prompt #87.