Courtintrigue Stories

A princess, a contest, and a masked outlaw with a grudge. It's not quite a fairytale, but it's getting there! ˗ˋˏ ♡ ˎˊ˗ In the fractured Kingdom of Stormwatch, Princess Adora faces a grim future. Far from the throne, and thrust into a contest for her hand by the ruthless Prince Nicobar, she's resigned to being a pawn in his power-hungry schemes. Nicobar's hedonistic, iron-fisted rule is enforced by the Sheriff, a relentless, enchanted metal-mechanical enforcer who hunts down anyone daring to defy the crown. Yet, even he cannot stop Grimholt -the notorious, enigmatic outlaw leader -whose daring exploits have captured the hearts of the people and the ire of the Prince. As the contest unfolds, Adora finds unexpected allies and foes among the court and the bandits. Though she is powerless to stop the Prince's machinations, her heart is drawn to a mysterious, daring competitor. Dawning a plague mask and adopting the name 'The Prince of the People', he challenges not just Nicobar's plans, but everything she thought she knew about courage and justice. With storms brewing and the Sheriff closing in, the Princess must make a choice: will she risk everything for a chance at her freedom- and a love as wild as the magic of Stormwatch? -- #1 in CourtIntrigue 3/31/26

Elemental magic is turning on its wielders. Fire burns its own. Water drowns. Air chokes. Earth crushes. The four kingdoms are unraveling - and they all blame the fifth. While her mother lies in a coma and her father disappears into silence, Princess Anarhia and her court are forced to rule a kingdom that was never meant to exist. The seals are breaking. The Void remembers. And peace was always a lie.

The law of the empire says: a woman cannot rule. But when the emperor dies, an infant is left on the throne. And his sister is twelve years old. Princess Hua has no intention of handing power over to the aristocrats. She takes her brother in her arms and says: "I will rule." Eight years of war. Conspiracies. Betrayal. --- "Updates every Tuesday and Friday !"

Edward never meant to belong in Camelot. Magic exists here-but it is controlled. Freedom exists-but only by permission. Bound by a ring and watched by the Crown, Edward learns that survival is quieter than rebellion. Some bonds are forged without words. Some powers should never be used. And some choices, once made, cannot be undone. Update schedule: Monday & Thursdays at 2 PM (GMT)

Matchmaking Madness - Volume 1 In the treacherous world of the Inner Court, even marriage can become a battlefield. When the Emperor decrees that the brilliant yet dangerously independent daughter of General Lakan must be formally acknowledged as a princess, a carefully calculated chain of events is set into motion. What begins as a political arrangement soon becomes a subtle contest of strategy, influence, and quiet rebellion. Caught between imperial command and his own guarded paternal instincts, Lakan is forced into a game he did not choose - one where every move could determine his daughter's future. Meanwhile, the Moon Prince stands at the centre of the court's attention, admired for his elegance yet underestimated in ways that may prove perilous for everyone involved. As factions stir behind painted screens and unseen hands guide the board, one truth becomes increasingly clear: In the palace, even love can be weaponised. And some matches are arranged not to unite... but to control. Disclaimer This is a fan-created work inspired by the world and characters of The Apothecary Diaries. All rights to the original characters, setting, and concepts belong to their respective creators. This story is written purely for creative and entertainment purposes and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to the original author, illustrator, or publishers.

In a kingdom draped in silk and secrets, Ivy Marlowe hides more than just a scar beneath her bandages. Once a survivor of a noble tragedy, now a respected physician with a sharpened smile, she walks the fine line between grace and vengeance. But when fate ties her to a prince too clever to fool and a past that won't stay buried, Ivy must decide: will she heal what's broken-or destroy what broke her?

I killed a dragon at nineteen. Then I wiped my hands, sat in its blood, and let a prince I'd never met take credit. Because in my kingdom, a woman can't hold a kill. But she can hold a marriage. And a marriage is a door. He knew the moment he rode in. Saw the wound. Saw my too-clean hands. Took the lie anyway. Now we're engaged. Living in the same palace. Running the same con from opposite sides. He's building a power base through my name. I'm building one through his. Neither of us has said a word about it. Neither of us planned on the midnight gallery. Three minutes of honesty. One real conversation. And the slow, catastrophic realization that the person who could ruin everything is also the only one who's ever actually seen you. You can't unwatch someone be real. You definitely can't keep playing someone who makes you want to stop.

She does not exist. Not in any record, any register, any list of court appointments inside the Joseon palace. Her role is forbidden to name, her abilities dangerous to acknowledge, and her presence essential to a throne that cannot afford to admit it needs her. She reads the heavens and decodes the lies hidden inside official documents and senses the spiritual corruption threading through the palace's sacred sites, all of it conducted alone, all of it in service of a crown that will never publicly claim her. He is the Crown Prince. Strategic, precise, and entirely capable of using power as a weapon. He has never looked at her. Until the court begins to fracture from the inside. The seal that the dynasty's founders paid enormous cost to install is being dismantled from within. The king is dying in a way no physician can explain. Someone has spent decades building a plan inside the fabric of the court's most sacred ceremonies, and it is days from completion. The only people who can stop it are a woman who does not officially exist and a prince who has just realized she does. What grows between them will not be simple. It will not be fast. It will cost them both more than either anticipated, built in dangerous proximity, under threat, in the slow accumulation of shared secrets and moral reckoning that passes between two people who were each shaped by the same brutal system and meet in the ruins of their own defenses. The darkness here is not decorative. The stars are not silent for nothing. ©️ _RelleLebby_//R. L.

He died betrayed by the family he trusted the most. When fate gives him a second chance, he wakes up on the very beginning of the life that once destroyed him. This time, he refuses to repeat the same mistakes. But the palace he once feared feels strangely different. The people he misunderstood seem kinder than he remembers. And the cold emperor... is far harder to read than in his previous life. As old wounds heals and hidden truths begin to surface, he must decide whether this new life is meant to the way he thought before marriage or the way he is leaving after marriage A fantasy BL tale of rebirth, palace secrets, and a love touched by fate.

Mariella intends to marry rich. Then she'll live as she chooses. But there's a problem. The crown prince isn't as blind as everyone else, especially after he sees her true self. He now notices everything, the little lies, the carefully crafted manners, the rehearsed kindness. He is indifferent, dismissive, and dangerous in ways she can't anticipate, but she needs him on her side, because one slip, one glimpse behind her mask from the court, and everything she has clawed towards will collapse. She has spent her life perfecting the art of being the sweet, proper lady no one suspects. How to appear harmless, timid, and polite. But every word, every gesture, every tear is calculated. Because, in a world of wealth, titles, and ambition, the clever survive and the careless get left behind. And she will not be left behind. ××××× "She is deceiving you, Your Majesty!" Percival insisted, dragging Mariella back to the present, ''I swear upon my honor.'' The throne room felt smaller than before as the silence after Percival's words stretched. The King's gaze softened. "Mariella has served this court with nothing but grace." Mariella sobbed harder. The sound loud in the silent room. Finral's gaze burned into her. He had not spoken or shown any indication of revealing the truth. Maybe he was still in shock from her magnificent performance but she had to be sure. So she slowly lifted her head slightly, meeting his eyes for the briefest moment. Just for a second. And winked. The smallest movement. Gone in an instant. His lips parted. Whether from shock or apathy, she couldn't tell but he still said nothing. And in his silence, the ruling fell swiftly. ××××× Written for the open novella contest 2026 prompt 16: And into the forest I go, to lose my mind and find my soul (Quote by John Muir) Interpreted in a romantic sense.

The Mistress of Shadows France, on the eve of revolution. She rose from the gutters of Paris, barefoot and starving, taught early that beauty could be both a curse and a weapon. When Versailles opened its golden gates to her, the court saw only another mistress - a fleeting indulgence for a bored king. They were wrong. Behind silk gowns and whispered endearments, she served another master: the secret revolutionary network determined to end the monarchy. As the king's confidante and lover, she gathered secrets no spy could reach. Maps, names, escape routes - even the hidden refuge of Queen Marie Antoinette herself. History remembers the fall of the crown. It forgets the woman who loosened it. She was never meant to be remembered. She was meant to end an era.

A bride in a foreign court. A devoted husband. A brother she can't resist. Alice must navigate duty, whispered secrets, and shifting loyalties-where every glance is dangerous, every gesture loaded, and no heart is truly safe. ///New Chapters Posted Weekly - Wednesdays at 3PM UTC///

Part 1: In the late-industrial city of Hollencrown, Jonah Kinley-a 16-year-old sword prodigy tied to the Royal Hand-falls for Mallory, a poor but fierce-hearted girl hired to help at his estate. Their bond grows through small, luminous moments. They must deal with the prejudices of the upper class as the ball draws near. Part 2: Two years after Raremeer, Jonah is sent behind enemy lines with the unreadable Cadeis while Mallory holds the home front-love meets rain and steel under a king's war for "unity." This is just a first draft so do with that as you will. Also, this may sound stupid but thank you to everyone who has viewed my story. I appreciate you all so much!

The fae realm was supposed to be whimsical and an escape from reality. But when Ursula follows August, a fawn prince of the Dawn Court, through a portal, she realizes it's anything but. Every creature thirsts for human flesh and blood--in more ways than one. As the two form a friendship and, soon after, a blossoming romance, they have to fight tooth and nail to keep each other alive, no matter the cost. Assassination attempts, time travel, and and evil hidden within Elitist fae courts will have them tearing down personal ideologies, relationships, and their own physical and mental limits. Saving the Fawn Prince will have your head spinning and your heart aching as both characters learn who they truly are, and what they mean to one another. + + + Updates Wednesdays at Midnight

"Beneath the obsidian spires of Nocturne, where starlight is a forgotten myth, Lady Seraphina is bound by a chilling betrothal. Her veiled groom, Lord Valerian, is a creature of shadow and whispers, his touch as cold as the moonless nights. Their marriage is a pact, not of love, but of secrets, sealed with vows that echo through the labyrinthine halls of his haunted estate. As Seraphina unravels the enigma of her husband and the ancient curse that clings to his bloodline, she discovers a forbidden desire blooming in the darkness. But in Nocturne, every secret has teeth, and every vow is a snare. Will Seraphina pierce the veil of Valerian's past, or will she become another ghost trapped within his shadowed embrace?"

They took her crown. They buried her mother. But they never expected her to rise from the shadows-with a vampire king at her side. Princess Emika of the Imperial Family was once sweet, obedient, and innocent. Until the death of her beloved mother shattered everything. As the royal palace turned cold, and her brothers betrayed her trust, Emika was forced to face a cruel truth: she was never meant to survive this world... but to rule it. When a blood-soaked banquet ends in horror and chaos, Emika is saved by a stranger cloaked in shadow-a vampire with eyes like obsidian and a past tied to her own. His name is Kuro, and he brings a warning: the seal that once kept ancient monsters at bay is weakening... and Emika is the key to unlocking the darkness. Thrust into a deadly game of political betrayal, ancient magic, and forbidden desire, Emika must choose between vengeance and peace, duty and love, mortality and power.

Lyra Vale was born in the Ash District, where survival means learning to stay invisible. But when a chance encounter with Prince Cassian Thorne drags her into the heart of the royal palace, invisibility becomes impossible. The rebels who raised her want one thing: the downfall of House Thorne. Now Lyra must play a dangerous game, spying on the princes she was sent to destroy. Yet the more she learns about the brothers who rule the kingdom, the harder it becomes to believe they deserve to die. Especially when one of them begins to steal her heart... and the other sees straight through every lie she tells. In a court of secrets, rebellion, and forbidden attraction, Lyra must decide where her loyalty truly lies. Because bringing down a crown is easy. Surviving the fall is not.

Amidst the grandeur of two warring kingdoms, a princess flees from a fate she never chose. Princess Elanore Juliana, bound by duty and a forced marriage to the Protestant Prince Philip Johann, escapes the palace on a stormy night, only to be found by Prince Francis Theodore-a devout Catholic from a rival kingdom. In the secrecy of moonlit chapels and hidden lessons, he catechizes her, awakening in her a forbidden faith. Their love blossoms in secret, but their union sparks a war. Betrayal, imprisonment, and a desperate battle pit them against forces that seek to keep them apart. As winter cloaks the land, a final stand will determine whether love and faith can unite two kingdoms-or destroy them both. He rescued her once. Now, he must fight to save her forever.

Literally a world apart, sisters Maree and Tarisa can only send a letter to each other every four days with the help of magic seals. With Maree in hiding on a ship with a murdered captain and Tarisa left behind to unravel the dark politics of the court her sister fled, will they ever see each other alive again? With two spunky female leads, the high fantasy novel Sisters of Swords and Secrets is half swashbuckling adventure, murder mystery, and romance and half court drama, love triangle, and historical suspense. Time in the story runs at the same rate as time in our world, so readers will get updates every four days just like the sisters do. FULL SYNOPSIS: When Maree dressed as a boy and fled on the nethership Beastslayer, she was just trying to avoid an arranged marriage. She sailed through the portal to another world never dreaming that her deception would be discovered-or that the ship would become stranded on a toxic, magical sea after a string of vicious murders-or that Maree would be elected Captain as the only magic worker left, the crew's only hope for salvation. Using a magical family heirloom, Maree sends a letter back to her sister Tarisa for help, only to discover Tarisa is embroiled in the aftermath of Maree's choices. The vile man Maree jilted won't give up, while Maree and Tarisa's family is being targeted by unknown enemies. Tarisa's engagement is thrown into jeopardy, her friendships strained or broken. As rumors of war with rival country Trifay are rising like smoke (after only twenty years of shaky peace) Tarisa uncovers a sinister plot of corruption half a century in the making, one the enemy is determined to see through. Though a world apart, Maree and Tarisa begin to suspect the dangers they face are intertwined. The secret to survival for them both could be in each others' letters. Navigating matters of the heart, of life, and death, will Maree and Tarisa be able to save themselves and the ones they love?