twelvewstars

Gifted a candle that was said to make wishes come true, Alice Clemente burned it to find herself awake in a different world. She had wished for a life of adventure away from the city and its routine. With her wish granted, she was no longer in the 21st century and was instead lost in the middle of the Kingdom of Gladiolum, a place reminiscent of the 1800s.

With luck, she soon gained connections to the rich and powerful of this new world— the nobility. However, how much of it was good and how much of it would eventually be detrimental? After all, mingling with royals not only meant extravagance and daily parties. It also meant warfare and death. 

Caught in the middle of the two princes and other nobles, Alice would soon have to face the battle between those two royal brothers― a fight for the throne.

She had wished for adventure, after all, and she received just as such.

Kept in the center of all this, would Alice be able to emerge from the rabbit hole unscathed? Or will the overwhelming troubles of love and war be too much for her to bear?


***

“And what if you, too, are unable to help?” Alice threw the question back. “What if helping would risk everything?”

Spade didn’t miss a beat.

“You are everything.”

“Don’t say things that you don’t mean,” Alice chided. “You’ll leave a trail of broken hearts.”

“And would you believe me if I say that I have no intention of breaking yours?” Spade countered. “However, mine is yours to play with. Shatter it, fix it, do anything you desire. As long as it feels the warmth of your hand, I am content.”

***

Image used in cover not mine.

A Courtyard of Roses

FOR THE LONGEST time, Alice had never seen the queen of Gladiolum angry. She was always poised, elegant, and silently sinister. She never wore her anger on her sleeve, maintaining the falsity that every other noble bore on their plastic faces. However, this time, the queen's face was as scarlet as her hair.

It was no surprise. After all, her beloved son's birthday celebration had just been disrupted by a prince she despised and a girl she thought was a thorn at her side.

"Mother," Hartley greeted, stepping aside to let the queen pass.

Immediately, the look in the queen's eyes softened. She first turned to her child, examining his features before turning her attention back to the assassin that knelt on the floor, defeated.

"What is going on?" she repeated, this time, much more calmly than before.

"It seems like the palace is no longer safe," Hartley replied. He was the only one that dared.

The Head that Rolled