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

THE NEXT MORNING, the steps which brought Spade to the royal court were much lighter than any other times he had been to the dreadful meeting with the rest of his 'family' and those other stinky old crooks. Last night's victory felt like it was a thousand times better than any he had ever experienced before on the battlefield.

Was it love, he wondered. No, it couldn't be. After all, he had only known Alice for a few fleeting months. If his heart hadn't beat for anyone in the years he had been alive, what was so special about her that it could revive that dastardly organ in just the span of one summer?

Nevertheless, whatever it was that Spade felt for Alice, he knew that it was something he would suffer a craving for from this point on until the moment he passed.

The Royal Court