The Royal Trap

She was born Miss Madeleine Valois, daughter of a cadet branch of an insignificant noble house. To her misfortune, she was also born the second daughter, and as such, what little wealth and prestige remained in their lines was settled upon her sister. There was simply not enough to divide between them and leave them any pretence of gentility.

Thus she was raised to be her sister’s shadow, her replacement in case of disaster, and to have nothing of her own. She was taught to be silent and supportive and never to disgrace her family by displaying her own desires.

Prince Oscar of Ocendawyr is a sweet, rumpled, and unruly, a clumsy young man. Ever be helped by Madeleine when they were young, The King of Ocendawyr saw she was someone who could keep up with his youngest son’s mischief and get him out of trouble safely. Thus Madeleine received a royal appointment as the valet of the young Prince Oscar – his companion, his maidservant, his advisor and his agent. She had studied for him, trained and fought for him. If necessary, she was expected to give her life for him. For the first time in her life, she had a place that belonged to her.

Reaching his adulthood, it comes the time for Oscar to find a bride willing to give control of her ancestral lands to him. He received an invitation by Gwellinor Kingdom in where he and other princes will participate in such likely to be fierce competition, to be chosen by Princess Cassidy for being her King.

Princess Cassidy must have only the barest blush of eighteen years, younger even than Oscar. Yet her face holds more maturity than her years would allow. She walks into The Presentation Hall of the Kingdom of Gwellinor with poise, her head held high, then hesitates, looking rapidly back and forth over the assembled personages before continuing to her assigned position. Gwellinor’s heir has been famously kept in a cloistered existence, out of fear for her health. She cannot acknowledge anyone there until they have been formally announced.

The Prince of Bardowen is a golden barrel of a man, his curls as gleaming as the buckles on his shoes ans every conceivable place in-between. So broad are his shoulders that can be imagined, if startled, his mighty arms would tear right through his glittering wardrobe. 

The Prince of Asineth is a slender, sharp-featured man attired in the finest silks, which glide soundlessly along the floor as he walks. His delicacy and refined appetites are well-known, as are the rumours of his less-appealing qualities. His is not a warm face. The narrow eyes, the elegant nose, the thin lips, all seem crafted for expression of cruelty. And then Prince Oscar was the last one announced.

He is Prince Callum, the youngest living son of the King of Gwellinor and still a bachelor. The sour expression on his face does him no favors. All princes are his competition for any other heir he might hope to win.

Instead of considering Madeleine as his maidservant, Oscar loves her more than anything. And it’s not something that she never knows about that. It’s just she pretends to. She was trained in self-control. Her emotions, reactions, even her face – never to flinch, never to cry, never to say what she wanted or to have any wants beyond doing what her parents told her to. But she knows it’s except with Oscar. He makes her smile. He teases her, and forces her to tease him back. He lights up when he smiles. He has been her best friend all the years. She owes him everything, and she won’t let him ruin his life for her. Moreover, he is a son of a king while she is a girl with no land.

When she sneaks to see Oscar and Cassidy are dancing in the Ball Room, Madeleine realizes that she will lose her position in Oscar’s side. She dislike it. But she knows that doesn’t like something will not change it to happen. 

No long after the Ball, there is a massive chaos. Princess Cassidy was lost and Prince Oscar is the main suspect since he seem be the last man being with her. According to the guards, he was discovered lying senseless under a rosebush. And there was no sign of Cassidy. 

It will be Madeleine’s highest duty. To protect his prince and prove that it’s mistaken to get Oscar be framed. In her observation, Madeleine hears the King’s voice. The king and his Wisdom are talking about Grandessa Marie, sister to the King’s Wisdom. Her daughter would be Duchess Sophia, Princess Cassidy’s cousin, and the next in line to inherit the Wisdom – except that she’s now the wife of Duke Pherod, with an infant daughter. If Cassidy is dead, that baby is the new princess.

Madeleine also hears about Prince Caspian who died when he was little more than a toddler, and Cassidy a babe-in-arms. That ill-mannered page suggested there have been rumours that the princess succumbed to the same fever that took her brother, and was then replaced by an impostor. Certainly, Princess Cassidy bears a resemblance to her illuminated mother. That in itself means little, though. Similarities between people are common, particularly within the noble classes where so many relatives are shared. However, if the blood heiress had been replaced at such a tender age, it would have been impossible to predict who the impostor might grow to resemble.

Back to their room from her observations, Madeleine did not see Oscar there but suddenly a shadow attack her. He is Prince Callum. He orders Madeleine to do exactly as he tells her, for two reasons. One, because he needs her help to rescue his sister, Cassady. And two, he pulls open the inner door, revealing he has Oscar with tied hands. And a sharp sword over his neck.

Does Prince Callum knows something about Cassidy’s kidnapping? Why he need to hostage Oscar who has been the main suspect for his sister’s case as well as the most favorite prince of hers.What step will Madeleine take to save Oscar from danger as well as prove he is in the right route?