The Heroes of Winterbury

By Monique Bousquin

n the land of Winterbury, the people adored the wise and beautiful Queen Josephine, but no one more than her husband, King Edmund. Their abounding love seemed to grow with each passing day, which is why Josephine’s sudden death in a hurricane tears Edward apart. Princess Leighanna tries picking up the pieces, but her father just isn’t the same.

The biggest concern is the king’s sudden dependency on Royal Advisor Frances. She has worked for the royal family since Leighanna’s birth, but this frightening woman now seems hungry for power with Josephine out of the way. By inciting discord between Winterbury and a neighboring island, Frances could destroy the entire kingdom.

Now, the princess must find help in stopping Frances from ruining both the king and his legacy. She needs the help of brave friends and maybe a bit of luck to stand up to evil and fight for good as her mother would have wanted.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Archway Publishing
• Release date: Apr 7, 2021
• ISBN: 9781665703840

Monique Bousquin

Monique Bousquin has been writing since she was a kid growing up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She strongly believes that young readers thrive from seeing characters who look, love, and live as they do. It is her hope that children of all backgrounds can see themselves in her characters and feel welcome in the world of Winterbury.

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Copyright © 2019 Monique Bousquin.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, names, incidents, organizations, and dialogue in this novel are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

Archway Publishing

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

ISBN: 978-1-6657-0383-3 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-6657-0382-6 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-6657-0384-0 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2021904636

Archway Publishing rev. date: 03/19/2021

Contents

Acknowledgments

CHAPTER 1 Welcome to Winterbury

CHAPTER 2 Nice to Meet You

CHAPTER 3 The King’s Advisor

CHAPTER 4 Secretary Anna

CHAPTER 5 A Change in Plan

CHAPTER 6 The Day of Honor

CHAPTER 7 The Cave Behind the Waterfall

CHAPTER 8 The Plan

CHAPTER 9 The Crystal Keeper

CHAPTER 10 May the Night Pass Well

CHAPTER 11 Fooling the King

CHAPTER 12 We are Winterbury

CHAPTER 13 Stories and Surprises

CHAPTER 14 The New Keepers

CHAPTER 15 A New Day Begins

About the Author

To my best friend sister, Joanna Rebekah

Cook. You put dice in my hand and taught me to fight orcs, find dragons, and shoot magic missiles. You walked me to the beach and taught me about stars, bugs, and interplanetary distractions. We shared laughter, tears, friends, a dorm room, ramen, peanut butter M&Ms, and an abiding love for singing La Vie Boehme at the top of our lungs. But, mostly, we shared our lives. My world is less complete since you left, but I promise I’ll keep going. There are monsters to fight, kingdoms to save, songs to sing, and stories to tell. You have my word that I will never forget ours. I love you. Rest easy. I will see you in Dreamland.

Acknowledgments

First and foremost, to my husband, love of my life, and king of my heart, Lee Edmund Bousquin, thank you for being my biggest fan. You have been the Jack to my Rebecca since before anyone knew what that meant, and I am blown away that you still look at me that way after all this time. You are the best thing that ever happened to me and it is my great joy to do this life with you. I can’t wait to see where we go next.

To my kids, the Small People, you are, by orders of magnitude, my very best creations. Everything else I do in this life will pale in comparison to the fabulousness that you are. You are incredible, and I love you more than … hmm … more than playing The Sims 4 with Auntie while eating a gluten-free chocolate donut and drinking Moscato. I even love you more than playing Munchkin after midnight with the board of directors (yeah, there are snacks in this scenario, too). The point is, you are my heartbeat, and I am so, so, proud to be your my-mom.

To KaTorie and Tiera, my not-so-baby sisters. Call me when you’re crying, and I’ll come running. When you forget that you are two of the best human beings on the planet, I’ll remind you. I am the holder of Big Sister Magic and my fairy dust has reach. There will never be a millisecond when I’m not proud of you, a moment I don’t see you, a breath when I don’t love you, or a minute when I’m not cheering you on. I am always for you. Always.

To Danyelle, my found sister who changed me for the better and for good, I love you. You are my family and I treasure you. You’ve been though more with me than almost anyone. We stood against the wind, and when it tried to blow us over, we stayed. And, on the days when my arms were too weak to hold back the floodgates, you held them up for me. There is no me without you. We will count the minutes and measure in love because we know how far we’ve come and who we lost along the way. And, we’ll do it the way we always do—together. Whenever. Wherever. Forever.

To the best group of friends that exist on the planet, I am here because of you. When it all came apart, you kept me tethered. I am enormously grateful to have you in my life. My godsend, my captain, my knight with squeak-less armor, my evil scientist, and especially my engineer—you are my family and I love you. Next game night at my house, bring your own chocolate.

To the people who loved me like they grew me themselves. John and Theresa, Mom and Dad, you are forever memorialized exactly as you should be—as the parents who chose me intentionally, loved me beyond measure, and showed up consistently. The fact that I was confused with the greatest Chrissy in the history of great Chrissies should have been my first clue that we would be forever family. Of course, the second clue should have been that Chrissy and I are here on a level that’s out there and have been since I tried to steal you, but that’s neither here nor there. I love you all with an interstellar love that can’t be quantified or defined. Thank you for being my family.

To Raahima, who answered every question, gave every encouragement, and breathed life into a world I could only imagine. This