Stroke of Midnight: The Sleeping Kingdom, #2

By Veronica Bonn

BOOK TWO in The Sleeping Kingdom series, a fantasy fairy tale retelling crossover where happily ever after does not come easy...

Ever since her mother, unrecognizable and frail, clambered into the tower nearly one year ago, Rapunzel has been in misery. Living together is not the dream she pictured, and so when Elspeth announces she will be traveling for an extended time, Rapunzel is relieved. But when a mysterious prince stumbles up on the tower, everything Rapunzel thought she knew is thrown into question.

In François, the king announces a royal ball and decrees that all eligible maidens attend—which includes Elodie. Madame Masson forbids her to go, but with a bit of magic, Elodie finds herself in sparkling ballgowns and ornate carriages each night of the ball. On the final evening, the prince reveals his intentions to announce Elodie as his bride, to which she panics and flees. As the prince then searches the kingdom for his mysterious bride, Elodie is horrified to learn just how far her stepmother is willing to go to get one of her daughters on the throne.

On the outskirts of the kingdom, Amabelle dodges Stéphane's incessant proposal. But while her sisters are away at the ball and her father unexpectedly travels to Meerreichen, Amabelle has a near accident that causes her to reconsider the conceited huntsman's offer.

Meanwhile in Neverland, Hooke attempts to contact Wendy, and Aerwyna grows anxious as her song matures.

And in D'or, a missing king upsets a political betrothal, and Princess Sajni meets a unique visitor at the well in the castle gardens…

STROKE OF MIDNIGHT continues the retellings of "Cinderella," "Rapunzel," "Peter Pan," and "Beauty and the Beast" from WHITE AS SNOW (Sleeping Kingdom Book 1) and introduces "The Frog Prince." Game of Thrones meets Brothers Grimm, this is a story fairy tale fans won't want to miss!

**TRIGGER WARNING: There are scenes in this book that some readers may find upsetting. Reader discretion is advised.**

• Language: English
• Publisher: Kissmann Books
• Release date: Jun 6, 2022
• ISBN: 9781777930592

Book preview

Stroke of Midnight

The Sleeping Kingdom Book 2

Veronica Bonn

image-placeholder

Kissmann Books

Copyright © 2022 by Veronica Bonn

All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except as permitted.

The story, all names, characters, and incidents portrayed in this production are fictitious. No identification with actual persons (living or deceased), places, buildings, and products is intended or should be inferred.

Book Cover by www.hannah-sternjakob-design.com

Editing by Editing Fox

ISBN-13 (print): 978-1-7779305-8-5

ISBN 13 (eBook): 978-1-7779305-9-2

**WARNING: This book contains a scene of sexual abuse. Reader discretion advised**

Contents

Dedication

Map of the Brokenland

Map of Neverland

Character Recap

Act III: The Fateful Ball

1.Rapunzel

2.Sajni

3.Theodoric

4. Elodie

5.Hooke

6.Amabelle

7.Sajan

8.Elspeth

9.Elodie

10.Theodoric

11.Pan

12.Amabelle

13.Sajni

14.Sajni

15.Rapunzel

16.Elodie

17.Aerwyna

18.Theodoric

19.Wendy

20.Amabelle

21.Sajni

22.Elodie

23.Elodie

24.Hooke

25.Rapunzel

26.Elodie

27.Amabelle

28.Elodie

29.Elodie

30.Sajni

31.Elspeth

32.Pan

33.Elodie

34.Theodoric

35.Amabelle

36.Sajni

37.Sajan

38.Elodie

39.Rapunzel

40.Elspeth

41.Elodie

42.Pan

43.Elodie

44.Rapunzel

45.Elodie

46.Elodie

47.Rapunzel

48.Amabelle

49.Rapunzel

50.Elspeth

51.Wendy

52.Amabelle

53.Sajni

54.Elodie

Character Pronunciation Guide

Also By

About Author

The Cursed Forest

Sneak Peek

For all those still waiting for their happily ever after

image-placeholderimage-placeholder

Character Recap

Need help remembering what happened previously? Here is where our characters currently find themselves…

AERWYNA: The youngest siren princess, her friendship with Peter Pan begins to grow sour as she befriends Captain Hooke.

AMABELLE: Belle, her sisters, and her father move to a small, poor town near the border of François and D’or after their merchant ships are lost at sea.

AURICK: For the past fifty years, Aurick and six of his younger brothers have lived in a cottage in the woods, cursed into the bodies of dwarfs by an evil witch that has plagued their family before. They now mine the gems from the nearby mountain and the witch collects them as part of her cruelty over them. Everything changes when one day they return home to find a young woman asleep in their cottage. They soon learn it is Princess Schneewittchen of Allemand, on the run from her stepmother. Furthermore, Schnee has met their youngest brother, Prince Finian of the Southern Kingdom of the Elven Empire, the only one of them to have escaped the witch’s curse. For the first time in years, the brothers think they have a chance of returning home if they can get Schnee reunited with Finian. Things turn sour when the witch who cursed them is revealed to be Schnee’s stepmother, and she poisons Schnee with an apple. The dwarfs then learn that Schnee is one of the nine Reincarnates.

ELODIE: Ella’s father remarries a woman known as Madame Masson, who moves into the chateau with her two daughters, Diamanta and Afrodille. Ella shows them nothing but kindness, and they show none in return. When Ella’s father dies while out traveling and the estate is threatened with sale, Ella proposes that she will do all of the housework and upkeep to prevent her stepmother from selling off her family home. Ella is now a servant in her own household and lives in the attic.

ELSPETH: Elspeth marries King Manfrid of Allemand, and instantly does not like his daughter, Schneewittchen—whom she refers to as Snow White. Consumed by her jealousy, she tries to have her stepdaughter killed by poisoning her horse, but the princess is saved by a huntsman. Elspeth then begins an affair with the huntsman that staves off her jealousy for a while, but as the princess gets closer to ruling age, she panics. She has the princess turned into a servant in the castle, insisting it is to keep her humble, and plans to kill her after her debut ball. When she learns the huntsman did not kill Snow White as planned, Elspeth kills the huntsman and takes matters into her own hands. After two failed attempts, she disguises herself as an old hag, and tricks Snow White into biting into a poison apple. She then escapes the dwarfs, and hides with her daughter, Rapunzel, in their hidden tower.

HOOKE: Exiled to Neverland as punishment, Captain Hooke and his crew cannot leave the island until they have killed Peter Pan. Hooke develops an unrelenting fear of the king croc when Pan severs off his hands and feeds it to the beast, and Smee replaces the hand with a hook. Later, Hooke begins to befriend Aerwyna, the sea king’s youngest daughter. He then attempts to get to Pan by kidnapping Wendy and the Lost Boys, when he learns that Wendy is one of the nine reincarnated fairies. He is now determined to get her off the island.

PAN: While out collecting Lost Boys in a far off land, Pan becomes separated from his shadow. It is then that he meets a young girl named Wendy, and discovers she is one of the nine Reincarnates. A few years later, Pan returns and brings Wendy (and reluctantly her brothers) to Neverland. He plans to use her in a scheme he is hatching against his father.

RAPUNZEL: For as long as she can remember, Rapunzel has lived a mostly solitary life in a tower in the forest. She knows her confinement has to do something about the mysterious marks on her left wrist, but her mother, Elspeth, refuses to talk about them. Rapunzel also has an inexplicable gift for music, both writing and playing instruments. She is left alone for long bouts of time as her mother gathers food for her, and contemplates suicide at one point.

SCHNEEWITTCHEN: Schnee is the crown princess of Allemand. Delighted that her father has married, Schnee tries to befriend her new stepmother, but it’s to no avail. When Elspeth suggests Schnee become a servant in the castle, a custom from her stepmother’s homeland, Schnee is quick to agree. The years are grueling, but on the eve of her debut ball, she meets Prince Finian, an elf from their neighbouring kingdom and becomes instantly smitten. But soon after, the huntsman takes her into the Cursed Forest, and explains that the queen is trying to kill her. Schnee runs into the forest, and stumbles upon a cottage, inhabited by seven dwarfs. She soon learns the seven dwarfs are actually Finian’s older brothers, cursed by a wicked witch. When an elderly woman visits the cottage, Schnee takes a bite of a poisoned apple, and falls into a deep slumber.

WENDY: Ever since Peter Pan crashed into her room, he is all Wendy has thought about. That and the strange markings that appeared on her arm. Her parents are enraged at the markings, as no matter what they do they will not disappear. Once she is eighteen, Wendy becomes engaged to Simon Manchester, but longs for Peter Pan to come back. When he does reappear, Wendy begs him to let her brothers, John and Michael, come with them to Neverland. Peter agrees, but says that John and Michael cannot stay because they are not lost. Despite a near-deadly spat with the mermaids, and a strange warning from Captain Hooke, Wendy decides to stay in Neverland while her brothers return to London.

Act III: The Fateful Ball

image-placeholderimage-placeholder

Rapunzel

196 AC

Spring

image-placeholder

For as long as she could remember, Rapunzel wondered what it would be like to have a normal life. To wake up and live with her mother in a warm home, the two of them tackling the day’s tasks, laughing, conversing, and enjoying each other’s company; to build that mother-daughter relationship that she had only ever dreamed about, the one she imagined every mother and daughter in normal circumstances must have. But this was not like any of that.

Since her mother, hunched over, nothing but skin and bone with the unrecognizable safe of an old woman, came climbing up the tower one year ago, Rapunzel felt she shifted from the role of beloved—yet imprisoned—daughter to servant. Her mother required the bed all to herself, leaving Rapunzel reduced to a ball on the floor, forced to use scarves and worn-out blankets for warmth, as her mother hogged all the finer linens on the cushy mattress.

Rapunzel was required to make meals for the both of them, her mother always receiving the better cuts of meat, the softer pieces of bread, the unbroken eggs, and the fresher vegetables and fruits. When food became sparse, it was her mother who received the bigger portions and never had to skip meals, as she waited until it was the right moment to descend the tower and collect more. For fourteen springs, Rapunzel lived her life up in the secluded tower where it was not uncommon for her to grow low on food, and yet it was only now that she found she was losing weight and turning to skin and bone.

Her mother refused to clean her own chamber pot or wash her own hair. And when Rapunzel asked for her help to wash her hair, now longer than the length from the window to the bottom of the tower, her mother had laughed and paid no further attention to her request.

But the worst of it all was that she forbade Rapunzel from playing her instruments. For days on end Rapunzel’s fingers would itch to stroke her harp or her tongue would wet thinking of the sweet notes that escaped her pan flute. She never truly noticed how dark the tower was or how forever stale the air smelled. And even more eerie, just how quiet it was, regardless of how loud her mother would drone on and on about needless things and complain on end of how terrible her life was now in the tower, giving no regard to how this was the only life Rapunzel had known.

Rapunzel supposed she could understand why her mother acted difficult. She had been cursed as an ugly old woman, and it was evident that it was not reversing as fast as she had been promised. While her posture had straightened, and most of the wrinkles smoothened out, her mother still did not resemble her usual beautiful self. It was understandable then, that if she had been cursed and promised to be back to normal within the moon’s cycle, only to still see a foreign face when looking in the mirror eleven cycles later, she would be unreasonable. Rapunzel would feel the same if it happened to her.

And so, for the first time in her life, Rapunzel longed for the days that her mother would be away from her. Never did she imagine she would wish for the opposite of what she had always wanted. And when her mother left nowadays, it was for much longer than it normally was.

I can’t risk going into Allemand again until I am well, she would say. I need to venture into the further kingdoms to get supplies.

She would always leave plenty of food behind, more than she would in the past, and it would be for that season-quarter or so that she was away that Rapunzel would ravish herself with food and play her instruments day and night. It was like the old life she had grown used to, the one that, for a few dark moments years before, she was ready to throw off the tower.

Rapunzel sat in the window of her tower, her harp in front of her as a cool breeze flew in. Her mother was due back sometime mid-spring. She’d left over a quarter ago on a nondescript longer journey, or so she told her. Rapunzel didn’t need the details. Part of her didn’t care if her mother ever returned, and she would relish in the freedom until she did.

The very last remnants of snow sat on top of the dark trees of the forest, their limbs dancing in the wind. As she watched them from the window, Rapunzel longed to climb down and dance among them, if only she knew how. She wished that someone other than her mother would stumble upon her tower and set her free.

But until then, she sat and played her instruments, hoping that the sill would be less slippery soon and she could climb up to the tower’s roof again, more than once, before her mother returned. The one time her mother caught her on the tower top, she had whipped Rapunzel and forbade her from doing it ever again. That had been just before the winter’s frost appeared and the wounds were almost healed now. But it would be worth the pain again.

image-placeholder

Sajni

Sajni felt relief as the snow began to melt away, as every summer child did. Despite that it did not snow as much in D’or as it did in the other kingdoms, the cold was an unwelcome visitor in Sajni’s life, and the warm spring was greeted with open arms. If she could control the weather, it would be hot and sunny always. The days would be long and relaxing, while the nights would be full of festivals and parties. It was a life she already knew, but if she could change it, everything would have a bit more. More servants with big paper fans serving sweet wines and tart plums, with music tinkling softly in the background. Every night would be filled with great feasts, handsome princes with no marriage attachments, and secret kisses under the stars.

It’s an insult.

Her mother’s sharp voice broke Sajni from her thoughts. She let out an exasperated sigh as she turned her attention away from the last icicles dripping from the eaves outside the window, and glanced, annoyed, down towards the rest of her family at the supper table. The embarrassment that had befallen on her family was not something she wanted to think of, and the thoughts of summer were a much welcome distraction.

He is missing, her father, King Rajan of D’or, said in a soft but firm voice from the head of the table. He would not back out of the arrangement. His brothers are concerned for his whereabouts. It is not an insult or rouse. What reason would he have to back out of the marriage?

On his right, Queen Varshita’s lips turned into a thin line as she stirred the creamy stew in front of her and reflected on her husband’s question.

It’s an embarrassment is what it is, Sajni muttered as she brought her own spoon to her lips, the smell of cinnamon filling her nose. It was a pleasing smell, warm and bright—much like summer.

Sajni, now is not the time, her mother quipped in that sharp voice. Marjana is now in a difficult position. She is scorned by this, and it will take careful negotiation and arrangements to fix. Her reputation is on the brink of contamination.

Marjana sat prim and proper across from the queen at the grand table. Her long black curls were pulled back over her shoulder, an ornate gold peacock pin holding them in place, and she copied the queen’s stern look and flashed it towards Sajni. As the eldest of the royal family, Marjana felt it her duty to copy and follow in their mother’s footsteps, even if it meant smothering Sajni with the same disdain and scorn that their mother managed.

We cannot do anything about it until we confirm King Braam is dead, their father continued. And if it comes to that, you will go into official mourning, Marjana. We all will, as a sign of solidarity with the Northern Isles.

Sajni clicked her tongue in annoyance and dropped her spoon. It clattered against the side of her golden bowl. Black was the most unflattering colour on her. King Braam was Marjana’s betrothed, not hers. Sajni would not be punished because Marjana was scorned by his sudden disappearance and was now the gossip of the kingdom a quarter-season before her planned wedding. The idea of being a jilted bride was repulsive in Sajni’s eyes, but then again, no one would ever reject Sajni.

Then we can work on negotiations of a new betrothal, the king concluded.

Marjana’s eye twitched, the only indication that she was annoyed. Until their mother showed any sign of emotion other than aggravation, Marjana would remain tight lipped on her true opinions on the matter. It was a sign only Sajni knew from years of studying her older sisters for their weaknesses. Secrets she kept to herself until she needed leverage to get her way.

I do hope that the king is found alive and well, Samreen said in a soft voice. She kept her head low as she lifted her spoon to her lips and Sajni rolled her eyes beside her.

Quiet, Samreen, their mother snapped. Queen Varshita took a sharp breath and looked down in the direction towards Samreen, but not directly at her. She tipped her head as she said in a tight voice, Of course we all hope King Braam is found well. Both for his sake and his kingdom’s.

How can you be sure that one of his brothers did not kill him for the throne? Sajni asked in a wicked but innocent voice.

How could you say such a thing? Marjana gasped.

Sajni rolled her eyes again. Her eldest sister could be quite the drama queen. There was no reason why she should really care. She barely knew the King of the Northern Isles. They had only met once and that wasn’t enough to merit any true feelings for one another. No, Marjana was upset because what was once positive attention surrounding her was now negative. It would upset Sajni too, if she were in such a position. Luckily for her, she wasn’t nor ever would be.

Well, he is the oldest of seven brothers all vying for the throne, Sajni answered. She sipped her broth with an air of nonchalance as she continued. People from the Isles are known to be quite hot-headed and greedy. I imagine them all fighting for the throne, regardless that the crown passed rightfully to the first-born son once their elderly king died. They’re not lucky, like sweet Sajan, who only has sisters.

Sajni smirked to her twin brother, who sat to her right at the opposite head of the table to their father. Sajan ate his meal in silence, not taking the bait to participate in the conversation. He was the baby of the family, their parents’ only son and heir to the throne, and twenty minutes younger than Sajni. They were two different sides of the same coin, Sajan the caution to Sajni’s recklessness.

We met his brothers when we visited the kingdom, King Rajan said without missing a beat. They are not barbarians, like their southern counterparts. Like the Elves, they respect their eldest brother and his seat on the throne and are quite civilized over the matter. As I said before, they are concerned about his disappearance.

King Braam was scheduled to arrive ten days ago. When he was two days late, an unusual thing for a Northisler, King Rajan sent out a rider to find out how far away their party was. When the rider returned empty handed and informed no party could be found, the king then sent out a search party and a letter to the Northern Isles. Prince Cobus, the second born son, wrote back to say that King Braam had left on time with a party of twenty strong. Nothing was yet found, not even a hair.

We shall continue on with the wedding preparations as planned, until we have confirmation of what happened, King Rajan said. Queen Varshita clicked her tongue in disapproval but stayed silent. And in the meantime, we will prepare to make adjustments as necessary. If King Braam is indeed found to be dead, I am sure that Marjana can still move forward to be Queen of the Northern Isles, but with Prince Cobus as king instead. We are still awaiting a response from Prince Édouard on our proposal for Prasuuna, and King Henri of François let it slip that they will be announcing a ball for his son Prince Keandre. Our formal invitation will be sent out later. Brisha and Prasuuna can attend.

Sajni sighed. All his daughters were to their father were pawns in a large chessboard. While the majority of the current royal families across the kingdoms had an abundance of sons, King Rajan had daughters, and he was determined to set one in each kingdom so that future generations would all be linked back to D’or. When their kingdom came to be after the great divide, they were one of the smallest and poorest. Now, they were the second biggest and more importantly, the richest. It was a piece of history her father flaunted, proud that their people had come from nothing. He reminded them of it nearly every supper.

While three of her older sisters had some sort of plan set in their father’s mind, Sajni was yet to be mentioned, which was fine with her. It gave her the luxury of being free and flirty with whomever she liked. She knew he was saving her, the best, for last. Sajni was the most beautiful woman in D’or and all the Seven Kingdoms. She was a rare gem surrounded by ordinary diamonds, and whomever her father decided to match her with would probably be his most ambitious game. It was better to rush through the riff raff and save the most extravagant wedding—hers—for last. Though she supposed that Sajan’s, as heir to the throne, would be the most luxurious. Sajni would allow that, for her twin.

You just stated I was being matched with the Meerreichen prince, Prasuuna said. I thought you were trying to push Brisha onto the Françoisians, and yet we are both to attend this supposed ball?

King Rajan shrugged, his signature to show how little he cared about what his daughters thought so long as his empire was expanded by marriage, as he took a long sip of his wine. Let him choose. If he prefers you, Prince Édouard can have Brisha.

What about Sajni and Samreen? Brisha asked at the same time their mother asked, What route was King Braam taking?

Queen Varshita didn’t hear a word of what the king had spoken. She wouldn’t give up on Marjana, her favourite, until the monarch’s dead body lay before her. He wasn’t cutting through the forest, was he?

Sajni rolled her eyes and groaned at the mention of that damned Cursed Forest. Her parents took it much too seriously. Sajni didn’t believe in magic, regardless how many times her father insisted that it was real, that the curse that broke up the land was real, that if it weren’t for magic their people wouldn’t even exist. She and her siblings had grown up with the legend of it all drilled into their minds as if it was real history. Sajni knew that real magic was money. Gold and gems and silver. And their family had plenty of it.

Don’t be ridiculous, King Rajan said. "Northern Isles, remember? He traveled by ship to the nearest port, and then on the main road through the kingdom. Nowhere near the forest, not the Cursed one anyway."

As her parents argued over the idiotic possibility that the forest may have taken King Braam and his party, Sajni tuned them out. She stared back out at icicles melting in the warm spring air and sighed as she stirred her broth, daydreaming again of summer.

image-placeholder

Theodoric

Rainer paced back and forth in front of the fire, his face scrunched up in impatience, and Theo wondered how his brother expected to be king if he couldn’t learn to wait. Their whole upbringing was a series of waiting, growing, and learning about their past lives, and what their future may mean. Ever since their memories were awakened, Rainer was ready to charge into action, fight the dragon, and wake Princess Oriana. For ten years now, all he talked about was the sleeping princess, and devised different strategies and plans on how to get to her when so many others had failed.

The others failed because they are not me, Rainer muttered under his breath as he and Wilhelmina had yet another argument over the matter. Theo sat back and snacked on an apple, a rarity in their hidden kingdom, deep within the Cursed Forest. The taste was sweet and tart and tasted like the welcoming of warmer weather. He’d have to ask Helmuth how he managed to find a sack of apples in Outcaste during his last trip.

The others failed because the protections against the dragon’s keep are fierce and strong, Wilhelmina chided. The dragon sleeps, that is true, but she still attacks in her dormant state if anyone gets too close before the time of awakening. It is not time yet.

Theo could mime out and play the whole speech that was about to pass between his brother and their fairy guardian. As more time passed, the less patient Rainer became, and he was angered at the thought of waiting any longer. Theo supposed that if it were he that was destined to storm into the depths of a forest and face the dragon one-on-one, that he would be antsy too. That if it were his love asleep in a forest so wild that even they, who were born and bred within its trees could become lost, that he would want to set out to find her sooner rather than later.

There was not even a guarantee that Rainer would survive. True, though the prophecy said he would be the one to save the princess, nowhere did it confirm his survival against the dragon. And if he did perish and the dragon remained undefeated, the whole fate of the Brokenland would be uncertain.

"But the time is now, Willa," Rainer stressed as he spun around and slammed his fist down on the table, rattling the board on top and knocking over the wooden figures on display. The papers in front of the fairy scattered across the table and hit the bottom of Theo’s boots. Wilhelmina raised her eyebrows at Rainer, and then shot Theo an annoyed glance at the sight of his feet up on the table.

Theo swung his boots off the table and tidied the papers with one hand, while biting into his apple with the other. He stood and handed them back to the fairy, who spread them out in front of her the way they had been before.

Do tell, Rainer, why is now the time? Wilhelmina asked, her voice riddled with sarcasm.

Because the signs have started, Rainer said. He sat down at the head of the table and spread his hand over the board of the kingdoms in front of them. The large board took over most of the table’s surface. The Brokenland was small compared to the Elven Empire and the lands beyond, but big for a continent made up solely of humans.

There was something in Rainer’s voice that made Wilhelmina’s face soften and that peaked Theo’s interest. In all their previous arguments, Rainer would drone on and on how it was unfair that Oriana was wasting away in the middle of the forest, a slave to a nightmare sleep that was unlike anything they could imagine. Wilhelmina would remind him that the princess was not wasting away, that her life was suspended, and that the torment her nightmares brought would be erased once she awoke.

But this time there was a soft compassion in Rainer’s voice that sounded different than his usual exasperated tone. This time it wasn’t just about finding Oriana.

From the beginning, you’ve taught us the signs of the prophecy, the indications that the end is near, Rainer started. It does not matter that it is only one hundred and ninety-six years since the curse was set in place, and not the exact two hundred it promised. The signs have started.

He reached across the board and pointed at a chunk of land on the western coast of the continent, surrounded by forest on three sides and sea on the other. Allemand was the third largest of the seven kingdoms. It had once shared a border with its neighbour, François, but the forest slowly crept between the two, and now divided them as it continued to encroach on the Allemandish kingdom’s territory.

The first sign is that the kingdoms will start to fall. After the destruction of our two kingdoms—Forstreich and Solroyaume—seven new ones were created by the fifty-year mark. And they stayed in peace, by magic of the curse. Nowhere else in history have kings reigned side by side without war, without conquest for bigger territory or the blood of his enemies. There has been over a century of peace—until now, Rainer said, his voice soft.

Theo sat back down and listened as his brother continued. Allemand has been without a ruler for a year now. Its sole heir is dead, and its reigning monarch is missing. They are without their princess and queen, and their council is struggling to keep the kingdom afloat in this time of uncertainty. It is only a matter of time before the kingdom collapses or before another one decides to take the throne for themselves. Which leads me to here, he said as he swept his hand across the board to Nordreich, a small coastal kingdom off the northeast of the continent. It was the closest kingdom to their hidden one, but days, if not a quarter-season, of forest sat between them. It is no secret that Nordreich is being taken over by the Northern Isles. Even if it is discreetly. With King Braam missing, his brothers are out of control, and while most of them fight over their own crown, Prince Hendrik has made the move to Nordreich.

That’s another two kingdoms in jeopardy, Theo said aloud. He stood again and moved around the table to get a better look at the map. He had heard of these situations, same as his brother, but he had not put two and two together like Rainer. It was a good thing his brother was the elder and set to be king. Theo was better suited for following and less serious responsibilities.

Wilhelmina barely glanced at where Rainer pointed. They have not collapsed yet. Allemand is struggling, yes, but it has not been snuffed out. It still stands on its own. The Northern Isles will settle themselves, they are loyal to their king and heir, and Prince Hendrik is set to marry Princess Gerda of Nordreich. She accepted his proposal—there is nothing amiss there.

Rainer gaffed at the fairy’s dismissal of his claims. "You can’t just sit here and dismiss these signs! If we