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My host family, distant cousins, had done their best to keep Nolcovian traditions, but I naturally gravitated toward Coco and her mother. Their home felt warm and inviting. It was there that I truly felt Christmas magic in the air. They didn’t possess the wealth that my family did, but being with them was a treasure I’d never experienced, a bond that was unbreakable between mother and daughter. And for a little while, me.
Thoroughly frozen, I opened the doors and escaped inside my suite. The shivers started almost instantly, but my mind had latched onto a memory and refused to let go. It was that Christmas morning that I’d woken up on Coco’s couch. Her mother’s soft touch shook me gently until I roused. A stack of pancakes, a breakfast I grew quite fond of while in America, waited under my nose, but best of all, Coco looked ready to bounce out of her skin with excitement.
“Fitz, it’s time for presents!”
We’d agreed not to spend money on each other, a decision born from my desire to keep her from wasting any funds that she would need in the future for her education. But when she burrowed under my arm to share my blanket’s warmth, I felt like she’d given me a gift I deemed priceless. Once more, she’d made a place where I belonged. For me, the one with limitless opportunities, that likely sounded ludicrous, but at the time, I had too many telling me who I needed to be and eager to point out every way I had failed that expectation. But Coco accepted me as I was and made room for that version without expectation of change.
We’d opened presents for a while. Her mother even made sure I had a stocking like Coco, complete with cookies and candy. Even with very little, I felt rich beyond compare. But the true moment of perfection came later as her mother was cleaning up the last remnants of wrapping and string.
From her pocket, Coco removed an envelope and set it in my hands. No manner of complaint, excuse, or worry on my part would change her mind. She wanted me to have it.
I sat at my desk in my royal suite and pulled open the top drawer. Digging toward the back, I removed a false panel and reached inside. Locking my fingers around a stack of envelopes, I pulled them free. I’d taken to hiding her letters when I found Reginald reading one in my final year of secondary school. He was the only one who knew they existed, but that didn’t mean he needed to know the contents. Flipping through the stack, I smiled at the writing on the last one.
Merry Christmas, Prince Fitz.
I parted the seal and removed the slip I hadn’t read in ages.
Dear Fitz,
I can’t believe we’re almost halfway through your program. To be honest, I can’t imagine my world without you in it anymore. I know you said no presents, but really you said I couldn’t spend money. This didn’t cost me anything, but it’s the greatest gift I can give you. You don’t always like this mushy stuff, so bear down for this, dude.
I want you to know that you’re my best friend and I love you. If I don’t see you, my day is all messed up. If I don’t hear from you, it’s just weird. I don’t know how I’m going to deal with you going home. It makes me want to cry. So, I decided to give you something special, so you won’t ever forget me.
My heart.
I ran my fingers over the heart-shaped piece of paper she’d taped to the bottom of the page. Like magic, my mind went back to not just the memory of the day, but the whole feeling of the moment. Realizing how special it was that she would try to open up like she had. I traced the edge of the heart. The tips of my fingers turned black as the pencil shading rubbed off. My heart skipped again, as though it recognized the sentiment years later.
We were kids. We weren’t talking about love or romance in the traditional sense. We loved each other like family. Her heart was a gift of loyalty and commitment. And accepting it showed that I was trustworthy.
Keep it safe. And know that even after you’re gone, even years from now, it’ll always be yours. Royally and forever yours,
Coco
That was the miracle that was Michaela Caldwell. Steady and true, reliable, and full of integrity. This promise was still in full effect, obviously, since she’d uprooted her whole life to come to Nolcovia for me. That was the type of character I was looking for in a wife and a future queen. I started folding the paper to tuck it away, unable to hold back my smile. Once more, even without trying, Coco had guided me toward my answer.
It didn’t matter that the numbers had dwindled below our plans because of the upset. It wasn’t a problem that too many had been sent home. I could send home five more at the next ceremony, provided they weren’t right, and it would only bring me closer to the end goal. Integrity, dedication, and a heart that was open, with those as my measure, I would find the right woman and I wouldn’t be able to help myself from falling in love with her. All was not lost.
I tucked the envelopes back to their hiding place and slid the drawer closed. The peace I felt left me sleepy, as though my worries were the only issues that had kept me awake. I left the blanket, shivered once at the sensation of chilled air against my bare torso, and started toward my bed again. Sensing movement behind me, I glanced toward the windows. Like the stealthiest intruder, large flakes of powdery white snow fell to the ground. The heavy snowfall would likely coat the entire kingdom by morning, especially at the rate it was falling. We were supposed to play baseball in the early hours, a nod toward my love of the American sport. But as the rate of snowfall increased, another idea occurred to me. One that would show me exactly who wanted to win my heart the most.
Micheala
Istood in the midst of the entire court of nobles, all of them dressed to perfection in ball gowns that would make Cinderella look like she was back in the ashes again. Stage lights burned from above, and an audience of pageant spectators watched with eager eyes as I crossed the stage.
“Places, ladies.” The command came from the speakers, but I took my spot, chin high, shoulders squared, dress… I looked down and saw only my heels attached to bare legs.
“Oh my gosh!” Chantal’s voice turned its wrath on me. “Michaela is naked!”
I froze in front of the audience, mortified that I didn’t have a stitch to wear, other than the sash that read: Miss Imposter. And that didn’t cover much. My feet reversed, set in survival mode. Laughter resonated around me. Panic clouded my thinking. The world started to spin and blur into a sea of color.
“Announcing his Royal Highness, Prince Fitzborough III.”
My heart took a jump off the high dive. I wanted to sink into a dark hole and hide. No way could Fitz see me like this. It would ruin everything!
A warm hand caught my shoulder. “Milady?”
I was too late. Fitz had found me.
The voice echoed through my dream. “Milady?”
