Dear Evangeline Anne Harwell,
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted into the Political Science program at the University of Eldonia…
I feel my mother’s eyes on me like a brand and look up to meet her simmering gaze.
“I’m scheduled to graduate high school this spring, a year early,” I inform her. “I know I’m only sixteen, but the next logical step is to continue my education in the fall.”
“I thought we discussed online classes.” Mother snatches the letter back from me and crosses her arms. “So as to not interfere with your duties as queen.”
“No, you discussed online classes,” I say. “The university is only ten minutes away. Do you not think it would be good for the people to see their queen out in the community? Not just huddled up in some castle on the hill?”
Mother raises a thin eyebrow and slowly walks over to a long hallway table overflowing with roses and lilies. “If that’s what you want, darling. I’m not sure I would want to rearrange important parliament meetings or miss nationwide summit events or have to delegate your duties, simply to attend some silly little classes with the commoners. Especially when you have the best tutors in the country at your disposal.” She places the letter down on the table. “But c’est la vie. You’re the queen.”
She looks to the letter, then to me.
A challenge.
“Being the Queen of Eldonia was your dream, Evangeline. Not mine,” Mother continues. “What you have to decide, darling, is how badly do you want it? And what are you willing to do to keep it?”
How is it even a question when she puts it like that? That swirling knot of anxiety twists inside my stomach. What’s best for Eldonia…
“I’ll arrange a meeting with the tutors,” I say, keeping my voice cold and unwavering. “I’ll do what’s best for Eldonia.”
Back in my room, I see my sketchbook open on my bed. Like always, my mother has drained all the creativity from me.
I grab my rose gold iPhone and slump down to my bed. I check my email. No reply from Tiberius. I really wish I could talk to him about this.
But I know better than to expect a reply right away. I’m sure he has more important things to do than check his email five times a day like I’m prone to. But between all my royal responsibilities, homework, and dealing with Mother, those emails have kept a light on inside of me.
Still, I really do need to talk to someone right now. I open FaceTime and click Madison’s name. It should be evening in Chicago.
She picks up on the third ring. “Hey!” Slowly, her pixelated face focuses. There’s a lot of chatter and commotion going on behind her. I see the surroundings of a house I don’t recognize.
“Hi Madison,” I say. “What’s going on?”
“We’re all at Hayden’s house,” she says, and holds her phone above her head so I can see the grainy images of Daniel and Alice behind her. Madison pulls the camera back to her face. “We’re celebrating a big win! We creamed the Cedar Rapid Cougars six to zero!”
“Congratulations!” I smile. But something twinges inside me. In the background, I can hear happy chatter and music. There are plates of food on a table behind her.
A night of celebration.
A night to be with those who love you.
“Hey, Mads,” a voice says, and a blurry shape walks behind her. “Who you talking to?”
“Oh,” Madison trills, “just Queen Evangeline.”
All of a sudden, the person behind her falls to the floor.
“Evans!” I hear Hayden yell, and see his tall, broad shape appear. “Evans, bud, you okay? I told Kevin not to wax the floors!”
“What was that—?”
Madison turns back to me and shakes her head a little. “Daniel’s weird friends, amirite?”
I see my brother in the distance. He steps over the chaos on the ground then wraps an arm around Madison. “Hey, Eva, what’s up?”
I don’t want to bring down their celebration by complaining. I wanted to be queen more than anything, and I knew it would come with a lot of hardship. But maybe I do have some good news to share. “Well,” I say, “I was just thinking about Christmas, and guess what!”
“What?” Daniel smirks.
“Prince Tiberius will be joining the Eldonian festivities!” I explain. “His family already had plans to spend Christmas in Paris this year, but Prince Tiberius said he’d much rather visit Eldonia!”
Madison jumps up and down in her chair. “Oh my God, really? You’ve been talking about this prince non-stop! It’ll be so romantic for you two! Christmas in Eldonia! I can’t wait to meet him. A real prince.”
“Uh,” Daniel says, “I’m a real prince.”
“Do you live in a castle?” Madison turns around. “Hey, Evans, did you get to meet the Prince of Perienza?”
“I think Evans must have really hit his head,” Hayden says. “He’s, like, hyperventilating.”
“Well, you’ll be disappointed in Prince Tiberius.” Daniel slumps down, his face falling into Madison’s neck. “He’s nothing but a flamboyant weirdo.” He looks up to the sky and curses. “This is going to be the worst Christmas ever. First, I have to spend Christmas in Eldonia, and now I have to deal with Prince Tiberius as well?”
I twirl a strand of hair. I won’t tell him that if I get my way, he won’t have to entertain Tiberius much at all. “Oh, stop whining, Dan-Dan. You’re the one who didn’t want to go on that Christmas cruise with your mom and…what was his name again?”
“COACH ZABINSKI!” Hayden calls from the back. “And we’ll never let him forget it.”
Daniel practically collapses over Madison and lets out a loud moan of displeasure. “I guess Christmas in Eldonia is better than spending the holidays with Coach Z on a cruise. I bet he’d make me do wind sprints on the deck.”
“Hey,” I say, trying to cheer him up, “look on the bright side. Madison will be here, too!”
Daniel looks up. “Yeah, well what am I supposed to do when you two are off doing girl things?”
“We have our own jet, Daniel. If you’re so worked up about it, just bring a friend of your own.” Honestly, does this boy have to have every single one of his problems solved by the women in his life?
“Brilliant.” Daniel straightens, a spark in his brown eyes. “I need my boys! Tremblay, Evans, Bell!”
“Hey,” Alice says, putting her hands on her hips. “Watch it.”
“Oh, come on,” Daniel says, turning around. “We all know you could kick Evans’s ass in a fight.”
Alice seems to consider this for a moment then nods. “Okay, fair.”
Hayden gets up from the ground and slings an arm around Alice. “Sorry, bud. We love Eldonia, but Alice is bringing her whole family up to Winnipeg to spend this Christmas with me.”
Alice shakes her head. “Just be prepared for a very cranky Xander. He doesn’t handle the Chicago cold very well, so he’s probably gonna die in that frozen wasteland you call home.”
“Canada is not a frozen wasteland,” Hayden says.
“If it wasn’t for the poutine, I would not be going.” She crosses her arms and rolls her eyes. “And because I love you.”
Hayden grins and grabs her from behind, kissing her neck. “What was that? Say that again, Al.”
Daniel turns away from them. “Well, I just vomited in my mouth.” He drops very dramatically to his knees and out of sight on my screen. “All right, Evans, it’s all up to you. What do you say, huh? Come on! You gotta come with me!”
I only hear the tiniest squeaking sound in response. I laugh and turn my attention back to Madison. “Well, are you excited to spend Christmas in Eldonia?”
Madison turns away from the commotion on the floor and looks back at me. “Evangeline, I think this just might be the most interesting Christmas I’ve ever had.”
…
Tyler
I walk outside, away from the laughter of my friends. The warm light pours onto the dark por
ch and illuminates slow flakes of snow drifting down. I collapse over the railing, my breath forming a cloud in front of me.
What have I done?
I’ve asked myself this pretty much every day since Eva first met “Prince Tiberius” in the airport. It’s like a ringing chorus in my head: Whathaveidonewhathaveidonewhathaveidone?
It’s never sounded as loud as it does right now. The real Prince Tiberius is going to turn up for Christmas in Eldonia, and Eva’s going to realize she’s been talking to some half-wit nobody.
“You look like you could use a hot chocolate.”
I turn around and see Madison walking out, her bright pink jacket a beacon in the night. She holds two steaming mugs and sets one down on the railing beside me.
“Are you okay? I feel like something is up with you.” I can feel her gaze drilling into the side of my head. I ignore her and the hot chocolate, my gaze far away.
“Why do you say that?” My voice is about ten octaves too high.
“You got all crazy the moment Eva started talking about Prince Tiberius,” she says. “I mean, I could tell you had a crush on her, but you seemed really distraught.”
I tilt my head back and let the falling snow melt on my face. I can’t believe what I’m about to do. Maybe it’s because Madison is like a bloodhound when it comes to secrets. Maybe it’s because this whole thing has been building up inside of me with nowhere to go. Or maybe it’s just because I’m so tired of lying to everyone. Whatever the reason, I spill my guts. “It’s me. I’m him. I’m Prince Tiberius…or at least, I’m pretending to be.”
Madison doesn’t say anything. I know this is big, because Madison always has something to say. I turn to her and she just blinks at me.
“I didn’t mean to become a fake prince!” I try to explain. “It’s just…Daniel asked me to pick this Prince Tiberius guy up from the airport, but I lost him. Then Eva was there and thought I was him. And…and she was being so nice, and she seemed to really like me…” I sigh. “I just didn’t want to ruin it. So, I pretended to be him. Only she was leaving so soon, and no matter how hard I tried, I just couldn’t work up the courage to tell her the truth.”
Madison starts pacing and breathing in and out of her nose quickly—a technique I know she learned from her and Daniel’s couples’ yoga class. “Oh, Evans,” she says, “oh Tyler, Tyler, Tyler, this is big. This is bigger than big.”
“I know, I know!” I say. “So, what do I do? The real Prince Tiberius is going to show up for Christmas, and Eva’s going to realize I lied to her. She’ll never talk to me again.”
Madison stops pacing and looks over at me. “Believe it or not, I’ve learned my lesson about pretending to be someone else.” She reaches out and touches my arm. “Trust me, Tyler. It really is best to be yourself.”
“Yeah, maybe if your true self is a pretty girl,” I grumble. “Everything worked out for you and Alice.”
“Not without a lot of drama.” Madison flicks her shiny black hair behind her shoulder. “Besides, I know the truth, and you can’t expect me to keep this from Daniel! My boyfriend may be handsome and sweet and a great cook, but he’s not exactly the sharpest blade on the ice. He won’t figure it out on his own. So, you’ve got to fess up and tell both Eva and Daniel that you’ve been pretending to be Prince Tiberius this whole time.” She gives me a sympathetic look. “I’ve been in your shoes, Tyler. It sucks. So just be honest.”
I turn away. “I know I’m a terrible person. I just couldn’t lose her. I couldn’t tell her who I was. She looked at me…looked at me like I was finally worth something. I couldn’t go back to being a nobody.”
“Tyler,” Madison says, “you’re not a nobody.”
I scoff. Madison doesn’t understand—she’s always living in her own little world which consists only of Daniel, Alice, and whatever TV show she’s currently binge watching.
“You just need a little confidence,” she says.
“I was confident,” I say. “When I was Tiberius.” I give a big sigh. “We’ve been sending emails all month since she went back to Eldonia—”
Madison snatches my arm, sloshing her hot chocolate on me. “Oh my God, of course!”
“Of course, what?”
“The emails!” Madison’s looking at me as if she expects me to understand something. Only I don’t. “Every time I talk to Eva, all she does is gush about what a great time she had with Prince Tiberius and then she reads out the sweet emails he sends her. Let me see your phone! I’m going to prove to you that you and Eva are meant to be together. It’s in one of the emails she sent you.”
Reluctantly, I hand her my phone. “What does any of it matter? It’s not as if I have a drop of royal blood in my body.” I watch the steam rise up from my untouched mug of hot chocolate and drift into the air. I imagine the steam shifting into Eva’s long, curling hair, her flowing dresses and long legs. The ghost of a girl disappearing into the dark.
“It means everything,” Madison breathes, her eyes glued to my phone as she scrolls. “She really cares for you.”
“She cares for Tiberius,” I say. Tiberius, who’s going to open an art gallery. Tiberius who will kiss a girl without hesitating. Tiberius who can talk about his dreams.
Tiberius who doesn’t struggle just to write a single sentence.
“But this isn’t Tiberius,” Madison says. “This is you, Tyler! All you! Just because you gave yourself a new name and a fancy title, it doesn’t change anything.”
“Yes, it does.” I try to snatch my phone back, but Madison darts out of my reach. “I tried to tell her the truth as Tyler, and she wouldn’t even give me the time of day.”
“Maybe it’s you who won’t give yourself the time of day.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Madison looks up at the sky. “I had a quick scroll through your inbox. There were a couple admissions FAQ emails from the local colleges. Last time I asked you about your plans, you said you weren’t interested in college. You were just going to stay at your dad’s shop.”
My heart jumps into overdrive, and I snatch up the mug of hot chocolate just to have something to do with my hands. So what? So I signed up for a couple community college emails? I just thought…maybe if I could read Eva’s emails, I could read the admission requirements, too. “It doesn’t mean anything,” I say. “Other than you’re a nosy meddler.”
Madison fixes me with a focused stare. “Tyler, I know I shouldn’t get involved in other people’s lives, but how can I stay out of this when you’re so full of potential? And you and Eva are obviously meant to be?”
I turn to her. “Why do I get the feeling I’m not going to like where this is going?”
She clasps her hands together and smiles serenely. “How can I resist? Princess Eva is obviously a wonderful influence on you! And you’re obviously good for her. She’s never this vulnerable with anyone. Like this…” She scrolls on my phone for a moment, then reads: “I’m so sick of everyone telling me what dreams I can and can’t have! Mother tells me that Eva doesn’t exist anymore…I’m just Queen Evangeline. So, what do I do with everything that makes up me? Every spontaneous thought seems as impossible as flying.”
I grab my phone out of her hands. “Enough.”
“Tyler, don’t you see?” Madison grabs my arm. “Daniel once told me that Eva always has to wear a mask to protect herself. With you, there’s no mask.”
“So what?” I say, a bite to my words. “You think I should take Daniel up on his offer? Go to Eldonia, waltz into the palace, and say, ‘Hey, Eva, your Prince Charming is here? Oh, except I’m a broke nobody from Chicago. So, what’s for dinner?’”
Madison worries her lip. “When you put it that way…”
“There’s no manipulating our way out of this one, Mads.” I let out a breath. “I’ll never get to be with her.”
Madison taps her foot noisily on the porch. “You’re right, Tyler. Queen Eva doesn’t give anyone the time of day. And we can’t get
Daniel involved. He’s way too weird and protective when it comes to his little sister. This will have to be a secret between just you and me.” She jumps, sloshing her hot chocolate all over the porch. “I’ve got it!”
“What, a magic lamp with a genie who can turn me into a prince?”
“Silly Tyler.” She pats my head. “I’m your genie. And I’ve got a plan.”
Chapter Eight
Tyler
Wow. The stories about Santa’s workshop being in the North Pole? Lies, all lies. Because I swear to God, I’m driving through Kris Kringle’s village right now.
Eldonia is a literal winter wonderland. The cobblestone road is freshly plowed, but the fields are covered with mounds of beautiful, white snow. All the shops are decorated with holly and wreaths and twinkling white lights, and there’s a giant tree in the square decked out in crystal ornaments.
Even the limo we’re in feels Christmasy. Madison made the driver blast holiday tunes, and she’s been singing along the entire way from the airport. I pull my beanie further over my ears, hoping it will help dull the noise.
It’s been a month since the night Daniel invited me to Eldonia and Madison and I concocted our plan. Really, it’s more her plan, but somehow, I’m going along with it.
“If Eva won’t see you for Tyler,” Madison had said that night on the porch, “then you’ll just have to be Tiberius.”
“That’s what I’ve been doing!” I had whined.
“So keep it up. Come with us to Eldonia. Show Eva the best week of her life. And then at the end of the trip, do the grand reveal!” Madison had laughed like an evil genius. “She’ll see Tyler is just as good as Tiberius, and you’ll fall madly in love and be together forever!”
Madison’s hare-brained plans aren’t exactly foolproof, but there is only one part of this plan I care about…spending another week with Eva.
Nothing else matters.
I suck in a deep breath as the castle appears in the distance. Well, one other thing does matter.
Just Pretending Page 9