by Leah Rooper
“Glad someone’s memory is going strong. Y’know—”
“Madison,” I interrupt, because if I don’t get this out now, I might never have the courage to. “I’ve thought about what you said. And I think…I’m going to go to Eldonia. At least for a bit. Not to take the throne. Just…just to see how it goes. And… and I’d like your help, if you’re still willing.”
She’s silent for a beat then says, “I thought you might say that.”
“Are you a mind reader now?”
“You mentioned something about it last night.”
I’m not sure what I could have said last night, considering I just thought of this now. But maybe my subconscious, or drunk-conscious, knows me better than I do.
“Did I also happen to say how sorry I was for last night at the pier? I owe you, like, fifteen ice creams.”
“You’re going to owe me ice cream for a lifetime if we pull this off, Daniel.” She laughs and the sound makes me think that everything is going to be okay—at least, for now.
There’s no way I could ever convince those posh Eldonian snobs of anything on my own. But I believe in Madison. And I think she believes in me.
There’s also this small part of me that thinks if I were a king, maybe then I would be good enough for her. “You really think you can pull this off?” I say.
“Look, I made the Falcons believe Alice Bell was a boy for months.”
“Yeah, but this isn’t fooling a bunch of high school goons,” I say. “This is making me into royal material.”
“You’re right. This is a much bigger challenge. But I’m up for it.”
“I’m in your hands, Myong,” I say. Maybe if Madison can see that person in me, eventually I’ll see that person too.
Chapter Six
Madison
“The white one or the blue one?” I hold up both blouses to the Bell twins, who are sitting shoulder to shoulder on my bed. “Which one says, ‘girlfriend of a prince’ more?”
Alice yawns and Xander rolls his eyes. I need new friends.
“Come on, guys!” I implore. “Daniel and I leave for Eldonia in four days. I have to have my wardrobe immaculate by then. This is my biggest role yet. And everything needs to be perfect.”
“I dunno,” Alice says, “why not both?”
I throw them both down to my bed, and my whole body starts to shake. “But…but…but then I won’t have room for the red dress.”
“And that’s a problem because…?”
I heave in air, panic rising in me. “Because the red dress is my only long-sleeved dress. What if it’s an overcast day and not warm enough for short sleeves? Huh? What then? I can’t wear a short-sleeved dress on an overcast day. I will look like a total idiot!” I can feel my voice rising into screechy territory.
Slowly, Alice stands up and takes both blouses from me. “Somehow, I feel like this is not about the dress.”
I stare down at my overflowing suitcase and take a few steadying breaths. “If I mess this up…if I’m not convincing enough, or if I can’t prove to Daniel that he can do this, then I’m not just letting myself down. It’s an entire kingdom.”
“Madison—” Xander leans forward. “You’ve never failed at anything in your life.”
“But this is for Daniel,” I whisper. “I’m doing this for Daniel. He really needs me. And what I say, what I wear, how I carry myself…it all has to be perfect.”
“Classic Madison.” Xander yawns. “Don’t you put enough pressure on yourself trying to please your parents?”
My stomach twists into a knot. The only way I can please my parents is by lying. It’s actually shameful how easy it is. Like getting Appa and Eomma to sign off on my trip to Eldonia. Of course, they would never let me go if I told them the real reason. But hockey players train in Europe all the time, so it wasn’t too unbelievable that the Falcons would be going to a hockey camp in Eldonia. I even had Xander pose as Coach Zabinski on the phone for extra cred. They ate it right up.
Appa kept saying how good it will look on my med school resume. But the only way it will add to my resume is if I get that audition.
“Just relax,” Xander continues. “I’m sure this whole ‘fake girlfriend’ thing will make Daniel realize you’re really his one true love. He’ll rush in on a white horse, sweep you off your feet, and you’ll both ride off into the sunset toward your new castle.” He narrows his eyes. “The blue one, by the way. More regal.”
“I’m not doing this to win Daniel’s heart,” I say, folding the blue blouse. I mean, if he realizes being my boyfriend isn’t so bad, that would be a bonus, but I’m not delusional. “I’m doing this to build up Daniel’s reputation. Apparently, even in Eldonia, people think he’s a scoundrel. And he won’t take the throne unless he feels like he truly deserves it. So I have to do this. To save his sister from that evil duke guy, to keep the kingdom safe…and to show Daniel the king I can see inside him.”
“And so you can get an audition for ‘100 Years Fallen’,” Alice says, raising a brow.
“Oh my God, please let that happen,” Xander croons. “Liam Monty, the star, is super hot. You could set me up.”
“Oh…right.” A swarm of heat rises to my cheeks, as guilt and shame for accepting Eva’s deal fills me.
“Have you told Daniel about that, yet?” Alice asks.
“About the audition?” I shake my head. “No. He would be so mad.”
“I don’t know,” Alice says. “He knows how important acting is to you. I think he’d get it.”
“It’s not important—it’s just a sub-plot,” I say. “What is important is getting Daniel ready to take the throne. And if all goes well, the audition is a bonus. But if Daniel decides he doesn’t want to be a king, I’ll take it as a sign that I should give up acting forever.”
“Oh, that’s a great idea,” Xander says, voice flat. “Put all your hopes and dreams in the hands of someone else.”
I narrow my eyes at him. “This plan will work. For Daniel’s future—and mine, too—it has to.”
I throw three pairs of high heels into my suitcase. This…this is what I’m good at. Changing the scene. Playing a part. I’m helping Daniel, not myself.
“Daniel’s not in any pictures of the royal family,” Xander says. I can see him scrolling on his phone. “But he does have a mention on Eldonia’s Wikipedia page.” Xander clears his throat. “King Oscar Harwell bore an illegitimate child with an unknown woman from Long Island, New York.”
“Daniel’s the illegitimate child,” Alice says. “Our baby’s famous!”
I fling my bursting suitcase onto the ground. I still have a few days to fine tune it. Heaving a deep sigh, I crawl onto the bed and snuggle between Alice and Xander. At the same time, they lean their heads on my shoulders.
“You guys,” I say, “what am I doing?”
“Going to a strange country and meddling in the affairs of royalty?” Xander offers.
“Attempting to change the baddest boy on the Falcons?” Alice says.
“And change him enough that he’ll be capable of ruling an entire country?”
“While not telling him you’ll get a bomb-ass audition if he goes through with it?”
“And posing as the girlfriend of the guy you’ve secretly been in love with?”
“Okay, okay, enough!” I throw my head back and accidentally smack it against my headboard. I rub the sore spot. “I wish I could read the ending to this script.”
“Oh, Mads,” Alice says and wraps an arm around my shoulder. “You don’t have to worry about making everyone happy. Just play your game.”
I bite my lip. “Not my game. My show.” A rush of adrenaline flows through me. “I was born for this. Eldonia is my stage and I am the star.” I leap from the bed. “Uh, well, Daniel’s the star. But I’m his supporting actress.”
“Go make that dude a king!” Alice shouts.
I flick my eyes to the neon pink clock on my end table. “Oh, shoot. Alice, we’re supposed to me
et the boys at the rink in ten minutes.”
Daniel, Hayden, Alice and I have plans for one last meal at Ms. Sue’s before our big royal adventure.
“Ready, Princess Madison?” Alice says, bouncing on her toes at the doorway.
“Oooh,” I say, “I like the sound of that.”
…
Daniel
The puck swishes to the back of the net, taking along with it all my anxiety, dread, and frustration.
“He scores!” Evans comes up behind me, slapping me on the back.
Tremblay scoops the puck out from the back of the net. “So, do I have to bow every time you score a goal?” He laughs, as if he is the most hysterical person in Chicago. “Your Highness?”
“What did I say about the prince thing?” This is the first time the guys and I have had a chance to pass the puck around since the reveal of my royal status. So far, they’ve been pretty chill about it—but they still throw in a smart ass comment every now and then. I guess I can’t really blame them.
“What, gonna throw us in the dungeon, Sacs?” Evans smirks.
Tremblay slices the puck to me and I land it perfectly. I skate up along the side, keeping Evans in my peripheral vision. I don’t wanna pass to him after that comment, but we both know we have to work together if we want to score on our captain. Tremblay’s eyes are on me, and I dart to the left, passing to Evans, who one-shots it right in the net. GOAL! I skid to a stop. “If you keep making comments like that, I’ll have you both beheaded.”
Tremblay skates backward to Evans. “I think we’ve insulted His Majesty.”
A part of me feels like flipping my shit, but I can’t. Hell, if I found out either of them was a stupid secret prince, I’d never let them live that down. So instead of chewing them out, I just shrug my shoulders and admit the truth. “I’m really going to miss this.”
They glance at each other. “When do you leave?” Tremblay asks.
Damn, I think I might have hit some nerve. They’re on the defensive. Tremblay’s voice is low, and Evans can’t even meet my gaze.
I should never have said anything. It’s one thing to get emotional with Ma, but a whole different thing with my teammates.
“We fly out four days from now.”
“And when do you come back?” Evans asks. He seems dangerously close to putting his hand on my shoulder. I skate backwards.
“I don’t know,” I say, because that’s the truth. Usually I just spend a month there, but if I take the throne, I’m not sure what will happen. Do I start being a king right away? Will I be allowed to finish school in Chicago?
“Spending the summer lounging around a castle?” Tremblay says with a smile, obviously trying to cheer me up. I just wanted to come here and play hockey, not bring everyone down with me. “Ordering servants around, uhh, doing other princely things. Where do I sign up?”
I allow myself a few laughs. “Hang on, I think I left the sign-up sheet in my carriage—” I pause, a plan flickering in my mind “Would you guys actually want to come?”
“To Eldonia?” Tremblay gapes. “I mean, man, yeah. Of course. But I’m sure it’s really expensive to fly there…and I really hate begging my brother for anything.”
“It’s free!” Something in me starts burning. I already texted Eva after my talk with Ma, letting her know I would come to Eldonia. That I’d give it a try. But I let her know I was bringing Madison along. Eva had assured me there was plenty of room in the Harwell’s private jet. “This trip would be on me…well, the Eldonian Royal House. But I guess that is me.”
I can tell by Tremblay’s smile that he wasn’t kidding about coming with me. “This is awesome! I mean, I’ll have to talk to Kevin, but as long as I keep up with my drills…wait, is there a rink in Eldonia?”
“Yeah, there’s an arena,” I assure him. That place had always been pretty much my salvation during the summers I spent there.
I turn to Evans. “What about you, bud?”
Evans shifts on his skates and looks down, blond curls falling in his eyes. “I mean, I’d like to go but…but I’ve already got all my shifts scheduled for work. And who would look after Millie while my dad’s at work?”
Right. Tyler’s mom died when he was young, and his dad struggles to make ends meet. I know Tyler works three jobs to pay for all his hockey expenses, and I think he helps his dad out with the bills, too. Not to mention his kid sister, Millie.
At least there’s one good thing about becoming a king—I can help out my friends.
“Hey,” I smile, “you’re only allowed to stay here if you promise not to get soft. I need you to kick Tremblay’s ass when we get back. I plan to stuff him so full of Eldonian delicacies, he’ll waddle onto the ice.”
“And I’ll still beat you, Sacs.” Tremblay claps me on the shoulder. “A castle for the summer!”
“Hey!” A bubbly voice travels across the ice, and I turn to see Madison and Alice Bell standing in the benches.
“Madison?”
“If you get to bring a friend to Eldonia, then so do I.” She possessively snatches Bell’s arm. It actually looks quite comical, considering Bell is so much taller than her.
“You’re going to Eldonia?” Bell glares at Tremblay. “What, are you going to be Prince Sacachelli’s new butler?”
“We already have a butler,” I inform her. “His name is Eldredge. Besides, Hayden would be a terrible butler. He’d punch out the first person who asked him to fetch them a spot of tea.”
“You’re probably right.” Bell walks over to us, smoother on the ice in her sneakers than all three of us on our skates.
Damn, I hate her sometimes.
But she wraps her arms around Tremblay and rests her head against his chest. “What do you think, Sacs? Is there room for me on this glamourous jet Madison has just spent the last forty-five minutes gushing about? I’m sure Mom and Xander would be happy to get rid of me for the summer. They say I go a little stir crazy.”
“You’re always a little crazy,” Tremblay says.
Bell elbows him in the gut. “What was that, wise guy?”
“You’re. Crazy,” Tremblay says, leaning down with each word before kissing her.
I turn away, rolling my eyes. “What I think, Alice,” I say, “is that I’m going to need every Falcon’s help to pull this off.” Despite her and Tremblay’s disgusting PDA, I know it’s the truth.
“And what about me? Do I count as a Falcon?” Madison says, running over the ice. She’s not as practiced as Bell and loses her balance. Before I know it, I’m in front of her, hoisting her up, one hand on her arm, the other on her waist.
“Thanks, Daniel,” she says, backing up a little. I can’t help leaving my hand on her waist, just in case she falls again.
“You’re an honorary Falcon,” Evans says. “None of us would know what to do without you. In fact, I think we need to look into getting you a jersey.”
Madison beams at him. “Thanks, Tyler.”
I feel my gut twist. Classic Evans, always knowing exactly what to say and when to say it. That’s the kind of guy a girl like Madison would date.
“And now, I’m going to turn this King of the Ice into the King of Eldonia,” Madison says.
Tremblay laughs. “Good luck with that.”
“Hey! I turned Alice into a boy for almost a year.”
We all look to Bell—scruffy-haired and drowning in an oversized hoodie.
“Actually,” Madison laughs, “maybe that wasn’t so hard.”
Bell sends a friendly glare toward Madison, but then turns her attention back to Tremblay. “And she’s going to pretend to be Sac’s girlfriend. You know. For his image.”
I notice Tremblay and Bell exchange a look, but choose to ignore it. I’m pretty sure those two have their own secret language. I guess I should have expected Madison to spill the plan to Bell.
But now, I can feel everyone’s eyes on me and Madison, like we’re at center ice. Everyone knows Madison and I are just friends. But now
, it’s like they’re turning it into something it’s not. Something it could never be.
Something real.
But I know that in order to pull this off, I’m going to have to let go of every real thing about me. I’ll have to become someone else, someone new, someone…royal.
Chapter Seven
Madison
My heart feels like it’s tap-dancing in my chest, and my smile could break my face. I bounce up and down in the seat of the limousine, hanging my head out the window and feeling the fresh air whip through my hair.
We are in Eldonia!
The air smells sweet and tangy, like citrus and the sea. Everywhere I look, there’s rolling green hills and fields of crawling tomato plants. The sky is a soft blue, with white fluffy clouds lolling across the horizon. There’s not a skyscraper in sight, no concrete. Even the road is cobblestone.
“I LOVE it here,” I exclaim.
Across from me, Princess Evangeline smiles sympathetically, as if she’s glad at least one of us is happy.
Alice and Hayden stare out the window, pointing out interesting sights between their intense conversation on whether stand-up style goaltending is better than butterfly style.
And Daniel…Daniel sits beside me, brooding like a storm cloud. He’s breathing heavy, as if he’s just run a marathon. I can see sweat beading on his forehead—and it’s not even like it’s overly hot here yet. In fact, it’s like the perfect temperature, with that lovely citrus breeze drifting through the window. A few tendrils of hair have even fallen out of place on his head. But I can’t tell him that—it would just make him more distraught.
“Hey,” I say, and snatch his hand. “You’re okay.”
His eyes shoot to me and they’re darker than I’ve ever seen them before.
As much as I already love Eldonia, the only thing I want to do right now is tell Dwayne to turn the car around so we can get on the first flight back to Chicago. But Daniel asked for my help, and I’ll do my best to give it to him.
I give Daniel my most encouraging smile. “Let’s rock and roll, Sacachelli.”