by Leah Rooper
I exhale.
I did it.
…
Madison
Daniel.
One second, he was stumbling through his speech. The next, he was someone else, someone with charm, charisma, grace, and honesty. He was Prince Daniel, exactly what we made him to be.
Tears spring to my eyes. He did it. He said he’d accept the throne…my job is done.
And now I’ve lost him for good.
Daniel walks away from the microphone. I have to tell him how incredible—and handsome—he looked up there. But suddenly, I’m swept away in a flurry of nobility.
“Prince Daniel, might I have a word about the tax reduction—?”
“Prince, what’s your opinion on Eldonia’s contribution to growth in the environmental—?”
“Ah, it’s the heir! You must hear about Princess Evangeline’s contributions to raising the national literacy rate—”
The smile on Daniel’s face falls clean off. A particularly burly man charges past me, knocking me clear off my feet. I fall back, but two arms grab me around the waist.
“Princess!” I gasp as Eva hoists me up. “Thanks. Wow, for once, you’re not the center of attention.”
She smirks. “A welcome surprise, I suppose.”
“It looks like Daniel could use your help, though.” He’s currently stuttering some bizarre opinions on weather patterns affecting tomato growth.
Eva wrinkles her nose. “Yes, I suppose I really should get in there.”
“Why couldn’t you have just been born a boy? That would solve everything.”
She grunts in a very unprincess-like manner. “Tell me about it. If I was king, the things I could do to grow Eldonia’s economy…”
An elderly gentleman is looking quite riled up about something, and Daniel’s face blanches.
“Please excuse me. That is the prime minister,” Eva says, and hurries over to his side. Within a moment, the prime minister has calmed and she has him laughing his head off. Damn, she’s good at this.
I spend the rest of the party giving the prince and princess of Eldonia some space. I suppose I could worm my way up there and stand beside Daniel, playing the part of the dutiful girlfriend. But as I look at him, smiling to all the nobility, I know my role is over. He doesn’t need me anymore.
I end up mingling with the Falcons, particularly Alice, whenever she gets a moment away from Hayden. Seriously, that boy hasn’t taken his eyes off her all night. Eva glides over, an icon in her slim dress. “Have you seen Dan-Dan?” she asks. “The duchess wants to talk to him about pay equality in Eldonia before she departs.”
“Before she departs?” I say slowly, and look around. Through the giant windows, I can see the sun falling below the fields. I feel like I’ve lost the last couple hours in a haze of my own mind. What’s wrong with me? I should be happy Daniel nailed his speech, shouldn’t I?
“Are you looking for Danny?” I turn to see Daniel’s mom, looking fabulous with her hair swept up and wearing a long black dress. She’s holding onto Coach Zabinski’s arm. Wow. Coach Zabinski shoots and scores.
“I saw him head out with some of the Falcons,” Coach says. “I think they were going to the courtyard to get some air.”
“Come on,” Eva says, grabbing my arm. “Let’s go find him.”
I nod, but turn back to Daniel’s mom as we leave. “Maria, you look amazing.”
She offers me a soft smile, and I feel a little better. Daniel’s mother doesn’t blame me for making Daniel throne-worthy. So why do I blame myself?
Eva and I slip from the ballroom and bolt down the hallway before she’s stopped by anyone else. Strands of hair slip from her tight bun, and I have to hoist my dress up to my knees to keep up with her.
I smile. If my life were a TV show, this would be a great shot for the title sequence.
The great mahogany door lies before us. Eldredge leans on one of the polished tables by the entranceway, almost looking like he’s about to nod off. As soon as he sees us—or rather, Eva—approach, he leaps up. “Princess!” Then he opens the palace doors wide.
Twilight in Eldonia may be the most beautiful time of day. The sky dusts the grounds with lavender. It’s almost like walking in a dream.
And making it even dreamier is the sight that greets us—there’s a group of hunky dudes in tuxes playing pick-up hockey in the courtyard.
“Really?” Eva groans. “This is where he is? What if the duchess sees this?”
I sling an arm through Eva’s. “Then you’d have to offer her a stick.”
A pile of suit jackets is tossed off to the side, and the boys all have their shirt sleeves rolled up, and their ties slung around their necks. Even Alice is here, her beautiful dress hiked up to her knees. Oh God, she’s going to completely destroy her hair, I just know it.
But I can’t spend too much time worrying about that. My eyes fall on Daniel Sacachelli, stickhandling like the total show-off he is, lacing the ball through one leg, then the other, and darting around Alice, who is completely hampered by her giant dress.
His hair falls free around his face, and he doesn’t even care. He’s got a smile so big, it could break his face in half.
“He…he really loves this, doesn’t he?” Eva says softly.
“Yeah,” I say. “Hockey is a part of what makes Daniel… Daniel.”
“Not just hockey,” she says, her voice quiet. “But his friends. His…life in Chicago.”
I look at Eva, and swear her eyes are watering. “He loves his family most of all.”
A moment passes and the lavender light shifts to indigo. “I was afraid you were going to say that,” Eva says finally. “Wait here.”
She walks back into the castle. I keep my eyes on the game, on Daniel’s face.
This is his stage. He is the star.
“Here.” Eva is back. She grabs my hand and slips a piece of paper into my fingertips. “It’s done. I just called Paula Elliot, the casting director of ‘100 Years Fallen’. She’s expecting you at the audition in September. All the information is written down on this slip of paper.” She smiles but it doesn’t reach her eyes. “You’ve earned it.”
“Eva—” I try to say, but I can’t find the words. I suddenly feel like I’ve gone off script. “I don’t—”
“You’ve helped me more than you know,” she says. She reaches down and pulls off her high heels. Her smile is so sad. She turns away from me. “Hey, Dan-Dan! Put me in the game!”
I stand there, watching as the Princess of Eldonia runs to her big brother. He embraces her with a twirl.
Somehow, I cannot find joy in my success. The paper burns hot in my hand, and I know it will keep burning me until I tell Daniel about it.
Daniel will be the King of Eldonia, and he’ll be gone from my life without ever knowing the depth of my heart.
Xander’s words come back to me: What have you got to lose?
With a sad laugh, I realize I’ve already lost the one thing that matters most to me.
So why shouldn’t I, for once in my life, speak my mind?
I look at Daniel, his face a beacon of joy, and for once, I feel brave.
But for now, for this moment…
I snatch off my high heels and run down the stairs after Eva. “I can be goalie!”
…
Daniel
After my hockey game, I feel reborn.
I’m sure the Queen Dowager would kill us if she saw us playing street hockey in these fancy suits. And she’d probably have a mass beheading, once she saw Eva getting in on the action.
But I don’t care. I needed this. Evans had asked me if I wanted to get some air, and when we’d walked out to the courtyard, the entire team was waiting for us. The sticks, a ball, and even the nets used during the community bash were all set up.
But I’d just stared at the little “rink” we’d made. I wanted to play, but I felt guilty. I should go back in, mingle more, form opinions on Eldonia’s labor laws.
Tremblay stood beside me, watching everyone. He didn’t have to say it, but I knew what he’d say. You don’t play. I don’t play.
“I did exactly what they wanted me to,” I had said to him. “And I hated it. Every moment of it.”
“Y’know,” Tremblay said, “one bad period doesn’t equal a bad game.”
“Turning into your big brother?”
Tremblay stuck a stick in my hand. “What you gonna do about it?”
And I had played with my team.
Maybe Tremblay’s right. It might be bad now, but it could get better. I could get better.
And I have to do it for my team. For Eva.
“That was quite a game, Dan-Dan,” Eva comes up to me and says after the game. Her cheeks are rosy and her hair has actually fallen loose for once.
I can’t believe she just played hockey with me.
“You weren’t terrible,” I laugh. “Once I start the National Eldonian Hockey League, you’ll have lots of time to practice.”
Eva gives a snort. “I’ll pass, thanks.”
“Tomorrow’s the big day,” I say. The words feel heavy. “My coronation.”
Eva stops at the top of the stairs overlooking the courtyard and Eldonia beyond. The town twinkles with yellow lights, and the long fields look like a deep blue ocean.
“Why are you doing this, Daniel?” she asks. “Is it really because you want to be a king or because you love Eldonia?”
I step closer to my sister. “Neither,” I say, never surer of anything in my life. “It’s because I love you.”
Eva looks down, and if I didn’t know better, I’d say it was because she was crying. But Eva doesn’t get sentimental about this sort of stuff. She wraps her arms around my waist. “I love you more.”
Chapter Sixteen
Daniel
“And that’s a wrap!” Madison says.
I throw an arm around her and Eva as we watch the last of the partygoers finally leave. It may be the wee hours of the morning, but my body is still full of energy.
“I call that a success,” Eva says, looking me up and down.
I can’t decide what my favorite part of the night was—the impromptu hockey game, hanging with Eva, or the sour look on Lyle’s face after I nailed my speech. I catch a shimmer of Madison’s dress out of the corner of my eye. Or maybe it was dancing with her, that last moment I was just Daniel.
“You did great.” Madison grins up at me.
Eva ducks out from under my arm and gives me a smile that doesn’t quite reach her eyes. “Well, I think I’m going to sleep until noon,” she says. “Too-da-loo.” She blows me a kiss and disappears out the doors.
And then it’s just me and Madison left in the empty ballroom.
“I thought Alice and Hayden would at least say goodnight before they went to sleep,” Madison says.
“Who says they’re sleeping?” I nudge her in the arm.
“Hey!” She laughs, but then her face softens. “You managed to pull it off, Sacs-style.”
I tilt my head back and look around the ballroom. I’m not ready to go to bed yet. Or maybe, I’m just not ready to say goodnight to her.
“Wanna go for a walk?”
She looks to the window. It’s so late, the sky is already starting to lighten ever so slightly. “Didn’t you make plans to meet the Falcons for a skate at the rink first thing in the morning?”
“It’ll be worth being tired,” I say and grab her hand, “if I get to spend more time with you.” I pull her through the castle and courtyard, to the gardens in the back. I know just the place to take her. The summer night is warm, and I shed my jacket on the ground. Madison drops her shawl. The bright moon shines on her bare shoulders and black hair.
Her hand is in mine as we open the gate to the garden—a labyrinth of blooming rose bushes, manicured hedges, and sparkling fountains.
“This place is beautiful,” Madison says.
“Yeah, this is what Eva and I used to call our Magic Garden.” I lead her around a giant statue of an angel. “We’d hide among the rose bushes to avoid Eldredge and our responsibilities. If you go deep enough, there’s an area with really high hedges and bamboo. You can’t even see the castle.” My throat tightens. “So when we were in here, we weren’t the Prince and Princess of Eldonia. We were just two kids, playing in the sun.”
“That sounds lovely.”
Ahead, there’s a tunnel made of crawling ivy on rusted steel. It’s adorned with millions of sparkling fairy lights.
Madison gasps and I tug her through. “I feel like I’m entering a fantasy world.”
I’m not sure why I’m taking her here. I guess I’m hoping some of the magic that used to be here when I was a kid will rub off on us. Maybe we can be just Daniel and Madison for one more night.
Madison tilts her head back, gazing at all the lights sprinkled through the flower beds and wrapped around the trees. It looks like the sky has rained stars.
There’s a starlit brick path lacing its way through the flowers. “This way. I want to show you something.”
We walk silently down the path, the breeze brushing the hair from my warm face. My hand traces along a stone wall, lazily drifting through the vines.
“We’re almost there,” I breathe. We round a corner, but Madison utters a sharp gasp and pulls me back.
“There’s someone there—” she whispers.
Someone else here? I peer around the stone wall. Sure enough, there are two people in the perfect romantic spot I wanted to show Madison.
There’s the tall fountain spouting silver water into a large circular pool, surrounded by a wide stone lip. Tall rose bushes, twinkling with fairy lights, enclose it. But there’s already two people there—a girl walking along the edge of the fountain, with her hand in the guy’s, who helps her keep balance.
“Jesus,” I whisper. “It’s Tremblay and Bell.”
“Oh my God! Let me see!” Madison’s eyes go wide as she pushes past me, poking her head around the corner. I lean over her head to keep looking.
“She’s so beautiful.” Madison clutches my arm with vigor. “Sparkling, like she’s one of those beautiful moonbeams dancing across the water.”
I can see what Madison’s talking about. Alice looks beautiful.
And I can say with 100 percent assurance that that’s the first time I’ve ever said that about one of my teammates. Her hair looks cute, pulled back with a glittering headband. But I think it’s her smile that pulls it all together.
I back up against the wall. “We probably shouldn’t be watching them.”
“Are you kidding me? This is, like, the fruits of my labor. Of course, I’m going to watch.”
“I thought making Bell a dude and getting her to play for the Falcons was what you were after.”
Madison pffs and looks up at me. “Please. Making Alice a boy? Easy. Breaking down her barriers and helping her realize her true feelings for Captain Tremblay? Much harder.”
I lean over Madison, put my hand on her shoulder, and look at our teammates.
“So, you’re telling me,” Tremblay says, his hand still intertwined in Alice’s as they walk around the fountain, “that if one of those royal fellas at the ball had asked for your hand in marriage…you’d say no?”
“You’re just trying to get me to say something that’ll make you mad,” Bell laughs.
“It’s purely hypothetical. No wrong answers. I’m just curious.”
“I’d say no. Leave Chicago? The Falcons? Give up hockey? Are you kidding?”
Tremblay stops walking and turns to look at Bell. “So, there isn’t even a tiny part of you that wants to be a princess?”
I half-expect Al to slug him in the arm after a line like that, but she just stands there, looking intently at him. “My answer stands.”
Tremblay rocks back and forth on his feet, hands in his pockets. “Okay, say I was the prince and I asked you to…”
“To be your princess?” she laughs.
“Y
-yeah.” He drags a hand through his hair. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen my captain so unsure…so vulnerable.
“No hockey?” she says.
“Not for the Falcons.”
“Hmmm.” Bell bites her lip and looks away, as if considering. Then she reaches forward, her hands resting on his shoulders. “I think I know.”
He steps closer, his hands drifting to her waist.
“You,” Bell says. “You’re my number one pick, Tremblay. I’d pick you first every time.”
Her head dips down to his, kissing him as he pulls her against his chest, lifting her off the fountain.
“Oh. My. God.” Madison gasps. She grips my sleeve with the same fervor she has during romantic movies.
Tremblay sets Bell down on the ground, forehead to forehead. He speaks softly to her and I can only make out the very last part: “I love you.”
The words make my heart twist inside me. Love.
It’s like I can see it settling in the air around them.
I should give them their privacy. Hayden’s my best friend. Al’s my teammate. But it’s just…I’ve seen love portrayed on TV and in movies. But to see it right in front of me…it’s humbling.
“Let’s let the real love birds be,” Madison sighs. She grabs my hand and pulls me back along the path.
Her words hit me like a puck to the face. Real. Love. Two things that don’t go hand in hand with us. We’re fake. Staged. That’s what this is to her.
We walk back the way we came through the gardens. Madison keeps talking—about the party, our plan for tomorrow. But I can barely hear her. Those two words—real love—still ring in my ears. They pulse through me, and I can’t help but feel that with all the magic in the air around Hayden and Al…well, maybe we got too close.
Maybe some of it has gotten on me.
And all the doubt that has held me back suddenly vanishes. All the questions I was too afraid to ask suddenly have answers that blink before me like thousands of stars.
Tell her.
Just as we’re passing through the tunnel, I stop walking.
Madison glances over her shoulder. “Dan—”
“You’re wrong,” I say.
She can’t argue with me because my hands are on her face, my mouth is over hers. She stumbles back, pressing against the ivy-woven tunnel. I kiss her and she doesn’t pull away. Her arms wrap around my neck and I lift her up. She’s heavier than I expect with that giant dress, and I lose my footing. We stumble out of the tunnel and onto the grass. She’s on top of me, and I’m drowning in her ruffled dress and her dark smoky eyes.