“You know we do.” Princess Lavena motioned triumphantly to our side-by-side reflections in the mirror on her vanity. I stared, silently cursing our uncannily similar looks: same heart-shaped faces and high cheekbones, same dark hair nearly the exact same shade, same chocolate-brown eyes, same upturned nose…even our heights were only an inch apart. Fate had been cruel to me to have me look nearly identical to the princess, a fact that brought me nothing but trouble. But what Her Highness was proposing now was trouble of a far different sort.
I had to reason with her. “We’re not twins, Your Highness.”
She squinted at our reflections. “I admit we aren’t, but Liam doesn’t know me well enough to be able to tell us apart. That’s all that matters.”
Even though they’d been betrothed for seven years, I knew that to unfortunately be true. I took a deep breath in an attempt to calm my pounding heart and brace myself for what would likely be an arduous battle, one that I had to win at all costs.
“Your Highness, please consider what you’re proposing.” I fought to keep my voice calm so the stubborn princess wouldn’t become defensive; then I’d never win.
“I’m not asking you to undergo torture. Although this being Liam…” Princess Lavena shook her head. “I’m providing freedom for me and an opportunity for you. You don’t want to be a handmaiden your entire life, do you?”
I tried a different tactic. “If I marry Prince Liam, what will you do?”
She clasped her hands, starry-eyed. “Marry my minstrel, of course.”
I narrowed my eyes. “A common man?”
“The life of a minstrel sounds so romantic. How adventurous would it be to travel to different places and sing for your keep? I’m an excellent vocalist. We’d make quite the pair.”
“But you love your lavish lifestyle,” I reminded her. “Why would you throw it all away?”
“I’m currently a prisoner, Anwen. A gilded cage is still a cage.”
I knew the princess: she’d rather be trapped in opulence than free in poverty, but as usual, she refused to see any chink in her latest plan. But she would. Eventually she’d want her old life back, and when she did, I’d be the one in trouble.
“You do realize what will happen to me if our switch is discovered.” My heart squeezed at the thought and it suddenly became difficult to breath, as if the noose was already around my neck. “Impersonating a royal is a serious crime. I’d be imprisoned at best or executed at worst.”
The princess rolled her eyes. “You worry too much, Anwen.”
I gritted my teeth. “It’s easy to gamble when it’s not your own life. I could be sent to the gallows for this.”
She frowned at me as if she’d never seen me before, and indeed she’d never seen this side of me. I’d never dared be so uncooperative or argumentative before, but fighting for one’s life was the greatest motivation for talking back.
“You’re not going to the gallows,” she said.
“I will when I get caught.”
“You won’t. I told you Liam won’t notice our switch.”
That was likely true but I refused to admit it. “But Their Majesties will.”
“Perhaps…” She trailed off, and for a moment I felt a flutter of hope that she’d finally seen reason…until she dashed it with her next words. “But I doubt it. My parents don’t exactly spend time with me.”
“Of course they’ll notice. You’re their daughter.”
“They won’t,” she said firmly, as if trying to convince herself more than me. “I doubt they’ll even visit after the marriage, not after they’ve gotten their use out of me to fulfill their precious political contract.” Sadness filled her voice before her expression hardened once more.
She clearly wouldn’t be dissuaded. But she had to be. Panic clawed at my throat as I frantically tried to come up with another argument. “Your Highness, please see sense; this can’t possibly work.”
“It will,” Princess Lavena said. “It’s worked before.”
“Switching places for a few hours at minor state functions where those in attendance don’t know you very well is nothing to switching places for the rest of our lives.”
Naturally, Princess Lavena made no acknowledgement of my logic. “It’ll work,” she pressed. “It has to.”
I stared at her in disbelief. Was she really willing to risk it? By the determination in her eyes I knew she was. Like always, she seemed to think the entire thing a fun game. The noose wasn’t even a possibility for her, and she didn’t seem overly concerned that it was for me. After all these years serving her, I’d hoped my life meant something more to the princess. Obviously she cared only for herself.
She eyed my panicked expression with impatience. “Stop being so difficult, Anwen. You’ll make a better match with Prince Liam than I ever would. This is an opportunity for a better life.”
“I don’t want this kind of life.” Who would willingly choose one of deceit?
“It’s better than your previous life I rescued you from.”
“I was happy as a goose girl.”
She scoffed. “No more arguments. I’ve made my decision—you will take my place and marry Liam.”
She nodded, affirming that the matter was decided, but I refused to allow this to happen, not when I had the power to stop it. I lifted my chin. “I’m informing Their Majesties. I’ve been a silent accomplice against my will in your other schemes, but this is too far. I refuse to let you get away with it.”
“You have no choice,” Princess Lavena said, her expression twisted. “You’re my servant and thus will obey my commands.”
“I won’t, and you can’t stop me.” I stomped towards the door, but Princess Lavena blocked my exit, her dark eyes flashing.
“Who do you think you are, handmaiden? I’m a princess, whereas you’re a nobody. Thus I’ll have my way if it’s the last thing I do.”
I folded my arms. “How? You can’t bind my tongue. I’ll reveal the truth, whether it’s tonight or the day of the wedding, but I refuse to go along with such a dangerous scheme.”
She smirked wickedly and my heart pounded at the triumph in her eyes. There couldn’t be a way for her to force me into this, could there?
“Poor Anwen, so naive. Do you honestly think I’d risk my happiness and freedom on the chance you’d expose our switch?” She stepped closer and I instinctively stepped away, backing into her bedpost.
“What do you mean?” My voice shook, betraying my fear—fear that seemed to please her.
“I’m surprised you haven’t guessed.” She pulled a ring off her finger and my stomach sank.
It was the gold Lycerian contract ring.
I only knew bits and pieces about the enchanted royal heirloom that had been in the Lycerian Royal Family for generations. All one had to do to create an unbreakable contract was speak it out loud while holding the ring before putting it on the victim, who would then be forced to obey it. The centuries-old ring could only be removed by the one who’d put it on, which would break the contract.
I couldn’t believe such a powerful object existed. I’d heard enough old stories about its rare use to make me certain I never wanted to be a forced wearer of the ring. To my knowledge, the ring hadn’t been used in generations, only kept by the royal family for the sake of tradition. Unsurprisingly, Princess Lavena would scoff at tradition and choose to take advantage of such an enchanted object.
“Where did you get that?” I whispered.
“I stole it from Mother’s jewelry box months ago, thinking perhaps it might come in handy some day…and now it will.” She smirked and took a step closer.
I stepped back. “You can’t use that ring,” I stuttered.
The firelight flickered sinisterly off the engraved gold band as she examined it with a thoughtful expression. It was hard to believe something so simple could be so dangerous. “Why can’t I?”
“Because it’s wrong.”
She laughed coldly. “I don’t care about
that, I only care if it works.”
She took another step closer, approaching for the kill like a reduviidae—an assassin bug who’d targeted me as its victim. I darted to the side and bolted for the door, but the princess was closer and blocked it once more.
“Stop running, Anwen. Must you be so uncooperative?”
“Don’t put that ring on me, Your Highness. I beg you.”
“I have to. I can’t allow your ridiculous resistance to get in my way.” She leapt forward, but I ducked and managed to make it to the door. I’d no sooner yanked it open than the princess slammed it shut, seized my wrist, and lifted the ring.
“You will take my place and become Princess Lavena.” As she spoke, the ring began to glow. I yanked and tugged, but her grip was too strong to break. “You will tell no one you are the handmaiden Anwen, nor show this ring to anyone to reveal you’re bound by a contract. Our switch will remain a secret.”
I tried harder to wriggle away, but it was as if the enchantment of the ring had given the princess strength beyond her own, keeping me connected to her whether I wanted to be or not.
“You will act in such a way that no one will suspect our switch.”
“You’re insane,” I panted, exhausted from the effort of trying to make an escape I now realized with horror was impossible. “This can’t possibly work. The switch will be discovered and I’ll be forced to take the fall for it.”
She merely shrugged. “Oh well.”
And she shoved the ring onto my finger. Searing heat encircled my finger as it melded to my skin, sending throbbing pain pulsing up my arm. I yanked away from the princess’s now slackened grip and tried to tug the ring off. It wouldn’t budge. Instead it tightened further, burning me.
Tears clogged my throat. “Take it off, Your Highness. Please.”
But she didn’t. She merely watched my struggle with a satisfied smirk, triumph glistening in her eyes at another plot successfully executed. I knew that no matter how much I fought, I was now an unwilling accomplice to her horrible scheme.
And already I felt as if the Anwen in me was beginning to die.
Chapter 2
I took every opportunity I could find over the next three days to attempt to pull off the ring now symbolizing my chains, but it remained unyielding. The first several hours after it had been placed on my finger it hadn’t ceased to burn, making sleep impossible. Even without the white-hot pain encircling my finger, sleep would still have eluded me. My mind raced as I frantically searched for a loophole to the princess’s contract, but I could see no way out; I was trapped.
But I refused to give up.
I vainly hoped Princess Lavena would eventually come to her senses and become less enamored with either her minstrel or the idea of using him as a way to escape her unwanted engagement. Unfortunately, the princess only became more excited with the thought of ridding herself of her royal duties and political obligations. That didn’t prevent me from trying to talk sense into her, but I might as well have been speaking to my insect collections for all the good it did me.
When I wasn’t trying to dissuade the princess, I attempted to go to Their Majesties, but the mere thought of doing so would cause my legs to tighten and my tongue to become trapped in my throat, all while the ring burned in reminder of the forced contract to which I was bound.
The princess spent the days before the wedding grooming me for the task of becoming her, not just in looks but in decorum. I’d already received a great deal of training in royal etiquette over the years when she’d forced me to take her place at various court functions, which unfortunately made the short timeframe for the princess’s plan possible.
But that didn’t mean I would cooperate willingly. Anwen still remained alive and stubbornly resistant inside me, and I’d embrace her for as long as she had left.
“No, Anwen, stop slouching.” Princess Lavena pulled my shoulders back to straighten my spine. “A princess must have perfect posture. Do you want to be found out and subsequently thrown in the dungeon?”
I gritted my teeth as once more the princess used her newest weapon against me: since I was unwillingly trapped in the charade, I had to perform it well enough to avoid detection.
“It’s hard to stand up straight when carrying a burden as heavy as deceit,” I snapped.
She cocked a perfectly manicured eyebrow. “You’ve gotten a lot bolder. You’re usually the embodiment of submissiveness and sweetness.”
“Aren’t I supposed to be becoming you?”
I expected her to become angry at my rare moment of talking back, but instead she merely smirked. “Excellent, Anwen. Continue to snap at me; you need the practice.”
Now I’d lost my only means of fighting against this scheme: my words. I sighed.
The princess lessons continued—how to walk gracefully, carry myself with poise, speak elegantly, and adopt the princess’s habits I’d be expected to emulate. Each chipped away at the former goose girl and handmaiden, molding me to fit a part I didn’t want to play, all while the thought of my upcoming deceit and danger clenched my heart. There was no doubt I’d eventually be caught as an imposter, and then Anwen wouldn’t just be hidden—she’d die.
That thought caused me to slip away at every opportunity and try to take off the ring. With each attempt it awakened from its slumber to sadistically inflict pain that felt like searing fire lapping up my arm, a reminder I was trapped and there was nothing I could do about it. To mask my whimpers, I bit my lip so hard it bled.
“I’m pleased you’re being so stubborn, Anwen; it’s another trait of mine you’ll now be expected to emulate.”
I spun around to find the princess smirking in the doorway. “Please take it off.”
As usual, my pleas were a waste of breath, for she merely laughed. I made another firm tug on the unyielding ring. It remained fused to my finger. What kind of powerful charm was this?
“Keep trying, Anwen,” she said cheerily, as if she found my torment truly amusing. “Perhaps this time you’ll manage to break the unbreakable enchantment.”
I continued tugging through the pain. “I won’t give up. I’m not—willingly tricking—His Highness…” I spoke each word through gritted teeth.
Princess Lavena smirked. “It hurts, doesn’t it? It wouldn’t if you’d stop fighting it.”
I gave another feeble tug. Nothing happened except for the ring glimmering in the light, as if laughing at my failure; its sadistic satisfaction matched the wicked triumph in the princess’s eyes.
“Stop this foolishness, Anwen. It’s too late. The wedding is tomorrow.”
Tomorrow? The wedding couldn’t be here already, not when I was still entangled in the princess’s foolish scheme. “Please, Your Highness, you can’t really expect me to—”
“Stop arguing. I’ve made up my mind, and your ingratitude at my generosity and your constant badgering is wearying me.”
“I’m just trying to be you,” I snapped again, but instead of being annoyed like I’d hoped, she only laughed and commenced a review of proper princess behavior. I did badly on purpose, hoping my performance would make her realize how unfit I was for her ridiculous charade, but by the gleam in her eyes, I knew she saw through my bluff. Despite my resistance now, we both knew that when the time came, I’d do my best not to get caught. Who needed an enchanted ring when the noose was the best motivator?
Later that evening, I packed the princess’s things into her trunk in preparation for the morrow while she lay on her bed daydreaming about what she was convinced would be a romantic, magical future, one I was certain would be nothing but a disaster.
“Can you imagine sleeping under the stars every night?” Princess Lavena said with a wistful sigh as I carefully folded another gown that would soon be mine—despite it being far too elegant for me—and placed it in her trunk.
“You hate the outdoors, Your Highness. You’ll quickly be covered in bug bites from sleeping beneath the stars. The conenose—or kissing bugs—are pa
rticularly nasty; they like to feed off the blood around people’s mouths, not to mention many spiders are nocturnal—”
“That’s quite enough, Anwen.” The princess actually looked quite green. “Bugs aside, it’s still a romantic notion.” But she no longer sounded so sure. Perhaps I was finally making progress.
But my hopes were dashed when the princess resumed her gushing about all the wonderful things her new life was sure to bring. I turned my back to her and pretended to rearrange the contents of the trunk so I could roll my eyes without her seeing. Such behavior was normally unlike me. Already, I seemed to be becoming the princess. My heart clenched at the thought.
“Your Highness, I truly don’t think your minstrel will make you happy. Soon you’ll want your old life back.”
“Anything is better than marrying Liam and spending a boring existence being his queen—such a dull responsibility, even worse when I have to give up my pleasures for subjects not my own.” She wrinkled her nose. “Why should I sacrifice my freedom for them?”
I sighed. I hated to admit it, but Draceria would likely be better off without her as their monarch…not that I’d do any better; I didn’t expect to survive long enough to find out. Cold fear crept up my spine.
“Please, Your Highness, this is foolish. I’m unfit to be queen.”
As always, she waved my pleas aside. “Hurry up and finish so I can check and be sure you haven’t secretly snuck away any of your ridiculous bug things.”
I froze. I’d already hidden a few of my favorite entomology books amongst the princess’s things and planned to smuggle my entire collection. She frowned at me through narrowed eyes, detecting my guilt.
I slumped in defeat. “I’ll keep them locked away.”
“That’s not good enough,” she said. “You’re supposed to be becoming me and thus can no longer be interested in your creepy crawlies.”
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