Chapter Eleven: The Disastrous NightCaroline’s POV:"Miss? We need to go right now," one of the guards told me, but I was in shock. I could not move even if I could.There had been attacks near the royal residences before, but nothing from inward the gates, and on a day like this when the castle was full of guests.All I could think about was Lord Hammond, who was hanging on to his life, as far as I could tell. I had not seen anything, luckily, but that did not stop my brain from creating an image of that kind-hearted man lying on the ground with his body all bloody."She's in shock, sir," the guard told someone, and I think it was Stephan.“Your Highness? Your Highness?" Stephan told me and gently shook my shoulders before continuing, "We need to get out of here. We're not safe."After Stephan shook me, I shook my head to wake up from my daze and it seems li

Chapter Thirteen: The improvised cleaningCaroline’s POV:As time passed, the mood in the palace calmed down again, thank heavens, and we were soon back to our normal routine. The routine we had even before Stephan was invited to the palace as my future fiancé. Gradually, I went back to attending council meetings with my father, but this time I had a different strategy: I would keep my mouth shut so that none of the lords would give my father any more absurd advice. So, I went into the meeting, took notes, even wrote down my personal opinions, but I did not volunteer to suggest anything. The lords in the council would look at my new posture as if I had a change of heart, but I was not going to them that this was more a strategy than acceptance of their plan.In my mind, they were all wrong because the lords liked to oppress the people with more taxes, compulsory military service, and misery. I wo

Caroline’s POV:The rest of the week flew by and then finally it was Friday, when my parents would leave the Palace on a little hunting trip. My father was the most excited about hunting, but there would be a whole entourage with them, including the lords, a good part of their families and some of the maids and jacks from the palace. Everyone was preparing to depart today after breakfast, and I was preparing myself to have the whole weekend for me.I opened my eyes that morning a little happier. Not that I did not love my parents, but there was so much pressure for everything to be perfect when they were around that I could not help feeling the pressure ease a little in their possible absence.My mom came to my room early in the morning, unannounced, and I was still getting ready for breakfast. When she walked through the doors, Lucille was finishing the last touches of my already impeccable makeup.

Caroline’s POV:The impromptu employee party took place on Saturday night, and since Sunday everything seemed in perfect order. Not all employees were working, and as Lucille said around, Sunday was Olivia's day off, so I enjoyed the quiet day in my room.I knew that the palace servants believed the princess was a recluse, and some of them even felt sorry for the princess and thought that perhaps she was ill. I did not pay attention to these conversations because it was all people's speculation. But the fact is that I often felt so comfortable around them as Olivia that I dreaded the day when I would have to reveal to everyone that I was Caroline. Surely, they would treat me differently, and I could not blame them. So, I decided that I would take this farce as far as I could so that I would have more friends, When I could no longer support this story, I would apologize to them all, but make it clear that I was s

Caroline’s POV:A few days after the attempt on my mother's life, I was a little more relieved that she was recovering at a good pace, according to Dr. Caldwell. She had physical therapy every day and was doing well. The doctor had already authorized her to try to speak and her lungs were evolving well, thank heavens. But there was one thing that worried me: She was constantly asking about the details of the shooting: whether we had discovered the perpetrators, whether we were searching the region for the culprits, or any other details we had. She wanted to be on top of everything that was going on in the case.My dad and I did not talk when she asked us these questions, and there were days when she was more distracted, so it was easier to sidetrack her. Other days were more difficult, and we had to urge her to focus on her healing, and then on finding and apprehending the culprits. We had agreed that it would not be good to wo