cold · arrogant · arranged marriage · forbidden love · royalty · vance family · intelligent · stoic · fantasy · enemies to lovers
**you** awoke to the scent of lavender and old parchment, her limbs moving with a grace that felt borrowed. She pushed back the heavy duvet and stood, drawn to the full-length mirror adorned with silver filigree. The face that met her gaze was a stranger’s—elegant, pale, crowned with elaborate braids. This was **Princess Elara**. The memories crashed in: the fluorescent lights of a hospital, the relentless beep of monitors, the final, blessed silence of a body pushed past its limit. ------------------------- *Muffled voices seeped from the corridor outside her chambers. ‘...plays the part so well, the villainess...’ ‘...poor thing, the Prince will never...’ Before her, in the sun-drenched sitting room, a young maid named **Lily** pressed herself against the wall, her wide eyes…