1 Chapter 1: Forbidden Love

Tris closes the book she was reading and sets it in her lap before resting her head on the trunk of the tree she’s sitting under. A warm breeze shuffles the bottom of her dress and lightly tosses her long red curly hair. The safety pins she keeps scattered about her dress tap together as the fabric moves. She had forgotten the pins were there, but as a seamstress in training, it doesn’t surprise her.

Her mother is the head seamstress for King Leo and Queen Sandra. As her daughter, it is up to Tris to continue her work once her mom is no longer able. It’s not the life she would have chosen for herself, but she can’t complain. The position is respectable within the Kingdom of Isles, and it means she gets to live in the palace for the rest of her life.

The streams of sunlight breaking through the canopy flicker as something large passes overhead. Tris doesn’t hear anything, but it had to have been something massive to block the sun. She hurries to her feet, causing her book to drop to the ground, and makes her way to an opening in the trees.

Tris scans the sky but finds nothing. “Where did it go?”

She shades her eyes with her hand and strains to see. Something that large couldn’t have just disappeared. As she looks around, a muscular set of arms wrap around her middle. Tris is startled, but she doesn’t panic. She takes one of the arms in both hands, flipping the assailant over her shoulder and onto the ground in front of her.

“How dare you?” she yells, before taking a good look at the man before her.

Laughter floats up to her, causing Tris to blush. “Nick! What are you doing here?” she stammers.

“We returned from the hunting trip early and I knew you would be out here with your nose in a book,” he replies, looking up at her from the ground.

Tris reaches down and offers him her hand. “You scared me,” she huffs. “Maybe you can announce yourself before sneaking up on me next time.”

Nick accepts her offer and climbs to his feet. “I don’t think anyone has ever told me to announce myself. I’m the prince, I have people who do that for me,” he says with a grin.

Tris rolls her eyes. “My sincerest apologies, Prince Dominick,” she replies sarcastically, bowing her head. “Next time you assault me I will…”

Before she can finish her reply, Nick pulls her in and kisses her long and hard on the lips. It’s not the first time, but Tris’ heart races as if it were. The first kiss had been three months ago. It was clumsy and confusing because Tris hadn’t known how Nick felt about her.

She cared for him deeply but figured they would never be due to his status. They had been sitting on the shore of a stream that runs through the kingdom, cooling their feet in the afternoon heat. Nick leaned over and turned her face toward him before kissing her on the lips. Tris remembers feeling floaty like she does right now.

“Oh, your Majesty,” Tris replies breathlessly as he slowly pulls away.

Nick smiles and shakes his head. “You really shouldn’t pick on me,” he says, taking her by the hand to walk back to the palace.

Tris’ heart still skips a beat at the thought of Nick wanting her. They have grown up in the palace together, but she never would have expected their friendship to blossom into a relationship. Not that she can tell anyone about it. He is the Prince, after all. Her seamstress station hardly allows her to be frolicking around with royalty.

“Your father said he heard of another dragon sighting in a village not far from here,” Nick says as Tris picks up her book. “We went to check it out, but to no avail.”

Tris’ stomach flips with excitement at the thought of a dragon so close to the palace. There have been many sightings, but by the time the hunting party gets there, the dragons are gone. Her father is the head of the King’s guard. He’s responsible for leading the group of hunters into the woods and bringing back meat for the Kingdom. Since the dragons have made a return to their lands, he was put in charge of the group responsible for hunting them down.

Tris doesn’t like the idea of the dragons being hunted. Unfortunately, the King and Queen don’t want the creatures anywhere in their Kingdom. Nick has been raised to hate dragons. When his father assembled a group of men to hunt and kill them, he made a point to drag Nick along.

“How unfortunate for you.” Tris sighs as she walks back toward Nick. A sudden thought crosses her mind as she remembers the shadow that passed overhead earlier. “Do you think the dragons would come near the palace?”

Nick looks up at the clear blue afternoon sky. “I doubt it,” he huffs. “If they do, it will make killing them a whole lot easier.”

Tris cringes at the thought of Nick and her father slaying dragons.

“But fear not,” he says, pulling Tris into his arms. “For I will protect you from anything that threatens to harm you.”

She wants to pull away and scold him for daring to use her protection as an excuse to kill a dragon, but she can’t bring herself to do it. Tris really does love him, even if his views on dragons don’t match her own.

Nick plants another kiss on the top of her head before they link hands and slowly make their way back home. As they reach the edge of the forest that leads into the palace garden, Nick gives her hand a light squeeze before releasing his grasp.

They continue to walk side by side through the flower-filled grounds, but all affection between them has been removed. If anyone found out they are involved the punishment would be swift and harsh. There’s no doubt in either of their minds that the Queen and King would banish Tris and her parents from the Kingdom without hesitation.

“Tris!” someone yells from the palace.

Nick widens his eyes and flashes her a look. They both know her mother’s voice, and she doesn’t sound happy.

“Good luck!” Nick whispers before hurrying away.

Tris drops her head and walks quickly toward the workers’ entrance. She steps into the kitchen to find the cooks standing around gossiping and laughing.

“Better hurry, Miss,” the lead cook barks. “Ava sounds upset with you, and I don’t want her attitude in my kitchen today,” the bubbly woman says while shooing Tris through the room and into the great hall.

Tris wonders how many other twenty-three-year-old women are still scared of their mothers as she ascends the staircase to the sowing room. Her mom has been very cross lately, and Tris has been unable to do anything right in her eyes. She feels as if she’s a burden, so Tris has been spending more time in the garden reading.

As she stops at the wooden door that leads into her workspace, Tris takes a deep breath. She can hear her mother on the other side mumbling to herself. She opens the door as a spool of red thread crashes into the wall beside her.

“Where have you been?” Ava yells. “I have been waiting here for over an hour trying to finish this gown for the Queen!”

Tris winces as she looks at the deep red dress draped over the sowing table. She had completely forgotten she promised to help her mom finish the fine stitching today.

“I was…” Tris squeaks out as she holds up the book she was reading.

Ava huffs and walks over to her, snatching the parcel from her hand. “The History of the Kingdom of Isles: VOL III,” she reads out loud. “Really, Tris? You’re a seamstress, not a historian!” she snaps. Her mother takes a deep breath and pinches the bridge of her nose. “I sent word to the Queen that you would bring her gown once it is finished. You will also apologize to her profusely for it taking all day, as I had to finish the hem by myself,” she explains without even glancing at her daughter.

“Yes, ma’am,” Tris replies, knowing that her mother has been pushed to her breaking point.

Tris slowly lifts the heavy material into her arms, cradling it like a newborn baby, and turns toward her mother.

“I truly am sorry,” she stutters.

Her mom says nothing as she makes her way across the room into her personal chamber, slamming the door that separates the two spaces behind her.

“You’ve done it now,” Tris whispers to herself as she heads out the door.

She walks as quickly as she can, which isn’t that fast considering how heavy the material in her arms is. The gown is beautiful, and Tris wonders if she will ever be able to make something so grand. She’s suddenly very aware of how plain she must look. The dress she put on this morning is something she made out of scrap material her mom had given her.

She had taken pride in the patchwork of fabric she turned into a dress, and even her mother praised her work. Now that she’s older, Tris longs for something nicer. She wants to look as beautiful as Nick makes her feel.

Tris gives her head a little shake in an effort to clear her thoughts of Nick. She doesn’t want to be flustered in front of the Queen. After freeing one of her hands, Tris raps on the chamber door in front of her. A servant opens it and she quickly steps through, bowing her head.

“It’s about time!” Queen Sandra bellows from across the room. “Apparently making me wait is now an acceptable practice of your family,” she scolds, waving a few of her servants over to retrieve the gown.

“My sincerest apologies, your Majesty,” Tris pleads without looking up from the chamber floor. “It is my fault your gown was not done sooner.”

She can hear the Queen’s dress swishing across the room toward her, stopping a short distance away.

“I shall hold you both accountable then. Your mother has been my seamstress for years, she was making my gowns long before you were born. There is no excuse for the amount of time it took her to finish this simple dress,” Queen Sandra hisses.

Tris can feel anger rising up in her cheeks. The dress her mother has made is anything but simple. This woman clearly doesn’t know the first thing about stitching together fabrics.

“Leave us,” the Queen orders, causing the other servants to hurry out of the door.

Tris stands still before the Queen, keeping her eyes trained on the floor since it is considered disrespectful to make eye contact with the royal family members without their direct consent. She can feel her heart starting to race. Why would the Queen want to be alone in a room with her?

“Look at me,” Queen Sandra orders coldly.

Tris slowly looks up at her. She’s dressed in fine brown silk that makes her look pale and cold. Her brown eyes almost appear gold as rage washes over her face. Queen Sandra has raven black hair that has been styled to the top of her head and a large black mole on her cheek.

Many have praised the Queen’s beauty, but Tris thinks she’s one of the ugliest people she has ever met. Yes, she has a beautiful figure with curves in all the right places, but her personality makes her hideous. Tris is grateful Nick took after his father, both physically and mentally.

Queen Sandra steps so close to Tris she can feel the woman’s hot breath on her skin.

A smile washes over the Queen’s face, exposing her yellowed teeth. “Your family is no longer welcome in my Kingdom,” she growls. “As of tomorrow, you will remove yourselves from my palace.”