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A Royal Engagement

By Emma Lea

Despite being the second child of the King and Queen of Merveille, Alyssabeth thought that if she kept a low profile she could stay out of the media's glaring spotlight and live a relatively normal life.

That was until her father, the King, and her brother, the Crown Prince, are both killed in a hunting accident.

Her dream of joining the UN is no more and instead she needs to return to the small European country of her birth to pick up where her father and brother left off.

Her Harvard degree in International Relations is forfeit and in it's place she must become Queen, that is if the misogynistic Parliament can see past their prejudices.

Not much has changed in the small country in her four year absence, but there are two noticeable differences.

Her brother's two best friends Will Darkly and Jordan Wicks have grown up into two very intriguing men.

Jordan practically sweeps her off her feet from the moment she steps off the plane, but Will's more reserved, darkly intense interest in her gives her tingles.

Alyssa isn't sure she is cut out to be Queen, but she knows that she wants to do her father and brother proud, so she is willing to give it her best shot, even if it means going toe to toe with Parliament.

And then there is the small matter of her needing to be married in order to fulfil her birthright and take her place as the Head of State.

Author's Note

A Royal Engagement takes place in a country that doesn't really exist.

If it were to exist it would sit on the eastern edge of France bordered by Switzerland and Italy, quite close to Geneva.

The country of Merveille (pronounced Mer-VAY) is a quiet, wealthy place ruled by a constitutional monarchy.

It's capital city is Calanais which is situated on the shores of a beautiful lake called Lac Merveilleux and is where the palace, named Château de Conte de Fées, is situated.

This is for all the girls who dreamed of being a princess in a far away land

Chapter One

"I disagree with Mr Walsh's statements," I said, standing to my feet. I didn't yell, but I did raise my voice so that I could be heard across the lecture theatre. "The problem is too complex to just say, 'first in, first served'. These people are not lining up in the cafeteria, they are fleeing for their lives and they have taken extreme measures to get where they are..."

Meredith twitched beside me and grabbed my wrist, "Down Aurora," she said and it was the only warning I had before all hell broke loose. I obeyed immediately, the use of my code name causing me to react without thought as it was supposed to. It was a trigger, indicating that there was danger. I had been trained well and didn't question her as she dragged me to the ground away from my desk.

The door to the lecture room flung open and the rest of my security team filed in, guns drawn, but pointed down. I could hear the gasps of my fellow students and then the authoritative voice of my detail's team leader.

"Everybody stay seated," Benjamin said in a voice that brooked no argument.

Meredith had me secured on the ground and I was soon surrounded by the remaining four security guards. Benjamin stood close to the lecturer and his calm, yet in charge, demeanour kept everyone where they were while Meredith, Scott, Jamie, Cody and Aiden began to hustle me out of the room.

Meredith kept a hand on my head, forcing me to keep it down, and the other hand on the waistband of my jeans as we moved out into the hall.

I couldn't see where I was going, I just followed them blindly. We had run the scenario a hundred times and I knew that their first priority was to get me out and into a waiting car. I wanted to ask questions, to find out what was going on, but I also knew that no one would answer me.

If proper protocol was being followed, the university would be in lock down until I was in the car and off the premises. By the eerie silence, only broken by the shuffling of our feet, I assumed that lockdown was indeed being enforced.

My heart thudded in my chest and it seemed like an age before I felt the kiss of the sun on my back. I was pushed into a car, that had been parked on the footpath outside the building in a place where no car was ever allowed, and the door slammed, enclosing me in darkness.

Meredith pushed me to the floor of the sedan as it roared away from university, her body covering mine.

"Aurora secure," she said into her mike, "En route to Phoenix Four."

Phoenix Four? They were putting me on the plane? I struggled to sit up, I needed to know what was going on.

"Stay down," Meredith hissed, "This is not a drill, Aurora."

"What's going on?" I asked, stilling my struggling and starting to panic as shock settled on me like a heavy, wet blanket.

"I don't know," she replied, "All I know is that you need to go home."

Home. I hadn't been home in four years and the six years previous to that I had been in boarding school in France and only went home during the term break.

"Is it mother? Father? Jacob?"

Meredith sighed, "I don't know," she said with patience, "All I know is there was a security threat and that we needed to get you out."

"I don't believe you," I said, "Please, tell me the truth."

"I can't Lys," Meredith whispered, breaking protocol and calling me by my nickname. She was more than just part of my security detail, she was my friend. We had been playmates since I was a child and apart from the two years she had been gone to do her military training, she had been a constant fixture in my life. When I had decided to come to America to do my degree, it had been a no brainer that she would come with me and she'd enrolled in all the same classes, essentially studying the same degree as me.

"But it's serious?" I asked.

She gave me a quick hug, while maintaining her cover over me, "Yes," she said and the bleakness in her voice made my stomach drop.

The rest of the ride to the airstrip where the private plane was waiting was quiet. I could hear the wail of the sirens that escorted us through the busy traffic and the faint hum of chatter from Meredith's earwig, but I was too frightened to take any of it in.

The only reason I would be pulled out of class and hustled onto the plane to fly home was if there had been a significant threat to me or one of my family members. And it must be something substantial to have included me at all. I was the spare and female. Despite my royal pedigree, I was pretty much forgotten in my home country, which suited me just fine. It was the reason I moved to the States, the reason I hadn't been home in four years. I didn't like the spotlight and I had done everything in my power to ensure that I stayed out of it.

I was studying International Relations in the hopes of one day securing a position in the UN. My father had bemoaned my desire to get my degree, but eventually relented, although he took every opportunity to loudly argue against my choice. If he'd had his way, I would've stayed home and learned something more appropriate for someone of my station, like needlepoint. It was my brother, Jacob, who'd eventually gotten him to agree and I'd be forever grateful for his intervention.

The car pulled to a stop and the door opened. I was ushered out onto the windy tarmac and hustled up the stairs into the waiting Gulf Stream, my security detail in front and behind me. Meredith pushed me down into a chair and secured my seatbelt before taking the one beside me. Benjamin was the last to board and then the door was closed and the plane began to taxi. Each member of my security team buckled in and no one spoke as the plane increased speed down the runway.

The force of the takeoff pushed me back into the soft leather of my seat and I closed my eyes. Normally I loved to fly, but not this time. This time there were too many unknowns and I was scared. Really scared.

"Aurora secure on Phoenix One," Benjamin said into his mike.

Phoenix One? What the hell? I turned to look at Meredith, but she refused to make eye contact. Her face was pale and her eyes sad and weary.

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