The Five Princes: Preview

Hello, Tigers!!!

I've just received the final proof for The Five Princes from my editor, and I'd like to share a preview of the final draft with you.

As you all know, this is the commercial version of The 7 Princes. The story is the same, but the characters have changed, and so have some of the scenes. I'd like to introduce you to two of my new characters: Nikos and Evann. Nikos is the unruly youngest prince of the castle, and Evann is the protective castle guard. 

I know many of you will prefer the original story with our beloved BTS members, but I hope you find a place in your heart for Nikos and Evann, along with the other 3 new "princes" in this new story. They're little pieces of my heart... and buckets of my sweat.    

This preview is only for you, my Tigers. Thank you for all your support.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I sat at the dining table, head spinning.

Princess? I couldn't be a princess. That didn't make any sense. Dad was a businessman. Mom was a fashion designer. They weren't royal people.

"And now I'd like to introduce you all to a special guest," the tour guide said. "Someone I'm sure you'll all be thrilled to meet in person."

I looked up. She wasn't talking about me, right? This was all a prank. I looked for cameras in the ceiling.

"May I introduce to you His Highness, Prince Nikos!"

The girls in the tour group gasped as a tall figure entered the room. One even screamed. Some stood to their feet, while others froze to their chairs. The men were just as excitable, pulling out their phones to take pictures.

That's why I knew that name. Prince Nikos — also known as the World's Prince.

The World's Prince was famous for his humanitarian projects, his elegant style, and his humble personality. The media used his nickname more than his real name, referring to him as every woman's dream prince.

He stood at the edge of the table, giving the bright smile that I had seen from time to time on TV. It was strange to see it in person. His dark hair was pulled to the side in a wave exactly like all his media appearances, as if it was glued that way. But he was much thinner than I imagined he would be, with narrower shoulders and waist. The fantasy of the World's Prince and the reality of the skinny teenager in front of me jarred.

"Hello, everyone!" he said, his voice as bright as his face. "It's a pleasure to meet you all. I'll be your host this evening. I hope you don't mind."

"Of course we don't mind!"

"I love you, Prince Nikos!"

"I named my labradoodle after you!"

He smiled at the comments, his face glowing. "Would anyone like to take some pictures?"

A bunch of girls screamed and ran up to him, handing their phones to the tour guide. I knew he was a few years younger than I was, but his face was even more youthful than I remembered from the news. On the flip side, there was a sharpness in his eyes and his smile that reminded me of the criminal mugshots I saw in the segments right after.

His sharp lips curled up as he bowed to me. The other guests turned to look at me, as confused as I was.

One of the guests hopped over to me and tapped my arm. "Don't you want a picture?"

Before I could respond, the tourist pulled me out of my seat and brought me over to the prince.

He looked down at me, cocking an eyebrow. "You want a picture too?"

I looked up at him, trying to figure out the right words to say. I never had this problem when meeting celebrities at concerts when Dad got me backstage passes.

I never did ask how he got those.

"Sure," was all I could come up with.

He snorted, taking the phone out of my hand and giving it to the tour guide.

"You're shorter than I imagined," he said.

"What?"

He leaned down, draping his arm around my shoulder and leaning his head against mine. The rest of the girls squealed at the gesture, but I leaned my head to the other side.

"Personal space," I muttered.

"Look at the camera, Princess," he replied.

My stomach dropped. He grinned. I frowned.

And that's how the picture came out.

I sat as far away from him as possible. That gave plenty of space for the girls at the table to fawn over him. He glanced at me from time to time, staring for a moment and then narrowing his eyes.

Princess. He called me Princess.

It was a pet name, right? Not my actual title. Had to be.

"I hope you all enjoy the soup tonight," he announced at the table. "It's our country's signature dish. It may not be the most visually appealing, but if you live here, it's something you have to adjust to."

His eyes fell on me when he said it. He rubbed his tongue between his teeth.

First were the appetizers. A half dozen men in white shirts and black-waisted aprons brought out platters of local fruits and vegetables, and tiny slices of bread with jam. I nibbled on some pumpernickel, playing over King Cyrus's words in my head.

"Your father told me that you had no idea of your royal heritage."

Trips around the world. Backstage concert tickets. Private schooling. All of those were because Mom and Dad worked hard, right? It wasn't because of royal inheritance. How could it be? Our house was small — only two bedrooms and an office. We celebrated Christmas with my Uncle Lloyd and Aunt Tina every year. They weren't royalty. They owned a karate dojo. I had to clean the floors of the dojo every night in exchange for karate lessons.

That's not something a princess would do. Right?

"Let's play a game, shall we?" the prince asked, bringing me out of my thoughts. "I'm going to ask each of you a question. For each answer, you can ask me any question you want."

Some straightened in their seats, smiling.

He started with the first woman on his left. "What is your favorite part of the castle?"

Her shoulders went up to her ears as she smiled. "You are."

He chuckled along with the rest of the table. "A fantastic answer! Now, since you gave me an answer, you can ask any question you like."

"Do you have a girlfriend?"

He laughed harder. "I've loved every woman I've ever met. It's so difficult to give your heart to one woman when you've given over your heart to so many."

The table awed. I tried not to barf all over my dinner plate. He'd basically admitted to being a player, yet these girls were practically handing over their souls for his attention.

This went on for the entire first course. He asked questions about favorite places in the country, worst experiences on the trip, and even if people liked his left profile or right profile more.

"Your turn," he said to me, smirking.

I sat up, waiting for my question.

"How would you address skyrocketing unemployment in a recession?"

Everyone looked at each other.

"What?" I asked. "Come again?"

He picked up his fork and waved it around, then stabbed a grape and put it in his mouth. "I'm just curious about your insight."

His cheeks puffed up as he chewed the grape.

Before I could respond, the waiters came out with the second course.

"Ah, yes, the kingdom specialty!" he said as they walked out. "Please enjoy it."

He continued to stare at me, chewing grapes. I was going to sock him in the mouth if he kept chewing with his mouth open like that.

I excused myself and went to the bathroom instead.

Freezing water from the faucet told me that this wasn't a dream. Two royal members had acknowledged me. The problem was, I didn't know what anyone was talking about.

Was I really a princess?

That could be a good thing. Lots of free travel and an endless supply of hot wings, maybe. But I was going to take over Uncle Lloyd's dojo next year. I had trained in karate since I was seven years old. I had tournament trophies. I'd majored in business. I'd studied for this my entire life.

I wasn't giving that up. Not for anyone or anything.

Prank or not, my path was set.

I stepped out of the bathroom, wiping excess water on my pants. Mom hated it when I did that. Was it because she was a fashion designer? Or because she was a queen?

I shook my head. I wasn't thinking about this now. And I wasn't going back to that stupid dinner table so the World's Prince could ask me more economics questions.

Instead, I wandered further into the castle. What would it be like to grow up in a place like this? Servants and riches? Expensive collectibles? Designer clothes?

I couldn't imagine growing up with those kinds of things. I was fine with weekdays at my uncle's dojo, and a collection of weekends camping or hiking deep in the mountains.

"Stop being so reckless, Evann."

I turned around. The voice echoed down the hall, but I couldn't see any faces.

"Don't you understand your duties?" the voice continued.

"I do," a second voice said firmly.

I followed the voices.

"Your father was the same way, God rest his soul. That's why he died so young."

The doorway opened to a teal-and-gold room, filled with lavish benches and tall vases. Two men stood at the far end. One was large, with broad shoulders, wearing full military uniform. The other was about half his size, with reddish-black hair and long shoulders that he held squarely.

"I have no intention to die early," the smaller one said. "It was a simple application."

"An application to the afterlife," the larger man said. "If the king hadn't denied your application, you'd be in a world of hurt right now. Stop going behind my back for these things."

The redhead bowed his head, not in agreement but in acknowledgement. I had done that myself when my uncle scolded me during training.

"You're dismissed for the evening," the larger man said, beginning to walk away. "Expect hard training tomorrow. You've earned it."

The redhead bowed again as the larger man stepped away. When the man had left the room, the redhead took three steps backwards, collapsing on one of the lavish orange cushions.

"Damn you, Cyrus," he muttered to himself.

I bumped the door, making it creak. The redhead looked over at me.

"Reveal yourself," he commanded.

I froze. He stood.

"I said reveal yourself," he said again.

I stepped backward, only to trip on my own feet and land on my butt. The door swung open and sprung back to hit me in the side. When I went forward, I slammed my head in the second door.

"This is the most annoying day ever," I muttered to myself, holding my face.

There were footsteps before there were feet. The redhead was now in close range, and through the one eye I wasn't holding in pain, I saw two of the purest black eyes I had seen in my entire life.

He cocked his head to the side. "Well. Aren't you interesting?"

I grimaced. "You don't know the half of it."

I brought myself to my feet, trying to open my throbbing eye. Standing at squinting-eye level, the redhead was a little more rugged than I'd first thought. Compared to the man he was speaking with earlier, he was thin, but compared to me he was pure muscle. He had a thin goatee, something I wasn't accustomed to seeing on most Aujinians, which was a shame because black stubble on cinnamon-brown skin was a seriously underrated type of sexy. His goatee matched his reddish-brown hair, which made it even more exotic.

His eyes widened. In a moment, he bowed at the waist. "Forgive me, Your Highness. I did not recognize you."

"Oh God, not you too," I said. "Why does everyone here keep calling me that?"

"Because you're a princess. And a rude one at that."

Prince Nikos walked in through the side door, raising an eyebrow at the redhead. The redhead bowed at the neck.

"You know who this is?" Nikos asked him, pointing at me.

"I've only just realized."

"You ditched me at dinner," Prince Nikos said to me, scowling. "That's not very good manners, Your Highness."

He hissed out the last part of highness like a swear word.

"Why are you here, Ev?" Prince Nikos said, turning to the redhead. "I thought you'd be in the guards' quarters?"

"I have night shift for the west side of the castle until two in the morning," the redhead replied.

"Midnight shift? You quit being my assistant for this nonsense?"

"Being your assistant was nonsense."

"It wasn't that terrible."

"I still have burn marks."

"I told you already! I didn't know hairspray was that flammable."

I took a step back.

"Don't go anywhere," Nikos said, pointing at me. "I don't appreciate your wandering off from dinner. Cyrus will have my head if we lose you again."

"You're all confused," I said. "You have to be."

"We're not the ones who are confused," Nikos said. He put his hands behind his back, repeating one word at a time. "I am Nikos. I am a prince. You are Marina. You are a princess. This is Evann. He is a loser."

Evann knocked his elbow into him. Nikos scowled.

"See if you ever get promoted," Nikos returned.

Evann responded with a poker face.

I fumbled for my phone. "Just give me your Wi-Fi password. We'll call my dad and he'll straighten this whole thing out—"

"That's not a bad idea, actually," Evann said, nodding. "If we can get ahold of King Tylier ..."

Nikos groaned. "Get my brother to break his precious schedule? Do you want to hear his endless nagging?"

"He won't do it for me," Evann replied. "He would only do it if one of his dear little brothers asked him for a favor."

"Give me one good reason to do it."

"Because, as a prince, you are eager to help your fellow men and women in their time of need."

Nikos raised an eyebrow. "I'm sorry. Have you met me?"

"And if you don't," Evann continued, "I'm sure the princess will find herself in your constant care until Cyrus agrees to meet with us."

Nikos spun towards the door. "Alright, let's go."

Evann bowed to me. "Please, come with us, Princess."

Prince Nikos ordered Evann to take me to the meeting room as he split off to go find King Cyrus. Evann led me to the second floor, to a room with a long table, a dozen leather chairs, and a large screen at the front. Evann gestured to one of the seats.

"Wait here, please. It may be a few minutes. Are you hungry?"

"I'm fine."

My stomach growled in betrayal. Evann's lips pressed together.

"I'll bring you some fruit, just in case," he said.

He turned and nodded to one of the guards as he walked out.

I looked at my phone. All we had to do was call Dad. He would say something like, "Gotcha again!" and do his annoying finger-gun gesture and then I could go home, punch him, and we could laugh about it.

That's what would happen.

None of this was real.