Disheartened, but not seeing another alternative, the women got ready for the royal ball. They knew they should be bouncing with excitement, but Mo’s declaration on the balcony hung heavy in the air between them. As much as they didn’t want her words and sentiment to be true, they both knew there was no denying their accuracy.

When they emerged from their separate bathrooms into their shared bedroom, they gave each other sad smiles. “You clean up pretty good,” Tess said to her friend. It was a huge understatement. Mo’s long, black, silky gown, that Tess had secretly stowed away in her luggage for their trip, accentuated the woman’s impressive height and her fiery red hair. The simple elegance of the dress suited Mo perfectly.

“You look like a real princess,” Mo gave her honest assessment of Tess’s blush-colored, floor-length sequined stunner.

Tess did her best to ignore the wave of guilt that swept over her regarding her dress choice. There was no denying that her gown made her look like a princess. It was classic Tess. She had always veered towards anything pink and sparkly. She truly hadn’t chosen it with any intention of outshining Mo. It was merely the dress that had spoken to her in the boutique.

Deciding that neither woman could ignore her natural tendencies––in fashion or otherwise––Tess walked over to loop arms with her friend. “We both look gorgeous, and any man would be lucky to dance with us tonight.”

With that, they nodded at each other, and headed downstairs to follow their destinies.

The ballroom was already swirling with activity. An orchestra was playing lovely, classical music and numerous couples were gracing the dance floor.

Tess saw her brothers and their beautiful dates standing on the sidelines watching the rhythmic, nearly-synchronized dancers. When Tess and Mo joined the foursome, the ladies exchanged sincere compliments on how lovely they all looked.

Ellie swayed and enjoyed the activity on the dance floor with wide-eyes before saying, “It feels like we’ve been transported into an elaborate, magical movie.”

The others nodded in agreement with her assessment, unable to deny the anticipation and palpable excitement that sizzled in the air. Ellie had described it perfectly. Tess felt like she was so engrossed in an epic movie that she had stepped inside it and lost track of her own life.

When Tess saw the completely enamored way Trey gazed down at Ellie, she almost couldn’t believe her eyes. Her tough, bossy, stubborn, and goofy brother was obviously head-over-heels in love with this magnificent, starry-eyed, caring, and sweet woman. Tess grinned and decided that these two opposites couldn’t be more perfect for each other. They both deserved their giddy happiness, and she didn’t think she could possibly feel any more thrilled that they had found it.

Not to be outdone, Trevor was looking at Millie like she was a hot fudge sundae with whipped cream and a cherry on top. The no-nonsense, straight-talking, brilliant, and sophisticated woman was impossible not to like. Being the middle child, Trevor had always worked hard to show his worth and stand out against the shining star Trey had always been. Millie’s love and affection was already helping Trevor to be his own man, outside of Trey’s overpowering shadow.

Both of her brothers, whom Tess had assumed would remain playboy bachelors for many years to come, were obviously madly in love with the women by their sides. It wouldn’t surprise Tess a bit if both of her siblings were happily married within a year. She smiled to herself as she pictured miniature versions of her handsome, ornery brothers running around and asking to spend the night with ‘Aunt Tess.’ She couldn’t wait to spoil her nieces and nephews rotten before sending them home to their unsuspecting parents.

Unable to resist the call of the exciting atmosphere, Trey and Trevor both elegantly swept their love interests onto the dance floor. Tess enjoyed watching them whirl and twirl, even though she was anxious about where Sebastian, Pierce, and the queen were.

She had suspected that the ever-tipsy king might be hidden away for the evening, so she wasn’t surprised that he hadn’t yet made an appearance. They would probably shuffle him out for a quick photo opportunity later before promptly ushering him back to his quarters. She didn’t blame them for trying to keep his drinking problem quiet. The whole world didn’t need to know every little detail about the royals’ private lives––even though royal watchers and paparazzi seemed to assume they had the right to investigate and report on their every move.

She bit her lip as she glanced at Mo’s stiff spine and solemn face. Tess worried about what would happen when the royal entourage arrived. If the prince hurt Mo any more than he already had, Tess thought she might actually deck him. That would give the news hounds something to howl over.

The entire room silenced and turned to look when the royals walked in. Tess and Mo glanced at each other, before turning back to the stage, as they waited with bated breath to see how the evening would play out now that the stars of the ball were in attendance.

The queen walked to the microphone and stood by primly while a lackey adjusted the height down for her. Once the helper was pleased with his handiwork, he stepped unobtrusively out of the way. The queen cleared her throat as if to get everyone’s attention, but the room had already gone utterly still and silent.

Sebastian locked eyes with Tess and gave her a brilliant smile. His bold gaze nearly took her breath away. She wanted so much for her relationship with him to continue to blossom, but she was concerned that Mo’s broken heart over the prince would make that impossible.

“We have a monumental and historic announcement to make,” the queen teased.

The entire room seemed to lean forward as they anxiously waited to see what she was going to say. A flash from a camera popped, which made the queen narrow her eyes at the offender. Tess half-expected her to have the picture-taker forcibly removed from the ball, but the woman kept her cool.

One of the tall double-doors into the ballroom slammed open. All eyes turned in unison to see the larger-than-life king barge into the room. He was wearing purple silk pajamas. His attire was hardly appropriate for the ball, but it was still far better than the striped underwear he had been wearing the first time Tess and Mo had met him.

“Am I late?” The befuddled king bellowed. “No one told me it was time to come down.” His face looked perturbed and his voice sounded accusatory, but he didn’t seem to be blaming anyone in particular.

“I am right in the middle of an announcement,” the queen lightly chastised him through the microphone.

“Oh, what’s going on?” The king spoke loudly enough for the entire crowd to hear him, even without a mic, as he walked over to climb up on the stage. One of the many royal assistants loitering about helped the rotund king climb the steps up to the raised stage. Tess decided the assistance was probably a perk of being royal that was necessary in this particular case to keep the obviously tipsy king from taking a tumble.

Once he joined his family, he asked in a stage-whisper, “What’s the big announcement?”

The queen lifted a hand to shield her voice from carrying over to the microphone as she whispered in the king’s ear.

“What? No!” The king seemed scandalized by whatever the queen had told him. At her calm, confirming nod, the man turned to look at Pierce and Sebastian. “You’re sure?”

Tess wasn’t sure which man he had asked the question of, but they both nodded their agreement.

“Well, this… it’s… unprecedented. I thought we all agreed.” He blustered, effectively teasing the audience as everyone anxiously waited to see what all the fuss was about. Bringing a hand up to his face, the man fidgeted with his bushy, white moustache as he tried to process what he had been told.

Looking at each of the other people on the stage for a long moment, he evidently got the reassurance that he needed because he said to his wife. “I’ll make the announcement. It’s my place… for the moment.”

Tess figured that he had just been informed that he was being ousted from the throne and replaced by his son, but she was surprised that this was the first the king was hearing about this plan.

After the king futzed around with the mic stand for a moment, a royal assistant rushed forward to take care of it for him. Once it was adjusted to everyone’s liking, the king said into it, “Attention, everyone.”

The crowd startled in unison at his overly-loud voice, which was now being amplified to the room. Every person in the ballroom had already been riveted by what was about to be announced, but now, each heart was racing as well.

“The queen and I would like to make an announcement that will likely rock the very core of this kingdom’s sensibilities.” He turned to look at the two men standing just behind him. “Pierce… Sebastian… Step forward, please.”

Both men stood tall as they lined themselves up evenly with the king. After a dramatic pause, which made the room practically palpate with curiosity, the king took a deep, fortifying breath and said, “Prince Pierce, whom you all know and love, is a fine, upstanding, well-trained, intelligent, kind, and benevolent young man. He does not, however, have royal blood flowing through his veins.”

The room gasped in unison, but remained silent, other than that collective inhalation of air.

After pausing to build the tension even higher, the king finally continued. “The true heir to the throne, and my successor as the royal monarch of this island, will be my son, Sebastian.”