FIONA Eventually the princess left, but not before she had summoned a dozen palace maids to help me get ready. They laid out what felt like a million dresses in about a dozen different colors, offering to run my bath and style my hair and lay out my shoes. It all felt so overwhelming and eventually, with a brittle smile on my face, I managed to convince them that I could get ready on my own. As the warmth of my bath sink into my bones, I stared at the frescoed walls of the palace, wondering for a long time, exactly what I had gotten myself into. I knew nothing about the royal family and even less about how to be a mate to the prince. I was going to make a fool of myself in front of everyone. The prince would eventually see that I was no use to him and he would discard me as easily as

