Married To My Bodyguard Prince

The Kingdom of Velmore was the kind of place that made people stop and stare. Not because it was the largest kingdom or the most feared one. It wasn't either of those things and everyone knew it. But there was something about Velmore that got under your skin the moment you arrived. The way the white stone walls of the palace caught the morning light and threw it back at you. The way the gardens were always in bloom no matter the season like the earth there had simply decided to be generous and never stopped. The markets were loud and colorful and the people walked with the easy confidence of those who had never known real hunger or real fear. Velmore was not the most powerful kingdom on earth but it was a good one. A warm one. The kind of place that took care of its own. And at the very center of all that warmth, inside the palace that sat on the hill like it had always been there and always would be, lived Princess Miranda. She was the only daughter of King Aldous of Velmore and she had never once in her life wanted for a single thing. King Aldous was actually one of the gentler kings you could find if you went looking. He was fair with his people and patient with his council and he had a laugh that filled whatever room he was standing in. But he had loved Miranda's mother with the kind of love that doesn't recover from loss. When she died — Miranda was only four, too young to hold the memory properly, only old enough to feel the shape of the empty space she left behind ,something in Aldous shifted quietly and permanently. He looked at his daughter after that and saw her mother's face looking back at him and he simply could not say no to it. He never could again after that. Even if she wanted his crown he would gladly give it to her. So Miranda grew up getting everything she pointed at. It showed. —— She was sitting in front of her mirror when the morning actually started for her. Not when the sun came up. Not when the maids came in with water and fresh linens and moved around her room like quiet careful shadows. The day did not begin until Miranda sat down at her mirror and it began on her terms and at her pace and not a moment before. Pella was doing her hair. Pella had been doing her hair for two years now and she was good at it. Good enough to still be here which was the highest compliment Miranda gave anyone in this palace. Her hair was thick and golden and fell past her shoulders and it deserved to be handled with care. Pella knew this. Everything was going fine. Then Pella's fingers caught on a small tangle near the ends. Barely anything at all. Just a slight resistance. A nothing. But Miranda felt it. Her eyes moved to Pella's reflection immediately. Pella's face went still the way it always did when she knew she had made a mistake. "Sorry my princess. Small tangle. Won't happen again." Miranda looked at her for a moment. Just one moment. "Get out." "My prin…” "Send Dara in." Pella set the comb down gently on the dresser and curtsied and left without another word. The door clicked shut behind her. In the corner of the room another maid named Sella was standing very still holding a tray of pins and pretending she was not there. Smart girl. Dara came in a minute later. She looked at the room once, picked up the comb, and started working without being told a single thing. No questions. No apologies for the delay. She just came in and got to work like she already knew what was needed. That was exactly why Dara was Miranda's favorite. The rest of the morning went the way it was supposed to. Hair done. Face done the way she liked it — clean and precise with just enough color on the lips. The pale blue dress because it was Tuesday and on Tuesdays she wore blue. The small gold earrings not the pearl ones. Pearl ones were for evening. These were not complicated rules. They were just standards. Simple standards that people somehow always found difficult to keep up with. Miranda stood from the dresser and smoothed the front of her dress once and looked at her reflection and was satisfied. She was just finishing when the knock came at the door. "My princess." It was one of the outer maids, her voice careful and polite the way they all were. "Lord Cedric is here to see you." Miranda looked at herself one last time in the mirror. Reached up and tucked one small strand of hair back into place. Then she turned from the mirror. "Send him in."