ATTENTION! This is a fantasy romantic and dramatic story, with a central narrative about a lgbtqia+ relationships, but which is not limited to that. If you don't like lgbt stories, please get out of here :D This novel is the continuation of a comic that you can find here on tapas for free, with the same name "Dear Princess..." Although not necessarily +18, the story will deal with various subjects such as sex, gender, violence, transphobia, lesbophobia, etc. and eventually there will be episodes +18, which will have prior notice. Please understand that the speeches and attitudes of the characters do not represent the thoughts of the authors and that offensive words and uncomfortable situations for some readers may occur. Our native language is not English, if you find something wrong, please don't hesitate to let us know. In addition, we wish you all a good reading!

Rosa opened her eyes without knowing if she actually had slept. Last night’s discussion still throbbed in her mind. She sat on the bed with clear resentment on her face, observing the soft dawn light that was falling through her bedroom’s window...

The window through which she left…

The princess shook her head trying to chase away the unwanted thoughts and got up. Stared at the mirror on the dressing table, where she saw two big dark circles around her eyes that confirmed that last night's events hadn’t been a dream. She kneaded, distracted, her wavy orange hair, now very messy from the night turning on the pillows.

In a few moments one of the maids would come to prepare her for breakfast. She hoped the maid wasn’t the same as the night before… As if fate wanted to play a trick on her, she heard a light knock on the door and the voice of the girl who asked:

- Your Highness, are you awake?

- Yes, Beatrice, you may come in.

Maybe it was for the best, Rosa could solve their situation soon. The blonde girl came anxiously through the door, looking everywhere, looking for someone, looking for Calandiel.

- She 's not here. - whispered Rosa, watching Bia's movements.

- Forgive me, your Highness, it is not my business to interfere with your private life. -  but despite what she said, the maid’s face looked relieved and slightly satisfied, as if she had any hope of having a relationship with the future Queen.

Rosa felt a twinge of anger. She knew it wasn’t Beatrice’s fault, but her innocence was bothersome. The thought of threatening the girl, to remove the smile she wore was tempting. In case someone found out about her secret, the people of Sunstone would likely turn against her, and the years earning their affection and admiration would be wasted for sure. But she thought better, it was preferable to have friends over enemies around her, after all, the threat was implied.

- I would be very happy if you didn't tell anyone what happened last night.

- Not at all, Your Highness! - Bia seemed hurt that Rosa didn't seem to trust her.

- Great! - She faked a smile and, to change the subject, she added. - Has my mother woken up yet?

- Yes, the Queen requested them to prepare the winter garden for her breakfast.

- Okay, notify the cooks that I am going to join her.

***

Rosa entered the sumptuous winter garden, filled with flowers that fell on the walls and sprouted from the flower beds and vases around. The courtyard lined with light stones was illuminated by the large glass vault that allowed sunlight to pass through. The queen, Iris, was sitting at the table full of delicacies, but her attention was focused on a pile of letters on a nearby table. It was normal to have correspondence every morning, informing matters of the kingdom, but with the approach of the royal wedding the pile had grown much larger. The queen looked up from the letter in her hand and stared at the daughter who was approaching her.

- Good morning, sweetie. - she said, smiling.

- ‘Morning, mom.

Iris seemed particularly amused with the royal wedding arrival. Her brown eyes, marked by the wrinkles of age, were shining with excitement. The mother looked a lot like Rosa, except for a few details: both had the same brown skin tone and wavy orange hair, but Rosa had her father's upturned nose, as well as his freckles and green eyes. The queen used to compare them a lot, especially when talking about their personalities.

Rosa sat by the small table, normally used for snacks, and was immediately served by two servants. The red-haired princess opted for fruit, she didn't have much of an appetite that morning after all. When the servants left, the mother said:

- Your uncle, the Duke of Pales, offered to accompany you to the altar at the wedding ceremony, what do you think? - Said the queen, perusing the letter she held.

- I know he has the best of intentions, but I don't want anyone to replace my father.

The queen sighed and dropped the letter with the others on the side table. With a gesture she dismissed a servant, who carried the small table with the mail away. She watched Rosa rummage through her sliced fruits, without much interest, apparently sulking and deep in thoughts.

- What happened? - she spoke in a slightly lower tone so that the servants in the corner wouldn't hear them.

- It 's nothing…

- For the love of gods, your dark circles are absolutely horrible!

- I had a nightmare. - she spoke in the tone of someone who no longer wanted to chat.

- Right… - the Queen replied, unconvinced. - If this is because of the wedding, we’ve talked several times ...

- I am not thinking of giving up the wedding, if that is what you are suggesting.

- Excellent. This union will bring countless…

- Benefits to our kingdom, I know, I know. And you can finally get rid of that fret you call a husband.

The queen snorted behind her cup of coffee, trying to contain a laugh.

- I've been waiting for this day for so long. - she commented, sighing and returning the cup to the saucer. - When your father died, I was too lost and with all that pressure to elect a consort... You were so small... I ended up choosing without much attention.

- I know, mom... I wish you had chosen a better one too…

And soon she was going to marry someone she didn't choose. A third son, prince of a smaller but very prosperous kingdom, on the other side of the mountains. Since the negotiations for the wedding began, efforts have also been added to create a greater path between the mountains that would facilitate transportation between the two kingdoms. This would bring countless benefits to trade. Sunstone was quite isolated, as half of its borders were made up of mountains, to the south there was the sea and to the east the Elvish kingdom of Celegorm, within one of the densest forests that Rosa had known in her travel times. This gave the kingdom a great defensive advantage - as long as they maintained peace with the elves - but it partially isolated it from the world. The marriage would change that.

It would change everything.

Rosa would take the years of regency off her mother's shoulders and take on the throne. She would become queen. Despite being an old wish, the idea of being stuck in one place for the rest of her life still bothered her from time to time. A queen could not travel and experience the adventures she was used to, but the kingdom was as important to her as it had been to her father, and he had also given up his adventures to be a good king. One of the best, according to the elderly and kingdom records. She also wanted to make her parents proud and to be admired by the kingdom. She was determined, but that didn't make it any easier.

 She had given up a lot ...

***

The days did not seem to pass. Countless people came to see her for details of the wedding, which, although boring, distracted her a little from her undesired thoughts. However, when she was alone, she kept thinking about Calandiel. She tried very hard not to think, but she couldn't. The elf girl's disappointed face appeared every time she blinked…

"She must be fine." The young princess thought one day, after the weaver went out with the measurements of her wedding dress and left her alone in the princess's large room. "She should be back at the castle by now." Rosa looked at herself in the mirror, the corset was so tight that it made her breasts look even bigger. "Will she attend the wedding?" Her green eyes looked back at herself with a clear and obvious response: "Of course not. Even if she wasn't so submissive, she would surely come up with an excuse for not coming." Although she didn't want to deal with the likely drama of having Calandiel at the wedding, the thought of not seeing her soon bothered her. "I can go to Celegorm, maybe we can talk... I didn't want to end it all like that..."

Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a commotion in the corridor. She quickly put on a light dress, which she used to wear for the daily activities at the castle, but before reaching the door, she heard a knock. Too curious for formalities, she pulled the door open and came face to face with a guard, apparently startled by the princess's sudden appearance.

- What is going on? - Rosa asked before the guard had the chance to recover his posture and deliver the message.

- Your Highness, Prince Calen Galanis was seen near the east gate. He requests an audience with Your Highness and the Queen Regent. - Said the man recovering his posture.

- Calen? - Rosa 's stomach seemed to have sunk half a meter. - What is he doing here?

The guard looked disconcerted again, probably because when he hurried to give her the message of the unexpected guest, the poor man did not ask the prince's motives. Before he answered, Rosa added.

- Was my mother informed about this?

- Yes, Your Highness, another guard was tasked with notifying her.

- Alright. If the prince arrives before I get ready, let him know that I shan't be long. I cannot receive him dressed like that.

The man bowed and left. As he walked down the corridor stairs on his way to the main hall, Rosa saw two young maids coming from the other end, also heading for the hall. Both whispered happily and giggled, so distracted that they didn't even notice they were passing by the princess.

- Both of you! - Rosa called, feigning an angry tone, and the two girls jumped. The princess started to laugh. - Would you please help me get ready to receive prince Calen.

- It would be our honor, Your Highness.- Answered one of them, while the two bowed.

Rosa felt the joy of the moment fade rapidly, she was not the same as she used to be.

The young princess entered her room accompanied by the two maids, both of which had features common to that region, with dark skin and brown hair tied in a bun. If she remembered well, their names were Thaly and Portia. As a future queen, she had to remember many important names of the nobility, but Rosa insisted on decorating the names of the humbles as well. Acts like these, and a little kindness, had already helped her in several situations. Besides, she was certain that no one spit on her food, as they used to do with her stepfather.

Rosa watched without much attention as the girls went to the closet to choose clothes that would best suit the occasion. If Calen was there, did it mean that Calandiel hadn't returned to Celegorm? Or was she hurt and he found her nearby? But the guard didn’t inform her about anything of the kind, they wouldn't leave out an information as important as that.

The maids were happily whispering again and Rosa could guess why. The younger elven prince was known for his beauty and kind attitude. He had already escorted Rosa several times on his return trips from Celegorm and slept at Sunstone’s Castle, becoming the favorite target of the younger maids. In the meantime, he used to court - quite formally - the human princess, as was to be expected, since both kingdoms had diplomatic relations for decades, with only one marital union missing. Rosa knew that Calen only courted her at the behest of his father, Calandiel had confided to her that her brother's heart belonged to another woman. And even if she hadn't said anything, the prince's serious, reserved and formal attitude made it clear that he had no intention of taking the idea too far.

After all, marriages between elves and humans were not very common, firstly because of the age difference and secondly because of the difficulty of birthing heirs, since both, despite the similarities, were of different species. It was the excuse used by Rosa when she formally rejected the young prince. He would look relieved, despite disguising it by kind words that feigned hurt but understanding.

- Does Your Highness prefer the blue or the green dress? - Asked Portia, taking Rosa out of her daydreams.

- The green one highlights my eyes. Hurry up, the prince can come anytime.

Thaly and Portia giggled excitedly as they removed the green dress from its stand.

- Did he come to propose Your Highness? - Thaly spoke anxiously, while helping the princess to dress.

- Is that what you are thinking? - Rosa replied in surprise, putting her arms on the long sleeves of the velvet dress.

- What else would it be? - Portia replied with a certain boldness that Rosa decided to ignore. - The prince has always courted Your Highness, he must have been in despair with the sudden notice that his love was about to get married and decided to make a last minute proposal!

In fact, anyone who saw things from the outside, without knowing what Rosa knew, would certainly see the situation this way: A prince, the second son of a large and rich kingdom, courts the princess for years on end, and suddenly loses his beloved to a third heir in line, from a lesser kingdom. In desperation, he decides to ride to the princess's kingdom, to ask for her hand in marriage, or to die in a duel against the other suitor. At least it would be like that in the minds of the young women, fantasizing about romantic stories. No one knew that Calandiel had been there, not more than a week ago.

- That 's absurd! Prince Calen and I are just friends.- She said trying to chase away thoughts about Cali. - He and King Evelon were notified about my intentions of marrying prince Gabriel months ago, and no objections were made.

“None, except for Cali's...”, the princess thought.

- He could have changed his mind! - Thaly spoke with a dreamy look, pinning emerald earrings to Rosa's ears.

- Well, we will see if that is true soon enough. - She said standing up, ready to put on her heels and go down to the main hall.

***