Not-So-Perfect Princess: Not-So-Perfect Princess. Melissa McClone

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      Not-So-Perfect

       Princess

      Melissa McClone

      The Heart

      of a Hero

      Barbara Wallace

       www.millsandboon.co.uk

      Not-So-Perfect

       Princess

      Melissa McClone

      About the Author

      With a degree in mechanical engineering from Stanford University, the last thing MELISSA McCLONE ever thought she would be doing was writing romance novels. But analyzing engines for a major US airline just couldn’t compete with her “happily-ever-afters”. When she isn’t writing, caring for her three young children or doing laundry, Melissa loves to curl up on the couch with a cup of tea, her cats and a good book. She enjoys watching home decorating shows to get ideas for her house—a 1939 cottage that is slowly being renovated. Melissa lives in Lake Oswego, Oregon, with her own real-life hero husband, two daughters, a son, two loveable but oh-so-spoiled indoor cats and a no-longer-stray outdoor kitty that decided to call the garage home. Melissa loves to her from her readers. You can write to her at PO Box 63, Lake Oswego, OR 97034, USA, or contact her via her website: www.melissamcclone.com.

      For Tom

      Special thanks to:

      Elizabeth Boyle, Terri Reed, Schmidt Chiropractic

      Center and the Harlequin Romance team for letting me tell Julianna’s tale!

      Dear Reader,

      Once upon a time, I wrote a story that introduced a secondary character: Princess Julianna of Aliestle. I always thought she would be the perfect heroine to use in a Sleeping Beauty tale if the opportunity to write one ever presented itself.

      In 2010, it finally did!

      I was so excited to be asked to contribute to the Once Upon a Kiss mini-series. I knew exactly what fairytale I wanted to modernize and retell. When my editor told me I could do Sleeping Beauty, I actually squealed.

      Of course, thinking about writing a contemporary fairytale was easier than actually writing it. Not too many fairies and ogre queens around these days! I hope you’ll see how I used elements from the classic tale to springboard into this modern romance.

      Princess Julianna has been sleepwalking through life far too long. It will take a special man—make that prince—to wake her up and make her see all that she is missing out on. A happily-ever-after is waiting for her, if she’ll just open her eyes and follow her heart!

      Enjoy!

       Melissa

      CHAPTER ONE

      “THREE ARRANGED marriages and not one has made it to the altar. That is unacceptable!” King Alaric of Aliestle’s voice thundered through the throne room like a lion’s roar. Even the castle’s tapestry-covered stone walls appeared to tremble. “If men think something is wrong with you, no amount of dowry will convince one to marry you.”

      Princess Julianna Louise Marie Von Schneckle didn’t allow her father’s harsh words to affect her posture. She stood erect with her shoulders back and her chin up, maximizing her five-foot-eight-inch-stature. The way she’d been taught to do by a bevy of governesses and nannies. Her stepmother didn’t take a personal interest in her, but was diligent in ensuring she’d received the necessary training to be a perfect princess and queen.

      “Father,” Jules said evenly, not about to display an ounce of emotion. Tears and histrionics would play into her country’s outdated gender stereotypes. They also wouldn’t sway her father. “I was willing to marry Prince Niko, but he discovered Princess Isabel was alive and legally his wife. He had no choice but to end our arrangement.”

      Her father’s nostrils flared. “The reason your match ended doesn’t matter.”

      Jules understood why he was upset. He wanted to marry her off to a crown prince in order to put one of his grandchildren on a throne outside of Aliestle. He was willing to pay a king’s ransom to make that happen. She’d become the wealthiest royal broodmare around. Unfortunately.

      He glared down his patrician nose at her. “The result is the same. Three times now—”

      “If I may, Father.” Indignation made Jules speak up. She rarely interrupted her father. Okay, never. She was a dutiful daughter, but she wasn’t going to take the blame for this. “You may have forgotten with all the other important matters on your mind, but you canceled my first match with Prince Christian. And Prince Richard was in love with an American when I arrived on San Montico.”

      “These failed engagements are still an embarrassment.” Her father’s frown deepened the lines on his face. The wrinkles reminded Jules of the valley crags in the Alps surrounding their small country. “A stain on our family name and Aliestle.”

      A lump of guilt lodged in her throat. Jules had been relieved when she found out Niko wouldn’t be able to annul his first marriage and marry her. From the start, she’d hoped he would fall in love with his long-lost wife so Jules wouldn’t have to get married.

      Oh, she’d liked Vernonia with its loyal people and lovely lakes for sailing. The handsome crown prince wanted to modernize his country, not be held back by antiquated customs. She would have had more freedom than she’d ever imagined as his wife and future queen. But she didn’t love Niko.

      Silly, given her country’s tradition of arranged marriages. The realist in her knew the odds of marrying for love were slim to none, but the dream wouldn’t die. It grew stronger with the end of each arranged match.

      Too bad dreams didn’t matter in Aliestle. Only duty.

      Alaric shook his head. “If your mother were alive …”

      Mother. Not stepmother.

      Jules felt a pang in her heart. “If my mother were alive, I hope she would understand I tried my best.”

      She didn’t remember her mother, Queen Brigitta, who had brought progressive, almost shocking, ideas to Aliestle when she married King Alaric. Though the match had been arranged, he fell so deeply in love with his young wife that he’d listened to her differing views on gender equality and proposed new laws at her urging, including higher education opportunities for women. He even took trips with her so she could indulge her passion for sailing despite vocal disapproval from the Council of Elders.

      But after Brigitta died competing in a sailing race in the South Pacific when Jules was two, a heartbroken Alaric vowed never to go against convention again. He didn’t rescind the legislation regarding education opportunities for women, but he placed limitations on the jobs females could hold and did nothing to improve their career prospects. He also remarried, taking as his wife and queen a proper Aliestlian noblewoman, one who knew her role and place in society.

      “I’d hope my mother would see I’ve spent my life doing what was expected of me out of respect and love for you, my family and our country,” Jules added.

      But she knew a lifetime of pleasing others and doing good works didn’t matter. Not in this patriarchal society where daughters, whether royal or commoner, were bartered like chattel. If Jules didn’t marry and put at least one of her children on a throne somewhere, she would be considered a total failure. The obligation and pressure dragged Jules down like a steel anchor.

      Her father narrowed his eyes. “I concede you’re not to blame for the three matches ending. You’ve always been a good girl and obeyed my orders.”

      His words made her sound like a favored pet, not the beloved daughter he and her