Naomi

April Waldron

Description

This story draws some comparisons from "Princess Diaries 2", most notably the 30 day time frame to find a husband.

Naomi is the princess of Limren. She turned twenty-two this past week and Parliament is enforcing the royal marriage law. She now has to find a potential husband in 30 days. The man she loves is responsible for her time limit and she just found out that someone is out to get her. Will she have a chance with her love? Can she make her decision known before someone gets hurt?

Sujets

• Religious
• Christian novel
• Princess
• Naomi
• Fiction

Informations

• Publié par: WestBow Press
• Date de parution: 08 septembre 2022
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781664274983
• Langue: English

Extrait

NAOMI
A PRINCESS TALE
Fairly Tale Mysteries- Book One
APRIL WALDRON


Copyright © 2022 April Waldron.
 
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
 
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, names, incidents, organizations, and dialogue in this novel are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
 
 
 
WestBow Press
A Division of Thomas Nelson & Zondervan
1663 Liberty Drive
Bloomington, IN 47403
www.westbowpress.com
844-714-3454
 
Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.
 
Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.
Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.
 
ISBN: 978-1-6642-7499-0 (sc)
ISBN: 978-1-6642-7500-3 (hc)
ISBN: 978-1-6642-7498-3 (e)
 
Library of Congress Control Number: 2022914580
 
 
 
WestBow Press rev. date: 09/08/2022
CONTENTS
Prologue
 
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
 
Epilogue
About The Author
PROLOGUE
The plan was in motion. No one rejected him without consequences. He waited at his club for the news that everything had gone as planned. It was almost three in the morning, so it shouldn’t be too much longer until his man came to tell him that the princess was gone.
But by dawn there was still no news. There wasn’t even a mention of an attempted assassination. What had gone wrong?
A few days later, he heard that a gentleman had been apprehended on palace grounds and had been sent to jail. He also heard that Parliament was going in session to discuss the marriage law regarding the royal family.
The law stated that any princess born before the crown prince had to be married by her twenty-first birthday, and the crown prince had to be married by his thirtieth birthday—this was to ensure that the line would continue. Since Princess Naomi’s twenty-first birthday was last year, and she was not married yet, Parliament was going to force the issue.
He pondered all of this and decided he would just have to do the job himself. It was a good thing he was friends with the royal family. He smirked. Revenge certainly would be sweet, and the country of Limren never would be the same.
1
CHAPTER
N aomi enjoyed walking through the castle that she called home. The presence of the castle always made her smile since it felt so welcoming and peaceful. She was a pretty girl with wavy dark-brown hair and slate-grey eyes. She was about average height at five feet six. She could definitely turn heads if she wanted to, but what was special about her was her heart.
She had accepted Jesus as her Lord and Savior at a young age and strived to be like him in her everyday walk. This beautiful morning, she was on her way to the library, which was in the east tower, when she heard a voice call out behind her.
“Princess Naomi! A moment of your time, please?”
Naomi turned to see who had spoken. It was Stephen Fawkes, her father’s chamberlain. He was a thin, balding gentleman who took his job very seriously. He was also like family because he had served her dad since he was a young man.
“Hello, Fawkes. How can I help you?” Naomi with a smile.
“Your father told me that he needs to speak with you as soon as possible. He is in his study right now,” he said.
“Thank you for telling me, Fawkes, since your schedule is still very busy.”
“You’re welcome, Your Highness. King Isaac assumed you would be headed to the library, and that is part of my route,” Fawkes said.
“He knows me well,” she said, laughing. “Let me know if there is anything I can assist with this afternoon, all right?”
“I will, Princess Naomi!” And with that, Fawkes went on his way.
Naomi continued down the hallway. Since she was no longer heading to the library, she took the left corridor toward the north tower, instead of the right, which led to the east. She arrived outside of her dad’s study within minutes and nodded to his guards, Sebastian Crowley and Memphis Carmichael.
Sebastian and Memphis were complete opposites in both appearance and temperament, but they worked very well together. Sebastian was short, stocky, and very outgoing, while Memphis was tall, thin, and spoke only when necessary. They both greeted Naomi with short bows of their heads. She knocked on the door and waited until she heard “Enter” before she went in.
Walking into her dad’s study always felt like entering a small library. Three of the four walls had built-in shelves full of books. The last wall faced north and was made up entirely of windows; that was where the king’s desk was located.
Standing behind the desk, gazing out the windows, was King Isaac. He was a jovial man, but he also had a seriousness about him that had served him well. He had the same slate-grey eyes as his daughter. His black hair had started to turn grey, but he was just as fit as he had been in his twenties.
“Hi, Dad. You asked to see me?” Naomi said cheerfully.
Isaac turned around and smiled at her. “Yes, I did. Please have a seat.” He gestured to the chairs in front of his desk. As Naomi took a seat, Isaac sat behind his desk. “Naomi, it is time we had a discussion about the marriage law. And I also need to make you aware of some protection details to which you have not been privy.”
Naomi looked at her dad with understanding and acceptance. She knew that things would be changing with Parliament forcing the issue of her marriage, after a year with no prospects in sight. “All right, Dad. What do we need to discuss first?”
“I have been informed that you have thirty days to seek a potential husband from among your male friends. If you are unable to find any of them suitable, Parliament will start seeking eligible men from among our allies,” Isaac told her.
“I see. Dad, was Jayden at this meeting?”
“Yes. As a matter of fact, he was the one who suggested we give you a month.”
“Hm. Interesting. I wish I knew how that man’s mind worked,” she muttered.
King Isaac raised an eyebrow at her comment but didn’t ask her about it. “I think the belief, Naomi, is that you know your friends already and don’t need to spend much time with them to determine who you could see as a potential husband.”
“Dad, let’s be honest. We already know who I would pick, but he hasn’t made a move in the past year. And now, pulling this stunt …” She sighed. “I will have to make a showing of it and include most if not all of my male friends who are currently in the country.”
King Isaac processed that for a moment and then spoke. “I think you may be right. We have this week to organize our thoughts, and then your thirty days will start.”
“Well, at least we will have time to plan. What was the other thing you needed to speak with me about, Dad?”
“Yes. You know how you created your W omen’s Defense League?” he asked.
“Yes, sir. I created it so that women of all classes could learn useful defense skills to protect themselves. We also created a small squadron that works with the royal guard on situations that need feminine insight.”
He smiled proudly at her. “You have done well with it, but you are not the only one who has created a similar military squadron.”
Before she could ask, there was a knock on the door, and King Isaac quickly said, “Enter.”
Poking his head around the door was Prince Matthew. He was younger than Naomi by two years. He had their dad’s height and build with their mother’s hazel eyes.
“Matt, what are you doing here so early?” Naomi asked. “I thought you and Dad normally had your state conversations in the late afternoons.”
He grinned at her. “Normally, we do. But I knew that after the Parliament session this morning, Dad would talk to you as soon as he could. And he might need me to explain some things in more detail.”
“You have perfect timing, son. I was just going to tell her about the squadron.”
Matt looked at his dad. “Do you want me to explain it, then?”
“Yes, please,” King Isaac said. “I don’t want to miss anything, and you have all the information.”
Naomi watched as their dad sat more comfortably in his chair, and Matthew took the chair adjacent to her at the desk. Once they were settled, she looked at Matt, waiting to hear more about this other group.
“The R oyal Protection and Rescue Squadron (RPRS) was formed as a discrete agency for the nobility so there would be less impact on the local police departments in high-profile situations. If the RPRS receives a tip regarding one of the nobility, it then is passed on to me via a discreet messenger. The squadron wasn’t fully operational until we received our first tip.” Matthew stopped to take a breath and to see if Naomi had any questions.
“When did the RPRS become operational?” Naomi asked.
“The night of your twenty-first birthday,” Matthew said.
“My twenty-first birthday was when everyone expected me to announce a suitor. Who was targeted?”
Matthew took a deep breath and looked at King Isaac for reassurance.
“Go ahead and tell her, son,” King Isaac said.
“You were the target, Naomi,” Matt said