Page 1 of Once Upon a Prince

Prologue

Upstate New York

Fifteen years ago

“To the fearsome threesome,” Aracely said as she lifted her paper cup.

“To us!” Ella said and smiled at her two friends.

Layla leaned forward and touched her glass to her friends’ and cried out “Fearsome!”

“Shhhh!” Ara said.

It was late and the girls shouldn’t have been up. But it was their last night at camp and they wanted to make their time together last as long as possible. They looked around quickly to see if anyone had heard them. When they thought the coast was clear, they giggled and took a drink of their sodas.

Ella couldn’t believe how quickly three weeks had passed or how well she had gotten to know the two other girls in such a short period of time. She had been apprehensive about going away to a sleepaway camp but her father had insisted. He told her that it would be a great adventure and one that she would remember for the rest of her life.

It helped that her father had gone to the same camp and had made friends that he still talked to. He always knew what was right for her and understood her better than she did herself. Still, she had been reluctant to go. She had felt bad leaving him less than a year after her mother had died, but he had insisted.

“Life moves on, kiddo, and so must we. I loved your mother and will miss her until the day I die, but she wouldn’t want us to mope around. You need to live your life. You need to have some fun. You need to have an adventure and you can do all that at Winslow Creek Camp.”

He was right and it was the best three weeks of Ella’s life. She had gone on hikes, learned how to canoe, swam in the lake, and made some souvenirs to bring home to her father. The best part about it had been becoming friends with Layla and Ara.

They all were in the same cabin and Ella had immediately been drawn to Ara’s fierce nature and Layla’s quiet demeanor. Ella wouldn’t consider herself a shy person but she could be until she got to know people. Ara and Layla had made her feel welcome from the moment they all met.

Now, on their last night together they were sitting on the floor of their cabin with the last of the candies that Layla’s father had given her and soda that Ara had smuggled from the cafeteria. It was a celebration of sorts to their friendship and the fun they had, but Ella couldn’t help but feel a little sad it was all coming to an end.

“You’re going to come out and visit us for Thanksgiving, right?” Ara asked Ella.

“Yeah. If I can,” she said and smiled at her friends.

“Good. I should be able to come out and stay with Ara. Dad has a fundraiser he’s hosting in Long Island and will be more than happy to get rid of me for the weekend,” Layla said.

“Don’t say it that way,” Ara said.

“You know what I mean,” Layla said and playfully hit Ara. Ara smiled back at her but both girls knew that Layla felt like her father was spending more time working on making everyone else’s political careers happen than with his daughter.

“We’ll be together again in a few months. I can’t wait to show you the city. We can go shopping, see Central Park, and go for a ride in the horse-drawn carriages. I can see if Dad can get us tickets to a play, maybe we can go see Phantom of the Opera or something.”

“Oh! I haven’t seen that one yet. I read the book and it was wonderful,” Layla said.

“Of course, you’ve read the book,” Ara said with a laugh.

“You’ll have to let me borrow it. I would love to read it before I see the play,” Ella said.

“Sure. I’ll send it to you as soon as I get home. We’ll stay in contact, right?” Layla asked.

“Absolutely. I don’t have friends like you two back home. I have never met anyone like you two. We’re going to be friends forever!” Ara exclaimed and lifted her glass again.

“Shhh,” Layla teased Ara. She smiled and covered her mouth with her hands.

“You have to tell us all about your father’s new girlfriend and her daughters he wants you to meet,” Layla said to Ella after a moment.

“I bet she’s going to be your new stepmother,” Ara teased.

Not having a mother in their lives was one of the many things that brought the girls together. Layla and Ara hadn’t known their mothers, but Ella had and she still missed her. She wasn’t sure how ready she was for her father to replace her with another woman or if she wanted to share her father and their house with two other girls. She knew her friends were excited for her and the chance to have not only a mother, but sisters, so she kept her fears to herself.

“I will let you know when I meet them. I just hope they’re nice and like me,” Ella admitted.

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