My father sends me a good-natured wink about ten minutes into the one-sided conversation. I grin back at him. We’ve always had a close relationship, partially stemming from a mutual weariness regarding the sacrifices royal life often requires. He’s also an only child who was forced to take the throne long before he expected to, after the tragic deaths of both of his parents.

My mother has always had an easier time with royal life. This is a lifestyle she chose for herself. She also enjoys lighter responsibilities, knowing she’ll never have to carry the burden of being the ruling monarch.

The kitchen staff is serving the final course by the time my mother finally runs out of moderately scandalous stories to share. I’ve completely tuned her out.

“You’ll have to let me know if you see them together on campus, Vivienne.” My mother ends her long soliloquy with the news of a rumored relationship between an earl’s son and a duchess’s daughter. Just your average coupling.

“What if I went somewhere else besides Edgewood this fall?” I ask, opting not to respond to my mother’s request and instead finally voicing the thought that’s been percolating in my mind for the past few weeks.

“Go somewhere besides Edgewood?” my mother echoes in surprise. “Like Varmish?” she questions, referencing the university considered to be the second best in the country after Edgewood College.

“No, I—” I start, then stop. I glance over at my father, who nods for me to continue. The encouraging gesture gives me the strength to finish my response. “I want to go someplace outside of Marcedenia.”

“Leave the country for university?” my mother sounds shocked. She looks to my father, but his face remains blank.

“Not for all of university,” I quickly add, trying to temper the extravagant request. Once my mother decides she’s opposed to an idea, that’s typically the end of it, and I doubt it’ll take long for her to reach that conclusion in this instance. “It could just be for a year. One year in another country where I could meet new people, and experience new things, and—”

“It would be extremely difficult to guarantee your safety anywhere else,” my mother interrupts. “And I don’t understand why you’d want to leave Marcedenia for university. Edgewood College is considered one of the best schools in the world.”

“It’s not about the school itself, Mother,” I reply. “Going to university is a chance to meet new people, to experience different things, to gain some independence. It won’t be any of those things for me if I go to Edgewood College. It’ll be another four years of being stared at and whispered about.”

“That’s just the reality of who you are, Vivienne,” my mother lectures. “I know it is difficult at times, but being royal is not an accessory you can take off whenever it suits you. Either you are or you are not.”

“I know that,” I argue, growing increasingly desperate. I hadn’t realized how badly I want this until I said it out loud. “But I could go someplace where no one knows I’m the Crown Princess of Marcedenia. We could tell everyone I’m going on some sort of humanitarian trip before university and withhold the location for security reasons. And you could send agents nearby just in case anything were to happen. Please. I know it’s a lot to ask, but this is what I want, more than anything. You had the chance to experience a normal life, Mother. I never have.”