Genuine Fraud

"The person you pretend to be..." She's not supposed to be here, and it was never supposed to last this long. When Queen Annemarie sneaks away to the Unclanned territories to find her lost lover, her secret proxy, Anastasia Brown, is left to rule the kingdom of Eshen. Annie must command the Court, sign the Queen's name, and maintain an impossible charade for six months. But the palace is full of deadly secrets. Between surviving poisoned blades in her own bathing chambers and managing a restless council, the pressure is mounting. To make matters worse, Crown Prince Raoulin has arrived early to visit his fiancée. He is charming, inquisitive, and completely unaware that the woman he is sending love letters to is a commoner. Or is he? As Raoulin launches his own investigation into the North, the carefully constructed walls of Annie's lie begin to crumble. Can Annie survive the pressure of living a lie, or will one fatal slip end in her execution? **This is being written for the June Community Magazine contest! The theme is "The person you pretend to be..." Feel free to follow along!**