The Prince Is Actually a Princess?!
Chapter 3
─── ✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ: ✧ :･ﾟ✧:･ﾟ✧ ───
[Scene: Rosewood Castle – A Battle of Wills]
The throne room is suffocating. A golden cage draped in velvet and power.
Beatrice Rosewood (Queen/ fl mom)
[calmly] You will marry Prince Adrian of Elivara.
Isla Rosewood (princess/fl)
[coldly] I’d rather set myself on fire.
Beatrice Rosewood (Queen/ fl mom)
Isla.
Isla Rosewood (princess/fl)
No, truly, Mother. I hear self-immolation is all the rage for princesses forced into unwanted marriages.
The nobles shift uncomfortably. The tension in the room thickens, but Isla doesn’t waver. If she’s going to be forced into this, she’ll drag them all down with her.
Duke Hawthorne: [clears throat] Your Highness, Elivara’s alliance is—
Isla Rosewood (princess/fl)
[mocking] Oh, forgive me, Duke, I didn’t realize we were discussing kingdoms and not my life.
Beatrice Rosewood (Queen/ fl mom)
[warning] Enough.
Isla Rosewood (princess/fl)
[venomous] Why? Does the truth make you uncomfortable?
Beatrice Rosewood (Queen/ fl mom)
[voice like steel] The truth, Isla, is that you are a princess. And a princess does not have the luxury of choosing her fate.
Isla Rosewood (princess/fl)
[soft laugh, sharp as a blade] Ah. There it is. The truth.
Her gaze burns into her mother’s.
Isla Rosewood (princess/fl)
[quiet but lethal] It’s not the idea of marriage that repulses me, Mother. It’s the idea of serving men—smiling prettily while my life is carved into pieces for the sake of power.
Beatrice Rosewood (Queen/ fl mom)
[calmly] Then you will be disappointed to learn that this is not about you. It never was.
Isla Rosewood (princess/fl)
[smiling cruelly] Oh, don’t worry, Mother. You’ve made that perfectly clear.
But despite her sharp words, Isla feels something deep inside her crack. The battle is already lost. She storms out, refusing to let them see her break.
─── ✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ: ✧ :･ﾟ✧:･ﾟ✧ ───
[Scene: The Royal Carriage – The Road to Ruin]
The journey to Elivara is long, but Isla refuses to let exhaustion dull her rage. Beside her, Helena watches warily.
Helena Astoria (fl bff)
…Still planning to throw yourself off the nearest cliff?
Isla Rosewood (princess/fl)
[deadpan] No. I’ve upgraded to poisoning the groom. More efficient.
Helena Astoria (fl bff)
Isla.
Isla Rosewood (princess/fl)
[mockingly] “Isla, be reasonable.” “Isla, don’t start a war.” Boring.
Helena Astoria (fl bff)
[exasperated] What exactly is your plan?
Isla Rosewood (princess/fl)
[smirks] Simple. Make Prince Adrian regret this arrangement more than I do.
Helena Astoria (fl bff)
…That’s a terrible plan.
Isla Rosewood (princess/fl)
[sweetly] Oh, but it’ll be so much fun.
─── ✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ: ✧ :･ﾟ✧:･ﾟ✧ ───
[Scene: Elivara Castle – A Game Begins]
The throne room of Elivara is nothing like Rosewood’s. It is built for war, not beauty. And at the center of it stands Prince Adrian.
Dark. Imposing. Exuding the quiet kind of danger that makes men obey and women fear.
…But Isla does not fear him.
She steps forward, head high, and smiles—a deliberate, defiant thing.
Isla Rosewood (princess/fl)
[pleasantly] So. You’re the warlord I’m supposed to marry.
Adrian Elivara ( Crown prince/mc)
[mild amusement] And you’re the princess who would rather burn than stand at the altar.
Isla Rosewood (princess/fl)
[mock gasp] Oh? You’ve heard about me? I’m flattered.
Adrian Elivara ( Crown prince/mc)
[watching her carefully] I make it a point to know the difficult ones.
Isla Rosewood (princess/fl)
[mocking] And yet, you still agreed to this doomed arrangement? How… bold.
Adrian Elivara ( Crown prince/mc)
[smirking slightly] I enjoy a challenge.
Her jaw clenches at the subtle taunt. He’s playing with her. Testing her. Fine.
Isla Rosewood (princess/fl)
[sweetly] Then I hope you’re prepared to lose.
Their eyes lock. A silent war begins.
But Isla does not know the truth lurking beneath Adrian’s mask.
And Adrian does not know that Isla is not a woman who breaks.
─── ✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ: ✧ :･ﾟ✧:･ﾟ✧ ───
Author 💬
"Would it disgust you more, Princess, to know you married a woman… or that you spent your life fearing a man who never existed?" -Adrian
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