Note: I apologize if there are grammatical errors, my native language is Spanish, I did my best to translate it into English. This period fanfic is set in the Bridgerton style, if you like this series you will enjoy the fanfic. This story will have approximately 15 chapters and I will update it every day since it is almost finished.

Princess Rebecca Armstrong carefully reviewed the correspondence, until she found the letter she was looking for, the letter from Lady Irin, who told her that the new season would soon begin, in which Queen Nam would choose her diamond, the most worthy lady of all. , of whom there were certain contemplated candidates. Lady Irin mentioned a list of debutantes who would be in the queen's sights, which interested the princess quite a bit, who was determined to marry her brother off once and for all, after all, he would be king and had to produce an heir. .

She sighed, she knew that she would have an argument with him, her brother had no intention of getting married, even though he was the heir to the crown. However, her parents entrusted her with the task of finding a suitable wife for the prince, a task that would not be easy, but the princess loved her challenges. In the Armstrong kingdom, marriage between two people was allowed regardless of their gender, however, this rule did not apply to the firstborn, who had to marry to produce new heirs and thus perpetuate the family name.

Of course, the princess herself was very relieved that she didn't have to father children, since she didn't care for men in the slightest. Her real passion was diplomatic relations, such was it that she had learned more than five languages to be able to communicate with a wide variety of allies and potential allies. She was deeply interested in strengthening relations with Queen Nam, since her military power was far superior to the rest of the neighboring kingdoms.

If there was one thing the princess disliked, it was undoubtedly the uncertainty of war. The kingdom was losing many resources that were not quickly recovered, so keeping the peace was paramount. Nor should it be ruled out having good relations with the most powerful kingdoms, in case things got out of control and diplomacy was no longer an option.

After finishing reading Lady Irin's long letter, she went out in search of his brother. She was sure she would find him practicing his archery, and so did she. She was one of Prince Richie's favorite hobbies, as she liked to affectionately call him. He, in turn, called her Becky, since they got along very well since they were little and used to play a lot. There were no servants nearby, so the princess could speak with some freedom.

"I knew I would find you here, brother," the princess greeted with a smile. Her brother shot the arrow and then looked at her, his face was quite serious.

"You always know where to find me, that's the problem."

She laughed before answering, surely her brother had an idea of the matter at hand.

"It's time you came with me on one of my trips, Richie. And I won't take no for an answer."

"And may I know the reason for this trip?"

"Of course. You are going to marry this season's diamond, Queen Nam."

"Always so direct, dear sister. You will be disappointed to learn that I do not plan to follow you on this journey."

The princess heaved a long sigh, her brother was somewhat stubborn, but she had already run out of time, her parents were quite angry with him.

"Richie, please. You know very well that if it were a suggestion I would ask you. But this is a direct order from the kings, from your kings. I know very well that you do not want to go, and the truth is that I would prefer to travel with you in other circumstances, however, it is time to fulfill your duty as crown prince."

"I don't feel like it. What if I don't want to be the heir?"

"Well, I have a proposition for you. I have already planned our stay with Lady Irin, who is quite close to Queen Nam. It is part of my duty to make some agreement or alliance with the queen, so I only ask that you flirt with the debutantes long enough to achieve it."

"Wouldn't that be giving those ladies false hope, Becky? I'm not sure if it would be honorable of me to play with those ladies."

"Richie, understand one thing, you are a prince. Whoever she marries you will be queen. Any lady will know what is at stake. And it is time that you consider a wife for yourself, father told me that this is your last chance to choose, or he will do it for you."

The prince clenched the bow with one hand, not willing to agree to a marriage arranged by his father the king.

"So this was your idea?"

"Yes, it was. It's the only thing that occurred to me. Furthermore, I have an interest in forming an alliance with that kingdom. I only ask that you have an open mind. Maybe fate has a woman for you, Richie."

The prince weighed his sister's words, staring into space for a moment. Finally, he nodded before continuing to speak.

"It's okay, Becky, I trust you. We will go to that kingdom, and I will try to fulfill my duty, I will get a wife and you that alliance."

The princess smiled with joy, took her brother's hands affectionately. He smiled back at her.

"Don't worry Richie, I assure you that everything will be fine."

The preparations for the trip were ready the next day, the day the princes left with their escorts for the other kingdom. It would be a journey of about a week, arriving just in time for the season opener, when the debutantes would appear before the queen and then attend the royal ball that night.

The princess was happy, after all, she liked to travel a lot, besides, she considered Lady Irin a friend of hers, since she could be sincere with her both in person and through her letters. A part of her was also excited to see her brother get married, and if it was for love, it would be even better. After all, her parents were in love, although they themselves said that not everything was perfect, they were happy thanks to the love they had for each other.

On the other hand, Lady Irin was finishing preparing the rooms in her mansion that were meant to receive royal guests, and although tired, she was very excited. She was curious about Princess Becky's brother, as she got used to calling her, since she considered her the sister she never had, so she thought that perhaps she would have one more friend, even if friendship between a man and a single woman was not so well regarded in society.

"Lady Irin, this message has arrived for you from the queen," her housekeeper announced, interrupting her thoughts.

"Thank you Mary."

The message was quite clear: as soon as the princes arrived, she had to go present them immediately to the queen. Lady Irin smirked, it had been a while since the queen had been curious about someone, and who better than an old friend to bring her some entertainment. No doubt, dealing with the king's problems could be quite exhausting and routine, so it wasn't a bad thing to distract the queen from time to time, after all, if she was happy, the kingdom was happy.

Lady Irin had the feeling that this would be a great season, the arrival of a prince in the land of suitors would make things more interesting, she was sure that even the queen thought the same.

"Everything is ready, milady," the housekeeper announced again, bowing slightly.

"Thank you Mary."

Everything was already prepared to receive the princes the next day, so Lady Irin retired to rest and sleep soundly. The only one who couldn't seem to get any sleep from her was the queen, who had dealt with one of her husband's seizures earlier that day, and she felt really tired, but her insomnia was stronger. Her mind was lost in the past, when the king still had a glimmer of self-awareness, some mastery of her mind, and it made her happy.

The love between them seemed strong, intense and lasting, but it was no longer there, it had vanished over time. The queen sometimes shed a few tears because of the past, that was one of those moments. At night, loneliness felt stronger than ever, like a cloak that covered everything, almost like the starry sky, its existence impossible to deny. It was then when her room became suffocating and she went out to the balcony to get some fresh air, to admire the stars, which her husband studied so much in her youth.

And she thought she saw him there, in the stars,young and fresh, smiling at her and holding out a hand, whispering I love you.Then her heart was comforted, thinking that at least she had loved, intenselyand deeply, that man who had stolen her heart and mind from her. She thought ofthe new season that would soon begin, of the buds of love that could appear,and she hoped, from the bottom of her heart, that once again another couplewould find the same love that she experienced.