All good things must, in fact, come to an end.

The judges spent nearly a month looking over your stories, and they all remarked that they were very good - which made it hard in the end to narrow down the top three stories. Everyone that did participate will be getting stickers to mark their Wattpairs book, regardless of anything else.

So, without further ado.

Third Place Winner

Werks, Queens, and Other Dangerous Things by KathaOwens

One queen. One apprentice. Giant metal clockwork insects.

It's 1897 and clockwerks of destruction threaten the kingdom of the Netherlands. In response, the Royal Council is forcing inexperienced Queen Wilhelmina into a close alliance with either Britain or Germany. But Mina is no fool. She knows Queen Victoria and Kaiser Wilhelm make empires, not alliances.

Bakianto of Java hasn't the luxury of throwing away any opportunity. When offered an apprenticeship (in werks of purpose, not destruction, of course) a Noordeinde Palace, he takes it. Mayhaps he can use it as a chance to improve with the old twist and bend while he tracks down the who abandoned him. Say what you will of the palace toffs: they suit his purpose.

When Mina and Kian are thrown together, everything changes. Mina has to discover why the Council is pushing the alliance. Kian must learn the real reason his father left. Then there is the pesky business of how they feel about each other: an undeniable attraction despite the unsuitableness of the match. Really the whole thing is becoming quite a bother!

All the while, attacks from werks of destruction grow more frequent, threatening the country, their relationship, and their very lives. 

Second Place Winner

Fake it by BornToWrite47

Sugar McKenzie and August Wakefield couldn't be more different – Sugar, a meticulous, caring, but lonely paramedic and August, a charming former reality star still chasing his dream. But they've both closed themselves off emotionally from others...that is until they match with each other on a dating app.

After a disastrous first date, the two agree to never see each other again, yet they both can't stop thinking about one another, and circumstances keep pulling them back into each other's lives. Are they the real answer each other seeks, or will they continue to go through their lives hiding behind wall, just faking it?

First Place Winner 

Mirrored Snow by makexbelieve

A gender-reversed retelling of Snow White told from the perspective of the girl trapped inside the queen's mirror.

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Mirror has spent her entire life spying for Queen Maia from inside palace mirrors. When Prince Snowdon arrives – and is the first person other than the queen who can see her – she dares to dream of escape. The queen plans to kill Snowdon before he can take her throne, and Mirror is the only person with the knowledge to save him, but she has to learn to see herself as more than an empty reflection first.