The Princess Test

Second in The Princess Tales series is The Princess Test. As you might gather from its name, this is a retelling of the old story "The Princess and the Pea."

Lorelei is the story's main character, and Prince Nicholas takes the leading male role. Prince Nicholas's story is more or less generic: he's a prince who respects his people and their jobs and has to put up with the strange whims of his "perfect" royal parents.

Lorelei is a blacksmith's daughter. As she grows up, she more or less needs everything to be perfect, or she simply won't put up with it. As a baby and toddler, she cried to get her way. As a child and teenager, she explained what she needed. She grew up more or less spoiled, but with a sweet temperament.

Then her mother dies. Her father swears never to marry again, because the old stories say nothing but bad things about stepmothers. Instead, he hired a housekeeper, and set out on a journey across the country to attend an earl's horses.

Lorelei tries to help out the new housekeeper, but something got in her way - the same thing that had always gotten in her way ever since she stopped crying about everything: she got sick or had accidents. When she tried washing a dish, her arms got a rash from the soapy water. When she tried the spinning wheel, she either drew blood or created a tangled mess. Et cetera.

Needless to say, the housekeeper was not happy with her new ward. Murderous thoughts began running through her mind. Finally, she got Lorelei stranded. In a forest. In the rain. At night.

Meanwhile, Prince Nicholas is dealing with problems of his own. His parents have decided it's high time he married and began king, but they wouldn't dare accept anything less than perfect bride. So they devise a series of tests that no one less than a true princess could possibly pass.

Nicholas is sure they're going to end up marrying him to a monster. Besides, his heart belonged to someone else.

You're probably seeing pretty clearly where I'm going with this. However, get the book and read it for yourself. I promise you won't be disappointed. The actual flow and detail of the story was not done justice in my summary, and nothing I say can properly appreciate the subtle humor throughout the chapters.