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The Prince Who Learned to Smile : When Laughter Heals a Kingdom

"Your laughter is an insult to this kingdom's suffering. Silence yourself, or I'll have you removed." Prince Kael Ashford's words cut through the throne room like ice. He is known throughout the realm as the Frozen Prince—a ruler who hasn't smiled in seven years, not since the night his family was slaughtered in a coup that left him the sole survivor at fifteen. Aria Sunfield never thought her laughter would land her in the palace. As a village girl known for bringing joy to Sunhaven's darkest days, she's summoned to the capital under the Treaty of Light—an ancient law requiring the kingdom to appoint a "Companion of Joy" during times of unrest. Her mission: spend one season teaching the cold prince to smile again, or her village will lose its protection and fall to raiders. What should be simple becomes impossible. Kael doesn't want joy—he wants revenge. He's convinced his family's murderers still lurk in his own court, and happiness feels like a betrayal of their memory. But Aria refuses to give up. With every sunrise walk, every shared meal, every moment she chips away at his frozen walls, something unexpected happens: he begins to feel again. As Kael's heart thaws, a deadly conspiracy emerges. The same forces that destroyed his family now want Aria dead, because a smiling prince is a powerful prince—one who could unite the fractured kingdom and expose their treason. When assassins come for the girl who taught him to live again, Kael must choose: retreat behind his walls of ice, or fight for the one person who showed him that love isn't weakness—it's the greatest strength of all. She came to teach him to smile. He'll burn down kingdoms to keep her safe.
blackishden222 · 3.7k Views