by Zoe Chant
“Like many modern monarchies, Alaska has an elected council of officials who do most of the day to day rulings of this vast, rich land. The royal family is steeped in tradition and mystery, and holds many veto powers, as well as acting as ambassadors to other countries. Known as the Dragon King, the Alaskan sovereign is a reserved figure who rarely appears in public. Margaret, the Queen of Alaska, died twelve years ago, leaving behind six sons.” There was a photo, with boys ranging from about seven to maybe twenty-five. Two of the middle children were identical. One of the twins was wearing a hockey jersey and grinning, the other wore glasses and looked annoyed. The oldest—or at least the tallest—was frowning seriously at the others. The only blonde of the bunch was one of the middle boys, who was looking intently at the camera. The youngest looked painfully bored. They all had tongue-twisting names of more syllables than Carina wanted to try pronouncing.
Carina thought it was an interesting photo. The tension between the oldest two was palpable, and the they were all dressed surprisingly casually. She didn’t follow royal gossip much beyond scanning headlines at grocery store checkouts, but Alaska never seemed to make waves; they were rarely involved in dramas and scandals.
Shadow raised his head and cocked his head at some imagined noise in the forest.
“That’s a lot of siblings,” Carina observed, ruffling his ears. She felt so much safer having him beside her. “Just one sister was more than enough for me.” She didn’t want to admit how much she missed that sister right now.
Shadow returned his head to her knee. “Alaska is a member of the Small Kingdoms Alliance, an exclusive collective of independent monarchies scattered throughout the world. Although Alaska has large amounts of land, they qualify for membership because of their small population.”
Carina turned the brochure over. “There are hot springs about fifty miles north of Fairbanks! I hope to make it there.” Before she ran out of cash. It looked expensive. Maybe she could get work there...she’d heard that it wasn’t hard to find under-the-table jobs in this country.
Shadow suddenly leapt to his feet, barking at something crashing through the woods behind them and Carina nearly tipped over backwards in her camp chair trying to stand up.
She expected to find a moose, or possibly a bear, and she was already picking up the chair to use as a flimsy defense against a charging wild animal.
But it was only a man stepping out of the woods, in an official dark blue uniform emblazoned with the eight gold stars of Alaska.
For a moment, terror every bit as keen as the panic that had gripped her at the first sight of Shadow washed over her. They’d found her.
“You’re trespassing on royal land and I’m going to have to ask you to leave,” he said.
Then she realized with relief that it wasn’t a police officer. He was only a park ranger.
…or was he? Discover love and adventure in a wonderful alternate Alaska with camping and dogs and magic. Reluctant royalty and relentless enemies! Pick up The Dragon Prince of Alaska today!
