Chapter 1

Isabella was in hiding. Well... not really in hiding but away from her homeland, her family and her culture. She was born in Spain and left her father and mother, as well as her younger brother, then 2, to move to England, where she grew up for most of her childhood. That was until she moved to Illea with one of her mother's old friends. Illea was a beautiful place, landscape wise. The country itself was in political turmoil with the royal family having supreme power over the land. The caste system was also in place, leaving no choice for the people. Rebellions were prominent as people wanted change.

Isabella sat at her desk, fussing over papers for work. She, since she was young, had taken a passion for any kind of job and because of that, was constantly busy. Her table lamp was on, and she was vigorously finishing off the billing paperwork, whilst her guardian, Maria, an ex-maid of her mother's cooked something delicious. Suddenly, the doorbell rang, signalling the postman's arrival. Maria rushed to the door, just to find one single plain looking letter from the postman. However, what was quite noticeable from it was the crest that was printed on the front. Almost all Illean people knew this crest – it was the royal family's.

Maria took the letter after she thanked the postman and hurried inside. After living in Illea for over 20 years, she knew exactly what this was for.

"Isabella darling, come down. I have something for you." Maria yelled up the stairs.

Isabella immediately stopped her work and hurried from her room as regally as she could, her black wavy hair flying behind her. She could see Maria getting increasingly excited by the minute and wondered why.

"Look, my little princess, look. It's the letter for the selection of Prince Michael." Maria gushed.

Isabella was a bit confused – what is the selection? Then she remembered what Maria and her husband Jorge told her two years ago. She vaguely recalled Maria saying it is a contest to win the heart of the Prince and to become a princess. She looked up at Maria, who had a pleading look on her face.

"Mi querida niña, please sign up. Think of the experience you will have there at the palace. Please sign up mi hija". Maria begged.

This shocked Isabella, as Maria hardly spoke in such a tone, let alone in Spanish. Isabella thought about it – why not?

"Yes mi amigo I will"

That one sentence had Maria quite giddy with excitement. She ran to the study to grab the best fountain pen she could find and dragged Isabella towards the grand table to fill out the application form. When Isabella looked at the first question, she became unsure what to fill in.

mi querida niña – my dear girl

mi hija – my daughter

mi amigo – my friend

Hi guys, its Lilliana here. There we go, Chapter 1 of the Secret One. Hope you guys enjoyed it. Favourite if you did and follow the story. Remember to also review it so I can add what you guys want. And excuse the translations – they are from Google Translate. Also, I am currently at school so updates may be slow. Sorry :) I will try to update as quickly as possible.