Dear Sir Elizabeth, In recognition of your recent exemplary service to Her Majesty, you are cordially invited to winter at the Heartgarden, and to select for yourself one permanent consort from among the most beautiful and highly trained aspirants in the realm. Congratulations, brave hero. From the desk of the Headmistress Heartgarden Castle This was not something Elizabeth had ever hoped or planned for. The Royal Heartga...

Sir Elizabeth woke with her arm draped across the width of the luxuriously oversized bed she had been assigned at Heartgarden castle. Registering the empty space beside her, she pushed herself upright, hoping to catch Gabriel, her new trial consort, in the act of performing his morning routine like an earthly human being. As always, she was too late, and he responded to the sound of her movement by stepping out of the att...

“Will you be accompanying me tomorrow morning, my lady?” Gabriel asked, busying himself with the oil lamp beside Sir Elizabeth’s bed, preparing to douse it for the night. “Leave it,” Elizabeth stopped him. “I want to look at you while I decide.” Gabriel stepped back from the flame and looked down at the toes of his high-heeled slippers instead, a warm glow starting in his cheeks. As usual, he was still fully dressed. It h...

Sir Elizabeth lay naked on a cushioned, inclined bench on one of Heartgarden Castle’s many verandas. A roaring fire in the veranda’s hearth kept it pleasant, even as the sun set and a winter breeze rustled the treetops of the courtyard beyond. Twelve aspirants were gathered around her, the wide skirts of their gowns competing for space. Each one held a large silk scarf in his delicate, gloved hands, and fluttered it regul...