Chapter 1: The Queen's Request

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Plot Twist: A Collaborative Novel is an interactive book project where you get to help decide what the characters say and do next. Check out the introduction to Plot Twist: A Collaborative Novel for all the juicy details on how this works.* And be sure to subscribe so you don’t miss a step on this fun adventure.

It’s here!!! The very first chapter of our very first collaborative novel together! I’m so excited that ya’ll chose the Magic and Gender Mayhem storyline, because I am already in love with these characters.

Speaking of characters, here are the names you chose for them! You did such a fabulous job on them!

The Details on How Plot Twist Works:

• Starting today, I’ll drop a new chapter each Tuesday morning based off of the feedback you gave me the week before.

• After the chapter drops, you’ll have 24-hours to vote in the poll and/or give feedback in the comments on what the characters should say or do next.

  • Be sure to keep notifications turned on for the Substack app and keep an eye out for my emails on Tuesday mornings.

  • Everyone can read along and free subscribers can vote in the polls. Paid subscribers get to suggest ideas in the comments + other fun bonuses.

• Periodically, I’ll drop two chapters a week, a bonus behind-the-scenes post, etc. so keep your eye out for those too.

• Using your feedback, I’ll go off and write the next chapter, popping into The Group Chat as I do to ask for help and input as I go – so if you want to be even more involved, be sure to join the chat.

Enjoy the read, and let me know in the comments what you liked, loved, hated, want to see more of, want to change, etc. This is OUR book, so have your say!

Details done! Now, on to our first chapter!

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Photo by Praveen Thirumurugan on Unsplash

CHAPTER 1: The Queen’s Request

The hardest part about asking her best friend and bodyguard to impregnate her was finding the right moment to do it. As Queen, Selene didn’t get much alone time, and when she did it was late at night, and Willem was usually gone by then, out dancing and flirting at the local gay bar. She could go with him, but they had a strict no talking about royal business on personal pleasure time policy, and this was definitely royal business. Which is why Selene sat there awkwardly tongue tied, staring at Willem as he stood above her.

“Get it out already,” he smirked, knowing full well what she was about to say and how horribly hard it was for her to ask it.

“You know how Reggie died and then Ellis transitioned,” Selene started. Willem barked out a belly laugh in response. “How can you laugh at that?”

“Why would you start with that?” Willem wheezed. “Goddesses above and below you are so bad at this. No wonder you never get laid.”

“I get laid,” Selene insisted. “I got laid last week.”

“Once or twice a year does not count as getting laid.” Willem shook his head and pointed to a woman in a suit standing in the corner. “And why is she creepily lurking?”

Ashley stood up straighter. “I’m here to make sure she does it.”

That broke Willem. He fell over in a hysterical fit of laughter onto the Queen’s elaborately embroidered bedspread. “Were you going to watch the insemination too?”

“Goddess no.” Ashley looked appalled.

“You two are hilariously horrible at this,” Willem laughed, clinging on to the tall golden poster at the end of Selene’s bed.

“Can she have it or not?” Ashley pointed to Willem’s crotch.

“I’ve never had two women pleading for my dick before,” Willem wiped his eyes. “It’s a new feeling. I’m not entirely sure I like.”

In a huff, Ashley left her corner and handed him a stack of papers, “You can see the Royal Family is willing to compensate you significantly. Title, estate, a seat on the Coven Council, enough money to quit your job.”

“I like my job, where else would I get ridiculous requests like this.” Willem took the paperwork from Ashley and skimmed it over. “You’re forgetting the one big problem here.”

“You’re gay, yes.” Ashley bent over and flipped through the pages in the contract Willem was holding. “You’ll see in section nine, article three, that you won’t actually have to …”

“… I meant she can’t get pregnant,” Willem interrupted.

“She can, and she will,” Ashley replied.

“We all know she can’t.” Willem turned to face Selene, suddenly serious. “It’s my job to protect you. I’m not going to put you in that kind of danger.”

“We’ll have the nation’s best doctors at our service …” Ashley started before Willem cut her off again.

“Do you even want a baby?” he asked Selene.

“When has what I want mattered?” Selene replied, falling dramatically next to him on the bed. If Selene had her say in it, she would never get pregnant, but, the throne needed an heir, and Selene would give them one. Never mind the fact that she had a heart-shaped uterus full of fibroids that would make pregnancy life threatening, if not impossible. It was her duty to coven and country to procreate, no matter the cost.

“Tell the Coven Council I refuse.” Willem handed the papers back to Ashley and wrapped an arm around Selene. “I took an oath to protect the Queen. I’m not going to do something that could kill her.”

“You know they can make you,” Selene warned.

“I’d like to see those old biddies try,” Willem winked at her.

“There is no coven if there is no heir,” Ashley pointed out. “Our wards will fall, and we will all die.”

“They’ll fall anyways if the Queen dies,” Willem retorted. “Tell Her Majesty to find another option.”

“It’s your head.” Ashley tucked the papers back into her satchel.

“Yes, it is.” Willem grabbed his crotch in reply.

“Men,” Ashley shook her head as she walked towards the door. “Wish me luck.”

“Thank you!” Selene shouted as the door shut behind her.

Willem stood from the bed and adjusted his Armani suit, buttoning the jacket and smoothing down his shirt. “You didn’t think that would actually work, did you?”

“I had to try.” Selene stood, her white button-up shirt with lace trim and black slacks looking practically slovenly next to him, even though they were Marina Rinaldi. “Ash will go off and tell the Coven Council that I am making an effort to have a baby and that should buy me a week without my mother’s nagging.”

Selene’s mother, or Her Majesty as she was formally called, was the third most potent witch in the coven, superseded only by her daughters, who she controlled with an iron fist. That made her the most powerful woman in all of Frontera, and the richest. The former Queen wielded her influence like a sword, leaving little room for negotiations. What Her Majesty wanted, Her Majesty got. Which is why they were all going to be in trouble for denying her an heir.

Luckily, Willem was one of the few people who didn’t care what Her Majesty thought. He’d taken an oath to protect Selene at all costs, and that included from her mother. It didn’t hurt that he was a level seven Elemental and from an elite family of wizards with two aunts on the Coven Council. Her Majesty may reprimand Willem, but she could never truly harm him.

Ashley, on the other hand, held no such power. Born to humdrum parents, she was a level two Ceremonial, which meant her power only worked in communion with others, when it worked at all. With low power and even lower social status, Ashley had gotten to her position as Queen’s Consigliere through grit, hard work, and attention to detail. She didn’t have the ability to snub Her Majesty like Willem did, and Selene didn’t envy Ashley having to report that she’d failed.

“Should we go with her?” Selene pointed to the door.

“What Ash lacks in witchy talent, she makes up for in a sharp tongue and tight-lipped glares,” Willem replied. “She’ll be able to handle Her Majesty. It’s you, Mene, I’m worried about.”

“What do I have to worry about, Gee?” Selene raised her arms and twirled around her lavish bedroom suite. “I live a blessed life. I’ve been given all a witch could ever want. Shouldn’t I be happy to repay the riches the Goddess has bestowed on me by doing a simple, easy thing like incubating an heir?”

Photo by Sigmund on Unsplash

Willem grabbed the still twirling Selene and pulled her into a hug. He wasn’t in the Royal Line, but Willem knew what it was like to hold the weight of a family legacy on his shoulders. They’d grown up together, skipped in the palace halls hand-in-hand, even been betrothed until arranged marriages were formally outlawed by the International Board of Wizards. No one else understood the pressure on Selne like Willem did, and she was forever grateful he’d agreed to be her literal ride-or-die when she became Queen. The best friends stood there for a while, clinging to each other, both tied to the fate of the coven, unable to escape even if they wanted.

There had been a time, years ago, when Selene thought she’d gotten out. Her older sister, Aurora, had inherited the crown and happily given birth to two girls: an heir and a spare. Only needed for official ceremonies and family photos, Selene had run off to the mountains, built a life as a painter, and fallen deeply in love with a woman named Ari who didn’t believe in magic and only knew her family as a name the humdrum newspapers would occasionally spotlight for their massive charitable donations. Ari had proposed by candlelight on their third anniversary and Selene had immediately said yes, buying them a beautiful A-frame home and putting it in Ari’s name so her family could never touch it.

Photo by Karsten Winegeart on Unsplash

That was ten years and many lifetimes ago. Selene had no idea where Ari lived now, but she still longed for that cozy cabin. The Royal Palace was impressive from the outside – an historical mansion surrounded by an acre of land right in the center of San Diego – but inside it was cold and unwelcoming. She’d grown up here, and yet it felt more like a prison than a home.

“Sometimes I wish this place would just crumble down around us all,” Selene sighed.

“Careful,” Willem warned, as the walls around them started vibrating with power. “Her Majesty will come running.”

“I thought you were doing this,” Selene exclaimed as the whole palace shook.

“This isn’t me,” Willem yelled over the clattering of priceless art falling off the Queen’s walls.

The pair made their way to the door and opened it to find Ashley out in the hallway, ducked under a table clutching an ancient Grecian urn like a baby. Her stern face turned towards Selene and Willem. “Stop this at once!”

“Not us!” They yelled in unison, joining her under the table, the three of them a tight fit.

Paintings clattered to the floor, glass breaking, and Willem threw up a shield to protect them from the debris. They sat in silence, feeling the power surge around them, until it all stopped as suddenly as it started, leaving them there, mouths gaping, surrounded by the broken detritus of generational wealth.

“Coven Council room,” Ashley stood and straightened her skirt. “Now.”

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You decide what’s next!

For the next 24-hours, you can vote and comment on what happens next in the story!

This is a collaborative effort, so the more you participate, the better the experience for everyone and the more fun you have.

Some possible questions to answer in the comments:

• What did you love? Where were you excited? What do you want to see more of?

• What didn’t resonate? What do you want to see less of? Where were you confused?

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Vote in the poll and comment below to help direct where the story goes next!

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*PLEASE READ THE FINE PRINT BEFORE YOU COMMENT OR VOTE:

By participating in Plot Twist, you’re agreeing to give your input on a book that will be written by and credited to Lauren Marie Fleming. The final book will be available in ebook, print, audiobook, and other mediums with Lauren Marie Fleming listed as the sole author, copyright owner, and beneficiary. This project will be mentioned in the acknowledgments and anyone who comments on at least three posts will be listed as a collaborator. No compensation or copyright is granted for collaborators from any book sales or derivatives.