Artemisia

I feel like I’m about to pass out from excitement and nervousness as my mother picks at the various layers of my dress.

“Are you ready?” she asks me and I lay my hands on my belly, taking a deep breath.

“Not really.”

My pups seem to be happily calm, and I think back to Giorgio’s and Diana’s coronation ceremony. “Oh, she was right. I’m so nervous.”

“Just take another deep breath, my love,” my mother says, caressing a strand of hair from my face. “It will ...