Smoke & Mirrors

Smoke & Mirrors title card

**Smoke and Mirrors** *(stylized as Smoke & Mirrors)* is an upcoming HM original by writers Parker Trinh, Jace Blanchett, Amree Aguinaldo, and Stefen Sanchez, and will be edited by Pauline Sui. It will serve as the group's birthday gifts to Kaela Giddings and Lucas Hale, who will have their birthdays on May 3 and May 5 respectively.

As it's their birthday gift, Kaela Giddings and Lucas Hale will be the base of the two protagonists of the story.

## **Plot**

Smoke & Mirrors is a story that follows the different perspectives of Grayson Blake, a hitman tasked to assassinate the current king, and Caitriona Villeneuve, the crown princess of Veira, both of which will meet under the circumstances of an incident caused accidentally by Grayson.

Princess Caitriona worries that she may not be a good queen for their kingdom since she's too young, and she hopes that her cousin, Viscount Vincent, will take over Veira while she still tries to find her place. Grayson, on the other hand, has the license to kill Caitriona's father- the king- because he's corrupt and has been stealing all the kingdom's money for himself. Grayson and his partner, Red, has been trying to get the king killed or arrested for almost three years, and Cameron, a son of a police officer, begins to help them.

## **Cast**

[ Protagonist ]

* Lucas Hale is Grayson Blake, also known in their agency as 007. He's a hitman who's partnered to Red in order to solve the crime of the royal family in Veira years ago.

[ Deuteragonist ]

* Kaela Giddings as Caitriona Villeneuve, Veira's current crown princess who has Count Vincent as her cousin, as well as the late Countess Inara.

[ Tritagonist ]

* Belle Bello as Meredith "Red" Ordonia, Gray's partner who's also a dispatcher of their agency. She's also close friends with Cameron and treats him as her best friend.

[ Antagonist ]

* King Vincent Villeneuve Jr. is the current and corrupt king of Veira. He's the father of Caitriona, the younger brother of the late King Victor, and the uncle of Vincent III.

[ Supporting ]

* Parker Trinh as Vincent Cameron, whom Red considers him as her best friend. He's the son of the driver who's involved with the royal incident with the young Countess Inara.

* Jace Blanchett as Vincent Villeneuve III, the viscount of the kingdom and older cousin of Caitriona. In the first chapter, he's revealed as Caitriona's regent.

* Amree Aguinaldo is Lady Fraulein Baudelaire, the rebel younger sister of Flavian, the crown prince of the neighboring kingdom of Sereia.
* Cj Sanchez is Prince Flavian Baudelaire, the ex-fiance and close friend of Princess Caitriona who's also the older half-brother of Fraulein.

## **Trivias**

* The original title of Smoke & Mirrors was supposed to be "The Royal & The Rebel", but it was scrapped because the title is too long and generic.
* Amree Aguinaldo and editor Pauline Sui both hate the fact that the *Chrysalis* in the book cover is slightly off-center.
* The chapters are named "Abandonment", "Deceit", "Manipulation", and "Betrayal". This is a reference to Bill Cosby's quote, "Betrayal, abandonment, deceit, and manipulation".
* Smoke & Mirrors is the only literary work of HM that features royals and monarchies.