1 – The Middle Child
HER brother’s secretary just left. The moment the door closes, Yna slouched in the chair she was sitting on when assured that she was alone in the room. She even put her feet on top of the other chair under the table.
On other occasions, she would be reprimanded by her mother if she saw where her feet were or how she hunched her back in her seat.
She grinned. The thought of her mother made her smile. She missed Hyacinth Rupert.
Currently, she was in the penthouse of the highest hotel in the metro. She stays there whenever she was in the city. And, she will be in the next few days.
Normally, at this time of the day, she was in the foundation either signing approval documents or brainstorming with the staff. But today is no ordinary day.
Her eldest sister, Amarillo, was in Seoul, South Korea. She was currently working as a doctor in a big hospital there. Amarillo chose a hospital far from the clutches of their father’s influence. Her youngest sibling and the only boy as well as her twin, Anakis, was on his honeymoon. He got married last weekend to the love of his life, Joanne.
Of the three siblings, Anakis was the luckiest among them. He found his mate a year ago. That made him more qualified for the throne since he has a queen by his side to rule the werewolf kingdom. While the two other female royal children have not found their mate yet at ages 31 and 26.
As the only available member of the family, Yna has to assume the responsibility of her brother, his highness, King Anakis Rupert. Though she only had a week to take up the job of her brother, still it was hard since she never wanted to manage the family business nor the throne.
Supposedly, it was Amarillo that should assume the throne when their father retires but her sister chose to become a doctor. Her elder sister thinks that she can help more people as a doctor than a queen.
The throne was offered to Yna as a successor after Amarillo’s refusal but she adamantly refused. The discussion immediately came to an end when Anakis take on the responsibility. It was a great relief for everyone. Of all people, it was her twin who knew her best.
King Lucan, was a just leader and a father. He offered the position to lead to her eldest child because it was the right of the firstborn. He did not assume that the next leader should be a man. However, it was a great relief for the two elder women that their only brother accepted the position of their father.
Nevertheless, Yna has no choice but to stand in since both her siblings were not available.
The responsibility that she accepted was the management of the hotel business. Their family has a chain of hotels across America. While the responsibility that has to do with the throne was given to their father, the former King Lucan. Their father has to cut his travel short with the former queen. They were supposed to fly to Alaska after the wedding but the throne needs a king. The current king was indisposed at the moment.
For humans, they knew the family as the Hansens who were known in the business world as hoteliers but for the Supernatural kingdom, they were the royals.
Their family has been using the surname Hansen. It was the maiden name of their great-grandmother, the former queen, who spearheaded in building hotels where most of their money came from. The hotel business flourish in the human world until they were recognized in the business world.
On the other hand, their real surname was Rupert. The Rupert has been leading the werewolf kingdom for generations. Ever since the first king has been established, the Ruperts have been holding the title of the royals. The former Kings and Queens have been good leaders that rebellion was never a big issue. There were a few uprisings but it never came as a huge problem.
A knock on the door awakens her from her thoughts. She glanced at the door until it opens and the head of her brother’s secretary showed up.
His name was Diwa. He was her brother’s bestfriend. Though Diwa is a little older than Anakis, they grew up and trained together.
Diwa is the son of one of the Generals in the royal army. He was trained as a warrior and his first assignment was to become a guard of the prince, Anakis himself.
Diwa was supposed to be part of her brother's entourage on his honeymoon but Yna refused to let the secretary go. She needs the assistance of the reliable assistant during her brother’s absence. Basically, Diwa knew the daily life of the family’s business.
He entered the suite. He bowed his head before walking towards her.
“Princess Ynara, I brought the papers that you have to sign. His highness already informed you regarding the matter.”
She nodded and reached for the folder he was holding. She scanned the pages before signing them.
“Do I have somewhere to go before lunch?”
“You have no scheduled meeting until lunch, Your highness. However, your good friend, Carol Higgins, wanted to meet you at the Hibiscus Ballroom at 2 PM.”
“Do we have an event in Hibiscus?”
“Yes, Princess. There will be an engagement party later in the evening.”
“Carol must have been very busy.”
“Yes, Your highness. Rose and hydrangea were also booked.”
Yna grinned. Her good friend must be going crazy.
Carol Higgins was the in-house event organizer of their hotels in the metro. But she was more focused on this particular hotel where the royals stayed whenever they were in the city.
“Anything else, Diwa?”
“You have a breakfast meeting with----”
“Seven o’clock, right?”
“Yes, Your highness.”
“Alright, thank you.”
“Do you want your lunch now? I will call for room service.”
She shook her head. “I’m going down. I need to breathe, Diwa.”
Her brother’s secretary smiled at her response. He knew that managing this business was never her forte. She never wanted to kiss ass with other businessmen.
Yna exhaled. She has been working in the family business for a few days yet she already felt exhausted. She salutes her twin’s endurance.
“Two sentinels will be following you when you leave the penthouse, Your highness.”
“Thank you.”
He bowed before leaving her alone once again in the solitude of the luxurious penthouse.
With a deep sigh, Yna checked the emails. She is waiting for the proposal from her own secretary at the foundation. When she found what was looking for, she buried herself at work. The work that she knew well.