AnotidaMandemwa

[WSA 2024 Entry]
Everyone is playing a regal game. Everyone except Lucia (who probably should).

After her father faced accusations of trying to seize the throne from his father and king, he was exiled along with his family. They were no longer royalty, but his wife would not have it. She was friends with the queen of Vershia and used that to her advantage. Her two older daughters were the right age to marry the two princes, and she would make that happen come what may.

That became a problem when the oldest daughter was ignored by the crown prince, who formed a friendship with the youngest of the girls. There was still hope; Lucia could become the future queen. But Lucia was not groomed for this role. She did not want to live for the type of marriage she could snag. She did not want to take the man who had been planned for her sister.

But that’s the thing with plans, isn’t it? She never planned to fall in love with the man, and there she was: an unwilling participant in the regal games. Would she capture the crown? How would everything affect her relationship with her sister? Was there ever pleasing her mother?

Regal Games

Adela stood by the bar and watched her sister lean into her husband and whisper something. There was a mischievous light in her eyes. Her husband of a few hours, Prince Alexander, smirked and said something back to her. Adela grinned as she watched her sister turn beet red. She could guess what that conversation was about. Caroline looked happy, and that was the most important thing. They were using the private gardens of the palace to hold a reception ceremony for the important guests who'd come to the wedding.

Glasses clicked on the bar's surface, and Adela looked at the bartender. He smiled at her. She smiled back.

"Thank you," she said as she picked up the glasses of dry wine.

The Loyal King