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

<p>She paced in her office. Queen Miriam had just had a call with Josephine. She could not believe that nothing had happened the previous night. She could not let her son stay single for this long. He had never shown any interest in any other woman. Not if she counted Lucia. Sure, she had been uncertain of the age gap between the two but what was twelve years? It did not hurt that Lucia was the daughter of Josephine who she knew to have exacting standards and understood court life. She had watched the girl grow up and she knew her temperament. Queen Miriam knew Lucia had a sharp eye and saw more than most. She never made waves and best of all, her son liked her.</p>

<p>There was a sharp rap on the door.</p>