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

Lucia was tired by the time the school visit was over. It was around noon and she was a little hungry. She looked away from the children who were waving goodbye and looked at Michael, who had his window down and was waving back at them.

"That went well," he said as he closed his window.

She smiled and nodded, "Better than I expected."

It had not been half as scary as she had thought it would be. Sure, as the children got comfortable, they began asking pointed questions.

"Is she your girlfriend?" she remembers a little boy asking Michael.

He had not hesitated. He had glanced up at her, flashed a disarming smile, before turning back to the child.

"Yes," he has said and then glanced at her again, "She is beautiful, isn't she?"

Ball and Chain