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

After she was done with her meal, Lucia let Michael take her home. She was glowing when she skipped up the stairs to the doorway and into the house. She half expected her mother to ambush her at the door, asking how her day had gone. She wasn't disappointed when her mother did not show up but was rather relieved.

"I'm home!" she announced as she took off her coat and put it over her arm.

There was no response, and she did not think much of it. It was a big house. She saw a maid darting from the living room to the kitchen.

"Excuse me," Lucia said, and the maid paused.

Lucia saw how the girl could not quite meet her eyes. What was going on?

"Do you know if my mother is in the house?" she asked.

"She's upstairs," the maid said hurriedly and rushed to the kitchen.

A Daughter For Rhodes