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

The tea was dark and sweet. Lucia drained the last of it and placed the cup on its saucer. Queen… correction, Auntie Mirie, was not saying anything just yet. She had asked Lucia to have breakfast with her since both of them had not eaten yet. Now that she was done, she dabbed at her mouth with her napkin and placed it beside her plate on the table. She looked up to see that Aunt Mirie was doing the same. Queen Mirie looked at her and smiled. Lucia smiled back, hoping none of the nerves she felt showed.

"Let us go and sit in my library," Queen Miriam said to the younger woman as she got up.

Lucia got up after the Queen and waited for her to round the table before following her out of the room. When they got to the Queen's library, they sat on the love seats set up between the towering bookshelves. Lucia idly noticed that a file binder had been left on the coffee table between the couches.

"Did you and Michael finally discuss a wedding date?" Queen Miriam asked.

Not Just A Future Wife