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 holding Michael's hand as the car turned into her parents' driveway. She looked at the building that she had lived in for as long as she could remember. She was moving out. The next morning at the earliest. She was going to be sleeping in this house one last time. She had said so to Michael because she wanted to talk to her father, Leroy, and Adela at least once before she moved out. She would not be completely cut off from them when she moved into the palace. However, she feared that she would be away from them. She had a feeling she would be too busy for the little moments they had together. She felt Michael squeeze her hand and she looked at him. He was looking at her. She smiled at him.

"I am going to miss this place," she said honestly.

"You can come back anytime," he told her, "It's not that far away."

The Last Time As Just Lucia