AnotidaMandemwa

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?

[WSA 2024 Entry]

Regal Games

On the stage, there was a rather chaotic magician trying to stop a couple of bucketfuls of jellybean candies from falling out of his wallet. Lucia was grinning at the show below, and Caroline had a hand over her mouth as she giggled.

She heard the door behind her open and looked over her shoulder to see her father walk into the room. She smiled as he entered. She had not seen him since arriving in Rhodes, as he had been busy. This was the first time she was seeing him since Adela's engagement party.

"Thank you," her father said to the man who had opened the door for him.

Lucia got up from her seat, and Caroline looked up. She saw their father and could not possibly have beamed harder.

"Daddy," Caroline said with a smile.

Dominique walked further into the room. Lucia moved, creating a space between herself and Caroline.

"Pre-warmed and everything," Caroline said under her breath.

Pre-Warmed