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

"Boss," Adela's secretary said over the phone, "Your two o'clock is here."

"Thank you," Adela said into the phone, "Send them in please."

"Sure, boss," the woman on the other side of the phone said with enthusiasm.

Adela smiled. The woman used to call her "Miss Handhoff", then her father became king in Rhodes and she started calling her "Your Highness", which Adela shot down instantly. She preferred Miss Handhoff at work, but the woman was not having it, so "Boss" was an unspoken agreed-upon compromise. It was cute.

Adela's smile remained on her face as the door opened and a lovely woman with a cute pixie cut, packaged in a power suit, walked into the room.

Adela stood up and rounded her desk to meet the other woman.

"Good afternoon, Mrs Weber," she said to the other woman, "Thank you for flying in to see me."

"It's my honour, Your Highness," the woman responded with a curtsey.

Adela's lips curved into a warm smile.

Weber’s Offence