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

Lunch was between Adela, her mother, Princess Rosalie, and Lady Klara Vogel. It was silent at first, and then it was not.

"How are the wedding preparations going?" Princess Rosalie asked with a smile that Adela was not sure she liked.

"Just about done," Adela attempted to smile sincerely. "I only need to visit the chapel one last time."

"It's always the chapel that's left until the final minute," Josephine said with a twist of her lips.

Adela looked at her, measuringly. She wondered if there was something more to that statement or if she was being overly sensitive. Maybe her mother was referring to Caroline's wedding. The chapel was dealt with last, if Adela's memory was accurate.

"Nothing we can do about that," Adela said. "It's always put together at the last stroke of the clock."

Josephine nodded as if to say, "Point made," but she said nothing.

Lunching With A Tiger