AnotidaMandemwa

[This book is complete]
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

Josephine gently reached into the box and picked up the tiara. Everyone moved back so that she could place the tiara on her daughter's head. Caroline had her phone raised with the camera in the air. Josephine placed the crown on Adela's head, and then the pair looked at each other for a bit. Mother to daughter. Queen to soon-to-be queen.

Is she proud of me? the small, needy part of Adela wondered.

But she quickly checked herself. It was no use seeking her mother's approval. She knew that now. She could never be perfect in her eyes. There would always be something lacking.

What a broken bride I make, she thought and then swiftly suppressed the unamused curl of her lips.

"Oh," Caroline said, "you look so perfect."

"She looks like a fairy tale," Lucia said with a smile on her face.

"You look lovely, sis," Leroy told her. "The perfect bride. Gustav is lucky to have you."

Under The Veil