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

The reason there was no ice cream was not explained adequately to Lucia's satisfaction. Apparently, if anyone else wanted some, they had to get it themselves. Everyone else accepted that well, and Lucia had to be an adult about it. Not wanting to sleep any longer, she agreed to a game of volleyball with Michael and Alex on one side and Dani and Lucia on the other.

Caroline, Adela, and Gustav were happier staying under the shade on the loungers than running around on the sand. The game ended with the four throwing sand at each other and Adela playing the prim disciplinarian. She reminded the group that they now had to wash the sand off themselves and would be lucky if they weren't shaking it out of their ears—and other places—at the wedding.

Feeling well chastised, the quartet joined the group sitting under the shade.

"Sunscreen?" Caroline offered from her seat.

Sand & Sunsets