Lucia watched her sisters circulate the ballroom. They were trying to impress the princes. She, at thirteen years of age, was too young to consider marrying and was probably the youngest person at this ball. Her oldest sister, Adela was dressed in an elegant and seductive red gown that moved sensually with the most innocent movement. Poor Adela was having no luck as the older prince was not engaging. The younger prince was clearly taken with Caroline. Caroline wore another seductive red number that drew the eye to all the right spots without being classless. Lucia craned her neck as some people obstructed her view.
The room was lavishly decorated and the guests to the ball perfectly matched that in the way they were adorned. People were talking laughing drinking and eating. The Christmas ball seemed to be a success, but then again, the queen had always hosted beautiful parties.
Lucia went on her toes and she could see her sister again. She watched as Adela tried to blink flirtatiously at the prince and inwardly groaned. Lucia had watched the princes from afar her whole life and knew their personalities.
Crown Prince Michael hated the airhead act more than anything. He hated openly flirty women more than anything. He was a hunter and preferred not to be hunted. His younger brother, Prince Alexander on the other hand would take any attention he got if it came in a pretty package.
Lucia shifted from the strain on her feet. From her spot on the balcony, she mentally willed her sister to stop shoving her cleavage at the unimpressed prince. It was degrading. She wished she would stop batting her lashes like that too. She looked like something was in her eye. Lucia wondered why the usually smart girl didn't opt for a witty conversation with the man. Lucia's gaze scanned the room looking for her mother and she found the woman talking to the queen and looking as regal as always. Her father had gone to the library with the king who had wanted to show him an antique old book he had found.
Lucia searched the room for her older brother and decided he was with some poor lady in the garden when she couldn't find him. Her gaze began to look for Adela again and she found her alone in a corner, the price nowhere in sight. Lucia sighed. She felt sorry for Adela. Their mother would not say anything mean but she would show her disappointment. It was too much pressure. Lucia was glad she was the youngest and most neglected of her sisters. Sometimes she wished she was not. But at times like this, she saw the blessing.
"Why are you hiding here?" a voice startled her out of her thoughts.
She looked up and was startled to see Crown Prince Michael slipping onto the balcony.
"Good evening, Your Highness," etiquette kicked in and she sank into a curtsey, her green silk dress shifting around her ankles.
"Good evening," the man responded with a bow of his head.
He leaned against the wall and regarded her in the shadows.
"Why are you not in there?" he asked her.
"It's quieter here," Lucia told him she looked at him curiously.
"Speak freely," the prince told her.
"Thank you, Your Highness." Lucia said with a curtsey then asked, "Why are you here?"
"It's quieter, here," the prince said and Lucia thought she saw a smile on his face but it was too dark to tell.
"You don't like people," Lucia told him and he looked at her.
"Don't I?" Prince Michael asked.
"You are fine socializing, but you get tired," she said after a thought.
"You are an awfully observant young girl," the prince said after a thought.
"Thank you," Lucia said and she could swear he was grinning in the shadows.
"She's not like that," Lucia said after another moment of silence.
"Who is not like what?" Lucien asked.
"My sister. Adela," Lucien clarified, "She is not dim-witted."
"She's just trying to capture a prince." Prince Michael said flatly.
"I am sorry," Lucia said quietly. She realised she might have ruined any chance her sister might have had.
Then she tried to rescue her.
"Aren't they all like that?" she asked him.
"Yes," the prince answered sardonically. "They're all like that."
Shut up, Lucia! A voice screamed in her head. You're making it worse!
"I'm sorry," Lucia said again.
This time her voice was small.
"Don't be," The prince straightened up and squared his shoulders.
"It's just the way it is," he said as he turned away from her and towards the ballroom, "Don't stay here too long, Lucia. You'll catch a cold."
Lucia curtseyed as he walked back inside. She watched as the nearest ladies spotted him and those that could without being rude, went for him. Like bees to honey.
No wonder he needed a break, she thought sympathetically. I'd be exhausted if I had to be in public and people wanted one thing or the other from me. I'd probably never expect a genuine friendship.
Lucia scanned the room for Adela and found her in a corner looking miserable. Lucia was about to go to her when the girl was asked for a dance by some handsome young man. Adela hesitated and placed her hand on the man's and let him pull her onto the dancefloor.
She watched Adela for a while and then searched for Caroline. She sighed when she couldn't find her. She hoped her sister was being safe wherever she was. Her gaze found her mother who was still talking to the queen and then delightedly found her father. He was looking around the room probably looking for her so she stepped into the room and his gaze landed on her and he smiled.
Lucia made her way across the room and stood next to her father.
"Are you having fun, poppet?" he asked his youngest child.
"Yes, father. Shall we dance?" she asked him and he smiled at her indulgingly.
"I would love to," he told her as he extended a hand to her and she happily took it.
Her father guided her to the dance floor and the two settled into a waltz.
"Where is your brother?" he asked her.
"I do not know," Lucia said truthfully, "But I suspect he's in the garden."
Her father sighed.
"Do you know where Caroline is?" he asked her.
"I don't. I think she's with Prince Alex." Lucia rarely lied to her father.
He stopped moving and asked her, "Do you know which way they went?"
Lucia shook her head and her father stormed out of the ballroom, presumably in search of his daughter.
Lucia went into a corner and watched the room from there. She loved silently observing people at these types of events. It was a big game of capture. Capture the crown, capture the girl, capture the man. Everyone wanted to acquire something. Most ladies wanted the crown prince. A few caught his attention. Most young men wanted Lucia's sisters and some of the eligible young ladies. Mothers wanted to walk out with marriage prospects for their children. Men wanted to come out with alliances and more power. These were the regal games.
"What are you, thinking?" a voice broke her line of thought.
She turned and saw the crown prince again. She curtseyed in greeting.
"I am thinking that this is a huge game of capture," Lucia said when she straightened.
"Capture?" the prince was curious.
"Capture the prince, capture the lady, capture a son-in-law. Capture," Lucia explained and the prince looked at the room thoughtfully.
"You are not wrong," he said slowly.
The two of them stood there for a moment in silence. Lucia's eyes watched the crowd and the prince looked at her thoughtfully.
"Capture, huh?" he finally spoke and his voice was tinted with humour, "Never heard that one before."
Lucia was going to say something but a man came to him and whispered something in his ear and he immediately walked off.
Lucia curtseyed to his retreating back and returned to people-watching. Her brother was back in the room looking slightly dishevelled with a young girl on his arm.
Lucia sighed. Her brother had better be careful what games he played with the Vershian noble ladies. Her family was already one of the outcasts. They were exiled royalty after all. No more than over-glorified refugees. They were a charity to the kingdom. If not for her father's business and her mother's friendship with the queen, Lucia was sure they'd still be jumping borders, looking for a place where they would be accepted. A place they could settle and claim as home.
Lucia was grateful to the Vershian Royal family for taking them in and treating them like family. She noticed the queen looking at her and she gave the woman a smile and a discrete curtsey. The woman nodded at her with a kind smile and said something to her mother who turned to look at her daughter smiled and turned back to the queen to say something back. Lucia moved back into the shadows of her corner. She loved to observe people when they were not watching themselves. The party had gone far enough that the free-flowing drink was loosening them up. Lucia was sure that when the party ended no one would be free to drive.
The prince walked back into the ballroom with his younger brother in tow. Lucia wondered where they left Caroline and where her father was. She wondered if Caroline was winning the heart of Prince Alexander or if he was winning a game of notches on the bedpost.
Adela ended her dance and excused herself to join her youngest sister.
"I wonder," she said to the young girl as she joined her, "Why do you insist on joining these parties if you're not having fun?"
It beats being the only one at home, Lucia thought.
"I am having fun Dela," she told her sister.
"How?" Adela asked, she certainly wasn't enjoying the ball.
She never did. Her mother expected her to marry the crown prince and become the next queen of Vershia. She wanted to please her mother but the prince didn't like her and although he was a very eligible man, she did not want the pressure that came with being his wife. She wanted a normal life.
"I get to watch everyone have fun," Lucia said simply then looked at her sister sympathetically.
She knew Adela hated these things. The problem was Adela also wanted to please their mother. Adela was playing a game of capture too. But she did not stop playing when the party ended. She took the game home with her. She wanted to capture her mother's approval.
Lucia felt for her. She had never felt the need to try. She wanted to stay out of these games and if it took her mother ignoring her to keep her out of the regal games, so be it.