Lucia stood in front of her parents' holiday home with her older sister, Caroline, and some of the maids. Caroline's fiancé was visiting. It had taken five years from that Christmas ball for them to get to this point. Lucia had been sent away to boarding school and had decided to spend a year working as a volunteer at a humanitarian aid centre in an impoverished country recovering from war and natural disasters.
This was the first time in three years she was home. Her mother had not improved. At least she was not telling Adela what a disappointment she was every waking moment. The woman was too busy fawning over Caroline getting married to a prince. She had not even acknowledged that her youngest daughter had just turned nineteen years of age. It was nothing new. Lucia was used to it by now but that didn't mean it hurt less.
She shifted in her heels. They were relatively comfortable, but she had spent a year in combat boots and had forgotten the pain of these admittedly pretty things on her feet.
A trio of cars in the distance drove slowly up the long driveway and Caroline shifted with excitement. Lucia looked at her sister and admired the way she had put herself together. She was dressed in a short-sleeved creamy pink dress that showed off her neckline and hid her cleavage, it then wrapped around her waist and flared out to stop at her calves. On her feet were skin-coloured strappy heels that in a way, showed off her ankles and calves.
To Lucia, Caroline looked like a princess. Their mother had groomed her well. She was glad her sister and mother were getting what they wanted. A princess in the family, finally. She also worried about how Adela was doing.
Lucia looked up at the driveway and the cars were finally close to them. They stopped in front of them and the guards in the first and third cars got out and stood by their cars. The front passenger door of the car in the middle opened and a mean-looking guard got out and opened the back passenger door. Prince Alexander stepped out. Lucia and the maids sank into a curtsey.
"Your Highness," She greeted even as her sister threw herself at the man.
He laughed and Lucia straightened only to see Prince Michael get out of the car and lowered herself into another curtsey.
"You've grown up, Lucia." Prince Alexander said with his hands around his fiancée. Lucia straightened.
"Where have you been hiding? Was it four years since we last saw you? It's four years right, Mike?" he directed the question to his older brother.
Crown Prince Michael had his gaze locked on Lucia. She looked lovely in her simple floral summer dress.
"I think two," the older brother said and then looked at his future sister-in-law.
"You're looking well, Caroline."
"Thank you, your highness," Caroline said sweetly.
"Shall we all go inside?" Lucia asked serenely.
"Yes, please," Prince Alexander said dramatically and his future wife giggled.
Lucia discretely gestured to the maids to collect the princes' luggage and then led the way. Caroline and her fiancé hung behind and were whispering and giggling. Lucia hoped they would not be like that the whole weekend they were here.
"Mother gave instructions that you'd be using the same rooms you used last time," Lucia said when they were in the foyer.
She turned only to find that only the crown prince was behind her.
"They stayed outside," he told her in amusement.
"Oh," Lucia felt awkward she was usually more aware of her surroundings.
"You are free to use your room to freshen up and then come down for lunch. Do you need help finding your way?" she asked her tone polite and impersonal.
"No need," the prince said as he took the stairs, "I can find my way. Thank you. I'll be down in a few minutes."
Lucia curtseyed at his retreating form and straightened to make her way to the dining room. This was her favourite room in the house. It had floor-to-ceiling windows that flooded the room lighting and glass sliding doors so that a person could step out if they wanted or just eat with them open.
Lucia had the windows opened and was making sure everything was set correctly on the table. She had to play hostess because obviously, Caroline wasn't doing it. Adela was not in the home as she would be coming later with their brother. Her mother had promised she would arrive that day sometime in the afternoon.
Lucia heard Caroline's heels clicking on the wooden floor and turned to see her sister alone and looking deliriously happy. She was glad for her sister. Caroline and Prince Alexander had had their ups and downs but they made a very happy couple. She was certain they loved each other despite the relationship began as their mother's obsession with having her daughters marry into the Vershian royal family.
"Oh, wow!" Caroline said with her hands pressed together, "It looks perfect, Lucy. I'm so glad you're here. I would have never! I can't deal with the organising needed. You are just like mother when it comes to dealing with these kinds of things."
Lucia smiled at her sister flatly. Her mother was organised and missed no detail unchecked. That's what puzzled Lucia, how does her meticulous mother forget that she had three daughters instead of two? How does she not see when she hurts two to satisfy her desire to be secured in the royal court?
When Lucia had gone off to school, it had been like she did not exist. Does her mother consider Lucia not worthy of her affection? Should affection be given in terms of who has the best chance to marry a prince? Lucia found that unfair and cruel. She deserved love. Adela deserved love. Not just Caroline because she was marrying a prince.
Prince Michael and his brother walked into the dining room together and Lucia curtseyed, noticed her sister wasn't doing the same and yanked her down by her arm.
"At ease," Prince Michael said and the girls straightened, "We can drop the protocol when we're in private. We're going to be family after all."
Caroline glared at her younger sister and sent the prince a smile.
"Of course, your Highness," Lucia said as everyone moved to sit at the table.
Prince Michael stopped, looked at her and said, "You can drop the titles and call me Michael or Mike in private. You know that, Lucy."
Lucia just nodded at him. She did know. But she did not know where she stood with him.
The four sat down and started to fill their plates with food.
They listened to Caroline and a rather reluctant Prince Alexander speak mostly about the weddings and the people they were hoping would attend.
"I'm so glad you came when you did, Lucy!" Caroline said jubilantly.
"I needed someone to pair up with Leroy. He just broke up with his girlfriend and I don't like her enough to tolerate her now that they're not together." Lucia inwardly winced at her tactless sister.
"I'm sure she'd have done the job well," Lucia said hoping Caroline would get the hint.
"No," Caroline said without hesitation, "She hates my guts. Come to think of it most of Lee's exes tend to be hateful things. If I didn't have Alex, I'd find a guy that he'd find disagreeable, and go out with him to spite him."
Lucia made a face at that and searched for a way to change the topic.
"Your Highness," she said to Prince Michael.
"Call me Michael," he said automatically.
"Michael," Lucia said, "I heard there's a plan to switch off the coal power plants and be a completely hydro and solar-powered nation. How are the plans considering the people who'd be out of jobs when the plants close?"
Michael looked surprised and then launched into a discussion about how most of the workers will be recruited in the new hydropower plants and how there's a government-owned company that will be taking in the rest.
Lucia seemed genuinely interested and at the end of lunch, they'd compared the costs of both ventures and the disadvantages and advantages there would be to the workers being repurposed.
The four moved to the patio where they had a mundane conversation until Prince Michael excused himself to his room. Looking at Caroline and Prince Alex interact together made Lucia feel like a chaperon. She smiled at the pair. They seemed happy. She excused herself and went on a walk. At least one good thing had come out of her mother's relentless scheming.