"luna, luna, don't let em fool ya.
you're right on par with the stars."
or
peter falls for a girl who has lived in her sister's shadow her entire life.
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Ophelia's fever had gotten aggressively worse, so much so that Gloria is moved into Luna's new room alongside her, to avoid any contagion.
Luna peers carefully at her elder sister as she calmly unpacks her things. "Aren't you upset?"
"Pardon?" Gloria turns, arms full of spare tulle. Luna sometimes forgets that Gloria wants to be just as good of a seamstress as their mother. She's been in an oddly agreeable mood lately, and Luna isn't sure if this is the calm before the storm, or if Gloria is finally reeling the benefits of being a future queen.
"You don't seem upset that you're rooming with me," Luna clarifies. Indeed, the new room is just as lovely as the last one, though smaller, with only a single window and two single beds on each side. There's hanging lavender in each corner, so the room smells lovely and serene. Maybe that could account for Gloria's mood.
"I don't want Mother's fever, do I?" Gloria says, avoiding Luna's eye. She sets up her sewing machine and carefully folds each different fabric, back to Luna.
"Are you..." Luna struggles to speak with her sister. They grew up in two different worlds, though only a room apart. "I mean to say... there are rumors that Peter is going to ask for your hand soon."
Gloria tenses. Luna can see it in the way she rolls her shoulders back and turns, glaring. "Who said that?"
Luna can't figure out what she said that might've triggered anger in her sister. Isn't this what she wanted? "The strategy council has been mumbling about it for a few days now."
Gloria goes back to folding, but the cloth falls more messily than it did before. Luna watches warily, like something inside of Gloria is about to snap.
Then, the older girl turns around, fire in her eyes. "You know, if you want the king for yourself, why don't you try harder? You let everyone walk all over you to the point that you'd live a miserable life just to keep from starting a fight. You're a coward! All you do is run!"
Luna blinks. Where did this accusation come from? Maybe it's true, but Gloria doesn't have to be mean for no reason. It's not like she wants to be the passive one, but she can't very well convince a king to love her. "I'm not a coward. Peter simply isn't interested in me."
"That's rich!" Gloria laughs — cackles really — and Luna feels it's forced. "Can't you see the way he looks at you? Are you stupid?"
Spots behind Luna's eyes begin to sting. How cruel of Gloria to point out the one thing that hurts the most: that Peter might love her back, and yet there's nothing she can do about it. "I'm hardly stupid. You know I can't defy Mother."
"Why not?" Gloria snaps. "Why can't you grow up and do what you want for once in your life?"
Gloria's cheeks are red, puffed out. There are footsteps outside the door like a guard just decided this conversation is too personal to eavesdrop on.
