Dancing on Eggshells | KSJ

01

DAZZLING LIGHT dances around the garden, warming the velvet petals unfurling in the morning sun. Glossed emerald and sparkling ruby tickle and tilt open buds, soaring through the air with practiced grace. The dew-painted leaves drew attention with their vibrance contrasting against rain-soaked soil.

A giggle slips past curled lips as calloused feet dance across softened soil in a familiar waltz. She would be found easily this morning, she knows very well how stark a contrast her pale yellow dress has against the newly watered garden. That is if the guards could catch her.

Venturing deeper into the garden, the girl soaks in the morning sun and sweetened air, never wanting the moment to leave her memory. Running her hand through dampened leaves of a red azalea, she could hear the shuffle of metal and heavy fabric.

Lucia frowns at the sound, knowing that usually, she should have had another handful of minutes before hearing guards searching for traces of her.

Retracting her hand from the bush of azaleas, she makes a beeline for the garden edges before they can spot her.

Lucia can only think that Tova must be fed up with her skipping royal counsels, whether she has a soft spot for Lucia or not. She loves seeing Tova rip into another royal counselor after they make a dumb decision, but that's the only entertaining part of royal counsels. Lucia would much rather take a stroll through the garden while evading guards every morning than attend another counsel.

"Lucia!" A sweet voice yells, catching her attention and forcing her to stop in her tracks. Between wild strands of vivid pink, Clover's doe eyes gleam under the sunlight in the same way that the crystal chandeliers glimmer in the ballroom. The tight, white bodice of her dress is beautifully embroidered with roses, carnations, and tulips with various splashes of bright color, stretching and unfurling across the bones and seams of her corset.

"Hiya, Clover," Lucia beams. "The garden is full of life this morning thanks to the rain last night."

For a moment, Clover's coffee-brown eyes sparkle in excitement, widening ever-so-slightly with her uncontainable love for the garden she dedicates herself to as she bounces on her toes, the white, ankle-long skirt of her dress swishing gently like the ocean waves outside the Palace of Andromeda. Her excitement is quickly quelled, as an almost serious, solemn look takes over her expression.

"Lucia, you need to come to the common room. Tova isn't too happy right now," she sighs, reaching for Lucia's hand glossed in morning dew.

"Is it because I skipped the meeting again?" Lucia's voice quiets with worry, as getting upset was not a common occurrence for the level-headed crown princess.

"Kind of, I guess. I think Tova should talk to you about this."

Biting at her lip, Lucia nods and sulks behind Clover, already wanting Tova's lecture to be over with. She knows she pushes her luck often with her escapades, but she is always vocal and upfront with her distaste for the counsel and how boring they are.

Lucia internally sighs, wishing she went to town instead of staying in the garden where Clover can always easily find her as she clutches her sister's slender hand, sulking her way to her doom.

SILENCE HEAVIER THAN the royal textbooks greets Lucia when she enters the common room, sending chills of anxiety down her spine. She couldn't even bring herself to meet her younger sister's dark eyes, because she knew they shined with worry and apprehension instead of mischief and excitement. Fiddling with soil-stained sleeves, she hesitantly looks up and meets Tova's eyes, repressing a flinch at the firm glare she receives.

"Good morning?" Lucia hesitantly clears her throat and looks back down at the floor, mentally noting every scratch and ring on the wooden surface.

"Lucia, you missed another meeting. Even when I reminded you yesterday."

Lucia awkwardly laughs, a wobbly smile making its way onto her face, "o-oh? Did I?"

"Lulu, we all love you," Tahani speaks over the soft jingle of her anklet's bells, and soon Tahani is in front of Lucia, gently taking her hand and pulling her closer to her sisters.

"But you need to stop skipping council meetings," Tova's hardening voice cuts in, making the smile on Lucia's lips slightly wobble.

Lucia holds back a whine, wanting to defend herself from the oncoming lecture because Tova knows her lectures always cause embarrassing wetness to line her eyes.

"I'm at my wit's end Lucia," her hand, calloused from sword fighting, rubs at the dark, freckled skin of her forehead. "These meetings are important, whether they are boring or not. You are meant to be an official part of that 'boring' counsel to help organize our kingdom's finances, not be running around who-knows-where. I know that you are still learning but there is no better way than watching it happen first-hand."

"If you want to go out to town, you can always come with Tahani and me when we go to the night market," Zoë cuts Tova off with a smile, brushing her loose brown locks from her face absentmindedly, sympathizing with Lucia.

Lucia remains silent under the attention of her 10 sisters, trying to stop the wobble in her smile before quietly nodding and agreeing with her older sister's offer.

"Lucia, please stay in the palace walls unless one of us is with you for the next week," Tova gives in with a sigh, ot able to stay so firm while watching tears line Lucia's eyes.

"No promises," she mumbles with a pout, knowing she'll most likely listen to her sister despite her protests.

Elena is quick to tackle Lucia in a hug, her pastel pink dress swishing with the speed of Ellie's quick movement, and Lucia quickly ducking her head into the hug to hide her tears in her little sister's sleeve and unstyled hair. 

hi, hello, I return with content.

and now, i depart once more to do homework.

toodles