The Royal Finale - Annabelle and the King

No matter what

As the car she was in made its way up the long driveway of Annabelle's family's home, she looked ahead to notice her younger brother and his best friend Jac by the bridge with their bicycles. She waved as the car approached them, and asked her driver, Ady, to drop her off there so she could talk to them.

She hadn't seen much of Max recently, what with living away from home for most of the last two years, and their relationship was much better now for that. Even over the long summers, the bickering that used to be so common between them and used to drive their mother up the wall hadn't really resumed. Max, at the age of thirteen now, was growing up quickly, and maybe Annabelle was growing more tolerant of his antics too.

"Aw?" Max looked disappointed to see her, as the car drove on towards the estate garage.

Annabelle sniggered. "Well, hello to you too, most cherished brother of mine..."

"It's just that I thought you were Dad. Mom said he's due back any time soon."

"Nice to see you, Annabelle," said Jac respectfully. She was already wearing her cycle helmet, and Max was putting his on now too. "We were just heading out for a ride, seeing as it's such a nice day. Did you want to join us?"

"That's a nice thought, Jac, but I'm pretty beat," Annabelle said, quite truthfully, although she had no plans to expand on what sort of physical activity she'd been engaging in over the last twenty four hours. "You guys enjoy the sun, though!"

"Don't worry, I've already made sure your brother has applied sunscreen," Jac went on. "What have you got in your backpack, Max?"

"Err.." Max took his pack off his back and investigated. "A plushie, some candy, one of Dad's books... and result! A Rubik's Cube!" He presented a plastic multicoloured cube of many colours towards Annabelle with a flourish.

"What even is that?" she asked him.

Jac reached for the cube and began to rotate its squares. "It's a three-dimensional puzzle that was popular in the 1980s. The aim is to rotate the cubes so that each face only has one colour." She continued to calmly manoeuvre the sections of the cube. "Mother taught me how to solve them. There."

Max's mouth was hanging open as Jac passed the cube back to Annabelle, now solved. "You know dark magic, Jac. Dark magic. I must learn from you."

"I take it the contents of your backpack are slightly more practical?" Annabelle asked Jac as she passed the cube back to a still stunned Max.

"Sunscreen, water, healthy snacks, a first aid kit, and a map of the area in case we lose phone signal," Jac confirmed. She really was the ultimate person, good at everything and with a love of adventure. Although she wasn't the biological child of Auntie Hana and Uncle Drake, having been adopted by them when she was a baby, she still seemed to possess a perfect blend of their strengths.

"Alright, just because my Rubik's cube isn't gonna keep you occupied," moaned Max, as he put it back into his backpack.

"It isn't going to keep you alive, either." Jac retorted. "Come on, before we lose the best of the day."

"Have fun you two," Annabelle said, as they rode off down the driveway. She smiled, then walked the rest of the way towards the manor's front doors, and headed through them.

"Oh." She came face to face with Mom in the doorway. Mom was looking pretty as always, but it was clear she'd made a bit of an effort, in a smart pink blouse and tan chinos. "You thought I was Dad too, right?"