Sondra sat there at dinner and picked silently at her plate. She hadn't eaten yet, her heart was pounding too much to allow her to focus on anything else.
Juliana glanced at her daughter, worried about her lack of eating, and her silence, it was unlike Sondra to remain silent for so long.
"Sonny?" The queen asked, "is something on your mind?"
Sonny barely heard her over the thundering of her own heart. "I know..." she straightened herself and cleared her throat, "I know it's traditional to wait for the man to propose...but I think I'd like to surprise Prince Ashton." She told the family.
King Timothy gave a soft chuckle and nodded, "sounds like you." He then took a bite to eat.
"That's wonderful, when?" Juliana asked setting her utensils down to invest in the amazing news.
"At the Lantern Festival!" Sondra beamed.
"That sounds amazingly romantic. I'm very excited for you." Her mother smiled.
Sondra and her mother hadn't always seen eye to eye. Juliana was more traditional, more delicate. She hadn't always agreed with Sondra's brash headstrong manner. So it meant a lot to have her support.
"Thank you."
"I'm dating a girl from the village, her names Victoria, she's a school teacher." Leo said in a non-chalet manner.
"You are?" Juliana lit up, "when do I get to meet her?"
"We just began dating, but hey maybe she'll swing by," Leo chuckled.
Timothy smiled at his son, "this is really great news. Please do tell us if things progress."
This was a good thing, right? It kinda felt like Leo could have announced at another time, but Leonardo tended to be the kind of person who needed to get the last word in.
"That's awesome!" Sondra nodded to her brother. Was it stupid to feel like he was trying to steal her thunder? She needed to shake it off.
She glanced down the table at her sister Rosalina. She knew if anyone understood Leonardo being a show off, it was her sister Rosa, they'd grown up with his behavior.
Rosalina looked pale. She had stopped eating and just stared almost helplessly at her food.
Sondra leaned forward, "R-Rosa? Are you alright?" She asked softly seeing the tears well up in her sister's eyes.
"May I be excused?" Rosa asked pushing out her chair and departing before she'd even fished the question.
"Sure?" Juliana said softly watching her eldest go. She glanced at Sondra who nodded and went after her sister.
Sondra followed and gently knocked on the large door to Rosalina's room.
Maisey had already been in the room putting the fresh linen away when Rosa arrived. She sat by the princess on her bed rubbing her shoulders as she cried.
Sondra entered without the permission she'd knocked for. She sat in front of her sister and looked up at her, "Hey, Rosa, what's wrong?"
"What's wrong?" The girl huffed, "I'm going to die alone! That's what's wrong." Warm tears bubbled down the pink princesses cheeks.
"No you're not. You just haven't found the right guy, and he's right around the corner." Sondra reassured her.
"You don't know! You've already found your perfect guy! And you're young too!"
"Rosie, I'm only a few years younger than you..." Sondra said softly.
"Exactly, I'm the eldest, I should be married, but I'm just a failure." She wiped her eyes unable to stop the tears.
"Princess, no one thinks you're a failure," Maisey reassured her.
"Love comes in unexpected ways!" Sondra smiled softly.
"Exactly, when my husband Daniel and I went on our first date, I ran away from him terrified." Maisey smiled.
Both Rosa and Sonny looked at Maisey needing further explication.
"Oh, we went on a hunting expedition, I heard something and ran, those woods were creepy." Maisey laughed.
"See, love is...unique." Sondra said, "you just have to keep looking for your own unique piece. But they are out there. Just please don't give up on yourself."
Rosa sighed and nodded looking at her hands, "I'm happy for you, really, I'm just...I can't believe Leo, he's so young and...I just can't believe he'd get there before me."
Maisey looked at Sondra not knowing the Leo news.
Sondra mouthed an, 'I'll tell you later,' "Look, Rosa, if Leonardo actually found a girl who can put him in his place, we should be thanking her for existing." She teased.
Rosa nodded wiping her nose, "that's probably true."
"Everything will be fine. I promise."
*
Juliana walked along Sondra's side. "Rosalina's sad..." she looked to her daughter, "and I don't know how to fix it." She admitted to Sondra.
"This may be a weird idea, but Rosalina loves dancing and her birthdays coming up...I think a Ball?" Sondra winced.
"We'll throw her a ball for her 30th birthday! It will be the biggest full of flowers." Juliana started planning.
"And we could invite all the young men to come celebrate the wondrous princess~!" Sondra suggested slyly.
Juliana smiled at her daughter and for the first time in a while felt hopeful about helping her children.
YOU ARE READING
The Third Wedding
AdventureThis is my story, essentially these are real events I've lived through and I'm processing it by writing it down as a fairytale. It's probably fine. THIS IS DEDICATED TO MY FRIENDS: You are the ONLY ones who got me through all of these struggles! Tha...
