A Tale Of Queens

Disappointment

Alti was twenty years old.

She had fully grown into her looks. Her eyes, once seen as eerie were now envied, captivating to anyone who looked into them. Her once hawkish nose, paired with sharp cheekbones gave her an air of  sophistication. Her lips were finely shaped with the upper one as thick as the lower one. She was tall with a slightly curvy figure and she moved gracefully.

Maybe she would never be on par with her sister in looks but she had long stopped comparing herself to Ifika.

Until this day.

Since she'd turned sixteen, Alti had been turning suitors down left and right. It had caused many fights with her mother, night lectures with her father and snippy remarks from Ifika about how her time would soon run out. She didn't care. She had made up her mind to wait for the man she had fallen in love with.

The Prince.

Yes, it was probably a pipe dream but she was bidding her time. If he decided to marry someone else, then so be it. She would move on. While they were not particularly close, she and the prince were still friends. He enjoyed her company and she enjoyed his. She had never confessed her feelings to him but she hoped foolishly, naively.

It was a cloudy day. The sun was hidden yet it was hot. Her parents had been whispering to each other all morning, preparing the spacious court yard for what looked like an important occasion. This was not uncommon as they were known to host parties regularly.

She helped her mother's friends clean chairs, arrange tables, straighten the canopies. In the large kitchen, hired cooks were preparing extravagant meals and the aroma in the air was wonderful.

Her mother stood later at one corner of the compound, speaking sternly to Ifika about something – for the first time ever, Alti thought bitterly. Ifika looked petulent, almost in tears. It was not an unusual expression for her but there was something different about it this time.

She was dragged inside the house by their mother and Alti followed them, dying of curiosity.

Ifika’s room was locked but she could hear the harsh whispers through the wall.

“I have told you this before. I have told you this several times. The Prince is coming for your hand. Why do you insist on disgracing me,” their mother was saying.

Alti felt the ground move. Or was it her feet? 

Even the man she loved wanted her sister. Why was fate cruel to her? Why? Why?

When she  said she would be fine with the Prince choosing anybody else, she definitely had not meant Ifika. Her sister  of all people.

Suddenly, she felt an all-consuming rage. It was so overwhelming that she sat on the floor, trying to calm down. Her brain began to work. There was no way she would let Ifika win this one. An idea hit her in full force. For once, things could go her way if she went about this right. For once, she could twist her own fate.

A smile set on her face, she went out to greet the guests who had begun to arrive. People affiliated with the palace. She was familiar with them and she played host, entertaining them, with drinks and small talk. They were quite fond of her and enjoyed her company. She would play to that advantage.

On noticing the arrival of the Prince and his parents, she went back to Ifika's room, knocking on the door to tell them they had arrived.