My Sister's Prince

Prologue:

Eulalie's deep brown hair reflected the warm sun's rays. It glimmered in the summer light as she ran around the base of the tall oak, her ribbon rippling in the breeze behind her. "Come on, Leanora!" She shouted to her as she raced around the tree's ancient roots. "Run with me!"

Her sister placed her lace bookmark within her novel's pages and looked up from her lap, resting her icy blue eyes on her younger sister's bare, muddied feet. "I think not, Eulalie," she said gently. "Mother said we are to keep ourselves clean for luncheon, our guests are arriving soon." She removed her bookmark and turned her eyes back to her pages as Eulalie continued to skip around, admiring the scene around them.

It wasn't often the girls were permitted to explore the castle grounds. Their mother preferred them holed up inside minding their lessons. Eulalie usually had to resort to less-than-ladylike means to escape the confines of Castle Fennelwick. The only reason they were allowed out today was that their mother was hoping Leanora's cheeks would be flushed from the fresh air by the time their guests arrived.

Eulalie saw the servants preparing the tent and table for the luncheon, and she ran over to see if there were any sweets she could steal. She heard her sister call out behind her, asking her to return to the great tree, but she didn't pay her any mind. Eulalie was only six, and to a six-year-old, treats were far more fascinating than a grumpy older sister. Leanora was only four years older than Eulalie, though she acted as if they were decades apart.

Since she was born, the eldest Lady of Fennelwick had been groomed to make a suitable match for a high-born member of society. That included lessons in dancing, riding, reading, history, and the arts. She was constantly being towed behind their illustrious mother to the nearest ball, tea service, or luncheon. People from far and wide always seemed to admire the fair-haired, light-eyed Lady Leanora. As for Leanora, she enjoyed the attention. Having developed a sickly constitution after a bought of influenza years ago that rendered her bed-bound, she looked forward to these moments where she traveled across the country, meeting Absalon's finest.

The youngest, however, not so much...

Eulalie, the youngest Lady of Fennelwick, was ordered to remain at home whenever Leanora and their mother attended one of their "marriage expeditions," as she liked to call them. Highly influenced by their wild father, the Duke of Fennelwick, Eulalie's spirit was impossible to tame with lessons and strict tutors. Often, Eulalie and her father would sneak out of doors at night so that Eulalie could see her favorite horse, Albertine. Their father had gifted the horse, who had been but a little foal at the time, to Eulalie after he observed his youngest daughter's aptitude for riding.

Eulalie was often told by her mother that she was nowhere near as beautiful as her elder sister, but this didn't bother her too much. Her darling Albertine didn't care what she looked like, so long as she appeared for their daily runs and fed her plenty of apples from the castle's kitchens. In contrast to her sister's fair features, which Leanora inherited from their mother, Eulalie was the spitting image of their father. She had the same strong nose, dark hair and eyes, and his strength, as well. When the same plague of influenza reached their delightful corner of the countryside, Eulalie was somehow spared.

Her years of riding and running had enabled her body to grow strong, and she was almost her sister's height, if not taller (depending on how many pieces of fabric Eulalie had snuck into her slippers for added height), than the older sister.

Watching Leanora constantly at the receiving end of their mother's attentions didn't inspire any jealousy from Eulalie. She knew who was the favorite when it came to their dear Mama. Let Leanora have her books and beaus, she'd always thought. Everything else can be for me.