The Rose Palace, Daa Haan.
Thalia's POV
It's another horribly bright morning. Why won't the sun take a hint and go on vacation?
At exactly 7am every morning, Gallia opens the heavy drapes that shield me from the uninvited greetings of the sun. I am not a morning person. Curse the sunrise that forces me to leave the comfort of my bed. Typical to my routine I start with one eye and when it's comfortable I open the other. I have to wake up and be a useful member of society. That is what the duchess says.
As if.
I sat up slowly looking at the ever busy port of Daa Haan through my messy dark hair. The palace isn't close to the port but it's high enough to see most of the Dukedom. The Grand Duchy of Daa Haan is ruled by my mother, the Dowager Duchess. She hates being called so. It reminds her that she is without a husband, something she finds tragic.
I love the port. I love the free boat rides that take me to the middle of the ocean where I get to write in peace. It's just some of the perks of being her daughter. Everything is free.
"Good! You are awake!" The Dowager Duchess clapped her hands. "We have a busy day today! You have the privilege to accompany me to..."
She kept moving her lips. I can't hear anything she's saying. My ears are still waking up. After 24 years, doesn't she know that I am not a morning person? If she talks to me at around noon, maybe I'll hear her. "Totally!" I agreed after her lips stopped.
"Totally? Try yes, that would be wonderful! How is it that I raised you and yet you speak like a street urchin? When was totally a response to anything?"
"Totally, right?"
She smiled at me. She knows I'm incorrigible. "Get dressed. Look pretty. You never..."
"...know who you will run into." I finished her words.
These words probably got my sisters married to men from noble families. They always looked their best even if they were just sitting in the house because 'you never know who will walk into the house' also applies. 'You just never know'.
I have never been my mother's choice for company. She has her personal assistant for that ever since Ellie and Nia got married. Ellie was her left hand and Nia her right being the oldest one. I was either lagging behind somewhere or completely forgotten. I can't count the number of pictures I'm not part of because they forgot about me. I'm a little uncomfortable about spending time with her. I don't know what she will want to talk about or even expect from me.
My mother is a wonderful person but she is fussy. She picks on me and she compares me to either Nia or Ellie. I prefer to be compared to Ellie because our dear second born has middle child issues. She is the delinquent in the family. There's nothing devious that Ellie hasn't done. I'm certain she wasn't even married a virgin which is mother's number one rule. Sex is for married people. 'If you do it before, you are loose.' Her words, not mine. Ellie never got caught! That is how she got away. She was someone else by night but mother's faithful pet by day. Nia is the firstborn who has left shoes too big to fill. She's the one who set the bar too high. She's a perfectionist who excels in everything she does. If she doesn't know something, she obsesses over it until she gets it only to ditch it after. Being compared to Nia is the worst thing because I can't even scratch the essence of who she is.
"Stop slouching!" She swatted me with a fan like I'm a housefly.
"Mother I'm not slouching!"
She kept smiling at everyone. I don't bother. If I do I will end up looking like a Cheshire cat on drugs. I don't know how to smile in an elegant way. I flash all my teeth, I mean all of them. "I can see you. How do you slouch while walking?"
