Fire of the Sea

Chapter 20

Chapter 20

After the three sisters stuffed themselves with food, Genevieve laid down, staring at the glowing stars from the lamp twirl across the roof of their fort. Lana and Vivien laid down beside her.

"You know," Vivien started, "I heard mother say to father that she wants to have my coronation in a few years from now. I don't think that I'm even close to ready."

"How they believe that you're ready slips my mind," Genevieve said, teasingly.

"Hey!" Vivien said. She then turned serious. "Honestly," she asked, "do you think that I'm ready to be queen?"

Genevieve faced her older sister. "You're the most responsible, kind, well-educated person I know. You can easily run Thálassa. And besides, we'll be there to help you."

"Except for your marriage," Lana said, smiling. "We can't help you with that. Although, we can hope that mother and father choose a handsome man to be your husband."

Vivien turned red. "Don't remind me," she groaned. "I'm sorry about Chelsea," she said, her face somber.

Genevieve's smile fell off her face. "Yeah..."

Lana stopped grinning at the sight of her older sister sad face. "But, it's going to be okay," she said, reassuringly. "Father is going to find her and punish the high king for taking Chelsea from you." Genevieve had a small smile on her face. Leave it to Lana to be optimistic at times like this.

"Do you think that Father is helping the rebellion?" Genevieve asked, the memory of the vase of wildflowers resurfacing.

"Well, he might be," Vivien said, pondering the thought. Her lips were pursed together - a sign that she was in deep thought. "Though Mother probably doesn't know. Father wouldn't want to risk her life if he was."

"Father believes that the high king isn't a good king," Lana said, "So, I think he would join the rebellion and aid them. Think about it, when has Father not addressed a problem?"

"Very true." Vivien smiled at the maturity of her youngest sister. She was really living up to her expectations now. She might goof off a bit now and then, but she was stepping into the role of a princess, especially now that she was sixteen years old. She then faced Genevieve. "Where have you been sneaking off to?" she questioned.

Genevieve blushed. "Nowhere."

Lana raised an eyebrow. "Nowhere?"

"Yes," Genevieve answered, "Nowhere."

"Okay then," Lana said, clearly unsatisfied. "What's been going on in your life, Sis?"

"Oh you know, the usual," Vivien said, "Etiquette classes with Madam Delacour, training my powers with Miss Rosemary, archery class with Adrian-"

"Adrian?" Lana asked. "Do you mean Captain Conway of the Royal Guard?" She and Genevieve giggled.

"Oh... um... can we please move on?" Viven mumbled embarrassed.

"You wish," Lana said. Vivien gave her a pointed look. "Alright fine. My life has been pretty boring. It's basically, wake up, eat, train my powers, eat, read, train, eat, and sleep. But, the other day, I saw Captain Conway in Vivien's room, and they were chatting like Sis wasn't the crown princess and Captain Conway wasn't the captain of the Royal Guard, which by the way is the highest, most respected position ever, meaning that he shouldn't even be training you. He should be preparing his troops or whatever the captain of the Royal Guard does."

"Yeah, but-"

"Just accept it," Genevieve interrupted. "It'll make everything easier."

"Just like you accepted that you've been going 'nowhere' every time you snuck out?" Vivien asked.

"Fine. You're off the hook." Genevieve grumbled. Vivien grinned. "But this time only," she added.

Lana yawned. She was glad she didn't have anything interesting about her own love life to add to this conversation. Otherwise, her sisters would tease her relentlessly. "I'm going to sleep," she said, as she curled up against Vivien.

Vivien smiled at her sister. "I'm going to sleep too. Night." Vivien turned off the lamp, and promptly fell asleep.

"Night," Genevieve whispered into the darkness.