"EXCUSE ME!" Sophia shouted as she made her way through the crowd of people that had just exited the Beldovian airport. She ran as fast as her legs could carry her, her purse swaying as she reached the nearest taxi she could find.
As she opened the door to the nearest taxi, a man yelled at her, clearly upset.
"Hey, lady! That's my taxi!"
He was claiming it was his taxi she was taking. One he'd been waiting hours for.
Nonetheless, it was the truth, and it was inexcusable, no matter who she was.
She turned, face fully apologetic.
"Sorry about that!" She apologized as she quickly turned to face the man she had wronged.
Strangely, her heart did a flip, and for some odd reason, she recognized his face although she barely had time to register his features.
"THAT'S STILL MY TAXI YOU'RE TAKING!" The man shouted indignantly, bringing her back to reality.
"I'm incredibly sorry, but I have someplace to go and important people are waiting for me!" Sophia cried, slamming the taxi door shut before giving the cab driver directions on where to.
Before the man could say anything else, the taxi sped off, and the man's perfectly sculptured features were scrunched up as he tried to process what just happened.
Such a situation had never happened to him, and if she had actually known who he was, she'd be less apologetic and instead cower in fear.
Yet, he hadn't any idea of who she was either, and why she oddly looked familiar.
A couple of hours later, the taxi parked at the lobby of the home, correction, house she grew up in.
As soon as she stepped out of the taxi, she was greeted by two guards, guarding the grand staircase that led to the landmark that was the Beldovian palace.
"Greetings, your grace," one guard greeted with a bow.
The other guard greeted her as well, bowing deeply, "Greetings Duchess Sophia Helena Victoria Belle Windsor of Beldovia."
She nodded ever-so-slightly, acknowledging the two guards. Truth be told, to her, honorifics weren't necessary, but she'd gotten used to it over time.
"Good to see you again, boys," she replied as her heels glided up across the staircase elegantly, her heels clicking against the marble.
'A royal doesn't slink, doesn't skedaddle, and doesn't stride. A royal must take it upon themselves to glide,' she remembered learning as a child.
She had always been the spontaneous royal, and that made her stand out from the others, although she managed to follow the rules.
She had come to the palace - a rare occasion now that she was of age - by the request of grandmere - the only person she truly cared about all these years, along with a couple of others.
And by that, the only person who hadn't become arrogant and haughty, unlike her deceased father, and her witch of a stepmother that was still unfortunately alive.
The witch had taken the throne for herself during the interregnum, with the claim and reasoning that she was the rightful heir to the throne because of her late husband's status. After all, that was the whole reason she had married into royalty in the first place. For a step up the social ladder, a title that she now had the ability to flaunt, and the riches she could get her claws on. Although it was fortunate no one gave her the light of day on any of her ridiculous claims.
Yet, she momentarily forgot about the other person that wasn't like that either.
On her way to her suite, someone tackled her from behind, embracing her in a tight hug.
"Sophia, you're here! I thought you'd never come back until that she-witch of a stepmother was gone!" A man exclaimed.
Sophia snorted.
"Let go of me, brother, I know you missed me, but it wouldn't help if I died from your suffocating embrace, now would it?" Sophia reasoned.
Ah yes, her brother.
To her, Lou. To the kingdom and the whole world, Prince Louis Wilson Jones-Smith Windsor of Beldovia.
The sole reason she was here since he had made it perfectly clear that he wanted nothing to do with the throne, so by default, the throne was hers to take and claim. After all, it was her birthright.
She had come for both him and grandmere, a name her grandmother insisted she and her brother call her, whom she had grown up close to, having no other person than each other to turn to, considering their stepmother was no kind mother to her stepchildren and had never done a maternal thing in her entire life.
It was still unknown why their deceased father would marry someone as cruel as her and choose someone like her to sit on the throne, but they never got to know him that well, him being six feet underground, and all.
Some people believed she was a sorceress that cast a spell on the late king to make her fall head over heels in love with her, while some others didn't make up impossible excuses and instead resented her for wanting to end the royal gene-pool and bloodline if the king hadn't already had two kids with his late wife.
"Grandmere asked me to come, but what brings you here?" Sophia asked.
"Same as you, grandmere requested for me to come," Louis replied, wrapping an arm around his sister's shoulder, grinning warmly at her.
Where did he come from; the other side of the world, the farthest he could get from his scheming stepmother, and his late father who'd died knowing his own son resented him.
"What are we waiting for Soph, grandmere's already waiting for us over at the east wing living room," Louis said as he walked his sister over to the palace's east wing, off to meet their grandmere.
Grandmere, Dowager Queen Julia, as she was called by most, was already waiting for them.
She was known by many names. To the people, the King's mother and dowager queen. To the current queen, mother-in-law, and Louis and Sophia, grandmere.
She stood up, arms extended.
"Oh, it's been so long I've seen you two. Come, give your grandmere a hug, I missed the both of you so much," she said with a warm smile.
Sophia rolled her eyes in a joking sort of manner.
"Grandmere, aren't we're your only grandchildren."
Grandmere seemed dazed and out-there before she came to and nodded, "Of course, but that doesn't change anything."
She approached the two, squeezing the both of them to death with her affectionate embraces.
"Oh, I've missed the both of you so much," she said, radiating warmth.
Sophia smiled in grandmere's embrace before she asked, "Grandmere, it's lovely to see you and all, but why did you call us here exactly?"
Grandmere's warm smile turned to a grim expression.
"Ah, that," she murmured.
She gestured to the two chairs, "Children, have a seat before I explain why I called you both here."
The two seated themselves, and once the two were comfortably seated, grandmere breathed a deep sigh.
"The reason why I called the both of you here is because the interregnum is expiring, and before I leave this world, I will not let her rule over Beldovia. Someone has to take the reins of Beldovia, and over my dead body I'll allow anyone other than someone of my late son's bloodline to rule," she admitted, subconsciously giving Louis the evil eye.
The 'her' she was referring to could've been no one else but her daughter-in-law, current queen consort of Beldovia, not that she let that title get in the way of her massive ego.
Louis looked the other way, feeling guilty, whilst Sophia looked worriedly at grandmere.
At any mention of her son, their father, she'd get teary.
Realizing he was called to be emotional support for his sister, Prince Louis tilted his head.
"Is there anything else, grandmere?"
Sophia remained silent, still thinking her brother abdicating was a mistake. She knew he was fit to rule, and he'd make a great king, better than her, no doubt.
Perhaps it was because she didn't want to rule, or perhaps she was unwilling to follow the other rule she had to follow in order to rule.
She watched as grandmere craned her head towards her.
"Sophia dear, there's something I've been meaning to tell you," grandmere said guiltily.
Sophia furrowed her brows, "What is it, grandmere?"
Grandmere let out a nervous laugh.
Sophia waited in anticipation and suspense, her nose scrunched up.
Grandmere cleared her throat.
"Dear, might I ask if you know what's one of Beldovia's rules for its rulers?" She asked.
Sophia nodded before she stared at grandmere in pure disbelief.
It couldn't be, grandmere couldn't have done what she thought she had done.
Her voice turned into a stammer, "N-no, y-you didn't... grandmere, no."
"No, no, no, grandmere, anything but this, please," Sophia begged.
She didn't want to believe it, yet she knew it was always possible since she had learned that all rulers, regardless of their gender, needed to be married before they could rule. This was inevitable and inescapable. She couldn't do anything about it, and she knew it.
Julia didn't answer her question as she gestured to one of the nearby maids.
"Ask our guest to come in," she ordered, her voice filled halfway with guilt and slight hope.
The maid nodded before scurrying away to bring the guest in.
Sophia's heart pounded in her chest as her gaze was fixed on the doorway, wondering what kind of person she'd be paired with - who grandmere trusted that much - as she waited for someone to walk through the doorway.
When someone did just that, her heart dropped as she saw a familiar someone standing at the threshold.
She gasped in shock, close to fainting from the sight itself.
Almost dropping the teacup in her hand, at that moment, she couldn't have cared less about whatever object it was she was holding, as at the threshold, stood fixed to his spot, staring back at her, mouth agape, was the same man that she had so rudely stolen a taxi from at the airport.