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“And who will accompany you?”
“Sera! It’s about time your cousin got to travel. She’s seen even fewer villages than you,” Adora replied. Her hips and long pin-straight blonde hair bounced as she exited the room. Primrose smiled, knowing at least one person would fight for her.
Chapter Two
Thescentofjasmineawoke Primrose the following day, which came from her cousin Sera, who brought her a cup of warm tea. Primrose looked at the tiny teacup adorned with flowers, then at her freckle-faced cousin, and squinted.
“Morning, Sera,” Primrose yawned, stretching her arms towards the ceiling. Blonde strands of hair stuck straight up, and shadows bruised her under-eyes.
“Good Morning, my lady,” Sera replied. Primrose raised an eyebrow at her.
“Why the formal greeting?”
“Marveline—I mean, Mrs. Sharp is down the hall, and if she hears me, she’ll throw a fit,” Sera whispered.
“Mrs. Sharp can’t throw a fit if I ask you to speak to me like a normal person.”
“Thing is… you aren’t a normal person!” Sera said.
“Why? Because I’m the daughter of a duke and duchess?” Primrose suggested.
“No, because you’re a weirdo,” she laughed, strands of curly red hair falling onto her face.
Primrose’s mouth gaped in surprise at her cousin’s boldness and nearly spat out the tea.
Sera continued, “I mean… youarea future duchess, but you’re also marrying one of the richest merchants in the realm,andyou’re prone to fainting.”
Primrose rolled her eyes and fought the smile that crept into her features.
“Uncle Bazz wants you to meet him downstairs, he said—” loud footsteps interrupted Sera.
Mrs. Sharp marched into the bed chambers, eyeing the girls. Sera’s bold and boisterous attitude went still as she quietly tilted her head down and curtseyed for the older woman.
“You may leave now, Sera,” Mrs. Sharp commanded.
Sera left in a hush and silently closed the door behind her.
“Why are you so hard on her?” Primrose asked.
“I don’t want her to end up like her parents, washed up dead on the side of some shore… I’m turning her into a survivor,” Mrs. Sharp explained. Primrose’s face furrowed, her mood saddening with remembrance.
“Life is about more than surviving; it’s about living too.”
“I want her to grow into a well-behaved woman. She will behave, the queen will see this, and maybe the capital will request her. That, or she can replace me when I die. Either way, it is for the better good.”
Primrose was frustrated. “What if that isn’t what she wants?”
“Sometimes, you must make significant sacrifices.”
“Like me marrying the merchant?” Primrose grimaced.
“Precisely. You cannot control the situation, only how you react to it.”
“I’ll try.” Primrose gave a wry smile.
Mrs. Sharp gave Primrose an empathetic smile as she exited the chambers, her messy bun the last thing Primrose saw. She looked at the raven that always sat outside on her windowsill and stared at it for a while.
“Do you know how to stop this arrangement, little birdie?” She pondered aloud.
