Picnicking up where we left off

Charlotte came close to Arianna and Lucia as they nibbled at their sandwiches, and Arianna swiftly gave a grin filled with her tiny teeth and showed off the teddy bear. "Look, I gave Ser Snuggles a napkin too so they would not get dirty! They reeeeaaallly like strawberries." She said, eyes bright, though the pink stain on her cheek said that perhaps it was not actually the teddy bear who was eating everything that continued the aforementioned fruit.

Charlotte smiled and bowed to the teddy bear. "How wonderful they could join you!" She said, playing along, and making sure to drape a coat over Arianna's shoulders before returning to where the other servants stood, having confirmed that neither of the girls needed anything.

Arianna waited until Charlotte was out of ear shot again before turning back to Lucia and letting the smile slip off her cheeks, sticking her tongue out at her sister who was red from holding back giggles. "Next time you get to come up with a story to tell that is not the truth."

Lucia smiled. "I could just tell them the truth. It is not like anyone would believe two six year olds are actually sitting around plotting treason."

Arianna shoved her sister slightly, not bothering to point out that while Lucia may be safe in that case, Arianna and her mother would likely be punished. Instead, she sipped her tea and took a deep breath. "We are agreed, yes? The only thing we can do for the time being is to keep getting stronger, healthier, more educated, and better respected in society. And maybe hasten our father's heart attack by incidentally encouraging him to eat rich foods." Her voice was even and calm, but she did look down at her hands when she reached her final sentence, slightly worried for how Lucia would react.

Silence hung in the air for several moments as Arianna and Lucia both individually considered the words.

It was hard for Lucia to deny that their father did not help them in any fashion, and had done a great deal of harm to their family. When she was sitting opposite the child of her father's infidelity, it was almost impossible to think he was wise or kind. She was indirectly grateful to her father for his actions, as she loved her sister, and was grateful she was born, but that is as not the same thing as condoning it.

Arianna felt similar though distinctly harsher about the man. Not only had he neglected her until she was of use to him, but had he not dallied with her mother in the first place, they never would have ended up in this mess. The Imperial Royal Family was too inbred to be perfectly healthy, and while they made strides towards health, marrying a cousin would set them back quite a bit, so the Crown Prince could never marry Lucia. The only Rosales that could marry him was Arianna, and while she did not desire to be non-existent, the fact remained that if she did not exist, she could not have caused their downfall.

Arianna was of the opinion that he was already going to die of a heart attack, why should they not hasten it? Lucia was more torn. They knew how he would die, would it not be better to prevent his death? And yet, she knew that they would never be free until their father was dead.

"Do... Do we have to kill him?" Lucia said, voice no more than a whisper.

Arianna squeezed her eyes tight, and took a deep breath. "If it matters so much to you to keep your hands clean, then I will do it." She promised, eyes clear, despite how her hands shook ever so slightly.

Those were the words that hung in the air now. Arianna would not retract them, and Lucia did not know how she could possibly argue them.

When she finally spoke again, it was clear that she was choosing not to address the possibility of causing their own father's death. "We should get Theo better education too, though I am not sure how we would."

Arianna nodded with relief, grateful to move on from the topic. "That is easy enough, we just have to tell the Grand Duke that the servants were gossiping about how impressive the Crown Prince's education is. He will spend double the money in order to be better than the Emperor and he does not actually notice what the servants do or do not say." She said with an almost eye roll. "My only worry is how to get Theo to accept the more difficult work."

Lucia gave her a sister a look of similar amusement. "I would suggest... Talking to him. He loves us. If we ask him to trust us, he will."

Arianna looked completely gobsmacked at the idea, her cheeks rapidly darkening from the unintentional revelation that she had never properly trusted anyone before. "...Yes. Of course." She said softly, refusing to meet Lucia's eyes, her face on fire.

Lucia reached out and squeezed Arianna's hand softly, with no words necessary to explain her support.