Lucile

I was unable to fall asleep all night due to my excitement for the announcement of the future queen. I am eagerly counting down the moments until the selection of the queen. Audrey is mistaken if she believes that she can become the queen. No one can take what is mine. I tried for an hour to fall asleep but eventually got up and walked to my balcony.

I miss my mother....If she was here then Audrey would never be able to think about being the queen. I looked towards the sky...The slow breeze hit my face as I sigh.

My phone buzzes and I turn around, surprised by the late hour. Who could be texting me at this time? I decided to ignore it and instead sit down on my bed. I find myself with a flurry of thoughts.

The possibility of not being chosen as the Queen weighs heavily on my mind.I push away my thoughts and lay down, allowing myself to relax. It doesn't take long before I start to drift off to sleep.

I woke up feeling wonderful in the morning after a night's rest. Today was the day I would make my mother proud by taking her place as queen and ruling according to her vision.As I begin preparing, my heart races and nerves set in. I cannot allow Audrey to take control, under any circumstances. Catherine, my maid, brushes my hair as I absently play with the tiara in my hands. "You are truly beautiful,your highness." I smile at her, appreciating the fact that she's been the one taking care of me ever since I was a child.

"𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬, 𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐚𝐬𝐤 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬," 𝐂𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐬, 𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐝. "𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐈 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐢𝐫! 𝐈 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠," 𝐈 𝐩𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐞. "𝐌𝐲 𝐡𝐚𝐢𝐫 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐰 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤; 𝐈'𝐦 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐨𝐥𝐝," 𝐈 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐤. "𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐟 𝐈 𝐬𝐚𝐲 𝐈 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐡𝐚𝐢𝐫, 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐇𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬...? 𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧?" "𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐟𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐨 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡," 𝐈 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚 𝐠𝐫𝐢𝐧. "𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐈 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐈 𝐚𝐦 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐈 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭." 𝐂𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐬𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐝 "𝐍𝐨𝐰, 𝐥𝐞𝐭'𝐬 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐮𝐩 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐟𝐢𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐢𝐭 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮!" 𝐂𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐝𝐦𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤, 𝐚 𝐭𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐥𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐞𝐲𝐞.

The weight of responsibility settled heavily on my shoulders as I stood before the court. I had always known that one day I would inherit the throne, but it had seemed like a distant dream, something that would happen in the far-off future. Now it was happening right before my eyes.

I tried to push aside my nerves and doubts, pretending that I was the confident and commanding ruler that I was expected to be. But as I looked out at the sea of faces that awaited my first address as queen, I couldn't help but feel a twinge of fear.

I took a deep breath and began to speak, my voice trembling slightly at first. But as I went on, I felt my confidence growing, and by the end of the speech, I was speaking with the authority and conviction of a true leader.

As the applause echoed around the hall, I knew that I had made the right decision. It would be a long and difficult journey, but with the love and support of my people, I knew that I could handle anything that came my way. I was no longer the thirteen-year-old princess. I stand beside my cousin Audrey. My father, the Emperor, awaits the Duke's declaration of who will become the Queen.

"We have reached a decision that only Princess Audrey of Demacia possesses the necessary capability and responsibility to become the future Queen of Edinireight." As those words reach my ears, I feel my world crumble before my eyes. My dreams and hard work come tumbling down.

Audrey smiled, but her smile was not one of utter happiness; rather, it was filled with both pride and mockery.

I made every effort not to cry in front of everyone, to avoid giving Audrey the satisfaction she was anticipating.I smiled despite the fact that I was falling apart inside. As the event concluded, the emperor announced that the coronation would take place in nine months' time..

I quickly turn around as the event came to an end and walk away as swiftly as possible.Tears welled up in my eyes as I realised that Audrey had taken something that rightfully belonged to me. It pained me deeply to see her enjoy the happiness that she did not deserve. In fact, I began to believe that she did not even deserve to live. Determined, I vowed to reclaim what was rightfully mine..

I was taken aback when I felt a strong hand gripping my arm. The force behind it was so immense that it felt like it could easily snap my arm in two. "Princess, why do you look so sad?" Duke Azriel whispered softly, but there was no gentleness in his words, only mockery.

"Is it because Princess Audrey became the Queen?" he smirked, causing my tears to dry and igniting a rage within me.

"It's none of your concern, Duke Azriel," I said through gritted teeth.

"Look, princess, just because you couldn't hack it as queen doesn't mean you're not beautiful. You should just marry a king and maybe that will help you be the queen you want to be."

Duke Azriel's words were laced with mockery, but I refused to give him the satisfaction of a reaction.

"I will be the Queen without a king and you shall see, Duke Azriel," I said with a smirk. "After these nine months, I will be on the Throne, not Audrey."

The Duke stared at me for a moment, surprised by what I said. Then he started laughing. "You have a good sense of humour, your 'highness,'" he said, still laughing. I didn't care that he was making fun of me.

My mind was somewhere else ... .If I find something against Audrey, then I can simply have my throne back..

"Princess, try anything funny and you'll regret it." Duke Azriel's tone turned one of a serious as his grip tightened on my arm. I try to pull my arm back but he just didn't let go, instead he turned me around and slammed my back to the nearby wall. His hands gripped my arms.

"Do not make princess Audrey sad, Do not even try." he glared at me.

"Why you love her? Hm ?" I mocked.

"Damn yeah. I do." He gritted his teeth

We both fell in silence…..as I stare at him and he stare back.

He finally broke the silence as he took a step back.

"Hope you understand what i mean, princess." his tone turned back to being cold.

"What if i still do it?" I glare at him.

"Then i'll do whatever I have to stop you, no matter what."

I ignore him and walk away. I will do what I want to and I will not let a mere duke tell me otherwise.