Trifecta: Skipping Lessons
It was an understood fact that no matter how many lessons and social commitments Raicha had to juggle, she was mysteriously available for anything Camilia invited her to do. They had no illusions; it had nothing to do with Raicha’s personal preferences and everything to do with encouraging the Emperor’s heir to remember that she was an Ameru on her mother’s side.
It worked for everyone, especially the girls, but they tried not to be too obvious about their exploitation of it. There were only so many painful teas with Aunt Chenna that could be coincidentally preempted by shopping emergencies before Looks started being passed around and someone got sat down and stared at by Raicha’s grandfather or Lady Cahlila. Nobody wanted that.
“What are you missing this time?” Camilia was curled on a silk sofa with her feet under her.
Raicha pulled her own feet up. “The annexation of Chandej.” Her history tutor was a thousand years old and lectured like it.
Camilia waved a dismissive hand. “Countries on the brink of war, Alenchou princess steps in, marries the Demanu emperor, Chandej joins the empire, princess becomes co-ruler for the only time in the history of Tacar,” she rattled off. A mischievous look crossed her face. “There’s a moral to that story.” She had been named after that empress.
Raicha snickered. “Don’t mess with people named Camilia?” Camilia gave her a broad grin.
“Speaking of messing with people named Camilia…” Sai murmured from a side chair, her eyes sparkling.
Raicha whipped her head back. Camilia was blushing.
“Camilia!” It was only just under a shriek, and she hurriedly turned the volume down. “Did something happen with Daneish Asano?”
Camilia, still blushing, tilted her head at a deliberate angle. “I think you’ll find that nothing has happened between me and Daneish. Ask anyone.”
Raicha dismissed that as the irrelevancy it was and aimed a kick at the bottom of the sofa. “Tell!”
Chandej was rapidly forgotten.
This week’s Trifecta Writing Challenge calls for 33 to 333 words on the third definition of the word JUGGLE (verb):
For more of Camilia and her family, click on the Tacar category on the sidebar or try The Newlywed. Thanks for reading!
Very nice! Such a way with fiction! I envy your creativity!
That was well written good work!
love the interplay between the characters.
Love the dialogue between the two. It reminds me of high school/college conversations where you try to get the ‘dirt’ on the latest gossip
I mostly didn’t have anything very interesting to report back then, but I remember those days fondly!
Great take on the prompt. I agree with the others–enviable creativity!
This is such a great little girl-moment
I love it!
Thanks for reading!
very enjoyable personal exchange
Gossip trumps history any day of the week!
So true! Particularly at that age.
Sounds like some “girl” talk. You are very creative with fiction!
Nice complexities in just 333 words!!
This was so quick and fast paced and well written that it did not even appear to come from a prompt. Nice job.
That’s a great compliment, thanks!
How fun and intriguing! Sometimes I so miss this time in my own life. Skipping Lessons, indeed — haha!
It is a sweet time, isn’t it? Aside from the angst.
I slipped into this story effortlessly. I liked the names you used… so natural for your story. Now I have to go check out Tacar.
Thanks so much!
Terrific description of the girls and their relationship. I love the blushing that gave her away. Like a sweet coming of age story – so far anyway..
I love the psycological tension in the story. Well done!
I went back to catch up on these two. You are creating an interesting world.
Nice, rich, historical-type drama. You wrote that very well. Lots of detail and character background. Good job.
Love this piece. Really nice work
Crisp writing with a rich story line-I was drawn in totally-lovely:-)
someday I’m going to have to read this story from beginning to end. You always do such a great job with the prompts. I would look at the word juggle and think of something quite literal; hence, why I have no illusions or ambitions towards being a writer
Thanks, that’s a great compliment! I’m planning on putting in a page with the stories in chronological order but haven’t quite gotten to it; hopefully that will be up soon for anyone who’s interested.