>>106864614"Despite the war, Mother said it's very important to continue our traditions, so we had the Silver Bell Ball yesternight. Once again, there's an unspoken pressure for me to connect, as Mother says, with the little (though he's quite portly) boy-Prince Shastacan of the Spider Bites.
Uncle Jushtine married Duchess (???) of the Spider Bites, and we gained nothing from it.
"It's good for our kingdoms to come together, the Spider Bites have resources that could benefit the Butterfly Kingdom," Mother says. What resources?
Regular, repeated bites by slightly venomous spiders? No thank you. "Oh, the welts from the spider venom go down eventually..." she says.
I understand her position, taking a king is arbitrary. She just went out to sea with Alphonse and nine months later I was born. To her, the king is just throne candy-someone to sit there and look fancy and powdered next to the queen. But even so, consider this:
Is this someone who is going to make the right impression on the kingdom? I danced with him out of obligation, and he smelled of a musty old coin purse. Not my kink. Plus he's a bit of an algae-chewer- I understand it's a bad habit and I certainly have my own, but I really find algae teeth to be quite appalling.
I also read his mind while we were dancing. It's a little spell that I created and I refuse to share it, so don't expect to find it in here. Needless to say, there was absolutely nothing going on in there. He wasn't even thinking of how irresistible my rose-oil perfume is...
I'm not sure I'm the key to the Spider Bite/Butterfly Kingdom accord. I just don't share Mother's point of view when it comes to love. I'm not sure she needs to have a real connection with another, but I do.
I do magic for myself. I know that goes against the tradition of our society, but it could be argued the queen can't tend to the needs of the kingdom unless she has tended to her own.
