THE REGENT'S MAGE

Primrose had many small problems and half of them had a direct cause and effect relation to her sister and her fiance, who openly despised her these days. Second was the family she dropped into without prior warning to just how horrible they were. Still being able to tolerate them was taking everything within her. However, they were not nearly as bad as the thing that took the top spot. What's her biggest problem you ask? Primrose lifted her honey colored eyes, thick lashes framing them like curved fans. The man who sat in front of her with an air of gloating and a paper in his hand that had the royal seal on it. The man with a taunting smirk gave her the paper, "Sign it. I don't have much time to spend on you. I'm wasting millions every minute of silence you give me." Primrose wordlessly picked up the paper. It consisted of two seperate papers, both with the royal seal and an accompany signature of the regent. The man in front of her was precisely the person who signed under the column of the regent. The prince's uncle and the current king's brother in blood and arms. Primrose decisively flipped through it. With a flick of her wrist, she signed her name into the paper right next to the regent's name. Cassius Halvad and Primrose Santiago. Two people from entirely different words somehow found each other and were now bound together for a very long time. "Happy cooperation," the regent, Cassius capped the golden pen and tucked it into his neat shirt pocket. His entire appearance was so perfect that Primrose wanted that pen to explode right at his face and make a stain just for the heck of it. A polite smile spread on her lips, "May this cooperation bring us endless benefits. Congratulations on your marriage, Your Royal Highness." The regent said back with the same poisonous attitude, "Drop the formalities now. And yes, congratulations on your marriage and welcome to the royal family." Primrose physically shuddered at the thought of entering the royal family. Never did she even think in her most bizzare dreams that one day she would be sitting face to face with this thirty something royal man and negotiating. Let alone enter the royal family that oozed glory on the outside and hid smelly coffin of lies and treachery in the dark corners of the palace. The door to their private tea room was pushed open. Primrose adjusted herself. The glare turned into a sweet curve of her lips as gentleness took over, a perfect rose in every sense. She ignored the mockery in Cassius's eyes and stood up to greet the middle aged woman by the door itself. The perfunctory hugs and kisses were exchanged and Primrose took the opportunity of the queen's arrival to scurry away from the regent's fox like eyes. She vaguely heard the queen sigh as the door slowly came to a close. She managed to hear just enough - "Don't play with the girl, Cassius. Have you thought about your nephew? He wouldn't like her around at home." "Nothing I've done has ever been for others, Maria. Your son should grow up now. Since he was the one who left her for me to pick up, he shouldn't be holding grudges now that I refused to let go. Go and talk to your son about it, not me -" The door closed with a soft click. Primrose adjusted her hairband, fixed a few creases on her jeans from sitting in the same posture for a long time. With one hand pounding lower back, primrose made a beeline to the garage and simply took a cab back home to deliver the joyous news of her marrige to her undeserving family. The garage door rolled up to reveal an array of cars. Ranging from the oldest model being a collectable item from five decades ago to the latest one her father brought yesterday. The day was sunny and the garage was hot like a furnace. Primrose stepped out and ran back into the attached villa. The family was discussing the wedding plan in the living room when primrose showed up and placed a folded document right on top of the album brought by the event planner to show some decoration ideas suitable for weddings. Primrose resembled her mother from top to the bottom of her face. She even inherited her Petit frame and a short fuse. When Lilly showed anger or negativity in general, primrose was reminded again and again that she was indeed a true copy of her mother and that her father fell short in asserting dominance over the superior genes of her mother. Lily's hair was pulled back into a loose and sophisticated bun, wearing a dress that hugged her in all the right places. However, her appearance was still that of a woman in her forties who lacked appropriate medical facilities. "Have I never taught you how to be polite, Primrose?" Ah, did we mention how Primrose hated her name as well? Especially when it was spoken in such a way. "This is very rude of you, primrose. You didn't even say hello and left without seeing any of us. Now that you showed up, you didn't even say anything and dumped your things here -" Primrose raised her hand and slapped it on top of the document, interrupting her humble father's teaching. The sound startled her parents as well as the quite event planner. "I just got married. This is the marrige certificate." The announcement was made right to the point without beating around the bush. The direct impact was very satisfying to watch. Primrose barely pressed the smirk off her lips when her mother's hands trembled while picking up the papers. Primrose could have easily softened the blow but her rudeness and harsh treatment was intentional. There was no sugar coating, just like how three weeks ago she was informed that her boyfriend has agreed to marry Helena. Primrose's sister has a much less impressive name. At least primrose didn't see anything unique in the name Helena, just like her name bearers personality. A shocking news like that needed an equally strong come back. Which primrose executed by marrying into the same royal family and bagging an even higher seat at the royal court than her sister. Lily read the document with utmost concentration. If not for her trembling hands, primrose might have thought she was simply focused and not at all disturbed. Her father changed seats to sit next to lily and leaned over to see it as well. The signatures were real and so was the picture of both parties involved in it. Lily crumbled the paper and threw it away, glaring at Primrose as she did so. "What do you mean by this?!" Lily bellowed, "Have you gone crazy?!" "Aren't you the one who made me like this? As your daughter, I've learnt from you to give back a hundred times more than what I have received. This time, I've given back the betrayal that you played on me. We have many more scores to settle. Don't be too surprised when I return them to you and Helena." Primrose and Lily could be described as peas from the same pod. They were different but still the same. Sparks flew when their eyes met with challenge. "Helena wouldn't like this. It's supposed to be her dream wedding. If you show up as the regent's..... Wife, it will make a huge scene." Primrose looked down at her father's weak appearance and snorted, "It's my fault for overshadowing Helena in her wedding. A wedding with my boyfriend whom she stole. I don't think its too much to give her some blessings as her aunt in law, am I right?" Lilly fumed like a steam engine about to explode. Primrose raised an eyebrow right at her face with a charming smile. She didn't forget to pick up the crumbled wedding certificate in her way back to the room. A garden of blooming satisfaction rose in her heart with every step of silence. For the first time since she came to this world, this set of parents didn't have a comeback to throw at her face.