Not Ready to See You Be Queen
The big 2-0.
Sofia thought her tenth birthday was exciting but her twentieth was even better.
Except every time she caught herself gazing into her sister's eyes, her joyous expression would fade into uncertainty.
The following year would be Amber's coronation and Sofia wasn't ready for it.
She'd been through enough changes in her life already. She didn't want her sister to be queen so immediate.
"Sofia is everything all right? The moment your party ended, you sprinted to the balcony so quickly."
Sofia looked up from where she'd been laying her head on, gazing forward into the concerned chocolate eyes in front of her.
Amber had grown up into a beautiful young woman. Some say she'd blossomed into a mini version of the late Queen Lorelei and to Sofia, they weren't wrong in the slightest.
"I just have something on my mind. That's all," Sofia smiled.
"Really?" Amber waved her fan before closing it and putting it carefully on the balcony's edge. "Tell me what's wrong. It's what I'm here for."
"All right I'll tell you. It's about your coronation."
"Because of Daddy retiring next year?"
"Yes," Sofia sighed, placing a hand on her sister's delicate one. "Please don't hate me for telling you this but I'm not ready for it. It's a bigger change than when I first became a princess and I'm not ready for that part of our lives yet."
"Sofia, I'm glad you told me the truth because to be honest with you, I'm not ready either," Amber confessed. "I may look that way but becoming queen is absolutely petrifying to me. Daddy was at least married to Mommy when he became king! I'll be unwed and alone ruling a kingdom on my own while James'll be knighting and you'll be doing whatever you please."
"Amber, I trained to be your advisor for six years during ERA. You won't be alone."
"You mean you've considered being my right hand?"
"Yes. For a long time actually," Sofia blushed.
Amber turned crimson, not expecting her sister's answer to be genuine.
"I thought you didn't want to. You didn't seem thrilled with it during our time at ERA," She recalled.
"That was because everything was too advanced for a twelve year old to fathom," Sofia smirked. "You on the other hand mastered it so immediate."
"Yes well I wasn't the one who graduated from ERA with honors like you did."
"I nearly overworked myself to get those honors in case you don't remember."
They giggled before finding themselves lying their heads on the balcony's edge with Amber tightly gripping her fan so she wouldn't lose it.
The dusk sky above them was lucid as Amber looked up and smiled seeing Amberina Major twinkling brightly.
"James told me you stayed up all night once looking at Amberina," Sofia smiled. "What were you thinking about?"
Amber cleared her throat, surprised by the question. "Nothing really just infantile fantasies that I dreamed of long ago when we were all children." She tipped her fingernails in a melodic rhythm. "Like more tiaras and gowns but the most absurd thing was spending a night out here with you."
"Really? That doesn't seem absurd to me."
"Back then I was embarrassed. You were outdoorsy and I was more focused on being an introvert than an extrovert because the outdoors were filthy."
"You've changed since then," Sofia said, smiling genuinely for the first time that night. "We all have. I appreciate you coming out to check on me Amber but now if you excuse me, I must retire for the night."
"Don't go Sofia. Not yet!" Amber beckoned. She adjusted her skirt, pushing back a lock of hair. "Please."
Sofia stopped mid step towards the door, her heels clicking the ground below as she gazed into her sister's eyes that were pricking with tears.
She slowly came froward, wiping away the tears and didn't notice the mascara Amber had put on earlier that evening flowing down her cheeks.
"You're still scared about the coronation?" Sofia asked in an attempt to comfort her.
"A little," Amber confessed. "Seems rather trivial to sob over isn't it?"
"No. Certainly not. If you're truly not ready, we can discuss with Mom and Dad about moving the day to another year."
"Let's wait to do that. Today's your special day and I wouldn't want to ruin it. Besides I wanted to give you something."
"Wasn't that bracelet you've given me already something?" Sofia giggled.
"Yes but I wanted to give you something before you go to bed," Amber replied.
"What is— Oh!"
Sofia was surprised by the sudden embrace, feeling Amber lay her head on her shoulder.
"Sofia, I appreciate you and love you. Thank you so much for being my sister," Amber sniffled. "You'll be a great advisor there's no doubt about that."
"I know I will be," Sofia agreed. "Amber, out of curiosity, how long have you waited to do what you just did?"
"Twelve long years dear sister. I should've done it sooner but…"
"I understand. We had to get used to each other first."
"Indeed we did," Amber smiled. She took her sister's hand while she used the other one to play with her hair before putting it to her side. "With your birthday concluding, shall I escort you to your bedchamber?"
Sofia nodded, kissing her cheek. "I'd love to. Thank you."
The older princess glanced towards the night sky once more before gently squeezing her sister's hand and began to led her inside the vacant ballroom..
"It's no trouble at all. Happy birthday Sofia."
