"Your sister is gone!"
Giselle roused from her bed instantly, a little disoriented at the sudden movement. Father paced with quick, agitated steps near the foot of the bed.
"W-wait what?" the girl's head was still a hazy mess from sleep and being awakened so suddenly.
"Are you deaf or just playing dumb?" He asked, raising his voice, "I said your sister is gone! She ran away, at night it seems, I don't know how she managed to avoid alerting the guards…"
"Genevieve ran away?" she repeated, in disbelief. Her twin sister was many things—spoiled, obnoxious and most times annoying—but she's not one to run away from her problems. Giselle ran a hand through her wild nest of red hair, trying to make sense of the situation. Now that she thought about it though, Genevieve did seem a bit distant at yesterday's family dinner.
"Yes," Father continued, "She took a few personal items, clothes and shoes, and left a note apologizing for absconding her duties. The stableboy is gone too which means-"
"They eloped," she ran a hand through my messy bed hair once more, "Genevieve was in love with the stableboy all this time?"
"Don't play daft!" Father snapped, "I know you had been in on it all along."
"What-wh- of course I didn't know about any of this!" the red haired girl retorted, getting up from her untidy bed. "I didn't even know we still had a stableboy!"
"You're telling me you had no idea your unmated and betrothed twin sister was frolicking with…with a commoner!"
Who was she kidding, of course she knew. Although they were nearly identical twins that were exact opposites of each other, Giselle and her sister were still close on some level and if she focused hard enough at times, she could even sense her sister's feelings. So yes, Giselle has caught Genevieve sneaking into the stable one too many times and sneaking back out with a ditsy smile and flushed cheeks. She couldn't smell anyone on her, though, since her wolvern instincts weren't as strong as Genevieve's or anyone else's in her family. She just hadn't said anything because she knew the pressure her twin was facing as the firstborn daughter of a Duke. Except for her mother and father, most royals she knew had affairs outside their social circle for various reasons; to escape the social pressures of interclass marriages, to find relief from responsibilities or for love.
For all she knew, Genevieve's was all of the above. Her twin was betrothed to the heir of Montegnera before she was born as the firstborn, promised in a marriage of alliance since Father was close friends with the royal family and a regular in the Royal Court. Giselle was the second daughter that no one anticipated, a surprise at birth when the Duchess thought she was expecting only one child.
But it still didn't make sense. Genevieve seemed happy with her betrothal to me and though Giselle didn't judge her for seeking pleasure before settling down with her betrothed, she also looked happy after every visit with the Prince. Even though the two weren't as close as they used to be as children, Genevieve still shared some parts of her life with her. Giselle only held a grudge because her twin was basically the better twin; more beautiful, socially active unlike her introverted self and most importantly, she wasn't a dormant wolf.
They were closer when they were young, dressing up in the same clothes and everything, but as the years went by the twins drew apart even more. Now at 20 years old, they both had different things going for them. Giselle had just come back home from a prestigious university abroad; Genevieve on the other hand had attended one close by, although it was still prestigious, just so she could be closer to her betrothed.
A short knock came from outside the door and her mother walked in, a stressed expression maring her delicate features.
"Is my room now a meeting place for God's sake?!" Giselle exclaimed, throwing up her hands in frustration.
"Giselle, this is serious," her mother scolded, "Your sister could be hurt right now and you don't seem to care."
"Dad said she left a note so she's fine, probably living her best life away from all this..drama." she answered, slumping back into bed and pulling the soft duvet over her head, "Now if you have nothing else to tell me, I still have two hours left of my beauty sleep."
"You must get ready, Giselle," came her father's voice, strangely solemn, "We have no choice, the wedding is tomorrow."
Giselle threw the duvet off of me, sitting up on her bed.
"W-what do you mean?" she said, a light tremble in her oice, deep down she already knew but refused to believe it. "Dad, what do you mean by that?"
The red-haired girl turned to look at her mother but she looked away, not even sparing a glance as her hands wringed together in deep thought.
"You have to take her place, Giselle," her father said with a harsh sigh, "You must marry King Fabio, for our family's sake."
Giselle's heart dropped at that sentence. She wanted to yell at him, to say something, to resist but deep down she knew what he said was true. Her family's reputation in court, even possibly their entire fortune was in her hands now but she knew she didn't have a choice.
There was no way she was escaping this, not when royalty was involved.