Royal Replacement: (Caption Text Under the Cut)
It was nearly time, the Duke’s son would be here soon and I’d be expected to greet him while our fathers discussed their business dealings. It was hardly the first time I was made to play nice with visiting royalty, but the first time dressed like this. Usually, this was reserved for my twin sister, Penelope, but when her lady-in-waiting went to wake her up this morning, she was gone! She’d been complaining recently about not wanting to marry any of the suitors she had, and had confided in me once that the suitor she desired was actually a Countess, but I never expected her to actually run away from home. This particular Duke’s son was the one my parents favored her to marry, so she needed to meet him. Fortunately for them, even as we get older, our genetics still favor each other enough that I could pass for her if I had to.
And boy, I had to. Even my father was in favor, so my mother and the handmaiden spent the entire morning making me over and stuffing me into one of Penelope’s dresses. My body was smooth and free of hair below my plucked eyebrows, my makeup immaculate and my body accentuated thanks to padding and creatively sewn garments. They even had me attending her harp lesson for authenticity’s sake, it was strange watching my delicately manicured fingers plucking at the strings.
“It’s only temporary!”
“Your sister will return home soon enough, you won’t actually have to marry him!”
But I knew my sister, strong-willed and wickedly intelligent, she’d never be found, but Penelope would become the Duchess anyway, and her brother the prince would vanish into obscurity, never to be heard from again.
