Summer days keep passing by, and yet we always look back on them fondly. Should we, or is it just the wind messing with our heads? We shall never-

"Can you maybe not throw sticks at me while I'm trying to read?" Abrina glanced up from her book to glare at her older sister, Ashlynn, who was throwing bits of a branch at her. Ashlynn just stuck out her tongue at Abrina and continued to throw sticks at her. 

"Stop reading and talk with us for once and I'll think about it."Abrina rolled her eyes and stuck a piece of dark blue ribbon in the book, marking her page. The ribbon was the same color as the skirt she was wearing. Right now, she was wearing one of her more casual dresses, which came down to just below her knees. She put the book to the side and turned to her sister, who was attempting to tame her mane of jet black hair. It was rather windy today, and Abrina's golden braid was constantly being blown into her face. 

"Ooh, did she finally put the book down?" One of Abrina's other sisters, Amadrya, leaned over Abrina's shoulder, a mischievous gleam in her violet eyes. 

"Yup! I know, it's a miracle!" Ashlynn laughed. 

"Wow! I thought you were going to be sucked into those pages." From across the picnic blanket, Adamina, their second oldest sister, was sketching something across a piece of parchment. 

"Oh, your one to talk! How come you draw maps of places you've never been?" Abrina took one of Ashlynn's stick pieces and threw it at Ada, who just laughed. 

"You guys are so irresponsible." Abrina turned her gaze to Althaia, the most responsible of her sisters. Thaia was embroidering a piece of fabric, which wasn't working too well for her on a day like today, but she still managed to make it look beautiful with impeccable posture. 

"Yeah, well this is probably the last time I'll get to be irresponsible for a while." Ada was to be married in a week. She was marrying Prince Nuallan of Diar, who was the heir to the throne of his kingdom. After they were married, Ada's life was probably going to be mostly tea parties and balls. Not like that would be all that different than their life now, but she wouldn't have days like today to be irresponsible and free. 

"Mmm, yeah. We'll get to see Adeena though, so it'll be worth it." Ashlynn said thoughtfully. Adeena was their oldest sister, and had married Prince Alastair of Caspa last year. They hadn't seen her since. 

"Oh, sure, have that attitude when you get married." Ada rolled her eyes. 

"At least you're betrothed to someone you actually like!" Ada had had a crush on Nuallan since she was 12, and was perfectly fine with marrying him. It was more the overload of responsibility that bothered her. Ashlynn, on the other hand, was betrothed to a nobleman named Aydin, and while they were good friends, Ashlynn had confessed to Abrina that she felt no attraction to him, romantic or otherwise. 

"Yeah. Yeah, I guess that's an upside." Ada mumbled under her breath, her cheeks turning pink. 

"Well, thanks for so blatantly telling us that you don't approve of mother and father's decision." Thaia sighed, stabbing her needle back through her cloth. 

"Oh, and what about you? What do you think of your betrothal to Rowan, hmm?" Ashlynn threw yet another stick at Thaia. Thaia glanced at the ground, biting her lip. 

"It's....fine, I guess." She muttered. 

"If you ask me, you got the best out of the bunch," Drya commented. "Rowan's handsome, strong, brave, smart, kind...and he's the heir to the throne. On top of that, Volca is right next to Valla, so it isn't that far away from home. And his family is really nice. I've talked with Ciara more than once, and she's very energetic. Volca is also a wealthy country, so-" 

"Alright, alright, I get it!" Thaia flung her hands into the air, her embroidery forgotten. "He's a great guy." 

"So why don't you want to marry him? You guys are really good friends." Abrina asked. She had talked with Rowan a few times, and he was a very nice person. He and Thaia had always gotten along really well in the past. What confused Abrina was why Thaia seemed so reluctant to marry him. 

"I guess...I've always thought of him as just a friend. I guess I hoped that...that maybe I could choose for once." Suddenly, Thaia straightened her posture, grabbing her embroidery. "But mother and father know what's best for us." Abrina shrugged. 

"Yeah, I guess." 

"Anyways, if anyone is lucky here, it's Abrina. After all, she isn't betrothed yet!" Ashlynn elbowed Abrina, which caused her gold circlet to slide down her forehead. Abrina scowled at her and repositioned the circlet. 

"Only because mother and father can't find anyone who seems like a good match for me." 

"And because they know you've been making moon-eyes at Phillip ever since you were 7." Ada said with a smirk. Now it was Brina's turn to blush. 

"Sooooo.......He's a nice guy...." She said, glancing away. 

"But he's not noble." Thaia put in, picking up her work once again. 

"Eh, there's only so many of us you can give to nobles without messing up the bloodlines." Ashlynn retorted, tossing her black hair over her shoulder. 

"She's right. And you know, someone can't get her nose out of a book to actually look at anyone else." Drya grabbed the book, starting to flip through the pages. "Seriously, how can you even understand this?" 

"Give it back Drya!" Abrina snatched the book back from her sister. Okay, so she did read a lot. So what? She was educating herself in literature! She already knew one more language than her sisters did because of her reading! And besides, being in love wasn't everything! Well, it kind of was, when you're royal, but she didn't have to worry about it right now!