[INFO: In “The Radiant Rose of Everhart,” the main female lead, Annalise Herron lived a life in poverty at home. She was the main caregiver of her mother, who was very ill and was bedridden. Due to this, Annalise had to stay at home and became her mother’s full-time caregiver. Everyone in her hometown called her the kindest person in the kingdom for sacrificing everything to be with her mom. Everyone would praise her, call her amazing, constantly tell her that her kindness lit up the room- she loved it and truly believed it too. Her kindness even caught attention from Crown Prince Theodoric Everhart, who fell in love with her at first sight. Throughout the rest of the short story, Annalise would overcome trials and tribulations that were mostly initiated by the jealous Caelia Ardent and other trials pertaining to her social class. And she would handle them with grace and kindness. In the end, her kindness and bravery won and she and Theodoric wed, living happily ever after. After that, she was dubbed, “The Radiant Rose of Everhart,” the title of the short and simple story.]

[But what the story failed to communicate was: 

Annalise resented her mom. She resented her mom for preventing her from living a normal life.]

₊ . ⊹  ݁ ₊‧ . ‿⊱༻✶༺⊰‿ . ‧₊ ݁ ⊹ . ₊ . ⊹  ݁ ₊‧ . ‿⊱༻✶༺⊰‿ . ‧₊ ݁ ⊹ . ₊

──────────﹒✶﹒﹒─

[FLASHBACK: Annalise’s mom was in bed, being sickly and having trouble breathing. Annalise had placed a wet towel on her mom’s forehead. Feeling the towel, her mom slightly opened her eyes.]

ANNALISE’S MOM (weak):

“Hey, Annalise.”

[Annalise sighs and rolls her eyes hearing her mom speak.]

ANNALISE (annoyed):

“What is it, mom?”

ANNALISE’S MOM (weak):

“The towel is not warm anymore, go be a good daughter and get warm water?”

[Annalise forcibly rips the towel away from her mom’s forehead and throws it back in the bucket of water. She gets up and takes the bucket with her, marching outside the room.]

ANNALISE - INNER MONOLOGUE:

Can I ever get a simple “thank you” from her??? Why can’t she tell me I’m good like everyone else in this damn town?!

───── ⋆⋅⊹⋅⋆ ─────

[But what kept Annalise going was the constant praise from people. She loved it when strangers paid attention to her and told her she is a good person. The moment she stepped outside her home, she was met with immediate approval.]

“Annalise, you’re too benevolent!”

“Poor you, you’re such a good daughter for taking care of your mom!”

“Your beauty and radiance really shines bright in this kingdom!” 

“Truly, the nicest person in the kingdom!”

───── ⋆⋅⊹⋅⋆ ─────

[She loved being outside her home, people would superficially only say good things about her. But when she was at home, she was ridiculed by the person she wanted praise from the most. 

Even up until when her mom passed, she never heard any nice words from her. However, Annalise fed into the attention from strangers like it was an addiction. Before her mother's funeral, she had taught herself how to fake cry in order to garner more praise from people.]

“Annalise, you took good care of her.”

“You’ve done everything you could. Your mother is very thankful for you.”

“Annalise, it’ll be okay.”

“She’s in a better place now…”

“You poor thing! You must miss your mom!”

ANNALISE - INNER MONOLOGUE:

No. I don’t miss her at all. She was a terrible person- I’m glad she’s dead. But even so, I still took care of her. That makes me a great person, doesn’t it? 

───── ⋆⋅⊹⋅⋆ ─────

[Eventually, time went on and Annalise still kept up her persona as a kind girl in the kingdom. 

And then we get to where “The Radiant Rose of Everhart” starts. Where her philosophy still stood: the praise made all her sacrifices feel worth it.]

─﹒﹒✶﹒──────────

₊ . ⊹  ݁ ₊‧ . ‿⊱༻✶༺⊰‿ . ‧₊ ݁ ⊹ . ₊ . ⊹  ݁ ₊‧ . ‿⊱༻✶༺⊰‿ . ‧₊ ݁ ⊹ . ₊

[PRESENT: Around lunchtime the next day after the soft revival of Kingsley Central Square, King Oscar and Queen Valeria are sitting at the dinner table in the palace. The dining room is filled with extravagant paintings and gold artifacts. The dining table is so ornate and long that it takes up more than three-quarters of the room. King Oscar is sitting at one end of the table and Queen Valeria is sitting to his right. After a bit, the dining room doors open and Annalise arrives. She curtsies to them.]

ANNALISE (sweetly):

“Your Graces, thank you for agreeing to have food together at such short notice.”

[King Oscar waves over for Annalise to come eat next to Queen Valeria.]

KING OSCAR:

“Annalise! Welcome. Thanks for organizing this. It’s been a while since we have all had a meal together.”

[Annalise walks over and sits down at the table next to Queen Valeria. What’s served on the ornate gold plate is a simple salad with greens and some fresh fruits with a piece of meat- a well balanced meal. Figs were present on her salad which made Annalise surprised.]

ANNALISE - INNER MONOLOGUE:
Figs…? Figs are expensive, aren’t they?

ANNALISE (smiling):

“A fig salad?? Aren’t figs a delicacy? You didn’t have to!”

QUEEN VALERIA:

“Please, help yourself, Annalise. It’s been a while since we had figs in this palace. I figured now that Caelia is working at Kingsley, we could eat some without any commotion. 

[Queen Valeria starts chuckling to herself and looks to her husband.]

Remember, hun? We were told what Caelia’s favorite food was and they said figs, so we bought a lot to welcome her, and she threw a fit! And then when we asked her if she hated figs, she said “No! I love them!” That girl is really something else.”

ANNALISE - INNER MONOLOGUE:

Typical Caelia, throwing tantrums all the time over silly things. 

[Annalise looks intently at the figs sprawled out on her salad. She picks up a golden fork and starts to eat her meal. Before getting too deep in her thoughts, King Oscar starts the conversation.]

KING OSCAR (changing topics):

“Hun, it’s okay. We can enjoy figs for now while Miss Ardent is in Kingsley. So, Annalise, how have you been? It’s been a while since we have talked.”

[Annalise finishes chewing before answering, like a proper noblewoman.]

ANNALISE (smiling):
“I’m good, Your Grace, thanks for asking!”

QUEEN VALERIA (boasting):

“Hun.. She's been working so hard! All by herself! The palace has never looked more pristine! She has also been helping the maids learn to read and write!”

ANNALISE (pleased):

“Aha! Thank you! It has been hard working all by myself but… I’m managing!”

KING OSCAR:

“Well, we appreciate your work, Annalise.”

ANNALISE:

“How is Prince Theodoric? Have you been hearing from him?” 

QUEEN VALERIA (proud):

“He is doing well! I’m sure you already know since he had sent many letters to you, but his hunting is going well! The King and I were getting worried since we haven’t heard from him in a while but we just heard from him today!”

ANNALISE (beaming):

“Oh really?! Yes, Prince Theodoric is very talented at hunting. I’m sure it’s hard fighting off wildlife all the time. I hope he is healthy and well!”

ANNALISE - INNER MONOLOGUE:

I hadn’t gotten a letter today. I’ve been sending him letters nonstop since he was gone but he sends his parents letters and not me? Maybe he’s just too busy?

QUEEN VALERIA (to King Oscar):

“Hun, have you sent a letter back?”

KING OSCAR (nods):

“Yes, I sent one this morning.”

[An awkward silence fills the air. All three of them eat in silence with nothing to talk about. King Oscar looks up at an empty chair next to Annalise. He then looks down at his plate.]

KING OSCAR:

“...Maybe we should’ve invited Miss Ardent to have dinner with us tonight. We should have dinner with both prospects. Maybe we should have another meal like this when she’s available.”

[Annalise’s gaze darkens hearing Caelia be mentioned.]

ANNALISE - INNER MONOLOGUE:

Why is he bringing up Caelia?! Is there nothing else about me to talk about?

QUEEN VALERIA:

“Well… She’s been too busy in Kingsley and hasn’t been back to the palace at all. Besides, isn’t the plan to bring her back at some point?”

ANNALISE (genuinely surprised):

“She’s coming back?”

KING OSCAR:

“I plan to bring both her and Cassian back before the ceremony to maintain repairs on the palace.”

[Annalise pauses, not knowing how to feel or respond.]

ANNALISE (fake):

“T-That’s great! It’s getting kinda lonely here. And I’m sure her expertise is needed to fix the palace before the ball! I’ll just be cleaning around here.”

QUEEN VALERIA (confronting King Oscar):

“Hun, don’t you think that it’s a little bit… inappropriate for Caelia to be doing all of this?”

[King Oscar slowly chews his food before answering his wife.]

KING OSCAR (smiles):

“It just seems like Miss Ardent has found a new interest. I’ve heard that the Kingsley Central Square project was a success. You must know about it too, right dear?”

[King Oscar slightly glares at Queen Valeria, side-eyeing her. Knowing that she had secretly sent her knight to survey Caelia. Catching his glare, Queen Valeria sighs in defeat.]

QUEEN VALERIA (defeat):

“Yes… Yes, I do…”

ANNALISE - INNER MONOLOGUE:

Kingsley Central Square? The old trading market in Kingsley? What do they mean?

ANNALISE (fakely curious):

“What project is that?”

KING OSCAR (jolly):

“Miss Ardent and Cassian helped revive that market square. They did a soft launch yesterday and it went successfully! That girl really must have turned over a new leaf. First the library and now this!”

[The slight praise Caelia gets makes Annalise anxious.]

ANNALISE - INNER MONOLOGUE:

She probably didn’t do any of that! I refuse to believe it!

[She starts shaking, and her true colors rise to the surface for the first time ever in front of King Oscar and Queen Valeria.]

ANNALISE (shaking):

“Y-Yeah… That’s pretty amazing!

But I thought there were rumors that she started the fire at the library?? Besides, the crowning ceremony is soon, maybe she is grasping at any straw…” 

[King Oscar and Queen Valeria both get surprised at Annalise gossiping as it was abnormal.  Annalise was always positive and sympathetic towards Caelia despite her treatment. Realizing their quietness, she catches herself revealing her true and intrusive thoughts.]

ANNALISE (trying to fix):

“I-I mean! It all must have been an accident!! There’s no way Caelia would do that!”

[King Oscar looks at Annalise with suspicion but Queen Valeria completely sides with her.]

KING OSCAR:

“W-Well… It’s been disproven. She didn’t cause it, someone else did.”

[Queen Valeria places a hand on her husband’s hand at the table, looking at him seriously.]

QUEEN VALERIA (sighs, frustrated):

“Hun, Annalise has a point… Don’t you think it’s a bit odd that she’s acting like the complete opposite of how she has been? There’s only a couple more months until we have to choose the next empress!”

[Not budging from his standpoint, he lightly brushes Queen Valeria’s hand off of his.]

KING OSCAR (stern):

“Our son chose her as a prospect, it’s our duty to see her out as a potential empress. It’s customary.”

[Left speechless, Queen Valeria recalls her royal knight’s report on Caelia. Annalise notices Queen Valeria’s silence, which causes Annalise to internally panic. Making her true personality glimmer through her words.]

ANNALISE (fake):

“Your Grace… She’s doing good things out there… Building things and getting her hands dirty as a noble… It’s humbling for her, I bet. Whereas with me, I was never born in royalty so I understand what she’s doing.”

[Queen Valeria and King Oscar look at Annalise with confused looks again. Witnessing a side of Annalise Herron they had never seen before. Queen Valeria looks at Annalise and brushes it off, still siding with her.]

QUEEN VALERIA:

“...Annalise, you’ve been doing great around the palace too, don’t forget that!” 

[With that singular phrase, the void within Annalise filled slightly but not completely- her jealousy still rages inside of her.]

ANNALISE - INNER MONOLOGUE:

How come it’s always Caelia, Caelia, Caelia??

I doubt she’s actually doing anything, she’s probably bribing someone.

Talk about me! Talk about how I’ve been helping around the palace! Continue to talk about how I’m studying and teaching the maids! Talk about how I’m kinder and more beautiful than Caelia!

Stop talking about how kind Caelia is, because she is anything but that!! I am the nice one, she isn’t! It’s all an act! How come she has not exhibited any of her usual behavior recently?! She overreacts to the smallest things!! They all know this!!

[Then, a lightbulb lit in Annalise’s mind as she spiraled. She quiets down her overthinking, composes herself, and reverts back to her fake persona.]

ANNALISE (smiling): 

“Where is Caelia’s next project? She must’ve worked very hard and her work needs to be recognized! I’m very proud of her! We all should be!”

KING OSCAR:

“...I’m not so sure what their next project is. I would have to assume it’s somewhere near east, as it’s where they are staying. But their projects have been very unpredictable. ”

ANNALISE:

“Aw, that’s a shame! Maybe I’ll go look for her and we will meet unexpectedly!”

ANNALISE - INNER MONOLOGUE:

East Kingsley…?

[The entirety of the rest of the meal was small talk amongst each other, Annalise mostly staying quiet as Queen Valeria and King Oscar talk amongst themselves. As the lunch went on, Annalise plots in her head of her plans for the nighttime.]

₊ . ⊹  ݁ ₊‧ . ‿⊱༻✶༺⊰‿ . ‧₊ ݁ ⊹ . ₊ . ⊹  ݁ ₊‧ . ‿⊱༻✶༺⊰‿ . ‧₊ ݁ ⊹ . ₊

[End of Chapter 8 Part 1]