Chapter Five

"The calzone is delicious," began Crown Prince Sebastian in private counsel with his mother. "The cooks have really outdone themselves this time."
Queen Catarina looked up with a pursed lip. "Yes, the food is well done."
"I have to say, the girls have done a splendid job with my stepfather's funeral dinner. The festivities have gone on without a hitch."
Queen Catarina didn't respond.



Then she decided to wax poetic. "I have to say, Sebastian Rudolph Wilhelm, that I'm extremely proud of you."
It was obvious that she struggled to say that.
"I'm serious. I had my doubts for awhile, but I'm glad to know that you've proved me wrong. You've done the work to prepare yourself for the responsibility of being king. I think you're ready now."



Meanwhile, the Prince sequestered himself in Crown Prince Sebastian's bedroom at his own funeral dinner,



while downstairs his wife and daughters were drowning themselves in rivers of tears.  "Mother, seriously," Alexandra thought, "does it have to be this sort of performance?"



After the funeral dinner ended, Alexandra disappeared to the backyard and decided to shoot some hoops. Queen Catarina had taken her basketball away from her, but Prince Sebastian gifted her a basketball set anyway. She relished the memory of beating Prince Sebastian at h-o-r-s-e for the first time right before her father's death. She was proud of herself as Prince Sebastian was in supreme physical condition.



Alexandra emerged from her bed early the next morning after another sleepless night.  She heard someone whisper her name, and got up to see who it was.  It was Prince Renauld, though appearing in ghost form.
"Father?" she asked sleepily.
"It's me, princess. It's me. It's still me. I'm not going anywhere. I mean I may be gone from this life but I'll always be around. Remember when you were a little girl and you told me you wanted to be an astronaut?"
Alexandra nodded.
"I always told you that you could do whatever you want. I hope you still believe that."
Alexandra nodded again.
"Father, I enlisted in basic training. I know it's not going to be easy, and mother doesn't know yet, but it's what I want."
"You're going to be a fine astronaut," he told her. "I hope to see you in space someday. Know too that I will always love you, even if I'm not around to tell you."



Buoyed by her father's words, Alexandra put on her private's uniform and walked out of the door, surer than ever that she was to embark on her life's journey. Wherever it would take her, she was now ready to savor the ride.