"I don't know what I'm going to do," muttered Queen Catarina in disbelief while in conference with the Crown Prince and Princess. "If it's not Alexandra running roughshod all over me to enlist in the army and attend the flight academy, it's Anastasia building the damned Taj Mahal across the street."
"I've seen her drawings," Prince Sebastian said, "she's very talented."
"They're grown up women now," Princess Ella said, "making grown up decisions."
"Yes, well, since they're so grown up, this ultimatum I've got for them still stands. Three simdays have already passed since I gave them the ultimatum, and they need to be married within ten. That means they've got seven simdays left. Their ball is tonight."
"You should be proud of them," Princess Ella said, "they've turned into smart, strong women. Like yourself."
Surprisingly, Queen Catarina turned reflective and wistful. "When I had my daughters after Francisca disappeared, the aim was to turn them into proper princesses. I paid for their excellent Smuggsworth educations, even had tutors come here before they enrolled. And they repay me, their mother, by willfully disobeying me constantly!"
"Mother," Prince Sebastian whispered, "calm down."
"Do you think they'll make your deadline?" asked Princess Ella.
"Well," Queen Catarina replied, "since neither of them seems to show any remote interest in marriage but are instead engaged in silliness, I have my doubts."
Meanwhile, steady progress continued on Anastasia's magnum opus, the family crypt. A huge marble fountain was added, along with a fence around it.
She'd often come here to collect her thoughts, even while the builders continued to work feverishly to meet her specifications and deadline. If this was going to be her father's final resting place, Anastasia thought, it better be worthy of the man he was.
Her mood had also been helped by the fact that she'd relocated Lucky, old bite marks and all. At Smuggsworth, she'd be in the room she shared with her sister with Lucky in one arm and her art pad in the other.
Alexandra had diaper duty while her brother and sister-in-law were asleep. The toddler who was now second-in-line to the throne held on to his aunt for dear life. She wondered if the monarchy would even last by the time he would come to rule. But all he was concerned about now was his nap.
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