Chapter Forty-Nine

"Girls," began their mother, Queen Catarina, "I just got off the phone with Lindy Gifford of Simstyle Magazine. She wants to do a sit-down interview with the three of us -- me and the two of you -- for their next issue."
"Have you discussed this with our agent?" Anastasia asked.
"I spoke to your agent this morning, Anastasia," sighed the queen. "I hate having to go through all these channels just to do things with the two of you. I suppose that's what happens, Anastasia, when you rashly hire your own staff."
"We hired our staff because we're independent entities."
"Whatever, Anastasia. Simstyle is bringing their own photographers and they want to do an 18th century photo shoot with you and your, ahem, boyfriends."



"18th century?" asked Alexandra, rolling her eyes. "What do you mean?"
Replied Queen Catarina, "They want to do a photo shoot for the magazine with the two of you and your boyfriends in Palace of Versailles-era costumes. I thought it was a splendid idea."
"You would, mother," mumbled Anastasia.
"I have never in my life seen princesses like the two of you. You two little brats have to learn responsibility. The photo shoot is only for a couple of hours, it's not the end of the world."



Simstyle Magazine arrived the next day, complete with its staff and glittering 18th century costumes and wigs for the girls and their IF partners. In no time at all they'd transformed the formal living room into an 18th century sitting area.
"Alex," Patrick mused, taking in a long look at Alexandra, "is this my first time ever seeing you in a dress?"
"I've worn dresses before," Alexandra laughed, "remember for the wedding, and for dad's funeral?"
"Yeah, I guess you're right."
"I've worn dresses before. I just don't like them."
"I know you don't like them, it's just strange, you know, seeing you dressed up and in makeup like this."



"Whose idea was this ridiculous photo shoot?" Alexandra asked, fanning herself with her hand. "Patrick, get me a coat hanger, my back's itching up a storm and I can't reach it with this damned stupid costume. The whalebones are digging into my ribs!!"
The former IF, who had been with his creator her entire life, did as he was told. 



Meanwhile, Anastasia was helping Lucian button his collar. "How do they manage to wear these?" he asked. "My neck's sweating and itchy."
"That's perspiring my dear, NOT sweating," corrected Anastasia, then she stopped herself.... "Oh my gosh, I'm sounding like my mother!"



Queen Catarina was noticeably choked up watching her daughters' photo shoot, unable to hold back tears as she watched the cameraperson take pictures of her daughters wearing 18th century period clothing. 

Chapter Forty-Eight

Anastasia and Lucian had been avoiding each other since their squabble over school two days earlier. 



"Annie," Lucian said, pulling her over. "We need to talk."



"You really want to talk, Lucian?" Anastasia teased. "There's nothing to talk about."
"Yes, there is, Annie. You didn't even tell me you were going to school."
"Lucian, I thought there was an understanding. I created you, remember? You do what I say."
"Annie, going so far away to go to school. You didn't even tell me."
"Well, you know now."
"Annie -- Annie, we can solve this right now. Let me go with you. Think about it. You're going to be in a strange place with stranger people. You don't know the language or the customs."
"And you do, Lucian?"
"Annie, you can't possibly go there by yourself. Do you realize who you are? The press corps is everywhere. They're watching your every move. I don't think you've thought this through."

Chapter Forty-Seven

Finally the semi-permanent blanket of snow that had covered Hidden Springs for most of the winter was beginning to melt.



Anastasia stumbled into her mother's bedroom and caught the Queen doing something she'd never expected -- painting. "Mother!" exclaimed the princess in disbelief. "What are you doing?"
Startled, Queen Catarina put her paintbrushes down. She gave Anastasia a long, intent stare and sighed. "When I was a little girl, Anastasia, I used to paint --"
"Really?"
"Yes, dear. Then, when I became queen, I gave it up. I didn't have time to paint much, with my official state duties and raising children taking up most of my time. And then, after your father died, I -- I sort of took it up again."
Anastasia forced herself to smile. "I see."
"I've seen your drawings, darling. You've got so much talent. Every teacher you had at Smuggsworth said so, in their notes home. I'm not sure it came from me as I'm just a mere dabbler. I'm just -- you know -- not sure if it's a good idea to go all the way to the university for more instruction. It is quite far away."
"But mother," Anastasia argued, "it makes perfect sense. It's the premier architectural design school in Simland. How am I going to become better at what I do if I don't learn from the best?"
"Yes, that's true, Anastasia," countered her mother, "but you are a princess of the commonwealth of Hidden Springs, and as such, you have specific obligations and responsibilities." Queen Catarina suddenly became reflective.



"You were six years old, Anastasia, and you were sitting right there in our bedroom. Your sister and your father were outside throwing the football around. I saw you had the biggest smile on your little face, and I was wondering why.
"I looked up and the professor of history on the History Channel was talking about the Jazz-age architecture of the buildings in Bridgeport. You were sitting there, twirling your braid, just absolutely fascinated.  Then I figured it out.  My goodness, she's actually watching that show.  So I went downstairs and told your father after he'd come in with Alexandra.  Could you imagine having to tell your husband that your little girl is in your bedroom looking at buildings on TV?  He didn't believe me at first, but when he walked in he had the biggest grin on his face."



While that was happening, Alexandra was taking a nap upstairs after a long day at the flight academy. Any day now, the older of the Vanderburg twins would receive her pilot's license and thus had the ability to fly an aircraft over the skies of Hidden Springs. Her mother, Queen Catarina, disapproved of her very involvement in the military, but despite this, Alexandra had continued toward her ultimate goal of becoming an astronaut and the first member of the royal family to go into space.  While she was napping, her mind traveled back to when she was a teenager -- and when her father was alive.



She remembered the day one of her three horses at the time had given birth to her first foal, a colt she'd called Wayfarer. "You want me to get someone to feed him?" her father had asked. He'd gotten her the horses in the first place, for her teen birthday, despite his wife's objections.  "I can get a stable boy or something --"
"No, dad," Alexandra smiled, "I'm fine. I can handle him myself."



Alexandra adored Wayfarer.  Every day she'd pay special attention to him, feeding him and playing with him whenever she had time.  She was heartbroken when she'd returned from Smuggsworth and her three horses were gone, including her beloved foal. She had never forgiven her mother for selling her horses. 



Now a young adult, Alexandra got a new horse, Jasmine, a stunning Arabian show horse. She enjoyed riding her whenever she could.  The palace grounds only really had room for one horse, but Alexandra wanted more, preferably an Arabian stallion to breed with Jasmine.   It would have been her preference if she could find out where Wayfarer was... oh well. 

Chapter Forty-Six

Lucian joined Anastasia in the backyard, near the spot where Alexandra kept her show horse, Jasmine. "Annie, are you serious? You're going to postpone our wedding so you can go to school?"
"That's exactly what's going to happen, Lucian," replied Anastasia, "and I don't remember you proposing to me yet --"
"Who said I wasn't going to soon?"
"I don't know, Lucian. Were you going to propose to me?"
"Annie, you're being unreasonable."
"Lucian, we're still going to get married. Just not right now."
"Annie, I can't believe you applied to school without telling me. We didn't even talk about this."
"I thought we had an understanding, Lucian. There was nothing to talk about. Where were you when I needed you the most? When my father died I had nobody. At least Patrick WAS by Alex's side. I had to deal with dad's death by myself, really. It was hard -- still is. Where were you?"
"All you had to do was call me, Annie. I was around."
Anastasia left in a huff.


Meanwhile, Alexandra, who had moved into Prince Sebastian's old room, had begun to make the place hers. On her dresser were her sports and riding trophies, and she was playing Madden 13 on her Simbox when she heard a knock on her door. "Come in!" she called jovially.


"The spring can't get here fast enough," grumbled Anastasia as she propped her feet on her sister's four-poster bed. "Just about everyone's mad at me."


"Uh oh," Alexandra laughed, "who've you pissed off this time?"



"Lucian."
"What's going on with him?"
"He claims he was going to propose to me before he found out I was going to school, and he's upset cause I'm going to design school and didn't tell him first."
"I thought he knew already."
"I thought so too." Anastasia sighed. "I love him, but he's got to understand, this is my dream."
"Well just tell him that. Marriage and kids can wait."



"Speaking of which, Alex, have you looked at those links I showed you?"
"Not yet, I haven't gotten a chance."
Anastasia sighed. "I don't get why Lucian is acting like this. He of all people should understand."



"You know what I think?" Alexandra mused, "I think he's afraid of losing you."
"What do you mean?"
"He knows you're going off to school, right?"
"He knows now."
"Well, he thinks you're going to meet some other new guy who's going to sweep you off your feet and marry him instead."

Chapter Forty-Five

A couple days later Anastasia met with her mother again in her study.
"I cannot believe you, Anastasia," shouted the queen. "You are going to postpone your wedding -- to go off to study?"
"Why not? My mind is made up," Anastasia replied resolutely, folding her arms and turning away from her mother. "You are not going to stop me from going, because this is what I want."
"Architecture school? Anastasia, of the most ridiculous things --"
"This is an opportunity for me to learn more about something I'm passionate about. Why can't you understand that, mother?"
"Just like I told your sister when she enrolled in the flight academy, I'm not paying for your little fantasy."
"You won't have to, mother. With the combination of my transcripts from Smuggsworth, my architecture portfolio, and the money I have earned from previous jobs, I'm sure I'll have enough to manage. In fact, mother... I have a job right now."
Queen Catarina's mouth fell to the floor.
"The owner of Lars DiscoTech has hired me to remodel the nightclub. I'm being handsomely compensated."
"Anastasia, you're working at a nightclub?"
Anastasia sighed with exasperation. "Mother, did you listen to a word I said? I'm not working at the nightclub, my job is to redesign the nightclub. Renovate it to give it a fresher look. You know what, I don't know why I'm wasting time with you, because you already have preconceived notions in your head --"
"Anastasia, I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Mother --" Anastasia took a deep breath. "Mother, do you know who I am?"
Queen Catarina was defiant. "Of course I do. You are Princess Anastasia Maria-Teresa, youngest daughter of the Queen of Hidden Springs."
"No, that's not what I meant. Mother, do you know what my favorite food is? Or my favorite color? How about what kind of music I like to listen to? That's my point, you have no idea who I am. You don't know me. You never took the time to get to know me. You never took the time to get to know Alex either, beyond the fact that you hate that she likes to play sports."
"Anastasia, that's not true --"
"It is true, mother, admit it. Alex and I were nothing to you but replacements for Francisca. And Daddy -- he was just a sperm donor."
"Anastasia, you know that's not true. Your father and I loved each other very much. When he died a piece of me died with him. And the nerve of you to stand up here and say the things you are saying."
"It's the truth, mother. It's the truth." Grabbing her portfolio, Anastasia walked out of the room.
"Anastasia Maria-Teresa, apologize this instant!" Queen Catarina shouted, in vain as Anastasia was already gone.

Chapter Forty-Four

The next morning, Queen Catarina called her twin daughters into her study.
"I just got a letter from my cousins Stefan and Leah. Their daughter, Aurora, is getting married in the spring."
Alexandra and Anastasia fixed indifferent glares at their mother.
"She has asked that the two of you serve as bridesmaids."
The girls snickered. "We hardly know her," Alexandra reminded her.
"Yes," said Queen Catarina, "so this is a good opportunity to get to know that side of the family."
Queen Catarina showed the girls the photograph of Aurora and her groom that Leah had sent them.
"She looks like a proper princess," Alexandra remarked sarcastically after studying the picture.
"Yes, she sure does," agreed Queen Catarina, "the way the two of you SHOULD look."
"You know what, mother?" asked Anastasia. "I wish you'd stop comparing us to her."
"I was not!" Queen Catarina got defensive.
"Yes, you were. You've always compared us to her. And we've always fallen short. You get angry because Alex would rather be outdoors, playing some sport, and I'd rather be in my room drawing."
"Anastasia, I never compared you two to anyone. It's just that, I believe the two of you should look and behave like proper princesses, and you're not doing that."
Alexandra piped up. "You know, mother, have you thought about maybe our definition of being a princess is different from yours?"
"In what way, Alexandra?" the queen asked with a stiff upper lip.
"You want us to get married and stay home to bear children when maybe perhaps we might want to do things on our own, such as traveling and learning new things and meeting new people."
"Alexandra, I cannot believe the nonsense that has spilled from your lips."
"How is it nonsense?"
"You are a princess, Alexandra, and representing this commonwealth in a royal fashion is a part of who you are and what you do."
"I can do that without getting married and having children," Alexandra resolved.
"And this college thing, Anastasia, is absolutely ridiculous. Architecture school?"
"Yes," Anastasia replied. "And I begin in March."
"Yes, and so is the wedding."
"We're not going to the wedding," decided Alexandra. "Well, I can't speak for Ana but I'm definitely not going."
"I'll be in school then," Anastasia reminded her mother, "so I'll definitely not be available."

Chapter Forty-Three

Heavy snow fell once again at the Prince's estate in the mountains.  It was also the first day of the Hidden Springs Heritage Festival, a month-long party that Anastasia had planned meticulously. 


"So, you finally told mom?" Alexandra began while gathering the snow around her to help Anastasia with her snowman.
"Yep. And she wasn't happy about it."
"Figures. When is she ever happy about something we decide to do?"
Anastasia sighed quietly. "I wish she'd be proud of us for a change."


"Is there an astronaut program at the school where you're going?" Alexandra asked while patting snow on the snowman's base.



"Well the university does have a physical fitness program that connects with it, I think."
"Really?" Alexandra looked up, intrigued.
"Yeah, I'd have to go look at the brochure again.  I've enrolled in its architecture academy. It's the finest of its kind in Simland. Mom doesn't understand, I want to be an architect. I've wanted to since I was small."
"She doesn't get my wanting to be an astronaut either," Alexandra glumly reminded her.
"Well," Anastasia resolved, "she's got to figure it out sooner or later."


The Hidden Springs Heritage Festival had opened despite heavy snow in the forecast.



Alexandra, supreme athlete that she was, was surprisingly uncoordinated on the ice...



...but later found a sport much more suited to her -- snowboarding!



Meanwhile, festival chair Anastasia was a favorite subject of the paparazzi photographers.

Chapter Forty-Two

"All right, people, here's how it's going to work," announced the queen and family matriarch, standing in front of a pile of carefully-wrapped presents. "Before today, we all drew names out of a hat. I pulled someone's name, Sebastian pulled someone's name, someone pulled his name, someone pulled mine, and so forth. That person was to purchase a present for that person and ONLY that person."


Alexandra was first, accepting her gift from the person who pulled her name. She had been happily discussing the football game with the men, including the butler who had joined them. 



"Wow, the latest Simbox?" she asked. "It isn't even out yet!" But there was a note inside, with an advance copy of Madden 14. Whoever bought this knew she was a sports fan.

 

But while Alexandra mulled over who could have purchased this gift...



...the rest of the family, including her former IF Patrick, opened theirs. Patrick received a bicycle, which seemed to please him. 



Francisca warily approached the gift pile and opened her present, which, to her surprise, was a new keyboard. Whoever had purchased her present knew she liked music and had played piano as a young girl. 


Anastasia's new set of paints made her happy, too. She'd wanted to take up painting, but she was much more comfortable with pen-and-paper sketching. Aldo the butler, hovering over her, had given himself away as the mystery benefactor. 


"Lucian, did you buy the Simbox?" asked Alexandra with more than a little curiosity.
"No, Alex, I didn't," he replied. "I pulled Ella's name."
If Patrick pulled mom's name, and Lucian pulled Ella's name, and Aldo the butler pulled Ana's name... then that meant...

Ella had bought the limited edition Simbox with the Madden 14 prototype game. 



The crown princess had as much as confirmed it, with the surreptitious glance she had thrown Alexandra's way when she asked about it.
"How'd you get it?" Alexandra whispered to Ella.
"Hey, you forget I'm the crown princess? I've got another stowed away for Emmanuel's birthday."


Meanwhile, after the gifts were handed out, Anastasia went into the dining room with her mother.
"What was that all about with Sebastian and Fran?"
Queen Catarina nodded. "A bit of ancient history there, I'm afraid. Happened well before you were born. So don't worry your pretty little head about it. I'll deal with Francisca during my own time."


"Anastasia, dear, when are you going to announce your engagement to Lucian?"
Anastasia let out a resigned sigh. "Lucian and I are not engaged. But we are very much in love."
"Yes, Anastasia, I can see that, that's why I'm asking. I gave you and your sister an ultimatum, to marry within ten simdays or lose your inheritance, and the ultimatum still stands, with three simdays to go. The two of you hadn't even much considered dating, it wasn't even much in your vocabulary, and these two suitors pretty much pop up out of nowhere. Could you tell me what is going on here?"
Anastasia cleared her throat. "Mother, I'm not getting married because I've decided to attend Sims University's architectural design institute."
Queen Catarina was livid. "Anastasia Maria-Teresa!"
"Mother, you are not going to stop me. I've already applied and been accepted, and I'm going to start in the spring."

Chapter Forty-One

When Crown Prince Sebastian walked in with his wife, Crown Princess Ella, the woman he'd hand-picked to rule at his side when he became king, he spotted his beloved sister, Princess Francisca, putting down her pile of gifts. There were presents for him, Ella, and the twins, but nothing for Queen Catarina herself.
"Frankie. Didn't expect to see you here."
'Frankie' had been Prince Sebastian's special nickname for Francisca. No one else had even been allowed to call her that, as everyone else called her 'Fran' or 'Franny.' Her mother, Queen Catarina, referred to her by her given name, Francisca, or more properly, Francisca Maria-Eloise.
"Wouldn't miss this for the world."


Prince Sebastian detected a sarcastic tone to Francisca's last words.
"You and Ella practically begged me to come. Don't forget, tonight I had my own gathering planned."
Crown Princess Ella and Princess Francisca had forged an uneasy alliance since her wedding to Francisca's brother. Francisca's very presence at this gathering was mostly due to Ella's intervention. She stood by her husband's side as he confronted his sister.
"You know what, Frankie, I love you to death and I've protected you all these years. There's still nothing I wouldn't do for you. But I've been thinking, as I know you and Ella have been talking, and I've been thinking that, you know, since I've got my own two children now, that changes your perspective on things. What you did, Frankie, was the most selfish thing anyone could possibly do."
Francisca shook her head. "I -- I'm not sure what you mean."
"Frankie, when you ran away, the night before your debutante ball. When you took off into the woods. Nobody knew where you were, till you told me. And I kept your secret, Frankie, for years. Faithfully. Even when mom kept pressing me about it. I still wouldn't tell her where you were. To this day I still haven't told her where you're living."
"Good. I don't want her to know just yet."
"Frankie, when are you going to come clean?"
"When I'm good and ready."
"The question I've been asking myself, Frankie, is why? Why did you do this?"
"Because I didn't want anybody deciding how I should live my life."



"You know, Frankie, it's all about you, isn't it? Have you ever thought to consider how your actions affect other people? You put me in a difficult position, but you didn't hurt me. You thought you were hurting mom? You didn't hurt her either. You know who got hurt? Alex and Ana, those two young ladies in the dining room setting the table. They didn't deserve any of this, they were completely innocent. All this happened before they were even born. They didn't get the same mom that we got. They got a completely different person as their parent. And you are the cause of that. You should be on your knees thanking them and begging them for forgiveness, because they took the heat. They were also deprived of the influence that their older sister might have had on them. Honestly it's a miracle they've turned out as well as they have."
"Look, I've got to get going, I've got guests waiting at my own house --"
"No, you're not going anywhere, Frankie. You are going to stand there and you are going to listen!"


Francisca feigned a yawn. "Look, I didn't come here to dredge up the past."
Finally Ella interrupted them. "We have to deal with our past in order to forge a brighter future. In my own personal experience, I had to forgive my stepmother for doing what she did to me. Fran, could you at least try?"
"I have a life outside of this family, a real life. I go to work, at a real job, and I live a real life. I have friends, real friends, outside of this family and its bubble. This, this whole thing, this is not a real life. Nobody lives like this."
"We all live real lives here, Frankie, in the real world. I'd like to know what world you've been living in for the past twenty years."
"This one! And in it, I've met REAL people with REAL problems."
"Are you referring to that pregnant woman who was living with you at one point? It was a good deed you did for her, Frankie, but what about everyone else? What was your motivation anyway? Think I don't deal with real people?"
"Of course not, not here in the palace. Try looking around you for a change."
"I'm not in the palace all the time, am I? Ask Alex, who gets up at the crack of dawn every morning, who climbed a mountain in twelve-degree weather, drifts blowing in her face, to help sort out MREs and other supplies for earthquake victims. She could have died. You know why she did it? Because she's thinking of people other than herself, Frankie. Ask Ana, who's been working her butt off to make sure that the Hidden Springs Heritage Festival goes off without a hitch, even though common sense would probably tell her to cancel, or at least postpone, it. Know why she's doing it? Because she's thinking of people other than herself. Frankie, you grew up with every advantage possible, even more so than they did, even. Remember, you were the next queen. You were being groomed for the throne, not me, and not the twins. When you left, you left me holding the bag, and you left me with the responsibility. Those two young ladies in there, they've got more guts in their pinkie fingers than you've shown in your entire body, in your entire life. They're taking the responsibility that you ran from, Frankie. They don't have to do it. They could live the lives of proper little socialites, not having a care in the world, and they've chosen the exact opposite. They've chosen to serve. They're more mature than you have shown yourself to be, Frankie. And that disappoints me more than anything. You already destroyed this family once. I'm not going to let you do it again. Frankie, I want you to prove me wrong, while there's still time. I've covered for you long enough. It's past time for you to grow up and take your place in this family."
"Are you finished with your little speech, Sebastian?"
"Frankie, did you hear a word I said?"



Hearing the shouting, Anastasia walked into the living room, rubbing her fingers on her temples and covering her ears. "Will you two stop this?" she muttered, unsure if anyone heard her. "You're giving me a headache."