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.
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