Chapter Thirty-Four

Queen Catarina gazed out through her frosted windows. A lot of thoughts raced through her mind, though on this frigid morning most of them were on her twin daughters, now barely out of their teens.

She'd kept everything of theirs -- their baby shoes, their first school reports, and every note their teachers had sent home. Who could have predicted they would rebel against her as spectacularly as they had?

Apparently, their teachers at Smuggsworth did. Apparently, their teachers saw what she didn't, or even didn't want to see. Maybe she didn't pay attention.

"Alexandra cannot keep still for a second, and even when we tell her to sit down she doesn't right away," wrote one teacher. "She disappears into the woods alone for hours at a time."

"Anastasia prefers to keep to herself," wrote another instructor. "On several occasions, I've had to take her sketchbook from her because she'd draw rather than pay attention in class."

In later years, Alexandra's physical-education teacher observed that even though she was probably the best athlete in her class, she was the last picked for teams -- if she was chosen at all. And Anastasia's art teacher observed that she drew buildings and structures rather than people.

The voices of the teachers began to blend into each other.

The girls had, up to this point, stubbornly refused to conform to her definition of a proper princess, boldly writing their own rule book. An astronaut and an architect weren't exactly what the queen had in mind when she purposely birthed replacements for her runaway daughter, Francisca.

On the surface, her daughters couldn't be more different. Alexandra was a human dynamo, constantly on the go, daring enough to try every sport imaginable from horseback riding to basketball to soccer to snowboarding.

The queen admitted to herself that she marveled at her energy.

Anastasia was cultured and refined, at home in an art museum, a theater, a bookstore, or a library. Her favorite thing in the world to do was draw, but indeed, she loved anything creative, and had taken up guitar and piano as well.

But, as different as they were, they were united by one major trait, one major characteristic. They wanted to do their own thing, on their own terms.

To the Queen, this was the most stunning thing of all. Not only had they rebelled against her and her traditional values, but then, they had the audacity to do it while the whole world was watching.

At least, when Francisca did it, she'd done it behind closed doors, and the world found out about it later. These girls were doing it in the here and now, with everyone looking.

How must she appear now to her subjects, as a frail old woman being steamrolled by her iron-willed twin daughters, who despite all of her efforts to corral them were still doing exactly as they pleased?

Alexandra hadn't left the military, like she'd wanted her to. In fact, she'd doubled down on her involvement by assisting in earthquake recovery efforts on the other side of the mountain and helping with storm preparedness. And she continued to take flight and astronomy classes and maintain all her athletic activities.

Anastasia had doubled down, too, somehow securing at least partial funding to build a family crypt and historical society. She was also now the chairperson for the Hidden Springs Heritage Festival, a month-long party that, now that she was in charge, she'd promised would be bigger and better than ever.

They'd said to her, we dare you to stop us.

And neither girl appeared to be in any rush to comply with her marriage ultimatum.



The queen knew about Anastasia's boyfriend, Lucian, a vintner. But his origins and family were a mystery. No one knew who he was or where he come from. The name 'Lucian' didn't appear in any registry or record. It was clear to Queen Catarina, though, that even though Anastasia was obviously smitten with him, she was in no real hurry to take him to the altar. 



But what of Alexandra? So far, she'd shown even less desire to marry or even date. Instead, her energies were focused on her many athletic pursuits and her flight training.
Rumors about Alexandra's sexuality abounded, which distressed Catarina even more. She could see how those kinds of rumors could come up, especially with Alexandra's boyish demeanor and attire.

The same things were said years ago about Francisca, rumors Francisca had done absolutely nothing to stop. Alexandra, Catarina thought, was doing even less to stop these.



The queen walked into the sunroom where Alexandra was sitting alone with her legs crossed. "What's the matter?" she asked.
"The supplies I ordered for the shelter for the earthquake victims haven't arrived yet. And the supplier is coming up with all sorts of excuses."
"Oh?"
"The person I talked to said they couldn't get through the mountain pass. Hello? Subalpine Blvd isn't closed yet, and it's not even snowing up there in the higher elevations. They're just making excuses and I'm tired of it."
"I see."
"Those people are going to starve and freeze unless I do something."



Queen Catarina sat down and smiled. "Have you tried talking to the manager or whoever is in charge? Sometimes when you speak to employees they don't know every thing that is happening."
"They keep saying the manager is 'unavailable.'"
"Keep trying. You'll get through." The queen smiled again. "Can I tell you how enormously proud I am of you? You and your sister both."
"Really?" She couldn't remember her mother ever praising her before. A part of her wondered what prompted this change of heart.
"I've been doing some thinking, Alexandra, and, I admit, I've been a little harsh on you and Anastasia. But -- but -- that's because -- I love you and want the best for you. I love you more than you know. I've struggled to accept that you're not little girls anymore. In my mind's eye I'm still seeing two little girls running around here."



The queen paused again.  "Alexandra -- who is this Patrick fellow?" she asked finally, ending days of speculation around the palace, showing her daughter a Polaroid photo taken by one of the press corps.
"He's a good friend of mine," she replied.  "He's a student at the academy. I've known him all of my life."
Queen Catarina laughed. Funny, she thought, that's what Anastasia said.
"Oh," mused the queen, "so that's the gentleman you were with at your father's funeral dinner."
Alexandra nodded.
"I see. Well, I shall do a thorough background check. I can't have my daughters marrying just anyone."
Shaking her head with satisfaction, Alexandra glared at her mother. If she knew the truth, she thought. Boy have we got a surprise for her.