With Crown Princess Ella still recuperating after the birth of her daughter Eleanor, Anastasia took over as chairperson of the Hidden Springs Heritage Festival planning committee. She had already proven she knew how to throw a good party; after all, she was the mastermind behind her father's funeral dinner, and the costume ball the twins threw for Halloween was her idea as well. For someone so introverted, she seemed to have a knack for party planning, even if she wasn't big on the idea of sticking around at the parties themselves. Even while planning the festival, Anastasia wondered if, due to the earthquake, the event would even happen.
She had gotten up early in the morning to be first in line at the bookstore. The occasion? Her favorite author was doing a book signing there, for her latest, Alys in Wonderland, a historical-fiction epic about a medieval queen who actually existed. Anastasia had been looking forward to the book for awhile, ever since she'd read the previews and learned that there was a possible genetic link between Alys and herself through her mother, Queen Catarina.
She spent the rest of her day at the library, burying herself in architecture and design books. While she was there, she realized why she'd had such a difficult time with clients. It was because, despite all the cosmetic procedures she'd had done, despite the fact that the whole reality-show thing was HER idea, none of it had changed who she was as a person. As a child and teen, she'd been so shy that at boarding school she mostly stayed in her room. The fact remained that, for the most part, she still struggled to talk to people. She was still, for the most part, someone who preferred to work at her own pace and preferred her own company.
With the crypt, Anastasia had taken on her own project, on her own time, on her own terms. She could come and go as she pleased. She was the one calling the shots, just the way she'd liked it.
Meanwhile, the members of Alexandra's regiment met at the fire station early the next morning.
There, they were briefed on the situation by assistant fire chief Harlan Worrell.
"On yesterday, there was a minor earthquake here in Hidden Springs. Its epicenter was at the foot of the mountain range, and we think it's along the fault line. There weren't any fatalities, but there are some gas leaks and some minor injuries. The fire department took care of the trapped sims. What we need you guys to do is go there and check the area out, clear any debris, keep cars off the roads, check for even more trapped sims, help restore power, that kind of thing."
Armored military vehicles arrived at the foothills late that afternoon.
And in the evening, the military personnel combed the streets looking for debris and trapped sims, restoring power, and keeping cars off the roads. They'd instituted a mandatory dusk-to-dawn curfew for all sims in the earthquake zone.
"What're you thinkin' about?" asked Alexandra, noticing AJ with his hand to his mouth.
"You think you're so tough, don't you, Vanderburg," he giggled. "Can't possibly be tough sitting in the palace."
"You'd be surprised."
"Really?"
"Yeah, I got into a few scrapes at Smuggsworth. Beat up a couple boys. Broke my nose a couple times."
"Ha!" AJ teased. "A princess beating up boys at a prep school."
"They were teasing my sister! They were so going to pay for that."
"Think I'm tough? I'm a softie compared to my older brother." AJ suddenly turned reflective. "Toughest SOB ever, seriously. He was from Egypt. My mom adopted him and my sister right before she and my dad got married. Me and him, we got into a few scrapes with the law when we were teens. The courts sent us to Fort Starch. I was ready to come home about the second day. Him, Fort Starch didn't do him anything. At all. It was like, he flicked it off like a bug. He just stared at the drill sergeants, who spent all day screaming in your face, and said screw you. Nothing fazed him at all."
"Wow." Alexandra listened to AJ with disbelief. "Where is he now?"
"He went back to Egypt. I haven't heard back from him in quite awhile."
"Sounds like you miss him."
AJ nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, I do. He is my brother, after all. I'm worried about him."
"You need to write a book about this."
AJ shook his head. "Uh-uh. No, no way."
"I'd love to read it, it's fascinating stuff. Let's see, your mom's an archeologist, your dad's a pro athlete, you have adopted siblings from Egypt, need I go on?"
"And you are a member of the royal family, and I'm sure you guys have quite a few skeletons in your closets too," AJ teased back.
"You have no idea," Alexandra replied, unsure if AJ was listening.
AJ and Alexandra, along with the rest of their unit, spent the rest of the night patrolling the streets.
No comments:
Post a Comment