Chapter Seventy-Four

"So, Lucian popped the question, eh?" Patrick mused as he mashed his game controller.
"Yep, he did."
"What did Ana say?"
"I don't know. I haven't talked to her. Ana and I may be twins but I cannot possibly know what's going on in her head right now."
"Alex -- it's something we have to think about, too. I mean, after all, it's been nearly twenty simdays since your mother issued that decree and you turned me real in compliance."
"And I feel the same way about it now as I did then. It's absolutely ridiculous."
"How do you feel about the idea of marriage?"
Alexandra shook her head in annoyance. "Come on, it's the twenty-first century. I see no reason why a woman needs to get married at all."
"But you are not an ordinary woman, Alex. You are an extraordinary woman in an extraordinary situation, one that requires an extraordinary response."
Patrick's words took Alexandra by surprise.  Pausing her game, she put down her controller and asked, "What are you saying, Patrick?"
"Alex, I'm saying that Lucian proposing marriage to Ana has made me think that we have to start considering our own future."



Alexandra and Patrick met for hot wings at TGI Bees.
"Is it true, Alex? You have a forbidden fruit seed?"
"Yes, it is. I was working on the gene splicing experiment back at the university, and one of the experiments led to the creation of the seed. I have to study gardening procedures in order to learn how to care for this seed. Not even mom or Ana knows about it."
"Ana doesn't know?"
"I haven't told her. Besides, she's got plenty of her own issues she's dealing with. I don't want to spring this on her, too."



"I'm going to try that experiment with dad's ghost."
"Ana doesn't know about that either?"
"Nope. No one but you. And I hope it stays that way. I've lied to mom that it's a gene splicing experiment."
"Alex, you can't keep lying to your mother. Eventually she's going to find out."



"I have no idea what I'm going to do," confessed Anastasia as her father's ghost lurked around the premises. "Lucian has completely and totally blindsided me."
"Understandable. I bet when you came home from college you weren't expecting a marriage proposal."
"I don't know what to say to him. I mean, I love him, but not in, you know, that way."



"In what way do you love him, sweetie?"
"He's my best friend -- he's been with me my entire life."
"I understand, Ana. I understand you're hard-headed and stubborn and independent -- just like your mother. You were born to privilege, darling, and with that privilege comes specific obligations. Do you realize the moment you walk down that aisle is the moment you get exactly what you want?"
"What do you mean, dad?"
"You'll see, sweetheart. You'll see."
"How do you know what I want, dad?"
"Sweetheart... I held you when you were a baby, I bought all your art supplies, paid for all your lessons, and I've been with you your whole life. Believe me, Anastasia, I know what you want. I know what your sister wants too. Tell me this, Anastasia. If you do not love Lucian, then who do you love?"
Anastasia cupped her head in her hands and began to sob quietly.
"And believe me, Anastasia, I also know that you do not want to end up alone. Your mother and I, we're not long for this world, and I will eventually disappear even from this form. We'll still be around but not physically, not tangibly. Lucian is not going anywhere. He's been with you for this long, and I suspect he'll be around for the long haul, long after your mother and I are gone. Your mother and I, we've done our job. Twenty years ago, the Watcher saw fit to bless us with the two of you. We've done what we were tasked to do, which was to bring you and your sister up so that you could become the remarkable young women that you are. Lucian and Patrick, they can take over from here as your life companions."

Chapter Seventy-Three

After the festival ended, Lucian took Anastasia to a local lookout point, where a hot air balloon was waiting. "Oh, Lucian...you didn't?!?" Anastasia exclaimed.
"I sure did," Lucian said, "because there's something I need to say to you."
"And I you." She poured two glasses of sparkling cider. "Look, Lucian, I'm sorry --"
"Sorry for what?"
"Sorry for the way I've treated you. Look, those two weeks away, you know, I've gained some perspective, on a lot of things. And there are some things I need to change. And one of them is, I can't see you anymore."
"You're breaking up with me?"
"Lucian, you're a great guy. Please, don't take this the wrong way. At a certain point in my life, when I was a different person, you were my rock and my strength and at times my only friend. I see no reason why our friendship shouldn't continue even though we've been romantic."
"Annie -- w-what are you saying? Because I have another surprise for you."



A few minutes later they returned home, and Lucian gave Anastasia a massage.



He got down on one knee and pulled out a glistening diamond ring.



"Annie -- Anastasia Maria Teresa de Ghent Vanderburg -- will you marry me?"



"Oh my god, oh my god, Lucian --" Anastasia began to sob uncontrollably. She was frozen. She didn't know what to do or what to say. And she certainly didn't have an answer for him.

Chapter Seventy-Two

Early Sunday morning, the moving van carrying the twins and their things trudged through heavy snow in Hidden Springs.



Later that evening, Queen Catarina stood at the palace gates, awaiting her two youngest daughters' arrival. She couldn't wait to see them. She'd missed them -- and their drama -- while they were gone.



They walked through the gates nodding to their mother, signaling that they had much to tell her. But there was also much they weren't saying, too.



Yet another snowstorm had turned Hidden Springs into a winter wonderland. The higher elevations received several feet of fresh powder.



Alexandra awoke early the next morning to have breakfast with Queen Catarina. (Anastasia was still fast asleep)
"Tell me, Alexandra," began her mother, "how was college? Was it everything you thought it would be?"
"Yes. And more," raved Alexandra.
"Really? How so?"
"I've had so much fun."
With a twinkle in her blue-gray eyes that suggested quite a different past, Queen Catarina replied, "I bet.  I've heard you and your sister have been quite the wild children."
Alexandra cast her mother's comment aside.  "Mother -- there's so much technology out there. And it's constantly changing. What we think of as cutting-edge now will be obsolete in just a few months. I'm learning about astronomy, physics, information systems. One of these days, soon, I'm going to be on a manned spacecraft. Come on, I've got something to show you."



Alexandra walked Queen Catarina to the basement. The queen had never been here, although she'd objected to her late husband having this basement built in the first place.
"New toy?" Queen Catarina asked, looking at the machine with decided interest.
Nodding, Alexandra replied, "It's on loan from the university. I have a grant from them to continue my research. I'm doing a dissertation on brain functions in space."



"You know, Alexandra, you've always been interested in science. When you were little, when you weren't driving us all crazy trying every sport there is, you blew up every pot and glass we had. When your father told me that you'd told him you wanted to be an astronaut, I wasn't surprised, although it's not what I wanted for you. Then when you enlisted, I was just, floored. It hit me. I had seen the disaster when all the astronauts blew up in space and died, and I don't want that for you. I didn't know how to react. Your grandfather, King Rudolph, was very much into the sciences. The hospital is named after him."



Meanwhile, Anastasia finally emerged from her bed at nearly eleven in the morning. By then heavy snow was once again falling over Hidden Springs.



She and Lucian had made their way to the Heritage Festival, where one of the featured acts was performing.



Despite the cold, singer Karla T belted out her songs that carried through the chilly alpine air. The crowd -- and the festival chairperson -- were delighted.



"When are you going to start your dissertation?" asked Queen Catarina, sitting with Prince Renauld over breakfast the next morning.
"I've already started it," replied Alexandra while scarfing down pancakes. "In fact, it's almost finished."
Queen Catarina managed a smile. "I hope some of your industriousness rubs off on your sister."





Later that morning, Alexandra went fishing in Hidden Lake, right beside the palace. She had been taught to fish by the Prince when she was a small child, and her love of the rod and reel had continued to the present day.



While roping in her latest catch, she was approached by Lindy Gifford, the reporter from Sim Style who had been assigned to do the feature piece on the Vanderburg twins. She had become a semi-permanent member of the royal press corps. "It's mighty cold out here to be doing that kind of thing."
"I'm a mountain girl," Alexandra bragged, "this is what we do."
"You like to fish?"
"Oh, I love it. So peaceful.  My father taught me how to fish when I was a little girl."
"You have any favorite fishing spots, besides this one?"
"Over by Louie Falls. That's a great spot. You could hear the water rushing down. You can be so close to nature."



Despite the snow falling, Lindy feverishly jotted down what Alexandra had told her. "Do you know where your sister is?"
"I think she was going to the festival. You know she's in charge of it."
"Oh, that's right. Well, I'll see you later, enjoy your fishing."





After Alexandra finished fishing she took another icy dip in Hidden Lake.

Chapter Seventy-One

Finals week approached at Sims University.





Some students hit the books hard. Others, like Nathan Gorski (his music-loving parents named him after the composer) practiced their singing ability.



And then there was Anastasia Vanderburg, who maintained a social schedule as packed as it ever was back at the palace.



She was now a member of Tri-Fruhm sorority, even though she never lived in the sorority house. Her best college pal was Samantha Grey, a member of the sorority, and they often went shopping and to art galleries and coffee houses together.



Meanwhile, Alexandra could care less for the sorority life. Even though she was a member, too, the constant sorority parties were not her style. When she wasn't able to play some sport due to the weather, she was either in the lab or she was mashing her opponents with the new ability to play online.



This wasn't to say, though, that she didn't do her share of frolicking.



She was even busted diving into a dumpster behind the sorority house.



Professor Anthony drew an image of Saturn on his blackboard. "Now, who can tell me how many moons Saturn has?" he asked. "Besides Alexandra."



"Sophie?" the professor said, calling a heavy-set woman with thick glasses, wearing a suit jacket.

Finals day arrived, the end of an eventful two week period which changed the lives of both of the girls in profound and irrevocable ways.





They aced their exams and were named to the Dean's List, with A averages.



On Saturday morning, Alexandra hopped on her scooter and headed outdoors. Back in Hidden Springs, she'd loved to explore, and with no classes on Saturday she was free to look at the town.



She collected gems...





Fished...





...even swam in the lake.

In the afternoon, she went to the stadium and played intramural basketball.





At the last goodbye party, she let loose fireworks.



Anastasia's kind-of, sort-of boyfriend, Derek Khan, was very interested in dancing with Waverly Chen.





Sasha's boyfriend, Paul Biden, had gotten way too close to one of the sorority girls, which angered her. The disappointment on Sasha's face was palpable.



Hoisting Samantha over the beer keg, Derek gave Anastasia one last glance.