Her Royal Highness Tatiana Ivashkov sat in the plush velour of her office chair. Her back was hunched and her once impeccable face was worn down with masked wrinkles that told an old tale of worry, worries that came from the crushing responsibility she dealt with in her many decades as Moroi Queen. Tatiana was writing a letter, her quill moving furiously across the parchment.
"You're so tense Tia," Ambrose purred, digging his thumbs into the tense muscles of his queen's shoulders.
"Let me focus Ambrose," Tatiana muttered, "You can lavish me later."
"Ah but you deserve to be lavished every day at all times my queen," Ambrose retorted.
"Why do I still keep you around?"
"I wish I knew the answer Tia, but it mystifies me just as much as it does you."
The office was silent save for the scratching sound of the quill being tapped into the jar of ink and journeyed across the paper. Ambrose contented himself with unknotting the muscles of his lover's neck and shoulders for the next hour or two while she put the finishing touches on her letters. When Tatiana was finished she sealed the parchments into multiple envelopes and sealed them with the red wax before stamping the royal emblem.
She pulled on the string connected to the bell that rang in the mailing quarters of the royal court. A few moments later the door to the queen's office opened and the nameless mailmen that had worked for her for many years now was accompanied inside by her faithful near guardian Darren Smith that spent many long days and nights surveying her office door.
"Your majesty," the mailmen bowed and Darren inclined his head with a soft smile and a look of concern for his exhausted charge.
"Please make sure you deliver these letters to their rightful owner, these letters cannot get into the wrong hands. And be efficient, time is critical to the moroi, the dhampir and the throne. I believe you will get the job done right and well," Tatiana instructed as she handed the letters into the mailman's hands. He bowed deeply and promptly left the office, Darren not far behind him after flashing a reproachful look to the moroi queen as if to say 'Get some rest!'.
With a sigh of relief Tatiana stood up from her fauteuil and suppressed a groan as she stretched her muscles. I'm glad that's done, she thought. She had much more pleasant matters to tend to now.
"I keep you around for many reasons dear Ambrose. Because you're trustworthy, honest, hardworking and faithful," Tatiana said.
"Spoken like a true queen, always practical," Ambrose huffed, amused and flattered at the high regard his queen had for him.
"And because you make me feel like no other. Or at least, that's what I seem to recall. I may just require a reminder..." Tatiana purred.
"Now that's a reminder that I'm only too happy to give you your majesty," Ambrose chuckled with a wink before gathering the withered queen into his arms and whisking her away to her quarters.
Tatiana sighed happily, resting her head on the young masseur's shoulder and closed her eyes imagining that she still had the rest of her life ahead of her and she did not to be concerned for the fate of an entire culture and species. Her relations with Ambrose were a sacred part of her life that had to be kept out of the public eyes and ears at all costs. No one would understand or accept us, not even my dearest nephew Adrian. The life of a queen really was tough and nothing the storybooks made it out to be, especially the life of the moroi queen. So Tatiana closed her eyes and let herself forget.
The court's royal mailman looked down at the envelopes that her majesty entrusted to him and sighed heavily as he entered his Jeep. It seemed like he would be travelling across the globe or the next week or so. He briefly glanced over the eight recipients of the queen's letters.
Rosalia Maria Ivanka Mazur Dragomir-Badica –Badica Stronghold, Rhine, Switzerland
Dimitri Ivashkov-Belikov – Belikova Home, Baia, Russia
Vasilisa Sabina Rhea Badica-Dragomir – St. Vladimir Academy, Montana, United States
Adrian Ivashkov – Supreme Court, Florence, Italy
Ibrahim Mazur – Mazur Manor, Istanbul, Turkey
Janine Hathaway – Szelsky Manor, Edinburgh, Scotland
Alberta Petrov – St. Vladimir Academy, Montana, United States
Arthur Schoenberg – Badica Stronghold, Rhine, Switzerland
