I'm finally back with a new story, after a year of writer's block and another half-year of enormous (and less than positive) events in my life. At least I was motivated to finish it! I'd appreciate feedback, as always. You may wish to reread my last story to refresh your memory, as this continues the storyline.
§ § § - June 28. 2008
It was amusing to see Maureen, Myeko and their daughters craning their necks to peer out every window within reach as the royal jet descended towards the Santi Arcuros airport in the gathering dusk. Christian was asleep in the seat beside Leslie; Susanna, Karina and Tobias were as eager and curious as the other children, faces pressed flat against the window to watch the ground coming up to meet them. Most of her husband's relatives were either dozing or just awakening; when the plane hit the tarmac, Christian woke up as well, blinking and shaking his head hard to gain some alertness.
"Daddy, we're here," cried the triplets, seeing he was awake.
"So we are," he agreed and yawned. "Thankfully. These flights are exhausting."
"Lucky for you there's enough room on this thing to sleep comfortably," Leslie noted with a grin. "You'd think these three had never flown before, the way they've been gaping out the window."
"This is probably the first time they've been old enough to appreciate it," Christian said, chuckling at the sight of his children watching the landscape racing past them. Even as he spoke, the plane made a turn and the airport terminal slid into view. It wasn't till they came to a halt at a gate that the rubberneckers finally abandoned their windows, the kids with obvious reluctance, and began to gather their things preparatory to disembarkation.
"Is that the palace over there?" Myeko asked from across the aisle. "I mean, look at the size of the place!"
"It even sparkles in the light," Noelle added, enchanted. "It's exactly like something out of a Disney movie."
"There are rumors that some of the stone the palace is built from was mixed with thousands of crushed rainbow gems," Christian said, "which is why it glitters like that. In the moonlight the effect is even more striking."
"Do you think we'll get to go sightseeing, or be stuck in the palace the whole time we're here?" Brianna wanted to know, edging up to stand beside her mother, who was holding April's hand to keep her from tearing off in the triplets' wake.
Maureen and Leslie looked at her and then at each other. "I guess it depends on how King Errico is doing," Leslie said.
"I'm sure he'd insist we tour his country," Christian told them. "The wedding isn't for another four days, so I have no doubt there'll be time enough for sightseeing."
It took four royal limousines to carry the entire party to the palace, which was clearly visible at the top of its long, high, narrow ridge nearly the entire way through the Arcolosian capital. The only route there was a smoothly paved road just wide enough for two cars to pass each other, winding through thick stands of trees on the hillside and including no fewer than five hairpin turns on its way to the crest of the ridge. The road itself was marked at its base with signs that warned against trespassing, a small brick hut large enough to house two guards, and a heavy iron gate that sealed off access to unauthorized visitors. The limos were flying the Arcolosian flag over the royal banner, so that they gained instant access to the palace drive and didn't even have to stop.
In the wide paved court that fronted the palace, the limos lined up one after the next and discharged their weary passengers, who were met by a small army of palace servants who took their luggage and led the newcomers off to their guest quarters. "Don't lose sight of your leader," Christian warned Myeko and Maureen with some humor. "If you think this place looks enormous from the outside, wait till you see the interior - you'll wonder how they ever crammed so many rooms into this structure. Worse than that, it's a convoluted rat's maze. You can't get around in here even with a detailed map."
They looked at each other. "I wonder if we're ever going to see Michiko at all while we're here," Myeko said deadpan, and they broke into laughter.
Once she and Christian were in their beautifully appointed suite, with one room for the adults and three single beds for the triplets in an adjoining room with a connecting door, Leslie followed the instructions she'd been given in an e-mail and put through a call to the suite Michiko shared with Errico. "You made it, thank goodness," Michiko exclaimed when Leslie identified herself. "Are all of you here?"
"And getting settled in," Leslie confirmed. "How's Errico doing?"
"He's mostly bedridden now," Michiko said, "but he's absolutely determined to be in the castle chapel to see with his own eyes that Paolono and Lindalia are safely married. No one can tell him otherwise, so we're just humoring his every wish."
"Does he have a lot of pain?" Leslie asked.
"He gets constant headaches, and lately not even the strongest medicines make much of a dent in them. He says they're like double migraines - so horrible that he can't even walk on his own because of the extreme vertigo they produce. I still can't understand how on earth he lives with that. All I can think is, he's desperate to be sure he sees his heir wed."
"That has to be it," Leslie said. "I sure hope he makes it."
"Don't we all," murmured Michiko. She cleared her throat and her voice sounded brighter when she spoke again. "You're all just in time for the evening meal, so I hope you're hungry. I held it back because I wanted the chance to see everyone this evening."
"You can count on the kids being hungry," Leslie said with a chuckle, accepting the change of subject. "I could use something myself - they told us when we boarded in New York that they'd be serving only a light meal early in the flight because you had asked that we join you for supper."
"Oh, good. Then I'll see you there," Michiko promised.
Within the hour the tired and hungry travelers had been brought to the castle's huge dining room, whose retractable wall had been opened to the early-summer evening and let in a refreshing breeze. The children and Myeko and Maureen were overwhelmed by the opulent setting, amazed at the kind of technology that could make such a wall a reality, even if only for the impossibly wealthy. But when the food arrived, the children's attention was promptly focused on that, and as they were being seated, Michiko arrived with Marcolo and Catalina. Maureen, Leslie and Myeko jumped out of their chairs and converged on their friend with hugs.
"I'm so glad you're all here!" Michiko exclaimed, eyes bright. "I just wish the other girls could have come too. What was Camille's excuse?"
"Fear of Jimmy and the boys pulling the house down around them and losing Robin in the process," Myeko said, and they all laughed. "Katsumi and Lauren and Tabitha had their work, of course. But they all promised they'd gather over at the Ordoñezes' place on Monday so they can watch the wedding on TV."
"That's fine with me, then," Michiko said. "Well, come on, let's eat-you must all be starving by now. If the three of you aren't too wrung out from all that traveling, I'd really like you to join me out by the pool after supper so we can talk."
When the meal ended and everyone had had their fill, servants arrived to show the diners back to their rooms; April and the triplets protested loudly enough that Cat finally asked Michiko if she could take them with her to her playroom so they could have fun for a while before bedtime. After some conferring, it was agreed, so that Cat and the servant who had charge of her were followed by quite an entourage: April Harding; Susanna, Karina and Tobias Enstad; Matti and Toria Enstad; Lisi Tenner-Strömberg; and Erika and Natalia Oskarsson (the latter of whom had recently been formally adopted by Kai). Annika Oskarsson had forged a friendship with Brianna Harding and Noelle Tokita, being only a year younger than they; and these three now asked if they could put on swimsuits and enjoy the large, sparkling pool while Michiko and her friends had their chat.
Maureen and Myeko agreed; Kai looked a little dubious, but Anna-Kristina assured him it would be fine for Annika to go. So pretty soon the three girls were cooling off in the pool, laughing frequently, while Michiko, Maureen, Myeko and Leslie gathered in chairs around a table, each with a glass of Arcolos' famous Vallomoros wine. "So what's happening with you three lately?" Michiko wanted to know.
Myeko, Maureen and Leslie brought her up to date individually on their respective family lives, and collectively as regarded events on Fantasy Island; Michiko listened avidly, laughed almost as much as the teenagers in the pool, and commented on nearly everything, to the point that her friends began to look oddly at one another and then at her.
Finally Myeko, with the instincts she had honed over her years as a newspaper gossip columnist, voiced her friends' thoughts. "You've been hanging on our every word, you know. Something up? I mean…" She tossed Leslie a glance, as if for help. "I know you miss Fantasy Island and all, and you're probably looking for a distraction right now, but -"
Michiko drew in a breath. "Well, yes on both counts." She glanced between her three friends, looking hesitant for a moment, then shot one look around the pool perimeter as if afraid of eavesdroppers. She lowered her voice so that the others had to lean in close to hear her properly. "I don't want this getting around, so don't tell anyone you don't trust, and especially don't tell anyone outside of this palace. But when Errico's…gone, I'll be moving back to Fantasy Island."
Her friends lit up and exclaimed aloud, and she shushed them with frantic hand motions. "Don't let it get out yet!" she insisted.
"Think there'd be an uproar?" Maureen asked with a grin.
"You don't know the half of it," Michiko said. "Once Errico passes, Paolono will become king. Technically he'll be king immediately upon his father's death, but you know monarchies - pomp and circumstance rule the day. There'll have to be a formal investiture with all the ceremonies and costumes and rare and costly accoutrements. But that won't be for several months, following a massive state funeral for Errico, and of course I'll have to be present for Paolono's coronation. But I'd prefer to leave the running of the country up to him. I'm only forty-three, and I think that's a little young to go around wearing the mantle of 'dowager queen'."
Her friends laughed. "Yeah, I think I'd have a problem with that too," Maureen agreed. "When will you be able to leave?"
Michiko stared into her wine glass, drawing little circles on the tabletop with its base. "The funeral planning is already under way, and that's under Errico's orders. He's well aware he doesn't have much longer to live, and he's fighting to take care of whatever unfinished business he possibly can while he still has the faculties, or any vestige thereof." Her look was wry. "But he's insisted that all the funeral details be arranged and set in place now while he's still around to direct the production, and he told me to be certain the funeral itself takes place no more than a week after he's gone." Tears gleamed in her eyes as she spoke, but her voice was remarkably clear and steady. "I've already started packing things, and if all of you can stay for the funeral, I'd like us all to go back home together."
Her friends nodded, glancing at one another. Then Myeko inquired, "Does Errico know what you're planning to do?"
Michiko went back to playing with her wine glass. "I started thinking about this as soon as we got his official diagnosis. At the time it was if he died…then the treatments began to fail one by one, and within about six months we knew it was a question of when he died. So I gave it some time to sink in for both of us, and then I told him what I was thinking of doing. I was surprised when he told me he knew I had a certain amount of homesickness - let's face it, one good tipoff was the fact that I was so upset shortly before his coronation because I thought I'd never be able to leave Arcolos again, not to mention my annual trips back. And he certainly didn't fail to notice that I've stayed away a little longer every year. So he wasn't entirely blindsided by what I had to say."
"What's he think of your taking Cat with you?" Leslie asked.
"We had a huge argument about it at first. He wanted her to remain here under the care of Paolono and Lindalia, and learn to be a proper little Arcolosian princess. But it won't be long now before they become king and queen, and Paolono especially will have plenty on his plate just trying to take over the running of the country. He's told me out of Errico's earshot that there are some fundamental changes he wants to make to bring Arcolos into the twenty-first century where it belongs, and that includes the primogeniture question. Right now Arcolos, England and Japan are the only monarchies in the world that insist the heir to the throne must be male. Paolono wants to alter that so that the firstborn will ascend to the throne, male or female. He wants to see that Arcolosian women and girls get the same opportunities as the men and boys do. And there are other things he wants to do too - modernization where it's needed, better trade agreements with the nearest neighbors, you know what I mean. He's got so much to do to accomplish his goals." Her friends nodded. "And besides, eventually Lindalia will bear her own children. I don't want to leave Cat here on Errico's say-so and have her think her mother abandoned her here. She's my daughter, my only child, and I want her with me."
"Of course you do," said Maureen. "It's only right. Has he come around yet?"
"I think he has…reluctantly, but he finally said maybe I had a point, and all right, go ahead and take Cat home with me when the time came. But he wants me to send her back here for summer vacations, so she can be taught what she needs to know about her own country. I suppose that's reasonable. Paolono and Lindalia probably won't mind having her here for eight or ten weeks, and after all, this is Cat's native country and she has a right, and probably an obligation because of her station in life, to know all she can learn about it. I'll miss her terribly, but I understand his position. Listen, it's going to be a horrendously busy weekend and I'm afraid I'll be in the innermost circle of crazed activity, so don't wait around for me the next three days. Do some sightseeing - get out and see the country, go shopping, visit some attractions, even do some rainbow-gem mining over in Li Ciento. Just because I'm right in the thick of the wedding preparations doesn't mean you have to confine yourselves to the palace."
"What'll we do without a tour guide?" Myeko asked with a grin.
Michiko broke into laughter. "Well, the best I could do is suggest that you ask Christian to do it - he's been here before, according to Errico, several times."
Leslie laughed too. "I'm not sure he's that familiar with the country, but on the other hand, he told me once that they put a car at his disposal on a visit he made a year after his mother died, and he just jumped in and went, and did whatever he wanted. He said he loved it because he got to find out what it was like to be anonymous for a while. Maybe he'll still remember some of the places he went and how to get there."
They watched the three girls frolicking in the pool; then Maureen cleared her throat. "Is Paolono aware of your plans to pack up Cat and all your things and move away?"
Michiko chuckled. "I saw no point in keeping it secret from the family. After all, my disappearance from the scene will directly affect Paolono's and Marcolo's lives - not so much Adriana, since she has her life in Lilla Jordsö with Roald and their son. But I insisted they keep it to themselves. I don't want it in every two-bit rag in Europe about my alleged abandonment of my stepson just when he's taken on such a huge responsibility and might need a few books' worth of sage advice. Not from his ignorant stepmother, he doesn't. Just because I married a king doesn't mean I'm an expert on how to run his country. Paolono's been trained for this all his life. He has a good head on his shoulders, and he's no slouch."
"So he's okay with it?" Myeko asked.
"Sure, he doesn't mind. Says he'll miss his little sister, but secretly I don't think he's going to devote that much thought to her absence. So it'll be just Cat and me - and before you ask, yes, she knows. I told her as soon as I talked Errico around to the idea. She'll be directly affected, so she deserved to know all about it."
"And she probably wants every single possession she has to go along," Maureen observed with a grin. "Or did you nix that yet?"
Michiko smirked. "I'm going to get in there before we go and clean out at least half the toys she has in there. She'll never miss them."
"With our luck, the triplets will ask for the better part of them," Leslie grumbled, although she was amused in spite of herself. "So when you get back, where are you and Cat going to settle?"
"At first with Mother," said Michiko. Miyoshi had finally sold the Tokita home a few weeks after Christmas, and was now living in a small apartment near town. "It'll be crowded for a while, I know. But my plan is…" She hesitated, looked between Leslie and Maureen for a few seconds, then went on, "What I want to do is build a house next door to you, Leslie. Do you and Maureen mind if I crash the neighborhood?"
Leslie and Maureen both broke into laughter and hugged her from each side while Myeko grinned. "It'll never be the same," Leslie teased her, "but why not? I think it'll be fun. I'm glad you're not moping around. It might seem callous to make plans for your future at a time like this, but I'm sure Errico probably insisted you do it once he got used to the idea."
"You know him better than you think you do," Michiko said. "He didn't like the idea of my moping around, as you said-he gave me an overly stern look and said he wasn't up to mopping up my oceans of tears before he'd even left this existence. He knows all of it, and he wants to have a final press conference right after the wedding - Tuesday actually, just in case of…well, you know." She straightened her spine as if shoring herself up. "He wants to tell the people about my decision and make it clear to them that he wholeheartedly approves of my plans and that Cat will be back every summer. But till then, please don't say anything to anyone. Otherwise it could be misconstrued, and I don't want that."
"Understandable," Maureen agreed. "Okay, we'll zip our lips. But one last thing, before we drag the girls out of the pool and make everyone hit the hay for the night. Even if Christian does agree to be tour guide for us, could you designate someone to leave us some guidebooks on the place? I'd rather use my time wisely and not get lost, so I have plenty of it to do some shopping with the money I saved on the airfare getting here."
They all laughed, and Michiko promised to see to it that they had guidebooks at their disposal before Maureen and Myeko rousted their daughters and Annika out of the pool and the entire group retreated into the castle. Leslie was relieved the evening had ended on a high note after all, though she half dreaded the days ahead.
§ § § - June 30, 2008
The wedding of Arcolos' crown prince and his pretty fiancée was celebrated with all the hyped-up publicity, glitter and bloated excess the world expected from royalty. To their collective relief, Errico - stubborn as he was - had indeed made a public appearance at the wedding, smiling and waving from his wheelchair and looking almost as if he had begun to make a miraculous recovery. What the public, and even the media, weren't aware of was how much of an effort Errico often had to make to hide the pain his tumor caused him, and how, once the cameras and the people had turned their attention to the honeymooning couple, he collapsed in the limousine back to the palace and went to bed uncommonly early, telling Michiko to make sure he had a press conference scheduled for the following morning as he had planned.
When he told her this, he had witnesses: Marcolo; Adriana with Roald, who had naturally come in for the wedding; and Christian and Leslie, since Errico still regarded Christian as the closest thing to a friend he had ever had. "I want you to be sure she does this," Errico said, eyes darting from one to another, even as he lay there massaging his scalp in a vain effort to dispel some of his pain. "I myself must explain this, as the king, while I can. I won't have my people insisting my wife ran away the second I was dead."
Christian glanced around at the pale faces of Errico's wife and children, and seemed to realize they weren't quite feeling up to it. "Errico, perhaps this is the time for me to offer some help," he suggested. "I used to deal with our royal secretary on any number of occasions before I left Lilla Jordsö, so it wouldn't be difficult for me to see to it that the publicity staff arranges for the event."
Errico stared at him in amazement, then grinned weakly. "You're too generous, my old friend," he said, sounding relieved. "My deepest and sincerest thanks. You must see to it immediately, I am afraid. Now that I have achieved my objective and seen with my own eyes that my son and heir is safely wed, I fear that my body may give up on me and deny me this last task before I have the chance to carry it out."
Christian smiled. "Consider it done."
"I am much enlightened of that burden," Errico murmured, in his flowery, formal speech that seemed such a glaring anachronism in this day and age. "Now perhaps I can sleep, if the medication manages to overpower this monster in my head. Again, Christian, my thanks - you and Leslie may leave if you wish. It has been a beastly long day. The rest of you, I want you here till I sleep."
For all its gentle phrasing, it was a dismissal, and Christian and Leslie departed the bedchamber, where they met a servant waiting at the door. "Take us to the office of the palace publicity staff," Christian said crisply. The servant bowed and struck off along the corridor at a pace that forced Christian and Leslie to walk rapidly to keep up.
"I guess we're gonna get our share of exercise this week," Leslie remarked, huffing a little as she tried to match Christian's longer strides.
He glanced back at her, saw the effort she was making and grinned, taking her hand. "You could certainly say that. Hang in there, my Rose, at least we have a guide so we don't end up wandering the corridors for the next three years looking for the way out."
In a surprisingly short time they were presented to the publicity staff, and Christian explained what Errico wanted, taking charge with an easy, confident familiarity that made Leslie envious. She looked on in silence, till one of the staff ventured to ask Christian, "Your Highness, does Queen Michiko wish to be with the king while he speaks?"
Christian looked at Leslie, who blinked in surprise and then shrugged. "I don't know, actually. Could one of you contact her? She's with the king."
The nearest staff member punched out the required numbers and gave her the phone; she put the question to Michiko and was met with a startled silence. "I didn't think about it," Michiko admitted. "Let me check with Errico."
Leslie listened while voices murmured in the background; then Michiko came back on. "He says yes, I should be there, so I can further explain the plans I have. He just wants to be sure the people know that he approves of what I'm going to do."
"Got it," said Leslie. "Thanks, Michiko." She relayed this to the staff, who made some notes; a few were already making phone calls. Leslie handed back the borrowed phone and looked on as the arrangements were made; Christian provided a couple of bits of advice here and there, but it wasn't long before confirmations came in from various media outlets, not just in Arcolos but a number of other European countries as well, the UK being a key one. They also heard back from a CNN reporter stationed in London, so that there would be coverage for North America, and Australian and New Zealand news outlets were contacted too. Christian and Leslie waited till they had a full schedule of confirmations; then a staff member got in touch with Michiko to explain that the conference was scheduled for ten o'clock sharp the next morning.
The servant who had brought them to the office now led them back to their room, and they fell gratefully into bed, worn out from the long day. In fact, as Leslie admitted, it had been a long four days. "We've been on the go for one reason or another ever since we got here," she sighed. "We'll have to take another week off just to recover when we get back."
"I was thinking that myself," Christian said through a chuckle. "The Arcolosians never do things halfheartedly. We might as well get all the sleep we can."
They tried, but they were both still groggy when serving staff awakened them the next morning. The triplets, of course, were wide awake and full of energy; their parents had all they could do to keep them from pelting off down some obscure corridor or another on the way to breakfast. Michiko laughed sympathetically when she saw them both yawn hugely as they took chairs. "I don't think there's anything scheduled after the press conference," she offered. "We can just relax here today. Errico has some state business he wants to clear up, and he's sending Marcolo out to take care of some things that have to be dealt with in person, since Paolono and Lindalia are on their honeymoon."
Maureen nodded. "I've done all the shopping I want to do. I brought a swimsuit, so I'm planning to take advantage of the heat and the sunshine."
At nine-thirty, the entire group retreated to a room that reminded Leslie of a school theater setup, except that instead of the gymnasium or cafeteria that normally housed school stages, there were instead many rows of chairs. Adjacent to this was the room where the royal family prepared to go on television to make whatever statements they were making; while only Errico and Michiko would actually be speaking, Adriana, Marcolo and Catalina would be in the background with a servant or two to help Errico. Everyone else would re-main in what Michiko referred to as "the king's ready room". When Myeko asked about it, she laughed and confirmed, "Yes, Errico cooked up that name after he became a big fan of Star Trek: The Next Generation twenty years ago."
"Makes sense," said Leslie, grinning. "After all, this is where you get ready for the conferences." Everyone laughed quietly at that.
Michiko turned on the huge flat-screen television mounted on the wall that backed onto the stage; at the moment there was some talk show in Arcolosian playing. "This should end a little early so that they can be on the air when the time comes for Errico and me and the children to go on the stage for the conference," she said, handing Christian the remote. "You can have conversations in here at a normal level - it's soundproofed so nobody outside the room can hear anyone who might be in here, and try to break in for interviews or some other unauthorized interaction."
"Well thought out," said Christian, impressed. "We should have had that done in the castle. I'll have to discuss it with the family."
"I thought you'd like that," Michiko teased, and they laughed again. "Make yourselves comfortable, everyone."
Christian and Leslie watched her migrate over to the door that led to the conference room, where Errico sat in his wheelchair with his eyes closed. They looked at each other; then Christian sighed and aimed the remote at the enormous flat-screen. "There's nothing we can do now," he murmured, half to himself. "Only wait."