Ivan's POV
I woke up to feel Tanya's side of the bed empty.
I sat up and looked at the clock.
2:37 a.m.
I got out of bed and threw my robe on.
I looked over and Snieg was gone.
Snieg has gotten fond of Tanya and follows her almost everywhere.
I walk down the halls looking for Tanya when I hear her in the kitchen.
I walk into the kitchen and see her covered in flower mixing ingredients and talking to herself, while Snieg is asleep by the corner away from the mess.
"No, that's not right...what if I..." she says still mixing away.
"Tanya?"
"Yea?" She says not turning around.
"It's almost 3 in the morning. What are you doing up?"
"I was lying in bed trying to sleep. Then this great idea for the cake came to me and I had to try it."
"OK, you need to stop." I said walking over taking the whisk from her hand and putting it on the counter.
"But..."
"No, you have hardly gotten any sleep the last two weeks worrying about the auction."
"I know, I just want it to be perfect."
"It won't be good if you don't get any sleep, come." I said wrapping my arm around her. "Snieg…" I say and she pops up and follows us.
"What about the mess?"
"Don't worry about it. Let's get you cleaned up and in bed."
After everything she didn't get into bed until almost 4 in the morning.
"Ivan?"
"Yes." I say looking down at her.
She was lying on my chest.
"I love you." She says as she falls asleep.
"I love you too." I whisper as I kiss her head and go to sleep myself.
I woke up the next morning Tanya still lying on my chest.
I slowly move as not to wake her and climb out of bed.
I leave our room and run into Mikhail.
"Prince Ivan, I was just coming to wake you and Princess Tanya."
"Thank you, but Tanya needs not to be disturbed. Shen didnt get to bed until 4 a.m." I said walking with him toward my office.
"Would that be the cause of the mess in the kitchen this morning?" He asked.
"Yes, she was trying out some ideas for the cake last night." I said sitting in my chair.
"Would you like breakfast in here?"
"Yes, that would be great." I said looking at some paperwork on my desk.
A few hours later I went back into our bedroom to takes shower and get dressed.
When I came out of the bathroom it was nearly 9 a.m.
I walked over to the bed.
Tanya was still asleep.
She has not been getting enough sleep. There were circles under her eyes saying just that.
She had been working so hard on her own and I know she won't admit that she needs help.
I grabbed her phone wrote down a number and took her notes on the cakes, then left the room.
Tanya's POV
I woke up with the sun shining on my face.
I sat up and looked at the clock.
One in the evening!
Why didn't Ivan wake me up?
I got out of bed jumped in the shower, got dressed and ran off to find Ivan.
I looked in his office and he wasn't there.
I looked out the window and saw Urey and Snieg laying in the sun but Ivan nowhere.
"Mikhail, do you know where Ivan is?"
"I believe he is still in the kitchen."
"Thank you." I said walking off.
I was walking down the hall and I could hear him talking to someone.
"I appreciate you coming to help. She has been running on almost no sleep. I found her in the kitchen at three in the morning."
"She is passionate, no doubt about that."
I walked in and saw who he was talking to.
"Yosef?"
"You're awake." Ivan said looking at me.
"Yes, what's going on?"
"You have been working so had on the cakes and not getting any sleep. I know you won't admit that you could use the help so I called Yosef and he came out here to help."
"What?"
"Tanya, you have not had a good night's rest since this whole thing started except for last night and that I because I came and brought you to bed."
"I looked over the notes you have." Yosef said holding them out.
"And?"
"They are amazing ideas, how's it coming along?"
"Well..."
"I'll leave you too alone." Ivan said kissing me and walking out of the kitchen.
I watched him leave and then turned to Yosef.
"OK, so the problem I am having is..."
I spend the rest of the afternoon with Yosef going over the plans for the auction cakes.
"So if I use this design it will be lighter and easier to move. Plus it will be easy to connect the cakes together if, instead of doing a bridge, kind of blend them together. What do you think?" I asked Yosef.
"I think all that's left...is creating it." He said smiling.
After we finished I followed him and Mikhail to his room and went to find Ivan.
I found him in his office working on paperwork.
"Hey," he said looking at me, "how did it go with Yosef?"
"It went great. I finally figured out what my problem is. Now all I need to do is create it with the cake."
"That's good. Maybe now you can relax a little."
"I wish. But to create it with cake I have to figure out what cake to bake then what textures and flavors compliment the cake."
"Well, maybe you can take it a little bit easier and get more sleep at night."
"Maybe. I'm going to jump in the shower." I say walking into the bathroom.
I start the shower and turn around and Ivan is there behind me.
"Want some company?" he asked.
"If you want, but it is going to take me a while to get the flour out of my hair." I say as I start stripping.
"It will take longer if I am in there with you." He smiles at me and kisses me.
After the shower we go down and meet Yosef for dinner.
We were sitting down talking about the auction when Mikhail comes in.
"Excuse me…" he says and whispers something in Ivan's ear.
Ivan's face falls.
"Excuse me." Ivan says and follows Mikhail out of the dining hall.
"Everything ok?" Yosef asks looking at me.
"I'm not sure." I said watching them leave.
"Go, I'm done eating anyway. I am going to head back to my room." Yosef says standing up.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes."
"Ok." I say getting up and walking toward the door way. "Oh, Yosef?" I say turning around.
"Yeah?"
"Thank you for coming here to help me." I say smiling.
"Tanya, I will do anything I can to make you happy." He says smiling.
I smile back at him before I walk toward Ivan's office.
I knock on the door before I open it.
"Ivan?" I say as I open the door.
"I know that but…Then I will come and… We have to do something!" he starts to yell.
"Princess Tanya, you shouldn't be in here." Mikhail says trying to stop me.
"Why, what's going on?" I ask looking between him and Ivan who is still yelling on the phone.
"Just some stuff with the one of the villages."
"What?" I ask looking at Mikhail.
"Let her in Mikhail, she needs to hear this." Ivan says hanging the phone up.
Mikhail moves aside as I walk in.
"What is going on?" I ask walking up to Ivan's desk.
"One of the villages that we are trying to help with the auction, they are starting to get angry that we are not doing anything. There has been a riot and the citizens are getting really angry. People are starting to get hurt."
"Don't they know about the auction?" I ask.
"They will not listen to anyone that has been sent there. They want to talk to me directly."
"what are you going to do?" I ask looking worried.
"They won't permit me to go talk to them. I don't know what to do to help them calm down." He says running his hand through his hair.
"What if I go?"
"What?"
"What if I go. I may not be you but…"
"Absolutley not." He says sternly.
"Do you have any other ideas?"
"There is no way I am letting you go by yourself to that town."
"Why not?"
"Because of all the stuff happening there…I don't want anything happening to you."
"But you were going to go yourself."
"That is different."
"How, I don't want anything to happen to you either. It is now less dangerous if you go or more dangerous if I go Ivan."
"I am not letting you go, end of the discussion."
"Fine…" I said sitting down in a chair.
"What are you doing?" he asked looking at me with a confused look."
"I am your wife and I will be a queen one day right?"
"Yes?"
"So I want to figure this out too." I said looking at him.
He just smiled at me.
"Ok, well this is what is going on." He said standing up showing me the paperwork on his desk.
After about an hour I finally got an idea.
"What if we invite the villages to the auction banquet?" I say.
"What?"
"They are complaining that they don't have enough food or money right."
He just looked at me confused.
"Well, we invite the villages to the banquet and then announce how much we have raised for each village."
"Do you realize how many people that will be?"
"Right…what if each village picks two people to represent their villages and they come to the banquet then they will go back and tell the village and have two people tell them so they can't question what they are being told?" I say looking.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, you said they are having trouble trusting people we send right?"
"Yes."
"If they only send one, they will probably question his loyalty to the village when he comes back. So they send two people."
"That is a great idea." He says smiling at me as he picks up the phone.
He spends the next few hours talking to someone on the phone.
I stood there pacing the floor back and forth until he finally hangs up the phone.
"Well?" I say looking at me.
"You will make an amazing queen." He says smiling. "They agreed."
"Really?"
"Yes, so two people from every village will come to represent the village."
He walks around the desk.
"You are an amazing woman." He says kissing me.
"No I'm not. I'm just a regular pastry chef."
"No, you are the Princess of Sinct Sybil and future Queen."
I just looked at him.
"What?" he said looking at me.
"I just never really thought about it completely."
"Don't worry, you are a kind hearted woman who worries about everyone before yourself. You were ready to head into the village by yourself to help."
"Well, I wanted to do something to help." I said.
"And you did." He said kissing me more passionately.