§ § § - December 25, 1999

Half an hour later in the main room of the Lilac Bungalow, after Anna-Kristina had finally changed into clothing more suitable to the climate, she and Leslie settled into the plush chairs there and began to get to know each other a bit. They exchanged vital statistics at first, and Anna-Kristina asked for a condensed version of Leslie's history; then a momentary lull fell and Leslie saw her chance. "I don't want you to think I'm being rude or anything," she said, "but I'm afraid those questions I have for you are about Christian!"

Anna-Kristina laughed heartily. "Of course they are—if they weren't, I'd be wondering about you! Tell me what you want to know, and I'll do my best to answer."

"Okay." Leslie shifted in her chair, tucking one foot underneath her. "You said Christian changed after his marriage—that he's less open around people. What did you mean?"

"He's different in temperament," said Anna-Kristina. "I don't think it's depression, but he's more…grim, I suppose. From my earliest days I can remember the media calling Uncle Christian 'the happy prince'. My father's always been dour…probably because he has the kingly duties to worry about. Uncle Christian is the youngest, and he had the fewest burdens, I think. We've been compared in our media with the British royals—Pappa is like Queen Elizabeth, Prince Philip and Prince Charles, in their cool remoteness and distance from their subjects. Uncle Christian, on the other hand, has the 'magic touch'. He's warm and giving and has the gift of connecting to the common people, like Princess Diana did."

Leslie nodded comprehension, fascinated. "And now he isn't like that anymore?"

"It's an act when he is," said Anna-Kristina, with a small, regretful sigh. "When Pappa pushed him and Marina together, Leslie, all the light went out of him. He and Marina are friendly to each other, but only to ease their living situation. Uncle Christian is no longer the happy prince, and I miss the uncle I always knew."

Leslie was perplexed. "I've never seen him like that."

"Oh, Leslie, don't you see?" asked Anna-Kristina with gentle amusement. "It's because he loves you so. It's the only time he comes back to life, when he talks about you. You make him happy, much more like his old self. It almost makes me wish he were here now, so that he could be warm and open again, as I've always known him."

"You almost wish?" Leslie teased her.

Anna-Kristina's sheepish shrug made them both laugh. "Yes, 'almost', only because he has no more idea of my whereabouts than the rest of my family. I suspect he'd be upset with me, but in the end I'd rather face Uncle Christian's anger than Pappa's. The only person who can get around Pappa at all is Marina. He thinks the world of her. She goes to Italy quite frequently, you know—she always tells him it's to visit her father, and he falls for it every time. But I know she goes to see the man she loves, every bit as much as to see the count, and I sometimes think Pappa would still let her go even if he knew about it."

"Interesting," commented Leslie.

"That's a good word for it," Anna-Kristina agreed. "It's been three years and Pappa's starting to worry because there aren't any children. Of course, he puts all the blame on Uncle Christian for that."

"Naturally," Leslie muttered, scowling. "Really, Anna-Kristina, does your father hate his own brother that much?"

Uncomfortably Anna-Kristina said, "I don't think Pappa hates him, Leslie. I mean, they are brothers. It's only that being king is a heavy burden, and Pappa has the autocratic personality that usually comes with being ruler…and he's used to having his own way. I think, ever since he took the throne, he's felt it's his right to order Uncle Christian around." She smiled slightly. "Fate save us, how Uncle Christian hates it. My grandfather—the first King Arnulf—always criticized him, right up till the day he died; and since Pappa became king, he's done the same. After Pappa married them while Uncle Christian was here with you, the story of the marriage contract finally came out. My mother, Uncle Carl Johan and Aunt Amalia—his wife—and Aunt Anna-Laura remembered the day Pappa and Grandpappa told the family about how they matched up Marina with Uncle Christian so that they and my sisters and I would be assured a steady supply of amakarna at a bargain price. He was bartered away, really, as if he were a slave of some kind instead of a prince! I so wish something would change, because one day Uncle Christian will be so bitter that he'll never be able to return to his old self—maybe not even with you."

Shocked by this revelation, Leslie felt tears welling up on Christian's behalf. "That's horrible...I never had a clue. No wonder he's trapped like this." She jumped out of the chair, visited by a surge of restless, impatient energy. "I hate this situation, more than you can know. It drives me insane that nothing can be done to change it!" She cast the wide-eyed princess a faintly guilty look. "Sometimes I think it's hopeless, that there's no way we can ever be together…but I never let myself entertain that thought for long. I can't bear the idea of never seeing Christian again, of never being able to make a life with him. Yet I don't know how much more I can take."

"That's why I hoped Mr. Roarke could help," Anna-Kristina said earnestly, sitting up straight. "I thought he'd have the answers—I thought he could rid me of the need for amakarna to live, and I could take the solution home to my father and sisters, and end our ties to that business contract with the count. And then he'd have no way to hold either Marina or Uncle Christian—we'd all be set free."

Helplessly Leslie and Anna-Kristina stared at each other, both through a haze of tears; then Anna-Kristina erupted out of her chair and hugged Leslie hard. "You should be my aunt, not Marina," she said thickly. "Don't misunderstand me—I like Marina, but she isn't the right one for Uncle Christian. You are, and it's so wrong that this whole situation even exists."

Unable to speak, Leslie returned Anna-Kristina's hug in equal measure. It took her a minute to get enough control over her emotions to say anything; then she cleared her throat and stepped back. "Before we waste the whole day fuming over what we can't change, let's get out there and have some fun. You should see the island, so I'm going to give you the grand tour. Come with me."

‡ ‡ ‡

As it happened, the two got hung up at the amusement park, once they reached that part of the island and Anna-Kristina confessed that she had always wanted to visit such a place but had never had the opportunity due to her position. So Leslie parked the jeep right then and there, and that was where they spent the next four hours or so. They had such a ball that they were nearly late returning to the main house for supper, which they spent telling Roarke about their afternoon. Mostly the conversation was dominated by Anna-Kristina, who was in a state of high excitement over the experience and couldn't stop exclaiming over all the things she had seen and done.

The following day they resumed their sightseeing tour, and Leslie thought it might be a good idea to have Anna-Kristina connect with some of the locals. She knew that Anna-Kristina had been groomed to assume the throne all her life, and as a result had probably been quite sheltered by her parents. She seemed to have the idea that the man in the street had an easy, problem-free life; and Leslie felt Anna-Kristina could only benefit from learning differently, for it might help her to establish a stronger and warmer connection with her own people back home, even before she took over the throne.

So they stopped at the casino, where Anna-Kristina marveled at some of the games—though Leslie noticed she never batted an eyelash at the vast amounts some of the wealthier guests had been losing that day! True to Roarke's promise of the day before, no one seemed to recognize Anna-Kristina for who she was; if they did, they never let on. Anna-Kristina spoke with the blackjack dealer and one of the cashiers, who told her they enjoyed their jobs and earned some fairly decent money. They greeted Leslie with some deference, but always with open, friendly smiles and genuine affection, as they would have with Roarke.

"I think you have the 'magic touch' too, Leslie," Anna-Kristina observed as they left the casino. "Everyone here seems to like you very much. Where are we going now?"

"The fishing village," Leslie said. "I should probably warn you, this may come as something of a culture shock to you. The village is fairly remote and not easy to get to. The residents have only recently had running water and electricity installed, and not all of them can afford it, either. Their lives are very simple and very basic. As a matter of fact, they generally aren't much aware of the business we conduct on our end of the island. They know who Father is, and they do have a business deal with him to provide seafood for the hotel and the restaurant. But they don't venture much beyond the village, except for a few who are directly in Father's employ. They're quite friendly and cheerful, and they'll probably welcome a chance to talk to you if you show interest in their way of life."

"Basic and simple?" Anna-Kristina said, intrigued. "It sounds like heaven. No worries about everyday modern inconveniences that we often curse because they don't work half the time. No bills, no taxes…"

Leslie grinned to herself and kept her own counsel. She had someone in mind for Anna-Kristina to talk to, and she could hardly wait to find out what the result would be.

It took them nearly half an hour to get to the fishing village; Leslie parked the jeep in the parking lot of a small seedy bar, which at the moment was closed for business, and instructed Anna-Kristina to remove her shoes and leave them in the vehicle. The very curious princess eagerly followed Leslie down a short trail that wound through jungle so dense it shut out nearly all sunlight. She was quite surprised when they abruptly emerged onto a beach and had to stop long enough to let her eyes readjust to the bright sun once more. Leslie chuckled and led her along the sand to a large grass hut that was clearly in sore need of repair. "Now here's someone you should find very, very interesting. Let's see if he's home and feels like having visitors."

While Anna-Kristina watched, Leslie taped on one of the aging palm-wood supports of the grass hut. "Is anyone home?" she called out.

"Leslie girl, that's you?" questioned a voice from inside.

"That's me," Leslie replied, grinning. "I've brought a friend."

"Come in then," came the reply, and Leslie pushed aside an ancient curtain covered with garish brown, yellow and orange flowers that might have been in fashion in the 1970s so that she could step into the hut. She held the curtain aside for Anna-Kristina to come in, then turned to the large old Polynesian man who sat in a corner puffing on a large old pipe.

"Afternoon, Bond," she said.

"Afternoon, Leslie girl. How's Mr. Roarke?" A cloud of smoke drifted into the air.

"Very well, thanks. You're well, I hope," said Leslie and settled into a rickety-looking chair near the old fellow. "Bond, meet Miss Anna-Kristina Enstad—she's visiting for a little while. Anna-Kristina, this is Bond, the village elder."

"I'm happy to meet you," said Anna-Kristina gamely. "Bond, is it?"

"Needed a name the newcomers could pronounce, and that was as good a one as any," replied Bond matter-of-factly. "Have a seat, young one. It's been some time, Leslie girl, you've been scarce."

"We've been busy," Leslie told him. "Fishing's good?"

Bond blew a smoke ring in Anna-Kristina's direction. "As ever. We make the ancient gods happy, they bless these waters. We step straight and remember the old ways, the gods provide." He eyed Anna-Kristina. "You have questions."

She looked surprised; Leslie smiled and nodded at her to go ahead. "I just thought that it seems so lovely here, so peaceful and unspoiled—how can there be any better place to live? And yet you worry about pleasing the…the gods?"

"Discipline," Bond said. "Have to keep order—now especially, when the outside world presses further in on us. My day, they wanted movies. My son's day, they wanted television. My grandchildren want videotapes and Atari games. Who's Atari and why doesn't he do something worthwhile?"

"It's only fun," said Anna-Kristina. "And Atari games are history anyway…"

"Good," interrupted Bond firmly. "They should stay that way. Never satisfied, these children. They're looking to see other islands, Leslie girl. The sun rises and they want to see where it rises from. Seagulls soar out over the ocean and they want to follow them. Stranger with odd manners and peculiar speech come, and they want to know about the places they come from and to see them for themselves." He blinked at Anna-Kristina, as if only just noticing her light complexion and Caucasian features. "You're no local."

The princess blushed. "No…"

"Bond, be nice," Leslie scolded, grinning again.

Bond waved his pipe dismissively at her. "It's only that the children are needed here. They all want to leave—the village is dying and they don't care. They want 'adventures'."

"I couldn't imagine leaving such an idyllic place as this," said Anna-Kristina. "I'd stay if I could."

Bond let out a gusty sigh, expelling smoke as he did. "It's a hard life here," he admitted, "and not many jobs. Only the fishing, really. Most of the young ones don't want to spend their lives rising at dawn, fishing all day and retiring at dusk. Who can blame them? But they're not prepared for the outside world. They go to the island high school and suddenly new vistas open up. They get restless, and the fishing village can't contain them anymore." He shot Leslie an ironic look. "Soon our young ones will be replaced by foolish beachcombers from out there, who think we merely lie in the sun all day and eat coconuts. They soon learn differently. They can't live without autos and telephones and shoes."

"How hard is it to fish?" asked Anna-Kristina skeptically.

Bond studied her; a slow grin spread over his face and he knocked ashy tobacco out of the dying pipe. "So glad you asked," he said. "Leslie girl, you might want to come along with us, in case she needs rescuing."

Before she quite knew it, Anna-Kristina was knee-deep in the ocean with a group of young native men, dragging a massive fishing net through the shallows, wading farther out from time to time in search of more fish, and getting thoroughly soaked and salt-encrusted. It was clear by the time she stumbled out of the water that she was exhausted and quite subdued. Leslie bid the villagers farewell and led Anna-Kristina back through the jungle till they'd reached the jeep.

"What'd you think?" Leslie asked on the way up the Ring Road.

Anna-Kristina sighed and confessed, "Well, I suppose I won't go into professional fishing anyhow." Leslie laughed, and the princess slumped tiredly in her seat. "I had no idea how difficult it is to make a living, even in the simplest way of life. If just fishing is so wearying, imagine making all your own clothing, hunting or gathering or growing your own food, building your own home out of whatever materials are at hand…"

"So the simple life isn't quite so simple," summarized Leslie.

Anna-Kristina shook her head. "No—but mind you, I still don't want the throne or to be married to that beast Asgar. I guess you think I'm only romanticizing a different set of problems. But they still seem so much more bearable."

Leslie smiled and said, "Well, you should still take it up with your father, but if you don't think you can face him yet, you can at least stay the week and be part of our big New Year's party. We have a giant special luau every year, but since it's going to be the year 2000 in the next few days, this year's party will eclipse all the others we've ever had."

"I can't wait," said Anna-Kristina. "A party with happy people sounds like exactly the sort of thing I need."