It was late and Alek finally decided that he couldn't sit and pout in his room for the rest of the night. He was miserably hungry and Bovril was starting to get on his nerves. The Loris had torn apart his suitcase and was pointing to everything with a Hapsburg crest on it.

"Family? Family, family, family…..family." It muttered every time it found one of the emblems. Alek sighed and rose from his bed. The day had gone absolutely awful. He had been excited that morning when he learned that he would see Elsie again, but the actual meeting was much less then what he expected.

Elsie had always been his favorite cousin. She was beautiful, charming and smart. When they were little she was always getting him into trouble, but he had adored her all the same. He had always looked up to her as a kind of role model since she was a few years older then him. They had a connection as well because Elsie also did not have a perfect family blood history. Her father had married a Polish princess, who was later discovered to have Jewish heritage. Luckily for them the Eberhardts were related to the Hapsburgs through a female aunt and they had only been able to produce daughters. Elsie and her sisters didn't have to worry about their inheritance because, being women, they would gain whatever titles came with their husbands.

When Alek was twelve and it came the time to look for possible brides, Elsie had been his first choice. His parents were delighted to set up the marriage, glad that their son would be able to marry someone he chose himself. Unfortunately, after the contract had been signed, Elsie's father changed his mind, saying that he couldn't let his daughter marry a man with no royal inheritance. It had been a personal blow to Alek's father, and he had refused to meet with the Eberhardts ever again. Afterward, Elsie and her family had moved to Japan and Alek hadn't heard from them since.

He remembered bits and pieces of various Christmas celebrations he had shared with Elsie over his childhood. How she would talk him into stealing food from the kitchens, or taking his mother's jewelry for her. There was always some mischief she insisted that Alek perform, and he had willingly obeyed her every time. He would of course be caught and punished, but it all seemed worth it in the end for a wink or a kiss on the cheek from his dazzling cousin.

Hell, he was still falling for her, even now. Alek had gladly let her make a fool out of him today. She knew how to annoy him just enough to send him over the edge. This time she was going on about how she may even marry him this time.

But there was no way he was going to fall for it again. He was fed up with the girl's trickery, and he wasn't going to let her win. Especially today, on this special day.

He rose from the bed and stalked out of the room, leaving Bovril to continue over his clothes. At least he could have nice dinner and get to see Dylan. It would be good to see a friendly face, and the middie always had a way of cheering him up. However when he arrived in the dining room, there was no one else present except Elsie and a large assortment of fancy food.

"Hello Alek." She stood to greet him. God did she look lovely. She had changed into an elegant silver silk kimono and her hair tumbled down over her shoulders in long twisting ringlets. Alek found himself shamefully blushing again and his heart did a back flip.

What's wrong with you, you dummpkof. He thought to himself. This was ridiculous.

"Where is everyone?" He asked her.

"Doctor Barlow and the Count have already eaten; I sent them away so we could have a private dinner ourselves." She walked closer to him. He could see the diamond earrings glimmering through her hair.

"What about Dylan?" He asked. Elsie frowned.

"Your friend never came down to eat. The Doctor said he had a long night so it was probably best to let him alone." Alek groaned. Dylan wasn't going to be there, which had been his entire reason for coming down. "Do sit down," Elsie continued, "I had the cook make your favorites, being that it is a very important day for you." She seated herself in the middle of the table, and gave Alek a mischievous grin. He felt his stomach give a ravenous grumble as he examined the food on the table. There were meat pies, Polish sausages and potatoes as well as some salmon and lobster. He couldn't help but sit down opposite of her and begin to fill his plate.

"Is there any Streuselkuchen?" He asked. That had always been his absolute favorite.

"The peasant dessert?" Elsie asked, scrunching up her nose. "I would hope not. How about we have a drink before the meal?" She gestured to a servant who entered with a large open bottle of champagne. He filled Alek's glass before he could reply. "A toast," Elsie said, raising her own full glass of bubbly, "to our families." They clinked the glasses together and Alek gladly drained his in an instant. As soon as he put it down, Elsie was filling it again herself. "You had the kindest family, Alek." She said, "I am so sorry that they are no longer with us."

"Yes, me too." He said, sipping the next glass of champagne.

"I can't imagine how hard it must have been for you when they were killed."

"It was very hard." He said, putting the glass down and starting on his food.

"Could you tell me what happened?" She suddenly asked.

"Excuse me?"

"I mean, how were they killed? I never got the full story, only pieces of gossip here and there." She was looking at him sadly; her big blue eyes open as wide as they could go.

"Well, their food was poisoned." Alek said. He didn't feel like going into all the specific details just now. "It was blamed on the Serbians, but we're pretty sure that the Germans organized it to start the war." He felt himself shaking. He hadn't retold the story since he had told Dylan the night they were on egg duty together. It made him relive the moment he had heard about their deaths. He picked up his champagne and had a few more gulps.

"How horrible for you." She said softly. "Here, have another drink." He realized then that he had finished his second glass and she had to refill it again.

"Elsie, may I ask you a question?" He said.

"Of course Alek, anything."

"Why did you tell them I had to marry you? Earlier today, in the carriage. You told everyone that I had to marry you for my children's sake." She was silent for a moment, thinking.

"I don't want to discuss it Alek. It will just make you upset." He felt his anger purge into his face. Slowly he finished his third glass of champagne then looked Elsie directly in the eye.

"I can't marry you Elsie, remember, your father refused. I'm not good enough for you!" Even now, after four years, the pain of knowing she wouldn't be his bride was coming back to him. And it wasn't because he had loved her, but because she had betrayed him. Her family was just like the rest. They considered him as nothing more than the offspring of a backwards marriage.

"If we had been married, your blood would have been enough and I could have been Archduke. But instead, I remained who I am now, and my parents are now dead for it." He knew it didn't make sense. But somehow, he had to find a reason that he caused his parents' death, and the fact that he was just a prince and not an archduke seemed to be the most logical idea. "and now you have the nerve to tell me that you want to marry me again?" He was screaming now, and the servants had come out of the kitchen to watch. He gave them an angry glare, and stood. The room gave a nasty lurch to the side like he was standing on a tipping boat.

"Alek, calm down, there's no reason to get this upset." She said sternly. "Sit down, eat your dinner, and we'll discuss this nicely."

"I'm not hungry anymore." He said then pushed himself away from the table.

"That's fine." She said, "Why don't we go upstairs and have Minny play us some piano? We could have a few drinks and….."

"NO!" Alek interrupted her. He turned and snatched the bottle of champagne off the table, and with a few unsteady steps started toward the door. "I think I will be having a few drinks by myself, thank you, and please don't follow me Elsie, I have had a horrible day." And with one last look, he marched out of the room and stumbled up a staircase away from fancy dinning room.

and the plot thickens. This may be getting a bit confusing, so let me know if you need me to clear things up a bit. Thanks for reading!