I

Alexander and Tony stowed their luggage in the boot of the sedan. They were travelling to Zaire to see the fight between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman.

Tony had said goodbye to each twin with a big hug and a kiss on the cheek. Alexander had hugged Alexia and stroked Alfred's hair.

Alfred had wanted a hug just like his sister's, but Alexander had walked away ignoring his plea. He had to ask Elizabeth to hug him to feel as loved as his sister.

II

The last descendants of the Stewart dynasty residing in the United Kingdom gathered at Ashford Hall to celebrate Christmas '74. The youngest members of the household, who were Alexia and Alfred, Auguste and Amelia, had been dressed in a kilt and accessories. After a frugal dinner at which the adults were more vocal than the children, Auguste had the idea of playing at being kings and queens of Scotland. Auguste chose to be James VI, Alfred to be Robert II and Alexia to be Mary I. One-year-old Amelia, Auguste's little sister, was put to bed early by her parents for Santa to come.

The three monarchs ensured the peace and prosperity of their kingdoms by allying with each other. But the golden age was short-lived. In a radical geopolitical twist, Mary I secretly allied with Robert II to plot against James VI and seize the throne. At the stroke of midnight, Mary I and Robert II cornered James VI in the gambling hall, but James VI surprised both kings with an unexpected ploy. Suspecting that Mary I and Robert II would oppose him, James VI took the opportunity to grab a large cardboard box, which he moved by brute force and placed on top of two flimsy LEGO towers. He said the box and the towers symbolised his court. So, when cornered, James VI requested an audience on the spot. The pair of conspirators agreed and sat right under the box. In a moment of distraction, James VI threw down the towers and the box fell like a cage on the conspirators. However, Mary I was more agile and escaped with the collapse of the first tower. Robert II was trapped inside the box, kicking and insulting a grinning James VI. Mary I faced her formidable foe.

A rain of blood showered the fields of Scotland as Mary I and James VI engaged in an all-out battle that involved kicks and punches to the body. James VI staked his victory on extraordinary strength and fortitude and Mary I on her intelligence, with which she was able to accurately predict her opponent's attacks and know his weaknesses.

When the duel began, Robert II managed to slip under the box and witness the contest. Mary I was bleeding from her lip and a bruise marred James VI's knees. Robert II tried to intercede, but was stopped by Mary I, who preferred to settle the matter alone. Robert II would intervene when strictly necessary.

The fight ended in a draw. Mary I and James VI were put to bed and punished without Christmas presents until their next birthday. Robert II and Amelia were the only ones to receive their presents on the twenty-fifth.

III

The children crowded into the corridor to enter the classroom. They were shouting and laughing, jostling and whispering.

As they passed through the corridor, some of them noticed a girl leaning silently against the wall and sitting on a stiff wooden bench. Although dressed in uniform, she had never been seen in class. It was rumoured that she might be the daughter of one of the teachers, but this rumour was disproved when a couple of girls discovered her alone in a small classroom on the first floor. Hers was the only desk available, apart from the teachers' desk.

The discovery was quickly shared as gossip from the youngest to the oldest. It was the latter who were encouraged to demonstrate the various speculations about this mysterious girl. It was said that she might be grounded or in need of special attention. Since none of the hypotheses seemed conclusive, a group of eleven-year-old schoolchildren resolved that they would not leave the school without finding out who she was.

One member of the group formed for the mission watched the girl sitting on the wooden bench from the other end of the corridor. The girl seemed unsettling to him, as if she were from another world. She was about four or five years old and did not behave like any infant he had ever met. She wasn't smiling, she wasn't particularly amused; she just sat there, hieratic, as if she were at a reception rather than a school. Despite the boredom, the schoolboy did not give up. As luck would have it, a blond, bearded man in his forties came out to meet her.

"Alexia, we are leaving," said the stranger in Queen's English[1].

The girl, Alexia, stood up and left with the stranger. The schoolboy followed them cautiously out of the grounds. Outside, an expensive chauffeur-driven car was waiting for them. The schoolboy ran to join the rest of the team to announce that the target had left. The group then ventured into the second phase of their plan: sneaking into the classroom.

Outside the building, the lightest member of the group was hauled outside and used a thin metal plate to undo the lock and gain access to the room. In the classroom, the intruder inspected the teacher's desk, where she found a folder containing valuable information. The student identified herself as Alexia Mary Victoria Elizabeth Anne Ashford-Campbell-Douglas-Stuart; in brackets: Alexia Ashford. She was four years old and, as she read four times, was preparing to sit her O-Levels next term and her A-Levels in two years' time, at the age of six. In a section of notes, teachers were instructed to direct her education towards her admission to Harvard University, from which Alexia had received an invitation. Another piece of paper enclosed a weekly timetable, Monday to Saturday, starting at 7:30 a.m. and ending at 9 p.m. She did not understand the esoteric names of the subjects, but counted that there were about ten of them, and only for O-Level. Another sheet of paper contained the result of an intelligence test: 171[2]. He read the extract from an essay written by Alexia. She barely understood a tenth of the words. Frightened, she put the papers back and slipped out of the window.

The intruder reported that the girl's name was Alexia, that she was a genius and that she was studying for admission to Harvard. The schoolchildren scoffed in disbelief and then joked about what a weirdo she must be, that she must be a bore and that she couldn't play or have fun like them. An arrogant, lonely freak who would never be admitted to their group.

IV

"Alfred Robert William Edward Malcolm Ashford-Campbell-Douglas-Stuart," said the teacher.

Alfred raised his hand. A boy two years older than him grimaced at him. Alfred ignored the gesture and went about his business, indifferent to the course of events. The last boy raised his hand. The teacher got rid of the list and went to the blackboard to start the maths lesson. He had started primary school at the age of four and it showed. Elizabeth and his father advised him not to draw attention to himself and to focus on the subjects. Alfred half understood their advice and complained about Alexia enjoying a class to herself. His father told him that Alexia was different and therefore needed her own curriculum. But Alfred still did not understand why Alexia was different. To him, his sister was his peer; that Alexia took less time to learn the things she was told to do was indifferent to him. They understood each other, just as they both understood their cousin Ogie[3] and Ogie understood them both.

He used to play football at recess. However, doing the same thing every day encouraged him to seek out new diversions such as hide-and-seek and sand. He befriended some boys who took him into their six-year-old group because of the witty antics he imagined. However, their company seemed insufficient to alleviate the loneliness he felt. If only Ogie were with him, he would have had a better time, but his cousin lived in Scotland. Alexander wasn't much help either. He accompanied Alexia at all times and it seemed that she was his only concern. It was as if a wall, like the one at his school, stood between him and his father; an impassable wall, with another brick being laid every day. He clung to Elizabeth, but his grandmother had temporarily returned to the Netherlands to attend to her business and family affairs. His only solace: meeting Alexia again from 9 p.m. onwards. Their time was limited, but they managed to play and talk about different subjects, miss Ogie and forget their worries.

And the loneliness vanished.

Notes:

[1] Received pronunciation. Associated with the British upper class.

[2] Terman's Stanford–Binet Third Revision (Form L-M) classification (1960).

[3] Family nickname of Auguste Campbell, cousin of Alfred and Alexia Ashford.