302 B.C. - Idgard
I look forward to growing older, when what you look becomes less and less an issue and what you are is the point.
- Susan Sarandon
Alexandra could spot gray hairs easily now.
Why, thank you! It was utmost common for a woman with a twenty year old son to have gray hairs!
She could barely imagine life without Liam now. Or without any of her three children. Or without Watson and Diana, Mary and Mark- their respective young troublemakers. Who could forget Mr. Kane Alden? That man was still young as ever, outwardly. Inwardly, he had always been a wise, old fellow.
Nicholas, Ophelia and Ronald: the three pieces of her heart. In that order, too. Nicholas was twenty. Ophelia, sixteen, Ronald, fourteen: full of stories to tell about the dreadful training institute he'd somehow enjoyed and come back from, just three months back.
When Alexandra had become, for the first time, pregnant; she had played a dangerous game.
As soon as the fact had been confirmed, she went ahead and asked Liam to put an end to the "Wedding is a Family Matter" law. And then, just as uprisings began, to announce of the progeny- the good news. Such revelations ALWAYS worked to improve the mood of the nation. He had agreed it was a good idea. One that would work, except for the fact that, 'This is a risky gamble, Alexandra. We never know, what if...' and Liam had left the sentence hanging. Alexandra knew what he implied, she'd known it all along. What if they lost...?
The thought almost made her cry, but she had smiled instead. 'I just know this one's tough. He'll see the world. And our lives have always been a gamble, Liam, after all.'
'You seem sure it's a "he".' Liam had noted. Alexandra knew he was changing the topic. She had only been more grateful for that.
'I just do.' She had winked. The peculiar idea that inside her life, another life had begun, was somewhat heavy. She had received a good chastising from Kane and Diana for coming to the Council that day - a memory that still made her smile.
Of course Nick had pulled through. And no, they hadn't named him after Nicholas. The name had just hung around until it became official. Definitely though, Nicholas couldn't have been shown to public then.
That had only been the starting. She had introduced laws prohibiting the transfer of Heiress' property into the hands of their husbands. Alexandra had dropped the long drapes and gowns herself. Urged women to bid farewell to the uncomfortable dress codes. As a result, now they could find women on the streets with cloaks and boots and occasionally, knives.
The army had been opened for women. Divorce was legal (since long, but with a few conditions which were now removed), and finally, one that took them a lot of effort: asylums were supported now. People's mental health - they had realized, was as much of importance as the physical, if not more.
Vedessans had come to recognize the eccentrically liberal policies of Queen Alexandra. Fortunately, they seemed to also realize that it was all for the best. One thing was clear, she had the people's support. And Liam's popularity hadn't dipped one bit.
But of course, like Evelyn had said, there were disagreements in every couple. Alexandra loved to get into debates - but that was a completely different matter, where they had those intense, deep, knowledgeable discussions. She had had plenty of scattered arguments, real ones, with Liam. But that man was so smart, he twisted and turned the points of complaint such that Alexandra had to agree the fault was hers. Even if she didn't agree it was, by the end, she would have already forgotten why she had been nettled, in the first place. A fact that only annoyed Alexandra more.
As time passed, she had had many visits to Doveland, mostly, as the guest of Lady Derk. Those times were beautiful moments full of gossip and remembrance of past days that couldn't return. An ageing Mileva had mellowed down - Alexandra surmised she had only been lonely before. Over time, she'd become a good mentor, though still, Alexandra many-a-times wanted to use Moira on her. And still she couldn't ever bring herself to do it, despite everything else.
In spite of whatever else she said, Alexandra had to agree Liam was a great father. If she overlooked the fact that he was great at everything. Royal children grew up in Palace Wings and chambers of their own. Surrounded by nurses and tutors. The fact of his own father always being absent, and even if present, being abusive; must have contributed. Whatever the case, Liam somehow always found time to talk to them. At least once every week. Just like he had always found time to talk to her, in her first months at the Palace: a habit they still maintained. Often Alexandra accompanied him, but there were times when inertia got the better of her. She promptly never allowed herself to feel guilty for those times. Alexandra knew Liam would sort them out: the sort of trust she had only on him and nobody else in the whole world.
And while she shared an equally special bond with all her children, it was Ophelia Alexandra went along best with. The amazing bond daughters had: when they grew up, and became friends. Her connections with her sons had been cut for six years. And in those six years, Ophelia had turned out to be enough.
Lia. They called her Lia, a name she didn't have any major problems with; not knowing the past of. That name, however, fit rather well. More so, because out of the three children, only Ophelia had inherited both Liam's dark hair and Amber eyes. When she had been three, Alexandra, just to confirm- had asked the two Lias to put their faces side to side.
Liam had knelt down and put an arm around Ophelia. Then, Alexandra had stepped behind and taken a good look at the pair. She'd been thrilled by the amount of similarity. The same face shape with a prominent jaw, the sparkling, deep Amber eyes. The light arch of the eyebrows and the straight nose. In fact, inherently, even their uncombed hair had stood on the same end, with the same parting. Needless to say, Ophelia was already tall for her age.
'Goodness!' Alexandra had exclaimed, putting a hand to her head, 'You two must be long lost twins!'
Ophelia had repeated, uncertainly, 'Long lost?' Because she didn't realize the meaning. But Liam had kissed his daughter on the temple.
'Don't worry about your mother's vocabulary. It is too colourful. But this one,' he had nodded with cheery satisfaction, 'is my true heir.' It made Alexandra groan- one daughter, and she didn't even resemble her? Liam had sensed that feeling perhaps, because he'd consoled, getting up, 'you never know. Ronald can turn out to be Alex.'
His words had been true, for the most part. The youngest sibling had got Alexandra's unruly chestnut hair, raindrop like eyes that seemed to be brimming over with fierceness and a tad bit of short height. The height though, could be expected to improve with a growth spurt as in Alexandra's own case. Maybe a few genes, like her own, were restricted to the youngest members of the family.
But as the years had passed, Alexandra had registered how Ophelia resembled Liam more than physically. She had the confident, perfect cover she used before strangers and only let her guard down to certain people. She definitely wise beyond her years. And Lia was downright winsome, crafty and deft. The inherent, unputdownable personality with which she walked into a gloomy room and turned it cheerful in a matter of minutes.
One certain thing, however, she had inherited from Alexandra too. And it was not a very usual thing to be passed down.
When Ophelia had been seven, they had got this "letter of complaint" from a Nurse at night. Liam had taken one look at it, laughed, torn it up and fed it to the hearth.
'What? Wait, what did it say?!' Alexandra had demanded, frowning.
'Lia just gave us proof she's not solely like me.' Liam had replied. Despite whatever else he said, wordplay WAS one of Liam's slightly annoying habits. But after all those years, Alexandra had realized with time even the annoying habits, of somebody you truly loved, were bound to become endearing.
'Please elaborate,' she'd requested, as she finished another letter to William Lucas, the biggest and wealthiest Vedessan merchant in Theronsia, asking him for correspondence that hadn't come from the past six months.
'You will break the nib of that quill if you hear this, I'm sure- but Ophelia has been caught, spying.' He had informed. Alexandra's eyes had widened as she broke the quill nib, spraying the sheet with ink and spoiling the entire composition.
Not that she cared, at all. Alexandra had turned to Liam, her jaw dropped. 'What?!' She had demanded, pushing the parchment aside and grabbing him by the collar.
'Why are grabbing my collar? I didn't set her up to it!' He had protested. Alexandra had realized he had a point, she'd slackened her hold and had walked on, without a word, their relation having already crossed the boundaries of "sorry" and "thank you".
'I think I'll have a word with Ophelia.' She had finally declared, shaking her head. Liam had laughed,
'I say, let it go on as it is going. This is actual fun.' And he had tilted his head to the side in a slightly provoking manner. Another annoying habit Alexandra had grown to love.
'Maybe I'll give her tips to improve, yes. But I'm not mad, so I will definitely not go by what you say.' She had clarified. 'Write that letter for me, anyhow my writing's no good. I'll better find this new spy.'
* * *
But as another year had passed, Alexandra couldn't help noticing how ingrained Ophelia's spying-talent was. She never missed a thing- even in normal day events. And for one thing, Alexandra was pretty sure she wasn't letting her daughter's talents go down the drain. If Lia was their daughter, which couldn't be more obvious than it already was, she would definitely have dueling skills. And so, when Ophelia had been eight and a half, she had begun taking her to Diana.
Together, those two ladies, had tried their best to give little Lia a hard time. But Ophelia was definitely, dangerously skilled. At eight, her stance was better than Alexandra's own had been at twenty one. She seemed to be able to read her opponent's mind, predict blows and strategies. That was not even the best part. The best part was that Lia knew how to use her own abilities to her advantage. Diana had seemed impressed- though she had initially jested and asked, 'how did Liam turn into an eight year old girl?!' A sentence that had made Alexandra melt on the floor and laugh. Diana had then beckoned to Aaron, her eldest son- who was ten- and resembled Mark completely, apart from his pixie ears, a Watson-family trademark. She had asked for a friendly duel between the two.
But the thing had gone far from friendly - Ophelia had proved downright stronger. And in retaliation, Aaron had smacked her on the face, scattering all of Lia's hair.
Nobody in their right minds would dare to scatter Lia's prized hair. She'd pushed him down, the duo exchanging blows upon blows and wrangling while Alexandra and Diana had sat down for a small talk- thinking they should let the two sort it out. But when they'd turned their eyes back to the pair, Ophelia seemed to be hell bent on pulling out all of Aaron's hair- in vengeance. She was definitely very much like Liam, in that case- giving live example of how much she loved dehairing people. Alexandra and Diana had both shook their heads and pulled the children apart.
Ophelia and Aaron never became friends.
* * *
For a bit more of friendly exposure, so that Ophelia didn't turn into smug, arrogant princess, Alexandra had also taken her to Maiden Vows Institute for Young Ladies- Betty's entrepreneurship, on a lazy Sunday, when those young ladies would all be loitering around and "bonding". While Ophelia had certainly enjoyed, Alexandra had enjoyed more.
She had plainly confessed to Betty how she had been an exiled princess and Betty had received it calmly, because the whole world already knew of that story.
'I already know, Mabel.' She had enlightened Alexandra, shrugging. Alexandra had been mentally readying herself to get things thrown at her, commotion and accusations. But Betty had simply thrown her head back and laughed. 'Where did you get that much patience from?!' She demanded, 'I was going on and on with silly ideas and I had a protracted liking for a certain man. Hush, after all you've done for me, do you think it even matters? And don't ask me to call you Alexandra, you will always be Mabel for me.'
Alexandra had been positively taken aback. With good reason, too, because was this the same Betty who'd been seething at her for disappearing, twenty years back? In all the people she knew, Alexandra didn't feel anybody had evolved as much as Betty had.
'So...' She had ventured, 'you mean we are on good terms?'
'We're on best terms, yes, Noble Queen.' Betty had reassured, 'there, you see that little girl with the red ribbon?' She had then pointed out, to a cute little girl reading an enormous volume.
Alexandra had of course been able to see her. 'Who's she?'
'Esmeralda Patrick Atkinson.' Betty had confirmed. It had taken a whole minute for Alexandra to locate that name. Patrick Atkinson...had definitely sounded familiar. Then, realizing what Betty implied, Alexandra's mouth had fallen open.
'William Patrick Atkinson's daughter?!'
'He learned a lesson. Repaired his ways. Finally, his wife came to admit their daughter.' Betty had recounted, with a tiny hint of a smile. Like she was telling the tale of an old scar. Though then, it had hurt, the scar had over time receded back into a fond, life-changing memory.
'What did you do?!' Alexandra had whispered, keeping an eye on Ophelia all the while.
'I smiled. I took her in. I hope she will not go through what Jessica Quotes and I did.' Betty had beamed. It had filled Alexandra with respect for her. Somehow, all those people had developed so much, Alexandra herself felt overshadowed for not having particularly outgrown even her childhood. Though she was pretty sure Liam would have stuff to uplift her with: a whole of list of things she'd gotten better at. And without doubt, at the top of his list would be "controlling your temper".
'How is Mother Diana doing?' Alexandra had then asked, sometime later, as they were roaming around the Castle-like property. Betty had shook her head, a small, agonized smile playing on her lips. 'No more. She is- no more.' She had informed Alexandra. The tone, made Alexandra realize that Betty had had a good cry about it and was now over the loss. Then Betty had turned to a thirteen year old trying to chop off Esmeralda's hair uneven, 'Hazel! Drop those scissors!' She had ordered.
'Esme asked me to do it!' The Hazel had protested. Alexandra felt a light headed meanwhile. She had felt guilty she hadn't been present then, for Mother Diana. That their lives had been linked so sparsely. And in the end, she hadn't been able to have a final, good word with her even. Alexandra had looked down, just to prevent her stinging eyes from watering.
Lia meanwhile, was surrounded a large group of girls who were shooting questions at her. Impossible, strange and nonsensical questions. Things like, "why do we have hair?" "why is somebody shorter and somebody taller?" "why do we sleep at night?" "how many stars in the sky?" "how is water hot, if it cools down things?" Ophelia had been sitting cross-armed and giving answers after answers. Alexandra had shot a quizzical look towards Betty, who had shaken her head and beckoned to one of the most silent girls. The blonde kid had walked over to them. With alarming sweetness, Betty had asked her, 'what are they all doing, Catherine?'
The Catherine, who reminded Alexandra of Sarah, had smiled to show six missing teeth, 'Princess Ophelia said that she has an answer for everything. We're testing her.'
Alexandra hadn't been able to stop her grin, then. That was Liam's trademark- I have an answer for everything. Go on, fool me if you can. She had been forced to wonder what Ophelia had not inherited from him, because there seemed to exist no such thing!
* * *
And then the part about Ophelia discovering William Lucas' address from Alexandra's correspondence when she had been eleven. Lia had pondered over it for long, and then written down her own letter to the address: using one of the countless Palace pigeons.
Somehow, that letter had fallen into the hands of Jack Lucas, William Lucas' son from his Theronsian wife. The young boy, only a little more than a year older to Lia, had replied in depth. In their childish glories, the two had somehow become pen-friends.
In the well-loved August Break time- when Court didn't meet, on a bleak, cloudy day with scattered rains, Ophelia had forced Alexandra and Liam into an unusual game:
A deep, glass tray filled with milky hued water and sprayed with rose petals. Lia, like a priest, had presided over the entire thing, the fifteen year old Nicholas sitting buried into a History book, stoutly ignoring his family.
'So,' Lia had begun, 'Mother and Father- you must undertake this operation very, very seriously. Before you is tray.'
Liam had snorted, 'goodness Ophelia, if you didn't tell, we wouldn't realize this was a tray!'
Ophelia had smiled back warmly, just like her father, she was never perturbed, 'the reason I took it upon myself to clarify that, Father. I know how entirely naïve you and Mother are. Anyhow, somewhere inside there, is small, golden ring. You both need to dip your hands inside and hunt for the ring, at the same time. Jack tells me that the Theronsians play this game with couples and newlyweds. The one who finds out the ring first...' Ophelia had smirked, 'the one who finds out the ring first- is the one who will end up dominating the relationship.'
Alexandra had burst out laughing. Liam had enlightened with a slight, red tint to his cheeks, 'don't you already know who dominates, Lia? I get barked at almost ten times everyday. And even then I need to recite poems to keep Queen Alexandra in a good mood.'
Alexandra hadn't been able to help feigning offence, 'you mean I torment you, Liam?' She had asked, smiling dangerously.
'No- no- no!' Ophelia had interrupted, 'please save that battle for another day.' She had continued, making a cross with her hands, 'for now, dominating means having the upper hand- normally, it might be Mother. But who takes the major decisions? Who will shoulder more responsibility? Who will need support and who will give support? That's what we find out- anyhow, it's a cute game, I think.'
Alexandra had wondered where Ophelia got those big, big words from, for an eleven year old. For one thing, while Lia was certainly born like Liam, she also watched him and copied him more. One thing that made Alexandra content- if Lia turned out like Liam, more than physically that is, it would a great thing.
'So go on, start!' Ophelia had waved. Alexandra had grinned and thrust her hand inside. She had realized it wasn't as easy: inside the opaque waters, there were several coins. Their thick, circular edges feeling like rings. They had continued for ten minutes, while a light rain had begun outside.
She had known all the while that Liam would win. In fact, if he didn't, Alexandra would have been slightly discomfited. Thankfully, he hadn't disappointed that day. And even though he'd retrieved the ring, he had shook his head and confessed, 'I somewhat like being barked at, you know, Alex. So by all means, keep tormenting me.'
* * *
And now that Ophelia was sixteen, it was all the more satisfying, watching her go about delight everybody. Lia was all perfect: at thirteen she had disarmed Alexandra in a duel. That was when, Alexandra had felt proud to say that one milestone had been achieved. The next, however, was rather challenging. It would come when Ophelia succeeded in disarming Liam. Something that, Alexandra secretly suspected, had never happened.
Why then, did she sometimes feel worried for her daughter? Why did she have that feeling that very soon... Ophelia was going to have trials of her own? And trials, much tougher than what Alexandra had faced, herself. She could once again, after many long years, feel the odd, looming disquiet she had come to regard with wariness. For it heralded trouble, Alexandra knew for sure.