God Save the Queen (12 page)

Chapter 18

The Most Wonderful Time

             
November came and went faster than I had expected. What with all the school and the hospital that I opened, time just flew by. I also realized that I had been in the palace for almost two months--much longer than I had ever thought I would last.

             
As usual, I was excited that Christmas was fast approaching. Back at home I was a stickler for tradition, and being orphaned at a young age, I’ve had to create my own Christmas traditions, like falling asleep to Christmas music, or watching the ABC Family Channel’s 25 Days of Christmas Countdown. Do you think I’d let a little thing like being in Russia stop me? That’s why I had Kevin in my room, setting up the new cable.

             
“I can’t wait to watch
The Year Without a Santa Claus!
” I squealed as I pranced from one side of my room to the other. “Are you almost done?” Kevin had been working on this for a good hour or so, and putting up with my constant are-you-done-yets.

             
“Almost finished,” he called from behind the television, where he’d been working on getting the right connection. “Just relax. Go listen to some more Bing Crosby or something.”              “No-o-o,” I whined, “I’ve already missed the first three days. Back home I wouldn’t have missed the countdown to the countdown.”

             
Kevin poked his head above the TV. “There’s a countdown to the countdown?”

             
I nodded. Clearly he knew nothing.

             
He shook his head then said, “Well, if you wanted this so badly, how come you didn’t have Michael do it before he left?”

             
“He’s not exactly the do-it-yourself type, is he?”

“You know that, or you just figure he isn’t, being a hoity-toity future duke?”

He had me there, so I pretended I didn’t hear. Michael left suddenly for England three days earlier for unspecified family problems. He wasn’t coming back until the twenty-third. It was very strange not seeing him every day, but he did call every night, telling me how much he missed me. He also promised to bring back a hell of a Christmas present, and then wondered aloud if it wasn’t sacrilegious to use
hell
and
Christmas
in the same sentence. So the time that I couldn’t spend with Michael, I spent hanging out with Kevin.

             
My thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the sound of “
But I don’t want to be an elf…”
as Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer flashed on my screen. Like a two-year-old whose parents just turned on Barney, I dropped everything and sat staring at the screen. I kept staring until Kevin cleared his throat.

             
“Oh, yeah, um, thanks, Kev.”

             
“No problem,” he said as he took a seat next to me. “So, what do you want for Christmas?”

             
It was a question I had been expecting. “Um, honestly, I really don’t care. As long as it’s fun.” And for a moment I took my eyes away from the TV and said, “I just want us to be together.” Then I thought about what I said, “Um…you know….like at dinner. Not like...”

             
“I get it,” Kevin said, trying to act as if I hadn’t put it in the worst possible way. “Now, why don’t we watch Herby decide why he wants to be a dentist?”

*
              *              *

             
My holiday spirit really kicked into high gear the week before Christmas. Not only was Michael coming home, but the palace was decked out in red, white and green, with elegant splashes of silver. I made sure that all the decorations were perfect in every way. LaGard had ordered a tree to be sent down from Moscow to Pushkin, and it was arriving on the twenty-third, the same day that Michael was coming home.

             
I woke up that day and rushed down the stairs to the main entrance hall. There was the tree, about twenty feet tall, completely bare, which meant one thing… I was going to have to decorate it. So after dispatching Mari and Avery to find the Christmas ornaments, we spent the next three hours decorating the tree. About halfway through, Kevin came barging in with a ladder and joined us. After most of the ornaments were hung, it was time for the star to go on. We raised the ladder to its full fifteen-feet limit and I slowly climbed to the top with the star. Kevin was standing directly below me, and to be perfectly honest he was the only person I would want catching me. I knew I could trust him after all of those times he saved me from falling on my face. Once I secured the star on the top, we all sighed with relief. The tree was now complete.

             
Not a moment after I came back down the ladder, LaGard came walking into the hall, looking slightly peeved, as usual.

“Ah there you are. I stopped at your room and you weren’t there.” He looked up at our tree and flashed
a replica of a smile. “Ah, yes, this tree looks
magnifique!
Good work, everyone.

Oh,
Anya, I have a message for you. Michael’s plane has been delayed and won’t be arriving until tomorrow morning.”

             
“Oh.” That was all I was able to say. I’d had the whole evening planned for us. A candlelight dinner with intimate small-talk, maybe leading to something else, watch a few Christmas movies and then not watch the others, and finally head to bed. Now I’d have that candlelight dinner alone. Stupid planes and their unreliability. The rest of the day consisted of getting more stuff done for the very small Christmas celebration we were having tomorrow. But my heart really wasn’t in it.

*
              *              *

             
The next morning I woke up and rolled out of my bed with a little more pep in my step, knowing that this morning was the eve of the best holiday ever.

             
After taking a shower and changing into more festive pajamas, I made my way towards the portrait tunnel, hoping to get in the kitchen and grab a couple of cookies before anyone noticed. And, as it always happened whenever I was just about to do something else, there was a knock on the door.

             
“Yes, who is it?” I called, making sure whoever was behind the door could hear the irritation in my voice. There was no answer. And when I opened the door, there was no one except…

A
little snowman.

I picked it up and looked at it.
It was about the size of a Christmas tree ornament, only there was no for the hook for hanging it up. Surely someone didn’t knock on my door, leave this dinky thing, and then run? It was hardly worth the trouble. I was about to close my door when the faintest shimmer caught my eye. It was a small snowflake, about a foot or two from where the snowman had been. Not a real snowflake, but a decorative one, like the ones that used to decorate a table at Christmastime. I bent over to pick it up, when I saw another snowflake about two feet away from that one, and then another one… I looked down the hall. There were more snowflakes making a path.

             
What else could I do but follow the flakes? They winded and turned, corridor after corridor. I was convinced it was Kevin and he was going to bring the path to the glass room, where he would then present my gift to me. But he wouldn’t give it to me this early, would he? Then I thought, what if someone was just carrying a box of decorations, and the snowman and the snowflakes I was following had accidentally dropped through a hole in the bottom? Still I decided that since I had made it this far, there was really no point in stopping now, so I marched forward.

             
I continued through the Scarlet Room and the dining hall. The trickster thought it was even funny to send the path through the kitchen. I made it out, but I still got my ear chewed out by Ms. Rontes about how “a grown girl should not eat so much!” What was her problem? Did she prefer her princesses skinny as a rail? “Lighten up, Rontes, it’s Christmas!” I wanted to say, but held my tongue. After leaving the kitchen, the snowflakes got farther and farther apart, so I knew I had to be getting close. I finally came to the end of the trail, which was at the entrance to the gardens.

             
I sighed with disappointment. The garden had been closed for the winter and besides, I looked outside and saw that the trail didn’t even continue out there. I was just about to turn back around when I saw a piece of notepaper taped to the door. It had my name on it, and when I pulled it off and opened it, I saw scribbled inside:

Merry Christmas
!

Now, t
urn around to get your gift…

             
I turned around, half-expecting to see Kevin aiming a squirt gun at me. Or maybe he’d have a puppy in his arms. Instead, I saw something that far exceeded a puppy.

             
There in front of me was Michael, dressed in a green Irish knit sweater, with a bright red bow on his head. He had a smile ear to ear and his arms were stretched out towards me. I quickly ran into his arms, ripped off the bow, and found my lips to his. I couldn’t help myself. It was wonderful having him back. Between breaths I heard him say, “Well, aren’t we happy?” I felt his lips pull up in a smile as I continued to kiss him.

             
“Mmhmm,” I muttered. I pulled him closer, not wanting him to ever leave again. After about five minutes we finally parted. I just stared in his eyes. He reached up at my face and wiped away a tear. He smiled and laughed. “I missed you so much.”

             
I grinned back. “I missed you, too.” We stared at each other, getting closer and closer with each breath. Before I knew it I was filled with emotion again. I thought the tears would be welling in my eyes, but instead something started welling in my throat. It was three words, and before I knew what was happening, they left my lips in a whisper, “I love you.”

             
At first I couldn’t believe I’d just said that. The “L” word is something you don’t just throw around, holiday or no holiday, and here I am saying it to some guy that I had known for only a month. But this was different than any other relationship. I spent most of my time with him, more than the average high school sweethearts, and we were going to get married one day.

             
Michael just stood there staring at me for an endless millisecond. At first I thought that he wasn’t going to say anything. I thought I had made a fool of myself. Then unexpectedly, he grabbed my face and kissed me so passionately that I thought my head was going to explode.

             
“I love you, too,” he whispered. “More than anything else.”

He kept kissing me and
once again, his lips moving to my neck, and started to lightly kiss there. I ran my fingers through his hair and I felt his hands run up and down my spine. I felt goose bumps rising on my skin. He broke off for just a moment to catch his breath and then placed me against the wall. He grabbed my face and resumed right where he left off.

             
He said it! He said he loved me!

Now I knew that our future was sealed.

Chapter 19

Christmas Time

              Christmas Eve seemed a letdown after my reunion with Michael. After “saying” welcome home, for about three hours, we both had to get ready for the small dinner we were hosting. Ms. Rontes had outdone herself and prepared a roast goose with all the trimmings, ham, potatoes, some salad and four kinds of pies: apple, cherry, blueberry and chocolate cream, as well as ice cream and cookies.

             
Before bed, Michael came and visited. We sat on my couch and watched all of my favorites,
White Christmas
,
The Polar Express
, and all of the Christmas claymation classic movies. Well, we managed to watch
White Christmas
. And after saying “hello” again though all of
The Polar Express
, we both fell asleep during the claymation. When we woke up, we reluctantly said goodnight to each other, and I went off to bed.

*
              *              *

             
The next morning, I woke up the same time I always do on Christmas. I got out of bed and slipped on my Rudolf slippers and my candy cane robe. I was almost bouncing off the wall with Christmas spirit. After brushing my teeth and a quick check in the mirror to make sure I looked presentable, I made my way to Michael’s room.

             
I was amazed at how messy his room was. Apparently he hadn’t had time to unpack properly so he threw his clothes on the floor instead. I snuck in and quietly made my way over to his bed. He looked so incredibly hot and peaceful sleeping, and it was just too bad I was going to have to end it. I leaned close to his face and loudly whispered,
“Mi-i-i-i-i-chael!”

             
He shifted slightly.

             
“Mi-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-chael!”

             
Nothing.

             
“Michael. Wake up!”

             
He shot up, and almost fell out of his bed.

             
“Whha…” He saw me standing there and pulled his sheets over his upper body. “Anya! What are you doing?”

             
“Getting you up for Christmas, silly!” I said, grinning.

             
“Well what…what time is it?” he yawned. Clearly he wasn’t a morning person.

             
“It’s seven-thirty.”

             
“What! You must be joking.”

             
I shook my head.
              “Anya, darling, I don’t normally get up until ten. This is slightly early for me.” He slammed his face back into his pillow, presumably to get some more sleep.

             
I brought my face even closer and tried to put on my cutest voice. “Michael, please, can you wake up? It would make me really happy. And I really can’t wait to give you your gift.”

             
Something muffled out of the pillow that resembled, “Can’t I just sleep a little longer?”

             
I let out a sigh. “Well, then, that’s too bad. I mean, I didn’t think that the first person I’d throw into the dungeon was going to be you,” I shrugged and lifted my face up. I had to have had him. I knew he was afraid of both the dark and enclosed spaces, so even the slightest suggestion of being in a dungeon caused him to panic.

             
He again shot up and threw me a look of terror. “You wouldn’t!”
              Got him.

             
“Well, don’t mess with my Christmas, and we won’t have to worry about that, will we?” I said, throwing an innocent smile.

             
He rolled his eyes. “All right. I’ll get up.”

             
“Good,” I said as I headed for the door.

             
“Where do you think your going?” he said, and I suddenly felt his arms wrap around my waist as he pulled me back to his side. As his chin rested on my shoulder, he murmured, “Maybe I can get some of my gifts now.”

His hand slipped slightly under the edge of my shirt
, and that’s when my throat went dry. This was the only problem about having a boyfriend who was slightly older than me; he always wanted to do things that I knew I wasn’t ready for. But I was really afraid to tell him the truth, that I wasn’t ready. Blame it on my youthful embarrassment that I wasn’t as worldly as I wanted him to think I was, but I was scared to tell him. So I always made an excuse to get out of a situation that started to get a little too hot.

             
“Umm... I was going to wake the others up. You know, Mari, Avery, Kevin…that whole group.”

             
I could tell he was disappointed, but he put on his happy voice and responded, “Well all right. Don’t worry about Terrence and Uncle Marcel. I heard them walking past my room this morning, so they’re up. I’m going to go take a shower. How about we all meet in front of the tree at eight-fifteen?”

             
I nodded. “Deal!”

             
“All right. Oh, and Anya, before you go…” He turned me around and gave me a little peck on the lips. “Merry Christmas.”

             
I staggered out of Michael’s room, trying to keep steady on my feet while still on my post-kiss love high. Once outside his room, I walked diagonally across the corridor to where Avery and Mari’s room was. I knocked on door and waited for the response. I got a little tired of waiting so I knocked again and stared at the floor. I don’t know why, but the carpet was exceedingly interesting--at least, more interesting than staring at a door that wouldn’t open. The colors and swirling pattern just mesmerized me. I stared until I thought I was going to fall inside one of those swirls, and that was when the door finally opened.

             
“Hey, I just stopped by to let you guys know…” I looked up and saw that I wasn’t talking to Mari or Avery, as I had expected. “Oh… hey, Barnes.”

             
Yep, there was Barnes standing in the doorway. And there was no doubt in my mind that Antonio was somewhere in there as well.

             
Barnes looked as though he had just seen a ghost. He still wasn’t talking to me, due to his mysterious, pathological shyness, but our relationship was getting slightly better. He was now laughing at my jokes, but even his laughs were silent. I didn’t understand how he did it. So, needless to say, standing there at the door was a tad awkward.

             
“Um… I was wondering… if you and Mari and Avery and Antonio wanted to join us for Christmas celebrations by the tree around eight-fifteen?”

             
He just looked at me.

             
“I mean, you don’t
have
to come if you don’t want to. It would just be nice to have your company, and it would also be nice if I could celebrate Christmas with all of my friends.”

             
He looked at me for another moment and nodded.

             
“Yes, you’ll come?”

             
Another nod.

             
“Really? Oh great. Um, so we’ll see you guys around eight-fifteen? How’s that?”

             
Barnes smiled and once more nodded.

             
“Great! I have to go wake up Kevin, but I’ll see you later, okay?”

             
Barnes waved to me as I skipped away, but a moment later I thought I heard a muffled voice inside his room, which I imagined was Barnes waking everyone else up.

             
I was still recovering from the sheer exertion of speaking to Barnes when I reached Kevin’s room. I had never actually been inside his room or even glimpsed it, but I pretty much knew where everyone was situated. I rapped on the door and waited, then heard a grumble inside and a lot of shuffling. There was a click and the door finally swung open.

             
There was Kevin standing in the doorway, and I couldn’t help but stare. I had always known that he was a good-looking guy, but gazing at him now, I had a whole new outlook. He was wearing only a pair of pajamas bottoms. Apparently he found it unnecessary to wear a pajama top while he slept, and it was a good thing he didn’t, because it would have hidden his perfect upper body. From where I was standing, I was able to marvel at his perfect, well-toned, muscular arms, and realized it was no wonder he was able to carry me around with ease. His shoulders and chest were something to behold; the word that sprang to mind was
Olympian.
I was even able to see the hint of a six-pack. He saw me staring and turned around to see if I had been distracted by something behind him. That revealed something else. I never knew that there were so many muscles in the human back. Kevin’s back was as perfectly developed as his front.

             
Wait!
I thought,
I have a boyfriend, and he’s just as toned as Michael. It’s just that Kevin…well, I mean…those arms are to die for and…

             
“Morning, Anya.”

             
I snapped back into the real world.

             
“Morning,” I said. “What, you don’t like shirts?”
Good Lord, tell me those words didn’t just escape my mouth!

             
He looked down and suddenly turned red. “Oh! Sorry, hold on.” He disappeared, half-closing the door behind him, and then came back, now wearing a white V-neck T-shirt. It was a tight fit and I could still see his pecs teasing me underneath the sheer cotton...

             
Wait, why am I thinking this…. stop. STOP!

             
“So, is there a reason you found it necessary to wake me up? It better not be just to say Merry Christmas.”

             
I crossed my arms defiantly. “Well, fine, then, you don’t have to accept my holiday wishes. However, you must accept my invitation to open gifts at eight-fifteen.”

             
Kevin looked over his shoulder into his darkened room, presumably at his clock, and then turned back again. “You mean you want me downstairs in like ten minutes?”

             
“If that’s when eight-fifteen is, then, yes.”

             
He sighed and then said with equal defiance, “Fine. I’ll see you down there, but fair warning, I’m
not
giving you your gift in front of everyone.”

             
“What! Why not?”

             
“Because I think some people might not appreciate it.”

             
“Well, that’s weird. Who do you think might not--”

             
“So you can either wait or I can just return it. Up to you.”

             
I shut my mouth and nodded.

             
He leaned against the doorjamb and smiled. How is it that I never noticed before how nice his smile was? I smiled back sheepishly and stared at the ground, then started to shuffle my feet back and forth. I looked up to say something dumb in conclusion, but then I saw that Kevin’s smile had disappeared. Then I felt a hand rest on my right shoulder.

             
“I thought I’d find you here,” Michael said behind me. I turned quickly around to see him smiling at Kevin, It occurred to me that it wasn’t such a nice smile, but more of a what’re-you-doing-talking-to-my-girl smile. “Merry Christmas, Kevin.”

             
“You too,” Kevin replied with a yawn.

             
We stood there for a few more unnecessary seconds in complete silence. I never was really comfortable with the whole awkward silence thing. I mean, who is, right? I was just about to say something when Michael clapped his hands together and said with forced brightness, “So, shall we be getting to the Great Hall, then?”

             
I nodded and weakly waved goodbye to Kevin as he receded back into his room.

*
              *              *

             
I must have been an intimidating person, because everyone was down in the hall ready to open presents at exactly eight-fifteen. I was the first to hand out my gifts and I have to say that I think everyone really liked them. I gave Terrence a new white gold stopwatch, because his old sterling silver one was getting tarnished and it would never start when he needed it to. To LaGard I bestowed a bottle of his favorite cologne which (to my nose, anyway) resembled the smell of a wet dog mixed with b.o. Oh, well, as the French say,
À chacun son gout,
which means… oh, look it up.

For Mari and Avery, Barnes and Antonio, I gave four vacation tickets to
an island resort off the coast of India. I handed it to them when I could snatch a private moment, because I wasn’t sure if the palace was okay with inter-staff relationships. They were beyond grateful--ecstatic, in fact, which thrilled me. For Kevin I got the whole Christmas movie classics collection, along with a note saying that he would never have to worry about setting up my cable again. And finally Michael. He was difficult to shop for, but knew he was an avid James Bond fan, so I was able to get an autograph of every movie actor that played the legendary 007.