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Click hereSascha caught her breath, "Did that look as awkward as it felt?"
Robert nodded, "It was not the most...ah...graceful mount I've ever seen."
Nio snorted impatiently.
"I think he wants to get going." Sascha commented.
"Right. Hold the reins like I showed you, then give him a tiny nudge with your heels and we'll walk around the corral for a bit until you get the feel of it." They began slowly moving around the inside of the fenced area. Robert kept Razor as close as Nio would allow--all the time giving Sascha tips.
After three times around clockwise and another three anticlockwise Sascha turned to Robert, "Is this it?"
"Think you're ready for a little more? Let's try a trot. Watch me." He gave Razor a tap and moved off quickly. Sascha immediately noticed how Robert rhythmically rose off the saddle.
When he turned and came back Sascha asked him about it. "It's called posting. The rider rises out of the saddle seat for every other stride of the horse's forelegs. When you post it smooths out the jolts you'll feel if you just sit. It will make riding at a trot much more comfortable for you and Nio."
Sascha tried it. She almost fell off twice. The first time she just lost her balance, the second she forgot Robert's warning and tried to use her hands to rise. She ended up yanking on the reins--giving Nio the signal to stop--he did--suddenly--and pitched Sascha forward so that she found herself hanging upside down from Nio's neck.
Robert jumped off Razor and supported Sascha while she got untangled from the reins and saddle stirrups, then helped her to her feet. "What the heck did I do?" Sascha asked as she pushed the helmet back into place and tucked her hair out of the way.
Robert explained her mistake, she accepted his suggestions. She reached over and patted Nio's head, "Sorry about that buddy. Driver error. Let's try again." She jumped again and wriggled up into the saddle. She gathered her reins and got ready. She watched Robert gracefully mount Razor. 'Must be nice to be tall,' Sascha muttered.
"Sascha! Remember, hands down, back straight, head up. Let's go." He started Razor at a walk, Nio followed immediately--even before Sascha signaled him to. As soon as Robert saw Sascha and Nio moving he started riding at a trot--slowly--so he could keep an eye on Sascha.
Nio did not like following. He quickly caught Razor up and trotted beside him--neither following nor leading--Sascha concentrating on balance and form, didn't pay much attention to direction for the next couple times around before she got the rhythm, balance, body, and hands, all in sync. A couple more times around in each direction and Sascha discovered she was not just a passenger anymore. She was using her legs and reins to direct Nio--and he responded.
Robert dismounted and stood with Razor at the south end of the corral, "Sascha, go ahead and take Nio around wherever you want. Don't just go in circles, do figure 8's, back-and-forth, make Nio listen to you.
They took off, Robert watched closely. Except for one small loss of balance during a left-hand figure 8, Sascha rode very nicely. She and Nio were becoming an excellent team. Nio behaved but his pride and spirit were obvious--his tail flew, he held his head high, his front legs danced. But most of all he did everything Sascha asked of him.
Robert admired the developing partnership; he pulled out his phone and recorded the last couple minutes of Sascha's ride before calling her back. "Sascha, Sweetheart, it's time to go in." Sascha and Nio danced over to the gate. Sascha sat for a minute, admiring the surroundings she hadn't noticed while riding, and then trying to figure a way out of the saddle without embarrassing herself. Finally, she pulled both feet out of the stirrups, swung herself so she sat side-saddle, and jumped down. She stuck the landing and looked around, grinning.
"Sascha," Robert said quietly ready to admonish her for not requesting help. Instead, he smiled, "Never mind. Nice landing." They led the horses back to the stables.
"God! That was incredible." Sascha enthused as they approached the door. She grabbed Robert's hand as they walked, "Thank you so much for teaching me." She turned to Nio, "You are a good boy, aren't you?" She rubbed his soft muzzle with affection. The big, black horse snorted and nodded his head enthusiastically. In the barn they took the horses to a wash bay. Robert showed Sascha how, and she washed Nio. She got a little scare when she accidentally sprayed Nio's face with the hose. He screamed and started kicking violently. Sascha jumped out of the way, but kept up the gentle and calming nonsense talk until Nio settled down. He finally let her get close enough to touch his head, "Sorry about that big guy. I won't do it again." She looked across the bay and saw Robert grinning. She pointed at him, "Don't say a word!" She snarled, but immediately began laughing.
They finished drying the horses and returned them to their stalls along with some hay and oats. They walked out of the stable, hand-in-hand, again past Vincenza's garden. Sascha stopped to check it out. She grabbed Robert's hand and pointed at a tiny green bud just starting to emerge from the ground, "Look at that! I think it's a crocus. Right?"
"Too early to tell. But it means spring is almost here. We need to go now; Mother and Father want to help us prepare for the interview."
The interview, Sascha thought as she and Robert sat facing Clara and her camera operator, went well right up to the very end. Clara seemed friendly and sympathetic. Her questions gave Sascha every opportunity to share her story, her opinions, and her dream of helping troubled transgender kids like herself. Asked about hobbies she mentioned golf and running...and laughed while she described almost falling off Nio. She calmly discussed her medical treatment--past and future. When Clara asked the inevitable question about how Sascha felt about her upcoming surgery, the interviewer laughed when Sascha answered the usual, "Terrified...excited...scared...it's too soon...can we do it tomorrow?"
Finally, Clara said she had only one more question, "Sascha, you were born and raised an American, correct?"
"Yes. That's right?" Sascha sensed there was danger hidden in the question.
"I wanted to ask about your thoughts on becoming a Douravian after your wedding? Surrendering your American citizenship to marry Prince Edwin?"
Sascha sat silent. She'd never considered it. "I...I..."
Robert spoke up, "Clara, perhaps another time? Since my proposal to Miss Janovitch, we have never spoken about citizenships. I should have. Would you do us the great favor of editing out this question? We will discuss it on our flight back to Boston tonight."
Clara nodded, "I will Your Highness. Prince Edwin, Miss Janovitch, thank you so much for your time." She paused, smiling for a couple seconds, "And cut. We're done. Pack up Cecil. Thank you again. I'm sure the citizens of Douravia will find you refreshing and charming."
"Clara loved you!" Queen Sophia happily reported after they'd cleaned off the TV makeup and everyone gathered in the dining room for a final meal before Robert and Sascha left the chateau for the airport. As the meal ended, Robert shanghaied David and Matteo and took them to a quiet corner. When he finished talking to them--and he did all the talking--he returned to the table smiling. The twins looked pale and shaken.
He took Sascha's hand, "We should go and pack."
"The boys don't look well, what did you say?" Sascha asked.
Robert grinned, "Oh...nothing much...I just told them that if I hear of a single misdeed by either one of them...Well, there are boarding schools around the world, that specialize in incorrigible boys; and they make European prisons look like vacation homes. I think they got the message."
"Those kinds of schools are real? I thought they were a myth--like the boogeyman--to frighten misbehaving kids."
"No, they're real. Maybe not quite as severe as the picture I just painted for them--but they're real."
"I'll be darned. If I was a writer, I'd say there's a story in there...somewhere." They separated and returned to their rooms to pack. Robert was back with his bag in 15 minutes. Sascha took another hour before she declared herself ready to go. Robert lifted one of her bags, put it down, and used Sascha's room phone to call Mr. Johnston to send up three attendants to help, "Make sure they're strong." He added before ending the call.
"Are we returning the same way we came?"
"No. We'll fly from Vidor to Paris. Since I'm returning to duty at the consulate, we'll call this official business and use the government plane. Then we'll catch a non-stop from Paris to Boston.
Hi Mom, Hi Dad;
I'm safely back in Boston. I hope you are both doing well. Robert and I arrived this morning after flying from Vidor, Douravia, to Paris, then to Boston. It was a much more efficient route than our trip to Douravia--but maybe not as much adventure. This time there was much less shock and awe on my part regarding how everyone treats VIPs like Robert.
I'm all set for class start tomorrow. None of my profs gave us work over the break (nice of them, don't you think). I didn't even take my books with me to try and get ahead. What's happening to me?
The last day in Douravia was...amazing. Robert showed me how to ride a horse. My horse was a giant, black stallion named Nio. Everyone thought he was an evil and vicious beast; but with me he was well-mannered and a perfect gentleman--after I smacked him in the head when he tried to bite me. We rode for maybe 90 minutes. I almost fell off once. Okay, I did fall off, but I ended up hanging underneath Nio's neck, not on the ground. I will miss riding Nio.
On the flight from Paris, we had Wi-Fi so I surfed the internet. I see that Steph's softball team is still undefeated. I sent her a snarky note suggesting that if the team was undefeated, it must be because they don't allow her to play. Can't wait to see her answer. It ought to be good, she's much better at 'snarky' than I am.
After the horseback adventure--actually, we just rode in circles around the corral--Robert and I had to clean up and get dressed for an interview with Douravian TV. It wasn't too horrible. The interviewer, Clara, is a friend of Queen Sophia so she was pretty gentle. I thought I did well, right up to the end; but when she asked how I felt about renouncing my U.S. citizenship when I marry Robert, I froze. I didn't know what to say...or think. I've never even considered this. Robert saw I was upset and stepped in. Clara agreed to edit that question when they show the interview on TV. I'll have to think about this some more.
Once we got back to Boston, we took a taxi to our building--Robert didn't want to bother with a consulate driver. It took us two trips up and down to get all my luggage upstairs. I'll have to be more careful packing in the future; I only used about half of the things I took with me--I keep waiting for Robert to say 'I told you so'. As soon as I got everything in the apartment, I put on jeans and a sweater and went shopping. It is a nice spring day so I hiked down the street for groceries. When I got back, I started coffee, laundry, and ramen--in that order.
I'm back. Robert stopped by, checking to see if I needed anything. As I expected he said 'I told you so' about my overpacking. He showed me a message that his mother had sent him regarding the interview. She said viewers seemed to have had a very positive opinion of me. Queen Sophia joked (I think) that the only people who didn't like me were the women hoping to have Robert for themselves. Oh, and that awful Waszlewski woman. Ha. Ha. Ha.
Since it was still relatively early in the day, Robert left to go to his consulate office and discover what issues had piled up. Once he left, I put on my robe and curled up on the couch drinking my coffee, slurping my noodles, and glancing through my textbooks. It feels good to be back in my apartment. I'll write again when I have news. Love, Sascha
P.S. I have appointments with Drs. Lawrence and Aronofsky at the beginning of next month. If all goes well...well, you know. Gotta go now, coffee cup's empty and I want to see if Steph's responded yet. XOXO Sascha
It didn't take Stephanie long to respond.
Hey Sasch,
Boy! Give a girl a prince and a little publicity and she gets all snotty to her loving big sister. I'll have you know that I have been a starter all season--every game! And we're still undefeated. (I'm sticking out my tongue at you right now.) So there! Last week we beat the #1 team in the country (at least they used to be) three games in a row--and it wasn't even close. Ran their asses right out of town! Guess what? I hit my first home run. It didn't really matter, we were already 10 runs ahead, but God it felt freaking awesome going around the bases.
I saw the videos of you at the Douravian Assembly. At first, I didn't recognize you in that nice suit, and your hair done up all nice. But they had your name captioned below. The verbal dust-up you had with that woman was pretty impressive. How you stayed so calm I'll never know. I'd have punched the bitch right in the mouth. Found some of my teammates watching that, and your little speech outside, "That's My Little Sister!" I was proud to announce. The team was impressed.
I hope you're doing well. Tank sends his regards. By the way, he offered to help me smack around that woman for you. Take care, baby sis. Love, Steph
Sascha reached up and wiped away a tear as she finished reading the note. She grinned, "Glad Steph didn't see that," she muttered.
CHAPTER 7
Life was fairly normal when school restarted. Not being behind, Sascha felt--almost--guilty when she had free time. She found that with her studies caught up, she was able to make exercise a regular part of her day. She jogged, swam at the school's pool, and worked with light weights in Robert's workout area. She missed using her father's golf simulator.
Dear Mom;
Today I had my final pre-op appointment with Dr. Aronofsky. I can't believe it's only three weeks until the big day. Robert insisted on going with me; I think, though, that he was more nervous than I was. The Dr. made me strip down so she could take pre-op photos. That made me pretty uncomfortable--Robert couldn't look; he was so cute. She also examined me and made sure I still had no hair. She told me that if I do develop hair...down there...surgery will have to be postponed until it's removed. As I got dressed, she reminded me to immediately stop my hormones until after the surgery--something about blood vessels. She also insured, again, that I do not smoke--yuck! Again, something about blood vessels and healing. She asked, again, if I was sure I was satisfied with my bust. I am...completely. Finally, she brought out all the 'informed consent' forms. I spent about 45 minutes reading them, signing them, and handing them to Robert to look over. She also gave me a fairly thick handout on my post-op recovery. I...
Hey! I'm back. Sorry, thinking about everything, I had a bit of a panic attack and I needed a few minutes to calm down. I'm fine now. After my appointment, Robert took me shopping. We drove out to the coast to an outdoor equipment store. Robert insisted on buying me a nice new pair of hiking shoes. I tried on about 15 pairs, and then the 16th pair slid on and my feet sang! I walked around the store for about a half-hour--climbed their stairs and ramp 15 or 20 times--and the shoes were wonderful. Most comfortable things I've ever worn. I wanted to wear them back to the apartment--but Robert suggested they didn't really coordinate well with the skirt and blouse I was wearing.
We're going hiking this weekend. I hope it doesn't rain. I'll take plenty of stuff in case I get blisters again.
Guess that's it for now. All My Love, Sascha
One Friday in mid-May, finals week in fact, Sascha returned to her apartment after her final class and another 90 minutes at the library. Her phone rang as she opened the door. She raced into the room and dug her phone out of her backpack,
"Hello?"
"Hey beautiful. How was your day?"
"Hi Robert. Had a good day. Finished my last final. I think I did pretty good."
"And by 'pretty good' you mean you aced them all, right?"
"Well...I don't like to brag..."
"I understand. Do you have anything special going on this evening?"
"No. Not really."
"Would you like to go out for dinner? Nothing fancy, just a chance to get out together."
"Love to. Where are we going? What should I wear?"
"I'm feeling like meat. I read about this Brazilian place where they deliver meat skewers to the table. Interested? Casual dress."
"Mmm. Sounds good. What time?"
"I'll come and gather you at 6:30ish."
"Sounds good. Can't wait to see you. Would you mind if I talk a little...a lot...about my surgery next week?"
"I wouldn't mind at all...I haven't forgotten about next week. Every time I think of you going into that operating room my gut ties up in knots. I start praying everything will be alright. How do you stay so remarkably calm?"
"I've been practicing...uh...for when I talk to my mom and dad. Honestly, I'm scared to death. But Dr. Lawrence has been great; she assures me the ordeal is worth it. She keeps reminding me that Dr. Aronofsky is the best there is." Silence greeted her. "Robert? Are you still there?"
"I am. Sorry. I was just trying to...I don't know...trying to...imagine for myself what you must be feeling. I've known you for what...18, 19 months now and your grace and calm still amaze me."
"Robert, Stop! I'm blushing! Don't get all gushy on me."
"I'm sorry Sascha, I didn't mean to embarrass you. By the way, open your door."
"What?"
"Open your door. There's someone knocking."
"Huh?" She listened and heard the knocking, "How did you hear that?" She got up and walked over to the door. It was Robert, of course.
"Hi! I didn't feel like waiting to see you. May I come in?"
"Of course you can." As soon as the door closed, Sascha leaned against him and tilted her head up for a kiss. She shivered as he nipped at her lower lip.
An hour later Robert and Sascha laid on Sascha's couch, wrapped in each other's arms. "So?" Robert murmured, "Anything interesting going on today?"
"Nah. Just another boring Boston day. By the way..." Sascha giggled, "My fiancé will be here at 6:30. So you need to leave soon."
"Hey!" He playfully slapped Sascha's bare bottom as he worked to untangle and sit up. Once he was upright, he grasped Sascha's outstretched hand and helped her rise to sitting.
"I need to shower before we go." She stood and wrapped the robe around herself as she strolled to the bathroom.
Robert didn't follow her--though he was sorely tempted. Instead, he pulled out his phone and dialed, "It's me. Yes. We should be there in an hour. No. She either has no idea--or she's the world's greatest actress." He laughed. "Is everything ready? Excellent. Thank you, Mr. Charles."
Sascha finished showering fairly quickly--she was hungry and ready to get going. In the bedroom, Sascha chose a simple, above-the-knee black skirt and long-sleeved white blouse. She did her make-up and finished brushing out her hair. She grabbed her jacket and beret before she returned to the living area. "Let's go, I'm hungry," She ordered when she noticed Robert lounging on the sofa with his feet on the coffee table. She moved over to him and offered her hand to help him up. As he came to his feet he pulled her into a brief embrace, and then held her at arm's length.
"You look beautiful."
"Thank you." Sascha squeezed his hand before she went over to a mirror, checked her make-up, and adjusted her beret. Robert held the door for her as they left the apartment. At the elevator, Robert reached into his jacket pocket, "Oh damn! Wait."