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Post by Sabrina de la Courcel (D) on Aug 4, 2008 0:01:22 GMT -5
I had managed to find a red gown, one that Alexei approved of and we had spent the day laughing and greeting the peerage as an official couple. I was beyond happy and the only way to top the day was an elegant dinner.
Having heard rave reviews from those we talked with, we decided on La Tonnelet to finish the evening with a delicious dinner.
I held onto Alexei's arm as we entered into the resturant, a gasp and whispers to follow as the recognized me.
"Your Majesty," The head chef and owner greeted us himself, though I only found that out later. "Your Highness." He bowed to me and then Alexei.
"Do you have a quiet seat for us Messire?" I asked with a happy smile.
"Oh but of course." He beamed back. "Please, follow me this way." He gestured and we followed, I nodded to those we passed, most of them standing as was protocol in order to bow to me. "Here we are." He gestured to a table set off to the side, more private and I smiled.
"Thank you my lord...?"
"Fredric," He said bowing again. "Fredric Pascal, I am chef and owner." He smiled. "And let me assure you now your Majesty, I will be taking care of everything pertaining to your meal, nothing will come to you before my strict inspection." He bowed again.
"Thank you Fredric." I smiled and moved to sit at the table.
"I'll bring you our finest wine, do you care for red or white?" He asked and I looked to Alexei to see which he would prefer.
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Alexei Romanov
Royal
His Royal Highness the Prince of Ruskovia; House Romanov
Posts: 3,550
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Post by Alexei Romanov on Aug 4, 2008 0:36:01 GMT -5
“Red,” I said, smiling. “It seems to be the color of the day.”
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Post by Sabrina de la Courcel (D) on Aug 4, 2008 21:21:10 GMT -5
"Perfect," I said smiling to Fredric. "A bottle of red please." He nodded with a smile to us.
"I'll return momentarily with your wine." I turned my sight on Alexei and smiled.
"What a perfect day." I said absolutely beaming. "Thank you, so much."
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Alexei Romanov
Royal
His Royal Highness the Prince of Ruskovia; House Romanov
Posts: 3,550
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Post by Alexei Romanov on Aug 4, 2008 22:08:52 GMT -5
I reached out and took her hand, holding it between mine.
“I enjoyed it every bit as much as you did, my love,” I said, smiling. “I hope for many more days like this in our future.”
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Post by Sabrina de la Courcel (D) on Aug 4, 2008 22:44:38 GMT -5
I smiled softly. "Oh, I'm sure we can manage something." I teased, smiling at him with nothing but love in my eyes.
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Alexei Romanov
Royal
His Royal Highness the Prince of Ruskovia; House Romanov
Posts: 3,550
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Post by Alexei Romanov on Aug 5, 2008 0:24:02 GMT -5
“I got you a surprise,” I told her, reaching into my pocket. I’d actually gotten her two surprises but one had to wait until later. I pulled out a smallish box tied with a red ribbon. “Do you want it now?”
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Post by Sabrina de la Courcel (D) on Aug 5, 2008 12:33:10 GMT -5
I bit my lip to keep from crying, how he managed to slip this by my notice was beyond me but I grinned at him. "How did you..?" I began then shook my head. "Never mind." I smiled, the barest hint of a tear in my eye.
"Yes," I added. "I'd love it now. I'm horrible with surprises." I chuckled smiling at him.
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Alexei Romanov
Royal
His Royal Highness the Prince of Ruskovia; House Romanov
Posts: 3,550
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Post by Alexei Romanov on Aug 5, 2008 19:32:19 GMT -5
“Then you should open it my love,” I said, smiling tenderly and handing her the box. Her reaction was worth every moment of intrigue as I’d gone about procuring the surprise. There’d been a jewelry store next to one of the dress shops we’d visited and an item in the window had caught my eye. With much help from one of Sabrina’s attendants, the gold necklace with the ruby and diamond pendant had been purchased.
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Post by Sabrina de la Courcel (D) on Aug 5, 2008 20:52:17 GMT -5
I opened the box, my mouth agape as I looked in with surprise. "Oh, Alexei." I said softly, looking at him after I looked over the gorgeous item. "Its perfect." I smiled to him. "You are so wonderful to me." I leaned in and pressed a soft kiss to his lips. "Thank you so much my love, I'll treasure it always." The red and gold certainly reminded me of Alexei and I grinned pulling it from box. I was already wearing a necklace, but I took it off and placed that one in the box in exchange for the ruby one Alexei had just given me. It hung perfectly and I smiled at him, touching it with reverence.
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Alexei Romanov
Royal
His Royal Highness the Prince of Ruskovia; House Romanov
Posts: 3,550
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Post by Alexei Romanov on Aug 5, 2008 21:14:54 GMT -5
My chest felt tight with the swell of emotions inside me and I knew I must be smiling like a moon dazzled fool. I reached out and took her hand again, twining my fingers with hers.
“It looks even more beautiful on you than I imagined,” I said softly.
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Post by Sabrina de la Courcel (D) on Aug 5, 2008 21:33:44 GMT -5
"You have good taste." I said smiling as my fingers touched his hand. Before I had a chance to speak Fredric appeared with our wine and pour two glasses silently before smiling.
"Our special tonight is fresh fish on a bed of wild rice, drenched in a butter and scallop sauce." He said expressing the menu with elaborate hand gestures. "We also have venison with spring vegetables and boiled potatoes." I smiled at that.
"I'll have the venison." I said then looked to Alexei.
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Alexei Romanov
Royal
His Royal Highness the Prince of Ruskovia; House Romanov
Posts: 3,550
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Post by Alexei Romanov on Aug 5, 2008 21:36:12 GMT -5
“Venison for me as well,” I said, smiling at Frederic, he seemed a bit overwhelmed still and so eager to please.
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Post by Sabrina de la Courcel (D) on Aug 5, 2008 21:47:55 GMT -5
He nodded and made his way off, almost beaming at our choices let alone the fact that he would indeed make twice his business when word leaked out that the Queen and her intended were dinning at his restaurant. "Today has been so wonderful." I said smiling at him once we were alone again. "I'm so happy that the plague was clear of the city and that we could go out together."
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Alexei Romanov
Royal
His Royal Highness the Prince of Ruskovia; House Romanov
Posts: 3,550
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Post by Alexei Romanov on Aug 5, 2008 22:01:12 GMT -5
“So am I,” I told her. “I like being out with you, experiencing things with you.”
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Post by Sabrina de la Courcel (D) on Aug 5, 2008 22:58:42 GMT -5
I grinned. "It was our first time out as an official couple." I said softly, pointing out truth in it. For so long we had kept our relationship secret, it felt good to speak of it and be seen openly.
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Alexei Romanov
Royal
His Royal Highness the Prince of Ruskovia; House Romanov
Posts: 3,550
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Post by Alexei Romanov on Aug 5, 2008 23:52:02 GMT -5
“That’s right,” I said, smiling. I reached for my glass of wine and lifted it. “Shall we toast to our freedom now?”
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Post by Sabrina de la Courcel (D) on Aug 5, 2008 23:54:41 GMT -5
I smiled and took up my own glass. "Is that what you'd like to toast to?" I asked still grinning. "Freedom?"
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Alexei Romanov
Royal
His Royal Highness the Prince of Ruskovia; House Romanov
Posts: 3,550
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Post by Alexei Romanov on Aug 6, 2008 0:09:57 GMT -5
“And love…and happiness,” I added, grinning as I touched the rim of my glass to hers.
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Post by Sabrina de la Courcel (D) on Aug 6, 2008 0:19:10 GMT -5
"To freedom, love and happiness." I said smiling before letting my rim touch his and then brought the glass to my lips. I drank down a sip and smiled.
"Oh, I forgot to tell you about Emile, my Cassiline."
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Alexei Romanov
Royal
His Royal Highness the Prince of Ruskovia; House Romanov
Posts: 3,550
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Post by Alexei Romanov on Aug 6, 2008 0:20:37 GMT -5
“You have a new Casseline?” I asked after I savored a drink of wine. It was quite good.
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Post by Sabrina de la Courcel (D) on Aug 6, 2008 0:28:18 GMT -5
I nodded. "Emile d'Ames." I said softly. "He's a strange sort of fellow, nice though, young." I shrugged a little. "I thought that I should have some one around for official ceremonies, when foreign dignitaries come. Times when the added security is needed."
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Alexei Romanov
Royal
His Royal Highness the Prince of Ruskovia; House Romanov
Posts: 3,550
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Post by Alexei Romanov on Aug 6, 2008 0:36:47 GMT -5
My brow furrowed a little. “You should have someone more experienced.”
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Post by Sabrina de la Courcel (D) on Aug 6, 2008 0:42:45 GMT -5
I smiled. "He's been training to be a Cassiline since he was ten Alexei, I think he has a great deal of experience." I chuckled. "Besides, I need a new captain of the guard and I was thinking that you might want to be my captain." I gave him a sly smile.
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Alexei Romanov
Royal
His Royal Highness the Prince of Ruskovia; House Romanov
Posts: 3,550
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Post by Alexei Romanov on Aug 6, 2008 0:48:18 GMT -5
“You said he was young,” I replied, feeling a little flash of irritation at her laughing at my worrying for her security. “As for your captain, unless you want me sleeping with the men instead of with you I don’t think that will work. A captain needs to spend all his time with his men, earn their trust and respect.”
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Post by Sabrina de la Courcel (D) on Aug 6, 2008 0:54:56 GMT -5
I raised a brow and leaned back a little. "Alright." I said not understanding why he was so upset. I had little else to say so I sipped my wine and looked away at the other couples dinning at the other tables.
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Alexei Romanov
Royal
His Royal Highness the Prince of Ruskovia; House Romanov
Posts: 3,550
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Post by Alexei Romanov on Aug 6, 2008 9:46:45 GMT -5
I closed my eyes for a second and drew a breath.
“I’m sorry,” I said softly, looking at her. “You being safe isn’t a subject that I take lightly and I only want to make sure you are protected as fully as possible. Please don’t let my reaction spoil the wonderful time we’ve been having.”
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Post by Sabrina de la Courcel (D) on Aug 6, 2008 11:18:34 GMT -5
"I understand that Alexei, but some times you're a walking contradiction." I said softly, my voice calm and discrete. "You question my choice of Cassiline as though I would knowingly have some one inexperienced to care for my safety, and I offer a position to you that solely deals with my safety and you shrug it off like its a joke. Captain of my guard means you'd be with me every where I go, its a position of authority and respect, and I need a new one anyway, my old captain is retiring." I sighed a little. "I thought you'd be happy that I was giving you the opportunity to be the one that's in charge of my safety." I wasn't angry at him, just dismayed. "I know you care about me Alexei, thats why I offered."
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Alexei Romanov
Royal
His Royal Highness the Prince of Ruskovia; House Romanov
Posts: 3,550
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Post by Alexei Romanov on Aug 6, 2008 13:39:53 GMT -5
I had so hoped my apology would be enough to let the subject pass until we were somewhere we could truly discuss this, but I guess it wasn’t.
“I didn’t question your choice,” I replied. “I went by the information you gave me – ‘he’s young and odd’. That hardly sounds like someone with the right qualifications to protect a nation’s sovereign.” I took a deep breath so as to keep enough control I could keep my voice low. “As for being captain of your guard, I thought I was to be your husband, not in your employ.”
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Post by Sabrina de la Courcel (D) on Aug 6, 2008 15:29:20 GMT -5
"I explained it badly then, I was speaking of Emile's personality. My last Cassiline never talked to me, Emile seems more inclined to be friendly and polite." I said softly lifting my drink to my lips and took a sip glancing around for a moment. "And I thought you'd be happy with something to occupy your time here." I shrugged. "Many men in our country have both the title of husband and solider. I simply assumed it would be similar in Ruskovia. I too have two titles, wife and queen." I shrugged again. "It was my mistake, please forgive me."
I sighed a little placing my glass down and no longer wishing to speak of the matter. I didn't seem to be making thing better and I wasn't interested in carrying on.
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Alexei Romanov
Royal
His Royal Highness the Prince of Ruskovia; House Romanov
Posts: 3,550
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Post by Alexei Romanov on Aug 6, 2008 18:21:03 GMT -5
Now, I was offended.
“I assumed I would have plenty of political things to occupy my time, but perhaps I was wrong,” I said. “Maybe I will need a job.”
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