From Russia With Love

“I DON’T want to talk about it now” she yelled down the colossal staircase, pausing for effect before she inched sideways around the gritty stone gargoyle that partially blocked the door to her room.

She slammed it behind her and threw herself down on her bed, pondering the implications of what she had just been told.

Are they crazy? This is 21st century Europe, not the dark ages, people don’t “arrange marriages” anymore! And of all people, to him?

She had known him since she was a little girl in pigtails and he was in elementary school, mainly as the annoying American boy who lived in one of the grand houses for international government officials on their estate. There had been a huge celebration underway in the estate gardens, welcoming the Vice President of the United States of America, and her mother pulled her away from the flower bed she had been playing in and brushed the leaves off her dress.

“I was playing a game, Mama!” she protested.

“You can go back to playing in a minute, I want you to meet someone important” she replied, tucking a few stray strands of Dominika's white blonde hair behind her ear.

She led her daughter around to a tall, dark-haired man with a kindly smile and a sharply pressed dark blue suit. He was flanked by a pretty blonde woman in a skirt and blazer in bright red.

“Dominika, this is Mr and Mrs Way, they are moving to live in ‘Krasivaya’ today all the way from the United States”

Although she hadn’t understood any of it at the time, that year had been a critical turning point for the political situation in her country. Russia had long been threatened with invasion by The People’s Republic of China and it seemed that invasion was imminent at any time. Russia had made trade deals with the United States after a long period of strained relations, and thus secured the US as an ally. The US now had interests in protecting Russia, and the two nations had combined their military powers with great success for both sides.

This is where the Ways came in. Mr Way had just been elected as Vice President in the United States and it was decided in order to strengthen the bonds with their newfound brother country, they would relocate to Russia and set up military base there to help train the Russians and protect the country from invasion. Krasivaya was the largest and most lavish house on the estate, and the closest one to the royal home where Dominika lived.

She was the youngest of the Russian king and queen’s four children, two older brothers and a sister. That made her fourth in-line for the throne but she had little interest in political pursuits.

“And this is our eldest son, Gerard” Mrs Way said, reaching out to steer a boy several years older than Dominika into her line of sight.

He seemed tall for his age, slightly stocky with dark shaggy hair and deep green-brown eyes. He looked at Dominika and a little smile pulled up the corner of his mouth.

“Hey” he said. She was silent till her Mother nudged her in the side discreetly.

“Pleased to meet you” she replied, royal training kicking in.

“Why don’t you go show Gerard the estate, Dominika? And the adults will talk”

She had to take two steps at a time to keep pace with him as they walked through the rose gardens and down the hill to where the houses spread across the valley of the estate. The grass was short and fresh under their shoes, stretching out forever in front of them. It was summer, the air was hot and sun beat down them as they made their way across the field to the shade of the oak trees around the two houses.

“How old are you anyway?” he asked her, kicking a rock with his black trainer.

“Five” she replied.

“Five! Haha! That makes me twice as old as you!”

Dominika screwed up her face at him.

“That just means you’ll die first, so haha!”

And that was the beginning of it all.

Notes