God Save the Queen (13 page)

             
After I gave my gifts it was time to receive my own. The first was from LaGard. It was heavy, and I immediately thought electronics, maybe speakers or a boombox, or maybe the complete eight-season DVD box set of
Charmed.
I’d dropped enough hints the last few weeks. I ripped off the beautiful paper to see … it was a box set, all right, but a six-volume hardcover box set of
The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire
. I forced a smile as I thanked LaGard, but not even a gun to my head could have compelled me to say, “Just what I wanted!” I knew I would never read this doorstop of a book. No one ever read
The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire
unless a class required them to do so. Or they were depressed. Or they wanted to
be
depressed. But I gave him a bottle of cologne, so really, what did I expect?

             
The next gift was from Terrence--an oval-shaped golden locket, half was just a smooth, plain finish, while the other half looked like waves hitting the shore. I turned it around and saw something strange engraved on the back:
To my Dearest Daughter.
Obviously a mistake, but a strange one, since I had thought that Terrence didn’t have any children. I decided I’d wait till later to ask him about it. So I thanked him and opened my next gift, this one a joint gift from Barnes, Antonio, Mari and Avery. They had been so appreciative that I had saved Barnes and Antonio from losing their jobs they got me tickets to the concert by of my favorite bands performing in a nearby town. Although they and I both knew that I probably wouldn’t be able to attend, I decided that I would auction the tickets and give the money to the orphanage.

             
The next and last gift was from Michael. He handed me a box, which I immediately recognized was from Build-A-Bear. I opened it up to see a toffee-colored teddy bear wearing an outfit that looked like Aurora’s from
Sleeping Beauty
. There was a tiny card attached to the bear that read,
To my darling Princess.
I hugged the bear and thanked him dearly. It was one of my favorite gifts. But then Michael chuckled and told me to look closer. I did, and was about to ask what I’m missing when glistening light caught the corner of my eye. There on the bear’s neck was a bracelet, but not just any bracelet, because this one was a single row of perfect diamonds held together by a platinum clasp. “It’s… gorgeous,” I gasped. I shuddered to think how much it cost him as I placed it on my wrist.

             
After the gift-unwrapping festivities came to an end, I realized that Kevin was nowhere to be seen. Terrence and LaGard had to leave to take care of some international business. Then Mari and Avery wanted to go for a walk with Barnes and Antonio, so they too left. Lastly Michael had to take care of some business calls, so he was going to be locked up in his office all day.

             
Now, all alone and feeling a little deflated to have been abandoned so suddenly, I heard a
“Psst!”
from across the room. I turned around and saw Kevin standing by the entrance to the Great Hall with a conspiratorial grin on his face. He motioned me to come over and I practically galloped, knowing I was about to get my gift. “Whatja get me whatja get me whatja get me,” I cried.. I told you, I really
am
like a kid at Christmas.

             
“Patience, my child,” he said, then turned around and picked up a huge box he had hid from view in the hallway. It was larger than all of my other gifts combined and was beautifully wrapped, but I couldn’t help myself; I ripped off the gorgeous paper as fast as my fingers would let me. Once I saw what was underneath, I squealed with excitement.

             
Kevin had gotten me what they would call the complete package in extreme useless archery. In the box was a set of paintball guns, water guns, and Laser Storm. There was a note at the top, and as I tore it off to read it, Kevin snatched it from my grasp.

             
“You don’t need this,” He mumbled as he crumpled it up in his hands. “It just says that you owe me a game for setting up your cable.”

             
Although I somehow didn’t really believe him, I nodded and looked over the gift. It made me so happy. Michael may have given me diamonds, but Kevin had given me exactly what every kid wants at Christmas--toys!

             
“So,” he said, “you want to break this set in?”

             
“Do I! Silly boy.”

Chapter 20

Terrence

I was leaning against the
main hall’s wall, breathing heavily. My doom was imminent, and I knew it! This battle had been going on for hours, and I was beyond exhausted. I couldn’t keep up the fight any longer; I had to give in to my dying legs. They didn’t want to run anymore, they didn’t even want to move. I was just about to collapse when I heard the enemy speak:

             
“Come on, Anya. You can’t hide forever.” The evil laugh echoed in the halls.

             
I took a deep breath and slowly turned the corner, raising the gun I in my hand to the full length of my arm. His back was facing me, so it would be easy to end it. An easy blow. He wouldn’t even see it coming. I took another step and pulled the trigger.

             
A blazing siren in my helmet went off and I heard the words over and over again:
The enemy has been hit! You WIN!
You WIN!

             
“Damn it, Anya! I was so close.” Kevin ripped off his helmet and threw it to the ground.

             
I laughed as I took mine off as well. It had been three hours since we started playing laser tag in the palace. I did my little victory dance, gleeful in knowing that I had been able to stay “alive” for so long. I was sure I was done for when Kevin cornered me in the kitchen. But then I got a sudden burst of genius when I remembered the secret passageway and made my escape.

             
I went over to shake his hand and was surprised when he actually took it. I always considered Kevin the classic sore-loser type of game player. I mean, after I beat him in Candy Land at the orphanage, he wouldn’t talk to me for two days!

             
“I guess I should say congratulations,” he said, still sounding a little aggrieved.

             
I nodded. “Yeah, you
should,
but you don’t have to.”

             
“Really?” The idea that he didn’t
have
to congratulate me actually seemed to cheer him up.

             
“Yeah, but I would consider you a sore loser if you didn’t.”

Kevin rolled his eyes and muttered
his grudging congratulations under his breath. Then we both started to make our way towards the kitchen to get some grub.

On the way there I saw Terrence
approaching. I remembered the gift he had given me, and told Kevin I’d catch with him later as I slowed down so that I could intercept Terrence. As usual, he seemed happy to see me.

             
“Hello Anya! Are you enjoying your Christmas?”

             
I nodded. “Immensely,” I said. “I wanted to thank you for the lovely gift.”

             
“Ah, yes, I’m glad you liked it.”

             
“But I have a question about it…” I began fiddling with my fingers as I began to wonder how to word my sentence. I didn’t want him to think that I was unappreciative…

             
“Let me guess. You wanted to know why the necklace says ‘To my Dearest Daughter’?”

             
I nodded with relief.

             
“I’ll tell you, then,” Terrence said. “Take a seat.”

             
There was a window ledge near us and we made our way over to it. Once we settled, Terrence became very thoughtful and took a moment before starting his story.

             
“Well, as I’ve already mentioned, my wife, Merlyn, and I were betrothed at a young age. Our parents arranged for us to meet at a local dinner party, and we were married within two years of meeting each other. Our life together couldn’t have been better. I got a job working for other foreign affairs while Merlyn stayed home. We wanted children, but it wasn’t easy. Within the course of five years Merlyn had three miscarriages and two stillbirths. We were devastated. Then in our seventh year of marriage we were finally able to have a child, a little girl we named Catherine.

             
“Catherine was a bundle of joy and she never wanted to stray far from her family, especially her mother. Catherine and Merlyn had a unique bond and seeing them happy would brighten my day. Cat was the top of her class and when she was accepted to Oxford, we thought nothing could go wrong.

             
“But during Cat’s third year at Oxford, Merlyn fell ill. We weren’t sure what it was at first, and when it got so Merlyn wasn’t able to get out of bed without a struggle, I brought her to the doctor for tests. To make a long story short, we learned that Merlyn had ALS, which you may know by its other name, Lou Gehrig’s Disease. It was from that moment that we knew Merlyn was only going to get worse. We talked about telling Cat, but Merlyn said no good could come of that, it would only disrupt Cat’s studies. She also fretted that Cat would insist on staying home during her mother’s illness and lose her standing in Oxford.

             
“When Cat did come home for the holidays, she knew right away that something was seriously wrong with Merlyn. She stayed near her for the remainder of the trip, but still Merlyn would not tell her that she would not be long with us.

             
“On the last night of her visit, Cat told her mother that she was not going back to Oxford until she was well again. Merlyn was not able to speak very well at that point, so she was not able to tell her that she didn’t want her to stay. She asked me to do it for her. It was difficult, but after a battle of wills I told Cat that she must return to Oxford and finish her education, that she was impeding her mother’s recovery. It was a lie, of course, but nothing less would have compelled Cat to leave. As difficult as it was, I refused to tell her that it was her dying mother’s wish. I didn’t want her to hold a grudge. After saying her goodbyes to her mother, Cat swore that if anything happened to Merlyn while she was gone, she would blame it on me. Then she said her goodbyes and left. That night, four hours after Cat left, Merlyn passed away. And true to her word, Cat put the blame squarely on me, and then three years later legally emancipated me as her father. We haven’t spoken since. That necklace was my gift to her the year she stopped talking to me.”

I
didn’t know what to say. It was a terrible story, with so much love lost between two well-meaning people. As Terrence put the necklace back in my hand, I shook my head and said, “Terrence I can’t… I can’t take this. It wasn’t meant for me…”

             
Terrence put his hand up in protest. “Please, let me finish.” He took a deep breath and, marshaling all his strength, continue. “After Cat was emancipated, I buried myself into my work. I would stay at the office till late at night just to avoid going home where I would be reminded of Cat. So one day I was working late and a young couple came in. I recognized the man as Paul Ryston, the future Duke of Righton. We’d been introduced at a dinner a few weeks prior and became friendly. Next to him was his wife, Sophie Alexandorva, and in her arms was a little girl. They pleaded for me to help them. They said their lives were in grave danger and they didn’t want to lose their little daughter. Anya, you looked exactly like my little Cat. I agreed to help by sending a government emissary off to the United States. Then I proposed that you should at least have godparents. Your parents agreed and chose me and Linda to be your godparents. This was so that if something did happen to them, you would be cared for. So you see, Anya, I wanted to give this to you because you saved my life. I was standing at the precipice and ready to jump. But when your parents came to me for help, it gave me a new purpose, a reason to go on living. And that help stop the pain from the loss of my daughter. If anyone should have this necklace, Anya, it is you, for whether you knew it or not, you saved my life.”

             
I was overcome by Terrence’s story. How little we know people, I thought. Fifteen minutes ago I’d have thought Terrence was the happiest man in the world, untouched by tragedy. But perhaps it was the terrible trials of losing his wife and daughter that prepared him to accept responsibility for me, to give me a chance at a better life, and thereby give deeper meaning to his. I fought back tears and took a deep breath.

             
“Terrence, I will treasure this forever. Thank you for the locket.”             

             
After wiping away a few stray tears, Terrence smiled and embraced me. “No, thank
you,
Anya. For giving me a new life.”