Race for the Throne

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Vincent scratches his chin. "I don't know..." He sticks his tongue out playfully. "Don't worry I will get you some." He makes the tea first and brings it to her. Then he starts to make lunch for the two of them.

Upon finishing he brings a tray into the living room. "I hope you are hungry."

~~~~

Jasmine shrugs. "I don't know, but we will think of something. The room will be our room after we get married. Unless you want to have a different room. Mine is more than big enough for the two of us."

They get downstairs and there is a meal waiting for each of them. It is a simple lunch of a creamy broccoli soup with ham sandwiches. "Thank you so much Tina, this looks delicious."

"They like you. Even though you had a rough beginning. Quite frankly it doesn't matter if they do or not. I am the one who will be spending the rest of her life with you." Jasmine takes his hand. "Now let's do some therapy."

~~~~~

The carriage arrives at the castle. Vincent help Serena out. "I will start with Dad then when you are done with Glenn send him over." He walks inside with her. "My brain is going to be gone by the end of today."

Brandon looks back at Jasmine. It is so easy to push things away as he works with Jasmine on her physical therapy. “Your arm is doing better.” He said. “I want you to reach higher.” He said. He lifts his hand up to a point. “I want you to touch my hand.” He said encouragingly.

~~

“I will.” Serena said. She gave Vincent a kiss before going up to her office. She heads inside and finds the paperwork that she knew would be there waiting on her. She goes over it and sighs. Why couldn’t they make this easier?

There is a knock on the door. “Come in.” She said. She sighed gently as Glenn walked in. “Perfect timing, I was just about to come see you.” She said.

“I thought you might need some help.” Glenn said chuckling. “We don’t just throw people into positions without training first. I noticed in some of your paperwork last week that there were mistakes. I thought I would come help you with the redo’s so that you knew what you needed to do.”

“Thank you so much Glenn. “ Serena said as they started to get to work.

Jasmine see the point Brandon sets for her. She already sore. She grits her teeth and tries to go just a little bit higher. "I am sorry Brandon, I can't."

~~~~

Vincent goes up to Justin's office. He is ready for his son's lesson regarding foreign affairs. He hope to teach him what they trade with the other countries and what Rosario has to offer.

Brandon looks back at Jasmine and sees the look on her face. “That is alright, you did a great job today. Considering that you did not do a whole lot in the past week or two, I think you did well.” Brandon said. “Why don’t you take a rest?”

~~

Serena feels like she has been working with Glenn for hours when she looks up at the clock. She is so tired. She yawns and looks up at Glenn. “This is a lot to take in. I hate to ask, but do you think that you can work with me this week to help me with this?” She asked. “That is until I get into the real diplomatic things.”

“That will be no problems. I don’t have a lot going on in the mornings right now sense Vincent is working with the military now. I know this morning they had drill outside so he was not needed today, but Justin was able to give him some lessons that he needed anyways.” Glenn explained. “So for this week I am yours, minus the day after tomorrow. I have a meeting that day.”

“That is fine; I have an appointment with Cadence that day.” Serena said. “It works out then. Thank you so much.” Serena said as Glenn gets his things. He then left her office. She puts her head down for a second and that was all she needed to fall asleep.

Jasmine nods. She feels like such a failure. Is this something she should be able to do? She looks down at her hand and flexes her fingers. "I will rest until we get to our next stop. Now what did you want to guys to wear at our wedding? I was thinking tuxes may be a bit much."

~~~~~~

Vincent spends the next few hours going over treaties. "I never realized how complicated your job was Dad. Will this be what Serena and I will be handling when we visit other nations?"

"Not always, but it may come up. I think primarily you will be on Goodwill visits to begin with. However later on you will be doing this with the nations that Berenson used to handle." Justin informs him. "Either Iverson or I will be with you for the first couple of visits."

It is then a knock is heard. Justin goes over and sees Glenn at the door. "Well he is all yours. I was going over the treaties."

"I. Don't really know what is acceptable and what's not." Brandon said. He was sitting as comfortable as possible for the ride. "I mean I have never been n to a wedding in Moldova before."

Jasmine smiles at Brandon. "Don't worry I will get everything done then. It really won't be that much to plan." She wonders if Serena had this much trouble getting Vincent to help with the wedding planning. She only hopes that Mom and Dad will help her plan.

The carriage comes to a stop. The door is opened. "We are taking a break here." A guard announces. They are out by a stream, not in a town.

"Oh Brandon, grab the basket. You are going to love this rest stop." Jasmine is helped out of the carriage.

Vincent studies with Glenn for Goddess knows how long. He rests his head in his hands. "Please can we break for the day? My head is pounding."

Glenn shakes his head. "All you had to do was ask. You are making remarkable progress." He gathers up his papers. "Go check on your wife."

Vincent gathers his stuff as well. "Thank you Sir, I will do just that." He goes to Serena's room, almost knocks on the door. Once inside he finds her asleep. He smiles contently and goes over to the desk in her room.

Brandon gets out of the carriage and sees the area. “This is a nice area.” Brandon said as he looked around. He took the basket and walks with Jasmine over to the stream. He sits the basket down and sat down on the grass. “Would you like to sit down with me?” he asked looking up at her.

~~

Serena wakes up some time later and sits up. She rubs her stomach as she feels a little nauseated but not enough to throw up. She looks over and sees Vincent at the desk. “How long have you been there for?” She asked.

Vincent hears Serena. "Honestly, I don't know how long." He looks over at her with tired eyes. "Did you have a good nap?" He slowly stands up and sits on the corner of the bed. "Your appointment is tomorrow right?"

~~~~~~

Jasmine sits down next to her. "This is the perfect place for a stop." She opens the basket and takes out the sandwiches. "This bread looks delicious. I know we are in Moldova. Can you feel the warmth in the air? I think we need to have a good old fashioned beach party when we get home."

Serena nodded her head. “Yes, I did.” She said as Vincent walked over and sat on the bed. She moved closer to him. “You look tired. You should have taken a nap with me.” She said as she kissed his cheek. “My appointment is tomorrow. I cannot tell you how happy that makes me. Maybe Cadence will help me with my morning sickness.”

~~

Brandon takes a deep breath of air. “It is much warmer here. I am glad I put on a short sleeve shirt today and not a long sleeved one.” He said chuckling. “So what is a beach party?”

"I want to be there with you." Vincent sighs. "I am fine. There is just so much to remember. I was going over the treaties with other countries with Dad earlier. I don't think we touched half of them. Are you ready to head home, or do you want to see your parents?"

~~~~~~

"Well it is a party that takes place a dusk and into the night. There is a small fire, food, music, and dancing right on the beach." Jasmine explains as she eats. "It is a fun time with friends. Maybe we can do it for Nathaniel's party, since we cannot have the separate ones."

“There are a lot of treaties that our parents deal with. I know you probably didn’t touch a quarter of them. I know it is a lot to learn but I know you can do it. How about we go on home, I know I will see them tomorrow and we will have some decisions to make after the appointment tomorrow.” Serena said. She took his hand and squeezed it. “I want you to be there with me.”

~~

Brandon swallowed his bite of food. “That sounds fun.” He said. “I have never been to a beach party before.” He said as they ate. “I think it sounds like fun. Maybe we should talk to Nathaniel and Levi about it.”

Vincent helps Serena up. They walk down to the carriage house. Once they get home, they are greeted by a stew cooking. "Leigh Anne that smells delicious." Vincent looks at Serena for her opinion.

~~~~~~

After lunch they get loaded up for the rest of the trip home. Jasmine slept for a little while on this leg of the trip. She wakes up as the carriage approaches the royal city. She looks out the window. "We are almost home!!"

Serena sniffs the air lightly and gives the thumbs up sign to Vincent. “It does smell delicious, Leigh Anne. It is a little strong, but not overwhelming to me so I think I should be fine.” She said as she smiled. She hangs up her jacket and walked into the kitchen. “What I wouldn’t give to have some cherry cheesecake right now. I have been wanting some all afternoon.” She said as she went to pour her a cup of juice.

~~

Brandon had put his arm around Jasmine as she slept on the way back to the royal city. He looked out of the window and watched the world pass them by. There was so much on his mind.

It doesn’t take long before they are at the royal city. The carriage stops and the door opened up. Berenson greets them. “It is great to see the both of you; I hope that you both had fun.” He said. He helped Jasmine out of the carriage and hugged her as everyone else gathered round.

Vincent walks to the refrigerator. "I must please mother and baby." He winks as he pulls out the cheesecake. He gets a slice for her and sets it on the table. "Here you go my loves." He kisses her and sits next to her. "We will have the appointment tomorrow, then probably dinner with Kalista and Iverson. Please take the afternoon off Leigh Anne."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jasmine hugs Berenson. "Hey Dad, what is everyone here? We were just on vacation."

Daniel launches himself on Jasmine, knocking her to her butt. "We missed you Jassy. Mom took me to the doctow and I got to see Sakuwa."

"I bet that was pretty cool." Jasmine tells him.

"Daniel! How many times must I tell you not to knock down your sister." Madeline yells. "Hello Brandon, you guys have to tell us all about your trip. Anything exciting happen?"

“You are such a life saver!” Serena said as she took the cheesecake from him. She took a bite and licked her lips. “Oh goddess….this is so good. When did you get this?” She said.

Leigh Anne smiled and chuckled. “Vincent asked me to pick it up for you. It was like he was reading your mind. Thank you for the day off. I will come in the morning and make sure I get everything done before leaving for the day.”

~~

Brandon smiled as he took Jasmine’s hand and they held up their hands to everyone.

Berenson looked at them slightly puzzled. “I don’t need to see your hand, we just wanted to see you and tell you we mis….wait a moment…is that a wedding band? I have seen this one before.” Berenson said looking at Jasmine’s finger.

"That is no problem Leigh Anne. You are a lifesaver already to us who can't cook. I know Serena will be thankful for your assistance after the baby comes too." Vincent takes a bite. "Wow this is good."

"I hope you like it. I got the recipe from Thomas. He said it was from Nathaniel." Leigh Anne informs them.

~~~~~~

Madeline's eyes grew large. "Oh Goddess, my little girl is getting married!" She hugs Jasmine the best the can. "You should recognize the ring it is the one that graced Kalista's finger. Now we have two weddings to plan."

"What is this I hear about a wedding?" Lawrence arrives with Junaluska. "Sorry we are late, I was in a meeting with Laramie. Welcome back, do you guys want dinner here or at Mallory's? I know Nathaniel and Levi are working now."

Jasmine looks at her mom. "Thank you guys. We want to get married after Nathaniel and Levi do." She backs up and whispers to Brandon. "Should we tell them about Serena?"

Serena finishes her cheesecake and then begins to eat her dinner. “Life is short, eat desert first.” She said winking at Vincent. “This is really good, I thought it tasted familiar. Leigh Anne, you are going to make me fat with all this wonderful food you make us. I have to say besides Nathaniel, I can’t remember the last time had food so good.” She said licking her lips. She looks up at Leigh Anne. “I hope I am a good mother. I am a little scared to be honest.”

~~

Junaluska walked over and hugged Brandon and Jasmine. “Oh goddess…you are getting married. Everyone is just getting married on us.” She said dotting her eyes.

Daniel looked up at Jasmine as she whispered to Brandon. “Jazzy, mommy said it is bad mannews to whispew.” He said.

Brandon smiled as he looked up at Lawrence. “We should go to Mallory’s for dinner tonight. It is a nice evening for celebration.” He said. He smiled and nodded his head. “I think she would have wanted us too. We just have to watch out for how far it gets out.” He whispered back to her.

"I know you will be a great mother, Majesty. You have a wonderful husband and great parents. They will help you." Leigh Anne assures her.

"She took the word out of my mouth." Vincent rubs her back. "We are in this together, my love."

Dinner is done and Vincent helps Leigh Anne clean up. "We will see you tomorrow."

~~~~~~~~

"Before we go, we need to tell you something else. Serena is pregnant." Jasmine announces. "They are trying to keep it quiet for now. However she may be telegraphing me soon with more news."

"Wow I must write to Kalista and ask her for all the details." Lawrence looks at Junaluska. "Our family is growing by leaps and bounds."

"I hope you guys don't mind walking to Mallory's. I really need to stretch my legs especially after being spoiled by Tina." Jasmine looks at Berenson with her doe like eyes. She is surprised he didn't say anything about the engagement. She only hopes he isn't mad at her.

“Thank you Leigh Anne. We will see you in the morning.” Serena said as she waved good bye to Leigh Anne. She looked over at Vincent. “I am really glad that we hired her. Between the two of you, you will help me through this.”

Serena stood up. She had not eaten a lot at dinner, but she had eaten as much as she could. It had been so delicious. She walks over to Vincent and takes his hand. “You look so tired Vincent. Why don’t we go upstairs and rest before bed?”

~~

Junaluska smiles as she hugged Lawrence. “I am so excited. A letter might be better than telegraphing. They may not want it out in the open yet. I assume that when they telegram you, Jasmine, that they will have put it out in the open when they do telegraph you.”

“They wanted to see Cadence a second time to have more information before talking with the public about it. I think her appointment is tomorrow.” Brandon said.

Everyone started walking towards Mallory’s. Brandon was walking a little behind everyone who was around Jasmine. He wanted her to be happy and he wouldn’t get in that way. He was a little frustrated, but he wasn’t going to take it out on her.

Berenson smiles as Daniel walked over to him. “What does that make me?” He asked. “If Sewena has a baby.”

“That will make you a monkey’s uncle.” Berenson said as Daniel started to act like a monkey.

Vincent sits with Serena in the living room. He loves how open both rooms are. "How about Jonathan for a middle name if we have a son?" He asks as he walks up to the fire place to start a fire. "I really do like that name."

~~~~~~

Jasmine loves being around the family. She is being questioned by her mother about the trip that she doesn't even notice Brandon hanging back. Lawrence does though. He goes next to Brandon. "So how was the trip son? Is Jasmine feeling alright? She looks a little tired?"

Serena is sitting on the love seat as Vincent makes the fire. She props her feet up on an ottoman as she rubs her stomach. “Jonathon is a good name. What about the name Samuel Jonathon Watson?” She asked. She hears the tea kettle and gets up to go get her tea. She comes back a few minutes later and sits down beside of Vincent.

~~

“She is getting over the stomach flu. She has been sick for about four or five days now. She is getting better though and her fever broke about two days ago so she is no longer contagious.” Brandon said. “I’m pretty sure she caught it from one of the kids that were out on the ranch that belong to the ranch hands.” He explained.

"I like that name." He watches Serena as she got her tea. "So are you going to take our child in to work? I know your mom will help babysit."

~~~~~

"I hope she wasn't too much of bear, or a princess. I know that Madeline has raised them with the best of both common and royal, but they are still spoiled." Lawrence stated to Brandon.

They approach Mallory's and it is a bit quieter than the last time Brandon was in. However there is still a good crowd. Berenson holds the door for the ladies and waits for Lawrence and Brandon.

Levi looks up and sees the family. "Hello everyone! I didn't know you were coming. Go take a seat the the round table, I will let Nathaniel know you are here."

“I don’t really know. I haven’t really thought about it.” Serena said as she sipped on her tea. “I know mom will help babysit the little one when he or she is born and I do want to work. There is still so much I don’t know.” She said as she put her tea cup down; she once gain propped up her feet on the ottoman and leaned back on the couch comfortably.

“I want to raise our children, not have a nanny or governess. I want to be a part of our child’s life.” Serena said looking over at Vincent. “It wouldn’t hurt to take our little one in and at the same time I don’t want it to be a distraction. I wonder how mom and dad did it with us.”

~~

Everyone takes their seats and Brandon looks around. It is not as lively as he has seen it, but he wouldn’t be surprised if it was a slow night. “It must be a slow night.” He said as he pushed Jasmine’s seat under for her. He then took a seat beside of her. He looked over at Lawrence and shook his head. “She is just stubborn as she always is.” He whispered to Lawrence before he took his seat.

Nathaniel comes out a few minutes later with some glasses and two pitchers. “Drinks are on the house, and so is dinner tonight. It is good to see both of you here. I hope your vacation was fun.” He said to Jasmine as he put the pitchers and drinks on the table.

"Are you kidding I bet they had to beat off the castle staff, especially Kristen. I know mom helped out too. She told me stories about us taking naps together. I cannot believe I have known you that long." Vincent wraps his arm around Serena. "And now I get to have you for the rest of my life."

~~~~

Lawrence winks at him. He still needs to get to know him well. Lawrence knows his classes will be starting up soon.

"Hey Nathaniel how is the engagement going? Have you guys set date at all?" Jasmine asks with her hands under the table.

"We wanted it too be in the spring, but no date yet. We wanted you to get home first." Levi answers for him.