continued. “My relationship with my father is none of your business. And why do you care what schools I attended? If you’re worried I can’t design a dress for your sister, think again. It’s my profession and I’m very good at it.”
A slender man stepped from the shadows and asked quietly, “Prezydente?”
Zelasko waved him away, then turned back to Sasha. “Sit down, Miss Bracciali. You are making my men as nervous as they made you.”
She hesitated, then returned to her seat.
“It is a school for girls, is it not? I am told it is many hundred miles from your home. Why did you choose it?”
“I didn’t choose Athena Academy, it chose me,” Sasha said with a weary sigh. “It’s by invitation only. They contacted my mother and she thought it would be a good experience for me. She was right.”
“They choose their students based on special abilities, do they not? What is your special ability?”
“I had high test scores, but I think it was my artistic ability that caught their eye.” She cleared her throat again. “Could I get a drink of water? I did a lot of traveling today, and my throat is parched.”
“I am told you enjoy champagne,” he replied, then he turned to the man in the shadows. “Nikko? Szampam, zyb! ”
Nikko clicked his heels and exited the room.
“Thanks.” Sasha smiled. “My most relevant education is from the School of Design, you know. I graduated at the top of my class—”
“I am interested in the Athena Academy only. Tell me about your training there. Martial arts and firearms, yes?”
“It wasn’t a military academy, if that’s what you think. It was a classical blend. A sound mind in a sound body. That sort of thing. I took the regular subjects, plus some additional foreign languages and lots of art classes.”
“I am told that the students form groups named after gods and goddesses. What was the name of your group?”
Sasha arched an eyebrow. “You’re very well-informed, General . My group was the Muses. Because three of us were artists of one type or another. A dancer, a singer—”
“You enjoyed it?”
“The school? I adored it,” she admitted wistfully. “It was so different from the world I knew, and even though I felt like an outsider sometimes, I was still grateful for the opportunity. They widened my worldview—made me believe I could be anything I wanted to be. And then they encouraged me to apply to design school, which really changed my life forever.” She paused to accept a tall crystal goblet of champagne from a tray Nikko had brought to the room. “Thanks. This looks yummy.”
Zelasko took a glass, too, and offered a quick toast in Kestonian, adding quietly, “Continue.”
“Okay, where was I? Oh right, design school. Those were the most important years of my life. If only my mother hadn’t died while I was there, it would have been perfect.”
“She was murdered, was she not?”
Sasha took a sip of champagne, then nodded.
“And you suspected your father? So you became estranged? But suddenly, you have forgiven him. That is convenient.”
“So you said before.” She set her glass on a nearby table, then gave him a stern look. “I’ll admit it. I wanted to attend this ball so much, it made my heart ache. I even had a picture of you in your uniform tacked to the wall of my bedroom because the articles in my fashion magazines captured my imagination so completely. But my pride wouldn’t let me ask Dad for help. Not until this weekend when we attended the wedding of an old family friend. It brought back so many memories….”
She paused to accentuate the catch in her voice. “I saw the bride dancing with her father—my uncle—and I realized that I couldn’t bear it if Dad and I didn’t find a way to patch things up before my wedding day arrived. I knew Dad had to be feeling the same way, too. And suddenly it seemed like the perfect time. Not just because of the ball. But I’ll admit, that was a factor . Because,
A slender man stepped from the shadows and asked quietly, “Prezydente?”
Zelasko waved him away, then turned back to Sasha. “Sit down, Miss Bracciali. You are making my men as nervous as they made you.”
She hesitated, then returned to her seat.
“It is a school for girls, is it not? I am told it is many hundred miles from your home. Why did you choose it?”
“I didn’t choose Athena Academy, it chose me,” Sasha said with a weary sigh. “It’s by invitation only. They contacted my mother and she thought it would be a good experience for me. She was right.”
“They choose their students based on special abilities, do they not? What is your special ability?”
“I had high test scores, but I think it was my artistic ability that caught their eye.” She cleared her throat again. “Could I get a drink of water? I did a lot of traveling today, and my throat is parched.”
“I am told you enjoy champagne,” he replied, then he turned to the man in the shadows. “Nikko? Szampam, zyb! ”
Nikko clicked his heels and exited the room.
“Thanks.” Sasha smiled. “My most relevant education is from the School of Design, you know. I graduated at the top of my class—”
“I am interested in the Athena Academy only. Tell me about your training there. Martial arts and firearms, yes?”
“It wasn’t a military academy, if that’s what you think. It was a classical blend. A sound mind in a sound body. That sort of thing. I took the regular subjects, plus some additional foreign languages and lots of art classes.”
“I am told that the students form groups named after gods and goddesses. What was the name of your group?”
Sasha arched an eyebrow. “You’re very well-informed, General . My group was the Muses. Because three of us were artists of one type or another. A dancer, a singer—”
“You enjoyed it?”
“The school? I adored it,” she admitted wistfully. “It was so different from the world I knew, and even though I felt like an outsider sometimes, I was still grateful for the opportunity. They widened my worldview—made me believe I could be anything I wanted to be. And then they encouraged me to apply to design school, which really changed my life forever.” She paused to accept a tall crystal goblet of champagne from a tray Nikko had brought to the room. “Thanks. This looks yummy.”
Zelasko took a glass, too, and offered a quick toast in Kestonian, adding quietly, “Continue.”
“Okay, where was I? Oh right, design school. Those were the most important years of my life. If only my mother hadn’t died while I was there, it would have been perfect.”
“She was murdered, was she not?”
Sasha took a sip of champagne, then nodded.
“And you suspected your father? So you became estranged? But suddenly, you have forgiven him. That is convenient.”
“So you said before.” She set her glass on a nearby table, then gave him a stern look. “I’ll admit it. I wanted to attend this ball so much, it made my heart ache. I even had a picture of you in your uniform tacked to the wall of my bedroom because the articles in my fashion magazines captured my imagination so completely. But my pride wouldn’t let me ask Dad for help. Not until this weekend when we attended the wedding of an old family friend. It brought back so many memories….”
She paused to accentuate the catch in her voice. “I saw the bride dancing with her father—my uncle—and I realized that I couldn’t bear it if Dad and I didn’t find a way to patch things up before my wedding day arrived. I knew Dad had to be feeling the same way, too. And suddenly it seemed like the perfect time. Not just because of the ball. But I’ll admit, that was a factor . Because,
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