Mountain Hideaway

Posted on Sun Oct 1st, 2023 @ 4:58am by Princess Royal Giana Orsini & Major Sacha Lavigne

Mission: Historiae Terrae Et Imperii
Location: Kalispell, Montana
Timeline: Date 2371-08-18 at 2000
4466 words - 8.9 OF Standard Post Measure

It had been a quiet few days for Giana and Sacha in their Montana hideaway. His friends had decided to leave the day after they had arrived. She didn’t fault them for that of course; it would only be a matter of time before they were found and it was best that they weren’t around to be implicated somehow - at least not immediately. It was evening and the Montana air was cool enough to allow them what had become a nightly activity of lounging out on the balcony in the hot tub, enjoying the view of the mountains and river while they drank and pretended they had no other cares in the world. The break was welcome even if they both knew it would be short lived.

They had finished dinner and Giana had gone to change after Sacha had insisted on setting up their alcohol for the evening. When she returned, he had just finished so she climbed into the jacuzzi to wait for him to come back. After pouring their drinks she sat back with a sigh and simply looked out at the sky. The early night was beautiful here, the sky was colored an inky black swathed with deep navy and purple streaks and the stars shimmered brightly against the dark background. The moon had just crested over the peaks of the mountains and hung lazily over them, large and golden.

Sometimes this kind of life really was tempting.

Sacha had enjoyed his time as well, particularly because Giana had seemed uncommonly relaxed. They had spent their days talking, and hiking, and swimming, and drinking, and making love under the stars. The part of him that was wild, that had always wanted to live his life out on the road, was partially satisfied.

He walked out on the wooden deck and felt the light summer breeze waft over his skin. He was wearing blue trunks but nothing else. He slipped into the jacuzzi as well, ignoring the discomfort of the heat, and laid back across from Giana. Slumping down until the water bubbles on his prickly chin, he sighed a sigh or relief.

“Still feels so nice every time, doesn’t it? We should get one for our place.” Giana commented as she looked at him and gave him a smile.

“Sure, why not. When we have a place, that is.” He said, his eyes moving up to the stars above the mountains. Before the sun had set, the purple of the sky there had been overwhelming and uniquely beautiful. “Being here has made it clear to me how tired I am of my desk job. I’d rather chop wood.”

“Here I thought you said you were getting used to it.” Giana replied, smiling slightly. She extended her legs out and placed her feet on his knee to playfully move his leg around.

“That’s the problem.” He said with a wave of his hand. “I need a challenge. Being a marine, a real marine, used to give that to me. Now I file paperwork and earn my promotions by sitting down and twirling my fucking thumbs. Maybe I should go into business.”

“I could put you on the Bella Gia board and you could sink your teeth into the people there.” She offered, though was clearly joking. She knew he had no interest at all in something like that, but she was trying to be sympathetic and listen.

He chuckled at that but said nothing about it immediately. His hand moved over his defined abs and he moved his fingers as he mulled over the idea in his head.

“I don’t deal in dresses and ties, Gigi.” He said with a shrug, “I’d rather work with security services and weapons manufacturers. Maybe I should try to become a partner at Aegis Inc.”

Such a suggestion from another man might be a joke, but he seems to be completely serious. Aegis was one of the most successful and powerful corporations in the military industrial complex, responsible for making weapons of war for starships and soldiers alike. Everything from phaser banks to fighter parts was produced through them.

“I think that’s a great idea.” Giana replied with a shocking amount of ease and actually seemed to mean it. “It would suit you and be a challenge.”

He eyed her, his wistful expression raising to one of surprise.

“Really?” He asked with an upper inflection.

Giana nodded, shifting around in the water slightly and picking up her drink to sip it. “Yeah, of course. You sound surprised.”

“I was kinda just bullshitting.” he said with a half smile. “To be honest, I’ve been a marine my entire adult life without a real possibility of doing anything else. There was a lot of pressure from the government for me not to make waves because another job would allow me to get closer to you.”

In a way, Sacha’s entire life had been about Giana in one way or another. He sank down lower in the water and gazed into the sky. It wasn’t easy to finally be free after being captive for so long. He didn’t exactly know what to do with it, not that he was prepared to admit that.

“I’ll make some calls when we get back.”

Her attention shifted from her drink and back to Sacha more pointedly. Something seemed a bit off, but she couldn’t place what it was and he likely wouldn’t admit to it either. Finishing her wine, she picked up the bottle to fill her glass again.

“If you want to, Sacha. I just want you to find something you enjoy.”

Sacha eyed her and offered a pleased but fleeting smile; the expression of a man really light years away in his mind. Sacha had always been a very active, present man, and his moments of distant thought were rare and notable. He pulled himself back into the present, however, reaching his feet across the bottom of the hot tub and making contact with hers.

“I’ve got to shake this soldier’s salary lose too. Having my wife pay for everything isn’t exactly going to get me any respect among the American nobility.” He said, winking at her. “The ones that are our age still call me your ‘boy toy’. It gets me serious bad boy points and keeps me on magazine covers, but it’s a bit stupid.”

Truthfully, Giana wasn’t sure what to say to that anymore. There would never be a time where she wasn’t richer or more socially powerful than Sacha - assuming her own family didn’t destroy her and if that happened, money and prestige would be the least of their problems. He let people get under his skin about it all too often and he felt less of a man for it which in turn caused problems for them at home. She had been trying to make him feel manly at home, but with the constant nagging of his “friends” it seemed like a losing game.

“Just remind them it isn’t your wife’s money, it’s the Emperor’s. You’re being favored by the Emperor not kept by your fiancé.” She offered up, unenthusiastic but honest and now seeming a bit distant.

“Sure.” He said with a nod, conclusive in its motion, as if he was shutting himself off from the effects of the topic. “I don’t care about what they say unless it’s true. I need a new challenge. That’s all. Being out here has helped me see that.”

“Yeah, I get it Sacha, really.” She nodded but still didn’t look at him. “Just figure out what you want to do and I’m sure you’ll be able to do it. You know I’ll help you if you want it, but I also know you probably want to go at it alone and that’s okay.”

“I’ll at least try. But, of course, if it doesn’t work, I could always send some Imperial Guards in to beat the shit out of them until they let me in.” He said, smiling his infectious smile again and spreading his arms out expansively along the back of the tub. “I might just do it myself, actually. What’s the point of being a Marine if you don’t get to kick a little ass, after all?”

“Thought the point was you didn’t want to be that anymore?” She asked and finally looked at him, one brow lifting. “Or is it just the desk job that you don’t like about it overall?”

“I want to stop sitting on my ass all day pushing papers around. I want to do something more than that, and getting an active Marine assignment would require a deployment far away from Terra.” He answered, and then shrugged. “I was only joking, by the way, but I still I don’t mind getting my hands dirty.”

“I know you don’t. I never doubted that you did.” Giana assured and even gave him a small smile before looking back out to the view and working on her wine. “I wish that was a trait my father had.”

Sacha had been watching for a moment like this; a crack in the armor of the ‘escape’ she had been looking for. He was prepared, and he’d had enough time to do so.

“He’s had people killed before.” He said simply, matter-of-factly, with no inflection other than a basic statement of fact. Then he directed his vision to the stars again, not gone, but certainly a million miles from probing for more.

“Sure, but the one that matters - the one that is fucking everything in his life up - he refuses to do anything about.” Giana replied and immediately down the rest of her wine then scoffed.

“Yeah, he’s really fucking that up, isn’t he?” Sacha asked with a sigh, full of commiseration but not depression. “That would piss me off, personally; of course, my mother barely lifts a finger for me over my sister. If she was wreaking havoc like Giuseppe and my mother did nothing, I would…probably take care of it myself.”

He trailed off, reaching for a towel, using it to dry his hand, and then reaching for a thick cigar and a lighter. Placing the rolled tobacco in his mouth, he tried several times to ignite the lighter.

The repeated clicking of the lighter failing distracted her momentarily from her train of thought and she looked at him, eventually offering a smile that was mixed of emotions but mostly wistful. “Want me to try and work my magic?”

It had been something running between them when they were young - whenever his lighters had failed him before, Giana always seemed to have some sort of magical ability to get them to light again. It was something fond they both shared.

He looked at her, a half grin crossing his face. After a beat, he extended the lighter toward her and spoke around the stoggy in his mouth.

“Light me up, mon cher.”

Giana dried her hands and put down her wine to trade it for the lighter. She shifted close to him and gave the body of the lighter a few squeezes, shook it a couple of times, and then brought it up under the cigar. With an assured click, the lighter worked and she held it so he could get the cigar started.

“Every time.”


He took a long drag from the cigar to get it started before pulling it from his lips and smiling, the white smoke billowing from his mouth in a thick cloud. As it cleared, his crystal blue eyes settled on hers.

“A woman who knows how to use her hands for good and bad.” He said smoothly. “So, what do you say, Gigi? Shall we finally do my friends the proper honor and fuck in their hot tub?”

“That is so wildly unsanitary.” Giana laughed and put the lighter down. Instead of moving back to her place however, she grabbed her glass of wine as well as the bottle to bring them over to his side of the jacuzzi. After topping them both up, she sat in his lap across him, her legs extended over the rest of the bench next to him.

She swirled her wine in her glass, then took another sip. “He rescinded the order to kill Giuseppe on sight… and he did it quietly without letting anyone know.”

“Putain.” He said, his eyes rolling. “What changed his mind?”

His free hand found her shoulder and drew her body close to his, the heat of the tub causing bubbles to flow between them and water to pop up in drops at random.

“Isn’t it obvious? Giuseppe is his firstborn son and he loves his son more than the well-being and safety of his other children… especially his daughter.” She shrugged slightly. “What else could there be? Though he won’t handle his brother either even though he threatens to ruin me, so maybe he just values men more than women.”

There was a lot to unpack in that, of course, but people never came to Sacha to have their head examined. He merely looked at her while he puffed on the cigar. Only after he had puffed it several times and blew clean air through the smoke to cast out quickly away did he speak.

“Do you want me to do it?”

“Do what?” Giana asked, not having remotely expected that as a return for what she had said.

“You know.” He said, leaning in a bit closer. “Do you want me to kill your asshole of a brother? I mean, it’s perfect. Nobody wants him dead more than me for what he did to you.”

She sat there blinking at him blankly. She had never considered that to be a possibility and the wheels were certainly turning on it. Eventually though, she gave a sigh and looked away from him. “I do… but in the end no. My father would kill you, and I love you a thousand times more than I hate Giuseppe.”

“You do. Great.” He said, and leaned in to kiss her cheek before taking another drag on the cigar. “Say no more.”

“Sacha.” She sighed in exasperation and slapped his shoulder. “All I want from you is to marry you and have a life with you where maybe we manage to be not miserable more often than we are.”

“All I want is to kill your brother.” He said, kissing her on the lips and placing the cigar down on the side of an ashtray. “Ask your father to send me on some sort of diplomatic mission. I’ll play nice, then I’ll gut him.”

“My father would never buy it.” She replied after returning his kiss and gave a regretful, wistful sigh to go with it. “He’s a coward but he’s not an idiot. At least not in that way.”

Sacha looked dissatisfied, but he didn’t say anything else about it. Instead, he sipped his wine. She was right, he knew. It would never get past the old man.

Giana could tell he wasn’t pleased, but it truthfully wasn’t in her power to fix it.

“I still think we should have just gotten married while we were out here.” She offered up to try and lighten the moment. “That really would have gotten his goat.”

“He’d figure out how to kill me, I bet.” Sacha said with a chuckle. Then he raised his eyebrow at her and shrugged. “I’ll marry you. You were always the one who wanted to be cautious. It would risk everything he’s given you, but we don’t need him or his money.”

“I know… but it defeats the purpose if you are dead and you’re right, he would kill you. Very few things would give him more pleasure I imagine, and he’d get the bonus of my pain which he seems to enjoy so much.” Giana shook her head, drank her wine, then kissed him. The wine was starting to have the intended effect and she was grateful for it.

“Giana, you say that, but is that really what you think is happening? Do you really think he’s trying to hurt you?” he asked, patient but guarded and casual.

“Directly? No. But I also don’t think he cares one damn bit when push comes to shove weighed against his love for his son.” Giana shrugged.

“If he loves Giuseppe so much, then why did he remove him as heir?” He asked, going through the list of prepared responses he had for the present situation. He’d had several days to figure out what he wanted to say to her when the time was right. “He ruined Giuseppe’s life; he imprisoned him. Doesn’t sound like overriding love to me, mon cher.”

“It is love though because he didn’t kill Giuseppe like he should have outright. He wanted to see the best in his son I guess, but time and time again Giuseppe has proven there is no best in him.” Giana frowned deeply. “He tried to blow me up for gods’ sake, Sacha, and yet still he refuses to take care of it. How could I think anything but - somehow - he still loves him more? What possible reason could he have after making such a public declaration only to put his tail between his legs and renege on it behind closed doors?”

“I don’t think it’s so understandable to have cold feet about killing one of your children. Perhaps he is looking for a better way that does not exist. Believe me, I’m not defending the man, but I really doubt it actually has much to do with you, let alone be about him hating you.”

“I mean I could get it the first time which is why he was in jail - I think it was stupid but at least I can understand it. What is the excuse now? He tried to blow me up, Sacha, and he wouldn’t stop with me. He’d probably drag it out with Paolo and Elana wouldn’t be safe either, and of course he himself would die and mother… well, honestly I actually don’t know.” She pulled back and looked into his eyes. “So what is the excuse?”

“The Emperor is a man. That is the excuse.” Sacha said, making a statement that most would consider blasphemous. “I would know just as much as you that the idea he’s a god is bullshit. He is just a man, and a man doesn’t always know what is right. As much as I hate him…as much as I blame him for ruining my life, I don’t think he’s trying to hurt anyone. I think he’s trying to give Giuseppe another chance.”

“So what will it take until he runs out of chances, actually killing me?” Giana scoffed, though obviously she wasn’t angry with Sacha.

“Someone else not getting to him first.” He responded, a moment of seriousness in his eyes. “Someone is going to have to disobey some orders here..”

“They’d die for it.” Giana reminded him bluntly. “But honestly, it is probably what he’s hoping for. He’s crafty like that. If someone else did it, he could convince himself he is blameless in all of this.”

“Some things are worth dying for.”he said bluntly, the marine in him speaking more clearly than it ever normally did. Bravery wasn’t a virtue he displayed proudly, but it existed in him somewhere and sometimes reared its head. “Me for you; it seems a good trade to me.”

“But that would leave me without you and my life would be miserable, Sacha.” She sighed and placed a hand on his cheek. “I know your intentions are good and I love how much you want to protect me, but I’d be lost without you now.”

He smiled, but he shook his head as well. She didn’t get it. As she’d already said, this waffling on Giuseppe could very likely end up in her and others being dead. She wanted to have her cake and eat it too.

“So, in other words, you want results, but you don’t want to sacrifice the ones you love.” He said, softly, making the point clearly with his gentle words.

“I don’t want to sacrifice the man who I love, my soon to be husband, and the father of my future children, no.” She kissed his cheek.

He placed his hand in her hair and played with the wet strands slowly. He looked at her in total seriousness with a sense of meaning, pressing the point home.

“And Antonio Orsini doesn’t want to sacrifice his first born son, the baby he once cradled in his arms, and a member of his family he has hurt deeply and recently.” He said slowly. “It’s important you understand that, Gigi. You aren’t being rejected; it’s more complicated than that.”

“I guess.” She conceded and put her head down on his shoulder. “But at the same time… can’t he understand why that decision hurts? Giuseppe did horrible things to me as a child and now, he very literally tried to blow me up in my own home. I feel like he thinks I should just be okay with that.”

“I don’t know, mon cher. I have no insight into the man. He keeps me far away from him.” Sacha said with a sigh. “Maybe you should ask him. Perhaps he hasn’t considered how you might feel.”

“You’re a man. That’s better than anything I have, apparently.” She shrugged, wrapping an arm around his toned middle. “I don’t really think considering how his daughters feel is exactly high on his list, actually I think he was more considerate of Jessica now that I think about it.”

“Well, Jessica expects nothing and probably appreciates everything.” Sacha said honestly. “Men like that kind of thing. I’m sure if you go to him and tell him how you feel, the response won’t be as negative as you might think.”

That was because Jessica was a peasant, really, but she wasn’t going to argue that point. “Maybe he might have, but I have some doubts about that after our little impromptu vacation here.”

“I could offer to buy this house from them; we could get some good cosmetic surgery, change our names…” he said with a shrug and a smile. “Though I’d hate to mess with my face or yours.”

“Mmm… tempting, but probably not.” She sighed and kissed his shoulder. “Thank you for listening to me.”

“Always.” He said simply, and leaned in to kiss her. His lips lingered on hers for several long seconds as his free hand moved down from her hair to the small of her back.

“Well, when your selective hearing isn’t activated.” She teased and settled against him easily and allowed her eyes to close. “I love you.”

He chuckled, reaching back and grabbing his cigar again.

“I can hear what I want.” He said, popping it in his mouth and dragging smoke from it. “And I love you too.”

“At least you always hear that one.” Finishing off her wine, she put her glass down and then ran one hand along his chest while her other arm draped around his shoulders. “And about how handsome you are… and sexy…”

Just as Sacha was about to respond to the compliment from his fiance, he was distracted by the subtle sound of an engine beneath them. Turning his eyes to the long dirt driveway, he saw the creeping of bright headlights making their way toward the cabin on the edge of the hill. He narrowed his eyes, the cigar in his mouth sending a trail of smoke dancing into the sky.

“Hector and Naia must be coming back.” he said cautiously, his face telling a story of suspicion which belied his true feelings.

“Well that’s fine. They are probably your least annoying friends.” She chuckled, only halfway joking. She didn’t bother to look down at what Sacha had seen and instead continued to run her hand over his body; it wasn’t exactly chaste, but she also wasn’t directly pushing toward any goal either.

Sacha certainly would have been all for the touching and interaction, but there was something about that car that just demanded his attention. He watched as it coasted up to the house and, as the doors opened, his lips parted. They were local police wearing dark blue uniforms.

“I sure wish they were here now.” He said, putting his cigar down and looking at Giana. “Because those are the cops.”

With a sigh, Giana pulled back from Sacha to finally look down at the car and men below. “I don’t suppose it’s possible your friends are in trouble somewhere? Frankly I was expecting Internal Security to drop down from the sky, not bumblefuck PD.”

“Well, we’re in bumblefuck nowhere, so they’re probably being pressured to make the rounds and search for us. It’s been two days, after all.” he said, leaning back in the tub and enjoying the final moments he had in it before the cops discovered them and made the call that would certainly have Internal Security dropping on them from the sky.

“I really enjoyed being out here with you, Sacha.” Taking his hand, she squeezed it gently. “Thank you for being here for me.”

Time was up and they both knew it. What was worse though was Giana knew exactly what was in store on their return and it wasn’t going to be pretty.

“I’m always up for an existential crisis vacation, Gigi. You know that.” he said with a wink, squeezing her head back. “This is a few steps off of sneaking you out of the palace like when we were kids, but it’s the same thing to me.”

The knock on the door downstairs was loud enough for them to be heard on the balcony above. They weren’t whispering, so they could be heard by the police. Now it would be back to Rome and back to real life with all the difficulties that their runaway act brought them.

END