Makarovia? Where The Hell Is That? Freshman Year - 13. Chapter 13

Olek and returned to the dining room, where Peter looked up looking, but seeing Olek’s smile as we walked in, he relaxed. Olek walked over to Peter who stood up. Olek hugged Peter.

“I could use some time away,” Olek said quietly. “We haven’t spent time together in a long time. I will love spending a week with you…” he brought me into a hug with the two of them, “and your future husband who I see has become very important to you…and to me.” He sighed as his phone rang again.

Queen Alla smiled. “Where you’re going is an island off the coast of Sicily, it’s private and no one will be there except you three, security and a couple of workers.” She said. “A wealthy man owns it, and he uses it to get away from the world…” she smiled. “No bars for your cellphone there.” She pointed to the phone.

Olek looked a little surprised but then nodded. “That could be nice.” He looked at his phone, frowned and put his phone down unanswered. “It can go to voice mail. I’ll talk to him later.”

It was morning when I woke next to Peter as I heard something. Waking I recognized the droning sound a large airplane as it flew overhead. It even woke up Peter who looked puzzled.

“A military transport or cargo plane from the sound of it,” I said absently. “I know we’ll hear that a lot.”

Peter nodded. “Even the skies here are changing.”

I rolled to face him. “Everything changes, it’s just life. Whether it will be good or bad, we do have some control. We’ll make it the best change possible.” I kissed him.

He nodded giving me a little smile. “Thanks for talking with Olek last night.”

“You said that last night, but it wasn’t a problem,” I said. “Olek’s a nice man, he was just so tunneled into what he had to do…he forgot about much of everything else.” I smiled. “This is a good thing, marrying you.”

Peter’s grey-green eyes became amused. “That’s good to hear, but there’s something else in what you’re saying.” He said knowing me.

“Sure, I’m flying all over the world, eating good food and now going…somewhere to vacation with two handsome Ivanov men…one of which I love more than I can express.”

Peter chuckled. “Olek.”

I sighed, mockingly sad. “You found me out.” I grinned. “But you know better. He did tell me if I was female, he’d try to steal me from you, so I think we’re safe because I’m not doing any physical alterations.”

We came to breakfast and it didn’t take too long before Olek came in…whistling. He was…dressed in nice slacks and a nice shirt.

“Good morning, family.” Olek said happily.

“Olek,” Peter said to his brother. “You’re not dressed to go on a vacation!”

Olek looked down at what he had on. “Well, you see…my brothers packed all the casual clothes I have.” He said sitting at the table.

“You’ll change when we get there,” Peter said.

It was around ten in the morning when we waited at that little airport to board its only plane. Again, there was the sound of a large aircraft which we all looked up and saw the large plane lower to land in Skoal.

“We’ll see and hear that a lot more,” Olek said as he watched the plane pass over.

“All for a good reason.” Queen Alla said to him and looked at him. “There is a phone on the island, so we’ll call if you’re needed, but…we’ll call you if we need you.” She smiled. “Now, relax.” She commanded softly and smiled bigger at Olek. “Your father would be so proud of you.” She remembered her husband. “And you, Peter. All of this will be for the better, you’ll both see to that.” She said confidently. “And you, Eric.” She smiled at me. “You’ve proven to be an asset to this family. Which you are now a part of.”

I smiled. “Thank you, Queen Alla.”

She frowned as she moved her head back a little. “Okay, we have to do something about that.” She shook her head. “I know who I am, but…I know you had a mother, but…I’m Peter’s mother and you’re a part of him now…can we call us something else?”

I nodded. “Sure, if you don’t mind being called Mom by me?”

She hugged me. “That will be wonderful.” She waved us to the waiting plane. “Now, go, relax.” She said to us.

The plane ride was only a couple of hours before we were told we were landing. Then we were driven to a port and told to board a boat. We traveled a couple of more hours before we arrived at this island with one single building. Olek looked at his phone and gave a shrug.

“Yep, no bars.” He said and tossed his phone aside.

The island was not covered with trees, the only vegetation was brush, there were a couple of trees near the house, but they appeared to be for decoration. It was a villa, spread out overlooking white sandy beaches as it neared the end of the day. The only people here were people that worked here. One chef and someone to help keep the place tidy. We had four men for security. That was it.

The inside was spacious but very open to the warm breezes. Bringing our luggage in, Peter and I got a room and put our luggage in it.

Peter took my hand and we went to Olek’s room. Knocking, but the door was open as Olek was changing clothes. Okay, I admit it. Olek was very attractive. There were marked differences between the two Ivanov men. Both shared their father’s black hair, they were about an inch or two in height of each other. Peter’s skin was very fair, as you know because I’ve said that. Olek had more…color? He had pink in his flesh color. He could use some sun, but he was darker than his brother. Olek had brown eyes, Peter’s were as I said…light grey-green. Their mothers were different and that reflected in each. Peter I knew worked out, but so did Olek. It showed on both of them. Olek was forty-one, but his hair was cut short and well-groomed and solid black. His beard was cut short around his face, and no grey was seen for now. Whether he used anything or not…I couldn’t tell you, but I knew on men, the first grey often showed in the temples and beard. Whatever his busy schedule was, he took the time to keep that up. I wasn’t blind, and he was handsome, so, yes, I was attracted to Olek. I am human, but I loved Peter. There would never be any conflict there.

Olek turned with a smile as he pulled his shirt on and I saw he was not bare-chested, as in hair. There were dark hairs that covered his muscles. The differences again was Peter’s hair were dark against his skin making a stark contrast, Olek’s was not. He looked down at the shorts he had on and left his shirt unbuttoned. “I guess I do need some more casual clothes.” He chuckled. He looked out the large sliding doors in his bedroom as setting sun shone through as it was heading below the horizon. “This will take a while.” He sighed. “I keep feeling there’s something I need to be doing.”

Peter nodded walking over. “There is…you can do nothing. That, for you, is going to take effort for you.”

I looked out the window at the beach, the sand and water were very inviting. “Do the workers here speak…” I asked. “They probably don’t speak Makarovian, but Italian. I don’t speak Italian.”

Olek shrugged. “I can a little, but they probably speak English. We’ll be good.”

Peter grinned at his brother. “I didn’t see a bathing suit when I packed for you. Of course, Mom said you only need sunscreen.”

Olek shrugged. “Well, I don’t need one, do I?” He asked looking at me and then Peter.

I chuckled. “I’ll try not to stare too much. I don’t mind seeing your naked royal ass.”

Olek chuckled and shook his head. “We’ll all be naked if we do,” Olek said firmly. “Understood?”

Peter jutted his head to me. “He’s seen my naked ass many, many times. No problem.”

“I don’t care,” I admitted. “However, there are a lot of people that would love to have a photo of naked king and prince. Remember Prince Andrew?” I asked. “One telephoto image of him naked on a boat went viral. And Prince Harry was captured naked. They went viral.”

“But no one knows we’re here. We shouldn’t be stalked.” Peter said. “We’re not really on a frequented sea traffic area.”

Olek nodded. “If a picture of us does surface…” he shrugged. “It’s not the worst thing to happen. We’re human males and we all have the same things; we have dicks and an ass!” Then he smiled at me. “Nude beaches are all over. How is it in the United States?”

“I know there are a few.” I smiled.

“If they get a picture of me or you two naked…” he shrugged. “Now, if they caught me having sex, what would that prove? I’m human, it’s what we do. Now, if they want a detailed recording in Technicolor and High Definition up close, then I have a problem with it.” Olek said simply. “We’ll be okay.”

We did walk on the beach…yes, we still wore our clothes. Peter and I both watched Olek. He was right, he was sort of fidgety. This was going to take a while.

Later in our bedroom, as we changed for dinner Peter sat on the bed. He sighed. “I am worried, you know that, about Olek.”

I nodded and sat by him. “I know. The problem is…there’s no one really here for him.” I looked at Peter’s surprised look. “I mean…just for him. Like I’m here for you. He really needs someone in his life. A companion. A brother is great, but he needs companionship. Male or female, he needs someone. Someone he wants there, who wants to be there with him.” I smiled. “He’s definitely a catch,” I said smiling. “I’m sure there are many that would love his attention. We just need to make sure he takes the time.”

Peter nodded. He bumped his forehead against mine gently. “I love you.”

“That’s always nice to hear,” I said. “I love you.”

We had a nice dinner and Olek was still having trouble…relaxing. The only female on the island was the cook and housekeeper. She was an older woman in her early fifties, her husband was also there to help out, keep things clean and do…things needed in the villa. I don’t know, unclog a sink and things like that. The security was there, but not with us all the time.

It was later in the big room that was used for people to talk or watch TV or something where Olek let out a grunt from the plush chair he sat in.

“This is insane,” Olek said in frustration. “No internet, no phone…I can’t sit still!”

“We can watch a movie,” Peter suggested waving at the shelf of books and various cases of music and movies. “There’s a good library.”

Olek smiled at us. “You two don’t have to worry. I can’t go anywhere and I can’t use my phone and there is no computer.” He chuckled looking at us. “You two don’t have to keep me company.”

I nodded. “You’re right, we don’t have to. We want to. Are we bad company?”

Olek shook his head and smiled. “No, of course not, but I don’t want it to be like an obligation.”

Peter smiled at his brother. “It’s not.”

I waved at the library. “So, pick something.”

Olek found something he said he’d wanted to see but never had time before. He put it in the player. It took a few minutes and he became interested and watched…for a while. I nudged Peter and waved to where his brother was. Sound asleep. Peter smiled seeing that and we left Olek alone. When the movie ended, Peter got up, covered his brother with a blanket and held his hand out to me.

“I prefer a bed.” He said smiling. “He’s finally starting to unwind, he knows where to go.”

The next day, we saw that Olek had woken up during the night and had gone to bed. It was later when Peter suggested we go to the beach. Towels for the sand and sunscreen carried. No surprises as we undressed to lay in the sun. Yep, no surprises to see Olek was male. Now to me, he was just a man. He was fine being naked and so were Peter and me. I did insist Peter put on plenty of sunscreen. And before you ask, Olek put his own to his skin, except for his back, which Peter did this time for Olek. I loved how well the two got along. They were brothers, but also, they were good friends.

We did spend a few hours in the sun and even swam in the waters of the Tryyhenian Sea. I found out the island we were on was north of Sicily. I even heard there was a volcano not far. A fact I asked Peter about, which he was quick to point out there were a few nearby. The closest was only twenty kilometers away… (yea, I was getting used to this whole metric thing) …the other about thirty. The area was known for them. I just got here and now they were going to erupt!? Still, it was on my mind at first.

It took a day or so for Olek to get Makarovia and all that was going on off his mind. We didn’t just spend time at the beach, but there was little to do. Well, we did get Olek the chance to see the movie he fell asleep watching the night before. There were books and other things, like games we would play, and I smiled as Olek finally seemed to relax. Monopoly in Italian wasn’t too different, Monopoli in Italian, but places like Park Place was Parco della Vittoria, Free Parking was Posteggio Gratuito and the money was in Lire. The rules were the same, so I was good. The cards like Chance were written in Italian, Impreisti, so Olek had to read them to me. There was a lot of laughter and things began to ease with everyone, especially Olek, you could see it.

“Your major is in the industrial, correct?” Olek asked me as he counted his money had gotten during the game to buy a property, Via Roma.

I nodded. “That’s right. I was focusing my studies to make things…” I remembered Peter had not understood at first when I told him about the green part of the ecology. “I want to make sure it’s safe for the environment.”

“What about mining?” Olek asked.

I nodded. “There are dangers,” I said getting the dice to roll again. “I only just began reading up on it. There is a chemical leaching, there are means of dealing with uranium mill waste. There are ways of cleaning up…standards for stabilization and restoration. Things are improving with that.” I looked at Olek. “There will still be dangers.”

Olek nodded. “I know.” He sighed. “We’ll discuss it in more detail further, but…would you be willing to ensure the ones helping us bring the uranium out adhere to the safeguards?”

I sat back a little startled. “That’s a big job, Olek!”

He nodded. “And a big responsibility. Do you think you could do it? If you can’t that’s fine…”

I shook my head. “I’m not afraid of doing the job, but…will they listen to me?”

Olek nodded. “They would have to.” He said simply. “The authorization and procedure have to go through me. I can say no to anything, including whether a group or country stay in Makarovia.” He sighed. “Most of what I’ve been doing recently is making sure the others are adhering to the agreement. To get the uranium out, we need help. To tell a country or group no and tell them to leave, we lose that help…and support.”

“So, it will go through you. I report to you…”

“At first, perhaps, but…you would have the throne’s backing and support. If you determine a country is not following the guidelines…you’re a member of the royal family…” he waved simply, “guidelines you will help form. You tell them to leave. They leave.”

Peter was watching my reaction and smiling but said nothing.

“Olek, I need more training,” I said.

He nodded. “Of course, you will. Where’s the best place to do that?”

I remembered most of the information I found was one place. “MIT.”

Olek nodded. “The Massachusetts Institute of Technology.” He looked at me. “Would you be willing to go there?” He reached over and took my hand. “No pressure. I swear, but I’d trust you before many. I understand that’s most important to you.”

This was all to help Olek. Peter had said he wanted to and was willing to step out; even if he was terrified to do that. There was nothing to think about. How could I say no? “Sure, I’ll go. I won’t let you down.”

Olek smiled. “It will be fine.”

I nodded. “I need to finish my three years at Northeastern. Then I have to be admitted.”

“And three or four more years at MIT.” Olek smiled. “The uranium extraction begins soon. There are those that are doing the job safeguarding the process for now, but it will be a long time doing it. I want to keep Makarovia safe.”

“I’m your man.” I just hoped I didn’t bite off more than I could chew!

“Now,” Olek said happily as I rolled the dice. “Prepare to go broke!”