Elizabeth (AU, Liz, Adult) Complete 21 Dec 2011

Finished stories that feature the characters from the show, but there are no aliens. All fics completed on the main AU without Aliens board will eventually be moved here.

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thumper1942
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Elizabeth (AU, Liz, Adult) Complete 21 Dec 2011

Post by thumper1942 »

Title: Elizabeth
Disclaimer: I do not own Roswell.
Character: Liz
Rating: ADULT
Summary: VERY AU. Needless to say. No CC or any others here. Just Liz. Also Needless to say I have made Romania AU as well.



Liz Barker sighed. She held Sara closer and shivered. It was not that cool; LA in the spring, but this was more internal then the temperature. What next?

Liz had had a regular life in the outskirts of LA until just after her 18th birthday. Her parents had then died in a car crash; and her father had forgotten to keep up the payments for either his life insurance or the car insurance and both had lapsed only weeks before. So nothing there; her parents had worked in a small company that had no real benefits; mom as a secretary and dad as a janitor. She had accepted growing up poor; but determined to do better.

Liz was very intelligent; made the honor role all three years in High School. She got very good if not great scores on her SAT; she did receive some offers of partial academic scholarships. However that all went down the drain when her parents died. There were enough savings and such that she was able to finish High School; but that was all. Then she made her big mistake; but sometimes she wondered about that.

Fred was a happy go lucky sort; and just who she needed to be around after her parents were gone. Liz was somewhat of an introvert; very friendly but very quiet and as things had worked out she did not have any close friends. That was to tell; two months after meeting Fred Liz found she was pregnant; and he ran off the moment she told him. She managed to hide it till after graduation then she had to leave the apartment due to lack of money. She got lucky in that she ended up working as a waitress at a small diner; and the people there treated her very well. She was able to work right up until birth; then with their help she was able to manage after; going to work only 3 weeks after birth and since she was not the only waitress there with small kids they were able to pool their resources and pay one of the mothers to watch them. For almost 3 years that worked; then the diner went out of business and everyone scattered. Which meant Liz was in bad shape financially; she had never been in the position to save much.

Now she had to go to the Women’s Shelter; which she had not heard good things about.


Janus Cristea sighed. He looked out of his apartment; then walked out the door of the small complex. He looked around; he noticed a young woman with a child standing nearby. She was quite pretty and the child lovely; he sighed again.

Janus Cristea was not someone many noticed. Under 6 foot, slender and dark haired (white now) he had the eastern European look of his native Romania. As such he fitted into this section of LA where there were a fair number of such. Mostly refugees from communism over the years; even though that was finally gone most stayed. It was better here than there.

He looked at the young woman again; she was probably poor; her clothes while clean and neat were clearly on the cheap side. He knew all about that. Once upon a time he wore clothes handed out by the government. Of course before that….

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath; would the memories never leave him?


Liz had noticed the older man come out and stand nearby. She then went back to her thoughts; then she heard a sigh and looked at him again. He appeared to be in pain. She moved closer.

“Sir? Are you all right?”

Janus opened his eyes at the soft voice. He turned to the young woman; she had gotten closer and looked concerned. A kind person.

“Just memories of an old man, young one. Sometimes not so good.”

He clearly was not a native American; a immigrant probably long ago. He spoke English very well but there was an accent.

Liz smiled slightly. “Sometimes the memories of a young one are not so good either.”

He nodded. He looked at the lovely child. “She is quite charming.”

Liz smiled brighter and that whole area lit up. “My treasure; Sara. And yes she is.”

She was very pretty when she smiled. He felt a tug in his heart that he had thought gone long ago.
“Where are you off to?”

Liz’s smiled disappeared; it was almost a physical blow.

“The Women’s Shelter. I have nowhere else to go; I was a waitress but the restaurant went out of business.”

“No family?”

“No. I will have to try and start all over again.”


Janus thought. Then slowly nodded. Why not? His life really was not much of one anyway.

“I have a spare room. You can stay with me until you find something. I have not heard good things about that Shelter. And you have nothing to fear from me.”

Liz blinked. She quietly looked at him; then Sara whimpered; mostly asleep; but she always heard. She closed her eyes. Took a deep breath and then looked at him again. Slowly she nodded. “Thank you.”


The apartment was much better then where she had been; and better then where she had lived when her parents were alive. It was actually spacious; a good sized living room; dining room; two large bedrooms and a work room of some kind. Liz did not have much; one of the other waitresses had Liz’s clothes and few other belongings stored away; she could get them later.

Janus was truly in unknown territory; he had never had a serious relationship with a woman; he just could never bring himself to do anything. So his people skills; as they were called; were not the greatest. But he was polite and dignified and that helped.

“I worked in Detroit for General Motors until I retired. 1946 to 1991. Then I moved here as I wanted a warmer climate; and there were those from Romania here as well.”

Liz was a good student of history. She slowly nodded. “Got out due to the communist takeover?”

“Somewhat; but I was out before then; their takeover insured I would not go back.”

Liz could sense great sadness and pain in him. “You lost your family in WW2?”

Slowly he nodded. “I was the only one who escaped; thanks to some of the servants and pure luck. Then I hid with the resistance bands and helped them out . That started in 1940. The Nazi’s staged a coup and took over; using a Romanian traitor and puppet to do their dirty work. My family was only one of many that were murdered. I helped fight against them until 1944, when the Soviets arrived. I could see right away they were no better; so I managed to escape again to Greece where I was in a refugee camp until 1946 when I turned 18. I was able to emigrate to the US and here I am.”

Liz could easily tell a lot had been left out. “Never got married?”

Janus slowly shook his head. “I spent so much time trying to stay alive and survive without becoming an animal; that by the time I was settled down with a good job and a place to stay I was used to being alone. And somehow nothing ever changed that.

Liz could feel his loneliness; she could identify with it; but for it to last almost your entire life was terrible. She managed a smile.
“Well at least for a time you won’t be alone.”

“That is much better then what I have had for so long.”



Over the next few days Liz and Sara settled in; and got her few belongings. Then she began to look for work; unfortunately there was not much around. Without a car she had to take buses. And waitress jobs were in short supply in that area; and she could not go very far. Nothing else seemed to come up either.
Janus was surprised at how he was able to share his home; and had gradually relaxed and began to enjoy company. He was painting again; and finally showed Liz.

Liz was amazed; he was so very good! He had done a quick portrait of her and Sara and it was lovely. Then he showed her some other works of his; and she began to see things.

Pain had been part of his life from early on, clearly. AND he had tried to put it into his paintings to take it from his soul; yet there was beauty there as well. He had done casual street scenes; flowers and animals. All delicate yet with depth. Liz did not know much about art, but she could recognize an artist when she saw one.

Sara was quite happy; and Janus enjoyed babysitting. He realized how much he had missed in life before; but he was determined to try and find some happiness now.

Liz got back to the apartment at 4PM after another fruitless day looking for some kind of a decent job. She saw Sara playing with her dolls and Janus sitting nearby, reading the newspaper. He looked up.
“From the look on your face no luck?”

Liz nodded. “There just is nothing there that I can get that really makes it worth working; few decent places and I am on a waiting list even there.”

Janus slowly nodded. He was not surprised. Liz was a very intelligent young woman; but with only a High School diploma there was not much out there. He had been thinking about this and had an idea.
“I know they want some cleaning help here; and while it is minimum wage it would be in this complex.”

Liz brightened. Maid work might not be all that; but if it was right here..
“Who do I need to talk to?”

“Already have talked to him. Here is his number. The Manager. Call and set it up.”

And she did and started the next day; 6 hours a day from 9 AM to 3 PM.

Now with some income coming in she wanted to help with the bills. Janus waived it off.
“Your company and Sara’s are worth far more then the extra bills. And my pension was quite decent. Buy things for yourself and Sara.”

Liz sighed. She liked Janus more and more but he was indeed stubborn.

He smiled at her; a very rare thing for him to smile; but she had noticed it seemed to be happening more.
“Instead look at taking courses at a local community college.”

Liz sighed but smiled softly. “If I have not said it often enough, Janus, thank you.”

“I have been rewarded far beyond what I ever expected.”


Needless to say there had been some comments in the complex about a 21 year old single woman and a 66 year old man in the same apartment; but they both ignored them. They had begun to grow comfortable with each other and that was what mattered.

Janus could not remember a time he had been this happy; only before those terrible days.


Liz began to really grow comfortable with Janus; and he with her.

Janus knew he should not feel the way he was beginning to feel about this young woman; but Liz was such a wonderful person he could feel himself falling.

Liz did not care about his age; Janus was a gentle man.

Time went by; and they grew closer


Father Mitescu of the Eastern Orthodox church in Claremont, nearby, was Romanian. There was a small Romanian community here; and he tried to see to its needs. The Church had only been established in 1985, but it was slowly growing. One that he saw to it that he visited every month was Janus Cristea. He knew Janus had terrible memories; and that they haunted him to this day. He had hoped that somehow those hauntings would ease; but so far they had not. He was troubled that Janus could pass without ever finding any peace in this realm.

He knocked on the door and was astounded by it being opened by a young woman; maybe 20 or so; petite and quite pretty.
“Hello?”

“I am sorry but I am here to see Janus Cristea.”

“Oh. Come in. I take it you are Father Mitescu? Janus said you would be stopping by. He is busy with Sara at the moment.”

“Sara?”

“My daughter. We are living with Janus.”

Father Mitescu prided himself and on not being off balance very often; but this was one occasion where he clearly was.

“If I am intruding..”

“Of course not. And I wanted to talk to you anyway. I am Catholic but I guess you could say I am lapsed. I am interested in the differences between the Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox church.”

Father Mitescu found that Elizabeth was quite intelligent and well read; and her questions were logical and reasoned. He spent half an hour talking to her before Janus came out.

Right away he noticed the difference; he had not been able to visit the last two months due to other duties; and the Janus Cristea he saw now in no way resembled the one of two months ago except in the basic physical way. This man was not the pained, suffering man of the past.

“Father Mitescu. I am glad to see you.”

That in itself was very different.

He spent another half hour talking to both of them before leaving.


Later in the church office he thought about that visit. Sara had woken up and come out and she was truly a delightful child; Elizabeth was a fine soul; and he could see the attraction between them despite their age difference and everything else. And he found himself very much approving; even if some of the more conservative members might not like the situation. Janus had suffered too much over the years; he deserved some happiness now.

Thanksgiving came and Liz cooked a small turkey; and they ate it together at the kitchen table. Janus gave the prayer and Liz found herself able to follow along; she had convinced Janus to start teaching her Romanian. And Latin, Romanian latin so she could read and write it. That meant they spent more time together; which both liked very much.

Liz could tell he had great pain in his past; and gently went about getting him to tell her about it.

Thanksgiving after dinner they sat side by side on the sofa; and Liz decided it was time to make a small overture. She yawned and laid her head on his shoulder; his arm crept around her and they stayed that way for some time; dozing and yet not.

Janus knew he was falling in love for the first time in his life; and his need warred with his other need to protect Liz. She was too young; she needed to find a fine young man that could give her what he could not.

Liz knew she was attracted to the gentle man that had rescued her and Sara, and knew he was attracted to her. She had no worries about the age gap; but she knew it pained him. She decided she would just have to be steady and persistent.

Over the next few weeks as Christmas came near they grew closer; and then Janus invited Liz and Sara to the Christmas Eve mass. They drew some looks but Liz did not care; she was fascinated. She was slowly coming to the conclusion she wanted to go back to church; but not hers; this one. When they got home she softly kissed him. Then stroked his cheek.

Father Mitescu saw them together and nodded to himself; he was able to usually keep up his monthly visits and now that it seemed Elizabeth might be interested in the church he hoped to see them more often. And the continuing change in Janus was almost profound.

The week after New Years Liz decided it was time.

She reached out and took his hand after they put Sara to bed; and squeezed it.
“Janus.”

Was all she said but he nodded.

“You are too young and I am too old but I can no longer fight the need I have to hold you.”

Liz glowed brightly; the room was lit up.
“Then let’s go to bed.”

Gently he undressed her; and then himself; then they made love.

Liz woke up early that morning; she could tell the clock said 2AM. She smiled; she felt wonderful. He had been gentle and loving and she was quite satisfied as she was held in his arms. Then she stiffened. He was crying; whimpering; now she knew what had woken her up. She turned and pulled him closer and began to croon.

Janus was reliving the old nightmares; but suddenly he was awake and realized he was being held; for the first time he was not alone. He cried and sighed as his young lady held him and gently soothed him.

Liz knew he had to talk about it sooner or later; but now he needed something else; to be shown he was loved. She began to caress and touch him and soon they were making love again. And Janus Cristea found himself peacefully and deeply asleep soon after for the first time in over 50 years.

Liz woke up and turned to Janus; he seemed very peaceful. She gently slid out and started on her day.

Janus woke up; and looked around; the clock said 830. He had not slept this late in many years. And he felt a peacefulness he had never known before. Then he remembered; Elizabeth and their first night together. And he felt content.

He puttered around; taking care of Sara who was always a delight. He felt a little nervous as 330 came by; Liz did not have class today as it was a Friday.
He looked up as the door opened and Liz walked in; she smiled brightly and walked to him and kissed him soundly; and all was right in the world.

The next few weeks were wonderful; but Janus felt guilty. He was a man of his church; and he was not married to this wonderful woman he was living with. He felt a need to see Father Mitescu. He had been avoiding confession but knew it was time.

“Father forgive me for I have sinned. I am with a woman not my wife.”

The Priest nodded to himself; he knew this was coming.

“Yes it is a sin in the eyes of the church; but I feel that your need and hers were more important; and that God understands.”

“But she is not my wife.”

“Do you wish her to be?”

“Yes but I am too old for her.”

“Clearly she feels otherwise.”

“Should I marry her?”

“I cannot order you to do this; this is between two mortal souls. However I advise this. Ask her. Clearly your feelings are great.”

Then he gave Janus the penance required.


That night Liz knew Janus was preoccupied; she just held him as they got ready for bed. She had moved right into his bedroom; Sara was ok on her own. He found it wonderful to share with her.

Janus held the wonderful young woman that had made life worth living and knew real fear; but he pushed on.

“Elizabeth, I have felt guilty being with you and not having you as my wife.”

Liz glowed. “Well then why don’t we get married?”


Father Mitescu looked up as his secretary escorted a couple into his office; holding hands. He smiled brightly when he recognized them.

“Come in my children; and I am very glad at what I see. I do hope that I am being asked to make preparations?”

Janus nodded. “We would like it small.”

Liz smiled. “Just Janus and me and Sara and you; and whoever else is needed.”


One month later they were married. Janus offered a honeymoon but Liz just smiled.
“I want Sara with us and with school at a pause I can take time off from work.”

That gave Janus an opening. “I want you to stop working and go to school full time; money is not a problem. And that way I can spend more time with you.”

Liz smiled softly and kissed him.


Janus was slowly losing the nightmares; Liz being with him did wonders. She finally got him to talk about a month after they were together.


“Romania in the summer of 1940 was surrounded by war; but we had managed to escape it. But the time was coming. Ploesti had the most oil in Europe and Hitler wanted it; the government was already leaning German but he wanted more. On September 6, 1940 he moved. A coup and German troops took Romania. He sent the SS to destroy any opposition; most particularly the nobility.”

He began to shake and Liz held him tighter.

“I was walking around the woods at the back of the grounds; and I heard a number of vehicle engines. It was a beautiful day until that moment. I ran towards home and got within sight of the road; and there were soldiers there. Not Romanian soldiers but German. I hid. In moments they were dragging my family and the servants out; they were lined up and shot. Then the bodies were piled and burned; shots rang out and the German officer in command fell; and there was great confusion. One of the servants who had escaped found me and took me away; I was shaking and crying and from that point on I do not remember much of the next few days.”

Liz just held on.

“I wanted to fight and help; but I knew nothing. I was only 12 and not very big or strong. So in the end I hid with others; living in the woods trying to survive. At times I was almost an animal. Finally I got with a group who were trying to fight; and I helped them as much as I could. Mostly support as it was called; I never fought. In 1944 the Russians began to move in; it was clear that they were no better then the Germans. I was able to slip into Greece and was put into a refugee camp. By some minor miracle I was able in the end to emigrate to the US. In 1946 I was 18 and I was able to get a job at a General Motors plant in Detroit; basically sweeping floors. But I worked hard and slowly did better. 45 years later in 1991 I retired; I moved here to find a warmer climate. The last four years I have just done very little. Painting mostly when I could.”

Letting it all out he cried for a long time and Liz just held him. But it was the beginning of the end of the hold those nightmares had held him under for over 50 years.

The next day he showed her the portraits he had done of his family; his father, Mother and 3 brothers and 3 sisters. Liz could feel both the love and the pain from them.


Liz began to take other courses at the community college; but still spent more time at home with her family. Sara was growing and happy; and Janus was steadily getting better; the nightmares steadily decreasing.


Liz sighed as she finished her homework; she had taken several courses in different areas to find one she wanted to concentrate on. International Finance and Governmental Structures were two of them. And Janus was steadily teaching her Romanian, both language and reading and writing. It was a form of Latin that fascinated her.

The next holiday season was the best one of her life; she could not imagine being happier.

Janus was sitting, staring as Liz took Sara in to put her to bed. He still could not believe his luck. Married to a lovely young woman like her. He almost could not wait for her to come to bed. He had another wish.

“Liz, will you pose for me?”

She smiled; then smiled naughtily. “I hope you mean nude.”

He found it very hard to concentrate on painting with the lovely young woman, nude and sprawled in abandon across from him. And in the end he could not resist and they did other things.

It took him almost 2 months to do the four paintings he wanted; he kept getting distracted and Elizabeth made it a point to try and entice him to bed as much as possible.

He remembered the first time; she had been a little shy as he drew her; self conscious that she was small breasted. Petite and barely over 5 feet, he saw no problems.
“I have never understood the fascination so many men have with large bosoms. Your breasts are perfect; just like you.”

She had blushed rosily and before long the painting was forgotten. They had to do it at night when Sara was asleep and that worked well on many levels.

Early January came and Liz looked at the calendar; something was niggling at her. She sat down and tried to think of what it was; but the thought eluded her.

The next day Liz had just finished a class when a teacher came up to her.
“Mrs. Cristea, you have a message from home. You need to call this number.”

Liz quickly walked to a pay phone and dialed it. It was the apartment manager.

“Your husband is in the hospital; it looks like a heart attack. Your daughter is with me; she needs you.”

Liz grabbed a cab; praying desperately. She got there, told the cabbie to wait; ran in and grabbed a crying Sara and dashed out. She ran into the Hospital emergency room and found the receptionist.



It seemed hours but it was only minutes before the doctor came out and took her into his office.

“Mrs. Cristea, there is no other way to say this; your husband has had a massive heart attack; there is very little chance he will survive today, let along recover in any way. I am deeply sorry.”

Liz sat numb; holding a whimpering Sara. The Doctor got a nurse to watch her then took Liz into the ICU.

Janus was hooked up to machines; she could see the EKG and the pattern shown looked terrible even to a novice like her. She found his hand and squeezed it; just as Father Mitescu came in. He smiled a beautiful smile; and softly said
“I hoped I would see you one more time.” He looked at the Father. “Please take care of her.” Then he looked at her and she could see the life began to leave his eyes; the scream of the monitor only made it worse as the Father took her out; and the Doctor dutifully tried to deny Death.

5 minutes later he was gone.

Liz would never remember much after that. She surmised that the Father got her home but that was about all. She held Sara and they both whimpered; Sara was not quite old enough to recognize Death but she could tell when things were bad and her mommy was very sad.

Father Mitescu sat in his office and felt much older then his 45 years. “Dear Lord, far be it from me to question you, but could you not have given them a little more time. He suffered so much. And they were both so happy.”

The next morning he made sure to come right to the Apartment; he found Elizabeth slowly going through the motions; a veteran of this he knew what to do.
“Elizabeth, he is now with god and in peace. The Pain is gone.”

Slowly Liz nodded. She understood that in her head; just not in her heart.


The next few days she managed to get through through the funeral; and the Father was a tower of strength. The day after she happened to look at the calendar just after she woke up; she had been feeling nauseous but considering what had happened she shrugged it off. Then it all came together and she gave a sob. After her experience, there was no excuse. She had never given a thought to birth control. And now Janus would never know he would have had a child. She cried – surprising herself as she thought she had already cried herself out.

As he had every day the Father came around to check on Liz; she seemed to be holding her own. This day he sensed a change. She was sitting on the sofa; she seemed to have been crying again but there was still something different. He sat beside her and took her hand.
“Tell me Child.”

“I am pregnant. And Janus will never know.”

“Yes he does; know that; he does.”

“I hope so. I do so hope so.”


He then began to help her in the mundane things that follow death; he got the Church accountant to help her claim the survivor benefits of Janus’s pension; and deal with the other matters. Slowly Liz pulled herself out of her grief; but Sara and her baby needed her. But sometimes it was so hard.


As was the custom, Father Mitescu reported the death of his parishioner up the Church ladder. And it was processed in the manner of all bureaucracies, no matter their purpose. It went to the central office of the Church of Romania; for Janus had always remained a Romanian citizen; dual citizenship. So from there it went to the Government.

The Interior Ministry clerk sighed; this was a pain; but it was his job and he knew he had a good one so he went ahead and filed another death of an older Romanian citizen in the US. He blinked; the file had a note to cross check with secured files. He shuddered; he hated having anything to do with the security service files. The Romanian security apparatus had been one of the most brutal and efficient in Europe; and no one wanted to look too closely at the files. But he went to the section and checked; this was strange. Not the regular security files but older ones; much older ones. This was curious; and since that rarely happened he proceeded to put all else aside and worked this case.

What he found surprised him. Janus Cristea; that name was familiar. Why? He checked further and realized. That was the first name of the third son and the dynastic name of the Romanian royal family that had been murdered in 1940. Not terribly surprising; in loyalty and opposition to the Germans many had used that name. Still the age was interesting. He was stunned when he saw the death certificate; the person was the same age as the dead prince. He shook his head; this was very strange. And began to look the whole file over. What he found only generated more questions. He had to kick this one upstairs.


Theosopolis Ungeraneau was the top Finance Minister official that dealt with outer finance; matters outside of Romania. He had been working since the previous year and his appointment to regain the money that had been sent out of Romania in 1940 to Switzerland; the Swiss Government and bankers had refused over the years to give it to the Communist Government; considering them illegitimate. Which was good now since Romania needed that money.

The Communist regime had done a lot of damage; but they had done one thing right; if at a terrible cost. Romania had the least foreign debt of any country in Europe. However the economy needed an infusion of capital. And this was their best chance.

Finally the Swiss were giving it back; almost 500 million francs; enough to really help Romania. The other matters were relatively minor; the Romanian Crown Jewels were due back and would enter the new National Museum in a few months; and then there was of course the matter of the Romanian Royal family personal fortune; but that was likely to never come back. The King had been very careful how he worded the instructions; only a true member of the Royal Family could claim it. And there were none left. Distant relatives but in the mind of the Swiss too distant.


The Interior Ministery Official shook his head. “Just a coincidence.”

“Yes sir. But we do need to investigate further. There are old notations to lost files and just too many open questions.”


“True.”



Alexandru Merceanue had been luckily to just be to young to be much other then a trainee before the regime fell; he was very glad of that. But now he had a real job as a investigator and he enjoyed puzzles and connecting dots. This case was probably nothing but one never knew. A recent death of a Romanian citizen in the US; but what made this interesting was the age and name. Janus Cristea, age 66. His death certificate listed his date of Birth as the same as the third son of the Royal family. But that was not unusual; many named children that way and there had to be dozens at least born on the same day.

He knew he could probably clear things up with a basic description and picture. So he contacted the Romanian embassy and requested more information.

The embassy clerk sighed but checked the request; and found that he might be able to clear this up quickly as the request indicated that a better description would settle the questions (not named) that had arisen. He was able to contact the California MVD and they sent a copy of his Drivers License. It was forwarded to the investigator; and also the request was sent to GM for anything they had. As the pensioner was dead there should be no problem with information.


Liz was slowly coping; but it was hard. The loneliness that Janus had banished was now back and worse; because what they had had for such a short time had been so wonderful.


Alexandru sighed; the pictures from the Driver License was just too old; and the physical description was OK but there were no records of height for Janus and he had only been 12 anyway. The Embassy informed him that GM might have older photographs. He would just have to wait. But in looking at the file, he realized that the US might have something better; he sent in a request for the Embassy to contact the State Department.

It took another month but a picture of the 18 year old Janus Cristea finally arrived. Alexandru spent a lot of time examining the only available photos of Prince Janus and Janus Cristea. The resemblance was definitely there, but it was not conclusive. So he decided to head to the area where the summer palace had been (it had been destroyed by the Communists but was being rebuilt slowly as funds became available; it would probably be a Royal Museum some day).

It took another month of talking to oldsters; but Alexandru was able to find some who had been there on that terrible day almost 55 years ago. They told him stories that he realized had not made the official accounts; how locals had attacked the German unit and killed its commander; and the confusion that had come about because of that. Confusion that might very well have allowed a 12 year old boy to escape. He went back to the Ministry. There he found more new information; Janus Cristea had a son. Born 8 months after his death. The local priest had as was the habit put that information in the system and since information dealing with Janus Cristea was now flagged he had it. With all this he spoke to the Official.

“I believe there is a chance this is all real; but a visit there is necessary. Everything I have found indicates it could be true; nothing contradicts the possibility.”

It was authorized and one month later he was in LA. First he went to the Priest.


Liz nursed her son; mourning the fact that he would never know his father except by the stories she told him.


Father Mitescu was a good priest; he could tell. He cared deeply about his flock. He was protective of the young widow; as he should be. He was suspicious of all this. Until the young investigator told him why.

“Father, I believe that Janus Cristea was actually Prince Janus.”


The Priest sat for a minute. “Janus is not an uncommon name.”

“The Birth Date is the same; and I have been able to determine that there were no Janus’s as part of any of the servants families. Everything I have been able to find out points in this direction. An investigator can sometimes be wrong, but I do believe that my suspicion is correct.”

One hour later after a quick phone call the Priest and Investigator walked up to an apartment door and the priest knocked. Alexandru was struck by not only how young she was(22 but younger looking) and how pretty and petite she was.

Liz bade them sit down on the sofa while she sat across from them.

“Father Mitescu, this must be important.”

“My child, it could be very important. You told me that Janus painted portraits of his family?”

“Yes. Mother, Father, 3 Brothers, 3 Sisters.”

Alexandru grew more excited. “Was the youngest child about 1 and a boy?”

“Cannot tell for sure about whether he was a boy or not, but one looks right.”

“May we see them?”


She led them into the workroom and pulled out the portraits. Alexandru was struck by them; as was everyone that saw them. He pulled out his file with the old pictures of the Romanian Royal family. He fixated on the youngest; the portrait showed him in a crib; above the lip of the Crib a Yellow Rose had been clearly shown. He looked at the photograph; the only known one left of the youngest; it showed the same crib; almost the same in every way. The rest of the pictures all matched.
“Incredible” and showed them the pictures.

Liz’s hand shook and she gave the photos back. She looked at the portraits.

“Oh my god.” They went back and sat in the living room; all thinking different things.

Liz could not believe it; yet it made so much sense; Janus had indeed been a prince in all ways that mattered.

Father Mitescu thought hard about what this could mean for Elizabeth and her son.

Alexandru thought harder and finally spoke.
“Some will still refuse to believe but there is another way to make absolutely sure.”

At that moment the baby woke up. Liz went into the bedroom and came out with him and changed him. The other two came close. She looked up at them and smiled softly.
“Theodore Cristea.”

Alexandru slowly nodded. “The King had a hunting accident about a year before his death; his left thumb was cut off at the joint; as a joke somewhat he had it preserved. Amazingly it is still in existence; a DNA check can confirm that Theodore is his grandchild.”


The arrangements were quickly made; the tissue sample from Theodore was not appreciated by him but it was done. Alexandru took the sample back with him to Romania. He deliberately waited to make his report until the results came back. He opened up the envelope and was totally unsurprised by the result. He then went to see the Official.

The Interior Minister looked at the Official. “This had been confirmed?”

Alexandru then gave the details.

The Minister then picked up his phone. “I need to see the Prime Minister quickly.”

The Prime Minister stared; shocked. “A member of the Royal Family?”

“A grandson of Prince Janus, whom we now have proof escaped the massacre. He immigrated to the US, and shortly before his death met and married a young woman. She had his son 8 months after his death.”

The PM sat and thought. Romania liked to be different; they had in the arguing and debate about a new constitution had decided no figure head like a president was necessary and was just a waste of resources. So technically he was both Head of Government and Head of State. But quite a few were not really happy with that. A Reborn Monarchy? Perhaps.

At a Cabinet Meeting called later that day the PM made it clear that for the moment this was a State Secret. He then looked at the Finance Minister.
“Contact the Swiss. They no longer have an excuse about the Royal Fortune.”


Theosopolis could not believe it; but there it was. He immediately made an appointment to see the Swiss Minister that oversaw the Swiss Banking System.


One week later a senior Government official and the VP of Swiss Bank were looking at some very old files. The VP was embarrassed and the Official was angry.

“You mean our records of something like THIS are incomplete?”

“More likely misfiled or misplaced.”

“FIND OUT.”


Soon several clerks were dusting off old records and files; stacked deep in the basement of the records depository. Finally they found three files; but one was empty; the contents in another file; and one of the two remaining were duplicates. Finally they gathered it all together.

The VP was pushing hard; this was very embarrassing for a Bank world renowned for its precise record keeping. He looked at the senior clerk.
“Report.”


The Government official one day later looked at the same report, and sighed. And contacted the Romanian official.


Theosopolis read it for the third time. Then shook his head.
“50000 ounces of gold. Somehow the King managed to get it here right in the middle of the battle of France. Then he managed to get more out just before he and his family; or MOST of his family was killed.”

“That is correct. The total amount is 113000 ozs of gold which is still in the vault; all marked with the Romanian Royal coat of Arms.”

“Today’s gold price?”

“In US Dollars $410 per ounce. Total is $46,330,000.”




The PM looked over the report. He then looked at Theosopolis. “That is all of it?”

“All data we have been able to find says so sir. There was of course the part of the Government Gold reserves that disappeared right after the coup. Rumors were that Royal retainers had hidden it; but it has never been found. Buried somewhere almost certainly; or possibly thrown in a river; but likely never to be found except by accident.”

“What about bank transfers?”

“The Swiss are still looking but so far have not found anything.”

The PM gave him the gimlet stare. Theosopolis sighed.

“They are very embarrassed; their records were in disorder.”

“They should be.”

The PM sat back. “It is time she is told; and arrangements made.”


Liz had been able to put the whole incredible realization that she had been married to Royalty in the back of her mind. She went back to the community college and began to study everything about Romania and Eastern Europe that was available. Luckily there was a child care center for both Theodore and Sara; though Sara would soon be starting school.


It had been decided that a senior official would give her the details. The Romanian Ambassador to the US was the first choice.

The Ambassador had rarely been this surprised; he looked at Alexandru who had been honored to bring the documents personally.
“The fact that this has so far been kept secret is remarkable.”

“The PM made it clear it was to be considered a State Secret.”

Even with the communist regime gone that term still got results.


Liz looked at Father Mistecu. “Who wants to meet me where?”

“The Romanian Ambassador to the US will be meeting you at this hotel in Downtown LA in three days. He will formally invite you to bring the Crown Prince to Romania.”


She is very young; and very pretty. And within minutes of meeting her he also realized that she was very intelligent; she had already learned to speak Romanian rather fluently and above all that had a beautiful soul. It was very easy to see how the Prince had fallen in love with her; and it was just as clear she had loved him as well. The grief was clear.

“Madame, allow me to formally give the condolences of Romania upon the death of King Janus.”

Liz nodded. “It was explained to me that while he was never crowned, he was the King.”

“At the moment of his 18th birthday he was king; coronation or not. Crown Prince Theodore will become King the same way, on his 18th birthday.”

“If there was still a monarchy.”

“That is a part of the quiet debate. The Communists abolished the Monarchy; however one of the precepts of the New Constitution is that their entire time in power all decrees made are either invalid or subject to invalidation. The Monarch was never mentioned in the new government of the Republic of Romania. That is still to be determined.” He then pulled out a slip of paper and handed it to her.

“As the mother of the Crown Prince, you are the Queen Mother. While Janus was alive, technically you were Queen. As such you became a Romanian citizen at the date of your wedding. That is an old custom that was part of the government; and has not been changed.”

Liz nodded. “There is more.”

“King Michael was a cautious man; and clearly saw trouble coming; he was able to smuggle out most of the Royal Fortune in gold to Switzerland. The terms he made for its return were very strict; only a clear member of the Royal Family could claim it back. Until the birth of your son, that was mute as there were no members of the Royal Family left alive. The overall worth of the Fortune that has been identified is just over $46 million US Dollars. That will be set up as a trust with you in control.”

Liz somehow managed to not drop her jaw. She was still for a moment. Then sighed.
“That much money will bring trouble. It always does. However this is for Theodore. “ She thought for a minute. Then looked at the Ambassador.

“Theodore belongs where his Father could not return. He belongs in Romania.”

The Ambassador slowly nodded. His admiration for the young Queen Mother was growing by the minute.

Liz sat back. Then nodded decisively. “This needs to be done quickly before it gets out. We will go to Romania immediately. With this money, support is not a problem. I understand that the country palace is slowly being rebuilt; but funding is not available?”

The Ambassador nodded again. “I take it you will then use part of those funds for that?”

Liz nodded. A thought occurred. “As his half-sister, what does that make Sara?”

“She would be considered a Duchess or possibly a Princess.”

He then handed her another set of documents. “Here is your official passport; Romanian. Also for your daughter and Prince Theodore. And a bank draft of $100,000 to fund your move.”

Liz took them and nodded. “There is no reason we cannot be on our way in one week.”


Liz enjoyed the look on the bank tellers face as she gave the draft a look. Needless to say she was invited into the offices to explain. Liz simply told them to deposit it; and if they questioned it she would simply go to another bank. They backed down.

Liz informed the apartment manager she was leaving; then went to see Father Mitescu with a request.

“Could you come with me?”

“Of Course Child. It was customary for the Royal Family to have their own priest. My assistant can take over for some time. Long enough for you to get settled.”

“Thank you father. And before I leave I want to formally join the Church. I know we had decided to christen Theodore next month, but I gather the Patriarch will want to do it himself.”

The Patriarch did indeed. Just informed of the incredible events, he had demanded the entire file and made it clear that no one else would christen the Crown Prince of Romania but himself.


6 days later Liz, Sara, Prince Theodore and Father Mitescu boarded a US Air Force G-20 for Romania. This had come about as it was decided that Liz could not come by commercial air; and it was more secure this way. The Romanian Ambassador made a request to the Secretary of State, who was blown away by the entire revelation.

Liz had done some quiet shopping for herself and the children; and looked quite elegant in a dress suit. Many times more expensive then she had paid for all her clothes so far in her entire life. She walked down the stairs, carrying Theodore and leading Sara, who looked adorable in her new dress. The PM of Romania awaited her at the Airport VIP section of the Bucharest International Airport.

“Welcome Your Majesty to Romania. As of yet we have been able to keep this out of the press, but tomorrow we shall have a press conference at the Capital.”

Liz nodded. “Thank you, Mr. Prime Minister.”

They were whisked to a very nice motel in Downtown Bucharest. Once established there she agreed to a formal meeting later that night; they would rest to get over the jet lag.

Liz had remembered what Janus had said about the place he had been when his family was killed. It was in the mountains of Sinai. And called Pelisor Palace; though it really was a mansion. It was slowly being rebuilt; Liz would fund the project. And she was thinking that is where they would live. Janus would want that.

Liz sat and waited to be called into the press conference. Sara was with Father Mitescu; and she would bring in Theodore. Taking deep breaths, she managed to calm herself.

The PM came in and looked around at the gathered media; this had been done with little notice; and therefore they were very curious. He was astounded that as far as they could determine the secret had been kept. He began.

“On September 6, 1940, Hitler ordered that the Romanian government be overthrown in order to ensure control of the Ploesti Oil Fields. Part of that operation was the order for the entire Royal Family of Romania to be murdered. Until just recently that is what was thought to have happened. Instead one of the children escaped. Prince Janus, then 12, saw his family murdered; and most of their servants as well. He then did his best to help the resistance until 1944 and the coming of the Soviets. At that point he was smuggled out of Romania to Greece where eventually he immigrated to the United States. With no funds or friends, he took a menial job and eventually retired from General Motors in 1991. He moved to Los Angeles, California for a warmer climate then where he had been. He was tortured by the memories of his dead family, murdered while he watched. He did not marry. Until less than a year before his death. By pure chance a meeting between a young homeless woman with a small child and a lonely old man. Despite the age gap they eventually married. But on January 24, 1996 Janus Cristea as he was known, died of a heart attack. But he lives on in his son, born September 6, 1996. 56 years to the day after his family was murdered. Crown Prince Theodore has been proven by DNA test to be the issue of King Janus. I now introduce the Queen Mother, Elizabeth, and Crown Prince Theodore.”

Liz walked in carrying Theodore to a blaze of pictures being taken. She stood next to the PM and moved Theodore around; who was looking very interested but amazingly not scared or crying, so that all could get a picture. Then Liz sucked it up.

In Romanian, slowly but clearly

“A kind and gentle man took pity on a homeless young mother. He gave her shelter and asked nothing in return. That young mother fell in love; despite the age difference. Her love was returned. All too briefly they were very happy. My greatest regret is that Janus will never hold his son.”

The simplicity and elegance of that statement struck all. The PM, a very good politician, knew when to cut and run. He then escorted Liz and Theodore out. Then the Press secretary began to hand out briefing papers to a suddenly ravenous mob.


It became a world wide sensation. Reporters besieged the Motel but the Security Forces maintained control. In LA reporters tried to ferret out details; but came up empty. Liz’s coworkers had scattered to the winds and none of them stepped forward. Some at the Community College talked but had little to say; at the Apartment Complex neither the manager nor his wife spoke either. They went back to her high school but not much was found there either. The father of Sara was unknown and not much could be found there either. Liz had left the father part on Sara’s birth certificate blank.

Liz stared out at the mob scene outside the motel; then looked at Father Mitescu.
“Feeding time at the zoo but the animals are not getting their red meat.”

He smiled at that; but had to agree with her summing up of the situation.
“You will need to speak with them sometime.”

“Yes but when and how will be my choice not theirs.”

There was a knock on the door and the Priest went to check on it; they had a large suite. He looked out the peephole – not really necessary as there were multiple guards outside the door- and then opened it.

Alexandru had been designated Liz’s escort due to his prior acquaintance; he had no objection and Liz liked him so it was of the good. He walked in and bowed to Liz.
“Your Majesty, the people in charge of rebuilding Pelisor Palace are here per your request.”

Liz knew she would have to get used to this but did not have to like it. She nodded and looked at Father Mitescu who went into the next room where Sara was napping along with Theodore.

There were three men; one clearly a engineer or such and two construction types. There was a good sized table in the middle room and Liz sat down and motioned them to sit as well. The suit spoke first.
“Your Majesty, we are very happy and pleased that you will be funding the reconstruction of the Palace. It is understood that this palace will be your Official Residence?”

“That is correct. How much do you need and when can it be done?”

“The price will depend on how quickly you want it done. 20 million Rol is what is needed right now to restart. About 500 million Rol would complete the project in 6 months. Which is about as fast as can be expected.”

Liz noticed that the two construction types nodded at this. She did the math in her head. That was about 2 million dollars. She nodded.
“You will have the funding authorized today.”

The suit then pulled out the pictures and drawings and showed her what it would look like when done.
“We were able to find the original designs and they have been upgraded for modern code. But the Palace will be all but identical to the original. Modernized facilities and such of course.”

Liz looked at them; it was a lovely place.
“Thank you. Prince Theodore will love it. His father would have wanted this.”

They bowed to her and then left. Alexandru remained.
“Is there anything else Your Majesty?”

“You mentioned that you had been able to find some survivors of the servants from the massacre?”

“Yes. One man and one woman; both in their early 80’s. He was a footman and she was a maid.”

“I would like to talk to them; but not here. Can you get me out of here without the mob following?”

“Of course. Tomorrow?”

“Yes.”


Early the next morning, before dawn, Liz slipped out with Father Mitescu, the children, Alexandru and a security detail. Security was not too happy, but were mollified by her agreeing to stay out of sight.

It was about 80 miles to Sinai, but the road was good and there was little traffic so they got there just about 8 AM. It was not a big area; mostly resorts for skiing and such. Since it was Summer, it was very beautiful. Liz looked around as the car slowly wound through the streets. Alexandru had arranged for the old servants to be brought to near where the Palace had been. Liz had wanted to see it as it was.

She had brought the children mainly because she just did not want them away from her. Sara would enjoy it; but Theodore was still too young.

The car stopped outside of what was a construction site and also remains of a large building. The security detail in the lead car got out and looked around then signaled Alexandru who opened the door and let the others out of the large Limousine type vehicle.

Slowly walking towards them were two old people; still fairly vigorous. The stopped within 10 feet of Liz then bowed. Their eyes riveted to Theodore in her arms. Liz smiled and approached them.
“Here he is” she said in Romanian. The old women had tears in her eyes; the old man was close. Theodore blinked at them but did not cry. The old women sighed.
“Janus was just like that as a baby. He was very quiet and rarely cried.”

For over an hour they talked; the old servants crafting the scenes of almost 60 years earlier. As they were about to leave Liz handed them each an envelope.
“There are ways to contact me there; and funds for you to come and visit. I wish to hear more of what it was like for Janus as a child.”

Alexandru watched all this; Elizabeth just seemed to have a way of doing and saying the right things. It was a rare gift, he knew.

Liz and the others wandered the site for a while longer; then the Security types started to get nervous as the observed that others had noticed. Alexandru sighed.
“Your Majesty, we need to leave before reporters are told and start to flock here.”

Reluctantly Liz nodded and they headed back to Bucharest. They got back at around 11, and went right in. The Reporters baying as they realized their quarry had eluded them.



The PM was holding another cabinet meeting.

The Interior Minister started first.
“So far the response has been extremely positive. At this time I foresee no serious problems.”

The PM nodded. “She did very well. All who spend time with her are impressed. However the questions about the Monarchy will need to be addressed.”

The Cultural Minister nodded. “The support for the Monarchy was never great; as there was none to support. However she is very attractive and the story is even more so. I have no doubt as time goes by there will be demands that some kind of Monarchy be reestablished.”

The Justice Minister spoke next. “Needless to say we have been carefully going over all the applicable laws and decrees. The Constitution gives us great leeway on how to act. At this time a limited Monarchy, strictly ceremonial, would seem to be the way.”

There was general agreement about this. The PM nodded. “Very well. Justice will write up the legal proposal, guided by Cultural. It would be well to have Her Majesty involved as well. Once it is agreed upon I will present it to the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate.”

Liz really did not want to remain in a motel; and told Alexandru that. He agreed and contacted the Interior Department; who began to look around for a good sized place for Liz to rent that would satisfy all. That took a couple of weeks but eventually a very nice mansion on the outskirts of Bucharest was rented and they moved there.

Liz finally agreed to some interviews with Romanian reporters; carefully screened by the PM’s PR people.

Liz found the interviews nowhere near as bad as she had feared. She was relatively candid about her time before Janus; but much more guarded afterwards. She was very careful in how she stalked about him; making sure no criticism at all came through.
“He was a very gentle man; the nightmares had made him very lonely. His only release was painting.” Liz had agreed to display some of his paintings; especially the ones of his family. Needless to say a certain 4 portraits were very much under lock and key.

When asked about the age difference Liz had softly smiled.
“I hardly saw it after I fell in love with him. It bothered him a lot at first; but in the end he accepted it. I just wish we could have had more time.”

One month after arrival the Christening of Theodore was held in the National Cathedral. It was televised and virtually all of Romania watched; while not official for all intents and purposes it was a national holiday.

Father Mitescu was the assistant to the Patriarch for the ceremony; Liz was actually quite impressed with it all. Her announcement that she had converted to the Eastern Orthodox Church was warmly welcomed. Afterwards there was a short time for the Patriarch to speak to her.
“Your Majesty, it is very good that you are now part of our Church. My one question is your daughter. Will you bring her up in the church as well?”

Liz had thought about it and had agreed. “Yes I will.”

Two months after arrival the PM looked over the Bill for the Rebirth of the Monarchy. It was worded that way deliberately so as to escape some political implications.
“This looks good. I will present it next week.”

Support for the Monarchy had grown by leaps and bounds; Liz’s interviews impressed all who saw them; and the Christening just seemed to accelerate it.

One very good thing for Liz was the permanent designation of Father Mitescu as the Royal Priest by the Patriarch. She was glad her friend would be staying. She had also requested that Alexandru be made her combination chief of security and chief of staff. He was quite happy about it; as he said to Liz.
“I cannot imagine any other investigation ever coming close to yours; your Majesty. They would all be pale and boring.”


Meanwhile in Bern, old files had been meticulously examined. A report to the VP was made.
“We now believe we have all the applicable files and data.”

“And?”

“Bonds and such have been evaluated to the sum of 65 million Francs. All part of the official Royal Fortune. But there has also been some information that indicates possible places that some of the Government Gold reserve might have been hidden.”

“I will inform the government so that they can contact the Romanians. I hope this is the end of it.” His pointed look told the official that it better be.

Theosopolis looked over the documents. Her Majesty would be informed immediately; but the hints about the rest of the gold reserves were VERY interesting.

A team of investigators began to look over the data and began to search. The amount of gold that could possibly be found was truly unknown; the government had been very careful at that time to be vague on how much there was. And the records and files had been destroyed long ago. It seemed clear that the King had been behind the movement; he had thoroughly despised and distrusted the government.

Alexandru was contacted as he had found some of the servants; he went and talked to the old man.
“Do you know anything about this?”

“I heard that the King ordered the government gold seized and hidden; he knew that it would be impossible to move that much any distance.”

“Any idea where?”

The old man thought hard. “I do know who I heard was in charge; he was killed soon after. But he was known as a very smart and ingenious man; with an imagination.”

Alexandru nodded. That made sense since many had looked for many years and never found a trace.

He talked about it with Elizabeth later that day.

Liz sat back and thought about that later. An old truism came to mind. Hide in Plain sight. She wondered. Alexandru had left the file with her as she wanted to examine it; she went through it and found this.
‘a few days after the coup, there were rumors of something happening near Sinai, up the mountain road that winds like a snake’

She called Alexandru in and showed him that; and asked him to see if anyone remembered more. He got right onto it. First he contacted the old servants; and after a few days they found another older man who remembered something.
“It was all confusion the first few days; and I heard several trucks go up the mountain road; but did not hear them come down.”

Alexandru went up what was now highway 71; very little had been changed there as it was a very steep and winding road even now. He got out and looked at several areas; he had been told that back then there was no way down except that road. He was able to find where it had ended; he then went back and talked to locals to find who had lived up the mountain back then. He was not able to find anyone who had actually lived there; but he was able to find some descendants who talked about how nothing ever seemed to happen up there.
Except for the Observation post. Supposedly built right after the coup as a way to watch for enemy air attacks. He went to it; it was just a small building that seemed strange. Blocky. He went around it and poked around. Just past it was heavy forests; as far as one could see. Old Growth; not new. If the trucks had come up here where had they gone? Then he had an idea and went back to the capital.

Two days later in a helicopter Alexandru surveyed the area; and noticed something not far from the OP; what looked like newer trees in a line down into a shallow valley. He came back the next day and hiked down. He could tell that these trees were not old Growth; and he began to get excited. He managed to make his way down and finally at the deepest part he found them; the wreckage of 5 old trucks. But they were empty. But they were also the right age.

Two days later a full search team was scowering the area. But no gold was found. Nothing else was found either; no graves or traces of graves. Or excavations.

Liz on being told this wanted to go up and see. The day after the search teams had finished she was driven up there by Alexandru and a small security team. They stopped at the OP as it was as far as a vehicle could go. Liz got out and looked around; the OP did look funny. She went up to it; and then looked at the base. An idea began to form; hide in plain sight or almost in plain sight. She looked at Alexandru.
“Lets excavate right here; tear out the foundation.”

Several hours later a backhoe from the construction company was digging away at the OP. In only half an hour it dug through the concrete at the top and right under it were yellow bricks. The Operator shouted in surprise; and they all trooped in to look. Alexandru got in and with a knife cut on the first yellow brick; it cut easily. Then he managed to wedge it out and in Latin were the words
Romanian Government


The PM shook his head. “How much?”

“At this time we have recovered over 1 million ozs. That is far more than anyone thought the government had.”

The Finance Minister had been working furiously.
“I believe that the King had convinced the Finance Minister of that time, who was NOT pro German, to convert as much as possible to gold. And had been doing that for at least a year or more.”

The PM sat back. This could not have come at a better time; the plan to reorganize finances depended on fresh capital; there was enough here to do it.

There was a press conference the next day where the Finance Minister laid it all out.

“There were hints in the files in Switzerland about this, but I must make it clear that without the help of the Queen Mother, this great boon for Romania might never have been found. Our new plans will be made possible by this windfall.”

Liz had also been endowing a new Hospital in Sinai; and a research center in Bucharest; that would be cutting edge into developing new drugs; a very generous donation to the Medical School ensured continued support.

The Bill that went through the Romanian legislature that rebirthed the Monarchy was very popular; and in a ceremony at the National Cathedral Theodore was installed as the Crown Prince and Liz as Queen Mother, formally. Sara was designated as the Duchess of Sinai.

Just in time for Christmas the Palace was completed and Liz and family moved in.


The small dinner was just Liz and the children and Alexandru and Father Mistecu.


Liz was very content with her lot.



Time went by; Liz and the children settled in; she made frequent appearances to raise funds for various causes; and many times used the Royal Fortune to make up shortages. Her popularity steadily grew.

In 1999 with the establishment of the Euro there was talk of Romania joining. The European Union was expanding as well. Much talk of soon every country from Portugal to Poland and Norway to Italy being joined in a kind of US of Europe.

Liz had studied a lot of international Finance and government structure over the last few years. She was skeptical that all the grand plans would work. Romania had some hard times in the mid 90’s, but was coming out of them and doing better. She talked with Alexandru and Father Mitescu one day.

“These grand plans for European Union; somehow I do not think they will work.”

Alexandru nodded. “Too many different cultures; too many different life styles.”

Father Mitescu sighed. “It is a grand dream but I believe it glosses over our various differences. I frankly fear the consequences if so many rush in.”


Romania in the end stayed on the outside; coming close but not quite joining in.

Finally in 2005 a new government was elected and it was decided after great debate to join the Euro and the Union. Euro in 2007 and Union in 2012.


Liz had kept quiet about all of it; saying that it was something for the Government and People to decide.

Gradually to both their surprises Alexandru and Liz began to see each other. Subtly in the background Father Mitescu had maneuvered them into spending time with each other. By 2001 Liz decided that they needed to come out. She was at that time 27 and he was 36. Rumors had gradually leaked and it seemed that people were accepting of it. They were engaged in 2002 and married in a lavish ceremony in 2003. She had their first child in 2004. By that time Theodore was 8 and Sara was 12. The publicity was very good; the child was made Duke Michael. Alexandru had been made Duke Alexandru.

Interestingly despite staying out of politics; or frankly because she had; Liz became a mediator of sorts when there were political gridlocks; which unfortunately began to increase as 2007 came closer.

There was a retrospective on Romanian TV in 2006 of the 10 year anniversary of the rebirth of the Monarchy. It was very popular; as was Liz and the rest of the royal family.

Jan 1 2007 Romania took on the Euro and let go of the Rol. The PM made a rather large deal about melting down the coins and burning the paper backs. Liz thought that was a mistake but kept quiet.
The first year seemed to go well; but then came the financial crash of 2008.


Liz sighed as she examined the data; she had gotten quite good at International Finance over the years. She looked at her consort.
“This is going to be very bad.”


And it was. Romania was not in anywhere near as bad a shape as most, but the pain was deep. The recession bit hard.

Liz looked at the latest requests for Royal patronage. They were growing quickly. Unfortunately the Royal Treasury was not inexhaustible; though Liz had been very canny about investments and the like. It was twice the size it had started out to be; in Euro’s over 200 million. She had to be very careful and did her best to be fair to all.

Theodore had just turned 12, and Sara was 16. She was due to start college the next year. He was beginning to learn the ins and outs of being the Crown Prince, and Liz made it a point to start including him on things like this.
“Mom, just how bad is it going to get?”

Liz sighed. “Not really sure sweety. They managed to stop a total collapse; but a lot of countries have spent way beyond their means. Luckily Romania has not gone as far down that road. There are hard times ahead.”
In a case of just plain bad luck the elections were due to be held soon. Liz was not a great fan of the current PM, who luckily was retiring. The 4 parties looked to be almost equal at the polls; which would make it a coalition government. Unfortunately that would be rather difficult. She actually thought that any of the 4 leaders would be better PM’s then the current one, but the likliehood of any of them being able to build a strong government was slim to none. That was the big weakness of the Parliamentary system. The Chamber of Deputies elected the PM; but that was going to be very difficult. There were 364 slots; a PM needed 183 votes. Which would be very hard. And now of all times Romania needed a strong government.

Needless to say that was not exactly a unique point of view. Virtually all the media and everyone else were thinking the same thing.

The PM that had retired early in 2001 sighed as he sat and talked with some old friends. He was not optimistic.
“This election will not settle anything; and any government will be so weak as to be virtually useless.”

The former Finance Minister was just as gloomy. “It is very upsetting; when I left the Finance Ministry we were steadily growing and doing well. Honestly I think going into the Euro was a big mistake.”

The former PM nodded. “Maybe in a hundred years or so the EU will work; but it will not work now. Too many old differences and feuds and disputes.”

“Sadly we are the old retired fossils and no one listens to us anymore.”

“We are of the old times and therefore hopelessly out of date.”

“But I just cannot stand by and watch Romania collapse; or almost as bad become another Greece.”

“Greece will be decades recovering; if they even can. I look at that country and frankly I do not see the will to get it done.”

“I believe the will and the strength is here; but the leadership is lacking.”

“Unfortunately this is the great weakness of the Parliamentary system. When you have two strong parties usually one is strong enough to rule firmly; but the latest polls indicate that all 4 will be within percentage points of each other.”

“And none of the four leaders will be able to get more than one of the others to support him; when realistically he will need 2 to rule with any strength.”

“We need an alternative candidate.”

“How could that happen?”

“Read the constitution. It states that the Chamber of Deputies will elect the Prime Minister. And that is all. It does NOT mandate that one of the Deputies be the PM; only ELECTED by them.”

The former Finance minister thought about that. Then looked at his old colleague. “Who do you have in mind?”

“I do not know; I only thought about this today; had to go back and examine the constitution carefully to make sure I was correct.”

Gradually this spread around various retired ministers and government officials. It began to collect in the media as well. Commentators began to ask the question:
“Who best to lead Romania in these hard times?”

This began to overshadow the election; much to the displeasure of the PM candidates from the 4 parties.

One day after the days parliamentary session the four happened to be near each other; and by mutual agreement went into one of the conference rooms in the Chamber of Deputies to talk.

“It is distressing to see so much talk about none of us being able to rule.”

“But sadly they have a point; baring something happening in two weeks there will be 4 parties of almost equal strength. And we must be honest; the chances of one of us being able to build a government strong enough to do what must be done is virtually nonexistent.”

The other two did not speak; but could not disagree. The oldest one there, a veteran of the first government that came after the Communists fell, sighed.
“The next year or two will be critical for Europe and Romania both. There is a distinct possibility that the Union and the Euro will collapse. And Romania must be ready to go alone if necessary.”

They then left, each more in agreement then they wanted to admit that none of them could be that leader.

The old retired PM that had come into office right after the overthrow of the Communists was thinking the same thing. He still had a fair amount of influence, as a kind of emminence grise. Talking to some of his younger protégé’s he asked them who they would choose to lead the government through these hard times.
One of them sighed. “Honestly, sir, I would choose Queen Elizabeth. She is the only one all Romanians respect equally.”

There were smiles in the room at that. At first. Then they began to think about it. The Old PM was thoughtful. “I wonder…”

One of his old ministers sat back and contemplated that. “She is extemely intelligent and has learned a great deal in her 12 years here.”

The old Finance Minister nodded. “She has built up the Royal Fortune with very shrewd investments.”

The old Interior Minister added “And during the labor strike in 2001 she was the one that got both sides to sit down and talk and from all accounts was the main factor in getting an agreement.”

The Old PM slowly nodded then looked around the room. “We still have some influence.”

And this idea began to percolate behind the scenes and behind closed doors.


The day after the elections the results were sadly clear. The 4 parties were 93, 92, 90, 89. The headlines the next day were straightforward
CONFUSION

With no head of State to make a decision, this caused more confusion. Several mourned that the Monarchy did not have the power since as it was agreed by many that Queen Elizabeth would choose the best one.

This gave the old guard an opening and they approached each of the 4 leaders and suggested a meeting.

The old PM slowly made his way into the meeting room. When all were seated he was blunt.
“None of you can form a government that will get anything done. The New PM must be someone all can agree on; and strong enough and good enough to make the hard choices and stick by them. That person will have to have a lot of strength and stamina.”

The 4 leaders looked at each other; none came out and said it but silently they all agreed. The old PM then nodded to his young secretary who brought out the copy of the Constitution and read from the important (for this occasion) part.
“The Chamber of Deputies shall elect the Prime Minister.”

The Old PM looked at the room. “Nowhere does that document state that the PM must be a Deputy.”

The astonishment went around the room. Finally one of the four spoke.
“So we could elect ANYONE as PM?”

“That is the advice I have gotten from the Courts.”

The oldest leader knew the old PM pretty well. “You have someone in mind.”

He nodded.

“Queen Elizabeth.”

There was silence for a moment. Then one of the others softly said
“Yes.” And then it moved around the room. There was no disagreement.
One of the others then spoke up. “This will have to be very carefully done.”

“It will have to be worded precisely so that this is seen as an emergency situation and will not happen again.”

One of the others made a slight joke. “Break Glass in case of fire.”

The OLD PM nodded. “Precisely.”

“But will she agree?”


The next day Liz was surprised to see that she had been asked to come to the Palace of the Parliament, which was the capital building.

Her arrival was spotted and immediately speculation went around the city. Commentators scratched their heads. Perhaps one of the leaders had asked her to sponsor him? Others shook their heads at that; she would not do it.

Liz walked into the Room and found the four leaders and the old PM and some others waiting for her. They rose and bowed to her; and the old PM motioned to the seat at the head of the table. They waited until she sat down before they did.
Liz looked around. “Gentlemen, considering the situation of the government, and everything else, this is clearly something extraordinary. So let us begin the discussion.”
The Old PM nodded.
“Your Majesty. It has been agreed among the four parties that none of the leaders could form a government that would last; let alone accomplish anything. Therefore someone else is needed. Someone above party loyalty. Someone all Romanians respect.”

Liz sat there in shock then blinked. Then sighed. “How could that be done?”

“The Constitution decrees that the Chamber of Deputies shall elect a PM. But that is all that is said. The Supreme Court has been asked for a clarification and they agree that anyone that the Deputies elect, can be placed in office.”

Liz sat for a minute. “This must be temporary. With a time limit. And clearly a one time thing.”

The OLD PM looked at her. “You will accept?”

Liz sighed. “I have no choice.”

Liz went home and quietly told her family.

Father Mitescu nodded. “Wise decision.”

Alexandru sighed then held her hand. “I do not like it but for the country it is the only decision that makes sense.”

Liz smiled slightly. Then got down to business. “We will move to the Parliamentary Palace. I will need to get to work right away. I have a lot of wood to chop.”

The next day she had them all packed up and they moved to the Palace. At 9AM the outgoing PM announced that at noon the Chamber of Deputies would vote on a new PM. It would be televised live.

The outgoing PM called the Chamber of Deputies to order.

“Our country is in a critical situation. The recent election has evenly divided the power to the point that a normal government cannot function. Therefore I submit the following proclamation for approval by the Chamber of Deputies”

‘Be it known that in this hour of crisis we request that the Chamber of Deputies nominate Elizabeth Cristea, the Queen Mother, as Prime Minister for the term of four years to preside over a National Unity government’

There was absolute silence for a moment. Then one by one the four leaders stood up and proclaimed their support. In moments the entire body stood up and agreed. The PM looked around.
“All opposed?”

There was silence. The PM nodded. “The Proclamation has been passed unanimously.” He then turned towards the far door. It opened and She moved down the aisle followed by the Patriarch. In front of the Speaker stand the Patriarch held a bible that she then put her right hand on; and raised her left. She then took the Oath of Office. The Patriarch then bowed and she moved to the Speaker’s Podium.

She had tried to work on a speech the previous evening but had decided to just speak from her heart.
“People of Romania; there can be no stranger path then the one that I have trod to this point. All I can promise is all that I am and that I have. At this minute I will ask for a meeting of all party leaders and their staffs in order to form a National Unity Government.” She then stepped away and headed up the aisle followed by the leaders and their staffs. They trooped into one of the Meeting Rooms and the doors closed after them.

Liz looked at them and sat down at the head of the table. She had worked long into the night on her ideas.
“First off.” She pointed to one leader and asked him to be Finance Minister. And so on; the four senior positions in the cabinet first. Then she asked them for their nominations for the remaining positions. That took about an hour. Then she nodded to herself and looked at the new Finance Minister.
“I need a complete evaluation of the state of the economy.”
To the new Foreign Minister “I need a complete evaluation of the state of the EU talks and the Union situation.”

“I want them in 48 hours. I believe that time is short.”

Liz went to the apartments that they would be living in and sat and thought. It was the 1st of June, 2009. She had an absolute belief that by the end of the year the situation would be critical.

Liz then decided to hold a meeting with some of the Old Guard. Retired ministers and officials. She wanted their input and ideas. That was done the next day at 10. It lasted for 6 hours. She came out of it with a great deal of information and some more ideas.

The next day the reports came in. Liz held a meeting of her ministers that lasted from noon till 8 PM.

At the end she summarized things. “From this meeting and yesterday’s meeting it can be said that the Euro at this time is in danger; and the EU is also in danger. Our country is fortunate in not being completely entrapped in all of this; but now that we are using the EURO and not the ROL we are not able to extricate ourself quickly. Is that correct?”

She received the responses as expected.

“Our Economy is in trouble but the situation is not critical. I do not want to do a stimulus at this time. We need more data. Our resources are finite and I do not want to misuse them. I want further information on manufacturing and employment.”

Early next morning she quietly talked to the Finance Minister.
“We do have an emergency plan to bring back the ROL, correct?”

“Yes. Before we went to the EURO designs had been approved for new currency in both coins and bills.”

“Put that plan into preliminary operation. Prepare to start making the new currency but do not commence. I will personally fund the operation.”

“You believe the Euro is doomed?”

“Merkel has been going against the majority of Germans in her hard core support of the Euro. I believe that the tipping point will come soon and she will be forced to back off. Germans are getting tired of footing the bill. IF Germany backs off the Euro is dead.”

The Finance Minister slowly nodded. He needed to talk to some people; but he had a hunch the Queen was right.

The next few months saw slow improvement in the Romanian Economy and things began to look better in Europe as a new agreement was cobbled together to try and save Greece and the other weak sisters. But Liz was getting information that under the surface things were deteriorating.

She was working sometimes 16 hours a day and was wearing out her ministers.

One of the National Commentators joked that she was using a stop watch to time ministers when they went to the restroom. Her support in the public as they saw how hard she was working and also getting results increased.

November 1 came and Liz got information from the Finance Minister through the Intelligence Division that Merkel had been told by her party chiefs that their support was ending for the hard stand on supporting both the much stronger EU and more German money for the EURO. She then told the Finance Minister to start generating the new ROL. Quietly as possible.

Meanwhile another situation began to gather steam.

The HN1 scare had soured a lot of people on the UN and WHO. Calling what happened a pandemic had angered a lot of health officials. They were very worried that this could be a boy crying wolf. Research was ongoing around the world as professionals were very frightened that the virus was mutating to the point where it became airborne. It was a severe form of influenza combined with a gastric side effect that would in all likelihood kill up to 70% of its victims. One of the places that research was happening at was the center that Liz had set up soon after she came to Romania. Its reputation had steadily grown to the point that it was considered to be in the top 10 in the world. Recently one of the young guns had started working with another one in the US at the Mayo Clinic research laboratory. One of the things Liz had done was buy older Cray Super computers and move them to Romania; while a generation old they were still far faster then anything that was reasonably available. And even 10 year old Crays were incredibly fast. And ways had been found to work as many as 4 in parallel.

Dr Flavius Turegeanue and Dr James Winters had been working together on the HN1 virus vaccine for over a year. It was hard to do since they both believed it was in the process of mutating and the current vaccine would be useless. So they decided to try and jump ahead; gamble on how it would mutate and design a vaccine on that basis. The new computers at the Mayo were the latest design; but the paralleled Crays at the Sinai Center were almost as fast. So their work began to bear fruit.

On the 10th of November the bombshell hit as Angela Merkal lost a vote of confidence and her government suddenly collapsed. Polls showed that over 60% of Germans had had enough of paying the bills.

At the daily cabinet meeting the Finance Minister looked at Liz and nodded. He quietly said “1 month.” One month until they had sufficient currency to replace the EURO- at least to start.

At the same time the UK made it clear they would not agree to the demands of the new EU treaty that would basically make all the member states less then sovereign nations. They were only the first as Poland and several others also said no.

An emergency summit was held to try and save the EURO. Liz attended the meeting in Paris and as she looked around at the other leaders she knew it was futile. She quietly called back and told the Finance Minister to move with all speed to bring back the ROL. One day later it was admitted that the EURO was dead and all nations would replace it with their own currencies in one year.

Liz arrived back in Bucharest and held a quick cabinet meeting; then went out and announced that on 15 December the ROL would be back and the government would decide the exchange rate. Romania would be the first nation to do so; gaining a huge edge. European leaders were stunned at how fast she had set it up.

IT was a mad scramble but the changeover happened and it went better then anyone could have reasonably expected. Liz’s popularity reached new heights. Especially when it was revealed she had used the Royal fortune to manufacture the new currency; and decreed that it was her gift to her people and she would not be reimbursed.

Just as she started to draw a breath in relief; Europe was in turmoil but there were signs that this was indeed for the best. Greece had formally defaulted but that for the moment seemed to be the only one; Italy was hanging in there. Spain and Ireland were shaky but holding on. Then she got a request for an urgent meeting with the Health Minister.

Liz sighed. Why couldn’t she have a little down time?

“We believe that it is only a matter of time before the HN1 virus starts to sweep the planet. There is a untested vaccine that by working together a researcher at the Mayo and at the Sinai have come up with. But it needs to be tested and quickly.”

“What does the CDC say?”

“They are reluctant to say but indications are they agree.”

Liz sat and thought. “How about mass production?”

“We have a couple of very bright pharmaceutical types who believe a quick and dirty method might work; combining things and scooping out the good and leaving the bad. It would be inefficient, very much so, but it could be done fast.”

“Start now. And contact the CDC; if they still waffle I will call Washington.”

“We are starting on monkeys right now; they have gotten a sample of the latest virus from Hong Kong and have made the vaccine to fight it.”

Liz sat back; wait a minute. “They already designed the vaccine?”

“They gambled that the mutation would go a certain way and designed the vaccine accordingly.”

“And by the grace of god they were correct?”

“It appears so.”

The next ten days saw things start to settle down in Europe; the Greeks finally seemed to get it and the strikes called by the Unions and others were virtually ignored as most Greeks realized that the free lunch was over. Belgium’s government, one of the strongest of the EU backers, fell as well. It was becoming clear that the EU would follow the EURO into the trash can of failed ideas. Most countries had contingency plans and began to follow them. New elections would soon be held in Germany and the conservatives seemed sure to sweep to victory for the first time in over 20 years. Already the Conservative Leader was making it clear that while the EURO was dead Germany would help others all it could. That seemed to settle the markets. Romania was in a very good position as its economy was in good shape and by the quick move back to the ROL it would have a decently strong currency.

But Liz in the secret meetings with the contacts with the Health Minister was much more worried about HN1. She had indeed had to call DC and talk to the President; who was ticked off that she was the one to tell him the problem. The Surgeon General suddenly resigned the next day. Now a crash production was beginning to be ramped up for the experimental vaccine; so far in monkey and other animal tests it was showing a 92% success rate and so far no serious side effects. Liz was told that this was amazingly good news.

Liz had ordered immediate production; once again funding it out of the Royal Fortune in order to keep it quiet. She was told that enough doses for all Romanians would be available by the New Year.

The President looked at his Health Secretary. “Well?”

“Production has started; the Romanian idea is very good. We will only be at about 62% efficiency, while normal production is about 95% but it would take at least six months to get it started.”

“How fast can we have enough doses for the US?”

“We have two plants online now with three more to follow in the next month. We will have 100 million doses by the 1st of February and enough for all Americans by the 1st of March. This can be issued by the gun method which is much faster then needles.”

“Other countries?”

“The UK is just behind us; and Romania actually is ahead of us. Russia is just now starting; China has been slow but is ramping up. That might be the critical area since it is the most likely point of the first wave. Japan is on it; as is Australia. What worries me is India; unfortunately part of the vaccine comes from cow tissues; and the religious situation with Hindu’s is making it very bad.”

“There is no alternative?”

“Not at this time.”

The Health Minister had made a quick trip to Germany to get them started on the vaccine; typically the German mindset was revolted at the rough and ready and dirty process; they were not moving fast. Romania had already by the 1st had more than enough for themselves; Liz had ordered all efforts to maximize production. They had 10 million doses and believed they could double it in two weeks. The applicator guns were not going as fast but luckily another plant was just online and that was catching up.

Interestingly the world Media had not picked up on the frantic efforts.

At least until the 14th of January when the first reports began to come out of Hong Kong that across the border in China HN1 seemed to suddenly appear and was spreading with great speed.

The UK quickly sent enough doses to Hong Kong; per agreement with the officials there.

BUT the really bad news came when reports of HN1 began to appear in Japan, Russia and parts of Asia including India and Pakistan and Bangladesh.

Liz immediately ordered national inoculation; going on TV to have it done to her first then Theodore and Sara and Michael. In three days Romania was the first country to be protected.

But still it spread; all over Russia with incredible speed; it had been a warm winter and that did not help. Then much of Europe; the US began mass inoculations and was just barely able to service its entire population. Luckily the production was going fast and the US was able to supply enough for Canada and Mexico; and was starting to move some south. Japan lost almost 100,000 dead in a week before it was protected.

Word out of China was bad; they had been slow all around and rumors were that millions were dying. The Chinese had sealed their country.

But the real charnel house was to be India. Absolute refusal on the parts of Hindu’s to the vaccine led to apocalyptic scenes.

Liz sealed off Romania; most countries already had done so. She sat in the meeting room and looked at the Health Minister.
“How many spare doses?”

“25 million with 5 million more per day.”

“Who needs it?”

“We have already taken care of our neighbors; and we were able to send 12 million doses to Greece. Russia finally got it done; but they lost a lot of people. We ended up taking care of the Ukraine and Belarus ourselves. Fortunately we were able to ramp up the production very fast. We have made over 125 million doses so far available to other countries.”

“Where is it bad now?”

“Israel was able to take care of the entire Middle East and Turkey acted quickly and sealed itself off; it’s ok. We got them enough for Istanbul and it bought them sufficient time.” Then he sighed.
“China and India. But there is nothing anyone can do now for them. South America is OK; Brazil got going as the US clued them in and they were able to get it done down there; Central America and the Caribbean was taken care of by Cuba who was also clued in by the US. The Pacific was handled by Australia. Germany, England and France took care of the rest of Europe. Right now I think Africa is in need.”

“Send the reserve now.”

For a terrible true Pandemic, it did not last that long. Just over 6 weeks. But in China 100 million died; and in India 300 million died; 95% Hindu. Worldwide the toll went on: Russia 20 million; Pakistan 2 million; Bangladesh 20 million. Rest of Europe 1 million total, mostly in Italy and Spain. Africa was spared it as the Romanian supply hit the areas most under threat and stopped the spread.

Romania became one of the heroes of the Plague; virtually the entirety of Eastern Europe had been supplied by Romania. All the Balkans including Greece; Hungary, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Belarus, Poland and the Baltic States. In total over 140 million saved by Romania.

But the terrible fact of almost 500 million dead horrified the world. Suddenly the rows over the EU and the EURO and other things looked very small potatoes indeed. And interestingly enough the cooperation given all over the world would help things recover.

But there were grumbles. Belarus and the Ukraine were livid that the Russians had ignored them; when the disease was coming from Russia. The Eastern European states noted that Germany had turned west with its supply. Only Romania had saved them. As regards China, it turned in on itself and spoke to no one. India was going to be years recovering.

The two doctors were declared world Heroes; and Liz’s role in seeing that things were started quickly was revealed. The President made that clear in a national Address.

“Without her quick action, production of the vaccine would have been delayed at least several weeks; and the death toll would be at least double what it was.”

The leaders of the nation’s Romania had helped made it clear they would remember.

The world economy slowly began to recover; China would not be an engine of that for several years. India would be a basket case for at least five. The US was doing well and was beginning to pull Europe along.

Liz took her first real vacation since becoming PM in April as it became clear things were pretty much settling down. She and the rest of her family relaxed in the Palace in Sinai.

Needless to say most people in Romania felt that Queen Elizabeth just might be able to walk on water.
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