"Nikolai, I want you to make sure these people have enough food to get them through the winter." Alexei ordered. "I don't care if you have to see to it personally." He nodded when the older man did, knowing that his orders would be followed to the letter. Leaning back in his chair, he rubbed his hands over his face, knowing this had already been a very long day. Maybe he could get Baba to slip him some spice cake for lunch. His blue eyes snapped to the door when he heard the tentative knock.<br/><br/>"Enter!" He called out, waiting for more bad news. He relaxed a bit when he saw his cousin's face come around the door. But that relief dried up in a hurry when he read the hesitance in Pavel's face. And the suspicion only grew when the older man made sure to shut and lock the door behind him.<br/><br/>"We need to talk, Alexei," Pavel said, locking his hands behind his back.<br/><br/>"Well that sounds ominous," the younger Romanov scowled. "Is everyone all right?" he asked, both men knowing that the concern was for the only family in the palace, other than the other.<br/><br/>"My wife is fine," Pavel reassured him, the corners of his mouth pulling up in a small smile before he managed to school his features. "What I came to discuss is more regarding you than it is us." He nodded when Alexei's brow furrowed in confusion. Sparing a glance at the older man in the room, he took solace in Nikolai's belief that Alexei would not like this initially, but would not shirk this duty. "Alexei, you know that we've been trying to have a child for over a decade. The people blame her, but God forgive me, I love my wife, and refuse to send her away to take another, more fertile mate. She is my soul mate, and I will not be parted from her."<br/><br/>"Pavel, what are you blathering about? I would never expect you to send Liz away, she's family," Alexei replied adamantly, not realizing that he had given his Czar the opening he needed.<br/><br/>"It's good that you feel that way, since you are my only other option. As the only other surviving Romanov heir, it falls to you to provide that heir..or would you rather let Olga have that power?" Pavel questioned honestly, knowing the answer even before Alexei replied.<br/><br/>"But..." he broke off, positive that given half the chance, his sister would have them both assasinated to make certain that her spawn would claim power. "Pavel, how can I provide an heir?" He growled when his cousin looked at him with a smirk. "Bastard, I know *how*, what I mean is officially, I would need a wife for a legitimate heir of mine to be recognized." Something in him surged when the Czar's face fell. Were he not in such shock, Alexei would have found it comical. "No! You can't mean..." he shot to his feet with such force, the chair that had been underneath him was thrown to the floor.<br/><br/>"Now, before you lose your temper, just hear me out!" Pavel held up both hands in surrender, quickly dropping one when the general's eyes snapped to the object he had been holding. With a resigned sigh, he handed it over. "Just look at her. Of all the offers I recieved, she is by far the most beautiful," he smiled, knowing the stunning blonde would pique his cousin's appetite. "She's young, pure, you would have many years to provide an heir. More than I have left, at any rate. She's Scandavian...Swedish, to be exact. You've been saying for years how we need a foothold in that part of the world." He reminded him. This was the easy part, if any of this could be called easy.<br/><br/>"Why are you putting this on me now, Pavel?" Alexei asked, looking up from the miniature in his hand. He couldn't refute his kinsman's words. The girl was breath taking. But he also knew he wasn't the marrying type.<br/><br/>"Lord Brogin is mounting support for his own family to replace the Romanovs. And he has more support than I would ever care to admit...spineless cowards. Bringing you such a stunning wife will buy us several years at the very least. It gives the cowards an out, proves that the Romanovs are not idle in their attempts to find an heir for Russia. We might not be able to prevent him from biting, but we can at least knock his teeth out before he does." He saw the look on Alexei's face and rushed to add. "Metaphorically speaking, of course." He knew the second he saw the other man's shoulder's sag, that Nikolai had been right. No matter how much he hated it, Alexei Romanov would not shirk this duty.<br/><br/>"Fine," The General sighed, stuck between a rock and a hard place. "Bring your Scandanavian Princess, I will have her."<br/><br/>"Get your coat, we go to retrive her from the docks in an hour," Pavel replied, immediately backing toward the door, anticipating the explosion.<br/><br/>"WHAT!" he roared, his hands balling into fists as he stalked toward the Czar. "You waited until....!" He really wanted to punch him, right in the face. But he held back and allowed the man to escape and slip from the library unmolested. He stood there in silence and seethed before turning his attention to the other occupant in the room. "You knew about this," he accused, his blue eyes narrowing.