vera

mom to four: ebba, anton, viveka, astrid

is here to boogie

has ‘johanne <3s me’ tshirts in every colour

the calm(er) one of the squad

“ MOOOOO-OOOOM… ” this was ten times worse than she ever could have imagined. how did ebba handle it ? she had brought guys and girl around so many times and somehow survived the probing. for fuck’s sake, she had had herself wrapped around leonardo de bragança’s arm. “ you’re prying. stop being so nosy. i’m a VAULT you know. ”

     - ALL OF the waltz lessons he had had over the course of his entire life would be applied to this one song. it would be far too embarrassing to ask the queen of sweden to dance and make one wrong move while leading her. ‘ her reaction couldn’t be so bad, she’s been wanting me to settle down and we can both agree you couldn’t make a bad choice if you wanted to. ’ he, on the other hand, made those daily. the mention of sol’s date has his smile faltering. ‘ right, mwezi. have you met him ? ’

     - ‘ I HAD to, you set the standard pretty high last night. ’ the welcoming party was a forecast of the wedding itself and it looked like new york during fashion week. ‘ but i can’t take the credit tonight, fanni actually chose it. to match hers or something. ’ taking her hand to make the short way to the other dancing duos, ilija laughed and shook his head. ‘ i came with my cousin, all i’m getting are pity looks. i won’t oppose if you want to set me up. ’

“ aaahhh that’s dramatic. we’re fine. she’s happy. i’m not needed, she’ll come to be when i am.  — talk about what ? ”

he freezes, eyes widening as if he’s a deer caught in headlights before he squints.  “ … mamma i have three sisters here. ”

“ no, that’s the easy part: i can’t stand the remixes. ” she rolled her eyes at the queen, knowing full well that now that vera bernadotte was at full steam, there was no stopping her. “ you’ll get him on midsummer. can’t you wait a few weeks ? ”

a low hum sounds at the back of her throat. ‘  tanzania. ’   as if it’s the only important thing.  ‘ well then, thank you olivier. ’  she blows him a brief kiss with her hand, that waves him away in the same sweeping motion. ‘ you may go now, ’  before his father says something no one wants him to hear. hands clasp in front of her. ‘ who’s going to say it ? will it be me ? ’  her left hand moves within its clasp to squeeze at her right wrist which swivel to show two fingers miming the snip of scissors. vera is liberal, but sol is different. ‘  i’m sure it’ll resolve itself anyway, these things don’t last with these children. ’  but does sol need to learn how to be treated like a piece of meat ?  /.  @saskiaelse, @cocnraad,

he’ll have to ask saskia later what that was about – eight months! at his age, it should be nothing, but the world was fast paced and despite his catching up, there are still memories he missed – or corner olivier before he could slip away again. hmph. “ i thought sol would have better taste, ” he said mildly, glancing at saskia for her opinion, “ you should have let me tell olivier to keep an eye out for her, he’s more of a gentleman than this mwezi. ” and now the boy would be in all of ani’s wedding pictures wearing that japing grin as though he’d won some prize. fantastic. “ with luck, he won’t be accompanying sol at the next wedding – whose will it be, vera? ” / @saskiaelse​ or @vcra​

“ i knew it ! i could have told you this all. ” perhaps not in the same great detail as olivier… “ i don’t stick my nose in my boys’ love lives for nothing. ” she had kindly stayed away from the girls’ love lives because they had not been so absolutely hopeless ! “ no, olivier needs to stay far far away from him. ani says they tend to squabble. we’re fortunate enough to have the osmanoglus away, let’s not push our luck. ” she fixed herself on her seat and rested her elbows on the table, palms pressed together as she leaned closer to the center of the round table. “ besides, my plan is to make sure olivier and euphemia stuart talk for longer than three seconds. ”

“ I THINK YOU NEED A MAP. tanzania’s totally different from tasmania. ” so different that it made her narrow her eyes. “ what reputation ? have you been talking to ilija ? ” ilija was a FUCKING snitch. “ he’s biased because of that thing with his cousin. ” astrid waved her hand as if to dismiss the worry. “ have you even talked to him. you shouldn’t be so judgmental. ”

“ TWO MINUTES IS A LONG TIME, MUM ! ” places to be, jokes to hear, corners to check out ! reluctantly she slid into the seat next to the queen. the moment her bottom hit the cushion and vera bernadotte revealed her true intentions, astrid new she had made a GRAVE mistake. she went scarlet red. “ jelani. where did you get habibi ? that’s arabic, mum. ” and as far as she knew, no one had it as a first name. “ why ? ” 

‘  since i got shot, you went into a coma — sorry saskia, that bastard got murdered after his own trial, that italian also got shot, and nearly everything in between ? ’  hand comes up matter-of-factly directed at vera. ‘ what you call morose, i call realism. no wonder sol wanted to become an army nurse, there was market for it. very enterprising of her, you should be proud. she will graduate when she graduates, not everything is a race ! ask one of the children who the boy is, they should know. ’   /. @cocnraad​  or hijack!

forefinger lifts from it’s place against his glass to shift sharply. “ don’t encourage it, johanne – she’s too young to be witnessing frontline injuries. ” anton had come back different. sol didn’t need to experience that too. “ there are plenty of other professions if she wants to help people, ” he nods approvingly at vera. blue gaze scans the room for his boys, free arm raising to beckon the younger. “ olivier! ” does he not see coenraad? “ saskia, tell your son to come here. ” / @saskiaelse​ or @olivicr

“ she should go to med school. that’s a respectable career choice. we need more female doctors in this world ! ” needless to say, saskia did not know anything about astrid bernadotte’s academic prowess. “ it would get her away from paris. ” saskia got it ! paris was wonderful: the city of lights, the most romantic city in europe… everything glittered, the bakeries were to die for, and seine flowed beautifully through it. but. it was in france. “ i think i know who that is… ” but her eyes were not as sharp without her glasses. maybe she should have brough her opera lenses. her hand swatted coenraad on the arm ( gently, affectionately ), before waving to olivier and gesturing him to make the long journey of four meters to their table. ( @olivicr​ )

he took one cautious step to join the circle. his hands were tightly clasped together behind his back. “ and what can i do for you ? ” he looked around the band of thieves. ( @vcra​ )

“ if i end up having to save him from either of you tonight, we’ll call it a night early. have you seen sol’s date ? you should go grill him. ”

     - ‘ EXCUSE ME. ’ hands behind his back and the wamest smile show the perfect posture. he’d been waiting until the woman was alone to approach, god forbid he’d interrupt her mid conversation. ‘ i believe i owe your majesty an apology. ’ he’d missed the last dinner she’d invited him to. a crime. ‘ can i make it up with a dance ? ’ / @vcra​

“ you have not been tormenting rohan, have you ? ” ( @vcra​ )

SHE POURS HER underdressed husband and friends their drinks at the table, playing host to the host himself, nils ( the only one worth her time, really — dear nils ) , the blonde imitation machine, saskia. ‘  well ! whatever happens tonight at least there are no murderers at this feast. ’  it’s a flimsy statement. she might still turn into one by morning.   /.  @cocnraad​

back falls against his seat soundly – and not because he still tires easily – taking a sip to cover an amused grin. johanne’s interpretation of the dress code makes her look as though she’d been wrapped in tin foil. expensive tin foil, of course, but vera has certainly won this round. “ since when have you set such low standards for acceptable conduct. tonight is just the beginning – the reception is where we can expect the worst. ” the camera game invited such gauche behavior….but what ani wanted, ani got. / @vcra​ or @jchvnne​

“ we allowed quite a few known pairs of enemies here. you might take back you words. ” but at least none of her sons would be throwing punches ! the absence of the turkish had ensured that. “ vera, is that a new thing ? ” she gestured towards the youngest bernadotte and her date. one that she had been told olivier should be kept a safe distance away from. ( @vcra + whoever )