The Golden Chain
by Abelard

part 3

The Cassadine house in London was a sprawling four-story grey stone mansion built on Hyde Park in the Victorian era. Alexis' people installed Sonny in a suite that consisted of an office, a waiting room, a sitting room, a bedchamber, and a closet that could have slept seven, and a bathroom as large as the closet. He was told his valet's room was adjacent to his suite. There was a rope he could pull to summon any other servants as he wished.

Sonny bathed and changed, and considered what to do next. Alexis had told him someone would summon him when her group was ready to meet with him. But he wasn't one to sit around and wait, and although he would have liked to be near Kristina, she was having lessons with her governess. So he left his rooms and roamed the high, dark corridors alone. The medieval trappings recalled Wyndermere, and he realized Stefan must have inherited his ancestors' taste in décor.

Sonny turned a corner and heard Alexis' voice. He followed it without hesitation. He had never gone astray when he'd followed Alexis' voice in the past. He came to a large meeting room where Alexis and her advisors seemed to be conducting business.

"Your Highness," Menshikov the Vizier observed, and all discussion ceased. The advisors bowed respectfully to him; Alexis did not. "We are scheduled to meet with you two hours from now. I shall send Hakari to your suite when it is time."

"Thanks," Sonny said, "but I decided to come here and sit in on your discussions. I don't feel like taking a nap, and there's nothing else to do in my, ah, suite."

The blonde Englishman, Raleigh, who sat on the other side of Alexis from Menshikov, protested loudly. "These are extremely sensitive, confidential matters, Sir. You are a stranger to us."

"I'm not a stranger to all of you," Sonny retorted, looking pointedly at Alexis. "And I am the Prince, am I not?'

"But that's a formality…"sputtered Raleigh.

"Have a seat, Sonny," Alexis offered, deciding the issue. "Raleigh, please hand His Highness a copy of our agenda for today." The Englishman stalled, obviously uncomfortable with Sonny's presence. She spoke a few sentences in French to him; the tone she used was quite harsh, and Sonny was pleased that the arrogant Brit was being reprimanded on his behalf. Raleigh nodded to Alexis, and reluctantly gave Sonny a leather-bound folder with a three-page agenda inside.

Sonny made himself comfortable in an antique armchair and skimmed the schedule. It was incredibly dense. The topics ranged from the Cassadine's Norwegian oil exports to their cocoa interests on the Ivory Coast. They'd already had several executives of subsidiaries and ministers from two embassies visit that day. At a convenient break in the discussion, Sonny leaned over to the Japanese advisor next to him and asked if he could take a look at the next week's worth of agendas. It appeared that Alexis expected her team to begin working at seven in the morning, and on most days, they did not stop until nine at night. Clearly, Alexis demanded that her group match her stamina. Sonny felt a respect growing in him for these advisors; if they could keep up with Alexis, they must be talented indeed.

He listened for an hour to catch the power dynamics in the room. It became evident that Alexis chose to rule by consensus. They were talking about silver mines in India; the group couldn't agree on a course of action even though Alexis was strongly advocating what sounded like a logical plan. At last, Sonny felt he couldn't restrain himself anymore. He had to participate, even if his leadership style was completely opposite of Alexis'.

"We'll encounter greater risk if we do as you propose…" one of Alexis' advisors was saying.

Sonny sighed loudly, and all eyes flew to him. "The Princess has decided."

"What?" the interrupted advisor asked, stunned.

"You all make it sound as if Her Highness was only making a suggestion. You're mistaken. Her Highness has made a decision." Sonny rose from his chair and went to stand behind his new wife. "You're the Princess's advisors. That means you give her your input, and she comes to a conclusion. Well, for the last hour, you've been saying your peace, but she's remained convinced her plan is best. So, thank you for your contributions. But it's obvious that the Princess has made up her mind on this point." Alexis looked up at Sonny's confident face and their eyes met momentarily. If he read her correctly, she was bemused but grateful for his interjection on her behalf.

Sonny's attitude was such that it brooked no argument. The advisor who had been most recently questioning Alexis bowed slightly to him and said, "Your Highness," deferential in the extreme. It was the first time that Sonny really felt like a Cassadine Prince.

****

Late that evening, Alexis and her group finally wrapped up their talks. They would convene, as usual, early the next morning, so several subjects were simply tabled. One of the questions which they hadn't resolved was what to do about Sonny's quandary. The advisors had managed to discover exactly who was aligned against him, and the list was long and powerful. None of their proposed solutions seemed to be a winner.

Sonny left the meeting room feeling exhausted and frustrated. He'd hoped that with the Cassadines' power behind him, he could put his situation to rights quickly. He hated being wrong, ever, but he realized he'd been very wrong about this. The war he was fighting was going to go on for a long time: several months, at least.

He frowned and ran a face over his hands as he walked back to his chambers. Suddenly, a hand touched his elbow and a familiar voice greeted him.

"Hey. Want a scotch?" Alexis asked.

"Huh?" Sonny asked, sounding like a moron. He was just surprised she was speaking to him. He was sure they'd have a marriage that was as cold and silent as any royal couple's.

"I know you've had a long day. I just thought you might appreciate a scotch. We've got the real stuff here - straight from the Highlands. Come on, I'll pour you a glass and we can talk."

Sonny nodded. "You lead, I'll follow."

Alexis laughed. "I've waited years to hear you say that," she said, and showed him the way.

****

"We could extract them. Take the leaders and their families out of the country, all on the same night. It would handicap their organizations. That would be the wisest move," Alexis argued nearly an hour later. They were in Alexis' private sitting room, debating the various ways they could strike at Sonny's enemies. They ran into all the same logical roadblocks they had when they'd discussed it with the group.

"It wouldn't be the most effective move," Sonny insisted.

Alexis leaned back and set her jaw. "I won't have my people do murder for you, Sonny. You know this is where we've always disagreed violently, you and I."

Sonny did know that. Involuntarily, a picture formed in his mind of the last time they'd disagreed over a murder Sonny wanted to commit. It had ended with them in his bed, for the first and last time. He shook his head just slightly to break free of the spell those memories cast. "Alright, I play by your rules. If we take them all out, and we take all my guys who have turned, too, then that'll just lead to open war. I won't have enough strength to stake out my territory, and lieutenants from the opposition will just try to move in wherever they can."

Alexis frowned. "I agree. So we're back to where we started. Well," she said, taking a sip of scotch, "maybe something will come to us tomorrow."

Alexis appeared to get lost in her own thoughts, working through the problem again in her mind. Sonny stared at her for several moments. "You're very good at this," he said.

"What?" Alexis' attention returned to him.

"I said, you're very good at this. You're a good boss to your crew. You command their respect. You drive them to cover a lot of ground quickly. You know how to get results. I admire that."

"Thanks," Alexis said with a smile and a raised eyebrow. "Was I none of those things when I was your attorney? You make it sound as if I was a deadbeat as a lawyer."

"No, you know I don't mean that. I meant to compliment you. You're different than you were when we last saw each other."

"How so?" Alexis asked, puzzled and interested by Sonny's sudden penchant for personal talk. She didn't him remember him ever volunteering insightful observations before.

Sonny shrugged, trying to put his finger on what he sensed. "You carry more responsibility. You're a stronger leader. You're more authoritative."

"Yes," Alexis agreed. "Thanks."

Sonny had more to say, but hesitated. How would she react to his next statements? But he made them anyway. "You're also…sadder. More cynical. Harder."

"Yes, that's true, too," Alexis said. "It's been a difficult five years since I left Port Charles. It's a very different life, being a Princess and a Cassadine instead of just Alexis Davis."

"You were never *just* Alexis Davis. Alexis Davis was *always* someone to be reckoned with," Sonny insisted. Alexis smiled in gratitude, and Sonny could tell by her wistful expression that she was remembering her old life. He weighed his next words carefully. "What I want to know," he said, "is whether any of your…your sadness, whether it comes from me. I don't say that to be egotistical, I know you always said I think everything's about me," he said quickly, making the claim before she could. "But when you left, we were on pretty bad terms, and I was just wondering…" he trailed off with a shrug. He felt like an ass. She was always better spoken than he was, and sometimes he felt like an inarticulate fool trying to talk to her.

"Sonny," Alexis said very seriously, compelling him to meet her gaze. "You didn't break me. I won't say that I've forgiven and forgotten everything that happened between us. But as for my sadness…you didn't cause that. That just comes from too many decisions, too much travel, too much Cassadine and not enough Alexis. If I'm sadder, it's because of the way I've lived my life, not because of you."

Just then, a beautiful, tiny tornado swept through the room screaming. "Mama, mama, mama, mama!!!!!"Kristina shouted, running circles around Alexis and Sonny's chairs.

"Come here, baby!" Alexis said. Suddenly she sounded light and free. She caught her speeding daughter up in her arms and smothered her cheeks with kisses. Kristina giggled and squirmed.

"It's time for hide-and-go-seek!!! Can Sonny play, too?!" Kristina asked.

"Of course he can. All right, I'm gonna count to twenty, and then we're coming after you, got it?!"

"Got it. Here I go!!!" And Kristina disappeared just as quickly as she'd come.

Alexis was wearing a grin brighter than the stars when she turned to Sonny again. "You see? You haven't been the cause of unhappiness. You've given me the greatest joy of my life." Then, she walked out into the hallway and yelled in her loudest voice, "Eighteen! Nineteen! Twenty! Ready or not, here we come!!" Alexis glanced over her shoulder and winked at Sonny. "Come on!" she said, and took off running down the dank corridors, still dressed in her suit and stiletto heels.

Sonny stood utterly still. The sight of Alexis winking at him had him paralyzed. But at last, he felt his limbs were capable of movement, and he sprinted out the door, in suit and tie, to chase after her and their daughter.

part 4