"Ah. I see Sonia has not beaten me to the punch already." The corner of Piotr's mouth twitches. "Good. She likes to make it sound like far more of a scandal than it really was."
It was, actually, kind of a scandal by Vor standards, but Piotr prefers to downplay that part, progressive though he is. He sits back in his chair contemplatively for a moment, taking a long sip of wine before speaking.
"Olivia and Sonia were both in Vorbarr Sultana with the Emperor-their-grandfather and Crown Prince Yuri when the Cetagandans first attacked. So was my father -- it was madness in the capital for months. Emperor Dorca was uneasy having them so close to the center of action, so he sent them to my district along with a few of his armsmen. At that time the Cetagandan war effort had not concentrated so heavily here -- we'd gone to ground, but it wasn't a hot zone yet. So the Princesses spent a few years early in the war under my protection here in Vorkosigan's District. That was how I got to know Olivia, originally. We did not always get along."
The corner of his mouth quirks up just faintly at the memory. "She...challenged me. And I her, in more ways than one." He puffs out a breath that almost sounds like a laugh. "You know, there was really only one thing we could agree on when we first met."
OH BOY ITS STORY TIME
It was, actually, kind of a scandal by Vor standards, but Piotr prefers to downplay that part, progressive though he is. He sits back in his chair contemplatively for a moment, taking a long sip of wine before speaking.
"Olivia and Sonia were both in Vorbarr Sultana with the Emperor-their-grandfather and Crown Prince Yuri when the Cetagandans first attacked. So was my father -- it was madness in the capital for months. Emperor Dorca was uneasy having them so close to the center of action, so he sent them to my district along with a few of his armsmen. At that time the Cetagandan war effort had not concentrated so heavily here -- we'd gone to ground, but it wasn't a hot zone yet. So the Princesses spent a few years early in the war under my protection here in Vorkosigan's District. That was how I got to know Olivia, originally. We did not always get along."
The corner of his mouth quirks up just faintly at the memory. "She...challenged me. And I her, in more ways than one." He puffs out a breath that almost sounds like a laugh. "You know, there was really only one thing we could agree on when we first met."