Houses of the Holy

Ausra watched as the team did their skate, her phone at the ready in case another interview request popped up. Reckon every paper in Quebec wants a piece of them, this is the biggest thing that ever happened in this city, she thought sardonically.

She felt her phone vibrate and saw Laima's number as she hit Talk. "I picked up Sasha from his preschool, he just had lunch and he's taking a nap", said her sister.

"Spasibo, Lee Lee. I'm going to pick him up later, every news outlet in Quebec wants a piece of the guys", she said dryly.

"Da, ya paneymat. And then you start the season in Switzerland and Austria, Sasha wants you to take lots of pictures", she laughed.

"Da, I will. He's going to have some cool stuff to show the kids at school", laughed Ausra as she said goodbye and hung up the phone.

Dan was finishing his skating when he saw Jacquetta on her ever-present phone and Bluetooth, speaking in rapid-fire German as he raised an eyebrow. "Reckon that's for the hotels in Switzerland and Austria, we never saw the dude who did that for the Rangers", said John.

"Yeah, and the old dude wasn't a hot chick", he joked.

John laughed as he followed the rest of the team off the ice towards the dressing room, seeing Ausra on her own phone talking in very rapid French like a native. She can speak French to me anytime, or any other language. Lucky we got her on the trip because I can't even curse in German, he thought dryly.

Danny followed his team into the dressing room as the players sat in front of their stalls and started taking off their practice uniforms. "Guys, next week we start the season in Switzerland and Austria against the Habs, make Quebec City proud by kicking their asses", he said.

"Of course, Coach. But you played with those guys, that's going to be weird", said Jared.

"Oui, Staalsy. But I do want to beat them, they are the ones that bought me out and I rooted for les Habitants when I was a kid, that was my dream to play for them and they stomped all over it. Anyways, have fun and play hard but don't cause any trouble", said Danny.

"Oui, of course. But les femmes Autrichienne et Suisse est mas belle, ils sont le française et l'allemande et l'italienne, le tout mélangé comme ça", joked Max.

"Comment sauriez-vous, avez-vous été là?", teased Derick.

"Non, mais je les ai vus en ligne", he retorted cheerfully.

"Guys, have some pity for the Anglos and the Yanks", laughed John.

"Champ, you have better learn some French if you are going to stay here in Quebec City. I said that Swiss and Austrian women are hot, Swiss girls are French and Italian and German and all mixed up, Austrian ladies are fine too. I've seen them online", he translated.

"Sweet, Euro chicks are hot, period", he laughed.

Derick just laughed as he stripped off his uniform and headed to the showers, whistling a merry tune. I can't wait to start the trip, Natalia is coming with us. And Switzerland is a very romantic country, he thought with a laugh.

Jacquetta finished making arrangements with the hotel in Vienna, sighing in relief as she put her phone away. I can't believe it took that long, no one goes to Vienna in the fall because there's no snow yet. At least the hotel is booked and the charter was booked weeks ago, I don't want us to get stranded out there, she thought.

She went to her office in the bowels of Le Colisee and checked her mailbox, seeing that it was empty and that she had no new emails. "Everything work out with the hotels, Jackie?", asked Ausra.

"Oui, finally. I know my German is more of a standard type and not Austrian German, but my accent isn't that bad. You would think that they would be used to dealing with Germans", she replied sardonically.

"Je sais, maybe they think you're an American, Euros are weird like that", said Ausra.

"I'm not American, with my accent there's no way I could pass por une Americaine. And I'm not even totally Canadian, with my mom being Polish and all", said Jacquetta.

"People are retarded like that, people can't believe I'm American because of my name and because English is my third language. Sasha is with my sister, she picked him up from preschool", said Ausra.

"Nice, lucky they don't have a practice tomorrow and there's only one more preseason game in Montreal", said Jacquetta.

"And it's on a Saturday so I can take Sasha, he loves hockey. He wants to be a hockey player like his father", said Ausra.

"Has he spoken with his father lately?", asked Jacquetta.

"Oui, last night on Skype. When the Caps come to town in a month, I'm talking Sasha to the game to see his father. That's the only time he won't be rooting for the Nordiques", she joked.

"I just want to go home and pound on the skins, I need to get it out of my system", said Jacquetta.

"Good idea, I'm going to take Sasha home and cook some dinner, Game of Thrones is on tonight", said Ausra.

"That is the best show, House of Stark all the way!", shouted Jacquetta.

"I'm a Targaryen, Daenarys is so badass. I've always been into the warrior women, I'm an Eowyn girl", boasted Ausra.

"Because you should have been a man, Ausra. You're super tall and brilliant, in another life you were a king", said Jacquetta.

"Oui, I'd love to a queen someday, I already have my prince. Au revoir", said Ausra.

"Au revoir", replied Jacquetta.

She left her office and walked out of the arena towards the employee parking lot, seeing Natalia waiting besides her black Volkswagen Jetta. "I need to go and hit the skins today, dealing with those assholes in Vienna", she muttered.

"I understand, dealing with these hotel people in Europe is a hassle. And you are going to have to be nice to Dan Carcillo", said Natalia.

Jacquetta's cheeks turned pink as she got in the driver's seat and turned on the engine, the Sirius turned to Boneyard as it played some Deep Purple. "I know that, I am a professional. But he is so goonish, and he's not my type", she answered primly.

"He's not goonish, he just looks that way. Dan is a very nice man, he's a popular guy with the team and he's already become the locker room DJ", said Natalia.

"What does he play?", she asked, sounding intrigued in spite of herself.

"He's big into 70's rock, he was playing some early Rush when I went there to speak with some of the Russian players", she replied.

"Neil Peart is the best drummer, him and John Bonham", said Jacquetta.

"Then maybe you have something in common", teased Natalia as her cousin gave her a look.

"No, we have to be professional, Natasha. And you have to behave yourself with Brassard, if something happens you are going to get fired", she chided as Natalia blushed guiltily.

Ausra finished up her paperwork and left the arena, getting into her blue Nissan and driving towards Laima and Danny's house in Sainte-Foy west of the city. "Mama!", shouted Alexey when he saw his mother emerge from her car.

"Sasha, have you been a good boy for Aunt Laima?", she asked, smiling at her son.

"Da, mommy. We went outside and threw water balloons and we saw rabbits at the school", he said happily.

"He's been talking about that since he got here, I had to change his clothes", said Laima with a laugh.

"Mommy, can we see Game of Thrones tonight?", he asked eagerly.

"Da, but you can't tell the kids at school because the teachers don't like it", she replied as she strapped him into his car seat.

"That's dumb, Game of Thrones is awesome", he said.

"Teachers don't want boys to say violent things, Sasha. Do you want shashlik for dinner?", she asked.

"Da, mommy", he said eagerly.

Ausra chuckled at her son as she backed out of the driveway, the speakers playing Blackmore's Night from her Ipod. "Mommy, take lots of pictures", he demanded.

"Of course, Sasha. And you are going to Montreal with us this weekend, you are going to see the game with your Aunt Laima and Uncle Danny and your cousins", she said.

"Yay, I want to be a hockey player like daddy", he said happily.

"Ya paneymat, Sasha. But you have to be a big boy first and go to school", she said.

"I want to be a big boy, Mommy", he said.

"You will be, Sasha", she replied.

Ausra parked in the space in their condo building and took Alexey out of his car seat, leading him upstairs to their apartment. While it had the same plan as all the other units in the building, it was decorated in such a way that made it feel different. The walls were adorned with prints of Russian landscapes and Lord of the Rings art and the colorful throw rugs on the carpeted floor were in a traditional Russian design, the faint aroma of incense still hanging in the air. On a coffee table in the living room was a large book with pictures of Russian history with Russian text, facing a wall-mounted plasma TV. In the corner of the parlor was a small home altar with figures of the various Slavic and Baltic gods, along with a dish of vodka and a small bowl with the ashes from a stick of incense.

Alexey turned on the TV and watched some cartoons from Netflix while Ausra changed into yoga pants and an old Rainbow t-shirt, going into the kitchen to prepare the shashlik. She could hear the sound of the TV as her son watched a French cartoon, knowing that this would help him improve his French. He needs to get better at speaking French, she mused.

After dinner and when the dishes were all cleared away, Ausra made a bowl of popcorn and Alexey changed into his pajamas as she put on HBO for the newest episode of Game of Thrones. Alexey ate some popcorn and snuggled next to his mother, wide-eyed at the sword fights and cheering on Daenarys and her army. "Mommy, Dany is so cool", he giggled.

"Ya paneymat, Sasha. Women can be every bit as strong as men, never think women are stupid and weak", she said. I've always had to be the strong one, Laima can be the nice twin because of me, she mused.