Chapter 1: A Place Where Nobody Knows Your Name

Elizabeth Tudor wasn't a redheaded stepchild.  She was a redheaded middle child, which was quite possibly worse.

Her father, Henry, was an extremely wealthy businessman in her hometown.  Her mother Anne had been his second wife. She died under mysterious circumstances when Elizabeth was just a little girl.  There had been a host of stepmothers after her mother died, but Elizabeth was never close to any of them.  While Elizabeth had a relationship with her father, he always took a much more active interest in her older half-sister and her younger half-brother, leaving Elizabeth to her own devices in the care of nannies.  In Henry's mind, Elizabeth was just a cruel reminder of the passionate love that he and Anne had once shared before its dissolution into visceral hatred.  

Elizabeth knew she had to leave when she grew up.  Her isolated childhood and lack of family support left her independent, but insecure and desperate to be liked.  If she remained, nobody would accept her for herself, but would use her as a connection to the father she resented.  She was never going to find the acceptance in his shadow.  She had to get out, and she had to do it immediately.

Elizabeth's boyfriend Robert was thrilled at the prospect of leaving town.  His father had worked with Henry, but after a scandal involving embezzlement, he had fallen from grace at the company.  Robert did not want to be tainted by the legacy of his father any more than Elizabeth wanted to be tainted by the legacy of hers, so he jumped at the chance to start fresh.  

The couple quietly eloped and settled down in a small cottage in Sunset Valley.  They didn't have much, but it was completely worth it to be away from their families in a place where nobody knew their names.  

Elizabeth had never thought of what kind of career she wanted.  All her life she had dreamed of escaping her father's grip, but hadn't given much thought to what she would do once she was free.  She decided to look at job advertisements in the newspaper.  

"The newspaper is hiring," she tells Robert.  "The pay is decent, and the hours are good.  I've always liked writing.  If I become a journalist, we could both be writers!"

"A journalist?"  Robert strokes his chin after he finishes typing a sentence on the computer.  Unlike Elizabeth, Robert had decided to become an author back in high school.  He's started what he hopes will be his first published piece, a non-fiction work called Attack on the Bear Cave.  "Well, if you're happy and it helps pay the bills, then I'm happy.  If you think I'm sharing the computer with you, however, you've got another thing coming, my dear."

The newspaper hitting the back of his head makes him much more amenable to sharing.

Realizing that she and her husband are dangerously close to being unable to afford groceries, Elizabeth goes to the park to harvest wild limes and apples so that they will be able to eat something besides cereal and canned soup.  She also finds some lettuce seeds, thinking perhaps she might start a small garden.  Since she doesn't know anything about gardening, she heads to the library to do some reading on the subject.

Meanwhile, two neighbors drop by the house to welcome the new couple.  Robert invites them in, excited to meet new people.  

He starts to regret his decision when Molly French immediately starts hitting on him.  

Meanwhile, Justine Keaton contents herself with staring out the window.  Robert suspects she's either contemplating motherhood (Justine is due any day now) or spying on Christopher Steele, who lives next door.  He decides not to ask; he has a feeling he'd rather not know. 

While his guests occupy themselves by chatting, Robert decides to surprise Elizabeth by cooking dinner.  Nothing fancy, just a salad.  He's no chef, but he's pretty sure there is no way to screw up a salad...right?

Not bad, even if he does say so himself.  

"You're a pretty good cook dear," Elizabeth says, smiling.  "I found some lettuce seeds today and did some research on gardening.  We can save money by growing our own produce, which you can use in your cooking adventures."

Elizabeth plants an apple seed and a lettuce seed to start her garden.  She thinks that she and Robert are like Candide and Cunegonde.  They must cultivate their garden together and start their new life.  They might not have much, but Elizabeth is pretty sure she and Robert are living in the best of all possible worlds.  

Justine and Molly hang around after Robert and Elizabeth have gone to bed.  Unfortunately for the Tudors, a very pregnant Justine goes into labor around midnight in their living room.  

Robert offers to drive her to the hospital.  The poor woman is tired, in pain, and in no condition to drive. 

Justine decides she can drive herself, but takes Robert along for company.  Robert is visibly uncomfortable being in a car driven by a woman who is in active labor.

Justine calls her husband, Marty, when they arrive at the hospital.  Robert agrees to wait with her until Marty gets there.

Fortunately, Marty shows up quickly.  He thanks Robert for his help.  

Not long after Marty arrives, Justine gives birth to a healthy baby boy.  His parents name him Buddy.  Robert is happy for the couple, but thoroughly exhausted.  

Being a nice guy is tiring work, don't you know.  

He's beyond thrilled when he can snuggle with Elizabeth in their bed and finally get some sleep.

It's been a hectic first day in Sunset Valley, but so far, it has been completely worth it.  

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Welcome to my Sims 3 Random Legacy Challenge!  I've been having a lot of fun playing this so far and I'm really excited to share my legacy.  The first chapter is a little mundane, but I hope it was enjoyable anyway.  Creative writing is not my strong suit, but I'm hoping to improve.

My legacy founders, Elizabeth and Robert Tudor, are very loosely based on two historical figures that I find fascinating.  Elizabeth is based on Elizabeth I, the famous Virgin Queen of England, and my childhood hero.  Robert is based on Elizabeth's Master of Horse, court favorite, dear friend, and rumored lover, Robert Dudley.  Most historians agree that while she flirted with a lot of men and had many court favorites, Elizabeth was only truly in love with Robert (and he with her, of course).  Had she been able to marry whomever she pleased with no political consequences and not had been able to maintain her power, she probably would have married him.  After his death, she kept the last letter he had written to her, writing "His Last Letter" on the top of it.  It was on the nightstand in the room where she died, fifteen years later.  My fondest wish has always been to write an "alternative history" novel in which they actually married and lived happily ever after, so this legacy is, in a sense, letting me do that.  

Anyway, this generation promises to be challenging.  The roll is couple, four kids, job hopper and author.  The goal for this generation is Party to Remember, and the misc. fun is It's So You.  This explains the Robin Hood coloring of the house; Elizabeth's favorite color is green (green being the color of the Tudors), while Robert's is spice brown.  I'm a little nervous about finances right now, as job hopper means Elizabeth won't be able to advance far enough in her careers to attain the really large paychecks, and living off of royalties is difficult, but they'll have to manage.  Elizabeth I was known for her frugality, so budgeting suits her.  Her career list in order is journalism, law enforcement (forensics), criminal (thief), fishing, criminal (thief - a relapse perhaps?), busker, culinary, music (classical), law enforcement (forensics - another relapse?), and adventurer.  

Elizabeth's traits are bookworm, charismatic, flirty, genius and virtuoso.  Robert's are charismatic, flirty, adventurer, artistic and athletic.

Elizabeth's musings about cultivating gardens and the best of all possible worlds comes from the French writer Voltaire's wonderful satire Candide.  I highly recommend it, as it is quite funny.  

As a last note, I just want to apologize for the quality of the screenshots.  My graphics card is on the low end of the spectrum, since I bought my laptop never dreaming I would install Sims on here.  You will see lots of, erm, "disjointed" Sims.  It also explains why my Sims tend to look rather "vanilla" - my graphics card can't process some of the more nuanced details.  I may be able to replace my laptop later this summer, but as for now, I must make do with what I've got.