A Battle Unseen

[Doc]

Naval Tracking Station Neptune, near Addisjah Vrassa
6:16 local

"Commander, is this whole night going to be like this?" asked SFC Jones, the NCO assigned to radio watch. Jones was recently involved in an onbase incident where he was intoxicated and assaulted two MPs who were attempting to escort him back to his barracks at the radar base. Rather than facing a court martial, he accepted NJP and was assigned to two weeks overnight duty. He was on his second week.

"Shut up Jones and listen for that radio. And if anyone calls it, I better not catch you sleeping again or I am handing you over the JAG and you can rot in the brig."

"Aye Ma'am!" shot Jones sarcastically. The Commander glared as this delinquent Sailor and knew that he was probably gonna wash out sooner rather than later. He wouldn't be her, or the Regular Navy's problem after that.

"You've got an attitude Jones," she said.

"Aye Ma'am," he responded.

"Your mother must be so proud," she responded.

"Your mom is proud," he muttered under his breath. Just loud enough so his Commander could hear him say something, but not quite make out what he said.

"As you were, Sailor! Lock it up and listen to that radio." She went to her duty office and slammed the door. She'd had enough of his insubordination for one evening.

As the door closed, a crackle came over the comm: "CQ CQ Station Alpha Juliet. CQ CQ Station Alpha Juliet. Do you Copy?" SFC Jones picked up the handset, keyed the mic, and said "Kelly, you just did a radio check five minutes ago. Don't you have anything better to do?"

"Alpha Juliet... ummm... this is Station Kilo Delta. Location BZ Oh Five Eight Niner. Ummm... They disappeared Over..."

Jones didn't recognize that call sign, he had no idea who Alpha Juliet was, and the location sounded like a naval grid. Something was off here. "Say again? Who is this?" Jones demanded.

"This is Kilo Delta. The little blip, its' gone, over."

"What Blip?" Jones asked.

"The little blip. the... the f--king plane, you dumbs--t. It's gone. It was here... like... we were tracking uh... it's yeah.... Captain..." the radio went silent.

Jones had no idea what this other person was talking about. He waited for a moment and then keyed the handset again. "Kilo Delta..." he waited. "Kilo Delta..." nothing, just the static. "Kilo Delta, get your god damned ears on Over."

Suddenly a different voice came back over the radio. "Quit cussing on my radio" said the voice, clearly in authority. "Alpha Juliet, this is Captain Oscar Caldwell. Get your Watch Officer on the radio right now."

Jones suddenly had a feeling of dread creep over him. He put the headset and the handset down on the desk, and slowly got up and walked over to the Duty hut's hatch, pounded on the door and stood there. He pounded on the door again. "Ma'am!"

A voice from inside the duty office yelled "Go the f--k away, Jones, and quit f--king around with your stupid friends..."

"Ma'am There's a Captain someone on the radio asking for you from someone named Kilo Delta."

The door swung rapidly open, and the Commander, with her uniform blouse untucked into her belt stuck her head out. "What... is... it..." She was pissed.

"Ma'am I was ordered to get you on the radio. By a captain something or other."

The Commander chuckled incredulously. "Oh, a Captain someone, huh. Jones I swear to god if this is a joke, you will be scrubbing heads with your f--king toothbrush for the next week." She pushed past him and walked over to the radio desk. "Captain someone, this is Commander Anderson, of Station Neptune. Identify yourself."

Jones stood at attention and looked at her as he heard the radio squawking in the headset, but couldn't make it out. After about five seconds, he saw the commander's face go white as a sheet. She dropped the handset and shot a stare back at him which looked to him like she had just been electrocuted and could be dead. And yet she still remained standing. "Seaman, bring me the telephone please..." was all she said.

[Doc]

Chancellor's Office, Downtown Kaliburg Ananto
December 30, 9:37 am

"Show him in Brad," said the Chancellor. The heavy oaken door of the office swung open, and in walked Grand Duke Craig Alvarez, closing the door quickly behind him. "You have three minutes, before Princess Mary gets here."

"What the hell is this?" he demanded, throwing a copy of the special edition of The Republic onto her desk. She looked over the headline, the whole front page, and probably several pages inside were occupied by the story of the missing Emperor and Empress.

"What am I looking at here, Craig?" she asked. She had not slept for an entire day, and was both punch drunk and groggy and was not even sure if she was actually talking to the Grand Duke at this point.

He pointed to a passage in the paper and through bleary eyes, she tried to read it. She put her reading glasses on and it still looked blurry even after she squinted. She took her glasses off and tossed them nonchalantly on the desk in disgust. "Worthless," she muttered as she pushed the button for her intercom. "Brad, am I currently at work?"

"Yes Madame," answered the intercom.

"Am I speaking with the Grand Duke right now?" she asked, only half joking.

"Yes Madame," said the voice. "Would you like your coffee now?"

"Please Brad, yes, thank you god."

She waited until her secretary brought the coffee in. She took it, thanked him, and dismissed him.

"Well?!" demanded the Grand Duke.

"Well what?" she asked and sipped the strong black coffee again.

"What's this about Princess Nicolette as regent here? This paper said you said that."

She squinted again at where he was pointing and just gave up. She was just too tired. "Ah, I say a lot of things, Dukie..."

He stepped back and examined her closely. "Are you stoned? Right now? Are you kidding me?"

She laughed. She was exhausted, and she was emotionally drained from weeping in the moments that people would leave her alone long enough to let her have a moment to cry. "Go to hell. I'm just tired, and I'm not going to go home for a few more days. So what are you talking about, please? Either say it straight or get out of my office."

"Princess Nicolette? As the regent? Are you insane?"

"That's what this is about?" She asked incredulously.

"Yeah, THAT's what this is about. Have you lost your mind? Are you sleep deprived? You said that to the press last night?"

'What? Princess Nicolette, yeah. Regent? Sounds good. I agree."

"No," he said, "I do NOT agree. The Emperor's sister has made a life out of avoiding any concept of responsibility of any kind. How can you dream that she would be suitable as regent?"

"Well, someone has to be."

"Yeah, anyone but her..." shot the Grand Duke back. "Literally anyone."

The Chancellor laughed at how upset the Grand Duke was getting. "You got someone in mind? Huh Craig? You been doing some thinking?"

The Grand Duke shrugged: "Call Lady Anantonia back here. Or Princess Mary. or..."

"Or what?" the Chancellor responded. "Or what? Oh... you mean or you."

"Well? I am the Grand Duke of Kalistan."

"And?" asked the Chancellor.

"And I am related to the Royal family..."

The Chancellor smiled, "And?"

"Well, I think I would make a damn good regent... if there is going to be one..."

Noticing an almost imperceptible pause in his speech, the Chancellor put her reading glasses on, not to see him better, but for effect. "Yeah, that's not going to happen, Craig. You have things you need to take care of in Kalistan. And an Ananto will be regent, not an Alvarez. And you know full well why that is."

The Grand Duke kept tight lipped. "No. I don't think I do."

The Chancellor fixed her gaze upon the Grand Duke. "Don't think I don't know what you and the Dukes of Kalistan discussed last night in your little secret meeting."

"I'm sure I don't know what you are talking about." said the Grand Duke.

"Oh yes you do. You may not realize things but people are willing to talk. You should be more careful who you tell what to. You never know who is listening."

The Grand Duke stammered. "Look, that was just an idea, ok? It really wasn't even a serious one. But now is the time, if we're going to make any changes, now is the time to do it."

"My, Craig. They aren't even officially dead yet," said the Chancellor, outraged. "You think you're going to come in here and talk about regime change when they might still be out there, fighting for their lives?"

"No no... we don't have to call it regime cha... hey, wait a second. You don't know what you're even talking about. Who told you we were discussing regime change? who even told you we met?"

"Well, you just did, you moron. I ought to have you clapped in chains."

The Grand Duke suddenly realized he'd been tricked. "I... look, we're just talking..." He paused. "I outrank you, you know... I am your liege, and I expect your fealty."

"My lord, Grand Duke, you outrank my county, but my Premiership outranks you and your whole Ducal council, and the law is on my side. I suggest you immediately reswear your own oath of fealty to House Ananto now, before I bring you up on charges of violating Lese Majestie and the Single Party Act." The Grand Duke was about to protest, but he saw the Chancellor was serious. He acquiesced, took a knee and said the Oath of Fealty with his head bowed.

"As an Institutionalist, I am absolutely committed to our Monarchy," said the Chancellor as he finished his Oath, "and along with that, its legitimate order of succession. And my friend, you are nowhere in that line. I hope you will remember your place, and when the time comes, you will redeclare that oath before your next Empress. And meanwhile, you are also bound, under the law and before the entire Universe, to uphold whoever I put in as Regent, which is absolutely and one hundred percent my responsibility as the leader of the Institutional Party and the Government of the Empire of Ananto and Kalistan. Is that perfectly clear?"

"Yes Madame, it is crystal clear."

"In time you will do your job and advise me, in the Name of Their Imperial Majesties. But for right now, I seriously need you to just go away. You aren't the most important person right now. The most important person is a 12 year old girl who is recovering from the flu, and who I have to go to Luxon now to inform about the possible loss of her whole god damned family. She's the only person I care about, alright? She's a REAL one. OK? Thank you. That's all." The Grand Duke stood up and backed out of the office. He secretly thanked God that he didn't have to be that person today. "Lady Donahue... if I..."

"Goodbye," she said as she dismissed him. As he turned and walked toward the door, she pressed the intercom button and said, "Brad, please allow the Princess of the Empire to enter. We need to work out what we are going to say to the Minor Princess."

[Doc]

Home of Princess Regent Nicolette Ananto-Collins
March 17, 5:30pm

"Carrie, please eat your dinner," said Nicolette. "We need to be ready for when the Chancellor visits."

Carolina poked at her pasta and tuna with her fork. "Aunt Nicki. When can I go back to school? I miss my friends... I'm tired of staying here at your house."

Nicolette looked out the window and breathed through her nose. As she thought, her eyes welled up with tears. As she blinked, her tears rolled down her face. She has taken to not putting any makeup on--she spends a lot of her time crying these days, and her makeup would be ruined soon after applying it. She was still very much in mourning, for her family, certainly, but... if she was being honest with herself, also for her and her husband's loss. She hadn't ever wanted to be a mother. Carolina was a good girl, but Nicolette had spent far too much of her time living this carefree, party girl, smoke and surf all day lifestyle, while she and Andrew would go out and close every bar down in Luxon every night... She was the definition of a socialite: Famous for being famous. Her glory days were behind her--Her Triple Crown is a distant memory and now she couldn't even qualify for one of the qualifying contests... She was out of shape and she would be considered a complete hippy burnout if she wasn't the sister of the Emperor.

And now. All that is gone and she suddenly has to be responsible for this sweet little girl who was probably in as much pain and grief as she was. How could she possibly do all the things she needed to do to raise this kid right while also having this massive job? It was so overwhelming, and in this moment, she allowed herself to envy her brother. For just five seconds.

"Aunt Nicki?" asked Carolina, snapping her out of her thoughts. Nicolette looked over and saw that her niece hadn't touched her supper. "Carrie, I told you, you have to finish your food. Ericka is going to be here any minute and she's gonna think I'm such... such a... a flake... god...."

Carolina watched her aunt, and suddenly Nicolette was so overwhelmed with self doubt and self pity. "Aunt Nicki... It's ok... I'm not hungry really..." she paused, completely unused to seeing her "fun aunt" as an emotional wreck, "... but I'll eat, ok?" She loaded pasta onto her fork and started eating the food, which was completely tasteless: Her aunt had forgotten to put any sauce or seasoning on the pasta, and maybe the Tuna was supposed to provide the flavor... But Carolina had never eaten so much tuna in her life as she had since she moved in with her aunt. Carolina mixed the peas and carrots in with the Pasta, thinking that would make it taste like something...

Nicolette looked up and saw her niece trying to measure her bites so she didn't eat too big a mouthful. "What, Carrie? Is it not good?"

Carrie looked up and put a smile on her face, "Y-yeah its good. I like the t-tuna..." But Nicolette could hear the kind lie in her voice. A new wave of tears came to her eyes and she turned her face away once more so that her niece wouldn't see her crying. Just then, the chime at the front door sounded, and Nicolette knew that the Chancellor, who had travelled from Kaliburg, was here.

As Nicolette wiped her face, again, and turned toward Carolina. "It's alright sweetie, you don't have to finish it. If you're hungry later, I can fix you a sandwich. But we need to go and greet the Chancellor now, ok?" Carolina stood silently, but thankfully she didn't have to eat this food anymore. Her aunt was a vegetarian, and did not know how to cook: Carolina was old enough to know that, but she was also old enough to know that she shouldn't say anything about it because it would hurt her aunt's feelings.

The two walked into the sitting room of the house that overlooked the Luxon Bay. A huge picture window that faced the sea was opened for the first time in the season as today was unseasonably warm, and Nicolette thought the fresh air would do the two some good. Nicolette opened the door, and the elegant and serious Lady Ericka Donahue stepped in the door way. Lady Donahue was always dressed so formally and professionally. She made Nicolette's clothes look shabby and cheap.

"Your Highness," she said, with a short proforma Bow, and then looked at Carolina, and she smiled and bowed lower, "Your Imperial Majesty, good evening." Carolina saw her, smiled and bowed as well, and Nicolette tapped her shoulder. Carolina looked up, and saw her aunt flick her head to the side, as if to say, no, not you. She then said "Thank you for coming, Lady Donahue. I appreciate you making the trip all the way down here."

"We could go to Kaliburg to see you sometime," said Carolina. "That might be fun, right Aunt Nicki?"

The Chancellor raised her head and looked the little empress in the eye and said "Your Imperial Majesty, I'd like that, maybe sometime." She then stood fully up and looked at Nicolette, and said "Sometime soon, Highness." Nicolette heard almost a warning in her expression, but she knew the Empress would have to return to the Capital at some point. Which meant that she too would have to go, to their house, to where her brother and sister in law and her nephews had lived.

"I just need a little more time, Lady Chancellor, just a little more time." she said as she tried to convince herself that she would ever be ready to move to Kaliburg. The Chancellor shot her a sharp look that clearly said "Don't take too much time." But she smiled gently then and looked back to the little girl. "Your Imperial Majesty, Your aunt and I need to do some things. Would you like to stay with us and listen?"

She wanted to go watch tv, really, but was curious about why the Chancellor had come all the way down to Luxon. The Chancellor was the most powerful, most intimidating and yet most intriguing woman that Carolina ever knew, even more than her own mother, and she had always seen her from afar, but had always been too scared to go up to her and talk with her. She had always been something of a hero to Carolina, and here she was not, asking Carolina if she wanted to stay and listen in on what must be some important business. It made Carolina feel valued and mature. Of course, the tv would be there when she was done.

"Madame Chancellor, I would like to stay and listen."

"Of course Your Imperial Majesty, but I also want you to know that it is ok to call me Ericka if you like. You don't have to."

Carolina decided to try it out. "Ericka..." no, it didn't feel right... "Maybe Madame," she said. The Chancellor nodded and Nicolette smiled, and showed the Chancellor and her niece into the living room. Once seated she went to the bar and poured herself a tumbler with black spiced rum in it, and then asked the Chancellor if she would like something to drink. The Chancellor looked up and saw her at the bar. Her face hardened in a moment and she said, "Tea, if you have any." Nicolette felt the judgement in her voice, and she starred at her own glass, then dumped it in the sink, and turned on the water boiler. It was clear by the Chancellor's request that this was not at all a social call: The tea signified that this was an informal audience.

In a minute, Nicolette brought the tea service to the coffee table. She mimicked the memory of her own mother serving tea, first to The Chancellor, who was the guest, and then to her Niece, who tried to refuse it, but the Chancellor reminded her that this was what people did when they worked together, and then, for herself. Nicolette suddenly realized she didn't have any opium to put in the tea--she remembered that her mother habitually spiked the tea at all informal audiences, but she had never acquired the taste for opium tea, and had never offered anyone any opium during the two months of her regency so far. She apologized to the Chancellor for not having opium.

Chancellor Donahue smiled, stood, and asked Carolina if she would excuse her and her aunt. "Sure," Carolina said, and sipped her tea: it was too hot just now, so Carolina blew on it to cool it. But she did smell the bergamot and was almost eager to try again too soon. Meanwhile Nicolette and Ericka walked into the hallway. Nicolette expected to be lectured by the Chancellor.

"Your Highness. are you ok?" she whispered.

"Yeah, I'm fine.... I'm yeah... I'm ok."

"Is your husband here?"

"No, he's not here right now. He's getting the planting in Suldanor ready to go with the Growers Syndicate and will be out of town until Saturday."

"Your Highness, I was speaking with your mother this week, and she and I are a little worried about you..." Nicolette rolled her eyes, and tears appeared again. Here it comes.

"You know something Ericka..."

"Listen, Your Highness," the Chancellor said in a calm voice. "You are clearly struggling here, and you are suffering. I could tell it the moment I walked in here. Have you laid your house cleaners off?"

"I don't..." she buried her face in her hands. "I don't want house cleaners... I'm just a little behind on the chores, alright? I can't even hardly get out of bed in the morning, I am so just overwhelmed and so sad all the time..."

"My Lady, I'm supposed to be here to help you, to give you guidance and to tell you what I see," said the Chancellor. "You are depressed, and you need help. A lot has been forced upon you in a very short time. Your mother has asked me, besides what we actually have to do here, to come here and ask you to come to Kaliburg. Put Carolina back in school. She needs to see her friends too and get back to her life as much as possible. It will give you a break. Come live at Cliff House and Lady Mary and I can come visit you as much as possible, until you can heal up a little. Your nation needs you healthy, your husband needs you healthy and your niece really needs you healthy."

Nicolette looked at her, tears rolling down her face, and hugged her tightly, sobbing into her hair. The Chancellor was unprepared for this, and she wasn't sure whether it was actually legal for the Princess Regent to hug the Chancellor, but she decided to roll with it, and returned the hug, a very simple act of compassion. After a few moments, Nicolette said, "I'm so sorry for messing up your hair and getting snot in it and everything. I'm not ok. I need help."

The Chancellor smiled. "I'm glad you finally said it. I could tell for a long time. Come with me back to Kaliburg. Help your niece get back to living, and you come and get healthy too." Nicolette nodded. "Shall we go tell Her Imperial Majesty together?" asked the Chancellor. Nicolette nodded again and followed the Chancellor back into the living room.

"Your Imperial Majesty?" the Chancellor said to the bored 12 year old sitting back on the couch, having long since finished her tea.

"Are we going back to Kaliburg now?" she asked.

The Chancellor looked back over at the Princess Regent, and waited. "Yes, Carrie. We are. Can you run upstairs and pack up a suitcase? We'll come back and get the rest of our stuff later, ok?" A bright smile flashed across the little girl's face, a real one this time. She popped up and run upstairs.

"I'll help you pack some stuff too," said the Chancellor. "We can do our work on the train." Nicolette nodded her head.

[Doc]

Cliff House, Ananto
June 12, 2:30pm

The buzzer at the door sounded. The Princess Regent, who sat at the desk, pressed the button and the door opened. In walked Lady Ericka Donahue and Mr. Jacob Maxwell, the director of the Anantonese Yeudi Interests Committee. She rose and greeted the two, asking them to sit down on the sofa before her desk. They bowed their heads to her office and stepped toward the couch.

"May I serve you two tea," she asked quietly. Both of her guests answered that they would take tea. As she brought the platter with three cups on it to the small table, she sat in the chair facing them. They each took their tea in turn, and took a sip, signifying the start of the informal audience.

"Mr. Maxwell," began the Chancellor. "Her Highness, the Princess Regent has asked me to inquire about the Hulanevek Diamond."

Mr. Maxwell paused briefly, and then said, "Madame?"

"The Hulanevek Diamond, Mr. Maxwell."

Maxwell was not sure what he was to say. "It is, in the museum, yes?"

Lady Donahue said, "Yes. It is."

Maxwell took a beat, and another sip and then asked "Madame Chancellor. Do you have a question about it?"

Lady Donahue looked at the Princess Regent, and then back to Maxwell. "Against my better judgement and my strong advice, Her Highness should like to dispose of it."

Maxwell, who had a mouthful of tea, swallowed wrong, and started choking.

"Mr. Maxwell, are you quite alright?" asked the Princess Regent. The Chancellor patted him on the back and offered him a napkin.

"I, I thought you said dispose of the Diamond..." he said between coughs.

"Yes, Mr. Maxwell, the Princess believes that the stone is cursed."

Maxwell was familiar with the rumors. "With respect, Madame, and Your Highness, that is ridiculous."

"Is it, Mr. Maxwell?" asked the Princess Regent. "Shall I recount the damage the possession of that stone has done to my family?"

"You Highness, please..." said Maxwell. "It's absurd to think that a stone possesses power like this. There is no curse on this stone. I have heard these rumors for years. The stone has no effect on anything like that, anything to do with any of that."

"I used to think so, Mr. Maxwell," said the Princess. "And then my brother, his wife and my two nephews were killed in a plane crash..."

"Your Highness, if I may point out, your mother had an exceptionally long reign, and nothing has happened to her..."

The Princess looked at Lady Donahue, who was about to intercede, but the Princess shot back her glare at Maxwell and said, "You fool, my mother has lost most of all. She lost her father, her sister, her son and her grandsons to that stone... How can you be so blind?"

"MISTER Maxwell," interrupted Lady Donahue. "It really doesn't matter whether curses exists. If I may bring this back to the topic at hand..."

"Excuse me, Lady Donahue, if I understand the Regent correctly, she wishes to dispose of an extremely important cultural artifact to my culture. Over some nonsense about curses. She's either lost her mind or..."

"Mr. Maxwell, that will be enough of that," said the Chancellor. "How dare you speak about the Princess using language like this. Lest you forget your place, sir, you are a commoner and a subject of Her Imperial Majesty, and the law still applies to you."

The stern tone from the Chancellor stopped the discussion cold. Maxwell looked at her and then the Princess Regent, and then back to the Chancellor.

After about a minute of silence, Maxwell stated slowly and clearly, "Your Highness, I deeply regret what I just said. I spoke in the heat of the moment, and I offer my apology." The Chancellor thanked him. So he continued, "But surely there is another option than disposing of it. Anything would be better than throwing it into the ocean, and that won't resolve anything."

The Chancellor looked at him, and then the Princess Regent. "Who said anything about throwing it into the Ocean?" asked the Princess. "It may be cursed, it may not be, but it is my desire to simply be rid of it, not destroy it. Whether you think so or not, I believe that it has brought my family nothing but misery, and as the legal agent of my niece, Her Imperial Majesty, Empress in Waiting Carolina-Katherine Michelle Ananto-Connor, what matters here is what I believe, not what you believe, not what your people believe, and not what the entire Yeudi population of Terra believe. I want it out of this country, as soon as it may be transferred somewhere safe."

Maxwell sat back. "Respectfully, Your Highness, wouldn't it be better to keep it safe here, and just never wear it again? It provides prestige for our Empire, and gives us a voice among the Diaspora in Terra."

"Mr. Maxwell, I am not Yeudi. I do not give equal weight to the same things you and your community do. I do not believe in the legends about the fellow who crafted the gem, or the history or the convoluted circuitous path that follows it across the world from Majatra into my museum in Eveari. It is unimportant to me. I just want it gone."

"Madame, that diamond is part of the cultural lifeblood of my people," Maxwell said.

"Mr. Maxwell," the Princess Regent interrupted. "That gem is covered in Ananto blood. We maintained peace in this nation for centuries, and within 10 years of it arriving here, we were at war. We lost three monarchs to it, We lost 40,000 Kalistani citizens to gas attacks because of it, and another 20,000 of our soldiers, sailors, and militia in a war which yielded this nation nothing at all. How many more need to die, Mr. Maxwell? How many more of my family members need to perish? I don't care if you and all three million Yeudis despise me forever: My family is more important to me than every single person in this nation, and after me, there's one of us left. I am not going to let it take my niece too. I will throw it into the sea myself if it means saving her life; I'll sacrifice every single person in this nation and throw every single stone in the Gen Vault into the ocean if it means I save her." Tears began welling in the Princess Regent's eyes.

"Your Highness," said Lady Donahue. "Surely there is something we can do to satisfy you, and preserve this very important cultural artifact too."

The Princess Regent looked at the Chancellor. "I wanted Mr. Maxwell to come here so he could understand what I want. I do not need him to try to talk me out of this. I really don't care what the details of the plan is, so long as my end goal of it leaving Kalistan is met."

Maxwell sat quietly, speechless by the seeming callousness and insensitivity of this clearly unhinged princess, who was nothing like the supportive woman he had known years ago. "Madame Chancellor," he said finally, "If we are going to send it away, at least lets make sure we get something significant for it. There are many people who will take it, but the price for it should be right."

"How do you mean, Mr. Maxwell?" she asked.

"This diamond... I don't really know how to describe it... but it is special. Not in the way Her Highness thinks it is. It... well, it is... I should say... it draws people's attention, for good or ill. Some people want it for one purpose, others wish to deny them that purpose. I won't really go into a lot of it, that isn't important. Whatever Kalistan decides to do, they should get something that will compensate them adequately for the influence it could possibly provide us internationally, or the influence we will lose internationally by getting rid of it."

The Chancellor looked at the Princess Regent. "Mr. Maxwell, you are speaking gibbrish to us," said the Chancellor. "What are you even talking about? It's just a diamond..."

"... a cursed diamond..." added the Princess.

"My Lady, please," said the Chancellor. "That is not helping."

Maxwell took a breath. "Madame, if I tried to explain it all to you, it wouldn't make any sense anyway. Let me just say, if Her Highness is dead set on parting with it, get the best deal for it that you can. Meanwhile, I am certain it can stay safely in Eveari until it leaves your soil. Will that be acceptable to Her..." crazy, he inserted in his own mind, but did not say aloud, "...Highness?" he asked.

The Chancellor looked at the Princess Regent and then answered, "Mr. Maxwell, you and I will look for a suitable party to accept it and remove it from the Empire. I believe that the Princess Regent will be amenable to this agreement."

The three sat in silence, and the Princess finished her tea, and without a word stood. "You may get to work now," she said to the Chancellor. "Please keep me informed."

The Chancellor sprung to her feet, pulling Jacob Maxwell to his feet with her. The both bowed, and stepped backward toward the door. At length, they both turned, opened the door and stepped out, closing the door behind them.

[Mbites]

17:44, Military Complex "Weg zum Stern," Near the City of Himmelshtern

Frederik Humpl, the Unit Commander of the complex sat in his office together with his Intelligence liason Jurrien Aalders.
Both of their faces expressed nothing but being fed up, they were sipping on hard liquor while debating with their inner selfs if another cigarette would "do the trick."
Aalders while playing with his lighter suddenly broke the eerie silence that sat in quite a few minutes ago.
"So. Frederik, listen, what are we gonna do now? The head office back home has dried up the channels, apparently some intern that is loyal to Schuhbeck has done some weird shit with the communication relays and they're currently busy fixing it, I have no information on what the orders from the Senate committee are. As far as I know we're supposed to follow the lead of the Chancellor."

Humpl sighed and playfully turned a few rounds in his office chair.
"This thing is fun" he said, causing Aalders to raise his eyebrows.
"Sorry - Gallow-humor... well what can we do? I'm definitly not sacrificing a single life for this debacle, those damn mercs did stuff there.. what I heard.. its bad... *cough* really bad." 
The middle-aged Major stood up seemingly resigned to fate when the door was hastily opened by his adminstrative aide who rushed in.
"MAJOR HUMPL! Quick come with me!"

Both Hump and Aalders were surprised but followed the lead of the scared looking aide.
The three men sped through the slim halls of the complex when they finally reached their destination: the cell-block for military prisoners.
A high level officer greets the Major and leads him to a specific holding cell. "You have to see this Major."
While Humpl has seen some stress in the recent years he's still caught up by the feeling of anxiety slowly building up in his system.
A Nsanian mercenary was what awaited them in the cells and apparently he had an folder of documents in his car which he used to get away from the frontlines.
The guards tightened their grip on the unwilling prisoner and handed the folder to Humpl. 
"What the hell is this?" 

He opened the folder.
"Hosius im Himmel, this can't be true, this is a joke." The overly eager Aalders ripped the folder out of the Major's hands which leads to an paper holding a depiction of a family tree falling on the floor.

Aalders flips through the file and then looks toward the Major.
"So... NOW, what are we gonna do?"
Something inside Humpls brain snapped and he went into hard-ass mode.
"you two, get me the secretary, Aalders you're with me, we're driving to Himmelshtern, this is now a highly classified situation. Nobody says a word of what you've seen here until the Chancellor has seen this. Also, where is the phone? Lets hope those lines are up, I need to call that smug asshole Berger."

[Doc]

Office of the Chancellor of the Empire
Kaliburg, 4:15pm, Local

There was a knock at the door. Chancellor of the Empire, Lady Ericka Donahue, who had a public reputation as a very serious, and often incendiary conservative, sat at her desk which was piled high with petitions from constituents looking for some dispensation here or some favor there. She was never going to catch up on her correspondance at this rate, but she took some comfort in the fact that, no matter how many letters she answered today, there would be new ones to replace them tomorrow. A certain sense of fatalism was necessary for this job and Lady Donahue more than possessed it. But here was a distraction, and not an entirely welcomed one.

"It opens" she called toward the door of her office.

In strode the bespectacled, be-tuxedoed Foreign Minister, Sir Thomas Harney. He had a slight smile on his face: He and the Chancellor definitely had different personalities. She was businesslike and serious, at least in public, while he seemed like a goofy puppy, wanting to be everyone's friend. He was a schmoozer, a glad hander. He was a great pick for Foreign Minister, because he encapsulated the Princess Regent's spoken policy of trying to continue to reach out, build bridges, make friends, and attract governments to Kalistan to talk and possibly make agreements with the world. Harney was not a hard nationalist. But he was also, quite possibly the most intelligent man the Chancellor had ever met, and unfortunately, being the smartest guy in any room made him a little eccentric.

"Take a seat Sir Harney. I'll be done in just a second."

"Cool" he said, and sat down in the chair in front of her desk. After tapping his finger lightly on the chair, he noticed a pencil on the Chancellor's desk. Staring at her he slowly moved his hand toward the pencil and swiped it without her noticing. He held the pencil for a moment, was reminded of a song, and mindlessly started tapping out the beat on the arm of the chair he was sitting in.

Slowly the Chancellor noticed the rhythm he was playing. "Is that... no... wait... is it?" her inner voice asked her... In a moment, she realized that she was focused on what he was playing, and not on her work. She had misspelled her own name on this document, and now had to write it again. "Excuse me, Sir Harney, what song is that?"

He looked up, happy she noticed. "I Don't Mind, by the Kites," he said enthusiastically. "I just discovered this band, they were awesome. They were supposed to go to FOMAT back in like 5576, and they were withdrawn and their music just... rocks, you know..."

Realizing it wasn't the song she was thinking about, at all, and if she didn't stop him, he was going to tell her the whole history of the alternative rock genre in Kalistan, and then how it relates somehow to the space program, or something, the Chancellor could feel her eyes slowly rolling back in her sockets as he was talking and she started massaging her temples--She could feel the first pangs of a headache. "Look, Tom. I don't care, alright? I don't care about some stupid band from last century. Alright? Nobody cares about any of that stuff."

The Foreign Minister was taken aback. "But... you just asked..."

The Chancellor snapped. "Mr. Harney, please. Do you think I really called you in here to waste my time telling me about music? Really?"

He looked like he was thinking about the question. "Well, I mean..."

"Thomas," she cut him off brusquely. She breathed in through her nose and out through her mouth, said her inner mantra, and spoke slowly. "I don't really care. I just wanted you to stop that tapping. I called you here because I needed to get an update to pass on to the Princess Regent about your progress on sending those invitations." She was five minutes into his visit and she was already exasperated by his antics.

The Foreign Minister, slightly shocked by the abrupt change of topics, responded, "Well, its done. I got them all out, and we got positives from almost all of them. I think the Princess Regent might be onto something. For someone who supposedly doesn't know what she's doing, she's pretty good at what she's doing, I think."

"She's lucky," said the Chancellor. "And she has good sense, but more importantly, she has a good teacher in her mother. The Empress does too. I merely have to do what she tells me: Its my single solitary purpose in this life, and is my duty to my Empire and my Empress."

"Great. I'm glad you are willing to work with her too. I know you all don't see eye to eye on a lot of things, but I know you helped her so much at the beginning, and I think that was very kind of you. Nobody will ever know about how kind you were to her and to Her Imperial Majesty, and how patient you are." He paused, smiled and leaned in, as if he were sharing a secret, "See... I know you like to act like you're this hard ass, but I also know you have a soft side, a gentle side. I see how you speak with the Empress in Waiting... You ain't fooling nobody..."

"Mr. Harney, that will be quite enough. You grow too familiar. Focus on your work and stop bothering with affairs that are none of your concern. I serve Her Imperial Majesty, but you do too. You best focus on your duty, and report as soon as you hear additional word from the foreigners."

"Yes Madam," he said with a wink and a smile. "As you require. Is that all?"

"Yes..." she said eager to get rid of this buffoon and get back to work before heading home for the evening. But then he was about to stand up and she remembered he was wearing that god damned tuxedo again. "No, actually, its not all." Half risen, he paused and sat back down.

"Alright then, what is it?" he asked with a smile, almost certain he knew what she was about to ask.

"Sir Thomas, why are you wearing that tuxedo again. I thought I ordered you to take that off and dress appropriately."

"Well, Madame, you are correct in that you did ask me to stop wearing that tuxedo. This is clearly not that tuxedo. I think I told that reporter that I actually own 12 or 13 tuxedos, but I found it was more like 15 tuxedos."

The Chancellor was near her limit with this guy. "How about you stop wearing any tuxedos unless it is appropriate to do so? I find your insubordination on this matter very disrespectful."

The Foreign Minister thought for a moment, "Madame, I have no desire to disrespect you with my choice of attire."

"Then why do you insist upon doing it? I have told you multiple times to take it off, and you have chosen to continue reporting for work at the Foreign Ministry in a tuxedo."

"That is true Madame. But I certainly do not wear the tuxedos to disrespect you. I mean: If I wanted to disrespect you, I would show up in the yellow Paisley one I keep for Halloween," said the Foreign Minister, with a chuckle.

His voice was like nails. "Mr. Harney, you are seriously this close to an insubordination charge..."

The Foreign Minister paused, and said "Madame, is it illegal to wear a tuxedo?"

The Chancellor looked at him. "What?" she asked as if she hadn't registered the question.

"I said, Madame, is it illegal to wear a tuxedo?"

"No, Mr. Harney, it is not illegal." She wanted to say it was unprofessional, but that's not even true: He was dressing far better than anyone in his entire department. His clothes were always clean and pressed: She'd seen his laundry bills and sure enough, they had always run into the thousands. Its what he spends his money on. She couldn't complain that he was distracting: At least he wasn't like the kids in the mailroom who wear pajamas and slides to work.

"No, Mr. Harney. Its not illegal. It's... intimidating... You put people off."

"Madame, I put you off. Everyone I work with has grown accustomed to it. I get compliments about my tuxedos every day: people notice the differences between different ones I own. I think they like working for a well dressed professional. It shows I am serious and take my job seriously, and eventually, people just get over it."

The Chancellor was no longer interested in debating the Foreign Minister. He was right: it puts her off. "Whatever, Mr. Harney. I can see I am not going to change your weirdness."

"No Madame, you aren't."

"Just tell me one thing then. Why do you wear them? Why did you just start wearing them like three months ago? Did you have an accident or something?"

The Foreign Minister thought, "Well, I think I have always been interested in dressing well. My suits are all tailored and imported Gaduri suits. But I think I sort of looked just like everyone else when I wore them-I was wearing the same thing I wore when I was a nameless faceless bureaucrat at the Keris Desk. I wanted something that spoke to a little more how I see myself. I'm not just some bureaucrat anymore. I am Her Imperial Majesty's Minister of Foreign Affairs. I am the voice of Her Imperial Majesty and Her Highness, the Princess Regent abroad. When they hear me and see me, they see her. I want her to look as good and sound as serious to foreigners as I possibly can. So I dress in the nicest, most formal things I can find."

The explanation made some sense, and yet it was also just absolutely ridiculous. "And you don't think you can do that in a regular suit?"

"No Madame. I always believed that the nicest dressed person in the room has the most power. I won't compete with the Empress' title. I work for her as you have said. But among equals, I am always gonna dress better than my peers. That's just what it is."

The Chancellor really needed to return to her work and had indulged this incredibly effective lunatic long enough. "Do me a favor, Sir Thomas."

"What is it Madame?" he asked.

"If you're going to wear that tuxedo around here or around the Ministry, I can't stop you. But please don't wear it when you attend formal audiences. You in a tuxedo embarrasses me in front of the Princess Regent, and especially the Empress. Just do me that one favor..."

The Foreign Minister stood, and smiled. "Madame, who do you think suggested it to me?" He clicked his heels together in mock salute, bowed deeply and spun on the balls of his feet, and marched off toward the door.

"Hippies," she thought as he closed the door. "I am surrounded by dope smoking hippies."

[Mbites]

03:21, August 5688, Bannerhafen, Presidential Palace

Schuhbeck looked out of the window in one of the President’s countless office options the Palace has to offer. She was contemplating the past few years, her second term as the President of her hated Triad, she despised every minute of it, the feeling of having to deal with the savage political reality of the most capitalist nation on Terra. “I’ve been doing it for the greater good though.” She thought to herself.
After quite a few more minutes her trusted advisor and DRP vice-chairman Franziska Hüttel cautiously approached her. “Shalom Frau Präsidentin.”
Schuhbeck acknowledged her presence with a affirming nod and gestured for her to continue.
“As you might be able to see, the Darnussian Chancellor has the guards posted outside and the news about your true identity are sure to break sooner rather than later.”
Back in the mind of the President, she was thinking to herself how the political elite outside her small circle of co-conspirators would deal with the coming situation when Hüttel shook her back to reality.
“This means we have to go. Now.”
“Alright then, show me this tunnel those filthy Thallers built. It’s time to go home.”
Hüttel nodded and took the hand of the President to navigate her through the maze that was the Bannerhafen Presidential Palace. The movie-industry would be proud of the cliché that was about to realize, in a wing of the library one inconspicuous book was the key to fleeing this place. Once Hüttel moved it at exactly the right timing the bookcase revealed a way deep into the underground.
“You know I cant follow you, someone has to keep this roose going as long as possible.”
“Thank you. Thank you for everything Franziska.”
“It was for the good of the Holy Land, we tried, history will prove us right."
“Tov yoter lehoulam.”
“Tov yoter lehoulam.”
And so President Schuhbeck became Anne-Marie Kadiyot and headed back to Yishelem.

[Kubrick]

9:47, 29 August 5688, temporary office for diplomatic envoys from Wrnuke, liberated Yishelem, Free State of Amudim.

A very rapid knock on the door was followed by it swinging open before she could even answer. An out of breath military officer stumbled in, he took only half a second to catch it before gesturing down the stairs. "Ma'am- ma'am.. You.. you have to come outside, important- you have to see-" The man struggled to get the words out, he was a young Major with a good tan, presumably one of the ones that had been in the field here for months helping the rebels. She wondered what could prompt such a response as she hurried downstairs. Outside she took a second to get used to the very bright late August sun, but once she could see again she saw a small motorcade, one Jelbic military vehicle, two blacked out SUV's and one car she did not recognise. Out of one of the SUV's stepped a slender figure wearing a linen shirt, black aviator sunglasses, a gold watch and a set of faded military trousers. She winced at the sight, a tourist. Not a real one, but one of those RSB agents that always showed up everywhere to mess things up.

"Afternoon, miss Brnas, may I see your identification card, please?" While she fiddled her card and raised it at him she voiced her discontent. "What is this about? We need this office to help the locals establish a new constitution, to set up an embassy, I need to meet with Tzafrir and four rebel commanders in an hour, so you better know what you are interru-" After checking the card he raised his hands to urge her to stop speaking. "Please, this is better than anything you have on your schedule, I promise you, from the depths of my heart." She rolled her eyes, not convinced. He leaned forwards. "Since we are pressed for time I will debrief you here. My superiors have led me to believe you are fully in the loop on Operation Restoration, yes?" She nodded, becoming intrigued. "In this car I have some great news.. and some bad news." She swallowed, looked up at him and dared to ask. "The reason for us halting the offensive, it is true isn't it?" For a moment he seemed taken aback that she knew the true reason for the emergency meetings and ceasefire, then he regained his composure. "It is better than that. Or worse. Follow me." He walked over to the SUV and opened the door. "Please, miss Brnas, step inside."

Again her eyes had to adjust to the dark car. As she sat down the door behind her was slammed shut, as the RSB agent took up the front passenger seat shortly after. Next to him was a woman who looked familiar and it took a while for the connection to click. As it did, her eyes widened. "Yes, I am President Schuhbeck, or that is who you know me as. My birthname is Anne-Marie Kadiyot, the last of my family." She looked shocked and bewildered, then turned around to speak to the RSB agent who could barely contain his smirk. "You did not tell her?!" He let out a laugh. "No- no, I did not. I saved that part for you." She turned back around and grabbed one of Schuhbeck's--Kadiyot's hands. "Madam President.. you.. you are not the last Kadiyot. We are working with your family to restore the Homeland." Anne-Marie's mouth fell open and she turned pale. The RSB agent broke up the moment between them. "Miss Brnas, there is one more thing, look in that safety container next to her.

Kadiyot was too shocked to even speak up or struggle against the black plastic box being taken, as Debra Brnas opened the box she was met with an astounding sight. A thousand colours, a surrealistic glitter, dozens of perfectly cut angles and a shine that would last a million years. "Impossible.." She muttered. In her lap was the Eight Gem known as the Thaller Gem.

[Doc]

Cliff House, Kaliburg
Early March, 7:37 pm

"Carolina, have you finished your homework?" Nicki called to her adopted daughter from the sitting room. The sun had long set out over the Wilson Bridge and the lights of the City were twinkling off in the distance well past the bridge. She stared out over the water, deep in thought.

"Yes, Aunt Nicki, its all finished," yelled her 15 year old charge from her bedroom. "I already said that!"

"Then you have to come out here. Your grandmother is coming soon and we need to have a talk." In a few moments came the gawky, almost lanky girl- Her long dark hair was tied up in a loose braid, she was already in her pajamas and some band t-shirt... fear of the unknown, something... a horrifying photo of a meteor or comet the size of a continent slamming into Terra.. Carolina dragged her feet as she scraped into the living room.

"Does she have to come over tonight?" Caroline asked, almost half whining.

"Carolina, you have five months until you debut. There is still so much to teach you. Yes, she's coming over tonight."

"We aren't doing the debut stuff until May, you said..."

"We aren't talking about that," said Nicolette. "There's another matter, and I don't want to make any decisions without you here."

Carolina reluctantly half shuffled to the chair: "Fine but I get later 'lights-out' tonight, because I am missing my video game time."

Nicolette rolled her eyes and shook her head in resignation. She already didn't really feel comfortable telling her niece what to do, and now that she was almost 16, those days of the young Empress needing a mother to remind her to do basic things were almost completely over. In just a short time after that, Nicolette wouldn't be able to tell Carolina anything at all--Carolina's word would be law after that. So this window of being a mom, and helping Carolina learn self-discipline and responsibility was closing very quickly, and Nicolette was never really much of a mom to begin with.

As she was deep in thought, the door to the walk way between the East Wing, where the offices and the guest apartment, most often inhabited by the former Empress and occupant of this very house, and the West wing, where there Royal Family has their official residence, along with their personal staff, opened and in walked Mary. She came into the room and sat next to Nicolette.

"Did you ask her yet?" asked Mary.

"No mom, she just got done with her homework, and we were waiting for you."

Nicolette and Mary sat next to one another, looking at each other, each waiting for the other to speak. Carolina's attention shifted from one to the other.

"Ask me what?" she finally said.

Neither lady wanted to start: Mary certainly did not feel it was really her place anymore, and Nicolette never thought it was her place to begin with. Neither wanted to even say it, Nicolette especially. She flashed a look at Mary that said "You ask." and Mary shook her head ever so slightly to throw the lead back to her daughter.

Carolina, who was watching this dance of slight, almost imperceptible motions constituting silent communication from her aunt and grandmother, finally got tired of this. "Well, if neither of you are going to say anything, why am I out here instead of playing video games with my friends?"

Nicolette threw her hands up in the air and clapped them loudly on her knees. "Well. It's... We would like your thoughts on what should happen to the Diamond."

Carolina was confused. "What diamond?"

Nicolette now shot a look at Mary that Mary couldn't deny. "your turn" the look seemed to say.

"The Hulanevek Diamond, dear," said Mary. "You know which one I mean. Its the one your mother, while she was alive, liked to look at and hold and wear sometimes. It's one of a kind."

"That diamond is called a hulanevek diamond?" she asked. "What's a hulanevek?"

Nicolette smiled a knowing smile, and Mary did as well. "Well, sweetie," said Mary. "For one, you are a Hulanevek." Carolina was confused.

"No, I'm a person grandma."

"Well, you're a special kind of person." Mary saw that that didn't make any sense. "Your great great great grandmother, you won't remember her at all, I never even met her myself. She would have been my great grandmother. Her name was Pavlina, you know who she is, I hope."

"Of course, The Black Empress. We studied her in school: A lot of the girls thought her story was tragic and romantic."

"Well, I am sure they teach in school that she was also not born here in Kalistan," said Mary "but in the nation of Kundrati."

"Yes, it gave us a reason to study Kundrati, the teacher said. Otherwise we wouldn't care at all about them."

"Yes, um. That's probably somewhat accurate," the Princess of the Empire stammered, and looked at Nicolette, who just shrugged. "Anyway, when she was born, her name was Hulanevek, Pavlina Hulanevek."

Carolina then said "...like the diamond..."

Mary smiled, "Yes, like the diamond."

Carolina asked, "So is that why its called the Hulanevek Diamond?"

Mary was glad she caught the Empress up, but realized that Carolina knew almost nothing about this diamond at all. "Um, no. We just called it the Hulanevek Diamond in this nation because it was given to Pavlina by the Kundrati Hulaneveks as a wedding present for her adopted daughter, the foundling Carolina Hulanevek."

"Carolina Ananto, right?"

"Well, see she was born Carolina, but her last name was lost. When she was adopted, her last name became Hulanevek, and just before he died, your great great great grandfather Fredrick adopted her. And her last name became Ananto. So you are technically the last born of Carolina's descendants. Carolina was my Grandmother, and I spent a lot of time with her when I was your age. She's been gone a long time now, but she was the founder of our line of the Anantos, so, we're Anantos, but by adoption. Our family is whatever Carolina was born as--we don't know really, but it was Pavlina who adopted her when she was a baby and gave her her last name, Hulanevek, and so we are as much Hulanevek as we are Ananto."

"What happened to the other Anantos?" asked Carolina.

Mary was not expecting that question. She knew it, but had not really thought about it. "They are called Alvarez now," said Mary after a second.

"Like Lady Alvarez," said Carolina.

"Yes, Carolina, like Lady Alvarez," said Mary, about the Viceroy of Gaduridos, Lady Anantonia Alvarez-Urquizo. "The Direct line leading back to Nicolette Ananto--whose family's last name was originally Guerra--died with my Great Grandfather Fredrick and his relatives eventually became Alvarez' to maintain the line which was no longer permitted to be named Ananto. But his adopted daughter, my Grandmother and the person you were named after, was the first of our line. And you are, I am sorry to say, the last, unless you get married and have children of your own. And then it continues for the next generation."

Carolina was in awe to hear this family history. It almost felt like the adults had skipped this, because maybe they had told it to her brother at some point but she was too young then. She had so many questions. Why was she named after Carolina? Why do all the Fredricks seem to die? Before she could get too far into the questions, however, her Aunt spoke up. "Mother, the diamond..."

"Oh yes," said Mary. "So the Hulanevek Diamond. I'd like you to tell me and your aunt what you think should be done with it? If you have strong feelings, those will weigh pretty heavily in our calculations."

Carolina thought for a moment. "What's being done with it now?"

Mary answered: "It's on display at the Museum of the Empire at my home in Eveari."

Carolina smiled, "I think I'd like to see it someday. So I say keep it there."

Nicolette grew very uneasy. "Well... I... I'm not sure that's such a... ummm..."

Mary sensed that her daughter was very unsettled by this proposal. "Sweetheart, your aunt thinks there is a problem with the diamond."

Carolina looked unsure herself now. "A problem? What's wrong with it?"

Mary said: "Well, some people believe that there's bad luck associated with it."

Carolina, who was not superstitious herself said "I don't believe in bad luck. How can a stone be bad luck?"

Nicolette blurted out: "No, girl. It's cursed. Bad luck..." she turned to her mother, "Bad luck is when you get ready to go to the beach and when you step outside it starts raining. Bad Luck is you break your only pencil when you are trying to take a test. That's bad luck. Bad luck doesn't k---"

"Nicolette!" her mother sharply interrupted, silencing her daughter. "Get ahold of your self. You'll frighten that child."

"Frighten me about what, grandma?" Carolina asked. "About what Aunt Nicki?" Neither woman said anything. "Tell me. I want to know."

Nicolette was about to tell her, but Mary interrupted her again. "No Nicolette. She's not old enough yet."

Carolina was now more convinced that this was something that she wanted to know, and so she decided to try something out on her aunt. "Aunt Nicki, you will tell us now. What should we be frightened of?" The use of the plural pronoun was something she had heard her own mother and father say regularly, especially when they were speaking to someone powerful and awful like the Chancellor. Carolina was learning what it was like to be the Empress.

The imperative struck both Nicolette and Mary like a bolt of lightning, and silenced them immediately. Mary because she knew exactly what it meant, and Nicolette because she prayed that it did not mean what she believed it did. It's too early, she thought. She's not ready yet. It's too early. Nicolette begged the universe for just a little more time. But alas, it was not to be. She may not be legally allowed to wear the crown yet, but Carolina had just taken the mantle of Imperium and draped it fully over her own shoulders.

Mary, who had just a second ago thought Carolina was too young, now realized that Carolina just proved her absolutely wrong. The former Empress knew that to downplay or ignore this command and talk to her grand daughter like she was a child was the biggest mistake she could possibly make. She knew that Carolina was trying out her power for the first time. "Your Imperial Majesty," she said, as her head bowed reverently. "We beg your indulgence. Your aunt believes the Hulanevek Diamond is cursed. She believes that it has something to do with the loss of your parents, and she believes you should be kept far away from it, as far as possible in fact, so you do not get hurt by it too."

Nicolette, whose eyes began welling with tears once more, because she realized, like Mary did, that her little precious ward had crossed a line that could never be uncrossed ever again, lowered her head and responded correctly, in full obedience to the protocol: "It's true, your Imperial Majesty. I do believe that, and fear for Your Imperial Majesty's safety around that stone."

Carolina, who was by this time pretty shocked at these two powerful women's response to her simple, almost petulant command, said "You guys don't have to call me that, you know, right?" She tried to dial it back, but even she knew that in that moment, something had changed, something had been broken. She tried to change the subject, thinking maybe she shouldn't have said all that "we" and "us" stuff after all. "So, um. I think if Aunt Nicki thinks its dangerous, I just don't go near it. Right? Can we put it in the vault?" She put stress on "me" and "I" in her sentences.

"That is one choice, Carolina," said Nicolette, also very eager to let her off the hook for using those pronouns just yet, though she knew she would never be able to speak to this Empress as if she were a regular little girl ever again. "But it will make it very difficult for you to visit your grandmother, and something tells me that I will hear about it from AYIC if it went back into the vault."

"Well, what other choice do we have?" asked Carolina. "I mean, we, um I mean I and you all."

Mary smiled. "Do you mind, Carolina, if your aunt and I talk about it with some people and see what our options are, and then come back and give you a list as well as the arguments for and against, and you can pick the one that suits you best?"

Carolina smiled. Her Grandmother was very sensible. She loved her adopted mother very much: they always had so much fun together. But she was also growing more and more aware every day that even her aunt, who tried to keep everything as stress free for Carolina, was far more than just a fun aunt: She was the power while Carolina was growing up, and the stress of that life was slowly aging her beautiful aunt. So Carolina, then and there resolved to learn everything she could, about being the Empress, and about everything else, so she could help her aunt, and then maybe finally take over soon enough for her aunt to maybe go back to surfing again in Luxon.

"I think *I* would like that very much, Grandma. Thank you," she said in a very serious, and somehow more mature and poised way. Mary and Nicolette looked at each other, Nicolette's face was ashen, while Mary faked a smile, realizing that from this day on the real training would begin. Nicolette got up off the couch, and walked into the next room to cry without Carolina seeing her. Carolina knew she was doing this anyway, but also knew that her aunt cried on a regular basis, about anything, so she didn't follow her.

Meanwhile Mary said, in a low voice, to Carolina, "Don't worry about your Aunt. She never wanted you to have to be Empress either. She's really very happy for you, but she misses your father and mother very much: they were best friends throughout their lives. And she's kind of scared for you. But she'll get through it: Your aunt is a tough old broad. And I know something about that. As for you, my little Princess. Tomorrow you need to begin learning about the Peers and the House Law. You'll need to know it the way you know your own name, or those bastards will just walk all over you. I know something about that too. Trust me: You and me, kid." she said with a wink, and then stood up, called to Nicolette that she was going home, and left Carolina sitting in her chair. As the front door closed, Nicolette came out of the room, and called "Mom?" but it was too late.

Carolina stood, walked to her aunt and looked at her. She was as tall, maybe even a little taller than her aunt now. Nicolette looked at her, and he eyes were clearly red from weeping. Carolina reached out and gave her aunt a big hug. "You and me, kid," Carolina said to her aunt, imitating her grandmother. Nicolette started laughing softly as a new round of tears came to her eyes.

"Go play your video games now, Carolina," said Nicolette. "I hope you win."

[Doc]

Home of Nicolette Ananto-Collins, Luxon
Late May 5689, 2:30pm

Nicolette was sitting on the couch. She had the day off while her niece was out at the beach, surfing off the jetty with her Kaliburg friends who were down for the weekend. Andrew, her husband was working with the Growers' Syndicate in Dahriel this weekend. So she was all alone. She packed her bat with just over a gram of Dah's finest she picked up at the dispensary earlier, and sparked up the small metal pipe. She had allowed herself to start smoking herb again this summer: She had completely abstained from it since the death of her brother and sister in law, out of care for her niece, but her niece was almost at her debut, and it wouldn't matter much after that. So now was as good a time to return some of the things that made her happy as any.

After burning the herb to ashes and cleaning out her bat, she stowed her gear and put her feet up. She felt at ease, like many of the things she had worried about were now gone, like a weight had been lifted from her shoulder. She had left the doors open and the sea breeze from the south roled in and blew her curtains into strange undulating shapes that suddenly intrigued her. "I should put some music on" she thought, but decided to not get up, and just zone out for a little bit. The Princess Regent was a long time weed smoker and that little bat had about the same effect on her that a beer had on most sucessful drinkers, which is to say, almost none at all. But today it hit a little harder, and she wanted to just relax and breathe for a while.

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. She wasn't quite sure if she actually heard the knock at first or if it was just the weed. Maybe it was the wind that knocked something over... maybe it was the cleaning lady... But there it was again: the knock was insistent. Who could it be, she thought. Anyone that can make it up to the house this far doesn't need to knock.

There it was again.

"God! Come in!" she yelled from the couch. A sun beam just then landed across her chest and warmed her upper torso, and she was not getting up off that couch for nothing.

Kathy, the head of the house staff opened the door, and in walked her mother.

"Nicolette, don't you believe in opening doors?"

It took her a moment to realize who was speaking to her. Seeing it was her mother, she continued sitting, or rather lounging exactly where she was. "Oh hello mother. How was Hutori?" she asked lazily.

"Back smoking Dah, I see..." said Mary, and Nicolette thought she heard a touch of judgement in her mom's statement.

... to which Nicolette responded defiantly, "Yep..."

Mary sat down and said "Well sober up and lets talk."

Nicolette was already mostly sober anyway, so she rubbed her eyes, pushed down her skirt that was hiked almost all the way up her thighs while she languidly enjoyed the breezes, put her feet on the floor, and sat on the edge of the couch. "Alright, what's up, mom."

Mary looked around, "Is Carolina here?"

"She's out surfing with her school friends. She'll be back by 5."

"Well, that's too bad she's not here. Anyhow."

"How did it go. Did you give it to them?"

"Of course, didn't you read yesterday's paper?" asked Mary. Nicolette answered that she hadn't. "Yes they accepted it, and Arianna has it now. I believe they are going to put it away."

"Good. Its about time that cursed diamond is gone for good."

"Nicki, its not cursed, that's ridiculous. You and your brother are so superstitious, I honestly don't know where you get that from."

"Mom, my brother was superstitious, and for good reason. You see what that thing did to him and to Jenny. What it did to everyone. Me, you, Carolina. It's evil, I'm telling you."

"At any rate, I passed it off."

"And you didn't ask anything for it, right?" This was a sore spot for Mary, who parted with one of the things she had spent so many years admiring, and wearing, and more or less being obsessed with. Mary glared at her stoned daughter.

"Right, mom? You didn't ask them anything for it, right?"

Through gritted teeth, Mary hissed "No, I did what you and Carolina wanted. And I hope you're happy..."

Nicolette was not happy that her mother did not give the gem away of her own free will but under protest, and she regretted that her mother was the only person she trusted to bring it there, because her mother had possessed it for nearly 40 years, and Nicolette didn't want her or Carolina near that stone.

"I am sorry, Mom, but yes I am quite happy that you gave it to them."

"Nicolette," said Mary. "Did it ever occur to you that since you believe that beautiful diamond which has been in my family since Pavlina was Empress, is cursed, you just passed that curse off to someone else? My friend, the Queen?"

Nicolette had considered that, but she dismissed it. "No, Mother, the curse doesn't work like that, and you know it. It only strikes males who touch it."

Mary considered the answer. "Well, Jennifer was the one who wore that diamond the entire time. Your brother never wore it, and he wouldn't even let her wear it when they were crowned. He never touched it."

Nicolette didn't like thinking about her brother, but she said, "Mother, before Fred died, he told me he did actually touch it, one night when Jenn tripped and she was carrying it and he went to catch her and also caught the diamond so it wouldn't fall on the floor. That happened just once, like a couple months before the plane went down. So yeah, he did, and it got him, and all those who were with him, his wife, and your two grandsons. Thank GOD Carolina was here almost dying from the flu."

Mary decided that she was done talking about her family's tragedy. "Alright Nicolette. I'm not actually here to talk about that diamond. It's out of your life now, and there's nothing more to worry about. I'm here to tell you that The Queen and the Prince Consort said hello and the meeting with the new Prime Minister went well, as well, I suppose as I can say a meeting with a Liberal would go. I think the Queen might not be feeling herself 100%, and so she thought you and Carolina might make a trip to Hutori soon, so that we can introduce Carolina there."

"Mom, she's not going anywhere until after her Debut. She's not even allowed in society til then..."

"You will remember, Nicolette, you debuted at 15. There's nothing stopping you from doing it whenever you think she's ready."

Nicolette shook her head. "I'm not ready for that, mother."

Mary considered Nicolette's answer. "Nicki, she's not a child anymore. You know that. She is growing up. We can't treat her like a little kid anymore. You know why. If you hold onto her too tightly, she will be crippled when she needs to be able to fly."

Nicolette's mood had turned sour. "No mom. It's too soon."

Mary put her hand on her duaghter's hand. "She's ready, dear. Let her take the next steps. She was telling me about Valruzia. Do you know she is invited to study there for a semester and said she might want to go her senior year?"

Nicolette shook her head again. "No, that's not a good idea. She needs to stay here. I don't want her out of the country."

Mary paused. "Nicolette..." she started.

Nicolette looked at her mother. "Mom, she's all I have left of him. I'm so afraid. I just want to get her to 18, ok?"

Mary hugged her daughter. "You're doing a wonderful job Nicolette. Believe me. I know the stress you must feel. I know its not a life you ever sought for yourself. Your kids were your kids: You could see them and be the fun surfing teacher, and then send them home at the end of the afternoon. And I know what a shock it was to have your whole life changed overnight and then to have to care for Carolina, just like that. But she's a young woman now, Nicolette, no matter what you feel about this. And she is going to grow up into a confident woman clothed with absolute power. You want to be the person there to enable her and to let her also be human. You don't want to be the person who stopped her from being what she was, unfortunately, born to be. The best thing you can do for that child is to let her spread her wings and stop sheltering her. And you will get to be her mom as long as you like, because you are the only thing she has left of her parents too."

Nicolette nodded. "I know, mom. I just need a little more time, ok? Can we stick to the schedule we had planned? Late July? It was hard enough for me to accept that. Can we just keep to that?"

Mary let her daughter go. "Alright, that's what you and Carolina agreed to. I won't push it anymore."

Nicolette smiled and thanked her mother. "I appreciate that. The foreigners can wait for another couple months before they start trying to drink her blood."

Mary said, "I agree." She then noticed that her daughter had more or less sobered up during the conversation. "Either you have a hell of a tolerance for cannabis, or that stuff is really weak. You're practically sober."

Nicolette laughed. "I only hit a bat, mom."

Mary smiled, "Oh, I see..." She then asked, "While we're on the subject, I'd like to be here when Carolina drinks tea for the first time."

Nicolette said, "Mom, she drinks tea all the time."

Mary answered, "No I mean, drinks tea. She's gonna need a babysitter for her first time." Nicolette understood it to mean, adds opium to her tea. Nicolette never acquired the use of opium in tea, primarily because she is only the Regent, and only became the regent after she had turned 40 and has abstained from all drugs since she took her post. But she also knew that the opium would go in Carolina's tea at all informal audiences from her first one forward, as was customary. Mary herself had acquired a physical dependency on opium to a small degree due to her regular use while she was empress and would probably would be dependent on it for the rest of her life. She still took a tiny spoonful measure of it daily with her tea, as she had since she was crowned.

Nicolette nodded, and said, "In August, ok?" Mary nodded as well.