A Battle Unseen

[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.