A Battle Unseen

[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.