A Battle Unseen

[Doc]

Wood House, Dragon Hills, 5:30pm

Fredrick sat on his bed reading a book. This wasn't one of the tomes his mother had set aside for him on the theory and function of the Kalistani Government, but one his far more fun aunt Margaret had pulled for him from her Library: A book about a time travelling surfer who travelled back thousands of years into the past to introduce the first Kalistanis to surfing. Fredrick was far more into science fiction than he was studying to be the next Emperor of Ananto and Kalistan.

His mother entered the room, and took one look around the room. "Fredrick, this place is an absolute mess," she said. "If you can't pick this place up, I'm going to have the Staff come in here and clean your room for you, and I promise you won't like what they do with all your junk. But the room will be spotless one way or another."

Fredrick said without looking up, "I'll get to it, mom. This room has been way messier, and you never had a problem with it."

Mary looked at her boy. "Fredrick, you're 16 years old now. It's high time you started acting more responsibly for your space. Someday..."

Fredrick rolled his eyes and exhaled loudly, catching Mary off guard. "Some day," he said "is not today."

"Excuse ME?" Mary answered in almost disbelief. "Honestly, Fredrick, I don't know what has gotten into you lately. You spend all your time in your room. You only ever come out to eat or go to school. You're so moody."

"Mom, you spend all day every day trying to tell me about the future. What I am going to have to be, what I am going to have to know, what I am going to have to do... When I am the Emperor. Like who cares about that, Mom? I'm a kid. I am not supposed to know all that."

Mary was taken aback by her son's outburst.

"What if I don't want to be the Emperor?" asked Fredrick. "What if I want to just live a life free of all this? Of all these expectations?"

Mary instantly had a flashback to this same conversation with her own mother when she herself was just starting out. She figured ever crown prince or princess experienced this crisis of confidence. She never stopped wondering why she had to be an Empress herself. And her own growing up period was cut short by her father's death. And, now her own son was asking her the same question for probably the same reasons.

"Fred, I... I just don't know... The only thing I ever figured out about this is that in a society like we have all have their role to play. Our role, set in stone at our birth, is to govern this nation and produce the next ruler of our people. It's not something we can escape..." she hesitantly added, "... even if we ever tried. Trust me."

Fredrick closed his book for the first time and looked at his mother. A single tear just then streamed down her face as she reflected on the fact that she did not ever feel prepared for this job, and now she set her son up for the gilded cage the same way she had been set up for it. But who else could serve in the role?

"Mom, do you think there is a curse?" Mary had never heard of any curse, so she asked him what he was talking about. "Its just something someone said to me last month that got me a little worried. The last two Fredricks both... died..."

Mary sat down next to her son. "I don't think there is a curse, Fred. One of those times was due to a freak accident, but the other one was quite well planned and pulled off, and was part of a situation which doesn't even exist anymore."

"But Fredricks do not do well in this family, Mom. They said that three dots make a line. I don't want to be the third dot." Mary could see that her son was clearly worried about it.

"Then you won't be," said Mary.

"But they all died, Mom. I can't just pretend that didn't happen. Two Fredricks before me... They say that death happens in threes."

"Well, Fred, I don't know if it will reassure you, but you will actually be the Fourth, not the third."

"What? Fourth?" said Fredrick incredulously.

"Yes, boy. Have you not read the book I wrote?" Mary asked with a laugh. Of course he didn't. All he cares about is surfing and music and robotics. "There were already three Fredricks before you. And all three Fredricks who came before you are all dead, yes. But so are all the Elizabeth's, and the Carolinas and the Pavlina's and the Nicolette's and the Revirie's. And some day, so will all the Mary's before you be dead. We all die. Nobody lives forever."

"Mom, you know what I mean..."

Mary smiled again at her son. "Fred, you will live the life you are meant to lead. What happens will happen. And as I said, we all have a role to play in our society. Right now your role is to learn as much as you can, so that when we start training, you will not be behind where you need to be. There is so much to learn in so little time. So much, so much... It's quite overwhelming, but its not something you can't do. Eventually you will replace me, and like my own mother, I will then fade into the background. But that is your right and your destiny, to take my place. And then I'll become your biggest supporter and your closest councilor. And one day you will have this same conversation with your own child when it is their time to step up and throw the things of childhood aside to take on a much more important concern, which is that of the people of this nation, who you are charged specifically to protect and encourage."

Fred put his book down, and screwed up his face as he thought about this.

"Mom, is Dad coming back home ever?"

A dark cloud passed across Mary's face and she tried another smile. "He'll come back to see you and your sister, but don't really know when. I think he said maybe in June."

"Is Victoria staying for dinner again tonight?" Fredrick asked. Mary nodded. "Can I ask you something about her?"

"Sure Fred. You can ask me or ask her. She's out in the living room."

"Are you two dating one another?" Fred's frank question caught Mary off guard, but she knew she would have to address the relationship sooner or later.

"Victoria... is a very dear friend of mine and I care very much for her," she said. "And she loves you kids too. But I wouldn't say we're dating, because its not a public thing. We... enjoy one another's company. I think that's the best way to say it. And I'm not sure what it means yet, because she and I haven't even talked about it yet. But when you are in my shoes, you will learn this very valuable lesson: Your private life is yours: they can't take that away from you at least, no matter what."

"Does Dad know?" asked Fredrick.

"He does--we've talked. And he keeps his private life to himself too, so. He's much happier, and I know that will make him a better dad for you and your sister to be around than when he was with me. So, its not a bad thing."

"Are you and Dad going to get a divorce?"

"Hahaha, what's with all these questions, kid?" Mary tried to deflect.

"I'm just worried what it will mean for me and Nicki."

"Well, I'm sure we will eventually. He might want to remarry, and I would do that for him if he asked. But whatever your father and I end up doing, we will both always love you no matter what, ok? We're both adults and we both like each other enough, as friends, to not let anything ruin anything for you and your sister. But: maybe we weren't met for one another. That's possible, and its just mature to acknowledge it."

"I guess, Mom. Thank you for telling me that."

"You're welcomed. Now, dinner is ready. We're having whole wheat spaghetti and marinara."

"Oh mom, I hate spaghetti!"

"I had the cook put meat in yours, not tofu," Mary said. "I remembered this time."

Fredrick's face softened. "Well, in that case..."