Kalistan

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Catching up with Princess of the Empire Mary Ananto-DeLaurentis
"I spend as much time as possible out of Kaliburg," says retired monarch
Eveari, Grand Duchy of Ananto
November 1, 5678


Princess of the Empire, Mary Ananto-DeLaurentis doing one of her favorite hobbies along Ananto's North Coast

Her Highness, Princess of the Empire, Mary Ananto-DeLaurentis invited La Moda on a hike with her last month over trails that were as familiar to her as the layout of her own house. The 4 mile trek took our reporter and the former Empress along Kalistan's North Coast from Orientation Point in Dulnerstaad County to near the Egelion royal baronetcy at Casa Varestela in Eveari County. During the hour and a half hike, the Lady Princess seemed genuinely happy, spoke about her passions and discussed almost everything but politics. Here is an excerpt of the full interview.

(La Moda's) D(onita) W(eller): Thank you for meeting with mem Your Highness.

(Her Highness, Princess of the Empire) M(ary) A(nanto-DeLaurentis): It is a pleasure, and welcome to the North Coast.

DW: It really is beautiful up here.

MA: Yes, I spend a lot of time along this shoreline. This morning, already, I've hiked more than 20 miles.

DW: Do you do a lot of hiking?

MA: All the time, well, as often as I can. I do like being at home, but I feel most at home when I'm outside, roaming the countryside, seeing all the natural beauty around me.

DW: Does Lady Victoria come with you on your hikes?

MA: Poor Victoria. No, not really... She is less naturally inclined. So I find myself hiking alone regularly. Which for me fits me nicely, but she would much rather do things with others, in what she calls "civilization." We do a lot together but this is one thing we do not share. For her, spending time in the wilderness is a chore, while for me it is refreshing and energizing, and its something I am not going to give up. She's more of a city girl, and she misses Kaliburg, but has her clubs and functions in Eveari that keep her busy. And I do make an effort to do a lot of that sort of thing with her as often as possible.

DW: Do you still relocate each summer to Wood House?

MA: Its more of a vacation spot anymore. The kids don't use Wood House, and We tend to stay much closer to Eveari now a days. But we find ourselves in Athosia far more often than we do at Wood House, so we may just put the house up for sale sooner rather than later. Maintaining it seems like a burden.

DW: So how often do you get back to the Capital.

MA: I spend as much time as possible out of Kaliburg.

DW: Don't you like the capital?

MA: You know, I was kind of thrown into the role of being Empress. I didn't expect to take that role so soon. I never got time to go to college, or to start a family out of the public eye. I am a very private person, and like being left alone, and being Empress obviously did not allow me either of those things for decades. It took a toll on me in ways I would not have expected. I spent a good portion of my administration depressed: It was crippling at times. I never got to fully mourn my father's loss. My mother was very kind and gentle, but she took my father's loss really hard too, and we spent a lot of our time apart. It was kind of a mess. When I think back on that time, and think about all the things that were expected of me, that I have to govern, and that I have to get married to a man who was very sweet, but I mean, I wasn't honest about the lovelessness of our marriage, and that I was the target of everything internationally, I think that as soon as I could end that part of my life, I would.

I was able to accomplish some great things as Empress: In 200 years, when you see vast swaths of territory covered by our Anantonese Red Woods, that will be my legacy. I held things together, and when my time was done, I handed it off, as I was expected to do. I think after I left, I could start talking to people, getting my depression under control, and learn to live with things and be ok with the world as it is. So yeah, if I go back to Kaliburg its always a big deal, and people are bowing and scraping and everything. I much prefer this.

DW: Do you still use opium?

MA: Regularly yes, but I think I have such a tolerance to the stuff now that the little I allow myself in tea doesn't really have an effect anymore. Victoria and I have been trying other psychedelics, now that we have some more time to experience things, and I think that has been pretty important to me feeling more normal as well.

DW: If you don't mind me asking, you don't often hear of powerful people using drugs in the rest of the world. What do you think it is about Kalistan which makes it so you can so freely discuss drug use, while in another country, such a disclosure would create a scandal?

MA: Well, its Kalistan. Putting opium in the tea is a tradition: When you sit down for tea in an informal audience, you can assume you are going to be dosed. It not only gives the tea its expected flavor, but it also takes the edge off of the conversation, so people can speak more freely and not be so guarded. There is a mountain of protocol around the Emperor and Empress. It can be very offputting. So the informal audience, which involves tea service as a mandatory custom, can be truly informal only if the person in the audience is at ease. If you don't use opium, you don't drink the tea. It's not a problem: the tea is served that way as a courtesy for the person or people in the audience. Of course, as empress, I drank a lot of tea, and so its a safe bet to assume I will become at least somewhat dependent upon the opium. But I would say that dependence is no more serious than coffee drinkers' dependence on caffeine, and caffeine use is far more common in the Empire than opium use.

But to answer your question, Kalistan has always been very permissive regarding drug usage. If someone said "Mary Ananto is a drug addict," a normal Kalistani response would likely be "so what?" Because we do not let that stigmatize us here anymore than we let bronchitis stigmatize us. It's normal. The reason its a scandal in another country is because people tie drug usage with moral judgement: A person uses drugs so therefore they must be wicked. But why? Suppose someone is addicted to say cocaine, and goes out and steals for money to purchase more cocaine. That suggests that the way to reduce crime is to lower the price of cocaine. But the crime itself is the moral failing, not the cocaine addiction. Other nations seem to think they can legislate morality, when morality should be the source of the law, not the effect of the law.

DW: Was there any plans to take opium out of the tea for informal audiences?

MA: Not to my knowledge. Not while I was in, certainly. Why would they? My son and daughter-in-law continue that tradition as well. There's no real reason to change it.

DW: Let's switch topics. Have you continued planting trees after your time as Empress was completed?

MA: Yes, we've actually planted an additional 3,000 trees since I have left office. I can't do it as frequently as I used to: I am 68 years old and probably not as spry as I used to be. Luckily I still have my walking legs, but anyhow, I do still work with getting saplings and planting supplies to community groups who often will take a day each summer and go plant trees. It is really just such an amazing effort that the people of Ananto and Kalistan have put in to reforest our north facing slopes and return these beautiful redwoods from the brink of extinction. I'm so proud of all this work everyone has done over the years, and I dream of a future version of me walking in the deep forests that we are planting today.

DW: Will you ever call the effort completed?

MA: Not in my life. I have endowed a fund for continued reforestation. When I die, the legacy fund will continue to work we started during the decades I was alive. I am also proud of really promoting forestry and conservation in the National Service Program, and Their Imperial Majesties have assured me that they will continue those programs within the NSP. There are so many benefits to reforestation: Besides cleaner air, because trees pull so much carbon out of the air and actually help reverse the damage that fossil fuel emissions do to the breathable atmosphere, they also prevent erosion, help filter the ground water and clean out toxins, and contribute to the health and well being of numerous animal and plant species. Our old growth forests are the sources of naturally occurring drugs with a variety of fungus and just other precursors found in any number of forest species. They are so beneficial to our lives, and deserve our protection and promotion. And I am glad I was a part of that effort.

DW: Some would say you were THE effort...

MA: Nonsense: I couldn't have possibly planted all those millions of trees myself. This took all of us.

DW: How is Lady Margaret? Her diagnosis was news a few months ago. How is she doing?

MA: I was just visiting her yesterday as a matter of fact, and did the first half of this hike after talking with her. Yes, my sister is doing as well as can be expected. She still retains a lot of her mobility of course, but it is deteriorating a lot faster than we would like and she is seeing her doctors more, I think than she would like.

DW: ALS is a difficult disease.

MA: Unfortunately, for all of our advancements in medicine, there is still no cure for that disease. The only thing we can do is try to manage her symptoms, and keep working with her. Dulnerstaad is a good place for her: She has a great team around her, her husband is with her every day and helps her stay as active as possible, and I try to visit as much as she will tolerate me there. I love my sister very much and while the prognosis is generally never good, her doctors seem to think she's in the 25% who can make it more than 5 more years. They confirmed the diagnosis early, which means we have a lot of time still with her.

DW: That's very sad. But I am glad your family still gets to have time together.

MA: You should understand, I always believed that Margaret should have been the Empress: She was far more, I would say, intuitive and suited for that job, certainly more educated. She served this Empire even when it was hard for her. She was loyal to a fault and I leaned on her far more often that maybe I should have. I just want to spend as many minutes with her as she will let me. But I can also tell when she is tired or has had enough of people fussing over her: She was always so independent... But she's not gone yet: Its too early to eulogize her. I am glad I still can be a part of her life and her a part of mine.

Hey, don't look now, but just over that hill there is Casa Varestella, the baronetcy seat of the Egelion King and Queen. The trailhead ends just on the edge of the estate.

DW: I suppose that means that our conversation has come to an end.

MA: Unfortunately. But it doesn't have to. Since leaving office, I taught myself how to drive, and can drive you into Eveari if you like. We can keep talking, off the record.

DW: My driver will be meeting me at the trailhead, regretably, or I would definitely take you up on that offer.

MA: Well, perhaps I will invite you to Ananto Estate then, and we can talk further.

DW: Thank you, Your Highness, I think I would like that very much.

The hike continued for the remaining thousand feet to the trailhead, and then Ms. Weller and Her Highness, the Princess of the Empire parted ways.

@LaModa