Quote: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..."

Quote:The 12 members of the Jury sat silently as they prepared to hear the closing arguments of the prosecution and defense. The trial had been tiresome but surprisingly speedy. Four individuals sat by the defense table: Nataša Sedláková, Lubor Čermák, Mikuláš Krejčí, and Iveta Fojtíková. Lubor had a black eye and swollen lip, and Iveta had her arm in a fresh cast, allegedly the transport van just two days ago had a traffic accident which led to the injuries from a drunk driver. The judge smacked his gavel three times silencing the packed pews filled with spectators and media. The judge motioned to the prosecutor to begin his closing statement.

The prosecutor stood, cleared his throat and walked before the Jury.

"My comrades of the Kundrati nation. When you look at these four men and women before you I ask what your first impression might be? Pressed suits and clean ties, polished shoes and high heels, clean hair cuts and filed nails. But appearances can be deceiving, as this prosecution has shown, wolves in sheeps clothing. The documents here, are undeniable proof of their evil deeds. Transcripts with conversations between Luthorian and Kalistani agents and associates, bank records showing payments and withdrawals wire transferred the day after the crash, attempts to purchase plane tickets out of the country the moment they felt the police neared. This was a deliberate attack on our sovereignty and nation, these four traitors were willing to sacrifice the livelihoods of millions for money from the same people who murdered and plundered our fatherland just 2 decades ago. These people, who barely qualify to be called such, are a stain upon the flag and honor of Kundrati."

The four people looked down at the floor unmoving with deep frowns and looks of exhaustion. The prosecutor turned from the Judge and pointed his hand to them.

"Therefor, for the honor and justice Kundrati that her people deserve, I ask you the Jury find the defendants guilty! And punish them according to the full extent of the law!"

The prosecutor slowly walked back to his seat as the defense murmuring to each other for a minute and finally one gulping stood, tugged his collar and walked to the Jury.

"My comrades of our great nation. I must once again call to the erroneous claims made against these individuals, they have had spotless records of loyalty and -"

The prosecutor called out, "Objection your honor relevance"

The defendant looked to the Judge confused, "Sustained, the defendants are not being judged upon their previous loyalty but their present treason. Continue"

The defense attorney coughed and resumed, "We still don't have enough to connect the dots here, the evidence presented has not been sufficiently cross referenced to confirm their validity despite their claims. I ask you the Jury to find it in your hearts to understand the situation of these people, if they truly are guilty of these claims they deserve a proper investigation as we all do!"

A member of the spectators cried out, "Those scum make more a month than we do a year, traitors!!" The crowd began yelling and hurling insults at the cowering defendants. The judge slammed his gavel again and again, "ORDER!!!" Finally the crowd simmering regained composure. The defending attorney hurriedly made his final statement.

"Please look within yourselves and find the compassion and patience for us to unveil the truth, should they be found guilty later may they suffer the full extent of their crimes, but as of now we cannot beyond a reasonable doubt prove their guiltiness. If it were you here wouldn't you want the same?" The defending attorney returned to his seat as the Jury whispering to eachother shuffled into the back to deliberate. 10 minutes passed as they came out with a verdict, that wasn't a good sign for the defense.

The judge called upon the Jury to announce their decision, one Juror stood with a paper. "Your honor, we the Jury of the Kundrati fatherland and people to the crimes of treason, economic fraud, bribery, corruption, and espionage do hereby find the defendants guilty of all charges." The crowd roared in anger and satisfaction as the defendants some planting their faces in their hands, some mouth agape in shock, all looked to the Judge as he slammed the gavel.

The Judge spoke, "Having been found guilty of the following crimes, I hereby sentence the defendants Nataša Sedláková, Lubor Čermák, Mikuláš Krejčí, and Iveta Fojtíková to be sentenced to death by hanging. Let justice be done in the fatherlands name!" he slammed the gavel as the crowd oncemore roared, individuals attempted to lash out and strike the crestfallen guilty, guards surrounded them and rushed them out the doors as the prosecutor shook hands with the judge and individual jurors.

The people had spoken.

Quote:Mary was in her office signing some Imperial Decrees to send back to Kaliburg by the end of tomorrow. One declared a new Ducal Park in Nevaras, another was a Royal arts initiative for Kalistani schools aimed at hiring more teachers with backgrounds in visual mixed media, so that kids interested in studying art could get a broader range of experience in their curriculum. It didn't necessarily de-emphasize music education, it merely broadened the ranges of options the student could access. It was fairly limited in scope, but so were the 100,000 other decisions she had made which lead to a gradually increasing quality of Life for the people of the Empire. When she signed, she looked out at the clear blue water of the Anantonese Ocean and the turquoise sky above it.

A thin, dark line traced the curvature of Terra across the horizon. She stared at that almost invisible line for a good long time and imagined she could see the high masted ships of the ancient Anantan Empire, under full sail, travelling between Vintalli and Ananto, or perhaps some turning to the starboard and heading into San Luis, which was called something else at the time, to stop for water or supplies before continuing further to Andalay. The dream stirred her blood and made her heartrate increase, and brought a very pleased smile to her face. And here she sat, in that same paradise that had stripped from her nation for so long, completely at liberty to imagine and dream of a day when it might be returned home.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock at her door. She was startled at the abruptness with which she was pulled out of her fantasy. "Please enter," she said almost meekly, feeling a bit flushed from the surprise. In walked Lady Jennifer Alvarez-Miller who walked in and bowed slightly, while the Empress motioned her Chancellor to take a seat.

"Madame, you seem excited about something. Are you feeling alright?"

"We are fine, Lady Alvarez," said the Empress. "Just daydreaming. We are pleased we still have the capacity. But we did not expect you until tomorrow. We have the proclamations we desire you to return to Kaliburg all ready to go."

Lady Jennifer smiled and nodded, and received the folder with the signed proclamations in them. "Well, I got an earlier flight, Madame. So I figured I could come down for a day and just visit for a while. I spoke with Lady Jensen downstairs, who said it would be no problem, and got the staff to prepare a room for me."

"Cousin, you are always welcomed to our homes, where ever we happen to be. Victoria will make sure you are as comfortable as any person has the right to be, and we trust you will join us for dinner tonight. We trust you didn't make the trip early just to pick up these proclamations though."

'Well, Your Imperial Majesty," said Lady Jennifer. "I didn't actually. We just got the results of our internal polls ahead of next year's general elections. Now of course, we are still more than a year out, and political opinion does change on a dime. I thought I would share them with you if Your Imperial Majesty is interested."

"Absolutely," said Mary. "But, there is a hint of hesitance we hear in your voice. Are we mistaken?"

"Well, not really," said the Chancellor. "Well, kind of. I just don't know how to read the results so much, like what to make of them."

"Well, let's hear them and perhaps we can put our two heads together and work out a more complete analysis," said Mary.

"Very well, Madame," said Jennifer. She took a deep breath and said "Here we go. The Democracy Forum movement is kind of over in Kalistan."

"Over?" asked Mary incredulously. "How can that be?"

"Thing is: They shot themselves in the foot when they came to Kaliburg. There was a great big rock that they accidentally overturned and found major divisions in the movement. And people who had put their faith in the movement sort of began abandoning it as soon as the leadership divided, first into two factions and then, they sort of turned on themselves. Charges were made, money went missing... All this in like, 8 months or whatever. It fell apart pretty quickly, and now there isn't a single person or group that can speak for the whole movement in Kalistan... Social media is a mess."

"Well, that more or less confirms our belief that Democracies can't govern anything, even their own institutions," said Mary with a slight smile.

"Yes, well, the issue is, Madame: When democratic governance collapses, there is nothing to keep the... shall I say, less scrupulous actors in check. The people who were disappointed by the slow pace of reform in Kalistan are somewhat more eager for reform now than they were before, when their energy could be channeled into a more benign form of protest."

The Empress looked at the Chancellor for what seemed like ten minutes without saying anything. Clearly the math was working in her mind as she played a mental game of chess between herself and the people of her nation. "Do continue, Lady Alvarez," she said at last.

"Your Imperial Majesty: The polls suggest that a lot of people are abandoning the social Dems, which are our closest ideological party for more extreme leftist parties, where as a portion of the Democracy movement have formed a pretty extreme right wing movement in this country, which talks about increasing the size of the military and the police force, clamping down on Immigration, and seeks to openly work for limitation of the Monarchy."

"That can't be permissible in Kalistan, Lady Alvarez," said the Empress incredulously. "Are they fascists?"

Lady Jennifer slowly shook her head, "Not explicitly, Madame. On the Left, socialists and communists don't seem to have much of a problem honestly saying what they really are. Ask a communist: "Are you a Communist?" and they will openly pull out their Red Card and show you when they joined, and tell you all about the Party foci they helped form, and then tell you their entire program for revolution. They are true ideologues and are very proud of their affiliation with and identification to their ideology. Ask a fascist, on the other hand if he is a fascist, and he will lie, immediately. And he will say he is a good, patriotic Kalistani, loyal to our nation and the system. And then he will follow that up with paeans to democracy and justice. But then, in his next breath, he will start mentioning that to secure the good things in life for people like him, and his family and people like me, maybe gas chambers may be necessary. Not for everyone mind you, just the dangerous minority who somehow lack any real power due to their base degeneracy, and yet somehow has full power to menace and hurt him, and his family, and you and me, and that we all need to stand in defense of our nation, because the only way combat his imagined enemy, who has suddenly changed into the source of all his woe and misery, is to hate, to incarcerate, and to maybe even murder his foes, while simultaneously elevating him back to his traditional place of power and privilege. THAT's the way we make our nation great again... but cutting out the so-called tumors of our society to save the rest of it. And right now, a crypto-fascist organization is polling at 4.5% with the threshold being 2.5%."

"Good Lord!" said Mary, aghast.

"It is why Kalistan has long held to the anti-fascist part of the law so strenuously, even as we were able to modify the single party aspect of it."

"Well, we certainly can't have that in Kalistan," said the Empress.

"Of course not," said Lady Alvarez. "But the issue is, fascism ALWAYS comes under the pretense of democracy. in this way, democracy can occasionally be good and beneficial to the society, but it can also serve as the parent of its own mortal enemy. Like leukemia, Fascism starts as a normal thing where something goes awry. It then reproduces the aberrant cell over and over, until it metastasizes, breaks off the main tumor and floats to another part of the body where it plants itself and slowly takes over there too. In a very real way, fascism is like a cancer, and you can't do what you need to do to actually kill it effectively without killing the healthy cells around it too. If it was like a virus, the immune system could see it and neutralize it. But it looks just like democracy, so the immune system can't distinguish it from democracy, even after its too late and the society becomes riddled with cancer."

"Please Jennifer, spare us the metaphor. What would you suggest we do about it?" said the Empress. "We certainly cannot cancel elections."

"No, you definitely will not want to do that, Your Majesty," said the Chancellor. "That would give them fuel, that would validate every complaint they raise against your Monarchy, and drive people into their arms."

"So, what do we do? Is there anything the Institutional Party can do to help us?"

"It is likely we will keep the outright majority this election, unless something horrible happens between now and then and the Party shows itself incapable of acting," said Lady Alvarez. "If we could just get the Socialists to help us... I... I don't know how that would happen without admitting them to the cabinet."

"Would that neutralize the fascists?"

"No, not likely, but we would at least have allies in the fight.

"Do you think this has anything to do with..."

"It's possible, Your Imperial Majesty," said the Chancellor, knowing exactly who the Empress was referring to. "I've expressed concern with your sister, and she gave me a run down on options for the Bureau. There may be something she can do to disrupt them without attracting a lot of attention..."

The Empress bristled. "Meg is... pretty efficient," said the Empress. "And she is ruthless. I got the crown, she got everything else."

"The Bureau is supposed to brief me next week," said Lady Alvarez.

"Well, we don't suppose there is much to do today," said Mary. "Let's keep watching this, and follow the polls to see if they solidify around anything, and meanwhile, let's go down and have a late lunch with Vicky. I think she's waiting for me."

"I think you are correct, Madame," said the Chancellor.

Quote:The Empress watched out the window as the limo pulled into the drive way. Here at last was Her Majesty the Queen of Hutori, Arianna Elizabeth Rosalyn Steuart-Carmichael. Arianna was the first cousin of Princess Natasha, the Hutorian-Kalistani expat, who had decided to maintain the Baronetcy at Raven's Head following her elective service in the NSP and the niece of His Excellency Prince James of Hutori. Mary, who was a full 22 years Arinna's senior had been close to the Hutorian Royal Family for decades, and was glad to see Arianna now come into her majority and her birthright as Queen. Arianna was the first foreign dignitary to ever formally visit the Winter Home at Playa de la Paz, and Mary had been working overtime to direct the staff to get ready. She obviously wanted to make a good impression.

The Doorman accompanied the Queen from the car, and Mary greeted them both as they came through the open door. "Welcome to my home, Madame Steuart. You should consider this as your home while you are here, and know my staff shall ensure that you want for nothing. I trust your stay in our Ananto was relaxing and enjoyable?"

"Thank you Your Grace. Yes, it was quite agreeable. Springtime in Eastern Ananto is a feast for the senses. The colors of what my cousin calls "the greening" are truly astounding. And the smell of the fresh air. Raven's Head is one of the most singularly beautiful spots on the whole Island."

"I prefer the fall, personally. You get the end of the season and the last warm days before the Island is socked in with clouds and mist for 5 months. But I also like that weather too, there is something about the dreariness and calm that speaks to me. I suppose I like all seasons on Ananto. If I need to be in Kaliburg, though, it must be in spring."

"Indeed." said the Queen politely, content to let the older Empress gush about her homeland.

"Well, I hope your trip down was without any incident?"

"No, we had no problem at the border at all," said Arianna. "I was warned that there might be a delay, but after we changed trains in Lucid, it was express all the way to San Luis. I do wonder why, however, you had a car in San Luis to pick me up, rather than allowing me to remain on the train until the stop here? I was told you had your own stop?"

"Well, that's a flag stop, so when you are coming down, the staff must stand there at the platform and flag down the train. And to be quite honest, last fall we had a storm through here that took out the shed, so there's really no place for the driver to stand until they reconstruct the shed here this June. It's a bit of an inconvenience, but I am sure the passengers on the train appreciated not having to stop at the flag stop. We have used it so rarely this season and we are only ten miles out of town here, so, I am debating whether to not take it completely out and just rely on the car."

"I see," said the Queen. "Well, allow me to introduce my girl: This is my personal assistant and body person for this trip, Ms. Avery MacKenzie. She was assigned to me as a personal assistant, but I decided that there's nothing I would have her do along those lines that I would not rather do for myself. She mostly takes my correspondences while I'm out of the country, but I may expand her role in the future." A young lady who couldn't be a year or two younger than the Queen herself stepped forward, and bowed respectfully to the Empress, who tilted her head in acknowledge to the courtesy.

"Welcome to my home, Ms. MacKenzie. I have a version of you here somewhere, and she is Lady Marian Southern. When I am home, I am not at liberty to speak all that often in my own voice, and Lady Marian and I have worked together since I was probably younger than you, so she speaks for me, more often than not. She may be in her office, but I go nowhere without her. If you look around the house you may see her, just feel free to make yourself at home as well."

"I thank Her Imperial Majesty," said Avery.

Mary looked at the Queen with almost an amused look and then smiled at the young secretary. "Madame, we are not in the Imperial Seat and the Chancellor is not here. Let's stay informal while you visit, is that alright?"

"Aye Madame," said the girl, and the Queen excused her to save her from any embarrassment.

"Well, that's settled," said Mary. "May I show you around?"

"I would love that," said Arianna.

Over the next hour, Mary showed off her pride and joy, her very own home in Athosia. She told the story of Athosia, once the Jewel of the Anantan Crown, how the Luthorians had backed the Baltusians to take the land from Kalistan as war reparations, and how Kalistanis still look on this land as a lost prize. "I suppose there may never come a day when the Anantonese Flag flies once more over this land," said Mary. "And that makes me sad: It is an obsession, you see, for my entire family. From our earliest days, we are told about lost Athosia, and before we are even conscious, the notion that this land should be ours becomes a matter of religion. As we get older, not possessing it becomes our greatest regret, and has for generations and eons. And here I am, on this small plot of ground, with my little Flag flying outside my house, and even though it flies lower than the Baltusian Flag, even on my own property, in this simple act of being here, I have far exceeded every Emperor and Empress bearing the name Ananto that has come before me, because we hold 3500 acres of the soil of Lost Athosia, once more."

"How fascinating," said the Queen. "I don't think we have any equivalent in Hutori. There might be something, I don't think I can remember a story about it, though."

"Athosia is all we think about, you may say," said Mary. "If I had to choose between saving Athosia and saving fifty Artanias, I would choose Athosia con mis ojos cerrados, as they say in Gaduridos. 'With my eyes closed...' I would let all of Artania burn if it meant Kalistan could possess Athosia once more. This is why this home is so important: it is the fulfillment of millennia of longing and desire. It is far too romantic a matter to put into words."

The Queen could tell Mary was both very serious, and maybe a little unhinged concerning this land, though not upsettingly so. The place was beautiful certainly: its vista was magnificent, and its access to the ocean was enviable. But it was also wild and untamed. The House here is, by even Kalistani standards, a few steps above a cottage-- any of Mary's properties in Kalistan make this house look far less elegant in comparison. Compared to even modest chateaus in Hutori, this home, carved as it is out of the rain forest, is down right rustic, and the Queen felt that if this house was not maintained full time all year round, it would be one season before the forest reclaimed it, and 5 seasons before nobody ever knew it was ever here. But Mary's attachment was next level and the Queen didn't feel like rocking the boat.

"Well, Madame," said Mary. "That's the home. Its a work in progress. Maybe someday it will be as nice as the Ananto estate, or as comfortable as Cliff House. It is so new though that we still find little things around to work on. And I have been speaking for so long. Perhaps you will tell me about your time in Ananto. May I offer you some tea?" The Queen accepted the offer gracefully, and the Empress showed her into the Parlor, which had yet another huge picture window facing out toward the sea. Where one would expect bookshelves, the Queen only saw bare walls of stained and polished reddish woods. But the wood was arranged in a sort of mosaic that, when the Queen stared at it long enough, it formed a mural: She thought it was a large wave.

"I don't really know what it is," said Mary. "It was commissioned of a local artist, and to be honest, what I think it is charged daily for about the first two weeks. It looks different in the morning light than it does when the sun is setting over the hills. This is, I think what makes it so interesting: The mosaic is built right into the wall, with all local woods. The kids think they see a dragon. I have seen everything in it from a Horse to a river flowing through a valley. So, we just sort of let it be what it will be that day."

"I expected to see books here," said Arianna.

"Books don't really do so well down here," laughed the Empress. "I mean: it is so humid here and there's nothing you can do about it. So its best to keep the books in the Library in town. Its hard enough to keep art here."

The tea was served, and Mary's was served with a small dish on the side, which contained a brown powder. Mary took a very small teaspoon of the powder, and stirred it into her tea, placing the lid back onto the dish. "Excuse me, Mary," said Arianna. "What is that that you put in your tea just there?" Mary stirred her tea and looked at Arianna.

"This is opium," said Mary. "It's a mixture of very finely powdered opium and a bunch of other spices actually. There's cinnamon, and cloves, and orange peel in this mixture, and its all pretty much designed to be held in suspension in the tea, but there is certainly opium in this mixture too. Not nearly enough to impair you, but certainly enough to be felt. I would say it more acts as a mild sedative than anything serious. It is quite relaxing."

"Would you mind if I tried a bit of that in my tea, to experience it?" asked Arianna. "My cousin told me you take your tea in this fashion and I have been curious about it since I heard about it." Mary smiled lightly, took the small ceramic vase in her hand, and brought it over, and in an act that almost looked like bowing, slowly removed the lid, and took the spoon and dipped it into the powder, and scooped up what looked like a quarter of a teaspoon worth, pouring it into the Queen's tea. She then took the Queen's spoon and stirred it until the black tea went from clear to uniformly translucent. "Will that be enough?" asked Arianna. "I saw you put a whole spoonful into yours."

After placing the lid back onto the vase and returning to her seat sat down and sipped her tea, Mary answered, "Enough for you," she said with a smile. "You've clearly never had your tea prepared like this, and I don't want you to get stoned." She laughed at the idea. "On the other hand, in fact, I have taken my tea this way for more than thirty years, and my father before me, and his mother, and her mother, and so forth. We've built up a tolerance, you may say. I don't take tea without it."

Just then the chime at the front door rang. Mary sat unphased, but the Queen looked at the Empress, as if she was waiting for Mary to spring from her chair. Instead Mary calmly sipped her tea, closing her eyes for a moment as a serene look crossed her face. Arianna took a sip of her own tea and it tasted like Earl Gray tea, just a black tea flavored with a hint of bergamot. Arianna was used to this sort of tea. Every once in a while, she could taste a note of clove in the tea. The more of the tea she drank, however, the more pronounced the lower notes of the liquid became for her. She watched Mary drink her tea, sitting in silence, and the Queen sipped her own glass once more. Yes, there is the orange peel. It is almost like the further she got into the experience, the richer and more complex the flavor became. It felt as if she was experiencing the tea in slow motion, where she had the opportunity to sort out the flavors she was tasting one by one, to analyze how they fit together.

"Mary this tea is amazing," said Arianna. Mary smiled and nodded. "Yes... I agree," said Mary. As the ladies sat quietly and enjoyed the concoction, the Queen tried to figure out how simple Early Gray could be so intense. Had she never had real Earl Gray before? How had she missed this in her life? She had been to Kalistan many times, and had simply missed this tea...

After what felt like a long time, there was a knock on the door of the Parlor. "Madame," said the doorman. "Mr. Alvarez is here."

"Thank you," said Mary. Arianna watched as Mary slowly set her glass down and then stood in a weirdly smooth, almost flowing motion, like she didn't really get up, but levitated to standing and glided to the door. A man stepped inside, a couple years older than Arianna.

"Arianna, we are friends now, so, may I introduce my cousin, Mr. David Guillermo Alvarez-Ananto. He will be joining us this afternoon." The man stepped into the room and followed Mary to where the two ladies had been sitting. "We're just finishing our first cup of tea, David, so please have a seat and I will pour us all another." David sat in the third chair, which had remained empty before. Arianna realized at that moment that she was under the influence of the Opium, and things all around her felt a lot dreamier and she felt less in control of herself.

"Mary, I don't think I should have another glass of that. It was pretty strong," said Arianna, not wanting to be too intoxicated around this strange man.

Mary smiled and said "Don't worry, my dear. We'll keep it straight."

Arianna reluctantly agreed to another glass, and as soon as she tasted her tea, this time sans the Empress' drugs, her mind began to clear once more. David also drank his tea, while Mary sprinkled just a little of her powder into her own tea.

"Arianna Steuart, please meet David Alvarez-Ananto. He is the grandson of my dear Aunt Dana, which of course makes him the Nephew of Queen Nicole in Egelion, and the first cousin of King George of Baltusia here." David stood, and reached to shake Arianna's hand. "... not very formal," she thought.

David said, in a very thick Gaduri accent, "It is a pleasure to meet you, Your Majesty. Her Imperial Majesty has told me all about you, and she said you were visiting." After bowing his head and shaking the Queen's hand, he sat down once more.

Mary immediately noted Arianna's confusion. "Oh, Madame, please forgive me. I should have explained. Mr. Alvarez is a professional golfer in Gaduridos, and won the Yoshimi Open tournament last fall. I invited him to stay with us for a few days, because I thought you might like some additional company." Was Mary trying to set Arianna up? It was a little presumptuous on her part to assume that Arianna may be interested, but, at the same time, and maybe this was the opium still having an effect on her, Arianna was not so upset as surprised that Mary would go to the effort of introducing her to a handsome, and clearly eligible man her age.

"I confess," said Mary, "I am nearly fifty. I don't really understand the younger generation and what you all talk about or are interested in. I figured David here, who is just barely 31, would be a better companion for you during your stay with us than I would. I am sure if you get to know one another, you both will have a great time."

Arianna smiled and blushed slightly. "Mr. Alvarez," she started, "Did you know about this?"

David smiled, shrugged and looked at Mary. "You can not tell the Empress of the Anantonese Empire no," he laughed again, and mumbled "que chinga... We may as well make the most of this, and who knows, we might have fun." The young man had a very easy going way about him that put Arianna at ease. David asked her to tell him about her, what kinds of things she enjoys to do, tell him about Hutori, and all manner of topics designed to keep her talking. He had a very winning personality, and the two seemed to hit it off right away. Arianna was glad that Mary had dosed her with the opium. Even the little that she had certainly put her much more at ease than she knew she would have been otherwise.

Mary silently watched both of them talking as she sipped her tea with a soft smile on her face. Their talk continued until supper was announced, at which point, Arianna was introduced to the rest of the Royal Family in residence, as well as a Ms. Victoria Jensen, who sat with the Empress, while David asked Arianna if he could sit with her.