A Battle Unseen

[Doc]

Informal Audience Hall, Imperial Seat
Kaliburg, Grand Duchy of Ananto, Jan 4, 5725

Lady Melanie Alvarez-McLinn sat alone in the large empty space which served Her Imperial Majesty as the Informal Audience room. From time to time, service staff came in and wordlessly refilled the lady's coffee cup and offered her another lemon bar. The last one was loaded with sugar, and Lady Alvarez waived a second one off.

At length, as she was draining her second cup of coffee, another waiter wheeled in a small table, with a tea service set on it on it, and two cups, a kettle water heater, and a small ceramic jar filled with powdered opium. The lady, who had once been Chancellor had seen this before: it meant the Empress was arriving. The waiter placed the small table near her and then turned around, again without a word, and left. The next person through the door would be Her Imperial Majesty, Empress Carolina II Ananto. Lady Alvarez was in a much different relationship to the Empress than she was when she was removed from office a year ago. She stood, expectantly and at attention.

Within a minute, the door opened, and in walked the Empress. She wore a characteristically flattering wool dress, with her signature red and white tartan pattern woven into the yarn. Her long hair was tied low on her head and swung freely down her back. She walked toward the table. Lady Alvarez now bowed low as the Empress approached, and the Empress walked past her, saying over her shoulder "Please retake your seat, Madame. Would you care for some tea?"

Lady Alvarez knew that she did not. The Empress routinely took tea with opium and Lady Alvarez, when she was Chancellor, had always sought to avoid the tea, because she had no desire first to become addicted, and second to lose control of her faculties. As she thought of how to refuse, the Empress brought two cups to the table, and placed one in front of the Lady. The Baronette could smell the poppy flowers rising from the glass and the tea had the telltale sign of having been spiked with powdered opium. Perhaps she could just, not drink much of it. Lady Alvarez smiled politely and nodded to say thank you.

Protocol of formal audiences held that the Empress always spoke first. But informal meetings were meant to be a conversation between individuals in the Empress' presence. So the former Chancellor wasn't too sure who should start. The Empress took a long draw of her tea and smiled. The Chancellor was not sure what the smile meant. She saw the Empress' eyes dart, ever so imperceptibly to the cup sitting before the former Chancellor. Lady Alvarez caught the gesture, smiled again meekly, and lifted the cup to her lips to take the smallest sip ever. As she lowered the cup, and caught the eye of the Empress again, there she sat, with the same smile on her face.

"How have you been Melanie?" began the Empress.

The question caught Lady Alvarez off guard. "Please Her Imperial Majesty, I have been alright. I thank her for her concern." The Lady, though she was a member of the Order of Gray Smoke and formerly the head of government, no longer had the privilege of addressing the Empress directly, though she may speak alone with her still.

The Empress sat looking at Lady Alvarez, and then there was the same imperceptible eye twitch, which said to Lady Alvarez that the Empress expected her to take another drink. The Empress lifted her cup and took a healthy draw and set it down. Lady Alvarez once more touched the cup to her mouth, and once more let the black tea with bergamot and opium just wet her lips but did not ingest any of the potion. As she set her cup down, the Empress was still staring at her, her ice blue eyes burning holes in the back of Lady Alvarez' head.

"Can I do something for Her Imperial Majesty," she said when the stare became uncomfortable.

"Yes, you may, Madame. You can drink with us. Our cup is half empty, and yours is still as full as when we set it out for you."

"Please Her Imperial Majesty, I..." She was cut off.

"Nonsense. Speak to us directly."

"Madame, the protocol..." said Lady Alvarez, almost out of habit.

"We are the law, Melanie and we desire to speak directly with you. But first, you will show us the courtesy of drinking our tea." The normally soft spoken Empress had a sharp dictatorial streak, and her softness and erudite manner always put that streak in high relief whenever the Empress chose to show it.

Lady Alvarez had not planned on cancelling the rest of her afternoon, the first she had been back to Kaliburg in a year. But, she did not see any way around it. With a sigh, she picked up her cup and drained it in a single gulp.

"We have become indecorous in our old age, have we?" asked the Empress with a more mischievous smile now.

"Madame, you have summoned me to the Capital from my home. I have answered your summons, and now I have been drugged at your hand. What is it that Your Imperial Majesty wishes of me?"

"Lady Alvarez, we..." The Empress stopped short, as if not anticipating the question, and not having an answer prepared. "We... I... wanted to see you."

"About what, Your Imperial Majesty?" she shot back.

"We wished to see our friend," said the Empress.

"Your friend, Madame?" asked the Chancellor incredulously. "What on earth made you think we were friends?"

The Empress' smile faded. "We were not?"

"No Madame, we were not."

The Empress let her small stirring spoon slip from her fingers and it clinked on the plate. She studied the face of Lady Alvarez, and Lady Alvarez attempted to show her no emotion. The Empress' eyes narrowed as she studied, and the former Chancellor could see the Empress turning the idea over in her head. The Empress drained her cup as well, and stood to get another cup. "Another?" the Empress asked.

"No, Madame. I do not desire to be drugged further. I wish to be sensible when I leave here." said the Chancellor.

The Empress turned her back to the her former Chancellor, saying nothing, and remained turned around far longer than it took to make a cup of tea. Lady Alvarez could see her shake a little, a motion that reminded her of crying. The Empress' head sunk lower, before she drew in a sharp breath, lifted her head again, and clearly wiped her cheek, before picking up her cup and turning around. The Lady could see it: The Empress had indeed been crying. Lady Alvarez-McLinn said nothing. It was not that she did not feel sorry she had made this woman cry. It was more that the drugs were starting to take effect, and Lady Alvarez' mind was floating, so her response was slower. Melanie knew this feeling too well, unfortunately.

"Madame," she said, with the slowed cadence of someone who was not a frequent user of opium, despite her experience with it as Chancellor. "I apologize that what I said caused you grief, but you insist upon truth and I did not wish to lie to you."

The Empress smiled again. "It's alright, Lady Alvarez. It's a wound, but it is not a new one and we are glad it came from you."

Lady Alvarez shook her mind loose from the grip of the opium for a moment and tried to make small talk to defuse the tension. "How has Her Imperial Majesty been?" she asked.

The Empress sipped her tea. "We miss you."

Lady Alvarez heard it and immediately responded, "Then why did you have me arrested and kicked out of office? You ruined my life."

The Empress' face sunk, and became blank. She pondered the question. "We... we did not have you arrested."

"But you knew about it?" shot back Lady Alvarez.

"Yes," answered the Empress.

"And you let them do it." said Lady Alvarez.

"Yes," answered the Empress again.

"And you did nothing?" demanded the now drugged Lady Alvarez, suddenly emboldened by the opium.

"Madame, we did what we could, but it was your actions that caused your problems, not our inaction," answered the Empress.

The Chancellor glared at the Empress. Of course she was correct, but the Empress could have protected her. After all the years of service she put in, after all the groveling and after all the compromise of her own personal beliefs for this Empress who clearly governed from caprice, which she calls philosophy, when I would have preferred Pragmatism and for you to go back and get Gaduridos, which is yours, which is ours..."

The look on the Empress' face, a look of stunned silence, told Lady Alvarez that she had been saying those words out loud, rather than just thinking them. "Forgive me, Majesty. It's the opium. I thought I was just thinking them and instead I was speaking them."

The Empress said "Melanie, your own mouth is what was your undoing--You speak without contemplation and you tell truths in spite of yourself. We have always valued your frank and honest opinion, and we know you to be a good person. But you were involved in treason and sedition. The prostitution stuff... as personally distasteful as that was to us, that was the least you could have been charged with. We know about all of it, because your co-conspirators turned you in. In another nation you would have been hung for what you did. We saved your life, then and more recently, so you may consider how to be a better person, how to be of better service to your Empire, and spend the rest of your days on this Earth doing what you can to make our nation a better place. Our nation, the one you say you love so much. It was our desire to give you chance after chance to prove yourself to yourself, because we were friends, and you made mistakes, but we were challenged to forgive you. Because there is something of the Truth in you, and in prayer, that still small voice spoke to me and led me to remember your humanity. What happened no longer matters: it is what you do with the rest of your time that matters, and we believe in you and your humanity, though you may detest our company."

The Empress' words washed over Lady Alvarez like a tidal wave. For their entire time together, the Empress had always shown compassion, while Lady Alvarez had always grudgingly stood in her Presence. The Empress had her flaws, but in Melanie's recollection, she had always shown her kindness. Something few did. When Lady Alvarez became Chancellor, she knew she was not well liked by the Anantos, and had been forced upon the Empress. Though the Empress had always reached out, and had always shown her grace, and let her take the lead on several important matters. And the Empress had indeed commuted her sentence. And--had the Empress also ensured that the trials were held by the City Government rather than the National Government? Could the Empress be the reason she is at home in Lucid rather than living her life out on King's Rock?

"Madame," said Lady Alvarez, very slowly. "I am heavily under the influence here, and am very drowsy at the moment. How may I be of service to you?"

The Empress drained her cup. "We require your service to our Empire one last time," said the Empress. "Lady Christina wishes to retire at House Ananto and her branch is about to fall off the Royal rolls. And since there are no more Anantos after her generation except through our line, it is a free choice now. You are our kin. We should like it very much if you stepped up and served as Director of House Ananto beginning this September."

Lady Alvarez laughed--that the Empress would ever consider her for such a prestigious position was ridiculous. "Majesty, do you remember that I was ousted for corruption?" she said with a goofy, drugged smile.

"You are our cousin, you know how to budget, you are fundamentally honest and a trustworthy Brethrenist, if you are not our friend, and you know how to raise funds-- your side business was evidence of that..." The Chancellor bristled being reminded-- that was her own addiction, but it was not a business. "You are the first person we thought of for this post. Who better to protect the legacy of Fredrick I Ananto than his direct descendant?"

"Majesty, I hardly know what to say," she said. "I cannot be trusted in that role."

"Melanie, I believe in your goodness and your ability--You were the best chancellor I ever had. If you say yes to me today, there will be nothing at all anyone could ever say against you."

"Would I live in Kaliburg?" asked Lady Alvarez.

"Unfortunately, the Lady Mayor would not permit it and we seek to maintain her good will. However," she said. "Our aunt left us her home in Luxon. We would make a gift of it to you to keep forever. It is a beautiful home, just on the beach there, and 35 minutes from Kaliburg by train. Or if you prefer we would allow House Ananto offices to relocate to Luxon, if that makes life easier."

Lady Alvarez agreed, the Princess of the Empire's house was beautiful. It had always been something Lady Alvarez enjoyed visiting. "And Your Imperial Majesty... What would our relationship be?"

The Empress looked at her and swallowed hard. "Whatever you think is appropriate." Lady Alvarez got the distinct impression that this was very difficult for the Empress to say. "Our daughter looks up to you, and thinks you are a visionary. If it would be ok for her to visit and perhaps learn from you, that would satisfy us."

Lady Alvarez nodded and said, "Aye Madame. I'll teach her everything I know, but what I meant was what between you and me?"

The Empress smiled, "Let's start with this. May we tell Lady Christina that she may leave her post in September?"

Lady Alvarez smiled and nodded. "Sure, Majesty," she answered flippantly. "But are you sure she would accept me?"

The Empress stood once more and went to refill her cup. "It is all arranged--We were speaking with her while you were waiting. She will make you welcomed while you train, and you are granted permission to travel to and from Kaliburg during your training. We have already signed the papers deeding you our Aunt's home and investing you. Welcome to our family, Princess Melanie Ananto-McLinn."

Melanie stared at her: Had the Empress just promoted her? Had the Empress just raised her from the lowest rungs of the peerage to royalty? She started to speak, but the words would not come out. She could not fully comprehend what had just happened.

Lady Alvarez, now Princess Melanie Ananto-McLinn watched the Empress move around the room and then take a seat back in front of her. The Empress raised her cup to her lips, took a big drink and then lowered it to the table. Melanie looked at her eyes as she stared back, and she could discern just the tiniest black pinpoint pupil in a sea of lavish, multivariegated blue. The Empress was completely stoned, yet she moved and spoke as if she was entirely lucid and sober. Melanie could not fathom how she did it.

"Close your mouth Madame," said the Empress with a smile. "Don't act so surprised, daughter of Nicolette. It is nothing for us to create royalty. We do not even need to raise a finger. We merely have to say the word. As you well know already, we are the Law. You no longer need to pretend to be our friend. You are, in law and before the world, already our sister."