A Battle Unseen

[Doc]

Playa de la Paz, March 5658

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.