Wednesday, June 26, 2019

░ The Imperial Palace, Thetia, Midona, Empire of Thetia

░ Wednesday, June 26, 2019

░ At 8:08 pm

ODESSA KESTLE

Two days had passed since my speech on the opening of our borders and the revelation of the world of the Eight Kingdoms. The number of newspaper articles I read was innumerable. It was interesting to see and analyze several points of view about the news. Several polls were created on social networks to find out if the population was for or against my choice. Adding up all the ones I saw, I would say that 80% were in favour and 20% against. It was interesting to observe that of the 80% in favour, 70% were people under 40 years of age, therefore teenagers and young adults. As for the 20% against, most of them were people over 60 years old, who had gotten used to life as it is now, and above all, they didn't want it to change. The main reason? They were afraid because they could not project themselves forward. As for my family, for once my father congratulated me, but in his own way. He said, "At least you didn't make a mistake this time". The mistake he was referring to was my marriage and my husband Ernst. It was too late to reason him out, and my brother and I had tried many times to explain it to him, but it was useless. Then for the future empress, she was rather excited to my great surprise. I thought she would be mad at me for putting even more pressure on her shoulders, but she took it rather well.

After the speech, I started writing a letter to the King of Edios Hermon Of Knightford. At first, I preferred to send it to the current head of the Kestle family on Edios William Kestle. He was a descendant of the branch of Lowis Kestle, Thetia's big brother. Then I thought of sending him to the head of the Vassethier family Sullivan Vassethier, since the two families were related. Nevertheless, under the advice of the government, who preferred to send it directly to the King so that it would be "more" taken seriously, I carefully wrote the letter for hours, and once I found it perfect, I sent a message to my brother so that he could come and collect the letter the next day, so that he could send it by the Flamboyant Army to the County of Horat, so the letter could land in the hands of a group of smugglers. Their tasks were to take care of the departures of the correspondents, to watch that they were safe and that they were not in any trouble or that someone discovered their identities. Around 10:30 a.m. I received a confirmation message that my letter had been sent and, if everything went as planned, I would get a reply by the end of the week. Every day, a smuggler would notify me of his progress.

This evening, a family dinner was planned. There was to be my grandmother Octavia Kestle, my mother Vera Kestle and father Clayton, my children Brad, Rila and Alex. Finally on my older brother Ezekiel's side, his wife June and their two daughters Bess and Idell. Every time a family dinner was held, my father would spend his time grumbling and criticizing everything and as usual, would leave before the end of the meal because he was fed up. I was sure it was going to be worse today because he knew that the soldiers in Goston had used chemical weapons on soldiers and civilians. It was going to be an eventful evening. Our young chef, whom Erwin had recommended to us, prepared a huge meal for us, and everything was delicious. Erwin really had an eye for talent! When it was time for dessert, I motioned to Kurt to let the kitchen staff know that they could head back home. It was getting late and I didn't like holding them up for nothing. Strangely enough, my father was still there and hadn't said anything: just good evening and not a single criticism towards me, my brother or our partners. That didn't presume anything good. 

- " What are you doing for the next school year?" my father asked the children

- "I was accepted at Thetia Kestle University with a dual degree in science-politics/history and law as an option. Now, I'm only waiting for my IDES results tomorrow, but I think I'll have it with honors" answered Rila at first.

- "I'm going to start my first year of Master's degree in history, still at Thetia Kestle University. I also remain the president of the Phoenix Organization" said Brad.

- "I am now entering my fourth year of singing and music at the Imperial Conservatory of Rilan" explained Bess.

- "I'm going to Chesterfield University, in an undergraduate degree in psychology" said Idell.

- "I'm going to pass my IDES and focus on Venom" said my youngest son Alex. Last week, he debuted in a group from the well-known SkyLight Entertainment, led by Pierce Hamilton. This man went a year not to Edios, but to Acora. A lot of young people in this country are in bands where they sing and dance, and Pierce was inspired by that. I was very proud of Alex, just like his father. I knew how much he didn't want to be involved in the affairs of the imperial family, and I respected his decision.

As my father continued to ask the children questions, Kurt came to me because someone had been waiting at the gate for several minutes. I asked him to send guards to investigate to find out what it was. As I was about to accompany Kurt, Brad stopped me. He warned me that the person waiting for him was Flora. Flora? 

- " Who is she?"

- "..."

- " Answer me. You know very well that I don't let people walk in here easily for security reasons. Tell me who this Flora is!"

- "My girlfriend"

- " Your girlfriend...Why didn't you ever tell me you had a girlfriend! I'm your mother ! Hurry up and bring her in then, I want you to introduce her to us!"

Brad left with Kurt in the direction of the portal, as for me I warned everyone that we were going to receive the visit of someone important. Brad returned a few minutes later and with him was a young woman. She was very pretty, her blonde hair made her blue eyes glow with intensity. She greeted us, and at first glance I knew she was a polite person with manners. 

- "Mother, Father and everyone, this is Flora Warren, my girlfriend."

- " Pleased to meet you Your Majesty and the imperial family. As Brad says, I'm his girlfriend, and I came because he wanted me to introduce myself to you". 

- " You don't have to call her Her Majesty, we're in family. But tell me, sweetie, how long have you been together? Do you have any plans for the future? What do you do in life?"

- " Grandma stops it ! You are embarrassing her" I intervened to silence my grandmother Octavia. She had always been like that, she wanted to know everything as soon as a boy was brought home. When I introduced Ernst, she interrogated him for over an hour. In the end, they got along wonderfully!

I motioned to Kurt to bring a chair so Flora could sit next to Brad. She answered our questions with a refreshing smile, and the longer the conversation went on, the more I thought she had settled in very well. We learned that she was the same age as Brad and that they had met for the first time in the halls of Thetia Kestle University. She obtained a double bachelor's degree in science-politics and law, and is going to start a Master's degree in science-politics at the same school. She didn't like law, but she still decided to do three years so that her parents wouldn't have to pay for another year. In addition to her interest in politics, she has been drawing and painting since the age of six. Flora told us that at a younger age she had problems managing her stress, and drawing helped her to control herself. Later, she started painting and hasn't stopped since. 

- "Do you have one or more professional projects? " asked Bess, intrigued by Flora.

- "Since your speech on Monday evening, I have thought a lot about it and I have found two jobs that I might like. The first is a diplomat and the second is a consultant in international relations. Since you spoke of the Eight Kingdoms, I am fascinated by them and I want to discover them, to create links with them and enable the Empire to benefit from them.

- "It is a lovely project and I hope you will succeed, my dear Flora. I can only wish you the best".

- "You didn't tell us where you came from? "said my father. A heavy silence settled in the room, leaving poor Flora lost. 

- "I was born in Beckinsale in the Kingdom of Hatopia. My mother is from the same town and my father from Westwend from the County of Goston. And I know how you feel about people from Goston and Youmor, but it's not the same situation in the North. The people are not at war and the atmosphere is calm and warm. I went to see my father's family last week, we walked around the streets without any problems. The real problem is political".

- "Don't get smart with me, Miss Warren! You say you know the fact that I don't like people from Goston and Youmor, and I won't deny it. Nevertheless, you are not aware of the reason and you don't have to know it". 

At the end of his sentence, my father left grumpy and slammed the door. We reassured Flora that he was constantly like that, and she shouldn't blame herself. Finally, the evening went on smoothly and I suggested that Flora stay the night because it was late. She agreed and Brad left with her to his apartments.