Night had fallen on down town Letonnasburg. Helgla walked under bright street lights through a light drizzle. Staring down at the ground under her, she passed businessmen and tourists in their evening commute.
Passing two upper scale shops, she noticed movement from the corner of her eye. To her left, was a man sitting in an alley way with an orange and yellow piece of fabric over him. Rain dripped off his hood.
He had a long beard and hair, unkept, as well as a unique odor emanating from him. There was a piece of cardboard in front of him, that at one time may have had writing on it, although the rain had washed it away.
Helgla walked closer to the man. She realized the fabric over him was a tattered Northern Letonna Unionist Party flag. The man turned to look at her, but said nothing.
She stared down at the man. She thought he looked Neustrian, but she couldn't tell. "Not that it mattered" she said in her head. "Looking beyond race is one thing this country needs more than anything."
After what felt like an eternity of staring down at the man, she reached down in her pocket, and grabbed all the money she had. He took it, and continued to look back at her. An awkward silence remained, before Helgla turned to continue walking. She had always sympathized for the Neustrians, but she never actually really saw how a lot of them still lived in Letonna. She was more caught up in righting culture crimes and fighting class wars. She continued to walk towards the palace under the rain and through the belly of upper class Letonnasburg.
She walked into the main entryway of the palace. A servant was there, ready to take your coat.
"Did the my lady enjoy her afternoon out?"
She shot the servant a mean look.
"The Lord would like you to join him for dinner in a half hour. There's a bath drawn up for you in your wash room, and your dinner attire has been laid on your bed." He said, unphased by her glare.
She went and had her bath, and put on her evening attire. A red dinner dress had been laid out for her. She put it on, finding it fit perfectly. She went into her closet and picked a pair of nice, semi formal shoes. Although the dress was exquisite, she didn't feel she was out to impress anyone, especially not her father, so she choose some more comfortable shoes.
Walking down the long and quiet halls until she came to the large dining room, she walked in to find her father sitting at the head of the table, and her plate laid out right on the corner to his left. Approaching him, avoiding his gaze and warm smile, she sat down.
"I assume you had a nice afternoon with Gamon? He can be quite a charming fellow. He's the kind of man you would give a task that didn't need a lot of explanation or questions asked. You'll find he'll be your right hand man in areas that our normal sphere of influence can't reach. That is if you take my offer."
Helgla was silent. He father took a bite of his meal. Roasted vegetables with a small thick beef steak and mashed potatoes.
"You know, you come from a long line of troubled Emperors. Not one of us ever had a easy time succeeding our predecessor. My father, Titus, was a cold, difficult man. He never showed affection, always demanded the very best of me. When he died, I only had the ministers to raise me. Can you imagine a council of Bureaucrats raising a child? Holidays were always disappointing."
Helgla smiled.
"Our family inherits a lot of responsibility, not just to run an Empire, but also to be the change we always wanted to be. The least you can hope for is the little things you do make a big impact on someones life."
Ulfrum turned his attention to his steak. Helgla was staring at her plate as well, although her mind was elsewhere.
"I'll do it."
Ulfrum turned back to her.
"Just one condition." She said, with a smile.
"And that would be?"
"I want to go to school. It would only be proper for an Emperess to be educated? So stay on until I graduate, ok?"
Ulfrum smiled, and grabbed her hand.
"Deal."
Prologue
March 17th, 2002
Hemern Jeldrun sat in the royal appointment waiting room. His foot bounced up and down, showing his mild impatience and over abundance of caffeine he had had that morning.
"Mr. Jeldrun? The Empress will see you now."
"About time, snobby little brat." He whispered under his breath as he walked down a short hall way towards the Royal Office.
He gave a knock on the door, before hearing a muffled voice guesturing him to come in.
"Ahh, Representivie Jeldrun. A pleasure as always."
"Likewise My Lady, always a treat to visit the royal offices."
"I'd like to start off by congratulating you on a sucessful reelection. I hear you're also going to stay on as the Head of the Northern Unionists and Majority Leader"
"Yes, thank you. That haden't been announced by the party yet, but thank you regardless."
"Oh well, you know, any good leader always listened to the faintest noises. There are a few other things I heard in the past few days I found interesting. Would you like in on the gossip?"
Hemern didn't like the direction this conversation was going. He swallowed heavy.
"Yes, I would My Lady."
"I heard there's whispers in the Chamber that one of the partys are going to repeal 3 laws when the next parlimentary quarter comes up. Act 3452-A, 3466, and 3492. All laws that I pushed through last year. Now why would that happen I wonder?"
Hemern was silent. Sweat beads began to form on his brow.
"I wonder if it's because their all related somehow. The first one enacted a tax on the coal industry to fund scholarships for minoritys. The second enacted more strict saftey regulations in mining, especially coal mining, and the last one closed tax loop holes for large corporations making over 5 million in profit. These all seem somewhat related to me."
Hemern continues to stare back.
"Now, I wonder what party would do this? Coal mines are typically in Northern Letonna. And the two large coal corporations in Letonna do tend to favor one specific party. But a whole party wouldn't be so determined to help one specific industry so much without motivation. Or perhaps a motivated someone. A certain someone who happens to influence a whole party."
She squinted at Hemern. He stared back with a petrified look on his face.
She opened a desk drawer and pulled a manila folder out, and handed it to him.
In it contained photographs on meetings he had had with lobbyists and corporate executives from Letonna-Coal-International. It also contained pages and pages of bank statements and credit card payment history."
"Would have been a merry little christmas in the Jeldrun house hold, eh? Especially in that new house. Four bedrooms I hear? Sounds cozy.You could have gotten your son that games console he wanted. Probably 10 of them in fact."
Helgla got up out of her seat and walked over to a minibar. She grabbed two glasses, and poured a small amount of whisky in each glass. Walking over to Hemern, she handed him a glass. He held it, but didn't take a sip. She downed hers in a single swig.
"So what do we do now?"
Not knowing what to say, he gave a nervous shrug.
"I..uh, well, I coul-"
Before he could finish his stammering, she slammed her glass down on his head, sending broken glass out in all directions. As he recoiled, she grabbed the back of his head, and slammed it into her desk. His face and head was bloody.
"DON'T. FUCK. WITH. ME." She screamed.
Hemern whimpered and huddled in his chair. He was mumbling something through broken teeth and blood. She walked behind her desk and pushed a button. Moments later, guards swarmed the room.
"Tell the rest of them in the Parliment. This is what happens when you fuck with me. Tell them I know every move you make. I know every person you talk to. I know all your dirty little secrets, and I will use them against you IF YOU SCREW WITH ME. GOT IT?"
The guards dragged away Hemern. Helgla poured herself another drink, and walked to the large window behind her desk overlooking downtown Letonna. She stared deeply into the grey city scape, into the Letonna that was now hers.