11-10-2019, 07:47 PM
Fresh Catch Restaurant, Central, Shuell
Friday 8th November - evening
Leonie Bennett had initially been sceptical when her parents had encouraged her to skip a couple weeks of classes for a family holiday to the Olympics. Especially given that they were in Shuell. She was not much of a fan of dictatorships in general, but she had been pleasantly surprised. Due to the Olympics, there were a lot of tourists, and the propaganda she’d seen was mainly focused on opposing communists – something she could get behind, given the side she’d fought on in Lauchenoiria’s civil war.
Her brother, Liam, was the sports fan really. His passions included basketball and swimming, while Leonie was rather more interested in politics. She had, however, joined a martial arts club at university – one never knew when such things could come in handy. She seemed rather talented at it. Her university friend Veronica was in the advanced class, and liked to help Leonie practise. But it had been her brother who wanted to visit Shuell, and so her parents had been very willing to oblige him.
The family had been watching the men’s discus final when Jack Kirk had won Lauchenoiria’s first gold medal. It had been very exciting! None of the family – well, none of their entire country – had expected them to do very well. After all, the war had disrupted all the athlete’s training schedules, and scuffles between communist and capitalist team members had been an issue in sports teams across the country. Yet, that day, Francesca Shaw won a bronze in Women’s Discus also, and to top it off Juan Borja won another gold in Men’s High Jump. Leonie felt very privileged to have been there to see it.
The family had gone out to celebrate that night, in a restaurant near their hotel. Leonie, the only one of the family who actually knew the exchange rate, had almost choked on her wine when she read the prices. They could probably afford it… as a one-off. She would need to speak to her parents about it in private later, but she didn’t want to make a scene. They wouldn’t be used to it: by Lauchenoirian standards they were reasonably well-off. Yet, prices in Shuell were considerably higher than back home.
Fortunately, the meal passed mostly without incident. There had been a moment of terror for Leonie when she’d heard a Kerlian accent, and had swivelled round in her seat, eyes wide, looking towards the door, but the gaggle of Kerlian women had seen the same prices she had, and shook their heads and walked away. It took her a few moments to calm her breathing, and to notice that a waiter was asking her if she was okay.
“Yes, yes I’m fine. Apologies, I… well, had some bad experiences with people from the Matriarchy during my country’s war, that’s all. This meal is delicious, thank you.”
Her brother, newly turned 16, was legally old enough to drink in Central – much to Leonie’s great horror. In Lauchenoiria, the federal drinking age was 21, though Yervia Province where she studied had lowered it to 18. It was an ongoing battle in the supreme court whether or not that was legal, but for the time being nobody seemed to care if she drank. But her brother was very much enjoying his newfound freedom, which terrified Leonie – because she feared what foolish things her brother might say when drunk.
During the war, Leonie’s family had thought her dead. It was a fair assumption on their part, she had long since conceded. She had, after all, gone to a protest in Usera and then vanished. Her lack of contact was partly due to Chaher’s internet ban – while she easily circumvented it in those days, her parents did not – but also due to security given her role within the Resistance. And then, during the fall of Usera, she had been taken prisoner by the Kerlians, who had tortured and attempted to brainwash her.
This had the unfortunate side effect, in Leonie’s opinion, of making her parents obsessive about keeping her brother safe. Which, in itself, is not a bad thing. Leonie didn’t hate her brother. It had, however, meant that her parents had been extremely cooperative with the Chaher regime. Her brother had as a result, unfortunately, read rather too much of the propaganda put out by the Communist Party. Which, in Shuell, was not exactly safe, given the country’s dislike of communists.
She’d meant to keep an eye on her brother, of course, but the wine was very good, and she found herself drinking more and more as he did. Their parents had as well, but they were no threat while drunk. They just giggled and fell asleep early. The pair were as apolitical as it comes, especially for Lauchenoirians. They tended to support whoever was in power as long as their lives were going well, and they tended to go well. Regardless, by the time the Bennett family paid their expensive bill, all of them should have headed straight to bed.
“We’re going to crush the other teams!” her brother exclaimed, as they walked back to their hotel, which was only a couple of doors down the road. “Especially the Kerlians, you’d like that, wouldn’t you Leonie?”
Leonie barely heard him, she was too busy glancing up at the tall buildings, lights from the windows gleaming in the twilight. She’d found the Art Deco architectural style in Central mildly interesting during the day, but in her present state it was fascinating to her, even though the oncoming darkness obscured her view somewhat. She stood spinning slowly in a circle looking up, left slightly behind by the rest of her family until one of the Shuellian tour guides came up to her.
“Ma’am, are you going inside?”
“I’m so glad to be here, you know,” she said to the tour guide, still staring up at the buildings. “Far away from Kerlile. From all the mess of last year. Finally, somewhere I can feel safe from the communists. You have no idea how much I resent them, especially for handing all of us over to Kerlile when they took us prisoner knowing fine well what the Kerlians would do. You have the right idea about them, you know.”
“Ma’am, you should really go inside.”
“Yeah… yeah, I’m really tired,” Leonie yawned and headed into the hotel. She had already forgotten the words she’d spoken only seconds before, betraying the true feelings she’d had buried inside her since the war.
Friday 8th November - evening
Leonie Bennett had initially been sceptical when her parents had encouraged her to skip a couple weeks of classes for a family holiday to the Olympics. Especially given that they were in Shuell. She was not much of a fan of dictatorships in general, but she had been pleasantly surprised. Due to the Olympics, there were a lot of tourists, and the propaganda she’d seen was mainly focused on opposing communists – something she could get behind, given the side she’d fought on in Lauchenoiria’s civil war.
Her brother, Liam, was the sports fan really. His passions included basketball and swimming, while Leonie was rather more interested in politics. She had, however, joined a martial arts club at university – one never knew when such things could come in handy. She seemed rather talented at it. Her university friend Veronica was in the advanced class, and liked to help Leonie practise. But it had been her brother who wanted to visit Shuell, and so her parents had been very willing to oblige him.
The family had been watching the men’s discus final when Jack Kirk had won Lauchenoiria’s first gold medal. It had been very exciting! None of the family – well, none of their entire country – had expected them to do very well. After all, the war had disrupted all the athlete’s training schedules, and scuffles between communist and capitalist team members had been an issue in sports teams across the country. Yet, that day, Francesca Shaw won a bronze in Women’s Discus also, and to top it off Juan Borja won another gold in Men’s High Jump. Leonie felt very privileged to have been there to see it.
The family had gone out to celebrate that night, in a restaurant near their hotel. Leonie, the only one of the family who actually knew the exchange rate, had almost choked on her wine when she read the prices. They could probably afford it… as a one-off. She would need to speak to her parents about it in private later, but she didn’t want to make a scene. They wouldn’t be used to it: by Lauchenoirian standards they were reasonably well-off. Yet, prices in Shuell were considerably higher than back home.
Fortunately, the meal passed mostly without incident. There had been a moment of terror for Leonie when she’d heard a Kerlian accent, and had swivelled round in her seat, eyes wide, looking towards the door, but the gaggle of Kerlian women had seen the same prices she had, and shook their heads and walked away. It took her a few moments to calm her breathing, and to notice that a waiter was asking her if she was okay.
“Yes, yes I’m fine. Apologies, I… well, had some bad experiences with people from the Matriarchy during my country’s war, that’s all. This meal is delicious, thank you.”
Her brother, newly turned 16, was legally old enough to drink in Central – much to Leonie’s great horror. In Lauchenoiria, the federal drinking age was 21, though Yervia Province where she studied had lowered it to 18. It was an ongoing battle in the supreme court whether or not that was legal, but for the time being nobody seemed to care if she drank. But her brother was very much enjoying his newfound freedom, which terrified Leonie – because she feared what foolish things her brother might say when drunk.
During the war, Leonie’s family had thought her dead. It was a fair assumption on their part, she had long since conceded. She had, after all, gone to a protest in Usera and then vanished. Her lack of contact was partly due to Chaher’s internet ban – while she easily circumvented it in those days, her parents did not – but also due to security given her role within the Resistance. And then, during the fall of Usera, she had been taken prisoner by the Kerlians, who had tortured and attempted to brainwash her.
This had the unfortunate side effect, in Leonie’s opinion, of making her parents obsessive about keeping her brother safe. Which, in itself, is not a bad thing. Leonie didn’t hate her brother. It had, however, meant that her parents had been extremely cooperative with the Chaher regime. Her brother had as a result, unfortunately, read rather too much of the propaganda put out by the Communist Party. Which, in Shuell, was not exactly safe, given the country’s dislike of communists.
She’d meant to keep an eye on her brother, of course, but the wine was very good, and she found herself drinking more and more as he did. Their parents had as well, but they were no threat while drunk. They just giggled and fell asleep early. The pair were as apolitical as it comes, especially for Lauchenoirians. They tended to support whoever was in power as long as their lives were going well, and they tended to go well. Regardless, by the time the Bennett family paid their expensive bill, all of them should have headed straight to bed.
“We’re going to crush the other teams!” her brother exclaimed, as they walked back to their hotel, which was only a couple of doors down the road. “Especially the Kerlians, you’d like that, wouldn’t you Leonie?”
Leonie barely heard him, she was too busy glancing up at the tall buildings, lights from the windows gleaming in the twilight. She’d found the Art Deco architectural style in Central mildly interesting during the day, but in her present state it was fascinating to her, even though the oncoming darkness obscured her view somewhat. She stood spinning slowly in a circle looking up, left slightly behind by the rest of her family until one of the Shuellian tour guides came up to her.
“Ma’am, are you going inside?”
“I’m so glad to be here, you know,” she said to the tour guide, still staring up at the buildings. “Far away from Kerlile. From all the mess of last year. Finally, somewhere I can feel safe from the communists. You have no idea how much I resent them, especially for handing all of us over to Kerlile when they took us prisoner knowing fine well what the Kerlians would do. You have the right idea about them, you know.”
“Ma’am, you should really go inside.”
“Yeah… yeah, I’m really tired,” Leonie yawned and headed into the hotel. She had already forgotten the words she’d spoken only seconds before, betraying the true feelings she’d had buried inside her since the war.
LIDUN President 2024 | she/her | Puppets: Kerlile, Glanainn, Yesteria, Zongongia, Zargothrax