[Lauchenoiria]

Krieg-Metzger Hotel, Central, Shuell
21st December 2019 – evening

Olivia Pierre lay on her bed, smiling at the ceiling and relaxing. It was so rare for her to feel safe – she always worried about the possibility of assassins lurking around the corner, paid for by her mother. It was unpleasant, being a Kerlian wanted dead by a Councillor. Even more so if that Councillor was your mother.

As the eldest daughter, she was the heir to the Pierre family seat. She was also very openly pro-reform, unlike her hardline traditionalist mother. Her sister, Eva, was by far her mother’s preferred heir. Pauline had, within Olivia’s earshot, once suggested that Kerlile should adopt the Shen system of succession. She lived an uncomfortable life, and being away from her country, and out of her mother’s reach, was incredibly relaxing.

Knock, knock.

Olivia sat up, intrigued. She hadn’t been expecting anyone at the door, and so she was rather cautious when she approached. She opened it a crack and peered out, to see Xia Chiu standing, nervously fiddling with her clothes.

“Xia?” Olivia said, opening the door wider. “Are you okay?”

“May I come in, Olivia?” she asked. “I need to speak to you.”

“Of course,” Olivia said, gesturing for Xia to enter. The woman did so, walking over to a couch in the room and sitting down. Curious, Olivia followed and took a seat beside her. “What’s the matter?”

“I did something…” Xia began hesitantly.

“What did you do?” Olivia prompted gently. The other woman didn’t answer. “Xia… what did you do?”

“My grandmother is going to kill me,” whispered Xia, shaking.

“Xia, what happened?” Olivia said, alarmed, taking Xia’s hand.

“Olivia, how do you go against your family? You say you want reform, it is in the best interests of your family, but they disagree. What made you decide to do that, what made you decide that was the right decision?”

“My mother is a complicated person,” sighed Olivia. “She has her opinions, which are rather strong… and also rather morally corrupt. My own morals don’t allow me to agree with her, it’s as simple as that. I believe in doing what is right regardless of how easy it is. My mother’s policies would bring ruin to our family and our country, in my opinion, and things need to change.”

“So, she doesn’t know what is in her best interests? Is that not what we say to justify our lack of democracy?” asked Xia. Olivia opened her mouth to respond, but Xia interrupted. “It was rhetorical. But… well, is it possible to do something that is in the best interests of your family, even though the rest of your family would say you were a traitor to them for doing so?”

“I would say so, yes,” Olivia said carefully. “It would depend on the context, though. Would you like to tell me more?”

“I wrote a letter to God-Empress Wu Zhao.”

Olivia blinked, dropping Xia’s hand in shock. Xia cringed and turned away, closing her eyes tightly shut as if she expected Olivia to hit her.

“Uh… why?” asked Olivia after a while.

“I thought… well, I met Wu Genbao, her brother who was here when their mother died. It was the first time one of my family had met one of theirs since the beginning of the feud. I was terrified. And, well, he was nice to me. So, I, well, when he died I was… can I confess something secretly?”

“Of course, Xia,” Olivia said gently.

“Well, I was relieved in a way. I don’t think he knew who I was, who my family were. It meant he couldn’t find out, and he couldn’t hate me. I was ashamed of being a Chiu, I didn’t want him to know. And then, when Wu Zhou died, I saw an opportunity to end the feud. It seems so silly, such a long shot. Since Yijun fled, my family have lived in fear. To think I could end all that is silly. Yet, I desperately wanted to. I thought if I wrote with my condolences, it would be a first step towards ending it.”

“That’s good, Xia,” said Olivia, eagerly. “I’m glad you’ve taken that step. Your grandmother always seemed so paranoid to me, it can’t be fun, living like that.”

“The thing is, she responded. And she made a joke, and she seemed nice. And, well, I wrote back, again. And I’m worried. I’m so, so, frightened that my grandmother is going to find out and hurt me for it. Because, well, from what I know of the Empress, I kind of like her… and I worry I’m getting my hopes up that one day I can actually go to Shen.”

“Xia…” Olivia began gently, taking the other woman’s hands again. “If your grandmother tries to hurt you for this, I promise I will do everything in my power to protect you. What you are doing is good. You are trying to end a pointless feud, and you are trying to make sure your family is safe in the future. There are no rewards without a little risk, and you should be proud of the steps you’ve taken.”

Xia squeezed Olivia’s hands and managed a small smile. “Thank you, Olivia. I am glad you’re here. Also I, uh… well, I heard that some of the Daughters like to get together and discuss policy. I was wondering…” she trailed off.

“Would you like to come? We would be more than happy to have you. We’ve been developing a new proposal, a way to bring together the reformist and traditionalist elements on the Council to move forward in a united fashion. We would welcome your input on the proposal,” Olivia smiled.

“I’d love to,” Xia replied eagerly. “So far, I’ve mostly tried to stay out of politics, but I can’t do that any longer. I think I’m finally realising that things need to change. They’ve become so much worse recently. I… I don’t want to be ashamed to be a Chiu anymore.”

“The fact you’re willing to take such risks to change things makes me certain that you belong in our group. There’s quite a few of us at the moment, including some people you wouldn’t expect. We’ve been working with Councillor Arnott, she was a member before her mother became President.”

“Your group existed before then?” Xia said, surprised.

“Secretly, yes. When Greenwood was President, we had to be very careful, but now we can meet openly. You’ll like it, I promise. When are you planning to return to Kerlile?”

“I… I don’t know. I haven’t got a plan, really.”

“I’m leaving on the 29th, you’re welcome to join me. We plan to propose our plan to the Council sometime in the new year. It’s been delayed because of whatever this crisis nobody will tell us about is. Rosemary says it’s ‘bad’ but I don’t know what she means by that.”

“Yes, I’m curious about that too. They gave Letitia and Electra proxy votes on it. I mean, whatever it is, it must be serious. I expect we’ll find out. And I’d love to join you. I just… well, I don’t know what I’m going to do if Empress Wu writes to me and my grandmother finds out!”

“You still live with her, yeah? I live alone, if you want, you can have them delivered to my place and I will pass them on to you.”

“I… thank you. I’ll see if that’s possible. You’re a good friend Olivia,” Xia said, suddenly hugging Olivia.

Olivia hugged the other woman back, slightly bemused. The two of them had never been particularly good friends in the past, but it seemed to Olivia like that was about to change. They now had something in common, something entirely unenviable – being afraid that their family member, a Councillor of Kerlile, was going to kill them.