02-24-2020, 11:05 PM
Almuenda Benitez remained a true believer in the Kerlian project. If anything, she was even more a follower of Kerlian ideology than when she was a child. She was loyal to the Matriarchy, most completely, despite the horrible life they’d condemned her to live. She did not view it as a contradiction to hate her life while still loving her country; the fact she was willing to suffer for it only emphasised her loyalty more, in her mind.
Upon receiving her message a week ago, she felt a curious mix of relief and disappointment. Or perhaps she only felt relief, but told herself it was disappointment. She was relieved to be leaving her life of poverty in the slums of Iustos, doing laundry for those richer than her and listening to their secrets while they forgot she was even there. Yet at the same time, she told herself she felt disappointed that her time serving the Matriarchy was coming to an end.
They’d told her, of course, before her assignment about the lives of Iustonian women, and the danger of the gangs that roamed the slums. As a 14-year-old, Almuenda had been terrified that she was being sent to Gálrez. Yet, she’d managed to convince herself it couldn’t be as bad as they’d told her, before she arrived. She would have a gun, she knew how to use it, she would be fine. It was probably exaggerated propaganda anyway.
It wasn’t. The gangs were terrifying. She’d managed to survive to the age of 37 but she knew people who hadn’t. A lot of people. Even so many years later, she continued to sleep with a gun under her pillow every night. She spent half her wages one month buying a more secure lock for her front door. At night, even with her training, she worried about going out alone - after all, while she might be more skilled than them, they were by far more numerous.
Almuenda left in the early hours of Monday morning the day after the message was sent. She didn’t have enough money to pay for the whole trip to Kerlile on short notice, so she was going to make it piece by piece, by foot as much as possible. Her fitness level was still high, she should be able to do it. And she was armed, if anyone tried to attack her. She packed her bags full of food and set off.
Looking at a map, it seemed technically possible to travel over land the whole way. But any sensible person would know that it wasn’t really - the route passed through Vulkaria, a war zone, and some rather treacherous land. So she headed to the sea, trying to find a way to cross to Lauchenoiria or elsewhere by boat. Her money didn’t stretch to paying for a ticket on one of the fancy cruise liners, and she’d already spent a day travelling to the sea.
It took her another 24 hours to find someone willing to sell her a ticket to Lauchenoiria at a price she could afford. They set off, and she stared glumly out at the ocean, convinced that someone would have found something suspicious and she’d be captured. But she wasn’t. She managed to make her way to Lauchenoiria by the end of Wednesday night - with not a single penny in her pocket. Which would make the next part rather difficult.
Even with Lauchenoiria’s cheap rail and bus fares, she couldn’t afford a ticket to Kerlile. She didn’t want to beg, it would draw attention, and someone might ask her for papers. It was too risky. She tried to think of other ways to make money, but they’d all require her to either betray her principles, or subject her to too much scrutiny from the authorities. So, she would have to make her way on foot.
It was a long journey, and she was in a weakened state. Her food was running low, she needed to make it last, so she ate sparingly. It was slow going, and she wanted to avoid major paths. She ended up going the wrong way more than once, and she slept outside during the night, waking up shivering. One morning, the sheer awfulness of her life got to her, and she ended up crying under a tree. But she made it to the Kerlian border at 3am, and crossed.
When border patrol found her, she gave them her KCID and waited for them to verify her identity. It didn’t take long, and they invited her inside their vehicle to drive her somewhere more convenient. She gratefully accepted, and entered, asking the day - Monday again, it had taken her a whole week - then promptly fell asleep in the back seat.
*
Qira Demerson was thrilled to be able to go home. Her job had become increasingly hard recently, given the hostility of the Zamastanian government towards Kerlile at the present time. Her mission to influence the Green Liberal Party seemed increasingly futile, and she gained no satisfaction from her life. She could tell that circumstances had changed so greatly since her time of assignment, that she was rather useless.
She guessed that it would be riskier to behave abnormally and leave quickly, than it would to wait a while before going, so she asked for time off work as a research associate for the GLP for the following week, which she was granted. She then booked a budget package holiday to Eiria, planning to travel home from there. To anyone watching her, it would look just like she’d got a good deal and decided it was a good idea for a little break.
She left on the 24th, flying to Eiria, her bags full of beachwear, sun cream and lighthearted paperbacks. She wore her sunglasses to the airport, and had almost convinced herself she was just heading away for a holiday. It was almost tempting to actually stay for the holiday before going back to Kerlile - but she would be rather embarrassed during her debrief if she had to explain that.
In the airport, she bought herself a nice meal at one of the fancier restaurants after security, and sat back to read one of the paperbacks, a romance set on a beach. It was the kind of nonsense that would rightfully be banned in Kerlile, but it was amusing to read just how terrible certain genres of patriarchal novels were. She put in her headphones and hummed along to the music as she queued. From Eiria, she would head to Xiomera and then home to Kerlile.
Upon receiving her message a week ago, she felt a curious mix of relief and disappointment. Or perhaps she only felt relief, but told herself it was disappointment. She was relieved to be leaving her life of poverty in the slums of Iustos, doing laundry for those richer than her and listening to their secrets while they forgot she was even there. Yet at the same time, she told herself she felt disappointed that her time serving the Matriarchy was coming to an end.
They’d told her, of course, before her assignment about the lives of Iustonian women, and the danger of the gangs that roamed the slums. As a 14-year-old, Almuenda had been terrified that she was being sent to Gálrez. Yet, she’d managed to convince herself it couldn’t be as bad as they’d told her, before she arrived. She would have a gun, she knew how to use it, she would be fine. It was probably exaggerated propaganda anyway.
It wasn’t. The gangs were terrifying. She’d managed to survive to the age of 37 but she knew people who hadn’t. A lot of people. Even so many years later, she continued to sleep with a gun under her pillow every night. She spent half her wages one month buying a more secure lock for her front door. At night, even with her training, she worried about going out alone - after all, while she might be more skilled than them, they were by far more numerous.
Almuenda left in the early hours of Monday morning the day after the message was sent. She didn’t have enough money to pay for the whole trip to Kerlile on short notice, so she was going to make it piece by piece, by foot as much as possible. Her fitness level was still high, she should be able to do it. And she was armed, if anyone tried to attack her. She packed her bags full of food and set off.
Looking at a map, it seemed technically possible to travel over land the whole way. But any sensible person would know that it wasn’t really - the route passed through Vulkaria, a war zone, and some rather treacherous land. So she headed to the sea, trying to find a way to cross to Lauchenoiria or elsewhere by boat. Her money didn’t stretch to paying for a ticket on one of the fancy cruise liners, and she’d already spent a day travelling to the sea.
It took her another 24 hours to find someone willing to sell her a ticket to Lauchenoiria at a price she could afford. They set off, and she stared glumly out at the ocean, convinced that someone would have found something suspicious and she’d be captured. But she wasn’t. She managed to make her way to Lauchenoiria by the end of Wednesday night - with not a single penny in her pocket. Which would make the next part rather difficult.
Even with Lauchenoiria’s cheap rail and bus fares, she couldn’t afford a ticket to Kerlile. She didn’t want to beg, it would draw attention, and someone might ask her for papers. It was too risky. She tried to think of other ways to make money, but they’d all require her to either betray her principles, or subject her to too much scrutiny from the authorities. So, she would have to make her way on foot.
It was a long journey, and she was in a weakened state. Her food was running low, she needed to make it last, so she ate sparingly. It was slow going, and she wanted to avoid major paths. She ended up going the wrong way more than once, and she slept outside during the night, waking up shivering. One morning, the sheer awfulness of her life got to her, and she ended up crying under a tree. But she made it to the Kerlian border at 3am, and crossed.
When border patrol found her, she gave them her KCID and waited for them to verify her identity. It didn’t take long, and they invited her inside their vehicle to drive her somewhere more convenient. She gratefully accepted, and entered, asking the day - Monday again, it had taken her a whole week - then promptly fell asleep in the back seat.
*
Qira Demerson was thrilled to be able to go home. Her job had become increasingly hard recently, given the hostility of the Zamastanian government towards Kerlile at the present time. Her mission to influence the Green Liberal Party seemed increasingly futile, and she gained no satisfaction from her life. She could tell that circumstances had changed so greatly since her time of assignment, that she was rather useless.
She guessed that it would be riskier to behave abnormally and leave quickly, than it would to wait a while before going, so she asked for time off work as a research associate for the GLP for the following week, which she was granted. She then booked a budget package holiday to Eiria, planning to travel home from there. To anyone watching her, it would look just like she’d got a good deal and decided it was a good idea for a little break.
She left on the 24th, flying to Eiria, her bags full of beachwear, sun cream and lighthearted paperbacks. She wore her sunglasses to the airport, and had almost convinced herself she was just heading away for a holiday. It was almost tempting to actually stay for the holiday before going back to Kerlile - but she would be rather embarrassed during her debrief if she had to explain that.
In the airport, she bought herself a nice meal at one of the fancier restaurants after security, and sat back to read one of the paperbacks, a romance set on a beach. It was the kind of nonsense that would rightfully be banned in Kerlile, but it was amusing to read just how terrible certain genres of patriarchal novels were. She put in her headphones and hummed along to the music as she queued. From Eiria, she would head to Xiomera and then home to Kerlile.
LIDUN President 2024 | she/her | Puppets: Kerlile, Glanainn, Yesteria, Zongongia, Zargothrax