07-25-2023, 02:07 PM
Josephine Alvarez watched the calendar as the date grew nearer. She would have to somehow decide soon. She had delayed far too long.
If Jennifer Hale returned to Lauchenoiria, expecting to pick up where they left off, it would kill her political career. She had several options. She could tell Jennifer to stay where she was. She could hide Jennifer somewhere in secret like a mistress. She could just come right out and admit she was still in love. No good options.
*
They’d been sending texts. And emails. And calls. And accosting her in the street. And even letters in the post; a medium of communication that was outdated in every country except the ideological primitivists of Yesteria.
This was her response. How dare they tell her to stay when they had never even approached her level of sacrifice? Rebecca Arnott, the President, was an opportunist who chose to support reform in order to support her political career. Electra Georgiou was a xenophile who enjoyed foreign products but who would never make a material sacrifice in order to stand up for the common woman – never mind the common man.
Rosemary Arnott was a young woman who did not understand life, or love, or anything remotely related. She had been a nineteen-year-old barely out of Maytown Academy when her life had been uprooted in order for her to sit on the Council. Jennifer harboured no ill will towards Rosemary, but that did not change the fact that the girl did not truly understand politics. She hadn’t even been alive during the civil war!
Carmen understood sacrifice, but Carmen had gotten out. She was safe in a suburb in Eiria with her family and her future. She had suffered, but she had also fled. How dare she deny Jennifer the same opportunity? The last four years had been insufferable. It was nothing compared to the Restricted Region, Jennifer had to admit. But that didn’t mean she was obligated to stay in this purgatory for a moment longer than necessary!
It wasn’t fair. She had been literally thirteen when she took the identity of Sonja Viratnen in order to flee her life, fight for DKS, and make a future for herself in spite of her birth. To be punished with four years in the hell that was Kerlile for such a minor offence, committed in her youth, was cruel. Why would she willingly stay even a second longer?
People wanted her to somehow save Kerlile from itself. Reform. It sounded so simple, so plausible, but what was the likelihood that it would work? Honestly, maybe 50/50 with the current makeup of the Council and their heirs. That still wasn’t Jennifer’s responsibility! She had been born into a Council family but how exactly did that mean she needed to sacrifice her life for the greater good?
People who hated hereditary rule would still criticise her for refusing to have any part in this. Like it wasn’t anathema to their views. Hereditary rule was cruel to everyone involved. It was cruel to those who never had the chance to rise to the highest heights; and it was equally cruel to those who wanted no part in leadership. What is hereditary governance but a system that places literal babies in positions they never asked for?
No. Jennifer would have no part of it.
“I am reclaiming my life for myself,” she said to the mirror. “There is nothing wrong with choosing to be happy. And to hell with anyone who says otherwise.”
*
Nobody stopped Jennifer Hale when she left her family estate with Amelia, her cousin Finlay, and her aide Emma Woodward. The four of them drove south, spotting no visible tails. When they began to approach the border exclusion zone, nothing happened. The staff checked Jennifer’s ID and nodded the car through. The second checkpoint was the same; except they would have to get out of the vehicle and cross on foot. Lauchenoiria didn’t allow Kerlian cars to cross the checkpoint.
The group did so, and Jennifer hesitated for a second, looking forward, and looking back. This was too easy. The world wasn’t like this. The world didn’t let good things happen to her. And yet, for once, everything was turning out perfectly. She stepped across.
And out from behind a building, instead of the Lauchenoirian border staff she expected, came Prime Minister Josephine Alvarez. The pair looked at each other for a moment. A heartbeat. The world stopped. And then Jennifer was running, and the security didn’t care, and Josephine and Jennifer embraced, both sobbing with happiness as the four-year-old Amelia clapped with glee; Finlay Hale smiled and Emma Woodward watched over the scene, content that everything was finally right.
“What about the politics?” whispered Jennifer.
“Tomorrow,” Josephine promised. “Let that be tomorrow’s problem.”
“I love you,” Jennifer said.
“I love you, too,” Josephine replied. “I never stopped. And I’m sorry, I’m sorry I couldn’t say this before. But I love you, Jennifer Hale of Kerlile. I love you whatever name you go by.”
And they kissed.
If Jennifer Hale returned to Lauchenoiria, expecting to pick up where they left off, it would kill her political career. She had several options. She could tell Jennifer to stay where she was. She could hide Jennifer somewhere in secret like a mistress. She could just come right out and admit she was still in love. No good options.
*
Quote:Dear my fellow Reformists,
Where were you when my sister forced me to watch her torture a helpless boy to death?
Where were you when I risked my life to stand up for the freedom of Kerlians?
Where were you when it all fell apart and hope died for a generation?
You ask me to stay. You ask me to sacrifice my happiness, my love, my hope for a better life in order to stay here and make things better.
But where were you when I actually tried to make things better?
You want me to make the ultimate sacrifice, but when have any of you ever made a true sacrifice? When has any single one of you really done something that caused you material loss or harm? When has any single one of you even tried when it matters?
I’m leaving. I don’t do this simply, without thought. Of course I don’t! I’ve overthought this for the last four years; every single waking moment of my life in these last years has been dedicated to making life better for ordinary Kerlians. And how, exactly, has that worked out for anybody?
Do you truly think my presence will make the slightest difference?
There’s nothing I can do to change such a broken system from within the system. If you really, truly want to help, then the system has to go.
I’m leaving. Because the best thing I can do for hope… is to demonstrate it. To live my own dream, my own life, with my own love, and show people what it means to be happy. I can’t do that in Kerlile. Can anybody? Do any of you truly, genuinely, believe anybody can?
I’m leaving. And if you don’t like it, you’re going to have to learn to lump it.
Because I’m done.
Jennifer.
They’d been sending texts. And emails. And calls. And accosting her in the street. And even letters in the post; a medium of communication that was outdated in every country except the ideological primitivists of Yesteria.
This was her response. How dare they tell her to stay when they had never even approached her level of sacrifice? Rebecca Arnott, the President, was an opportunist who chose to support reform in order to support her political career. Electra Georgiou was a xenophile who enjoyed foreign products but who would never make a material sacrifice in order to stand up for the common woman – never mind the common man.
Rosemary Arnott was a young woman who did not understand life, or love, or anything remotely related. She had been a nineteen-year-old barely out of Maytown Academy when her life had been uprooted in order for her to sit on the Council. Jennifer harboured no ill will towards Rosemary, but that did not change the fact that the girl did not truly understand politics. She hadn’t even been alive during the civil war!
Carmen understood sacrifice, but Carmen had gotten out. She was safe in a suburb in Eiria with her family and her future. She had suffered, but she had also fled. How dare she deny Jennifer the same opportunity? The last four years had been insufferable. It was nothing compared to the Restricted Region, Jennifer had to admit. But that didn’t mean she was obligated to stay in this purgatory for a moment longer than necessary!
It wasn’t fair. She had been literally thirteen when she took the identity of Sonja Viratnen in order to flee her life, fight for DKS, and make a future for herself in spite of her birth. To be punished with four years in the hell that was Kerlile for such a minor offence, committed in her youth, was cruel. Why would she willingly stay even a second longer?
People wanted her to somehow save Kerlile from itself. Reform. It sounded so simple, so plausible, but what was the likelihood that it would work? Honestly, maybe 50/50 with the current makeup of the Council and their heirs. That still wasn’t Jennifer’s responsibility! She had been born into a Council family but how exactly did that mean she needed to sacrifice her life for the greater good?
People who hated hereditary rule would still criticise her for refusing to have any part in this. Like it wasn’t anathema to their views. Hereditary rule was cruel to everyone involved. It was cruel to those who never had the chance to rise to the highest heights; and it was equally cruel to those who wanted no part in leadership. What is hereditary governance but a system that places literal babies in positions they never asked for?
No. Jennifer would have no part of it.
“I am reclaiming my life for myself,” she said to the mirror. “There is nothing wrong with choosing to be happy. And to hell with anyone who says otherwise.”
*
Nobody stopped Jennifer Hale when she left her family estate with Amelia, her cousin Finlay, and her aide Emma Woodward. The four of them drove south, spotting no visible tails. When they began to approach the border exclusion zone, nothing happened. The staff checked Jennifer’s ID and nodded the car through. The second checkpoint was the same; except they would have to get out of the vehicle and cross on foot. Lauchenoiria didn’t allow Kerlian cars to cross the checkpoint.
The group did so, and Jennifer hesitated for a second, looking forward, and looking back. This was too easy. The world wasn’t like this. The world didn’t let good things happen to her. And yet, for once, everything was turning out perfectly. She stepped across.
And out from behind a building, instead of the Lauchenoirian border staff she expected, came Prime Minister Josephine Alvarez. The pair looked at each other for a moment. A heartbeat. The world stopped. And then Jennifer was running, and the security didn’t care, and Josephine and Jennifer embraced, both sobbing with happiness as the four-year-old Amelia clapped with glee; Finlay Hale smiled and Emma Woodward watched over the scene, content that everything was finally right.
“What about the politics?” whispered Jennifer.
“Tomorrow,” Josephine promised. “Let that be tomorrow’s problem.”
“I love you,” Jennifer said.
“I love you, too,” Josephine replied. “I never stopped. And I’m sorry, I’m sorry I couldn’t say this before. But I love you, Jennifer Hale of Kerlile. I love you whatever name you go by.”
And they kissed.
LIDUN President 2024 | she/her | Puppets: Kerlile, Glanainn, Yesteria, Zongongia, Zargothrax