The Promise

Sil Dorsett

The Belt Collector
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TNP Nation
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Discord
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#1: The Announcement

Present Day: August 2nd, 2017. 9:03 AM, Government Office Building:

The Princess's sister, Alice, arrived at the government office building a few minutes late, being caught behind a car accident about two blocks away. Though she was a little late, she was in no hurry, walking about casually. She took the elevator to the twelfth floor towards her sister's office. The building was a place she was uncomfortable with, preferring the elegance of the palace, where she thought the government should be conducting all its operations from. When Alice arrived at the twelfth floor, she made her way to room 1216, a quaint office situated amongst cubicles of executive staff workers minding their own business. The door was open, and Alice made her way into the room.

"Hey sis, have a seat," Princess Claidie, says, acknowledging the presence of her younger sister. With all the prominent government figures now present, Claidie presented a plan she had been working on for nearly a year to modernize the government.

"Okay, now that everyone is here... I've decided to move forward with my modernization plan," Claidie said. "I want it fully implemented the day before Ascension Day. I'm going to put more of the executive and legislative responsibilities on the two of you," she said, pointing and Alice and Prime Minister Madeline Ellison. "Sis, you're already running the Commons, setting the debate agenda and scheduling votes. You'll be doing more of that because there will be a lot more legislation passing through Parliament. Madeline, you'll be hiring and firing department leads, signing more legislation into law, and running daily operations."

Alice hadn't heard the entire plan. She only knew of a possibility that the Prime Minister's term would be fixed rather than be at the pleasure of the current monarch.

"You're not setting her term to a fixed number of years like you were thinking about, right?" Alice asked.

"No," Claidie replied, "I'm scrapping that for now. My reform efforts are focusing on Parliament. It's still my executive government."

Alice was a bit confused, with her insider knowledge of her sister's plans exhausted.

"The big thing here is that I'm eliminating royal decrees, for myself, and for all future princes and princesses. If I want something, I'll go through Parliament," Claidie announced.

"Your Highness, I object to this." Lord Chancellor Patric Senault, voiced his objection to such a powerful monarchist and aristocratic tool being put down. "Commoners, so called Politicians, aren't to be trusted with the affairs of this nation. Unchecked they will only serve themselves and their own interests. The nobility and the Dorsett family are raised to rule," Patric continued, before turning towards the Prime Minister. "Our noble families, our ancestors, threw their support behind the Dorsetts to evict the pretender from his seat. It is our right to have the ear of the Princess. Not yours!" he said, rudely pointing at Madeline.

Though Madeline kept her composure, the words of the Lord Chancellor set the Princess off, invoking an angry retort. "Ohhh... You keep talking about what you did four hundred years ago. But what have you done in the past fifty, or past hundred? Trading your daughters away to other noble families for dowries and political favors, and holding parties where you flaunt your wealth is all I can think of. I know what that's like first hand. My dad promised me to the Whittemores for that frigate in the harbor," Claidie retorted, referring to being the SDS Solidarity missile frigate. "I mean, who the hell even does that anymore? It's the freakin' 21st century! In my opinion, you've done nothing since the rebellion, and thankfully every few decades someone in my family wises up and does something about it. You all should have been gone when Chamber of the Commons was established under Princess Liselle's reign. Yeah, Patric, I dare you, I freakin' dare you to give me one good reason why I should keep the peerage around."

"Experience, Your Highness! We've been providing advice to the royal family for all those hundreds of years; we pass down our knowledge down through generations. You need to balance the new ideas of the commons, when they decide to present something useful, with the wisdom of the nobility," Patric responded. "The reason the peers are so upset with you, why they're opposing everything you're putting forward, is because you aren't at least hearing us. Everything you've done has been in direct opposition to us, and quite frankly I think it's because you are bitter over the deal that was struck between your father and the Whittemores."

Claidie, enraged but managing to suppress another outburst, took a deep breath before dismissing the charge. "I think we're done for now. I know it was short, but we'll talk more later." she says, sending the others away.
 
#2: The Promise

Present Day: August 2nd, 2017. 7:35 PM, Claidie's palace bedroom:

Claidie decided to stay the night in the palace, a far cry from her usual of heading to her private home in a gated neighborhood near the coast. Back in her childhood bedroom, she looked out the window to the harbor, gazing upon the Solidarity, a ship for which she couldn't grasp any other means of acquisition other than what she knew her father had done many years ago.

Alice joined Claidie in the room, troubled by what she had heard in the morning's meeting. She wasn't aware of the deal struck between their father and the Whittemore family and now she had some evidence of why Claidie hated the barons and, most disturbingly, her father. She had to know more, and with her father dead, her sister was the only one other than the Whittmores to know what the deal was, and Alice wanted to hear it from Claidie.

"What deal?" Alice asked Claidie bluntly.

Claidie motioned for her sister to approach the window. As Alice did, Claidie pointed out to the ship. "See that? How do you think we were able to pay for it?" Claidie asked Alice, expecting her to give a wrong answer.

"Well... taxpayer money of course," Alice replied naively, not only unaware of the truth but not quite connecting the dots.

"No, it wasn't," Claidie said, correcting her sister. "The Whittemores paid for it out of their own billionaire family's coffers. An offering. No... a dowry. Do you understand now?"

Alice was stunned, in shock, the connection finally being made...



Flashback: October 12th, 2008. 6:00 PM, Chamber of the Nobility:

Prince Stéphane II sat upon his gilded throne in the Chamber of the Nobility. Often a busy man, he would stay there for nearly the entire day, overseeing the deliberations of the barons, remaining to carry a longstanding tradition of hearing small claims complaints from the populace. The day's legislative deliberations had come to a close, and the thirteen nobles began to file out of the chamber, but not without the prince calling out to one of them.

"Baron Whittemore," Stéphane called out. "Stay and approach."

Thomas Whittemore, forty-five years of age and still adapting to being an upper-house legislator, approached the throne as he was instructed, bowing and acknowledging his liege's commands. "Yes, Your Highness?" Thomas asked.

Stéphane questioned Thomas about a matter that was brought to the prince's attention not long after the recent debutante's ball of which Stéphane's eldest daughter participated in. "I understand you have a proposal on how to overcome the budget shortfall for the purchase of that Goyanean frigate[note]http://i.imgur.com/QTombos.jpg[/note] I want."

"I do, Your Highness," Thomas replied. "The Whittemore family would pay for it outright. The billions of Setti we have in our coffers, earned through our business ventures, would be put into service to purchase the frigate."

"There must be a catch to this. Something massive, I imagine." Stéphane suspected.

"Forgive me, Your Highness, for being blunt, but… My son, Sebastien, met with your daughter, Lady Claidie, at the recent debutante's ball, and he took a liking to her. He wishes to marry her," Thomas responded, nervous over whether the details of the catch would offend the prince, also knowing that a marriage to Claidie would eventually make Sebastien a Prince-Consort.

"And you would have the frigate be the dowry submitted as a guarantee for the marriage to occur?"

"Yes, Your Highness," Thomas nervously replied affirmatively.

"So be it. Your son, Sebastien, shall be solely entitled to Lady Claidie's hand in marriage upon payment of the funds for the frigate. Should she refuse and maintain said refusal until her thirtieth birthday, my younger daughter Alice shall be offered as a substitute, and should Alice refuse, I will issue a decree to repay the funds over thirty years through increased taxes. Do you agree?" Stéphane asked.

"Yes, Your Highness," Thomas agreed, surprised the deal was struck so easily.

"It is so decided," Stéphane announced. "By my Sovereign Right I make to the Whittemore family this agreement as discussed and which shall be implemented immediately. The Whittemore family shall provide the funding to the military for the frigate, and either Claidie or Alice shall be Sebastien's wife.

"This I promise."
 
#3: The Rebellion

Flashback: October 13th, 2008. 6:30 PM, Chamber of the Nobility

Stéphane had called his eldest daughter to the chamber after the day's legislative session ended, where he informed her of the promise that was made to the Whittemore family. Outraged, Claidie voiced her disapproval, followed by her refusal to comply.

"You've always lived four hundred years in the past since grandfather died and you were given the throne. What an archaic deal you made, and I won't have any of it. I am not a bargaining chip to be traded away!" Claidie screamed.

"You will execute my commands, for I am your father and The Prince. All within this nation are my subjects and will obey me, even you!" Stéphane barked, offended by his daughter's rebellion.

"You're a monster! No wonder mom left you!" Claidie yelled, witnessing the madman that her father had become. "I won't have any part of this, not your marriage order or this whole pathetic court! I'm leaving."

As Claidie began to leave the chamber, her father yelled the ultimatum to her. "You have until you are thirty to repent and carry out my commands or you will not be heiress to the throne! Do you understand, young lady?"

Claidie didn't even look back. She dismissively waived her father off as she left.

* * *​
Late that night, once the Prince had fallen asleep, Claidie packed her bags, taking essentials only and leaving much of her possessions behind, and walked towards the palace's main entrance. The guards there stopped her, but rather than demanding she return to her room, they simply asked her to wait.

"Minister Palmer, she's here," one of the guards said on a radio.

A few minutes later, Samuel Palmer, Stéphane's defense minister, approached the entrance where the young rebel waited with a clipboard in hand.

"Leaving so soon?" He asked the lady, petrifying her in the process. He reassured her that she wasn't in any danger, and then explained to Claidie how he quickly became aware of the deal that Stéphane made and anticipated her walking out on the court. With pen in hand, he wrote a check to the lady, a substantial amount to ensure her self-sufficiency for some time. "Take this, and don't ask questions. Get your roots planted and enjoy your freedom for now. But know that soon, your services will be required again."

"What do you mean?" Claidie asked.

"All will be taken care of in time," Palmer replied. "I promise."
 
#4: The Reconciliation

Flashback: October 14th, 2008, 8:10 AM, The Dorsetts' Private Dining Room

"Where's sis? It's not like her to miss breakfast," Alice asked her father, unaware of what took place the night before. She thought perhaps she simply overslept and that the palace staff had forgotten to awaken her.

Stéphane was hesitant to explain the full story to Alice, worried it would jeopardize the deal if Alice also objected, so he resorted to a white lie. "Your sister has left the household. She has refused to perform her royal duties any longer. I hope you do not follow in her footsteps."



Present Day: August 2nd, 2017. 7:55 PM, Claidie's palace bedroom:

"Sis, I'm so sorry. I didn't know. Father didn't tell me he arranged a marriage with the Whittemores; he only said you didn't want to do your duties anymore. That's why I was so mad at you after you left," Alice explained while shocked over her own obliviousness

"I should have told you before I left, but I didn't want it weighing down over your shoulders like this reign is weighing me down, and I didn't want to jeopardize your place in line," Claidie replied.

"So this is why you've been so anti-nobility. That's why you threatened to eliminate them? Because of the deal?" Alice asked.

"The deal was just the catalyst that started it all. I was already tired of them only looking out for their high society friends. Now, I'm tired of them obstructing my vision of a better principality for every citizen. I'm tired of them obstructing the commons because they're upset that they might lose some of their perks or be made to pay more into the system. But I don't want to rule as an autocrat making decrees every day. I need a working Parliament. The nobles have to go," Claidie ranted.

"Let me talk to them," Alice suggested, her eyes widening as an idea came to mind. "Mind if I borrow something of yours?"
 
#5: The Negotiations

August 3rd, 2017. 8:00 AM, The Chamber of the Nobility:

The thirteen barons gathered outside the Chamber of the Nobility, following their long standing protocol of only entering the chamber when they had all gathered. As they opened the doors to the chamber, they were awestruck as their silver-leafed highback chairs were in a half-circle arrangement, rather than the full circle as was ordinary. The half-circle arrangement indicated something the nobles had not planned on that day: a visit from Princess Claidie. But as they began to take their seats, they noticed that the throne was occupied by another woman, drawing a rebuke from the Lord Chancellor.

"Lady Speaker, you've never been one to ignore protocol. May I remind you that the throne only seats your sister."

Alice stood up out of the throne and approached the group, giving them an ominous warning. "Today may be the last day you sit in those chairs. What follows depends on your cooperation with me."

Baron Whittemore was quick to cut in. "This is most unlike you, Lady Alice. Since when have you sought to threaten our place in this government?"

Alice scoffed at the baron's suggestion. "Since I found out about the deal you made with my father. Oh, that is going to be an interesting one to sort out now. We'll talk more later."

"What deal?" Phoebe Covington, the youngest of the group, questioned, while Baron Whittemore held his head down low in shame, having been ratted out to those who didn't know. Before Alice spoke up, only the Lord Chancellor knew.

Thomas confessed to the rest of the group the details of the deal that was struck, bewildering the lot of them.

Another baron, Lambert Bianchi became disgruntled over the matter and chastised his colleague. "What were you thinking, Thomas? Sure, our children stay within our society when looking for a spouse, but we're talking about the children of a commoner mother, regardless of their father. No wonder we're doomed!"

"I didn't expect it to matter!" Thomas yelled back. "Either she complied or was removed. I didn't expect Prince Stéphane to die so soon after!"

"I'm not here to tear down this institution. I'm here to save as much as I can," Alice resumed, trying to bring order to the discussion. "My sister wants to disband the nobility. She wants to strip you all of your titles and cut you all out of this government. She sees all you as obstacles to be bulldozed out of the way. She wants a functional Parliament."

Another of the thirteen, Oscar Trembath, interrupted. "The reason for her belligerence known, she might not face such resistance any longer, but we'd be hard pressed to convince her of that."

"What would you recommend as a compromise, Lady Alice?" Phoebe queried.

"The thirteen of you will join me in the commons to form a unified legislative body. You get your guaranteed thirteen hereditary seats while the remaining twenty-four are elective. You still carry significant weight, but can no longer be a wall," Alice explained.

"And what do we get in return?" Thomas inquired. "With no concessions from her end, I'd rather take the chance that she won't remove us, seeing our importance to maintaining her favor with our society and the business owners. Our system is part of our national heritage and culture, and she might find her popularity dwindle to nothing, even amongst the commoners.

"What do you want?" Alice asked.

"Her removal as Princess. Seeing as she failed to hol-" Thomas insisted, before being cut off by Alice.

"Not happening," Alice interrupted. "We will work out a resolution to my father's bargain. But, I am not going to go back to Claidie and demand she abdicates. I'll see what else I can get."
 
#6: The Decree

August 3rd, 2017. 3:30 PM, Claidie's office:

Claidie had finished her meetings for the day. Hearing reports from all the department ministers lead to a boring day. With no bills left to give assent to and no small claims appeals to hear, there wasn't anything left for her to do. So, she packed up her things and shut her computer down only for Alice to knock on the door and enter.

"I have half a deal. They want a concession for it though. Rather than run the risk of being thrown out entirely, they'll agree to merge with the commons," Alice announced. "Thomas doesn't want you to rule, but I told him abdication wasn't happening.

It was at that moment Claidie recalled part of the conversation from the night before, how she snuck in a plea for help, saying that her year-long reign was taking its toll on her. Claidie wanted Alice to know that she was not comfortable ruling alone, hoping it would explain why she wanted to push more of the responsibilities on Alice and Madeline and get rid of the royal decree. The light bulb above her head lit up.

"Alright, I'll agree to that. And in return, I'll no longer reign alone. You will be my counterweight, and Miss Ellison will tip the scales. The three of us will form one body, exercising our royal prerogative together."

Alice's jaw figuratively hit the deck, surprised by her sister's sudden change in heart.

"Sis, you've changed," Claidie explained. "Your time in the commons, that disastrous ANU conference, finally understanding why I left years ago... All those things I could see changed you in some way. I would be happy to have you by my side."

The sisters spent the entire night drafting the details of Claidie's final solo decree, sifting through the intricacies of its impact, making sure enough was included to appease the soon-to-be-declawed barons.

August 4th, 2017:

The following morning, the decree was presented to each of the Chambers, debated, and a resolution of affirmation passed in each. That afternoon, the Commons MPs were called into the Chamber of the Nobility, where all thirty-seven MPs witnessed the signing of the decree.

"With this decree," Claidie exclaimed, "the burden of rule will be shared among us all, and our cooperation now becomes even more essential. This principality will once again have a functional and a now more democratic government, working for all of us. This, I promise."
 
#7: The Revelation

August 7th, 2017. 4:30 PM, Claidie's office:

Alice rushed into Claidie's office, panic-stricken and breathing heavily. Thinking Alice was only trying to meet her before leaving for the day, Claidie carried on with a matter she was thinking about while Alice unwinded herself.

"Ah, sis, I was meaning to talk to you about an idea I had. I was thinking we should do your coronation as the 18th Princess tomorrow since it's Ascension Day. Would probably have to be a small private ceremony given the short notice, but I..."

Alice, now recovered, screamed, catching Claidie off guard. "What was it that Palmer said to you again!? When you were leaving that night..."

Puzzled as to why Alice brought up the conversation again, Claidie thought back to the story she told a few nights before. "Just, 'Get your roots planted and enjoy your freedom...'"

"No! There was something after that," Alice hinted.

"Umm...'Your services will be required again. All will be taken care of... in... time...'" Claidie recalled, shaken as the revelation struck.

"Palmer... what have you done?"

~end~​
 
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