The Empire of Thetia

░ The Imperial Palace, Thetia, Midona, Empire of Thetia

░ Friday, June 21, 2019

░ At 10:34 am

ODESSA KESTLE

It was the first time since Alex's birth that I was able to rest and start my work a little later. I was alone in the palace. Well, if you take away the 600 employees who were working there at the moment. While I was reading Allan Pham's latest novel, "You Smell Like a Dead Rose," there was a knock on my office door. My butler, Kurt, walked into the room, greeted me and told me why he had come. Kurt was a 46-year-old man who had been working at the palace since my sacrament. He had quickly worked his way up the ranks, and was now the chief butler of the Imperial Palace.

- "Excuse me for disturbing you, Madam, but it will soon be time to leave for the Council of Kings. I would also like to remind you that afterwards, you will have lunch with your mother. Then to finish, you have the Council of Ministers".

I sighed following the announcement of my schedule for the day. Being the Empress is not an easy task and sometimes I wish I hadn't become one. Nevertheless, caring for my people gives me a valid reason to feel useful, and I try my best not to make mistakes. Although every once in a while a mistake can be a positive thing. I waved to Kurt that he could go, and went to my bathroom to get ready. I wore a pastel pink dress from Athanase & Anastasia, light purple pumps from Augustus and a matching bag from Virtuose. I decided to put only mascara and a small touch of lipstick to perfect my outfit, then I left in the direction of the palace entrance. Arriving at the stairs, I contemplated the portrait of Thetia Kestle, my ancestor and the creator of this Empire. In this painting, she must have been in her twenties. Her young and sweet face made her look like she was barely 16 years old, but she had this aura of maturity and respect all around her. Everything looked perfect when this portrait was painted, but was it really?

- "The truth will soon be revealed dear creator..." I whispered.

The guards in the entrance greeted me and opened the door, before escorting me to a car where Luke, one of our bodyguard drivers, and Kurt, who was going to accompany me, were waiting for me.

- "Good morning Madam, I hope your morning went well! "Luke said to me while starting the car with the tinted windows".

- "Good morning Luke, it went by too fast if you ask me. I wish I hadn't done anything today. But hey, it's my duty to keep this Empire in order".

Kurt gave me some administrative documents that I leafed through and completed as I waited to arrive south of Thetia, at the Palace of the Kings where the leaders of the Kingdoms and Counties of the Empire were waiting for me. The Palace was a huge residence dating from the 18th century. Inside, the Council of Kings and Counts took place, but also the meetings of crisis. The house was also used as a lodging for the Kings and Counts on their travels to Thetia, when a crisis meeting lasted several days, weeks or even months. After an hour, I finally arrived at my destination. I felt that the Council was going to be longer than expected with what I was going to tell them...

░ The Kings' Palace, Thetia, Midona, Empire of Thetia

░ At 11:30 am

We reached the Palace of the Kings at 11:30 am. My escort accompanied me from the entrance of the Palace to the inside of the Council Chamber. The large main door opened, and I walked to my seat in the center of the circle. The table was in the shape of a circle, where each King and Queen had in front of him buttons for voting, a microphone, refreshments, and a small fan. Everyone bowed to me, and two of my guards came and positioned themselves behind me. As for Kurt, he left for the butlers' lounge in the west part of the palace.

- "Thank you for being here for this new assembly of Kings and Queens. Let's start the meeting with news from each Kingdom and County. Sir Bentley Of Hatopia, would you do me the honor of beginning?"

- "With pleasure, Your Majesty. So since the new reform, which consisted in creating small businesses in partnership with giant companies, the unemployment rate has fallen sharply. At the beginning of 2018, it was 10.5% and now it is 6.8%. If we continue on this path, I sincerely believe that by the end of the year we will be around 5%.

- "I am delighted to hear that! Who's next?"

A hand rose to my right: it was Lady Sherley Mosley, Countess of Phuram. She was the youngest of the assembly, 27 years old she was.She had recently ascended to the throne after Sir Charles Mosley, her father, was diagnosed with a cancer, and was unable to continue to exercise his duties.

- "I will speak, Your Majesty. Nevertheless, I do not really have anything important to share with you, for the life on Phuram is rather quiet and without serious problems. I wanted to ask you a question: what are you planning to do for Princess Rila's birthday party? She is going to have the majority, isn't she?"

- "It reassures me that everything is going well on Phuram, it also means that you are up to your new role. Regarding my daughter Rila's birthday, indeed there will be a party and you are invited, because she is going to be my heiress and when the time comes, she will need you and you will need her. Are you asking me this because you have any suggestions for me, Lady Mosley?"

- "Not at all, Your Majesty, forgive me if I have asked a question out of place. Recently, I heard within the walls of my residence that the Princess did not want to celebrate it, whereas this is a major event".

- "Forgive my interruption, but I also heard that in the streets of Torrine."

- "Sire Philippe Of Uscar and Lady Shirley Mosley, don't worry about it. They are only rumors. I talked about it two days ago with my daughter, and she wants to celebrate, but she is very stressed at the moment with the IDSE (The Imperial Diploma of Secondary Education) coming up".

For another hour, each Kingdom and County shared their information and important events that had taken place in their country. Then came the turn of the two Counties at war, Goston and Youmor. The two leaders of these Counties were two men of the same blood, their ancestors were brothers. In the 1910s, Goston and Youmor were united into a single county. When Earl Henry of Welch died, his two sons fought for the control of the territory. The Empress, my grandmother's mother, made the decision to cut off the County, and the two brothers took back part of it. Nevertheless, it didn't stop the two brothers from starting a war that cost the lives of almost 100,000 people. My grandmother, Mrs. Octavia Kestle, sent troops from the Imperial Army to protect the inhabitants and to dissuade the two brothers from continuing. Nothing could be done about it. There have been tensions and confrontations on the county border since 1910. Nowadays, the conflicts have been hushed up, however, when the news of the nationality of my husband Ernst Kestle was revealed to the public, Goston's hatred of Youmor grew. Indeed, the Emperor was originally from Norbury, a town located in the north of Youmor. Together with Tregaron, Norbury were Youmor's largest cities in conflict. Goston took my marriage with Ernst as a betrayal, and Youmor as a victory. Nevertheless, it had nothing to do with it. Of course, my husband was defending his home town, but in no way supported this war.