Politics

Nir, Rain and Grandpa meet the empress, accompanied by Ranmei - inside the castle. As Grandpa gets to talk with the empress - their blood ties are revealed.

“Empress, this is… Extraordinary!” - Says Ranmei.

-”This is all unbelievable…” - Nir says to Rain.

-”And I thought things were crazy already…” - She replies.

-”I saw your age…” - Says the empress. “One year older than me… Everything adds up”.

-”It’s just so much to discover in one conversation…” - Grandpa replies.

-”Wait… So you can see the real age of people too?” - Nir asks.

-”Correct”. - The empress confirms.

-”WAIT!” - Nir calls out. “So if Grandpa is one year older than her… The empress’s age is actually… - Rain immediately puts her right hand on his mouth and her left hand on the lower back of his head, not letting him finish the sentence.

-”Very well done, Rain”. - Says the empress. “I want you to protect each other. I just healed him so it would be too bad if I had to apply the opposite effect… Protect each other - even from me”. - She orders.

-”Yes, mam!” - Rain replies. “Nir!” - She yells with her hands still blocking him from speaking.

-”Mm… Mm…” - Nir is barely heard through Rain’s hand, presumably attempting to say “Sorry…”

-”Ranmei… What do we do now?” - The empress asks him.

-”I’m not sure. You cannot step down from the throne, that’s for sure”. - Ranmei replies.

-”Empress, I did not come here to usurp the throne. I wanted to become a true ally of the empire”. - Grandpa clarifies.

-”Not a single person here thinks you came here with bad intentions, Richard. You can call me Samantha”. - The empress reassures him.

-”It’s possible that keeping quiet about this is preferable…” - Says Grandpa.

-”I agree”. - Says Ranmei. “We are about to conduct an invasion. We cannot have our people divided within the empire”.

-”Are there many people who oppose the empress?” - Nir asks.

-”No”. - Ranmei replies. “But I wouldn’t try to give them a reason to be divided about something… It’s not impossible that some would prefer Richard as the elder brother because of our traditions”.

-”We will tell them the truth”. - The empress says. “I won’t lie to them”.

-”What should we do?” - Nir asks.

-”Go rest. Tomorrow, I will train you myself. Rain… I will teach you how to kill. You will get hearts one way or another. For now I’m going to have to deal with announcing Richard”.

Rain is seemingly in distress.

-”Rain… I don’t want to add to your stress. But I don’t think she is wrong…” - Nir tells her quietly.

-”I know… Let’s go rest for the time being”.

The two of them go to their room. They jump on their bed. Rain looks worried.

-”Nir… I fear that… If we do it out of pressure… It’s like we are stealing something special from ourselves… Although I am ready. What do you think?”

-”If I told you I prefer you not to come with me while you have only 1 heart left… Will you be mad?”

-”I have to go with you… I can’t handle you going alone”.

-”How about we just go to sleep for today? It’s starting to get late anyway. If we go to sleep early we can wake up early for training tomorrow. We are about to fight in a war. Most opponents won’t be as tough as those we recently faced, but… We need to be prepared for everything”.

-”But now… Sleep!” - Rain says, improving the mood.

She hugs him, as he covers them with the blanket.

In the meantime, Ranmei and the empress make their way to the market.

-”Do you know what you’re going to tell them?” - Ranmei asks.

-”I do. I’ve made up my mind”.

They reach the market. They get no special treatment, as the empress is dressed normally.

-”Attention! The empress has a message for everyone!” - Ranmei yells to make the people focus on her.

The people avert their eyes to the empress, stopping everything that they were doing.

-”Thank you, Ranmei. Listen! I have an important announcement! We have found my long lost older brother - Richard Empera. As he was raised in the village and made his way to his true home - the empire, I recognize his intellect, wisdom and loyalty will be of benefit to the empire. He shall share a court position alongside me, participating in decision making and important affairs. The final say… Is mine. I’m still your empress, Samantha Empera! We are about to wage war against the leaders of the villages. They will surely send countless people to fight in their stead. Let us fight for a better future, of success, safety and freedom in our mighty empire!”

-”HOORAY!” - “Blessed be your brother!” - “Victory for the empire!” - The people are heard majorly supporting the empress.

The empress notices that despite the overwhelming support, some seem to be quieter than usual.

-”Empress…” - Ranmei says quietly as he turns to her, noticing that change as well.

-”Yea, I know. I hope this doesn’t become a problem”. - She replies.

They head back to the castle, as their announcement is over. It gets darker and darker outside.

As they reach the entrance to the castle, they stop by the statues and look at them.

“Ranmei… If anything happens… I should let Nir and Rain know they are the next in line to…”

-”Nothing will happen”. - He interrupts her. “According to your spy, we need to expect some powerful foes as well, but none of them can be even remotely close to you in ability. This war is technically assured to be won by us, but it’s true we need to be careful. Let’s make sure Nir and Rain are prepared as much as possible”.

-”Yea, I’m sure you are right”.

-”Do you think Nir and Rain will just agree to inherit your position, conceptually suggesting you will die? They will find it unacceptable to even prepare for something like that… Since that would be like admitting the scenario is acceptable in their eyes. They are still young… And you obviously adopted them. They can feel that too. The scenario they want includes you as well, never forget that”.

-”And what about you, Ranmei?” - She asks, smiling. “What scenario would you prefer?”

-”I’m sure you are aware of my position already”. - He replies.

They spend a few more minutes outside, then decide to call it a day and enter the castle.

At the same time, in Nir and Rain’s room.

-”Nir… I can’t sleep”. - Rain tells him.

-”Me neither. I’m not sure why”.

-”Can we talk?” - She asks.

-”Of course”.

-”If something were to happen to me… You need to…”

-”Rain, in order for something to happen to you I will have to already be dead twice over”. - He doesn’t let her finish the sentence.

He hugs her tightly and slowly kisses her.

The next day.

-”Rain! Nir!” - Grandpa yells, waking them up.

-”What is going on?” - Rain asks.

-”Grandpa? What happened?”

-”The empire… Is being invaded!”

Nir and Rain prepare to leave their room as swiftly as possible. Soon enough, they head out to the main hall.

Many soldiers are standing there, awaiting the empress’s orders.

-”Nir! Rain! Come closer!” - The empress says. Ranmei signals them with his right hand to come, inviting them to stand by his side.

They go stand next to Ranmei. Alongside him and the empress, they face all the soldiers that are standing in the hall, seeing what the empress is seeing for the first time.

-”My spy has betrayed us! This is my responsibility! But… We don’t have time for this right now. As some of you already know - this morning, multiple protests have taken place because of my announcement. Some wanted Richard to take my place. Some wanted him out of the empire because he was born in the village. As the guards averted their attention to them, making sure the protestors don’t get violent with each other - enemy forces invaded from different directions, even in areas far away from the protests. THIS IS NOT ANYONE’S FAULT BUT MY OWN! As our forces are managing to fend against them - there are already casualties, especially among civilians. We must now strike with our elite forces to regain our advantage. WE WILL WIN!” - The empress takes a break from the speech, to calculate her next words.

After a few seconds, she continues: “Nir! Rain! Your experience fighting alongside Richard will have to do. You know your way around the village you spent time in. They wouldn’t know to expect that. And so, with that in mind, our strategy will rely on capturing the spy, along with the entire village from which we took you in. You will play a key role in this. The two of you will lead this invasion. The war… Has already started!”