8:00 AM, The Conference Hall, Urgia State House
Pierre paced outside the doors. Being dressed in the Royal Attire always freaked him out. His uniform seemed to fit too tightly but also too loosely. There was one thing he was proud of on that uniform however. He always adored the medal that Lord Eldras bestowed upon him when he was granted the position of personal advisor to Eldras. However, today was different for him. He knew that Eldras was going to be there any moment, but he couldn’t wrap his mind around the plan. All of this paperwork for what? Finally, he saw Eldras leave his chamber wearing the Royal Clothing with all of his medals earned from other houses. Pierre remembers that most of these are symbolic to either House Tuvania or to the house he got it from. Some of them are to symbolize the alliance, but yet only medal Pierre doesn’t recognize. It’s shaped in the pattern of an Eagle stretched out. He thought to himself before he realized: It was the medal of the Monarchy. Eldras addressed Pierre saying, “It is time. Here is the crucial moment we have been waiting for. Let’s see what Antonio has in store for you.” Pierre faced the doors, unsure of what was about to follow. As they approached the door, Pierre felt a rush of anxiety and fear fill his body. He looked at Eldras and asked, “What happens if this doesn’t work? Then what?” Eldras chuckled a little and said, “Then, we leave the government to its death while we form our own shadow government, but that won’t be necessary.” These words emboldened Pierre since he knew that Lord, no Eldras, had a plan. As he approached the door, the hall rang out declaring the arrival of Lord Eldras, the head of House Tuvania and his assistant and friend, Pierre of Tao.
8:05 AM
Eldras had taken a seat directly across from Antonio. He could see that Antonio was desperate, so he already had the advantage, but as his father always told him “Never lose the upper hand.” He waited in silence as Antonio looked at the papers that Eldras brought with him. After the deafening silence filled the hall to the brim, Antonio was the one to break the silence, “Look, I simply called you here because I need you in charge of the new Parliamentary Monarchy. This will allow…”
Eldras stopped him in his own thought. He gave a flick of the wrist and said, “There will be no Parliament. You know what I have here? Ever. SIngle. Resolution brought before the Parliament. Notice how the resolutions passed are significantly lower than the other two piles? That’s because you all were inefficient with your jobs. You were to govern, and instead you stalled.” Antonio flinched at the comment. It took a moment to gather himself before he started to speak again, “Look, I understand your ancestors held the Great Throne of Eastern Alksearia, but you don’t hold such a title here anymore now do you?” Eldras looked at him and simply said, “Neither do you. At least I still have a fiefdom to call my own.”
Antonio looked flustered at this comment. Blood rushed to his head in anger, but Antonio remained cool and responded, “All I want to do is to add some legitimacy to this government. By having the House Tuvania be the monarch while the Parliament is in session allows for both you and me to both have what we want in this world. I want the Parliament to come back, and you want your crown back. All you have to do is simply sign this treaty right here…” Antonio took a pile of papers from his aide’s hands and placed them in front of him, “This treaty right here would serve as the new and improved Constitution of the Kingdom of Eastern Alksearia. Of course, all legislative power is vested in the Parliament, but you have all the Executive authority you want. All you have to simply…” Again, Eldras stopped Antonio from speaking.
“This ‘treaty’ as you call it, is nothing more than a disgrace to the Kingdom. The Parliament fell. You are cannot take back a job that you just simply lost. You voted along with every other person in the room to adjourn the Parliament for good. At this point, the only thing that remains now is to return to the Monarchy. One person at the helm giving orders and guiding our nation into the next century. How long do you think the next Parliament would last? One, or maybe even two resolutions? The people aren’t going to keep going back to the polls especially if they know that the Monarchy is still obtainable. Trying to get rid of it is a mistake.”
“And we aren’t going to. The Monarchy will not be destroyed. In this treaty, which has been signed by nearly every member of Parliament along with the Houses of…” Antonio started. Eldras signaled for him to stop talking. Eldras started to get fed up with these talks. He stood up and declared, “I want to walk around the hall. Why don’t you and your aide there discuss what it means to have the Monarchy return…”
Antonio stopped him, “Okay, Okay, Okay. I get it. You don’t want to see the Monarchy be reduced to something it shouldn’t be. Thi treaty was supposed to start our discussions, not be the reason why they stop.” Antonio took a seat. Eldras was impressed with how Antonio has remained calm. Maybe having him on the Council of Advisors would be a good thing, Eldras thought. Eldras returned to his seat, eager to hear what Antonio was proposing.
8:30 AM, The Interior Meeting Room, Conference Hall, Urgia State House
“Look I get that you want all power to be in the Monarchy, but that simply isn’t going to work.” Eldras was annoyed that Antonio refused to see his point of view. At this point, the discussion had been a stalemate over everything. The only thing agreed upon was the scrapping of the Treaty. Eldras has sent Pierre out of the room so that he could retrieve the only thing in his arsenal that would get Antonio to listen.
“Alright, you got me there Antonio. I get that we have three separate branches of government, but you see, the Monarchy invested their own power into each branch that was later reaped by the Monarch. If it isn’t Brokeian, then let’s not fix it. A Parliament has caused so many delays and issues with the government that I simply cannot stand anymore. As a matter of fact…” Eldras had started when Pierre walked into the room and handed him the proposal, “I think you should be familiar to this since you were a co-signer to this proposal.”
The color faded from Antonio’s face. His aide looked in horror at what Antonio was given. Antonio did a double-cross on it and softly said, “You…you…how?”
Eldras laughed. He found nothing more amusing than trapping his enemies in a trap, and it appears it blind-sighted anything Antonio was about to propose, “You see. When I did an inquiry about the very nature of the Parliament, I found the Treason of Nobility Act basically declaring, as you can see or assume here, that the nobility has betrayed the Republic and should be stripped of everything. This act, proposed by your good friend Allaniar, by its very nature is unconstitutional. Freedom for all and everyone should be given rights, except the nobility unless they give up everything to the state. You, my friend, have committed treason of your own here, so I suggest you tread carefully. House Tuvania does not handle traitors very easily.” Antonio gasped for air several times. Each time a new sound would emerge from his throat until he was finally able to croak out, “What do you propose?”
“Very simple. Give me back my rightful throne, with all powers and duties that go with it, and I will pardon your actions. On the other hand, if you refuse, and I have to form a shadow government and declare myself the new king by force, you will be executed for your crimes and transgressions. Once I occupy my rightful place, I will do everything in my power to get rid of this Allaniar since he, as the author, believes that traitors deserve death for their crimes of treason. I will let you make up your mind, however, I have multiple copies of this so, do as you wish to this. You have 30 minutes.” Eldras flatly told him.
9:04 AM, outside the meeting hall
Pierre took off his vest while Eldras went into the Host chambers for a few things. The last hour of his life seemed to change faster than it would’ve back at the mansion. There in the hall, Pierre sighed a breath of relief. As he did, an officer walked up to him. His posture and his walk seemed familiar but he couldn’t place where he saw him from before, until he started talking.
“Hey, you there. Servant. I am here to take you to where you belong: the servant’s quarters. No one here gets any special treatments, especially you and your goustard (Nerovian Staynish swear word) uniform. Who did you steal it from, connard? I’m sure you murdered a good soldier like myself for it. You no good…” the officer started. Pierre could feel his anger rushing through his veins. He stood up to punch the officer when the Host Chamber’s doors swung open quickly. Eldras stormed out of the chamber furious.
“What did you call my royal assistant? A connard? Well, I don’t like it when a subordinate speaks to someone who has higher authority and disrespects them. Hand over your badge right now. I am removing you from the service of the State House, and you will face military charges.” Eldras ordered. Pierre has never seen Eldras so angry before yet so calm. The officer turned around and slapped Eldras in the face.
“Where I come from, I have the ultimate say. You goustardia and your titles. I got to elect my representative who will never take this tomfoolery from…”
Just as the guard started speaking, his sergeant and his commander walk out of the left-wing of the Conference Hall. The officer immediately stands at attention.
“Officer Bradford, you are hereby charged with assault, disorderly conduct, dismissal of authority, and treason. You will be executed promptly in 24 hours. Your badge is now inactive, and you will serve the rest of your life in solitary,” the commander instructed, “Sarg, take him away, and make sure the restraints are tight.” The officer tried to move out of the way when Pierre saw Eldras deck a man in the face. The officer dropped to the floor almost immediately, and Eldras looked at his limp body and said, “I told you, I don’t take kindly to those who disrespect authority.” Pierre stunned, sits down on the bench nearby. Eldras, composing himself says, come. We have important business to finish."
9:10 AM, The Meeting Room
“Your time of reasoning has arrived Antonio. What is it going to be? Treason or life?” Eldras said as he walked into the room.
“I have no choice but to concede. This is the end of the republic. My liege, the kingdom rests in your capable hands. Allaniar deserves justice.” Antonio replied. He motions to a paper sitting on the table. On it is written, The Treaty of the Kingdom of Alksearia, January 4th, 1890. Eldras smiles and picks up a pen, “This my good friend, is the start of an era for the Kingdom.” He bends over and signs the document. He hands the one to Antonio, who also signs the treaty. His aide, still in shock about the treason act, shakily signs the treaty as a witness of democracy. Eldras receives the pen back from the aide and hands it to Pierre. Eldras says, “Pierre, just sign here and this treaty is ratified and is effective immediately.” Pierre looks at the treaty for a solid minute before signing it. Eldras knows that he just read over the one single sheet of the treaty, making sure everything is okay. Pierre signs as the diplomat of Eldras.
Eldras stands upright and declares, “I think the people deserve to hear the good news about the start of thier new Kingdom.”
9:20 AM, Outside the State House
“As of 10 minutes ago, Antonio and I signed a treaty declaring that the Parliamentarians acknowledge that the republic has failed and that we are now back to the Kingdom of Eastern Alksearia, which we all know has brought great stability…” Eldras says to the group of reporters in front of him. To his right, Antonio is also making similar statements as Eldras. Pierre looks and observes the crowds forming. People are cheering and other people are dancing. These people now know what stability means to this great nation…
Until Pierre gets a chill of his spine. Something doesn’t feel right to him. Something or someone in the crowd feels out of place…and he couldn’t place it until he heard it.
BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!
Four shots rang out. Only four. Pierre drops to the ground. People are screaming and running. Pierre checks his body for wounds when he hears “ELDRAS IS SHOT!” “ANTONIO DOWN!” Pierre rushed over to Eldras and saw two bullet wounds in his chest. Blood pours out everywhere. Eldras opens his eyes one last time and looks at Eldras. Coughing, Eldras tells Pierre, “In…these…trying…times…” and coughs up blood. Pierre frightened asks, “What do I do now???” Eldras tells Pierre weakly, “My brother…is…king now…help…him…govern…You were a great royal assistant, and my brother…will…be lucky to have you…Thank you for…everything Pierre…especially…in…these…trying…times…”
Eldras falls limp in Pierre’s arms. Nothing matter anymore. Pierre starts sobbing over the body of his former boss. With such loss, the only thing that Pierre can do is help the next King of Eastern Alksearia bring stability a country now fractured.