literature

Her Revolution

Deviation Actions

TheEvilNae's avatar
By
Published:
189 Views

Literature Text

I write this article not to discourage you from supporting our gracious and recently ascended Empress Viriel of Tersia's reformed government. Nor out of a particular affinity for my own death. I simply cannot live with this terrible truth upon my mind any longer. For too long it has plagued my conscious to keep her majesty's origin tale from my countrymen so I must tell it or perish from merciless guilt. My editor has long begged me to relate the chronicle to the readers of the nation, after all as her former schoolmate and her best friend I am the only man living to truly know her when she was nobody, and I a nobody as well. Yet as much as I know this telling is yearned for I know that it will never reach the light of day. But enough of my fears and hesitations, let our actions be the benchmark by which we are judged.

I first met Viriel in Heartfield, Tersia's most southern village and our home. It was so far from anything that even the airships that are our countries life blood never ventured our way. I was a headstrong young lad with some skill with words and an intense desire to leave little, insignificant Heartfield to pursue greater things in the Capitol, where anyone worth anything must eventually end up. We grew up together the closest of friends despite the separations of our families positions in society, but the friendship was not enough to keep me there. Viriel however loved that little village though her family was the poorest and lowliest among us. It was the world to her and the whole town knew it. They loved her for it almost as much as she love them. At the end of our education in Heartfield I took off to see our nation, the broken political mess such as it was then. Viriel married, no more than her station was due, and became a farmers wife.

She wrote me some of her happy but childless marriage and begged me for tales of my adventures in the big world. I told her of my attempts at political writing, my frustrations at its complexities, and how I wished I could understand how a democracy was truly so wonderful when everything was such a mess. When elected officials used money and power to gain their positions, and represented their investors rather than their people, and that was before the assassinations began, before our government became the council of usurpers and madmen we all remember so vividly. I swear to you Viriel is that farm wife who I have so often credited with the fame I enjoy today. It was she who brought me to the understandings I possess and the set me in my belief that a constitutional monarchy was better suited to our small country. There is great irony in this, but it was years before I even began to understand.

She had been married for three years when I received a urgent note from my secretary. It read simply but I could almost see the terror in the shaking of her hand:
My husband has died and left me nothing, my family will not take me back in. You know the ways of the world as well as I. In the name of our friendship, please help me.
~Viriel


Unfortunately this was not an uncommon thing to happen among the smaller villages of Tersia. Many men were small minded and could not see beyond gender. Often they would leave their wives uncared for, especially if they could produce no children. But that anyone could do such a thing to Viriel, the flower of Heartfield, was beyond me. While I was a career minded young lout, I am no brute, and the city had opened me up to newer ideals. By all rights the government should have been there to to fight on her behalf, and on the behalf of all women, but they were too caught up in their private wars to head the cries of mistreated women everywhere. So I rushed to her aid, and while I was not selfless enough to take the poor girl with me I did pull some strings with my only political contact in town. The recently widowed mayor took Viriel in willingly, her being as loved by the people as she was he felt obligated, and while the mayor was irritatingly conservative and often at odds with my political views, he was a good man and she would be taken care of. I was sure of it. Less than a year later they were married. It enraged me at first that such a conservative man would take advantage of innocent Viriel, but she claimed happiness so I let it be.

I should have notice the pattern then. I'm a political writer after all. I trained myself to see such things, but I did not. Nor did I see it when the goodly mayor left her for another woman, nor did I see it when the councilman she married after she moved herself to the capitol with the divorce money committed suicide seven years after their marriage. His note claimed coldly that he could no longer suffer with the bareness of his wife, he could not bring himself to cheat or divorce, and death was the only option he saw if he could not have children. I could not believe the terrible luck of my dear friend. It was as though she was fated to suffer deeply in love and life, but she did not see it that way.

On the day of her third husband's death I sat with her and through the bitter tears she sobbed in confidence to me. "Grief and pain follow me and I feel them like a cold hand strangling my heart, but look around. Don't you see the dull side of this cutting blade." I looked, unsure of what she meant and saw all the people who waited for their moment to comfort the grieving widow. There were hundreds of them. Common people from Heartfield and other small towns, upper-crust society, and a throng of political giants. As I think on it now their was even a hand written letter of condolences from the president himself. "How can grief ever truly touch me," she asked, "when I am so well loved?" And I agreed with her. A woman such as Viriel, a woman of such a giving and selfless nature could hardly ever feel alone even in the direst of times.

That day was also the first day she stepped into the spotlight. Her husbands suicide had caught a lot of media attention and while I tried to convince her not to, she courageously gave a statement, and never was a more gracious statement given. In the face of the flashing cameras and portable phonographs She expressed her pain openly at her husbands reason for taking his own life but professed her love for him as well, despite his cruel way of punishing her for her body's failings. I think the media fell in love with her that day, with her open face and calm demeanor. Just as you, the nation, fell in love with her when two years later she came to me and said she wanted to get involved in politics. I was surprised but I assisted her in making the contacts and financial ties she would need to run for office, though unlike any other politician, she could have done it without them.  

She was first elected as a representative, then a senator for three wildly successful terms in a row. Then five years ago, In the climax of the power struggle that Viriel held herself above, the government finally reached it breaking point. When the president was caught embezzling from the people, the chant of revolution and monarchy was taken from my shoulders onto the backs of every common man in the nation. They wanted a new government. Riots threatened to bring Tersia to its knees but Senator Viriel held us back from the brink, reasoning with the people as the only elected representative they trusted. With out her calm hand we would have dissolved into anarchy never to emerge a single nation again. It was therefore no surprise that she was elected by a vast majority to be the first Empress of Tersia with out making a single attempt to campaign. She was our hero, mine as well as she made my life long dream for this country come true. If only that were where the story ended, and for most of you who read this, I'm sure it will be.

Last year Viriel and I were having our monthly private dinner. I had never envisioned my self an Adviser but she had named me and I could hardly refuse. Normally these dinners where filled with us bubbling over how well things were going, and her near glee over the approval of her subjects. This night was different, she was nervous, her bright open eyes were strangely dark with this emotion I had never seen from her before. We sat down and she sent everyone away as always, but she did not speak and her nervousness infected me with its chill.

I feared her silence and begged her to tell me what was wrong. She was still for a moment longer until at last she said, "Tomas, do you love me?"

I could hardly believe my ears, "Of course I do your majesty, me and an entire nation besides. You are the kindest human being to ever rule, anywhere, with a love for your people that they return in kind. Why do you ask? Do you fear my loyalty?"

"No, never that." she hesitated, what could have been fear crossed her eyes but was quickly replaced by her signature calm, "I would like to tell you a story, will you hear it?" I nodded and she began, "I loved Heartfield with everything that I was and they returned that love. A people are wonderfully simple like that. If you honestly care for their well being, claim to be no better than they are even if you are, they will follow you anywhere but I did not know where and how to lead. You helped me see Tomas, way back then. You showed me what I had to offer and I loved you for it, more than I loved Heartfield. But you cared for your politicking too much to notice anything besides, so I knew I had to join you. Through you and your knowledge I formed my visions of for this country, but still you do not see how great my love is for you."

I colored a deep red and began to stutter, "Viriel, I had no idea, I..."
She held her hand up to my lips "Stop." she said firmly, "You must hear the entire tale before you tell me one way or another. You must know how I became your Empress"

I smiled, "But I know this already. We put you here, the people of this nation."

"No," she growled, a strange sound from her, as she stood up to pace the room, "you did not. I put me here. Since the date of our letter when we first discussed the merits of a constitutional monarchy I have had every move on the board up to this point planned and weighted. This conversation is my one and only gable. My first husband, my first step to this day, was a foolish, cruel man. He deserved his fate. Do not ask me how I did it, for I will not tell you. My second husband was week-minded despite the way he clung to his outdated beliefs. It was easy enough to plant a buxom blonde in his path."

It was at this point that I began to shake, fear and disbelief making me cold, "Please," I stuttered, "Tell me your last husband truly killed himself."

"Oh he did." she looked at me at last, her eyes sharper than I have ever seen them. "I picked him very carefully. He wanted children more than anything in the world. But I will give children only to the man I love." she looked pointedly at me, "It is easy enough to appear barren."

I could hardly breath, she had purposely drove that poor man to death, "But we chose you." I gasped. There had to have been something she had not planned. "You did not force us to do that. We picked you for your honesty and love of the people."

She nodded, "And I do love the people, they are why I exist. But you all chose me because for the past twenty-eight years I have been convincing you that you should, and you did. The revolution happened not only under my care but under my design. I brought the Presidents misuse of his position to light. I caused old rivalries to battle at new heights that made the incompetence of the government obvious for all to see. I suggested that the ballot for our new ruler be open, which was all I needed to win. But most importantly, I convinced you all those years ago to publish your thoughts on our governments failings and constitutional monarchy. I planted the seed of all this with you.

She paused, but I could not reply. Everything she said was true, and so obvious to me now, but I could not say a world. Finally after several moments of silence she sat down with me once again and said, "You know how much I love my people and how well I rule over them. This country could not ask for a better Empress. But I must ask you once again, and I am so fearful I can no longer stand. Tomas, my inspiration, my partner in this conquest... do you love me?"

Some days I wish that I hadn't. In fact most of my life since that day has been devoted to regret that when I have them, my morals are quite unyielding. I stood up, I could see the tears, more rage than sadness, building in her eyes and said, "No, and please consider this my resignation your majesty."

It has been almost a year since I left Viriel's side, my life since has been a misery of guilt, she rules you all with kindness and love but you cannot see her insanity. You cannot see what I have seen, what I have caused, and it is likely that you never will.

This document was recovered from
the secret records of Empress Viriel after her death.
Written by Tomas of Heartfield,
it was never published and he died
the day after it was written.

A short story with a political theme based in a steampunk world. You can see the artwork I did of the main character here [link]

Please enjoy.
© 2012 - 2024 TheEvilNae
Comments0
Join the community to add your comment. Already a deviant? Log In