Sadly Sings Destiny

17

Verona sighed as she read the letter in front of her. She had been working on this problem for far too long, and now the time was coming for her to prove herself. Heather had written her threat nearly twelve months ago, and now it was almost time for her men to fight. As soon as whispers of war started to circle around the country, Verona had felt her power on the throne grow. The fear that people felt was enough to get them to start to trust her. She was able to use this trust and fear to draft what she called ‘temporary emergency legislation,’ legislation that she had no intention of replacing once it was in place. She was able to impose a wartime tax on the people. The need to arm her soldiers of an all-out onslaught was enough to start bringing those who were desperate and out of work back into jobs that pulled many of the hopeless, honest people away from the crimes they had been committing. As much as she hated to admit it, the prospect of war seemed to make life better for everyone.

She could remember when the announcement was made that Sabbistahn would be fighting alongside the rebels and their Elsiderian helpers, and she remembered how everyone had turned to her for guidance. Throughout the short time between Heather announcing her intentions and Sabbistahn coming to her side, the people had rallied, and Verona started to use her newfound tax money to fix the problems that had caused the situation she found herself in. Life in the cities began to become more bearable for everyone as the soldiers were recalled, and the governors were given the funding to handle their problems on their own. People forced out of work by rampant crime or other issues were back to earning money, and the civil improvement projects gave all a sense of community. Even Verona left the Swallow’s Nest and helped repair damaged bridges over the Rass River in her attempt to show her support and to gain more support. An effort that was extremely successful.

From the first letter that told of war, Verona had ignored any option she had to talk to Heather. She started growing her army and having them dig into positions on the northern border. She came up with the idea early on to hire the local farmers and tradesmen in the region to help with the preparations, helping them recover financially from the economic downturn that had come from the anarchy she had accidentally spread when she took power. For the first time in her reign, the people were asking for her help, and she was more than willing to give.

As the day of the impending war came, Verona was able to convince the masses of her country to either sign up to serve in the army or to work to fortify the cities between the Tyne River and Rachedale, along with the border on her side of the river Tyne. With the fear sweeping through the country and the promise of honesty earned coined alongside the threat of swift justice for any crime, it was not difficult for people to see things her way. The biggest issue she had to handle was the banks owned by Sabbistahn that still operated within the nation. Verona worked with her advisors and the executive in charge of the Lotheranian branch, a woman who was sure to remind everyone she could that the Sabbistahni military and the Sabbistahni Credit Union were two different entities with no hold over the other. In the end, she was forced to accept Verona’s terms where all business was handed over to Lotheranian institutions, and all bank workers of Sabbistahni descent returned to their homeland.

“How bad do things look?” Verona asked Martha as the two of them looked over a sunset painted Rachedale from one of the many balconies in the Swallow’s Nest.

“They could be much worse.” Martha shrugged, “We think they have between thirty and forty thousand soldiers, but we do know for sure that they have three airships and several of those airplane contraptions.”

“Those things are so delicate, though. If we have the grapeshot in the cannons and the gunpowder filled cannonballs, we can deal with those. What about our forces.” Verona asked.

“You know that every Lotheranian who can swing a sword is on your side,” Martha replied, getting a smile from Verona.

“I wish I could believe that. McAllister has been saying that there’s a concern of a silent rebellion waiting for the battles to start before they reveal themselves.” Verona said, leaning forward on the balustrade. She was tired. She had been tired for weeks now and didn’t believe she would ever feel energetic again.

“Right. The families of the refugees and all.” Martha sighed, “Are you going to be on the front lines of this one?” Verona shuddered. She hadn’t been able to rid herself of the ghosts of the women she had killed when she helped capture the Swallow’s Nest, nor had she been able to shake the sight of Andretti’s rage-filled brown eyes staring into her soul when she killed her.

“No, not at first. If it comes down to fighting in Rachedale, I’ll join in, but until then…” she paused, trying to think of a reason she shouldn’t be on the front lines.

“You don’t need to make excuses to me,” Martha said quietly, “So, the deadline comes in a week. Are you going to reverse the course at all? Try to reach out to Von Trent?”

“I think it’s too late for that.” Verona said, straightening up and turning around, “I’m going to bed. I’ll deal with this more tomorrow.”

“Now? The sun’s barely down.” Martha said, watching her friend slink away, but the queen didn’t reply. She didn’t need to, it wasn’t just fatigue and the wearing of the day that had sent her away. Martha could feel the weight of the oncoming war. Everything the two of them had worked for over the course of nearly seven years was on the line, and the only thing that had brought them any semblance of success was the prospect of losing it all. They would know soon enough if their actions were worth it.

The week passed by slowly, each hour seemed to be longer than the last, and the days themselves lasted years on their own. A week from the sunset meeting on the balcony and the deadline came and went without any action on Verona’s part. Four days after the deadline, the message came from the north that Heather and her army had invaded on the day following the deadline. For the time being, the lines were holding where the Lotheranian defenses had been entrenched. Verona had been smart enough to have the entire border defended, and her men had more than enough time to disguise their defenses strategically to give the impression of weak points, though Heather was quick to find that these were actually the strongest points in the defenses.

Verona smiled as she heard the news. It didn’t take a military genius to plane for an attack that was a year away. With Heather and her army caught in trench warfare, it became exceedingly easy for her to point at the threat and garner more support for herself and in the days following the attack, she was able to begin pushing through legislation that she had been planning on since she had taken control of the country. Despite the looming threat from the north, Verona was finally coming into her own as queen. Then the news came, King Charles the Twelfth was dead, and Elsideria blamed the Lotheranian defenders.