Gillamoor, England435Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOkFxGQLH0P
1872
A new day had come.435Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqYoRmtgfFl
I stared out the window of the hospital where I had been staying during the last few days. Earlier, the famous church the Silver Pillars was blown up in a terrorist attack, and as many as 15,000 people died in the blast. (Among those dead were Sir David’s wife Selena and two of her sons. Three of her adopted sons were also killed in the blast, along with Selena’s half-brother Paxton Rothchester, the leader of the anti-magical revolution that killed between 1,000-1,700 nonmagical people.)
Of course, after the bombing happened, mother and I were called to the village of Gilllamoor, where the bombing happened, to assist in helping the people who survived the bombing. Yet so far, very few people survived their injuries, as most of them who came to the hospital left the building in a wooden box. And it wasn’t just men who died in the blast; women and children were killed in the blast as well. This sort of injustice shouldn’t have been allowed to flourish, not without repercussions; yet I learned that Paxton had grown more powerful and corrupt over the years. 435Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGnNHi5KcIs
You know what they say about power and corruption; you can be the most powerful person in the world, but the more powerful you are, the more corrupt you will inevitably become. And Paxton Rothchester had been the most corrupt terrorist leader the magical world had seen in recent years.
“I heard that he imprisoned and tormented his own sister when she came to deal with him,” said a nun from the local church to her fellow sister as they were cleaning up the operating room. We were supposed to clean the rooms shortly after the surgeries, but only one-third of the people who came into the rooms to be treated for their injuries sustained in the blast survived the surgery.
“That was over two years ago,” said the other nun. “The women there had the nerve to parade that poor witch as if she was a common war captive. Didn’t they know we put an end to that years ago?”
“And there was that riot that took place shortly after,” said the first nun.
“I’ve noticed,” said the second nun. “It’s too bad about the king, though.”435Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk3yjPaoFlZ
“You mean to say...the king is dead?” I cried out, knowing that King Ihon had been in the church when it exploded.
“Tragically yes, the king is dead,” said the second nun. “And it’s such a shame too, as he couldn’t stop that evil man from destroying the empire.”
“But his son is of a different stock,” said the first nun.
“Hopefully, he will not make the same mistakes that his father and grandfather made,” said a third nun as she came into the room. “But if you ask my opinion, I personally blame Sir Bernard Kroger and his wife, Lady Michaela, as we all know they had a hand in this tragedy.”
“Who knows?” said the first nun. “But to be honest, I’m sure Michaela would have done something like that; she wasn’t too happy when her son Karl and daughters Anna and Christine were taken from her.”
“Rumors or no, there’s no way Leopold will be able to reconcile with his uncle, not if Bernard had never liked Selena in the first place,” said the second nun. “I’m sure Bernard will be banished back to the cold fields of Siberia, where he belongs.”
“And his wife, too,” said the second nun. “She’s a vile as her husband.”
I frowned as I helped the servants clean the beds and replenish the medical supplies, wondering if the tragedy that just happened had anything to do with why the magical world was declining. To date, poverty and crime were everywhere, and families that once prospered were forced to scrape the streets of nonmagical London to earn a living. Plus, the destroyed church was a sacred part of the Eirebul Empire, as it had been the first place the Atlanteans had built when they came to this world many years ago; to destroy such a relic as this was clearly unforgivable.
It was during that time when I was cleaning the supply closets that I heard someone calling my name. To be perfectly clear, I hadn't heard anything but the sound of the rats running through the building making loud cracky noises. I knew that even if humanity were to destroy each other to the point of extinction, the rats would continue to live on unaffected by the evils they saw.
But when I felt a hand grab my shoulder, I screamed in horror, wondering if someone unsavory had found me. (I'm sure that Amanuel had issued a reward if anyone found me or my mother or siblings; there was no way we would ever be safe, not as far as I could tell.)
But it wasn't a bounty hunter who had found me; it was Leopold Trichenberg.435Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRrz0OjS5II
To be honest, I was very surprised to see him, as if I hadn't expected to see him in the first place. But I didn't, as he had been living in Russia over the last few years. "I’ve been looking all over for you, Selena," he said as I turned to face him. "Yet you were so far gone, you didn't notice me coming into the room."
"I'm sorry," I said. "I was just so busy these last few days. You do know someone blew up a church, didn't you?"435Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiT4lrPWlqj
"That’s why I’m here," said Leopold. "My stepmother and three of my adopted brothers Lem, Delmer, and Joseph had been killed in that church bombing; Selena was originally from Gillamoor. To kill a woman in her own hometown is to commit an unforgivable crime, and Selena's death will bring nothing but trouble to this already unhappy world."
I frowned, knowing that I had seen Selena only a handful of times. Every time we met, Selena had always warned me to be careful of whom I trusted, lest that person turn against me. She had trusted Rafael Hickman and yet, he had betrayed her. She reached out to her brother Paxton Rothchester, and he threw her in prison and had her beaten and tormented. I knew to keep my friends close and keep a closer eye on my enemies, because who knew who could turn against me in a heartbeat?
Leopold then continued, "And do you want to know what I’m feeling right now? My stepmother is dead. My brothers are dead. Delmer was supposed to be married and Joseph and his wife recently welcomed a new baby boy. Did they know that they have done to our family by killing those boys? Now baby Florian will have to grow up never meeting his father and Jane Walton has become a widow before she could be married! I can't believe this would happen!"
I shook my head, knowing that men were told never to cry, that shedding tears was only for women. But that was so stupid, as men really do cry. And right now, Leopold was crying his for dead stepmother and brothers. I knew that while I never saw Selena much, I knew she would be happier in heaven than she was on earth. But Lem, Delmer, and Joseph Turner did NOT deserve to die, no matter what anyone says.
I reached out and hugged him, knowing that he was suffering from a terrible loss. As I had heard, his mother, Noelle Kohl Trichenberg, had died when he was born and he grew up with his father. Selena was basically the only mother he ever had; her death left an irreparable spot in his heart. But that wasn't the only thing, as Leopold must have felt completely helpless in failing to prevent the bombing attack that killed Selena Drake Trichenberg and Lem, Delmer, and Joseph Turner.
After a while, he had calmed down long enough to tell me what had happened to him when he sent me back to Rome on the Revelation almost seven years ago. He had remained in America for six months, then returned to Russia, where he made his report to the Czar. He also settled down with three mistresses (which was a big scandal in the Russian imperial court, but then again, the Trichenbergs always took what they wanted) and had three daughters named Emaria, Radmila, and Vavara.
"I'm surprised you don't have any sons," I said in response to the last part of Leopold's story. I wondered what had possessed him to take three mistresses and have three children, but that would be for later. "I wonder why."
"Old George Shapiro is convinced that I don’t have any sons because I’m not married ," said Leopold. “Which is why he's trying to have me marry his daughter Slavena."
"Is that a good idea?" I said. "You should know some old men would do anything to get their hands on your family's wealth."
"Yet the czar will not allow that to happen," said Leopold. "Alexander hated King Ernaut for not helping him regain control of the Crimea during the war there, and he hated King Ihon for not being like his father. I hesitate to think of what he will plan next now that Ihon's young son is on the throne of the most powerful empire in the world."
"I'm sure Alexander should be dealing with his own problems, as I hear he's not behaving as the Czar-Liberator that the Russians believe that he is," I said in turn. "He should be focusing on his own country, not the affairs of other people whose lives do not concern him."
"And he's demanding that I marry one of his nieces, which will never happen," said Leopold. "As much as it would amuse me to join the imperial family, that will never happen. My family's traditions will not allow it to happen. Besides, do you think I'm that ambitious to want to take over the Russian throne?"
"To be honest, you would make a better czar than the current czarevitch," I said in turn.
"It's no secret that most people living in Russia think I would be a better czar than Alexander," said Leopold. "Though I am at an age with him, Alexander is a poor second when it comes to comparing him with me. It's not that no one likes him, but they would rather have me more than they would have him, if you know what I mean."
I nodded, wondering if my mother knew that Leopold was here. If anything, she was probably busy helping with the cleanup and treating people at the scene of the bombing. Or maybe she had seen him earlier and pointed him in my direction, knowing that he had come to see me.
Who knew how he was able to find me.
Leopold then said, "I don't know what to say to my father right now; he's in even more pain than I am. Selena was his wife and he couldn't help or protect her from her enemies."
"Or maybe Selena was trying to keep her enemies from her family by keeping them focused on her and away from them," I said. "Who knows what goes on in some people's heads."
I shook my head, wondering how much grief the Trichenberg family was currently experiencing. I had heard the awful rumors of the church bombing being bankrolled by Leopold's relatives Bernard and Michaela Kroger, two disagreeable people if you had ever heard of them. I supposed there's a few disagreeable people in every family; my brother Amanuel was one of those people. He never liked me or my mother, and he hated Barnabas more than he hated Debebe and Lemma.
But the irony in all of this was that while I had spent many hours imagining how Leopold and I were going to meet, this wasn't how I imagined things to go. We had parted during a war before the firebombings happened, and now another firebombing had brought us back together, for better or worse.
Yet hearing Leopold's rant against the injustice due to his family's deaths in that church bombing brought me back to another conversation I had with my mother back when we were still living at Fort Adams, the conversation about war. Mother said that we should fight to only to defend ourselves and we fight to defend those who couldn't defend themselves. Anything else is conquest, and conquest today was frowned upon all over the world.
I then said, "I'll leave you to deal with your father and siblings, as I have work to do." Leopold nodded as I got up and resumed my work, trying to ignore the pain that I had witnessed. A woman was dead and her family was forever torn apart. Injustice reigned supreme in the magical world more than it tore apart the nonmagical world. And to make things worse, Leopold Trichenberg was no longer the same Leopold Trichenberg who wanted to make the world a better place, not when he had experienced injustice in its many forms.
Just then, the mother abbess saw me and said, "You've spoken with him?"
"I have," I said. "Leopold says that his family has been torn apart due to the bombing, and the fact that his uncle and aunt were accused of financing that bombing attack has put a permanent strain on what possible relationship that Leopold has with them."
"I've heard," said the mother abbess. "And it's such a shame too. I have heard so many rumors about the rivalry between the Krogers and the Trichenbergs, it's not easy for me to separate truth from fiction. Mayhaps you could tell me what my old ears have missed?"
I frowned, knowing that while I tried to avoid many events in the name of keeping myself safe from any potential enemies who could catch me and send me back to my brother, I knew that the time has come for me to take my future into my own hands.
And that time was happening sooner than I thought...
London, England
1872
It was now Christmas Day and yet, the entire country of England was quite subdued. Due to the deaths of so many people in the church bombing in Gillamoor, there was no Christmas in the Village for the children. That was when a Christmas village was built in the middle of the Golden Globe Theater and decorated with all things related to Christmas; it was a hit with the local children. But how and why the local church decided to forgo the celebration was shocking, but understandable, as so many children had died in the church bombing.
So instead of that, the church had a more somber service, with the children's choir performing somber Christmas music than the perennial happy Christmas songs that everyone liked to sing.
But I couldn't help but feel a bit uneasy, as many people had gathered into the church to talk about how they were feeling about going back to the church so soon after the bombings. Yet, I couldn't help but wonder if Sir David would make an appearance and speak about his anger and grief over losing a second wife and three adopted sons. No man should have to experience this much tragedy.
But to my disappointment, Sir David never showed up at the church, and neither did Leopold. (I guessed that they weren't a part of the church of England, but that's a given.) I'm sure they were at another church, or if they decided to forgo going to church altogether, as a religious man had killed their family.
Yet, on Christmas Day, when the church opened its doors to the poorest people and the monks and nuns served them their meals, Debebe brought me some terrible news that sent my world crashing to the ground. Amanuel had discovered that we were not in mother's village, as many people believed that we were, but he knew that we often stayed in Rome during the summer months. This meant that Amanuel would have his chance to capture us if we went to Rome the following summer.
"This can't be good," mother said as the rest of the family gathered in our apartments in the castle. "I should have known this would happen."
"But we were so careful!" Lemma cried out in disbelief. "We did everything we could to make sure no one knew who we were! How did this happen?"
"Does it matter how it happened?" said Barnabas as he glared at us. "All it matters is that it happened. But the fact that it took him nine years to finally find us is most admirable, if I do say so myself."
"How could you say that when he could be coming to kill us?" said Debebe angrily. "As far as we remember, Amanuel doesn't like us because we are our mother's children. So you should have no reason whatsoever to admire him."
"I don't admire him; I only laugh at his stupidity because he had taken such a long time to find us," said Barnabas. "Now it's too late for him to do anything to us, as we’re not children anymore."
I couldn't doubt the validity of what my brother was saying; I had left Ethiopia when I was just 12 years old, Debebe was 10, Lemma was 6, and Barnabas was just 2 years old. we had been children when we left Ethiopia, but now we were adults. Barnabas was right; it was much too late for Amanuel to go after us for what we did or didn't do.
But that didn't mean he couldn't try, although I fail to see how well he would last against someone who was younger and yet stronger than him. The years since we had left our village were unkind to my brother, and the people suffered under his tyrannical rule. His mother's family was no help, as they often used their power and influence to destroy anyone who dared to speak out against them.
So what could they possibly want with a 21-year-old woman who could certainly hold her own against a cruel world that wanted her to suffer for something that wasn't her fault? As far as I knew, the world was already doomed with the Atlanteans rising up and destroying countries where white people had taken over and were pushing the natives out. This couldn't be the way this story goes, now could it?
"We could try changing our names again," said Lemma.
"What good would that do?" said Debebe. "They will find us, regardless of what we call ourselves."
"Or maybe one of us should either get married or become a mistress of a wealthy man," said Barnabas. We all glared at him, knowing that in one of our meetings with Selena Trichenberg, she had told us to never give our maiden’s gift to just anyone, not until your wedding night. But the way I saw it, I was sure that Amanuel would want to take my maiden’s gift and hand it over to the first man who requested me.
That was, unless I could decide to give away my gift before he got his hands on it. If I did, I would be rendered useless to him. Or if I was married, my husband would gladly protect me from Amanuel, making his plans for me useless.
"Are you sure this is a good idea, Saida?" said mother when I voiced that idea. "This is not a good thing that you are planning."
"I know you should never hand your maiden’s gift to someone who isn’t your husband, but I have no choice in this matter," I said. "I can't just sit there and let anyone decide to take my maiden’s gift from me. That is wrong, and I won't let anyone destroy me in that way. As the oldest child in this family, this task must fall to me, whether I like it or not."
"Are you sure you want to go through with this, Saida?" mother said as she stared at me.
"What choice do I have?"I said nervously. "Either I take a lover who will help me support our family, or we could all go back to the village as prisoners or slaves."
"I understand," said mother, "but I worry that you could be doing this thing for the wrong reason."
"I was told that you must never do anything for yourself, but everything is to be done for someone else's benefit," I said proudly. "I can do something that will benefit us, as is my obligation as the oldest child of the family."
"But what of your own future, Saida?" mother said, which shattered the illusion that I was responsible for everything that happens in the family. "What do you want for yourself? And don't tell me that thinking of yourself is considered selfish, as you know what you want and you'll do whatever it takes to get what you want."
I frowned, knowing that my mother was onto me. She must have found out that I had been meeting up with Leopold whenever I wasn't working at the church. His family was still recovering from the tragedy and no one was particularly in a happy mood right now. Plus, with my family facing a potentially dangerous threat against our lives from someone I had hoped to never see again, then I really shouldn't bother trying to be with a man, let alone Leopold Trichenberg.
But why can’t I get that through my head? What was going on that I couldn't see just how dangerous my situation was? I should be looking over my shoulder and evaluating who I could trust as a friend or reject as a possible enemy, not thinking about taking anyone as a possible lover. Not unless that person happened to be known as Leopold Trichenberg.
Or should I take Leopold Trichenberg as my lover?
Now that question alone scares me, as I considered who his other mistresses were. Majaris Mossaddiq (who preferred to be called Megan) was very harsh and unforgiving while Marcilla Reimar was superficial and insensitive. Vardina Issacson was beautiful on the outside, but she was as cold as ice. They were hardly the type of women who Leopold would choose as his mistresses.
The less I say about Slavena Shapiro, the better. It wasn't that I didn't like her, per se, but a woman like her who was used as a pawn by her own father is as weak as an undeveloped arm muscle.
But you're so much better than they are, I thought to myself. They have all the wealth, power, and fancy titles that money could buy, and I had to work hard just to get to where I was now.
This was so unfair.
But mother said something that would change everything, "Whatever you are deciding to do, you must decide now, as we have less time than we thought."
I nodded, knowing that it was now or never. Either we had to hide out in London or risk capture in Rome. Yet there was a third choice, a choice I had never considered. But that choice would have to be made nonetheless.
"We go to Moscow tomorrow night," I said at last. As my family nodded in agreement, I knew that my decision to leave London would be met with many consequences, some that I wouldn’t be prepared for...
Before we continue, let say that Saba and her family had to escape from London while no one was looking, which was easy since many people were still mourning the deaths of everyone who was killed in the church bombing in Gillamoor. That wasn't to say that Saba didn’t begin her relationship with Leopold on the way to Russia. (In fact, they had hooked up shortly after meeting up in the Bethesda Hospital.)
Now that we know what led Saba to go to Russia, we will now see her gain her infamous moniker and deal with various Russians (among them Czar Alexander II and his family) and give birth to a son who would be famous as Rory LeSouse Rowes.
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