London, England
1867
Two years have passed since the end of the American Civil War, or the founding of the nation of Columbiana, as many people preferred to call the country formerly known as the United States of America.
While President Abraham Lincoln struggled to help heal the nation's wounds, many people instead looked for a fresh start. It wasn't that nobody wanted to see the United States revived, but at the same time, everyone was eager for a fresh start after being forced to deal with some harsh criticism for the way the country had conducted its business during the years 1805-1859.
The issue of slavery still hung over everyone's head, yet no one was willing to talk about the elephant in the room. There was also the issue of angry Native Americans raiding the temporary villages that were set up in the wake of the bombings and stealing young men and women, leaving very small children and elderly people to fend for themselves. Also, many disabled people were blamed for the country's troubles; many of them were killed in retaliation for the fall of America. Despite the large number of soldiers patrolling the country, many people were murdered or stolen by natives. Children were abandoned and families were torn apart due to the depression that cast a large shadow over everyone living in America.
But that wasn't the only problem Columbiana had in rebuilding, as old prejudices against the former African slaves ran high. Many former slave owners were arrested, tried, and executed for their crimes against Africa. At the same time, rehabilitation centers opened up in the south to provide job training and housing for former slaves. Yet another group of Atlanteans decided that it would be better if the African people were returned to Africa, where they belonged; they had shipped over 200,000 people to the Gold Coast and helped them establish a new colony there. Many more people went to Liberia, where most of them settled in the capital city Monrovia.
David had spent the last two years working to restore the country to what it once was before the Atlanteans attacked. He helped his former slaves track down their lost families and held conferences with the President. While the Columbiana Empire was slowly rising from the ashes of America, the people living in the alternate city of Steelford outside St. Louis was beginning to thrive. Many other alternate communities were also rising, as many disabled people were rescued from asylums and hidden rooms. Yet the problem of keeping them alive long enough to reach the cities remained, as most of the escapees and their rescuers were captured by poachers or killed before they could get to Missouri.
But I can't just focus in the problems with America, as I had to turn my attention to the troubles at home. Paxton had taken a disabled woman as his wife, yet he also condemned men who married women who had children from other unions. He even called out people who engaged in homosexual behavior and shamed them in front of all London. Also, Ryland and Piers had incited a group of poor people to attack the Magic End (where most of the Mages and Spellcasters lived in London); Luna's husband Jerome was killed in the riot. At this, Luna accused me of using the boys to destroy her happiness; we no longer spoke to each other after that.
The next year, Paxton's only child Ayandar was born. By that time, David had returned from another mission to Columbiana to put down a rebellion that nearly toppled King Ishaan's rule and to help the country select its next president. (The fact that General Ulysses S. Grant was running for president didn't please him in the slightest, but that could wait.) David and I spoke about maybe sending our younger children to stay with some cousins in Canada, as Magical London was becoming unsafe for them to live in and there was no way I was sending them back to Russia, not when I had some particularly bad experiences there. Plus, Czar Alexander II told us of the marriage of his son Alexander to Dagmar of Denmark and the birth of their son Nicholas (who would later become known as Czar Nicholas II). He also ordered us to return to Russia and report on the successful destruction of America, which he had approved of due to his new role as "Czar Liberator".
Within a few weeks, my family had settled in the Alexander Palace; my eldest daughter Isadore’s health did not agree with the Russian climate, so she was sent to live with my cousin Concetta Drake in the Crimea. Terra, however, moved to Canada and helped build a community there while Acacia married Lord Eric Chéron and moved to France. (The magical riots of 1867 served to remind them that they were not welcome in England; Terra could not reconcile with his brothers Ryland and Piers because of their clashing views.)
As for my younger children (save for Isadore), they formed an alliance with my stepson Leo and his sisters Josseline Trichenberg Janson and Bernadette Trichenberg Woolahan. They also allied themselves with Leo's mistress Majaris Mossadiq, whose Roma father Tamas came to court to serve the czar. This alliance put a strain on my younger children's relationship with Isadore; she never forgave them for "betraying" her and siding with their stepbrother. (Later, Isadore would use her daughter Takoda to make Leo pay for "stealing" her siblings.)
While David spent his days corresponding with King Ishaan regarding the presidential election, I spent a good portion of my days getting to know Majaris. She claimed to be Anna Kroger's daughter, which I couldn't doubt because of what had happened to that poor girl when her father sold her as a slave many years ago. Majaris wanted to get revenge against Bernard for his cruelty towards his family, and she wanted to punish the Kroger family for not allowing their son Karl to grow up.
With a story about family revenge and chaos, it was a small wonder that my death was imminent. I knew I didn't trust Bernard Kroger, and I knew he would go after me for refusing to assist his wife in finding her son (even if he had gotten rid of the boy years ago). Plus, there was the awful matter of me dealing with that Magorious Hoffelbax, as the werewolf was very ambitious and bent on controlling all of Russia, not just the imperial court. Last I heard from him, he had made alliances with seven other wolf packs and even joined with the dreaded Snoweagle Clan, which was led by the cruel vampire Aramaeus Zempanga. I knew I had to do something about the alliance, which was whispering into the czar's ears and causing all sorts of trouble for the Russian people.
And that was what led me to making the mistake that destroyed me...
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