The high council of the Grand Lunar Empire, the meeting where the Emperor takes in the opinions of each and every council man and council woman.
Currently there was a very heated discussion going on about the Satellian Empire.
"Your highness, they may take it as an act of aggression!" Shouted one council man as Alexis shook his head.
"Be that as it may, the Satellians don't have the power to go against us... their Empire is nothing but a shell of itself!" Another one retorted.
"That is if you take into consideration of only their military! Currently they is an unknown force in the country!" Council woman Helga spoke up, frustration laced in her voice.
"Lady Helga is correct, we need a reason as to why we are sending our soldiers into their territory..." Alexis sighed and looked around, taking note of all the men and women that frowned at his words...
"...Why don't we call them 'Terrorists' that are a threat to our national security?" One old male voice resounded within the hall.
"That is a great idea! But we don't need to send our own soldiers... fund the Satellian military to remove the rebel force that violated the conditions of the Treaty of Enleitz!" A council woman said, she wore big round spectacles and had greying blue hair.
They then urged Alexis to consider their method...
"I'll think about it..." He mumbled and concluded the meeting that left the council speechless at his words...
-●-●-●-
"Marcus, how are the tensions between the Republic and the Kingdom?" Alexis asked his right hand man who was leaning on the wall when he walked through the hallway...
"After we stole the Republic's classified information three years ago, things have gotten worse between the two nations... but recently the tensions are ceasing to continue!" The young man reported.
"I see... is it related to the rebel movement in Satellia that hates us?" Alexis questioned him and crossed his arms while looking at Marcus who nodded.
"Boss, they are getting too unbridled, it's like they have no care of the world and what they are going to start!" Marcus exclaimed in a hushed voice, but it was akin to shouting in a silent hallway.
"You say that like I have not been doing the same thing for the past nine years" Alexis chuckled and pat Marcus's shoulder.
"Take care of yourself..." His voice resounded in Marcus's ears as he bowed and disappeared from the hallway the same way Alexis did.
Alexis then appeared at his palace where he was greeted by Sophia and Florestine who came running at him as if it were a race.
Sophia's and Alexis' relationship has increased tremendously, she was literally his fiancee now...
"Hag, I'm first!" Sophia spoke up and snorted at Florestine who huffed and looked away.
"Welcome back... De... Alexis!" Sophia stuttered and suddenly exclaimed his voice in embarrassment.
"I'm home..." He sighed and gave both a quick peck to the cheek.
"So, what are you two doing?" Alexis asked them curiously as he sat down on a chair and looked outside, it was raining...
"I was cleaning the palace..." Florestine replied with a blissful smile as she hugged her broom which made Alexis smile at her fondly while Sophia looked creeped out.
"And you?" He turned to Sophia who cleared her throat.
"I trained for a while... but it started raining heavily!" She frowned as Alexis shook his head.
"Isn't a soldier supposed to be used to such situations?" He snorted.
"I'm a General!" Sophia retorted with a smug smile as she closed her eyes enjoying the freedom of not obeying orders which made him facepalm.
"By the way Sophia, what do you think about our soldiers going back to the Satellian Empire?" Alexis asked her curiously hoping to hear her perspective of the situation.
"Did they break the conditions of the treaty?" She asked him with narrowed eyes as her eyes glinted in excitement.
"Not directly... there is a rebel force that is currently developing weapons and amassing troops, we have sabotaged a few of their projects but it's not enough..." Alexis sighed tiredly which softened Sophia's face as she went behind him and massaged his head making him groan in satisfaction...
"Ehem!" Florestine coughed in annoyance and sat on his lap to comfort him.
After staying in that position for a while they decided to go to bed for a little nap.
It was very awkward for the two women at first but they got used to it little by little until they were comfortable enough to relieve themselves by themselves which would be what Alexis would walk into at night occasionally...
-●-●-●-
Aurelius was drinking some warm tea served to him by his wife Annalise.
They sat down together and stared off into the dark clouds looming over the Capital in silence, it was comforting as they both knew they had nothing to talk about...
Or did they?
"Alexis has grown into a splendid man..." Annalise spoke up as she gently sipped her tea.
"Yeah... can you believe that it has been twenty two years?" Aurelius asked her with a smile, both were now seemingly older than before, their hair greying...
"No, time passed by so fast... I miss those days, now he seems to be stressing about a lot of things regularly..." Annalise mentioned as Aurelius looked at her.
"Don't worry, I won't stop him... I can't stop him... but I'm worried about the path he is going through... it's too dangerous!" She said a hushed voice as her eyes turned red, Aurelius embraced her gently as the couple leaned on each other silently once again...
The Capital had a gloomy atmosphere, there were no smiles and laughter throughout it's streets but rather, solemn looking men and women who held onto their umbrellas and walked about in the heavy rain...
-●-●-●-
"Amelia, you have to stop this!" Nartus shouted at his daughter who looked betrayed.
"But father, I'm doing this for the Empire! For the world! The Lunar Empire will bring about a war which we must prevent at all cost!" She retorted.
"For the Empire?! Stop breaking the treaty then! I've been getting letters from the Crown prince concerning your rebel force, they will enter the country and destroy your party! Don't you know how detrimental it will be for my Empire?!" Nartus asked her and sat down to calm himself.
"It's not 'Your' Empire, the Empire is it's people! The people and everyone in it are the rulers of the Empire!" Amelia interjected as she frowned at the words of her beloved father...
"The Empire was founded by the Imperial family by the vision of the First Emperor!" Her father shouted and glared at her.
"Your ideals... they are not meant for ruling..." He warned her with an edge on his tone which shocked Amelia much to her dismay.
"Tell me... will there be a leader in your utopian nation?" Nartus sighed as Amelia nodded.
"There you have it... we humans are born to be ruled, what is the difference between your leaders and Emperors like me?" He asked her again.
"The difference is that our leaders can only rule for a given period of time unlike a corrupt ruler who rules until he or she dies! the common populace will decide on who to vote for!" Amelia answered, she was a bit angry at the words spoken by her father.
"Hmm... so the common populace will decide, which means the majority chooses the leader right?" Nartus sighed.
"Your government is flawed, the people are inherently stupid and selfish, they will therefore vote selfish individuals... your people are too free, they have no purpose!" Nartus reprimanded her.
"Their purpose to work for the betterment of the nation!" She quipped.
"What if they don't want to?" He asked his daughter in amusement.
"Then they don't deserve to live!" Amelia answered monotonely.
"Which means they have no freedom... you blind their eyes with the so-called 'right to vote' and give them the illusion of freedom as you chain them..." Nartus stood up.
"The Empire ruled it's people for eight centuries... Your nation will degrade within a quarter of that time, and crumble before half..." Nartus shook his head in disappointment.
"I can't stop you... but that does not mean that I will try not to... the Lunar Empire will aid us in curbing the revolution, from henceforth... you are to be labelled a 'terrorist'..." He mumbled and left the room as Amelia fell on her knees, not because her father was going to stop her, but because of the words he spoke of...
'That can't be... the Soviet union only lost because of those Nazis... the Soviet Republic won't crumble right?!' She questioned herself...
'What the hell is right and wrong? Did we really not have freedom... did the party lie to us?' She panicked as she suddenly grabbed her head in pain.
-●-●-●-
Alexis woke up with a groan as he jumped off of the bed and kneeled in pain.
'W-What is this pain?!' He shouted inside as he grit his teeth in pain, it was the worst thing he had felt in his entire life...
It felt like head was about to explode but something stopped it from happening.
The pain didn't seem to get any better and only increased as he felt his vision get blurry, his hearing was gone...
Sophia and Florestine was by his side shouting at him in panic but he couldn't make out their faces.
'Wh...at... are... you saying...' He thought as a small whimper left his mouth and everything went black.
"ALEXIS!" Shouted both Sophia and Florestine who were pale in fright, terror and panic, they felt their tears flow freely down their faces and quickly checked to see if his pulse...
"...he's alive... but his pulse is very weak..." Florestine said through sobs as she helped him up the bed with a little help from Sophia who immediately called the doctors of the residence and the Emperor.
-●-●-●-
"AMELIA!" Charlotte who entered the empty room was shocked to see her lover unconscious on the floor...
She immediately held onto her tightly and left the room and then the premises, silently going over to the rebel base that was hidden from the eyes of the people...
The rebel leaders quickly helped her and called over their doctors.
The entire rebel army was confused and angry at whoever did this until Charlotte herself explained that she was on the floor in the Emperor's room...
"I say it was the Emperor!" Shouted one rebel leader as a few nodded angrily.
"How despicable to attack one's own child! Isn't this enough proof that the Emperor is evil, he is the cause of all of OUR suffering! We need to overthrow the monarchy of this nation to make a better country!" The charismatic man roared and slammed his hand on the wall.
"Soon... soon it will happen, but first we need to wait till the princess is cured..." Another one said.
"She ordered us not to call her the Princess... what was it again?" Charlotte asked the group of leaders.
"Premier Amelia..." The lady closest to her reminded as Charlotte turned to Amelia worriedly...