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Arc Chronicles Chapter 5
Chapter V Part OneI woke up to the sound of my chamber doors opening. Today was the day. Yesterday had been my thirteenth birthday, so this could only mean one thing; my official debut to the empire.Servants wearing the crest of the palace entered my room, over the protest of my servants. "Your Imperial Highness, we have come to convey you to the palace."Two maids grabbed my arms and hauled me out of bed in my underwear. A golden and purple carriage was waiting for me, pulled by two fine white horses. It was still dark and the streets around my manor were empty. Even the street lights had been turned off.A small breakfast had been prepared for me in the carriage and the three maids followed me in. Once the door was closed, we started to move. Carriages had long ceased to be the preferred mode of transportation for the aristocracy. Trains, cars, and planes were widely available. Now the fleet of carriages my family owned was reserved for ceremonies. Like the official debut of a pri
Arc Chronicles Chapter 6
Chapter VI Part OneMorocco was hot. The part of the Dukedom I was in was mostly desert, so that was obvious. What wasn't obvious was how fucking hot it was. In my first life, I hadn't spent very much time in hotter climates. I avoided them as much as possible. Where I was born, it had been more temperament. Aquroya could get freezing in the winter, but it was never this hot. Neither of my lives had prepared me for Morocco.I missed Godfrey and Dahlia, but my mother was right; I couldn't have taken them with me. Henri would assign them to Euphy. They'd be more useful in her service than mine.Since coming to Morocco, my life has been shaped into three different parts; basic training. Officer training. And flight training.Basic training was the worst part. I got woken up every morning at 0600 for a mile run before the sun came up. Then it was off to shower and a breakfast of military rations. After which we trained all morning, everything from learning how to dig a trench to the prope
Arc Chronicles Interlude 3
Interlude IV: A moment in the Great WarPart OneThe trenches stank. Loose damp soil mixed with the metallic smell of blood and the rot of death. The sound of shell bombardment was a companion, walking hand in hand with death. The Prussians had been bombing them for hours now, but thankfully those black flying machines were gone. Like an omen of death, the Prussia plane had singled were in the trenches to bombard and they had lost many men to those cursed planes.At least the emperor was kind enough to send their planes and at last shoot down the Prussian bastards. How many of his friends and comrades had been killed before their reinforcements arrived?He didn't want to think about it. He didn't want to think about his best friend Thomas miles back where he'd left the boy, rotting in a puddle on the ground. He had left the first friend he'd made when he enlisted. He couldn't even give the boy a proper burial. If he stayed, those shells might have killed him too.Joseph collapsed agai
Arc Chronicles Chapter 7
Chapter VII Part One"What? Did you get a real meal? Real food?" Rolo complained, jabbing his fork in my direction. "How is that fair? I'm eating mystery meat out of a can."I sighed. Why did I tell anyone about the general's invitation? Because they'd find out sooner or later, with the balding old man inviting me to eat with him every day. I still hadn't figured out a way to decline without offending him."Fair?" Alphonse said back. "You're supposed to be a knight. War is never fair.""You know what I mean.""I'm afraid I do not."Alphonse and Rolo had a history that I had been unaware of. Port Royale was the colonial capital of Acadia. House Chevalier and House Morel both lived there. Of course, they would know each other."Alright, that's enough," Bian interrupted. Both of them stopped. She pulled a chunk of meat out of her tin and shook her head. "It might not be fair, but that's the nature of Calixte's status. He can't help being born a prince anymore than any of us can help bein
Arc Chronicles Chapter 8
Chapter VIII Part OneI had killed someone. At least one person was dead because of me. Maybe both pilots I shot down were dead. Until now, in either of my lives, I hadn't killed anyone. I had not taken someone's life.What did I think was going to happen when I joined the military? That I wasn't going to be asked to kill anyone? Did I think I could avoid killing my enemies? Looking back on it, the thought of murder hadn't crossed my mind.I hadn't been a soldier in my last life. My dad had been in the army and he had told me old war stories as a child. I had never wanted to join the service after those stories and I think that was the idea. How could I have forgotten everything he ranted about?War never changes. That was a meme in my last world. How many times have I read one and laughed? Staring at a pile of bodies, smelling urine mixed with burned flesh, it wasn't so funny anymore.War was hell. Even in this world, that simple law hadn't changed. How many times had my friends and
Arc Chronicles Interlude 4
Louise Empress Louise was not a patient person by nature. The only person she had even been patient with was Francois, and that was not by choice. He was the only one with a higher station than her in the whole empire, so she couldn't command him to do anything.Everyone but Francois's children and that other bitch he took to bed was fair game though. Which was why the artist being late was unacceptable. Her time was more valuable than his, frankly, and the longer she was made to wait, the more irritable she became.As a Prussian artist in Aquroya, he should be down worshiping at her feet for the patronage she's shown him. The Great War was still fresh in the people's minds and the Aquitese hadn't forgiven Prussia for what they did. If it wasn't for her, he would have to go back to Vienna.Of course, being a Prussian in Vienna was hardly better than being a Prussian in Aquitaine. Prussia had led Vienna to defeat in the Great War, and the Austro-Hungarian-Reimanian empire had barely h
Arc Chronicles Chapter 9
Chapter IX Part OneWhen I came too, it was dark. The window was smaller than it should have been, but I made out the sky beyond. It was twilight, that time between the light and day. The sky was just starting to lighten, but it was still too dark to see.I laid back down and turned over. My arms fell over something... There was someone in my bed with me. What?Whoever it was, they were soft and warm.Who had slipped into my bed? I tried to remember the night before, but everything was blurry. I had come back from my first combat mission and then Bian had found me. She gave me wine...I guess that explained the blurriness. At least I wasn't suffering from a hangover.Had someone snuck into my room drunk and gotten in bed with me? If they were drunk enough they wouldn't know what they were doing. I just hope it wasn't Alphonse or Rolo. Let it be a girl, please.The events of the night before came back to hit me like a train. Tanya had found me, we had gone to her room, and I lost my v-
Arc Chronicles Euphemia I
Euphemia IThe headline read: "Florentine Colony of South Morocco declares war!"Below it, in much smaller print, were the words: 'Emperor Francois charges War Group Victorian with the defense of Morocco. Aquroya and Reim agree the matter is a colonial incident - war averted.'My driver looked back at me from the mirror. "Are you alright, your highness?""Yes. I'm just nervous," I said. It was only half a lie."What's there to be nervous about? Prince Henri is your brother.""When my brother calls on me, it's always to his estate or a cafe.""I see."Did she? Maybe she did. I turned my attention back to the newspaper. Calixte and Victoria were in Morocco. The defense of the colony would be left to them. I had faith in my sister's command, but Calixte was untested. Sure, he had an unnatural reserve of mana, but what did my fourteen-year-old brother know about war? We had only debuted a few months ago.He was going to be a mounted knight, flying a warplane, but that just put him in the