Calixte IIII dreamed I was back in the air, flying my Moraine. The girl was on my tail, chasing me through the Moroccan skies. I couldn't shake her off, no matter how hard I tried and she finally got my engines. I fell to the ground in a fireball.I shot up out of bed and nearly fell off, catching myself at the last moment before I hit the floor. The metal floor of the transport wouldn't have felt too good.Static blared over the speaker. "We will be landing at Orleans airport in five minutes." Orleans was the largest airport in Aquroya. It had been months since I had last set foot in the capital. Not since my father forced a military commission on me.Splashing some water on my face to wake me up, I looked through my wardrobe. Gone were the military uniforms I had become accustomed to wearing, replaced by the regalia of the imperial house. I wasn't a military officer right now. I was a prince who was going to be married. A wedding I had no hand in.At fourteen years old, I was going
Calixte IV"Ouch!""I'm sorry, Your Highness. Forgive me.""It's fine- OUCH!" The old crone jabbed me with a needle. Again. "Are you doing that on purpose?"The old crone shook her head. "No. Hard a prince of the blood? I would never."She jabbed me with a needle again. Once was an accident, twice was coincidence, but FIVE TIMES was enemy action- STAB!Six times. I yanked my arm away from her, earning the wrath of my mother. "Calixte-""She keeps poking me!""Apologies, your highness. Apologies.""She's very old, Calixte.""Why is an old woman making my suit?""Because she's the best."She's an old crone I almost said, but bit my tongue. "Perhaps it is time to retire.""Oh, no, no, no. I cannot, Your Highness. Please, give me your arm."She grabbed it and pulled it back with more strength than any old woman should have had."And why not?""Because Gabriella is a maiden at heart, Your Highness." Stab. "She must work, Your Highness. Stay still. I am almost done, Your Highness." Stab.I
Calixte V"You look so handsome." My mother put her arms on my shoulder. I could see her smile in the mirror. I did look handsome, didn't I? The old crone might have been trying to poke holes in my fucking skin, but she sure did her job right. I looked like a prince out of an early twentieth-century photo on earth, about to get married. Which I was.It was ironic. I had to die, get reborn, and live another life for fifteen years before I could get married. I didn't have any love prospects in my last life, so standing here was a bit surreal. I never expected to get married.I popped my collar and fiddled with my tie until it was straight. I looked good, for a fifteen-year-old. Certainly better than I looked the first time around.Rolo threw his hand over my shoulder. "She's right, Calixte. You look great."I pushed him away and he had the nerve to laugh. "I'm still your prince.""You aren't the kind of man who would send me to the mines because he's angry I'm making fun of him. You are
Calixte V"You look so handsome." My mother put her arms on my shoulder. I could see her smile in the mirror. I did look handsome, didn't I? The old crone might have been trying to poke holes in my fucking skin, but she sure did her job right. I looked like a prince out of an early twentieth-century photo on earth, about to get married. Which I was.It was ironic. I had to die, get reborn, and live another life for fifteen years before I could get married. I didn't have any love prospects in my last life, so standing here was a bit surreal. I never expected to get married.I popped my collar and fiddled with my tie until it was straight. I looked good, for a fifteen-year-old. Certainly better than I looked the first time around.Rolo threw his hand over my shoulder. "She's right, Calixte. You look great."I pushed him away and he had the nerve to laugh. "I'm still your prince.""You aren't the kind of man who would send me to the mines because he's angry I'm making fun of him. You are
Calixte VIIf this was what the south coast of France looked like on Earth, I was kind of sad I never made it there. Riviere was beautiful and somehow blended with the natural beauty of the coast in some strange dance. I had visited Arene before and I grew up in Aquroya, so I wasn't going to call it the most beautiful city in the homelands, but it was a very close thing.Riviere was located atop a cliff that overlooked a sparkling blue ocean, so clear I could see through the water in the shallow parts. As the plane flew overhead, I watch children play in the shallow waters, watched by eagle-eyed parents. This was what I was fighting for. Not my father and his ambitions on world conquest, or my expansionist country, but these. The people at the beach, just trying to enjoy their lives. What would become of Riviere if the State Socialists swept through the town?Riviere had a single airport and it was a small one at that. When I asked the plane captain how many people used the airport, h
Euphemia IVThe drive back to the palace was made in silence. There must have been a look on my face because no one spoke, not even Dahlia. I didn't want a war with Corai. It was a war they couldn't win. Corai was too small to face a power like Aquitaine and win, the prince should know that. Maybe he did, but he had to do what was commanded of him. The same as me.I didn't see the logic in starting a war for New Guinea. It was a war they couldn't win and it might prompt my father to invade Madagascar. It was originally an Aquitaine colony and my father had been eyeing it to restore the empire's possessions. It wouldn't end well for them.Unless they thought Aquitaine wouldn't commit. My father was worried about Prussia. He feared the State Socialists would ignite another war and he had been preparing for that for years. Corai was a small power on the other side of the world. A small, but rich power that was dung in on its only other colony. Could Aquitaine afford to war with Corai whe
Euphemia IVThe drive back to the palace was made in silence. There must have been a look on my face because no one spoke, not even Dahlia. I didn't want a war with Corai. It was a war they couldn't win. Corai was too small to face a power like Aquitaine and win, the prince should know that. Maybe he did, but he had to do what was commanded of him. The same as me.I didn't see the logic in starting a war for New Guinea. It was a war they couldn't win and it might prompt my father to invade Madagascar. It was originally an Aquitaine colony and my father had been eyeing it to restore the empire's possessions. It wouldn't end well for them.Unless they thought Aquitaine wouldn't commit. My father was worried about Prussia. He feared the State Socialists would ignite another war and he had been preparing for that for years. Corai was a small power on the other side of the world. A small, but rich power that was dung in on its only other colony. Could Aquitaine afford to war with Corai whe
Euphemia VI returned to the homeland for my brother's marriage. Marriages? He married two girls, but it was in one ceremony, so it was only one marriage. I think. The daughter of Duke Lescheres, and the Romanov Princess that we had been giving aid to since the fall of Roslachny to the communists.It was a beautiful ceremony and I was a little bit jealous. I wanted a wedding like this, but I made sure to keep that ugly part of me under lock and key. It was my brother's big and I wasn't going to ruin it.I arrived in Aquroya a few hours before the wedding was going to start. I had wanted to come a few days earlier, but the business with Mahan kept me in Tyché longer than expected. I had wanted as much time in the homeland as I could get. I wanted to see my old school friends, my family, and Victoria. Instead of a week, I was only going to be able to spend three days in the homeland.The ceremony took most of the day and started so early that I didn't get a chance to speak with Calixte