Chp 3 - Andresia's Story

Earth/Europe/Rendor Kingdom/14_08_2020

A beautiful woman glances at herself in the full-length mirror before her. Her eyes start at her feet, adorned with a pair of light blue slippers, an obnoxiously large ribbon plonked on top of each. She makes her way upwards, tracing the curves of her body, still clearly visible despite the dress clinging to her. Her toned arms fall to her sides as she gazes at her own uninterested eyes. It’s the first time her hair has been moved out of her eyes long enough for them to be visible to her in a long time.

(Le beautiful woman): What on Earth is this nonsense, Jannette?? Am I seriously expected to wear this cra~

Sensing a pair of daggers poking the back of her head, the woman flinches, opting to change her approach.

I just don’t think this is necessary, I’d be better off going in shorts or better yet not going at al~

(Head maid in the Rendor Royal Palace, Jannette): Lady Andresia! You of all people should understand the importance of this ball. As a small nation, even among those in Europe¹South America is ruled by 2 large countries, Oceania is split into one large, central nation, surrounded by several smaller ones. These smaller countries have formed an alliance so they don't get consumed. Europe is split into many tiny nations, Rendor being one of the smaller even among these, it is important that we have connections to the other royal families. In the future, it will likely be necessary for you to wed one of the sons of either of these families. The fact that members of the Heingorfen and Bertotian families have come to a country as small as Rendor is nothing short of a mir~

(Andresia Garcia Paula von Weber, King of Rendor’s 2^nd daughter): Yes yes, it’s a miracle, once in a lifetime and all that. I’ll go, but do I have to wear this dress?? I’d die of embarrassment if anyone saw me like this!

Andresia von Weber is currently preparing for a ball to honour the formation of a non-aggression pact between the nations of Rendor, Heingorfen and Bertotia, the first non-aggression pact formed between European nations in over half a century. It is an incredibly important event…one Andresia doesn’t want to attend. Princess Andresia is known as the “tomboy princess”, due to her hobbies and absolute hatred for dresses. However, after some thorough “convincing” by the palace’s head maid, Andresia decides to change her mind, wearing the dress and attending the ball.

Same place/roughly 30 minutes later:

After the guests have been greeted, all attendees sit down for the banquette. Food of varying colours and flavours are sprawled across the large table, even occasional South American–inspired dishes can be seen here and there, highlighting the grandeur of the ball in all its glory. The King of Rendor peers at the only empty chair, through half-closed eyes. While a near boundless miasma of rage is flowing freely within him, his stony visage says otherwise.

(POV King of Rendor): So, the 2^nd prince of Bertotia has decided not to attend then? Does this mean the alliance is void? Why do I have a terrible sense of foreboding about this…

(King of Rendor): Let us commence with the feast, I hope it is to your liking, princess.

(4^th princess of Heingorfen): It appears that will not be an issue. This truly is a banquette appropriate for such an occasion, my only regret is that this delicious meal cannot be shared with the 2^nd prince. You wouldn’t know why the prince is currently unavailable, would you?

(POV King of Rendor): I see, so Heingorfen seem to have no idea what is going on either. While she may appear calm, it seems the 4^th princess is panicking somewhat… Although a missed banquette may seem an event of insignificance, unfortunately, the King of Bertotia is not one to make such decisions lightly…

(King of Rendor): Unfortunately, I know not the reason for the 2^nd pri~

(Royal Palace Guard): Y-your Highness! P-p-permission to speak freely sire!

The King’s eyes widen and then narrow, while the dread on his face lasts but an instant, it is there all the same. The King knows something is amiss, to allow the guard to continue speaking he simple replies with a light nod.

(Royal Palace Guard): We are under attack sire! It’s an invasion, the flags they carry suggest it is the Bertotians, y-your Majesty!

As if the entire previous exchange was done without a single breath, the guard collapsed to his knees and started to pant, heavily. The King froze. His body did not move in the slightest, however his mind raced at ludicrous speeds, itching for some form of plan.

(King of Rendor): Palace guards! Someone tell me the current whereabouts of the Bertotian army!

(Royal guard #2): Their army… it’s already as far as the outskirts of the capital. Unfortunately sire...the civilian evacuation has barely even begun; we have only just heard the news ourselves.

(POV King of Rendor): W-what?! We are practically in the centre of the country, how is this possible?! Surely they would have been at least slowed down at~ Ah I see, they must have deliberately avoided encountering towns and cities along the way, so they could quickly attack the capital and paralyse the country from within. This must be why they agreed to the non-aggression pact, so my attention would be focused on the capital, so I would have the army move away from our border with Bertotia²Because he no longer saw Bertotia as a threat, he moved his forces from their border, allowing him to focus on more important areas.

(King of Rendor): In which case, evacuate the princesses, have someone from the Royal Knights go with them. However, we likely can’t afford to spare more than a few of the Knights for aiding with the evacuation… Damn!

(Andresia): But Father, I can fight! What else was my training for if not th~

(King of Rendor): No, you fool! Leave, now! If I die here, you and your older brother will be the only members of our family still tied to the country³Of the King's 4 children, 1 has died and one has married into another family. His wife died during Andresia's birth, leaving only Andresia, her brother and the King! As your brother is the captain of the Royal Knights, and I must stay to coordinate the ministers, you must flee, immediately!

(Andresia): Father! No, I wo~

Andresia collapses face first onto the floor. Looking at her shoulder, she spies an empty syringe.

(POV Andresia): How odd, that’s not usually ther~

Andresia falls unconscious. Behind her, a Royal Knight nods at the King before scooping her into his arms and beckoning the 4^th princess of Heingorfen to follow him by pointing towards the exit with his chin. After confirming his daughter is being evacuated, the King sighs in relief.

(King of Rendor): What a stubborn girl…just like her mother, I suppose…

After cracking a daring smile, he returns to his stony visage once more, barking continuous chains of orders to the Palace Guards ⁴completely irrelevant to the story but according to Rendor's branch of the Union for Palace Affiliated Occupations, "the Palace Guards aren’t paid enough for this shit".