Chapter 10 Monday, September 02, 2019

░ Charles Of Knightford Airport, Thournebourne, The Kingdom Of Knightford, Edios

░ Monday, September 02, 2019

░ At 9:14 am

RILA KESTLE

The day before, on September 1st, we left from the imperial airport of Thetia in direction of the city of Thournebourne, where the King of Edios, Hermon Of Knightford, resided. We made the trip by three private planes of the imperial family. In the first one was the new Foreign Affairs Minister Clayton Gilbert with members of his ministerial staff and soldiers of the Flaming Army. In the second, there were mainly journalists mandated by my mother, who had received authorization from Hermon Of Knightford to film the progress of the negotiations, as well as soldiers of the Army. With my parents, grandparents and soldiers, we were on the last plane. It was gigantic: there was a bedroom for each of us, bathrooms, a large meeting room, a living room with a television and a kitchen. It wasn't that that surprised me the most, but the presence of my big brother Brad. He, who had absolutely no plans to come because of his studies, thought that the knowledge he was going to get from Edios would be useful to him, and he was not wrong. His presence reassured me, because I was not used to going on political trips, let alone to a new country.

After 17 exhausting hours of plane, we landed at the airport of Thournebourne. Normally, the King himself would come to pick us up and take us to his house. As for the Minister and his teams, they would be taken to a secure residence of the King. And for the journalists, the King had privatized a five-star hotel for them. If I remember correctly, it was called the Golden Square. It was the best hotel in the city. As we got off the tarmac, we were greeted by the flashes of the journalists' cameras. They did not seem hostile to our coming, rather curious. I saw many of them bowing to us and greeting us respectfully. And I thought we were going to be booed or worse. In front of us, a group of guards were escorting a man. My mother told us it was King Hermon Of Knightford. Finally arriving at our side, we bowed to him and he greeted us. His deep voice was a perfect match for his appearance. He was very tall, I would say he must have been between 6'3" and 6'4". I felt small next to him, even with my 5'9". He stood next to my mother and the two of them started a discussion, probably about their appointment that was going to take place this afternoon. Once we arrived at the entrance of the airport, where there were even more journalists, I saw a huge row of tinted cars. He explained to us that for security reasons, every time a king, a queen, a high-ranking person was moving around, the security services made sure that no one knew that she was in her car. I don't know how, but with my parents, my brother and my grandparents, we got into a car without being seen. The journalists hadn't had time to see us get in, and tried to look for the car we were in, without success.

- "I am delighted to meet you in person, Your Majesty," said the King.

- "All the pleasure is mine Your Excellency, I was more than eager to finally be able to discover your country with my own eyes. Thank you again for welcoming us" answered my mother with a smile.

- "I don't force you to call me Excellency, it's very medieval. Call me the same way you call the Kings and Queens of your Empire. Moreover, if I may say so, you have a higher status than mine. You are an Empress and I am only a King".

- "I can't approve what you just certified. Certainly, I am an Empress, but Edios counts 900 million inhabitants and my Empire barely 90 million. Nevertheless, I think that our visions of status are not the same, but we will address the subject during our meeting. And about the Empire, my people call me: Majesty or Madam. So choose the term with which you are most comfortable," she replied.

They continued to talk without even realizing that they had put us aside. Nevertheless, I noticed something that fascinated me: the aura that King Hermon Of Knightford radiated combined with the one of my mother. It said, "We are superior, we are dangerous but you can trust us". Since I was a child, I wanted to become like my mother, a symbol of authority and power. She never tried to abuse her status as Empress in her private sphere, not like former Empresses. For most of them who tried, they died sooner than expected. Through the window, I observed the landscape of the city of Thournebourne. It was a city on the move, a bit like the capital Thetia. There were skyscrapers everywhere, modern apartments, businesses, local establishments and so on. I was hoping to be able to visit all that a little later.

- "But where are my manners, I didn't ask your names. Could you introduce yourselves one by one so that I can put a name on your faces?"

- "I am the mother of the Empress, Vera Kestle, pleased to meet Your Majesty."

- "I am Clayton Kestle, Vera's husband and a descendant of Thetia Kestle on my mother Octavia Kestle's side. We decided not to bring her along because of her health, but she sends her regards".

- "Your mother? This means that your mother knows her great-grandchildren, which is incredible. Excuse me if this is indiscreet, but how old is she?"

- "She's going to turn 100 next year. She is the Empress who has lived the longest for the moment."

- "Pleased to meet you, I'm the Emperor and Odessa's husband Ernst Kestle."

- " Likewise Mr. Kestle. I conclude that these two young people are your children."

- "Indeed Your Majesty, I am Brad Kestle, the Empress' eldest son. I am 21 years old and I am about to enter the first year of my Master's degree in History at Thetia Kestle University. The youngest, Alex, was unable to be present because of his activities. He is part of a band that started four months ago, and they are very busy".

- "As for me, I am Rila Kestle. I am going to start a double degree in political science/history with a law option at the same university as my big brother. In addition, I am my mother's heiress. I came of age on June 26, so I can ascend the throne at any time".

His gaze changed, and he focused only on me. He asked me several questions, including whether or not I was ready to become Empress, and why we were there with my brother and not in class. I explained to him that when the heir or heiress when the Empress had not had a daughter came of age, he was to carry out his first political project. Mine was to write a biography on Thetia's life on Edios.

- " It seems to me that you had told me about it. So I warned the head of the Kestle family, William Kestle, that he was going to receive special guests. I'll let you know when he's available".

Before going to his house, he showed us some important places in Thurnbourne. However for safety reasons, we could not get out of the car. All the inhabitants turned around as all the tinted cars passed by. The King informed us of the schedule for this afternoon. While he and my parents would be on a date, my brother and I would be with the King's children, the children of the Vassethier family and the Di Angelli family at a Cake Party. As for my grandparents, they had been invited by a famous journalist to be interviewed. Of course, we feared the moment when my grandfather Clayton would start criticizing everyone he didn't like, and would say out loud what everyone else was thinking. But if my mother had agreed to let them do this interview, it was because she trusted my grandmother to contain him and put the Empire in the spotlight.