“Three hundred years ago, we fought for them. A hundred years ago, we fought for them, and in the many wars since then. Four years ago, we once again packed ourselves to fight for them. In all those years, we killed our fellow brothers – for them. Today, once again, we fight for them, while fighting for our rights. Yet when have they laid their lives for us? When Queen Alexandria asked the husbands to fight for the rights of their wives and daughters, or for the sons to fight for their sisters, our great-great-grandfathers lined up to join the women’s revolution. Would they ever do the same for us?”

- Liberty One Radio, after Parliament shot down the Women’s Draft Bill.

+++

West Orland

County of Wittfield

City of Eutstadt

Amelie didn’t expect her to be hanging around in this random cafe. It was early in the morning, and the city was calm, beyond calm. Quite frankly, no one seemed to really care about her. There wasn’t much fanfare when she arrived in Eutstadt, and thus, most of the citizenry had barely paid attention to her. Moreover, Eutstadt never really found much enthusiasm in the Monarchy.

So, she left her vehicle without much issues when she spotted the former Prime Minister, Alexa Weirlöff, sipping at her milk tea alone in the cafe. While the staff did recognize her when she entered, they didn’t really bother her. Much of the patrons didn’t either, and there wasn’t much to begin with.

Alexa didn’t react much when Amelie sat down in front of her, except for a respectful nod.

“Well, I see that the Queen is now in Eutstadt. How’s your morning, Your Majesty?” Alexa said, just as tiny droplets from the mild rain started to appear in the glass windows. The atmosphere almost seemed cozy to Amelie, and she enjoyed it.

“Quite nice, actually. Eutstadt is a breath of fresh air.” Amelie replied, smiling a bit to herself.

“Well, the weather still sucks around here. It’s getting colder too.”

“I’d take rainwater and snow over artillery shells.” Amelie laughed a bit. “And bombs.”

“Halia must have been hell.” Alexa gave a sip of her drink. “But, the General Queen survived it. Tell me, Your Majesty. What do you want from me?” Amelie shook her head in exasperation when Alexa referred to her as a “General” of all things, but she shrugged eventually.

“....I just wanted a talk with an old friend.”

“I’m honored that you recognize me as a friend.” Alexa smiled bitterly. “Quite frankly, I thought everyone hated me. Well, who am I kidding? It’s not like I rate my own self highly too.”

“They still blame you for everything.”

“Prime Minister Jacqueline is an energetic reformer. You two are managing the Civil War as some picturesque ideal young women that would lead us to victory and reform.” She shook her head. “Me? My entire administration was mere virtue signaling. I promised everything for men as me and your mother sent our sons straight to the meatgrinder. Then when the question of reforms came, I was spineless. I pandered to all sides, and in the end, achieved nothing. A fence sitter, who preached virtue, while doing nothing…in the end, my administration bought this civil war.”

“Not everything is your fault, Alexa.”

“But I’m the face of those four years of nothing but bumbling failure. That’s why I have no one. I’ll be forgotten, only to be remembered as that woman who promised to ‘not rock the boat’ while introducing some reforms, only to plunge Orland into the worst disaster this Kingdom faced.”

Amelie felt pity for her, attempting to find ways to at least make her feel less awful. “Well, my mother is also quite responsible.”

“But she’s dead. Can’t condemn a dead woman as much as a living one.”

Amelie sighed to herself. “Alright. Well, what about you though? Alright, your political career is over, but, what about your family? You’re married, right? Is everything going alright?

“My husband died in a drunk driving accident last month. They say it’s an ‘accident’, but…I know him, Amelie. Turns out that being the General who was forced to sign retaliatory chemical attacks against the Larissans would screw his mind a little. He was already on the cliff, and I failed to pull him back.” She almost seemed to be in tears. “And to think that I was the one who sent them there. That we were the ones who did it. Amelie, they’re not lying. I tried everything, but he blamed himself. He…he hated himself. We literally shifted the blood to their hands, by forcing them to fight.” Alexa’s voice was almost tiny, full of shame. The mere act of speaking about it seemed so shameful for her, that she seemed to want to hide it.

I…damn it, I screwed up. Amelie almost wanted to slap herself for choosing that topic in a vain attempt to cheer her up.

“I…I apologize…for bringing that up.”

“It’s alright. It already happened. What matters now is what happens going forward.” Alexa took a sip to calm herself down. “Politics. Business. Amelie, you should be aware already of this. The Parliament shot down the ORP's proposal to conscript women. Can you believe that?”

“I believe even Jacqueline was for it. Yes, I do know it. Even I’m for it. But, how? I thought…the UOP…”

“They’re all quintessential hypocrites. Just like what I was four years ago. Preach something, but refuse to follow it. They say they’re all for the rights of men and equality. Yet look at what they vote for.”

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

“I…I know. It’s like, they’re allied with the Arcanist Party…”

“Well, the Arcanist Party did pass a bill to mobilize voluntary women for ‘National Defense’, and to shift the OAF budget to the RGO. But it’s no conscription. Do you know what they’re planning to do?”

“What?”

“To strengthen the Internal Army of the Kingdom. The Royal Guard. They want the Royal Guard to be stronger to keep the OAF in line and keep men fighting for us. They don’t want to mobilize women to fight as well on the frontlines. They want to mobilize women to keep the loyalist elements of the OAF in line. We are treating our brothers, our sons, and our husbands as potential traitors while they die for us!”

“That’s…well, they are the Arcanist Party, so I wouldn’t really be surprised. Isn’t that like their entire platform?”

“Well, the UOP voted alongside them in that bill. But the one that the ORP proposed, our supposed ‘coalition ally’? Well, we literally stabbed them in the back on the halls of the New Parliament. In broad daylight. The UOP shut it down. Oh, you should have seen what Liberty One and the countless ORP-aligned news outlets are saying. They hide their bitterness in their words just to prevent undue criticism against you and Jacqueline, but, it reeks. The ORP is starting to hate the UOP.”

“That’s…I thought Jacquline had control of the UOP in the Parliament.” Amelie looked down at the table, looking back at her last conversation with the Prime Minister, when she assured her that she would “keep the political front in order”. “This doesn’t seem right.”

“Well, Jacqueline can do a lot of things, but no one can keep order and dictate the UOP. She’s the leader, but remember, the UOP is filled with noblewomen that you cannot dictate. They’re going to vote what they want to vote for.” Alexa laughed to herself. “Those utter hypocrites. They’re like me, they’re just not self-aware.”

“They’re not like you at all.”

Alexa breathed out. “No need to lie. I know who I am. I know what I did.”

“Alright…well, I didn’t really expect this conversation to end up like this…”

“Well, what about you then?” Alexa asked. “Are you doing well?”

“Well, my family is all alive and well. Albert’s fine. Alice too. Hmm…my friends are fine too. So maybe? But, I don’t know. To rule? It’s a chore that I’m doing badly. Way too badly.”

“I wouldn’t say that. You won the Grand Duchy Campaign. You stopped the ‘Federal Republic’ from steamrolling over everything. You even managed to conscript women from the Grand Duchy. Even Gallia failed at that.”

“Yes, but it’s all void,” Amelie said. “Have you seen the casualty numbers?”

“Well, I…I don’t think it’s healthy to watch that number go up.” She laughed to herself. “Have you not learned that in college? Never look at the casualty reports. Or to the guys being sent back in coffins. That’s dangerous.”

Oh…I do remember that. Amelie looked back to her days at the university. Ever since the war began, most cities were devoid of young men. It was eerie and unnatural. Sure, there was less conflict at home regarding the constant terrorism and protests from men…but…when young women only saw the men of their same generation in some distant footage, pictures, and casualty reports…even the most ardent conservative found that unsettling. And so, an unwritten rule was the norm.

Do not look at it. Even mothers did it. To look at those numbers was…scary. Luckily, news outlets received the memo, and by the later years of the war, especially when the Ivory Alliance launched their last offensives that saw millions dead…the radio was silent. Only reports of victory, of captured towns or cities were received as they went on their lives.

It was healthier. And so, why did she look down on her fellow young women for doing what they had always done? What she had done as well?

“It’s disgusting,” Amelie said. “The war is on our own soil. To even ignore it at this point is delusional. We women are literally in the crossfire as well.”

“Not here in Eutstadt. Those in Thein or the Archduchy, on the other hand, are already volunteering for the DDF and the RGO, fighting side-by-side with the OAF. Same in the Grand Duchy. Same in the Free Confederation. The West Coast is a different situation. We literally have a mountain range separating us from the rest of Orland. And the Air Force has long secured air superiority in all of West Orland. ‘What’s there to worry about?’ That’s the atmosphere here. We’re still so far away, even refugees don’t come here.”

“So that’s why this city is so calm and peaceful?”

“Try finding a city on the West Coast that isn’t. Hell, the economy is going up nowadays. Everyone’s making money by helping in the war effort. The industrial base is being relocated here as well. They have like…eighteen arms factories around the County of Wittfield. Even the middle-aged men are rejoicing at the job prospects.”

“Well…I guess at least some of Orland is doing well.” Amelie looked outside, seeing the peaceful and calm facade of the city seeping through with the calm pedestrian walking through this section of the city, which seemed to be filled with fast food joints, restaurants, and cafes. “But they shouldn’t just ignore the woes of the rest. And people here seem way too overconfident. This war can go sideways at any point.”

“Scarily, that’s accurate.” Alexa looked around the cafe, leaning closer to her. “Hey, I don’t intend to sound scary, or any of the sort. But have you looked deeply into the black site projects of the OAF?”

“No? Why?”

“They funneled a lot of funds of my administration to secret projects. We failed to investigate it, and the entire crisis completely obscured it. The worst part…those projects were done in the Free State.”

“Black site projects? What exactly…are those? I mean, are they…some top-secret stuff?”

Alexa sighed to herself, leaning away. “Who knows? My government didn’t know. I doubt Jacqueline’s government does either. I’m just pointing you in that direction. Two directions in fact. The question about women’s role in this war. And whatever the hell the ‘Federal Republic’ holds in their hands.”

“Well…” Amelie smiled. “I suppose I’m thankful then. You sure do know where to direct me back then. Even now.”

“I may be disengaged in politics, but I’m still keeping a close eye and ear on it,” Alexa said, just as Amelie’s order came in. It was a parfait, which she chose to treat herself for now. “That seems nice.”

“I missed it. Certainly didn’t get a lot of these back in Halia.”

“Rations definitely suck, don’t they?”

“I pity those that eat it each day.” Amelie herself began digging in, enjoying the tiny pleasure she had after months. “Oh…I can’t wait till they set up everything back in the November Palace…”

“Even while preaching righteousness, you’re still a spoiled brat in reality.” Alexa herself laughed at Amelie’s display. “Well, the Queen has her needs, I guess.”

“I’ll enjoy what I want while I have it. Ah…that’s just what I was searching for…”

“Well, do enjoy yourself, Your Majesty. There’s a lot of good places for food around here.”

“Yeah, I did see that. I wouldn’t mind visiting this place a lot.” Amelie smiled. “It seems peaceful as well.” Amelie looked outside once more, admiring the organized, and peaceful air of the city. She hoped that she could turn Orland into this state again. But not just a state of affairs where women lived lives that were near utopic…

She looked down at her parfait. She wanted men to have their piece of the pie too. Sooner or later.