"Your Majesty, I beg of you, please reconsider. We cannot simply retreat. We sacrificed almost a million of my men for that city. I am close, they are about to break. I am sure we will win it soon. Please, don't let my men's lives that were sacrificed go in vain. Don't let the lives paid be for naught."
- General Heindhöff's letter of plea in response to Queen Areya's orders to abandon the assault on the City of Josseux after a 4-month-long battle. He reportedly attempted to commit suicide when the decision wasn't reversed, according to his officers.
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And I thought it was sure that they would be allies.
Turns out, politics indeed wouldn't be so simple. Amelie watched the two lines of politicians as they discussed the possibility of a UOP-led coalition government with the ORP in the conference room.
Lined on the table were the microphones and the laptops of every politician in the room, and most notably, were the glasses of water and bottles of water, most of which were already half empty as the meeting dragged on.
On one side of the table, were the liberal leaders of the UOP. Young women, who distinguished themselves quickly as…well, surprisingly, lackluster reformers as the crisis in Orland showed.
On the other side was the ORP leadership. They were a much more diverse bunch. Young men, middle-aged men, and older men, all of them wore plain old black business suits in complete unity, in comparison to the more independent-minded women, who wore a variety of formal clothing as they saw fit.
I can see a bit of symbolism in this. Amelie's artistic mind thought out of nowhere, as she was now once again playing the boring old observer mode while the politicians below her hammered out the details.
Ever since the Red Street Massacre, and the subsequent violence that terrified the Orlish general public in the ongoing General Strike, most moderates were left adrift.
Suddenly, the men of the ORP and the NRF were rivals. The NRF rabidly accused the ORP of being traitors to men's cause, while the ORP accused the NRF of being a bunch of lunatics.
On the women's side, the fallout was even more pronounced. Amelie's speech made it clear that the moderates could not blame men for the massacre - contrary to the ongoing propaganda efforts of the Aristocracy and the Conservatives about men's natural savagery.
And also it occurred simultaneously with the heated debates for the revised Economic Stimulus Bill in Parliament, as the UOP completely broke down between its two wings, and it practically became an open secret that the Conservative wing was planning to leave and form a new party.
With this, it became clear for many that the extremists on both sides were the enemy - and that the moderates should band up and defend sanity in Orland.
Thus, the talks for a coalition government between the UOP and the ORP became serious, which Amelie, Jacqueline, and Walter exploited.
All they needed to do now was to push the parties they led toward it.
"Alright, cute, you want to give us the stimulus, that's it?" Walter Plock calmly asked as the women on the other side of the table nodded. His snarky remark with the "cute" part seemed to have resulted in a few frowns, but it dissipated quickly.
"Yes, unfortunately, the situation in Orland is tense as you can see," Jacqueline answered back, this part was slightly scripted to make their members agree, as they already discussed it as the Meintz Crisis Group.
While backroom deals were the antithesis of the so-called "democracy" they planned to build, it was simply impossible in such a political climate to not play dirty.
Naturally, Amelie, poor, good-hearted Amelie, felt revolted by it, but she didn't have much of a choice.
Jacqueline continued.
"But I swear, once the crisis is over, we shall work out further reforms." Chatter began between both sides, especially from the women's side, as they told the men reassurances about their promises.
Naturally, most of the ORP leadership held a skeptical look in response, but they were nodding and conversing.
There were no shouts or voices that were raised, merely civilized discourse.
It relieved Amelie greatly.
"This would indeed be a great opportunity for us men." One old, balding member of the ORP declared, his voice slightly weak and hoarse from his old age, yet it broke the discussions and all looked at him in attention.
"I remember when I was young, that as I grew up, no would woman care for me, and the world seemed to hate me. I do not know if what these young women are saying is true."
He glanced at Amelie, and suddenly, she felt a bit uncomfortable at being the center of attention so suddenly.
"Or if what the Queen said she would do is true. But we men did not have these many opportunities to salvage ourselves. This is clearly a special one, that might be true. Trust is hard to give, fellow gentlemen, indeed, and that is normal. But, tell me, now that they are finally offering help, should we deny it?"
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The ORP leadership looked at each other. It seemed that the words of one man struck them deeply. Well, he was an elder and was known to be a respected senior member of the ORP, but still, the way he spoke, it grabbed everyone, even the women.
"And if we deny it, then how would we fix our situation? Remember men, that we cannot win alone. Time cannot be turned back 300 years ago. Magic won't go. Women won't be below us. Never would our woes be fixed by ourselves, or by women alone. Thus, perhaps, we could accept their offer to lift us, instead of biting back like the NRF. What say you, gentlemen? Should we trust them? Should we stand with these liberals, or should we weather this storm alone again?"
To weather the storm alone…it was almost a universal feeling for men. For 3 centuries, they were all ignored and left, alone to rot and weather it all alone. And they loathed it. But now, there seemed to be light at the end of the tunnel, offered by the goddesses of the current order.
Small whispers and hurried conversations dominated the room, as the men thought of their decision. The old man remained silent and merely began to drink water from his glass. He didn't need to tell any further words.
Would they reach a consensus? Was the question in every woman's mind in the room. This was the only way to salvage their party from being turned into a minority government, as it seemed that the conservative split was inevitable.
For a while, the tension became palpable, before Walter spoke.
"I see, we can consider this. But we cannot come to an agreement until we learn what would be the composition of the government that will be formed. What will be our position? And who will run on the UOP side as Prime Minister?"
Amelie cleared her throat and made her presence clear. All looked at her.
"In lieu of Alexa Weirlöff's candidacy, as a result of the multiple scandals under her tenure, and her subsequent retreat from re-election, I propose that it should be Jacqueline Heiss that will run for the position of Prime Minister."
She smiled.
Traditionally, in Orlish politics, the Queen would endorse a Prime Minister that she desired before the elections. Since the UOP was usually the only party active in the Orlish Parliament, she usually did it in front of the party leadership.
This naturally gave them a lead at elections, and as such the only time that the Queen would have to deal with a Prime Minister she didn't like, is if either the UOP screwed up in the previous term and lost the elections completely.
Or if the UOP opposed the Queen.
The situation now was that the UOP completely screwed up, and were thus losing. Luckily for them, a coalition government was under talks, and thus Queen Amelie could pick Jacqueline to lead the government. Mainly because the UOP would gain more votes and seats in Parliament compared to the ORP, regardless of a split.
This was much to the slight chagrin of Walter Plock, as seen with the slight twitch in his eyes. It seemed that he still hadn't fully accepted the fact that he really had no chance.
Sorry, Walter. We talked about this already.
"Well…I see then, I'd probably run for Prime Minister then." Jacqueline looked at the rest of the UOP liberals, who discussed it amongst themselves.
Amelie noticed one aristocrat, who muttered something about how "unfair" it was, but a few words from her peers seemed to hush her down.
After about 5-minutes of deliberations from both sides, no consensus was reached as the UOP needed time to discuss Jacqueline's candidacy.
But it seemed that most on the UOP side agreed already.
"I see then," Walter said, still a tint of resentment in his voice. "So it's likely that Jacqueline would lead this government then?"
"Yes." A UOP member said quickly.
"So what would our positions be?"
It was once again quiet, as Jacqueline looked Walter straight in the eye.
"It's not yet decided, but as of now, we plan to offer 4 ministerial positions in the Cabinet. The Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Infrastructure, the Ministry of Science and Technology, and the Ministry of Energy."
While it would seem that the MoD was the only major ministry that they would receive, the three other ministries were critical for men, as the sectors these ministries were involved in were dominated by men.
The Ministry of Infrastructure was involved with the Orlish Railway Group, a male-owned corporation.
The Ministry of Science and Technology was heavily involved in the affairs of the tech corporations, and all-boys schools that usually prioritized the teaching of scientific and technical matters.
And lastly, the Ministry of Energy was also heavily involved with Orlish oil corporations and related operations. Most of which were owned by men.
Even still, it seemed that the UOP would still obtain both the Ministries involved with women's economic and societal sectors and the big four, which ate much of the Orlish yearly budget.
The Ministry of Economy.
The Ministry of Health and Social Welfare.
The Ministry of Education.
And the Ministry of Arcane Development.
It was both an unfavorable and "favorable" arrangement for the ORP. It was clear that the UOP would truly be the ones in power, but they didn't have a good option. If they would not be in a coalition, those four Ministries would be out of reach. This was the best they could get.
Please, just agree people. We, women, are already handing out gifts on a silver platter. Amelie on the other hand felt frustrated and impatient as the discussions from the men grew. Already, a few voices were slightly raised, and frowns appeared.
Some disapproved, some wanted it, but many were on the fence.
And the final verdict came, as an ORP member whispered a few words to Walter. He sighed.
"This deal appears interesting to us." He paused for a bit. "It is tempting, but we would request a few more days to deliberate our response."
Wait! Walter, that's not what we agreed on-
But Jacqueline smiled. She understood, unlike Amelie. The ORP was tempted, but they weren't going to hop into it quickly, especially when even the UOP was uncertain about who will run for the position of Prime Minister. With a soft tone, she replied to Walter.
"It is alright. I hope that the ORP will see reason and agree to these terms."
The meeting soon concluded.