Tanya sat on the bench eating escargot. It wasn’t her favorite thing, but it was better than the usual rations. With the armistice in place and the capital occupied… even considering those who escaped across the sea to form a resistance ‘somewhere’ this was a rare opportunity to eat her fill and she wasn’t going to miss it.

Across from her, Viktoriya held a K-Brot on a fork up to her mouth, her big wide blue eyes focused on me as if she was about to say something. Outside, a bird was launching itself into the air, and for once, everything was at peace. ‘I don’t even mind the company today. Normally I’d want to go straight to work, but I’ve earned a single leisurely meal. I turned out to be completely right, everybody else was completely wrong, and now I’ll get a reputation for being prophetic, which will make it even easier to get a nice safe posting in the rear guiding strategy… with any luck, I can even get into a position to keep my country from defeat in this timeline. If that happens, the rest of my life will be on easy street. So for once… I’ll take my time.’

“So you plan on taking your time today, do you?” The words came out of the mouth of Lieutenant Serebryakov, but they were not hers.

“Being X.” I said and gritted my teeth. “What is it this time? Aren’t you tired of cheating?”

“I can never cheat, my lost little lamb, I can only teach through the rules I have crafted. But your stubbornness displeases me.” Being X answered her through Visha’s lips and Tanya took a sharp bite of her mushy food.

“It’s not my job to keep you happy, Being X. If anything, it’s the opposite. You’re bringing whole armies to me, and I’m still alive, still here. What other disaster do you want to bring on me next? Something else of your making? You know if you just revised your business model and embraced free market principles, you might actually have more believers. Then you wouldn’t be wasting your time on a client who isn’t interested in what you’re selling.” I really don’t like this creature. He knew it, and I knew he did.

“Be grateful, lost lamb, that I do not hold your every blasphemy against you. Rather, perhaps you, with your love of luxury and comfort, might consider my next trial for you a kind of ‘reward’ for all your work.” Being X said, he had a faintly mocking taunt to his voice that was utterly loathsome to the ear, and yet, it was also enough to bring dread up my spine.

“What are you planning?” I demanded and gripped my fork hard enough to bend it between my fingers.

“I am planning nothing. It is already done. Perhaps if you have to balance a fraction of what I must, you will come to appreciate your maker’s endless work on your behalf. Of course, even in peace… you will have to work hard to survive, and call out to me for your life, when you are in your hour of deepest despair.”

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

I hated his cryptic words. Those were the worst part about his little visits. People should always say what they mean, and he seldom did. “Anyway, Major, I was wondering if you wanted to join the rest of us on the beach today, we have no orders yet and plenty of time off, and you haven’t really taken a break since-” Visha shut her mouth at once.

“Since when, Lieutenant?” I asked.

“Never mind, ma’am!” Visha said, then looked at me expectantly.

‘The beach does sound nice enough… but I also shouldn’t hobnob with my subordinates.’ I thought about it, but before I could answer, the radio, which I’d mostly tuned out, caught my ear.

“Breaking news, the Royal family of the Commonwealth has evidently died, all of them. While on the Hindenburg crossing back from the Empire, the flammable hydrogen burst and the airship crashed into the Commonwealth Channel, rescue was dispatched from both the Empire and the Commonwealth, but by the time it was reached, only a single survivor, the airship’s captain, was found burned and unconscious, floating on the ship’s wheel. The rest, taken by the sea or the fires. Investigative teams are dredging the wreckage in a joint operation, and the Emperor has declared a day of mourning.”

The announcer’s voice faded out and a recording of the Emperor came on, “We have been enemies… but a whole family has died today, and that is nothing any man or nation should celebrate. We will put a hold on all operations for forty-eight hours to allow the Commonwealth to recover the ruins and investigate the cause. Where we go from here, in peace or war, is up to them.”

“Wow, Major… the Commonwealth’s entire royal line, wiped out… that’s good for us, isn’t it?” Visha asked, she sounded uncertain, and I suppose I couldn’t blame her.

She didn’t have knowledge of my world’s history behind her. When monarchies died, who knew what maniac might rise to the top? The Russy Federation should have been an object lesson for her, since her family had to flee the commies. But she didn’t know where things were going to go there, not like I did.

And the Republic’s brutal violence toward their own former monarch probably wasn’t something she knew much about. Even so, I did know about that, and in a Commonwealth that was already in panic mode, any strongman promising security and willing to fight a war to consolidate power, might make things a thousand times worse than a more rational monarch more interested in the status quo.

“I don’t know.” I said, and that much was true, I couldn’t say for sure. How could I? The reality of the situation was that it might go in any direction. And from where I sat?

Anything unknown was potentially horrifying.

“I’ll pass on the beach. I don’t have a swimsuit and if any of my men are perverts, I’d rather not know about it.” I answered and took another bite off my plate. My appetite was now, unfortunately, gone. “But you go ahead. Things might get a lot more chaotic after this, or a whole lot easier, only time will tell.” I stood up with my plate in hand and went to return it.

“Oh-okay, Major. Have a good day off.” Visha said to me, she always sounded nervous for some reason, but then, it is still wartime, a little nervousness is normal enough.

I left her there to finish her meal, and had no idea where I was going till I got there.