The birth of the Imperial Quintuplets had often been called the auspicious moment, a penultimate cause for celebration amongst the monarchists of the realm. These children had been cloistered within the walls of their mother's palace since they were born, raised in an atmosphere of Social Darwinism and Imperialism, coming out only to be gazed upon by the common man through the power armored veils of the underlings of the Chancellor Princess. The circumstances of their birth did not enable their birthday to become a national holiday but the birth of the quintuplets had managed to captivate the nation, and years later it still had a grip on the heart of the nation. Most Ganosians subscribed to the principles of their traditional nationalistic monarchism, and these children were heralded as the future of an empire that spanned many lands and included many peoples, an empire that emphasized tolerance and brotherhood but yet contained ministers who believed in the subjugation of lesser peoples.
None of the children knew this better then Crown Princess Erica. Eri. She who was born first. The heir to the Ganosian Crown. Erica had been groomed since birth by the Imperial Court, since it would be within her hands to lead Ganosia into the future. She did not grasp the intricate details of her position just yet, so the Empress had hoped she would under the tutelage of the Imperial Court's devoted agents. Malcolm Firoozbakht often seemed cold towards Erica, because it was often said that he was disgruntled over having not been the father to them, a symptom of his undying lust for the Empress. Nonetheless, he would work eagerly for their benefit, even to the point of verbally harassing birthday party planners who, to him, did not appropriately respect the tastes of the Empress, let alone her children.
As court attendants marched into her bedroom to open the silky purple curtains, rays of sunlight beamed through her large room. Erica heads to the dresser to brush her hair and get dressed into her day clothes while one of the attendants opens the window to let some fresh air into the room. The Empress soon walked into the room, brushing her daughter's hair while sternly ordering the attendants to procure the finest clothes out of the wardrobe of the princess. The Empress held full command of the wardrobe choices of her children, although she delegated to Felix the responsibilities for those of his sons. At times she'd reprimand him for not paying enough attention to them, like when Jakob went on a spree of shooting people with his water gun.
"Today is your special day!" the Empress said to her daughter in a cheerful fashion. "Today is your birthday!"
Erica loved her mom despite her protectionist tendencies. Mother's tendencies had led to Erica, let alone the other children, being rather cloistered within the walls of the Imperial Court. But Erica liked to listen to her mother's ramblings about fashion. Her voice felt rather melodious, angelic in quality to her ears, and she loved whenever Dad would talk to her about life in Veceria, that distant land where the family occassionally traveled to so they could meet Dad's folks and their cousins on his side of the tree.
As can be ascertained, Erica was brought up amidst much structure and order - the structure and order of her mother and the oligarchs who aspired to maintain their collective position during Erica's reign. The heroes of the revolution who had significant investments that they sought to maintain through the ebbs and flows of Ganosian monarchism. Auntie Allison seemed to be more interested in Erica then she had been in the other children, and it was said that the oligarchs were already planning out contingency plans in case Erica's reign didn't proceed as they hoped it would, but these were so far only mere whisperings amongst Court attendants and nobles and not substantial fact.
As Erica walked out of the room, the court attendants all bowed and wished her well. She could hear them heading to the rooms of the other children, hearing Prince Jakob being all rowdy again, hearing Dorothy and Katherine talking to Felix about Jakob's incident with the family fountain where he used it to fill up his water gun, which he then used on a spree of spraying people all over the palace complex with it.
Whenever Erica saw the beautiful garden, full of fruit and flowers, with green grass and sparkling fountains, she was so astonished that not a word could she say, for she had never in her life seen anything like it. The Imperial Gardens were absolutely sublime - the pinnacle of horticultural achievement, a bastion of the cultural sophistication of the Ganosian civilization. Quinn took Erica into the Imperial Gardens that morning to discuss the party. She looked about her, and ran hither and thither gathering fruit and flowers, and her little dog Rufus, who was bright blond all over, dancing before her, crying 'Bow-wow-wow,' and turning head over heels in the most enchanting way that made Erica squeal with happiness while petting and playing with him. Rufus, despite his appeal, was often a controversial member of the Imperial Household. The Empress sometimes did not like the mutt for his harassment, albeit playful, of her cat, but she tolerated his existence to keep Erica happy.
Plus, he was quite popular amongst the other children, and it was said that even Allison would tolerate him when he came to investigate her looking over reports while having tea with Quinn. Everybody was amused at Frisk's antics, but all of a sudden he ran away into a little bush, and the Crown Princess was following him until Quinn summoned her to be by her side again.
"Let the dog explore, Eri. We have to discuss your party," Quinn said.
Quinn, for all her flaws, had seemingly reformed since the beginning of her reign into a competant ruler - a mother of the people who would watch over her children, bestowing her grace upon them in the form of a powerful economy and much popularity abroad as a respectable nation.
"As Crown Princess, you have to be on your best behaviour," the Empress told Erica. "You are representing not only our family but the Ganosian nation. The entire world will one day take note of you, not just our friends. You have to show them that you are capable."
Erica was no stranger to these lectures. Nearly everyone she met since birth gave her some form of lecture over the littlest things. Sometimes they were even in other languages to test her knowledge of the languages of the Empire that she was learning during her classes. After all, Erica would soon be the sovereign of countless millions, let alone within Ganosia proper.
"I will, Mom. I wonder what the outsiders will bring me at the party," Erica said sweetly.
Quinn smiled. "I'm sure they'll bring you all sorts of fun toys and games to play with. Just remember to share the game console with the others if any of you get any new games. I don't want to have a repeat of that episode with Jakob."
"Yes, Mom," Erica said. She remembered the rather vicious incident that she had to witness when Jakob and Felix Junior fought over who should get access to the family game console while the girls wanted to watch that show about fairies that they loved a lot. Eventually Jakob had to be given a timeout when he hit Felix Jr and earned his mother's ire which led to both boys losing privileges to the game console while the girls got to watch Those Small Fairies, an apparent internet phenomenon.
"Good, Eri." Quinn smiled. Eri was the nickname given to the Crown Princess since birth. "If you behave tonight without any incidents, I'll give you a special gift."
Eri's eyes lit up when she heard that, but Quinn would not divulge what it was. All Quinn could do was calmly tell her daughter that she had to be a good girl to get any information about it. They made it back to the throne room, but Quinn had Erica sent with some attendants of the court to make sure that her party gear was all prepared for tonight's gala. The Empress was quite picky with what she wanted her children to wear - she took charge of their fashion choices since their birth, and often her husband could find her bickering with court attendants over how tacky some dress was for her daughters or how her son's necktie looked crooked.
This time she enabled the attendants to take charge for once while she stayed behind to deal with the latest affairs of state.
"My nieces and nephews."
Allison Amber slipped out of the comfortable bed that morning with that upon her lips. She knew that she'd have to attend the party only because the kids liked their Auntie Allison. She herself never imagined having her own kids. They were too human a gift to be graced with. Too distracting from matters of state. Worse of all, she'd have to be intimate with some chump - a common mugu - to acquire them, unless she adopted a Nalayan orphan or something of that sort. Add to the controversy that already was around the Ganosian adoption of Nalayan street kids.
She slipped into her robe rather quickly - limiting the exposure of the two great scars that laced her flesh. She used to imagine it felt like her angel wings had been plucked from her flesh by her father when he dismissed such early rhetoric. She scoffed when she remembered such deranged ramblings. The mansion of the Chancellor Princess had little in the way of household staff - the bare minimum, since Allison preferred solitude and independence from the fineries that were typical of Quinn, Beatrice, and too many of her other relatives. Allison noticed that her faithful butler Reginald entered the room. Reginald was often called a skeevy opportunist by most, and Allison often joked that he was a slimy bastard of a man, but she kept him around because he was a devoted servant, one who would often help out with security details.
"Your sister's children will be celebrating their birthday today," Reginald said, bowing with one hand across him. "I suppose you will be attending?"
Allison Amber smirked at him. She decided to neglect getting changed until he left the room, which he did, forgetting his place in things. Reginald immediately realized this and bowed profusely.
"My apologies, Mistress."
Reginald slipped out into the hall, awaiting his Mistress' command.
When she exited the room in her typical attire - the uniform of the Grand Mistress, the Mother of the Revolution and the Empire - Reginald smiled at his Mistress. Allison led him along through the halls of her mansion, a cold and rather dreary place in the eyes of the Empress. Whereas the Empress decked her mansion out in lavish fineries, Allison preferred a rather Prussian aesthetic, coldness and classical sculptures depicting famous philosophers and soldiers. Allison's palace was also moreso guarded. An elite Secret Service company stood their ground around the palace and made sure that no one got in, and if they did, that no one got out.
"Of course I will be attending the party." Allison said.
"Moreso out of a duty to maintain the Empire then to celebrate," Reginald joked.
"Those children are the children of Quinn, Reginald. We can't celebrate such a tragedy, can we?" Allison smirked.
Allison and Reginald walked all the way to the dining room. There, Allison enjoyed the simple breakfast she had always been accustomed to. Reginald would serve Allison her meal and then leave the room, to leave Allison to her inner deliberations about today's events. With Quinn's children having their birthday and all, the streets of Ganosia's cities, and those of its colonies, would be in an uproar of patriotic fervor over the prestigious occassion. She knew that the Governors of the colonies would soon be sending their congratulations, and that delegates from each would be attending to bring their gifts. The streets would be paved with flags. After finishing her meal, Reginald entered the room again upon being summoned to take away the dishes while Allison went to her study to deliberate on matters of state that may have still been around, before she could consider herself free from them and ready to devote everything to enduring the unbearable.
Some nameless underling burst into the room with Director Thrardasara's deliberation on the merits of Operation Transcendence. This was the hypothetical plot to spring Admiral Rand and - perhaps - the King and Queen of New Edom into Ganosian asylum. While overlooking the deliberation, Reginald noticed that Director Thrardasara's signature vocabulary had seemingly been avoided, causing him to comment upon this.
"It seems she did not devote several pages to her anti-Edomite rhetoric," Reginald nodded whilst leaving the room, forbidden to observe such materials.
Allison chuckled as he left the room. "She knows there's a time for that. It wasn't then."
Director Thrardasara was one of the hardliners of the Empire - a cold and calculated woman who believed that submission to the will of the Empress - as interpreted by Allison's regime - was in Ganosia's best interests. Allison knew that she had always looked down upon lesser peoples. The Edomites, Director Thrardasara had often believed, were primitive savages who lacked the order and structure that the Ganosian Empire's peoples had, and that this implied their inferiority and undesirability. They seek in their blasphemies what they cannot find in their consciousness, Director Thrardasara had observed.
But Director Thrardasara was only in spirit this morning in the form of her deliberation on her own proposed operation.
She had intended to issue directives ordering PSICOM agents to "expose, disrupt, misdirect, discredit, or otherwise neutralize" the activities of the Free Congress, the Elwe Independence Organization, and other seemingly anti-Ganosian groups. While Operation Transcendence was originally little more then a 'glorified rescue operation,' as Allison told Reginald it was, Director Thrardasara had considered its potential to expand Ganosian interests beyond securing the safety of the Monarchist leaders. But Director Thrardasara highlighted that the chances of success were minimal due to expected interference from the Lamonians, the Wagdoggies (stupid name for a people was found within the margins) and the Nalayans. Director Thrardasara had often admired the Nalayans, so from her point of view it was somewhat disheartening to have to make this claim about them.
This was the only political highlight - every other report was merely ho-hum reports from the colonies. She leaned back in her seat and rubbed her temples, and felt the rush of dread wash over her to fill her mind with that same typical contempt for Quinn that she had always had, no matter how warm the relationship had gotten since the days of voracious feuding between them.
"This is going to be a long one, isn't it?"
"The Empire awaits her future!"
Such cries echoed throughout the nation. Like war cries from the mouths of hardened patriots. The Empire's seemingly vast legions of hardened patriots decked entire streets in flyers and flags to honor the upcoming celebrations. Ganosians from all over the Empire - no matter what ethnic group you belonged to, you were always seen as Ganosian first and foremost - were eagerly anticipating the celebrations that would free them momentarily from personal responsibilities. The children of the Empress were all decked out in fine clothing in front of the palace gates that afternoon, while relatives and their bodyguards gathered around them with gifts and well wishes. Malcolm Firoozbakht reappeared again to make sure that his sovereign's desires for the aesthetics of the ballroom had been sufficiently honored. Finding that they had been, he resigned himself to the background while Chekov made sure that security measures were 'ruthlessly established' all over the Palace and the surrounding area.
When it became night was when the gala officially began, with the arrival of the Empire's elites - relatives of the children, governors of the colonies, and other distinguished men and women. The gala would be held within the Palace's ballroom, where countless functions including the notorious family reunions had been held in. There was this lavish table set up with the Empress at its head, while her husband sat beside her - the sons were on his side while the daughters were on hers. There were already tons of presents, namely from the local guests, and there were tons of guests already gathered around with their children, talking about whatever came to mind.
Allison Amber had been the last of the higher ranking relatives of the children - Quinn expected this, of course - to arrive at the gala, walking through the doors of the ballroom in her uniform rather then the evening dresses that her sisters and cousins had worn, although Princess Irikah begrugingly wore one only because she didn't want to drag a disappointed mother around on such an occassion. Irikah's dress was appropriately lavish, befitting her station, but she felt it was too foreign, and often found herself trying to repress criticizing her father for kowtowing before her mother's insufferable protectionism. Allison merely laughed, before the children all began to appear in various forms in front of her with greetings and hugs.
Hugs! Allison soon realized why she sometimes hated those accursed things.
"Auntie Allison's uniform is very valuable to her - please don't wipe your snot on it, Jakob," Allison said, trying not to hiss at him or even summon the nearby Secret Service agent to pull him aside and back to his mom. She thought that he was the brat of the family due to his incessant need to prank people and spray them with his water guns and overall be a nuisance towards other members of the Imperial Dynasty. The last straw had been when Jakob had turned on a rather large fan to blow away the remains of Allison's reports on the situation in New Edom when the fan swallowed and chewed them all up.
Crown Princess Erica watched her mother reprimand Jakob for the act - she didn't notice Quinn subtly snickering at the thought of Allison's "ugly attire" being used as a snot rag - and then listened to Allison talk about how her gifts were being brought in by the usual guys who dealt with such matters.
But while Jakob began to horse around, and as the other children went to try out their gifts, Erica looked around the room to see all the diversity around her until the foreign guests began to trickle in....
