The Palais de l'Égalité, the Exiles in the Empire
The Estate of the Duke of Alençon, nicknamed Palais de l’Égalité
Maxime Tojo (@MaxTojoRoyalsLife)
October 24, 2085 | Maincy, Celestial Empire All the Maincéens were abuzz with delight as thousands flooded the halls of the Chateau de Vaux-le-Vicomte, the Grand Imperial Estate of the world famous Duke of Alençon. However, it was not the Duke for whom everyone flocked to the estate, for the lovable rogue prince is still abroad fighting the forces of the Dutch Empress. Instead, today the star of Vaux-le-Vicomte was its least talked about resident, the Duchesse d’Alençon, Princess Adela.
Princess Adela, a great-granddaughter of Queen Adela of Gênes has mostly been swept aside by the wider public ever since she married the Duke. Beautiful and kind, the tall (over six feet tall) former fashion model certainly looks the part of a Princess, but has the sweetness and humility of a nun. Despite becoming the patron of the arts, over a thousand charities and providing an heir to the Alençon line, many might have found it hard to place her name till now.
For the Maincéens, residents of Maincy however, she is well known, for a reason that shall become clear shortly. During the Makonian Refugee Crisis of 2082-2083, as millions were being expelled from their homes, if they weren’t already burned down and as countries like Racraigua and Cinyras turned their backs on those floating, loss at see, the Duke Of Alençon advocated for the Celestial Empire to open its doors to them.
Variés the Younger, with his new statue of freedom in mind oversaw the rescue of nearly six million Makonian refugees, roughly two thirds of the refugee population. And it was left to the Duke of Alençon to oversee this influx of new people. He threw open the gates of Vaux-le-Vicomte and welcomed thousands into his private estate to live and work, reserving only a small section of apartments for himself and his family.
When the Duke left for war, the Duchess and Duke consort, took up the mantle. The Duchess created the Committee of Refugee Affairs, not only for those in Makonia, but all coming to the Celestial Empire in search for asylum. The Duchess and the CRA started a massive home construction project for the Makonian refugees, and had hundreds of teachers volunteers to educate children and those in search of new opportunities.
Last year, in 2084, the Duchess, with her son in her arms saw the town of Maincy duodecuple in size as it became the center for Makonians in the Celestial Empire, with tens of thousands of homes being built. Soon the Chateau de Vaux-le-Vicomte became a functionally public estate, with its arcades and apartments housing hundreds of families, providing shops, restaurants, a new chapel and clinic built by the Duchess.
The forests that cover the massive estate were cleared and replaced with new homes, two schools and community gardens for vegetables a fruits allowing for the Makonians and Maincéens alike to grow their own food and live a product pastoral life. And it doesn’t end there, as this year the Duchess has gotten Variés the Younger to begin affirmative action, making Universities take a certain quota of refugees if they can pass the baccalauréat.
Duchess has also played a part in the Department of Immigration, having the so-called, Avocats d’Alençon represent tens of thousands in order to gain citizenship into the Celestial Empire. It has not been perfect however, with many in Maincy, Alençon, Le Mans, Caen and Melun, the areas with the vast majority of the refugees complaining of overcrowding and government dependency. These towns, being small have been faced with growing pains as they expand rapidly to accommodate.
Meanwhile cities like Vanessa and Port Victoria have resisted the flow of immigrants and in all but name refused entry of refugees into the wealthiest and famously clean cities of the Celestial Empire. Vanessa based artist, Lindikhaya Vetyeka complained that Vaux-le-Vicomte has become a “nest of Créoles, who replace gardens made by kings with patchy farms worked by émigrés.” Despite this, the Alençons, the Anjous and Princess Alara have been playing large roles in preventing housing, food and modern access shortages.
But now things have taken a turn. With what has been described above, the state that which exists in Maincy and so much of the countryside that exists under the dominion of the Duke of Alençon, it can not be helped that the events unfolding in Makonia have held the attention of the millions who once called Bagata home. And one can not imagine the collective horror of the victims of Kresimir V’s cruelty watched as his wrath was unleashed upon the Constituents.
Immediately following the Bagata Massacre, the Day of the Bloody Sun as it has become popularized here, memorials were held in remembrance of those who had died, thousands of flowers laid at the edges of the reflections pools of Vaux-le-Vicomte. Then, afterwards, events started to grow more complex, and yet more clear. For the next day it was discovered that someone had hung a large Makonian flag, with the symbol of the monarchy cut out of it.
This was soon being repeated throughout the Makonian colony, followed by meetings in the salons and coffee shops of Vaux-le-Vicomte as revolutionary fever took hold and spread. For any casual walker through the halls of the Alençon colonnades, shouts and cries and debates to ‘depose Kresimir V’, to ‘avenge fallen brethren’ and to ‘bring rights the Makonian people’ could be heard. The Duke of Anjou and Princess Alara’s visits, suddenly became nonexistent.
But whilst the majority of the Imperial Family turns away from revolution and radical change, one line always seems to find itself in the midst of it. The Alençon. And this was proven as the Duchess and Duke consort were having a dinner where not only these radical ideas were being discussed, but when the doors were thrown open and who else but Alberte Guillo entered the room, seeking asylum at Vaux-le-Vicomte.
The Duchess smiled and welcomed her, this woman who quite literally marched in the Royal Palace in Makonia, and sent the Royal Family fleeing into Covingnedy. But the Duke consort corrected, saying that she was not seeking asylum at Vaux-le-Vicomte, but at the Palais de l’Égalité. The Palace of Equality. With this single renaming, Pandora’s Box has been opened. What consequences shall this have on those exiled here and those who are oppressed abroad?
It is unconfirmed, but is believed that Guillo will try to make an appeal to the King-Emperor and Prime Minister Variés the Younger to intervene on behalf of the Makonian people. But when we tried to ask Fontainebleau, we were denied entry to speak with anyone. The Prime Minister’s office has declined all our calls. The future is unknown, but one thing is clear. It seems the calls of revolution in Makonia have arisen in the heart of the Celestial Empire.