Disclaimer and Notes: Mai Otome belongs to Sunrise.
Set after episode 22.
I wrote this on a whim, for a friend who would have liked the story to end in a very different way. ;-)
All thing considering this could be a plot bunny for a future "What if" story, if I'll ever have the time to write it. This is for sure a development that I've rarely seen around. Yes... what if Artai had won the war? Oh... my...
Betareading by Kevin.
Artai, year 15th after the Reconquista of the Garderobe
From the journal of
Brigadier General Sergay Wang
I used to love the
snowy nights, but not anymore.
They will always remind me of
Nina's wedding dress,
black and silver, over-the-top, and decorated
with little diamonds
and obsidian crystals that had turned her into one the malevolent ice
faeries of our obscure
legends. At first I thought it was too funereal
for the occasion and
inappropriate for Windbloom weather but then,
considering that she
was going to become also the Queen of Artai, I
realized that it was
more than fitting.
After so many years, an
aching pain still sears my throat when I think
of Nina's face after
that frigid ceremony, as distant as the blue star
that shines upon us.
Because only then did I finally understand that her
love for me was deeper
than what was reasonable for a daughter towards
her father. Hers was
the look of a betrayed lover and, even while her
eyes blazed with fury,
she bowed, thanking me for all I had done for
her.
She was grateful
because I had put her in a cage even smaller than the previous one. How
ironic.
I wished I could turn
back time, and erase my rash words, suggestion Nagi to reveal to
the world that Nina was
the true Queen of Windbloom. But when I spoke
I was scared, I was
injured, and I had just discovered that they were
using Rena's body to
empower the Valkyries.
Did I do it because I
didn't want Nina to use the Harmonium again? Or
because I was
desperately trying to spare Rena the last abuse?
Memories fail me when I
try to remember the chain of thought that led
me to mutter that
reckless advice to the Archduke. But I have not
forgotten the devious
look he gave me, and his words. 'This is
something I had not
considered, but it could work. Somehow.'
Somehow.
Nagi petrified me. And
he crushed me a few days later, when Nina was
legally recognized by
the Council as the Queen of Windbloom and
restored to the throne.
I wasn't her father anymore, nor she was my
child. 'Nina'
wasn't even her real name, she became Mashiro Blan De
Windbloom, so I
couldn't complain when Nagi declared his intention to
marry her, as their
families had planned long before they were born.
I still remember my
sense of gloom when the Archduke congratulated me
for that simple,
innocent suggestion, recognizing I had given him
everything he wanted
without a fight. Windbloom was no longer invaded
but protected by
Artai's armies, and who would have dared to move
against the legitimate
Queen, the one who also wielded the ultimate
power of the Harmonium?
According to the law, we hadn't broken any rule.
Only Annam and Aries
vividly protested, but the rest of the nations
aligned with us for
they had everything to gain. Indeed, when the
Garderobe was torn
apart, piece by piece, as the first act of a Queen
who was regaining
control of her kingdom, they watched, quietly
waiting for those bits
to be distributed. And it happened, changing
our world forever.
Now, fifteen years
later, I'm here in Artai's spaceport, waiting for
the private shuttle to
land. As I write this journal, people pass by,
and I'm well aware of
their condescending looks. I lost my right leg
protecting the girl I
used to call my daughter from an Aswald kamikaze
attack, but I refused
to have it substituted with a cybernetic limb.
They are powered by
nanomachine technology and, even if they're in
widespread use now, I
can't tolerate having those things in my body.
Not when Rena, Nina,
and Arika, and so many other poor women suffered
so much to obtain that
power; they fought for an ideal that,
with my näive
proposal, was annihilated in a few short months.
I respect it, even if I
think that the world is a better place today,
where the technology is
no longer a secret, and those who oppose us
are nothing but a
shabby group of terrorists lead by the former Queen
of Windbloom and
Natsuki Kruger of the disbanded Five Pillars. But
they are just relics of
a world that's disappearing, as am I.
And so, sometimes, I'm
sad for what I've contributed to crush. Like
when I cross Nina's
look that, through the years, had grown from sad
to remote. I did it to
save her but, honestly, I can't say I've made
her happy. She's
carrying perfectly her duties as a Queen, pure and
regal, accepting the
gentle indifference of her husband, who is
treating her better
than I expected but without any affection. They
get along reasonably
well, probably because they are growth knowing
that they would have
had to live together, as a Master and his Otome,
and a marriage it's
not that different, all things considering.
I saw them truly happy
only once, and the reason will appear from that
door in minutes. It's
the first time that the twins are visiting
Artai, and they'll
live here from now on because the frozen lands of
my country are safer
than the deserts of Windbloom, so easy to cross.
They have their
mother's jet black hair, and their father's striking
scarlet eyes, eyes that
already conceal a knowledge that surpasses
their age. The twins
will be the most powerful people on Earl, for
they will inherit one
of the world's biggest kingdoms, and the power
to activate the
Harmonium.
The thought scares me,
but when I look at their faces, so similar to
Nina's at their age,
I can't help but think that they are a
consequence of my
innocent suggestion too. All my doubts and guilt
evaporate, because I
have been offered the chance to pay off my debts;
Nina entrusted me with
their education and she prayed for me to
protect them, and I
swear I won't disappoint her.
Not again.