Hello, everybody. My name is Yours The Author, and welcome to the one-shot prequel to "The Cult of Steve" and "The Cult of Veneziano". I hope you enjoy it.

I wrote this for my creative writing class this semester, and it was well received by my classmates. I hope you all like it as well. See you at the bottom of the page.

The New Duchess

Year: 20XX

"Why can't we play together? I'll be nice, I promise!" Mari said, wriggling in her mother's arms. Her father ruffled her bleach blonde hair.

"Your sister is a little different than you, Mari. She likes to play by herself for now. Maybe one day, she'll play with you, too," her mother said. Mari's little sister sat near the corner of the nursery, playing with a single rag doll silently.

"But isn't it boring to play alone?" Mari asked.

Her father shushed her. "Not so loud, Mari. Your sister may be different, but she still has ears. Immer mit die Ruhe." He stopped ruffling her hair and glanced at the door. A man was standing there, with white hair tied in a pony tail and dressed in a white cloak with a gray cross stitched on the side. "Would you like to play with Mari?" Mari's father asked him. He shook his head quietly and gazed at Mari's little sister.

Mari tugged at her mother's dress sleeve and whispered in her ear, "I don't like him. He's scary."

Her mother laughed quietly and smoothed Mari's hair back into place. "Like him or not, he's a very important person to this family. You could call him our… 'special one'. His purpose may not be clear now, but when you become the leader of this land, he will help you take care of every citizen."

"Like you and Vater?" Mari asked, making a face. Her father burst out laughing, earning a reproachful glare from the man by the door.

"Nein, nein; that's not his purpose at all!" her father chortled. "Think of him more like a guide, one who knows the history of this kingdom like the back of his hand; someone who will know what is best for the people."

Mari looked back at her little sister, who had barely moved from her spot. "Like kleine Schwester?" she asked.

"Now Mari," her mother said, "your sister may study harder than you, but that only means so much in the grand scheme of things."

"It means a lot in the scheme of things," the man by the door said loudly.

Mari's father gave him a look. "But that's not your place to say, is it?"

"Nein, My Lord," the man said, bowing slightly.

"I think he's right, though…" Mari said quietly. "Katharina could be much better than me at ruling…"

Her parents looked at each other for a moment. Then her father reached over and patted Mari's head gently. "Someday, you or your sister will rule this country. When that day comes, you, and only you, will choose who will lead. But never forget, Mari, that as the eldest child, you have a true duty to this land. You must think with your country in mind; thinking of what will be best for the people. Never forget that, alright? Even in your darkest hours, your country is what you must think about. Ja?"

Mari looked at her sister a moment longer, then looked up into her parents' faces. "Ja."

Several Years Later…

"My Lady?"

Mari looked up from the spot she had been gazing at and turned to the nurse who had exited her parent's room. "How are they?" she asked.

The nurse examined the thermometer closely before shaking her head. "Not well, My Lady," she replied. "They may pass tonight. Es tut mir Leid."

Mari put a hand over her mouth and took a deep breath, clenching her eyes shut. The nurse gingerly set a hand on her shoulder. Mari placed her hand over the nurse's. "Thank you, Viktoria. May I see them?"

Viktoria shook her head. "The disease may be contagious at this point. We can't risk losing you, too."

"Of… of course. Ich will meine Schwester sehen." Viktoria nodded and slipped her hand out from under Mari's. Mari began her long trek through the white hallways of the castle, trying to hide her face with her hair, which was too short to do any good. After staring at the white tiled floors for the duration of the trip, she finally made it to her little sister's room. She opened the door slowly—

"Oi!" Mari jumped. "I'm dressing! Learn to knock, dummkopf!" Mari closed the door quickly, then knocked. "Ein Moment! Gott…" After a minute, the door opened, revealing the Lady Katharina. She rolled her eyes when she saw Mari and opened the door wider. "Come in," she said sharply. Mari lifted her silvery skirt and stepped over the threshold.

Katharina's room had creamy yellow walls and a dark reddish brown, flowery carpet. Much nicer than the blank halls of the castle. The carpet felt nice under Mari's slippers, but it didn't improve her mood, especially with her sister's nit picking.

"Stand up straight, Mari. I'm younger than you, and even I know this. And clean up your face; no one can see you like that when you become the duchess."

Mari's brow twitched. "Maybe I don't want to become the duchess. Did you ever think of that?"

Katharina was quiet for a moment. Then, she slowly looked Mari in the eye; a rare occurrence. "If you don't become the duchess, I will. Is that really a position you want me to be in?"

"I don't know what I want…" Mari muttered, before shaking her head. "How can you think about positioning when our parents are… are…"

Katharina raised an eyebrow. "So soon? I was hoping they'd be stronger than to die off already."

Mari stomped her foot. "Not yet, but soon! Doesn't that concern you in the slightest?"

"Of course it does. I'm concerned with how you'll lead this country."

Mari stomped over and grabbed her sister by the shoulder. "Does anything matter to you that doesn't involve positioning? How can you—"

Katharina smacked Mari's hand away. "Do not touch me. You know I don't like to be touched."

"I know, I know," Mari said. "But can't you just think about our parents for a second? The people who raised us, who gave us all we wanted?"

Katharina began to flap her hand, not looking at Mari. "…No," she finally said quietly. "I can't think about them. I just want to make this country strong. That's all that matters to me."

"Then I suppose I don't matter to you, either?"

Katharina flapped harder. She didn't say anything.

"…Fine," Mari said. "I'm going to be with our parents. If you change your mind, you are welcome to join me." Mari turned on her heel and walked to the door. As she reached for the door handle, it opened, revealing… "Oh… it's you!" Mari said.

He hadn't changed in the years she'd been alive, down to his white hair in a side pony tail and the same white cloak with the dark gray cross stitched to the side. He looked down his nose at Mari. "…I came to see Katharina." He said quietly.

Katharina perked at the sound of her name. "Is it him?" She asked hopefully.

"Yes," Mari said over her shoulder. "He'll be with you in a moment."

"I came to see Katharina," he repeated.

"I want to ask you something. Well, more than one thing, but—just come with me." Mari walked around him and closed Katharina's door. She looked down for a moment, unsure of where to start.

"If you have something to say, then say it," he said coldly. "There is only so much time before a new leader must be chosen."

"Ja, ja, I'm getting there," Mari replied. She took a deep breath. "Who do you think is better suited for becoming duchess? Me, or Katharina?"

He looked down at her for a moment, as if contemplating his answer. Finally, he said, "Katharina."

Mari blinked. "I suppose I should have expected you to say that. Even when we were children, you favored her over me. But why? Even with her condition? And her ideals?"

"Yes, especially for her ideals. And her condition… she is high functioning. I don't expect it to get in the way of ruling, if she ever comes into power."

"Hmm…" Mari rested her chin in her hand. "Why am I not better suited for leadership?"

"Because you are too lenient. You get too close to your servants, and if you became leader, you'd probably give away all that you own, leading to your own ruin. Especially recently, you've grown too close to the nurses and staff taking care of your parents."

"I just want them to get better! Is that too much to ask?"

"Well, now they're not going to get better. And since they haven't named who will become the new ruler, you'll have to make that choice. Do you want what's best for your country, or do you want whatever your little heart desires?"

"You don't have to say it like that…" Mari muttered. She paused a moment. "There's something I need to tell my sister. Can you please wait a moment?"

"I'll be listening."

"I want it to be private—no, you'd find out either way. Fine, you can listen in, but don't say anything. I want my sister to choose on her own."

He put a hand over his chest and bowed. "As you will, My Lady."

Mari nodded and stepped back into Katharina's room. She was sitting on her bed, hands folded in her lap, and staring at the wall. "Katharina," Mari said. Katharina looked up at the sound of her name.

"Aren't you finished yet? I want to hear what he has to say," she said in annoyance.

"You'll get to talk to him soon enough, immer mit die Ruhe. Katharina, there's something I want to ask of you."

Katharina lifted the glasses from the chain around her neck and set them on her nose. "Well? What is it?"

Mari took a deep breath, "Will you… would you like to become the duchess of this country?"

Katharina blinked. Then she slowly stood up and walked over to Mari, stopping inches in front of her. Despite their age difference, she was taller than Mari.

"Do you know what you're asking of me, and what you're losing?"

"Yes," said Mari.

"If I take over, the only way for you to get any power is if I die. And I am very well trained in self-defense, so no assassin you could hire could possibly take me out. You know this, and still offer me the role you have earned as the eldest daughter?"

"Yes," said Mari.

"… Alright, then." Katharina took off her glasses and looked down at the floor. "…Danke schön, Schwester."

Mari smiled sadly. "Bitte, kleine Schwester."

The door opened, and He stepped inside. "My Ladies, I regret to inform you that both of your parents have passed."

Mari set a hand over her heart and choked slightly. Kathrina began to flap one hand and fiddle with her skirt with the other.

He looked at Mari. "Have you made your final choice?" He asked. Mari nodded. "Good," he said. "I'll be waiting for you on the balcony where the people have begun to gather below. They will be waiting for their new leader, and so will I." He walked out of the room.

Katharina stopped fidgeting and straightened her beaded black dress. "Komm, Schwester," she said. "Prussia is waiting."

Welp. I hope that made everything clearer for those who read my first two books in the cult series. I'll explain a bit more in the next two stories. That'll be fun to write. Did you know this was coming? Leave a review and tell me, won't you?

Speaking of knowing things, who can guess Katharina's "condition"? I made it as clear as I could without saying it outright, and I hinted at it in the last chapter of "The Cult of Steve". Tell me what you thought in a review!

I may have screwed the timeline up a bit here, since I said in "The Cult of Steve" that the great countries rose to power ten years before the events of that story, and I'm no longer sure how old Mari and Katharina are. I'd say they're my and my sister's age, though then I'm no longer sure what year the twelve countries came to be. I guess that's why I wrote the flash back as 20XX.

But never mind my problems, how about your problems? Leave a review telling me what you thought of this one-shot, and follow me if you want to read the next story in the cult series. Until then!