Chapter Seventy-One

"How can you be so naïve?!"

"I am not naïve, I am progressive! The fact of the matter is that this is the right thing to do!"

"And the fact that you think this is the right thing is what makes you naïve. You are absolutely blind to the ramifications of this, for the economy and military security and world influence."

"What good is world influence if we get it through subjugating people in their own land!?"

"Have you any idea how galling that ignorance is?"

"Enough!" Ruth shouted.

Catherine and Harry, who had been bickering in at increasing volume, fell silent. Ruth was not one to shout. Far from it. But when her husband and daughter were practically screaming at each other, she had to do something to stop them. They'd been at it for weeks. For the most part, Ruth stayed out of it. She needed more information. She needed time to think, to consider the options. But it was difficult to be able to think when her family spent every waking moment bickering like this.

The revolution in Mahrain had been the beginning of a sweep of rebellions throughout the colonies. Other nations' colonies had experienced similar revolts against colonial rule. Leader Towers had been working with the Army to try and protect the civilians, but Ruth knew that her military was not built or trained to do peacekeeping. The violence had increased, and colonial and rebel forces had clashed to startling death tolls and injuries. The colonies were falling like dominoes into chaos. Mahrain's independence had been quelled, once Army Intelligence had been able to get in and do what it did best. The leaders of the purported revolution had been jailed for treason and their capture had thankfully not inspired others to take up their fight; violent support for the revolution had all but disappeared apart from limited incidences. But two other colonies had declared independence and were in the process of being taken back under wing as well. The rest were too chaotic to know at all. As of this morning, eleven colonies were in the midst of unrest of one form or another.

Things had not been peaceful at home either. Outside the palace walls were two very vocal groups of protestors. One group called for swifter military action against dissidents to protect the colonies from these treasonous uprisings. The other group called for independence for the colonies, for Queen Louisa to grant independence to people who wished for self-governance. The protestors seemed to fight against each other as much as they wanted to fight against the palace.

A similar fight had been occurring inside the palace walls. Ruth had Harry frustrated by the lack of military response. The colonies were a vital part of the kingdom, bringing resources and revenue for the economy, ensuring international bases for military protection as well as intelligence-gathering, and keeping the balance of the world stage. It seemed that unless Emilia and Charlotte were around to distract him, all Harry seemed to be focused on was a swift and powerful show of force to keep the unruly colonies in line and end this revolutionary spark once and for all. A great number of Ruth's advisors were of a similar opinion.

On the other side was Catherine. She had studied colonial relations and history at university, and she had traveled extensively through the colonies. It had made her a wonderful Undersecretary of Foreign Policy. She had a detailed and passionate point of view. And her view was that the people of the colonies had more than earned the right to determine their own fate without the iron fist of control from a distant land that most of the people living in those colonies had barely ever heard of. Revolutions were happening all over the world for good reason: lands that had been undeveloped and lacking technological advancement had been given infrastructure and organization by their colonial rulers and had grown beyond the need for such paternalism. Just as a teenager learns to manage on their own in order to live an adult life away from their parents, the colonies were ready to decide their own destiny. Catherine was not alone in that opinion; recent poll numbers—which Ruth truly hated putting any stock in—had said that a very small majority of the country thought that the colonies should be set free. And some of Ruth's advisors believed that peace and diplomacy would forge greater relationships with new nations.

With a slow, deep breath, Ruth gathered all the courage she could possibly muster. "I'm going to sign the treaties."

"WHAT?!" Harry bellowed.

Ruth stood up from where she had been sitting on the sofa, pushing through the thundering of her heart. "I cannot justify further violence and death of my people to hold on to a world that is slipping through my fingers, whether I like it or not. The losses of taxation revenue can be made up with the elimination of expenses in maintaining colonial rule. The resources can be maintained through trade agreements. We aren't losing anything that we can't recover elsewhere. And Catherine said it already: it is the right thing to do."

Harry gaped at her. "Ruth, most of these lands were claimed by your great-grandfather. Your grandfather expanded them and made them flourish. And you're going to throw that away?"

"The legacy of men who came before me and lived and ruled in different times is not the barometer by which I measure my success. I will not be made into a tyrant," she snapped in response.

"You're being foolish. Weak and foolish."

Despite the way his words wounded her to her core, Ruth stood firm. "I can't expect a soldier to see a change in direction as anything other than retreat. But I'll not let my husband bully me into tightening the noose around the necks of people whose only crime is to ask for freedom."

With that, Ruth turned and left the room. She called for Jo, despite the hour, and had her make the arrangements. The decision was made, there was no time to lose.

It happened at the stroke of midnight in the throne room. The treaties had been negotiated and passed by the Legislature already. But none of it could go into effect without the monarch's consent. While she was a figurehead in her own country, she had complete authority over the colonies. And with each chime of the clock, Ruth placed her official signature on eleven treaties to release them from her rule. Louisa R. E. The ink shone in the dim light. It was done.

Harry was sitting up in bed when Ruth finally finished for the night. "Well?" he asked accusingly.

Ruth didn't much fancy getting in bed beside him right now, but she would not banish him to his dressing room. She would not hold his difference of opinion against him, no matter how much it hurt her to know he was at odds with her. "Yes," she said softly as she changed into her pajamas. She also didn't much fancy undressing in front of him right now, to be exposed and vulnerable in this kind of mood. But she would not retreat into the bathroom. She wouldn't hide. No matter how much she wanted to.

"That's that, then," he conceded.

"There's a lot to figure out. But it will solve a lot of the immediate problems. We can start building and helping rather than fighting and arresting people." She sat down at her vanity to take off her jewelry. She could see Harry in the mirror, but she tried not to look at him. She also tried not to look at the exhausted and defeated haunt in her own eyes.

Harry got settled into bed. "I've got an early appointment tomorrow. Don't take too long getting to bed. We both need to get some sleep."

Ruth went into the bathroom to wash her face and brush her teeth. She turned out the lights as she made her way to bed.

It wasn't until they were both settled side by side, not touching, that Harry spoke again. "We'll figure it out," he murmured.

She merely hummed in response.

"I love you," he added.

Tears pricked her eyes, but she shut them tight to fight off the urge to cry. "I know," she whispered in response. "And I love you, too."

Underneath the bedsheets, Ruth felt Harry reach out to hold her hand. She gave his hand a little squeeze and eventually fell asleep, his hand holding hers.

When she woke the next morning—far too early after far too little sleep—Ruth was alone. Harry said he had an early appointment, so he must have gotten up for that. Ruth knew she wouldn't see him until late tonight. She had signed eleven treaties last night to end colonial rule. Leader Towers would make the official announcement on live television from the steps of the Legislature. Ruth called for breakfast to be brought to her sitting room and ate alone in front of the television in order to watch the news and see Towers speak. It meant forfeiting her breakfast time with her daughters, but today was an exception to the norm in nearly every way, and she desperately needed this quiet to herself in order to face it.

Towers had done well. He always did. The Leader was a charismatic man in public. He had gravitas and warmth, two things that were often not found in equal measure in a politician. He had been one of the quieter voices in Ruth's ear in favor of the treaties. He knew he needed to follow whatever decision the queen made, so he had not been too vocal one way or another. But knowing that he, personally, was on her side made things slightly easier.

The speech ended and the television went back to the reporter in the news studio. Ruth sat back to finish her coffee before she had to call her maids to dress her. Might as well get a weather report.

But the weather report did not come next. No, the newscaster said, "Following that powerful announcement from Leader Towers, we turn to our royal correspondent, Nicholas Blake, at the palace with Prince Harry."

Ruth choked on her coffee at that. She could not believe what she just heard. But sure enough, the cameras were in the reception hall anteroom of the throne room downstairs. And there was Harry and Nicholas Blake. Not only had Harry not told Ruth that he was doing a television interview, but he had somehow agreed to do one with Blake. Blake was the official correspondent who reported on the Royal Family, and Harry hated the man. When Ruth's father had first become king and Ruth herself was in the public eye more and more, Harry had once physically attacked Nicholas Blake for a very unflattering report about the then-princess. Harry hated reporters, hated giving interviews, hated being on television, and he hated Blake. So why the bloody hell was he doing all of that now?

"Your Highness, you and I both watched Leader Towers announce that Queen Louisa had signed treaties releasing eleven colonies from her rule at midnight. Your comments?"

"Leader Towers said everything quite well, I thought. One thing he did not include that I think ought to be made known is that Her Majesty is a very deliberate person. She does not make decisions lightly, particularly not one like this that involves to many important effects on international relations, the prosperity of our homeland, and of course the lives of everyone involved in these struggles overseas. But in weighing those options, Queen Louisa looked not to the past and the legacy she carries on as queen after her father and uncle and grandfather before her, but to the future. By releasing her rule over these colonies, she has made the unequivocal decision to see these lands and their people into the future. A future of their own making. She has loved the people of the colonies all her life, having traveled there extensively on various royal tours. And she will still love them now that they are no longer her subjects. She will continue to be their queen as the commonwealth is established with the new nations, but they will not be ruled directly by her as they had before. Her Majesty has taken strong steps to bring our country and former colonies into the future, and, in her own words as she conveyed to me last night before signing those treaties, it is the right thing to do."

Ruth watched the rest of the interview with tears streaming down her face. Harry spoke so eloquently always. He, like Towers, had a gravitas about him. His warmth was hidden from public view, but his demeanor was always sincere. His words commanded respect because everyone knew he meant them. And he meant the words he said in supporting Ruth. He supported her on television in front of the world. He was the first person from the palace to make a public statement. He had set the tone for everything that would come after.

The day was getting late, so Ruth knew she had to get ready. But she had one of the maids make sure that as soon as Prince Harry was finished with his interview, he would come upstairs to see her. She did not have to wait long. She was only half-dressed when he came into the room. She dismissed the maids.

"What was that?" she asked. There was still a lump in her throat that she tried to swallow down.

He grunted, "An utterly obnoxious interview. While you were finalizing and signing treaties, I had Malcolm arrange it. It's my job to do things like this, you might recall."

"You didn't say."

"You had enough to contend with," Harry said with a shrug.

"Those things you said…"

His face softened, and he placed his hands on her bare arms. "I may have a disagreement with you about things as your husband, and I think I'm entitled to express my opinion when I don't agree with my wife. But you are still and always my queen. My duty is to serve you, and whatever is between us privately, no one outside this room will ever see anything other than unwavering support for anything and everything you do. Besides, you made your decision. I might have made a different one, but I might feel differently if that crown sat on my head. We'll figure out what comes next. Nothing gained from me continuing to argue or be upset after the decision's been made."

Ruth did not have words just then. She wasn't as gifted a speaker as Harry was, after all. He'd just given a beautiful interview. It would take a whole team of speechwriters hours to craft words for Ruth to say to the world when it was time for her speech this afternoon. But just for now, she did not need to speak. She threw her arms around her husband and hugged him tight. She buried her face into his neck and reveled in the feel of him holding her in his arms, the smell of him, the sound of his heartbeat against hers.

Queen Louisa was lucky to have a Prince of Leister who could support her so effectively. And Ruth knew how wildly lucky she was to have a husband who could be so strong and loving and brilliant who could support her when she didn't even realize that's what he was doing.