December 7th, 0070. Zenith. Zum City, Principality of Zeon. Kycillia Zabi POV
There were few occasions where Kycillia would admit that her brother Gihren was strongly in the right. Even though Gihren for all of his quirks had a sensible head on his shoulders and his decisions were mostly backed with logic and facts, the prideful beast within Kycillia refused to let Gihren hold too many victories and outshine or outsmart her. Yet, in the design of the Zenith which had ultimately gone towards Gihren's proposed design, Kycillia was very satisfied that in the end Gihren's Baroque design had won out over whatever futurist atrocity Degwin had been pushing.
With the Zenith not only serving as the royal palace of the Zabis but also the location of the Diet and the Supreme Court, it was imperative that the design was one that radiated the power and prestige of the Zabi dynasty, to show the radiant authority of the Principality and act as a living landmark which Zeon's identity would proudly rally behind. Naturally as the Sovereign and Crown Prince, Degwin and Gihren's ideas had been the final two choices, and while Kycillia wasn't fond of Gihren's, she thanked his God that Degwin had seen common sense and hadn't pushed for his monstrosity to serve as the seat of Zabi power.
Degwin's design was that of a garishly silver abomination where the central palace would be a large tower with the appearence of a snake of sorts with several jagged and pointed metal spires made of titanium would adorn the palace with the two western and eastern wings being noted by long spirals almost as tall as the central palace at both ends. As if the metal porcupine wasn't made enough, Degwin had also wanted a collection of windows spread across the Zenith in a asymetrical design with the glass being derived of primary colors while a collection of balconies would adorn the frontal side of the Zenith, also in a asymetrical pattern. Kycillia had herself given a verbal beatdown so strong of the design that the worst incompetents within the OSS who fell under her personal ire hadn't even come close to her disgust, and then at the end she had asked what incompetent architect had created the plans so she could put him on a blacklist, only for Degwin to bashfully admit that it was his own personal handiwork, causing Kycillia's face to become as red as her hair and the princess to avoid her father for the next couple of days.
Although to be fair she had no idea why Degwin felt the need to personally design the palace himself. He was a politician and a labor organizer, not an Architechture Major, Kycillia didn't even imagine that there were any courses on architecture within the early Munzo public school system.
Gihren's design on the other hand, which he had thankfully run by professional architects before submitting, had been a design which was based off of a mixture of German and Russian Baroque designs, somewhat fitting considering the two nationalities had been leaders of Zeon since its inception. The Zenith would have 27 floors and would be the center of a 9 squared kilometer government district. The surrounding district would include a mixture of Universal Futurist skyscrapers dedicated to Zeon's various bureaucratic agencies along with a contrasting series of Baroque buildings meant to act as the cultural half of the Zenith district, dedicated to monuments of Side 3 and cultural expressions and historical museums of the triumph and struggle of Spacenoids. The grounds throughout the government districts would be flooded by a series of gardens and greenery to produce a mixture of Temperate and tropical Earth environments with the greenery paths being overseen by Gihren himself, something that Kycillia at least trusted her brother to deal with due to his passion and knowledge of horticulture.
The Zenith itself would be a palace divided into three distinct wings, organized in such a manner that it was almost as if three distinct buildings were connected to one another like lego bricks. The central wing of the Zenith was a grand chamber focused on hosting the Zeon Diet and the Royal Court where Degwin and all future Sovereigns would host official royal functions along with Degwin having a central throne within the Diet Chambers to proceede over any and all sessions that he wished to attend. Aisde from the court and Diet chambers, the central wing would mostly be focused on displays of national power and culture along with a myriad of support for the other two wings. The Southern Wing was the Royal Wing as it acted as the official residence of the Sovereign with the 26th floor being entirely dedicated to housing the Royal family, though for now Kycillia and the rest of her family would still be primarily staying at Zabi Manor. In addition to the residence, the South Wing would serve as the workplace of the Sovereign with the Sovereign ruling from his personal office when not within Court or presiding over the Diet, being supported by a plethora of royal agencies and staff spread out among the floors with hundreds of rooms dedicated to specific functions, while the rest of the floors acted as service floors for guests of the Zabis as well as hosting royal functions which did not include the Diet involvement.
The North Wing was home to the Offices of each Diet member as well as a plethora of chambers dedicated to committees, caucuses, and dozens of Diet agencies to support or implement laws. It was far more utilitarian than the Palace though it had its fair share of extravagance and leisure. An interesting case of the positioning of the Zenith was that it was placed near the Northernmost point of the Zum City colony, so while the Central Wing would be seen as the nominal center of power for the Zenith, it would be the Southern and Royal Wing which would face the rest of Zum City, showing how all of Zum City and the rest of Zeon looked towards the Zabis first, a bit of subtle symbolism which Kycillia appreciated of her brother.
Gihren's Zenith which in the end became the final design with the Zenith having been completed days ago (Though still missing interior decorations on many of its floors and rooms, while a fraction of the rest of the District was still undergoing construction) was something that Kycillia had to admit made for a suitable center of power, but something that bugged her about it was how it was a callback to Terran historical architecture rather than something native and modern. If Kycillia had been entrusted with the Design then she would have gone for a Universal Futuristic or Neo-Universal design similar to the capitols of Sides 2 and 6, though with a more Royalist aesthetic. The Principality of Zeon was a nation for the Spacenoids and by the Spacenoids, so it made sense that they made a capitol that reflected the culture of the colonies. However, Gihren went in total defiance of this and went for his usual streak of Terranphilism with inspiration from late 18th and 19th century Europe, claiming that it would be fitting for Zeon to take inspiration from the greatest Empires of Earth and that it would grant an air of legitimacy to the newborn Zabi dynasty.
Kycillia thought it was a showing of weakness, of their family bowing down to the culture and history of Earth and claiming that they were superior, that Zeon was descended from them and not above them. It honestly frustrated Kycillia at many times on how her brother portrayed himself as some social crusader who was waging a war against the Elite of Earth, when half the time he was also seeking to undo Deikun's Contolism and have Zeon be willingly tied down to Terran culture and religion. Kycillia could understand wanting to quietly kill Deikun's legacy and influence on Zeon so that the Principality was a pure Zabi creation, but why did he have to go to such extremes and make it a carbon copy for the nation-states of Earth?
In the end, there was not much Kycillia could do to put up a fight. While the Zenith's approval was hardly Universal, it received a steady approval in the 60's and 70's from its public revelation to its completion, with Degwin, Dozle and Garma; Sasro being the lone Zabi who joined her in trying to convince Degwin to change his mind. But like many other aspects of ruling Zeon, Gihren had his way and the Zenith would for better or worse be the center of Zabi power, hopefully for at minimum centuries of Zabi rule.
To oversee the final product, Degwin had opted to take a personal tour of the Zenith with Kycillia walking at his side as his companion. Of course, her brothers had all been busy with other pursuits with Garma hanging out at the Deikun's, Dozle overseeing anti-piracy operations, and Gihren and Sasro tag teaming for legislative meetings with the Sovereign Front, but it warmed Kycillia's heart all the same that her father wanted to spend some alone time with her, after so many years where they were fairly distant socially.
As they toured across the Zenith, Kycillia had to begrudingly admit that while it was far from her preferred taste, it was at least something acceptable for her family to rule by. The end result was a perfect mixture of power and austerity with grand and opulent structures but filled with modest and simple materials designed in such a way that it seemed more extravagant and valuable than what the total value was. Outside of the most important chambers of conduct, Gihren had rather ingeniously suggested that the art which would fill the Zenith and design of its many residence, conference, and utility rooms be done by thousands of leading Zeon artists and architects who would create a room or hallway with their own mark. It didn't make for the most uniform of designs, but at least the Zabis could claim that their palace was a creation by the people instead of a pure vanity project.
The last stop to their tour was the Sovereign Office, where Degwin and one day Gihren and his heirs would rule the nation. For this they had entirely left the design to Degwin, who had chosen the American Oval Office in inspiration with Degwin ruling from behind an oak-carved Desk where he would sit on a large wooden throne which would act as one of the three Sovereign Thrones for him to rule from. The structure was largely the same as the Oval Office in positioning of furniture, but the wider space allowed for more chairs and a few more couches, along with lots of free space on the walls where Degwin choose to install book shelves or selections of art from his personal taste, not to mention over two dozen plants which had been gifted by Gihren, inftested throughout the office to turn it into a mini jungle.
Kycillia watched proudly as Degwin slowly descended onto his throne, and once he sat down, sank into the chair with his back lounging against the backrest, adopting his typical posture of casual command, though with slightly more leisure. Behind Degwin were three windows which gave a beautiful view of the rest of Zum City, along with flags of the Republic of Munzo and Principality of Zeon to his respective right and left flanks, the flags being further escorted on the wall by grand portraits of Zeon Zum Deikun and Degwin himself to his left and right.
Whatever qualms Kycillia may have had until now, seeing her father sitting regally on his throne, in total control and rule over a nation that adored him with her family being the leaders of a social revolution of the colonies, all felt right in the world, with every hardship until now being more than worth it for having lead the Zabis to become the greatest family in human history.
"How does it feel Father, to be sitting on your throne as the Sovereign monarch of the greatest nation in human history, the country which shall become architects of the Universal Century?" Kycillia asked in a mixture of idolization and pride for Degwin.
Degwin shifted in his chair, getting a feel for the leather and trying out all the different positions he could place his body in, "It feels powerful, awe-inspiring, majestic, just the sort of things one might expect from a Sovereign's throne. Sitting at this desk, it feels like I truly have the weight and responsibility of the nation within the palm of my hands along with near unlimited potential and power of the office, something I never got from my old position in Prime Minister, something I had been chasing in bloodthirst since my days as an MP. Still, it also feels somewhat...alien, like I don't belong here." Degwin admitted.
Kycillia's eyes burrowed in confusion at the statement, "How can that be Father. The Principality is the creation of your design, modern Zeon is a state whose prosperity, industry, culture and power were done by your influence and mandate, building off of Deikun's utopian nonsense and making his dream into a triumphant reality. Even the accomplishments of myself and my brothers could not have been done without your guidance and parentage. Everything you see within this palace, all the power and glory, it all belongs to you as it should be."
Degwin nodded in concession, "I can see where you are coming from Kycillia, but it's not like everything is due to my fault. For many years I acted as a parasite to Zeon, leeching off of his success and charisma, much of the government's success may have come from my bills, but there were others who lent their own vision, even that treacherous scum Jimba had a few bright ideas, plus none of us would have ever made it there in the first place if it wasn't for Zeon's prophecies and calls to action, were it not for him I would have been toiling at the docks still. As for the works of my children, you shouldn't discredit yourself and your brothers so easily Kycillia. I may have guided you down the path of power, but once in place you and your brothers exploded into shows of brilliance in your given positions, these days I seem to find myself following you instead of the other way around." Degwin said with a chuckle. "Take this, the Zenith. The brainchild of Gihren as so many of his wondrous creations, the seat and heart of Zabi power, all deriving from his imagination, far more appropriate than my 'metallic monstrosity befitting of a modern art reject." Degwin taunted playfully, with Kycillia looking away in shame.
After some chuckles, Degwin's tone turned somber, "Yes I did play my role, but lately I've been wondering if I have truly earned the absolute power, the adolation and praise that all of Side 3 and beyond, gives me. Some days I wake up and I feel like the dock worker, playing the role of an impostor, wearing clothes unbefitting of my station, like I jumped far from where I deserved." Degwin said with a far look, confusing Kycillia at why her father had such attitudes. How could he come so far and claim the Principality wasn't rightfully his?
"Besides, it's far from the most comfortable chair I have ever sat in. Kycillia, did I ever tell you and your brothers the story about how I got the recliner?" Degwin asked with a slight mirth of nostalgia.
While their manor had more than a dozen recliner chairs spread throughout the estate, Kycillia knew the one that her father was referring to was a five decade old grand recliner chair made out of brown leather that sat in the basement of their manor. For as long as she remembered, her father had treasured that chair and used it as his primary spot of relaxation and comfort throughout the series of houses that the Zabi family had called home. While she and the rest of her siblings sat in it from time to time, whenever Degwin entered the room, there was an unofficial rule that they had to get up and allow their father to sit there. Even Garma, the darling child of the family, had to obey this unwritten law.
"I don't believe you ever have." Kycillia said, unsure of where the conversation was leading.
"Really? Maybe I told one of the boys and I forgot to tell you." Degwin said, leaning back against the executive throne, his face further breaking down and showing signs of warmth. "You see, several years ago before any of you were born, your mother and I moved into our first apartment together when we were married. When we had gotten the place, I had thought the price was a steal since we were able to receive all the furniture along with the utilities that the pass owner had left when he passed on, saving thousands from the replacement costs along with not having to hire movers was a damn good deal to me at the time. It was only on our first night that I realized why we got the furniture for free. It wasn't because we were lucky, it was because the landlord couldn't find anyone to sell them to! They were all built in Anno Domini, tough as a brick, and I couldn't replace any of the broken parts because no one made them anymore, not to mention the furniture industry was non-existent in Side 3 at the time."
Kycillia was actually surprised on hearing where the story had begun. Through all of her life, Kycillia had known her father as a rather prideful man. While he was never arrogant or boisterous, he always loved to indirectly flex his power to both his peers and those below him. It was a main reason why they inhabited their manor many years before they had arisen as Zeon's royal family. While the sprawling complex was far too much for a mere family of six, the fact that Degwin was able to own such real estate was a silent showing of how he was one of the most powerful men in Zeon. In a nation where every single centimeter of land was heavily regulated and the constrained nature of the colonies offered limited real estate potential, owning a sprawling property that was several hundred square meters while most of the population was herded into cramp apartment complexes was one of the greatest signs of wealth and power.
Yet Kycillia knew there was another large reason for obtaining the manor. Though she knew her father would never outright say it, she knew that there was a large portion of his past that he was either ashamed of or outright disgusted of it. That was not to say that Degwin entirely hated his past, she knew that his tales of his time as a union manager were more than just propaganda to appeal to the working class, yet there was so much about the first half of his life that he kept guarded in mystery, even to his own family. To be fair, Degwin had been more open in recent years with the rise of the Zabis fortunes, this conversation being one of them.
"Your mother was highly in favor of getting rid of the antiques that decorated our home and to get comfortable furniture, but I refused. This was about two years before Gihren was coming and I wanted to save most of our funds so we could start a family. Not to mention that I knew there was no way in hell that I was staying in that place for more than a few years, renovating that shack would've been a massive waste." Degwin said with a bit of anger thrust into his tone before it quickly melted away.
Kycillia was also aware of another reason that Degwin refused to talk about this time period. Mainly of how her parents were struggling financially when her grandfather was a shipping mogul and one of the richest men in space at the time.
When she had started her young career in espionage, Kycillia was thrust into the darker side of her family's political dealings, and for years she was well aware of her father's private relationship with his in-laws. While Degwin had been able to gain a substantial amount of blackmail over her grandfather, he had only used it to either benefit the Union as a whole or drive him higher in leadership within the docks rather than ask for direct monetary assistance. This was something that Kycillia thought to be smart of her father as instead of using illicit materials for temporary material pleasure, her father had laid the foundation for his rise to power, building a road that led the family to where they were today.
Still, there was a part of Kycillia that was livid at the thought about how her father, the greatest men she ever knew, had at one point been struggling on a daily basis, and was almost unable to marry her mother just because he came from "an unsavory background." To Kycillia, her family was her father and her brothers, nothing more and nothing less. Any blood of hers that refused to help their kin during their years of hardship were pretty much dead to her. It was a major relief that during the rise of the Principality, neither of the Zabi family's matrilenial branches provoked a scandal or tried to demand something for their soon to be royal kin. If they did...well they were not family so it was of no matter what she did as Director of the OSS.
"So your mother spends several weeks searching all over Zum City to find anyone who was willing to sell some decent furniture for our house to move in. She did get a few good finds, but it was mostly minor pieces such as a few tables, chests, a lamp or a stool. Around that time I went to the doctor and I was complaining of back pain due to the zero gravity work, so your mother prioritized getting me a nice chair to sit in after work while she played the role of the good housewife. That was always something I admired about Alice, how selfless and loving she could be to everyone around her. She married a pauper but she treated me like a king, and anytime I tried to pamper her she would always whine about how I was being fussy and overbearing when I wasn't doing nearly as half as how she was, don't even get me started on how cranky she was during the pregnancies." Degwin reminisced with a nostalgic smile, tears forming in his eyes over the simpler times while Kycillia looked on in sympathy and jealousy, of the woman who all of her older brothers had adored yet she never had any memories of.
"So one day she finds an ad when running some errands about a flat sale and she goes to check it out. At the apartment where the sale was taking place, everything within there was being sold for dirt cheap despite all of the furniture being decent imports, which should have been a warning sign but your mother was getting desperate. After searching for all of the items, she found this large brown leather recliner that retracted half a meter and was one of the comfiest chairs you could sit in."
"But I thought your recliner was green?" Kycillia asked in confusion, wondering if her memory was failing her.
"It is and I'm going to get to that. So she buys the recliner and in the process gets some pillows in the process as a bargain. She loads it up into our car and drives it back to our house, but it was too big for her to carry so she asked Samuel Burns, he was a neighbor and good friend of ours, to help her move the recliner. So they carry it up the stairs of our building and bring it to our apartment, only for the Munzo Police to burst in the minute they had settled everything and arresting the both of them. The reason? The Recliner and pillows were stuffed with cocaine and the seller was part of one of the largest drug rings within Munzo." Degwin informed.
Kycillia was utterly scandalized that such an incident took place and she never heard about it, even as Director of the OSS. "Mother was arrested? Why did they think she was involved?" Kycillia asked in shock, while Degwin merely chuckled at her reaction.
"Well the whole sale was meant to get rid of their cocaine stashes as the police were hot on their trail and about to arrest them. There were many stashes of cocaine and meth mixed in with the goods, and it was meant to frame the buyers for being part of the operation and spread the trail so they could escape. While they had intended to wait longer, your mother's status as the daughter of your grandfather made the police think there was corporate corruption and as such they had to move quickly before things escalated. It didn't help that poor Samuel had been a repeat offender of petty theft back on Earth so they assumed that since your mother bought from a criminal and she was moving the cocaine with a "criminal" then she must be one. Let me tell you, when I got the call from your mother that she was charged with trafficking of narcotics I nearly had a heart attack in the office." Degwin said, laughing at the absurdity of the situation while Kycillia stood still in continued silence and astonishment.
"Fortunately your grandfather and I were able to smooth the process along to have her be released on bail the next day, and through our combined influences and the work of the detectives, her name was soon cleared of any wrongdoing. Back then it was a tense and terrifying time, but in the years afterwords we would always laugh about it and joke to our friends of the time Alice became a coke smuggler for a day. So anyways to wrap up this story, the police were deeply terrified at their mistake due to the actions and intimidation your grandfather and I used, and to smooth things along they tried to play nice and offer a variety of concessions to prevent a lawsuit. One of the detectives who arrested her mentioned that he had a recliner that he had been wanting to get rid of, and while I had tried to push Alice to be more retributive, she accepted the offer after seeing the chair for herself. At first I was livid at how she was squandering this rare influence over the police that I could have used later down the line, but then she brought it home and made me sit in it, and like goldielocks in that three bears story, the chair felt just right and it was as if all my stress and discomfort had been melted away. And that Kycillia, is the story of how I received my first throne of sorts." Degwin chuckled in mirth.
Kycillia curved her lips upwards slightly, shaking her head in disbelief over how such a simple piece of furniture had such a crazy history. She wondered just what other stories her father had been keeping from her and the rest of her brothers. Until the past few years he rarely if ever talked about life before the birth of Garma, and it was almost always in stern and bitter lectures of how he had come to power as an example to follow or how her and her brothers should be grateful for the privileges and responsibilities they had received when he had come from nothing. The stories in recent years were never frequent, but now they were filled with warm nostalgia instead of resentment.
"Kycillia, do you ever wish to go back to the life we had before?" Degwin asked solemly, with Kycillia jerking her head back in shock at the question.
"Go back, what do you mean father?" Kycillia inquired in bewilderment.
"I mean to the simpler times, when I was just one politician among many, we didn't live in our mansion, you and your brothers weren't national leaders, and we weren't handed absolute power over Side 3. I am grateful for all that we have accomplished and I would be an extreme hypocrite to have soiled and bloodied my hands so greatly and deny the responsibilities and mandates placed upon me to make our country great. It's just that, lately I've been looking back to before, and how much warmth, care and love there were in those days. I think as a family we've come forward greatly in these last four years, but I feel more like we stumbled into our current bonds than building them naturally. I forced you to take paths of my design and only Gihren and Garma had somewhat normal childhoods. You are one of the strongest and most brilliant leaders I know Kycillia, but you did not choose your role, I made you become Directo. Sometimes...I just wish that we'd be the Zabis instead of THE Zabis. You five deserved to grow up in a normal family with all of the happiness and struggles that come with it, but I took that away from you." Degwin explained in melancholy, his eyes looking down solemly onto his throne, the representation of what he had built at many a high cost.
Kycillia was heavily surprised by this admission. While her father had changed greatly in recent years, at his core Degwin Sodo Zabi was still the same, a great man with a heavy ambition who would destroy anything in his path and achieve ultimate power for the greatness of his family and nation. Yet here before her sat a man who if anything seemed to reject it all. She had heard before of great men coming into high power and leadership and lamenting the positions they had obtained, was the same happening to her father?
Kycillia walked behind the throne and wrapped her arms around Degwin, kissing his temple in a rare show of affection from the Iron Princess, "We may not have grown up normal, but I don't ever regret it. Perhaps you could have been a better father, but you were the best one I could have ever had and I wouldn't have had my life any other way. We may have missed out on some aspects of life that many families get to go through, but in the process we have created our own nation and are leading the greatest revolution in history. We are doing so much to the Principality and greater Earth sphere, all because you were ambitious and desired to take what was rightfully yours from those who did not deserve it. Normality is overrated father, I'm content where I am, all of my brothers are, everything turned out alright." Kycillia argued.
Degwin hummed in deep thought of what she had said, and Kycillia could tell there were some signs that he disagreed with her. Thankfully, Degwin did not dismiss her words entirely out of hand, nodding in acceptance. "Perhaps you are right Kycillia, I just wish I could have given you and your brothers a few more years to enjoy your lives with little care or worries before being thrust into royalty. Hopefully someday I can at least spoil my grandchildren heavily before they ascend into their powers as princes and princesses." Degwin said, looking up at Kycillia with a slightly sly smirk while the redhead laughed it away uncomfortably, not really of the belief that Degwin would be a grandfather anytime this decade, especially from her.
"Father, would you mind telling more stories of you and mother, before you had us?" Kycillia asked, both wanting to change the subject and connect with the ghost of a woman who had brought her into this world.
Degwin smiled in gratitude and began to indulge Kycillia with tales of his past, "Well there are a lot of stories to choose from, but I'll start off with a fun one, the 0042 poker tournament we entered."
December 15th, 0070. Irene Nursery. Zum City, Principality of Zeon. Garma Zabi POV
"I'm telling you Cecilia, there's a whole world of houseplants that your family can make a fortune in, there's more a Spacenoid can plant in their home than just a cactus." Gihren Zabi tried to plead in a convincing tone to his Chief of Staff Cecilia Irene. It was a conversation that would have been normal for the pair within the office, except they weren't at the Zenith, but instead conversing instead of the rooftop nursery of the Irene family business, with Garma watching on in silent amusement about a meter away.
"But your list is water-intensive and from most of the people I've met, they don't want to bother with anything that'll hike up their water bills. We don't all have the luxury of being multi-billionaires." Cecilia retorted. It was a response that might have been scandalous to most of the Zeon political sphere, but Gihren simply rolled his eyes, their banter having bene normal for the past several months due to the increasing casualness of their relationship.
"With all of the money that's being filled in their pockets thanks to our policies-"
"Someone likes to brag." Cecilia taunted, with Gihren smiling in response.
"People can afford a cup of water a day. If I act as your family's spokesman they'll buy it just to flex on their neighbors. Hell, I could be advertising a palm tree and they'd buy it. Not only would people get some for status symbols, but we can make a whole campaign on how packing your home with plants can raise air quality throughout the qualities, it's green and Contolist." Gihren reasoned.
"I guess, but after the hype wears down I don't think there'd be much of a demand. There's always a market for flowers because they're beautiful to everyone and it's mandatory for any occasion. Most of the plants on your list are a dull green, not exactly vibrant decoration material." Cecilia pointed out.
"There's plenty of stuff that is visually appealing like Chinese Evergreens, Bromelaids, and Begonias." Gihren pointed out.
With the pair now getting into the intracacies of floral design and namedropping exotic plants that sounded more like science fiction characters, Garma's interest in the conversation waned, and knowing that Gihren would likely brush him off, he decided to wander off and explore the nursery to kill time until Gihren needed him.
Earlier in the day Garma had no expectations of joining Gihren on a shopping trip for plants, Garma having nowhere near the enthusiasm for botany like Gihren, after breakfast he found himself being drafted by his oldest brother into "Family bonding time". The activity for said bonding time? Searching for a Christmas tree.
Since the Zabi family had become one-third Christian, the family had taken to celebrating Christmas in a cultural and spiritual (for Gihrenand Garma) manner rather than just having a large dinner, giving gifts, and lounging around as they had in previous years. Part of this had been Gihren decorating the manner along with the aid of the staff to have late November and December see the mansion become a winter castle of sorts with the extensive display of Christmas decorations such as stockings, Christmas lights, a nativity set, and a large Christmas tree within the living room. In the past three years they had used a plastic tree, but this year Gihren was going to buy a genuine pine-needled Christmas tree, a decision that was greeted with staunch protests from Kycillia on how it would drag pines and make the house smell. One victory by Gihren at a chess game with a tree on the line later, and both Gihren and Garma were off to select the tree.
The decision to get a genuine tree was surprising to Garma as it was a tradition that was barely practiced within the colonies, not even the Spacenoid rich as taking care of a giant pine tree was seen as too much of a hassle by most, with those celebrating Christmas simply opting for plastic or no trees at all. Such sentiments of practicality, which Garma had admittedly also partially agreed with, but once again Gihren's old soul pulled through and lead the charge.
Fortunately for Gihren, he would be able to get a tree thanks to the nursery and floral shop of his Chief of Staff, Cecilia Irene, stocking some Christmas trees after having just imported it in October, the risky business decision being due to a combination of endorsement by Gihren and the rise in pine imports thanks to the religious revival in Zeon and the colonies. After an hour of searching, the Zabis settled on a Christmas tree, though they were unable to leave due to Gihren striking a conversation with Cecilia just as they were about to pay, leading to the full-blown debate that they were having over Spacenoid floral styles and designs at the moment.
Garma shook his head in slight exaspiration over his brother getting sidetracked, though he was at the same time glad that his brother could have conversations like this. For most of his life Garma could not think of Gihren as anything than a cold and standoffish man, someone who was always the center of a crowd but never part of it, leading but never standing alongside anyone. It was a type of isolation that was shared by the rest of the Zabi family with the exception of Dozle who seemed to gather companionship easily like a swarm of moths to his flame. All of the Zabi children had developed their own relationships in recent years, Garma becoming best friends with Casval being a major example, surprisingly out of the five of them it was Gihren who lead the charge with a new circle of friends and confidants instead of allies and partners. Most of them may have been tied to Gihren through work, but they did share genuine bonds with Gihren outside of their vocations and sometimes Gihren would even arrive at the house in a late night not because of his duties, but because he was off hanging out with people, something that would have been inconsiderable five years ago. Yet out of all the people who were now part of Gihren's social circle, it was obvious to Garma that the one he was closest to was his Chief of Staff, Cecilia Irene.
Gihren tried to act like their relationship was strictly professional, of a boss and an employee, but Garma was observant enough to tell signs of something deeper going on. All the times Gihren claimed to be doing work when he was actually just talking with Cecilia, the two playing off of each other in a exchange of wit and banter. The many lunches the two had together. The fact that Gihren seemed to perform his duties consistently with Cecilia at his side when her attendance wasn't necessary, sometimes with just her. The fact that Gihren bought all of his plants exclusively from the Irene Nursery and had even endorsed her family business, something that any small business in Side 3 would literally die for. And most recently, his invitation to her of attendance at the Zabi Christmas party, meaning it would be Cecilia's first time in the Zabi home when not even many high profile members of the Sovereign Populists had stepped within the halls of Zabi manor.
Garma didn't think there was anything romantic between the two of them, at least yet. Gihren may have been better when personally interacting with people, but he seemed incredibly awkward and hesitant on the idea of romance, shoving it to the side for a future issue like the rest of his older siblings. While the two of them may not "like like" each other, it was clear that they still cared about one another on some way beyond their official roles and Gihren held her in high esteem than most people outside the family, the fact that they were here today was proof enough of it. Garma was willing to even bet a month's worth of allowance that if he really pressed Gihren that he would admit that Cecilia was a friend.
Kycillia may not have liked the relationship between Gihren and Cecilia for the impression that their interactions might give towards the public thanks to Gihren being the most eligible bachelor in space, but Garma was really happy for the two. Cecilia was a very pleasant, fun and warm person, someone who had always treated Garma nicely when he interacted with her and didn't place him on some unreachable pedestal as his father's son. The fact that she was heavily talented and helped Gihren in many of his successes was also a plus in Garma's book. If the two wanted to spend time together that was more than alright in Garma's book, he just really hoped that if something more ever happened between the two of them, that Gihren would be smart enough to handle things and not miss something important.
With both Gihren and Cecilia STILL having a debate over the better household plants, Garma wandered aimlessly throughout the nursery, texting with Casval on his phone and browsing the internet while occasionally he observed the plants around him. Garma didn't exactly dislike horticulture, but he never had the green thumb that Gihren had and disliked getting dirty with yard work. Selecting a real Christmas tree was certainly fun, but since they already found one twenty minutes ago, Garma was more than ready for them to leave and bring the tree home to decorate, but he would be a good little brother and resolve to let Gihren have his fun...at least for an hour at most. If it took that long than Garma was going to intervene and get their father to ask Gihren to return home.
December 24th, 0070 Zabi Manor. Zum City, Principality of Zeon. Johnny Ridden POV
In the past whenever Johnny's father Jack had been invited to a social gathering thrown by one of his allies or a member of the Zeon elite, Johnny had firmly decided to remain home within the Ridden household and let his parents suffer through the dredge of the fancy parties that they would spend the nights at. It was an arrangement that suited both parties just fine as the Riddens didn't worry about their son falling unto pressure or coercion from any of their rivals while Johnny wouldn't have to put on an act and bore himself with hours of formal interactions where he'd most likely be put on the spot for his parent's work and the current events of Zeon and the Earth sphere when Johnny had no interest in politics.
Thus it was surprising to Jack and Claire Ridden when in their invitation to the Zabi Christmas party, they had been inquired if Johnny would be available to attend. It was a tough issue for the two to deal with as while Degwin did not demand that Johnny would come, if he did not show up at the party without a strong excuse then it could reflect poorly on their respect to their Sovereign, as if they had slapped the hospitality of the Zabis in the face. The Zabi family as a whole had gotten a lot more relaxed and friendly in recent years, but the Riddens remembered strongly of how it was not long ago that Degwin would ruin the lives of any man and woman who delivered an imaginary or real slight to the Zabi name, and how his antagonism with Jimba Ral and the inability of either side to settle the dispute lead to the deadliest terrorist attack in Zeon history.
With few good options, Jack and Claire had resolved to talk to Johnny and try to nudge him into accepting the invitation, and afterword they would coach their son on how to make it through the night, only for the pair to be completely surprised when Johnny had enthusiastically accepted, admitting that he was heavily looking forward to the occasion and was hoping that he could tag along for a while.
Since his dramatic stand against Guntank Gordon half a year ago, Johnny had become engaged with the political scene and paid a lot more attention to affairs within and outside of Zeon, even participating in debates and discussions with his fellow platoonmates within the Academy from time to time. Johnny may not have been a Zabi zealot or the most skilled and knowledgable of political enthusiasts, but he now had a deep appreciation for his parent's service and wanted to be a part of that world in whatever way he could.
The growing infatuation with a certain redhaired princess had certainly not influenced his interest in the Zabis and politics though,nope, none whatsoever!
Happy that their son was showing a greater interest in their work and nation, Jack and Claire tutored their son on the intricacies of "court protocol" as it were and the many public and hidden relationships and standings of the close allies of the Zabi family and how they affected the Riddens. With Johnny's education going smoothly, the Riddens RSVP'd to the Zabis that all three would be coming, and thus Johnny found himself stepping within the halls of Zabi Manor for the first time in his life, a rare opportunity that millions of Zeon citizens would probably literally kill to obtain.
When Johnny had first arrived with his parents, the affair had seemed intimidating at first. The high ceilings and vast space of the Zabi Manor made Johnny feel like he was suffocating despite the heavily open space. There were dozens of people who Johnny had never seen or barely knew anything of, and they had all gathered upon him like vultures, and while polite their series of questions with Johnny repeating the answers he had rehearsed for what felt like thousands of times became exhausting quickly as Johnny felt he was judged and had little to show for, while conversations always seemed to drift back to his confrontation with Guntank Gordon.
Then there was his meeting with Degwin and Gihren, two of if not the most powerful man in space. Degwin had acted in much of a similar manner to the multitude of adults he had previously met, though Johnny felt slightly more comfortable due to the Sovereign exhibiting a sort of grandfatherly air that made Johnny completely at ease. Then there was Gihren, who Johnny had been dreading meeting forfalling under the judgement of the master orator of the Zabis, only for Gihren to completely blindside him and put him at ease by asking him about his being a fan of Zum City United. Happy to not go into another conversation about the Academy and his future, Johnny spent a couple of minutes with the crown prince on the topic of ZCU's performance in the last city, their favorite players and games and frustrations with how the playoffs turned out. While Gihren broke the conversation to talk to another guest, fortunately, Shin and his family had just arrived at the exact same time, allowing Johnny to hang out and stick closely with his best friend, now feeling comfortable enough with his attendance thanks to Gihren.
The rest of the night turned out be a pleasant if not fun affair, most of Johnny's anxieties and fears being proven to be unfounded. Johnny had come to the party expecting a stuffy and formal atmosphere of big wigs talking business and power, but it was mostly a casual affair with half of the guests being close family friends of the Zabis rather than critical allies within the government and private sector. Shin had explained that the Zabis had actually hosted such a formal gathering a few days ago in the Zenith, so the Christmas Eve party was more of a coming together of those closest to the Zabis to enjoy their time with one another in the Christmas spirit, though it was admittedly a recent development. This had applied to Johnny with the partygoers who he had been introduced to where once they got a feel for who Johnny was, they relaxed in their conversational subjects and engaged in more casual dialogue which Johnny could relate to and participate in, with politics surprisingly being a light topic for the evening.
With Johnny sticking by Shin as his social wingman, he was able to cruise through the night as a social butterfly and let his natural charm take over and engage in conversation with most of the guests, with his parents telling him how proud they were of his conduct over dinner. About half of the time Johnny and Shin hung out with the children and teens who were attending the party. There, Johnny had met the infamous Deikun children for the first time. Considering how well the Zabis were able to cover up their media presences since the passing of Zeon, Johnny had no idea just how the children were, but from his first impressions they seemed alright. Artesia was a polite young girl with a cheerful personality that was well into the holiday spirit, though she tended to be introverted and stuck to hanging out with her best friend or tending to the Zabi dogs. Casval seemed the complete opposite in personality, a rough and serious boy who while well mannered, seemed to be on guard and never relaxed unless conversing with his family or the Zabis, especially with his best friend in Garma who seemed to be able to bring the most emotion out of the Deikun. Casval seemed to completely lack the charisma and charm of his father, though he made up for it with a heavy dose of maturity and imposing aura which was on display when he interrogated Johnny and Shin at great lengths about their time as mobile suit pilots and what Academy life was like, pretty much directing the conversation and giving his own viewpoints on the military and politics within Zeon and the Earth Sphere. If he were to ever have the charisma and presentational skill of Gihren, then surely Casval would be the second coming of his father.
It was of heavy surprise to Johnny that while the Deikuns seemed to keep most at arm's length, they fully embraced the company of a young boy named Amuro Ray who seemed to be especially close to Artesia. While Amuro didn't make much of an impression on initial glance, being incredibly shy and not having the best conversational skills, once Johnny had started a conversation with him he couldn't help but be amazed by just how incredibly smart the kid was. At the age of 7 he already made a small number of high quality toys for Zeonic, including the infamous Haro robot which was one of the hottest items on the Christmas market. Amuro had been able to explain multiple complex topics of science and engineering that were so advanced that Johnny had gotten lost frequently with Artesia often acting as a translator. Honestly it seemed more like he was talking with a college professor than an actual kid. Considering that his father was the Tem Ray, creator of the mobile suit and one of the leading minds at Zeonic, Johnny wasn't too surprised, like Degwin and his children it seemed that the apple didn't fall too far from the tree with the Ray family. Overall Amuro seemed like a decent kid and he was glad that Zeon's daughter had one genuine friend, he just hoped he made a good impression to be held in high esteem with Tem Ray, hopefully allowing some networking to be accomplished and for Johnny to be a test pilot after graduating the Academy.
Then there were the Zabis. Degwin continued to play the role of the grandfatherly figure of sorts, interrogating Johnny through a rather casual manner with Degwin in return telling about his father Jack's work within the Diet and how he was thankful for his contributions, something that made Johnny very appreciative of his father's service to Zeon. Sasro had been rather aloof and distant when speaking to Johnny but for the most part he was polite and Johnny didn't think there was anything he did that would offend the second son. Dozle was his usual rambunctious self, loud and boisterous and driving any conversation with hearty laughter and enthusiasm, though for Johnny it was more of the same as he had actually spoken with Dozle a number of times before through his friendship with Shin, Johnny hoping that he was seen in Dozle's eyes through a similar manner as his best friend. Garma seemed like a pretty decent person, a bit sheltered and naive though someone with a good heart and an open mind, though far from the charismatic heartthrob that some of Johnny's younger cousins portrayed him as. Out of all of the sons of Degwin, Gihren was perhaps the most surprising in how stark of a contrast he presented with the thunderous and commanding orator seemingly replaced with a jovial and gregarious friend of sorts. Out of all the Zabis, Gihren seemed the most interested in Johnny with the man frequently trying to draw him into conversations, whether it was politics, the military, or casual affairs such as entertainment or sports. Though such interest while intense, didn't last too long as later on in the night Johnny found Gihren near exclusively in the company of his Chief of Staff who he at first assumed was hid date.
Of course last but not least was Lady Kycillia Zabi, who met all of Johnny's fantasies and more. Kycillia was absolutely beautiful that night, wearing a simple purple sweater along with a red scarf and jeans in contrast to her usual uniform, mixing casualness with grace. She wore a light layer of makeup that brought out the best of her stunning black eyes as well as her cheekbones and lips, which combined with her hair being let loose straight down to her shoulders instead of her usual bun made her look like an angel. Beyond her looks Kycillia had carried herself throughout the entire night with absolute poise and grace wherever she strode upon within her home, with Johnny being fortunate enough to catch a few glimpses of laughter and a genuine smile full of warmth when she was with her father and brothers. Before Johnny had a crush on Kycillia, but now he was sure that he was falling head over heels for the princess.
Unfortunately when Johnny struck up the nerve to actually interact with Kycillia, his attempts to get to know the Zabi ended up about as successful as trying to drive through a concrete wall unharmed while trying to have no damage to the car.
Despite Johnny being on his best behavior and being entirely polite and curteous to Kycillia the entire time, acting in the same way he had interacted well with the rest of the Zabis and following his mother's tips on how to talk to a girl he liked (which Johnny had misdirected her to believe it was someone at the Academy), Kycillia had given him the cold shoulder after the first couple minutes of him speaking up to her. Her body had tensed up and she seemed uninterested and...disappointed? Johnny did his best to put on a brave face, get to know Kycillia and let her see how he was so much more than the idiotic hero who faced down Guntank Gordon. Even if they didn't share an instant park, which Johnny's realistic half was more than expecting going into the party tonight, he at least hoped that they would end things on good terms with something more to build off of, even a acquaintanceship would have been fine! Instead Kycillia had simply walked away and shrugged off every attempt to start a conversation with disintrest, even with Gihren acting on Johnny's behalf there was still that visible distaste.
In the end it was rather frustrating that he had been able to make little headway with Kycillia, but at least the rest of the Zabis seemed to like him, which was a plus in his book. As his father's son Johnny would have several more opportunities to interact with the Zabis, especially with his current career path in the military with Gihren and Dozle seeming to prize mobile suits as the elite of the Defense Force. All Johnny had to do was be patient.
Fortunately for the Australian Spacenoid, it looked like he didn't need to be too patient as on the way back from using the restroom, where he consequently got lost within the many halls of the manor, Johnny found himself at the famous Gihren greenhouse, where at the edge of the room towards the window stood a solitary Kycillia Zabi.
Before Johnny could think of a good plan to act upon, his legs moved on their own and he found himself approaching the princess. Upon closer inspection, he found Kycillia perched over slightly and rubbing the belly of a dog who he identified as the pet beagle of the Zabis, Snoopy. The Beagle was content to lie on the ground at the mercy and affection of Kycillia, until his eyes noticed Johnny entering, causing the dog to launch upright and skip towards Johnny with a happy pant, sniffing his legs in curiosity at the visitor. Johnny cautiously petted the beagle with Snoopy nuzzling into his touch, while Kycillia was momentarily confused with her eyes following the beagle, causing her mouth to form a light scowl when she realized who was inside.
"Johnny Ridden, I see you have little care for the boundaries of another's home." Kycillia accused, with Johnny freezing up at the tone, realizing awkwardly how badly he was setting himself off as.
"I apologize my Lady, I was returning to the party from the restroom and got lost when I noticed the greenhouse. Your brother Gihren had invited me to visit earlier, so I had assumed that I had permission and let m curiosity get the better of me and explored, I did not mean to intrude where I was not wanted." Johnny lied slightly, he did get permission from Gihren earlier but he had entered the greenhouse out of curiosity for Kycillia than the plants. To distract himself from the awkwardness, Johnny scratched Snoopy's ears with his right hand with the beagle reciprocating with some soft lips.
Kycillia's eyes shifted between Johnny and the dog, her body relaxing somewhat briefly before tensing up again, "Apology accepted, now leave." The princess demanded.
Johnny's heel shifted slightly, a shake traveling through his body at the sterness of Kycillia's authority, being more than aware now that she was crass with him and it was best for him to back off. Still, the stubborn core of Johnny's character refused to back off and lose without at least having a chance to defend himself and understand where he went wrong, "Lady Kycillia, I apologize greatly if I have offended you and your family over the course of tonight. I hold you and your father and brothers in nothing but the highest of regards and do not wish to insult you within your own home. If I have committed any wrong to yourself, please enlighten me so I can correct as soon as possible." Johnny requested, trying to be as diplomatic and neutral as possible.
Unfortunately, all his efforts seemed to result in was Kycillia somehow becoming even more turned off with a heavy roll of her eyes, "Please stop the theatrics. I sincerely hope that Jack didn't train you for this, because if so then he's far less of a politician than I thought he was."
"Excuse me?" Johnny asked, dumbfounded over what she was trying to accuse him of.
"Don't try and blame dumb Ridden, I am well aware of what your game is. Your incessant prodding, the constant compliments and flattery, trying to pretend interest in my personal life, you're merely seeking to manipulate me as a pawn to advance your family's position and agenda." Kycillia concluded with a derisive snort.
Johnny reeled back in horror as he not only seemed to have made an enemy out of the heavily paranoid Kycillia, but she was also placing his family at fault, most likely getting the impression that his parents were schemers who were seeking for further power through Johnny. Looking back, Johnny realized he may have come off a bit too strong, as with Kycillia he let his fixation get the best of her and tried too hard to have her hold him in a good regard, but he didn't do it for any political reasons, and the last thing Johnny wanted was his parents to suffer for his mistakes.
"Lady Kycillia, I am deeply sorry if my behavior came off too strong and made you feel uncomfortable, but I swear to you that I had no ill intentions tonight to use your family for personal gain." Johnny pleaded. Next to him Snoopy whined and looked at Kycillia with puppy dog eyes, as if he was pleading on Johnny's behalf.
"A convenient excuse, but one I heard countless times before."
"I do not know what I have to do to make you believe me, but it is the truth Lady Kycillia. While your family's favor would be extremely beneficial, I have no wish to gain influence when I'm content with my current life at the Academy and my family's status. My father is already one of the leading members of the Sovereign Front and we are comfortable financially, what more could we want?"
"Please, few people connected to politics, especially in Side 3 are that naive. Why else would you have such the sudden interest, why the aggressiveness when you were never involved before?"
"Because I like you and I want to get to know you." Johnny blurted out on reaction, with Kycillia reeling and stumbling slightly back in shock.
"What...what did you say?"
With the situation already so abysmal, Johnny decided that completely coming clean couldn't possibly hurt, "Ever since you and your brother saved Shin and myself on that day at the protest, I've become very interested in you as a person Lady Kycillia. You defused the crisis with such grace and poise, facing down the might of the Federation without an ounce of fear, knowing that you would succeed. You not only saved the livelihoods of that neighborhood, but you also saved my life when I was a foolish idiot who rushed in recklessly without thinking of the consequences of my actions. Ever since then I've been heavily interested by the princess of Zeon, someone who at my age has done so much to make our country safer and protect us from the Federation, to make the Principality as strong as it is today. You're a very fascinating person my Lady, and I wanted to get to know who you were as a person, beyond what the media and Gihren's rallies say, and hopefully we could become friends. I must also admit that you are very beautiful and I'm not usually the best at talking with pretty girls." Johnny explained, inwardly horrified of what he had added at the end when everything was going so well.
Johnny closed his eyes, bracing himself for the backlash and for tonight to become the worst Christmas ever, his eyes shut for what felt like an eternity but was probably only ten or twenty seconds at most, only opening them up when he felt the paws of Snoopy lean on him. He looked towards Kycillia and was surprised with a sight that few if any in Zeon had or would probably ever experience, Kycillia acting bashful and embarrassed, her eyes looking down and towards the left and away from him while her arms were crossed.
"Well Johnny, it appears that I have misjudged your behavior earlier. I...apologize. These situations are new for me., interacting with others my age. I assumed the worst and felt that my family was being betrayed by one of our closest allies, it was immature and careless of myself." Kycillia apologized, still refusing to meet Johnny's eyes.
Johnny reacted with a defusing smile to show he had not taken too much offense. Well...he was definitely terrified a minute earlier of the potential wrath he had unleashed upon his family, but he understood how his demeanor could have been interpreted differently. "It is alright my Lady, I understood you were only acting in defense of your family and I could definitely have approached things better, so you're not entirely blameless." Johnny said with a nervous laugh. "If it is alright with you my Lady, may we both just start over and pretend the last couple of hours didn't happen?"
After hearing his answer, Kycillia gained the resolve to look back at him, her skin returning from its bright red hue to a normal porcelain. "That sounds acceptable, but please, call me Kycillia. You are a guest within my household, there is no need for titles as of now."
Johnny breathed an immense sigh of relief, glad that he had a second chance and could move forward, "Well hello Kycillia, I'm Johnny Ridden, it's a pleasure to meet you." Johnny greeted warmly, unsure of whether to offer a handshake or not while Kycillia simply politely nodded, an awkward silence forming between the two.
Johnny's mind scrambled to come up with something to build off of, but his mind was drawing blanks, until-"So how about the weather lately?" Johnny asked, wanting to slam his head to into the ground immediately after for how stupid he sounded.
Kycillia stared neutrally, "I don't think you're very good at this."
"Yeah, I'm probably not." Johnny sheepishly admitted, with Kycillia curving her lips upwards just slightly with light grunt.
For about half an hour the two of them would talk and open up with one another inside the isolation of the greenhouse, with Johnny able to show his true self to Kycillia who while still heavily on guard and not reciprocating nearly as much, allowed Johnny to have his say which was more than enough for him, especially when he successfully gave her his phone number with the princess "considering" using it in the future to perhaps formally invite him to another Zabi event. Fortunately for the two they were allowed to share such intimate moments in privacy, with the exception of a snooping Crown Prince who later raised a silent toast in success at playing matchmaker despite the fact he had nearly nothing to do with this victory.
A/N: Hello everyone, long time no see...and it's all my fault. While there wasn't any huge tragedy or big change of my life that completely prevented me from writing, there was a series of events that made me lose interest in the story and Gundam in general until recently. Basically, the overall lack in content for the franchise lead to me waning in interest in Gundam while my childhood love for Star Wars was reignited with a fiery passion thanks to releases by Disney and my participation in many a fan works with my friends on Alternatehistory and my SWTOR Guild. There may have also been some burnout from Gundam material, but rest assured my love for the franchise still remains and watching Narrative and reading Thunderbolt along with building some Gunpla kits has kept my passion up and pushed me to write these chapters, near the 5th anniversary mark of this story.
Outside of fictional muses, the last year was the most monumental of my life as I went through my final year of college with all of the COVID shenanigans, our country went through a crazy amount of change in all respects, I graduated from college and earned my degree, and spent the last seven months doing some writing for a hopeful original novel that I could publish in the future and job hunting in this shitty economy. It's been a crazy ride though thankfully nothing outright horrible happened in my life as all of my loved ones, save for my dog who passed away peacefully recently, are still alive and my family is doing pretty okay financially. Overall I am blessed to at least be in a good state when so many people across the world are suffering, but it's still been a weird and crazy year which has played a part in interrupting my writing.
Lastly what started my hiatus in the first place was this hell of a chapter with my inability to work on it stretching the hiatus from days, to weeks, months, and then more than a year. I could not work on it until the past two weeks due to my utter hatred and loathing of social chapters and interactions between characters. I generally work best when writing lore and worldbuilding, setting up the setting and describing the character's thoughts on the environment and story, and with this chapter being so focused on people talking with one another, I stalled a lot until I finally had a clear plan on where to go forward in the chapter, which leads us to here, and once I got things going I was able to quickly write the other two chapters. Now, let's talk about the actual story
First off we have Kycillia and Degwin touring the Zenith that I had discussed earlier. In regards to the architecture, I know absolute shit about the subject and city design in general, so if we got any architecture majors who were triggered, feel free to rage in the comments, but this was what I saw as my ideal capital for Zeon which would be reflected in Kaiser Gihren. Sadly we have few concrete images of Side 3, although the royal palace in canon was an utter monstrosity in design that Kycillia was right to be disgusted of. So here I went for something reminiscent of 19th century Europe while incorporating modernism. Aside from the architecture, there is Kycillia and Degwin's conversation, where the father and daughter bond, showing how Kycillia is slowly being a better person and Degwin opening up due to a happy family and not being the bitter autocrat who was losing control of his nation to his son. With Degwin having a better home life and his rule of Zeon not being perverted, he would still be engaged with governance, though the new overwhelming reality he finds himself in would probably make him nostalgic, though it's more of a sweet retreat into simpler times than the depression of canon, though Kycillia isn't able to reciprocate with her father's feelings entirely because to her Degwin did no wrong and everything turned out alright, showing how Degwin may have been too strong in his parenting early on.
The next section focuses on Gihren and Cecilia interacting and Garma's viewpoint of them and how their relationship evolved with hints of greater intimacy moving forward. I have to say I'm not too proud of this as originally I had planned for more substantial content with Garma interacting with a sister of Cecilia's and starting a friendship, but as you can tell this update is already heavily bloated and dialogue and interactions just weren't coming out right with shifts in focus and troubles on establishing just what the content was. So I just decided to cut down that section into one dedicated to exposition and hopefully show their actual relationship in one-on-one narrative interactions with greater depth in a near future chapter.
Lastly is Johnny meeting the Zabis and Kycillia and the starting of their relationship of sorts. Johnny as a romantic idealist went into the Christmas party with a plan to leave a good impression on Kycillia and maybe hopefully have her start to like him, but he came off way too strong and Kycillia who never experienced any sort of romantic attraction before interpreted it as someone trying to make a play for influence with her family by manipulating her when Johnny was purely interested in her. A far more bumpy start to their relationship as shown in Brave Soldiers in the Sky where sparks flew at a dance, but here Johnny was being a hormonal teenager after months of having a crush on Kycillia versus the story where they immediately met afterwords and Johnny fell in love with her then. Hope I was able to have things start off between them decently. It's alright if things aren't super romantic, mostly going for two awkward teens who may like each other starting off weird and then getting back on track, plus it's kind of hard to show why Johnny in his rose-tinted eyes loves Kycillia when she still hasn't improved too much in personality from canon. Feel free to give honest feedback, I'll try to do better in the future as their relationship builds up, and I'll certainly have plenty of practice with upcoming chapters of Cosmic Crusade
With this we move on into the next chapter showing further political developments across the Earth sphere. Thank you all old readers for patiently waiting for this mess of an author to finally update I hope I was able to meet your expectations. Thank you to all of the new readers since the last update who favorited and followed the story, welcome to the club and hope you'll like what's to come. And lastly thank you to Jaenera Targareyan who beta'd this chapter, go check out her amazing stories featuring Gundam, Fate/Stay Night, Star Wars, ASOIAF and many more. Thanks for reading and stay tuned for more!