Part Ten – White Sands II

It'd taken a few years, and a lot of hiding of funds, buying things through shell companies, but it was done now. For now, I stood in front of the most beautiful hull I had ever seen, the aggressive bow, six two hundred and fifty-four-millimeter guns in two triple turrets up front, flanked by a pair of triple one hundred and fifty-millimeter turrets forward-facing, gave this hull a very aggressive profile. Her armor plating was one step below that of a proper battleship and a step above that of a cruiser. Just as I reach out to touch the hull with my left hand and I wince in pain before coughing and clutching my left side, even years later that wound still bothered me.

Behind me, I hear two voices talking and I know both voices well, the love of my life and my daughter and I cannot help but smile as I hear my daughter take a deep breath in surprise as she puts eyes on the Napoli for the first time. After a moment I hear her say, "Pappa, she is beautiful, is she going to be the first of new kansen?"

I shake my head as I turn to face my daughter and the love of my life, I smile at my daughter and reach over to place a hand on hers to bring it over to touch the hull as I say, "No, she is to be your hull. I've talked with the Senate, and it has been agreed that the next one to hold the crown, should be kansen."

Sofia looks at me wide-eyed as she says, "Pappa, what are you saying?"

"I am saying that the crown has never felt like mine, only that I've been holding it for someone else." I pause to take a deep breath before adding, "It's why I've pushed you so hard so fast, Sofia. It's why I've groomed you since you could walk for this."

"Pappa, I know that it'll be mine one day, but you are such a good Emperor." She says to me as she turns to hug me tightly.

Patting her back I say to her, "Being Emperor has been something I've been learning on the job, but everything truly groundbreaking I've done for the Empire, came from you."

I feel Zara come over and place a hand on my shoulder as she gives a sad look to Sofia and she says, "Cristiano has been doing his best to hide it, Sofia, but his health is failing."

Ouch Zara, way to drop the bomb on her.

Sofia's eyes go wide in shock as she asks, "Lasting effects from the attempt on your life?"

I nod grimly as I say, "Seems that blade had been designed to leave tiny flakes in a body and they are have been slowly poisoning me."

I see my daughter's eyes starting to fill with tears and I move to wrap her in a tight embrace as I say to her, "It's alright, I've had a good life and I know you will do great things for the Empire and the Axis."

Sofia squeezes me tightly and whimpers a little and I shush her and rub her back as I continue to say to her, "You'll have your mother, brother, Weser, your grandmothers, Littorio, and whomever else you chose to share your life with," I pause and lean back to give her a warm smile as I say, "Even that German boy if you wish."

"You know about him?" my daughter asks me.

I laugh and cough a little as I say, "Sofia, do you really think that you of all people can do something like that, and not have it escape my notice?"

Her cheeks went bright red and she says to me, "Well, I didn't want you to force me into a marriage."

With my left hand, I brush her bangs to one side as I smile at her and say, "I know, but if he makes you happy, perhaps it is worth letting him meet us."

She nodded slowly before looking back over her shoulder at the hull and asking, "What's her name?"

"Napoli." Zara said with pride before adding, "The perfect name, for the perfect hull, for the Princess of Napoli."

Sofia let go of me and walked back over to the hull and asked, "How soon can I be bound to her?"

Zara moved to stand beside me, lacing her left hand through my right as she said, "We were thinking your twenty-first birthday."

Sofia nods her head then asks the question I'd been dreading, "How long do you have Pappa?"

I sigh and run a hand through my greying hair as I say, "The doctors estimate a few years at most."

Again Sofia nods with her back to me, but I see her lift a hand to her face, I know she's wiping away a tear or two before she takes a deep breath and says, "Then I best find someone you do approve of, Pappa. I don't want you to worry about me, I want you to know I will be fine."

Ugh, right in the feels there kiddo.

"That isn't something I worry about, I know you will be." I pause and look at Zara as I say, "It's your bother I worry about."

Sofia turns to face me with a warm smile on her face, but her grey eyes are red and a bit puffy as she says, "Jeanne will make sure he's fine."

"I know, but," I start to say and Sofia shakes her head as she says, "I'll make sure he's taken care of and always has a place here, Pappa."

Walking over to Sofia, I warp her in another hug as I say, "Thank you."

XXXX

When we returned to Taranto I made my way to my study just in time to avoid being seen going into a coughing fit, as I coughed into my handkerchief, I noticed that it hurt more than normal lately, pulling it back I saw red stains on the white fabric and I knew the shards of that blade were digging into my lung now, and that meant they were starting to dig into my heart too, time was growing shorter now. Folding it and putting it away just as my door opened I saw my mother standing there, looking just the same as she did when I meet her, again, going on twenty-five years ago. I give her the best smile I can at the moment as I go to sit on my couch. My mother smiles back at me before I see that smile fade and her grey eyes go wide and she hurries over to me asking, "Cristiano, what's wrong?"

Doing my best to reassure her I say, "Nothing."

She frowns and puts a white-gloved hand to the left side of my mouth before pulling it back as she says, "Then explain this blood."

Damn it.

I sigh and take out my handkerchief and unfold it to show the red stains in it as I say to her, "Seems I didn't get as lucky as we all thought a few years ago."

My mother covers her mouth as she takes a deep breath before taking her hand away from her mouth and placing them on my hands as she closes my hands and the cloth. Once the cloth was closed she asked me, "Does Zara know?"

I nod and take a deep breath, wincing as I do so and say, "She does, as does Weser and Sofia."

My mother pulls me into a hug and I feel a drip onto my neck as she says, "I always knew I'd have to bury you one day, but I didn't think it'd be so soon."

Wrapping my arms around her and pulling her close and squeezing with what might I had I whisper to her, "It's alright, Mamma, I made peace with this a while ago. But I need you to do something for me in the coming days."

"Anything." She whispers back.

"Help Sofia learn to use her rigging." I whisper to her before I lean out of the embrace.

Looking at my mother, I see she's doing her best not to cry, her lower lip is trembling as she wipes her eyes and says to me, "Of course."

Reaching over I brush my mother's cheek as I try to give a reassuring smile and say, "I know it sucks, that we only had twenty-ish years with each other, but I'm glad I ran into you at Ponta Delgada."

My mother reaches over and pulls me into another embrace as she whispers, "Me too."

XXXX

XXXX

With my mother done and informed about my current state, there were only two others that I really needed to talk to. At least with Weser, we knew she would return to the Iron Blood after, I think on some level she was looking forward to it. When the next day rolled around I had gone to the garden and called for both Yorktown and Littorio to visit. Honestly, this was something I wasn't looking forward to, but I knew this has to be done.

Smelling the roses I smile at them, knowing my time is growing shorter and shorter. Just as I take that deep smell, I cough and a bit of blood lands on the white roses I kept in this part of the garden. Standing back upright I wipe my mouth with the cloth, being sure to get all of the blood this time, just as I hear the doors to the greenhouse open. Turning I smile at the silver-haired and green-haired women that approached me. With a quick embrace of both of them, saving Yorktown for last, during my embrace with the woman that raised me she whispered in my ear, "Are you okay?"

Feeling a bit of a chill that runs down my spine I whisper back, "Why?"

"I see blood on that rose, behind you." She says as she leans out of the embrace.

I sigh and shake my head before gesturing to the chairs and couch in this greenhouse, once they had taken their seats I took mine across from them and looked over at the rose. Before I could say anything Littorio spoke first as she crossed her legs and said, "You're dying."

I nod; it was still eerie how well she was able to read me sometimes. Turning my attention to the both of them, I say, "I am, it seems that knife in the dark had done its job after all."

Yorktown was fast, she got up and pulled me into a tight embrace just as she started to sob and say, "It's too soon."

I patted her back as I said, "It's alright, I've made my peace with this."

Looking over my mom's shoulder I see Littorio take on a sad and wounded look before she turned her attention to the blood-stained rose and ask me, "How long?"

Once Yorktown had let go of me and move to sit across for me again I answered Littorio, "Months if I'm lucky, but I don't think I'm that lucky."

Littorio nodded again as she said, "I'm going to miss you."

I reach over and pat her on the knee as I say to her, "I know, but I have something I need you to do for me."

"Of course." She says with a sad smile.

"Do for Umberto, what you had done for me. Guide him in the matter of the heart, help him and Jeanne work out." As I say that, I find a smile comes to my lips.

Littorio laughs as she says, "Si, that'll be fun."

Turning my attention to Yorktown I say to her, "Mom, thanks for everything. Thanks for raising me to be the man I am, I know I wasn't the easiest, but you did an amazing job." I pause and take out my handkerchief to cough into it before adding, "But most importantly, don't be sad for too long. I want you to enjoy life, forever is a long time, after all. Maybe reconnect with your sisters and explore the world, but don't waste your time morning the dead till the end of time."

Yorktown nodded, and I could see she was holding back tears and I got off of my chair to hold her tightly as I say again, "I'm not sad or scared, you helped me be strong enough to face this head-on."

"I'll try." Yorktown whispered to me during the embrace.

XXXX

Later that night, as I sat in my chair in my study I heard the door open I looked up to see Zara standing there in her greenhouse coat, her red hair down, with no makeup on. When she saw that I noticed her, she entered and walked over to my desk, sitting down on it as she asked, "How are you feeling?"

I give her a weak smile as I reach over and touch her hand as I say, "I'm doing alright, but we need to move our trip up if you are still willing to be there when the time comes."

Zara leaned over to kiss me, stroking my cheek as she said, "Always, my love."

"Any regrets?" I ask her.

"A few, but they can't be fixed. What about you?" she asks me.

"A few, and nothing I can do to change them either. All I ask of you, don't spend the rest of your life alone, once I'm gone, Zara." I respond to her as I place my forehead against hers and add, "It's terribly unfair that you don't age, but also wonderful that you can experience true love. I wish I had known you my whole life."

She kisses me again and I feel her cheeks are damp before she shushes me and says, "And I you, my love." Zara gets off of my desk and comes around beside me, placing a hand on my right shoulder as she asks, "What were you working on?"

Taking out the document I had been writing my hand I show it to her as I say, "It will be my last act, by this time tomorrow, Sofia will be Empress."

Zara looked at the document and read it over; it was my declaration of stepping down as Emperor and naming Sofia as my successor, as well as naming Umberto to attend the International Naval Academy that had been set up by our alliance to cross-train officers to work with everyone's navies. I feel her squeeze my shoulder as she says, "Let us go to bed, we will start packing in the morning."

"I'll be along shortly." I say to her as she starts to leave I take out an envelope, a seal, a red candle and a match. Lighting the candle I give it some time to heat up and start to melt, while I sign and fold the letter, placing it into the envelope. Once I have it in there I write Sofia's full name on the outside then flip it over, pour some melted red wax on it and press the seal into it. As I waited for the wax to cool, I wrote a second letter for Umberto, telling him that I was sorry for not making more time for him, but I was proud of him and that I know he will go on to do great things. When I was sure the wax was cool, I turned the letter over and left it in the center of my desk, alongside my crown before I stood and turned out the light and made my way to Zara's bed.

XXXX

XXXX

La fine

A/N: Thank you to everyone that read this story, I hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed bring an end to this trilogy of stories that started all from a 1k word response to a writing prompt on Reddit, by u/CaptainMattiasTorres. Next up is a tossup between an Atago story or a Bismark Story overhaul (Pride of Iron), and I hope you'll join me for either of those.