By The King's Command

A Violet Evergarden Tale

By Randy Rob

─•~:~•─

CH Postal Company Capital City, Kingdom of Leiden

It was a quiet day in the office, for once. Violet's legend of the last year had been growing, and the other dolls were all but besieged with requests for copies of her book, or for her to play her song.

The theatre in the city had been sending requests in daily for Violet to perform, but she had refused, feeling it would be disrespectful to become famous for Felicity's work. The Military Prison – where her friend Felix had died a lifetime ago – had instituted numerous reforms. Soldiers convicted of petty crimes were pardoned and rejoined society, while those more seriously convicted had instead been given more time for leisure and recreation.

And since Felix, no more executions had taken place.

The front door opened, and Hodgins called out from the desk, "All right Ladies, lunch is here. Come take a break and let's eat!"

Everyone gathered and took a bag, brown paper with a logo of a black hooting owl. Felix's Deli – not in a small part thanks to the popularity of Violet's book – had tripled their business over the last year. The Owners redoubled their commitment to quality, and the Deli had recently expanded to providing catering to parties and businesses alike.

Violet followed behind Isis and found her bag. Inside was a single sandwich. Three slices of roast, each a quarter inch thick, with lettuce, tomato, and a single stroke of mustard between two pieces of rye.

Violet gently bit into her sandwich while Hodgins sat beside her, turkey and bacon on sourdough for his sandwich, "I can't believe we never ordered sandwiches from the Deli before. This is so delicious."

"Was it very expensive to order a catered lunch?" Violet asked.

"Nope," said Hodgins as he continued to eat, "Didn't cost us a penny."

"How?"

Hodgins help up a copy of his book, "The new Owner said you were a friend of the place. You and your friends eat there for free whenever you want."

"I will have to thank him later," Violet said, continuing to eat.

"Ye sho noice all da time, Volet," Isis said, chewing through the words.

"Hey, don't talk with your mouth full. That's rude!" Hodgins scolded.

Before Hodgins or Isis could argue, a loud knock at the front door interrupted everyone. The door was flung open, and fifteen Royal Guardsmen entered the narrow reception room.

Violet – using her trained eyes – noticed the Guardsmen first. They were dressed In ceremonial whites and had their boots freshly polished. But they were armed, and their rifles, though as polished as their boots, were loaded.

Her instincts took over. She stood and walked over to a corner that would allow her the best possible angle of coverage in case of a firefight. She was not armed, but her bedroom above the office still had her pistol in her case. Violet could run quickly if she had to.

A footman entered next, and shouted with a demanding voice, "Who is the owner of this dreadful little racket?"

Hodgins stood up, "That'd be me, Hodgins. Can I help you?"

The Footman turned to the Guardsmen, "At attention. Presenting his Majesty, The King!"

King Stanislaus Weninger entered the office next, dressed not in the regal robes of his men, but in a simpler business suit and a bowler hat, looking like he would not be out of place in a country club or theatre of rich men.

"Good day, my friends. I must say, for everything I've heard about your little company, I was expecting something a little more spectacular," The King said, removing his hat in an unexpected show of courtesy.

"We uh… we let our work speak for itself, sir," Hodgins replied with uncertainty.

The Footman cuffed him over the ear, "You will address the King as either 'your Majesty' or 'your Royal Highness' commoner. In the old days, you would have been shot for such blatant disrespect!"

King Weninger in turn cuffed the Footman, "Give it a rest already Heinrich! Honestly, I don't know why my father kept you around all these years. We are here as guests of their business, it's on us to show proper manners."

The King extended his hand and took Hodgins in a strong, confident grip, "I must apologize for the behaviour of my Footman Heinrich, sir. I fear he takes his duties a little too seriously at times. Sir is a perfectly fine title. Mr Weninger is also acceptable. Hell, call me Stanislaus for all I care."

Not daring to be informal with the most powerful man in the country, Hodgins returned the handshake and replied, "Thank you, uh, Sir. How uh, how can the CH Postal Company be of service to the country?"

King Weninger pointed next to Violet, "Actually, Sir, I was wondering if I might have a moment with her? I've heard quite a lot about Miss Evergarden, and I'd like to ask her a few questions if that's all right."

Keeping one eye on Henrich the whole time, Hodgins quickly answered, "Of course! Why not! You can even use my office upstairs!"

The King laughed again, and reached for his wallet in his pocket, "Well that's very generous of you, Sir. And I realise this is probably a little disruptive to your business, so please accept this. I hope it's enough to cover the afternoon."

Hodgins counted out five-thousand-mark notes – more than the company earned in a week – and nodded quickly. As the King approached Violet, she politely curtsied and led him up the stairs, shortly before Henrich began berating Hodgins again.

Violet opened the door and allowed the King to walk through first.

He looked around and said, "Well, a very nice office. Quite comfortable."

Violet bowed, "Thank you for the compliment, Your Majesty. Would you care to sit?"

King Weninger sat in one of the guest chairs, strangely for Violet as she had offered him the bosses' chair. She remained standing and assessed him, as she did with every potential client.

He was a surprisingly young King, being no older than thirty. His posture suggested a man of sports, perhaps polo or horse riding. His relaxed demeanour suggested he had little love for the ceremony of position, and his clothes likewise sought to cast the image of an ordinary man.

His eyes were most revealing. Green, not unlike Violet's own. And the lines suggested a sense of fatigue and guilt.

"How may we be of service to His Majesty?" Violet asked with a bow.

The King sighed, "Is it really that hard for you to just call me Stanislaus? What makes you any different than me, young lady?"

"It would not be appropriate to use your first name, Your Majesty. You are the King of Leiden, which means that legally you must be regarded as being above other people."

The King sighed again, "Only because I happened to be born into the right family. I'm just a man, and you're just a lady. I wish more people understood that…"

He reached into his coat and placed a copy of A Soldier's Tale on the table, "You are rather extraordinary though. I've read that cover to cover now. This Felix seems like he was quite the man. I wish I'd heard about the case sooner. Perhaps I might have done something to stop all that."

Emotion raced through Violet's heart. She felt guilt, anger, sorrow, and hate. Because of the King's Command, a great many people died before and after the war.

Felix.

Gilbert.

And even a part of Violet.

But she forced herself to stay calm, "It was in the past, Your Majesty. Even a King cannot change time."

"How right you are, Miss Evergarden," he said, offering her a smile, "I'd like to think I can do something about the future though."

"I'll come to the point, I know how busy you are. In a few weeks, the Prime Minister of Konigreich will be coming to visit. We're to begin negotiations about the formal peace treaty to conclude the war. This is a very important event. If this doesn't go off perfectly, the war will start all over again."

The King lowered his gaze and spoke softly, "Idiots like Henrich would tell me otherwise, but I'm sharp enough to look at men like your friend Felix for the truth. We can't win if we fight them again. We don't have the men, we don't have the ships… and I don't have the strength."

Violet fought to keep her emotions in check, and she calmly replied, "That is significant. What does this have to do with me?"

The King smirked, "You certainly don't hold anything back. Good, that's what I was hoping for."

He rose and looked out the window, watching the people walking, working, and simply living, "In the coming days, there's going to be plenty of lies and mistrust on both sides thrown to the negotiating table. Obviously, I have all manner of aides and advisors, but I need something else. I need someone with… objectivity."

He turned and pointed at the book, "I need someone like you. Someone to take an honest account of what happens, and tell me, without any fear of who I am, if I do something wrong. I don't expect you to do this for free, of course. CH will be paid six thousand marks per day for your services, and another twenty thousand when the treaty is signed."

The King returned to his seat, "You'll be my guest at the palace. I'll see that every need and desire you might have is taken care of. What do you say, Miss Evergarden? Will you help me?"

A part of her wanted to say no.

This King had caused her no end of suffering with the war he started.

She lost her hands because of him.

She lost her best friend Felix because of him.

She lost Gilbert… because of him.

And they were alone in the office. He was unarmed. The King may have been stronger, but Violet was faster. A part of her screamed in her mind, as loud as the guns of the battlefield.

Kill him! Kill him right here, right now! Kill him for everything he's done!

But the coin was too great. The opportunity was too important. And Violet had to do something right, just once.

Instead, she curtsied yet again, "If it is your wish, Your Majesty, I will travel anywhere to meet you. Auto-Memories Doll Violet Evergarden, at your service."