Summoning Our Country - NHS Kai

Chapter 27.5: Internal Dynamics

NOTE: Yeah, we're sorry it took this long to bring out the next one. Can't say for sure when the next one will be but since it is going to have a lot of tense development, I'll try to get it out soon.

Discord: https://discord.gg/wEp44XuaT3

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Cent. Calendar 16/12/1639, Royal Castle, Le Brias, Altaras, 18:15

As civil unrest and efforts by the outnumbered Altaran constabularies unfold in showdowns of violence across the streets of the capital. The red-brick walls of the citadel-like compound in one corner of the city sits unperturbed, and the sleepy atmosphere that hung over the entire complex was a luxury no other place in the kingdom could afford. Guards in their combat uniforms, having ditched their ceremonial ones in preparation for any rioter daring enough to lead the mobs to the gates of this compound, made their rounds across the ramparts of the walls, some even openly sighing in boredom and lack of action. Hanging from the two massive circular turrets flanking the main gate into the compound were the royal standards of Altaran royal house, its golden star plastered over a striped pattern of alternating cyan and white gleaming immensely in the torchlight.

Inside the compound was an impressive structure built in the same rustic red bricks that adorned the complex walls and encompassed an area of roughly 75 square meters. The complex patterns that made up the red and brown domes and towering beige spires gave the already daunting appearance of this fortified complex a more formidable look, fitting for the castle that housed His Majesty, Taara XIV, his family, his retainers, and his numerous servants. The thick, multi-layered walls, meant to protect its inhabitants against even the most destructive of siege weaponry, also served another purpose: insulating the inside from the sounds of the chaotic ruckus and tumult happening outside.

The screams of people being tragically lynched in the streets and the explosions of Muish-supplied tear gas canisters were all but a distant memory inside one of the dimly lit halls of the castle, replaced by the metallic clatter of silverware against ceramic plating. Unlike many families, especially those of Parpaldian descent, tonight, the royal family was having dinner in peace. Inside the dining hall, servants in black and white flank the table where the three princesses and their father, the king, dined, ready to move to serve the royals at a moment's notice, all while a lone violinist provided a somber backdrop to their supper. The table they ate on was long, meant for feasts and celebrations with dignitaries, local allies and ministers, and other important, noteworthy figures, but only the four chairs on one end were occupied, and their candles lit. Sitting at the end was none other than Taara, flanked on his right by eldest Semira and on his left by middle child Alila and finally the youngest, Lumies. Spaced from one another by just a bit more than an arm's length, far enough that they couldn't discreetly pass along dessert out of their father's gaze, the family appeared to be having a legitimate wholesome moment with one another, but the dignified appearances and almost religious attention paid to proper etiquette was all but a telling reminder of their noble status. Blessed as they are in being able to hold such an eventless dinner with one another, there was one thing this particular scene had in common with what the rest of the kingdom was going through.

Surgically removing the freshly cooked innards of the clams dotted all across her savory, oil pasta, Lumies maneuvered her utensils with a hint of what one may describe as "machine-like." She made sure to sprinkle in a bit of oopsies and fluid movements here and there, but she could only hide these quirks for so much; on the other hand, she fared better with her expression. Stiff, unmoving, and most of all, hungry, these were the only traits she could express on her face, hiding beneath layers of carefully balanced apathy and concerned her gripes with the recent situation. Unfortunately for her, in her almost 22 years of existence, she's shared more than enough of them with her family that they're able to tell–most especially and crucially of whom is her father, Taara. Always the devil's advocate, the education she received in statecraft and her service in the Altaran military proved her an excellent counterweight to the king's ambitions, almost to the point of hostility between them. It is during such trying times when the king makes a decision that she finds fault in whether she would act this way, but never before has she held her mouth shut for as long as she was doing.