by Jordan Ervin
“You four may stay out here,” Maria said, turning to her Sovereign Guards. “We will only be a moment and I am afraid this will be a conversation for our ears alone.”
Her guards nodded their heads and stood watch at the door. Maria smiled at Jamie, a condescending grin worthy of a self-righteous royalty, and entered the vacant room. As she passed through the open door into an office that had been remarkably spared of damage, Jamie followed and closed the door behind them. Maria turned around, staring at the younger woman in a silent battle to see who would speak first. Once a few quiet seconds had passed, Jamie shook her head and cleared her throat.
“Do you know what your problem is, Maria?”
“A red-headed bitch that won’t stay away from my husband,” Maria replied without hesitation. “Or the fact that you think you possess the right to address me by my name and not by my title.”
Jamie paused before laughing and shaking her head. “You know, under other circumstances, I think you and I would have been good friends.”
“Miss Rowe, throughout my life I have tried very hard to avoid associating myself with the lowest of whores. As such, I do not think I would have cared to be your friend under any circumstances.”
“I’m not your problem, Maria,” Jamie replied, emphasizing her name as though to challenge her. “You are your own problem.”
“And how is that?” Maria asked.
Jamie paused, glancing to the side as she paused, before looking back with eyes that were pooling with tears.
“Why did you stick by your husband when he was all but defeated?” Jamie asked. “Surely you thought Sigmund would win out and plunge you into that god-awful creation of his.”
“Because Lukas is my husband,” Maria replied bluntly. “I love him, he loves me, and though Sigmund tried to force my hand against him, my father saved us both. I have only ever wanted to please Lukas, and now—”
“But that’s just it!” Jamie shouted. “I too only care to please the Sovereign. I don’t care how I do it. I was and still am fascinated with him. I mean, what other man in the history of the world has stood a reasonable chance at uniting mankind together as one race without borders? Through him, wars could be ended altogether. Through his lasting peace, we can focus on advancing the human race far beyond our wildest dreams. We can cure the incurable and stop bickering over which god is greater as we ourselves become the gods. I was working for Sigmund because I thought that was his dream, but he only wanted to divide his allies, not unite us. He was a monster, a cannibal who devoured his own kind without reason. But I never forgot my hope for the future. Now, helping Lukas forge a perfect world is all that concerns me. So you see, I never came here hoping to steal your husband and bed him. I never pursued him. I only offered the world’s greatest man everything I have. In the end, who am I to turn away the advances of the man who will see everything I’ve fought for come true?”
“And who am I to not fight for my rights to have my husband for myself?” Maria growled.
“What do you want me to do?” Jamie said. “Do you want me to humiliate your husband by stepping back when he brushes my cheek? Should I turn away when his lips come close to mine? And what if next time we’re not surrounded by his ever-present czars, guards, and drones? What if he comes to me alone next time because he wants—”
“It would be wise of you to never finish that statement in my presence.” Maria forced a dry smile to her lips in an effort to calm the anger that burned inside her. “I’ve had enough already of your colorful descriptions. As far as what you can do, you can begin by forgetting everything you said and avoiding my husband like I ask.”
“I don’t think that is going to happen, Maria,” Jamie replied.
“I’m sure with the right…motivation, I can convince my husband to forget about you and let you scurry on your way like a lost spider.”
“No, you don’t understand,” Jamie said. She stepped closer, firming her jaw as a fiery gaze filled her eyes. Jamie paused, her eyes never looking away as she stared quietly at Maria. “I don’t want Lukas to leave me alone. I won’t scurry away. I want him. I need him. I brought you here because I wanted you to know that ahead of time. I want to know him like you have known him and I don’t care if I have to share him with you. If a man like him can take on the task of uniting the world under one banner…then surely he can manage to please two wives instead of one.”
Maria gritted her teeth as she threw an open-handed slap at Jamie. Instead of connecting with Jamie’s face, her hand came to a jarring halt as it collided with an unexpected block. Jamie paused—a momentary break that lasted the blink of an eye—before throwing a backhand that connected with Maria’s chin. Maria stumbled to the side, her eyes wide in shock as she reached up to touch her jaw. She glanced back at Jamie and bellowed as she swung again.
Jamie ducked away, casually slapping Maria’s weak swing to the side before smacking her again on the other cheek. Stars danced across Maria’s vision and a stinging pain filled her face. She ignored it all as she fed her rage, roaring as she lunged at Jamie a third time. Jamie danced to the side, sticking out her leg and tripping Maria before shoving her in the back. Maria stumbled through the air and landed hard against the floor.
The door flung open and two of the guards entered.
“Maria, are you alright?” Their eyes darted furiously between Jamie and Maria. As they stepped forward, Maria held up a hand.
“I am fine,” she said. “Please go.”
“Protocol states—”
“To hell with protocol,” Maria growled. “You know what this whore and my insufferable husband have been doing. You knew this was coming. I can take care of myself. Now please…go!”
The two guards nodded and stepped back into the hall, closing the door behind them. Maria rose from the ground slowly, her hair a jumbled mess and tears in her eyes as she looked up at Jamie with the hate of a murderer. Jamie merely shook her head as she knelt down.
“I don’t want to hurt you again, but if you come at me once more, I will leave a mark,” Jamie said, pausing as she frowned. “I don’t want to divide you against Lukas. That is not my goal, nor has it ever been. I only want you to know that a time will soon come when you must accept the fact that Lukas is too great to be limited to you alone. I’m sure there will be more women who come after us. There could be dozens more so that his dynasty may never die, and we need to be okay with that. We both need to realize that if we are to raise that man up to be a god-like king, we must give him everything we have without hesitation. Now, if you’re done throwing a tantrum that would make a four-year-old blush, I suggest you clean yourself up. His speech will begin in five minutes and I’d hate to see you miss it because your hair looks like it battled a windstorm.”
Jamie rose and began walking to the door as Maria lay on the floor. She wanted to cry and howl, but she knew doing so would only admit defeat. Maria told herself that she was above the woman who was trying to take Lukas from her, and she needed the other woman to believe that.
“We’re not done,” Maria said as elegantly as possible. She slowly rose to her feet—righting the massive necklace Lukas had given her, pulling her gloves tight, and brushing back her hair as Jamie stopped and looked back. After a moment of showing more concern over the ripped stitching on her gloves than the woman who had disheveled her, Maria smiled as delightfully as she could. “Jamie, you might be able to best me by the hand, but you will not beat me in this game of wits. By the time you and I are done, I will show you that my husband deserves me and me alone—even if I must rip that pretty little head from your shoulders to convince you. Now scamper on your way, you worthless by-product of a maggot infested shit. I will be there shortly.”
As she finished, Jamie’s frown slightly righted itself into a devilish grin. “I look forward to watching you try.” Jamie turned and walked out of the room, closing the door behind her. All the composure Maria had managed to hold together fled as soon as the door closed. She
began to breathe in deep breaths, trying to prevent herself from hyperventilating with anger. Despite her definite words, she knew she was on the verge of losing her husband. What frightened her most was thinking back to what happened to the first wife that had lost Lukas Chambers.
“I will not become Sue Chambers,” she said aloud as she walked over to a nearby mirror. “I will not lose my life because of her.” She began working on her hair furiously as she wondered just how in the world she was going to kill Jamie Rowe.
The men and women who had been hard at work rebuilding Lukas’ new palace slowly rumbled to a hushed anticipation as Damian Ross called for silence. The sound of hammers halting, saws ceasing, and conversations coming to a close filled the spacious halls with an eerie hush. Lukas glanced around him as those who would be in attendance tonight scurried to their seats. He stood ten feet away from a length of red carpet that led to a single podium that would face a crowd of his finest men and women in what had been the rotunda room of the Capitol Building.
He smiled, nodding to Theodore Yates who stood idly to his side. Theodore and another fifty agents with the Sovereign Guard stood quietly at all corners of the hall—their eyes and their drones scanning the crowd. Lukas doubted anyone suspected him to do what he was about to do, but he was the Sovereign and justice was his alone to give. The people had come to love him again and they had seen his gratitude in return.
Today, they’d witness a glimmer of the wrath he held at bay.
Lukas turned to Jamie, the beaming young woman standing at his left and watching droves of powerful men and women pass as she slowly swayed with anticipation. He leaned in close, whispering in her ear.
“Don’t lock your knees when you’re next to me at the podium,” Lukas said quietly, cocking his head to the side. “I’d hate to have your first appearance at my side begin with fainting.”
Jamie looked over at him with a smile, her blue eyes darting down to his lips before quickly rising back up. She nodded her head and leaned in close, nudging him.
“I’ll do my best to make you look your best,” she replied.
“And I’m sure you won’t disappoint,” Lukas replied with a grin before looking up and scanning the room. After a moment of searching the dwindling crowd, he turned back to her. “You are certain there will be other turncoats in attendance tonight?”
“Not certain,” Jamie began. “My team only managed to confirm the one. Still, where there is one rat there are usually more.”
“Good,” Lukas replied with a grin. “Let them squirm and question their loyalties after tonight.”
“Agreed,” Jamie said as she glanced over at him, a smile growing as her seductive eyes bore into him.
“Have you seen Maria?” Lukas asked. “She was here earlier and she’s cutting it too close for comfort.”
Jamie’s smile faltered before she looked back to the crowd as they found their seats. “Your wife and I just spoke a few minutes ago.”
“You two spoke?” Lukas asked, turning quickly to Jamie as his mind ran wild. It was no secret that Maria despised Jamie and Lukas had been afraid she might actually try to kill Jamie if they were ever alone.
“Yes,” Jamie replied. “I wanted to clear a few things up.”
Lukas’ eyes narrowed as he looked back at her silently. He had told Maria to stay away from Jamie while she did her investigation, but he hadn’t imagined Jamie choosing to contact Maria instead.
“What did you say?”
“I…,” Jamie paused, glancing down at her feet and clicking them together as though she wanted to be magically transferred to any other place than where she stood, before looking back up at Lukas. “I can’t play dumb anymore and pretend there is nothing between us. I am smart enough to know that if you wanted nothing from me, you would have sent me away long ago. I don’t think it’s any secret that I’m becoming quite fond of your advances. I know Maria has seen me as a threat in the past and I wanted to make sure she knew that I will happily do whatever you asked of me, be it professional or personal in nature.”
Lukas paused again, trying and failing to avoid imagining the outcome of that conversation. “And how did that go over?”
“Better than you could have imagined, my love,” Maria said as she approached from behind them. Lukas turned and looked at his wife, his eyes wide. “Don’t worry. Jamie and I fully understand each other now and we are in agreement that we must each fight for what is best for you. Even if it kills us both.”
He smiled as he surveyed his wife. She wore a dark blue dress, her hair pulled back and rising to a perfect bun at the top. Though she lacked her typical white dress gloves, her necklace, the Spirit of the Sovereign, dangled perfectly from her neck. She leaned with a grin and kissed him. It was not the typical pat on the lips but a drawn out kiss that caused Lukas to temporarily forget he was in a room full of others. She stepped back and looked at him, gazing into his eyes with invigorating pools of seduction. She was beautiful, and despite Lukas’ growing feelings for Jamie, she was everything he had ever wanted in a woman.
“I was beginning to think you might not make it tonight,” Lukas said with a smile.
“And let the world see their king without his queen?” Maria replied with a grin, her eyes flickering over to Jamie. “Never. I am with you till the end, my love.”
“Which will be centuries from now. Come, today is a day to rejoice in victories, not endings.”
Lukas, Maria, and Jamie slowly walked to the podium at the head of the room. A crowd of roughly one hundred of his most powerful czars, governors, and military commanders sat beside the everyday citizens who had been invited. Lukas paused as he reached the podium, smiling as he scanned the room. He had held a deep admiration for every one of them. Millions had banded together as neighbors and kin. At first, they were not required to flock to him and in a way he was surprised so many had. He was sure his painful past that had been revealed to the world had kept some from wanting to eagerly join him, but these brave souls had all united behind their Sovereign, despite his past flaws. For that, he would do whatever he could to see their dreams of a unified world come true. But for those who might be out in the crowd before him, smiling as they sympathized with the memory of a destroyed nation or obeyed the secret orders of Sigmund, he meant to choke them with a primal dread.
The Imperium News Network drones silently took up their position as the producer counted down. When the clock reached zero, a red light lit up beneath each drone. Lukas smiled as he took a deep breath and spoke.
“Brothers and sisters of the great and glorious Imperium, I am Lukas Chambers and I come to you from the ruins of a failed yesterday. When last I addressed a crowd in this structure, it was still the Capitol Building of the United States of America. Now, merely months later, it is being remade into the home from which we shall unite the world in peace and prosperity. I say ‘we’ because my dream was always to watch over this world as a conglomerate of the brightest minds mankind has to offer. As the central figure to this great and historic endeavor of ours, I want to begin by expressing my utmost thanks. I am truly honored to lead you all as your Sovereign.”
Lukas paused, scanning the crowd with a smile.
“We have been through a lot together over the past few months. We nearly lost our struggle for global harmony in the opening act. Had it not been for the quick actions of the men and women here today, we would have surrendered our greatest dreams to an army of misguided men fighting to keep alive the nightmare that had plagued mankind for far too long. I believe that now, as we advance into a magnificent future, the time has come for us to focus on forgetting our shameful past.”
Lukas nodded to Theodore and Damian. They nodded back, stepping to a side door and opening it simultaneously. A convoy of Praetorians entered the hall pushing rolling carts with white sheets draped over the hidden contents. They entered the room one by one, halting as they formed a line behind him.
“Despite the fairy tales and dreams of this land�
�s past inhabitants, the United States of America was never designed to last forever. A nation built upon laws that refuse to change with the passing of time is inevitably doomed to break like a tree that is snapped over the knee of a giant. As the United States drifted into her sunset years, the working class struggled while the elite sat back and grew fat off the labors of the masses. I too was guilty of such crimes, but fate made sure that I saw the truth. Once my eyes were opened, I did everything I could to bring about a better world. The dream that had been America nearly cost this world its ability to coexist. In the beginning, America was raised by breaking away from the empire that was uniting the globe. In the end, her last few dangerous sympathizers tried to batter down our gates and hold on to the nightmare they were on the verge of losing. But we stood together and demanded change! The brightest minds fought for the dream mankind deserves. We saved that dream and are gathered here today because of our actions. Today, our borders grow and our enemies fall with each new setting of the sun. Together, we will be victorious and the generations that follow will thank us for our sacrifices. Still, while our success requires the collaboration of each and every one of us, I believe as your Sovereign leader, certain burdens must be left to me and me alone.”
He nodded to the side and the men behind him pulled the sheets away. Lukas walked over to the first pushcart, pausing before reaching down and taking hold of a large, brown document. He smiled and turned back to the others, raising the aged parchment before clearing his throat.
“We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, ensure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.” He paused again, rereading the words silently to himself before shaking his head. He then tossed it to the ground in front of him and stepped back, reaching into the second cart.