As The World Became Dark: Prologue (Part 1)

The royal golden seal had barely begun to dry before the letter was placed into the hands of the nightshift courier. The unusual instructions became considerably tolerable by the two British crowns placed in his hesitant hands. Parting with a courteous bow, the courier mounted his steed and took off from the palace courtyard, leaving the shadowy provider camouflaged in the dark fog of the night.

                                    

Dawn arose on the palace with the muffled patter of servant girls. Each took their places at the foot of their noble mistresses. The ladies in waiting took their morning routine in slow pace, all visibly tired from the nightly ordeal that had the Queen’s heart on fire. The servant girls rushed back and forth to nourish the ladies’ demands before their requests were finally exhausted. After the ladies were serviced, they quickly made their way to the Queen’s bed chamber.

           

‘On the twenty fifth day of the fifth month, eighteen sixty-five, year of our lord, Her Imperial Majesty, The Queen-Empress Alice Maud Mary, does hereby decree that his Lordship, Sir Edmund Vaun Stewart, is stripped of his title as Lord and Courtier to Her Majesty, and all his English property, the Estate Valenci, the Estate Glaum, and Dugens Palace be appropriated by the Royal Court and under the control and protection of parliament through the discretion of Sir William Ewart Gladstone. As for his person, he is to remain in the custody of the royal British authorities until brought to court and tried for treason.’

“What a shame… I bet his Lordship has no idea what enmity he has created in the court. With an edict like this, he is one marked for exile or execution.” The commenter, Hugh Grosvenor the Duke of Westminster, had little interest in politics, but it was this one decree that had him running to court to ensure all details were accurate. Indeed many foresaw the cessation to Lord Edmund’s power, for he was quite a precarious fellow with little respect for Royal Authority. He was one of the few men who opposed Queen Alice’s succession to the English empire. Despite it being a royal decree and official will of Her Late Majesty, Queen Victoria, and with the admiration of the English citizens, he fought every word saying it was against the grace of God and thousands of years of English tradition, which by allowing this reign legitimacy, all of Britannia would collapse.  Despite such opposition, Her Majesty allowed Lord Edmund a seat in parliament and full access to court, in a failed attempt to ease his conscious through kindness. It was finally revealed to Queen Alice, by a number of secret intelligence, that his lordship planned a coup, under the influence of a secret society known as The Order of Dione.

The Queen held her court at the newly built Fortswan Palace in the county of Leics, the new English capital since the death of Queen Victoria. The population and industrialization of Leics had become neck and neck with its Londonese predecessor. A grand train station and underground subway was built to border the county, in honor of Prince Albert, who was known as the father of innovation. Here in court, the Queen gathered her closest advisors to prepare for a possible retaliation of Edmund and his supporters. She called into private office two of her most trusted advisors, Prince Nicolas Alexander of Orange, and Hugh Grosvenor the Duke of Westminster. The room was silent, muted with thick walls and darkened, with dark red drapes covering all the windows.

“I called you here today, privately, to discuss a matter most imperative to the security of our country.” The Queen remained standing as she gestured for her advisors to sit. “As you all know, I recently plucked a damaging thorn out my side. In order to ensure this thorn does not return we must act swiftly to eradicate its source.”

“What do you plan to do Your Majesty?” Prince Nicolas asked; his handsome voice darkened in tone. The Queen turned to him, looking in his eyes for guidance.

“I was hoping you two could give me a solution, especially you Nicolas. You have dealt with dangerous treachery before.”

            “To fully take care of this problem, we must track down these rebels against you. Edmund is backed by a power society that we have no control over. As far as we know, they have no ties to nobility and no affiliation with any governmental powers. Our intelligence reports that they rotate their location for meetings, usually held in underground parlors. They fund their activities through the patronage of individual members. Edmund hired members of the Order of Dione as mercenaries, who seemed taken by his stance against Her Majesty. 

“Indeed, they seemed taken with his cause, to ‘restore the natural balance of things’… They worked with him in the plan to overthrow you, seeing you as an injustice to the world” Hugh spoke in a thick manner, but is voice in high support of the Queen.

“You two will be the leaders of my investigation. Although we have captured three members of the The Order of Dione , they confessed to nothing more than their involvement with the plot to destroy me, happy in their saying so… I need more information. I need to know the depth of this secret society and what resources they hold. I want an estimate count on all members and adherents.” The Queen moved to sit in her office chair, pulling out some notes and started writing. “What say you Nicolas?”

            “I will go to Worcs, to seek the help from a trusted friend, a certain lord by the name of Edwin Haddinger. He is notable for his genius in the arts of research and investigation.” 

“And what of you Hugh?”

“I will contact our informants in the Far East. From tracing the path of a caught Gatekeeper, he had connections to the Oriental Trading Company. He procured a bit of stock worth about eleven thousand pounds.” Hugh grazed his beard at the thought of such stock in the hands of unknown radicals.

“It is settled then. We will go our separate ways until the time of meeting comes again.” The Queen turned to Hugh, handing him two notes. “I wish you success in the Chinese trade route. Here is a notification stamped with my seal to procure members of my high guard to assist and protect you on your journey. Also there is a bank note worth eight hundred pounds to assist with your travel expenses. Godspeed.”

            “Thank you your most gracious Majesty. I will go immediately to make arrangements.” The Duke stood up and bowed to Her Majesty, leaving the chamber in high spirits, not waiting for Nicolas to follow. Now alone, the Queen arose and sat next to the Prince.

“As for you my love, you will retrieve Lord Haddinger and bring him here, to Fortswan Palace. Living in the countryside I doubt he will have news of this within the week, so get there as soon as possible. If he is as good as you say, he will be your partner in this investigation.” The Queen handed Nicolas a bank note. “These three hundred pounds should be enough for both of you to travel comfortably and start this business.” With that Queen Alice proceeded to kiss Nicolas softly on his lips, making him blush a bit. “Return safely my love…”