THE GODDESS: BOOK TWO
A NEW BEGINNING

Chapter Twenty Five

 

On the eve of Sophia’s nineteenth birthday she received the official announcement of Edouard’s betrothal to Princess Agatha.  She did her best to hide her feelings as she went about her routine and, for the most part, she was successful.  Only her mother and Elisa knew the truth.  Well, that’s not entirely true, Fran figured it out when she found Sophia ‘sleeping’ and the announcement curling into ashes in the fireplace. 

 

Martina and Elisa threw Sophia a nineteenth birthday party the next night but, despite their best efforts, the party was an abysmal failure.  Sophia tried to act happy but just couldn’t pull it off. After about an hour she slipped out and ended up meandering around the garden for the rest of the party.  It was well after midnight when she finally went back to her bedroom and quietly slipped into bed.  She turned her face to the wall and was silently crying when Fran came in to check on her. 

 

She tried to continue her regular routine but her heart just wasn’t in it.  One afternoon, during an extremely long conclave, Sophia felt she was being suffocated by everything and everyone around her.  As soon as it was over, she hurriedly left the room.  As she hustled down the corridor, she felt the tears begin again.  She began running, not really knowing where she was going or even where she wanted to go. That’s when she found herself somewhere she’d never been before.  Sophia knew she was in the temple but, she wasn’t in the sanctuary. 

 

Wiping the tears from her eyes she looked around.  Maria saw a long line of pink marble sarcophagi in a dimly lit hall.  Then it occurred to her, she was in the goddesses’ mausoleum, directly below the sanctuary.  Swallowing her fear she lit a candle and slowly began walking slowly down the row, looking at the sepulchers and reading the inscriptions on each.  The first one read,

 

Sophia XII 1339 – 1437

Born: Felicia Portelli

In The Town Of Atrando

In The Province Of Lucia

 

As she walked along, reading each of the names of her predecessors she heard that now familiar voice behind her.  “Come here often?”

 

Maria didn’t even look around, she just kept walking, brushing her hand along each sarcophagus as she past.  “No, I’ve never been here before.  It’s a good place to get away to though, its peaceful down here.”

 

“Who are you trying to get away from, yourself or your friends?”

 

“A little of both, I think.”  Abruptly she turned around and cried, “How could he do this to me?  I love him and I thought he loved me too!”

 

Sophia moved closer and said, “Men will do that to you every time.  You give your heart and they just tear it into little pieces.  It’s enough to make a goddess cry!”

 

Maria looked at her quizzically.  Sophia said, “You do remember my story, don’t you?  How I fell in love with a man etcetera, etcetera, etcetera?  Well, there you go then.  The point is I know how you feel. Every young woman in the world has and will feel as you do right now.  It’s part of being a woman.  We love, we give, we get hurt but, we keep on doing the same thing, it’s in our nature.”

 

The tears were back, Maria realized.  “But I thought he loved me,” she protested.

 

“What makes you think he doesn’t?  Your friend only said he was going to be betrothed, not that he loved the other girl.”

 

Maria looked confused so Sophia explained, “Royal families do not necessarily marry for love.  More often than not, they have arranged marriages for political purposes.  For them, love has nothing to do with it.  That’s not to say they don’t grow to love one another, usually they do.  It just means they don’t start out that way.”

 

“But, I’m a goddess!  What’s higher than a goddess?”

 

Sophia laughed, “Forget your broken heart for a minute and think about it logically.  What better political friend does Argonne have than Sophia?  And, what better friend does Sophia have?”

 

“But…”

 

“Politics, dear heart, that’s all it is.  Our national friendships are about as close as they can possibly be so, there’s no political need for a marriage to cement that relationship.  But, obviously, King Henri feels their relationship with whatever country this princess is from, needs the bond of matrimony to bring the two countries closer.  It’s politics; that’s all it is. But, whatever you do, don’t let this ruin your relationship with either of them.”

 

“Either of whom?”

 

“Jacqueline and Edouard.  They’re both good friends who love you.”

 

“But I wanted Edouard to be more than a friend,” Maria sobbed.

 

Sophia smiled and said, “Patience.  Things always work out the way they’re supposed to, just be patient.”

 

Maria looked up and was about to say something but Sophia was gone.

 

                       

“Sophia,” Fran called, “Are you down there?”         

 

****

 

“Members of the People’s Committee of the Republic of Tanane,” he began, “I come before you to tell you that Chairman Mikhail Vasilakov and Foreign Minister Bazin Vadimovich have disappeared.”

 

There was a murmur spreading through the assembly as the speaker continued, “What’s more, I have been informed that we have been swindled.  The chairman told us the Sophians required five hundred million Obsidians in reparations.  This was not true!  According to the signed treaty, the Sophians required two hundred and fifty million Moneta D'oro, which is about three hundred million Obsidians.  Gentlemen, I’m afraid the chairman and foreign minister have embezzled the remaining two hundred million Obsidians and are now in hiding in some other country.”

 

Now the din became a roar.  Members were calling for their capture and others their assassinations.  Still more were calling for the return of the money.  The vice chairman began banging the gavel on the podium, calling for quiet.  When order had been restored he said, “We must not allow this deceit to stand.  We must send our best men to find these villains, and the gold, and return them here so they may be punished!  We must leave no stone unturned in our efforts to capture and punish these reprobates!  I propose we act quickly, before the scoundrels get too far away!”

 

There were cheers of assent from every corner of the chamber.  One of the representatives nearest the podium bellowed, “I move they be charged with High Treason and Embezzlement and be hanged as soon as they are captured!”

 

Again, the chamber was filled with cheers.  The vice chairman pounded his gavel and bellowed, “All those in favor say Aye!”

 

The room echoed with shouts of “Aye!”  The vice chairman then bellowed, “Opposed?”

 

Suddenly, the great hall was silent.  He waited a moment and shouted, “The Ayes have it! Ex-chairman Mikhail Vasilakov and Former Foreign Minister Bazin Vadimovich are hereby accused of High Treason and Embezzlement and an arrest warrant will be issued immediately!”  The cheering was deafening.

 

****

 

General Milano was placed in charge of surveying the new territories and, of course, he took Salvatore with him.  For two months they traveled the area, mapping out where to build new forts and overseeing the proper burial of the slaughtered inhabitants.  Eventually, they returned to Sophia and reported to the conclave.  Sophia sat and barely listened as he went over his report.  The general left when he was done and Cardinal Michelotti (Interior Affairs Cardinal) asked a dozen questions like, is it going to be one province or more than one?  What are we going to call the new province(s)?  Who is going to be the new arch bishop(s) and when would they be named, etcetera.  

 

The questions were discussed for the next hour until Sophia finally said, “Why don’t we split it into two provinces.  We’ll name one Milano and the other Brunelli.  They’ll be equal in area or as close as we can make them, and we can just name General Milano one arch bishop and Field Marshal Brunelli the other one.  Then, once they have determined where their capitals will be, we’ll open the new provinces up for settlement.  The prices people pay for the land and homes can be used to provide for infrastructure and whatever else they need.” 

 

It was agreed to by all and work began immediately on the forts.  Then it was announced that the new territory would soon be opened for settlement.

 

As soon as the details were ironed out, Sophia bolted from the room and headed for the garden.  She just had to get away from her life and think.  She knew she needed a change but what was that change going to be?  Dinner time came but, Sophia didn’t go in.  Sometime after midnight, Fran persuaded her to come in and go to bed.  When Fran closed the door, Sophia turned toward the wall and cried herself to sleep, as she’d done almost every night since she found out about Edouard.