DVH Chpt 6

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==Davion Heir (BattleTech CYOA)Chapter 6==
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===Final Vote===
Davion Palace, Avalon City, New Avalon
Crucis March, Federated Suns
5th March, 3014
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“You know, this is going to be the first time that I will meet with Michael since he arrived,” says Victoria to Ran Felsner as she limps down the back corridors of the Davion Palace, towards where the High Council is gathered for yet another of their meetings.
 
Said meetings have been taking place daily since the High Council gathered on New Avalon following Hanse’s death and Victoria intends to put an end to them today. Her doctors have declared her fit enough to leave her bed behind though she is still barred from anything strenuous or exciting. Her current plans are definitely a violation of those medical orders, but the needs of the Federated Suns require her to take the risk to her health.
Both of them are wearing their dress uniforms as they walk with an escort made from a mixture of Victoria’s MIIO security detail and her bodyguards from the Davion Guards. Victoria has her Diamond Sunburst displayed proudly on the right side of her chest while Ran is doing the same with his Medal Excalibur. Both medals are bound to command respect within the martially oriented Federated Suns even if the High Council is a civilian organization as you don’t get far in Federation politics without gaining a respect for the AFFS and those who have served in it.
“Hopefully you’ll catch him by surprise then.” says Ran and Victoria is grateful to have the support of the commander of the Davion Heavy Guards.
 
If-no, when she emerges as First Prince, she will promote him to Marshal. He is fully qualified for it and Victoria remembers Hanse mentioning he was considering doing it after he got back from Halstead Station. More cynically, promoting their CO as one of her first acts as First Prince would be a good way to garner support and loyalty from the Davion Heavy Guards.
 
God, why does she have to think so mercenary these days?
 
“I doubt he expects to win at this point barring my death, but I do hope he isn’t expecting me to intervene like this,” replies Victoria as they approach the chambers of the High Council, getting close enough to hear the not-quite shouting of Aaron Sandoval and Michael Hasek-Davion, “Alright, here we go.”
 
With Ran at her side, Victoria limps into the chambers, drawing the attention of everyone inside. Not instantly before conversations begin to trail off as they realise who has entered the room and after a few seconds have passed, everyone is watching them. The Princess Imperial and the CO of the Davion Heavy Guards walk towards the podium, where Michael Hasek-Davion stands, having been speaking up there when Victoria made her entrance.
 
Michael doesn’t move as they approach, earning himself a disapproving look from Ran. For her part, Victoria ignores her brother-in-law. She knows what she is doing and she knows that Michael doesn’t have the influence to stop her. If he tries to make a fuss, she’ll just go ahead with forcing the contest between them.
 
“Colonel London,” says Michael as Victoria and Ran join him on the podium, causing some gasps from their audience.
 
“Leftenant Colonel Hasek-St. Claire,” replies Victoria, earning a red glare from Michael and even more gasps from their observers and a chuckle from Ran.
 
 Michael starts to say something else to her, but Victoria just ignores him as she turns to face the audience.
 
“You had your time to talk, now it is time to vote,” says Victoria in her best commanding officer’s voice, her own words drowning out her brother-in-law’s more softly spoken words, “I am the Princess Imperial and it is time to decide whether you will honor and respect my status as the heir apparent.”
 
“That is-” starts Michael from behind her whilst a multitude of people in the crowd begin to talk, but all of them are interrupted by Ran.
 
“Victoria Davion for First Prince!” roars Ran as he raises a fist into the air, “All those who say aye!”
 
“Aye!” shouts Aaron.
 
“Aye!” seconds Olivia.
 
“Aye!” thirds Yvonne and after that, it is too much for Victoria to individually track.
 
The ministers, with the exception of Michael himself, support her and so do the majority of those from the Draconis March, almost everyone from Outback. The support from the Crucis March is less clear, but Victoria thinks there were more of them saying aye than remaining silent. Unsurprisingly, she didn’t receive much approval from the representatives originating from the Capellan March with next to none supporting her, but that was to be expected. 
 
She has a majority, not much of one, but that majority is all that she needs. As a few people change their minds and shout some last-minute ayes. A bit fair weather.
 
“All those who say nay!” calls out Michael from beside Victoria, “Nay!”
 
“Nay!” shouts someone else who Victoria does not recognise at all and soon the crowd is yelling out their nays.
While they are louder and more numerous than Victoria would like, the nays are still quieter and fewer than Victoria’s ayes. She shoots a glance at Michael, who seems…not angry or frustrated or anything to Victoria’s eyes. In fact, Michael seems to be calm and accepting as far as the new First Prince can tell and while she thinks she might see some brittleness in his smile, she might just be imagining what she wants to see.
“All hail our new First Prince!” shouts Ran to a thunderous, but not total applause from the crowd, “All hail First Prince Victoria Eveline Davion!”
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=== Relationship between Sisters ===
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“Congratulations on your victory, Victoria.” says Marie and she seems to be sincere enough that Victoria decides to give her half-sister the benefit of the doubt. 
 
For now, at least.
 
“Thank you, Marie.” says Victoria as she sips her cup of tea, “Where do we stand now?”
 
The two of them are holding their meeting in Victoria’s personal quarters with their respective bodyguards standing outside. It is a bit of a risk, but Marie isn’t packing any weapons and Victoria can’t imagine Meek Marie daring to attack her. Even if she did, Victoria is confident in her hand-to-hand combat skills to take on someone who failed out of Albion and hasn’t served in a military role since.
 
“You’re my sister and I would like for us to have a relationship.” answers Marie, “How are you faring now that everything is over?”
 
“It has been a weight off my shoulders,” admits Victoria, “to formally and officially be First Prince. I already have been bearing the responsibilities of the position since I arrived here so not having to fight to keep it is a great relief. My injuries are still frustrating, but I am expected to be fully recovered in a couple of weeks and by the end of the month at the latest. I’m also enjoying the luxuries of the Davion Palace though it can be quite the culture shock at times.”
“In what way?” inquires Marie.
“The service for one,” answers Victoria, “To have people available to just carry out my personal requests as soon as I make them, I often forget that it is real. Not to mention that there are people who take care of doing my laundry, making my bed and other basic stuff that I had to take care of whilst I was growing up and in the military. And the food here is great. I don’t have to worry about menus or whatnot, I just make a request and the chefs will just get to work on it. It’s great, but it can get a bit overwhelming at times. You have no idea how much easier having a fixed set of options is when making a choice.”
 
“I’ll admit it isn’t something I think about much except for when I am traveling on a DropShip,” replies Marie, “Between growing up here and living with Michael on New Syrtis, I haven’t wanted for much.”
 
“Except for the affections of family,” notes Victoria, “That is one thing that both of us lost out on thanks to that overrated arse.”
 
“You seem to have overcome it.” says Marie, “I’m ashamed to admit that is more than I have done.”
 
“You are closer to me in that than you are willing to admit.” replies Victoria, “I don’t know how much of it is an act and how much of it is true, but I do know that you are playing it up for the public. You chose to fail out of Albion and you have more spine than you publicly let on.”
 
“I suppose it was too much to hope you would be fooled.” admits Marie, “Hanse never fell for it either once he was old enough to realize what was going on.”
 
“Back to my earlier question, where do we stand?” asks Victoria, “I beat your husband for the throne so where does that leave us? Are we just going to go on politely pretending that this never happened? Or are we going to address the fact he tried to have me killed just like he did with Hanse?”
“I don’t approve of either of those things, but I am not in a position to just leave Michael.” replies Marie before letting out a resigned sigh, “I would have to leave Morgan behind and Michael hasn’t lost his good qualities, just gained bad ones. I know it is no excuse, but Michael was once my knight in shining armor. Arriving to take me away from the dismissive and bullying Davion to a life of happiness on New Syrtis, And for a while. We did have that and is why we had Morgan, but then things changed. I don’t know if Michael was revealing his true ambitions all along or if he had acquired them there and then, but his aspirations grew into what they are today.”
 
“Yet you still love him.” says Victoria.
 
“It is more of a fondness these days than the passion we used to have, but yes. I still love Michael despite everything.” admits Marie, “Even if I could have the same sort of lifestyle here on New Avalon as a Davion, I don’t want to leave Morgan or Michael behind.”
 
“Sounds like a crappy situation, you are in.” says Victoria, “But it is still going to cause us strife in the future. Even if I don’t find proof of his involvement, if Michael keeps up with the assassins and other attempts to undermine me, it will impact our relationship. I want to remain in touch with you, Marie, but there is only so much I can put up with before you continuing to stay with him isn’t something I can overlook.”
“Then I will tell him that you found evidence that he was behind the assassin.” says Marie and Victoria gapes at her, “That you are keeping quiet out of a desire to protect the unity of the Federation and avoid a costly civil war. That this meeting between us today is a discrete way of letting him know that you know using me as a messenger. It won’t get rid of his ambitions, but it will check him and make him think twice about moving against you.”
 
“What the ‘ell, Marie?” demands Victoria after a moment of stunned silence, “Where in the name of the Lord is this coming from?”
 
“You were right about me playing it up for the public.” replies Not So Meek Marie, “We might not know each other well, but we are sisters and we are the last two survivors of our siblings. I would like to maintain that bond and if that means bluffing my husband into not committing further treason then so be it. Speaking of which, you should use me as a middleman between you and Michael. Your ability to hide what you are really thinking isn’t good enough to fool my husband and would give the game away.”
“Right, don’t speak with Michael directly because I’m not a good enough liar.” replies Victoria, “Wow, this has just blown my mind. I’m not sure about what to say.”
 
“How about a change in subject,” suggests Marie, “What part of your new lifestyle are you enjoying? I’ve always enjoyed going to the library and learning new things from books though I always made sure to keep that private. I never wanted to reveal how smart I really was so I could stay under the radar, but reading away in a library is one of my favorite things to do.”
 
“I’m enjoying the dresses.” admits Victoria, “Not the impractical fashion-based things, but the practical and comfy gowns that both make me look pretty and feel good to wear. It might be a little vain of me, but looking good is something I enjoy. Not to bash on wearing a military uniform and all, but there is just something nice about wearing a skirt or something that shows my curves.”
 
“It is a perfectly normal thing to enjoy,” says Marie as she smiles at the younger woman, “In fact, I don’t believe that I’ve met a woman who doesn’t enjoy dressing up.”
 
“Yvonne doesn’t.” points out Victoria.
 
“Yvonne just dislikes the politics of attending formal events,” replies Marie, “I can assure you that she likes to dress up for a special occasion as much as any woman. Don’t worry about being vain, Victoria, just get a nice wardrobe of comfy dresses that look good on you and then wear them when you can get away with it. God knows that most of the nobility takes it to greater extremes, even here in the Suns.”
 
“I don’t like those formal events either,” says Victoria, “I just enjoy the dresses.”
 
“I’m afraid being First Prince means you will be attending a lot of those formal events,” says Marie, “I can get away with my persona of being afraid of attention and being withdrawn, but the First Prince has no such luxury.”
 
“I know, I know, but if Ian could survive it for a whole decade, then I can certainly cope.” replies Victoria.
 
“Ian spent most of his time on the battlefield, leaving running the Suns to Michael.” warns Marie.
 
“I know that Ian’s style of ruling won’t work for me, but I’ll get by.” says Victoria, “I’m good at making friends and forming connections. I can handle small talk and buttkissing at some dances.”
 
“I suppose you have a good track record at that,” agrees Marie, “Michael has been complaining about Duke Sandoval and Minister Fenlon bringing your foreign connections during the High Council debates.”
 
“I have a good set of ministers,” says Victoria, “Something I inherited from Hanse and I am very grateful for that. Things would have turned out very differently if it wasn’t for them having my back.”
 
“Using Aaron Sandoval as a counter to Michael was a very smart political move.” says Marie, “If that was your idea, then you’ll do fine. If it wasn’t, just keep listening to whoever came up with the idea.”
 
“You can count on that,” says Victoria before sighing, “Will you be staying on New Avalon long enough to do some dress shopping?”
“Hmm, I don’t think your security will allow that.” points out Marie as she gives a slight frown, “No offense to you, Victoria, but I’m afraid that our positions of power don’t allow for such casual acts. We are too important to just be allowed out like that. Any shopping trip would need to be pre-planned with our destination and journey being secured ahead of time. You won’t be doing your own shopping anymore and it will be delegated to servants to go shopping on your behalf if they don’t get someone to just make whatever you want.”
 
“Ugh,” grumbles Victoria as she puts her head in her hands, “That’s going to be another bit of culture shock. No more going shopping while off-duty with Tahmina, I guess.”
 
“I’m sure you’ll find alternative ways to spend time together,” says Marie comfortingly, “And speaking of alternative ways of spending time together, let’s discuss what we can do together before I return to New Syrtis.”
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==Author's Chapter Notes==
;Word from the Author: And here is the end of the first arc of the story. I’m not entirely sure about how I handled Michael and Victoria interacting, but I think that their lack of direct interaction works as Victoria uses intermediaries and subordinates to fight Michael’s attempts to seize the throne. Anyway, Victoria won and now Michael is going to slink on back to New Syrtis and sulk about someone else becoming First Prince for the second time in less than a year.We also have Marie and Victoria confronting their differences and being sisterly. I’m going with Marie being smarter than she lets on, but secretly sabotaging Michael when he goes up against her family when it comes to what Marie Hasek-Davion is really like. Also, she is in a messed up situation while Victoria likes pretty dresses and continues to suffer from culture shock.
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