Ella Van Zyl

Lucea Opperman (Sister)

Izette Van Smit (Sister)

Janco Bronkhorst (Brother)

Christiaan Van Zyl (Husband)

Marionette Van Zyl (Daughter)

Liana Van Zyl (Daughter)

### Occupation

Student at Cape Town Studies Private School (1974-1979)Student at Cape Town University (1979-1985)

Member of the Volkstaadt (1985-1989)

State President of South Africa (1989-)

## Appearances

### Portrayed by

Nanou Philipps

**Note: This character originates from an alternate timeline where the Boers won the Second Boer War (1899-1902) and won their independence from Britain.**

**Ella Rose Van Zyl** is a South African politician, anti-apartheid activist and currently the 12th state president of the South African Republic. Raised in a segregated, whites only neighborhood of Cape Town, she grew up hating apartheid, hating how it forcefully divided people simply on the basis of race. She, as a college student, participated in the 1980 Rose Revolution as an activist, organizer and public speaker. Her contributions saw her catch the eye of both F.W de Klerk and Nelson Mandela, who understood her place as a noble person rallying to support the cause of ending segregation. While obtaining her masters at the University of Pretoria, she interned under then state president Nelson Mandela. Upon graduating in 1985, she immediately ran for her home city of Cape Town, and instead of joining the National Party (NP) like her parents wanted, she joined the Grondwetlike Republikeinse Party/Constitutional Republicans Party, (GRP) under the leadership of F.W de Klerk. She would secure two terms in the Volkstaadt, before confidently throwing her hat into the ring for state president upon hearing that Mandela didn't intend to run again. Securing victory in the 1989 election, she became South Africa's first female state president.

## Chapter One: Background, Childhood & Schooling

### Early Life in Cape Town

Born Ella Rose Bronkhorst on March 12, 1961 to Johan (1924) and Jadine Bronkhorst (1927) in Cape Town, in the South African Republic, Ella was the youngest of four children. Preceding her was Janco (1959), Izette (1956) and Lucea (1952). The family was wealthy, with a large estate and number of servants, all of whom were colored. As she grew up, Apartheid was in full swing, and she took distasteful notice of how abrasive the servants were treated by her parents and siblings. By the time she was seven she had developed a series of 'secret friendships' with the servants, something forbidden by her parents. As she grew up she became enamored by politics, the anti-apartheid movement, and political activists such as Nelson Mandela and Helen Suzman. When some of her friendships with the servants were found out, Ella was severely punished, some rumors suggested by Johan's belt, though Ella herself has refused to comment on such matters, electing to keep her father's reputation intact.

### Schooling

She was a good student, very bookish, soft spoken and gentle. She never raised her voice, respected others and studied hard. This saw her earn a scholarship to the highly prestigious Cape Town Studies Private School. Despite this she tried to resist going on account of not wanting to leave her friends. Her parents pressed on, and Ella began attending CTSPS in her freshman year. Despite not liking attending the school, and disliking a good portion of the students, she continued to prove her academic strengths. In her own words:

> *"I didn't have many friends in high school. Just like my family they were all a bunch of... stuck up, obnoxious, racist animals,"*
>
>

She consistently scored high marks on her exams which meant that early in high school she was placed in advanced placement classes. Despite this achievement, Ella remained relatively popular with a small group because she never became snobby or thought herself better than others. She wasn't too into romance and dating, preferring to wait until she met 'the one'. Funnily enough, that happened when she met a fellow student, Christiaan Van Zyl, when she was 15. They began dating after a year, in which Ella dragged him along, refusing to go out with him. She frankly viewed him as the exact opposite of her. He was into sports, she hated them. He was quite egoistical, she was not. While they were both rich, Christiaan was known for his lavish spending habits, whereas Ella was known to save most of her money (and smuggle it to her servants). Finally, after a few months, Christiaan came to her, asking to tutor him on mathematics and physics, and she accepted. At some point, a deal came up when Ella mocked his terrible study habits saying that "at this rate you'll never pass you buffoon," and therefore Christiaan dared her, "When I do, you'll go out with me then," and she agreed with a snide flicker in her eyes.

Only a few months later, he passed all his exams, and Ella held up her end of the bargain. In the right mindset, it turned out Christiaan could be a good partner underneath all his hard layers instilled in him. It was during this date that Ella learned Christiaan actually despised apartheid, and hid this from his family. Soon after, the two officially began dating.

Her grades saw her earn a series of scholarships, and she elected to attend Cape Town University, to avoid having to pay the astronomical costs for room and board. She chose to double major in political science and law to eventually pursue a career in politics.

## Chapter Two: The Revolution and the Revolutionary

### The Activist

By this time however the country was teetering towards the edge of dissolution as Apartheid had become pretty much universally hated, with only the small remnants of the National Party (NP) still supporting the system. Certain politicians which held major sway, such as F.W de Klerk had broken off from the NP to oppose it.

Both black and white, race didn't matter, the system was hated, and most of the country wanted it gone. Ella found herself in Cape Town University, a hot spot for anti-apartheid activity and organization. Within a few months she found herself organizing rallies in support of de Klerk and Nelson Mandela, who in the beginning of 1980, was released after intense pressure by mounting protests. This began to bring the full weight of the African National Congress (ANC) down on Pretoria, and in March, de Klerk found the GNP which only further isolated the NP and the government. Shortly after her nineteenth birthday, her friends and Ella organized the students of Cape Town University to head to Pretoria and join the rapidly growing revolution against the NP and against apartheid.

### The Revolutionary

Arriving in Pretoria with thousands of students with them, they joined in with some 110,000 others and joined in the angry frantic protesting. She heard F.W de Klerk and Nelson Mandela speak for the first time, and during one day of protesting, the police and army fired tear gas into the crowd. On March 27, the first clash between the police and protesters resulted in hundreds being injured, and 8 being killed. Ella was lucky to not have been injured, and these retaliations prompted some concerns of returning back to Cape Town, but Ella, ever the determined fighter she was gathered them, making an impassioned speech. At the end of it, she convinced most to stay and continue the fight.

On April 2, the first armed skirmishes between protesters and police began, resulting in dozens killed and hundreds further being injured, but this only heightened the heat of the protests, and with international support coming in from **both** the Soviet Union and United States of America, condemnations and sanctions being placed on Pretoria by the United Nations, the government was buckling. She continued to organize and move further into the city as thousands more joined in what was now no longer just being called protests. Now, as the protesters all began wearing red and white roses on over their hearts, it became known as the 'Rose Revolution'. Her accomplishments and ability to rally support was spreading through the ranks of revolutionaries, and on April 5, her name became known to de Klerk and Mandela, as they met and worked to break the last bones of the NP regime, as now the bloodthirsty protesters were calling for the full dissolution of the government.

On April 7, the Army was fully deployed to Pretoria, and protesters were regularly gunned down by vindictive army soldiers. Tanks were rolled in, artillery fired tear gas round the clock, and so the united revolutionaries decided enough was enough. On April 16, they marched on the Volksraad, and Ella was right at the front with her friends and her people. When they reached the Volksraad, the Army opened fire, the protesters returning fire, and a full on battle had begun. Ella was shot four times, and was shielded by her allies as they stormed the Volksraad. By the end of the night, the revolutionaries had captured the government, and the State President within a few weeks after that. The old NP government was dissolved, and F.W de Klerk became interim president while a new constitution and government was established.

## Chapter Three: The Rising Figure

After the Rose Revolution, Ella and her friends returned back to Cape Town by train on April 20 to go back to classes. The university publicly pardoned all students who had been gone for the better part of a month and a half.

Her parents were not at all pleased at this, and upon returning home, her family was aggressive and spiteful towards her. Believing she had gone against everything they had taught her as a child, they spoke bitterly, and issued a statement that essentially ruined her relationship with her parents and siblings. Here is a quote from a BBC interview in August of 1989, just months before the election.

> *"My parents told me that due to my so-called betrayal they were cutting me off, freezing my assets. I would be finishing the last two weeks of classes, then after that I would not be permitted to live in their house anymore, I would be required to pay for room and board, and they would not be helping me pay for tuition,"*
>
>

When Ella attempted to get her siblings to support her, they coldly turned away. Room and board at the university was expensive, and with her limited income, she began trying to figure out just how to get money to continue getting her degree. She considered joining the Army to provide a little bit of extra money. Then, Christiaan, who she had been dating for over three years who himself had joined the Army, proposed she move in with him. Ella expressed concern over this, and preferred to only do so if there was further commitment.

It was then that Christiaan asked her to marry him, and she said yes. They would move in together in Christiaan's Cape Town apartment. The couple would marry sixteen months later, in September of 1981 and Ella would take his name, become Ella Rose Van Zyl.

### Formal Recognition of Service

Shortly after beginning her sophomore year at Cape Town University, Nelson Mandela visited and make a speech during an annual conference. Apartheid still technically hadn't been abolished in law, though blacks and whites could intermingle and interact. Police who attempted to interfere were themselves arrested. During his speech, Mandela publicly named over fifty students who had 'proven invaluable to the success of ending Apartheid'. One of these students happened to be Ella, who would be seen smiling brightly as Mandela pinned the Order of the Star of South Africa medal on her chest. This achievement properly put her in the spotlight of major activists and government figures, any many began to take special interest in the nineteen year old student from Cape Town.

### "I Put *Myself* Through University"

Over the next few years, Ella worked and studied immensely to not only financially put herself through university, working as much as she could outside of school to earn as much money as she could. She wrote scholarship essays, participated in internships, anything she could do. Christiaan had been deployed as part of his service in the South African Defense Force (SADF) to Angola, after their wedding, would ensure as much money he could send to her. To him, she was his everything, and he could see that burning ambition in her heart. He knew that given the resources, she would take South Africa by storm, shake it to its very core.

This also made her stand out professionally. Her strong work ethic, determination, and strict regimen to get the job done continued to catch eyes, and she began obtaining grants from members of the Volksraad, including interim state president de Klerk. In that same August 1989 interview with the BBC, she was quoted as saying:

> *"When I got that grant from state president de Klerk, I clutched that letter so hard in my hands it practically crumpled. I looked at the photo I kept of my father and shouted at it, throwing my arms into the air: 'You wanted me to fail, now I am getting money from the fucking president!'"*
>
>

In between tours of duty, Ella and Christiaan had two daughters, Marionette (1984) and Liana (1986). One would be born while Ella was still putting herself through school, and one after she had finished. She operated a healthy work-life balance, even in school, and always made time for her children, something she still does today. The pro-GNP media often praises her ability to both lead the Republic and be an excellent, devoted mother and wife.

#### Masters in Pretoria

In 1983, she graduated from Cape Town, and with Christiaan in tow, she moved to the capital, Pretoria, where she planned on going to graduate school to obtain her masters degree. While doing this, she interned on Nelson Mandela's 1984 presidential campaign, making several speeches in his favor both in university and in Cape Town and nearby areas. While not seen as a critical contributor to his campaign and the success of the ANC in 1984, her ability to bring in both black Africans and Afrikaners was remarked as being an excellent tool. She would complete her masters at the University of Pretoria in 1985, where she graduated at the top of her class, feeling as though she was on top of the world. In her own little world, she was famous. Her stories in the Rose Revolution were told among young Afrikaners, who were inspired by her. She was considered an excellent asset to Nelson Mandela, who kept her in high regard.

After graduating, she had to consider where to go to next. She was riding on her success, and she quickly came to the conclusion that there was only one place to go from here:

**The Volksraad.**

## Verteenwoordiger Van Zyl: Young, Confident, Fierce

### 1985 Volksraad Election

A couple of months after graduating from Pretoria, Ella announced her intention to run for the Western Cape District for the Volksraad. This being her home, this was her opening into the political scene with people she knew, who trusted her, and knew her in return. Her first campaign was noticeably poorly financed, and its management had more to be desired. As it would turn out, she was building the campaign on her own resources, and money Christiaan was sparing from his service in Angola.

Ella made up for her financial lack in charisma, confidence and determination. Her own parents publicly denounced her, called her out, trying to incite the pro-Apartheid supporters against her. She was popular with her crowd, though there were plenty of opposition to her running, and it came down to election day 1985, in which she won 61% of the vote for her local seat in the Volksraad. Traveling back to Pretoria, she purchased an apartment, which she would live out of until 1989. She first began attending Volksraad sessions in Pretoria.

### First Term (1985-1987)

She would throw her hand behind further anti-apartheid legislation, anti-discriminatory efforts, police reform, voting system reform and more during her first term in the Volksraad. She advocated for increasing civil rights, increasing of political freedom, and to many's surprise, an end to the war in the Angola. The war had been ongoing since 1975, since the Portuguese withdrawal from the country.

Despite socially being a conservative, she was economically a liberal, and pushed through legislation representing that. She became known as an honest, hardworking representative who ensured the people under her watch were cared for. She was invited to multiple talk shows, radio shows where she made clear her mission was to help build a 'stronger, more unified South Africa'. Her message was repeated across the country, and when it came in 1987 where she sought to renew her seat, this time, she overwhelmingly won.

### Second Term (1987-1989)

Ella's second term in the Volksraad was far less smooth sailing, though she managed to keep pushing forward her initiatives. This time her focus was on killing off unemployment, improving infrastructure and improving the justice system in her district. She was reported to have mostly succeeded in these endeavors, having lowered unemployment by 16% in the Western Cape District, overseeing the rebuilding of roads and bridges, and seeing a decrease in racially motivated police arrests and biased courtroom problems.

#### Going All the Way

This prompted her to open a new campaign to go all the way: To the office of the state president. Her motto was bringing the Western Cape's success to the entire country, which saw waves of support as the media often considered the Western Cape (one of) the safest districts in the country, and with Nelson Mandela announcing he was not seeking re-election, this was her chance.

However, she received an open brick to the face in mid 1988 as South African forces were steadily being withdrawn from Angola. UNITA had ambushed a SADF convoy near Dongo, and several had been killed, a half-dozen more wounded... including Christiaan, who was airlifted back to South Africa to Windhoek. Ella rushed there as quickly as she could, but learned that Christiaan had been paralyzed from the waist down.

Ella wanted to drop her presidential campaign to be with him, but her husband reprimanded her. Supposedly saying that her dropping this would only ruin her, he wanted her to focus on completing her objectives, her ambition, and her mission. So with a lot of convincing, she chose to stay in the race. Another promise Ella made to Christiaan was that she would always carry his service pistol on her hip, so "Somebody was able to protect their family given he was unable to now,". She continued pushing hard, winning over voters with unique rallies. She branded herself as a young, fresh face in politics who had the motivation and determination to get the right things done.

However, when it came to choosing a deputy candidate, she began to sputter out. None of her potential options were good options so to speak, and she was falling flat. There was none that resonated with her as a person, very few who carried her drive to see change seen in the country. That was until January 18, 1989, when the perfect man stepped through the door of her campaign office in Pretoria.

Frederik Willem de Klerk.

He spoke to her for hours, de Klerk talking how successful she had been, how he saw great potential in her, and how President Mandela personally held great appraisal of her and saw her as an ideal candidate to lead the country. Two days later, they jointly announced that de Klerk would be running on her ticket. Suddenly, the Van Zyl/de Klerk platform was exploding in the polls, with hundreds of thousands openly proclaiming support. The two would become personal friends during the race, and in April of 1989, Ella Van Zyl won the presidential election with 74% of the vote, her opposition candidates scrounging up 16% and 10% divided among themselves. On May 10, 1989, Ella was sworn in as the 12th State President of the South African Republic.

## The Van Zyl Administration: First Term

Ella quickly worked to assemble her cabinet, of 29 ministers, excluding herself and de Klerk. She spent her first 100 days conducting these interviews and choosing her ministers on the basis of merit, not simply reputation or wealth, or like the old days by skin color. With a cabinet assembled, she began dealing with several pressing internal issues.

She oversaw the final withdrawals of the SADF from Angola, completed in October of 1989. She assured the military that the South African nuclear weapons programme, kept relatively secret by the South African government, would not be halted, reversed, or dismantled. The new state president views nuclear weapons as the ultimate form of national defense, and they should be kept at all costs. She began putting funds into the South African Space Programme, and rewriting South African foreign policy to better fit the coming decade.

However, she came under fire internationally for refusing to send troops in the Gulf War against Iraq, as Iraq headed by Saddam Hussein was a major oil partner of South Africa, and a relatively friendly government despite its autocratic nature. South Africa under Van Zyl initially didn't conduct the embargo on Iraq as well, until she was forced to reverse this course of action under the threat of sanctions.

She led her government in lobbying and obtaining the temporary Security Council Seat for Africa for 1992, a position would be reobtained in 1993, 1994, 1995, and 1996, until Egypt would take hold in 1997. However, South African influence in the UN continued after Ella's presidency, and it would hold the position of temporary UNSC seat for Africa from 2004-2006, 2011, 2014, 2018, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023.

### "The Big Four Problems of Any Government"

Ella was a pragmatist, and knew the Cold War was coming to an end. It was clear the Soviet Union was collapsing, or would collapse, and she could identify a number of reasons for that.

1. Single Party Rule
2. Terrible Economic Mismanagement
3. Government Corruption
4. The War in Afghanistan

Luckily, South Africa no longer had to worry about the first point, with Apartheid having been abolished for eight years, and the single-party rule of the NP completely knocked out of the picture. In regards to the fourth, this is why she accelerated the withdrawal from Angola, and made clear an objective to institute military/armed neutrality (which she achieved formally in early 1992). The SADF would now properly serve a strictly defensive measure.

The third point became a major issue of concern, and working with de Klerk, bi-yearly corruption purges became regular. Every six months, on the 1st of June and 1st of January, in 1989, 1990, 1991, and now into 1992, all government employees, ministers and representatives were vetted and had their finances dutifully checked. If there was sufficient evidence a minister, rep or service member was lining their own pockets instead of using public tax payer dollars for the people, they were immediately cut out of the government, demoted, and or flat out fired. Her work in destroying, or severely limiting government corruption has not only improved her public standing with the people, but also led to her leading one of the least corrupt governments in Africa, and in the world.

One of her final major working projects was to ensure the economy flourished and was stable. The South African economy was known to spike and crash from year to year, rise or fall dramatically, which led to many problems. Very little spending, very little investment by citizens, unstable paychecks, lots of employee strikes, lots of defaulting on debts and fluctuating national unemployment due to problematic financial security.

Using her presidential influence and friends in the Volksraad, the government began trying to create as many new, stable jobs as possible. The economy was by 1991 stabilized in slow, but steady growth, and many South Africans began to feel comfortable with opening their wallets a bit more, taking more risks. The state began accepting international investments, notably from Ukraine, Brazil, Czechoslovakia and Japan from 1991-92.

Trade was increased with several countries including Burgundy, a stable, consistent defense budget was put down in 1991 to further aid in the economy. These successes prompted Ella to announce her intent to run for reelection on January 12, 1992 for the 1994 election. If successful in her bid for reelection, she will be the first state president to be elected for two terms in office since Jacobus Johannes Fouché, who served from 1968-1975. If she actually *completes* this second term without dying prematurely, resigning or otherwise leaving the office to her deputy, she will be the first to do so in South African history. (This is actually true, look it up! Not a single South African president served a full two terms!)

Ella is generally liked by all sides of the political spectrum, as she compromises, makes sacrifices for both sides, remains neutral and moderate and works with all sides for the betterment of South Africa and improving the lives of its people.

### The War on Terror Pt. 1

In early 1992, a series of terror attacks were conducted on Durban, including the bombings of bridges, a stadium and other government buildings. The group responsible was the 'Afrikaner Liberation Front' or ALF, led by Adam Du Preez, or his alias 'Bane'. The ALF was a cruel, violent group which sought to overthrow Van Zyl and De Klerk, those they saw as betraying the Afrikaner people. They wanted to return to the old days of Apartheid, and reclaim their 'rightful place'. After the attacks in Durban, the ALF took control over Cape Town a week later, and presented a fully primed neutron bomb which prompted a swift response from the government.

The SADF retaliated with a swift campaign which dislodged the militants from Cape Town and sent them fleeing to the north. The battle for Cape Town was led by Van Zyl and De Klerk, which further raised morale, as they called upon a War on Terror against the ALF. The war against Du Preez was concluded by years end after luring his last remaining forces into a pitched battle at the small town of Asab and wiping them out. Du Preez was captured, publicly tried, and would be executed in 1997.

However, a slight complication arose with the War on Terror, was that the jig was seemingly up on the South African nuclear weapons programme. Despite Ella claiming it was not a weapon of origin, but rather a nuclear reactor which the terrorists were attempting to weaponize, the CIA began conducting a full investigation into a possible WMD program.

### 1993: The Year of Calm

Ella began working hard on her 1994 campaign in 1993, but overall it was a quiet year. She struck trade deals with a multitude of African countries including Rhodesia, Angola, and Zambia, though tensions remained high with Mozambique. In August, she became the first South African head of state to visit the United Kingdom, where she met with Queen Elizabeth II. The Queen described Ella as a 'pleasant young lady with a fine taste in art, tea and politics'.

She strengthened her diplomatic bond with the United States, buying new American military hardware, tanks, radar, and air defense systems, including Patriot. However, if 1993 was the most quiet and stable year of her presidency... 1994 was going to be a rude awakening.

### 1994: The Year of Turmoil

1994 started off just as 1993 had ended, however, relations with the United States soured as the CIA released credible information that South Africa was not only running a nuclear weapons programme, but expanding its nuclear arsenal.

#### Nuclear Debacle

Once more Ella's government denied these allegations to the *United Nations* and a full argument broke out on the floor between the American and South African ambassadors which highlighted unprofessional behavior from both. President George H.W Bush, who had been re-elected in 1992 (Bill Clinton was arrested for criminal conduct) called on Ella to act within reason and rationality, for the betterment of world peace.

The United States demanded that South Africa fully dismantle its nuclear arsenal, or face global sanctions just as Iraq had done as a threat to world peace. This finally forced Ella to come forward and make a statement, in which she stood up to the United States, the United Nations and Europe.

> "The United States possesses 10,600 nuclear weapons... the Russian Federation 27,000... China over 200, France 500, the UK 280... yet you call *South Africa*, a country with *8* nuclear weapons a threat to world peace? Really? Is that the best we're going with?"
>
>

In the same statement she issued a borderline *threat* to Washington D.C about giving up such a privileged positions geopolitically to non-American allied states. She never would state explicitly *who*, but China and Iran were strongly implied.

> "Tread carefully America, South Africa may not be a military juggernaut like you or Russia, but we will bite. Twist my arm and I will rip yours off,"
>
>

The United States was forced to back down, not wanting to further antagonize or risk such a valuable ally. They discussed in backdoor channels about halting the expansion of the programme, but not dismantling it, and they came to an agreement. However, in the future, Ella claimed that she always had 'Beijing on speedial' should Washington ever force her hand.

The conflict with the United States only blossomed her public support with the South African population... except then it came crashing down.

#### The Affair

In early March of 1994, just months before the election, a bombshell article was released by a major media center in Pretoria, taking photos of her and F.W being a bit too close for comfort, taking Christiaan's paralysis, and other information. With that, they weaved together a convincing story that Ella was having an affair, with her deputy president, who was known to be a bit of a womanizer. Suddenly, she was crashing through the polls as South Africans believed their white knight would stoop so low.

She came out, publicly denied the claims, and cited the primary reason was that she was loyal to her husband, and F.W de Klerk was twenty-five years her senior. She thought that would be enough to stamp out the fire.

It was not.

The media then slammed down further, claiming her excuses were lackluster and mediocre. Her political opponents in the ANC used this as cannon fodder to further their own campaigns. Foreign media picked up the story, spreading the wildfire globally. Many South Africans would also turn on de Klerk, on the thought of him seducing a woman twenty-five years younger than him for reasons not quite known. Many in the Van Zyl Administration got cold feet and didn't speak out in her favor, but those who did would state that despite the photographs suggesting something else, Van Zyl and de Klerk were simply very close friends. It provided the ammunition that pro-Van Zyl media needed to fight back. Using fire with fire, this media would call out their competitors for being so desperate for something to ruin the reputation of the state president that they would fabricate such a 'revolting' story to gain political points.

Of course that's all it was, politicking, but it was working.

Then on May 3, an interview would air across the nation, in which Ella and Christiaan in their home would come clean. They once again both insisted they were loyal to one another, and the interviewer began attempting to incite an aggressive reaction by asking provocative questions. Christiaan would silence the interviewer by raising his finger, and stating:

> "The main problem with these allegations is that it claims my wife is disloyal... why would she be? The media presumes that because I am paralyzed I cannot sleep with my wife, that I am impotent... this is not true. Take that how you will,"
>
>

The nation would see Ella turn beet red in embarrassment over this statement as it was very personal. Suddenly, a very different story was becoming apparent. Ella would plead with the people to believe her and her husband. She was a good wife and a good Christian, and would never do these things to her husband.

The media frenzy over the affair would die down, though the scandal would prompt her to relieve De Klerk from his position as deputy president and choose another deputy president. This also was a rather clever play.

#### The Election

The 1994 general election was two weeks later, and Ella secured re-election with 71% of the popular vote, though the election map paints a very different picture. It was a very close call, though the Southern Coast was locked down along with Northern Namibia.

## The Van Zyl Administration: Second Term

Ella was the first South African state president to win a second term in well over 20 years, and her second term was far more stable and quiet. She continued working on improving the economy, bringing it to its strongest point in decades.

She normalized relations with the West, Russia and introduced Chinese investment. Ella pushed forward new plans to integrate South Africa with the rest of the continent. In 1997, in Durban, alongside Ethiopia, Egypt and a handful of other countries would found the African Union. Over the course of the new few years *every single African country* would join the Union, and it became clear that South Africa was establishing an independent third bloc for Africa. This was difficult with Chinese intervention in most African countries and clear French neocolonial activities in their old colonies.

She would conduct investments in Botswana, Rhodesia, Mozambique and Angola, forming a strong economic bloc.

She worked on integrating South West Africa and Basutoland further into the South African system to further unite the Afrikaner, local and Germanic population which blended together. She also entered talks with Rhodesia and Botswana about forming a strong federation in Southern Africa. While the South African Confederation would not be formed during Ella's presidency (in 2002), she was considered imperative to its formation.

She would not run in the 1999 election, opting to return to the Volksraad instead and focus on her home of Cape Town.

## 2000/2010s in the Volksraad (The Van Zyl Dynasty)

Ella would successfully serve in the Volksraad again from 2004 (taking a break from politics for one election cycle) onwards. She would be re-elected in 2009, 2014 and 2019. She became a gentle knight for the people of the Western Cape. She inspired many throughout her time in politics, and left an imprint on her own daughters, *both* of whom would serve in the Volksraad as well. Marionette would serve as the representative for the Eastern Cape from 2019 to 2039, and Liana in the Northern Cape from 2014 to 2039, before becoming president from 2039-2049. Ella herself would serve in the Volksraad until her retirement in 2034 at the age of 75. She was always committed to her people, her family, and her country made her a legendary figure in the country. From 2019 to 2034 while all three Van Zyl women held positions in the Volksraad as representatives, they held immense levels of political fortune and favor, in what became dubbed as the Van Zyl Dynasty.

This was not a good thing, and by the early 2030s, some began considering it borderline dictatorial the way the family could obtain whatever they want. This reflected more poorly on her daughters than Ella herself.

Christiaan would die in 2033 at the age of 74, which was the primary motivation for Ella to retire the following year.

## Retirement

During her retirement, Ella would author three books. An autobiography, non-fiction on the Rose Revolution, and even dabbling into fiction which was clearly inspired off of her own experiences. The book in question was about a young teenager who fights and helps tear down a corrupt, evil dystopian system.

She would ensure her retirement was quiet, moving to a small, yet comfortable coastal house on the Atlantic. She would spread time with her five grandchildren whenever she could. She went to church every Sunday, and she would commonly be found visiting Christiaan's grave, laying next to it, talking 'to him', laying flowers on it.

She would establish the 'Van Zyl Foundation' a charity to build houses and orphanages for the less fortunate in South Africa in 2035.

She would repair her relationships with her siblings who had mellowed out in their adult years and large Van Zyl family gatherings became common. However, her parents remained stubborn thus unto death, and never reconciled with Ella, a primary issue which in their final days drove away their remaining children. The Bronkhorst parents stubbornness also saw many investors lose interest in their business due to their abhorrent, outdated beliefs and the family business closed up in the 2000s. Johan and Jadine would die alone and destitute in the late 2000s/early 2010s respectively.

Ella would become the stereotypical grandmother, gentle and charitable.

### Death

Ella Van Zyl would live until the age of 93 or 2054. She would remain in decently good health until her death, and she would pass away surrounded by her family on July 1, 2054.