Successions

[Marcad]

Empress Teta

He wasn’t there during the beginning of the end of the old Royal family. Nonexistent, not even a thought in the minds of his parents and relatives; but he had heard the stories of old. Yes, they could stage a play and recount every moment that was took when that new era dawned in above the clouds of Teta. Stories of how on the eve before the overthrow that the Emperor was associated with the likes of gangsters and other scum within the Underworld. Corrupted and tainted by crime as he allowed illicit activities run across Teta, not to mention was the Emperor at the mercy of the sharks, ironically those being his partners. A king, the power to command countless of subjects with a simple utter of his mouth, at the knees of a couple of lowlife thugs.

How...pathetic to simply put it. Other adjectives could supplement in berating that former Emperor, but it was enough on its own.

That all changed when the Sith and that frightening woman came from stars, mostly the latter changing the dynamics of Teta with only her daughter continuing that legacy. Her offspring was more charming than her, but managed to get the job done. It was only temporarily interrupted by the self righteousness of the Jedi and their precious Galactic Alliance, only for it to be left in desolation with her majesty reclaiming the throne and bringing Teta back into prosperity.

His House he descended from, diverting from old Royal Family, was much overlooked these days with the limelight blessing those of House Kuhn. Wulfe and its descendants never had success in influencing the politics of Teta, every policy being executed by the Kuhns. Truth be told he was not fond of obtaining power as he was content in what he was which was being an agent and soldier for Teta. Though his parents and those of his blood were interested in something more. Something he subtly protested about only to bow his head in obedience to the orders of his House.

So here Cedric was, having an audience with the Empress herself as those of his House came to offer Lily his services and skills. Call it a token of good faith or wanting to be favored by her grace. Not much competition when there aren’t that many Houses in the Royal Court of Empress Teta.

[member="Lily Kuhn"]

 

[Lily Kuhn]

It wasn't always so.

Before her mother had met her father, or perhaps even later, the family she belonged to were little more than rich Tetans living in a nice manor in the midst of Cinnagar's sprawling wealth and polarized political climate. Her father, even, was little more than an arms dealer - one of the greatest in recent galactic memory, certainly, but at the end of the day his realm was in business. Her mother, on the other hand, was what she had surmised was a mouthpiece for the One Sith's leader - she made decisions in a territory she was supposed to govern, her words supposedly equal with that leader's own. It wasn't until just before the supposed restructuring of those territories that her mother, apparently both inclined to act because of her closeness to her father but also because her sphere of influence was apparently the majority of the core and inner rim, had started interfering with the Krath.

To make a rather complicated story short, her father and mother had torn down the old regime as a consequence of retaliation.

Simply put, her family suddenly jumped from obscurity, at least in the sense of closeness to the throne, to actually being the head the crown sat upon. Some credited her mother with much of this, and to an extent her father, but it was, if she was being honest, only the refusal of the older generation to acknowledge anything beyond the forceful transition of power from the Keto to the Kuhn. It was a normal, everyday, occurrence for Lily to be faced with members of higher echelons of Tetan high society that either wanted to win her over for when the galactic flavor of the week that decided to claim the core as their own dissolved, or looked to put themselves in her way as rivals; nobility hated little else than those who were beneath them to rise above them - and Lily was the child of two who managed to do that while also literally dismantling their own seats of power to consolidate beneath her own.

For Cedric to be here was a bit out of the ordinary, as it was usually Nadja's parents trying to convince her to abdicate or otherwise throw empty threats her way of what would happen if "the Confederation falls" - as if she hadn't ruled through the One Sith, the Galactic Alliance, and the vacuum of power that persisted just before the rise of this newer galactic power. House Wulfe were one of the branches of the royal family, and while the vast majority of the nobility lost much of their authority - both before and after the arrival of the Confederation - the royal family, and its branches, still held just as much sway as it always had, albeit with the actual monarch retaining the relevant authority. The Keto family were more inclined to show up on her doorstep because they felt their daughter, Nadja, being friends with Lily meant that somehow they had seniority over her in the way an adult might treat a child. The Wulfes had no such illusions, nor did Lily personally know Cedric in any meaningful manner, so she treated this meeting of sorts in the same way she might've treated meeting the representative of the system to their current galactic overlords.

Standing outside the decorated doors of the Iron Citadel, Lily was dressed rather plainly in a manner of speaking - clothing befitting of nobility, and certainly of her cultural importance, but nothing as extravagant as one always envisions a monarch - in an emerald dress that supposedly meant prosperity, if her tailors were to be believed, and a ribbon that tied back much of her hair, aside from some locks that framed her face. "Welcome to the Citadel, Mister Wulfe." She said, giving her greetings to Cedric as he approached both her and the entrance. "It is always a pleasure to meet with extended family, and I hope the day is treating you well." Lily added as she nodded to the guard posted at the door, who promptly opened the doors for the two to enter.

[member="Cedric Wulfe"]

 

[Marcad]

He had mostly kept to himself with the knowledge that there were others within the Royal Family, and no doubt attending to their own business. His mother and father, the heads of his House, dealt with the politics that concerned both within and outside of the House. He was rather too busy in being the hound of the family, dirtying his hands for his siblings and parents when the others didn’t had to worry in spilling blood or do something morally wrong. Everyone else lived their life as a celebrity, what else would one expect from someone coming from royalty and wealth. A disadvantage when you’re not the firstborn of the family, rather be conceived as the third child of the House with other brothers and sisters born after him. Someone had to be the muscle of the family, and fate chose him. No one within his House carried the same talent he possessed when it came to combat.

It would be the first time he ever came this near to Lily, though it would not be the first time he’s ever seen her. One had to be impossibly dull to not know who the monarch of Teta was. There were images everywhere of the Empress at every corner of Teta and no doubt several systems within the core as Teta was a notable and important place in the Galaxy, though it came second to importance when it rivaled with Coruscant. He knew some basic facts of the Empress since the public and media enjoyed knowing everything about their overlords, feeling entitled to know what they are doing at every hour. Wasn’t really easy to escape their eyes and ears when outside of your domain.

”Please, you may call me by my first name, your Grace,” the noble replied back to his monarch with a friendly grin of his lips. It was obvious the two had been properly educated and disciplined in a manner that isolated themselves from the behavior of the common folk. There were some subjects he expected to to refer him properly, most of them outside of his House or from the royals. Cedric, in all honesty, was expecting Lily to be dressed in an exaggerate way like most kings and queens would. It was a surprise to see her be dressed in a simple manner, yet still gave the impression she came royalty and had her clothes be sewn with remarkable quality of material.

”Thank you, I’m also quite pleased to finally meet you properly, your Grace. My day goes well, I can only hope yours is as excellent as mine or better. I hope I’m not stealing your time from important business,” the Wulfe joined the Kuhn as the guard opened the grand doors of the Citadel, Cedric allowing Lily to be a step ahead of them as they paced inside. ”I do want to apologize on behalf of my parents that they were not able to come and greet you in person as they are the Heads of my House. They are...occupied with family business. They chose me as the better candidate of my siblings to represent them and the name of Wulfe. I hope you find no offense.”

[member="Lily Kuhn"]

 

[Lily Kuhn]

"There is absolutely nothing wrong with you coming instead of them, Cedric."

No, it would be easier this way, less complications this way. "I suppose we won't need to take this much further than the foyer, then." Lily added as the tall doors shut behind them, protective fields of energy draping over the transparisteel windows. It wasn't very far, the walk, before they reached the center of the foyer, between the two stairwells that led up to the second story and floors beyond. She turned and glanced up, taking in the view with a sense of nostalgia, nearly forgetting herself for a moment as her mind wandered back to her coronation day so many years ago. She'd taken the crown as an ambitious young girl, seeing an opportunity for change and progress, but that concern her father had communicated to her had hung heavy on her mind ever since. "There comes a time, Mister Wulfe, that we find ourselves at the intersection of two choices." She explained, the words coming to her with the ease she'd hoped for, made easier by the audience of a younger face rather than the respected aristocrats she had been expecting. "One is a choice for prosperity of the whole, the other is a choice for the happiness of the one." She continued, gesturing up towards the mural of the Cinnagar skyline.

"They both come at a steep price, however, and it is a cost that many disregard for the benefits of both."

Her gaze met his, her expression shifting as she read his. "I have spoken to each of the other families privately as I am speaking of it with you now." She noted. Inexperience or not, she hoped it wasn't too much for him to hear. Nadja had been quite concerned, though more for how her parents would react when things went public, and the others had been quite pessimistic as well, but her decision was as absolute as space was dark. "The toll of leading our system through the turmoils this galaxy has seen has taken its toll on me, and it has required more time from me than I have been able to give to my only son." Lily explained, referring to the rapid changing of hands their world and system have gone through in the last two decades. "At the turn of the new year I will no longer be the Empress of Teta, nor will I be a member of its governance. The line of succession is traditionally decided by birth, but in the case of my abdication the decision will be made by the consensus of the aristocracy, the public, and those heirs to the royal line willing to sit on the throne. Nadja Keto has already made it clear that the house of Keto will not be seeking possession, and as I step away neither will Kuhn - my sister has long since sworn off the idea of ruling our system in our youth. I have invited you - your parents specifically - to relay this information to your house personally, so that you and the rest of your family may arrive at a decision. To pursue the throne before our citizens or to give it up to another."

"My son cannot be raised without his mother, with his father absent, and this system cannot be governed without its leader. It pains me to make this decision, but it is time for Teta's future to arrive at that same crossroads I once reached when I was a child."

[member="Cedric Wulfe"]