Authority consists of:

  Duty:

  It is what justifies existence what compels one to rise each morning and bleed through training. It is not a privilege, but a burden and a responsibility.

  Order:

  Chaos is what leads to the collapse of any great empire. Order is the foundation of stability, while emotions and personal desires are its enemies.

  Legitimacy:

  Like the eldest daughter, whose responsibility arrives with her birth through her training and competence. Authority is earned through devotion and readiness, not inherited by birth alone.

  (The Federal Supreme Court) – 1:00 PM

  Dressed in a judge's robe...

  This dark garment was what made her feel the full weight of the responsibility resting upon her shoulders. She walked with light steps, the sound of her high heels echoing along the corridor leading to the courtroom. Her hair was carefully secured, precise as always. A golden pin adorned her collar, and her face was devoid of expression.

  She heard the bailiff order everyone to rise for her entrance, the courtroom doors opening in her honor.

  The Crown Princess.

  When the doors opened and Eliana entered, an absolute silence settled over the chamber.

  Everyone stood not merely in obedience, but in involuntary reverence. The sound of her heels striking the marble was the only thing audible, a steady rhythm of unshakable authority. She was not merely a Crown Princess; she was the living embodiment of justice feared by the guilty and hoped for by the oppressed.

  Those present watched her in awe. No matter how many times they had seen their Crown Princess, she was more formidable each time.

  Justice and equality. All were equal before her whether a delivery worker or the son of an ambassador. No one would dare hide behind a position she herself had granted them; and if they did, their punishment would be harsher, for they had proven unworthy of the responsibility entrusted to them. If you valued your life, you would never mention your title here.

  She took her seat in the judge's chair, placing her hand upon its armrest, feeling the wood beneath her fingertips. After striking the gavel three times, she permitted everyone to sit.

  Her gaze swept across the crowded courtroom. To her left stood the defense team representing the Eastern Tatonium Mining Company, alongside its director, who wore an arrogant expression. The lawyers were dressed in fine attire, exuding exaggerated confidence. To her right stood the Imperial Prosecutor an elderly man, gray hair overtaking his head, dignified in appearance, possessing a presence befitting his office. His stern, assured gaze defined his features. With him were representatives of the families of the workers who had been killed in the mine collapse.

  "Let the trial begin. You may proceed, Mr. Albass," Eliana said, directing her words toward the prosecutor.

  Mr. Albass began presenting the case, speaking of the complaints received by the Public Prosecution against the company's directors, accusing them of gross negligence and the deliberate disregard of safety measures in order to cut costs. As he spoke, one of the defense attorneys rudely interrupted:

  "These allegations are unfounded. The company is a primary engine of the Southern Province's economy...."

  Before he could continue, Eliana raised her hand to silence him.

  "Mr. Varos, the economy of the Southern Province is not on trial today. We are here to speak of the lives of forty-seven workers who died in that mine."

  She gestured for the prosecutor to continue.

  Mr. Albass resumed:

  "Your Highness, the investigations conducted by the Prosecution were carried out in full coordination with the Council of Ministers, as required by law. It has been proven that safety reports were falsified. Accordingly, and in order to ensure justice is not lost, and in my capacity as Imperial Prosecutor, I issued an order to impose a travel ban on all board members and to freeze their personal assets to prevent escape."

  Eliana nodded in approval; she supported the decision and had been aware of it.

  Mr. Albass continued: "And we have found a witness...."

  The defense attorney interrupted again. "Objection. No witness was disclosed."

  Eliana's eyes narrowed slightly, her fingers pressing against the wooden edge of her seat. Her tone did not rise, but its chill deepened.

  "Mr.Varos, if I do not grant you permission to speak again and you proceed regardless, you will find yourself outside this chamber."

  Mr.Varos swallowed before Mr. Bass continued:

  "We did not have a witness at first. However, after further review with the engineers, one of them came forward, stating his intention to testify that the company had threatened them. As evidenced in the documents before you, Your Highness, these materials were provided by the engineers whose friends died in the collapse and who could no longer remain silent."

  The defense attorneys began to lose the confidence they once displayed. They shuffled through the documents and evidence before them. Until that very morning, they had been certain of victory. To secure it, they had forced the engineers to sign non-disclosure agreements in exchange for money. The disappearance of some engineers had not seemed like a significant issue.

  After some time following the witness's testimony and the defense's cross-examination Eliana finally spoke:

  "This court does not merely examine violations of human rights; it ensures that binding legislation protecting our citizens is not mere ink on paper. I have heard enough. Based on the evidence presented, the Imperial Supreme Court orders that the responsible directors be referred for criminal prosecution and placed under immediate detention on charges of involuntary manslaughter. As for the company, a disciplinary committee shall be appointed to assess penalties, including full compensation for the victims' families. This ruling is final and not subject to appeal. Court is adjourned."

  Everyone stands as she stood. The company's director collapsed to his knees, while voices rose throughout the chamber and tears flowed from the victims' families.

  Eliana exited the courtroom, thinking:

  This is balance.

  This is the price the powerful must pay when they forget that their strength comes with responsibility to protect those who cannot protect themselves and to hunt those who prey upon the weak. This is the order she had sworn to uphold.

  Eliana felt satisfied. This was the natural course of the world.

  The day of her coronation drew near , five months away. She could no longer endure the wait for her father to finally appoint her Empress. She had turned twenty-six this year, and the title of Crown Princess had begun to feel heavy upon her chest.

  As she left the courtroom and walked down the corridor toward her office, she glanced toward the palace opposite her , her residence, or rather the place she stayed. It could hardly be called a home; it was cold as ice.

  She shook her head and continued walking, followed by her secretary, who was also her personal guard. Though she was capable of protecting herself, caution was a duty and protocol had to be observed.

  In the very place Eliana had looked toward ,that palace she had privately described as cold as ice someone was basking in the sunlight, enjoying her breakfast in a glass balcony overlooking the imperial gardens.

  Celine.

  Second in the line or rather, Eliana's younger sister. One might even say her complete opposite.

  Celine was someone who loved savoring life to its fullest. She had never competed with her sister for the throne a throne she had never wanted to begin with.

  She chose to live a life free of commands. She preferred to focus on studying art and writing. And here she was now, wearing a dress the color of the sky, delighting in reading a collection of poetry. Before her stood a vase holding a single violet anemone, a plate of fresh fruit, and a cup of tea that had long since grown cold. A subtle smile curved her lips as she read poetry volumes, as she always did.

  The peaceful moment was interrupted by the entrance of her maid whose voice she privately considered irritatingly shrill and then came that title, the one that made her feel like a participant in a play to which she did not belong:

  "Your Highness Celine, the Crown Princess has concluded her court session and ruled in favor of the workers."

  The maid spoke with a smile.

  Celine lifted her gaze from the book and directed it toward the garden below her balcony, nodding in acknowledgment. She did not know how she ought to feel. Eliana had always been someone she admired a role model in her eyes. Would their relationship have been deeper if she had studied politics? At the very least, they might have had something to talk about.

  Celine's POV:

  Do I feel pride? Or pity for her? Or do I feel inadequate?

  I could have at least made my sister happy by taking over the affairs of the courts so she could focus on military matters. I feel resentful that I carry no responsibility at all.

  Eliana carries the entire world upon her shoulders while I carry only books and poetry collections. Does that make me free... or trivial?

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  I feel profoundly alone.

  I value my freedom, and yet there is that inner conflict that makes me feel I am lagging behind by stages. Eliana and I possess a distance that was once among my greatest fears.

  Her thoughts were interrupted by the balcony door opening once more. She turned to find the Emperor. She greeted him with a slight bow, surprised by his presence. He looked tired. He was not old he had turned fifty this year yet affairs of state exhausted him, prompting him to retire early. Eliana's coronation was only five months away.

  Emperor of Sovana , looked at her with a faint smile.

  "Celine, still here with your silent friends?"

  She smiled softly. "They are better companions than most people, Father."

  The Emperor shifted his gaze toward the Supreme Court building, visible in the distance from the palace.

  "The council informed me your sister did not hesitate today and brought down the Eastern Mining Company with a single ruling. She has a will of iron."

  Celine closed her poetry volume and looked in the same direction as her father.

  "Yes, my sister is remarkable. She upheld the rights of the weak. But her will is not the issue. She believes iron does not break yet that does not mean it cannot shatter. I fear you are placing too much weight upon her shoulders, Father."

  I tried to avoid serious conversations with him, but my tone betrayed me it emerged sharper than I intended.

  The Emperor smiled gently.

  "Your sister is not the fragile girl you believe her to be. But yes, I understand your point of view, Celine. However, she insists on taking on everything herself. Eliana is nothing like me. I know when to stop , she does not."

  The Emperor left the balcony, his guards following behind him. I remained there in silence, my mood darkened, thinking about the widening gap between Eliana and me. We meet twice a month but once she becomes Empress, I doubt we will meet even once in several months.

  Writer's POV:

  She shook her head, pushing the negative thoughts away.

  Today she would not be alone. She had many things to do. It was nearing three o'clock her daily appointment with History of Architectural Art. After that, until lunchtime, she would dedicate time to translating ancient poetry. Then an hour of piano. Then a walk in the eastern garden not the western one, for the western garden was reserved for Tuesdays. Every part of her day was scheduled. Every hour had its own purpose. It was a fortress she had built from minutes and hours, designed to keep loneliness outside.

  At the same time, Eliana sat at her office , an office unlike those of nobles. It was covered with military maps and meticulously drawn strategy diagrams. The atmosphere was calm, gray, and muted brown. Shelves were filled with volumes and books of imperial law. The air carried the scent of paper a scent Eliana had always preferred.

  The moment she sat down, she did not allow herself a second of rest. She had planned for the day to be a break, but the Emperor continued assigning tasks to her as her coronation approached.

  She pushed the court documents she had reviewed that morning to the right and pulled from the left a report stamped with the seal of the Ministry of War. It detailed the movements of rebellious northern tribes along the border.

  She shifted instantly from law to strategy, from justice to national security. She was a military, political, and economic leader all at once.

  She drew toward her a letter marked with a small raven-shaped signature and began reading. Within moments, the corner of her lips lifted into a slight smile.

  "At last," she murmured to herself.

  The door opened, interrupting her. Her features returned immediately to their composed neutrality.

  Linus entered , her private secretary and personal guard, her right hand, the unseen man who carried this empire alongside her. He looked at her while she was immersed in the report. He was angry with the Emperor, who seemed determined to test Eliana to her limits placing every burden upon her shoulders as though hoping she might relinquish the throne. He did not allow her a single day of rest. And she, programmed to believe that rest was weakness, strove endlessly to prove she was not weak.

  She does not speak of it.

  But he knows.

  He knows the weight of the entire day the weight of the workers' lives, the weight of border security, the weight of the empire pressing against her chest.

  She paused for a moment, leaned back in her chair, exhaled deeply, and looked at him.

  "You have been standing there for five minutes. Is there another problem?"

  Linus hesitated. He did not want to tell her but he did.

  "Your Highness... our ambassador in the Kingdom of Turia has sent a message. It is somewhat serious."

  He stepped closer and handed her the telegram.

  She began reading. Her stern expression did not change but one could notice the shift in her eyes, the way her hand tightened.

  After only a few seconds, she spoke as she rose from her chair:

  "Send a message to King Cassian. One word only Retreat."

  "And gather the councilors."

  She had not even finished speaking when the advisers and generals knocked on her office door. Linus had summoned them before entering her office himself. That was why he was her right hand he knew what she would say, and when.

  She permitted them to enter, and General Marcus spoke immediately:

  "Your Highness, allow me to deploy the Seventh Legion. We will be done with them in a week."

  Eliana (calmly):

  "A full-scale war is exactly what Cassian wants. It will drain our treasury and our soldiers while he smiles from his palace. No this is not a battle of strength, but a battle of will. And I will not risk a famine among the northern tribes. Even if they are rebelling, even if the Kingdom of Turia supplies them with weapons and ammunition to do so they are still part of my state."

  General Marcus stared in shock.

  "The Kingdom of Turia is secretly supplying the northern tribes?"

  She turned and looked at them all.

  Eliana:

  "That is what the Border Surveillance Legion discovered. And I will not surrender that region to them not over my dead body."

  The adviser spoke at once:

  "And they shall not even have the honor of seeing it."

  Eliana continued:

  "They have already sent two battalions into the Valley Province."

  Linus spoke, concern evident in his voice:

  "This... this is a declaration of war, Your Highness."

  All he had wanted was a quiet day for the Crown Princess.

  Eliana lifted her eyes to him. Her gaze, as always, was stern untouched by fear. If anything, it was closer to enjoyment. To challenge.

  "No, Linus. This is a test. King Cassian believes we are distracted by the northern tribes and our internal affairs. He believes the Emperor has grown weary and that his heir is merely a girl playing judge. He is testing us to see whether we will hesitate."

  She stood and walked toward the large map mounted on the wall the one displaying the border with Turia.

  Eliana:

  "Send orders to the Seventh Legion at the fortress. I want them to move to the entrance of the valley. They do not enter they close the road. And they wait for me."

  Everyone in the office froze.

  Wait for her?

  Did she mean to resolve the conflict herself?

  Eliana said firmly:

  "I am going myself. I will lead the Third Legion to the fortress. I want King Cassian to see me at the head of my army. I want him to understand that this is not merely land being contested it is my will he is challenging."

  A Crown Princess leading the army herself it had not happened in generations.

  Eliana was not panicked. She was confident. The plan she carried had been ready for a long time. She had always wished to end the border war with the Kingdom of Turia and to quiet the northern tribes. Now, at last, she had the opportunity to face them directly something she had awaited since being named Crown Princess.

  The Emperor burst into the office. After the adviser informed him of the plan, the look on his face was unreadable. He showed neither fear nor concern for Eliana's life. He merely said:

  "You may do as you see fit."

  It was not the reaction any father might display upon seeing his daughter in danger.

  But Eliana was unaffected. She said nothing beyond:

  "As you command, Your Majesty."

  Or perhaps in some distant corner of her heart there was a small part that wished he would see her as his daughter rather than merely his heir. And yet, as much as she longed for that, she feared him seeing her as a girl rather than a successor.

  That distant corner had not yet been confronted.

  Preparations began for the legion she would accompany. Servants gathered her garments, her important documents, everything she might need. Meanwhile, Eliana went to the main palace to her chambers.

  She entered her private suite specifically the room that only her personal maid, Astoria, was permitted to enter for cleaning and other tasks.

  The room was dominated by deep royal navy tones. In one concealed corner, she kept all her most important photographs. The first image she saw was one of herself and Celine as children.

  They were embracing one another. In Celine's hand was a violet anemone.

  It had always been Celine's favorite flower. Since that day, it had also become Eliana's favorite though Eliana did not know that it remained Celine's as well.

  Eliana picked up the photograph.

  Should she go and bid Celine farewell?

  She had not seen her in three months she had been far too busy. Yet despite her busyness, she knew everything Celine did at every moment. She had guards stationed for her sister everywhere eyes that carried news back to her constantly.

  She saw her enjoying the life she herself had never been able to claim freedom.

  It did not make her sad.

  It made her determined to preserve Celine's happiness exactly as it was.

  As long as her sister felt alive that was good. That was enough.

  She did not know what she would say upon seeing her. She did not know what expression would appear on Celine's face. She did not know whether Celine would once again reproach her for not visiting often enough for leaving her alone.

  But Eliana preferred that Celine reproach her.

  Because when Celine blamed her, Eliana felt that somewhere in her heart, her sister still loved her. Still cared about her presence. Even though she disliked it when Celine did so, she found comfort in it.

  She had to see her.

  This time she would be gone for more than three months. She did not know how long the conflict would last once she went there. She did not know whether war would break out. Whether she would be forced to fight. Whether she would be safe. Whether she would return alive.

  She needed to see Celine's face to feel strength again. To see her, in case it would be the last time.

  She left her chamber after a brief rest and a quick bath, changing her clothes while the army finalized preparations.

  She walked toward the stairs and descended to the lower floor where Celine's wing was located. There had been a time when she and Celine lived on the same floor. But after becoming Crown Princess, Eliana had been moved upstairs.

  She entered Celine's wing and went to her room but did not find her there.

  She asked the maid, who informed her that Celine was still on the balcony of the main palace.

  Eliana moved calmly , yet with swift steps.

  Until she reached the balcony.

  Through the glass, she saw Celine seated there.

  Radiant as always. Whole. Untouched by fracture.

  She sat in her chair, gazing toward the horizon, her hand resting lightly against her face.

  She entered the balcony, and Selene hadn't noticed her until Eliana called her name.

  Selene jumped up from her chair, placing her hand on her chest: "You stopped my heart, Eliana."

  Eliana smiled at her, but the smile vanished when Selene saw what she was wearing. So Eliana quickly spoke.

  Eliana: "I have something important to tell you... I'm going to...."

  Selene interrupted: "You're going? Where? And why are you wearing your military uniform?"

  Selene's face was full of worry and fear as she held Eliana's hands, whose expression remained calm and still somewhat stern. All Eliana could think at that moment: I don't deserve someone to show me such tenderness.

  Eliana said: "I have to go to the border. The campaign will launch soon, and I came to say goodbye to you."

  She tried to make her tone as gentle as possible, yet she still sounded stiff.

  Selene lowered her hands and bowed her head: "You never come to see me unless it's extremely serious, or we run into each other by chance in the corridors. And now you come to tell me that you're going to the border personally?"

  Eliana tried to speak, but Selene interrupted again, while Eliana tried not to snap back: "How long will it take two months? Three?"

  Eliana replied in a low voice: "I don't know. The journey alone will take a month and a half, but I don't know how long it will take to resolve this conflict. I just want to remove the border issue from my mind, so I'm going to end this centuries-old problem."

  Selene: "Then why didn't you tell me? I wouldn't have known you were leaving you could just do it like every other time, disappear for months, and I wouldn't even know. What's the point of telling me, Eliana?"

  Selene spoke mockingly, but Eliana could feel the tears that were about to fall.

  Eliana: "Selene, I...."

  Selene interrupted again: "I'm coming with you."

  Eliana: "Hmm, that won't happen," she said quickly.

  Selene didn't argue as Eliana expected. She left the balcony with that look Eliana hated the look of 'You're cruel as always.' Eliana sighed deeply, unable to catch up to Selene, whose eyes were filled with tears.

  Linus entered the balcony to tell her that everyone was ready to move, and they left together. Eliana exited the palace and looked upon the massive legion: 1,500 men and women, 20 horse-drawn wagons loaded with supplies, weapon and ammunition crates, led by General Marcus and General Alexander.

  Linus: "Your carriage is in that direction, Your Highness."

  Eliana gave him a deadly glare: "Are you mocking me, Linus?"

  Linus smiled, laughing: "Just kidding, just kidding. I wanted to lighten your mood a little. Black is waiting for you at the front with the generals, Your Highness." He bowed to her as she moved forward, with him following.

  Everyone bowed when they saw her and waited until she mounted her horse, then they mounted theirs.

  Eliana mounted her steed, Black, and then everyone took their positions.

  She called out in a commanding voice: "Let's move."

  ____________________________

  End of Chapter One.

  My first novel, and I hope it's enjoyable.

  Stay tuned for the upcoming chapters...