The Mechanical Era

Rose soon arrived back in the city of Vallina, victorious and prideful. Cheers erupted in the city as what they perceived as an overwhelming victory against the north and the heretic church. A grand celebration was arranged in order to mark the day of their victory, in which Rose immediately gave a speech above the balcony.

She announced the death and the defeat of her enemies, as well as an inspirational speech about how they would move on into the future. It was rather similar to Kant's speech, with the minor exception that it denounced both god and the church.

As she spoke on top of the balcony, there were a few people listening in. Mainly the Maybale siblings. Lisa and Sofia were crying their eyes out on someone's shoulder when they heard the announcement that their father was killed, while Edward tried to hold them in. Lisa tried on her brother's while Sofia cried on Friedrich's shoulder.

Soon, after the speech was over, the three siblings were called up to visit Rose Valline herself. The children, once they heard it, became a little frightened. What was she about to do with them? Was she going to expel them, torture them? Their panicking brains made up dozens of scenarios that would lead to pain and suffering.

Once they were told it was to have a rather friendly chat, and that no harm was meant to take place, the three decided to finally visit. Not that they had a choice in the matter, just that they went to meet the now Imperial Queen. The siblings were to meet up with the queen at the principal's office, as so that they won't need to leave the Academy. Three chairs were arranged so that Edward, Lisa, and Sofia are able to sit down and have a face-to-face talk with the queen.

Edward stood right in front of the floor of the office, with his siblings behind him. After swallowing his spit, Edward bravely knocked on the door.

"Come in." a faint feminine sound from behind. With that, Edward opened the door and walked inside. The twin sisters followed behind. As they walked into the room, the three children bowed and respectfully greeted the queen.

"Ah, I have been expecting you three here. Come. Sit down on the chair." The children obeyed and took their seats. They all kept their mouth shut, waiting for the queen to talk first.

"I am pleased about your academic performance. It is truly an honor to have such three brilliant students here." The siblings were a little confused by the compliment, but regardless, they politely thanked her.

"Alright. Now, due to a treaty that your brother has signed, there will be a few changes made regarding your life here. I just wanted to make sure that you all are well-informed regarding the situation." The siblings all gulped, preparing for the worst.

"First, is that you will be required to stay in the academy until the age of 20. No visits to Hoverdam are allowed." Their jaws dropped in shock.

"Now, before you, all panic, do not worry. I will provide you with the best meals that a royal could own. Besides, your mother, Malinda Maybale, has been moved over to Vallina..." the children breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that their mother was alive.

"You can visit her at a set time with my permission only. Keep in mind, the time you get is limited, and you will need to ask my permission every time you desire to visit her." She said. The smiles of the children, slowly faded away, upon hearing the news.

"Excuse me, your imperial majesty. What would we need to do in order to visit our mother?" Lisa asks. Rose turns her head to face her.

"It is simple. You simply make sure you all are at the top of your classes, no matter what they are. Considering you will be staying these few months at the academy, there will be a few new classes. Complete those as well, and your chances increase." Rose replied.

"Your imperial majesty, does it have to be all three of us?"

"Yes. All of you must exceed in order to visit your mother." Edward and Lisa both turned their heads slightly to eye Sofia, the one who was synonymous with not paying attention in class.

"We understand, your imperial majesty. Is that all?"

"Yes. That is all. Just don't be worried about the situation. Besides, your brother had the chance to renegotiate." That last line caught Edward's attention. Their brother had a chance to negotiate? What could that mean?

"Your imperial majesty, could you please explain to me what you meant?" Edward asked. The two sisters appeared to be too focused on each other at the moment.

"Oh gladly. When I visited Hoverdam to sign a peace treaty with him, he negotiated and successfully convinced me to change a few requirements written in the treaty.

He had the chance to negotiate a new condition to have you all be able to visit your mother more frequently or allow a few visits to the city of Hoverdam, but he didn't.

The reason being, as he puts it, he got everything that he wanted, and didn't want to lose anything else." she said. The room entered a period of silence.

"Now, I think you all should head back to your dorms. I won't want to waste your time any longer."

"Alright. Thank you, your imperial majesty. Have a nice day." they all said in unison, and left the room. They all met up in a single dorm room, where they won't be disturbed by anyone. Lisa turned to Sofia, grabbing her by the shoulders

"Did you hear that Sofia? If we are going to be able to have the chance of visiting our mother, then YOU better start taking your studies seriously!" she yelled at Sofia while shaking her.

"I have heard the queen had already spoken of, Lisa. So please do stop shaking me like that!" Sofia replied.

Edward was sitting on a chair, wondering in his thoughts. He kept on reciting the last few words that the queen spoke, about her brother's negotiations. What did she mean? Did he have the option to negotiate to allow his siblings to visit their mother?

If that is the case, what else could he have done? Could he have negotiated to allow their mother to come back to Hoverdam? Could he have allowed them to revisit Hoverdam again? Could he have done something to at least allow them to visit their mother at any time?

"He could have done something..." he muttered. Lisa and Sofia, hearing their brother speak, turned to face him.

"What was that brother Edward?" Lisa asked. Edward's head turns up to face his siblings and then stands up.

"It's Kant! He... he could have done something!" Edward proposed. The vague dialog confused them a little further.

"What are you suggesting, dearest brother?" Sofia questioned. Edward was a little frustrated, seeing the two being so naive.

"The queen told us that he had a chance to negotiate with her in the peace treaty. That would mean that he negotiated with the queen. That means he could have done something! He could have got mother back to Hoverdam! He could have allowed us to visit her at any time!

But he didn't do that. He doesn't seem to care! Did you two not listen?" Edward yelled. It was when the two sisters got what he went for. The realization that their brother's apathy towards his own family, nearly broke their heart.

...

Malinda was dressed in a blue gown, looking outside the window, with her children on her mind. She wondered whether Edward, Lisa, Sofia, and Kant were all okay. She looked down at her hands. Her wrists were covered in strong steel bracelets, with a black gem on them, blocking all her magical powers. One of her fingers, in which she used to wear her wedding ring, had been cut off.

She had been moved to a rather small villa near the palace, surrounded by guards all around. She was not allowed to leave, not even unto the gardens. She was to stay there, for as long as Rose required it. Within the rooms, items from Hoverdam had been brought over, to constantly remind her of her loss.

The door suddenly opens, and a messenger comes inside. He delivers a piece of paper and leaves the room. Wondering what it is, she opened it, and read it quietly. The paper detailed the conversation that Rose and Kant had. Detailing the negotiations that took place.

As she read it, her heart broke after she finished reading it. Although she could guess why he did it, she felt downhearted, seeing that he did not even bother trying to at least allow her other children to visit her. Regardless, she had hopes that Kant was up to something. Hopefully, to free them all of the heretic queen.