her_imperial_radiance | milliways lurks

her_imperial_radiance

Milliways lurks.

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From:

prima_sequentem

Milliways does lurk!

Today, it is lurking outside a particular coffee shop when a particular mathematician decides to step out for some air.

Libby pauses on the threshold, looking amused, and then enters the bar and closes the door behind her. Knowing this place's sense of humour, she'd give it sixty-forty that she is about to meet someone who is in some way relevant to that conversation, and twenty-twenty out of the remainder that she will instead meet someone so thoroughly distracting that she forgets what she and Bella were talking about.

From:

her_imperial_radiance

At the bar, a girl with a lot of bronze wavy hair puffed out behind her who looks like a young twenty is rapturously sipping something gold and frothy. She's accompanied by a hulk of a Native American man, somewhere around 25, who's got some manner of cola.

The girl's eyes, when she opens them, are familiar-looking.

"I cannot wait until we invent this," she says, half to her companion and half to her beverage.

From:

prima_sequentem

...Well.

"Invent what?" asks Libby, approaching the empty seat next to the girl.

From:

her_imperial_radiance

"No idea," replies the girl. "Even if the bar gave me a name we probably wouldn't wind up calling it that, I suppose. You wouldn't like it, though," she adds, giving Libby a look up and down.

From:

prima_sequentem

"I wouldn't like it because...?"

From:

her_imperial_radiance

"Humans don't. Neither does he," she says, elbowing her friend, who chuckles and elbows back. "Just vampires and their relatives."

From:

prima_sequentem

"Hmm. None of those in my world, last I checked." She smiles. "Libby Kirsch. New York City, Earth, 2005. You?" she asks, with a glance between the pair of them.

From:

her_imperial_radiance

"Elsp-"

"Elsie," says her companion. "People keep being annoyed with you for not saying upfront."

Elspeth rolls her eyes. "Princess Elspeth Cullen of the Golden Empire, 2030. We're in Safesun, Florida this month. Earth."

Edited Date: 2013-01-01 04:11 pm (UTC)

From:

prima_sequentem

"Golden Empire? That's a new one," says Libby. "Care to explain?"

From:

her_imperial_radiance

Elspeth shrugs. "My mom took over the world. Well, the vampire world. Humans we're handling a little more gradually. That's what she called it."

From:

prima_sequentem

She raises her eyebrows slightly. "Your mom, then, being the... Queen? Empress? Should I be worried for my future? I guess the vampire part makes it less likely we're from the same world."

Edited Date: 2013-01-01 04:18 pm (UTC)

From:

her_imperial_radiance

"Empress," Elspeth says. "Are you the sort of person who'd know about vampires if you had them? There were plenty around during 2005, just not quite so organized. But they were hiding, and you're not a vampire, so no one can tell you without risking getting killed if you have the same kind and the same previous government and stuff."

Edited Date: 2013-01-01 04:27 pm (UTC)

From:

prima_sequentem

"If they're hiding, then I guess not," she says. "I mean, I like to think I'd notice, but everybody likes to think that. Are they going to un-hide at some point?"

From:

her_imperial_radiance

"Gradually," Elspeth says. "Under the Golden Empire people who know things can tell individual other people - not shout it from rooftops or anything, but they can tell anyone they want, and people can come to any of our capital sites and get pamphlets -" She seems smug about the pamphlets - "and apply to get turned, if they like. The idea is we don't want a traumatic overnight revelation, just people going about business as usual plus vampires as vampires become relevant to them. Would you like a pamphlet?"

From:

prima_sequentem

"I would love a pamphlet," says Libby.

From:

her_imperial_radiance

Elspeth looks into her bag and produces Pamphlet 3-A, Introduction to Supernatural History.

A familiar, if crowned and gold-eyed and chalk-pale, face is printed on the front.

From:

prima_sequentem

She looks at the face.

She looks at Elspeth.

"And this would be the Empress in question?" she guesses.

From:

her_imperial_radiance

"That's my mama," agrees Elspeth.

Indeed the caption says, Her Imperial Majesty Isabella Marie Swan Cullen, Empress Regnant, reigning 2011-Present.

From:

prima_sequentem

This is definitely starting to look like a sixty-percent conversation.

Libby opens the pamphlet.

From:

her_imperial_radiance

The pamphlet opens with descriptions of what is remembered of early vampire anarchy, followed by the reign of Stefan and Vladimir (currently retired to an Alp), followed by the takeover of the Volturi. It refers frequently to earlier pamphlets in the series - "I have one of each with me," Elspeth says, "if you want to read the background information, but this seemed most likely to interest you."

Bella's initial false start and ultimate success is described next, and it refers the reader to Introduction to Supernatural History, Part II for a description of how the Empress cemented her reign and what events have occurred in the supernatural world since then, as well as more historical tidbits about the two kinds of werewolves.

The pamphlet is concise, readable, very attractively laid out and lavishly illustrated with photorealistic drawings and photographs (distinguishable by caption). If Elspeth made it she has much to be proud of.