"Emerson, thank you for joining me," Beatrice said as she sat behind her desk, sliding two envelopes before him. She was pleased he had accepted her call to speak with her, to be honest she had some anxiety at first, but she had made up her mind and there was no turning back at this point. "I have done you a great disservice and disrespect, often leaving you out of the loop on foreign policy, going my own way, not even granting you the opportunity to disagree before making a decision and acting upon it. Today, we see a fissure, tomorrow who knows what may come. Either way, I shall not leave you without options, and I shall not take your decision personally."
Pointing to the first envelope Beatrice explained, "A letter of resignation, blank save a letter head, extra pages, and my signature in the necessary places to note my acceptance. You may say whatever you wish, as I said I shall take none of it personally and in all truth, I've earned it. From there I will most likely be forced to appoint a Regent, Adrianna will be crowned and I'll be swept aside, most likely Evanthe shall serve as Regent. She has the best interests of the family and nation at heart, and it's a fate I can accept at this point."
"Now this one," she pointed to the opposite envelope, "this one is the interesting one. A signed letter, as the last, but not one of your resignation. This one states, in no unclear terms, that I have restored the Vicegerent to its rightful position as the foremost diplomatic agent of the First Empire, save the Constitutional statements specific to the Throne. It turns over to the office all oversight on the Kaitaine initiatives, the aid, the intelligence sharing which was proposed, all of it. 'The Midaranye Crises shall fall under the sole discretionary authority of the Vicegerent, until such a time these crises have been brought to a peaceful resolution. All policy and efforts shall be coordinated through this Office with Rokkenjiman allies and regional partners. The Vicegerent shall provide regular reports to the Empress and Diet as to his initiatives, carried out with the full authority of Chrysanthemum Throne.'
"I'll be honest with you, I have always been led by the path that I think is right, that will save the most lives, do the least harm, and ultimately uphold the values commonly held by those Peoples enlightened, but the Seven Divine as my witness, we all know that intentions, even those that are pure and true, have let slip some of the worst evils to be visited upon nations and peoples. I haven't felt exactly right since my family was separated, since I was shot, since I was betrayed. The lonely nights without Alex, he was and is my rock in so many ways, I very much need to find my bearings again and lose the tendency to be driven by the impulse to act first."
"I'd very much appreciate your grace in helping in that pursuit but, as I said the moment you sat down, you have before you an avenue to distance yourself should you so desire. Also, I'm sorry I treated you as I have, barely speaking, not taking advantage of the knowledge and perspective I sought in you in the first place. Shall we begin anew, on a better footing this time?"
