Belladonna
"My name is Belladonna Locren-Santiago. I am the acting president of Siren at the time of this recording, dated 3rd of April 2487 current era, also known as the Santiago Era of government. This recording documents my history as monarch, my joint rule starting in the year 2445." The image shimmered for a moment, and the vision of the woman changed, revealing a much younger version. Her dark hair nearly hid the pale face, ruby red lips, and brilliant blue eyes. She was only visible from the shoulders up. "I became president through marriage to Isaac Santiago, may he rest in peace. The history of my reign is filled with some intrigue, and I hope that you may
find this tale of some interest." A knowing smile curved the woman's lips at these words, and the little girl leaned forward in anticipation, her nose nearly breaking through the projected image.
"My father was a prominent member of society. He crafted eyepieces that the military used to enhance soldiers' vision and targeting capabilities. He met with the president with great frequency, as well as the high general. Around my twenty-third birthday, my father had a meeting in Siren at the president's home. Per his custom, he asked what I desired. I requested an internship with some of the president's leading lawyers, as I had just recently passed my law exams."
"My father succeeded in getting me an internship with the president's son, a then twenty-eight-year-old lawyer, who stood to take over as president when his father passed on. Isaac, as I will refer to him from here on, had suffered an accident at fifteen. As a result, one of his eyes and one hand had been replaced by cybernetic parts."
"He was gruff, and mean, and had little patience with people. I hated him for a long time as a result. We constantly argued, fighting over how to represent a case in court or the different potential outcomes. It came as a surprise when, in the middle of one of these fights, he asked if I would go to dinner with him."
"To spare you the boring, romantic details, we were married a year later. His father, the current president, died six months after that. And that is when the unrest started in the West."
"My new husband faced a rebellion as the western states sought to rid themselves of the effective monarchy the presidency had become. As quickly as I'd come to have a husband, he was whisked away to war, leaving me to run the country in his stead."
"I began to alter the proceedings of the judicial system, as Isaac and I had frequently discussed doing, and I began to overhaul the police force in Siren, which prompted outlying cities and other parts of the country to do the same. The process was meant to put a stranglehold on the crime families that had come to prominence in Isaac's father's later years. As the former president had grown old, the crime families had taken advantage of the weakness of his government. Isaac and I sought to stamp them out through legal means, and show them that a weak president ruled no more."
"Which is why I should have expected their next move. When Isaac came home from three years of war, the Shaughnessy crime family attacked the transport shuttle and kidnapped him. They held Isaac captive, threatening torture and dismemberment in order to force me to undo all the work I had done. I knew Isaac could handle anything they did to him, and though it pained me, I bargained for more time. I claimed to need to consult with others on the matter, feigning indecision and 'womanly frailty' over the matter to keep the Shaughnessy family from suspecting my true plan."
"We triangulated their position through the video transmissions, and despite protests from the High General I led a strike force into enemy territory. We slipped in on black market stealth bikes, hovering machines that made little noise and carried, at maximum, two people per bike. Getting in was easy, and finding Isaac even easier. They discovered us as we made our way for the exit. Andrew Shaughnessy, the current leader of the family, had expected some attempt to spirit my husband away. When he discovered that the president's wife led the charge, he seemed to think Christmas had come early. Both leaders in his domain, under his power."
"I would be lying if I said I felt bad for shooting him, a move he did not expect from the 'frail woman' he'd only met through video transmissions."
"My husband and I escaped the Shaughnessy compound before any more of his goons could reach us, but we had a long political battle afterward. I became de facto ruler upon my husband's death ten years ago. Siren has prospered. Judicial reforms, police department reforms, and education reforms have all taken place under the Santiago era, and I hope that future presidents may continue the hard work we have put in to make this city, and this country, greater than ever before." With those words, the image flickered for a moment, and the hologram cell shut off.
The little girl turned to look at the tour guide, an eyebrow rising. "What?" he asked.
"There needs to be movies about this stuff," she said with a grin.
The tour guide chuckled. "I'll give you a list of movies on Belladonna Locren-Santiago and the other ladies you look at before you leave, alright?"
The girl's eyes lit up. "Deal!" She skipped to the next hologram cell, pressing the button and plopping to a seat in front of the machine. The first blonde woman reappeared, seeming to gaze straight at the child.
"I am Ygritte Green, president since 2992 to the present year, 2998."
Author's Note: This story is a retelling of the Singing, Springing Lark by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, a version of Beauty and the Beast. I have altered a fair amount of the story by placing it in a cyberpunk setting, and I have also omitted and changed certain details. Instead of having to join the prince because of a misdeed of her father's, she gets an internship in the prince's law firm. The prince is still disfigured in his own way, not a beast, but not entirely human to look upon, either. In the original story, Belladonna's character follows after her prince for several years to try and win him back after things go wrong in the story. She also has to rescue him from an enchantress who wipes his memory and makes him marry her. Instead of doing that, I altered it so that Belladonna did not follow her husband but instead led the country while he was gone, though she does still come to his rescue when he is kidnapped! I wanted to display Belladonna as an intelligent woman who helped craft the city and the country into something better than it was while her husband was away, but also as someone who worked with her husband and respected him. The ability to display her as a leader, and then to show her go to her husband's rescue, was one of the best ways I could think of to do that. If I had a bigger word limit, undoubtedly I would have written a fuller story than this shorter, summarized version!
Story Title: The Singing, Springing Lark
Book Title: Household Tales
Book Author: Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm
Year Published: 1884
Web Source: SurLaLune Fairy Tales
Images:
Le Femme Cyberpunk, Web Source: Malakh7's Deviant Art
Hoverbike Final Concept, Web Source: ZackF's Deviant Art