A way to a better self

[Elvinos2003]

Planet Crete / Heraklion / Fortaleza de Elysion

The door opened, and the person who appeared was someone she had never seen before. A man in his thirties, well-dressed, with glasses mostly hiding his eyes. At first glance, he seemed like the stubborn type, but his behavior was clearly energetic. ''Buenos dias! I am the journalist tha-'' His sentence was cut short when his eyes met Nina's. He gulped loudly. ''Oh! It's Nina Rodriguez! The Crimson Queen! When I entered-..'' A sigh interrupted his sentence. Nina looked at him with burning eyes, yet she tried hard not to raise her tone. ''Journalist, okay? And why are you here?'' Her tone was cold. ''Ah, si! Sorry for that. I do tend to be in awe of everything." He cleared his throat. "So... yeah, I was supposed to meet up with uhm... Juanez Gonzalez Perez Aguilar Garcia De la Santa Maria Buonocore for his project. But judging by the empty room, he's out...'' Nina shrugged it off and then broke the silence, but just before she could think of what to say, the journalist spoke faster. ''Well! If he's not here, and since you are back—because yes, I heard some say you were gone and now you are back—do you mind if we do an interview? You know, the usual stuff.'' She sighed and sat behind the desk.

Comfortably seated on the chair with grace, she waved her hand, signaling that he could start. Seeing this, the journalist took a chair, placed it before the desk, and pulled out his PDA to record the moment. Once he started it, he spoke first. ''Alright, so I am Juan Esteban Sanchez, a new journalist for Canal Uno. I am with an incredible person whom you all may know—fierce and loyal to her attitude—Nina Rodriguez! Also known as The Crimson Queen.'' He paused for a second before continuing. On Nina’s side, she couldn't help but smirk slightly at how Juan introduced her, but she remained serious, listening. ''So... I am here to get some news from you and, at the same time, give our people an idea of who you are. So... how would you summarize your story from the beginning to now?'' The young Elder leaned back in the chair, looking up at the ceiling before speaking. ''To keep it simple, I was born into poverty. I had to hunt for food because my parents were not wealthy, and I doubt they are today. I always had to fight and struggle until I became of age. At twenty, I applied for The Brotherhood. I could have chosen for the Deterrence instead, but I never felt drawn to their ways. After I enrolled into the Brotherhood, my life got better. I never had to go hungry at the end of the day again. I ranked up quite fast. Being a Decurion and then a Centurion, I already had some tasks as a 'secretary,' which I did well.'' She paused for a few seconds, thinking about what to add. ''One day, when I was still a Centurion -was it four years ago?- some of my actions were viewed badly. I now regret my actions, and luckily I was forgiven because I was a good asset. back then I was angry because I got demoted but that did not last long because soon Elder Gutierrez granted me the title of Elder when Elder Alberto Rodriguez left his seat in the Council of Elders, giving me huge responsibilities. I became, and still am, the youngest Elder our empire has seen in its history. After a while, things took a turn for the worse... this time not because of anything I did, but because of certain actions taken by The Deterrence that infuriated me. The following years I lived in anger and hatred. Eventually, I retired to Cuitadella Outpost.''

''Quite the journey! From poverty to wealth, you overcame everything quite well. Could you tell us in detail what The Deterrence did to drive you mad? For a while, they have been the largest group and quite capable. Tell us more about this topic.'' Said Juan, listening with interest to Nina’s story. He was quite curious as well, but maintaining professionalism, it was best to ask good questions that would help people understand why Nina was so hot-headed and impatient. ''To make a long story short, their then Executor, Ravenna Nagash, made ludicrous accusations against the Corsair Brotherhood, and myself as a person.''
She paused again before continuing. ''So Ravenna Nagash discredited The Brotherhood and on top of that she also publicly denounced the Council of Elders, claiming it was just a façade. I quote her: 'It is evident that the self-proclaimed Council of Elders is nothing but a pretense for the Brotherhood to push their personal agenda and their own ends.'' Ofcourse that statement is completely false! If that were the case, we wouldn’t be here today! The Corsair Brotherhood holds just two seats within the Council of Elders, and though we closely collaborate with other familias and institutions, we are far from the only ones to influence high Elder Rivera's decisions."
Nina let out a sigh of annoyance. "I don’t care much about how Ravenna's successors faired, but one thing that I find particularly ridiculous is their 'cri de guerre': 'Ravenna's vult!' I mean, we are Corsairs! Not a cult of personalitym putting one individual above all others just because they have a bit of charisma. Pathetic. You can be charismatic, but if you lack glory or honor, you are nothing.

I wonder if Ravenna has even a shred of pride and honor, and I wonder what she would do if I called her out for a duel in the Aptera Arena. Of course, our weapon of choice would be the Titan. If she refuses or doesn’t even respond to my challenge, wouldn’t it be natural to assume she was just a honourless payaso who lacks bravery and only serves her own interests? In any case, the selfish decisions and disrespect Deterrence showed under Ravenna’s command left a scar I will never forget. Elder Gutierrez and Buonocore have incredible patience and choose to collaborate with them in the name of stability, but in my opinion they were let off the hook far too easily for what they did.''

Nina Rodriguez exhaled, and the journalist was quite shocked yet impressed by the courage Nina had just demonstrated. ''Incredible! You are certainly not one to hold back. While we’re at it, what exactly makes you lose your temper, just out of curiosity?'' She laughed loudly. ''Corsairs flying non Corsair ships! Our ships are built for battle because we are warriors. Isn’t it natural for a Corsair to fly the ship of their ancestors? It is tradition, it is how we wage war. Foreign ships look ridiculous and weak. There is one thing that can anger me even more... When someone tries to order me around, especially if this person is a nobody. When that happens I just want to kick their culo so hard that they will remember not to even dare to speak to me again''

Juan stopped the recording before standing up. ''I clearly did not expect you to say all this! But trust me, by next week, you'll see something on Canal Uno. It was a pleasure.'' After standing up, he bowed toward her and left the room. Nina let out a long sigh. ''That was exhausting... anyway, I am somewhat intrigued to see what he will share on the neural net. It will probably make Cesar shocked to hear this.''

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