Region: New Spain
Emilia Renee Coronado Cortes
A Long Wait Between Trains
(Part one)
As the train rumbled along its intended path she sat and
stared out at the passing landscape watching it turn from flat beige fields and
grey desolate towns to dark cities and then back again. Every once in a while the fleeting blue horizon
would offer up something other than the scorched war torn remnants of
yesteryear. On occasion she would see a
sprawling region that was vibrant with life and activity and she yearned to
stop, hoping that she could have a few moments to wander through it. She sighed to herself when her imaginings
where whisked away by yet another annoying interruption. “Your mother wants to see you” came a heavily
accented man’s voice. She turned away
from train window and eyed the man. He
was an older man with grey hair and noticeable posture issues. “What does she want now?” she asked in a flat
monotone voice with a slight accent of her own.
“I was not told what or why Emilia, I was just told to come get you.” he
responded intent to be done with conversation.
She stared at him for a moment or so and then resentfully got up from
her seat to follow him. He walked a few
feet in front of her wordlessly as they traversed the train’s cars one after
another.
At each doorway they passed through leading to the next car
stood two fully armed female soldiers.
None of them ever made eye contact with Emilia. It was something her mother had strictly
forbidden and it made her angry knowing this.
Day in and day out she was surrounded by distant, cold, calculating
brown eyes, at least for the most part, occasionally someone with green or blue
eyes stood in uniform, but none the less they were all no more alive than the
furniture around them. As she stared at
yet another pair of stoic soldiers she did not realize the man in front of her
had stopped and Emilia ran right smack into him nearly knocking him over. “I am so sorry Victor.” She exclaimed as she
helped to steady him. “It is ok, I am
alright. Do not worry my dear.” He
responded clasping her hands allowing a small smile to pass over his lips. Emilia smiled back. The moment did not last long because the next
door opened and her mother’s voice came booming out of the room. “Why are you taking forever?” Emilia’s mother
was always one to over exaggerate a situation, this time was not to be
excluded. “Victor I sent you to get her
nearly an hour ago.” Victor swallowed
his smile and hurried through the door toward Emilia’s mother. Emilia herself made no point to rush into
another one of her mother’s boring lectures about the way of the world and
whatever other droll advice she had to offer. Instead she proceeded to walk as
slow as humanly possibly into her mother’s presence, knowing full well it would
get under the Queen’s skin.
“Emilia” the queen spoke trying to draw her daughter’s
attention. “Today we are going to be
making a small stop in Napa Valley. I
have some business to attend to.” Her mother explained as she saw Emilia’s eyes
brighten with this news. “I expect you will
want to go exploring and whatever else it is you do when we make these useless stops.”
The queen continued. “Things are a
little more dangerous than normal mija (a little of the olden days slipping her
tongue), so you will have your usual protector plus an additional two guards at
all times is that clear?” Emilia
swallowed her stubborn want to explain how she was eighteen and old enough to
take care of herself but rather than stand there arguing with her mother she
decided it would be easier just to agree.
“Fine” responded Emilia with just enough annoyed stubbornness in her
voice to make her mom not be too concerned about why she was giving in so
easily.
The rest of queen’s ramblings went right into one of
Emilia’s ears and right back out the other.
Emilia had already begun planning her adventures for the day in her head. She wanted to go to a winery and to run
through the fields. She wanted to be
free of watchful eyes and her mother’s crushing thumb. Emilia wanted to slink down dark city alleys and
away from the pomp and circumstance and fakery that her mother was offered with
each stop she made in her travels. Deep
down in her heart Emilia knew her mother only treated her the way she did because
she wanted only to protect Emilia. The
queen wanted her daughter to have the best and be the best. It was never easy being the only child of
Lorretta Cornado Cortez and it grew more and more difficult for Emilia with
each passing day.
Queen Lo, that’s what the people called her when she wasn't’t
around, was a powerful and feared woman and that was an undeniable truth and yet
still, Emilia was shown examples of her mother’s strength at every moment
possible. Emilia’s mother’s display of
tenacity along with her resourcefulness is the very reason Lorretta had come to
power in the first place. By being a
ruthless and hard woman she managed to unite a region that was sent into chaos
in the first few years after Hepatitis X wiped out most of the male population in
Mexico and the United States. Prior to
the chaos caused by the absence of men Emilia’s mother was raised by one the
most powerful leaders of the now infamous Medllin drug cartel. She grew up on the streets of Mexico City and
eventually ended up marrying one of the worlds most wanted drug lords. With a lust for power and a knack for being
in the right place at the right time, and with so much within her control
Lorretta was poised to become a very powerful woman when the world stumbled and
she did just that with ease.
Now Emilia was reaping the rewards of her mother’s
conquering heart, or at least that is what some on the outside looking in had
figured, but in truth she just wanted to be free of all that surrounded
her. Emilia wanted to live a normal life.
She understood that there was no way
anyone would ever live like they used to but she hoped for a time without the
horse and pony show of tyrants and politicians.
Emilia just wanted to be free to decide things for herself; to love who
she wanted to love, to live however she saw fit. These as many thoughts danced throughout
Emilia’s head as she walked back to her part of the train, this time without
Victor in tow.
When Emilia approached her cart one of the guards outside
her door moved to open it for her. She
sighed and asked the guard directly “Don’t you wish you didn’t have to open a
stupid door for me?” She knew she would receive
no response and as she walked into the room she ranted “I want to open a door
or do things for myself is that too much to ask?” As Emilia continued on she was startled because
there in the middle of the room stood her body guard. This was one of her mother’s most feared
soldiers and valued protectors. “Hello
Isobel,” Emilia managed with a slight tremble in her voice. Isobel stared at her calculated and cold only
raising an eyebrow. She was almost as unresponsive as the soldiers outside every
doorway. After what seemed way too long
of a silence the soldier walked past Emilia and toward the still remaining open
doors. Emilia turned and watched as
Isobel did so eyeing all the various weapons and dangerous items that were
attached to her uniform. Emilia shook
her head. Her body guard probably had a
lot more hidden than the average eye could guess. More than likely tons more weapons lay hidden
under all that black military cloth Emilia thought to herself as she focused on
the rifle that was slung to the soldiers back.
Isobel was all duty as expected as she rattled off
instructions to the guards at the door. The
female soldier wore black military fatigues and her dark black hair was pulled
back in a high ponytail standing perfectly centered on her back. “I would not want to piss this lady off”
Emilia though to herself as she half listened to what was being said. The conversation finally died and Isobel
stepped back into the room and turned towards Emilia as the door closed behind her. The two women stood in silence for a moment
and then finally Isobel addressed Emilia asking one simple question. “What trouble are we going to get into today?” With that a huge smile spread across Emilia’s
face and she closed the distance between herself and the body guard in mere
seconds, wrapping her hand around Isobel’s neck as she pulled her in for a deep
and hungry kiss. After a few seconds
Emilia pulled away and laughed as she finally saw a smile on Isobel’s
face. She answered the soldiers question
with a gleam in her eye. “I don’t know Izzy but it better be damn fun.”
To Be Continued...
Region: New Spain
Emilia Renee Coronado Cortes
Lorretta Coronado Cortes
Isobel Santiago
Victor Ruiz
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