Pluck the Thorn

Posted on Fri Jul 3rd, 2026 @ 7:40am by Endia & Princess Elana Orsini
Edited on on Fri Jul 3rd, 2026 @ 7:40am

Mission: Historiae Terrae Et Imperii
Location: Imperial Martian Compound
Timeline: Date 2372-04-13 at 0000
4741 words - 9.5 OF Standard Post Measure

The Imperial Family had many grand palaces and homes dotted around Terra itself, and across the great expanse of what used to be the Empire, there were many wonderful places built in the name of Terran Emperors, but the Martian Compound had the honor of being the largest. Built by Hoshi I as a central hub for the entirety of the Terran nobility, it is the equivalent of dozens of palaces built in the round with a vast conference center in the middle. It was rarely used by the Imperial Family outside of special diplomatic occasions, and more than not was being rented, in full or in part, to some organization or group during their conference season. Some thought that Princess Elana living there permanently would disrupt that flow, but she had gotten good at staying out of the way.

She took one of the smaller palaces in the compound for herself, and spent her days sitting with ladies, entertaining commoners, and keeping up a correspondence with charities, orphanages, and influential figures all over the Empire. No royal arrival or official business was known to disrupt her plans or spark her interest, not even that of her aunt.

Princess Claudia Francesca Alessia Orsini Anand had never been one to live in the shadow of her older brothers, and she had carved out a place for her in the imaginations of the people long before Antonius’s girls came on the scene. She grew up a Duchess, the great grand-daughter of the Emperor Iosephus. She had become a lover of fashion and had quickly involved herself in that world. It wasn’t until she was twenty-four that she even became a grand duchess, and she had been married with children at forty when she became the Princess Royal as the eldest daughter of Emperor Angelo. She was the most exciting thing in the family at that time, but Claudia felt she’d never truly gotten her chance to shine; such was the result of an Empire that had come to be run by a succession of old men.

She’d always been a bit jealous of Giana and Elana; two girls, princesses from much younger ages when their beauty was still very much intact and their whole lives were ahead of them. Giana, so dutiful and competent, yet so completely screwed up, and Elena, an ungrateful brat. She’d always preferred the former to the latter, but when her sweet older brother took her title of Princess Royal upon his ascension and gave it to Giana instead, she very nearly changed her mind.

Princess Claudia approached the entrance to the palace where her niece was staying with a lovely young Indian woman in tow. She wore a stylish and flowing teal floral dress that seemed to float around her magically. She was an old woman now, but she held herself like she was still beautiful, and the jewelry she wore told of her status to anyone nearby. She looked at the Imperial Guard that approached her with resolve and crystal-like blue eyes that were very similar to her brother’s.

“I’m here to see my niece.” Claudia said, lifting her head. “Bring her to me.”

The two guards looked at each other, then one turned to head back inside while the first remained with Claudia; he stood in stoic silence. A few minutes later, the second guard returned.

“The princess will see you inside.” He offered. Elana had obviously refused to be “brought out” to her aunt.

“I see she's still an insolent little bitch..” Claudia said to the woman beside her. “How unfortunate.”

She moved past the guards with her servant in tow, walking through the corridor in the direction the guard had gone before her. It was fairly obvious where she was going. At last, she emerged in the audience room where her niece would be.

Elana was sitting on one of the large comfortable couches dressed in jeans and a comfortable blouse. Since she didn’t crave public attention, she found little use in prancing around in dresses while at home. Next to her was a book she had grudgingly closed as the door opened.

“Aunt Claudia. This is a surprise.” She said with only mild surprise in her voice while remaining seated.

Claudia walked in with a slow, graceful gait and stopped very close to Elana. She looked the girl up and down, her eyes lingering on the jeans she was wearing. Where had the family gone wrong with her? She smiled, and though it was tense, it seemed partially genuine.

“Yes, my dear, it is. There’s something I need to discuss with you, and you aren’t one for visiting. You declined my invitation to come to New Delhi.”

Claudia sat on a chair directly next to Elana, sitting sideways with her legs together.

“Yes. I’ve been quite busy and New Delhi doesn’t fit in with my plans.” Elana paused, and then at least adjusted how she was sitting to be slightly more acceptable, though instead of slanting or crossing at the ankles, she simply crossed her legs. “What did you need to discuss?”

“Well, it did fit in with my plans, Elana. You should remember your family has needs to. I had to travel here to speak with you, and I’m sure we both agree, it would have been a very quick and easy journey for you. I would have liked to show you my home.” Claudia said, not moving on from the slight. Her tone was calm and even, but insistent.

Elana pursed her lips. “Yes, well, some other time perhaps.”

The family’s needs were hardly of interest to her. “You’re here now.”

“I sure am.” Claudia said with a broadening smile. “What have you been up to, dear? I have heard absolutely nothing of you except what is reported to me in RZI. It seems you’re romancing the High Lord of Mars now? A shame the man is working so closely with Giana, I think.”

Elana’s expression immediately shifted to one of disgust and deep annoyance. “No, Khalon and I are nothing.”

She spat it with venom and bitterness, clearly extremely upset about it. “I wish people would stop saying that; we never were.”

“Well, I didn’t mean to touch a sore spot. All I know is what I hear from gossip and..less than reputable sources. You are very quiet.” Her aunt said, a flash of what seemed like compassion in her eyes. “May I ask what happened? You do seem to have stayed very very close.”

“I’m surprised you bother keeping up with any of that, Aunt.” Elana’s voice was almost accusatory as if Claudia was less than she was simply for the fact she knew the tabloid gossip. “Lord Price has simply been showing me kindness.”

“Well, how could you know my interests? You’ve never known them before.” Claudia commented. “I wouldn’t expect you to know anything about me. You are here, busy, with your..friend. Though you do seem quite upset with him considering he is just your..friend.”

“I suppose I’m just surprised. I thought you better than all of that.” Elana waved a hand, putting on an unconvincingly disinterested face. “I’m not upset, I just wish people would stop talking about it all.”

“That’s not all they say.” Claudia said, leaning back a bit, ignoring Elana’s act. “They talk of your lost love as well. What was his name again? The former leader of the blues? Lord..”

“King.” Elana supplied, the annoyance on her face shifting to a frown of dismay as she recalled the incident that had taken her lover quite vividly. “Lachlan King.”

“It was very cruel what my brother did to him. So brutal…so unkind to you.” Claudia said, her lips wrinkling from age as she pouted. Her blue eyes lingered on her niece. “You must be so very lonely, my dear.”

“Why are you here, Aunt Claudia?” Elana asked again, her voice markedly more tense and distressed than she had been up to this point.

“I come bearing wonderful news.” Claudia said then, smiling. “A certain Lord reached out to me, one very discreetly hoping for your hand in marriage. Now, of course, he isn’t the handsomest man on Terra, but he is kind and..he shares your views, I think. Quietly…where it’s safe. He was hoping to meet you.”

None of it was true, of course, but that hardly mattered. She had been approached by the Imperial Chancellor of all people, who was now apparently involving herself in the personal affairs of the Imperial Family. It was unusual, and she almost refused to help, but Elana was a stain on them all, and since her dear brother was in a coma, it fell to her to clean up that stain or blot it out. She intended to do just that, one way or another.

“What?” Whatever feelings of sadness and vulnerability Elana may have been feeling evaporated in an instant. “Claudia, I am not interested in any of that. I have my work and I’m still pursuing another degree.”

“Surely that isn’t all you want. And it certainly isn’t all you need.” Claudia said with a shake of her head. “He would afford you a quiet life where you can pursue your own goals. He is very charitable and he confessed that he’s quite a big fan of yours. Not to mention, the rumors would end.”

“I neither want nor need that, no.” Elana replied with flat defiance. “My work and my studies are important to me. I thought differently at one point, perhaps, but truly Lachlan’s death only solidified my choice.”

That, and being spurned by Khalon of course.

Claudia looked at her niece for the space of a few seconds. They were unusually awkward, tense seconds. Claudia didn't search her niece's face for answers, but simply stared.

“Elana, I always regretted that I was born third and without a cock. I believed I would have been an excellent emperor, but that honor fell to my brother, your father.” Claudia said, her tone even. “Antonio Orsini has not been perfect, but he has been a once in a century leader for our people..he has brought sector upon sector back into the fold, and the Terran boot is where it belongs again… on the necks of our subjects.”

The aging princess turned her head slightly, her eyes still trained on her niece, her expression colder than before.

“My brother‘s biggest failing was his children. Each of you has your own flaws. Giuseppe Angelo was an ill bred animal who had to be put down like one. Giana is a fragile, terrified girl wrapped in the raiment of a goddess. Paolo is brilliant, and good, and weak. And you… you are a selfish, common minded little cunt. I said earlier that what he did to your beloved was cruel. If it were me, my dear, I would’ve had you put down as well. You are a thorn in our family's side, and I’ve come here to pluck you out.”

Elana sat there, blinking stupidly at her aunt. She was used to the cattiness and dismissiveness of her sister Giana, but she had not once been spoken to as Claudia was in her entire life. She licked her lips and remained silent, truly unsure of what to say. She lacked the quickness - and temper - of her sister in such matters.

Her response said everything. She was daft when it came to these matters.

“You have before you an opportunity. Your family would like to see you happy, but..Aunt Claudia is on the case, and you wouldn’t be the first pup I had to whip.”

There was something intangible, ominous about the phrase, like a threat wrapped in a mystery.

After a long few seconds of silence, Elana finally seemed to find some of that spirit bestowed on her, and her pretty face flashed in anger. “How dare you speak to me like that. Get out.”

“No, dear, I don’t think I will. You see, this palace, the compound, is as much mine as it is yours..that is to say it belongs to neither of us. It is the property of the Imperial Household, of which we are both a part.” Claudia said, reaching over and picking up Elaina’s glass of water and taking a long, slow drink from it. She hadn’t been offered any, so she took what she wanted. When she was done, she placed the empty glass back on the table. “In exchange for your title of Princess, you are called ‘Your Highness’. You also receive access to Household properties, bouche of court, meaning your meals, housing, and essentials are all paid for, 4 million golden crowns per annum Im allowance, and shares of the Imperia Trust, which houses shares of the largest and most successful companies in the Terran economy. You are guarded by five squads of Imperial Guards, and those 50 men have their salaries, benefits, and retirement plans funded by the State. Your doctors, your lawyers, your hand maids and hairdressers, and your chauffeur are all direct employees of that same imperial household. In return, you are require to sit on your Royal bottom, put on make up, talk nice, wear a fucking dress, do what the fuck you’re told and…marry who you are instructed to marry. I have watched you do exactly none of those things.”

Claudia leaned in, raising her eyebrows.

“Why, exactly, do we keep you around?”

“I am the Emperor’s daughter and I have received support to live the life that I choose.” Elana scoffed. “My father knows who I am. He loves me and has accepted me. Besides, Giana wants all the attention anyways. Let her have it, I could not care less about that kind of thing. As for marriage, I would have, but my father killed the man I wanted to marry and that’s that.”

“No, you dizzy little fool, that’s not it.” Claudia said, extending her hand, quick as a whip and grabbing hold of Elana’s hand and wrist with surprising strength. “I don’t know what my brother promised you in private, and frankly, Elana, neither does anyone else. He’s breathing through a tube. He has no power to give you anything now....he has no power to prevent any unfortunate accident that might befall you if you displease the wrong person.”

She twisted the wrist enough to cause pain, then suddenly released it.

“It’s story time, my dear.” Claudia said with a smile. “I’m going to tell you something I’ve never told anyone before.”

Elana let out a gasp and slight cry as Claudia twisted her wrist and hand. When she was let go, she pulled her arm back as if it had been broken, and lightly stroked her own skin. Perhaps surprisingly she was brave enough to shake her head as the guards moved forward to protect their charge. “My mother and sister would never allow you to hurt me.”

Claudia smiled for a long silent while, seeming genuinely amused by the statement. It was so naive as to make her doubt if the girl wasn’t delusional.

“Okay, dear. Sure.” she said with a nod. “Now shut your mouth and listen to my tale. It’s an old woman’s privilege to bore the young.”

Claudia settled back and didn’t wait for the girl to respond first before she started.

“I suppose I should start with a story. She was a legend in her day, but perhaps you young girls have forgotten. What do you know about Duchess Pia?”

“You mean our fathers first wife?” Elana asked with a frown.

“Yes, of course.” Claudia said, a bit impatiently. “Who else could I possibly mean, girl?

“Not much. Father didn’t like to talk about her.” Elana shrugged and settled in her chair, leaning away from her aunt. Giana might have known something more, but Elana hadn’t kept up with any such lessons in Imperial family, in fact some might have accused her of actively trying to forget what she did know.

“Well, no one can expect you to know anything about her, naturally. After all, she isn’t you so why would you care?” Claudia asked. Instead of waiting for a response, however, she pressed on. “Becasue your father was only a Duke, he had the freedom to marry whomever he chose within reason. I’m being honest when I tell you that Pia Marino was the most beautiful woman any of us had ever laid eyes on; the youngest daughter of the Lord of Peru, and he had many daughters, she still managed to be overlooked. She was a….firecracker, and she had the wildest political views: Election of Emperors, equal rights for slaves, a more marginal role for the military. It was unusual. No one cared until the twenty year old Duke Antonio met her at school and fell in love incredibly hard.”

She licked her lips, turning her head a bit again for the sake of readjustment.

“They were married when he was only twenty. I was fifteen, but I remember seeing how they adored one another.” She said with a sigh, “I was sure I would never be loved the way he loved her. Though, obviously, that’s beside the point. Pia’s problematic ideas started to become infectious. Your father’s genius was active; he wrote his most beautiful music during those years, and his most problematic rhetoric papers. It became clear the Duchess was…corrupting your father’s mind with treasonous ideas. I tried to warn Antonio that he had to be much more subtle, but he wouldn’t listen…love does strange things to men. It makes them even stupider than they typically are.”

To her credit, Elana seemed to at least be actively listening to her aunt. As she spoke, she found it very hard to believe that her father would have ever entertained such forward thinking ideas. It was hardly treasonous. It was progress.

“This was quite a long time ago, of course, so the issue was remote, but the grown ups were starting to talk about what should be done about all this. I was a rather precocious and adorable child and my great grandfather took a very favorable view of me. I was often with him at the Imperial Palace. He was often quite careless about the kinds of conversations he had around me, and…he liked hearing my views.” Claudia said, and frowned. “Now, don’t get me wrong, I love my brother..I really do, and I always have. But I love the Empire and our family more.”

She looked up at the guards behind Elana suddenly.

“Get out. You can’t hear this next part.”

The guards hesitated and looked to each other then to Elana. The young princess hesitated too, but for all her faults she was intensely curious. “You may go wait outside.”

The guards left, and Elana looked at Claudia expectantly.

As soon as the door clicked closed again, Claudia seemed to relax again, and then she moved right back into her story.

“I remember the day he was talking with his Chancellor about the issue. Iosephus was a practical man, but much more prone to sentimentality than his son…my grandfather, Antonius V. He knew that Pia was less of a concern then than she would ever be as she and your father grew closer and closer to the Imperial Throne but…he just didn’t have it in him to do anything drastic…to send a message.”

She leaned forward then, her face softening, but her eyes remaining hard and focussed.

“Great-grandfather enjoyed a good nightcap, you see. In fact, I’ll be honest, he liked to get shit-faced when the day’s work was done. I was there when an attendant handed off a classified order from Imperial Intelligence. The plan was all there, Elana...every last detail. Of course, I knew Iosephus wouldn’t sign it. So I waited until he had passed out completely and then I took his finger like this..” Claudia reached over, grabbing Elana’s forefinger between her strong, bony digits, and placed them hard on the coffee table. Very hard. “The very next evening, my dear brother and the whole world learned of Pia’s tragic death. And my brother buried her a week later along with her politics.”

Elana stared at Claudia. “You’re saying you’re the one who killed Pia, then? It wasn’t an accident like everyone claimed? Did my father ever figure it out?”

“Of course I didn't kill Pia, dear. What a very stupid question. That’s not what I said at all.” Claudia said, slapping the table with her palm. “Pay more attention, Elana. I was a little teenage Duchess. I didn't even know how to open a car door, let alone hire an undercover operative to smash into one at top speed. I also didn’t know how to rig undetectable ballistics under her seat. But…I could read…I could reason…and I could…lift.”

She raised her own finger in the air.

“And as for your second question, no. No one knows who’s still alive at this point. Just me…and you now, I suppose.” She leaned back again. “You’re father remained obstinately single for eleven long years. He poured himself into his work. It took our grandfather taking the throne to change his mind. Fortunately, I was there for that too, as was your uncle, Mario.”

Elana rolled her eyes, disenchanted from the story being woven when Claudia boasted about her hand in it only to deny it. She sat back and folded her hands into her lap in an effort to get her aunt to stop touching her. “So what made him come back to what I’m sure you feel was good sense?”

“Oh, I don’t know. I suppose the magic of those ideas was just..gone. He’s intelligent, so he couldn’t have ever really believed that clap-trap.” Claudia said. “And then, when he was forced to marry your mother or be excluded from the succession…well that was the coup-de-gras. Cosima is conventional, simple, beautiful, and uncontroversial. Men really can’t match our fire for long, and she worked her magic slowly but surely just by being there. Of course, Antonius V picked her because she had beautiful breasts and happened to be standing nearby during the conversation, but…”

She looked up at Elana again, her eyebrows raised.

“You look disappointed, my dear.”

“What do I have to be disappointed by?” Elana asked. “Father doesn’t love mother, I think everyone knows that but her. He cares for her deeply, of course, but he doesn’t love her. How could he when he was so devoted to Pia? It was a political marriage at best, but father never wanted that for any of his children. Likely because he hates that he was forced into one himself.”

“Precisely.” Claudia said with a nod. She laced her fingers together as she smiled brightly. “You’re getting it, dear. Hence the weakness I spoke of earlier. But those concerns are behind us. I’m here now. And just like before, I plan on plucking the thorn one way or the other.”

“I will not be going against my father’s wishes for me.” Elana spoke simply and clearly. “And trust that the regents will be informed of your poorly veiled threats, Aunt.”

Elana shunned the responsibilities of her position, but she was quite willing to reap the benefits of her title in their entirety.

“Then let me unveil them.” Claudia said, and snapped her fingers at the pretty Indian woman who had been sitting silently near her. The woman handed her a small tablet immediately, which Claudia flipped on. She threw it down on the table then and gestured to it. “All that is required is a signature from your mother as Acting Head of Household.”

Elana picked up the tablet to read it. Removal of her title and all of her benefits. When confronted with this question by people before, she had always felt it would be something she could give up - in fact, she had thought she would prefer it. She could finally be free of these expectations that plagued and haunted her, but now that it was here staring her in the face, she found herself hesitant.

“I also spoke with your headmaster at the Martial Imperial University. He made it quite clear to me that anyone attending the university after a serious change in royal status would certainly have to be considered for continued admittance on more rigorous grounds.” Claudia said with bright eyes. “So, on one side, you have your schooling, your charity, your autonomy, and a husband, and on the otherside you have…complete and total fucking ruin. It’s not a flaming car, but…it’ll do.”

Elana made a disgusted sound and threw the PADD back onto the table. “My mother will never sign this. She knows what my father wanted for us and she would never go against him even in his current state.”

“Child, have you heard nothing I’ve said?” Claudia asked, looking at Elana as if she were a complete moron.

“I have heard everything you said, but I trust my mother’s good sense, and I don’t think you’re foolish enough to try and forge an order from the Empress when she isn’t known for being a drunk and easy prey.” Elana lifted her chin. “You have no authority to press me into marriage. You are a lesser princess now - a sister, not a daughter.”

“Why, you stupid little shit.” Claudia said, lunging forward frantically and slapping Elana hard on the cheek before she would even have time to relax. “How about I kill you instead?”

She pressed the younger woman into the couch, her fingers finding her niece's throat with an almost practiced confidence. She started to squeeze, a frantic look in her eyes.

Elana let out startled yelp that gave way into a dismayed cry as her aunt grabbed her throat. She fought against Claudia, thrashing underneath her grip and lifting her feet to kick at the woman’s stomach. At Claudia’s age she would be hard pressed to be able to hold onto a younger woman like her niece who was actively resisting her. Once she was able to pry Claudia’s hands off, she shoved her aunt back, eyes wide and her hands covering her own throat.

“You psychotic bitch!”

“Your mother should have taught you some respect.” Claudia reached up to dab at some blood on her own lip. “Attacking your elderly aunt…you’ve lost your head.”

Elana’s mouth opened, shocked by what she was hearing. “You can’t seriously expect anyone to believe that bullshit. If it were Giana, sure. She’s as fucking psycho as you are, but me attack you?”

“You have no reputation, you sad little shut-in. No one knows you, no one likes you, no one cares.” Cloudia said, spitting venom. “There’s one man interested in you in the entire universe for more than just your name, and you won’t even see him. They know me. They will believe me.”

“No one cares about you anymore, Claudia, and they haven’t for nearly 30 years. Stop pretending like you’re relevant.” Elana spat back. “I am going to speak to the regents about all of this, and we’ll see what happens to you.”

“Please do.” Claudia said, grinning. Elana knew nothing about relevance. She turned and started toward the door. “Let’s see who gets to them first.”

“So we shall. Now if you’ll excuse me, Aunt, I have better things to spend my time on.” Elana waved a hand dismissively and sat back down.

The Princess retreated quickly, leaving just as rapidly as she had come in. When the door slammed, Elana was left alone with her book and her thoughts.

END