Ultima Ratio

Chapter 47: Corporal Elodie Beringer

Elodie Beringer was born in Ville de Québec, Québécois, in 2184 as Princess Geneviève of Québécois.

For as long as Gen could remember, she had always been proud of her country, family, and heritage. As a member of the royal family, that level of allegiance was expected of her, but she liked to think of it as a choice rather than a requirement. Of course, as the youngest child and only daughter of the reigning monarch, it was possible she was biased.

When her toddler self wanted a snow day in August, her two teenage brothers made it happen; while Gen couldn't recall the event, the royal historian had videos of her making snow angels to prove it. She wanted a black Newfoundland for her fifth birthday, and her father, the king consort, fulfilled her wish; Gen named her new best friend Félix. Seven-year-old Gen had been inconsolable when she learned she may never taste a real strawberry, so her mother, the reigning queen, made a few calls to Japan, the last supplier of the endangered fruit.

When Gen asked to spend time with her estranged maternal grandmother, the queen stiffly allowed it. By then, Gen knew the two matriarchs only maintained a relationship for public appearances, but that didn't bother her. Her only concern was that she was nine years old and already falling behind in the international popularity ranking of royal children. Of all people, the obnoxious prince of New South Wales was a step ahead of her, and while he was four years her senior with three charities under his name, Gen could do better.

If there was anyone who had mastered the art of popularity, it was the queen dowager. Even before she was the queen consort, she was beloved across the country as a doctor who used her noble status to aid the less fortunate. While Gen hadn't seen much of her grandmother growing up, she heard the stories of her travels around the country, spending her time, money, and medical expertise to continue her work. And Gen needed her personable secrets.

Gen, accompanied by her trusty Félix and ten staff members, went to meet the dowager in the Québécois countryside. But upon Gen's arrival, she was greeted with a fanfare of the scorching sun, odors of cow manure, and no sign of the former queen.

It took an hour of searching for her attendants to locate the dowager at a neighboring community center. Her Highness was providing free health check-ups for the locals, and the room was packed with at least a hundred civilians taking advantage of the opportunity. The queen dowager's two guards forbade Gen from seeing her until she went on break for lunch, although Gen was welcome to wait in line like everyone else if she wished.

Furious but stubborn, Gen waited outside for one hour and forty-seven minutes.

When the queen dowager emerged, Gen did a double-take. The woman looked almost exactly like her own mother with her tall, slender stature and defined cheekbones. If anything, the only differences were the additional wrinkles around her eyes and mouth, her golden blonde hair was in a messy bun, and her skin was several shades tanner. That, and her choice of attire was a bright, long-sleeved floral blouse, tucked into a pair of old blue jeans.

"Your Highness." Gen curtsied daintily; beside her, Félix nodded his head just as they had rehearsed.

The queen dowager let out a short laugh, waving the wet napkin she just wiped her hands with. "'Your Highness.' Please, mon chou. I'm your grandmother before I am royalty. Therefore, you must address me by my true title: mamie, mémé, or mamé; take your pick."

For a moment, Gen stared with wide eyes. She had no idea what the protocol was for such a situation.

"Then...mamie?"

The queen dowager—her mamie—smiled. "Then mamie I shall be." She turned to Félix. "And is this your dog?"

Gen frowned. "He's not my dog. He's my friend, who happens to be a dog. He's his own being."