Breathe the Air of Hope

by Corina Armstrong

When I spoke with you last I told you that the revolution was yours; and you have made it your own. Changes have swept over both of us. I have passed through the veil of death and been changed by it. I am no longer your Regent or your Governor, I am just a woman - without the power of government or the position of a title. We are partners now in the battle - against poverty and for social justice.

Let us speak briefly of the past. The truth is I've never left you - because the bond between us is something that no man can destroy. I have seen what has transpired in my absence from public sight. When I spoke to you last, I knew that Mercer Black had tried to kill me, I did not fully understand why. I served in the Navy for years. During that service I obeyed many orders to either kill people or do things that would result in the death of my own men. That is the nature of command that a good soldier never relishes, but is necessary. I now know that Mercer acted under orders and I have forgiven him for what he did as a servant of Regina. That day in Aguilon Park, we both spilt our life blood for duty and the good of Regina. Mercer has been your faithful servant and a student of the changes your revolution has made - I hope that he will continue to serve you in the future.

I can tell you that I was brought back by your devotion. I will continue to bring the needs of the people of Regina to the feet of the throne. As for the present, it is not justice to punish the people of Regina for the inadvertent error of my staff. I therefore give my personal oath and guarantee that following the completion of the audit of the Foundation that I will personally pay any taxes found to be owing the Imperial government as a result. In turn, I petition the Governor to release the frozen accounts of the Foundation, so that the Foundation's services to the people can resume. I will not make the children, the hungry, the sick and the poor suffer for my errors.

I also had a personal quest for the truth to embark upon. I had to find out the truth about my family. The truth is that I have not only spilled my blood for the good of Regina upon the ground that is our home, the truth is that Regina is my blood. In the past, you have been faithfully ruled by my father, Norris - and by my brothers, Freddy and Mac.

I swore an oath to Duchess Saron upon her deathbed, to protect and care for her daughter, my niece Victoria, as my own daughter. I have come to realize that to walk away from Regina would be a betrayal of my oath to Saron and a betrayal of my family's responsibility to the people of Regina. I will petition the Archduke, and the Emperor - if necessary, to restore me to my family's rightful place as rulers of Regina. I will hold that place as a trust for my daughter, Victoria, and for the people. I have taken an oath to uphold the Imperial system and I will depend on the justice of that system for my family's future and the future of Regina.

Today we celebrate more than my return to public life on Regina, we celebrate my wedding to a man of the people. You have loved me as an abstraction, but Jack has loved me as a woman. He has borne me through fire, weakness and pain. And when I have emerged beyond pain and death - whole again, he has always been willing to share me with you. He has been beside me, supporting me. I can ask no more of anyone who would share my life. Please welcome him to this place by my side and hold him as close to your hearts, as I hold him to mine.

Let us go forth to celebrate happiness and new life this day. As we breathe this air of hope for the future of Regina, know that as our wedding present to the people - that air will be free. We have paid the air tax for all of Up Port for one year from this day. May those that have struggled the most for the revolution be as free to breathe as the occupants of the Duke Dome.