This is a continuation of the interview from part 1. The total length of this chapter exceeded the character limits, and this was a natural part to split off the chapter into the second part.
"Did you talk with her or any of the Renegades about this plan in advance?" Paige asked.
"No. I was on my way out." Eminence flatly said.
"On your way out? Did you leave the Magical Renegades?"
"Yes. I left because our greater goals weren't compatible. I could overlook them thinking that pineapple is an acceptable topping on pizza even if I had to hold my tongue about it but--" Eminence began to rant.
"Pardon us for our interruption, and for taking over when Ms. McWright is supposed to be asking the questions, but if you don't mind answering, what's pizza?" The king asked Eminence, and she responded with a lot more excitement.
"A wonderfully versatile food that can be as simple or as fancy as you want it to be! The pizza maker lays out a ball of dough into a flat disc before applying the sauce and the toppings! The twirling of the dough into shape is an art form in itself!" She began to explain the art of making pizza; the king and queen ooh-ed and ah-ed in curiosity over this ubiquitous food.
"That's no problem. We shouldn't assume a food that's ubiquitous in one time period is in another! Are any of your chefs trained in this art?" Paige asked the king and queen. They had to think over their answer among themselves for a minute before they could answer.
"We're not certain about whether they have that specific skill. They work with dough a lot to bake the finest loaves, pies and pastries, but we haven't seen them twirl it and put toppings on it. We should ask them after this interview is over!" The queen said with a chuckle.
"They're usually topped with cheese, and on top of the cheese, you could put nearly anything on them!" Eminence said. "Anything but pineapple!" She declared.
Paige nodded in acknowledgement of Eminence's answer and continued to write them down, but quietly disagreeing with her opinion. "We should get the interview back on topic." Paige said with a nervous laugh.
"Pardon us for straying." The king said.
"It's no problem, your majesty. This talk gave me ideas for a cooking show." Eminence began to scheme, and quickly scribbled down some ideas in her sketchbook, on the next page from the one she sketched insignia ideas for her own organization.
"Eminence didn't tell the other Renegades of her plans, but did she tell you?" She asked the king and queen. They answered in agreement that she told them, and briefly discussed the conditions of the agreement they had.
"She told us when they would arrive, and offered to protect us if we abdicated our power and helped fund her plans." The king explained.
"We were hesitant, but it seemed to be for the best. There was always civil unrest during our reigns. Only when we abdicated in the previous timeline did we see commoners trust us a lot more." The queen added.
"What do you say to this?" Paige asked Eminence.
"I agree with them. For me to lead would be for the best. Our king inherited a terrible legacy, and our queen married into it! Most of the common people weren't accepting of the possibility they could reject this legacy foisted upon them, but many of the nobles allegedly don't agree with them either. How truly unfortunate if this is allegedly true!" Eminence said in a dramatic monologue that was pointed; Mildred felt the sting, but couldn't say anything since speaking out of line during a royal interview would be a terrible faux pas!
The king and queen nodded in agreement.
"That's consistent." Paige said before she asked her next question.
"Were you more prepared than you were before in the previous timelines?" She asked the king and queen.
"We were planning to fight them, and we were told the time that they would invade, but we overslept!" The king said.
"We were preparing for the possibility that we would oversleep, so we asked our engineers to adjust the built-in security system of the palace." The queen added.
Paige looked at her notes again before she asked the next question. "When Eminence got here, she told me that the security system activated in one of the hallways and nearly harmed her. Do you know if it was malfunctioning or sabotaged, or if any other guests could've been harmed?" She asked.
The three generals who were keeping guard looked wary, but Mildred had a quick scowl on her face. Saying anything would be stepping out of line in her role as a guard protecting the king and queen, or as a princess. To her, the royal family and their capabilities were being publicly insulted, and any known weakness would encourage commoners to attack. Her scowl didn't last long as she thought of the outcome of a revolt. The idea of crushing a revolt and sending an ominous warning to the rest of the commoners was enticing, and she almost hoped it'd happen again.
This gave her a quick smile, but she turned stoic and somber again.
"Oh my. We are terribly sorry that happened. They went a bit haywire recently, but no one was hurt and our engineers looked into it. They will examine the security systems again for any signs of malfunction or sabotage." The queen said.
"It would've been terrible for any of our guests to be injured, and a most terrible diplomatic incident if you were." The king said to Eminence.
"One last question to wrap up this interview. What will be your plans in this new era?" Paige asked.
"Our guards and military will still guard us, but their leadership will also report to Eminence. We will not be sitting on our laurels, and will continue to train more rigorously than we had been." The king said.
"In the near future, I'll be building a team of elite officers that'll have a great range of skills and experiences to strengthen us and our country!" Eminence cheerfully said. "It's in the planning stages now. I'll be seeking out recruits, but my next immediate plan will be putting together my inauguration party! It'll be grand!"
"Thank you for your time, Eminence, and our majesties. You have a lot of plans ahead for this new era and new timeline. I'll still be doing research and writing about events!" Paige said in her closing statement.
The guards were listening during the entire time. I couldn't pay too much attention to their expressions because I needed to ask the interview questions, but Eminence and I had to choose our words carefully, especially around Mildred. A royal who is also a general in the royal military police. How much were the king and queen actually calling the shots since their reigns began?"
As the interview ended, I turned off the recorder and ended the broadcast. I took the vinyl recording disk out of the recorder and put it in a paper sleeve. After we leave the palace, I'll be on my way to take the record to the Academy for Time Travel's library and report that my mission is complete. Outside of the conference room, Eminence and I waved goodbye to the king and queen as they left to the parlor room. They went in one direction and the guards led Eminence and I through the opposite end of the hallway and to the lobby.
Before Eminence and I headed out the door to go our own ways, we said some last words to the guards. I thanked them for helping ensure that the interview was a success, but Eminence's words were a lot more brazen!
"Aww... I wasn't even in office yet. If the security system was sabotaged just for me, you're going to have to try harder yet to take me down!" Eminence boasted. She stood boldly with her arms folded, and directing a daring and arrogant smirk in Mildred's direction. Am I going to have to investigate this incident too?...
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