Return to the Capital

The final morning of the descent from the alpine foothills brought the imperial column into the sunlit olive groves of the coastal valley. At ten o'clock, the convoy halted at the Saint Helena Relay Station, five miles outside the capital walls. Major Richter had ridden ahead at first light on a fresh courier horse, returning with an urgent dispatch from the loyalist faction within the city garrison. "Highness," Major Richter…