Love Behind the Veil

Sitting in a café, I could feel a heavy weight in the pit of my stomach dreading what was to come. I was born a mere thirty years ago and never experienced a time of peace. Life has been a constant mayhem since I could remember. It all began when the world was divided into three parts over one hundred years ago. The world organization did away with smaller countries and made three major nations. They wanted to make things as simplistic and systematic as possible. They thought this would help with ending poverty and death rates, but it only made matters worse. Soon after, the war began. The leaders gained so much power that they hungered for even more and became jealous of what the other had.

The history books speak of wars and anger and they all seem so trivial now. If the people of the past could see us now, they would kiss the ground that they stood on. Any ounce of freedom has vanished. Our new form of government thought it was in our best interest to remove our individuality. They thought that individual desire caused pain. I had accepted my role in life until the veil was pulled back and I saw what the truth really was. My name is Elliott and I am changing the world today. If I die, here is my story.

A few years ago I had made a name for myself as “The Inventor.” I had created numerous items to enhance our current way of life and people had begun to take notice. I worked for famous people and political figures creating things that they could only dream of. During this time, our leader who reigned for 50 years died and a new man took over. No one knew his real name; they just called him “The Patriarch.” He came from nowhere and began to make changes for the better. People called him the Patriarch because he was like royalty and at the same time, like a father to protect our nation. He ended the thirty-year feud with the other nations and for that, people loved him.

Although he seemed decent enough, this all seemed too good to be true, but this didn’t really concern me. I was just an inventor after all. I never thought I would cross paths with the royalty until the day I met Elizabeth. She was known for being the Patriarch’s wife who was referred to as “The Matriarch.” I had never seen her in person, but I had heard that she was incredibly beautiful. I was invited to the royalty’s mansion for a party with the nobilities, politicians, and creators. My invitation arrived at my door stating that I would be a guest of The Matriarch. Due to the fact that I had never met her, I was at the very least surprised, but I thought that my gift of building may have had something to do with the invitation. I decided to go and see why I was beckoned.

I arrived at the mansion that evening. It was more palatial than I had imagined. Looking at the angels carved out of the gold ceiling, I saw a champagne glass appear in front of me. A radiant woman handed me the glass and said, “You must be the inventor that everyone has been going on about.”

“Yes, I am,” I stuttered. She winked and said, “My name is Elizabeth, but everyone calls me The Matriarch.” Her long flowing black hair and ocean-blue eyes made me lose myself in the moment. If she’d asked, I would’ve done anything. She, after all is the leader of our nation and it would only be courteous to do anything that she said. She looked from under her lashes at me and I could see a heart-shaped locket in the folds of her neckline. The locket was not shaped like the traditional heart, but that of a blood-red beating heart. It was quite chilling, but I would expect nothing less of the Matriarch.

We chatted for a bit and then, she coaxed me down the stairs showing me to a room hidden away from the rest of the house. As I walked into the dimly lit room, I saw the Patriarch lying on the bed almost lifeless. She looked at me and explained, “Many believe that he is my husband, but I have never actually met the man. He died before I arrived here and I was told to play the part of his wife so that the public could see his human side. His human side…” she said, “is almost a joke.” Glancing over his cold dead body wondering how anyone could’ve thought of this. The image of tubes flowing liquid in and out of his side sent shivers down my spine. She didn’t explain why she showed this to me, but in this moment, I knew that I was way over my head.

The next morning, I arrive back at the mansion to fulfill the Matriarch's request. I wasn’t sure what she was needing, but I was greeted by her and another man named Patrick. The Matriarch explained that Patrick was The Patriarch's son and he didn’t think that the change in leadership would be beneficial to the nation ergo the plot to resurrect the father anytime a public speech needed to be made. Elizabeth left me alone with her husband. Patrick began, “I have been the head of this country for a while now and it seems that humanity has been cursed with selfish desires. Not everyone can be happy because not everyone has the same goal for their life. I want you to create a machine that will shift people's desires to benefit the nation. I wouldn’t control anyone fully, but I will strongly persuade people to feel as I do, but they will never know it was an outside force.” He looked over at my uneasy face. “I am doing this to carry on my father’s dream of peace. I hope you will do the same since I am the leader of your county.” He looked at me sternly and I quickly assured him that I would help him.

Patrick left the room and I was concerned about the information I received. The Matriarch entered the room, closing the door behind her. “Well, what did you think of Patrick’s proposal?” She asked. I looked over at her and said, “It troubles me.”

She got closer to straighten my collar. “I wouldn’t worry about what it was for. Patrick has his own plans that he never shares with anyone.” She caressed my lips and I felt my heart flutter. I cleared my throat and said, “Would you husband mind that you are so close to me?” The Matriarch put her arms around my neck and said, “He has never been able to be faithful to me so I gave up on him years ago.” She kissed me and I forgot about everything that happened previously. That moment was when we began our love affair.

I worked on this project for months. I would see Elizabeth and her husband in passing, but never together. Their relationship was odd at best and this project gave me a sick feeling every time I thought of it. Elizabeth and I continued our courtship despite the tension of her husband being my boss not to mention the leader of the country. Regardless of my feelings, I stayed faithful to the project in hopes that something good would come of this, but I didn’t feel like it would. The Head of the Nation said this should help combat pain and suffering in the world and I would just nod in agreement. I never made eye contact with him because it seemed like he had a dark side that I didn’t want to encounter. I kept my thoughts on the project by trying out wavelengths and medicines that could replicate the effect that Patrick was wanting. I wasn’t sure if my ideas would work on a grand scale because any machine would need to be accessible for everyone in the nation to be exposed to. I looked up and The Matriarch startled me while I was deep in thought, “Do you want to get lunch?” She said in a flirtatious manner.

We sat down at a table in the restaurant. The Matriarch looked at me across the table and began to say, “I brought you here to tell you the truth.” She looked down at her hands. “I met my husband when I was really young and he swept me off of my feet. We married shortly after. As our life together went on, I noticed he was not quite the person I married. He had dark secrets.” She looked at me almost crying, “You need to stop him. He will control everyone for his personal gain and does not care about humanity. He will kill most people and enslave the others. I cannot tell you the whole story, but there are more people involved than you think. Just trust me on this. He needs to die and you need to tell the world what he has done.”

I came to work the next morning and didn’t see Elizabeth. I worked through the day and eventually asked her husband where she was. He said, “We had to terminate her for being a traitor.” My heart fell and I asked, “How was she a traitor?”

“You probably know the answer to that question.” He turned and walked away. I left the mansion and I got in the car mortified and feeling as though I had been shot in the heart. The driver turned to me and said, “Elizabeth gave this to me a few days ago. She told me to give this to you if something happened to her. I haven’t heard from her in over a day.” He handed me a green box with a letter attached:

My darling Elliott. You have given me some of the happiest days of my life. If you are reading this letter, I am probably dead. My husband has been acting strangely the past few days and hinting as though he knew what I was up to. I don’t think he knows that I talked to you, but he may be on to you. Please take this present. It is the locket that I always wore around my neck. It was a recording device and I have years worth of evidence. This will explain what I never told you.

That night, I listened to most of the tapes. I realized that the only way to stop this man was to kill him. Tomorrow when I go to work, I will kill him and end this madness once and for all. Now here I sit in this cafe with my stomach turning and my heart hurting from the loss of my love. I will go to Patrick and kill him point blank. He cannot go on living as my love died and my nation will shortly follow if I don’t do something. If you are reading this letter then, I was killed on my mission. I will send this letter and Elizabeth’s recordings to the media.

Later the next day headlines told of the whole story. Elliot barged into the mansion with a gun. Security did not see him as a threat initially because he was an employee. Patrick, the Patriarch’s son, shot Elliot in the chest right as Elliot shot Patrick. The authorities found the body of the Patriarch, the Matriarch, Elliot, and Patrick within the mansion. Elizabeth’s recordings and Elliott’s letter were released to the world. The public was in shock with their leader’s death and the lies they had been told. The nation began to be quiet as people mourned the loss of their hero, Elliot, The Inventor.