Drusilla The Duchess

Chapter 1

It was a segment about the orphaned children in Dresnia, in the capital city of Keridge in particular. The news anchor, Tirza Vonx, was a veteran and had been hosting The Dresnia Morning News for fifteen years. This morning she was sitting at her desk on the bright green and powder blue set of her show, her royal blue blazer and matching skirt a stark contrast to the background colours. Her hands were folded on the desk and she wore a somber expression. The screen split in two, with a video box on the left side of Tirza. The recording that began to play was clearly taken from a random citizen in the city on their cellphone. They were recording a few homeless children in a street alley, dirty and tattered, nervously pacing about the unknown cameraman. There were tears streaming down each of their hard little faces.

"Tell me why you are on the streets, little ones," the cameraman coaxed, not unkindly. "Tell everyone what you are doing."

"We are stealing. We are picking pockets because we have nothing to eat. We are so hungry and nobody helps us," one of the boys cried, his watery brown eyes breaking my heart. His face was dirty and his soiled soccer jersey was nothing but a rag about his frail bony shoulders.

"Why does nobody help you?" the cameraman asked.

"Because we are orphans. We have no parents. Nobody to take care of us. They beat us in the orphanages. They do not feed us, so we run away. We live on the streets," the boy said with venom.

The cameraman continued recording as the kids turned and started to run down the alley, away from him. "This is the real Dresnia. This is supposed to be a first-world country and there are small children that are six or seven years old starving and living out on the cold streets. Shame on the government. Shame on the monarchy. They are doing nothing for this country," he declared before the video stopped.

Tirza looked contemplative as she considered the video. "A shocking video has gone viral after a citizen in Keridge caught that group of children trying to pick his pocket. People are outraged at the horrid claims in this video. The man in the video is right. There is no excuse for children to be homeless without safety, protection, shelter, food or water in this country. The government is not doing enough for the vulnerable population. There needs to be immediate action and an investigation into the claims of abuse and neglect in Dresnia's orphanages."

A painful leaden weight settled low in my belly, making me drop my utensils on my plate, my appetite gone. Tears pricked my eyes. I imagined the fear and sadness, the anger , those children must have. How could that be happening? Were the orphanages really not being regulated? How was that possible?

I shook my head, annoyed at my own naivety. Despite being Earl Volkirk's daughter and growing up as a member of one of the few ancient Dresnian aristocratic families, I had been spoiled but not stupid. One look at me with my golden tan, long Barbie-like blonde hair and blue eyes, I was instantly pegged an airhead almost always, right from the start. It used to irritate me, but attending and graduating the University of Cambridge with a degree in Human, Social and Political Sciences in the UK had given me a sort of confidence that was permanently unshakeable. Ever since, I had had fun proving I was an intelligent, keen girl at most people's expense. A part of that intelligence was not being so blinded in my noble bubble that I didn't recognize the flaws in my country, beloved though it was.

Dresnia was a rocky island in the North Sea, not far from the Orkney Islands. It was half the size of the UK, but had a very similar topography, with lush farmlands and plentiful forests inland to craggy, rocky bluffs and cliffs near the coastlines by the windswept sea. Dresnia had a long, ancient history, one of violence, riches, ancestry to the Vikings, and hardship, as with any nation. Dresnia wasn't on the international stage, being a quieter European country. Our colourful, baroque-style buildings and houses made up the cities, towns and villages. Though it was a small nation, my country had enough wealth to be impressive, relying on tourism and our international exporting of world class seafood, shellfish in particular.