[b]The Golden Lady[/b]

Contessa Aurelia Dizon was the first to accept Priscilla Aglipay-Rizal and the Second Katipunan's offer of clemency in exchange for allegiance; this allowed her to keep most of her estates and even more of her wealth, most of which was in America and Spain. True, the middle-aged woman - the same age as the so-called Lady President - had to obey pesky labor laws and grant her peons more power, but it was a small price to pay to keep her ancestral territory and mansion. A mansion whose balcony she was looking out from as the sun rose.

A servant; Julio, one of her remaining loyal retainers, walked to just behing her side. The old man was clad in light but formal clothing, and was already carrying a plate with her favorite light teas. He would then say, "The tenants have sowed the new crop from Ethiopia. It is called Teff, right?"

Aurelia nodded, and spoke as she smiled, "Yes. The seeds are small so more of them can be sown, plus they can be cooked with less heat and fire. Another step to increased food production and self-sufficiency, or so 'The Agriculturist'," she chuckled as she talked about Archibald Santos, "Would preach. However, what sustains a small farmer will be profitable for the remaining large landowners in the nation." She then picked up her sweet tea and took a sip, enjoying the cool winds of the countryside. After several minutes of this, she would prepare to return to her chambers, but not before saying: "Poor Priscilla; never to enjoy the comforts of life."

From her desk she would take out her paperwork; deals made to export produce through Subic Bay and the 'Worker Co-Operatives there. Although proven inferiors, the co-operatives of Subic served a purpose.

She would observe the numbers and words as they informed her of continued profits from the toil of refugees and immigrants from the rest of Southeast Asia who wanted a taste of the Philippines' food security. At the same time, however, letters from the leaders of the corrupt Co-operatives were worrying about a recent Executive Order sent by the Lady President herself. This Executive Order had ordered that the process of naturalization for immigrants and refugees - after careful vetting and voluntary attendance in 'citizenship courses' - be handled by the local chapters of the Subic Youth League instead of the Workers' Co-operatives. As the Youth Leagues were among the most enthusiastic followers of the Lady President, it was clear that this was a sign of mistrust with the Co-operative heads. Aurelia chuckled to herself; took Priscilla long enough to find out that the oppressed of one day were tomorrow's oppressors.

Another servant then entered; Maria, a young woman in her 20s' in well-maintained servants' clothes. The girl carried a packet of unopened letters with traditional wax seals, and bowed deeply to Aurelia as she handed over the packets. the Contessa looked over the letters; not bothering the ones marked 'Subic' as they contained more complaints. In her mind, she had already cast them aside; the Lady President had found them out and they were useless to her now. Best to find other avenues of export.

Instead, she opened the letters from America, where many of her relatives resided. A few talked of life in that country and asked for her permission to plan an Anti-Priscilla - not Anti-Filipino, Anti-Priscilla - lobby in San Francisco; Aurelia planned to veto anything more than verbal efforts in that direction. This was not because of any loyalty to Priscilla, but because letting the Filipino Exiles organize [i]anything[/i] would reduce their dependence on her for returning the country to the rule by their traditional betters.

For a brief moment, she mused; did she really want her relations and other members of the former aristocracy to return? After all, those who sided with Priscilla like she did...they may have lost money, some slices of land, their pride, and were burdened by uppity peasants, but they didn't have [i]competition[/i]. The remaining planters and large landowners actually had it better by staying and letting the Lady President and her small pool of 'professional idealists' butt against the limits of their power. After all, 'class solidarity' was for poor people; Aurelia was the top dog in the Philippines' landowning scene and she was not letting that go.

Opening another letter, she smiled; the [i]Bangko Sentral[/i] were now ready to pay her back for the money she had shelled them in the past...by bankrolling the political party she was about to start.

What would she call it? The lower classes had more power than ever, so she had to appeal to them. And one thing she knew is that people will always want more, and that the Lady President had failed to give her people technological advancement, entertainment, and all the good things in life Americans now enjoyed. So why not give it to them as long as [i]her[/i] wealth would grow richer? And ironically, Hou's China had led the way with its January 2nd Movement. And so, like every good Filipino, she will pirate that idea...she would call it the [i]May 25th[/i] movement...