Weeds in the Garden

Jasmine was under a lot of pressure. Her sisters had done everything in the past few months to undermine her prestige.

"These bitches think that just because they're useless, I'll be the same," Jasmine said aloud, although not to anyone in particular.

"The race for our father's succession is getting more intense, Miss," commented Isabela.

"Father has been very ill lately, although I doubt he'll die anytime soon. But his ridiculous attitude of pitting us against each other has caused a lot of tension," she said, looking up at the ceiling.

"I thought you enjoyed competition," Aura said, confused.

"Oh, I love competition. I fucking adore competition. But if I'm not allowed to give it my 100%, then it's a fucking joke. It's ridiculous that those sluts are given resources to make themselves feel important," Jasmine responded disdainfully.

"Miss, you should get dressed. There will be a family meeting soon, and your presence was requested by your father," Isabela said, looking at a clipboard.

"Alright, if it's for Father, bring me my formal white dress. While I get dressed, you can give me the latest news," Jasmine said, giving orders to the maids.

"The most talked-about topic is the incident with Princess Liz," Isabela began.

"I've already seen the reports," Jasmine interrupted, hoping to hear something new.

"The interesting part is the people involved," Isabela insisted.

"What do you mean?" Jasmine asked, confused. She knew her assistant was reliable and wouldn't bring up useless things.

"The official reports are heavily distorted. The captain of the guard has been given a lot of credit, but we have uncovered many of his secrets in the past," Isabela said with satisfaction, knowing that she had caught her boss's full attention.

"There will be a report ready on your desk when we return from the family discussion. In advance, I can tell you that the runic blacksmith we recruited was involved, and his participation was nothing short of amazing. It seems even the elves are taking notice," Isabela summarized as Jasmine was almost done with her attire and had to leave for the meeting.

"Quite interesting, Isabela. Well done. Unfortunately, we need to change the subject. What do we know about the other factions in this meeting?" Jasmine asked.

"From what we know, all the other factions have broken the rules of the competition and have been acting independently. It's most likely that this meeting will put an end to the competition and grant you the freedom you deserve, Miss," Isabela responded.

"It's about damn time. I've wasted so much time and resources pretending and playing behind the scenes. It's stupid that my father penalizes me for being better than them. However, it's impressive that those foolish little girls don't understand that this was for their own good and yet they still violated the conditions," Jasmine said, ending with a chuckle.

To her, it was truly comical to see the rest of them think they would always be all-powerful simply because they were their father's daughters. She didn't even see them as sisters. Although her father had fathered many daughters with different women and tried to raise them all together, likening it to his garden, the truth was that the daughters had always hated each other. Each one only grouped with the others from the same mother and treated the rest as if they were the ones who had ruined their parents' relationship.

However, recently her father's attitude had changed. He stopped treating them like spoiled little girls and began treating them like spoiled adults, giving them easy tasks and extravagant rewards for every little thing. This excessive and disconnected nature between responsibilities and rewards had led many of them to barely make the minimum effort, which brought them to the current situation.

At this point, her father was making a great effort to make his family the first in America to have access to Elysium and establish a strong foundation for his family. He couldn't monopolize everything for long, and he couldn't allow others to become too powerful. That's why he decided to try to strengthen his daughters to the maximum and progressively give them more and more as they advanced. He established a framework of fair competition among his daughters, which penalized the most competent ones. However, the others hadn't played fairly and had taken advantage to strike down the sisters who suffered from the restrictions.

"I'm already eager to see the faces of the others," Jasmine said with a twisted smile as she approached the meeting room.

The family meeting unfolded in a tense atmosphere. All the sisters were present, each with their faces masked by false courtesy, but Jasmine could see through their attempts to appear united. It was obvious that they all wished for the competition to end so they could continue with their projects without restrictions.

Her father, the patriarch of the family, stood up and looked at each of his daughters with seriousness. "The time has come to put an end to this absurd competition. I have witnessed your efforts and achievements in the past months, and I believe you have all proven to be capable and valuable in your respective fields," he announced with a firm voice, although he didn't even believe those words himself.

The sisters exchanged glances, some with relief, many with uncertainty. But Jasmine couldn't help but feel a mix of satisfaction and challenge at the prospect of her talent finally being recognized without restrictions.

Her father continued, "From now on, each of you will be free to follow your own path and pursue your projects without limitations imposed by this competition. However, I want to make it clear that the family's resources will be distributed fairly and equitably among all of you, and I will punish any internal conflicts that arise."

Jasmine's gaze became more intense. She knew that with this decision, she would have to compete on an unrestricted playing field. She would no longer be denied the resources she needed to excel, and her sisters wouldn't be given unfair advantages either.

"Perfect!" Jasmine exclaimed with a defiant smile. (I'm tired of playing by their foolish rules. Now I can unleash my full potential without anyone holding me back), she monologued in her mind.

Some other sisters also expressed their approval, a few with enthusiasm and many with a bit of apprehension. But they were all eager to embark on their own paths.

The meeting continued with a discussion on how the family's resources would be fairly distributed among the sisters. There were some tensions and disagreements, but they eventually reached an agreement that everyone considered acceptable.

Once the meeting ended, Jasmine retreated to her room, filled with excitement and determination. She now had the freedom to carry out her projects without restrictions, but she also had the responsibility to prove herself worthy of the resources that would be provided to her.

"Let a new era for me begin," Jasmine murmured to herself as she sat in front of her desk and began planning her next move. She was ready to overcome any obstacle and become an unstoppable force in her field.

And so, in that moment, the sisters left the competition behind, and each embarked on her own path towards success. But deep down, Jasmine knew that the real competition was just beginning, and she was more than ready to face whatever came her way.

"Isabela, we've been lucky that this meeting happened before the expedition. Now we can reap the maximum rewards. What's the status of our troops?" Jasmine asked.

"Now that there are no restrictions, we can recruit and deploy them formally. Most of them have been serving with us for a while. Although the results we achieve in the expedition will give us credibility to recruit the best artisans," Isabela responded.

"Good," said Jasmine as she finished perusing the report. "So, this James could really be that guy. Do we know anything else about him, his affiliations? Is he with the French or the Japanese?" Jasmine inquired.

"We don't know. Everything points to him having no affiliations. There are some indications that he had contacts with the Russian mafia on Earth, but it's not clear if he works for the Russians," Isabela said.

"A complete mystery, a damn mystery. He appears here and there, does a bit of everything, and nobody knows him," Jasmine said with a lark-like voice. "Truly interesting."