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*****
"I like here," stated John VI, Prince Regent. "I like here very much."
"That's an understatement," said Maria, the Queen. "You like here because we have to catch the chickens."
John VI sighed; his mother's illness was getting worse by the day. Soon she would be gone. However, it wouldn't be soon enough. The first time someone noticed the malady was in 1786; the Queen was bravely fighting for almost 20 years, but one day she would lose, and the Prince Regent would be thankful. No one deserved to live like that.
The Queen silently repeated her words and then said, "I'm losing my mind. I can feel it fading away, running from me."
"No, mama," John VI lied. "You're only tired. Your mind is in perfect shape. It's probably better than mine."
Maria I smiled. She knew the son was lying, but how could she be mad at him for trying to make her happy? "Why are you saying you like here?"
Breathing heavily, the Prince Regent began, "Mother, do you remember Napoleon?"
The Queen became red; she was enraged, "Of course I remember him! That little piece of shit made us flee our country! It doesn't matter how bad my mind gets; I'll never forget him!"
"He was defeated," there was no joy in John VI's voice. Not only because of what the defeat meant but mainly because he already had that conversation with his mother.
Maria I seemed confused. The news should bring her joy. However, it didn't. She hated Napoleon, but something was interfering with her happiness. The Queen tried to understand the lack of enjoyment, but the reason evaded her just like the memory of this not being something new.
The Prince Regent kept talking, "There are whispers in Portugal. People ask why are we still in Brazil? People think it's inadmissible for us to rule from a colony."
"Um," that was the end of Maria I's commentary. The son waited for a couple more seconds. When he thought she wasn't going to speak anymore, she resumed, "They do have a point."
"Yes, I know," regretted John IV.
"However, the good thing about being Royals is that we can do whatever we want. Like flying through trees like little toucans ghosts."
After all those years, the son didn't look worried at the mom when she mumbled. There was only pity in his eyes, which was worse.
Maria I repeated her words and, embarrassed, said, "I'm sorry. What I wanted to say was that being Queen has its perks, like ruling as I believe suitable. For instance, I could declare Brazil a kingdom rather than a colony and voilá; the whisperers don't have a point anymore."
In utter shock, the son looked at the mother. She smiled and said, "They may call me Maria the Mad, and I may feel my mind eluding me by the day, but I'm still smarter than most."
"Mother, that's genius. Would you do that for me?"
The Queen smiled; she felt lucid for the first time in years, "My son, my husband died. You older brother, my first-born too. You're all that I have left. I'd do anything to see you smile."
John VI hugged Maria I; he got up and went to the door saying, "I'll ask someone to write the law, then you can sign it."
"No!" The Queen's voice wasn't loud, but it was full of power. "I'll be dead sooner than later, and my illness is well known. You'll sign the law. I don't want anyone saying that the sea will flood the walls."
The Prince Regent stud for a second, as did the Queen. She repeated the words and then started to talk again, "I don't want anyone arguing that the law is invalid because a madwoman signed it. Also, it will give you power. You'll make Brazil a kingdom, you'll unify our kingdoms, creating the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil, and whatever other colony you want, then you'll rule this United Kingdom. You'll be its father, and no one questions a father's order."
"Mother--"
"Don't," Maria I savoured the last lucid moment she would have. She knew that was it. The Queen that after that speech, she was as good as dead. "As I said, I may be ill, but I'm still brighter than most. Now go, my son, become the great King I know you'll be."
John VI did as ordered after kissing the mom on her forehead. As the son left the room, the Queen drowned herself in darkness.
THE END
*****
The United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves was a pluricontinental monarchy formed by the elevation of the Portuguese colony named State of Brazil to the status of a kingdom and by the simultaneous union of that Kingdom of Brazil with the Kingdom of Portugal and the Kingdom of the Algarves, constituting a single state consisting of three kingdoms.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom_of_Portugal,_Brazil_and_the_Algarves
