Rebirth of the Two-Headed Phoenix

[Rudolph]

With the dissolution of the Slavic nation that held the land as part of its frontier against the Hellenic giant down south, certain representatives came together underneath the watchful eye of the Athenian Federation. It was evident that while the citizenry was grateful for the Athenian Federation's forces keeping the peace, the war hadn't been forgotten and was still present in the consciousness of the Serbs.

This was even clearer in the heart of Beograd, the White City of the Serbs.

[hr]
"This is our chance, can you not see that!?"

The question hung in the air of the dim lit room before being shoved aside by a frustrated sigh as a man took his seat once more in that day.

"We do see it," started a heavy baritone voice. The man's brown orbs followed the source of the voice, a brown-haired man, dark grey meeting the brown orbs. "And it is because we see the chance that we have to be cautious and wary, Borivoje," he continued as the rest of the meeting's participants stared at him, hearing his words intently.

The brown haired man slid out of his seat and stood in one fluid motion, raising a hand to run his digits through his unruly hair. "The Hellenics' Federation have De-facto control of Serbia proper, their country and military far surpassing anything we could do to them," he stated as he frowned, "This is our reality sadly."

"If we seek to be independent once more, we'll have to simply accept any concessions that our current 'overlords' demand from us," he growled out before shaking his head, a sigh escaping past his lips. "Regardless, it's either this 'protectorate' status or being a proper nation once more, folks. So what will it be?" he asked the people following him.

"As much as I hate to swallow concessions or demands, Dragojev is right," a blonde haired man spoke, righteous indignation in his green eyes as he clenched and unclenched his right fist. "As much as we would go to help our brothers across the Balkans, the Serbs in Croatia or within the unruly province of Kosovo. We will have to abide by the concessions if we seek freedom from foreign powers," he finished, glaring at the table as he did his best to control his temper.

"It's a sad state of affairs where we cannot help ourselves but it is what it is, Živko, and we must do all in our power to guide our country to prosperity," started Dragojev, all eyes on him once more. "We do what we must for the sake of our people."

Thirteen heads nodded at once as he finished, filling him with a distant sense of pride from seeing the start of a great government for their people.

"If we really intend to go forward with this, I suggest we revert back to a Monarchy," came the voice of Petar Božović, a grizzled old Serb infantry veteran of the former pan-south slavic state. "Democracy has hurt our people far more and in a shorter period of time than the rule of Uro Nejaki," he said, almost spitting out in disgust the nickname of the infamous son of Duan Silni, otherwise known as Duan the Mighty.

"That might be a tricky endeavor in itself, due to not having any noble families still around," chimed in the son of Petar, Milenko, a former member of the special forces of the pan-south slavic state.

"What about the Karađorđević?" asked a lighter voice, a hand tucking away a rogue strand of chestnut brown as Jela Zoric raised an eyebrow, "What would the Prince have to say in this case? He is the last of his dynasty that ruled in Serbia and the former pan-state of Yugoslavia," the woman pointed out, a sharp contrast to the hopeful tone of the current meeting but nonetheless a welcome one for Dragojev.

"He only has a claim to the throne of Serbia so far to my knowledge and not many support him apart from his public humanitarian work and claims of being pro-democratic," countered a rough voice, Dražen Mihailovic snorted as he looked dubious to the questions brought up by the former sailor. "He clearly seeks more support within the populace, hence his public acts," he further explained to the group, being the clear expert of public affairs.

"Don't forget, it's well known that during the past century that the Karađorđević still have debts owed to the British Crown from their assistance during the past century as well as the convoluted line tying the Crown Prince's sons to the British Crown's line of succession," he added once more as he shook his head, muttering under his breath.

Milenko froze unseen from anyone for a second before snapping his fingers in an apparent show of clarity as he turned to their leader, "You said that your last name was Belojevic, right?" he asked as the rest of the folk gathered showed confusion, the question having been a rather odd one considering the time they all spent together.

The group's leader nodded slowly, the question having caught him off guard, "Any particular reason why you asked this question, Milenko?"

Said man grinned widely, "I know for a fact that we do have another noble family around and its yours, boss."

The rest of the group stared at Milenko before gazing upon Dragojev, confusion still on their faces with the exception of the aged veteran.

"I believe I know what my son is getting to, Drago'," Petar started as he raised a hand and rubbed at his beard in thought, "The Belojevic were among the first Serbian noble families under the reign of the first royal family of Serbia, the Vlastimirović."

Milenko clapped his hands in excitement, his eyes on their leader, "Exactly! Boss, I have no idea on how your family managed to stay in relative obscurity throughout the past millennia but you're the last Serbian noble that Serbs can claim to be theirs."

"I say this because of the fact that the Crown Prince doesn't even posses the knowledge of the tongue of Serbia and its Serbs," he added as the ex-spec ops frowned, "To think that the other option of a Monarch is someone who can't even speak with his people in their own tongue."

"As disgraceful as it might be, there's still the fact that a good portion of the populace still support him simply because he's the last Serbian noble publicly known," chimed in a boisterous voice as all eyes landed on Boro Milic, a small abacus in his hands as slender digits slowly moved the stones to their place in some unseen mathematical calculation roaming within his mind.

The slightly absent minded man blew a rogue strand of onyx black away before focusing back on the group, putting the calculations on the back burner so to speak as he cleared his throat. "As it stands, our leader isn't known publicly that much outside of Beograd and even then it's scraping things by," he laid out for his fellows, "So if we want to install him as the new head of state, we're going to need to expand our usage of resources that we are currently using."

"I know of select and key people I can shake down for funds and support from debts owed to me but I'd prefer a more 'civil' approach instead of forcing people as that won't gain loyalty and that simply won't do," the mathematician added before shaking his head, "Our leader will have to play the same game as our dear Prince, and go farther than the British raised blowhard that we call a noble."

Their leader nodded, "Are there enough funds to go forward without having to drag up old debts, Boro?"

"Thankfully, yes. We have a comfortable level to expand out of Beograd and into Serbia proper, and it should technically be more than enough to cover our costs. Anything after that is up in the air, I'm afraid," Boro finished as he dived once more into his abacus, having spoken his piece for the remainder of the meeting.

"Well, I suppose that's that, folks," Dragojev started as a grin grew on his face, "Let's go out there and make this kingdom a reality."

[hr]
And thus it slowly came to pass, the influence of one Dragojev Belojevic pierced outside of the Serbian capital city and permeated throughout the Serbian homeland. The knowledge of having an authentic noble with a documented line of ancestry going all the way back to the first Belojevic Župan raised the spirits of the people to all time highs, the fame becoming enough that the so called Crown Prince could do nothing but stand aside and observe the situation lest he be burned by being painted a certain way.

Nevertheless, with the rate the situation was moving forward, the confrontation between the two nobles would come to a head a full month later as people called for a new Monarch to finally take the reign of their country. So it was that on September the 1st, the noble of the Belojevic Dynasty met with the senior head of the Karađorđević Dynasty, HRH Crown Prince Alexander Karađorđević.

The results of that fateful meeting would shock the people as the two nobles came to an accord.

HRH Alexander Karađorđević would relinquish his claim on the royal crown of Serbia and would instead be recognized as the new Prince of Serbia, with his sons being recognized as the same upon his death, so on and so forth. The newly recognized Prince would then recognize the people's claim upon the last Belojevic to become the new Monarch of Serbia, their new Kralj. Any mentions of Prince or Princess in public media would solely refer to the Karađorđević family as their god-given titles, while the titles of 'Knez' and 'Kneginja' would be the appropriate ones for the reigning family.

The last thing the people had expected were the two nobles walking out as brothers out of their meeting on the same day that the Non-Aligned Movement was founded, especially so considering what was at play between the two. In order to cut off any wild mass guessing that would spark if it was not smothered right then and there, the duo proceeded to have an impromptu press conference with revealing the main reason why the compromise was reached between the two.

"For the people of Serbia."

Said simultaneously by the two, they then slowly wound the conference to an end and went their way into the day as the public media went absolutely bonkers by the day's revelations that came from the two most influential men in the land.

A month or two would pass before the world at large received the following declaration:
 

Official Declaration from the Kraljevina Srbija (Kingdom of Serbia)

Citizens of the world,

Rejoice, for today marks a new day in the Balkans. After many months of discussion and debates after the dissolution of the previous empire, the Serbs have finally come to a consensus. The state of Serbia will be reformed under an Absolute Monarchy to be headed by a new Monarch, Kralj Dragojev Belojevic. Our new kingdom will work hard to provide the basic necessities for its people, and we will work endlessly to become an active member of the international community.

Our people look forward, hopeful and filled with joy as they walk upon their new path.


Sincerely,
HM Kralj Dragojev Belojevic