Then came the signing.
Prince Charles picked up the pen. The pen was heavy, as heavy as a thousand jun. The global live broadcast cut to a close-up of his slightly trembling hand. He drew in a breath, as if mustering all his strength, forced the tremor under control, and at the designated spot on the first document, signed his name: Charles.
The soft scratching of the pen tip across paper, captured by a highly sensitive microphone, was amplified into every home around the world watching the live feed. That sound would later be called by historians "the last sigh of the Empire."
Next, the Mexico representative signed, the documents were exchanged, and signed again.
