The Crown Prophecy

by M. D. Laird

  Calab bowed. “I will, Queene Orrla. See you in court.”

  Calab had Turel carry Eve as they flew out of the fae realm. He had only acknowledged her presence with a formal nod which had stung Eve though she did not know why. Why did it bother her so? She was to be his queen, and he was her subject. Everything he had done was to maintain the safety and comfort of his queen. She should not expect more from him. She should not expect there to be something there that was not.

  The demons flew to the edge of the forest where two vectors were waiting. Turel and Tamiel loaded their bags. Eve had asked to retrieve a book from her bag to read on the journey—she did not wish to endure further awkward silences. Calab opened the door, motioned for her to enter, and then sat beside her with Tamiel sat opposite them. Turel and Nakhiel were to travel behind in the second vector. Eve gasped when the vectors took to the air but tried to keep her surprise to a minimum even as she was pinned to her seat when they accelerated to a ridiculous speed. Once the vector was travelling at a constant speed, she relaxed and opened her book. They did indeed travel in silence and Eve was grateful to escape into another world for the five-hour journey to the demon guild.

  Eve and Calab alighted the vector at the Guild of Asmodeus and entered the building.

  “The alliance has been staying here for the last two weeks,” Calab said. “If you would like to freshen up in your quarters, I will let them know that you’ve arrived and we will meet in the library in an hour.”

  Eve nodded. “Thank you.”

  “I’ve had some new clothes purchased for you, yours were destroyed when they sacked the guild.”

  “That’s kind of you, thank you.”

  Calab nodded and left her to walk to her room alone. It felt a little strange not to be flanked by guards as she moved through the guild. She was anxious not to meet anyone from the alliance and made her way swiftly to her room. Even though she knew she was doing the right thing by allying with the fae, she could not help feeling worried about their reaction.

  Eve began to explore her wardrobe—she was suddenly more fearful about what she would find in there than she was about meeting the alliance. There was not a single pair of jeans, and there were many skirts.

  Is he trying to tell me something?

  Feeling a little too like a secretary in a skirt she picked out a pair of surprisingly nice fitted pants and a fitted shirt. Both were in black as they had not bought her another colour, it seemed that only the fae wore bright colours in Arkazatinia. Eve laid the clothes on the bed and entered the bathroom to draw herself a bath. She planned to enjoy a long soak to help her relax before she met the alliance.

  Eve dressed and pinned her hair in a clip. She thought she looked okay though she did not feel very regal.

  What are queens supposed to wear?

  If Thalia were anything to go by then, her usual jeans and Converse would suffice. She looked through the bottom of her wardrobe and found a new pair of black leather boots with buckles, which she loved instantly, and she wished she had a pair of skinny jeans to wear with them. A knock sounded on her door. She pulled the boots on quickly, answered the door and found Calab standing there.

  “Good, you’re ready,” he said. “I shall escort you to the library, everyone is waiting.” Eve took a deep breath and followed him into the corridor. He led her down the stairs and to the door of his library. “Now the Imperator has been unseated they will call you Your Highness or Lady until you are crowned,” he said formally. “You should not encourage anyone to call you by your name. You are their queen, not their friend. You will have task enough getting them on board with your changes without undermining your position.”

  “Am I to have no friends for the whole of eternity?” she asked sadly.

  “Are you ready?” asked Calab, ignoring her question.

  “Yes…no,” she said. “They are going to hate me.”

  “Let’s go,” he said. He opened the door, motioned for her to wait and announced, “Please rise for the future Queen of Impærielas and Crown of Arkazatinia, Her Highness the Lady Genevieve.”

  Eve blushed furiously. Each member of the alliance stood as she entered the library, she tried to smooth her face to disguise her nerves and embarrassment before pausing to look at Calab. He showed her to her seat at the head of the table, and she sat. The alliance remained standing. Eve shifted anxiously.

  What are they doing?

  “Please, be seated,” she said. There were murmurs as they took their seats.

  Calab introduced each of them, and they all greeted her pleasantly as Highness. Calab did not sit on the vacant seat next to her and instead chose a seat beside Thalia which she took as a hint that she was on her own. They all looked at her expectantly.

  Am I supposed to deliver an eloquent and inspirational speech?

  She took a breath and composed herself.

  Here we go.

  “Thank you all for your attendance,” she began. “Prince Calab has informed me of your conduct in recent events, and I am grateful to have the opportunity to serve Arkazatinia with a strong and loyal alliance. There will no doubt be a period of adjustment on both sides—you are aware that I am new to Arkazatinia and there is much for me to learn about your world. I am also mindful of the fact that you have never before been ruled by an outlander—it may seem a bewildering choice of a queen, but I will serve Arkazatinia to the best of my ability.”

  So far so good, no one is asleep—now for the scary bit.

  “As I said, there will be some adjustments, and there will be some changes in the way things are currently done within the Crown. It is my belief that Arkazatinia has selected an outlander to rule its lands because there are things that need to be done differently. I have taken the last few weeks to familiarise myself with my new role, and it has come to my attention that much of my role is the way it is simply because it always has been. I have learned that the previous crowns have played no part in the defence of Arkazatinia and the Impærielas do not help to defend the lands. I have also heard that potential allies are left out of the alliance because they possess power.

  “This seems to me to be irrational and illogical. The alliance of the fae, for example, would have made engaging the dark alchemists less risky as there would have been a significant number of people with magical abilities rather than three…or two as it turned out.” Many of the alliance began to shuffle in their seats and frown. Calab made no expression and nor did the other demon princes. Lord Tharazan of Calahad listened intently. “I have, therefore, taken the liberty of inviting the fae to join the court.”

  Gasps filled the room. Thalia’s eyes opened wider, and she stared in disbelief. Tharazan grinned and leant forward to prop his chin on his hand. Ester, a hominem patriarch, raised her hand.

  “Your Highness, with all due respect, we cannot have the fae in court,” she said.

  “If anyone can give me a good reason why not, beyond ‘that’s how things are’, then I will gladly rescind my invitation to the fae queene.” Ester sat back in her seat and said nothing. A small smile momentarily crept to Calab’s lips. “I will also be involved in planning the defence of the lands. I understand this is against the rules, but this can be easily rectified by just changing the rules. For too long the Crown has been unwilling to get their hands dirty and has left the defence of the world to others. I cannot in good conscience reign in such a way. It is no surprise that a group was able to infiltrate the Crown. The only surprise is that it did not happen sooner.

  “There will be other changes as the Crown is reintegrated I’m sure. I assure you that I will not make any more radical decisions independently and I will listen to your counsel, but with immediate effect, the Crown will shoulder some of the responsibility for defence.”

  Eve took in the room: Calab’s expression was blank, Thalia looked unimpressed, Tharazan was positively beaming, the princes looked perturbed, and the sons gave no indication of their thoughts. Only two
of the hominem patriarchs looked genuinely angry. Jacob, the Son of Raphæl, raised his hand.

  “Your Highness,” he said, “I do not mean to speak out of turn, but what experience do you have in defensive planning?”

  “None whatsoever,” replied Eve coolly, “but I am willing to take on the burden and listen to the counsel of the rest of the alliance.” The alliance stayed silent, glances were shared amongst them, and there were many bitten lips. “I also wanted your thoughts on approaching the Elion. It is risky to include them as we have seen, but excluding them may also carry risks.”

  Tharazan’s smile faded a touch. “Your Highness,” he said, “I’m sure you are by now aware of my own history with the Elion, and this is not the first time they have tried to divide et impera. I agree that excluding them is dangerous though I would not feel comfortable including them in discussions on defence and security.”

  “Perhaps, Your Highness,” said Calab, addressing her for the first time as anything beyond ‘human’. “We can approach them with such a compromise. There may be things that they want which will allow them to keep an easier peace.”

  The Berith and Astaroth princes gave Calab a look of disbelief as though he had just leapt on the table and performed a jig. Apparently compromising was an uncharacteristic move for a demon.

  “That seems reasonable,” said Eve, inwardly breathing a sigh of relief at Calab’s support particularly since her only apparent ally in the room was wavering. “Does anyone else have any other thoughts?”

  The concerns were of a similar nature. Eve took a vote, and they agreed they would invite the new Elion ruler to the Guild of the Crown to discuss a compromise. The alliance appeared startled when she suggested they vote on the matter and Eve recalled that the Crown generally told them what to do unless it was a matter of defence when they could do as they pleased.

  Yes, things are going to be very different from now on, I just hope it doesn’t get me killed.

  “Does anyone have anything else urgent they would like to discuss?” Eve asked, and everyone shook their heads. “In that case, I will have a schedule of Crown reintegration meetings drawn up where we can discuss reinstatement and the usual business. I thank you all for your time.” They all stood when she did. She nodded and left the room without waiting for Calab to show her out.

  Eve returned to her room and allowed herself to breathe. She felt she had held her own and said what she wanted to. She hoped she had not come across as an incompetent idiot. No one had argued with her about the changes though she had no idea what they were saying now she had left the room as only Lord Tharazan had seemed to agree with her.

  I want to be sick.

  She swallowed a wave of nausea as a knock came to her door. She did not want to answer. She did not want to know what they had said. Did they hate her? Did they want to get rid of her? She took a deep breath and opened the door.

  “Hello, Your Highness,” said Calab.

  She smirked. “Not human anymore? Or simply nothing?”

  “It is not really appropriate,” he said unsmilingly.

  She invited him in and closed the door. “Tell me. Tell me how awful it was and how much they all hate me.”

  “It wasn’t awful,” he said. “They weren’t all thrilled with the changes, but they seemed to have accepted them without too much complaint which I find rather extraordinary. Lord Tharazan is very impressed; he feels it is high time we had a Crown who has the courage to make such changes.”

  She breathed and nodded. “The hard work is to come I expect.”

  “Undoubtedly,” he said. “Graviora manent, heavier things remain, but you have made a good start.”

  “What about you? What do you think?”

  He shrugged. “I agree that allying with the fae is long overdue, but I’d be lying if I said I was not concerned about your involvement in defence.”

  “Why?”

  “Because, Your Highness, as much as you say that you will seek counsel, you are quite demanding and impulsive, even before you took the Crown, and you like to have things your own way. That attitude can be dangerous. Believe me, I should know, I am that person too.”

  “So, I need to work on that. I’ve never been a queen before; I’m not going to be good at it straight away. I will listen, you can help me.”

  “I will point out to you when you are a brat.” He smirked. Eve smiled weakly. “Look,” he said gently, “being a queen is a game, and you have to learn to play your part. There are ways to get people to agree with you and to get them to do what you want if you know how. The alliance were protective of you as it served their interests to have you in power instead of the Imperator, but they will not remain so if you do not serve them in the way they expect.”

  “Are you saying I should just do what they want or what has always been done just to keep everyone happy?”

  “No,” he said, “I am encouraging you to be aware that if you storm in and change everything quickly, they will become anxious about the new rule. You need to take things more slowly, introduce your ideas gradually—sweeten the propositions they won’t like with propositions they will.”

  “Do you mean I should manipulate everyone?”

  “Precisely so,” replied Calab. “Everyone manipulates others; it is how we survive and how we get things done.”

  “I disagree.”

  “Because you view it as a negative trait.”

  “Explain then.”

  “If everyone behaved according to their mood,” he started, “If I, for example, did not control myself and said whatever I felt and acted however I wanted then I would not be given the time of day. I have to modify my behaviour and my interactions to appear pleasant to others, so they will work with me and listen to what I have to say.

  “People expect to be manipulated; they like it and are unhappy when it doesn’t happen. If you went to a shop in Lycea and the cashier—who was in a terrible mood that day—behaved exactly how she felt, then you would likely not return to that shop. Instead, you are happy that she smiles and pretends to care whether you have found everything you need and wishes you a pleasant day. Her employer encourages her to manipulate the customers, so they will come back. It is not enough for her to just scan your items and take your money, she must act as though she cares deeply about the service you’re provided with, though after eight hours every day she likely stopped caring a long time ago. It is expected that you will act a certain way to achieve what you want, whether that is to get a job or to have your rulers agree with you without turning against you.”

  “Do you mean that I should lie to everyone?”

  “Not really,” he replied. “You shouldn’t tell them lies or be dishonest in what you say. You need to be careful with the truth and consider the consequences before you speak it.”

  “It sounds like a lot of work. I’m not sure I could keep up an act forever or if I’d even want to.”

  “Of course, I am exaggerating to make my point, but you need to be aware of how you appear. You are going to have to learn fast how to rule as a queen and how to interact with your subjects. You’re not going to get anywhere by trying to be nice to everyone.”

  “I haven’t been, I’ve already upset everyone.”

  “You have, but you yearn for their approval, and not for their support of your policies, but their approval of you as a person. The Impærielas have never associated with the rest of Arkazatinia outside of official engagements. They were aloof, secretive and although they had no army, they appeared formidable because they were impersonal—no one challenged their authority in court until the Imperium. When the Crown gave an order, we obeyed without question. Lady Ariana is no more important than any other ruler, but when she summoned us to discuss the prophecy we treated her as if she was the queen because she has the presence of a queen. You will try to be everyone’s friend; you are already trying to be friends with me, Lord Thalia and Queene Orrla.”

  “You�
��re friends with everyone.”

  “It is a little different as they are my peers. You are the queen. You need to detach yourself. That said, if I had my time again I would likely make different choices and would separate myself. There are terrible consequences to being friends with everyone. I murdered the Imperator and one of the alchemists on the night of the strike, and I have not been arrested or even severely reprimanded for my behaviour. Selfishly I am pleased of course, but is that right? Is it fair that I should get away with that just because I am friends with everyone? You are in the marvellous position of being at the beginning of your reign, and your mistakes are not ingrained. You can detach yourself and remain so.”

  “I’m not going to let people get away with murder because they’re my friends.”

  “Then have me arrested.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous.”

  “It’s not ridiculous.”

  “You’re just being difficult. I can’t do what you’re saying. I can’t be detached from everyone. That might be easy for a demon, but it isn’t for me. I need people in my life. I need friends.”

  Calab rolled his eyes. “You need to be smart. Mens agitat molem, the mind moves the mass,” he said. “I am very fond of the writings of Baltasar Gracián; one quote in particular is:

  things don’t pass for what they are, but how they appear.

  “If you want to convince your subjects that you are the queen, then you need to behave like one. I will lend you his book and a few others that may help.” Eve nodded and tried to ignore the fact that he had confirmed once more that he did not wish to be friends with her. She also attempted to ignore whether or not he had just told her that he had only ever pretended to be nice to her. She did not really think too much about anything else he had said. Calab looked frustrated. “Imagine that you are not the queen,” he went on. “Imagine it is someone else, and they are friends with all of the rulers. Can you imagine how awful it would be for a continent to be ruled by a group of cronies who make decisions about the fate of everyone else? The queen may make decisions because she doesn’t want to upset her friends and they could have disastrous consequences for the rest of the people. There are more people in Arkazatinia than its rulers—you must remember that.”