Keritanima awoke to Azakar that morning. He was in the bedroom she shared with Miranda, throwing open the curtains to let the sunshine pour in from the east. Keritanima had been awakened by him opening the door, where his iron-shod boots made a familiar clump-clump on the floor that identified him to her. She had been having a rather nice dream concerning Rallix at that moment, so the intrusion was quite unwelcome.
Thoughts of the slender badger had not dimmed in her mind over the two months since the revelation that she wanted to pursue him. The situation she was in required her undivided attention, however, so she had successfully shunted thoughts of the man out of her mind to deal with more pressing matters. She had no intentions of letting him get away, but first things first. She'd be in a much better position to get her hands on him when she was the Queen. She could just command him to fall desperately in love with her. And if that didn't work, she'd use the ultimate tool of catching a man in Wikuna… she would bribe him. Rallix danced in her thoughts in quiet moments, private moments, times when she could allow her mind to wander, and they helped keep up her morale. Dealing with her father required her to stay up to all hours of the night, then turn around and wake up early to sift through the information Miranda brought in, make plans with her, and issue what orders she needed accomplished that day. The morning always began in earnest after she fetched their breakfast, then used Sorcery to kill any spies trying to hide out and listen in on them.
Miranda yawned and rose up to a sitting position, pulling the shoulder of her nightshirt up off her arm. She had done her part in those months, using her ability to gather intelligence to the utmost, drawing information from the nobles, from the other servants, and even from the commoners. She was the one that retrieved the reports she received from Ulfan, reports of who had inquired to hire his men to kill who, and that let her stay one step ahead of the competition. There were some people she wouldn't mind seeing go, but there were others that she would prefer remained alive. Keritanima approved any contracts that Ulfan accepted by paying the contract price on anyone she wanted kept alive, then having Ulfan report back to the hiring party that the attempt on the person had failed. It had gotten a bit expensive, draining what small money she'd managed to amass in the public eye, because she really didn't want to have to go to Rallix for the money. Seeing him again would just put him back in her mind, and she couldn't afford to be distracted at the wrong moment.
Keritanima was just a little nervous. The time for Sisska to get back from Vendaka was right on top of them, and when the Vendari showed up, she had to move fast. Nobody could miss a battalion of Vendari warriors marching into the city, and it wouldn't take long for people to wonder just who had called them in. She had to be in position before certain ugly truths became evident, truths that could get her killed by none other than the Vendari. She just couldn't go get her father when the Vendari arrived. There were some things that had to be done first, things that would make everything else fall into place if things worked as she planned.
Keritanima tested the air blearily, and the truth crept into her half-awake awareness. She sat bolt upright in bed and nearly ripped the curtains down when she drew them, then bounded out of bed wearing a nightshirt that had rode up over her tail during the night. Azakar gasped and turned his back quickly as she raced to the door and threw it open, and saw Sisska standing calmly at the far side of the room, holding her lifemate's hands in the ritual greeting among Vendari.
"Sisska!" Keritanima called happily, bounding into the room. She hedged in on Binter and held her hands out to the massive female, who was nearly twice her height, who gently took them in greeting. "Did things go well? Are you tired? Would you like to rest? What did the sashka say?"
"Calmly, Highness," she soothed. "The sashka has come."
Keritanima gaped at her. Bringing the king of Vendaka to Wikuna was not what she had in mind! She had pushed it by asking for the Vendari, but to have to explain herself to the king of her people! She wondered if Sisska could break her neck and make it painless.
"Sisska, I didn't mean for you to bring the sashka!" she gasped. "He'll kill me when he finds out who summoned his troops!"
"He knows who summoned my people," Sisska replied calmly. "When I asked for the warriors, he demanded the truth. I cannot disobey sashka . I told him."
"You told him?" Keritanima said in a strangled voice as Miranda and Azakar entered the room. Azakar kept his eyes averted from her Highness' exposed posterior, working around so he looked at her from the side.
"I also told him of your plan."
Keritanima felt like she was about to faint. Any second now, she expected Sisska to grab her by the head and crush her like an eggshell. The sashka would probably reserve the honor of killing her for himself, however. So she had a few more minutes to live.
"He considered the situation for many nights, and then he decided that yours was the higher honor," she continued calmly. "Long have the Vendari considered Damon Eram a dishonorable king, who brought shame to his crown and his people, and because we are subject to his power, brought shame upon us. When I praised your honor and your worth as queen, he decided that you would serve our honor better than your father. He is not here to stir up trouble, as I think you hoped we would have. He is here to put you on the throne."
Keritanima very nearly fainted at that. "He's supporting me?" she said weakly. "His oaths of fealty-"
"They were broken when Damon Eram dishonored us," Sisska explained.
"When did he do that?" Keritanima asked curiously.
"The day he tried to order us to kill you," she told her with unwavering eyes.
Keritanima stared up at her blankly. "He tried what?" she asked in a dangerous voice.
"Your father tried to order us to kill you," she repeated. "Because we are trusted by you. But to do such a thing to a child is the worst dishonor, and we refused."
"You never told me about this!" she accused loudly, yanking her hands out of Sisska's.
"Because he ordered us not to," she replied. "Now that he no longer commands us, we no longer have to obey his orders."
"Did he-" Keritanima started, looking at Binter, but the massive Vendari simply nodded.
"I'm going to-he's really not- rrrrrrrrrrraaauuuggghhhh!" she screamed furiously, slamming her hands to her sides as her eyes began to burn with irrational hatred. Had he really gone that far, to try to have her Vendari bodyguards kill her? What was he thinking? He had to know that they'd refuse, because they could bring no harm to those they protected! But to think that he'd go that far-it was an insult at the most personal and deepest level!
Sisska put her huge hands on Keritanima's shoulders, effectively pinning her in place. "Do not get excited, Highness," she said soothingly. "Nobody will get away with anything. Sashka is waiting for your commands."
That brought her back to some sense of control. She reached down and pulled her nightshirt down daintily, which just rode right back up when her tail started slashing the air behind her. "Tell sashka to quarter his troops, and be silent about why they're here and who summoned them. There are some things I have to do before he can move."
Sisska nodded. "I expected that to be. I will return to sashka and give him your commands."
"Binter, go with her," Keritanima ordered. "I won't stand in the way of your reunion. Azakar will guard us til you return."
"My thanks, Highness," Binter said simply. "Defend them with honor, mizsa."
Keritanima gave Azakar a slight smile. Binter had just called him "brother," about the highest honor he could receive. Azakar just gave him an eloquent nod, and turned to get into his armor.
"You're looking very well, Sisska," Miranda greeted. "It looks like the time on the road was good for you."
"Three months of hard travel is always good for a Vendari," she said simply. "How have things fared in my absence?"
"Rather well," Miranda grinned. "Keritanima is all but running the Palace, she has the city wrapped around her finger, and she has everyone thinking that her father is crazy."
"In other words, things are normal," Sisska said with just a hint of a smile.
First Binter, and now Sisska makes a joke? What was going on in Vendaka?
"More like on schedule," Miranda winked. "And we're getting down the the last few items on the list here. Let Zak steel himself, and then we'll go get the Chamberlain, Kerri," she told the fox Wikuni. "That should give you time to dress. Unless you want to take your clothes off in front of him again, that is."
"Things must have been interesting while I was away," Sisska noted.
"I'll tell you about is as we go to sashka, Binter promised.
"Just leave out the embarassing parts!" Keritanima told him as she turned to go back into her bedroom.
"Which were those, Highness?" Binter asked directly.
"Oh, nevermind!" she snorted, but her mind was racing. The Vendari were here, and they were on her side! That was incredibly wonderful news. She had still been having nightmares over something going wrong and the Vendari finding out who had summoned them, and for what purpose. They would have killed her immediately. But now things had to move fast, very fast, making the holding games she had been playing all fly out the window. She had to have everything in place by tonight. There was no other choice in the matter. By tonight, her father would have tried to summon the commander of the Vendari complement and found out why there were there. Vendari being who they were, they'd tell him exactly why they were there. And she didn't think her father would take kindly to hearing from the king of Vendaka that he was there to kick him off the throne. It could start a very bloody civil war, and that was something that Keritanima needed to avoid at all costs.
Keritanima opened the little hidden cubby in the fireplace and drew out the satchel of papers. She filed through them and pulled out a stack of parchment, twenty-eight pages. She then addressed them one by one, folded and sealed them with her personal crest, and set them methodically on the table in order. Each one was addressed to the current head of the other twenty-eight noble houses, and each one said exactly the same thing. She replaced the satchel and checked the seals, and then wrote the name of the recipient of each letter under her crest after ensuring that the seal was good.
She was on the last few when the Chamberlain entered her room. He looked very uncomfortable, mainly because nobody outside of the Princess' inner circle had ever seen her personal bedchamber. Such a momentous occasion made him wonder if she had had him summoned in there so she wouldn't have very far to drag the body.
"Good," she said without looking up. "I've been waiting for you, Lord Chamberlain."
"What business do you have with me, your Highness?"
"I want you to deliver these messages for me, my Lord Chamberlain," she said calmly, not bothering to look at him as she addressed the last one, then set it aside so the ink could dry.
"Why me?"
"Because you are the Lord Chamberlain," she said simply. "If anyone else delivered the messages, they may not get to the people they're meant to go to. But if the Lord Chamberlain personally appears at someone's doorstep and hands them a message, it's going to be read right then and there."
He glanced at the messages, and it didn't take him long to put the pieces together. "You wish me to deliver these?" he asked. "These are addressed to the heads of all the noble houses."
"Yes, I do," she said, looking right into his eyes. Keritanima had the feeling that this Chamberlain may be worthy of a little trust. He had shown signs of compassion towards her, so he wasn't like the usual Eram servant. Her father had probably hired him in haste after she had his first set of advisors and servants killed off, and she hoped that he would be what she thought him to be.
"I think I can arrange the time," he said slowly. "Would right now be too inconvenient for her Highness?"
"It would be perfect, my Lord Chamberlain," she smiled. "There's no need to wait for a response. Just deliver them and move on."
"Perhaps her Highness would be kind enough to tell me if this has anything to do with the army of Vendari that marched in last night?"
"Do you really want to know?" she asked with a dangerous smile.
"Ah, no, nevermind," he said. "I'll deliver your messages, your Highness, personally." He gathered them up and neatly stacked them, holding them in the crook of his arm. "And may I add that I look forward to serving her Majesty in the future," he concluded, just before turning and walking towards the door.
And that was why she kept him alive.
After sending the Chamberlain off to do his work, Keritanima drifted down to the kitchen for breakfast. In the kitchen, she happened to cross paths with the buck-toothed rabbit Wikuni, Jervis. She hadn't so much as seen him since getting off the ship, and that fact had nagged at her just a little bit over the months. Jervis was her father's best spy, and it seemed logical to her that he would put him to work watching her again. But then again, he had failed twice now trying to keep up with Keritanima, so it was possible that her father had taken him off her tail because she knew him too well. Which was indeed the case, but because of his experience, he would still be the best person to take on the task of countering her. Not having to step around Jervis had made things much less complicated for her.
"Jervis," she said in some surprise. "I haven't seen you in a long time. Where have you been?"
"Stormhaven, your Highness," he replied with a fluid bow. "Your father had business for me to attend there."
"So much the better for me," she winked.
"So I've heard. You've tied the Palace in a knot, your Highness. You really should try not to cause so much trouble."
"I haven't done a thing, Jervis," she smiled.
"And the Queen of Sharadar is a Bruga," Jervis said calmly.
Keritanima laughed. "Well, I may have done a little here and there," she admitted. "It's just been lucky for me that my father started seeing invisible friends."
"He absolutely insists you're doing that to him, Highness," he said. "From what I know of Sorcery, it's entirely possible. I told him as much."
"He's wearing a magical charm that prevents my Sorcery from affecting him, Jervis," she said calmly. "I can't do anything to him."
"And you know because you tried?"
"I know because he told me so," she said evenly. "I don't need magic to get under my father's skin, Jervis. All it usually takes is one defiant remark, and he's screaming at the top of his lungs and chewing on the furniture. I'm making sure he feels my displeasure over being dragged back here against my will."
Well, I assure you that he's feeling it," Jervis confided. "Quite a large breakfast, your Highness."
"I'm the designated waitress, Jervis," she winked. "This is for Miranda, Zak, and Binter too."
"Where's Sisska?"
"She went to visit family in Vendaka," she replied. "She felt that Azakar was suitable protection in her place while she was gone."
"She has good sense," Jervis smiled. "I've never seen a human that could hold his own against a Vendari before. The boy's a marvel."
"He's appreciated, Jervis, believe me," Keritanima assured him. "I need to get back to my room. I'll see you later."
Jervis bowed to her, and she carried breakfast back to her room.
The waiting was the worst part. She had to be where the noble heads could find her, because she knew they'd be coming to talk about her message. To pass the time for that, Keritanima had Miranda go out with Azakar with a message for Ulfan. There were two men that absolutely had to die today, the sooner the better. The first was Field Marshal Kubran, the commander of the army. Without him, the army would be in disarray, and she needed the army to be in disarray right now. The second was High Admiral Yath, commander of the navy, and she wanted him dead for the same reason. Both men were recent appointees by Damon Eram, and she didn't trust either of them to calmly accept the new order of things. She couldn't touch them before, because the stability of the army would help keep Damon Eram on the throne, but now that was no longer a restriction. She had had the military liaisons and the lower generals and admirals killed the first time, to keep her father from getting any ideas and restricting the capability of the military without destroying its ability to pose a threat to the noble houses. Now she was going to crush the head of the snake.
The first noble head to reach her was none other than Sheba. She was wearing a gown that was buttoned up the wrong way, and her hair was still damp. She was only wearing one shoe as well. It was clear that she had literally run over when she received the message, and she held it in her hand like it was a live snake. "Kerri, are you nuts?" Sheba demanded after barging through the twenty Royal Guards at her door and intruding on her quiet. "You have to be as crazy as your father!"
"That remains to be seen, Sheba," she replied calmly, going back to the book on comparative theology she was reading. "I hope the message wasn't too difficult for you to understand."
"I'm about to spank you, you little brat," Sheba growled. "I understand what it says, but I understand what it means a hell of a lot more."
"Then you'd better choose which side you intend to be on," she said calmly.
"You're a first class bitch, do you know that?" Sheba snapped.
"I'm my father's daughter," she replied calmly.
"You're going to break Wikuna over your knee, girl! There will be civil war!"
"Then you'd better have a good supply of gunpowder handy," Keritanima said bluntly.
"I don't believe this!" she raged. "Could you just die, so you'd stop making my life hell?"
"Not until after you decide," she said, closing her book and looking up at the panther Wikuni calmly. "If it helps you come to a decision, Sheba, those ten thousand Vendari that marched in here last night-"
Keritanima was interrupted by Binter and Sisska entering with the largest Vendari that Keritanima had ever seen. He was nearly a head taller than Binter and Sisska, wearing nothing more than a simple kilt of homespun wool and a crossing pair of bandoliers over his scarred chest. His build was every bit as massive and imtimidating as Binter and Sisska, but he had a large, wicked scar across the top of his snout. Keritanima had seen him before. He was sashka, the subject kinglet of Vendaka, the ruler of his people who answered only to the throne of Wikuna. Keritanima stood immediately in his presence, and grabbed the hem of her skirt to curtsy to him, but he held up a tremendous hand to stop her.
"The Queen of Wikuna does not bow to those below her station," he said in a bass voice that was quiet, but held tremendous power within it.
Sheba gaped at the humongous Vendari, then remembered herself and curtsied to him deeply. " Sashka," she said in awe. "She's not the queen."
"Her coronation is a mere formality," he said disdainfully. "The Vendari will follow Damon Eram no longer. We stand behind Keritanima-Chan."
"But that's treason, your Majesty!" Sheba protested.
"Treason is a relative concept," he stared back at her with those dead black eyes. "We feel that Damon Eram has committed treason by neglecting his duties and persecuting his subjects. Wikuna suffers while he sits on his throne. Niece Sisska has described Keritanima-Chan to me. She is honorable, and will serve Wikuna more faithfully than her father. Damon Eram no longer has honor in the eyes of Vendaka."
Sheba rocked back on her heels. That was as good as a death sentence. "Just how do you intend to get him off the throne without dropping all of us into hell?"
Keritanima looked wildly at Sashka. Such directness hadn't been part of her plan, but she already had begun to realize that with the Vendari solidly behind her, there was no need to be coy or indirect about what she was doing. "It's very simply, Sheba," Keritanima told her. "There is a law, a very old law, that gives the nobility the power to forcibly abdicate a king. That law was repealed about three hundred years ago, but my father recently repealed the repeal, during his attempts to remove all the blocks keeping him from using his power against me. You don't know much about Wikuni law, but when that happens-"
"The original law is reinstated!" Sheba finished in surprise. "That's sneaky, Kerri!"
"You will address her as Her Majesty," Sashka said stiffly. "Do not dishonor the Queen of Wikuna!"
"My apologies," Sheba said instantly. "Your Majesty."
"Let's stay away from majesties until I'm officially wearing the crown, sashka," Keritanima asked. "That's why I sent you that message, Sheba. All it takes to abdicate a king is three quarters of the noble house heads stating before a priest of Kikkali that the king is no longer fit to rule. The other twenty-eight noble rulers also got messages. No doubt they're hastily dressing right now to run over here and ask me if I've gone insane." She looked around. "But with sashka openly supporting me, we don't have to be roundabout with this. I think it's time we moved into the Hall of the Sun. The others can talk to me there, when I'm absolutely surrounded by a host of Vendari supporters. Let's let them see who they'll have to face if they're not going to support me."
"Your Majesty has a firm grip on the subtleties of politics," sashka told her gravely.
"This is about as subtle as a cannon in a ballroom, your Majesty," Keritanima replied with a toothy grin.
"Sometimes brute force can be more subtle than the cleverest thief, your Majesty," he replied. "It is all in the application of that brute force."
"Your wisdom humbles me, sashka," she said sincerely.
"Let us withdraw to the Hall of the Sun, then. Sisska, return to the host. Have a hundred of my finest warriors assemble, and bring them to the Hall. You speak with my voice."
"As you see fit, uncle," Sisska replied respectfully, then she bowed to him and scurried out quickly.
"Sheba, straighten yourself up. You look like a harlot with ten customers."
"Well, excuse me," she huffed, putting a hand to the misbuttoned dress. "I'm afraid your message put me out of sorts." She looked at her feet. "Can I borrow a pair of shoes?"
"I think I can find something to match that dress. I may have to stretch them a bit to make them fit you. You have feet like a duck."
"Excuse me for not being a primadonna," Sheba snorted.
"Is this a friend of yours, Majesty?" sashka asked curiously.
"It's a rather bizarre friendship, sashka, but I'm about as close to a friend as Sheba has."
"Fine, then. I will not punish her for her disrespect, if she addresses you as a friend."
Sheba gave the massive Vendari a startled look, then lowered her eyes quickly. To stare a Vendari in the eye was to stare down death, and few Wikuni could face such things.
"Sheba has some rough edges, but there's some hope for her," Keritanima winked.
"I'll show you some rough edges, Kerri," Sheba replied before thinking, balling up her fist.
"Temper temper," Keritanima teased. "Let's get you some shoes and make you a bit more presentable, and we'll go to the Hall."
"Don't you want to get dressed, Kerri?"
"I am dressed, Sheba," she said, motioning at the plain, simple dress she wore, something a servant would wear.
"But you look like a servant."
"A Queen is but the servant of her people, even as they are subject to her command," sashka said in a powerful voice. "That Keritanima-Chan does not try to raise herself above those she commands speaks much for her honor."
"Uh, Kerri, about this message," Sheba said uncertainly. "I don't think I'm stupid enough to side against you."
"Then you are wiser than I first thought," sashka told her bluntly.
After making Sheba look more composed, Keritanima walked with sashka, Binter, Sheba, and the twenty Royal Guard from her apartment to the Hall of the Sun. The Hall was empty and dark, but the huge Vendari monarch wasted no time ordering that the candles be lit and the doors be opened. Keritanima didn't speak, not ready to tip her hand just quite yet. Her father was holed up not two floors away, and if he got wind of what was going on, he could bring a host of army regulars to the Hall to eject her before the Vendari arrived. After the Vendari arrived, she wouldn't care a whit about what he tried to do. One hundred Vendari could hold the Hall against five thousand Wikuni for a month. But it turned out to be a short wait, for not five minutes after they arrived, a hundred calm, stoic Vendari marched into the Hall. They were universally huge, with their kilts, leather harnesses, and various wickedly maintained oversized weapons of many types. Sisska organized them to stand at the walls and observe, to be living reminders of the power that the one who commanded them possessed. Riding along with the Vendari were a confused Azakar and a very elated Miranda. Miranda knew exactly what was going on, and it made her smile.
There was going to be a new ruler in Wikuna by sunset.
Miranda took Keritanima's hands and grinned cheekily at her, then hugged her happily. "It looks like this is it," she said.
"I hope so," Keritanima said calmly.
"What's going on, Kerri?" Azakar asked.
"Not much, Zak," Miranda grinned. "We're just taking the crown from Damon Eram, that's all."
Azakar gaped at her for a moment, then he laughed. "Well, I knew this was going to happen eventually," he chuckled.
"Who is this large human?" sashka asked.
"Your Majesty, may I present Miranda, my maid, who you know, and Azakar Kanash, a Knight of Karas and one of my sworn protectors. He is a man of great honor. Azakar, this is the sashka, ruler of Vendaka."
"Then we will accept him as a man of honor," sashka said magnaminously as Miranda and Azakar bowed to the huge Vendari.
"It's an honor to meet you, king sashka," Azakar said hesitantly.
"The word is a title, not my name, young human," sashka said gently. "I am not worthy of the honor of proclaiming myself as ruler of the Vendari, so I abandoned my name for the title of sashka when I accepted this duty."
"I beg your pardon, your Majesty," Azakar said, his cheeks flaming with embarassment.
"There is no need to seek forgiveness, young Knight. You did not know before. You do know now, and you are a wiser man for it."
Azakar bowed his head eloquently. "What do you want me to do, Kerri?"
"The same as you've always done, Zak," she smiled. "Stay near me and Miranda and protect us."
"You have fought for her Majesty?" sashka asked him curiously. "You are young, but carry the scars of a man of many seasons."
"He's been wounded in defense of my life, sashka," Keritanima said formally. "He has proven his honor."
"A great honor indeed. But perhaps you need more instruction."
"His scars come from a slaver's whip, sashka," Binter said stiffly. Binter and Sisska both had very grim views of slavery. It was a racial prejudice. "He is the equal of any Vendari in battle. His scars are a symbol of his courage, not marks of ineptitude."
"Not any Vendari," Azakar said under his breath.
Sashka nodded simply at Azakar, then turned to Keritanima. "It would be best if you stood on the dais, your Majesty," he said. "Let there be no doubt as to what you intend."
"I think that's a bit strong, but I'll bow to your superior wisdom, sashka," she said after a moment. That dais was a place where only the monarch could go, and anyone he invited personally. For anyone else to so much as touch it was treason, and was punishible by death. "And because you told me to," she winked.
He stared at her, then simply nodded.
His idea made sense, in a rather direct sort of way, but the many Royal Guards in the Hall about had a fit when she approached the dais and throne. They formed up to prevent her from passing them, and Shan, the Captain of the Royal Guard, bowed even as he got in her way. "Your highness, you know you're not permitted on the dais!" he protested. But sashka was there in a hearbeat with twenty Vendari warriors, forming up behind Keritanima like a wall of death, ready to fall upon the nervous Royal Guard and destroy them.
"You will stand aside now," sashka said in a voice promising a thousand painful deaths for the Captain. The Vendari flanking him raised their universally lethal weapons in a blatant show of force.
There was only so much abject terror one Wikuni could withstand. Shan and the guards melted out of her path after only a short moment, and the path was clear for her.
Just seeing that dais brought a whirlwind of emotions into her. She had labored for this moment for quite a long time, but she fully understood the finality of stepping upon it. She would be abandoning her freedom the instant she put her foot on that stone, giving up her life in service to the kingdom. All this had begun as simply an elaborate plot for revenge, but along the way her eyes had been opened to the grim responsibility that sitting in that chair would impart upon her. There were alot of things wrong in Wikuna, things that begged to be corrected, things that her father and her family line had perpetrated over the centuries. She would be safe in that chair, safe from her father, safe from the other nobles, safe from everyone that would try to kill her, but seeking its shelter carried with it a price that she worried she may not be able to pay. She would take that throne, and then the problems of her kingdom would become her problems, the duty to fix things would be hers, and the hope of millions of Wikuni would be pinned to her skirts. All her life she had prided herself on her strength. She had been strong enough to overcome a nightmarish childhood, to survive against the many who tried to have her removed, had had the fortitude to stand up against what was thrust upon her and reach for what she wanted instead. And she had been blessed in that struggle, blessed with a brother and sister that loved her, friends she could count on, experienced those sweet parts of life that had been denied to her. But her strength would be all she would have to face the challenges of standing on that dais. There were alot of things to do, alot of things to change, things she had already planned as a final way of getting back at her father that, she had discovered, would also be of tremendous benefit for the people.
It was all right there, a raising of the floor about two feet high, upon which stood the Sun Throne of Wikuna. She had been strong enough to reach for that throne, to earn the right to stand upon that dais. Now she wondered if she had the strength to carry out her responsibilities.
In the end, she realized that there was really no choice about it. She would only be safe sitting on that throne. She still intended on getting back at her father for everything he'd done to her, and to be direct about it, sashka wasn't about to let her back out now. It would be a hard road, whose only concellation would be the joy of casting her father down and looking into his eyes when he realized his defeat. But it was a road that she had to travel.
Tarrin had often told her about his little mother, about how thoughts of her sustained him when he felt lost or afraid, was worried about the future. It had been thoughts of her that had caused him to accept the will of the Goddess and embark on her quest. Tarrin's devotion to that little girl was a powerful symbol of the strength that love could give to someone, for it had taken all of Tarrin's strength to turn his back on his instincts and accept the quest, to accept the yoke of another master.
And it was thoughts of Tarrin that bolstered her, made her take that first step towards the dais. Her brother was counting on her. Tarrin needed her, and she couldn't be there for him unless she was sitting on that throne. He had saved her life, and she wouldn't turn her back on him when he needed her help.
Calmly, gracefully, Keritanima-Chan Eram stepped past the guards, raised her skirt modestly, and stepped up onto the dais of the Hall of the Sun. She turned around and looked at the Vendari and the Royal Guard with dignity, crossing her arms beneath her breasts and showing no signs of fear or doubt. "Shan," she said in a gentle voice. "Summon the noble heads of all the houses, and summon the High Priest of Kikkali. There is urgent business to settle."
Shan stared at her, then looked fearfully at the sashka, then blew out his breath. Then he laughed helplessly. "How should I address you, Lady Keritanima?" he asked pointedly.
"You will address her as her Majesty," the sashka said loudly, loud enough for everyone in the Hall to hear. "Anyone who does not will answer to the Vendari."
Some revolutions were settled with a gunshot. Some were settled at the point of a sword, and some were settled in the bodycount of clashing armies. But the Revolution of Wikuna had been settled before it begun, and it had been settled with a single sentence.
"And I thought being landlocked was going to be boring," Sheba Zalan said with an evil smile.
"It's very simple, Duchess Vora," Keritanima explained calmly about an hour later. The Hall was now populated with servants, courtiers, functionaries, and even more military men. From what she had been told, nobody had delivered a message about her treason to her father yet. Indeed, the sashka had ten Vendari blocking the hallways to her father's apartment, preventing anyone from delivering any messages until after Keritanima had explained what was going on to all the noble heads, to give her time to sway them without her father interfering. Five noble heads had already arrived other than Sheba, Duke Oran Alagon, Duchess Sulan Shaen, Earl Mardal Koramon, Earl Tory Pritchett, and Duchess Shewl Dokin. One by one, Keritanima had explained the meaning of the message, and the crushing impact that the noble's decision would have on Wikuna. She explained it again to Vora Plantan of house Plantan, standing on the dais calmly and addressing her as the rest of court whispered excitedly about what was going on. "There is a very old law that was created by King Sathon Eram. At that time, Sathon had only one heir, and he was documented with a mental illness that the priests had to treat. So long as he was treated, Elyas was a stable man, and was a very capable heir. To protect the Eram dynasty, Sathon Eram made a decree that made it possible for the noble houses to remove his son, Elyas, from the throne without having to plunge Wikuna into a civil war, just in case Elyas went insane and the priests could no longer treat his condition. It stated that the king would be forcibly abdicated if three quarters of the noble houses swore before a priest of Kikkali that the monarch was no longer fit to rule. Elyas agreed to this stipulation to placate the noble houses, who were rightfully worried about having a mad king on the throne. When Sathon died, Elyas took the throne, and served as king capably and well for thirty years before he himself died. Elyas' successor, Queen Shamintaria, immediately repealed that law, because her own stability was never in question, and she wasn't about to leave a loophole open for the nobility to force her off the throne.
"That repeal was just part of a broader decree that also decreed that any crime perpetrated against a Wikuni of Royal blood was immediately a capital offense, and was punishable by death. My father repealed that decree two months ago, and if you're not too familiar with the intricacies of Royal law, a law repealed is reinstated if the repeal itself is repealed. That made this law binding again, and since it's a plait of Royal Law, it affects my father. So, to make things simple, you are here to cast your vote as to whether or not Damon Eram is a king fit for his crown."
Vora Planton, a large, lumbering bear Wikuni female, looked around calmly and measuredly. Vora was never one to overreact, working with a slow sureness that made her one of the more level-headed of the noble rulers. "I see that the Vendari have decided to inject themselves into this decision," she reasoned. "So, our choices are to continue to support a mad king and face the wrath of the Vendari, or go along with you and put a conniving manipulator ten times worse than her father on the throne. I don't know what you told the Vendari, but I would like to hear their reasons for supporting you."
The sashka stepped forward from the base of the dais calmly. "My niece is the sworn bodyguard of Keritanima-Chan. From her I have heard of the trials suffered by her Majesty. I agree that she is a well known manipulator, but she has also proven herself honorable in the eyes of the Vendari. She has shown traits of friendship, loyalty, and trust. She has accepted her responsibilities. She is a much more humane person than her father, for she cares about the lives that are placed in her hands."
"And the fact that we stand here is a sure indication of her capability to handle the duties of the throne," Vora Plantan mused. "What say the priests of the Wavemistress?"
"In this, as in all things, we are neutral, Duchess," the High Priest of Kikkali, a tall bull Wikuni, stated. "We are here to serve, not to dictate."
"I see. I also see that I have little choice in the matter."
"We are not here to force your decision," the sashka told the Duchess simply. "We only want it known where we stand and why."
"Then I'll have your word in the matter, sashka. Would she be a better ruler than her father?"
"I would not be standing here if I did not believe it, Duchess," he replied simply.
"Well then, I see little reason to argue. I do think that Damon Eram is no longer fit to rule. I believed that long before her Royal Highness returned and began her games with him. I will support the enforcement of this law."
Keritanima started getting nervous as more and more noble rulers arrived, heard the explanation, and then made their decision. Out of the fourteen that had arrived so far, all of them had sided with her. They all understood the grim portents of refusing. The Vendari wouldn't slaughter them, but if Keritanima made an armed bid for the throne, her ten thousand Vendari would make it a very serious situation, and would give her an excellent chance at victory. The combined might of the army in Wikuna and the private armies of all twenty-eight noble houses would be just enough to make an open battle with the Vendari winnable for either side. What they couldn't forget was that there were fourty thousand more Vendari warriors in Vendaka, and they too would fight against whoever sided with Damon Eram. It would be a civil war between Vendaka and Wikuna, and in that war either side could win, and destroy both kingdoms in the process.
Each house that sided with Keritanima reduced that number of potential soldiers that would resist her bid for the crown, and made the Vendari more likely to win that war. At fourteen houses on her side, it was now a military and mathematical certainty that any fighting would fall in her favor. She now had the military might to battle Damon Eram's loyal forces and crush them, if it came to that. She fervently hoped that it would not, but that was one possibility that she couldn't deny.
In hearing the nobles discuss the matter, she realized how effective her plans had been. Most of them suspected that Keritanima had something to do with Damon Eram's madness, but they all did not doubt that he was indeed starting to lose his grip on reality. The people already hated Damon Eram, and her public flogging had bolstered popular opinion of her greatly. The noble rulers were very impressed with her subtlety as well, that she could trick her father into engineering the means by which she could bring him down. They finally had begun to shed the shadow of the Brat that hung over their eyes when they looked at her, and had to admit that Keritanima was indeed everything they suspected her to be. Not just smart, but patient, methodical, and detail-oriented, good traits in a monarch. She already had a powerful alliance with the Vendari, an alliance that they absolutely could not deny.
In the choice between Keritanima and Damon Eram, they all realized that Keritanima was the better choice. Those with their own eyes on the throne figured that the younger woman would be easier to dislodge from it, at least after the Vendari stopped meddling in Wikuni affairs.
The court was becoming crowded, and not just with courtiers and nobles. Keritanima saw both Jenawalani and Veranika enter, the buzz drawing them to find out what was going on. Many of the servants also came in, as well as Jervis and a few others she knew were spies. The Hall had filled up with people, but most of them remained very quiet as they observed the high drama playing out on the floor before them, as the fate of a kingdom hinged on the words of twenty-nine people.
Keritanima had just finished explaining things to Praki Mation. The fragile little Wikuni was still somewhat traumatized over having a servant's brains splattered all over her, and she was absolutely terrified of Keritanima. All it took was the sashka saying that the Vendari supported her, and she immediately started cowing to Keritanima. Praki Mation would strip naked and walk through fire if Keritanima told her to, because she feared the fox Wikuni that much. Praki Mation made twenty-one noble houses on her side. That was a very large number; in fact, it was only one short of the necessary twenty-two houses she needed to gain her three quarter majority. Keritanima realized that she was only one house away from gaining the crown, one house away from breaking her father and getting her revenge, one house away from starting to set everything right in Wikuna. The first inklings of sheer terror began to creep into her, terror of what could happen, what kind of misery her coup attempt may cause, terror at having to be the queen, to be responsible for the welfare of three million beings. She clenched a hand into a fist and let her short claws dig into her palm, letting the pain keep her mind on the job at hand. Twenty-one was not twenty-two. She still had to convince one more house.
And then her father arrived.
Damon Eram was cleaned up, neatly trimmed, and looking as regal as he could possibly look. He wore the Sun Crown and carried the Royal sceptre, wore the royal robes, and he was surrounded by twenty Royal Guards, his advisors, the Clerk of Law, and the Lord Chamberlain. His eyes bored into Keritanima when he saw her on his dais, on the sacred ground reserved only for him, but said nothing immediately. The entire Hall went dead silent with the king entered, but that silence was broken up by whispers and confusion.
Only about half of the people in court bowed to the King.
"I don't remember allowing you to hold your private little court, daughter," Damon Eram said scathingly.
His tone and attitude irritated Keritanima, and she decided to put him in his place immediately.
"I did not summon you, father," she said coldly. "Go back to your room."
"How DARE you!" Damon Eram exploded. "Shan, bring her down from there! On the point of your sword if necessary!"
Shan didn't move.
"This is treason!" Damon Eram screamed, nearly hysterically, brandishing his sceptre like a sword and pointing the end at the Captain of the Guard. "Guards, arrest him!"
"The guards will not obey you, Damon Eram," the sashka said as he stepped into the center aisle.
"I didn't summon you from Vendaka, sashka! What are you doing here?"
"Righting an old wrong, Damon Eram," the sashka said in a brutally cold tone. That he didn't call him king or your Majesty was all that had to be said about his loyalties.
"How dare you speak like that to me! Afford me the respect I deserve!"
"You deserve less than what I give you, Damon Eram," the sashka hissed. "You have no honor."
That brought Damon Eram up short. If anyone understood that that was as good as a death sentence in Vendari society, Damon Eram did. The deposed monarch shrank deeper into the protection of his guards, and for the first time he looked around and saw the many Vendari warriors standing along the walls and flanking the dais. "You'll not get away with threatening me, sashka! Your treaty with us-"
"Stipulates that the Vendari will obey who they deem to be ruler of Wikuna. I say Keritanima-Chan is ruler of Wikuna. Prove me wrong."
Damon Eram gave the sashka a strangled look, then glared at his daughter. "It's not that easy, sashka! I'm the annoited king! My rule is absolute!"
"It's not as absolute as you may think," Vora Planton spoke up from the side. "Keritanima has raised a legal and valid challenge to your rule. The law demands that the matter be settled."
"What insanity is this?" Damon Eram demanded. "There is no law that allows a sitting monarch to be deposed!"
"There was no law allowing it," Keritanima said calmly. "Since you have your Clerk of Law here, he can settle it quickly and easily. Since the High Priest of Kikkali is here, who can divine the law with magic to state truth, it will be even easier. Second Volume of Laws of the Crown, year 1397, second decree. You'll find a decree there that states that a monarch can be forcibly removed from the throne if three quarters of the rulers of the noble houses swear before a High Priest of Kikkali that that monarch is unfit to rule. The law was repealed in the First Volume of the Laws of the Crown, year 1431, first decree. But the repeal of that repeal was enacted in the Fifth Volume of Laws of the Crown, 1826, ninth decree. As your Clerk of Law will tell you, the repeal of a repeal of a law causes the original law to become a binding law again."
"1826? That's this year!" Damon Eram protested.
"Yes, and guess who repealed the decree repealing that law?" Keritanima asked with a wicked little smile.
"I never repealed such a law!"
"Yes you did," Keritanima purred. "It was the decree that stated that any crime committed against the Royal house would be considered a capital crime, and would be punished by death without benefit of trial. Does that sound familiar?"
Damon Eram was eerily silent.
"You didn't read the entire decree. If you had, I would never have been able to use this law against you now."
Damon Eram stared at her.
"Isn't it ironic, father? You set the stage for your own abdication. Perhaps you had a touch of madness in you long before the rest of us saw it."
Damon Eram glared viciously.
"Begging your Majesty's pardon, but the Crown Princess has correctly cited the law," the High Priest affirmed after a moment of muttering under his breath. "The law she cites is a valid law, and that gives this proceeding legal weight. By the stipulations in the law, you may not speak on your own defense, nor can Keritanima lobby or threaten to garner votes. She can only state fact."
Damon Eram stared daggers at the large bull, but said nothing.
"Well, I do suppose you have a right to be here, father. You are a ruler of a noble house, so you get a vote in the matter. Do you want to vote for me?" she asked with a winsome smile.
"Vote? Vote? I am the king! My word is law, and my law is absolute! If any of you weak-minded fools actually went in with this charade, I'll-"
"You'll do nothing," Vora Planton interrupted him. "Keritanima already has twenty-one votes on her side. Only one of the remaining eight houses has to vote on her side, and you are deposed. Would you care to make a bet on whether you're wearing that crown in another hour?"
"This is treason, Vora!" Damon Eram hissed ominously. "I won't forget this!"
"I don't think you'll be in any position to do anything about it," Vora sniffed.
The next entrant into the Hall was none other than Shareese Tarn. She looked very uncomfortable, clutching the message Keritanima sent her, fully aware that absolutely every eye was on her. The fact that Keritanima was standing on the dais and Damon Eram was not was clear on her graceful face as she came up the central aisle. "Duchess Shareese, I order -"
"Silence!" Keritanima shouted vehemently, which brought her father up short and made Shareese Tarn's face draw in shock. Damon Eram glared death at Keritanima, but retreated even more when the Vendari closed ranks just a bit in front of the dais. Even standing on that raised platform, Keritanima's head was still below the Vendari in front of her by a good two feet. "Duchess Tarn, as you can see, we're in something of a situation," Keritanima said. "Listen to what I'm about to tell you. Don't listen to anything but the facts, and then make your decision. And if my father speaks again, I want you to go over there and gag him," she commanded.
The sashka nodded sagely as he seemed to realize that Keritanima wasn't putting any more pressure on Shareese than there was already. She wasn't dumb, she knew that something very serious was going on, probably an attempt to depose Damon Eram. She listened intently as Keritanima explained the law, and explained why she had sent the message, but didn't tell her how many nobles had voted, or for which side they voted. "It comes down to a simple question, Duchess. Do you feel that Damon Eram is fit to rule? There's no other question you have to ask yourself, and there will be no repurcussions one way or the other in your decision."
Shareese Tarn was quiet only a moment. "Considering that he thinks I'm some kind of loose tart, I'd have to say that he's crazy," she said scornfully, glaring at Damon Eram. "I swear before the High Priest that I believe that he's unfit to rule."
Damon Eram's fur stood almost straight up. "This is treason! Treason!" he screamed at the top of his lungs. "Guards, kill my treacherous daughter!"
The Royal guard surrounding him took one look at him, one look at Keritanima, they looked at each other, then they simply walked away, leaving Damon Eram alone and unprotected in the hall. He stood there with his crown, robes, and sceptre, staring at them in absolute shock, jaw hanging and eyes bulging. The sashka barked a single command in the Vendari language, a command both Keritanima and Damon Eram understood. "Seize him!" he ordered.
Damon Eram managed to turn around before huge Vendari hands grabbed him. The crown was yanked from his head, the sceptre wrested from his hand, the robe literally stripped off of him by rough Vendari hands. One Vendari female held onto the former king steadfastly in the middle of the Hall as the other Vendari warriors delivered the crown, sceptre, and robe up to the High Priest of Kikkali.
The relief that flowed through Keritanima was indescribable. Everything she had worked for for months had finally come to pass, and the satisfaction and joy she felt that she had succeeded filled her with a warm sweetness. There were still the duties of the crown to tackle, but for now, she had to revel in the moment.
She had won.
"By the power of Kikkali, Wavemistress, I uphold the passage of the crown to the Crown Princess Keritanima," the High Priest intoned sonorously. Keritanima gaped at him blankly as the big bull Wikuni took a vial of holy oil from his elaborate blue robes. He intended to coronate her right then and there!
He knew what was going to happen!
Keritanima stared at him as he approached her holding the crown, and two of his underpriests held the sceptre and robe. She knelt before him before she realized what she was doing, and she was only vaguely aware that the rest of the Hall had also knelt. The smell of the oil was spicy, warm in her nose as he unstoppered the vial and dabbed a bit on his fingers, then pressed it to her brow. He then placed the crown gently yet firmly on her head. "Arise, Keritanima-Chan Eram, Lady of the Heartland, Mistress of the wind, and Overlady of the Twenty Seas. Arise and hail Keritanima-Chan Eram, Queen of Wikuna."
Keritanima got to her feet as the Vendari raised their weapons as one and boomed in a combined voice that rocked the Hall, "all hail Keritanima-Chan Eram, Queen of Wikuna! Long live the Queen!"
She just had to stand there for a moment, completely stunned. She looked down at the smiling, cherubic face of Miranda, looked into her blue eyes and saw the pride exploding inside her. What reason would she have to be proud? She looked into the warm eyes of Azakar, who had his sword drawn and was saluting her, looked at the calm, ever-present presence of Binter and Sisska, looked at them hailing her with their brothers and sister. Too fast, it happened too fast! The High Priest had been ready to coronate her on the spot, much faster than she dreamed he'd be ready to do such a thing! But the hardest part was over, and for the first time since she had come back to Wikuna, she felt safe. For the moment, right now, she was the new Queen of Wikuna, and nobody would raise a hand against her. She was safe from the machinations of her father, safe from any possible second attempt against her or Miranda by Jenawalani., safe from the plots of the nobles. It was only for the moment, but that moment was like the sweetest wine for her.
She let someone drape the royal robe over her, and accepted the sceptre. Then, with the High Priest leading her, she was led to the throne. It was a large throne, made of a single piece of stone with that sun design over the back, and with deep, plush cushions to protect the royal posterior from the unyielding stone beneath it. She turned around, tucked her tail up against her side, then lowered herself into that throne, feeling the cushion give way to her, leaning back against the throne and relaxing out all the tension that had been knotting her inside.
She had won, but there were a few loose ends to tie up. And some vengeance to exact.
She stood up against and stepped to the edge of the dais. "Bring my father here," she commanded, and the Vendari holding him literally picked up the thrashing lion and carried him bodily towards the dais. The female stopped some ten feet from her and set him down, keeping on hand on his shoulder with two fingers looped around his neck, ready to kill him should he do anything foolish. Someone had tied his hands, which were before him, and the look he gave her promised a thousand slow deaths for her if he could only get free and reach her before someone stopped him.
She looked down at him, fully aware that he was totally defeated. It felt good, but it didn't feel as good as she thought it would have. She realized that the time in Wikuna had changed her, made her realize that there were more important things for her to do with her crown than torment her father. He had lost, and that was that. But he still wasn't going to get off that easy.
"I told you once before that if you ever lost your crown, you would be mine," she reminded him with a savage hiss. "And now here you are. Don't worry, father, I'm not going to kill you, because you're not in your right mind. I hereby decree that Damon Eram be isolated in a sanitarium until his madness is cured, or until he dies," she called so people could hear her. "I hereby strip Damon Eram of his title, his lands, his fortunes, and the house name. He will be known simply as Damon. I also decree that any noble found to be fraternizing or conspiring with Damon will be charged with high treason, and if found guilty by trial, will be executed." Keritanima looked down at him calmly, taking in everything about him, remembering that one moment. "Take him away."
"I'll get you for this, witch!" Damon shrieked. "I know you used your magic to make people think I was crazy! I'll prove it and I'll see you burned at the stake! This isn't over, do you hear me? Do you hear!"
Keritanima watched the Vendari drag her father out, then turned her attention to other matters. "Jenawalani! Veranika!"
Her two sisters shuffled out of the pack hesitantly and presented themselves before her, curtsying deeply to her. The terror on their faces was unmistakable. "I have a long list of grievances against the two of you," Keritanima began in a low tone, her displeasure plain on her face. "I kept a list of every slight you made against me, every little plot both of you tried to use on me, and I can list every person around me that died because of the two of you. I intend to pay you back for your long years of wonderful love and support of me and my position," she said in a voice that nearly made Veranika faint.
"Jenawalani. You are hereby stripped of your title, your lands, your fortunes, and your house name. You will now be known simply as Jenawalani, and you will be put out of the Palace with nothing more than the clothes on your back and a purse with one hundred gold crowns. Any noble found to be fraternizing or soncpiring with Jenawalani will be charged with high treason, and if found guilty by trial, will be executed." She stared down at Jenawalani's shuddering body emotionlessly. "Be lucky I don't arrest you for treason. I've given you a new chance at life, Jenawalani. What you make of it is now up to you."
"No!" Jenawalani wailed pitifully, falling to her knees, prostrating herself before the dais. "I'll be a faithful daughter of the house! I'll obey you, I'll do anything you want! Please don't put me out! I'll serve you!"
Keritanima waited a moment, waited for her shuddering sobs to ease. "I'll change my mind if you swear before the High Priest that you renounce any claim you have on the throne, and renounce any future possibility of taking the throne. Any possibility. You will no longer be a princess."
"Anything! Anything! I'll do it! I hereby swear to Kikkali that I renounce any claim on the throne of Wikuna! I won't ever be queen! I give up my title as Princess!"
"Good enough, but I could never have you in my house," Keritanima said seethingly. "I hereby grant you the barony of Wildwater, and all lands and properties it contains. You may keep your personal fortunes, but you still lose all your house titles, lands, and the house name. You are Baroness Jenawalani Wildwater now, and be very glad I'm feeling merciful today. Now get out of my sight before I change my mind."
Jenawalani was blubbering uncontrollably, and all the arrogance was gone. She was now the baroness of the most remote fief in Wikuna, all the way across the continent, a small, poor holding that would forever remove her from the hustle and grandeur of the capital city. But even that voluntary exile was better to Jenawalani than the horrific possibility of losing everything. She got to her feet quickly, curtsied so deeply that she nearly fell over, then ran crying from the Hall. Veranika watched it all in a kind of morbid fascination, then glanced at Keritanima fearfully. She couldn't bring herself to look Keritanima in the eye.
"Veranika," Keritanima began, and just saying her name made the fourteen year old fall to her knees. "Of all my treacherous sisters, you were probably the least treacherous. Your games and plots were more to annoy me than anything else, and because of that, I'm going to be a little bit more lenient on you. You will therefore be taken from here and be made to strip naked, then you will be paddled. You will be paddled once a day for ten days, receiving fifty strikes at each paddling. One spanking for each of your little plots that annoyed me. After that, you will be shipped off to the Cabottshire School, where you will learn what it takes to be a good merchant. And you will be the best in your class, Veranika," Keritanima warned dangerously. "You will make me proud, or I'll strip you of your title and name so fast you won't know what happened. After you finish school, you'll return to the house and take up your rightful place in it.
" But," she said sharply, "in order to get such lenient treatment, you have to do the same thing Jenawalani did. You have to renounce any claim on the throne, and any possibility that you will ever be queen. You must give up your title as Princess."
"Anything! I swear by Kikkali that I renounce my title of Princess! I swear that I'll never sit on the throne of Wikuna! I give up the title of Princess!"
"Good enough. Now get out of here, and remember that keeping your position depends entirely on how well you do."
"I'll make you proud, your Majesty!" she blubbered through teary sniffles.
"Now get out of my sight. Shan, pick someone suitable to spank my sister. Hard enough to make her regret crossing me, but don't do her any permanent harm."
"I will tend to it personally, your Majesty," Shan replied with a bow. He walked over and grabbed Veranika by the wrist, and then after making her curtsy to Keritanima, he dragged her out of the Hall.
Her going easy on her sisters had been more or less necessary. Stripping Jenawalani and Veranika of their titles didn't make them any less in line for the throne. Even without their titles, they would still be princesses, and that made them dangerous, because all it would take would be Keritanima's death to put them right back in the Palace. This way, by giving a little bit, she wrested formal oaths out of them that ensured they could never hold the throne. And since they would both be too busy-and too frightened-to try anything to get back at her, she was content that their threat to her life and position were effectively neutralized.
Keritanima sighed slightly and returned to the throne. "My first act as Queen is to decree that I hereby repeal all decrees of law made by my father concerning me and himself over the last three months. The Queen is again subject to common law, and as most of you realize, the law I used to get here is again repealed. I'm not leaving that out there for any of you to try," she snorted. "The technical jargon of the decree will be written and inscribed into law by tomorrow, for any who wish to read it. My first act is to dismiss the entirety of my father's staff except for the Lord Chamberlain, the Clerk of Law, and Master Jervis, chief of intelligence. I appoint Miranda Longtail to the position of Prime Advisor, who will now have the power to hire the remainder of my staff as she sees fit. Binter and Sisska of Vendaka and Azakar Kanash are hereby appointed as the personal Royal Bodyguards, who answer only to me.
"I think that's enough excitement for one day. I call this audience to be concluded. Everyone go home and keep calm. Lord Chamberlain, have the announcement posted that Damon Eram has abdicated the throne, and that I have taken his place as Queen."
"It will be done, your Majesty," he said in a calm voice and a slight smile.
The process hadn't been without wrinkles, and her father had managed to provide them.
Things had been quiet and they had been tense that first night, because her father, her good old conniving, cunning father, had set up an escape route for himself before coming into the Hall. It explained why it took him so long to act on the information that the Vendari had marched into the city. The two Vendari guards that were taking him to a hospital were attacked by a full company of army regulars just outside the Palace. Both Vendari survived the assault, but not before being seriously wounded and killing about thirty of the soldiers that attacked them. Riding on the heels of his retreating men, Damon Eram had escaped.
He wasted no time organizing an armed attempt to recover his crown. Most of the army was still loyal to Damon Eram, so he had little trouble rallying the entirety of the army presence in Wikuna on the wide plain north of the city, preparing to march in and attack those forces loyal to Keritanima. But the Vendari formed up and marched to meet them, outraged over the assault on their own, before Keritanima could so much as issue a single command.
The day after her coronation was marked with severe violence, and not a little bit of chaos and strife. The day after her coronation, fifty thousand Wikuni army soldiers were challenged by ten thousand Vendari warriors on the Plain of Wikuna. They issued their challenge at sunrise, and before most Wikuni woke up for breakfast, nearly ten thousand dead bodies littered the field. The Vendari met the vastly larger force head on, in classic Vendari style, and had utterly crushed them. There had only been four hundred casualties among sashka 's forces, causing more than thirty casualties to the rebel forces for every casualty they suffered. Damon Eram had to be truly insane to attempt to fight a Vendari army without artillery or cavalry support. He had literally formed them up with nothing but muskets and sent them to their doom! Most of the casualties suffered by the Vendari had been in the initial volley, and the Vendari had closed the distance and engaged the Wikuni hand to hand before they had the chance to reload. The reserves were ordered to fire into the throng holding their own soldiers by Damon Eram, and by that time the generals had realized that Damon Eram was going to get them all killed. They took him prisoner and tried to parlay for surrender, but by then it was too late. The Vendari were incensed at the attack, and they were there to crush the rebellion. The generals, wise Wikuni they were, ordered a full retreat, then ran with their tails between their legs.
The battle pained Keritanima. She had been personally responsible for a great many deaths, and it gave her a small idea of how Tarrin felt when he struggled with his own demons. It wouldn't have been as many if the Vendari wouldn't have been so adamant about punishing Damon Eram for the wounding of Vendari, if she had been there to reign them in once an attempt to surrender had been offered. But sashka hadn't even told her of his intent to challenge the rebel forces alone. She had been rallying the soldiers loyal to her and the armies of the noble houses to face Damon Eram's men with a vastly superior force to try to intimidate them into surrender. And that sneaky Vendari had simply walked out after insisting she go to bed and marched his Vendari to face her father! That made her nearly as angry as the idea that her subjects had shed each other's blood over her pained her.
But in the end, she had to admit that it could have been worse. Sashka 's charge had prevented Damon Eram from escaping and gathering even more men, making her succession a real civil war. She still absolutely could not fathom what insanity her father had been under to think that his soldiers could stand a chance against Vendari without artillery or cavalry. Maybe he really did go crazy. Or maybe he had been willing to throw away all their lives to attempt to break up the alliance that Keritanima had forged among the noble houses. Such brutal disregard for life was something for which Damon Eram was notorious.
In the end, she didn't know, and she doubted she ever would, because if she ever faced her father again, she would kill him. They had locked him up in the sanitarium, and as far as she was concerned, he could sit there and rot until time withered him to nothing, raging with the memories of what he had once been, and knowing that he had brought it all upon himself.
The battle had sent Wikuna into a panic. Keritanima had been forced to bring out the army loyal to her to restore order, to ensure the people that someone was still in charge, that the threat was over. It forced her to wait for nearly three days before making her first public appearance, to let the people calm down over the frightening war that had taken place only miles from the edge of the city. She had to give the people time to let the shock of the War of the Morning dissipate.
Things returned to a rather tense state of newness. The people knew they had a new Queen, but she was very much a mystery to them. They had seen her-naked!-in the city, and her reputation contrasted heavily with the image that people painted of her now. Many of them still told stories of the Brat, wild tales of Keritanima's extravagance and immaturity, of her stunts and her exploits that had leaked out of the Palace with the help of her father and her enemies to poison public perception of her. But the more learned citizens could see past that image, knew it had been an act, and could see the intelligent woman that had perpetrated that fraud. But this was something of a minority. She knew that she had to soothe the people, to give them an idea of what to expect from her and from her rule.
It was time to begin making changes.
To that end, Keritanima stood on her dais, commanding everyone to rise. The satchel of papers stood beside her throne, guarded carefully by Azakar, and Jervis and Miranda stood behind her calmly. Both of them now fully knew what she had planned. It nearly gave Jervis a stroke, but in the end, he had to agree that what she was doing was probably better for Wikuna than the status quo. The court was populated with the rulers of the noble houses, but also in attendance was the mayor of Wikuna and many commoner individuals of the city with rank, influence, and learning. They needed to be here to understand what was about to happen, to explain things to those Wikuni not as well versed in political science, and to begin making the preparations to start shifting to the new order of things.
"I'm sure all of you have an idea of what we're doing here," she began. "You know that I'm nothing like what you expected, and half of you are probably wondering why you ever backed me in the first place. Well, be assured that you're going to hate me when you leave here today. Azakar, the satchel," she ordered, turning to the large human. He handed her the leather bag, and she opened it and withdrew a single piece of parchment.
"Before we begin with the very wild material, I have a few decrees. Firstly, and most importantly, the Noble exemption against taxation is hereby repealed. Nobles will have to pay their fair share of tax to support the kingdom, just as the common man does."
That caused one side of the room to go up in flames. There was a great deal of shouting and anger, and not a few swords were partially drawn. But the Vendari lining the walls raised their weapons and moved from their positions, instantly quelling the outburst. "We are exempt from tax because we are subject to the crown!" one noble shouted. "Our tax is paid with the men we have to provide to you during times of war!"
"I don't see us in any wars at the moment, Baron," Keritanima said calmly. "A great deal of the hostility that exists in the common population is based in the fact that the nobility dominates trade, because they don't have to pay taxes. It prevents the common man from making something of himself and keeps him in his place, when he would be much happier and much more productive if he were given the chance of pursuing his dreams. Just go walk along the docks, my noblility, and count the ships. You'll find that nearly all of them are owned by noble houses. Then go for a walk in the common sections of the city, and see the starving children, the worn shacks that so many of our people have to live in. All the wealth we bring in is held by an elite few, whom I can't have help pay for running this kingdom. That changes, effective right now. From this day forth, all citizens of Wikuna, even me, must pay the same taxes. In return for that, the requirement of providing arms and soldiers to fight for the crown is hereby waived. So you have no reason now to object to being taxed," she said flintily to the gathered people.
"Things here in our homeland have become fractured, my people," she said. "There's a rift between the nobility and the common population, a rift that will cause a violent revolution if we don't do something about it. And it's about time that all of you realized that this kingdom isn't here simply to make you rich and provide you with cheap labor to make you richer. The nobility has to get more in touch with the needs and the desires of the people who make up this kingdom, the common man and woman. If all of you don't recall, the crown and the nobility is here to provide for the people, not to use the people for its own ends! All of you have become blinded by your greed to the real needs and issues that confront our kingdom. You don't see the people starving in the streets because you're too busy counting your coins. You don't hear their cries for help because you're too busy plotting to gain even more power and wealth. Well, I have some very bad news for you. All that is going to stop, and it's going to stop now." She opened the satchel and withdrew a single parchment, then held it up for them to see.
"This is our new constitution," she declared loudly. "I've made some copies so you can read it and understand where it goes. For a few thousand years now, the power in Wikuna has rested in the throne and in the nobility. This constitution is going to change that order significantly. The crown and the nobility will still hold some power, but they will have to share it with the common population."
That created an instant storm of grumbling, gasps, and not a few shouts from the assembled nobility, but the looming threat of the Vendari prevented another outburst. "I did not give anyone permission to speak!" Keritanima boomed, making everyone quiet down. "This kingdom has suffered under the oppressive rule of my family for nearly five hundred years, and we've become less than we could be because of it. This constitution," she said, holding it out, "will create a new system where the crown will share power with a parliament, a congress of individuals consisting of both nobles and commoners. The crown will surrender some power to this parliament, and the parliament will have the ability to override the crown when necessary. This new system will require any new law to pass through parliament, where both the nobles and the commoners have to agree to its merit, and then it comes to me for final approval. This system will give everyone, commoner, noble, and monarch alike, an equal say in what laws govern our nation. The injustice that exists now will end, because the common man will now have the power to prevent or strike down a law that creates that injustice, or pass a new law that corrects it."
That created dead silence. The concept of a shared power system was totally alien to noble and commoner alike. "The term you're looking for is a Republic," she said with a gentle smile. "I've also taken the liberty of creating a Charter of Rights, a document of law outlining the basic rights possessed by all individuals, and a set of declarations to protect all Wikuni equally under the law. It will also create a standard of justice that will be applicable to everyone, even me, so that no one person may be held above another in the eyes of the law. This consitution will supersede all decrees of law that would conflict with them, but it will carry over those points of law that don't conflict with the constitution. Of course, Parliament can vote to repeal those decrees, once it's formed and established."
"Begging her Majesty's pardon, but how will this parliament work?" the mayor of Wikuna asked curiously.
"Simple, goodman," she smiled. "There will be two houses of Parliament. The House of Lords, and the House of Commons. The noble houses will send two nobles to the House of Lords to represent their houses, and commoners will be elected by the population to serve in the House of Commons. All points of law will pass through Parliament, first through the House of Commons, then through the House of Lords. If both houses vote to pass this point of law, it's sent to me, where I have final authority to approve or disapprove the law. If I approve it, it is law. If I disapprove it, it's sent back to the Parliament, who will vote on it again. If a two thirds majority of both the House of Commons and the House of Lords vote to override my disapproval, then it becomes law whether I want it to or not. Parliament will have some other powers, and the crown will have some other powers. Overseeing both of these branches of government will be the Supreme Barristry, which will have the power to cancel any law or action made by either the Queen or Parliament that they deem is outside the bounds of the constitution. Simply put, we can't do anything we're not allowed to do, because someone will be there to make sure we're doing our jobs right." She swept a tendril of hair out of her face. "These are broad generalities, of course. The specifics of it are spelled out in the constitution. What it does, however, is makes sure that nobody can run roughshod over the nation. Not me, not the nobility, not anyone."
"But your Majesty, you can't do this!" one noble objected.
"Of course I can," she smiled winsomely. "I'm the Queen. But if you feel that there's some legal block to my changing things, you're more than welcome to go look for it. I'll bet you ten thousand crowns that you won't find anything, though," she winked at the wolf Wikuni roguishly. "I've studied the law alot more than most of you, and I'm much more familiar with it than you'll ever realize. The power to change the basic operation of the kingdom has been a power that has never been restricted. Even being subject to common law, there's nothing stopping me from doing anything I please, because I am the Queen."
"What's to stop you from just changing things back?" the Mayor asked.
"For the first few years, nothing," she replied honestly. "That's a safeguard I put into the system so that if it gets somehow corrupted, I can change things back and try again. But once things are in place and they're running smoothly, I'll remove my own ability to change things. That will make the transition from the monarchy to the republic smoother and more secure for everyone involved, because at least everyone will know that someone is in definite control at all times. There will be much less confusion. Oh, and to let everyone know right here and now, this constitution states that if I die before the full enactment of this constition, it immediately becomes permanent law. It also states that there will be no more monarchs after me. All claims to the throne of Wikuna will be nullified except for my own. And if I die, a commoner will be elected to my position, and he will be called Prime Minister, with all the same powers as my own except for the ability to change the legal system. So, if all of you would like to prevent utter chaos, you'll keep me nice and safely alive," she said bluntly. "You can have a republic, or you can have anarchy. The choice is yours."
The full horror of that thought was clear on the faces of the assembled nobility. To be subject to a commoner! It was a thought that was like a thousand knives stabbing at them. Most nobles thought they were a breed above the common Wikuni, were a distinct class, nearly their own race. They felt they were superior to the common man, when the only thing that really made them different from a commoner was their title and the amount of money they had.
"I think if you go home and think about it, you'll find the idea to be not as repugnant as you think," Keritanima told the nobles reasonably. "You'll have to pay taxes and be more responsive to the needs of the people, but as the people prosper, so shall you. Instead of selling to each other, you'll find a new market in the common man, who will suddenly have money to afford the goods you trade. The nobility is tied to the prosperity of the land. What I'm going to do will only bring prosperity, because for the first time, all Wikuni will be working together for the betterment of our nation."
She held up the satchel. "I made ten copies of the full constitution," she said. "One copy stays with me. One copy goes to the Mayor, so he can read it and understand it. I want to see you tomorrow, Mayor," she told him calmly. "The remaining eight copies will be copied again, and each noble house will receive one, so you can read it and understand how things are going to work. We have alot of work to do before we can set up the Parliament. We have to build a building, for one, and we have to organize the means by which the commoners that will represent the people will be elected. That's something that all of us are going to decide. One week from today, I'm calling a gathering of the house rulers, myself, and some of the most learned and distinguished commoners of the realm, and we'll all sit down and hammer out the exact process by which we'll change over to the new system.
"And I think that's enough earth-shattering news for one day," she said calmly. "All of you go home and wait for the copy to arrive, then read it. Do more than read it. Understand it, see what it's trying to do and commit yourself to making it work, because more than your fortunes depend on how smoothly the new system operates. I'll see all of you again next week, when the real business of ironing out the details will get under way. This audience is concluded. You are free to go."
Keritanima left the noblity of Wikuna, and the commoners, completely astounded. Changing things so drastically had never crossed their minds, and the very idea that she would give up some of her own power seemed to be totally crazy to them, but they'd just have to wait and see.
What she was doing was for the best. In ten years, they'd look back on this day and thank her.
Her thoughts drifted as she walked off the dais, surrounded by her friends and advisors, thoughts of Rallix-she had plans for him, oh yes, plans indeed!-and of Tarrin. They had to be in Dala Yar Arak by now, and he had to be struggling to find the Book of Ages. And he was doing it without her intelligence to guide their actions, without her skill to aid them. She was trapped on Wikuna, for several more months, until she could get things running on their own and make things stable enough to allow her to leave for an extended period of time. She put her hand on her amulet, wondering if she should talk to him-it had been so long!-but fearing that doing so would make her dependent on the sound of his voice, would make her miss him so much that she got irrational. She had to keep her wits about her, she couldn't afford distractions. Between thoughts of Rallix and worries for her brother and sister, she had enough distractions. She couldn't make it even worse.
She could only hope for the best.
"Keep them safe, Goddess," Keritanima said under her breath, holding onto the amulet. For the first time in her life, she was praying, believing the words, not simply mouthing platitudes to appease expectant priests. "I can't be there for a while. Watch over them and keep them safe, please."
I have always watched over them, as I have always watched over you, a choral voice echoed in her mind, a voice with such power that it reverberated with its own magnificence. She felt her knees weaken when a sense of love flooded into her, through her, filling her with a sensation that made the sweetness of Sorcery seem like a candleflame compared to a bonfire. Keritanima's soul opened to that sensation like a flower receiving the blessings of the sun, basking in its warmth and beauty, feeling a part of her infused with it. You are my children, and I will always be here for you. You need only ask.
"Kerri, you're crying," Miranda said gently, putting her hand on her shoulder. "Are you alright?"
"I'm more than alright, Miranda," she said with a quivering voice as the sense of the presence of the Goddess faded, taking a little piece of her with it as it left. "I'm whole."
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