Chapter 18
Sagan
Things were almost a blur over the next week with all the chaos and crazy… And I was at the center of it all, not able to keep up with it no matter how hard I tried.
Honestly, I wasn’t the only one. Treena looked ready to pass out as well the moment we weren’t in front of people, so I felt better. Much, much better.
But there was also a lot of great progress.
Starting with the castle, Michele—the resource management specialist Darren sent—teamed up with one of the tiger interrogators and reinterviewed everyone on staff.
Most of the flight crew and employees connected to the landing strip and planes were cleared.
Six were going to prison and four were out because they just couldn’t be trusted.
I understood they were in a difficult position, but they had seen issues and didn’t report them and that led to the deaths of the leaders of a country.
Others could have had charges pressed against them, but I was kind and simply fired them because there was no world I would trust them not to do it again.
And one of the media stations actually and immediately praised me. That to show mercy and understanding while dealing with such corruption honestly reminded them of the grace and goodwill of my mother. The others weren’t quite so flattering, but they agreed it was the right move.
I’d take it.
She also immediately locked in on the Queen’s Guards with the help of the tiger—Benson and Davian being involved as well. She was more the professional side while they were… Basically, it was my private military. That sort of ranking system and whatnot.
We’d set it up to be someone we knew was dirty already and busted them fast. They were relieved of their positions and a full investigation was ordered to rule out any crimes besides being in the pockets of elders. I really wanted them, not the guards, but I needed to know how deep it was.
Forty percent of the Queen’s Guards immediately threatened to resign in protest.
Except we knew it was fear of having the same happen to them and that was… A serious fucking problem didn’t cover it. Almost half my protection was dirty.
I had no idea how to announce that or what to do. However, the citizens of Thovudin were outraged to learn there were not only wolf guards for Treena, but now tiger ones sent by their king.
But they weren’t outraged at me.
No, I hadn’t seen that coming either.
I think even the ones who hated me understood that if another leader of Thovudin died, the country would fall into chaos and that wouldn’t be good for them. I honestly didn’t have any faith that it was anything less selfish, but I would still take the outrage because it helped me.
Oh, and it was all our pilots. Yeah, it just had to be that it was all the pilots, including the ones Benson had reprimanded for listening to an elder’s aide over me when I’d been told about my parents.
So no, I wasn’t shocked about that.
And yes, I’d let the aide out of the dungeon a while ago… With a warning from Benson that he’d be buried under the castle if he tried to get on the media about it or started any more trouble. It did work though because we hadn’t heard from him.
There was absolutely no good way to hire that many guards and not risk someone who actually wanted me dead and wasn’t just corrupt could slip through. It was too vulnerable of a position to be in.
Way too vulnerable.
Maple and Fraser both said they were coming to stay at the castle for the foreseeable future… Basically forcing their private security to act as Queen’s Guards or at least fill in. They knew what was going on, but the money they made off the contracts made them worth not canceling.
But they did get it in writing that we weren’t trying to recruit their people and we promised not to basically declare them Queen’s Guards now and force them. Um, no, that wouldn’t go well for me in the end.
Not. At. All.
However, they were also happy for the extra hours hired because, in a turn of events no one thought a coincidence, all the dirty guards were the ones who analyzed the video from the funeral feasts and that time period.
Apparently, some went so far as to delete videos and they would now be in prison.
Benson made a comment that he was never so grateful that he’d thrown down with Father several years ago so that there was a huge backup of cloud storage no one but him and Father could touch. Or now me with my codes but—glad he was showing people he did deserve his job even with all the mistakes.
Maybe showing himself.
Still, we both agreed everything got new codes, top to bottom, and we were putting in more keypad access besides on the libraries. Over and over people were making it clear that they couldn’t be trusted and there was too much of value at the castle.
Which was also why I’d made sure Michele asked everyone about stealing and more. The staff? The cliché of maids having sticky fingers?
Not a one. All clean and understanding when we asked but sad it was needed. More than fair.
Yeah, dirty guards getting it at the request of elders or one very, very greed Alpha Mate who really just hated my mother for no apparent reason. That was going to be a fun phone call, especially when her son was in my mating pool.
Awesome. Always so much fun.
My father’s siblings took the lead and made it clear that in doing an audit, which I’d wisely ordered, they’d found items missing and were dragging back the advisors and aides of my parents who ran for the door after they died.
They were entrusted with a lot and no one was above suspicion of bad behavior anymore after the way the elders had acted.
And their proof was releasing the footage of the destroyed rooms the elders had resided in. Along with the detailed list for repairs and restoration.
That was another media crazy I’d basically sat down with wine and snacks to watch.
Fraser also talked to Benson about how to handle ideas and suggestions going forward. He couldn’t just shut everyone down or brush them off. Make a slot available one day a week to listen to them and concerns and it was things to be discussed later.
To his credit, Benson agreed and took the chastising like he should have. Explaining everything had been in survival mode or just—it hadn’t been the time for anything besides keeping me alive and doing the best we could.
And again… Fair.
In a painful—but useful turn—more and more of Kole’s affairs were stepping forward to go on the record that he was trash.
Lies that we led separate lives and it was all political with understandings while telling his “friends” that I was completely in love with him and would do whatever he wanted when he ruled behind the throne basically.
Vex had tried to talk to me, probably to see what could be done to curb it all, but my only response was he should rethink having an Alpha Heir that was so blatantly stupid with his lies.
Abusive narcissists always unraveled and not to bring Kole in my sight until further notice or I would not control my dragon.
That was after the fifteenth woman went on the record.
Fifteen.
Yeah, my dragons wanted him broken in the ground.
The public really did react well to my moves working on our alliances with Bodach and Protesia who shared our borders. Sure, they gave more credit to the kings for their humble gestures of having representatives at my parents’ funeral when there had been only tension.
But… At least I was smart and not a foolish girl for accepting and moving forward, right?
Gag me. It was hard to watch when it was all my doing. Still, as even June reminded me, it was changing the shift in how people felt and talked about me.
So the lowest, bottom-hanging fruit of compliments ever.
Cool.
Aunt Maple’s popularity soared after her press conference with Belinda and people found out that she was behind the ancient’s presence. They told the story that I asked for seasoned, trusted counsel as a young ruler should but only had snakes around her.
But everyone wrote Maple off as the flaky youngest sister of Rhys and only a pretty face. So the fact she was at the center of executing something so perfect others didn’t even think of really made them see her in a new light.
She was upset because the point she’d wanted to make was that I hadn’t been frivolous and learning underwater basket weaving on my summer breaks, but instead training with ancients…
Even if really only with Belinda. I wasn’t though.
Good vibes and press for the royal family right now were good for all of us.
Especially a female one.
Others agreed and that helped her settle with the topic.
The “problem” was that two of my cousins saw the change in opinions and wanted to not be seen as just pretty female royals anymore either. They brought up studying abroad as I had and supporting me that way, plus just pushing the women of Thovudin forward.
Great. Really.
Except one wasn’t bright. Luckily, she even admitted that. She knew she wasn’t studious. The idea could still work if we were careful. It did give me hope for my family though, so that was nice.
Buttttttt people were not letting go of my “assets” and just—all the fucking petty.
It was pissing me off beyond belief and my eye wouldn’t stop twitching, so when the Alphas pushed for a meeting to discuss what the high priest did and to get on the same page to the media about the contest, I had one demand… I wanted who took the picture.
I wanted whoever was involved to be an adult and confess publicly and that what I was wearing was understandable given the circumstances. I didn’t care how they handled it as a group as to why I was kicking Alpha asses, but enough with this. They handled it and ran it past Michele or I would.
And they would not like the mess I made. It also came with a warning not to test me this time.