Chapter 74
-Noah-
Two whole weeks have pas sed since I technically became King. The meetings with the Council have proved fruitful as now we have a plan of action for most critical problems in the kingdom. I’m particularly worried about the rogue invasion to some of our territories. Before, they appeared to be random attacks searching for food or money, but now they seem planned and strategic; we could very possibly be facing a loss of territory to these rogues now.
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The worst part is, there is nothing I can do about it now. I can’t send the appropriate number of men to deal with it without compromising the security of the castle. If I send fewer men than I consider necessary, it’s a suicide mission. If I send the necessary army, we’d be vulnerable to any attack by Alistair.
Remembering Alistair makes me unconsciously grind my teeth. It’s as if the bastard was swallowed by the earth itself, there is no trace of him anywhere. It’s hard to believe he had friends anywhere outside lycan territory that would hide him, but now I have to consider the possibility that he indeed managed to escape the
territory.
Eli and the rest are certain that he won’t be a problem anymore; they’re convinced he’s just going die in some ditch somewhere, but my gut is telling me otherwise. He was underestimated once before by King Alexander; I will not make the same mistake.
Once the morning Council meeting is over, I stay behind to talk to one person in particular. Perhaps he could enlighten me on whether I am right to be paranoid or
not.
“Council member William,” I call.
He turns to me, bowing his head. The rest of the Council members have cleared the room.
Please, Your Highness, call me William,” he says.
“Only if you stop calling me Your Highness,” I tell him.
He smiles,
“Alright, let’s leave the formalities only for formal encounters. Tell me, what can I do for you, Noah?” He says.
It feels good to finally hear my name instead of royal titles.
“William, I was hoping you could enlighten me about something.”
“Anything”
“How did Alistair manage to defeat King Alexander the first time?”
William stares at me for a moment, then looks around to make sure we’re alone.
“Not here, please follow me.”
We begin walking and eventually reach one of the open courtyards towards the entrance of the castle.
“Sorry, I’m just being extra careful. This castle isn’t very good at keeping secrets and as you might be aware, not all the Council members are genuine in their support of you.”
“Limagine as much,” I say.
“And you’re not bothered by that?”
“The council is unnecessary, William, I could just as easily dismantle it and call it a day. All of you would be stripped of your status, your power, and The only reason why I choose to keep it is to respect tradition.”
your influence.
“And you really think you could govern on your own?”
I smile,
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“No, of course not. I would simply get a new Council. One that has actual warriors, healers and scholars in it. I have a feeling that’s the way it’s supposed to be anyway. Most of you have had such privileged lives, coming from incredibly wealthy families. Tell me, William, what value do any of you add to a Council if you have not lived the struggles of the common folk, which are the people I’m trying to serve?”
He stops walking and turns to look at me, a genuine smile on his l*ps.
“None,” he says honestly.
We keep walking until we reach an empty, less visited courtyard and sit on one of the benches. I had actually never been here.
“This is closer to my chambers, I know nob*dy will be listening here,” he explains, “to answer your earlier question. I don’t know.”
I blink at him,
“Care to elaborate?” I say.
“I understand the discontent there was with King Alexander, and I understand why the Council chose to side with Alistair. But I do not know how he managed to have most of the warriors side with him. King Alexander was beloved by his people, respected by his warriors, so it is beyond me.”
“Why was the Council eager to get rid of him?”
“Not get rid of him, per se. None of them would have done what Alistair did, but when the opportunity came, they took it. Alistair promised them riches, bigger salaries, less work, so on,” he stays silent for a while, “the purpose of the council is not only to advise you, Noah, it is to advice other influential families and to keep the peace between them and the royal family. But everyone got compliant after Alistair won; they all stopped nurturing their relationships with the outside world. Everyone got lazy.”
fub my forehead with my fingers. Other influential families,” what in the world does that even mean.
“Who were these influential families you speak of?”
“Oh well, you know, rich families that would donate generously to the crown. Alistair dismantled them. Since Alistair was not the rightful King, he was afraid one of them would try to overthrow him,” he pauses, “I wasn’t here when the fighting took place, the coup that eliminated King Alexander’s reign, but my grandfather was. You see, Council seats are inherited, and I inherited his shortly after Alistair became king. He told me, on his death bed, that the warriors seemed to be in a trance…. like they weren’t themselves. Most of them deserted shortly after that.”
1 frown.
“That doesn’t make any sense,
William.”
“Unfortunately, that’s all I can tell you about the fight itself.”
“Why was the Council discontent with King Alexgrider?”
“Well, for the first years of his reign everything seemed to be in perfect order, but then he got this wild idea in his head that he would open up our territory and routes of trade to wolves,” he side eyes me, “not to be offensive, of course, considering your mate is a wolf, it was just such a wild idea back then… even now. They never saw this openness as a mutually beneficial plan, since they see no value in wolves.”
“And what do you think?”
“I think the Council is due for a renovation if they still hold such archaic beliefs.”
We stay quiet for a moment as I contemplate this new information,
“Eh and the others seem to think Alistair will no longer be a problem for us. I, on the other hand, will only be satisfied when I have his head dangling from the castle entrance. Am I right to be vigilant still?”
His face turns sour as he looks at the fountain in front of us.
“With all due respect, Alistair is not someone that can be underestimated, his greed cannot be underestimated. You took away the one thing he cared for… power.
Rest assured he will be back.”
I nod at him and stand up,
“William,” I extend my hand to shake his, “good talk. We should have these more often.”
He shakes my hand and smiles,
“Whenever you’d like, Noah.”
With that, I take off the same way we came in, my fists clenching.
It’s about time I took matters into my own hands.
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