Chapter 314

“Rae, I would like you to remain here in the Palace as a candidate for the Royal Harem. It’s only a week to my coming of age birthday when we’ll be holding the final banquet and announcements, and it would be good if you could get to know the others.” James says, taking both of her hands in his own. 

“Is this your proposal, James Skyview? You always said you’d find a way to make me a real princess, but I never expected this.” Rae answers, smiling up at him. 

“You won’t deny me, will you? I’ll inform your mother that you’re moving immediately, so she knows where you’ve gone. No need to pack; the tailors can make you what you need from now on.”

When they embrace each other and go for a kiss, Cain excuses himself out of the room, locking it behind him. 

A few minutes later, King James emerged from the room with lipstick on his cheek and sent Cain a message. [I’ll need you to be the Ambassador to Garda for these hearings. I’ll have some Assistants sent with you for the legal matters if you need them, but the interim Ambassador was among the Nobles exiled after the last battle.]

[I understand, Your Majesty. Pink lipstick on your cheek isn’t your color, though.]

With the Noble’s few concerns addressed, the hearing moves on to addressing the problems of the commoners. King James will give a speech from the balcony, and he wants his advisors and ministers behind him as a show of solidarity. A large amount of misinformation always flies around after an attack, especially when a significant military response happens.

This time the event was especially large, so the concerns about it happening again are as well. A palace staffer that Cain recognizes as one of Gwen’s summons leads Rae away to meet with the other ladies while everyone else gets ready to head outside. 

Cain knows he will have to make a speech of some sort, so he’s scrambling to come up with something good, as the head of the Defense Council, at least in the title. But he doesn’t know what the King has prepared as a speech, so he is going to have to improvise to some degree. 

King James moves to the edge of a second-floor balcony with all of his inner circle behind him. The rest of the Nobles file out in front to listen to the speech while a select few are allowed to remain in the hallways and sitting rooms near the patio. Misha and Cyrene are both near the door, in the first sitting room with the guests brought by the advisors and ministers. 

“Greetings, people of Skyview. We understand this has been a stressful week for everyone, but rest assured, the nation is stronger now than ever. Every Niman Raider was captured or killed, and every citizen they took was recovered. The forces hired by our loyal Nobles have cleared every reported Gnoll incursion, and the Royal Army will take up where they left off, with increased patrols to keep the border areas clear and prevent any threats from moving further inland. 

To maintain our strength, an additional recruitment bonus for new soldiers will be paid directly to their families and increase with the quality of soldiers sent to join our forces.”

King James pauses there for dramatic effect, as the news is incredible to the citizens gathered here. As with anywhere, life as an adventurer isn’t easy, nor is there any guarantee of decent income. But the army pays well, and for young Warriors with low-income families, the bonus will solve many of their immediate problems. 

“In the coming weeks, our Royal Coming of Age celebration will be held, along with the official coronation ceremony. Every citizen is invited to attend. We ask that the residents of the capital and surrounding regions open their homes and pastures to travelers so as many as possible might enjoy the festivities. 

After the Coming of Age Banquet, the first members of the Royal Harem will also be announced, as I’m sure you’ve all heard. Once the names are made official, we ask that everyone welcomes them all as the new Princess Consorts of Skyview, the same way that you so graciously have for the generations before them.”

With his part done, King James steps back and motions Cain forward. “Greetings, I am Duke Cain, the new head of the Defense Council. I’m pleased to announce that the actions by the Mercenaries and Summoned Armies to clear the land have been completed earlier than expected and will not be leading to any additional charges levied upon the affected Nobles or their people. 

The Gnoll population inside Skyview has been reduced by over ninety percent, with every group we could locate having been exterminated. You may have also noticed that the Dragon-led patrols took the time to repair many damaged fields and woodlands. We hope this will lead to a stellar year for crop yields, but for more on that, I will refer you to the agriculture minister.” 

Cain steps back, happy with his speech, and the Ag Minister begins a long and tedious recital of the state of crops within the country. It’s the perfect way to close out the announcement; he’s so dull that the sense of anxiety and urgency they began the meeting with is entirely gone. 

With the essential part of their day accomplished, the Nobles start to scatter. Many of them still need to come up with some recruit for the Army but don’t want to give up a talented soldier. They could send just anyone, but if they don’t show up or get rejected, the Noble will be reprimanded. If they can’t replace them in time, they will have to pay a fine. 

Cain brings Misha and Cyrene back to the Manor and contacts the Royal Negotiators to meet him in the morning to meet with Garda. They might back down after an official response, but there’s no guarantee of that, and this side of the central continent is infamous for its senseless wars and chaos. 

Garda also doesn’t have a port; they’re an island city state, so testing those around them is the only way to advance their interests. 

The Royal staff are happy to meet Cain at first light and head to Garda for the meetings, so Cain goes to find the ladies and see what their plans are. 

“Garda makes the best juices. If you don’t mind, I’d love to come along.” Cyrene declares from over by the mirror where Misha has been helping her try on new armor and clothes. 

It’s a downside to being a tailor who loves their work; you end up with way too much stuff. Spread between the Guild properties, Misha and Lickity have multiple rooms filled with nothing but crafted items that didn’t turn out how they wanted or have a specific look that they didn’t need right away. 

Currently, they’re passing those items back and forth, getting a wardrobe ready for an official trip, and then the coming of age banquet after that. They’ve got a few more items for Cain, mostly to match the ones they’ve picked out for themselves, but some are chosen just because they thought he’d look good in them. Like the surf shorts that Misha just added to the stack. 

Fortunately for him, the Auction in Tortuga is in a few days. Cain has every intention of finding a much larger version of the makeup bag the ladies found last time. Something he can stuff dozens and dozens of outfits into and prevent having to carry a chest or use a carriage to travel. 

When Cain wakes up, the bright pink hair of Cyrene isn’t in front of his face but draped across his chest on top of the blanket. The two of them were still going through all the hundreds of suitable items Lickity had made recently when he fell asleep, and they must have crashed where they were. There are still clothes on the bed and everything. 

Cain carefully gets out of bed, transferring Cyrene on top of Misha and cleaning all but two complementary outfits from the bed and side tables before he goes down to meet the Negotiators who should be arriving soon. 

There are still a number of his Guild Members here, enjoying breakfast straight from Brother Liu before going back to go about their days, so Cain stops to catch up on all the gossip while he waits. 

The meetings between the warring factions in the east aren’t going well, and the Guild rumor is that it won’t be long until the Orc Clans start to move to take over Landis. The fighting has destabilized the country too much, and now it’s a prime target for expansion by its neighbors. 

According to one Elven Ranger, who has family in the Serrah Woods, the Human Liberation Front, as the Landis Rebels call themselves, lost over a hundred thousand soldiers trying to push south into the Elven controlled woods. If they’ve taken losses like that, they will have a very tough time if the Orcish Chieftains decide to expand their territory.