Accuse Them
Dallas‘ p.o.v.
Our night had been an emotional one with my Brothers finally informing everyone about their upbringing.
After they had turned in for the night, the rest of us discussed how to proceed with the trial. Our first meeting will be with Elder Jensen and his Father; we need some insight into the reliability of the other Elders.
“I still can’t believe that your Mother ignored her Sons or that the Father followed lier lead. How did they feel while talking about it?” Darius asks.
For a moment, I am silent. I am not sure if it is my place to tell them, but I need to confide in them about my Brothers‘ emotions. It was so heartbreaking to feel the pain or to understand their confusion about my actions and those of my Mates.
“It was a rollercoaster. My biggest issue is with the confusion they felt, because they couldn’t believe that someone took the time to listen to them. Could there be more? Could our Mother have neglected them on more than one level?” I ask the questions I came up with.
“Why don’t we sit down with Dave and Benton after this trial is over? To allow them to talk about what she didn’t do for them, they need to talk about it.” Darius responds. “You might get answers to those questions and there is a chance you might not.”
Okay, not the answer I was hoping for. It will have to do for the time being, because we need to head down to the King’s chamber.
Listening to Elder Jensen’s Father, I finally understand why Elder Jensen is so damn good at his job. He had a fantastic role model in his Father and his Father still knows all the protocols that come with the job.
“Your Majesty, thank you for taking the time to listen to us. The final decision is up to you and, in my opinion, to Prince Quinlan and Princess Dallas.” Elder Jensen says, before he excuses himself and his Father.
“Do
you realize that the number of Elders who are part of the Council is more than it should be?” I ask Uncle Vaughn.
He looks at the list I hold out to him and it is clear that he hadn’t thought of that yet.
“I knew that something didn’t add up, but I
keeping me in the dark.” He replies.
ever had to deal with more than nine Elders at the time. It was Irvine’s way of
“Could you have questioned their numbers if they had all shown up?” I ask.
He gets up from the couch and walks to the far left wall, stopping next to the window.
“Yeah, I would have. Not many people have seen these, but these are pictures of every Council that ever served the King or Queen. There are nine Elders in each of them, but three Councils are missing, as you can understand.” Uncle Vaughn says.
“Come to think of it, I should have questioned it a long time ago. It wasn’t the same nine Elders every single time, that should have tipped me off.” Uncle Vaughn mumbles after a small silence,
He waits a few more minutes before he walks to the Throne room. Quinlan and I wait for someone to get us, because Uncle Vaughn will give another order to everyone inside the Throne room.
“Elders, the Council will be replaced by nine Elders who are chosen by Prince Quinlan, Princess Dallas and me. The first five have been selected and we hope to appoint the other four by the end of the day.” Uncle Vaughn says.
He gestures for me to take the floor and I am relieved to announce the five Elders we have already decided on.
“Elder Jensen, Elder Venetia, Elder Zariah, Elder Zane, Elder Mariah.” Each of them stands up as I call out their name. “You will be the first to replace the current Council and I hope that you will be better at the task than your predecessors.”
“Your Highness, we accept the responsibilities that come with this position. We will advise you to the best of our abilities and help you in any way we can.” Elder Venetia states.
1/3
The former members of the Council give her some dirty looks and charna is ready to rip them a second asshole.
“I am only giving this warning once. The ruling Royals will determine which Elders will take a seat on the Council; they also chose their Protector and their bloodline Guardian.” I say as I look around the room.
“We will not tolerate any disrespect toward the Elders chosen by the ruling Royals. If any of you break these rules, you are banned from the Palace for life.” I continue and I am glad that none of them can react to my statement.
Quinlan takes the floor to announce the rules that will change, effective immediately.
“The King or Queen will visit Packs announced and unannounced if they suspect that an Alpha or one of his Pack–members isn’t abiding by the law, a Squad will investigate their suspicions and will report to the ruling Royals.
Any Shifter can report a crime to the Palace, and the Elders will have the task of informing the King or Queen and sending a Squad to investigate. An Alpha can not render a verdict when the punishment is life imprisonment or death.” Quinlan explains.
“At least, four Alphas are pissed off. They don’t like the announcement, I think they need to be our first visits and I want to bring a Squad with us from the get–go.” I tell my family through the mind–link.
Quinlan allows everyone in the Throne room a few more minutes to think about the reintroduction of these rules.
“If anyone has a question, I suggest you stand up. We will allow you to respond to this announcement and will take note of any objections you might have.” Quinlan states.
Alpha Leon is one of the Alphas who has stood up and I am curious about what he might have to say.
Each Alpha raises the same concern: they feel that we have no say in their way of leading their Packs and that we should trust
them to do what is best for their Pack–members.
“Alphas, you have stated the same concern with the reinstatement of these rules. I will inform you right now that we will not change our minds on this. I am not saying that each of you is like the former Elders, but I can’t assume that you are different without proof.” Uncle Vaughn says.
He didn’t right out accuse them of breaking any laws, but he made it clear that they were all guilty until proven otherwise.
