Stepping Down
Dallas‘ p.o.v.
I growl a little louder this time. I am done with being a Human pincushion.
+15 BONUS
“Aunt Eliza, is this absolutely necessary?” I ask her as I look in the mirror to see Tyana stifling a smile.
“You already know the answer to that question, Dallas. You need to follow protocol and that means wearing a dress.” Aunt Eliza responds.
I know that she is right, but wearing a dress all day sucks. I’ve developed my own style over the past five years, and I only wear a dress when I have no other choice- and even then, it’s after a lot of arguing.
“Mommy. Mommy. Look.” I hear Rani, my almost five year old Daughter, say as she walks into the room.
In the reflection of the mirror, I watch as she walks towards me in her bright pink ball gown. Behind her is Basil, Quinlan’s almost five year old Son and he is wearing a little black tuxedo.
“Oh, my. I thought that Quinlan, Everett and I were going to take over today.” I say toward Aunt Eliza, while winking at my Daughter.
Rani and Basil are shaking their heads as fast as they can; both hate the idea of ruling this Kingdom one day. Basil was born fifteen minutes before Rani, both of them arriving on their due date. Basil before midnight and Rani just after midnight.
Larissa walks into the room and with Aunt Eliza’s help, she sits down in a chair. In just two more weeks, they will welcome their second child into the world. We tried to convince Uncle Vaughn to push the Ceremony forward, but Larissa stopped him.
“Do we push forward or backward on trial dates, just because it is inconvenient?” She had asked and we
knew that she would never allow us to use her pregnancy as an excuse.
So, here we are. Only hours away from the Ceremony and this time I have to follow protocol as it will be a public Ceremony. Damn, I wish I didn’t have to go through this again, but I have no other choice.
Quinlan needs to accept me as his Royal Beta and I need to break my bond with Uncle Vaughn as his Royal Beta. Something I am not looking forward to, I hate the idea of that bond with Uncle Vaughn being
gone.
“You look beautiful, Aunt Dallas.” Basil says. “You look like a Princess.”
“Duh, Silly. Mommy is a Princess, just like me.” Rani responds and we all laugh as Basil pouts at being
corrected.
“Aunt Dallas always wears suits and high–heeled boots. She never looks like a real Princess, but today she does.” Basil replies and we can’t argue with his logic.
1/4
Stepping Down
+15 BONUS
My closet has three dresses hanging inside and I only wear them for a special occasion. This dress will probably never see the light of day again, as it is too extravagant for me, and I doubt there will ever be
another Ceremony for me to wear it to.
“The next coronation would be a perfect event.” Charna says and I am stunned for a moment, because I hadn’t thought of that.
Our reign will be a minimum of twenty five years, unless tragedy strikes. It is a part of our Succession law and Uncle Vaughn was glad that those twenty five years were up for him and Aunt Eliza. Even though he will continue to work for Quinlan as an assistant to Benton.
Dave started assisting me after he graduated, and with Daxton, he has gone over the books as far back as Great Grandpa’s reign. They encountered only minor discrepancies, most of which had explanations, but
some will remain unanswered.
Benton and Landon, having finished law school, have been tearing apart our private library, the library of the Elders and our public library. Uncle Vaughn will assist them after stepping down, but we hope that we have found all of the laws the Elders bent, broke or hid.
“Are you ready, Dallas?” Aunt Eliza asks and I realize that my mind had drifted as it does from time to time when I have nothing else to keep my mind occupied with.
“No, but I doubt it matters.” I answer. “I will be glad when this day is over and I can get back to work.”
My Mates whistle as I walk into the living room of our private wing and I walk toward Grandpa to take my Son out of his arms. I bury my nose in his neck to remember that this is not the end of the world, but
the start of our future.
Marshall is almost six months old and nearly a surprise. I had been working so hard on a disappearance case that I overlooked all the symptoms. My Mates didn’t say anything at first because I had no morning sickness, but they had smelled the change in my scent.
It wasn’t until I started complaining about my pants not fitting anymore that they asked me to talk to Charna. She hadn’t told me because of my job and with no other symptoms to tell me, she enjoyed our pregnancy by herself.
My pregnancy with Rani was only troubled during the first few weeks because of the morning sickness.
For the rest, both of my pregnancies were easy and I worked until I went into labor.
“Okay, hand him over. You need to get to the King’s chamber before our guests head to the Throne room.” Daxton says as he holds his hands out to Marshall.
I giggle when our Son grabs the straps of my dress and there is no way to peel his fingers off them. We decide that Daxton will wait by the door of the King’s chamber to take him from me as I walk into the Throne room, if he has let go by then.
2/4
Stepping Down
+15 BONUS
“Are you planning on giving them the order to keep their mouths shut?” Quinlan asks Uncle Vaughn.
“No. I will give them the order not to use their mind–link, though. We need to hear who might have a problem with any of you taking over today or who might have the guts to object.” Uncle Vaughn answers.
I know that not every Alpha or Luna is willing to accept a deaf Queen, but anyone who wants to object will have to give a damn good reason to keep Larissa from the throne. A part of me is hoping that someone objects, because I can’t wait to let Benton loose.
From the day Uncle Vaughn announced to us that he was stepping down, Benton and Landon delved into the law books to find anything that could stop any one of us from taking over from our predecessors.
Well, except for me.
