Chapter 3

One half an hour past the twelfth, Princess Dakota would become Queen Dakota, the youngest queen to date in our empire. I had left Dakota at the eleventh hour and began my preparations. Stepping from her best friend zone, I became her manager; incredible responsibilities now were bestowed to me. Mother helped a lot too.

After that day of widespread panic among the empire, mother did not know where she fit in. The council kept her in the palace as I was the Princess’s head servant and she herself was a very valuable asset with her extensive knowledge of the royal family. They proposed to position her under the Princess but I protested to Dakota that I did not want to govern my own mother in such a way. Dakota under the wishes of mother to remain employed, promoted her to a royal advisor. She claimed to the council that her knowledge of the royal family in all its history and current policy, would provide the current advising court with great wisdom and intellect. I don’t think that Dakota herself worded it like so but that was how the council inducted her.

After that issue was solved, Dakota no longer wanted to live with me as her servant. She knew that I wished most to work for her and knew that with my knowledge, indeed it would be best for me to work for her rather than just play as a friend. She went to the council and demanded that I be promoted to the head advisor. Both the council and I protested. The council for I was too young and inexperienced; I for not wanting to be directly over mother.

Dakota was determined though and began investigating everybody in the palace about me. I learned of this from the servants claiming that I was in trouble with the Princess. It wasn’t until a sentry approached me after such a confrontation and informed me that there was no worry. Dakota was determining my strengths, what I did for her when I was not directly with her. Dakota never told me about it, I learned all I knew of it from that one sympathetic sentry at that one time.

I knew that Dakota was waiting, when she was crowned Queen, she would promote me to something that she knew that the council would never let her do under their power, I just hoped that she would respect my one wish of not putting me over mother.

I walked onto the palaces main balcony upon the third floor. It was a bit higher than the third floor of an average commoners house (that is if one were to have three floors), the palace floors were very tall and grand. I looked out to the front yard and saw a sea of people; there were more people than I had ever seen. The lead sentry following me reported that there were and estimated twenty-five thousand people currently on royal grounds to watch the crowning, with another forty thousand people in the neighbor city.

“Ninety percent won’t even be able to make out the shape of the balcony, why?” I asked.

“Many for pride in just being present for such an event, and many for fear that they would be questioned for not showing their support,” the sentry replied.

I looked to my left and right and could not even count the number of sentries lined shoulder to shoulder from one end to the other on a balcony that stretched the length of the Royal Palace. There where at least a thousand more between the people and the palace itself on the ground. The twenty five thousand people were broken into gigantic squares leaving a narrow grid to lace the land. Sentries marched in units of six, one pair after the other, down the lines of the grid, the lead sentry yelling into a enormous cone magnifying his or her voice.

“What are they saying?” I asked.

“At crowning of the Princess, great flags will be raised over the palace and horns will sound, at this time, all will bow.