Charades

Chapter 30

     I sat in Flynn's throne. He insisted it. After what happened in the ballroom days ago, Flynn insisted I be the one to hold the meeting for what our next steps would be.

     Flynn stood in front of me on the staircase in the throne room and Diana and Alexander stood at his side. Alexander had a bruise blossoming on his chin and Diana was paler than usual. Flynn also had bruises littered across his body and next to me, Helena sat in the other throne.

     She was breathing heavily. She'd been lucky. Incredibly lucky that the dagger missed her vital organs. And because the dagger had been stuck to her side, she hadn't bled out horribly - like Devan had. Which was why, Helena was able to sit with us while Devan was in a coma. He hadn't woken up since the fight four days ago and I feared if he ever would.

     "First before we decide how to punish our family, I want to thank you," Flynn said, bowing towards me. "I'm sorry I insisted on duelling in the ballroom. It was dumb and risky and I nearly lost the love of my life. And I'm sorry about Devan. I'm sorry for everything."

     Flynn bowed towards me again and Diana and Alexander bowed as well. My heart jolted at the sight of it. I never thought I'd be respected by other royals.

     "It's okay," I said. "Although I wish Helena and Devan didn't have to suffer, in a twisted way violence kind of worked. But, from now on we will come up with better plans to deal with our foes. No risky plans or violence, okay?"

     "For sure," Flynn responded.

     "I'm sorry," Diana said. "I knew this was a bad idea, but my mother has been ruining my life for years, so I chose violence. And I greatly regret it."

     My eyes softened. Diana seemed ill. It was like guilt was tearing her apart and I hated seeing her like that.

     "It's okay," Alexander said, pulling her in for a hug. "We all made a mistake. But, it's over now. All we need to do is plan our next steps. Amara, take it away."

     I took a deep breath in, my both trembling slightly. To be the leader was a positon I wasn't ready for, but yet, it was a position I welcomed because finally I'd be the one to take control of my life.

     "Queen Astoria, Queen Truman and my uncle will have a life sentence," I said. "I don't want to see them out of jail ever. I don't care if they redeem themselves - they nearly killed Helena, Devan and Ronan and they were the cause of many lost lives. They are to lose any ounce of freedom."

     Helena's eyes widened, but no one said anything. It was fair. Cruel, but fair after everything they put us through and I smiled, satisfied with their reaction.

     "We will also lock up the soldiers who sided with them for a few years," I said. "We will see if they deserve redemption, but for now they will be locked up. How does that sound?"

     "Sounds good to me," Flynn said. "We'll put them in a jail far, far away from our kingdoms. I want nothing to do with them."

     I nodded. I wanted everyone who nearly ruined my life out of my sight, so I eagerly agreed to send them off to a jail out of our kingdoms.

     "Okay, so now for something else I wanted to talk about," I said. "This is for Flynn and Diana."

     They both frowned, looking confused.

     "I want to create a new law," I said. "We'll start off with our kingdom and then try to spread the law to the other kingdoms of Celestia. This law has been needed for a long time."

     "What is the law?" Diana asked.

     "To make forced and coerced marriages illegal."