THE BLOOD ROYALS Book 2: Long Live The Queen!

Chapter Forty Two: The War Council

Carperia
Prince Relian's POV
As a boy, many were the days when I would follow my father around the palace. I had this little toy plane that I would run around with making whooshing sounds with my mouth. Occasionally dad would play with me but our games mostly ended when he walked into the room behind two tall wooden doors that are different from the rest in the palace. They say the Gold Palace was built after this building.

The building is connected to the Gold Palace by something we call a bridge. It's about 3ft wide and 30ft long. It's elevated above a courtyard. This is where my father and the Supreme Commanders before him held security meetings.

I have seated in security meetings before but I didn't participate. I was there to listen. Today I'm in charge. The people waiting for me are from every security agency in Chea Niva.

"Your... highness?" I turned my head. My father's personal assistant has been following me since I set foot outside my bedroom. "I'm not sure how to address you sir."

Some people are already referring to me as his majesty. It's expected that I am because I am next in line to the throne. In my father's absence I'm automatically the king. But some who are traditional still refer to me as his highness. According to them, until my coronation, I can't be his majesty.

"Your highness is fine." This is what I'm used to. I may as well savour it before it will be passed on to my children. She won't move into the concrete bridge joining the War Council building to the palace. Civilians are t allowed past the start of the bridge. Two soldiers always stand on guard to make sure.
"What is it Penny?"

"I know this must be a very busy time for you but there are press statements to go over, your schedule is messy so we need to iron that out and the press are hounding the Royal Spokesman or information about the mystery woman."

"I don't have time for this right now." I can't be late. Dad did always say that a lack of punctuality is a bad first impression. "At the end if the day, around 4pm, let's talk."

"Yes your highness." She curtsied as we parted ways.

The Warm Council building is a fully functional place with all the employees bring from the armed forces. This place continues to operate even when I'm sound asleep. This where Nilsa works. She runs the place.  

I am suffocating more and more even at the sound of her voice. I don't want a rushed attack but I feel with every gaze she throws my way that she is baiting me. She wants to get a rise out if me either because she suspects I know what she did or she is simply looking for a reason to start a war with me.

The hallways fell silent when I walked through. Soldiers stopped and Cormac approached. He stood at attention. "Permission to salute the Supreme Commander."

"Permission granted."

They all saluted me.

It's easy to get addicted to this kind of treatment.

"Good morning." He shook my hand. "I thought I would get a chance to grab some coffee before you got here."

I glanced at my wrist watch. "You still have five minutes."

"The meeting always started as soon as your father sat down.  It didn't matter if he was fifteen minutes early. The task was to beat him here." He chuckled only to sigh. "Everyone in that room is anxious. Most of them have never worked with you and they don't know what to expect."

"Any advice?"

"Yes sir. Be your own man."

It's difficult when everyone expects me to be my father or a version of my grandfather or someone else in this bloodline. People are talking and they are going back to history books, analyzing past kings and then waiting to see which one I'll imitate.