The Avaloran Chronicles

Royal Crisis: Elena's Dilemma and Isa's Internal Strife

Elena was racked with guilt. Had she really ordered the assassination of a man who led an armada to pummel Avalor into submission? She couldn't believe it. How could she do such a monstrous thing? While she had sent several villains to the Spirit World in her years as a princess, a queen-in-waiting if you will, she had never given the command to kill anyone. It stood against everything she had fought for all these years. She shuttered at the thought she was becoming just like Shuriki. She threw her crown to the ground and began sobbing.

Naomi tried to comfort her. "Nena, it's okay...we all make mistakes...Zuzo will understand." Elena hugged her wife back. She hoped Naomi had it right. She sighed. She knew what she had to do. It would be a hard decision, after all her years as a monarch, but it had to be done. "Nomes, I'm going to abdicate." Naomi gasped. She never expected those words to come out of Elena's mouth. Had she lost it? Did she really want to give up on something she had struggled so hard to get? It made no sense. Naomi wanted to make sure she heard it right. "You don't want to be...queen anymore?" she asked innocently. Elena nodded. The responsibility had become too much to bear. Thinking for a second, while stroking her wife's hair, she had an idea of who the next monarch would be. "And you, Nomes, will take my place. I'll be a queen . I would only be an advisor and wouldn't have any queen-related obligations." This surprised Naomi. She thought that the right of succession went to Isa rather than her. But she didn't question Elena's logic. After all, who doesn't like to be in power? It would a chance to show Avalor who she was, and that she could lead the realm out of a dark time.

Isa, a 31-year-old woman, was more than old enough to be queen. Her sister Elena, on the other hand, was seven years older. "What about your sister?" Naomi asked. Shaking her head, Elena laughed. She guessed, and expected, that Naomi would mention it, and had prepared a response. She hated going into social situations and being unsure of what to say. She cleared her throat. "Right after we married, I signed a royal proclamation stating that in the event of a royal abdication, the chancellor will take on all responsibilities of the monarch, while said monarch will move into a queen ex-officio role." She further explained that since Isa wasn't 18 years old at the time of the proclamation, Francisco and Louisa had agreed on her behalf. She also noted that once Isa reached age 18, she agreed to this proclamation only if one proviso was added: that the royal princess become next in line for royal succession if anything should occur to those on the royal council, including the chancellor. With the royal council as a generally inoperative entity, Isa may have believed that she had the right to royal rule through that proclamation, while Elena interpreted it differently. She didn't think her sister was capable enough to run Avalor by herself. Furthermore, she saw Naomi as better suited for the job.

Elena chuckled. She held Naomi's hand tightly. "Are you ready for this?" Naomi grinned. She would do anything for Elena. She knew that her wife had been stressed out with everything that had been going on, especially with preparations to protect Avalor City and defending the city from the mechanical menaces. She believed this abdication would provide Elena with some much-needed rest. "I most certainly am" she remarked. Walking outside the palace walls, Elena and Naomi wheeled out a device that Isa created and had dubbed the "voice-omatic." The device allowed a person to project their voice across long distances. In a cruel twist of fate, one of the people who heard them was none other than Isa herself.

Reaching the town square, of the many in the city, Elena began speaking. "Citizens of Avalor City...I have an announcement to make. I am hereby abdicating as queen of the Queendom of Avalor." Murmurs could be heard among the surprised citizens. They had never expected Elena would do something like this. It also seemed strange and suspicious at it happened while the city was still rebuilding from damage the city incurred from the Steamlandian Armada and the realm at risk from possible "foreign invaders." Naomi picked up where her wife had left off. She stepped forward and finished Elena's thought. "With the abdication of Elena Castillo Flores, per Royal Proclamation No. 3, I, Naomi Turner, Royal Chancellor of Avalor, have been granted the powers of a monarch."