Pumpkin's Rein

Challenges

Pumpkins POV:
Ever since I had been crowned Queen officially, these nightmares hadn't stopped, it was normally the same one over and over again but every time there would be a twist or something new that hadn't come up in the previous nightmares. Vanilla had kept my nightmares at bay but now I had to get used to being independent again, it wasn't her responsibility to look after me, anyways these night visions did not affect my daily duties, it rattled me of course but I'm sure it was just something silly, nothing to worry about. Emerald had called Bambi in at some point, she said it was insomnia but that's the least of my problems. Anyways me and Vanilla had come to the conclusion we were the only tigers, the threat though kept shape shifting in these visions, last night it was a horse, but there was a tint of evil to it. The other night it had been a funny cat looking thing, a hyena I think and obviously before Emerald left it was a tiger but a tiger showed up and she was no threat to me, I could normally smell trouble, today my job was to be ready and prepared for the guards that had been sent away. I was hoping they wouldn't all come back, I only had 8 guards, including 3 that lived in the water, if all 10 showed up we'd have to hurry our pace, I needed all guards ready as it was, the castle would be left empty besides the maids, I'm sure it would be okay, we'd work it out. For two days now I had been ignoring, well no, not ignoring Vanilla but treating her like I would any of the others, if it affected her she didn't show it which was a relief because I didn't have the time to deal with that as well. She'd got on with her tasks happily and moved into her room without any troubles. She became friends with Rupert and the wolf twins quickly enough. I heaved myself out of bed and headed towards my suite, a nice cold shower would shake off any worries, I looked at my crown sat on-top my dresser, I hated wearing it, I didn't like thinking everyone felt they should cower before me, I was honoured but it was too flashy, I'd only have to wear it for a couple of minutes, it would have to come off whilst I was training whoever I chose. Imagine telling your family you had trained with the Queen, this was a first for me and whoever I chose I suppose. I never understood why royalty got their maids to come and feed them and bathe them and dress them, I was very capable of doing all this, I wasn't a child. My maids jobs were to clean and cook that was it. I was not harsh to them, I did not treat them like slaves,they were free to leave whenever. I let the cold water run down my back and enjoyed the feeling of the coolness, letting the sweat run down the drain, it was so refreshing, I let it pour down my face, I hated swimming, being in the shower made my fur heavy enough I didn't get how Vanilla could paddle through the water effortlessly when she had twice the amount of fur and body weight, it was a true skill indeed. A five minute morning shower did the job, it kept me clean and happy enough, I'd have my hot bath later on most likely, I shook my fur vigorously and began to clean myself, licking down the fur that had decided to escape and stick up. I supposed I had to wear my lovely cape as well, that made me trip up if I wasn't careful, I don't know why I had a whole range of capes and robes when I only wore them once a week, I always went for the sparkling sapphire one though, I had requested to have sapphires on my crown so it made sense, I was not like most royals, my crown was not gold with red rubies, it was silver with blue sapphires, more aesthetically pleasing to the eye. I shuffled the heavy weight of the crown onto my head and headed downstairs, where all my guards were waiting for orders. "There are no duties today, all the applicants are on their way, I can sense it, we must all be ready to train them, every single one of us including me." I could tell they wanted to ask questions, even Vanilla had managed to control herself, staying silent but I bet her head was buzzing with questions. "The second I see which ones have arrived I will appoint you all to one each." The twins looked at each other, gulping. "Of course, there is a chance not all of them will show, I highly doubt it, now if you shall excuse me I need to speak to the underwater eyes." They all nodded in sync and I strode past them. I approached the waters edge, keeping back a bit as to not get my paws wet, the trio popped up eagerly, smiling. "A seal is an applicant, if she shows I need one of you to do training, it's been a long time since an underwater creature came to apply, keep an eye out for a yellow seal under the water okay girls? It's up to you which one of you does the training." Fredrika and Daphne both looked at Ocean with pleading eyes, Daphne had trained both of these girls besides her and probably wanted a break, Fredrika was still too childish to be trusted with such a task, Ocean nodded and they all resumed to swimming around, watching and waiting. They were here. It was time to see who had come back. Rupert, Vanilla, Sylvia and Sylver had all joined me outside and were tugging on the gates that still had to be manually opened despite all this fancy new tech. In front of us stood, Graham the German Shepard, Ronnie the deer, Wilbert the wolf and no surprise, Chestnut the Clydesdale. Graham being a German Shepard was perfect for this crew, they were often known as knights, guard dogs or police dogs, they were known for their excellent hunting and finding skills and their incredible speed and stealth. Graham had a black gradient on his face which slowly faded into an okay brown which carried on up until a huge patch of more black on his back, his tail nearly touched the floor, wagging back and forth and his ears were perked up, great for hearing, he had chocolate brown eyes, the most striking dog besides huskies. I then looked along to Wilbert who looked nothing like the twin wolves we already had, he was brown rather then grey, a whole palette of browns from head to tail, he had white markings here and there but he was also fluffier, a lot fluffier then the twins, a different breed of wolf I supposed. The twins could be told apart from the fact Sylvia was bigger with a darker coat, bigger ears and also chocolate eyes like Graham, Sylver had yellow eyes on the other hand, relatively small ears and a more silver coat. I then looked along again to Ronnie, just as dainty and skinny as Bambi, he of course though as a male deer had antlers poking through and no spots to be seen, a solid colour of tan, it was good to have a prey animal in the mix, a new perspective. I then realised all of these were male, damn, it wasn't done on purpose though I suppose. Chestnut hadn't changed since I last seen him, he wouldn't know I knew him already but obviously my crown gave away who I was straight away. They all bowed slowly, unsure of what to do. "Welcome! Bowing is not necessary but I thank you anyways, you will all be applied to a guard each, you know the drill, you've done it before, I hope you can forgive me, I apologise dearly to all of you for the mix up previously." They rose from their bow, awaiting the next orders, I wouldn't explain why they were turned away, we didn't speak her name here. "Wilbert do not feel targeted, these two come as a pair, Sylvia and Sylver will be the ones to train you, Ronnie you and Rupert will make a perfect match, Graham, Vanilla will train you, your strengths are bound to be compatible and Chestnut you're with me." No favouritism, well yes, maybe favouritism but these were the perfect choices I thought, as I announced my current guards names they waved to let them know who they were. I slowly removed my crown which one of my maids leapt over to grab before it touched the floor and my cape which she also took just as swiftly, smiling at me before turning away. Action time.