Middle Of Nowhere

Epilogue

 "Maybe it is for the best that the royalty is gone for good. They have become rather incompetent if I am being honest here. Not only were they unable to do anything when our magic was continuously stolen for decades, now they chose to enable the thieves as well. What a parting gift!"

The speaker on the podium continued with a calculated tone, "If they knew they were going to step down, this final nail in the coffin that is their claim to the throne, should have been put forward and deliberated by the 'committee' that they placed and 'voted' upon." The anguish in the voice was really evident as he eyed his sizeable audience down from where he stood with a sense of pride.

"We have to ask ourselves, as we have gathered around here in this turbulent time, why do we have to suffer for the fault that we were not responsible for? The fact that theft has been legitimized and a deal made with the thieves which the former princess..." He gave a dramatic pause, stressing the title with derisive glee, giving enough time for the enthusiastic crowd to get riled up and boo in abandon, choice words added to the mix. "Let's not get carried away. Civility is important here." He paused, knowing that him and his crowd did not believe that, as the atmosphere grew more feverish. He relished the uproar as he saw he mentally took stock of the chances of his fortunes rising.

Democracy. He never thought that the out-of-touch elitist routine magic schools taught and poisoned the young magical folk of the realm who grew up getting savaged by the same mortal beasts that they were supposed to 'make peace with' or whatever they were on about, to be his chance for glory. Now that he saw the power, it was not too bad after all. He knew he had a good chance, especially gaining status within the economically disadvantaged classes as a former member of the advisory committee speaking out against the king. It was seen as brave.

"The former princess, calls it honorable, is a literal slap in the face for anyone who believes that the innate magic borne out of our realm, is ours to take. The opposition are just cronies of the King. They'd rather strip away our abilities, and give it to the people who hunted and slaughtered us, in exchange for looking magnanimous and consolidate power with propaganda. Magic is at risk with these self-hating soldiers of supposed virtue continue in power," He spat.

"Truth be told, For the lack of a better word, the former princess is deranged and Justin cannot even reign in his daughter. Let alone, our realm. Any so-called candidate aligning with him is a lost cause and should be treated with utmost scepticism for behind their so-called altruism, there is an unmistakeable stain of malice." The last line cost him considerable amount of money to get it crafted into his speech.

A hooded woman gently clapped from the audience unbeknownst to the boisterous performer who hoodwinked the entire gullible audience and felt satisfied with the result. She had to brace herself to see the rather fascinating affair come to a biased conclusion. Before the illusion charm lifted off, Aurelia cleared the parameters alongside Melody. She did not bring Lumien for this undercover experience as she was afraid, he might do something reckless and further deteriorate her situation, once she settles into her comparatively smaller and less opulent home post the referendum happens which decided the fate of the realm for the next five years. She knew Lumien would still protect her, even if he was disappointed to hear that he was relieved of his duties and was free to do whatever he wished. She always hated to order him around.

As she looked at the participating members of this dubiously enthusiastic congregation, she saw familiar faces, who dissented the most. That was the aspect of power that she didn't realize till now. The reverence it brings about existed only while it lasted. Maybe this was the truth all along. The fact that she forsook authority would finally give her true allies that she always wanted.

"You didn't have to do this, princess," Melody eyed Aurelia with concern. "These morons don't know what they are doing. When you told us about this for the first time, I was like okay, do what you want. But this, we are doomed."