Reject (mxm)

Chapter Forty-Five: Ciaran

It's been six months since Ruari left for the royal court. There'd been a lot of unrest before his coronation. And although I was supposed to be with him for the ceremony and celebration we decided it's better if I don't appear at court for now.

Ruari had notified the high council, the royals and packs that he's already found his true mate. He also informed them that he wouldn't take another consort aside from me. He's worried that I'd be a target for those who don't want to see him on the throne so for the time being he wants to keep me hidden, away from the public's eye, in order to keep me safe.

I could very well protect myself but to ease his worries and not be an added burden to his already heavy load, I agreed to what he wanted. And for the past months I had to content myself with weekly reports on how he is and what he's doing.

The royals have easily embraced Ruari as the new alpha king. Although there were opposition at first due to his lack of knowledge of the court and the laws and the fact that he grew up among commoners. But Ruari proved himself more than willing to learn and that he is capable despite his lack of knowledge and experience. He surrounded himself with people who could provide intelligent inputs to help him make sound and reasonable judgments.

The packs were harder to persuade due to the incident with the raiders but once they saw what Ruari is capable of, that he isn't just a fancy king who wears a golden hat and sits on an elevated chair the whole day, it didn't take much time for them to change their tune.

Ruari implemented a lot of changes since he ascended to the throne and it shows at how the court now functions. He created a sensation when his first order of business as the new alpha king turned out to be the reconstruction of the high council.

Ruari visited all the packs allied and tied to the crown. He spent enough time with each pack and listened with an open mind to everything his people had to say. After his sojourn he decided that the packs needed a voice within the high council. It's not enough that the royals govern them. He saw first hand how some packs lived in impoverished conditions while the royals who're supposed to support them don't seem to give a damn about anything but their own comfort.

He selected an alpha, from each region, that commanded trust and loyalty from the other alphas on the same territory to sit as high council members. He made them representatives in charge of coordinating messages between the pack and the crown. This way, even the slightest problems within the packs would be easily detected and dealt with in a swift and effective manner. The strategy promotes awareness and open communication within the packs in order to avoid incidents like that of the raiders from ever happening again.

Ruari relieved the previous council members of their positions due to their corrupt activities and lack of respect towards the lower classes. He appointed younger, more freethinking royals to sit on the council with the alphas to help create ways on how to better manage and utilize the resources of the throne and the crown.

All in all, Ruari's aim is to make the court able to function by itself without giving too much power and influence to just one individual or a select few. He wants everyone to unite and think about the packs and the people first. To forget about status and just live like our ancestors during the olden days. His aim is to create equality among packs, big and small, royal and commoner. It is a bit idealistic considering we're in the new age and it's definitely a hard task to set one's mind into but the majority have complete faith that if anyone could do it, it would be the alpha king Ruari.

So far all the negotiations for the reconstruction of the court are progressing smoothly. And everything in Moonscape is almost back to normal after months of rebuilding. I thought my troubles are finally coming to end and I'd have some free time to breathe a little easier but I was wrong.