3rd Person POV
“Aunt Em is not dead, I don't have to…”
“Charlie, calm down and listen to me,” Regina tried to get her daughter to reason but Charlotte was in panic mode. It surprised her how she could enter any battle fearless and yet she could not stand attending court.
“I'm not going to be queen, not now Mother. I'm not ready,” said Charlotte, panicking.
“I know darling, I will stand in for Emily until the child is born, okay?”
“Why don't you just stand in for me forever, huh? In fact, take the crown from me,” said Emily who had just woken up.
“Aunt Em! Why are you sick?” Charlotte looked at her aunt with great pity. Her aunt had been through a lot. She felt slightly guilty for having dumped all her responsibilities on her.
“I'm sick because of you! Why? Do you feel guilty now?” quipped Emily at her niece.
“That's why things need to change,” returned Charlotte.
“No talk of work here. If you want to change things, do it outside this room,” said Captain Thoma as he peeled an apple for his wife.
“Just rest up properly, okay?” quipped Charlotte.
Charlotte had seen the problem with the administration of the pack. Because the previous king, Napoleon, had wanted a completely authoritarian state, he had decided to settle almost every single matter. So, whoever sat on the throne did absolutely all the work. There was no proper delegation of duties. Charlotte intended to change things but her intention was to use people who would represent the interests of the people and not the greedy set of Noble Lords that cared only for their own purse.
****
“Mother?” quipped Harlin once the room was void of the noble Lords.
“Are you okay, sister?” asked Alison.
Irvette took in a deep breath and breathed out.
“I'm okay.”
“You could have taken some time…”
“I don't need time, Ali. Besides, we have work to do. Why were the redevelopment plans stopped?” asked Irvette. She was in full Queen mode from the moment she had sat on the throne.
“The redevelopment plans?” quipped Alison, blinking in confusion.
“I commissioned projects to start redeveloping the settlements that had to be burned down because of George's rituals,” explained Irvette.
“Some of them are still ongoing while some had to be halted,” Alison felt like her work was being scrutinized.
“Is there a reason for this?” asked Irvette. Alison knew that her sister was not going to like the answer.
“I knew you were still alive, I had to find you and I…”
“You spent the funds looking for me?”
“Yes.”
“I see, well, let's see how much we currently have and how we can begin those projects at once. Harlin, I want you to look into this for me,” stated Irvette.
“Yes, Your Majesty,” replied Harlin. He had said it intuitively. She was still seated on the throne and it did not seem at all like she was his mother. Here, she was the queen and her word was law.
“And Harlin?” quipped Irvette, turning her attention to her son.
“Yes, mother?” His response sounded like a question because he was not sure if it was okay to call her mother when she was still seated in that chair.
“Try not to weep in front of the ministers irrespective of the circumstance. When you show weakness, they will see it as a sign that you are vulnerable and they will use it against you, understand?” her voice was firm.
“Yes, mother,” replied Harlin. He was certain more of this advice was to come on a more regular basis.
“Have you been in close contact with the Beta of late? I want you to be close to your uncle, naturally, you should be the Beta after your father but you cannot be both,” sighed Irvette. She blinked back a stray tear that threatened to fall down her cheeks. It had been so long since Harlin (her husband) was killed but she still missed him and felt sorry for him.
“I spent most holidays in his house growing up,” said Harlin. Alison was relieved she had at least done that right.
“He has children, doesn't he?” asked Irvette.
“He does. I believe the eldest Micah will inherit the title,” replied Harlin.
“Micah? That's interesting, we finally got a female Beta, huh?” quipped Irvette.
“Nothing is certain yet,” said Alison.
“Why? Has she got brothers?”
“The ministers are favouring the last child who happens to be a son over her. She would have to work very hard to become the Beta,” said Harlin.
“Is the Beta usually absent from court? Why was he not in today?” quipped Irvette.
“He's very sick. I suspect that he is down with the very illness Irene passed away from,” said Alison.
“Have those hazardous products been taken out of the pack?” asked Irvette.
“Not all of them, I have asked the people to submit…”
“Dear sister, you have to enforce laws and not ask the people. First thing tomorrow morning, guards will search the homes of citizens for any illegal products. The sickness may be killing more people than we know,” said Irvette.
“We need to find a cure for this thing. I cannot allow the same illness to take Uncle away,” the issue had been heavy on Harlin's mind since he had found out about it.
“The flowers from the Kingdom of Dome are effective but I learnt that they were not a cure,” Alison had tried everything she had known in trying to find a cure for her sister but all had been in vain.
“The cure for that poison is a zombie's bite,” revealed Irvette with a sigh. She had known this through Thomson, her captor. The man had loved to make her watch as he had performed his sickening experiments.
“A zombie's bite? He will turn into…”
“He won't turn but we may be sending him to an early grave.”