Chapter 211 - Noble Shit

Chapter 211 - Noble Shit
Rhiannan POV

I looked at Thorne. Our General.

Masaila. Our Warden. Lerenya. Our Officer Master.
Behind them stood sixty commanders who had bled for the right to lead. Beyond them stood hundreds of thousands more who had earned places within the military ranks. This wasn't Veltherion's army. It wasn't the old kingdom's army. It was ours.

“My warriors.” The laughter faded. “Tomorrow, your boots hit the training fields.” Groans rolled through the crowd. I grinned. “But today?” That got their attention.
“You eat.” Cheers. “You drink.” Louder. “You celebrate the fact that you survived Sasha trying to fucking murder you for three consecutive days.”

“I did not attempt to murder anyone.”

“Debatable.”

FaeNet exploded. I raised my hand. “Today, you feast like warriors.” Weapons rose. “And tomorrow…” I looked over the kingdom we'd somehow built from ash. Homes. Families. Soldiers. Leaders. Hope. “…we start becoming something nobody will ever be able to tear apart again.” The roar that answered me shook the castle. My eyes burned. Fuck. Pregnancy hormones. Definitely pregnancy hormones.

Azarion stepped closer behind me. “You're crying.”

“I will throw you off this balcony.”

“You're glowing too.”

“Azarion.”

He laughed. I looked back toward my people. Thorne had Lerenya tucked beneath one arm while Masaila stood at his other side. The officers were celebrating.
Soldiers were screaming. FaeNet was moving so quickly Sasha had to slow the comments. And for one beautiful fucking morning, there was no Veltherion.
No Lorelei. No prophecy. No war. Just us. My hand moved over my children. “This,” I whispered, too quietly for the broadcast to catch, “is what we're leaving you.”

Not a throne. Not titles. Not power. Something better.
A kingdom worth protecting. A people who chose each other. A fucking legacy. One of the babies kicked my ribs, and I winced. “Yeah, yeah. You're welcome.”

Azarion laughed. Below us, the celebration began again. Tomorrow, we trained. In two days, the Noble Trials began. And somewhere beyond our borders, darkness was growing. But today?

Today belonged to the people who had fought like hell to become the shield of our kingdom. So today, we fucking feasted
~

By the time we finally made it back inside the castle, I was exhausted enough to consider declaring walking illegal. Unfortunately, the kingdom continued requiring government. Rude. The war room was already packed when Azarion deposited me into my chair like a very pregnant piece of royal cargo.

Reyna stood at the head of the table, surrounded by floating scrolls, maps, candidate profiles, and enough paperwork to make me contemplate burning down my own government before it officially existed.

“The Noble Trials begin tomorrow,” she announced.
I grabbed a honey cake. Governance required snacks.
“One day,” Reyna continued. “Three trials. By nightfall, we'll know who is capable of serving.”

Kaleb leaned forward. “And appointments?”

“Nobles are selected directly by this council based on Trial performance, background, temperament, and what each region actually needs.”

I nodded. “And Lords and Ladies?”

Reyna smiled. “Those belong to the people.”

That got everyone's attention. “After the Trials, we'll announce the candidates who qualify for Lordship and Ladyship. Voting opens immediately and remains open for twenty-four hours.”

I stopped chewing. Oh. I fucking loved that.

“How long do they serve?” Kaleb asked.

“One five-year term,” Reyna answered. “They may serve a second only if their people vote them back in.”

“And Nobles?” Arwen asked.

“One term. No reappointments.”

Soris nodded slowly. “Prevents permanent power structures.”

“Exactly.”

Reyna's gaze moved around the table. “No inherited seats. No families holding regions for centuries because their great-great-grandfather once shook hands with a king. You serve. You leave. Someone else gets the opportunity.”

My chest swelled. Gods. This. This was what I wanted.
Power that moved. Power that answered to someone.
Power that couldn't sit in one family's hands long enough to rot. “Gods, I fucking love you, Reyna.”

She grinned. “I know.”

Sasha appeared above the table. “Should I record that statement for future disputes?”

“No.”

“Already archived.”

“Bitch.”

“Goddess.”

I smiled. Yeah. We were going to be okay. Probably.
Maybe. Fine, statistically questionable. That night, everyone gathered for a late dinner. Nothing formal.
Just family. Food covered the table. Wine flowed freely for everyone except my tragically sober pregnant ass, and someone had produced a chocolate dessert so decadent I was reasonably certain possessing it violated international law in six realms.

Kaleb eyed a decorative scroll sitting beside his plate.
“I better not get another damn scroll tomorrow.”

Sable didn't look up. “Afraid of paper now?”

“The last one exploded into glitter and cursed me with hiccups for two fucking days.”

“Improved your personality.”

“Eat shit, demon bat.”

Sable's wings twitched. “You wish.”

I nearly inhaled chocolate. Then the doors flew open.
Mo stood there. His eyes were huge. His face was wet. My heart immediately stopped. “Mo?”

“MELA'S PREGNANT!”

Silence. Absolute fucking silence. Then Mela peeked around him. She was crying. Riven stood behind her.
Also crying. Actually, Riven was fucking sobbing. He still held a glass of wine, which somehow made it worse. My chair hit the floor behind me. “WHAT?!”

“MELA'S PREGNANT!”

Mo started spinning. “A MONKEY OR A WARLOCK BABY, WHO FUCKING CARES? IT'S A BABY AND IT'S MINE!”

“OURS!” Riven cried.

“OURS!”

I shrieked. I waddled around the table at speeds no woman carrying three babies should have been capable of achieving and threw my arms around Mela.

She laughed and cried into my shoulder. “I'm fucking terrified.”

“So am I!”

“You already have three in there!”

“EXACTLY! I KNOW TOO MUCH!”

Mo wrapped himself around both of us. Riven joined.
Then everyone joined. Suddenly we were trapped inside some massive, emotionally unstable royal group hug. Even Sable. Although he complained. “I hate this.”

“You're hugging tighter than anyone,” Liam said.

“Shut up.”

Mo was still crying. “I'm gonna be a dad.”

That broke me. I kissed his forehead. “You're gonna be a fucking amazing dad.”

His face crumpled. “Don't say nice shit to me right now!”

FaeNet somehow learned within approximately thirty seconds. Sasha. Obviously.

MELA IS PREGNANT!!!
ROYAL COUNCIL BABY!!!
DOES IT HAVE A TAIL???
I'M BETTING FIREBALL HANDS.
WHAT IF IT'S A MONKEY WARLOCK???

A drawing appeared of a tiny demon monkey wearing wizard robes. Mo screamed. “THAT'S MY SON!”

“You don't know it's a boy,” Mela laughed.

“THAT'S MY CHILD OF UNSPECIFIED GENDER!”

Perfect. Absolutely perfect. For one night, there were no wars. No Bone Queens. No prophecies. Just another baby coming into a kingdom we were desperately trying to make worthy of them. And apparently the universe had decided sleep was for peasants because morning arrived immediately.
~

The castle buzzed before sunrise. Today was the Noble Trials.

One hundred candidates filled the Great Hall. Farmers sat beside merchants. Teachers beside witches.
Blacksmiths beside former servants. There were healers, craftsmen, community leaders, veterans, scholars, and several people who looked genuinely confused about how the fuck they'd gotten this far.

Good. Those were usually my favorites. Breakfast covered three enormous tables. Eggs. Meats. Fruit.
Pastries. Tea. Juice. Enough food to prevent anyone making life-altering governmental decisions while hungry. I sat with my council at the raised table. Reyna stood when breakfast ended. The hall slowly quieted.
She looked magnificent in silver and navy, her eyes faintly glowing with Oracle magic.

“Today,” she began, “we build something unshakable.”
Every candidate stared at her. “You one hundred souls were not chosen because of your bloodlines.” Silence.
“Not because of your wealth.” Her voice strengthened.
“Not because of your family name.” My skin prickled.
“You were chosen because somewhere along the way, when people needed someone, you stepped forward.”

Several expressions changed. Emotion. Pride. Fear.
“You rebuilt communities. Fed neighbors. Protected children. Solved problems. Survived hardship. Led when nobody handed you permission.”

Fuck. I was going to cry again. “You are not here to prove that you deserve power.” Reyna smiled.
“You are here to prove that power can trust you.”

That one hit. Even FaeNet paused for approximately half a second before exploding.

REYNA JUST FUCKING COOKED.
POWER CAN TRUST YOU??? PUT THAT ON THE CASTLE WALL.
I'M CRYING BEFORE BREAKFAST DIGESTED.

Reyna extended her hand. “Come.” The hundred rose.
We followed them through the castle. Sunlight poured through stained-glass windows, painting the stone floors in fractured gold, purple, blue, and crimson. My heart hammered harder with every step. The old kingdom had appointed rulers behind closed doors. We were doing this where everyone could watch.
Every decision. Every failure. Every success. No shadows. No secret fucking clubs deciding who mattered. The doors opened. Morning sunlight flooded inward. Beyond them waited the newly constructed Noble Trial Grounds.

I stopped. “Holy shit.”

Three enormous rings dominated the field. Each was carved with ancient runes glowing beneath the stone.
One shimmered with illusion magic. Another hummed with something I couldn't immediately identify. The third was completely dark. Of course it was.

“Reyna.”

“Yes?”

“Why is that one creepy?”

She smiled. “You'll see.”

“I hate when you say that.”

Sasha appeared overhead. “FaeNet audience has surpassed twelve million active viewers.”

I stared at her. “Twelve million?”

“Thirteen.”

“Fuck.”

“Fourteen.”

“STOP COUNTING.”

The hundred candidates entered the field. Behind them, the doors closed. The runes surrounding the three rings ignited. My hand instinctively moved over my belly. Tomorrow, these people wouldn't simply be farmers, teachers, merchants, healers, and survivors.
Some would become Nobles. Some would stand before millions and ask the people themselves for the right to become Lords and Ladies. But first? We were going to find out exactly who they were when titles, money, bloodlines, and pretty fucking speeches couldn't save them.

Reyna stepped into the center of the grounds. Her eyes blazed silver. “Candidates.”

The three rings erupted with magic.

“Welcome to the Noble Trials.”