Passing the Crown

"When you say surrender..." Sarai tapped the tips of her fingers together nervously.

"I mean that you retire or abdicate the throne...whatever term they use here. If you do it willingly, and we show a united front, it will fix many of the problems I have been having getting things coordinated."

If Noble could peacefully take over and free the Old Guard, then the rebellion would not need to be bloody. Instead, the royal army could join with them to make an even larger force against the corrupted Tyrant and his minions.

Instead of hoping to have a few men left when this was all over, Noble now could see a bright future of everyone working together.

'My how things can change in an instant!'

"I suppose being Queen for a morning is better than never being Queen at all." Sarai touched the small circlet on her head.

The baker had taken off Emira's necklace and bracelets but had forgotten about the crown when changing clothes. Noble would have to remind her to put on the other things later.

"Keep the crown and these rooms for all it matters. You would be the Queen Mother...Queen's Aunt? I don't know. But I am happy where I am staying so I will find some excuse for you to remain here for now."

Nickel stood and started to examine the room in question more closely. "Ok so Fireshing's not the Queen and you take over. Then what?"

Noble tapped her chin. "That will give me access to the resources I have been lacking. I told you that I saw the Tyrant in the most recent 'hunting expedition'..."

Noble had decided she did not like that term. It had been Emira's way of making light of two serious problems. The city was in need of meat and was also under periodic attack. While her solution was effective, the term left a bitter taste in Noble's mouth.

"The horde of abominations comes once every few months, but the Tyrant is not usually with them. What I saw was an anomaly. So I have been trying to find a way to increase the odds that the Lord of the Mountain will be with them next time. I think the key lies in finding his Heart."

"His Heart?" Nic's and Sarai's voices overlapped.

"I am not sure if it is his actual heart but that is what the books call it. If we can find it, then maybe we can lure that flying monster out of hiding and into a trap. At least that is my plan. That will beat waiting months or years for him to show up on his own." Noble didn't think it would take that long for the Nightmare to end.

But with the Spell in charge, it was possible. Noble didn't want to live the rest of her life inside an illusion. She wanted out.

"So what do you need from us? You know what is going on, so tell us what to do." Sarai seemed ready to get to work. Her stomach was full and her heart was heavy. The only thing that would help was a task.

"I need you to get access to Emira's...your private library and find any information on the Heart or the Tyrant. I am positive the queen knew where it was. I would start with her personal journals and move backward. Get the librarian to help you if he has read any of them. I am not sure what Emira shared with him if anything." Noble thought of the mousey old man and hoped against hope that Drune would be helpful.

"And me?" Nic picked up a trinket from one of the tables and turned it over before replacing it.

"You do what you do best. Investigate and observe. You already found that Emira has at least a dozen exits from here. What else is she hiding? If you have time, I would also like to know if anyone outside the palace walls has any information on the Heart. Even if it is just a myths and legends. Counsel said there was nothing, but I trust that you can dig deeper."

After Nickel had decided to help the government, he had turned over a significant amount of information about the coming war between the clans. While Noble was not privy to most of it, Fort had called the intelligence 'eye-opening.'

"So, just business as usual then. Alright." The former assassin took his task in stride.

'You made a good choice with him,' Noble said to Sarai through [The Other's Voice].

The other woman smiled. 'He was Fort's choice. When your husband came to terms with the fact that he couldn't come himself, he decided Nickel was the next best choice.'

'Fort wanted to come?' Noble's lips parted slightly.

'He even contacted a Saint to bring him to the Dream Realm so he could try to find this seed without going through the first nightmare or Awakening.' Sarai recounted the events, her heart melting at the man's love for his wife.

Noble was touched also. Her husband had tried to come for her even knowing he would die. Noble wasn't even sure what he wanted to do was possible. It certainly wasn't wise.

'The Saint and Chancellor both convinced him that it would be faster and more efficient if he sent us instead. I don't think sweet Rain would have been able to handle both of her parents being gone from the waking world at the same time. And the boys...'

"I get the picture," Noble spoke aloud, tears streaming down her face once more.

"What picture?" Nickel looked back from the far corner of the sitting room. He had been studying the strangely cut edge of a picture frame when Noble broke the silence. "Were you two talking in that Memory? If I had known you two were using that in the Dreamscape, I would have gone for it first thing..." 

"I didn't mean to leave you out this time," Noble dipped her head. "I was complimenting you to Sarai and then she started to tell me about my family and..." 

"Mushy stuff, got it. Better that you left me out of it then. If there is nothing else, I will get to work." Nickel pulled on the picture, revealing yet another passageway. 

"We will meet you back here in the morning—or sooner if you need us. I figure you should not have any trouble finding either one of us." The floating Awakened watched her friend nod before disappearing into the shadow of the hidden hall.

Noble cleaned up her face with a cloth from the table and then stood. 

The rest had been refreshing and the company too good to be true, but it was time to get back to work. 

"If you are done eating, put on that gold necklace and bracelets and I will point you toward the library. Find Drune. He will deliver any volumes you want to this room." 

"What will you do?" Sarai asked as she dabbed her napkin against her chin. 

"I will join you at dinner tonight and help you with research tomorrow. For now, I have to go tell Counsel the good news. The rebellion is over. I'm a Queen." 

"Don't be silly," Sarai took the circlet from her head and placed it on the other woman. "You've always been a queen. You are Queen Bee!" 

"Perhaps," Noble smiled, touching her head. "But now I'll have the crown to prove it."