Chapter 23

Long live the king…

"Thousands of years ago, Nimraq, the last-born son of Lucifer started the Daivie clan, my father, my grandfather, and our ancestors who were his descendants ruled this clan and took it to higher glories. My father even gave his life to ensure the continuation of the Daivie lineage.

"Today, we embark on a new journey as my son, Charlie takes over the leadership of the clan, and I assure you that Charlie will do us proud as a leader. He will rule and protect us from the attacks of the other kingdoms seeking our downfall. Charlie, step forward, please."

Luther gave his speech as he was about to hand over the leadership of the clan to Charlie. Lillian, the circle of leaders, and some other Daivanians had gathered to witness the event. A puff of smoke appeared as Luther summoned a large black trident and placed it in Charlie's hands as he knelt to receive it.

The Daivie king then continued his speech.

"This is the black trident of the Daivie clan, given by Hades to his youngest brother, an extension of the original trident that belonged to Lucifer. It was passed down by my ancestors, to my father, to me, and now to you. It signifies the leadership, unity, and strength of our clan. I have wielded it for thousands of years, and now it no longer belongs to me, but you. Today, you will no longer be called prince Charlie, but King Charlie, ruler of the Daivie clan. Long live the king," Luther ended his speech by placing the crown which was resting on the throne on Charlie's head.

As Charlie stood up to greet his new subjects,everyone stood up to welcome the new king. "Long live the king," they all proclaimed, as he rose to address them.

"I want to thank you all for giving me the chance to be your leader. I might have been born into royalty but I would never be a great leader if I did not have the love and support of my people. I want to thank you all for giving me your avid love and support. I also want to thank all those who stood in the line to ensure the progress of the Daivie even during the time it did not have a leader. I assure you all today that the Daivie will forever be our home and no one can take it from us, not even the strongest of demons. We will fight to protect what is ours and we will always remain on the peaceful side. I would like to have the first meeting with the circle of leaders tomorrow at dawn, as I would like to discuss some trivial issues regarding the clan. I promise to fight to protect our heritage. I thank you all once again, and may the grace of the great Lord Lucifer and Lord Hades be with you all."

And with that, the ceremony ended. Charlie then followed his father outside the throne room to greet the other Daivanians who were standing outside, waiting to meet their new king. It was a joyous moment for everyone.

Everyone except Hiva, who was part of the witnesses, he couldn't have been more dumbfounded that his plans to keep the Daivie without a leader for long had failed before his own eyes.

***

This meeting that the new king arranged seemed so crucial to the new king, as at dawn, King Charlie had sent servants round to all quarters to call each member of the circle of leaders. He also sent them to call the elder, along with Devine and Lucy.

He was the last to enter by the time they'd all gathered. All of those who were seated immediately got to their seat as the new king entered the meeting room of the leaders. After he'd appreciated their greeting, they all sat as he began to address them.

The king wasted no time in getting straight to the point.

"About a month ago, we all stood at the ritual ground, performing the sacred Makkue ritual. Unfortunately, the ritual was deemed unacceptable unto Lord Lucifer because it had been seen by the eyes of a human, a woman who happened to be my beloved bride, the future queen of the Daivie, a woman whom I had proposed marriage earlier.

"Thinking that she was a perpetrator, your former leader, Hiva would have executed her but for my intervention. We later agreed that another ritual would be performed after my bride would have been transformed by the next red moon."

All the leaders nodded their heads in agreement as those present on that night remembered what had happened around two weeks ago. Charlie continued.

"The agreement was that Lucifer was going to accept a new demon in exchange for doing the ritual late. All these arrangements were made when I was still the prince, but now as a king, I know better than I did before, and that is why I have decided to change the terms of the agreement that was made at the ritual ground that day."

The elder already knew where this was headed, and upon hearing this, Hiva stood up in effort to protest.

"But my Lord, you cannot…"

"Cannot what?" asked Charlie as he interrupted Hiva. "Do not forget that you were speaking to a prince on the ritual ground that day, but today, you stand before a king, so know your place!"

"I'm sorry my Lord, do carry on," Hiva quietly bent his head and sat down, finding it hard to believe what was happening before him. Charlie continued addressing the circle.

"I have spent the last few days studying about our clan, its history, and our culture, including the Makkue ritual, which has been in practice for as long as we have existed, as I wanted to be fully aware of any decision I will make as regards this kingdom, and I also wanted to be aware of the consequences of any decision I take that will affect us. That is why I decided to change the terms of the agreement. I realized that it would be an insult unto the great Lord Lucifer to offer a replacement of what we were originally supposed to give. We shouldn't be the ones to dictate what Lord Lucifer will accept. No kingdom has ever offered a late sacrifice unto the great Lord, and the Daivie clan will not be the first to do so."

"So, my Lord, what will we do now to solve this problem?" Lucy, who was seated beside Devine asked. She had her full attention on everything Charlie was saying.

"Still coming to that," Charlie replied, "I have decided that I, as a leader will take full responsibility for everything that happened on the ritual ground that day, and will accept any punishment that the great Lord Lucifer will give to me for the clan's inability to conduct a ritual this year."

He paused before continuing.

"I would not want to make any decision as a leader without presenting it to the people first, and you, the circle represent the people, so I have decided that we will vote on what I have said and if the majority does not agree, we will go on with the original plan and be ready to face what happens next if Lord Lucifer does not accept the late sacrifice."

After Charlie spoke, there was an awkward moment of silence as the leaders were deciding on what would be best for this situation.

After a while, Lucy stood up in full support.

"I believe that the king has our best interest, given that he has offered to accept any punishment from the great Lord on our behalf. I do not want to imagine what would happen to the Daivie if Lord Lucifer becomes enraged that we offered a mediocre sacrifice, so I support what the king says."

Devine seeing what Lucy did, also stood up and offered his support to Charlie and Lucy.

The first member of the circle, Lord Danister, who also happened to be a senior demon in the clan was the one who stood up to speak regarding their support after discussing it between themselves for a few moments.

"We greet you, our great king. We have received all you have said, and we as the circle, never have any right to speak against the decisions of our master. We can only offer due advice when needed, and so you do not need to come and ask us for permission to do what you have decided, only advice. Since this decision of yours is for the good of the clan, then we support it wholly."

And with that one by one, each member of the circle, they all stood up after their first leader, in support of what Charlie had said, all except, of course, Hiva.

As the majority carried the vote, the king's decision was final. Stacy was now free from any obligations to become a demon.