Quite a Proposal

After consulting a servant, Noble was directed to an office maintained by former Queen Emira.

As Noble expected, it was well-kept and neatly organized. Something the professor had noticed about the former monarch was how meticulously clean she wanted everything to be.

There were shelves of clearly labeled books ranging from law to the Queen's own bookkeeping notes.

'That woman must spend all her time writing!'

There were unfinished papers on an ornate table, but even they were piled in tidy stacks awaiting a monarch's attention.

Noble gingerly pushed them aside and made a place for Counsel's proposal.

Spreading out the page, she studied each and every word carefully to make sure she had gained its full meaning.

Of course, she wasn't doing it to keep Counsel from bringing up the matter of who Noble was in love with. Surely he had forgotten all about that by now! No, she was being a good leader and giving the document her full attention.

Kosi had disappeared as soon as they arrived, probably to chase a palace pest or go relieve himself. 

Counsel and Noble were completely alone. 

'It's not a problem,' Noble told herself. 'It just means I can be more candid with my feedback on his proposal.'

And what a proposal it was.

The first part was straightforward enough. It freed those in slavery from their masters and granted them the same rights as other citizens. 

'Something that should have been done long ago.' Noble mused. 

Her mentality was different than those in the Dream Realm. Even in the waking world, slavery was part of nearly every culture in the ancient past. It was only through years of struggle by good people and eventually the decimation of most of humanity by war and other catastrophes that the practice was finally fully abolished back home. 

Here, most people who weren't affected directly by it probably never gave the institution a second thought. It was just the way things were. 

'Huh?'

While the first part of the document was something that Noble could understand and support, the more she read, the more concerned she became. 

"What do you mean by this?" the woman asked at last. 

She held out the paper for him to peruse. 

Counsel squinted, "What are you confused by?" 

"It reads like you want every person who has ever owned a slave to either be put to death or enslaved themselves." Noble blinked at the page. 

"Oh, that." The man shrugged. "I figured it was only fair to give them the choice."

"Between servitude and death? Not much of a choice!" The new queen's mouth hung open.

"It is still more choice than they give those in their supposed 'care.' I thought that was being generous." The man furrowed his brow. 

"I assumed you wanted to get rid of slavery, not change one form for another. This law would have included my parents, who freed you!" Noble rubbed her forehead.

At least some of the palace staff were if not slaves, then at least indentured servants. Would Counsel force Noble from the throne right after she claimed it?

"You could make case-by-case exceptions, Your Majesty..." Counsel started. 

"I don't think you know what you are asking. You are trading one wrong for another." Noble felt a wave of anger from the man before her. 

"You have no idea what it is like to be a slave. My first master was a difficult man, making me stand completely still to hold books for hours on end while he practiced his sorcery. I just thought he was lonely, and maybe he was, but you don't treat those you care about like pieces of furniture.

"After he died, things only got worse, I suffered every manner of abuse at the hands of those who had power. It wasn't until I ended up in your parents' household that I found any relief. Yes, they set me free and treated me like a human, but they were an exception, not the rule. Even then...I was never considered their equal. How could I be with my background?" Counsel's face darkened. 

Leaning across the table, Noble placed her hand on the man's arm. "You should never have had to go through all of that. No one should." 

"That is why we must punish those who are responsible." Counsel pressed. 

"But this? No!" Noble took a deep breath. "We need to focus on bettering the lives of those freed first and foremost." 

The man blew out his cheeks. "Your Majesty, if you would hear me out. The only way I see to get justice is to reverse the roles." 

"Then you need new eyes, Counsel." Noble handed him the paper and held up her hand. "Rewrite this. Maybe try some restitution for survivors of slavery– either from their masters or the royal treasury. We have at least some we can spare. I know which advisor would have numbers on both the amount of money we can spend on this project and the number of people affected." 

Tapping her fingers, Noble's mind raced. She hadn't exactly wanted to broach this topic, but now that she had, there was no stopping her mind from fixing the problem. Real or not, these people's plight was now her problem. 

"We will start by freeing those in the palace and offering them compensation. If they want to stay on staff, then they will be paid for their work from now on." Noble would have loved to make a more sweeping edict, but first, she needed to lead by example. 

Counsel looked down at the paper, trying to decide if arguing with the queen would make any difference. The anger in his soul over years of terrible treatment was not something he would be able to release in these few minutes. 

He felt something cool and calming press against his consciousness. Counsel sighed. "I will make another draft." 

"Thank you. I look forward to reading it." Noble smiled brightly. 

There was a loud scratch at the door and a whimper. 

"You better let Kosi in before the door splinters." The Queen chuckled lightly. 

Nodding, Counsel let in the Symncus, who was still chewing some vermin in his mouth. 

'Hopefully, it wasn't human...' 

"Since Kosi is here, I will take my leave to carry out the duties which you have assigned. That is, unless you have anything else you need from me, Your Majesty?" The man's formal tone was not lost on Noble. 

She decided to let him have some time to reflect. "If you wouldn't mind sending a servant so I can draw up the plan for the palace staff, I would appreciate it. And if you see General Theo, send him my way as well." 

Counsel bowed and exited. 

Noble relaxed for a moment. "Well, that could have gone better..." 

Kosi gave her a quizzical look as he swallowed. 

"I'll fill you in later." The queen was surprised by the quick knock at the door. 

Had Counsel forgotten something? 

No, it was General Theo.

"You wanted to see me, Your Majesty?" The soldier lowered his head. 

"Come in!" Noble beckoned him forward. "I require your military prowess in accomplishing a top priority in the kingdom." 

"I will do whatever I can." Theo's hand instinctively went to his sword. "What do you need?" 

Pulling a paper from one of the neat piles, Noble pointed to the mountains and drew a line to Crestfall. A sad smile formed on her face. "What do I need? Nothing much. Just a plan to take down a Tyrant."