Valerian, The Legendary

231 Coronation Of The Empress.

Valerian did not leave the palace and stayed hidden inside Morgana’s room. The princess had just returned from putting up a facade in front of the ministers and was the only left Princess. They did not converse and spent their time in silence, holding each other. They might be young but they knew that at this point, all they could do to win this hand was to pull a bluff. All the cards have been turned over.

If Morgana did not manage to ascend the throne, then Valerian was going to kill all those who were next in line. He did not care about anything but how Morgana was going to get the throne. Morgana sensed his emotions but she did not say anything to him.

...

Noor had just finished plotting his idea to deal with Morgana with Jamil and Kalam. The three princes were smart and they had been plotting and scheming for a long time now, despite being young.

However, what they did not know was that at this same time, Zeenat was doing her best to convince all the ministers on how Morgana was not only the best potential battlemage in the nation, but she also had the qualities to lead the nation to a new high as an Empress.

A loyalist asked, “Your highness, going by the laws, you are the next in line, despite the fact that you are married, if your husband, Count Balash, renounces his claim to the position of the Emperor regent, then you will be the Empress, one of your children will be able to succeed your position.”

Zeenat smiled and shook her head, she replied, “You all may not understand but people have always been judgemental about origins and appearances. I am a cripple, my leg, well it’s hopeless. As for my image? You all know how the citizens thought about my late father. I will just be an extension of that horror.”

The loyalist nodded and asked, “Well, images can be improved with some charity work.”

Zeenat smiled and with a chuckle, she said, “Minister Bythro, images cannot be changed with charity done overnight. You all are aware of the charity work Morgana has done in the past. Many of your house staff are the people she rescued and provided for.

.....

The people from the struggling work are all much more grateful to her than they are to me, or any of the members of the royal family. A nation cannot be governed when the Emperor resides in the palace all the time. You need to go out and learn about the people and their hearts.”

The ministers nodded, the old man who had complimented and asked Morgana to stay in the palace, had been silent from the start, suddenly spoke up, “Your Highness, I would like to resign from my position of the Prime Minister.”

The whole lobby was stunned by this and chaos rose up. The old man laughed and said, “Although I am grateful for your love, understand that I am now older than all of you. I need my rest, also, I am not done talking yet. I have a proposal. Care to listen?”

The people calmed down the old man continued speaking, “I would like to nominate Her Highness Zeenat as the next prime minister.”

The council was surprised, and Zeenat was the only shocked person. The old man could see the flashes of doubt in her eyes and said, “You do not need to be in doubt, your wisdom is sufficient, and as time passes you will learn more about the world and you will continue to grow. I will be at your service for as long as I live. However, my designation will be the Royal Advisor. We used to have one before your father took the throne.”

The councilmen all agreed and supported Zeenat to take the position finally when all her reasons were discarded, the Princess agreed. She then asked, “What do you think about the next emperor or empress?”

The old man said, “Our neighbors, The Lumen Empire have always advocated the phrase, ‘Talent over Birth.’

The fourth prince they adopted is said to be an evil-doer, the best battlemage, and also the person who killed thousand of Valkyrians alone. I suggest that we do the same. A nation at peace is much more prosperous than the nation at war.”

This old man was the eldest and has served two Emperors as the prime minister. His words held great sway in the council which consisted of the Loyalists mostly. Zeenat nodded and said, “The reason I am alive is also that child saved my life, you can imagine burying all of the heirs to be buried together, and then Noor will climb the throne, not only will he ruin the Battlemage we all need, but also spell the downfall of the Empire.”

The council all fell silent and then the voting started. After the council, the public was given a choice to veto the choice. When Jamal had taken the throne, he killed all his relatives. So there was no other choice and the people were scared to even comment on him.

This time the council agreed to the proposal and then a royal proclamation was sent out from the office of the prime minister.

...

Early morning, the people were about to get back to their daily lives when they suddenly spotted a few soldiers beating drums in the squares. The crowd gathered and the officer in the lead said, “You are hereby informed that Princess Zeenat has now been promoted to Prime Minister. She was sworn to the office last night and will now be addressed as Madam Prime Minister.”

The proclamation was announced thrice and the people nodded. This was not expected but as long as they have not made any decisions about the throne, things were fine. The masses were about to go back to their work when the soldiers started to beat the drums again.

The lead soldier said in a voice louder than before, “This is to inform you all that the council has decided that Princess Morgana will be coronated as the empress in a fortnight. If anyone has any objection, they can vote for Prince Noor as their Emperor.”

The crowd was in a daze, they did not hear anything apart from Princess Morgana being coronated. This was no less than a festival for them. They all wished for Morgana to be the Empress, they had been praying and praying only.

They all began to cheer and someone said, “From now till the next week, let us celebrate and thank Vita for blessing the people with wisdom.”

The proposal was accepted unanimously.

...

The proclamation was also circulated in the Palace, and when Noor heard this, he felt that the rug has been swept from below his feet. He was planning all night long but he was not even given a chance to enact this. However, he was not going to give in so easily, he was going to fight till his last breath.

Thinking about this, he walked out of his room and made his way to the prime minister’s office, where Zeenat was working. She was the only person he could negotiate with.

The boy came to the office and the guard outside said, “Your Highness, please wait here, I will inform Madam Prime Minister of your visit.”

The guard opened the door and walked inside, he looked at Zeenat, who was looking at a scroll with great concentration, and said, “Madam, His Highness Noor is here seeking an audience with you.”

Zeenat nodded and said, “Allow him in.”

The guard nodded and bowed to Zeenat before going out. After a few seconds, Noor walked in with a smile. The prince bowed to her and said with a smile, “Congratulation on your promotion, Aunt.”

Zeenat did not correct him and nodded as she asked, “What is it?”

Noor asked, “Why did the council allow for her to be coronated?”

“The Council allowed her to do this because she has the merit. We are not going to follow the lines and make the same mistake again. The citizens have accepted her as the Empress. What do you have to say? Mind you, the candidates do not have any right to challenge the decision of the council.”, said Zeenat.

She had shut down the doors in his face. Noor clenched his fists and said, “You just mentioned that the council will not be following the same methods of the past. This same should be applied to the rights of the candidates. I would like to use my right of the royal descendant and challenge Morgana for the throne.”

The prince was not going to bow down to anyone, Zeenat sighed and put down the scroll as she asked, “Do you know that by exercising this right, you will be renouncing your status as the royal descendant? Also, the duel will be life and death. Are you sure?”

Noor nodded, and said, “I am sure, you will see that I am not as weak as you all see me.”

The coronation was announced, but before that came a test that Morgana will have to pass at all costs, and Noor seemed to have a card up his sleeves.