Forbidden Queen
Chapter Forty-Eight – Pomp and Ceremony

Katy

Our trip to the northern territory had been a welcome relief from the stuffiness and ceremony of the royal court, but now we are back, Aaron is determined to make up for the time he has lost.

He has arranged five meetings today to discuss finalising the guest list, and seating plan for the ceremony, banquet, and ensuring that I have new ceremonial robes, and appropriate dresses for the ceremony itself and the ball afterwards. Fortunately, Martha, has the dresses and robes required well in hand.

She was unhappy that she was not allowed to accompany me on our trip, but I explained to her as soon as we got back why it was too dangerous for her to have joined us. She seemed to be mollified by that, and anyway her time had been well spent.

The dresses she had produced for the coronation were gorgeous. She has even created a set of beautiful dresses for Emma to wear. I am so grateful I know how excited Emma will be. With so much going on I was glad that that was one thing ticked off my list.

Although the meetings with Aaron could be tiring, and sometimes felt overwhelming, they aren’t as bad as the spiritual meetings that I have to attend with Kirsty.

I had been back less than a day when she came to my office. She had begun by giving me a lecture on how my visit to the northern territory had upset her plans for my religious education. In her view the coronation would be in jeopardy if I did not truly understand the spiritual importance of the ceremony. She had ordered me to attend daily sessions with her to rectify the situation and improve my knowledge of the moon goddess.

I make my way to her house in the palace grounds for today’s session. Kirsty’s house is a small and dilapidated building. It is made of stone that she had painted bright purple. The garden is overgrown, with long grass that reaches up to my knees, and an abundance of wildflowers.

I make my way up the path and knock on her door. When she answers I notice that she is wearing a long sparkly rainbow coloured gown, her hair is swept up in a messy bun, and she had dandelions tucked behind each of her ears.

“My queen please come in” she says with a slight bow.

I follow her into the houses’ small living room with its mismatched brightly coloured furniture. A fire with pink flames is burning away in the hearth. I take a seat on a comfy chair and wait for her to begin.

Each of her sessions begin in the same way. With a lecture on the importance of the moon goddess, and how the coronation ceremony would be the pivotal moment when she would confirm if I was the rightful queen, deserving of the loyalty of all werewolves.

Talking about this part of the ceremony always makes me feel tense. I can’t help worrying that my royal blood will never be able to compensate for my upbringing as an omega wolf far away from the royal kingdom, and that the goddess might not think that I am worthy to be queen.

Alex tries to reassure me that this is not the case. The coronation is only ceremonial, the moon goddess had never appeared before and is unlikely to make an appearance now whatever Kirsty may say.

I know that he is right but when I am with Kirsty, it is so easy to be taken in by her conviction that the moon goddess will really be there.

“Today I will talk you through the questions I am going to ask you as part of the ceremony and help you memorise the answers you must give.

I will begin by asking you ‘do you pledge your loyalty to the moon goddess?’ You must respond by saying ‘yes I pledge my loyal to the moon goddess’”

I repeat the words.

“Good” Kirsty says with a warm smile

“Next, I will ask you ‘Do you promise to worship her as the one true deity and observe all her teachings?’ You will respond with ‘Yes, there is only one true deity, the moon goddess. I promise to worship her as the true goddess of all werewolves, and to ensure that all my subjects adhere to her teachings.’”

I repeat the answer to the question.

“Good after you have answered these questions it will be for the moon goddess to judge you and determine your fitness to rule. If she chooses not to reject you then I will move to anoint you with the holy oils, and then I will place the royal crown on your head. From that point you will truly be queen.”

I nod, “has she ever rejected a king or queen before? Has she ever intervened to prevent a monarch being crowned?”

“Not for one thousand years, but those were different times. The crown was not passed down from mother to son, it changed hands through bloodshed and war. The wolf that seized the throne was cruel and ruthless. He had killed all the other candidates. I was forced to perform the ceremony, but when he tried to answer the questions, the moon goddess denied his claim.”

She was forced to perform the ceremony! As werewolves we live longer than the average human but not by hundreds of years. She could not have performed that ceremony and still have been alive today. Yet another strange remark from Kirsty.

“How did she deny his claim?”

“She spoke to me directly and told me that he was unworthy. At the same time, she gave a clear sign of her displeasure that none of those who attended the coronation could mistake.”

Before I could ask what this sign was, she continued. “Well, that is enough for today. We will pick up again tomorrow when I will take you through the other parts of the ceremony. You will not play apart in these but must be aware of them.”

“Thank you” I say as I get up to leave. As usual it was another strange meeting with Kirsty, and I am glad to get out and go back to the more mundane planning for the coronation with Aaron.

Anna

After our return from the Northern Territory Daniel and I had comfortably settled into our old routine. He spends his days training with the royal warriors, while I continued to help the healers at the royal hospital.

I haven’t seen the wolf that my father sent to threaten me again, and I hope that now Karen has been exposed as my father’s spy that he will be lying low.

I haven’t spoken to either Alex or Katy since we got back. They had been busy preparing for the coronation and catching up on their royal duties. I was sad to see the easy familiarity which had grown between us during the trip disappear, but I understood how difficult it was for them to keep this up at the royal court where they had so many official duties and calls on their time.

I was therefore surprised when I received a message asking me to meet Katy in her office.

When I arrive, she greets me with a smile and a hug.

“How have you been?” She asks me. “Have you returned to the hospital?”

“Yes, I have been kept busy treating patients.”

“Good. Have the medicines and equipment we agreed to provide to the northern pack been sent?”

“Yes. I made sure they were sent the week we came back” I say with pride. I had spent hours sourcing the equipment and medicines required and arranging for them to be transport to the northern territory. I was determined to help them in any way that I could.

“Good, thank you. That was very efficient of you. I have another role for you if you would be interested. I am conscious that I have no idea what the healing provided to the wolves in the other territories is like. If they have as few resources as the northern pack, I want to do something about it.

I would like you to take on the responsibility for ensuring that the healing throughout my kingdom is of a consistently good standard. You will need to contact each of the Royal Betas to discuss the healing in their territories and arrange for trained healers and equipment to be sent to them where there are shortages.

Long term I would like you to travel to each of their healing facilities to assess for yourself their weaknesses. That won’t be possible for a while, all travel is dangerous while your father continues to launch attacks on our borders, but long term I would like you to be my official healing advisor.”

“Thank you” I say stunned that she has offered me such an important role. “Am I though the best person for this role? I haven’t been here very long, and I am still learning to be a healer.”

“The healers in the royal hospital have been singing your praises since you arrived. They all believe that you are very strong healer, with powers far greater than they possess. You have proved your organisational skills by arranging the delivery of equipment to the northern territory. I honestly can’t think of anyone who would do the job better.”

“Thank you” I say again. I am so grateful for the opportunity.

“Thank me by proving me right and doing a good job.”

I can’t wait to tell Daniel about my new role. I feel like I have finally found a place that I belong.

Alex

Today was the day of Karen’s execution. Joseph hadn’t managed to break her, she had refused to talk to the end, so we were still no closer to knowing who her accomplices were.

We decided that it shouldn’t be a public execution. Only Joseph, a squad of the royal guards, Katy and I were present. Katy had insisted on attending. If she was going to order people’s execution, she wanted to look them in the eye when the sentence was carried out.

It was over quickly. Joseph had arranged for her to beheaded. Karen had no final words, she was no longer proud or defiant, but she was brave, she didn’t cry or struggle. It only took a matter of seconds for the executioner to cleanly severe her head from her body.

I was proud of Katy she didn’t look away or get upset when the sentence was carried out, but I knew how much it had saddened her to watch the execution of one of her advisors. I was glad that I would soon have some good news to share with her.

Euan has got back to me about the arrangements for Jordan’s transfer to the Lunar Eclipse pack and his subsequent trial. He is going to bring Lily to the coronation and has suggested that we delay transferring Jordan until after the coronation, when Euan can take him back personally.

I have agreed to his plan.

I have decided not to tell Katy that Lily will be coming to the coronation. She will be so excited to see her best friend. It will be a nice surprise.