Book 3: Chapter 19 (2/2)

“We’ve been pressured to the point where your public appearance was all but mandatory. Your behavior lately… you also seem to have changed the way you treat your women. The point being, our Sakina family is depending on your performance, so please do your best.”

I smiled and nodded, “Yes, mother.”

Our conversation ended with that. I didn’t really know what to make of everything. The Caleb she was worried about was a completely different Caleb. Then again, I didn’t exactly have a great track record either. After waking up, I had an assassination attempt, no pregnancies, and disappeared for several weeks. I wasn’t any more trustworthy than the old Caleb.

With those kinds of thoughts, I watched the streets fly by. The city really was completely unlike Amaryllis. From a dark, almost Victorian city to an exotic and colorful tropical city. We finally pulled up to a large mansion that had dozens of other cars pulling up as well. This mansion was easily about three times the size of the one that housed the Bonholdt family. Well, they were a noble line.

Once Caleb had a boy, he would join the council and also be living in this mansion. Well, I hoped to be gone before that happened. Even if I got a girl pregnant today, it wouldn’t be born before I had jumped out of this body. I didn’t like the idea of abandoning a child, but if I saw this instead as leaving something behind for my mother who had lost everything, I didn’t feel as bad about it. That child would be well taken care of as a prince, and probably end up in a life far better than anything my children from Amaryllis would experience.

Upon entering the mansion, I was surrounded by people that I didn’t know. I was truly out of my element here. I was typically uncomfortable around a lot of people in the first place, and now these people ranged from old to young in a variety of dress and shapes. It was then that I realized the place had a rather large proportion of men. There were still more women present, especially among the youthful and the servant class. However, I suspected just about every man in the city was invited. Most of them were far older than me, and they all had positions of power.

As mother took me around, introducing me to person after to person, I began to get a better understanding of the structure of this nation, and it wasn’t what I had originally thought. In Amaryllis, men were sort of like celebrities. They were put in the public eye, but ultimately the city was run by women down to the core. In Matahari, the situation looked to be the reverse. Women were a figurehead, like my mother the Queen, but it was the council who truly ruled the city, and that council was made up of all men. As I looked around, I saw more and more men who looked to have positions of power in the city. This was probably why men were never seen on the street.

After introducing just about every person of importance in the room, a few directly, most just gestured to from across the room, mother finished. As for father and the other council members, I didn’t get a good look at them. They were apparently in a back room filled with cigar smoke. Mom glanced at the room and then turned to me, patting my head encouragingly.

“My sweet boy, please go mingle a bit. Your mother must go report to the council.”

Something about her look caught me a little. “Are you okay?”

She smiled. “All is fine, my baby, do not worry. How about you meet a few nice girls for your harem? I will be back shortly.”

As mother walked away, a handful of girls began to approach me. They ranged from about thirteen to twenty. It was instantly clear to me that they had been waiting for my mother to leave to strike. I put on a smile as a cacophony of dresses surrounded me, trapping me in.

“Prince Caleb, my name is Scarlet. When was the last time you were at an event?”

“It was five years ago…” Another woman spoke up. “You may not remember me, Prince Caleb, I’m June, my father is the head of treasury. I’m very good with numbers, unlike some of the women here.”

“Ah! I heard Prince Caleb is really mean to girls, is that true?” Those words came from a young thirteen-year-old.

The other women immediately shot her a glare, and then without a word, she was shoved outside of the group, completely abandoned in an instant. She looked like she was about to cry, but given the looks of some of the other women, her chances were up. She was a thirteen-year-old girl who had just spoken whatever was on her mind, but she had risked insulting me, so the other women took care of it smoothly.

These women were all contenders for the throne. Like mother had warned me about, some of these women came from houses that opposed Sakina. If they were impregnated, they would pull power away from our house, not give power to it. Who became the mother of my child would also become the next Queen. A Queen had charge of the palace, and not much in the ways of how the city was run, but she did have power over her son.

The Queen dictated how her son was raised, and who her son slept with. When her son joined the council, the Queen would be responsible for teaching him everything he knew. Whether he sided with the Sakina family, or the family of his mother, would also depend on the Queen. This was a key period for someone else to insert their daughter in and basically supplant the rule. It might not matter for the next twenty years, but if the wrong woman became queen, in a few decades the entire family could be depowered.

“Ladies…” I smiled, wishing that Lyra came with me and I could have avoided this scenario altogether. “It has been some time. I’m afraid I’m still reacclimating to my presence in public. I think I need a drink.”

I dismissed myself and immediately pushed through the women. Several of them gave surprised looks as I walked by. I didn’t do this because I was afraid of these women. Mother had already explained to me in excruciating detail who I could chase and who I had to put off. However, I wanted to show these women that I wasn’t someone they could easily corner. Mother had advised me to not be too docile, or they may take advantage of me.

Heading to the bartender, a pretty girl with curly hair, I immediately ordered a stiff drink. With a sip, I felt the comfort of alcohol I had rarely touched in the intervening years. After drinking myself to death, I had always worried I’d end up an alcoholic if I started consuming in this world, so I rarely ever touched the stuff. However, now definitely felt like a time to get a drink.

As I put the empty glass down, I noticed at least fifty women scattered across the room eyeing me. I was like a sacrificial lamb that all of these women were waiting to descend on. A 17year-old prince with the power to make them a Queen. For five years, presumably since my sexual maturity, I had remained exclusive and only had women added to my harem through backroom deals. Suddenly, I was on the market, and it was a free for all.

Even though I had a reputation with women, it was relatively quiet, and the temptation to become a Queen was far too much. Of course, these women weren’t all power-hungry, but even those who were being heavily pushed by their families to do whatever possible to get close to me. It was such an environment.

That was when I noticed a single girl who wasn’t looking at me out of the corner of her eyes. I didn’t recall my mother introducing her, so she must not have been in the room at the time. She was about my age, pretty, and standing by herself. She had a two piece dress on that displayed just a hint of bellybutton, and a small stud earring in her nose. Her hair was short, but pretty, and a small figure that seemed sporty and fit.

It felt like an extremely cliché moment, but I still felt compelled to approach her. Don’t they say the best woman to have power are the woman who don’t want it? I suppose I could put that to the test.

I walked across the hallway, making sure to take a path that outdistanced and avoided any of the girls who were looking towards me, giving them no chance to break away from their groups and sucking me into a conversation I wasn’t interested in having. I immediately stood next to the strange girl. She noticed me, but she didn’t say anything. Therefore, I didn’t say a word either. Instead, I just stood by her. She was looking out over the balcony at a lake down below. With the moon shining off it, it was actually quite beautiful.

Our backs were to the party, so no one could see if our mouths were open or not. In an instant, I had cut myself off from the rest of the party, and none of the girls would dare come out here and try to cause trouble.

Ah… I was already falling back into old habits. Didn’t I come here with the intent to find a queen? Now I was just trying to avoid everyone again. This kind of stuff was too difficult. I probably would just wait for the Queen to return and then I’d let her make the connections. I didn’t want to accidentally make any mistakes. I let out a long sigh.

The girl’s eyes flickered over to me. “Prince Caleb.”

I smiled, “Hey.”

“You haven’t been meeting me of late. I thought you had forgotten about us.”

“Us?” I blinked.

“Are you still having doubts about this? We made an agreement.”

“I don’t…” I shook my head. “Right, what of it?”

If I pretended I didn’t know, it’d only backfire on me, causing more problems. Rather, I decided to pretend I understood what she was talking about.

“Che…” She put an ugly expression on her face. “The revolution is coming. Your family line is at an end. We’re less than half a year away from beginning. Everyone you know will be dead. This is the only way you’re going to survive the coming storm, so it’d be best if you didn’t give me your attitude.”

My eyes widened. “R-right, of course, what do I need to do?”

The girl glanced around first before leaning forward. “Meet me in the greenhouse in an hour. You’ll receive further orders.”

The girl spun around and walked away, disappearing into the party room. I put my hand on my forehead. What in the hell? Just when I thought this whole thing was going to be simple. What did she say? Less than half a month? That meant whatever was going down was going to happen before I was out of here. Why did this freaking country have to be falling apart? Why did I have to be in the middle of it? I wanted to blame Lilith.

I finally turned around, preparing to face another round of women suitors when the doors which lead back to the council were shoved open. A large group of men came out, and in the middle of them was my mother. I frowned as I looked at the group, which settled on a place at the top of a stairway to give their

Announcement

.

“Ladies and gentlemen, after careful discussion, the council has decided that Queen Talitha Sakina has not acted in the best interests of this country. For her dereliction of duty and in order to seek recompense, she will be given ten lashings, as per disciplinary law!”