JUNIPER
Over the next few days, I mulled over what Reva said about advisors. With a pen and a sheet of paper, I sat in front of a roaring fire and contemplated the future of this kingdom. I specifically didn’t think about what that meant for myself. It would come later. My needs and wants didn’t matter at the moment.
Jesper’s name was written at the top of the list but for the life of me, I couldn’t think of what he could advise me on. Maybe the military? Maybe foreign relations? Did he know anything about foreign countries? I would need to grill him soon enough and I didn’t know how I felt about that. I hadn’t seen him in days and wondered what he was up to but I was worried about how our relationship was going to fair moving forward. The entire ordeal made me feel awkward. I should have known better than to let him try to court me and give me attention. Just because it worked out fine with Alric didn’t mean that would always be the case and I needed to be in the best standing with my advisors.
Romantic involvement with my advisors and court was not a territory I could get wrapped up in.
Edna? I wrote under his name and then promptly crossed through it. I would love nothing more than to give her a higherstanding and position within the castle but I also knew that it could end up too much for her. Royal planning and being head of the household were completely different things. I knew, even though I didn’t like it, that she wasn’t ready for such responsibilities. I chewed on the end of the pen.
Grove would want to remain within the military and stay with the guards. Since she returned from her survivor mission, she’d trained non-stop with Leo. They’d given their reports to Alric and then disappeared into their own worlds. She still trained with Reva but there was a disconnect without Ash. I could feel it when we were all together.
I tapped the pen against the arm of the chair and thought harder. Reva could be one of my advisors. I knew she would love nothing more than organizing libraries, schools, and making sure the children—that would come—would be educated and learning. She would probably be happy with a position organizing events or holidays.
Alric would eventually be my advisor of diplomacy once we organized an official royal guard that he was satisfied with. He insisted that he would hand-pick them and train them to his liking. Thankfully, there were enough members of the previous army who survived and ended up in homes around the city.
A knock on my door pulled me from my thoughts. Quickly, I scribbled down Alric’s name under Jesper’s and got up to open my door. Jesper stood on the other side. I smiled softly at him and welcomed him into my chambers. I didn’t feel so weird with him now that I’d set the record straight on my feelings. “I was just thinking about you.”
“I hope it was nothing good,” he winked and my cheeks heated. He held his hands up and let out a deep chuckle. “Sorry, sorry.”
I waved it away and laughed with him. “Just going over my list of advisors and what they will advise me on.”
He nodded thoughtfully as he walked to my bookcase and surveyed all the romance novels the magical castle didn’t let me deviate away from. “You have quite the collection here.”
I covered my face with my hands and shook my head. “It wouldn’t matter what I want to read, the castle has a mind of its own and only lets me read what it thinks I should.”
“Is this what you want to read?” One of his white brows lifted.
“Sometimes,” I ran my finger down the spines. “But I don’t even get to pick the tropes. I don’t always want forbidden romance or bodyguard. Sometimes I want enemies to lovers or friends to lovers. I never get a say. I would be okay with a cozy mystery even.”
“I’ll have to borrow some books from my sister and bring them to you then.” My curtains were open and the sun was setting in the distance. He gazed out at my little city with a small curl to his lips. “A lot has changed since we last saw each other.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about all of the refugees or even seek your counsel. It has been somewhat crazy around here.”
“I see that,” His eyes roamed across the people milling about doing their daily work. “It’s so strange how quickly things can change but it’s okay. If you will have them, I still have Shadow Elves that would love nothing more than to live in your city or work for you here at the castle.”
I didn’t know how I felt about them working inside the castle just yet and I knew Alric would immediately veto it but I would consider it. “Actually, I think Alric would love for your warriors to train with our army sometime.”
Both of his brows lifted on his forehead this time. There was no amusement or twinkle in his eye like usual and his expression remained impassive. “I think that could be arranged. Is Alric the head of the army around here now?”
I nodded my head. “Yes, he was the commander’s right-hand man before everything happened. If anyone is fit for the job, it's him.”
“Glad to hear it, I will get with him soon then and have our people meet.”
“After that,” I started. “I would love nothing more than to have your people live here. It is going to be a transition and I want to make sure my people are prepared for it. As it was discussed before, any magical being was either illegal, hunted, or cursed. It might take some time for them to accept Shadow Elves or even wood witches.”
He smiled with a little bit of teeth and reassurance filled my chest. “Of course. It will be an interesting transition for us all.”
“Before you go,” I touched his arm and he turned back to me. “I do have a question for you.”
A hopeful look entered his eye and I prayed he didn’t think I was going to ask him about something romantic. “Anything.”
“Do you know anything about the foreign lands?”
The sparkle in his eyes dimmed before completely dying out and I hated myself for it. But I couldn’t have us on a romantic footing, it wouldn’t be right. It wouldn’t be fair to either of us. I wanted him to be happy, but it couldn’t be with me.
He teetered his hand back and forth. “Not really. We have plenty of maps. That question is probably better asked to the mermaids or even the wood witches. The wood witches can access magic almost anywhere in the world. The mermaids can travel to any of the oceans in the world. This just happens to be one of their capitols. We have the maps,” He shrugged. “They have the knowledge.”
“Thank you so much for that info, it helps more than you know.”
