“Brightfire, I wanted to talk to you about the palace guard. I want to change it to the Queens’ guard. I want all of you to have guards with you any time you are out in public or meeting with anyone outside our government.”

  Myria says “Is that really necessary? I don’t need a bunch of people following me around all the time.”

  Brightfire says “I can do that, but I kind of agree with Myria.”

  “Yes, it is. It is not only a status symbol now that you are queens, but it is also a needed safety measure. People will know that they can’t target me, so they will look to target you.”

  Mercy says “I agree with Ash. I already have a personal guard. They will probably want to join the Queens’ guard.”

  Brightfire says “Some people with experience at the job would be welcome. I was thinking that it is about time we start recruiting more members from outside of the elves.”

  Lin says “I agree that we should have guards with us. It will take some getting used to, but it is a part of being a queen.”

  “I will send a message to Leonarr right now. I will ask him to pick out a few veterans from the army to transfer over. Between them and the guards of Mercy’s that want to join we should have a decent increase in numbers.”

  Brightfire says “That sounds like it will work. I want to keep them rotating between the four of us and training.”

  Sero says “What about us?”

  “The two of you will be acting as the religious advisors for my queens. You will be protected along with them, but this way it shouldn’t upset the beastmen.”

  Lin says “That should work. The religion has spread among the beastmen enough that they should respect them and not question their presence. Them being with us will allow them to learn about everything first hand.”

  Kreno says “Sounds good to me.”

  Sero says “That sounds like a good plan.”

  “You don’t have to sound so surprised! I make really good plans!”

  Lin says “It’s true, he does make good plans. The problems only show up when he is carrying out those plans.”

  Myria says “Let’s not start that argument again. So, are we heading back after breakfast?”

  “Yeah, we are.”

  Myria says “It’s a shame, this has been really nice and I don’t want it to end.”

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  Lin says “Agreed. The island will still be here, we can always come back if we can find the time.”

  Brightfire says “That may be true, but it won’t be just us at that point. If we are opening the island to others, they will also be here. Some among my people have been less than thrilled at living inside the city. I figure that those will make good caretakers for the island.”

  “They don’t like the city?”

  Brightfire says “It is more that they were used to living in the forest and they miss it. The city is beautiful and full of history, but it doesn’t have the same feel.”

  “I guess that makes sense, it is underground after all. I am just surprised that having the main tree there isn’t enough to keep them there.”

  Brightfire says “Oh, don’t get me wrong, everyone loves the tree and it does a lot for us. It is growing well and it makes us all feel good, but some people still miss living in the forest.”

  “Working on the island will only be a temporary fix. We can work on adding more trees and plants to the city, that might help.”

  Brightfire says “That will help some of them, but not all. It’s not as much about the amount of plants as it is about the wildness of the forest.”

  “There isn’t much that we can do about that. We could maybe turn the orchards into a small forest.”

  Brightfire says “That might work. I will talk to them and draw up some plans for you to look at when you get back from visiting the dragon.”

  “Alright, that should work. I plan to ask Albion to help with the island and probably the city once we have a plan. He has a real knack for working with plants and I think having a job to do will help him.”

  Brightfire says “Sounds good. I know my people will enjoy working with him.”

  Lin says “I thought you wanted to just let them be kids?”

  “I do, which is why I will ask him, not tell him. Considering how much they have grown, I can’t just keep treating them like kids. I have already let them go into combat, having other jobs won’t be an issue.”

  Sero says “After all I have heard, I can’t wait to meet them!”

  “You will be meeting them as soon as we leave here. They will also know your true position, as will Bella.”

  Kreno says “Aw, I was looking forward to being your dirty little secret!”

  “That isn’t the plan and you know it! This isn’t just for our benefit, it is for yours as well. If your followers found out about the two of you, you would never know a moment's peace.”

  Sero says “That’s true. It is the main reason that our creators don’t make avatars very often.”

  Lin says “I could probably make some items that would alter how others see you. You would look the same to us, but different to other people. It would reduce the chances of you being recognized.”

  Sero says “That would be great, thank you! We are eager to get out and meet people, but we were worried that we would be recognized.”

  Lin says “No problem. I will work on it as soon as we get back.”

  Myria says “Once we get back, I am planning on taking the next trial so I will be gone for a while. I put it off because of the wedding, but I want to do it now.”

  Lin says “Alright, we will take care of things while you are in the trial.”

  Mercy says “I will be heading back to my kingdom to make sure everything goes as smoothly as possible. I am not sure what you will want me to do after that?”

  “I know you probably won’t like it, but I think you would be the best at diplomatic stuff. You are the most experienced with that kind of thing and the only one with enough patience for it.”

  Mercy says “Well, I won’t say that I am happy about it, but you are right.”

  “Don’t worry, it won’t be as bad as you think. There won’t be any other nations left on the peninsula and most of the bad nobles have been taken care of.”

  Mercy says “So, you are going to unify the peninsula into an empire?”

  “Yeah, I guess I am. I will be focused on unifying the remaining tribes first. Leonarr will be in charge of dealing with the empire. I am thinking that the Free Union can be convinced to join us without a fight.”