Chapter 12

Their entrance hadn’t gone unnoticed.

While Ayden told the waiter to tell everyone to be seated, Trae located Collin and Serpin and asked them to follow. Paige and Justine considered themselves included and also followed him. Trae had the small group sit at one of the top tables.

They were rather surprised to be so seated, but they did sit where they were told. No one else seemed to be invited to the top tables. They guessed that Queen Ivana and Lacy were supposed to be at the other top table with their advisors, who seemed to have disappeared.

They watched as the rest of the guests hurried to find a seat. None of them was marked but the Lords and Ladies moved to the front and the rest sat in whatever pecking order the nobility here deemed acceptable. They watched Trae in anticipation of the next lot of events for their entertainment.

On the extended area of the dais, Trae indicated Ayden should kneel in front of him. The crowd quietened as he did. Not everyone could see well so those at the back sat on the tables to get a better view. No one complained.

Trae kept it short and sweet, shocking many. Once he was sure that he had the attention of most he stated, “People of Boa Island. I am Lord Wizard Trae Quintin of Cuttail Island. While not your Lord Wizard, I was asked to come and officiate this ceremony and it is with great honour that I do so. I do believe that in time you will get your own Wizards.”

“From what I have recently learnt, Wizards and magic are coming back to this Planet. I have observed that good magical practices have slipped of late and it seems that the Gods have not forgotten you and they have decided to tighten things up a bit and remind you how a magically gifted being should behave.”

“Due to the death of Queen Carmila, her vambrace has determined that Prince Ayden is the best choice for seeing in a new era as your Regent. Unfortunately, Queen Ivana’s inability to accept these changes has resulted in her removal and the destruction of her magical items of office. May the Gods be merciful.”

“May the Gods be merciful,” chanted the crowd.

After a few moments, he went on, “It seems that for whatever reason the Gods have decided, Prince Ayden will rule all of Boa Island for the foreseeable future. To assist Ayden, he has been gifted with two boxes.”

“They are for his paramour and his primary consort. I would also suggest he find a couple of Viceroy’s to handle things when he is traveling between the Palaces and the other cities, if he doesn’t make them his partners.”

They all chuckled when Ayden nodded his head in agreement. They couldn’t see him wanting his new partners living in different cities. May haps in the future that will change but no one could see that happening for quite some time.

Trae also grinned before he put his serious face on again. “Prince Ayden, your sword.”

Ayden drew his sword and presented it to Trae across his open palms. Tray took the handle and pointed the tip to the ceiling. He then said, “Prince Ayden, do you promise to serve all the people of this planet and Boa Island to the best of your abilities and under the guidance of the Gods and Goddesses of Tara?”

“I, Prince Ayden Tyler do promise to serve all the people of this planet and Boa Island to the best of my abilities and under the guidance of the Gods and Goddesses of Tara,” he replied.

Trae touched the tip of the Sword to Ayden’s head. “So be it,” Trae intoned. The Sword glowed bright for several seconds and then settled down to a duller but still noticeable glow. “Arise, Regent Ayden Tyler of Boa Island and take your rightful place.”

Ayden stood and Trae presented him with the sword on the flat of his palms. Ayden bowed his head and retrieved the sword. He placed it back in its scabbard. Trae stepped to the side and Ayden mounted the two steps. He turned and sat upon the throne.

“Ladies and gentlemen, may I present your Regent, Ayden Tyler,” Trae said with a flourish of his hand. The crowd cheered as Ayden bowed his head to them.

Trae clicked his fingers and two carved marble tables that stood a metre high, and had a forty-centimetre round glass top appeared at the base of the stairs. Three Sliders twisted around one another to form the support that held the top. Their tails provided the feet and their chests the support. The head of each peered over the smoky coloured glass top.

The tables were set in front of the two less ornate chairs that sat either side of the throne, and on the middle step leading to the top of the dais. A pink box appeared on one and a red box appeared on the other. People gasped when they appeared.

Trae said, as he got their attention back, “The only people who can remove the boxes from the tables are their rightful owners or the Regent. If the owner of a box is not here tonight and Regent Ayden desires to travel to find them, then he only needs to call the box he wishes, and it will go to him.”

“Regent Aydan has declared that he will accept the person who can open a box to claim its contents, as his partner. The Gods have deemed this is a fair and just method of selection since they determine who can have magical items.” This caused several murmurs in the crowd.

Trae went on, “The items have also been tied to Ayden’s items to ensure that he too is happy with whom they select, after all, he is the one who has to live with them in this life time,” Trae grinned at Ayden’s relief and the crowd chuckled.

Those who were worried by the first statement agreed that this was fair as a person did have the right to be with the person they fell in love with. Those who knew that Ayden would never accept them as his partner had their hopes dashed at claiming one of the boxes.

Many others, however, still remained hopeful.

Trae handed the proceedings over to Ayden.

Ayden indicated that for the moment he would like Trae to take one of the seats beside him. Trae agreed, as it was a good vantage to watch the crowd. However, he chose the second chair rather than one beside Ayden, so he sat next to Justine.

“I think I shall sit here as one of your advisors for this ceremony,” Trae said. Ayden smiled and nodded. He also noted that many thought this was an amicable solution since traditionally the two closest chairs were for his partners.

In the main throne room, the chairs were set up similarly to how they were now but, in that room, they also had another three chairs behind the principal ones, for scribes. Other advisors or princesses in training sat at the tables. Several of the long-term advisors of the old Queen also noted they were the same chairs and had to chuckle because they had been swopped so that the better chairs were now in here.

One Duchess even commented that the round tables were from the Pavilion in the back garden and looked a lot cleaner than the last time she had seen them. Trae caught her eye and winked at her making her giggle. Trae even whispered to Ayden to cultivate that woman, as she was a keen observer. Ayden was smart enough to take note.

Ayden then stood and the throng quietened. “Before I start the fealty ceremony, I have an announcement to make. As Lord Trae as indicated, magic is on the rise. I have heard comments recently in regard to the fact that unlike other Islands we don’t have a Mage Guild. I believe they fell out of favour with my mother a century or more ago.”

He was not surprised by the grumbles in the crowd. He knew many considered this a sign that when compared to other Islands theirs seemed barbaric by not having this institution. So, he took pleasure in saying, “There for, I have decided that the guild needs to be reformed.”

He had to wait for the excited chatter to settle down and guessed this decision was a popular choice in the eyes of his people. “Collin Smith, please step forward,” he then said in a loud and clear voice.

Collin looked around as if waiting to see who else shared his name. Serpin giggled, “He means you, idiot.”

Collin looked at her startled and she gently pushed him forwards and out of his chair. Reluctantly, Collin walked around to stand in front of Ayden. He was wondering what he had done wrong to warrant this much attention. He bowed to Ayden and then knelt and waited.

“Lord Collin, it has come to my attention that you possess some unusual talents with respect to magical items. After some discussion with Lord Wizard Trae and some excited entities, we all agreed that you were the best Boa for the job.”

“We expect that you will have to coordinate with others to determine exactly how you wish to set up the guild and run it but since you have the talent to not only repair but make certain magical items then the job of Lord Guild Mage will fall to you.”

Ayden grinned at the shocked Collin. Collin stammered, “Ayden, I mean, your Majesty, surely Serpin would be a better choice. I’m just her apprentice.”

“It seems that the entities of the latest items I have acquired, believe that you, with the help of your family, my friends, can provide them with the extra items they need, and they seem to think you would also be able to assist with finding them people worthy of having them.”

“I believe I have some other items in a vault, and I will ensure that you get them to hand out as well. We will discuss this more fully with you tomorrow, as I’m sure there will be many things to work out, like monies available and such.”

Ayden then stepped forward, “Collin Smith, may I have your sword?”

Collin pulled his sword and presented it as he had seen Ayden do not ten minutes before. When the tip of the sword touched his head, Collin felt a strange sensation as a ripple of magic went through his body. He looked up at Ayden and knew that he too had felt the odd sensations.

“It seems that you are favoured by the Gods, Collin,” Ayden said. He then had to hold in a chuckle when he heard the stray thought from Collin, ‘Favoured my arse, one of them has it in for me.’

They said the promise and he got Collin to rise and handed him his sword back. As he did, he heard Paige whisper to Serpin, “Does this mean we’re Ladies?”

Serpin whispered back, “Not sure, in the past Guild Lords were also Dukes or Duchess and also held land. I wonder if five acres qualifies as a Dukedom.”

‘Crap!’ thought Ayden. ‘Another spur of the moment decision that is going to cause me grief. I had better get mother’s advisors together tomorrow to sort out the new mess I’ve made.’ He was sure he heard Trae chuckling softly.

Resigned, he called over his announcers and they proceeded with the fealty ceremony. Everyone knew to keep it brief, as sitting around without refreshments for hours was unpleasant for everyone. It was done in alphabetical order, so everyone knew who was next and they got prepared for their turn.

Once called, they stepped forward, knelt made the promise, Ayden touched them with his sword, they stood, bowed and moved back to their seat. They were all surprised when the procession finished far sooner than they thought it would take. Many didn’t realise that any who did wish to say more found this thought slip away as they said the pledge.

Ayden then announced that it was time to party. Any who wished to touch the boxes were welcome to do so. This caused a lot of giggles. They soon had music playing and waiters with drinks and nibble foods were quickly ushered out of the kitchens. The refreshments tables were groaning again, so those who couldn’t wait for a waiter to get to them could go help themselves.