The days were starting to grind into each other with little change other than a plethora of new faces who had joined the ranks of the black-robed Advisors.
Mira had decided to have the new Advisors come for their first day at the start of the first Princess Court Session of the new year, which happened to land around the second week of the first month.
Tinsel had warned that there would be a bit of a pushback from the existing Advisors, but Mira pushed forward anyway. There was no better time than the present to enact changes that needed to be made.
First of those changes was appointing the temporary Amber Advisor Jonas Bueller into a permanent one. This should have been an easy win since it was at the behest of King Dominic Vetica of Amber, himself.
If King Vetica thought Jonas Bueller was a good enough advisor for his kingdom, then it was one less thing she had to think about. Since Jonas Bueller had also appeared once at a Court Session, Mira thought it was a safe appointment.
Alas.
"Your Royal Majesty! This man is a flaming eunuch!" One of the black robes croaked. "He cannot possibly serve as a primary Advisor for the city of Amber! That is an affront to the glorious magnificent city of Amber!"
"You do realize that he is already a long-time Advisor to King Dominic Vetica of Amber, right?" Tinsel Pomfrey pointed out.
"But that does not make him a good Advisor for the Princess' Court. Just---just look at him!" The Advisor sputtered.
Everyone turned to look at Jonas Bueller. At first glance, he wore the usual black robe that everyone else had on.
Upon closer inspection, however, he had also donned a purple sequined bodysuit under the fairly thin material of the black robe. It sparkled and twinkled with every jiggle of his rotund body.
There was also a very discrete layer of makeup on his face, complete with a very natural looking shade of mauve on his lips.
"Sit down." Mira flicked a finger at the Advisor who was protesting. "I don't see anything wrong with Advisor Jonas Bueller." Mira declared.
This caused a major outcry amongst the Advisory Panel but Mira didn't care. As flamboyant as he was, the man was a good Advisor and that was all that mattered to Mira.
Then came the magnificent semi-feral Jana in her black robe, looking just as regal as ever. Since the Amber Savannah had never been properly represented, Mira simply made a new representation slot for the area.
"But your Royal Highness! Amber cannot be doubly represented! That would be unfair to other places!" One Advisor loudly protested.
"Are you telling me that the pantheras have been doubly represented all this time?" Mira stared at the man.
"The pantheras live in Amber! Any representation of Amber would, of course include the savannah that is nearby."
Tinsel Pomfrey shook his head. "That is categorically incorrect. According to the royal cartographers throughout history, the area of Amber Savannah actually belongs to the foothills of Marble Mountains."
"Then why is it called Amber Savanna, eh?" The Advisor craned his neck.
Standing next to Mira's silver throne, Tinsel Pomfrey not only had the advantage of his rail-thin 6'2" frame, he was also standing on top of the dais which added another four feet to his height.
He looked down his nose at the Advisor in question. "It was once called the Marble Savannah but gradually changed into the Amber Savanna due to common usage."
He stroked his face. "Since there are few people living in the foothills of Marble Mountains, there was never a call to have representation for that area. However, when you include the savanna and all its inhabitants therein, the numbers swell to such a proportion that representation is absolutely necessary."
"Your Majesty, if it is still called Amber Savanna, it is still double representation for Amber!"
Mira blinked her eyes lazily. "Tinsel."
"Yes Your Majesty."
"Please have the court cartographers redraw the lines of the savanna so that it is clearly part of Marble Mountains." She licked her lips. "And while they're at it, have them rename the savanna to be Marble Savanna."
Amidst the noisy stirring of the black-robes, Jana's eyes shined with glee. No one had to convince her twice about joining the Advisors Group. Equal representation for the pantheras could not come too soon for her people.
The Dolmian Representative Oliver Gordon was a different story. He was quiet. Too quiet. The entire time that the Princess' Court was in session, he never even looked up from the area where his shoes were. It made him look more like a mole and less like the human he truly was, but Mira was hopeful that given time, he would warm up to the job.
Of course, when it came time to vote, Oliver Gordon did his part and voted his conscience, which was all that she hoped he would be able to do.
Mira could not blame him. He had become her reluctant Advisor. She did not give him a choice. She simply had someone deliver a black Advisor's robe to him along with her Princess Emissary Travel Pass and a royal decree requiring him to take on the position--and that was that.
The man had never been away from Dolmia before in his entire life, and suddenly, he was thrust into a noisy glittering city the size of Diamond. It was truly an overwhelming first for him.
It was also a first for Mira.
She had never written a royal decree before. Of course, Tinsel Pomfrey had to write the decree out for her and all she did was stamp the seal, but Mira was unfazed about that. After all, even on Earth, no heads of states ever wrote out their own decrees. All they ever did was rubber stamp them through.
And then of course there was Theo.
Theo was the new Tourmaline Bog Advisor, a young strapling muscle-bound bogwarg that King Theras himself had hand-picked for the job.
Theo was not just a strong young bogwarg. He was also King Theras' youngest son, which made him Felix's paternal uncle, as well as a Prince in his own right. If ranks mattered at all in the Advisor's Panel, he would have definitely outranked all the crows hanging around here.
But this appointment was a bit tricky. Already, there were half a dozen protesting Advisors prancing around on the long blue carpet.
"Your Majesty, If I may." One of the black-robes bowed. "Bogwargs have long been known throughout history as violent and uncivilized animals that killed people without batting an eye. To have such a blood-thirsty 'animal' sitting alongside the rest of us Advisors is not just an affront to the regal and stately establishment, it is also downright dangerous!"
Mira leaned back, propping her head onto the palm of her hand. Even with repeated requests for a softer cushion, it was still such a chore to sit on this thing that she envied Tinsel Pomfrey and Alfric Hobart who were able to stand next to her.
"High Wizard Griswold Toblerone, do you find Advisor Theobold to be a danger to the Princess' Court?"
"Your Royal Highness, I cannot determine this."
"Why is that?"
"My apologies, Your Highness, but I have not yet heard a single sound coming from Advisor Theobold."
"Are you saying that he has not made a single sound since entering this court?" Mira fluttered her eyelashes at High Wizard Griswold Toblerone.
He coughed once. "That is correct, Your Royal Majesty."
Mira smiled. Contrary to what most people thought, not all bogwargs were of the warrior type. Theo was, in fact, a very quiet one. He did not elicit the kind of terror that most people identified with the bogwargs. In fact, Theo was something of a gentleman.
He was also quite handsome.
Although the black Advisor's robes looked like bags with arms for most people, on Theo it looked like a tunic worn by a young virile god.
It also didn't hurt that Theo kept his hair trimmed very close to his face, making him look more human than wolf. His coppery red mane was swept back like some handsome devil on the front of a trashy romance novel.
This of course made the women Advisors quite happy, although the men were not too thrilled about having such a handsome male sitting in the same Court as they did, bogwarg or not.
"Theo, please approach the Blue Aisle. Let me take a closer look at you. I want to determine whether or not you will be a danger to me." Mira waved a hand for him to approach the dais.
Theo hesitated for a moment, as if to silently beg Mira to allow him to remain relatively obscure in his seat. Mira simply smiled and waited.
With something akin to a very slight reluctance he stood up, a neck-cracking 6 foot 8 bogwarg. He approached the dais with small moderate steps...or at least as small and moderate as long legs would allow.
"It is a pleasure to meet you for the first time, Your Royal Highness." He said in a cultured voice that was completely antithetical to his huge frame and bright amber eyes.
On the other side of the aisle, Jana tried to hide a smile.
Mira grinned. "Tell me, Theo. Do you have plans to harm me in any way?"
He bowed. "I am a loyal subject, Your Majesty. I will defend you from harm." As he straightened, Mira could see the Hello Kitty head dangling on a cord around his neck. It was his own piece of identifying 'jewel' since technically, Tourmaline Bog did not have a representative jem.
Mira giggled as she suddenly realized that all the ones she had newly appointed, including Jonas Bueller, had worn the Hello Kitty head around their neck in place of where their representative home jewel should have been.
It looked so funny, yet so satisfying at the same time.
"Well there you go," Mira clapped her hands. "Not scary. Not dangerous. And certainly--not uncivilized."
She looked around. "Does anyone else have any objections to the new appointees?"
It was certainly NOT presented as a question.