The next morning.
"Oh Uncle, I really will miss you so much" said Wura as she smiled and she hugged Nigel one last time as he smiled.
"And so will I my dear Wura" said Nigel as he smiled.
"Please have a safe journey Uncle, and send my greetings to everyone at your estate" said Wura as she smiled.
"Thank you my dear, they will hear" said Nigel as he smiled.
"And my dear, please do no worry about anything, because everything will be fine" said Nigel as Wura smiled at him.
"Yes Uncle, I know, take care" said Wura with a smile as Nigel nodded and he entered into his carriage he closed the door and the carriage started as it drove away and Wura smiled as she watched it move past the Castle gates as the gates closed and Wura walked back inside.
…
"Come in" said Wura as she heard a knock on her bedroom door as she was reading on her couch as Lady Marli walked in.
"Good Morrow my Queen" said Lady Marli as she bowed.
"Good Morrow Lady Marli" said Wura with a smile.
"I am sorry to bother you this early in the day" said Lady Marli with a smile.
"No, it is no bother at all, please tell me what you need" said Wura as she smiled, she knew that Lady Marli was here for something important, when they just wanted to talk, they would have tea together.
"My Queen, seeing as you are in charge of all the affairs of the Castle now, the ingredients in the kitchen are almost finished, seeing as the new month is fast approaching" said Lady Marli as Wura nodded.
"I see, then I believe that the kitchen maids should go and buy more food from the market" said Wura.
"Yes my Queen, but things are not done that way, for safety reasons, his Majesty would give a budget to me once for all the food needed in the kitchen, that way, there is order" said Lady Marli as she explained to Wura, she knew that she was new in all these things and that she was just starting, and she was prepared to help her.
"Ahh I see, and how much is the budget for the kitchen?" asked Wura.
"It is quite a large sum my Queen, here, these is the list of the budget for the past few months" said Lady Marli as she handed Wura a letter as Wura read it.
"Oh my… it Is a lot…" said Wura as it did make sense, the Castle had a lot of maid and knights, that were fed three times a day, no wonder it would amount to this.
"Yes my Queen" said Lady Marli as Wura read through all the list of expenses.
"From what I see here, the expenses increased and you required more money?" asked Wura.
"Yes my Queen, what happened was that some ingredients went bad, and the butcher had to kill some fresh meat, it was a whole lot of expenses, I recorded them there my Queen" said Lady Marli.
"I see…" said Wura as she noticed that everything was a bit messy, more amounts were used than the budget provided, and well, to her it just looked like a mess.
"Lady Marli, who managed the Castle's finances?" asked Wura as she looked at Lady Marli.
"Ahh well it was His Late Majesty King Alaric my Queen, he took up the position after the los of her Majesty, and then his Majesty Liam took it over at the start of his reign" said Lady Marli.
"I see… well everything just looks so messy to me Lady Marli, and I do not blame you, because this is what you are forced to work with" said Wura as Lady Marli nodded.
"With all due honesty my Queen, I always believed that the finances of the Castle would be better managed by a woman" said Lady Marli as Wura nodded.
"Well I agree judging by this, but their Majesties have had a lot to take care of" said Wura, she was no stranger when it came to managing finances, in fact, when she was about the age of thirteen, her mother had insisted she start to manage the finances of their house, which at the time she hated doing, but now that she was older, she realized that she was good at it.
"Alright, so there are going to be some changes made" said Wura as Lady Marli nodded.
"For instance, the butcher, is he the sole butchery that the Castle uses?" asked Wura.
"Yes my Queen, he is" replied Lady Marli.
"Good, instead of paying him every single time he brings meat or kills for the Castle, we should pay him his wages up front" said Wura.
"All of it?" asked Lady Marli.
"Yes all of it, it would make it easier to track for money was used for, because I see many different entries to the same person" said Wura.
"I prefer that you give him all his money at once, and in turn he delivers fresh meat to the Castle every two weeks in a month, or would that be a problem?" asked Wura.
"No, not at all my Queen, consider it done, you change will be implemented as soon as possible" said Lady Marli with a smile as Wura nodded.
"That would increase the budget, and I am going to add an increase on most things, which means that the budget should come to this for the whole month" said Wura as she took her quill beside her and she wrote on the letter Lady Marli handed to her as he handed it to Lady Marli.
"Alright my Queen" said Lady Marli as she nodded.
"Is that all?" asked Wura as she smiled.
"Not quite my Queen, I need the money to be able to start everything" said Lady Marli.
"Oh well then, where is the money stored?" asked Wura.
"In the royal treasury my Queen" said Lady Marli.
"Then you can go and get the money you need yourself, I trust you" said Wura as she smiled.
"Oh heavens no my Queen, no, I cannot do that, this is not a matter of trust, there are several strict rules, only members of the royal family can go to the treasury and withdraw from it" said Lady Marli as Wura nodded, she could understand that.
"Alright, I see, but to be honest, I do not know where the treasury is, and I really cannot leave my room right now, I just have so much to do" said Wura as she sighed.
"It is alright then my Queen, I can wait until you are less busy" said Lady Marli.
"Is this not urgent?" asked Wura.
"Well yes, but I am sure the kitchen workers can prepare something with what is left over" replied Lady Marli.
"No, I believe that this is urgent" said Wura as she was thinking of what to do.
"Oh I know, I can send Nora with you to the treasury" said Wura as she smiled.
"Nora?" asked Lady Marli in surprise.
"Yes Nora, she can accompany you to the treasury and give you the amount you need" said Wura.
"My Queen, I am not so sure about that" said Lady Marli.
"You do not have to worry Lady Marli, I trust Nora, and I know that she will be diligent in this, as for me, I have no plans to leave this room any time soon, and I do not want my actions to delay anything, especially anything as important as the Castle's food" said Wura.
"So please let Nora accompany you Lady Marli" said Wura as she smiled and Lady Marli was reluctant for a while, until she finally gave in.
"Alright my Queen" said Lady Marli.
"Thank you" said Wura with a smile as in the same moment Nora walked into Wura's room.
"Oh greetings Lady Marli" said Nora as she bowed.
"Greetings Nora" replied Lady Marli.
"Nora, we were just talking about you" said Wura as she smiled.
"You were?" asked Nora in surprise.
"Yes Nora, I need you to accompany Lady Marli to the Castle treasury to get the budget for the Kitchen" said Wura.
"Oh my Queen, but such Is not allowed, only members of the Royal family are allowed to enter into the treasury, and even then it is subjected to only the King and Queen themselves" said Nora.
"I know that Nora, but I trust you, please do this for me" said Wura with a smile as Nora shook her head, she did no want to verbally refuse.
"My Queen, this is not a matter of trust but of order" said Nora as Wura laughed, Lady Marli had said the same thing.
"But I am Queen am I not? I am allowed to make little changes here and there, and in order to better suit my situation right now, I would really appreciate it if you did this for me Nora, please I beg you" said Wura with a smile.
"My Queen, please do not beg me, such should not be done" said Nora.
"Will you do it for me?" asked Wura with a smile and expectant eyes as Nora sighed.
"As you wish my Queen" said Nora.
"Thank you Nora, I really appreciate this, if you still do not feel safe, you can ask aa guard to accompany you" said Wura.
"Not necessary my Queen" replied Nora and Lady Marli at the same time, they did not want any problems, it was a known fact that money could blind anyone.
"Alright, so please do this so we can close the chapter of the treasury alright?" asked Wura.
"Yes my Queen" said Nora as she nodded and Wura smiled.
"After you my lady" said Nora as she bowed at Lady Marli and Lady Marli nodded as she bowed at Wura and she left the room as Nora followed after her and she closed the door behind them as Wura sighed.
It was not until a few minutes later when Wura heard a knock on her bedroom door again and she allowed the person to enter.
"Oh Mero, good morning, what can I do for you?" asked Wura as she looked at Mero and she smiled.
"Good Morning my Queen, sorry to disturb you now, but there is an important matter on ground" said Mero.
"Alright what is it?" asked Wura.