Prince Neal had used the word turbulence in his letter. But what happened under the water would be better described as havoc.
Though the crown princess Maya wore the white pearl of the heiress, she was unsure of a secure coronation. Unlike the starlites or the humans, nymphs tended to have many daughters. The queen had thirteen.
She knew that statistically one or two of them would turn out bad. But she had never imagined them capable of sororicide. The attempt to kill Maya had been hatched by three of her sisters, but they were caught early on and sent to prison, where their fate was to go insane in the absence of humans. None of them had taken the vow.
It had been a mistake to confess her sickness to her daughters. Now they all were eyeing the throne. Queen Raveena knew that she would not see another spring in her life and concluded that the throne would be most secure if Maya sat in it.
Before making the announcement, Queen Raveena called a tri-council meeting.
"I can't bear to see my daughters turn against each other. It is time for me to step down. If I had done it earlier, maybe this would not have happened."
"We all know why you didn't step down earlier," Natasha said. "We are all waiting for him."
"It turned out to be a mistake, didn't it? I think I'll manage better if I am away from the public eye," the queen replied.
"You should do whatever you think best," Suffle said. "But remember that Maya has not yet taken the vow."
"I do think it'll be for the best. My health does not permit me to manage the affairs as efficiently as I would like to. And I've talked to Maya. She'll need me as a liaison to the grounds."
"Yes," Natasha cried. "Make her the queen and you shall become the ambassador."
"Yes." Suffle smacked his palm on the table. "Give her the throne, but don't give her the legacy. She is not ready for it yet."
Raveena smiled. "And I'm not ready to leave the tri-council."
"Why don't you come and live in the castle with me?" Natasha offered.
"No," Raveena said at once, "as much as I want to, I'm afraid that it will send the wrong message. It will look like I've abandoned my subjects or that Maya has banished me, just as she banished her sisters." Raveena was not sure if living out of the water would be good for her health.
"Yes, you are right," Natasha said wistfully, "as always."
"First Sia and now Maya," Suffle said raising his glass, "our little princesses are becoming queens. I'll drink to that."
"I wish Neal would let me step down," the empress sighed. "I would finally be able to breathe."
"It's a gamble," Suffle reminded her. "You would breathe but what about him?"
Raveena didn't like the expression that emerged on Natasha's face as an answer, so she asked Suffle, "And when will you retire?"
"Never." Suffle chuckled. "Dai will have to remove my dead body from the throne."
"I think he'll just burn the body and order a new throne," Natasha quipped.
The king chuckled and said, "You know Dai as well as I know Neal." He drank again from his wine glass. "I almost forgot to tell you," Suffle said. "You should start looking for a new colonel. I have heard rumours about Hossier."
"Rumours?" Natasha smirked. "It's more like he came over to you for permission. Don't I know how things are done here?"
"Not permission dear, advice." The king smiled. "Nevertheless, it'll be weeks before the formal notice and months after it."
"We have six candidates. Who do you like best?" Natasha asked Suffle. She knew his knowledge of the guardians to be superior to any human.
"I don't think his preference needs to be asked," Raveena interjected. "It's obviously his daughter." On seeing his eyebrows rise, she corrected herself and said, "Pseudo daughter."
"You are mistaken," Suffle said to the empress, ignoring Raveena. "There are twenty one candidates. All the commanders from the three teams are eligible for the promotion."
"When did we change that rule? It is Nela who looks after matters related to the guardians." The empress dismissed her mistake with a wave of her hand. "Let the burden of selection rest on him."
"I suppose he will choose the most skilled person," the king jested, "the winner of the swordskill event in the tournament."
"Or he may look for other qualities such as good negotiation skills or vigilance," Raveena said dryly. "How often does a colonel use his sword?'
"I won't be surprised if he does choose her," Natasha commented. "Young people do tend to favour people their own age."
Suffle chimed in. "Plus she is a decorated veteran who saved his life."
"Like he thinks it to be a favour." Natasha scoffed with a sad undertone.
She did ask her son that night about the selection. Neal replied that he had had a meeting with one of the commanders named Duke, who had declined the offer due to personal reasons. But he was pleased to inform her that he had already anticipated the refusal and was ready with a second name.
"Commander Qureshi has been with the guardians the longest. He has the most experience and he is the most deserving after Commander Duke. But that's just my opinion."
"Isn't he too old for that?" She narrowed her eyes.
"Too old?" Neal exclaimed, "he himself told me once that he hopes to be here till he dies. But if he says no, I have another name."
Natasha smiled. "I'm sure you have a list with twenty-one names on it, listed as per your preference."
"Twenty, now that Duke's name has been cut off," Neal corrected. "The next on the list is Commander Poles. He has not been that long with us, but he is an enthusiastic fellow," he said. "I don't think that anybody else loves this job more than him." Neal added in a dramatic voice, "He is furious with his sword and has eyes of a cat."
Natasha laughed. "You advertise them like you'll get a commission. It's you who has to choose. Just hand over the list to me."
The order was followed in an instant. Neal moved to his desk to retrieve the paper and handed it to his mother.
The empress read the list. The prince sat down on his chair and gazed out of the window, thinking about his latest plan. He had already decided who was going to be the new colonel. In spite of that, he had made Colonel Hossier promise not to hand over a formal resignation untill his successor was decided. Neal planned to take the long route to reach his decision.
"I'm surprised to see Sophie's name on number seven."
"She is in Colonel Hossier's team. That gives her an added bonus," he said without shifting his gaze from the window.
"I thought she would have been your top choice."
"Why? Just because she is the King's favourite?"
"I thought you were friends with her."
"I am," he repkied. "Should I start playing favourites now?"
"She just won the tournament," Natasha argued.
Neal turned back to look at his mother. "She is new to the job. She doesn't have that much experience."
"But she is a decorated war veteran." Natasha knew that Neal was hiding something. She could see that glint in his eyes.
"She is good with swords but that's not enough. Besides…" Neal turned his gaze back to the window.
"Besides what?" the empress asked; her voice a little louder than usual.
Neal stood up. "See this list of twenty-one people." He pointed at the paper in her hand. "How many females do you spot?"
"Four."
"And there is only one female in Hossier's team. If she gets promoted, all commanders under her will be males."
"What has that to do with anything?"
"A bunch of males won't be comfortable having a female as their boss."
The empress stared at her son in disbelief. "That's not her fault."
"Many people get punished for things which are not their fault," he said bitterly. "You have to admit that there are a lot less females in the guardians. I think it is because the idea of dealing with the nymphs appeals more to the males. Or, maybe the females don't like the grounds. I have been trying to get more females to join. One of the reasons I recruited Commander Antofurota," Neal said with a smile, "is that she is a female."
"You are right." Natasha sighed. "It's unjust but needful."
"The male ego is a delicate thing. The commanders should be able to respect their colonel."
"You," Natasha said shaking her head, "and your mind games."
"Since she is a favourite with the king, we have to be biased against her," Neal said. "You yourself call her Sophie and invite her to our castle. People expect us to be biased towards her."
"I don't like your methods," Natasha said. "They may be logical but they lack emotion."
"Thank you, Your Majesty." He bowed mockingly. "Emotion has never been my forte. That's why my methods always turn out to get the best results."
"Then why do I always worry about your methods?" she asked.
"Because you don't trust me." he said flatly. "If you want to appoint someone, you just have to order me to do it. But if not, let me handle it my way. I will neither have my name tarnished by the words like 'nepotist' nor her by the words such as 'brown-noser' or 'privileged'."