Aren
Weeks fly by filled with a rigorous training and class schedule. Leon and Max along with Max's friends Finn and Miles all manage to increase their shifting abilities to level 3. Between training and class Ora has still managed to find time to bond with me and her other potential mates, as well as spend time with her friends. One friendship that I was glad to see has bloomed was with Olivia. Olivia has become a token member of our group.
Today is the last day before the bonding ceremony and the full moon. Everyone has been working non stop to prepare for tomorrow. I have been developing my healing water balloons. They are now closer to a mixture of water balloons, marbles, and grenades. I worked with Professor Hastings and Charlotte to develop a new type of casing to store the healing mixture that is the size of a marble so people can easily carry them. They are hard until a pin gets pulled from them that causes them to soften and burst easily upon impact.
Professor Hastings was a great deal of help in the designs. Alongside helping me, he spends most of his free time in the infirmary assisting Nurse Stone with using Ora's spit to make more cures for the plague and directing the Knights of the Blood moon what towns they should distribute it to. The knights have been very active with distributing the cure and gathering information. They tell us that as the cure spreads, more whispers that the moon goddess has blessed us again go around. They don't even realize how right they are.
Gia has also been busy looking at all potential routes tomorrow could take to find any issues with our plans. She has been detrimental in figuring out and preventing some of the Emperor's own plans.
My musings come to an end as I enter the magic classroom where many of the Professors, Knights, my friends, and Dean Charles are meeting to go over our plans one final time.
"Thank you everyone for meeting here today, and for helping bring our country into a new, better era." Dean Charles paces before us. "Tomorrow is the day we have planned for for years. Tomorrow we will save this great empire. Tomorrow, we will reveal to the world that Eudora is the moon goddess, and she will take the Emperor off of the throne. We will create a new political system where there are three parties running the country instead of just one. The counsel of High-Alpha's will no longer be advisor's but an actual senate. The second leading group will be elected officials from each kingdom. The third party will be a royal figure head."
"Why are we allowing the royal family to keep as ⅓ of the power?"
"We hope allowing them to keep some of their power will subdue the strongest supporters of the Emperor and allow for a smooth transition of power without any extra resistance."
"Who will act as this royal figurehead? Surely not the Emperor."
"Ryland has agreed to step up since he is the crown prince. He will finish out his final semester of schooling at the palace with private tutors. He hopes that Eudora and the rest of her potential mates will all work together as this third party once they graduate and are ready. Most of us have a simple role to play, we will simply attend the ceremony and show our support when Eudora is revealed to be the moon goddess. If all goes well, we will not have to fight. Tonight while the Emperor is asleep, our recovery team, which consists of Bennett, Aren, the dark forest witch and Geneve Solace will sneak into his office to recover Eudora's blood sample and hopefully find out about any final plans the Emperor has. Hopefully we can also find the spelled item that is being used to link Eudora to Ryland and dispel that.The recovery team along with Professor Solace are then going to rescue Jay. We have learned from our spies in the palace that the guards around the prison cells will have the least amount of surveillance the morning of the ceremony since more guards will be stationed at the entrance to the palace and around the ballroom. Using Bennett's earth abilities and Professor Solace's magic abilities, they should be able to slip through the ground and surpass the magical and physical barriers of the prison. Once all of these things have been completed, they will rejoin us in the ballroom just in time to watch Ryland step down and Eudora for her to reveal herself as the moon goddess. Hopefully once Ora is shown to be the moon goddess all of the leaders that they weren't able to risk talking to will take over Ora's side and the whole transition will be non-violent. I suspect a lot of people will accept her and see her as divine intervention."
After the final discussions, Ora and I along with the rest of her potential mates, Bennett, Gia and Char, all decide to meet up with our other friends Olivia, Finn, and Miles, to relax for the last few hours we have together before Bennett, Ora, Ryland and I all have to head to the palace. The rest of our friends and teachers are either positioning themselves near the palace tonight or heading there tomorrow.
The room sits in somber silence for a few minutes. Finn and Miles have been kept in the dark about most things, but they know Ora is to be mated to the crown prince tomorrow. They are sensitive enough to the vibes of the room, they know without having to be told, that it is not a happy occasion.
Miles surprises me by breaking the silence. "I can tell this bonding ceremony isn't something you guys have been looking forward to." He swallows hard and his voice comes out a little horse. "I don't know exactly what is going on and I could get in a lot of trouble for saying this, but the emperor is a horrible man and it sickens me that Ora will be joining that awful family. If the prince is anything like his father, he is probably mean, spoiled, and ugly. I do hope that some good will come of this, and Ora uses her position to help this Empire." I almost laugh at the thought that the prince he imagines is actually his friend Ryland.
We all nod in agreement. If the worst happens, if all of our plans fail and Ora ends up being bonded to Ryland, then hopefully some good can still come and Ora can make a change as Empress.
Gia sniffles loudly. Bennett wraps his arm around her shoulder and pulls her close to him. I look around the circle and see that Koda and Finn are holding hands and Miles seems to be sitting a little too close to Char. Seeing all of the couples comforting each other almost makes me smile.
Ora sighs. "Come on guys, lighten up. This is not a funeral. Let's not waste the next hours moping over what is to come."
Trying to lighten the mood, I decide to speak up. "I've met the crown prince, he's spoiled and a jerk. Don't you agree Ryland?"
Ryland looks at me from the corner of his eyes. "Don't forget that he's a player too. Worst thing about him is that he is fabulously handsome. A real devil in disguise. Hopefully Ora doesn't lose herself in his eyes the second she sees him. Though there's no way he's more handsome than me, so I'm sure Ora will be fine."
Ora rolls her eyes. "I'm sure I'll be able to control myself around his beauty."
Unfortunately time passes too quickly, and all too soon it is time for us to head out. Ora kisses Leon, Max and Kaden goodbye and then Ryland, Ora, Bennett and I all grab our bags and load into the carriage. The Emperor didn't want any of Ora's friends to stay as overnight guests, but Ryland convinced him to allow two friends to be allowed to arrive early with them. The rest of the guests will be traveling separately tomorrow. Professor Solace and the Dark Forest Witch hide in the carriage with us, under invisibility cloaks.