Blood Shaper

Book 6: Chapter 4: and Book 5 Release!

There was no grand parade welcoming Kay home, which was exactly how he wanted it. It was more a matter of expediency than anything else, but he also wanted to set a precedent as well. Parades and celebrations take time and clog up streets, with important issues pressuring Avalon Kay didn’t have time to wave from a chariot with a slave whispering in his ear that this too will pass and he too was mortal, even if he maybe wasn’t strictly mortal anymore and he didn’t have any slaves. Additionally though, he was trying to think of the future, he’d planned for there to not be a triumphant return with a celebratory crowd before he’d left and the sudden urgency of his return just compounded the reasons behind his initial plans.

In deserved moments when it was called for parades and similar events could be both fun and useful, but setting the precedent of one happening every time Kay returned could cause lots of problems down the line. Celebrating every time he came back to Avalon City automatically made it a big deal that he’d left. It would also be a burden on the citizens to shut down business and travel so often. Finally, he’d look like a grandiose self-obsessed prick. Not that a single event would set that kind of precedent but… there was always the chance that it could. Do it one time and the next time he came back a few people would ask if it was time to go again and then it was tradition. Better to cut it off at the pass now.

They passed through the gates without issue after a normal search. Amanda had insisted when Avalon had still been a tiny village of less than two hundred people that guards should check everyone and their luggage or transports, just in case. Kay had agreed, and the policy hadn’t changed since. He was pretty sure that was how Amanda’s secret subordinate slave smugglers got their precious cargo out to freedom, which was how she knew of the security risks. The guards were polite, brisk, and very thorough and after they finished with the last carriage they all rolled into Avalon City.

They moved through the streets in the area’s set aside for vehicle traffic, passing many people who watched the caravan of carriages make their way toward the palace with interest or confusion. It wasn’t common to have that many coordinated vehicles moving together and their intended destination raised many questions in people’s minds. A few savvy individuals connected the blood guard posted on the outside of a couple of the carriages to Kay and figured out that he was back, but Blood Manipulation had become much more common in Avalon and Avalon City in particular so for most the red armor wrapped around the people guarding the vehicles didn’t scream “the king is back”.

The carriages made it through the defenses around the palace and then they disembarked and headed inside. There were clusters of people waiting to take up their various duties centered around Kay.

“Miri, you can start showing off where you are in the pecking order after we introduce you to the Ministers and a few other people, so stay with me for now.” He go the attention of his guard detail and gestured at the other Blood Guard who were gathering nearby. “Switch with them and go get some rest. Excellent job everyone.”

“I’ll be staying with you for now, your majesty.” Lauren replied. “Tyuah isn’t going to be available for a bit and I need to debrief with her before I go off shift.”

“Alright.” Kay waved the waiting servants and workers forward and they rushed at the carriages, gathering luggage and people alike and whisking them off to wherever they needed to go. The senior members of the delegation Kay had taken with him to assist in trade negotiations and similar high level wheeling and dealing were taken to wherever the head of their departments were, and in some cases directly to the Minister they reported to, to brief those who needed to know about the results of those negotiations and the deals that had been struck. Everyone else got to go home to rest. The seat of higher power came with higher levels of responsibility.

Even with the issues that were going to immediately become Kay’s problems ominously floating in the direction of his office Kay could feel some of the tension he was feeling seep out of his body as he stepped into the palace and began down familiar hallways. No matter what was happening, it was always good to be home after a long trip. There were several offices littered throughout the building that were Kay’s and he could use any of them he felt like for mundane business and day to day operations, but he was sure there would be secret things to discuss so he made his way to the right by his personal quarters which was both one of the most secure spots in the palace but also the office he truly considered to be “his” office.

He pulled the seat back and dropped down into it. Eleniah took a seat in one of the couches off to the side as Kay turned to Miri. “I’m sure that you won’t want to sit down, but where are you going to be?” He gestured around the room. “Might as well figure out the simple things while we wait on everyone to show up.”

Miri looked back at him with a level expression. “You’re assuming that the people you want to see are just going to show up?”

“No,” Kay shook his head with a smile, “That would be ridiculous, I just wanted you to start thinking about it now.” He glanced over at Lauren. “Send someone for Amanda, Cindy, and anyone else they think should attend.”

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“Of course, your majesty.” She stepped out of the room for a moment before returning.

“You use your guards as messengers?” Miri asked.

“Sometimes. We’re a still a small nation in terms of absolute manpower, and while that’s changing, especially with the current situation based on the reports I’ve managed to read, we don’t always have someone around to just be a messenger for me. My Blood Guard are always around and are all trusted, so sometimes it’s better to just send one of them instead of having them hunt around for a messenger to then send after whoever I need to find.”

“I see. Then my first task as your seneschal will be recruit a staff, including some dedicated messengers.”

“That’s it!” Kay pointed at Miri in triumph. “That’s the word I was trying to think of!” He glanced to the side. “I wonder if there’s an actual difference in this language or if the translator is being nice to me?”

“It’s a different word than we’ve been using.” Eleniah commented from her spot on the couch. “It’s older and not used as commonly anymore, which is why it hasn’t come up before now.”

“Good to know. Excellent word choice Miri, you’re now my seneschal.”

“Thank you, your majesty.”

“Anyways, Amanda’s search for people before this turned up a number of decent candidates that didn’t quite make the cut for your spot, but a lot of them are still around in other positions or just waiting until we found you. You’ll have full discretion over who you chose for your staff but it might save time to start with them.”

After a few moments Miri decided to put off the decision on where “her spot” would be and instead started exploring the space. She mapped out the office then headed to Kay’s quarters, with a Blood Guard trailing her just in case. Not in case she did anything, but in case someone discovered her in off limits areas and decided she was a spy or assassin. Kay and Eleniah chatted while they waited and a short time later Miri returned with snacks and a pot of tea.

“Where’d you get this?” Kay asked as he peered at the tray of small sandwiches and other snacks.

“There’s a kitchen attached to your quarters with food and drink.” She said, giving him a look as she set down the pot on a side table and began grabbing cups. “I was surprised there was no one there.”

“There’s no point in keeping a chef around when I won’t be here, and honestly I thought having a private kitchen was a bit of a stretch anyways. I can always have someone go fetch me food from the main kitchen.”

Miri let out a small sigh. “I’ll have to recruit a chef as well then.”

“Don’t go that far. If you feel the need then hire a few people that have a decent level Cooking Skill but there’s no need to get a full time chef to be on hand at all times or even most of the time. Like I said, I can just send someone to get food from the main kitchen if I’m hungry.”

“Very well.”

They settled in, with Miri eventually picking a spot slightly behind Kay, almost mirroring Lauren’s normal spot when she was part of his detail. They discussed what kind of roles Miri needed for her staff, including those that were generally necessary for anyone in the role she was taking on and those that were specifically needed because of the unique needs of Avalon’s people and their ruler. As a Class Line Progenitor he needed people to assist him in training others including coordinating when and where training could take place and vetting people that were allowed to learn directly from him. As a vampire it was necessary to find people that would be willing to let Kay drink some of their blood in an emergency, which would be a difficult ask given the still present threat of the vampyr and how they’re predations had shaped the public consciousness of Torotia for centuries.

After twenty or thirty minutes of waiting Cindy slipped into the room with her own butler Colen and a single guard who was covered in pistols that hung from every open inch of fabric. The guard shared a nod with Lauren as he stepped off to the side.

Kay smiled at Cindy and pointed at a chair. “Go ahead and sit. We’re still waiting on Amanda and anyone else she wants to bring.”

“Okay.” Cindy glanced at Miri with a confused expression but sat without saying anything.

“How are you?”

“… It’s been hard.” She sagged in her chair. “Everything could be so much worse, but its been hard. I understood a little bit of why you were so against all the pomp and circumstance we were throwing around at you, but now I really get it. We’re just doing our best, and sometimes that’s good enough, but there’s always those times where you reach out and just miss. People die, or worse, and there was nothing you could do. And then they celebrate you as if you’re someone special!” She buried her face in her hands for a second before looking up with bloodshot eyes.

Kay nodded slowly. “It’s hard. Neither of us have been there yet, I don’t think, but it’ll be worse when they’re looking up at us like some kind of amazing hero and then we fail them because we aren’t infallible. The looks and the vitriol we’ll one day get will haunt me. Probably.”

“We just have to… keep going.” Cindy muttered. “That’s all there is.”

Kay opened his mouth to respond but got interrupted by Amanda opening the door and stepping inside. “We’ll come back to this conversation later. Amanda, good to see you.”

“And you as well, your majesty.” She replied, not looking in Miri’s direction but obviously aware of the presence of someone she didn’t know. She made a small gesture that indicated that Isla was with her, which is what Kay wanted.

“Go ahead and sit down, and we’ll get started.” He waited until she complied before speaking again. “Before anything else, I want to say that I’ve read all of the messages you both sent and caught up on all the reports I’ve been able to get my hands on since we got back home. All I can say is well done. You kept everything running when faced with a sudden and dangerous catastrophe spilling in over our borders, and everything I’ve seen says you’ve both handled it with grace and excellence. You’ve both held up to the expectations I had for you. Thank you. Now tell me everything so we can start solving issues and do our best to make things better.”