Odette and Derek woke up to a polite but serious knock at the door. Grabbing a robe she had found in her new wardrobe the night before, Odette pulled it on and answered the door. Standing outside, looking proud and ready to face the day was Fiera, with an expression on her face that gave anyone who saw it the idea that she was taking the whole situation of meeting with the Elders as a big joke.
"Good morning, Odette," she greeted cheerily.
"Good morning," Odette returned, smiling a little herself.
"Get dressed, their waiting on me."
"Why didn't you wake me sooner? I wouldn't have mind."
Fiera shrugged nonchalantly. "Guardians have long lives, and even those old fools are no exceptions, unfortunately. Anyway, they can wait. Just meet me downstairs when you're ready."
Fiera left and Odette closed the door. Derek was already dressed and ready for the day. "I want to be there when you make your announcement," he explained, smiling mischievously. Odette walked over and gave him a light kiss, again glad for his support.
She then faced the wardrobe. As she opened it, she shivered. Finding night clothes was no problem, as they didn't differ much from the ones at home, and even if they had, no one would see them anyway.
Finding day clothes, however, was another matter entirely. Everyone here dressed differently, namely the women. Since arriving, she'd only seen one casual looking dresses, and now that she was searching the wardrobe, all she could find were ball gowns, much too fancy to wear to a meeting that had nothing to do with celebration. She sighed. "When in Rome," she muttered as she pulled out a pair of black pants and a dark blue shirt.
Trying the clothes on, she found they weren't so bad. The pants were well fitted, not too tight, not too loose, and the shirt was a gorgeous shade of blue that really brought out her eyes. She pulled a pair of boots from the bottom of the wardrobe and found she liked them. True, they were heavier than the ones she normally wore, but they were clunky or uncomfortable. They were also sturdier, and though she almost didn't want to admit it to herself, she found them much easier to walk in.
She even decided to go all the way and pulled out a cape. It was just like Fiera's, black with a golden broach to fasten it. It swished as she put it on.
She looked at herself in a nearby mirror, almost not recognizing herself. It was surreal, being in totally different clothes, in a totally different place, and being only minutes away from announcing that she was going to accept her role as queen of a people she hadn't even heard of before three days ago.
Without warning, Derek slid behind her and wrapped his arms around her, resting his head on her shoulder as he looked at her reflection in the mirror. "You look beautiful," he whispered as he kissed her on her cheek. Despite how many times he told her this, she blushed.
To be honest, she didn't feel just beautiful. She felt strong, like she could handle being queen. She knew it wasn't really the clothes that made her feel this way. It was the fact that she already had people she could trust and that she had confidence in herself.
Yes, she could handle it.
Together, Derek and Odette descended the stairs, hand in hand, just like they did at home. Elmswell was beginning to feel like home, they both had to admit. Things might have been different, but nevertheless, they felt comfortable there, and each passing moment made it better.
As promised, Fiera was waiting in the anteroom, Angel with her. They were chatting, not saying anything of importance, which made for a quick transition when Fiera noticed Odette and Derek arriving. Both of them smiled, and Fiera was the first to greet them.
"Good morning, Derek and Odette. Are we ready to go?"
"Yes," Derek replied. Odette noticed something around Fiera's neck that hadn't been there before. She was sporting a new necklace. It was silver with an ornate 'F' on it.
"I like it," Odette complimented, indicating the jewelry.
"It was supposed to be her wedding present," Angel said in mock annoyance. Fiera glanced lovingly into his eyes, as if to say it didn't matter.
Odette slightly blushed and Derek averted his eyes in guilt and embarrassment. "Sorry about that," Odette apologized.
Fiera scoffed. "Don't worry about it. This just gives Angel here a little more time to realize I'm not good enough for him."
Angel slid his arm around her shoulder. "Then that must mean no one is," he replied.
Fiera rolled her eyes jokingly. "Come on," she suggested. "Let's go before someone in that room has an aneurism." Everyone in their little group laugh. Odette could have sworn she heard one of the guards chuckle. Apparently, everyone shared Fiera's opinion about the council being nothing but a bunch of old windbags. "We'll get breakfast after the meeting," Fiera promised. "This shouldn't take long; I'll make sure of that."
"So will I," Odette added, whispering in Derek's ear. He smiled.
The four of them walked into the reception room and through the hall on the right. Fiera opened the first door to the left and strode in, followed by Angel, Odette, and finally Derek. At the back wall of the room, there was a table set up with five places, all of them occupied by people who didn't look older than thirty. At the center was Leda. Odette could see Fiera grimace.
About twelve feet in front of the table, there were twelve rows of chairs with a walkway that split them down the middle. No one was seated there. Odette, Derek, and Angel sat in the very front while Fiera stood before the council.
"Thank you for finally coming," Leda said, sarcasm in her voice. Odette tried to hide a grin. She couldn't wait to tell them the news.
"No problem," Fiera replied congenially, as if she had not caught the edge in Leda's tone. "Glad to be here."
Leda cleared her throat indignantly as another member spoke. He was a large man with small eyes. Odette was reminded of a bulldog.
"You're here today on a complaint from Leda. According to her, you have been acting in a way unbecoming of an officer of the Guardian Army."
"Have you noticed she often acts in a way unbecoming of a Guardian in general?" Fiera asked, implications in her voice. "And did she happen to tall you it was a military mission she decided to 'investigate?'"
"It's beside the point," Leda said defensively.
"Hardly," Fiera argued. "You know as well as I do that what you did was stick your nose where it doesn't belong. Not your mission, not your business."
"You were wrong to show disrespect to me by screaming at me," Leda answered in a superior tone.
"Then we're all here because you, Leda, are nothing more than a whiny child. That's just great. And anyway, you deserve no respect. You certainly weren't going to show any to Cassandra's last wishes or Odette's best interest, were you?"
Leda had no answer for this, not that she would have had time, because at this point, Odette stood up and spoke.
"You were going to tell me the bare minimum of everything that happened. Well, Fiera got there first. And thanks to everything she's said to me and everything I've seen you do, I've made my decision. I am accepting my role as queen, and as my first order, I want this false council disbanded."
The room froze. Everyone in it, save for Derek, who already knew everything, stared at Odette in surprise. In a quick, unison movement, Angel and Fiera saluted Odette, a gesture starting with their hand at their right brow and moving swiftly down to their heart and then a bow. When they straightened up, the room was still silent, and the Elders hadn't moved.
"Show some respect!" Fiera ordered. "She's your queen now, undeniably, unquestioningly, unchangingly. Here's to you, Queen Odette."
At Fiera's order, everyone, including Leda saluted Odette in the same way Angel and Fiera had.
"Let's go," Odette said, feeling empowered once again. She'd never gotten such a reaction like that before.
"You were planning to make a big show of that, weren't you?" Fiera asked as they walked out the room. Odette giggled.
"Yes," she admitted. "I don't normally do things like that, but I thought you'd appreciate that."
"I did," Fiera laughed. "Did you see that look on Leda's face?"
"That was rare and priceless," Angel snickered.
"She looked like she'd just seen a ghost," Derek commented. "In fact, they all did when Odette ordered the council to be disbanded."
"So…" Fiera began, a question in her voice before she had even thought of more words to speak.
"So?" Odette prompted, wondering what was on Fiera's mind.
"When's the ball going to be?"
"Ball?"
"Hey, this is a momentous occasion," Fiera said. "We're going to celebrate!"