Into The Ruins by Bob Blink Read Free Book Online

feel.”
    “It will most likely depend on who is selected to replace me,” the Queen replied.  “You are mostly concerned you won’t have the ear of your Queen that you have been able to depend on all your life.”  There was also the unstated dislike that existed between some members of the Hundred Families, which could be a factor if someone from one of the families with which bad blood existed.  There were a number of those, and given the estranged nature of the Queen’s relationship with the Spellcaster’s Guild, she thought it likely someone from one of those families would probably be chosen.  Out of spite if nothing else.
    Some of what Queen Rosul stated was true.  Yisa would no longer have the freedom to wander into the royal quarters anytime she wished.  She would have to petition for a meeting with the Queen or her advisors should she need to seek their approval of any matter.  The Queen had been careful not to show favoritism with her rulings, but as family there was no question Yisa had been privileged with ease of access over the years.
    The Queen’s patience was somewhat thin with regards to her daughter today.  Her own situation was much more unsettled.  As the daughter to the Queen, Yisa and her sisters had known all of their lives that their day as part of the royal family would one day end.  Pampered and given the best the kingdom could provide during their younger years, they had always known they would have to plan for their own future, one that was removed from matters of state.  The law was quite explicit on the matter.  No dynasties were to ever exist in Sedfair.  Once the Queen left power, either through death or because of age, members of her family were excluded from any consideration of selection as the following leader.  For two generations, no one related to the former Queen could be chosen to rule.  That meant Yisa and her two sisters, Irili and Yadi, nor any of their children would be eligible for advancement.  They had known this all their life, and the Queen had seen to their education preparing them for a career in business or the arts where they could prosper on their own. 
    In Yisa’s case, that had resulted in the creation of her shipping company, one of the largest and most successful in Sedfair, and accomplished mostly without the help of her mother.  She was wealthy beyond worry, and could easily afford any luxury she might want.  Her consort, a handsome but somewhat lazy lout in Rosul’s opinion, something she never expressed to her daughter, spent his time on the extensive lands Yisa had acquired so he could raise horses, mostly for show, but many of which were provided to the Army.  The Queen’s two other daughters also had successful businesses, but nothing that compared to the small empire Yisa had carved out for herself.  The two boys were mid level officers in the Imperial Army, one married, the other not.
    “What about Kris and Uari?” Yisa asked.  “Have they made plans?”  They were Rosul’s two blood sisters.
    “We have talked, of course.  Uari had stated she plans to stay here in Nals, so you will have family close.  She has made many contacts while running the treasury, and expects to do well in the private arena.  Kris wants to retire to the family estates, at least for a while.  She might elect to pursue one of several careers after she has had time to think about it without the pressures of her current position.”  Kris’s consort had passed two years earlier in a riding accident, and that had affected her greatly.  She looked older than Rosul while in fact she was almost ten years her junior.
    Rosul’s siblings were subjected to some of the same restrictions as her offspring.  Once selected by the Spellcaster’s Guild as Queen, her siblings were immediately restricted from any chance at higher office in the land.  They were no longer prospects to ascend to the throne.  The highest civil post they could expect would be