Into The Ruins by Bob Blink Read Free Book Online Page A

that of mayor in another city.  The mayor of Nals could not be related to the Queen, again a matter of law.  Should something befall the current Queen, then a new Queen, from a different family, would be selected in short order.  This could be done within a matter of weeks.  Past experience had shown this to be the case.  Until the Queen was replaced, her five Royal Advisors would see to the daily running of the kingdom.  This was tradition as well as law.  There had been several instances where the Queen had died prematurely over the past thousand years, and the law had always been followed as written.  Everyone in the country was aware of the ancient edicts, and any attempt to change them now would be met with resistance.
    The intent of the laws was stability.  In the distant past there had been frequent situations where one member of the royal family would find ways to remove their ruling sibling and thereby advance themselves to a position of greater power.  Under Sedfair’s laws, such action would only result in the siblings being removed from their privileged position as part of the country’s royal family.  It became in their best interests to see to the well being of their family member so they could continue to share the benefits of recognition and position as long as their family member survived.  Most often, the Queen would appoint members of the clan to posts within her government where she felt their closeness and personal interests would benefit both her rule and the country as well. 
    On a more cynical note, the arrangement also worked in the favor of the Guild, which was responsible for overseeing the selection of a new Queen when the need arose.  With no dynasty possible, the Guild had a great deal of power in its hands by the ability to influence whoever became Queen.  Most of the Hundred Families were careful in their dealings with the Guild because of this situation.  Of late, Rosul had her own opinions about the Guild and how it tried to manipulate the country’s leadership.  They were far more powerful than most realized.
    The Queen’s second brother had pursued his own career in the face of tradition, and had quietly, so as not to embarrass the Crown, found satisfaction in establishing a large mining company in the far south of the country.  A woman he had selected had become his consort, rather than himself being chosen as was the more traditional approach, and while officially his wife ran the company, Rosul knew who was really the brains behind the venture.  She looked forward to being able to greet her brother once again, openly applauding his success and expertise.
    “Are you really so ready to accept your situation that you’ll step down docilely?” Yisa asked.
    A wry, somewhat sad smile crossed Rosul’s face.  “There is really nothing I can do,” she replied.  “The law is quite specific and the people would be outraged if I tried to circumvent it.”
    “The people love you,” Yisa objected. 
    Rosul hoped that was true.  She had tried to be a champion of the people, but knowing what she did, she wondered if she had accomplished as much as she hoped.  She felt she could continue to rule effectively.  She didn’t feel old and mentally challenged, in fact she wished she could continue to wage the secret war against the Guild and the tentacles it had into everything.  Well, perhaps she could, but not as Queen.  The Guild would see to that, even if the people would have allowed her to continue as Queen.
     

Chapter 5
     
    The Queen worriedly watched as her eldest daughter left the room.  For such a successful woman she certainly had a lot of insecurities.  She’d have thought a child of hers would be made of sterner stuff, but Yisa had always surprised them, and not always in a good way.  Although she was by far the most successful of her daughters, Yisa had always had a few cracks in her make-up, take her selection of husbands for example.
    “Something