My Sister, The Chosen One

Thirty-Seven

Regard- Ride It

Ericson:

"This is a really big risk the Royal Party is taking," Elder Airbourne disagreed. "We are handing our realm over to criminals,"

"That's not at all what this is. What our Guardian is doing has nothing to do with external threats. I assure you. Lady Breeze Airstorm is working on one of the biggest Magikal projects in existence. We need for her to be protected at all times. We have more than half our home troops guarding her now and that in itself is dangerous. If the public were to find out why we have highly trained military operatives guarding the Airstorm residence, it will be chaos. We didn't have the resources to protect the princess and now we do,"

"It all seems a little convenient, doesn't it?" Elder Drifter asked. "How was she able to pull all of this off in a matter of weeks?"

"This makes the Royal Party dangerous," Elder Airbourne added.

"This proves that we have the right party to get things done," I disagreed. "Regardless of how any of you feel about this, the entire Royal Party has signed off on it. I'm not here to get approved. I am here informing all of you of what they decided. As the Elders of this party, it is our duty to ensure that this works. We get closer and closer to the end of the last Elder tree. The end of all magik. I believe that Princess breeze Airstrike can do this and so does the rest of the Royal Party. We are all willing to die to get her where she needs to be,"

"Letting jackets into the military is a grave mistake. They have no honor, no codes. They're all just cold-blooded killers. Eight years ago, our streets ran red with blood because of the Ace of Diamonds and this mysterious Ace of Spades. Not only did they kill dozens of officers but their own," Elder Airbourne shouted angrily. "Don't get me wrong. I trust that girl with my life. Sasha Airstorm has brought us nothing but triumph and her sister is one of our brightest and most honorable princesses but there is no guarantee that they can handle the jackets much less the Dice Queen,"

Others began to add to the wars between aces and the dice. I looked down at the booklet Sasha had made for me. I opened it hoping there was some kind of answer in it. Strangely, I opened it to a random page to see that at the top the words Just Lie are written in a beautiful script. I looked up at the King who hasn't taken his eyes off of me. He winked before looking away.

"What if I can guarantee that they can?" I asked out loud. Everyone quieted down. Taking a page out of her book doesn't seem like a bad idea. She did it to the Aces why wouldn't I be able to do it to the Elders if it helps our cause? How would they know? Who would know the difference between the lies and the truth? Would any of them question either of us? Would she back me up? Will the King?

"What can you possibly say that would guarantee that?" Elder Lovewind asked.

"Sasha Airstorm went to school with the Ace of Diamond. A few weeks ago we found four bodies in the Elysian River. Four bodies whose identities were concealed. The first was the former Spade, his Jack, his, king, and his Queen. Ballistics prove that it was the Guardian of the Realm's doing and I myself removed the files from the public eye,"

"Wait, wait, wait," Elder Airbourne stood up. "She identified and killed the Ace of Spade without consulting with us?"

"She consulted with me," we all looked over at the King. "I gave her this assignment myself as soon as the Elder tree seeds were confirmed. I asked Elder Redwood to keep it to himself until it was officiated and it was. This morning Sasha Airstorm took complete control of Spade Enterprises. I, myself, assigned Elias Coverntree to be her Jack and the only other person we can trust to go undercover this way, Elder Redwood as her King,"

"My King this is unexpected. This is not how we do things on this council," Elder Airbourne tried to even his breathing.

"I understand your concern Elder- whatever your name is. This was a stealth mission only our Guardian and her team could have accomplished. It was need to know and now that it's done. Well, consider yourselves informed. I'd like to thank Elder Redwood for his support. I'd also like to thank all of you for assigning such a valuable asset to us. Although he's not our Guardian anymore. Ericson Redwood is still protecting us all and still has our best interests at heart.

"Now that this matter has been resolved, jacket training will proceed as scheduled. I know you might all be worried about our Guardian's attention straying but I assure you, Sage has never been more focused. If you all check the files in front of you, you'll find a little black card with the Guardian's sigil engraved on it. Go ahead and place the card on your tablet screens,"

I opened the file to find two black cards. One with the Guardian's sigil and one with a spade. I took the card with the sigil and placed it on my work tablet. A file was instantly downloaded. My name appeared on the screen when the app finally loaded. There are detailed instructions for me as the Elder in my position. I looked up to see a couple of tablets going up in smoke. Rey stood up and waved his hand in the air. We were all instantly surrounded by the Royal Guard. More tablets went up in smoke.

"This is interesting," he continued as he looked over the information on his own tablet and made his way over to the center of the council room. "Guards, arrest them. Everyone else, remain in your seats you don't want to get caught in the crossfire,"

Some of the Elders with smoking tablets tried to leave the room and were instantly stunned. Everyone began to look around as the guards restrained the Elders. I looked over at Bruce trying not to laugh. Now I know why he said what he did this past weekend. She was setting up his targets or maybe he was setting them and she's going to take all of the credit in order for this to work. Did she know I would make this up? Is this how much she already trusts me? Does he trust me? It feels like he does.

"I'll kill you both!" General Mill shouted. "You have no idea who you're messing with!" he spat in the King's direction. One of the guards hit him in the back of the head with force. He fell to his knees as the guard and two others cuffed his wings. "I'll have Sage. Mock my words,"

"Hmm," Rey scoffed before looking down at his tablet. "Now, if you all turn your attention back to your tablets. The Elders in charge of the new laws. I'd like for you to open the pending bills tab. Here you will find the bills suggested in this week's live congress meetings. I've already reviewed most of them and organized them by order of importance.

"The first is the passing bills. There are only two bills I've reviewed and accepted. The second is still considering. Those of you who have a pending circle next to the bills you have presented. I'd like for you to review them once again and present a more detailed and compelling presentation by Friday. The last tab is for those that I've denied. There are a few. No, I will not be reviewing them again. This is our final say on them. Some of these requests were so dumb, Lord Elias and I made a game out of it and he bested me fourteen to twelve. I gave some of you a little too much credit. Elders with congress duties, you are dismissed unless you wish to stay for the rest of our gathering,"

The Elders to his right all stood up and began to make their way out. Rey doesn't look the least bit concerned about their reactions. He's just doing his job leaving any biased emotions out of it. He's not only displaying dominance but arrogance as well. He's letting them know that he won't be giving them the freedom they are used to. Now that they're back and only have a couple of years of military strategies training left, they showing them that they don't plan on letting anything get passed them.

I have questioned his authority a few times since we've met but that's only because I hadn't seen him in action. He definitely fits a King's profile. For fairies their age, their understanding of the world is very on point with the reality of all of this. Once again I feel like I'm catching up to their beliefs. The line between our government and our criminal underworld is starting to blur.

"Sir, my tablet is blank," Elder Castair raised his hand.

"Oh, yes. I forgot about the blanks. Those of you who have blank tablets, you're fired. Please report to tower one to be deruned immediately," he didn't even look up at them letting them know he wasn't going to be discussing the matter with any of them. Twelve Elders in total were fired. "Those of you remaining have all proven to be loyal and worthy of your titles.

"The Royal Party is grateful to have fae of your elegance and intelligence be part of our government officials. More than anyone, we know the lengths we have to go through to keep our people protected. It's not always pretty or fair. This is why a six percent increase in pay will be effective immediately. I hope you don't mind putting in a couple of hours extra for double the pay to pick up the slack while I finish conducting interviews for the replacements of those we lost this morning. Thirty-two Elders is a big loss and it will take some time to things back in order.

"If you wish to help there is a tab at the bottom of your menu that reads extra assignments. Elias and Sage have made things very simple for all of us. There is a link that will take you to another app. This one is gold and has my sigil on it. Here you will find several categories for different projects we'd like to get done this year and yes, you can work on these from home they are not mandatory. However, we thought that you might like a change in pace, a side project, or maybe you want to get your children one of those new gliders with the autopilot sequence this autumn. Sage got one for Elias in hopes he'd let us fly him around the city," everyone laughed when he smiled. "The extra work will be greatly appreciated,"

"There's a tab that says recommendations," one of the older Elders raised his hand.

"Yes, this tab is for the Royal party. The King's app is not open to everyone. If you'd like to look through it, depending on your access permission, you will most likely be locked out of some areas. Any other questions?"

"As Elders, aren't we all at an equal stance to one another?"

"Yes, you are but not to the Royal Party. Despite this being the early years of our reign, we plan on seeing through our entire two-century term," he smiled tucking the tablet behind him. "I know it's been a while since we've had a full-term reign but I assure you, we know exactly what we are doing,"

No one batted an eye. They're all very quiet and very still. I hid the smile on my face. None of them know what just hit them and while he's giving Sasha credit for a big portion of his work, he's ensuring that he's not too far behind her advancements. This just adds to my theory. This Royal Party is unlike any of the former ones. The ones that never made it out of their military training contracts. The ones that did but couldn't get past the business contracts. They know what they're bringing to the table already. They have Military experience, they know the business, they have the means of law, and they're working together as they were always meant to.

"That will be all, my king," the Elder took a seat and picked up his tablet again.

"Great, I'm glad that was cleared up. Elders of the Royal Party. If you will open your tab you will find your daily schedules have been moved around a bit. I know you already have an idea of what you're working with but with all of the Elders dismissed in your area of expertise, we've temporarily added a little extra weight.

"With that being said, you will be evaluated and ranked from top to bottom. The top being Elder Redwood's specialty. He works directly with Lord Elias and me. Along with Elder Highwind as our Guardian's personal Elder. Welcome to the team Elder Highwind," he greeted her.

I wasn't aware of this change. A wave of warmth flooded my body making my wings spark. While my tending to her creates a conflict of interest, she didn't rule out getting the help she needs. Aviona Highwind is the perfect candidate to take my place. It was who I had profiled to present to her. This makes me very happy as well as relieved in more ways than one.

"My King, you honor me," she stood up and curtsied before him. He acknowledged her and had her take a seat.

"Will we know who is evaluating us?" Elder Breezington asked.

"No, the evaluations will be done anonymously. Sage and I thought it would remove any anxieties this might bring up. Do your job as you normally would and you should be fine. You are dismissed. I know some of you have appointments ready to go in a few minutes. Go with ease," he bowed dismissing us. I don't have any appointments here but I do have to get to Spade Enterprises later. "Elder Redwood, why don't you take Elder Highwind with you. I'm sure Sasha is eager to meet her. There's a gift bag for the two of you in your office,"

"Yes, my King," I stood up and bowed to him formally. I looked back to see her sitting two rows behind me. She gathered her things and followed my lead.

"Redwood, before we continue, I'd like to formally introduce myself," she stopped me.

Highwind is three decades older than me. She had tried for Elias's position when I was running for Guardian but was a little behind in physical requirements. She's small. A little smaller than Airstrike. Her silver hair and her silver eyes indicate that she's a wind fairy pureblood. Highwinds have been Elders and part of the aristocracy for many generations.

"Very well," I turned to face her when we entered my office. I am disappointed to see that Airstrike hasn't returned. I haven't gotten a letter of resignation either. "Let's talk in my office,"

"My name is Aviona Highwind,"

"I know who you are Dr. Highwind," I assured her.

"Right, well, I just want to know what this is,"

She held up a black Spade card when I shut the door behind me. I motioned her to sit down. This I knew she wanted. This woman has access to one of the biggest science companies in the Realm. Her father is one of the other Alrichians who has mastered magik to Sage level and Sage wants him to share his secrets with Breeze. However, he's a recluse. He's been targeted more than once and her only way to him is through this woman.

"This is your official job interview, Elder Highwind," I sat down and motioned her to take a seat across from me. I grabbed the black gift bag on my desk and pulled out both tablets. I handed the one with the tiara engraved on it to her. She took it. "Start it up and swipe the card,"

"I know what these symbols mean. I've been studying Aldrich's criminal history for years," she set it back on my desk while I started mine up. "I don't want any part of it. I do, however, wish to help Guardian Airstorm. She's been through a lot and not just without the military but on her own. She's changed radically since the unfortunate demise of her parents. I just want to help her,"

A file came up right away. I tapped on it to see Highwind's personal history. I sat back, quickly going through it trying to get as much information as possible. What I found left me a little breathless. Hearing her say what she just did makes me wonder how she faired all alone. Her history is a lot like Sasha's. She and her father are the last of their bloodline and he left her all alone. He moved away from her to protect her.

"I think you should turn this on," I pushed the tablet to her. "I want to start with saying that Sasha isn't just any member of a Royal Party. In fact, I believe she should have been elected our Queen at the very start. This woman's psyche is like nothing I've encountered before. As you know, Sasha is a Sage-level Void sprite or fairy whichever you prefer.

"She changes every so often. We both know that each fae element has specific characteristics in personalities of its own. From watching Sasha, I've learned that Void sprites take on the personality of the element they consume. When we got her back, she had the fire of the explosion that caused her and the rest of the Royal Party to get caught in a loop spell. She was very passionate and very emotional. Driven by the fire, she was a bit unstable. I finally convinced her to release those flames and then she went and helped my brother with his spirit abilities and now she's very demanding and focused,"

"Wow," she immediately took the tablet.

"I understand that the former King of Hearts was responsible for the demise of your entire clan," I continued. She paused for an instant, had I not been paying attention to her every move, I would have missed it. "Open the file,"

Highwind did as I asked. She began to scroll through whatever was on there until she reached what I think Sasha wants her to see. I looked away giving her what little privacy I could. What goes down between the two of them is none of my business. She stood up looking me in the eyes.

"I accept," she nodded. "If Sasha Airstrom wants me to be the Spade Queen then I accept and wish to be taken to her as soon as possible,"

"Good," I nodded. I reached into the bag and took the jewelry box inside. I offered it to her before showing her my own. what was on there that made her change her mind this quickly.

"What is this?" she asked.

"Your binding spell. Once you put this on, there is no turning back. You will be part of the Spade organization until the day you die. Before you put it on, I have to warn you. These people don't play by the same rules as everyone else. They share a level of intelligence and violence I've never inflicted in my years as the Guardian of the Realm. Not even during my military years. Yet, they're a family and they take care of one another as such,"

"I thought she wanted you to get me to want to be part of this. Not scare me," she smirked.

"That's exactly what she wants me to do and as her King, I want to please her. It's part of my spell as well as my interest in her. However, I wouldn't have a clear conscience if I didn't at least tell you exactly what you're walking into. These Aces much like the Royal Party, are very young. Two of them haven't even gotten their wings yet. They're still very logical and eager to strike. Their main focus is to ensure that their reign is absolute and they clear out their jackets every so often and in front of those who remain. You're going to have to be strong to make it through some days,"

"There's more to it, isn't there? She doesn't just want me to help her get better. She wants something in return. Is this about my father and Lady Breeze?"

"Yes,"

"As well as your state of mind," she added. I looked her over wondering what she meant by that. She held up her tablet to show me her schedule. My name is on there. "By your reaction, you didn't know,"

"No, I didn't," I admitted feeling stunned. She smiled.

"I take it she's already very attached to you and you, her. The Elder spell didn't work on her," she stood up putting the tablet in her purse before reaching for the jewelry box.

She didn't hesitate to put it on. I stood up going around the desk. I pierced my index finger on my right left hand where she had put the bracelet on me and let the drop of blood close the bracelet for her. She groaned as the spell took effect. Her reaction is as violent as mine was but she didn't falter. She has a high tolerance for pain.

"It's spellbinding through the ranks. It links us all together. We all belong to her and her spell runs inside of us. If she needs one of us to pass it down, then we can upon her orders,"

"By one of us? What does that mean?"

"The spade, the jack, the king, and the queen. The rest are called jackets. Ten through two,"

"I see," she rubbed her arm. I couldn't even touch it the other night.

"You should ice it whenever you can for the next couple of days. It's a painful mark," I advised.

"Are you going to ask me?" she asked when we walked out of the Elder Tower.

"No, we can save this conversation for our session together. You're not the only one with an extra client on your schedule. Keep up. She doesn't like to be kept waiting. They have a thing about time and schedules. All of them. You're going to want to take your days off, Elder Highwind. These kids are a mess but they are excruciatingly organized,"