Chapter 10

ten

VALENTIA DAILY NEWS

brEAKING NEWS! KING GAbrIEL TO ABDICATE!

I n breaking news, His Majesty King Gabriel has announced his intention to abdicate, citing his health and ongoing heart issues as the main reason. In a speech to the Royal Council this morning, he confirmed the rumours that had been swirling for some time, but which ramped up after the death of Her Royal Majesty Princess Victoria.

"It's time to let a younger generation lead the monarchy, to bring fresh ideas and perspectives, and to infuse their energy into Valleria's future," the King said. "I have been honoured to be your king and leader for nearly forty years, and I have no doubt that Alexander is more than up to the task."

His Royal Highness Prince Alexander will assume the throne and become king in a much more economical ceremony than we've seen from recent monarchs across the globe. While some traditions will be maintained, others will be updated for a modern era or put to rest. More details about the ceremony will be released at a later date, but the palace did confirm that the day of the ceremony would be a bank holiday.

"I am honoured to become your king later this year," Prince Alexander said in a statement following the King's announcement. "It is my goal to help usher Valleria into a more prosperous era, building on the framework of previous leaders, to make Valleria an even more inclusive, welcoming, and wealthy place for all, including for our middle class. I do not take my job lightly, and I know it won't be easy, but I hope we can all work together to achieve greatness. Long Live Valleria!"

Prince Alexander also announced that prior to the abdication and coronation ceremonies, he and Princess Rebecca will be making a diplomatic visit to the United States. Though they have stepped in for the current King and Queen in various diplomatic capacities in the past, this will be a true test for the future rulers. Their Highnesses are expected to make stops in New York City for the All Nations General Assembly meeting, Washington, D.C., to meet with the president and attend a state dinner in their honour, and Los Angeles. Throughout the trip, they plan to meet with several charities and workers in various industries, particularly healthcare, and discuss initiatives for veterans. More details about the tour will be released in the coming days.

ALEXANDER

Alex was fuming as he and his brothers entered his office. "I can't fucking believe this." Barely a day after the announcement, the Council was already trying to delay or cancel the coronation all together.

"Can't you?" Nate asked as he took a seat. "It seems exactly the sort of thing the Council would do."

Alex shook his head as he paced. "I knew they'd try something, but this is some bullshit." Several Council members had banded together to release a statement that the coronation was being bungled, that the Council should take over planning, and that it should be delayed to ‘put the full glory of Valleria on display'.

Lies, all of them. And the ‘glory of Valleria' was simply a ploy to empty the bank accounts for a lavish coronation that would be out of touch with most Vallerians. People were struggling, and the monarchy should not be displaying its wealth, it should be distributing it to the people who needed it.

Marcello leaned against the table. "What do you need?"

Alex glanced between his brothers and the expectant looks on their faces. Here was another life change—Alex would now be head of the Council. His father was still technically the leader until he abdicated but, for all intents and purposes, Alex was in charge now.

Alex could imagine how his father would handle this situation, and it would probably be with more diplomacy and tact than he would do. Then again, his father had fought with the Council nearly his entire life and was tired of it. Alex had been doing it for several years now, and he was tired of it too, but in a different way.

Alex took a seat and leaned towards them. "I want to make the Council more transparent. I thought about even making them elected positions, but I don't want either of you to leave your positions or have to campaign for them. Legally, I don't know that you could do that as royals."

Marcello and Nate glanced at each other, then at Alex. "You could remove those positions from the Council, make them something more permanent under the royal umbrella."

"I've thought of that too, but the optics of that aren't great. It assumes that these two positions—held by royals—are more important than other Council roles. How do we tell people that the Ministers of the People or Justice or Labor or Education or Health, for example, are less important than the Ministers of Finance or Security? No, we'll need to create two new positions that make those Council positions obsolete. "

Alex took a deep breath before continuing. "I'd also like to make Council member tax histories publicly available, and make the royal budget publicly available too, to a certain extent anyway."

Nate whistled. "That's the same as revealing dirty secrets. We all have a lot to hide."

"I know, and I would be included in that too. But we're going into an age where people are opposing the existence of monarchies because they're not modern or efficient. They're full of wasteful spending and lack real input from the public. I want to shift some of that mindset, for our Vallerian monarchy at least. Otherwise, what will the next generation inherit? I mean, Nate, if your and Charlie's child turns out to be the next heir, do you want them to inherit the problems we're dealing with now?"

It was the first time Alex had spoken so plainly to anyone about who would inherit the throne. No one spoke about it around him, and he doubted anyone would speak about it around Rebecca either.

But he was about to become king, and he couldn't tiptoe around the issue anymore. The truth was that Charlie could be giving birth to the next heir to the throne, and they all had to face that reality.

Nate's eyes widened and his mouth dropped. He glanced at Marcello, then back to Alex and cleared his throat. "Yes, I, uh, we , Charlie and I that is, have considered your point already, and you're right. Whether it's my child or someone else's, we don't want them to inherit these problems just because we didn't want to deal with them."

Marcello's voice sounded a little rough when he spoke, but then he and his wife, Grace, had dealt with their own fertility issues. Talk of children and babies wouldn't be easy for him either. "So, what's your long game?"

"Step one is to create new positions for your roles. Even if you decide to leave at some point, I'd still prefer those positions managed outside the Council, particularly yours, Marcello. Details of our intelligence agencies and operations can't be revealed.

"Once that's complete, we move on to step two, which is to release the financial and tax records and do an audit of government expenses, actions, and rules. This will help weed out the troublemakers and help us figure out where to streamline things and which rules and laws no longer serve us.

"Step three would be to change the Council appointment process, so the public is involved. It wouldn't be an election, because we want to make sure qualified people are in those positions, but we could do some part of the process publicly, and close the existing loopholes that allow unqualified and inexperienced people into those positions on a technicality. Once those steps are done, or at least in process, we can figure out what's next."

Marcello rubbed his mustache. "It's not a bad plan. It's not how Papa would handle it, but I can see how it might play out. Have you talked to him about this?"

Alex shook his head. "Not yet. I wanted to speak with you first. I think step one—to transition your roles—should be completed before he steps down. It would mean a lot of political maneuvering on both your parts."

"It would also mean that you wouldn't have us on the Council once you officially took over, or even now while you're dealing with their latest stunt," Nate said. "Are you sure you're ready to take on the Council as they are on your own?"

Alex nodded. "I think I'll have a window, a small one but one nonetheless. Once I ascend the throne, they'll want to show support for me, at least publicly. Since most Council meetings are streamed live now, they won't want to appear as their true selves. I can use that to my advantage. Once things settle down, it will be different, but I'm hoping I can push some things through in the meantime. And, if they do push back sooner than expected, I've still got Royal Decrees I can issue."

Marcello grinned. "They really hate when we issue those."

"I'm counting on it," Alex said with a devious smile back. "The more they protest me, the better it will work into my plan."

Alex was all for a system of checks and balances as the Council wanted. However, the Council wanted that balance for everyone but themselves. He would no longer allow them to go unchecked and pander to their ridiculous ideas that would put Vallerians at risk.

"Now that we've talked about dealing with them long-term, let's discuss how to deal with their latest ploy."