"Are you willing to take the oath?"

"I am willing," replied Sakhr.

He stood before the Lakiran minister of Justice, Leonard Finman. The ancient man was orating his way through vows that Sakhr had okayed an hour beforehand.

Crowded around them was Sibyl, Christof, a few selected press members, and whatever of Victoria's legislative cabinet could arrive on such short notice. The others were regional ministers from around South America, and the ministers of agriculture, public health, and defense.

No more than a dozen people were there, cramped into a tiny room in Sakhr's new "Imperial Spire".

"Do you solemnly swear to govern the Peoples of the Lakiran empire, the Peoples of Europe, South Africa, of the Middle Eastern Unification Party, the Peoples of..."

Finman continued listing territories. Sakhr had asked why the minister didn't just say "the world" if Victoria had recently managed to conquer everything, to which the minister of defense clarified that her domination wasn't as true as people believed. Telling the public that the empire owned the world was a stretched truth for the sake of appearances. However, saying so during the coronation could cause upset during an already turbulent time.

And so everyone stood silently while Finman rattled off every political entity that could safely be labeled part of the empire, substituting in political parties instead of countries when appropriate.

"I solemnly swear," Sakhr replied when the old man finished. He held his hand upon a bible Finman held out. That had been the public health minister's idea at the last moment, though it might as well have been a comic book for all the weight it held with Sakhr. He suspected the vows Finman read were cribbed from the internet. This entire affair was a farce. This empire had never seen a coronation before.

"Will you do your utmost to maintain the laws of God?"

"I will."

Another religious remark. Sakhr had noted all those references earlier. But why? Had Victoria convinced the people that she was queen through divine right? Were her laws actually God's laws? It baffled Sakhr how anyone could believe that given the corporate nature of Victoria's rise to power. It might have made sense given how her government made use of supernatural abilities... except she had carefully hidden that fact.

Sakhr agreed to more vows, then Finman wrapped it up by declaring him queen. Cameras clicked as everyone bowed. Sakhr stood before the audience as the supreme ruler. He possessed the body of a sixteen year old girl, and these generals and admirals and politicians waited for him to tell them what to do. They expected words, and even though Sakhr hadn't yet tracked down Victoria's speech writers, he knew his part. He'd been in positions like this many times before.

"Citizens of the Lakiran Empire. Let's not pretend that today is a day of celebration. It's a day of perseverance. In the wake of this national tragedy, we must maintain hope. My mother accomplished so much during her short reign. She brought this empire together and delivered us from hard times. I promise I will finish what she started, despite what our enemies would wish. We will find the people who stole our beloved queen from us. But above all, we will show them that they cannot stagger us with their senseless acts of terrorism. We are stronger than they can possibly imagine. We persevere. Thank you."

Sakhr unceremoniously left as the small crowd murmured. Sibyl followed. Alex was waiting for him in the back hall, sitting on a bench with his feet swinging. He somehow made a young teenager look younger. For whatever reason, he was wearing the garb of an exemplar, though it had a frill on it that Sibyl's uniform lacked.

"Interesting speech, Your Majesty," Alex said. "Short and to the point."

"Interesting uniform."

"Thanks! The queen just promoted me to high exemplar."

"Did I now?"

"Don't worry. Nepotism is your style. Besides, you seem to be in short supply of high exemplars now."

Before he could say anything else, Defense Minister Lowden came from the conference room and caught Sakhr's attention.

"Your Majesty, something has come up."