Marjo Vanhala's council members and advisors were up bright and early the next day after yesterday's dilemma. Mostly pacing with worry back and forth in the meeting room, where Marjo was supposed to show up as well as the other Queen Council members. They were still trying to process last night. Marjo just dismissed the Queen Council members to find shelter outside when there was enough room in the palace. Things were already on a really bad foot.

"We need to get her majesty to cooperate today, yesterday's attitude was bad enough. We don't want the queen Council on our backs," said Marjo's eldest advisor Mather.

"And how do we do that? She snapped us whenever we bring up the Queen Council, anything in that matter," Garda, her other advisor went on.

"It appears that the concubine she often beds with, is giving her a pleasant new attitude, she isn't as bitter as before," Mather mentioned in a hopeful tone. It's been a while since he ever saw her interact with the harem and seeing her being gentle and smiling again was nice. "Let's just hope she is not late today, where is Vinga?" Mather asked.

"She will be escorting her majesty here," replied Garda. Vinga was Marjo's battel advisor, they were also Marjo's close friends as children until the death and massacre of her late mother, the late Empress Brendette Vanhala, and the massacre at the Ground Day summit. Marjo had been distant with Vinga ever since just like she was with everyone else.

Mather noticed a male servant come in, "They are coming." He simply said. Mather and Garda nodded simply taking their places and waiting near the meeting room entrance. They heard chatter approaching and that was when Mather and Garda got a good look at each Queen Council member, Etienne Schofield, Lottie Callahan, Victoria May, Sunil Weaver, Vernan Flint, and Talana Mallery. They all looked like a melting pot of different Pangaea origins. Mather noticed not a single one of them seem to be from the Frozen Lands.

"Greetings!" Garda exclaimed, she noticed they were all dressed in the same heavy coats as before. "Her Majesty will be here shortly at this point you may sit, while our servants will get you some breakfast."

The council members nodded, walking to get their seats at the rectangular table. They noticed the head seat of the table was empty.

Garda noticed them staring and quickly stated, "Sorry she is getting ready, she will join us shortly."

While they waited the servants came back, filling the table with breakfast, coffee, and juice, it wasn't until thirty minutes that Marjo showed up, with Vinga and a butler behind her. She was dressed freshly with nice makeup, and her hair braided in one long loose braid behind her.

Everyone stood up and kneeled, seeing Marjo come in, "Greetings to her majesty!" They said in unison.

"You may rise," Marjo said, eyeing the table to see what they had been eating.

Vernan cleared her throat, "It's good to see you, your majesty, we hoped you are having a good morning."

"It was good till I remembered I had this meeting," Marjo sighed, walking over to sit in the head seat of the table.

Marjo's eldest advisor Mather gulped, seeing the faces of disproval from the other Queen Council members.

"Well, on with it," Marjo said reaching for a piece of bread on the table. Vinga and her butler stood behind her.

"We concerned about you," Lottie started. Not bothering to beat around the bush.

"Concerned? Concerned about what exactly?" Marjo asked with a brow furrowed.

"Your lack of participation within being a Pangaea Empress. Your lack of communication. It comes across as irresponsible and even disrespectful, diplomacy is an important requirement of each empress," Talana said.

"Really? I mind my own, I don't see that as an issue," Marjo took a bit of her bread, and tore a piece to dip into her beans.

"We are the Queen Councils Elected Officials of Pangaea. We have been put here by the people to do our job, which is keeping powerful leaders, like you in check, and making sure you are following your duties," Lottie snapped. "And you have been neglecting your part as Empress, your majesty. We need you to cooperate, in order to keep peace and regulation."

"Really? Now you want to do your job? Where were you when my father and my pregnant mother were slaughtered? Huh? Where was the worry of peace and regulation when that tyrant Isolda Kasperek, killed and abused whoever she wanted? Where is the peace and regulation for the never-ending drama with the Kasperek's?" Marjo blurted.

"Your majesty, I understand your pain of losing your mother at such a young age to such violence," Vernan spoke up. "But we have given Isolda proper punishment since then and she is to be remained forever imprisoned."

"Imprisonment isn't enough. She still shouldn't be fucking alive!" Marjo snapped, slamming her hand on the table.

"Your majesty what happened at ground day should have never happened, and we have sternly been monitoring the Kasperek's ever since, doing our best to keep liberty, justice, and fairness within Pangaea," Vernan replied, trying to remain calm.

Marjo's face twisted into a scorn, "I have no interest in chattering with the rest of those bastard empresses of Pangaea, and I have no business with them either, and I don't owe any of you my business."

Mather wanted to speak up and calm the situation down since spiraling out of control, "Your majesty maybe..."

"Silence!" Marjo yelled at Mather, who quickly slumped back in his seat.

"Your majesty we are not your enemy," Vernan said.

"No, you're not," Marjo stammered. "I know who my enemies are. This stupid council is just a distraction, and interference between my enemies."

"Empress Marjo...what is it we can do for you to have sensible fellowship, we just want to cooperate with you, and remain a good relationship with all the empresses," Vernan just didn't know what else could get the temper down in the room.

"How about you guys can start by getting the fuck out of my castle, and never coming back," Marjo muttered in a low voice, silence loomed in the room. Marjo backed away from the table.

"Your majesty, you don't want us back here, if you continue to neglect your duties in participation with the rest of Pangaea you will deal with further consequences," Victoria said sternly.

Marjo chuckled, "I guess we'll have to see about that." Leaving a cold silence drifting through the room. Marjo dismissed herself, and the rest of the Queen Council, storming out to leave first with Vinga and her butler and leaving the Queen Council even more frustrated, and Mather and Garda feeling dishonored.

Klive felt Anton's eyes piercing him in the harem seating room they were waiting in, as Marjo and her council were having discussions with the Queen Council. There was small chatter among the room, as different tables were placed around the room each having two to three other men chatter among themselves. All of them were a part of Marjo's harem, giving a total of ten men. Possibly the smallest harem out of the rest of the empresses. Some were playing cards, others were just chatting and gossiping. They were all on their best behavior, due to the high tension of Marjo's meeting with the Queen Council.

Plus, Anton had warned them about punishments if any of them stepped out of line, during breakfast.

Many of the concubines had noted Anton's suddenly cold, and harsh attitude towards them ever since Klive had become Marjo's favorite.

Klive had chosen to sit by himself in the corner of the baby blue room. Klive was trying to focus on finishing his stitching for a hat he was making for Marjo, pretending not to give a damn about Anton staring him down. Anton still had his eyes fixed on him from across the room, where he sat in the emperor's seat.

Anton couldn't believe this was who he was going to lose his position as emperor to. The mysterious concubine who had just joined, the harem a few months ago. He had known Marjo since he was eleven, and had been nothing but loyal to her, and comforted her after the massacre of her family. He never dared to bother her when she told him she wanted his space. So, what was so special about this man?

Anton got up from his wooden carved, blue seat, pacing over to Klive.

Klive glanced one eye away from his stitching, looking up to see Anton approaching him, in his short-sleeved body wrap smoked, and brown boots.

Klive fully lifted his head ready to face him. When Anton got to his small circular table, he didn't bother to greet him.

Klive got up from his seat, and bowed to Anton, "Greetings your highness." Anton gave him a tense stare.

"Klive, I have yet to know of your background," Anton said, not stating for Klive to rise.

"A small village in Greenland, my family and I escaped during the conflict of dealing with Empress Isolda Kasperek," Klive responded still bowing, and kneeling.

Klive remembered him when he was one of the two new concubines that were refugees from Greenland that joined by Marjo choosing them two out of a group of ten men.

It had been months since she had spoken to anyone in the harem, and now suddenly, she has given him out of everyone else favor. A random nobody concubine. Was it because he was from Greenland, where her parents were massacred?

"Did you cast a spell on her?" Anton asked.

"Excuse me?" Klive whimpered, taken back.

"Did you cast a spell on her?" Anton repeated with more spite in his tone. "Magic? Witchcraft? What did you do for her to have this sudden strong interest in you?"

"Sir Anton I'm not your enemy," Klive started to feel eyes, being turned at them. Mutters and whispers started to fill the room, along with hushes. "I would never do such thing for favoritism in this harem."

Anton was trying his best to keep his anger in check. He balled his fist and tried to count in his head to calm down.

"You think she loves you. You think you're better than the rest of us..."

"I dare not think such thing, Sir Anton. I see you all like my brothers, I want to create allyship—"

Anton scuffed, "I can see why she likes you, you have such a fancy, nice way with words," Anton interrupted him. Klive didn't bother to reason with Anton, his eyes said all he needed to know.

"Your nothing, you're just a past-time favorite whore that she will forget about," Anton said, and he stormed away from Klive to get back to his cold emperor's chair.

Rehema tried balancing. The crown was heavy on her head. Rehema couldn't help but remember her mother when she was younger wearing the same crown when she was in the throne room. The same crown was passed down to many different African empresses and dynasties. Rehema lifted one foot to see how long she could stand, balancing with the crown on her head. She was supposed to be practicing her walking with the crown on for the day of her coronation, to make sure she doesn't stumble. She was going to have practice more of getting used to the weight on her head.

Mosi came running into the room, giggling, and running around his mother. "Momma! Momma!" He yelled jumping up in down, thinking his mother was playing a game.

Rehema smiled down at her son, "You like the crown, one day when you get a sister you will help her wear it." Rehema stopped standing on one leg, to bend down to Mosi, and let him feel the crown. It was built in Egyptian more than three centuries ago. The gold was Egyptian, with a star shaped and carved in the middle of it, horns pointing upright from the band of it. The band of the crown was jeweled with red rhinestones, with also jewels dangling from either side of her cheek from the band of the crown.

Mosi giggled jiggling the jewels that hung near his mother's face.

Chike was watching from the entrance of the room, with a smile on his face. He leaned his head on the door entrance, and his hands enclosed in his large wide-sleeved agbada.

"Mosi come for your bath, let your mother practice for her coronation," Chike said, walking over to his son, and patting his head.

Mosi reached his arms out to his father, urging him to pick him up, in which Chike did so. Chike leaned into Rehema giving her a kiss on the cheek.

"Good luck and good night. I shall take him for his bath and nap this afternoon," Chike said. Mosi was leaning his head on his father's shoulder and sucking his thumb.

Rehema nodded. "Goodnight my love," Rehema said, stroking Mosi's cheek, and kissing his forehead.

Mosi and Chike left the room, leaving Rehema to keep practicing her balance and walk.

"Your grace..." Her etiquette teacher who was had been standing beside her a few feet called out.

"What is it?" Rehema asked, going back to one foot.

"Shall we do a full walk down the hall for better practice," the elder teacher suggested.

Rehema nodded, "Good idea." She started to walk slowly foot by foot in a straight line going vertically across the near-empty throne room.

The elder etiquette teacher nodded at her movements and would remind her to strengthen her back and point her head forward.

Rehema heard a whistle, when she was halfway across the room, which almost caused her to lose focus, "Esi seriously."

Esi rolled her eyes, walking away from the doorway. Rehema noticed Esi styled in hair in neat Bantu knots today, "Well I'm sorry your highness."

"What are you here for?" Rehema asked, usually Esi was training or napping during this time. The elder teacher noticed; Rehema was quivering in her legs a little as she walked.

"I came to ask to invite a certain selection of people to the coronation," Esi entered more into the room.

"Don't tell me your thinking of inviting that thug," Rehema groaned, trying her best to stay focused. "Is that what's this is about?'

Esi rolled her eyes, "I can't invite Ajani, but you can bring Jatau and Monifa."

"That's different Jatau and Monifa are a part of us. They are blood, we shared the same mother's womb with them. Ajani is a different story, his clan hates us, his mother hated us, and his clan tried to unethically dethrone momma."

"I beg to differ," Esi argued back. "You know it's more complicated than that. Our mother and his mother should have settled their differences differently."

"I don't get what you see in him. You could have any man you want. Hell you have Safari, and your head servant Bello, who has always been head over heels for you."

"Ajani is still part of my team, he's more than a comrade to me and Safari. It would be unfair to invite Safari and Master Cagrown, but leave Ajani out. That's if Master Cagrown thinks about showing up in the first place," Esi went on.

"Inviting that irresponsible drunk is a risk," Rehema said as, she reached the end of the room, and was slowly turning around.

Sometimes Rehema hated to admit that she was a little jealous of how close and important Esi saw her comrades from her primary training and education. Rehema knew she saw them as her extended family, that she cared for them more than Jatau and Monifa.

Growing up going to school and throughout her education and training, Esi trained within her team under the legendary Master Cagrown, a former master hunter and former warrior of the African Lands.

Safari, Esi, and Ajani had all been his students since they were eleven when they all first met in primary school. It's been a while since the team had been all together. Hell, it's been a while since the team has been on a mission together. It was after Esi's mother's, the late empress Tamela Eze passing, that they seemed to have split. But Esi felt like Safari and Ajani had probably been communicating with each other. Of course no one had yet to hear from Master Cagrown, wherever he was. Disappearing within thin air was one of his specialties.

"I want to be reunited with them, Rehema. We are The Champions after all, Cagrown's Legendary Champions," Esi said. It's been a while since she referred to their trio's team name.

Rehema was still wary of Ajani and his clan, the Croom clan, who had dealt with a lot of tension and clashes with her mother.

"I have to think about it and talk to my councils and advisors about it. You know they still see the Croom clan as untrustworthy," Rehema said as she walked steadily.

"Ajani was a part of a lot of missions to protect us, don't let them forget that," Esi said sternly, and she stormed out before she could argue more with her elder sister.

Rehema bit her lip, "Esi!" She called out to her sister breaking balance, and the crown slowly started to tilt off her head, she caught with her arm before it could do so.