A New Deal
My trial tenure as Queen while Branwen was gone for a week in Canada went rather well. Morgan had resigned from his position as Branwen’s assistant shortly before he left to rejoin my cabinet, an event that she was not pleased with. Regardless, he was my council first and he didn’t need any convincing to come back. Phee ran errands for me, Sabrina was on dictation, and Morgan helped me navigate the political world, of which I was still studying and trying to understand the inner workings and recall specific laws and regulations.
I hated how grateful I was when Branwen returned because eventually, most likely sooner than later, I was going to be in that position permanently, doing this job for years and years. I wasn’t sure if I was ready, but I at least had people behind me to help along the way since I was one Broomwood that literally walked into this, blind to everything.
Of course, my relief was short-lived because as soon as she was back, I was called to the Assembly for a one on one appointment, but that one on one turned out to be more like three on one. I didn’t know this when I got there, but the minute I stepped into Branwen’s office, I saw that we were not going to be alone.
“Briar! Sit, sit.” Branwen actually seemed happy to see me as she patted her mound of cushions for me to take a seat.
On her left side sat Veronica and on her right was Ember.
After I picked a spot on the floor, Branwen started, “I know I said I wanted to see you, but it was more like the three of us wanted to see you. We need to talk preparations for the impending nuptials since you and Ember are officially engaged.”
Of course.
“And why is Veronica here, exactly? No offense, I’m just not sure how she fits into the equation.” I asked, eyeing the well-dressed woman warily.
Branwen’s eyes flitted to Veronica, then to Ember, and then back to me before she replied.
“Veronica is a mating facilitator, which is a fancy way of saying that she is an intimacy coach. She’s here to help you and Ember connect on a more intimate level so that when the time comes for you two to start mating, the process will be more fulfilling for both of you.”
The face I made...couldn’t be helped. There was no hiding the emotion I felt when she said that. I planned on actively avoiding any sort of intimacy and here these idiots were ready to give me step by step instructions! Not to mention I was tricked into this part of everything; literally walked right into a trap.
But I didn’t convey any of that and instead just said, “Oh, is that so?”
“Don’t worry, Briar. It may not be my day job, but I’m damn good at bringing couples together to form intimate bonds and earth-shattering orgasms.” Veronica tried to assure me that I was in good hands, but it only made things worth.
And the worst part was that I couldn’t get out of this.
Then Branwen dove right in, “Let’s start by talking about where things are headed. Normally, a Broomwood daughter is courted, inaugurated, takes possession of the stone, and then gets married to the chosen consort from said courting. Due to the unconventional way that events happened for you, things are a tad out of order. The stone is already yours and the courting cut short, but now we can focus on your relationship with Ember and your impending ascension all at once. You’ll become Queen first and then your wedding will fall the month after. A lot of planning, but we have plenty of resources.”
“And where does the contract negotiations for the stone come in? It would be pointless to go forward with all this planning if I can’t secure the stone in our favor.” I asked, wondering why there was such a rush when something as important as the stone was in limbo.
“Actually, that was taken care of several weeks ago. At the time, I was under the impression that we were in possession of the Blood Stone and so we set a meeting with Baphomet and their lawyer. Our reasoning for you not attending is that you were out of town for a summit in Germany. With the information we had, it was deemed enough to put doubt on the validity of the prior contract, noting that you were actually the twelfth Broomwood to take hold of the stone, not the thirteenth. Since there is no official record of Sofia’s death and your signed statement, we were able to hold things off...but only for so long.” Branwen informed me, but I knew there was something not right.
“Only for so long? What does that mean?” I queried.
“The new deal struck states that Baphomet will let you keep possession of the stone and ascend to Queen as the twelfth, but you need to produce an heir within a year of your marriage to the chosen consort to ensure a thirteenth when you die. We agreed, knowing it might buy us some time, but would never come to fruition because you were already dead. Of course, things are different now.”
Her words had me seeing red. Just like Matilda had done, Branwen went and made a deal with an Infernal without completely thinking it through. Granted, it wasn’t her fault entirely because I was dead when it happened, but now I wasn’t and I had to abide by this new contract. Unless…
“Yeah, real different. Now I see why you rushed things the minute you knew I was breathing again—you don’t want to break the contract and lose the necklace because you had no better ideas when you agreed to this. Now my neck is on the line and I never even had a say in things.” I burst, trying to keep my cool but failing miserably.
“How were we supposed to know you’d come back to life? We would have figured something out if you hadn’t.” Branwen argued, seeming defensive.
“How? You didn’t even have the real necklace. It would have been better to stall negotiations as long as possible than to agree to something so absurd. Now I’m going to have to find a way to fix this because I won’t be told when to have a baby by some arrogant Infernal with a God complex! This stone stays with the Broomwoods no matter what a goddamn contract says.”
And then I stormed out. I pushed off the cushions with such force that I kicked a few in the other’s direction before I marched out of the office with my nerves on fire.
This was the last time someone tried to dictate my life for me.
I burst through the doors of the townhouse with such force that I actually put a hole in the wall with the doorknob. I was so hot with anger that I couldn’t quell my rage and I knew the stone was only fueling how I felt; it wanted to go to Orlok about as much as I did.
Of course, this outburst alerted everyone in the house, Morgan included because it was now right before dusk. Phee and Sabrina came bounding down the stairs from the second floor while Morgan came running from the living room as I stomped through the foyer. I tossed my bag on the table by the door and tried to get myself to breathe lest I burst.
“I take it that one-on-one meeting didn’t go well?” Morgan asked, keeping his distance.
I huffed, “That would be an understatement. Not only did the bitch surprise me with Ember and Veronica, who is also our intimacy coach, apparently, but she also informed me that there was already a contract negotiation meeting with Baphomet a couple weeks ago and they came to an agreement.”
“Really? I was unaware of that. How did it go?” Morgan seemed eager to know and so did the others.
“Well, at the time I was dead and they didn’t tell him that, but they had enough to go on for a change in the contract which allows me to ascend and keep the stone as the twelfth Broomwood...but I have to produce an heir within a year so there is a thirteenth. Someone to take my place.” I answered, trying not to scream as I replied.
“You’re fucking kidding me.” Morgan was gobsmacked and the other two looked shocked.
“Nope. If I had known that’s how it was going to go, I never would have contested the contract. I mean, Branwen technically thought the deal was innocuous, at least from my perspective because I was dead. But now we have a fucking problem.” I noted, brushing past everyone to the kitchen where I knew a bottle of hard liquor was waiting for me.
“So, what are you going to do? What did you say to Branwen?” It was Sabrina’s turn to interrogate me and I humored her.
“Basically, that I wasn’t going to be some baby maker for a prick Infernal and I was going to find a way to fix this. The way I see it, the contact is void because it was negotiated without my knowledge. I wasn’t even alive to contest it. Since the contract is with my family, I should be the one present for negotiations. In my opinion...this was all planned on Baphomet’s end. They obviously didn’t know I was dead, but they had to know Branwen and the Committee weren’t telling them the entire truth. I don’t know all the details, but that’s the feeling I get. Baphomet is smarter than the Committee is giving them credit for and it could spell complete disaster if we don’t do something.”
“What’s the plan then? I know you’ve got something in that clever noggin of yours.” Morgan was ready to leap and he knew me well enough to know I had already worked something out in my head.
“We call for a meeting with Baphomet and their lawyer. I’m sure Branwen has a few on retainer, one of which probably being Ember, but I want a good one outside of the Assembly. Do you know any?” I posed my question toward Morgan, but wouldn’t mind feedback from Phee too.
“I wish I actually was a lawyer, but all I can do is consult. However, I do know a few top tier ones that may help us with this pro bono since you are the ascending Queen. I’ll make some calls tonight and see what I can do.” He gave me a hopeful answer.
I added, “And when we get a lawyer, one of the things I want out of this meeting is to read the original contract. I don’t even know what all it entails and maybe there are more things we can exploit in our favor. I also need the most recent one to compare and contrast. I don’t plan on this being handled all in one session, but I don’t mind putting in the effort for this either.”
“Before we do all of that, shouldn’t be make them aware that you were dead during the prior renegotiation?” Sabrina pointed out.
“Oh, absolutely. That needs to come first. We can draft a letter to Baphomet’s lawyer and explain what happened and that we want to set up another meeting.” I agreed with her, making notations in my head as I planned things out loud.
“There’s just one potential problem with doing all of this…” Phee cut in ominously.
If she saw a problem, I wanted to hear it so I gestured for her to go on.
“This could be really bad optics for the Committee if it gets out. As far as I know, the preternatural community at large doesn’t know all the details of the stone’s history and even those within just recently learned about the Thirteenth Daughter thing. If Baphomet or their lawyer leaks that the Committee lied to them and renegotiated a contract illegally, that could start all sorts of trouble for the Assembly.”
She had a point and a really good one at that. I wondered if it was something they were now considering and if they were, I had the upper hand in this situation. I wondered if maybe I should talk to them first before going over their head, but I also wasn’t sure what all I didn’t know about the re-negotiation meeting that they weren’t telling me.
“New plan. The Committee told Baphomet that I was at a summit during their meeting. What if we send an e-mail to the lawyer and ask for details on the meeting that we missed? I should be entitled to that. I’ll just say that I wanted it directly from their office so I had official copies for my own file.” I reformulated, thinking it sounded rather solid.
Morgan pointed at me with a nod, “I like that idea. Once we know what all was discussed, including both contracts, we can better plan on how to nullify that for a new one. I have just the lawyer in mind to handle this, now that I think of it. Let me go deal with that and I’ll be right back.”
He already had his phone out as he stepped from the kitchen and I poured myself a drink to soothe my nerves.
“You look exhausted, babe, and I don’t want you to take that the wrong way. I’m just so worried about you.” Sabrina tried to comfort me as she placed her hand over mine on the bar.
“I can’t sleep,” I admitted with a sigh, “I get maybe a couple hours a night, if that. There’s just so much on my mind. I haven’t even made things official with my monarch status and I am already exhausted.”
“It’s not like this is normal for your position. There’s more pieces in play this go round and you’re the one stuck with handling it all. But unlike the others before you, you’re a fucking immortal, demi-god, wytch. You have a better hand overall.” Phee offered an alternative way of looking at my stress and I realized she wasn’t exactly wrong.
It had me really thinking about one thing she had said, though.
“Is there any way to get in contact with my dad?” I blurted the question, looking to Phee.
I had apparently caught her off guard because she was just staring at me in surprise before she shook out of it and replied.
“Uh, no one has seen him in centuries, Briar. Well, except for the Nocturnal Knighthood, apparently. He’s not something that is usually messed with in that way. There are no rituals or invocations that work that I know of.”
Seemed like my father had a reputation and I was curious as to what that entailed. Phee had also said something else that had given me another idea, one that she might not like.
“We should go to the Nocturnal Knighthood then. If they’re still in service to him, they should be able to get me in contact with him easily.” I suggested and Phee was immediately shooting that idea down.
“Nope. No. We cannot and will not make contact with the NK. They are not part of the Order, Briar. They are an outlier, a rogue group that doesn’t operate like we do. Your mother really was a rebel to be fraternizing with them. I’m not saying they’re bad or good, I’m saying they are unpredictable and you, as the incoming Queen, don’t need to put yourself in a position like that. Too dangerous.”
Too dangerous. Everything was too dangerous at this point, but I guess Phee forgot one, tiny little thing.
“Phee...I can’t stay dead. What are they really going to do to me?” I posed, feeling a little cocky.
“They don’t need to know you have that ability, witchy poo. Knowing that and finding out where it came from could cause problems with unstable individuals. Even as it stands, no one but the Committee and those that witnessed it at the gala knew that you were dead, and the latter had to sign NDAs before they left the party. The only others that know now are the Bronx Beasts and they had to do the same, although they were happy to oblige because they really like you. If we can keep your immortality a secret, we should.” She countered and technically she had me.
“Right. I shouldn’t just throw caution to the wind because I know not even death can hold me back. Don’t want to show my hand like that.” I agreed with her, settling in on a stool to take another shot as Morgan came back into the room.
“Good news, sweetheart. I called my lawyer pal, Gustaf Olson, and he agreed to represent you pro bono as an ascension gift. He wants us to meet him at his office tonight, if possible. Are you up to that or too tired?” He asked, a grimace on his face because he was concerned about my state of mind and physical exhaustion.
“Tonight’s fine. I’m not really sleeping any way. Time?” I returned, trying to stifle a yawn.
“Eleven. He has a firm meeting here in twenty and then a couple consultations but he’s free after that.” Morgan answered as he took a seat on one of the vacant stools and poured himself a shot.
“Perfect. That gives me just enough time to shower and write up some notes. I’ll call Yancy to take us over there around ten-thirty?” I suggested and he nodded.
“Ten-thirty. He said we can bring the whole crew, by the way. I also talked to him about finding you a new guard and he said he’s got just the person for the job if you’re interested.” Morgan tacked on that last bit and it had me agitated.
I knew he meant well, but I wasn’t interested. Regardless, I did need a guard in my cabinet, maybe more than one depending on how things went, and since Cian had abandoned his post, maybe this was a good way to go about finding someone new.
“Fine, fine. We’ll talk more about it then. I’m going to go shower and change and all that. We’ll meet down here in the foyer right before ten-thirty.” I gave one final word before I dismissed myself to try and get my head together for this very important meeting.
