Preparations

Michael

Prince Michael went over the security plans again. The King's defense advisor helped him sort through the process, pointing out holes and better options.

"See here. If they had the right timing, they could easily jump straight into the water off the bridge. It is only about twenty feet off the surface of the water." The advisor pointed to a specific location on the bridge.

"The doors don't lock to prevent them from doing that?" Michael asked the advisor, pointing to a blueprint for the armored car that was arriving to take the children.

"Yes, but they could potentially sneak something through the metal detector that allows them into the island's embassy structure. "Besides, three out of four of them could potentially be gifted with magic."

Michael nodded, frowning. "Well we know that iron weakens abilities, but I don't want to hurt them. Could we line the car with iron? In between the interior and exterior. The car doesn't need to be fast. And we will have magically gifted guards to accompany the caravan."

The advisor smiled. A rare praise indeed. "I like how you think. Best of both worlds, kind, but reasonable and safe." Michael nodded, his cheeks flushing with pride.

"Then there is still the question of them breaking a window and jumping into the water. How can we keep that from happening if they sneak something into the embassy? We need to keep them safe until they reach the school where we can debrief them."

"Well…" Michael hesitated for a moment. "We could put bars in the windows, but that may come off as too hostile and we want them to feel safe and welcome."

The advisor nodded. "I know the choices are sometimes hard to make, but our goal is everyone's safety. But I know you'll make the right choice."

"What if we built the car so that the windows were too small for them to jump through?"

The advisor leaned back in his chair, letting it spin 90 degrees before nodding. "Thinking outside the box, I like it. I'll have the plans redrawn so that the windows are of an appropriate size to be small enough that they cannot fit, but large enough to prevent claustrophobia."

Michael smiled, fiddling with the seal his father gave him. He had the power to send official documents anywhere he wanted with this ring. His father trusted him with it to give the final order about his proclamation.

The advisor stood slowly, Michael standing a moment later. He extended his hand. "Thank you Duke Quincent. It was a pleasure to work with you."

Duke Quincent smiled back. "The pleasure was mine. I'm very excited to see your work Prince. It's…" His gaze extended far off for a moment. "It's good to see people giving others second chances. If Duchess Naeema hadn't given me a second chance, had believed that I was only a criminal, that people couldn't change, then I wouldn't be here, would I?" He laughed a bit, pinching his chin lined with a speckled white beard. "I'm excited to see what you will do as king when you turn twenty-one Highness." And with a smile, Duke Quincent took his leave, letting Michael seal the final papers to send them off.

Michael let his words sink in for a moment. It was true. People could change. Jonas Quincent was a good example. Thief to prince, though, he had willingingly forfeited his title to become a duke when Michael's father became king. Given the position of a defense advisor. While his tactics were interesting, he did know how criminals thought, what they wanted, and what their motives were. It was helpful to have him on the council. Some people had disapproved at first, but his work spoke for itself.

He sighed, sealing one of the letters and handing it to a butler before striding off down the corridor. Brunch with the wildlife preservation society, then a meeting with Princess Annabelle and her grandmother. His list went on. He couldn't wait until school started again and his kingly duties were decreased for the time being. He wanted to go to college… but as tradition would have it, he was to be crowned king when he became of legal age. His father told him that he could still attend college as the king but it would take him much longer to have a degree as he would have little time to attend classes. He could always hire a professor, but half of the enjoyment for him was learning with other students.

He turned to look out over the expanse of the kingdom, towards the blue sea, and the tiny gray dot on the horizon, where everyone's attention would be when the island's descendants came to the Continent.