"But your Majesty, you can't do this!" one noble objected.

"Of course I can," she smiled winsomely. "I'm the Queen. But if you feel that there's some legal block to my changing things, you're more than welcome to go look for it. I'll bet you ten thousand crowns that you won't find anything, though," she winked at the wolf Wikuni roguishly. "I've studied the law alot more than most of you, and I'm much more familiar with it than you'll ever realize. The power to change the basic operation of the kingdom has been a power that has never been restricted. Even being subject to common law, there's nothing stopping me from doing anything I please, because I am the Queen."

"What's to stop you from just changing things back?" the Mayor asked.

"For the first few years, nothing," she replied honestly. "That's a safeguard I put into the system so that if it gets somehow corrupted, I can change things back and try again. But once things are in place and they're running smoothly, I'll remove my own ability to change things. That will make the transition from the monarchy to the republic smoother and more secure for everyone involved, because at least everyone will know that someone is in definite control at all times. There will be much less confusion. Oh, and to let everyone know right here and now, this constitution states that if I die before the full enactment of this constition, it immediately becomes permanent law. It also states that there will be no more monarchs after me. All claims to the throne of Wikuna will be nullified except for my own. And if I die, a commoner will be elected to my position, and he will be called Prime Minister, with all the same powers as my own except for the ability to change the legal system. So, if all of you would like to prevent utter chaos, you'll keep me nice and safely alive," she said bluntly. "You can have a republic, or you can have anarchy. The choice is yours."

The full horror of that thought was clear on the faces of the assembled nobility. To be subject to a commoner! It was a thought that was like a thousand knives stabbing at them. Most nobles thought they were a breed above the common Wikuni, were a distinct class, nearly their own race. They felt they were superior to the common man, when the only thing that really made them different from a commoner was their title and the amount of money they had.

"I think if you go home and think about it, you'll find the idea to be not as repugnant as you think," Keritanima told the nobles reasonably. "You'll have to pay taxes and be more responsive to the needs of the people, but as the people prosper, so shall you. Instead of selling to each other, you'll find a new market in the common man, who will suddenly have money to afford the goods you trade. The nobility is tied to the prosperity of the land. What I'm going to do will only bring prosperity, because for the first time, all Wikuni will be working together for the betterment of our nation."

She held up the satchel. "I made ten copies of the full constitution," she said. "One copy stays with me. One copy goes to the Mayor, so he can read it and understand it. I want to see you tomorrow, Mayor," she told him calmly. "The remaining eight copies will be copied again, and each noble house will receive one, so you can read it and understand how things are going to work. We have alot of work to do before we can set up the Parliament. We have to build a building, for one, and we have to organize the means by which the commoners that will represent the people will be elected. That's something that all of us are going to decide. One week from today, I'm calling a gathering of the house rulers, myself, and some of the most learned and distinguished commoners of the realm, and we'll all sit down and hammer out the exact process by which we'll change over to the new system.

"And I think that's enough earth-shattering news for one day," she said calmly. "All of you go home and wait for the copy to arrive, then read it. Do more than read it. Understand it, see what it's trying to do and commit yourself to making it work, because more than your fortunes depend on how smoothly the new system operates. I'll see all of you again next week, when the real business of ironing out the details will get under way. This audience is concluded. You are free to go."

Keritanima left the noblity of Wikuna, and the commoners, completely astounded. Changing things so drastically had never crossed their minds, and the very idea that she would give up some of her own power seemed to be totally crazy to them, but they'd just have to wait and see.

What she was doing was for the best. In ten years, they'd look back on this day and thank her.

Her thoughts drifted as she walked off the dais, surrounded by her friends and advisors, thoughts of Rallix-she had plans for him, oh yes, plans indeed!-and of Tarrin. They had to be in Dala Yar Arak by now, and he had to be struggling to find the Book of Ages. And he was doing it without her intelligence to guide their actions, without her skill to aid them. She was trapped on Wikuna, for several more months, until she could get things running on their own and make things stable enough to allow her to leave for an extended period of time. She put her hand on her amulet, wondering if she should talk to him-it had been so long!-but fearing that doing so would make her dependent on the sound of his voice, would make her miss him so much that she got irrational. She had to keep her wits about her, she couldn't afford distractions. Between thoughts of Rallix and worries for her brother and sister, she had enough distractions. She couldn't make it even worse.

She could only hope for the best.

"Keep them safe, Goddess," Keritanima said under her breath, holding onto the amulet. For the first time in her life, she was praying, believing the words, not simply mouthing platitudes to appease expectant priests. "I can't be there for a while. Watch over them and keep them safe, please."

I have always watched over them, as I have always watched over you, a choral voice echoed in her mind, a voice with such power that it reverberated with its own magnificence. She felt her knees weaken when a sense of love flooded into her, through her, filling her with a sensation that made the sweetness of Sorcery seem like a candleflame compared to a bonfire. Keritanima's soul opened to that sensation like a flower receiving the blessings of the sun, basking in its warmth and beauty, feeling a part of her infused with it. You are my children, and I will always be here for you. You need only ask.

"Kerri, you're crying," Miranda said gently, putting her hand on her shoulder. "Are you alright?"

"I'm more than alright, Miranda," she said with a quivering voice as the sense of the presence of the Goddess faded, taking a little piece of her with it as it left. "I'm whole."

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