The Rise

That same day in a hotel owned by a royalist businessman, there was a meeting between the prominent royalist members of the shadow council. They sat around a long wooden table in one of the hotel meeting rooms at the highest floor.

"He's the reason Hilda has our names, we can't trust him anymore" said one of the royalists who had a blonde ponytail

"We can't react just yet, we will wait this one out." said another who was wearing square glasses

"Wait until Hilda has our heads on a spike?" exclaimed the pony-tailed man

"We've already sent someone to Hilda. And even if she lashes out at us, she won't have enough time to take us all out before we react. She knows that. She will play the election game - it's her best move." said the man with the square glasses.

"And since when has circ.u.mstance dictated Hilda's decisions? Her best move, is whichever one she makes." argued another member with short red hair.

Bethany Garner then enters the room escorted by two men. They didn't seem like ordinary security guards and were clearly foreign - given their skin color and body features. As soon as she entered, the members in the room stood up until Bethany made her way to her seat and sat. Only then, did they dare to sit back down. She scanned around the room silently as everyone waited for her to speak. But she didn't utter a word, waiting for the members to continue their conversation.

"Mrs. Garner, we were just talking about how Thomas is breaking our initial deal." said the pony-tailed man

"We were also talking about how we should wait for Hilda's reaction to this before we show our hand." asserted the man with glasses.

Bethany looks at the two men as if reading them.

"I understand. I'm here to tell that Thomas is indeed partially responsible for the release of your names to Gideon. I was not aware of this. Nevertheless, things have changed now, you cannot afford to sit back and watch this fight betting on the winner quietly. Now, you must choose a side and forget this silly election." she said

"We already agreed on the importance of the election. The son of Theodore, in Hilda's school run by her vice principal as a way into the impenetrable shadow council. These were all the factors that would allow Thomas to prove himself worthy of our support. Win the election and you have our backing. It's a matter of principle, Mrs. Garner, we can't have him playing us like one his pawns to get what he wants. We will stand our ground until he proves himself, even if it means Hilda's wrath." said the red haired lady.

"Yes, that is a fair stance. We all have our reasons for wanting to support the prince, those of us who believe in a true monarchy, some of us who heard stories from our grandparents about the good old days and others for our own selfish reasons. But we are all united in our d.e.s.i.r.e to support him, so perhaps it's time you hear from the prince himself." said Mrs. Garner as she sends her guard to the door. After a few seconds Thomas enters the room followed by a royal guard. He makes his way to Bethany and stands next to her as the entire room turns their heads towards him waiting attentively.

He looked around the room scanning each and everyone's face. He begins to play with his jet black ring on his finger as he prepares to speak.

"Some of you may feel betrayed, but if I played by the rules and allowed the tides of luck to decide my fate and yours and if I had no backup plan, would you have trusted me to rule? This is my design, everything and everyone is exactly in the place I need them to be - every move calculated perfectly. It's time I inform you of my entire strategy. If you follow my orders exactly, you'll come to finally understand that your fear of an old aging lady whose best days have past her is misguided and irrational. And after tomorrow, you will find that negotiation with Hilda will no longer be possible. You will have no choice but to obey me. This, is my final move." said Thomas with his commanding charm. He had everyone in the room with ears wide open, ready to listen to their prince.

Thomas then went on to explain in detail, the final act of his plan to leading royalist members.

Meanwhile at Hilda's home, a car appears in the middle of the night. A woman leaves the back of the car wearing baggy clothes and a hat that hid her hair completely. She was wearing sunglasses to hide her eyes and covered her face with a scarf. The man driving the car, came out and walked the woman to Hilda's front door. The man presses the buzzer near the door.

"Ma'am there is a woman covering her face and a man at the front door. Should we have them removed from the premises?" said Hilda's butler as he looked at the video feed from the camera at the door.

"Anything identifiable?" asked Hilda as she came walking down the stairs.

"I can't quite make it out, though it seems the man has the royal guard emblem on his jacket. The car parked outside, however, is not from the royal palace." said the butler walking behind Hilda.

Hilda stopped suddenly on the stairs and turned towards her butler who was holding a tablet that was showing the video feed.

"What is the color of the woman's hair?" she asked

"It's covered by her hat, though it seems to be..." the butler paused as soon as he was able to make out the color. He looks up at Hilda immediately "her hair is purple, ma'am." he continued with slight shock.

"Interesting. Let only the lady inside." she said smiling.