THRIVE: Book One

The next week or so was practically surreal. I still felt like I didn't deserve to have the authority to do anything, but here I was, commanding the guard and helping Zade organize things. Zade was still cautious about me pushing myself too hard, every so often my body wouldn't react very well to training so I would have to take a long break. Eloy, Calem, Quil, and I had quickly turned the guard into something greater than it had been. We weeded out those who sought to abuse the power that came with it and kept those who genuinely wanted to protect the people.

The day after the memorial, Serene took me back to her club and I had the side of my hair cut off so that I could once again get the tattoo of a lily on the side of my head. I didn't realize how much I had missed it, I hadn't had it done like this since my first life. There was something oddly comforting about the feeling, I wish I could explain it in words. Despite a few minor concerns, I spent a lot of time in the city. Every day, I would visit Ava at Rain's parent's place. They were all doing great, it warmed my heart to see that Ava wasn't scraping by anymore. The city folk always greeted me happily when I passed by, always asking how I was doing now that I was queen. I told them the truth every time, I didn't feel different, but the world around me definitely was.

"What's on your mind, Miss Umbree?" Quil asks as we walk through the market.

"Nothing in particular, I guess I'm just happy to be out here." I smile as I look over the pottery a merchant was selling.

"I agree with you." he states happily "When I was a regular guard and stuck in the palace for weeks at a time, I missed the noise and the people," he explains.

"What was it like being a palace guard?" I ask curiously.

"About what you'd expect." he explains "It wasn't exactly nice for a while, the responsibility was hard, dealing with prisoners could be problematic, and of course handling being around the royal family was..." He suddenly stops and looks at me nervously "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to speak badly of them." he apologizes.

"Don't worry about it, I understand what you mean." I say reassuringly "I started off as a prisoner there. My first encounter with them was terrifying." I explain.

"It's crazy to think how things have changed since you came into the picture. It's almost as if everyone has had a change of heart," he explains anxiously.

"Don't give me all of the credit, Eloy and Rain came into the picture around the same time as me." I smile, "It's nice to be living with them all again." We continue to walk around for a while, checking on the city patrols to see how things are going along the way. As the evening sky begins to turn to bright orange, we make our way back inside to the throne room where Zade and Serene were talking to a young man who sounded frantic about something. When we hear him shouting, we rush in.

"I swear, I saw something out there, you have to believe me!" he screams.

"Calm down and take a deep breath. What are you saying that you saw?" Serene asks, frustrated.

"What's going on here?" I ask nervously, seeing how mortified the man looks.

"He seems to be claiming to have seen something in the ocean past Lolani's cove." Zade sighs "But it sounds like nonsense."

"I'm telling you, there was some huge wooden beast out there and it was coming closer! We have to do something!" He screams. Slowly I can see more servants and guard members peeking in, trying to see what's going on.

"A wooden beast?" Quil asks "How is that even possible? There's no such thing."

"I saw it with my own eyes, I'm not crazy!" he shouts, suddenly grabbing Zades arms "Your majesty, you have to send your men to fight it! It's a monster that could kill us all!" he starts shaking him, but Zade pushes him off.