Taming the Queen of Beasts

ELRETH

Elreth was about to tell them both to quit the Alpha Male bullshit when there was a sound from the near the front door and she turned to find her parents walking in, her father first, tense and careful when he smelled the conflict brewing in the room.

"What's going on?" he asked as he strode through the cave, her mother directly behind him.

"We're once again debating whether the disformed's training in questioning authority is going to be an asset, or a risk," Elreth said. Gar and Tarkyn were still staring at each other. She wanted to hiss at both of them, but forced herself to sit back in her chair like she was unconcerned. In the end, both would listen to her. "Do you have any thoughts after what you saw this morning, Dad?" she asked, mainly to distract the others, but she was curious what he thought of this.

Her father glanced at her mother before responding. "I think it's both," he rumbled. They joined the others at the table. Her father took the chair next to Gar, but sat sideways, facing her brother, one elbow on the tabletop. He looked at Elreth, but scanned the others now and again as he spoke.

"I see that your leaders are well developed. With depth and maturity, and a… solidness about them that seems to be happening younger in the disformed than in the other tribes. And I'm guessing it's because they've been pushed to choose their own path sooner. So that's good. Where you have an established leader, someone who's already run the gauntlet, it's going to be an asset to you, El. Because those Anima know how to fight, and they know how to win—and they're patient in it. That is, in my opinion, the best form of leadership, and the most solid mind. But the others?"

He looked at her mother whose face was pinched with strain. She didn't look afraid, more… uneasy. Defensive, perhaps. What had they been talking about before they arrived?

"I see a group of young people who could be tipped in the wrong direction, and that's a risk," her father said finally.

Gar shook his head. "That's why their loyalty is important. Even if they disagree with authority, they don't defy it. They question, which is different!"

Her father nodded. "Where that's true, you're right," he said. "But I'll be the first to tell you that sometimes it's very, very hard to tell the difference—and if you're wrong, you end up in situations like your mother found herself because we trusted the wrong guard with her life."

They all turned to look at Elia then, who took a deep breath, her lips thin. She didn't like being put on the spot, Elreth could see.

"Your father and I were just discussing this on our way here," she said tightly. Elreth had to swallow a smile. She knew exactly what that meant. "I don't think you'd joined us yet, Tarkyn? In any case, there was a group of guards that were assigned to me personally. And one of them… one of them I trusted. He was pleasant and friendly, he'd been very careful with following the rules and keeping me safe. And he was fun. He treated me like a friend. Reth had chosen all of them out of his best judgment of who would be loyal to me personally—because there was a lot of upheaval around my selection as Queen. He wanted guards that would do their best by me personally, no matter what was happening among the people.

"Jak was chosen and I was glad to have him. He later disappeared, and it looked like he'd been hurt. I felt… terrible," she said. "But when he returned… we learned that he'd actually been a plant all along. Because he was trusted, I didn't question him. And he used my trust against me. He kidnapped me and took me to the wolves—who almost killed me.

"Gar is right that their loyalty matters. But my question would be, how can you know where their loyalty truly lies?"

"How can we know with anyone?" Gar growled, but his voice lacked the defensive edge Elreth expected. "What you experienced was a betrayal—someone who was actively working to deceive you. That could happen to any of us. Our tests should reveal those to us. But it's possible some would make it through—or be turned after they are already trusted. That's life. That's not a fault of the training."

Her parents looked at each other.

"That's what I said," her mother said quietly, staring at her father.

Her dad's jaw went tight, but he nodded.

"You're missing one part of this conversation," Gar said intensely. "The problem with strong willed people isn't that they think for themselves, it's that once they choose their path, they're difficult to sway from it. The question isn't whether they are capable of good choices, but whether they have the integrity to make them in the first place."

Her father fixed his eyes on Gar. "Can anyone have integrity if they don't respect authority? If they're willing to defy it?"

Gar got thoughtful for a moment, then he locked eyes with his father. "I hadn't thought about it that way. But I have to say… I have examples of people defying my authority and being right to have done so. I've learned later that if I'd been in their shoes I would have done the same thing. So… I say sometimes it's right to fight authority."

Her father's jaw went tight.

The twang of the unspoken words, of the history between the two of them zinged around the room and Elreth held her breath, waiting to see what would happen. But neither of them addressed the other again. Instead, her father turned to her.

"The truth is," he said directly to Elreth, "in the end the choice is yours. You have the opportunity now to embrace this people, or hold them at arm's length and test them. I, for one, won't be fighting your authority, El. So… you tell us.. Do we move ahead with the disformed as they currently are? Or do you require change? The call has to be yours."