Chapter 588: A vote
The girls at the table looked at each other, thinking. Some of them were thinking especially loudly.
‘Everybody should be in their place. Malevolence already knew that her place was among warriors, so she should be there! And she’s definitely not a Queen to rule places. Not even a Foreman or an Archivist or… I don’t even know…’ Bloodhero was thinking.
‘I will be surprised if this is what Malevolence wants. She’s a brute even for a Beemarine,’ were Tabletina’s thoughts. ‘Father will do her a favour if he DOESN’T ask her to become a sort of Queen of the Ashida continent.’
‘Malevolence hates to work with humans… And this is a lot of her work now. If she keeps this up, eventually she will turn some of them against her and against all the bees. Troublesome!’ Whisper was thinking. ‘No, Beemarines should fight, Agents should whisper sweet words in humans’ minds.”
There were more supportive thoughts, too. Like those of Worriesgone.
‘Father must’ve known that Malevolence is suited for ruling, or he wouldn’t have put her in that position in the first place. Why is he asking us now? Is he wondering what we are thinking about her? Oh, maybe he wants to see how we will take Malevolence becoming another Adviser in the future! An Ashida Adviser. This would be nice. Sister Malevolence is almost like an Artist herself, in a way. She’s so courageous and full of determination to prevail… It’s inspiring!’
Only Amby’s thoughts were directed to me.
‘Are you really so unsure about whether Malevolence should be placed in this position, Necty? I think this is unusual for us, but entirely possible. She has proved herself capable.’
I smiled at my wife, sending her a reply.
‘Exactly. She’s so capable, I don’t want to waste her in a position that could be just as well taken by somebody else; but then again, after the Ashida continent is conquered, there will be only the oceans remaining.’
How can one conquer oceans? I had no idea yet, so there was no point in even thinking about doing it. Regardless, Amby accepted my answer.
“Think well about this, girls,” I said aloud. “A few minutes later, we will hold a vote.”
They all nodded and began thinking even harder, while I continued to listen to people’s thoughts on the matter.
Malevolence had no idea that her fate was being decided… This felt unfair to her, but anything else was unfeasible logistically.
Finally, the thoughts of my Advisers became more repetitive. There were some silent discussions, but there wasn’t enough time for them to become full-blown arguments.
“And now, a vote!” I declared. “I already know your thoughts, but I’d like to see what the final decision of each of you is. Are you for leaving Malevolence to rule the Ashida continent, or against it?”
“I’m against,” Bloodhero spoke first.
“I’m for!” Worriesgone countered immediately.
Everybody announced their opinions aloud, except Whisper, who had to say it telepathically for everybody.
Worriesgone, Ambrosia, Researchina and Things-Things were “for”. Bloodhero, Tabletina, Workharder and Whisper were “against”.
I was left to scratch my chin in thought.
I really didn’t know what to do here, and both sides had good arguments! Some of them, at least. There was still not enough for me to make a decision, just like when I had an idea to hold a vote in the first place!
I knew in my heart that the final decision was going to be on Malevolence herself, but if I gave her an offer to take this position or that, would she really refuse?
Me, her Father?
An offer could as well have been an order instead.
Desperate, I looked around for other people who might have something interesting to say, and my gaze fell on Undecided.
As if reading my mind—or predicting what I was about to say—she shook her head.
“I don’t know anything about this, Father. Nothing will get resolved in a mere week! The Ashida continent is too far away,” she said.
“I wasn’t about to ask you for a prophecy, my girl! No, just tell me—you know all that’s going on in this room. Do you think Malevolence would make a better ruler or a general?”
But Undecided only shook her head again.
“I don’t know, Father, I don’t know. She’s good, but… She’s not a Queen… It’s too hard to decide, really! If you can’t decide on your own, I can’t decide even more!”
I decided not to torture Undecided anymore. The weight of responsibility was on me, but a cup of fresh honeyed tea that was placed in front of me suddenly made it a little easier.
The cup was placed by Helping-Hands, who walked around the table with a tray, putting tea and snacks in front of everyone, careful not to spill anything on documents or the table itself.
I perked up.
“Helping-Hands, dear! Do you have an opinion on Malevolence?”
The Attendant paused with a tray in her hands.
“You want my opinion, too? I’m not an Adviser, Father.”
However, I could already hear in her mind that she was definitely, absolutely full of opinions. Awfully full of opinions.
I smiled.
“Go on. Tell me, please.”
Helping-Hands stood still for another second, then nodded and began placing the last of her tray’s contents. As she did this, she spoke.
“I don’t think she’d make a good ruler. She has been a good ruler until now because she wasn’t alone, and because she was conquering more than building. But I think she will get dangerously bored if she stays in her position for too long.”
I nodded, grinning at Helping-Hands.
“Thank you… I can always rely on you, can’t I?”
Then I looked at my actual Advisers.
“Thank all of you for your input. Not all advice was equally useful, but Whisper, Tabletina and Helping-Hands raised especially good points. When the Dragon-Bee reaches the Ashida continent, the bees on it will ask Malevolence whether she wants to go crusading again!”