Sorry for the delay in posting. I've been busy with work, and I'm struggling with the story. At times, I felt like I was writing words just to have words written, and you deserve better than that. I hope this lives up to what you expect.

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Chapter 72

I held my son tighter as his body was wracked with sobs. I looked at Billy and said "Go on, they've found Samantha, and?"

"She was in the sunroom and the blast threw her through the windows into the yard. The rear wall of the garage collapsed on top of her. She's alive, but still unconscious. She is feeding though, so Grandma says that's a good sign."

"Scott and Bea? The girls?" I asked, hopefully.

Billy's eyes teared up as he shook his head and said "Still nothing on them."

I turned to Josh and kissed his forehead, then whispered "She's alive, Son. She'll get through this and join us soon."

George stood up and said "We should leave you to your family."

Joshua took a deep breath and said "No. We have to form a government, regardless of our personal lives. Too much is riding on us to let this stop us."

I sat down and rested my hand on Joshua's, then looked to Billy "Before we go on, what did you figure out about clothing?"

"Tanya and Sam are making a list of sizes for jeans, shirts, socks, underwear, shoes, and other everyday stuff. We can send someone to Athens in the morning. I gave Tyler a blank check. I'm setting up a shop for her at the castle, and she's bringing her whole crew tomorrow afternoon. I figure we'll have enough work to keep her busy for a month or two."

"That sounds like a good solution." I said, nodding. "Now, on to other things."

George asked "Were you being hypothetical, Sire? Or do you want to dissolve the Councils?"

"No, George, I'm counting on honest counsel from all of you. Although, I'm considering several changes, and I'd like your opinions." They all nodded so I went on "First, we had said a Council of Nine, with Joshua being one of the nine. Keeping things at nine and 27 makes it too similar to the old system. I think we simply need a council of dukes and barons as needed, where needed. Joshua outside and above the Council of Dukes. That frees him to serve in other areas."

"This makes good sense, Sire. It also gives us a central figure to direct issues that we cannot address ourselves, without bothering you with them." Yuan said.

"Another thing, no offense Hasim, but I don't want to be like the Saudis. It seems that every nephew of a neighbor of a cousin is a Saudi prince. I think we take a lesson from the British, and restrict the title of Prince or Princess to my children, and the children of the Crown Prince. My other grandchildren will be either Earl or Countess. There will be no Counts in Dracul. We'll be laughed at."

"You do realize you can change the name of the nation, Sire? It happens all the time when governments change." Sam Houston said.

"I know Sam, but if we do that just hours after I've taken the throne it will imply instability. And to be honest, it's growing on me. We can consider that in a few years, but I think, for now, we're stuck with it."

Hiroki said "I would agree, Sire. If, in the future you want to change it, we can start the conversation with other nations, explaining our reasons. As you say, it demonstrates stability."

"If we're a monarchy, we need an order of knights, right? The name Dracul comes from the Order of the Dragon. The order has been extinct for 400 years, so I don't think we'll offend anyone if we revive it? Don't get me wrong, I'm not looking to make hundreds of Knights and nobles, but it's something we should have available, isn't it?"

Reinhardt said "It fits the name of the nation perfectly, Greg. And I doubt you'll be handing titles out like candy at Christmas."

"No, in fact, I only have one name in mind at the moment, although he already has another title. And if you know someone you feel deserves knighthood, let me know."

"May we ask who you have in mind, Father?"

"Morgan. He literally saved my life, and if anything deserves a knighthood, that does. I'm just concerned that it seems nepotistic, along with the fact that he's already a prince."

George nodded his head as he said "It is well deserved, Greg. That's exactly the type of thing a knighthood should recognize. And Prince William of England is a Knight of the Garter, so there's your guidance on that issue, I would think."

Dimas said "Agreed, Sire. If saving your life doesn't deserve it, nothing does."

"There are other small issues I've been considering in the few quiet times I've had. I want an official title for Andrew. I've teased him with Lord Chamberlain, but I don't want us to copy the British."

"The title of Chamberlain has been used worldwide, Greg. Grand Chamberlain and Lord Chamberlain are the most common titles. You could call him the Royal Chamberlain, or use what the Vatican uses, Camerlengo. We are in the Mediterranean."

Joan Fabre said "If I may change the topic slightly, Greg? In our meeting this morning, we talked about how to fund the crown's expenses. We've discussed it a bit, and I think I can speak for all of us when I say our advice is to take our combined assets and wrap them into one bundle, in the name of the Monarch of Dracul. Invested properly, you can fund the crown for eternity. Then you can use the entirety of the taxes collected for the good of the nation."

I nodded and said "If we do it that way, I'm thinking of David Jackson as Minister of the Treasury and Lucas Scott as, well, I don't know a good title for it right now, but David handling the national treasury and Lucas handling the Crown's."

Joshua said "The British call it Keeper of the Privy Purse, but that sounds too British. I like Royal Treasurer for crown funds, and Minister of the Treasury for national funds. Use Royal for Andrew as well. Royal for the crown, and Ministers for national heads."

"I think I like that Josh." I said as I looked around to see everyone nodding their agreement "That seems to settle a lot of things. So, Ted is the Royal what? Royal Aviator?"

I could see that Billy had a thought, but didn't want to speak up, so I said "Out with it Billy, you're a Prince of Dracul, you have the right to speak your mind."

"Well, I don't know if we have, or want to have, a military. Lots of smaller countries just sign protection treaties with the large ones, and agree not to have their own military, but he could be the General of the Royal Air Force. No, now that I say it aloud, it sounds British. But make Tommy the General of the Royal Guard."

Joshua said "I like it for Tommy, but what about Commander, rather than General. General sounds too military for what he does. I do like the Royal Guard part. I agree that Royal Air Force sounds like we're copying from England though."

Dimas looked up from his phone "Fourteen nations currently have a Royal Air Force, but all of those are defense forces. Ted's job isn't military. What about Commander of Royal Aviation? Royal Air Service?"

Ted stuck his head out of the cockpit and said "Forgive me, Sire, but we can hear the conversation, and if I may?" I waved for him to go on, so he said "I like that last one. Aviators are used to using military ranks, so we might call me a Colonel? With Majors commanding sections serving your dukes, Captains and Lieutenants on flight decks? Subtle military uniforms, with a ribbon to designate those who fly personally for the Royal Family?"

I said "Then it's decided. You head the Royal Air Service, and I like the ranks and uniforms idea."

I thought for a moment, then said "So Ted would be the Commander of the Dracul Royal Air Service? The DRAS? With Tommy the Commander of the Dracul Royal Guard? The DRG?"

Heads were nodding when Sam Houston said "We should also discuss who we are. People from England are English, from the US are Americans. What are we? Draculians? Dracs? Draculs? I'm sorry, they almost sound silly, but it's something to consider, before the world tags us with something worse."

Ted said "I'll close the door this time, Sire. And before you ask, we have about an hour to go."

"Thank you, Colonel." I said as Ted closed the door.

"The citizens of the UAE are called Emiratis. Draculatis?" Hasim asked.

Joshua laughed "I'm sorry, Hasim, but that's just too close to Dracula. Humans wouldn't take more than a day to change that one. And no offense Sam, but Draculians sounds like a race that Captain Picard would deal with near the Dracari nebula. Oh, what about Dracaris?"

George said "Dracari sounds like an Italian sports car. And it reminds me of an old television show, so I don't like that one either, sorry."

Yuan said "If I may? Mongols are an ethnic group from Mongolia, while Mongolians are the people who live there, regardless of ethnicity. Considering vampires are a race who live intermixed in the world, I think Draculs would be most appropriate."

Joan said "Israelis are residents of Israel, while Israelites is an ancient term for Jews. We could do that, and be Draculis and Draculites?"

Billy spoke up with "I've heard the term Draculesti used, what about that?"

Reinhardt said "That was the term for the royal family of Wallachia, descended from Vlad. To the humans, the line officially died out in 1600. To use that, you'd have to demonstrate a bloodline back to Vlad. Using it could also create legal issues with Romania."

"Well, I'm not a descendant of Igor, so that one's out. Any other thoughts? Other than what's been said, does anyone feel strongly for or against any of these?"

Everyone seemed to be unsure, so I went on "I agree with Yuan. I like the reasoning behind his choice as well. Does anyone dislike Draculs, as a name?"

Joshua said "My only fear is a typo. S and A are next to each other on keyboards, and it would be very easy to make a mistake and type Dracula. But like you, I like the reasoning, and it fits quite well."

I looked around the table and saw no objections, so I said "Then we are Draculs. Please get used to using it."

Billy looked up from his tablet and said "Just making sure I'm on top of things so far, Andrew Scott is the Royal Chamberlain, Lucas Scott is the Royal Treasurer, and Tommy is the Commander of the Royal Guard. David Jackson is the Minister of Treasury, I'm going to assume you want Mike as Attorney General? Anyone else for anything?"

I smiled "I think a King's Beta should be the Royal Secretary, don't you? But I'm wondering a few things. Can a duke serve as a minister, or would I need to name another duke? Do the titles stay with you if you're not serving? Do ministers have titles? How much can I use my family before I upset someone?"

Reinhardt laughed "I think we're back to the authority of the monarch, Sire. What do you want to do?"

"I would like to have George serve as my Minister of Foreign Affairs and retain the title of Duke. I can only imagine that my grandfather would be a good advisor, as would several of my pups."

Hiroki asked "Are you suggesting Baron Erich as a replacement for George, Sire?"

"I don't know if I am or not. If we're not stuck on having nine dukes, Opa can simply be an advisor."

Clint came in and said "With respect, gentlemen, your conversation will have to wait. We're going to be landing soon, so please get belted in somewhere. Greg, I want you, Josh, and Billy in here or the main lounge upstairs."

I assumed it was a safety thing, so I simply stayed where I was as I felt the plane bank to the left and start to descend. This was happening. I was about to land in Dracul, as the King of this newly recognized nation. I just wished Scott and Bea were with me to share it.