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The sex isn't a major part of this story, nor is it graphic. If you're looking for masturbation fodder, look elsewhere. There will be many slow times in this story, just like there are in life. Other times, things will fly at you too fast. There will be boring days, and exciting days. It's just how it's flowing.

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Chapter 83

I was on my knees, sobbing. Billy was holding me with one arm while listening to Brandon on his phone. Joshua was standing behind us with his hand on my shoulder, speaking to Frederick on the phone. In my mind, I was sharing my love with my mates, and I never wanted to stop. Unfortunately, I was King.

I pulled my emotions under control and stood. Taking a deep breath, I said "I will ask again, Igor Markov, what did you come to say?"

Igor's body jerked when I said his name. He had been staring at Opa, but he turned his eyes to mine for a second before lowering his gaze and saying "Sire, when I heard what had happened at your home, I knew I would be the primary suspect. I am here to assure you that I had nothing to do with what happened."

"Nothing from your past gives me reason to believe your words."

"You are correct. Nothing from my past would earn your trust. I stand as ransom, until you finish investigating and clear my name. There are dungeon cells here Put me in one, and I shall remain chained."

"And what then? If your name is cleared, do I leave you confined for your other crimes?"

Igor lowered his head as he said "As you said at our last meeting, my life is yours, Sire. I am here, accepting that. Do as you will."

I stood, staring at the man that had ordered my father's murder. The man that had threatened my life, and the lives of my family. Part of me wanted to phase and get my vengeance, but like Billy had said, that wouldn't be justice, simply revenge. I couldn't take things personally if I was going to be the ruler of vampires around the world. I had to lead. I had to do the right thing.

I looked at Tommy, saying "Remove his chains. Escort him to a room in the family wing and keep guards on him." Turning to Igor I asked "Vlad Dracul once had honor, does he still?" Then I turned back to Tommy and added "If he steps out of line, kill him. No hesitation."

Before anyone could argue with my declaration, I turned and walked back inside the castle. Billy and Josh followed. As we entered the foyer, I told Joshua to gather the dukes, including Baron Erich, in my office. I sent Billy to get Tommy, Leonard, Andrew, and several others to join us as well. I went to my office and settled into my chair.

Joshua returned with the dukes first, then the others appeared, alone or in pairs. Finally, Billy escorted Tommy into the room, then turned and closed the doors. Joshua had been standing behind me, like a soldier at attention. When Billy had joined him, I slowly stood, letting my eyes change to the full glowing purple of the King. As I looked around the room at my gathered council, my gaze caused them all to stand to attention and lower their eyes. My voice rumbled as I spoke.

"I am Gregory, King of Dracul. You are my most trusted councilors. Always remember, you do not serve me, you serve the vampires of the world. You will serve them as they deserve, or you will not serve. When you address me, you are addressing them, and we will show them the respect they deserve."

I turned to Andrew and said "Andrew Scott, I appoint you as Royal Chamberlain, Head of the Royal Household. Answering directly to me. Do as you wish to staff this castle, and our homes in London and Woodstock, and any other homes the Crown owns or acquires."

Andrew bowed deeply and said "As you wish, Your Majesty."

I turned to Tommy and said "Thomas McNeil, I appoint you as Colonel, and Commander of the Dracul Royal Guard. You answer directly to The Crown in all matters of Royal or National security."

Tommy bowed, then saluted me and said "Thank you, Your Majesty."

Next came Ted as Colonel and Commander of the Royal Air Service, Lucas as the Royal Treasurer, David as Minister of the Treasury, and Mike as Minister of Justice. I also made Alex the Director of Information Technology and Leonard the Director of Properties. I then told those I had appointed that I would meet with them shortly to discuss their needs, and excused them all.

When the doors closed, I was left with George, Hasim, Reinhardt, Sam, Yuan, Hiroki, Joan, Dimas, and Baron Erich. And, of course, Joshua and Billy behind me, as always. I stepped around to the front of the desk, and looked at these men. I realized they were trusting me, and I had to trust them, and their intentions, or we would fail.

"George Hampton, Duke of Kasos, I appoint you as Minister of Foreign Affairs. You will represent Dracul to the world, and appoint others to assist you, as you require."

George bowed and said "I would be honored, Your Majesty."

"Baron Erich Johann Samuel Zell, step forward." When Opa stepped forward, he knelt in front of me and bowed his head. "Shall we use your full name? Or some other version?"

He looked up and said "I was Samuel Kline in my last life, Sire. I have not used Erich in a while. If you would, please use Erich Zell."

"Erich Zell, Duke of Wallachia, do you swear to serve the vampires of the world with honor? To put your personal needs, comfort, and very life at risk to protect those in danger? To forsake personal gain, concerning yourself only with improving the lives of vampires around the world?"

You could see he was honored to be restored to his title as he said "I do swear, Your Majesty."

As Duke Erich stood, I looked at the rest of them and said "I elected to name Erich, Duke of Wallachia due to his ties to that region. I named George, Duke of Kasos, as it fits his role. We will discuss titles for the rest of you over time. Understand, all titles come from The Crown and are not inherited. Your mates may use an appropriate, matching title, but your children are not entitled to any honorifics by reason of your peerage."

I paused to give anyone a chance to offer an opinion, but when no one spoke, I went on "This evening, Her Royal Highness Princess Beatrix and His Royal Highness Prince Scott will be arriving, with Princess Valerie and Princes Camilla, as well as Princess Samantha and several other family members. You will all, of course, understand, that the Royal Family will be indisposed until midday tomorrow."

Everyone bowed their heads and muttered "Of course, Your Majesty."

"Now, to work. Reinhardt and Hiroki, you have a coronation to plan. I want an event that will be noticed worldwide, but not something that will dominate the news cycle in any way. Coordinate with Andrew and George, but I have final approval."

They nodded that they understood, so I turned to Yuan and said "I need you to spend some time with Igor Markov. I trust your judgment, and I need to know if he is truly a changed man, or if this is an act. Prince Morgan's mate might be an asset, when she arrives, so seek her out tomorrow."

I looked around the room and said "Now, if you all will excuse us, I would like to speak with George and Erich alone. Make arrangements to remain in the castle for the next several months. Your families may join you here, during this time."

Everyone turned to leave, including Billy and Joshua, until I said "Joshua and Billy, you will always remain unless I dismiss you."

They both bowed and said "Yes Sire."

As the room cleared, I went to the windows that looked out over the Mediterranean Sea. To the east, I could see Karpathos Airport, where my mates would be landing in roughly 8 hours. Billy was at my side as we both sent our love to Scott and Bea, telling them to rest and enjoy their flight. Scott told us the arrangements he had made, and I agreed with him totally. We would sort things out here, tonight and tomorrow.

Joshua pulled us out of our conversation in the bond by touching my elbow and quietly saying "Sire, Duke Hampton and Duke Zell are waiting?"

I gave a slight nod, then turned, walked to the nearby sofa, and sat. I waved at the opposite sofa, indicating where George and Erich should sit. Of course, Joshua and Billy stood behind me.

As I looked at these two men, I considered their appearance. George looked to be in his late twenties. His short, dark hair and goatee, combined with his olive skin and dark eyes, demonstrated his origins in northern Persia. Erich, on the other hand, had the stereotypical blond hair and blue eyes of a man from northern Europe. Having just refreshed, he looked like a college student, or at best, a recent graduate. As I looked them over, they both squirmed a bit, uncomfortable under my examining gaze. Just as they seemed about to speak, I spoke up.

"Duke Kasos, as I said, I would like you to represent us to those governments that are open to such. For the time being, I do not feel we need a large ambassadorial presence, and in the short term, I prefer that you, personally, make contact with the governments of Greece, The United States, Great Britain, Russia, China, and Japan. We will, of course, speak with any that approach us, but I want us to reach out to those six first."

George started "Of course, Greg, I..."

I quickly cut him off "As I said earlier, you are speaking to every vampire in the world when speaking to me. You tried to get me to understand that over the last few weeks, and I finally do. While in this office, or in any public setting, everyone will use proper forms of address. It will keep us aware of the weight of our conversations. In more private settings, I will determine who may use less formal terms. I would appreciate it if the two of you would spread that word, so I won't have to correct others in the future."

Erich nodded as George grinned and said, quite sincerely "My apologies, Your Majesty. You are, of course, correct. As I was saying, I will be happy to meet with anyone you desire, but I feel we should spend some time deciding who and what we are, before we have these meetings?"

I nodded my head as I said "I agree completely, George. I think we give ourselves 5 or 6 weeks to sort out issues such as citizenship and what we want as a Nation. Then start meeting with the world. I also would imagine that these world leaders have schedules that are quite full, and if we want to meet them in 6 to 8 weeks, we ask for that now."

"Understood, Sire." George said, nodding.

I turned to Erich and said "Duke Wallachia, your title is not merely an honorific. I am looking to you as one of my senior advisors. This evening, you will sit with the family, and tell us how and why you lost contact with your father. You will also help us understand our family, and tell me if you know of any other surprises in that arena."

"Happily, Sire."

"On an official basis, I have a very important issue I'd like you to research." I said, as I leaned forward and told Erich of my plans. George sat quietly, nodding his head on occasion, and asking a few questions. Erich simply grinned and nodded as I explained things from my point of view. An hour later, George and Erich headed to find their offices.

As they left, Billy found a footman, and sent him to fetch lunch. I sat at my desk and looked at the phone. It was a standard business phone, with a touch screen above a numeric keypad. To the right were the typical phone line choices. I was scrolling through the menu when I saw something. I looked at Josh and grinned, hit speaker, then hit `kitchen'.

"Hello, kitchen."

"Yes, this is the King. There is a footman on the way down, could you send up some sandwiches please? And several sodas? Do we have Coke Zero?"

The person on the other end actually squeaked, then said "Um, um, of course, Your Majesty, Sire. Anything you want, Your Majesty. Right away, Sire."

I felt bad, so I quickly said "Thank you." and disconnected. I looked at Billy and he was grinning, but shaking his head.

Five minutes later, Andrew knocked and came in, pushing a cart with our food. After placing it near the desk, he said "With respect, Your Majesty, I will be instructing Alex to come at your earliest convenience, to educate you and Prince Billy on the operation of the desk phones. I would ask that you limit your direct calls to those of us who are accustomed to speaking with you, Sire? I believe that poor young kitchen boy had to go home to change his clothing."

I couldn't resist the grin, but I said "I'm sorry if I caused you any problems, Andrew. I won't do that again. It did get me thinking and, are you familiar with the term `body man'?"

Andrew nodded and said "I am, Sire, and I think that is an excellent idea. Do you have someone in mind, or shall I do some looking around? Do you require a vampire, or would a local human do?"

"I prefer they are a Dracul citizen, so a local human would be fine, though I do need them to speak excellent English. And no one leaps to mind, but if I think of someone before you do, I'll pass it on. I don't need Billy busy with that sort of stuff."

Andrew bowed and left us. Billy handed me a plate and a Zero, then he and Josh took theirs and sat to eat. While we ate, Billy told me that Tyler Daniels and her staff had just landed. We were meeting with them after lunch to be measured for a new wardrobe. Joshua mentioned that we should have the entire family measured, as well as everyone that had lived in the house. I agreed, but in the interest of speed, we thought many of them would have to take a quick trip to Athens for a temporary wardrobe. The three of us needed at least one suit, as fast as possible, in case we had to meet visitors.

As we finished lunch, I looked to Joshua and said "Your first duty, as Crown Prince, is to develop our Nation. By this, I mean figure out who and what we are. We touched on this on the plane, but issues such as: Are all vampires automatically Dracul citizens? Do they all have the right to emigrate if they desire? What laws will we have that affect their lives wherever they live? They will need passports and other identification. We need to decide what currency to use. I can continue to list the issues for hours. You will need to come up with the questions, then work with George, Mike, David, and whomever else, to answer them."

Joshua looked stunned, but he said "Understood, Your Majesty."