The Chief of Police

I’d specifically cleared the week after my coronation from my calendar so I could spend time with advisors planning what path to take for my kingdom. Jenny, who had somehow morphed from being my nanny into my personal assistant, planned what meeting I was supposed to be in and where, but more often than not, I would find her colluding with Xavi and my mother on wedding matters.

On the third day after I became queen, I called her into my office. It was the same office my father had used, and as I’d not had a chance to decorate, the whole place reeked of him, both figuratively and literally. I could still smell the faint scent of his tobacco, and it was his choice of pictures that decorated the dark room. Everything in there was wood or leather and without any windows, it made me feel claustrophobic. The only part of the room I liked was the large desk. Made by Daniel and his father, it was exquisite in its craftsmanship. I made a mental note to get some decorators in to brighten up the room. The desk was staying, but everything else could go.

“Yes?” asked Jenny as she bustled through the door. She was wearing a mixture of flowers in her hair and had drapes of fabric swathed over her shoulders.

“Fancy dress ball?” I enquired, struggling to figure out just exactly she was trying to be.

“We were in the dressing room going over samples for the tablecloths and centerpieces.”

More wedding talk. I should have guessed.

“Have you made an appointment for me to speak with the chief of police? I need to speak to him about the demonstrations. They were out there on my coronation day, and they are still out there now.”

Jenny pulled out a notebook from a pocket hidden somewhere in her voluminous skirts and began to flick through it, licking her finger with each page turn.

“Two o’clock this afternoon.” She looked at her watch. “You’d better get something for lunch quickly, it’s one already, and I made the appointment for you to go to the station.”

I glanced up at the clock. It would take me at least half an hour to get to the police headquarters. Sighing, I stood and walked past her. “Please, can you get my coat and tell the stable hands I’ll need a horse.”

“Don’t you want a carriage? It’s freezing out there.”

I shook my head. I was going to see him alone, and the royal carriage would stand out a mile. I didn’t want the protesters to know where I was going.

Half an hour later I was trotting down the back driveway on one of the royal horses. The guards seemed surprised to see me, but they let me past without question. It felt so different to six months previously when I had to sneak out. Now I was in charge, and no one could stop me. The protesters were thankfully in small numbers around the back, the majority taking up a more prominent place at the palace’s front gates. Going through the gates reminded me of the letters I’d seen on one of the banners three days previously. Some of the nastier banners had the same three letters today. The same letters Frederick Pittser had uttered at me. I’d completely forgotten about them until now, but I made a mental note to ask the chief of police about them. The protesters jeered, but, at least, no one tried to attack.

I’d never been to the large police headquarters before, but I knew the building. As imposing as it was bland, its stark architecture and sleek lines, always gave me the chills as though it was built only to house criminals. It did just that on the lower floors, but it was also the central hub for the whole of Silverwood’s police force. The top four floors housed hundreds of the kingdom’s finest men and women police officers from the constables that roamed the streets, to the chief on the top floor. Any crime committed anywhere in any city in Silverwood was processed at this place. To me, it looked like a very large square box.

The security guard on the door was ready for me as I walked in. He led me past the long line of people demanding to speak to an officer, and to a stairwell.

As I walked up the seemingly never-ending stairs, I realized that I’d never actually met the chief of police before. I’d seen him speaking to my father on a number of occasions, but I’d never had the opportunity to discuss matters with him. I remembered him as being a rather pugnacious man with wispy hair and a thick mustache that covered up his rodent-like face.

He was sitting ready for me as I was shown into his office. It was as bland as the outside of the police headquarters, and no effort had been made to decorate it. There were no plants or pictures of family. Perhaps he didn’t have one. The nameplate on his desk read Monty Grenfall.

“Would you take a seat, Your Majesty?” He gestured to the grey chair at the opposite side of his desk. I noticed he didn’t stand as I walked in—his way of asserting dominance.

I held out my hand for him to shake it, making sure it was slightly out of his reach. He either had to stand or leave me there with my arm outstretched—my way of asserting dominance.

His mustache twitched for a second before he rose to shake my hand, his handshake weak for a man of such power.

“I’d like to talk to you about the Magi,” I began, finally sitting in the seat.

“I suspected that’s why you wanted to speak to me.”

“On the contrary. I wanted to meet with you to introduce myself formally. We will be working together to promote a healthy, happy, and safe kingdom, and I thought it would be proper to establish those ties now while it is still early in my reign. The Magi, however, are my prime concern.”

“As well they should be,” he replied.

“Anti-Magi protesters have been demonstrating outside the palace for six months now. I’ve sent numerous requests to you to do something about it, but even as I left this morning, they were still there.”

“There is no law in Silverwood banning demonstrating. They are well within their rights unless they have caused damage or physically threatened you. Have they done either of those things?” I thought back to the man who’d scaled the wall. He’d not gotten anywhere close to me. There was also Pittser, but his threats had been more of the blackmailing kind rather than one of force.

“No,” I conceded, “but that’s hardly the point. Last year when the Magi were demonstrating, you used tear gas on them.”

“Do you wish me to use tear gas on the demonstrators now?”

“No, of course not. I just want you to ask them to stop. I’m trying to build a tolerant kingdom. A kingdom where everyone is equal, and it can’t be done if the Magi don’t feel safe enough to even live here.”

“They aren’t safe to live here. I’ve spent almost my whole career getting rid of that scum. I’m not about to have my life’s work ruined because someone killed the king.”

He slammed his hand down on his desk, causing his nameplate to fall over. I picked it back up for him and placed it back on the desk.

“You know as well as I do,” I said, “that the king died because of the decisions he made. May I remind you that it was the fault of the police that started the riots in the first place?”

His mustache twitched again, and I could see he was getting irked. Well good. He deserved to be.

“There’s simply nothing I can do about the demonstrators. If you want to change the law, you are well within your rights as the monarch. But I caution you, if you change it for the anti-Magi protestors, you’ll have to change it for the Magi protestors too. That is if they ever decide to come back, which I certainly hope that they don’t.”

While I hated his views, I couldn’t fault his logic. The demonstrators disgusted me, but they hadn’t actually broken any law. If I had them arrested for peaceful protests, I’d have to do the same in the future for other protesters. I collected my thoughts.

“Have you ever heard of the MDS, Mr. Grenfall?”

“No, I can’t say I have,” he replied, but the way he spoke, his eyes shifting to the side, told me he was lying. It looked like I’d have to find out from elsewhere what MDS stood for.

I decided to call him out on his views. “You must have seen on television that I’ve made it law that people cannot discriminate against the Magi, and that has to include you. You are one of the most senior ranking people in our whole kingdom and people look up to you...”

“They look up to me to keep them safe. I can’t do that with the Magi here. Since they’ve been driven out, crime has gone down by nearly forty percent, and I’m not just talking about here in the capital; that statistic is for the whole of Silverwood.” He folded his arms and gave me another smug look as if what he’d said overruled my feelings on anything.

“The crime was high because they weren’t allowed to work,” I pointed out. “They had no money and very little food. I wonder about your crime statistic. How many of those crimes were for stealing food?”

“Well, I’d have to look that up,” he blustered.

“Don’t bother. I can already guess the answer. The problem was never with the Magi, but with how we as a society treated them.”

“We will have to agree to disagree then.”

“Actually,” I began “No we don’t. It’s your duty to follow and implement the laws of the land. Laws set out by the reigning monarch. As I am the reigning monarch, those laws are made by me and my advisors. Over the past few months, I’ve made sure that every university in this kingdom is open to all, no matter their magical ability. No employer can discriminate, and that means within the police force too. If you can’t stick to the laws of the land, I’ll be forced to find someone who can. Good day, Mr. Grenfall.”

I stood and turned without letting him say anything else. I was in no mood to argue the point; I just wanted the law followed. My threat about replacing him was said in the moment, but as I left his room, I realized I might just have to follow through. I allowed myself a small smile. I’d stood up for myself and, more importantly, for the people of my kingdom. Maybe being a queen wouldn’t be as difficult as I had thought after all.