"You know," Travis said just to Penelope, "I better put aside another million gold. Felna will get jealous if we both have titles and she misses out."

Penelope almost snorted as she lowered the sword. She had no real clue why everyone was cheering. The weapon was ridiculous. Made from mithril and far too light, it was useless for anything but show. That was exactly its purpose, she realized: a prop. "Thank you, Your Majesty."

Doing his best to keep the momentum, Stewart moved on to his second target. "A significant reason I am here before you now, and not still besieging West Reaches, as any of the soldiers that were there will tell you, is the recipients of my next bestowal. Astrid, formerly of the North, now citizen of my kingdom and resident of Baron Travis's lands, please stand before the people you've served."

Walking forward and dropping to one knee before Stewart, despite what he'd told her earlier, Astrid dipped her head. The crowd behind her was almost silent—certainly quieter than the sound of her heartbeat in her ears.

"I was at a loss as to what I could give this brave woman, that she hasn't already attained. The one thing a king such as myself could give her, that she would desire, she already has." Stewart turned his head to look at her pack and gave them a nod. "We did manage to hammer out one desire, that she may grow her family, with suitably dedicated Northerners. But, it felt insufficient. This woman led a charge upon West Reaches' gates. She faced down multiple cannons, soldiers, and ensured the doors would open for my army. It was a charge that led to a very quick journey back to the capital."

The soft spread of laughter at the joke made Astrid smile. She'd grown used to the Southern sense of humor. If anything, it made the harsh sting of her failure at Northridge more tolerable.

Even with Astrid kneeling, Stewart was still impressed with her size. He was, at least, able to see over her head now. "The rest of her pack then led the charge into the West Reaches' keep where the former Marquess was barricaded and extracted him, with the aid of Lady Elanor. It is for these acts that shortened the siege and saved countless lives and resources, that I am creating a new knightly order: The Order of the Wolf. At its head, and the first member, is Sir Astrid of the Wolf."

In one day, it had taken Stewart more than a little expended effort to acquire the items that were passed to him. A sword of adamantine, chased with mithril and enchanted to within an inch of its life. A shield that bore a new crest of a rampant wolf over a castle. At last was a banner, a battle flag with a similar crest to the shield. One by one he passed them to Astrid, smiling at her shocked look as she sheathed the blade at her side, fitted the shield to her arm, and raised the battle pennant above her head on a pole. "Rise, Sir Astrid, and call your pack forward so they may each be knighted by you in my name."

Stewart had surprised Astrid again. She could read ahead enough to see why he'd done it—it tied her and her pack closer to his kingdom and made her even more of an authority figure for any other Northerners that came South. Astrid stood up and felt a new weight settle onto her that had nothing to do with her armor or weapons, and called each of her wolves around one at a time, starting with Hreti. By the time she had finished knighting Liv, it became markedly less surreal. The King's Guard had passed her a sword and shield, which she handed Liv, and now her whole pack had matching weapons and shields. When Liv had finally resumed her place, she turned back to face Stewart. "Your Majesty, it is done."

Having watched the simple ceremony, Stewart had no problem with Astrid and her family making their own traditions with his demonstration as a basis. Her look of relief when he'd titled her sir instead of dame or lady had almost gotten a laugh from him. "Then, with that aside, I have two leaders for whom punishment must be issued. Renard Chelves is the first." It was the cue for his guards to bring out the brilliant strategist. The man was wearing a set of light chains that looked like he'd break them if he pulled hard. The man was at his feet, kneeling, head lowered. "You were part of the rebellion, a general of the former marquess' army. Do you have any words before I sentence you?"

"Your Majesty," Renard began, ensuring he showed the proper respect, "I could lie and tell you I'd been forced or coerced. There was no such thing. I was doing as my lord commanded, and that was to stall your army for as long as possible. I believe I did that, so I must cast my honor before you and beg you to find some use for me."

The important decisions had already been made, though Stewart had given Renard his own leave to come up with his speech. It was truthful in every way, but also only half-truths. He'd been delayed by the man, of course, and while the delay could have lasted a little longer, Stewart hadn't intended to carve a path through corpses to the West and Renard hadn't planned to make him. "I find myself in need of a tactical master. Our northern border will be encroached in the coming months, and I believe holding back the threat will prove to me that you are useful enough that this blemish on your record can be pardoned. So be it: defend the North and claim your freedom and honor back."

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"Your Majesty, it would be my honor."

Stewart nodded to his guards who removed Renard's bindings and led him away. "The other I must judge is Charlie Downs." The battleaxe of a soldier marched out and knelt before him. If her age made the action any harder than Renard's had, she showed no sign of it. "Like Renard, you had the misfortune of serving under a poor leader. Unlike Renard, you had too much pride to know when to stop. You died to the guns of my soldiers and were brought back because I still have a use for you. Either retire and surrender your titles, or serve in the North under Renard, as his advisor, and put that stubborn will to use."

"Your Majesty, there isn't a choice there. I was born into warfare and have known nothing else my whole life. What else would I do?" Standing, Charlie bowed her head. "If you need me to fight in the North, I'll fight in the North."

Reaching out his hand, Stewart called for the kingdom's strength and he broke the cuffs' chain with ease. "Then our Northern borders are safe. You'll have a full report from the baron handling the building of the new walls, along with a budget that's as close to unlimited as it could get." Turning his attention away from the skeptical look Charlie was giving him, Stewart raised his voice a little. "Now, I have a list of citations for valor that distinguished units of the campaign."

"Can we go now?" Penelope whispered to Elanor. "There's a picture I am required to see…"

"If I have to stay here, so do you." Elanor kept her calm smile the entire time she spoke. "And I have to wait until the end of his speech. It turns out a king's marriage is a bit of a big deal." Her tone dripped with sarcasm.

Thinking for a moment, Penelope shrugged the big joints where her wings met her body. "It does tend to happen once in a lifetime. Did you get a chance to talk to your parents?"

It was hard not to deflate at the memory. Elanor nodded. "They aren't sure what they did wrong, and I don't think I know how to explain it to them. They honestly thought they were doing their best for me and for the family. 'Little Elanor is going to have her own city in the North!' was their mindset. It still is. I didn't tell them about Stewart and myself."

"What about your wedding? They—"

Elanor shook her head and had to restrain herself from speaking loudly enough for the amplification magic to work. "So far, you, Felna, and Travis have been adequate. Would you like to stand-in as my mother?"

The question melted Penelope's resolve and she reached a wing out to rest her claw over Elanor's shoulder. It shouldn't have surprised her, what with all the training Elanor had done, that she didn't so much as shift a muscle at the weight. "If that's what you want, it would be my honor."

"Good, now—"

"Which brings me to my last announcement. As your king, I make it my aim to undertake every duty with the utmost alacrity and attention to detail. It was with this in mind I found a beautiful and strong woman to pursue to stand at my side. With the war in the West, I thought to put such things aside long enough to bring peace to the kingdom—which was where she told me, in no uncertain terms, that she would be taking me as her husband." Reaching out to Elanor, Stewart caught Penelope letting go of his love's shoulder and resolved to ask about it later. "May I present Lady Elanor, Inquisitor of the kingdom."

The roar of the crowd washed over Elanor. She stole a glance at Stewart and saw him looking pleased with himself. "I have found myself enamored of our King. I first met him when he was a prince, fighting to protect the kingdom against the deprivations of the Fitzgeralds of the West. I fought at his side, then, against the poison the former marquess was spreading among the Northern cities, and I will stand at his side for as long as I can breathe." She turned her head and eyed Stewart up and down before turning back at the crowd. "And someone would need a sizable army to distract me from him."

Stewart wasn't sure what to expect from her, it seemed like Elanor was always a step ahead of him, but when she grabbed his shoulder, pulled him sideways, and bent him down like a damsel to kiss him, he barely heard the roar of the crowd. Kissing her back, his world narrowed to the two of them and even the riot of support from his people faded away. Did he care that she'd grabbed him like this? He couldn't think far enough to care about it.

"You'll have to excuse them. The war delayed their getting together, but it did nothing to calm them down." Penelope spared a glance at Laurence who made a small beckoning gesture. "It appears I am needed." She made a point of looking at Stewart and Elanor then back to the crowd. Deciding she should at least buy the couple a few minutes once the crowd's cheering slowed, she called out, "You might want to start the party. I don't think they'll be stopping any time soon."

Leading Penelope and the newly knighted wolves, Laurence left Stewart and Elanor on stage together. There wasn't exactly anything he could do about them—they both seemed to have things (and each other) well in hand. "Nicely done, Baroness Penelope. People in a crowd tend to mill about if not instructed. I will, of course, escort yourself to a small party Earl Judith Sanderson has organized, to celebrate your peerage among the Northern nobility. Sir Astrid, I will also escort you to meet with your own peers among the heads of the knightly orders." The groan from each of them warmed Laurence's heart. "It won't be that bad. Neither will have anything to complain about. They'll mostly keep you busy until lunch. Feel free to get a little drunk."

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