Deathstalker 06 - Deathstalker Legacy

concerned with morality, not politics. Lewis was partly right. I care about doing the right thing, not what's currently expedient. Which means I will never be confused or uncertain as to what my position is, or whether I should compromise. I won't. Never forget that, Anne.
    We're not here to win. We're here to do some good."
    "Oh darling, I get goosebumps all over when you talk like that," said Jesamine. "If you're really good, I might just show you later . . . Oh, wait until I'm Queen, and sitting there beside you in State, looking down on all the poor little politicians as you make them do the right thing for once."
    "Ah, Jes . . ." said Anne. "You don't actually get to sit in State, in the House. Not even when you're Queen. It's tradition. The King has a place there, as Speaker. You don't."
    Jesamine looked at her. "I don't get a Throne in the House?"
    "No, Jes."
    "Then where do I sit?"
    "You don't. You stand on Douglas's left hand, while Lewis stands on his right."
    "Stuff that for a game of soldiers! I do not just stand around!" said Jesamine, very dangerously. "My days as an extra and supporting player are long past. I am a star!"
    "Not in Parliament, you're not," Anne said steadily. "You have no official position in the House. Douglas doesn't as King, only as Speaker. The Queen can't speak in the Debates, and you don't get a Vote.
    You're only allowed to be present as a courtesy. Make no mistake, Jes; Parliament is a battleground, just like the Arenas. In fact, you'd probably find more mercy on the bloody sands. You make a wrong move in front of the MPs, and they will tear you apart and use you as a club to beat Douglas with. This isn't like show business, where the worst a poor performance can get you is a bad review. If they see you as a weak link they can use to undermine Douglas's position, I'll have no choice but to ban you from the House. So for now, you watch in silence, smiling graciously, and you don't interfere. There'll be plenty for you to do backstage, and in public, but this is Douglas's territory, not yours. Is that clear?"
    Jesamine glared at Anne and then shrugged. "Bully. I'll make my mark, you wait and see. Just. . . not in the House. So; what are you going to be doing, while I'm standing around like a spare bridesmaid at a wedding?"
    "I have even less right to be in the House than you do," said Anne. "I'm just Head of Protocol, really nothing more than a glorified civil servant. I'll be right here, watching everything on the monitors. I'll still be able to talk to you through your comm implants, offering advice and late-breaking information. I've done everything I can to establish a private channel they can't access or jam, but if I do black out for a while, don't panic. I will get back to you. If you need to talk to me, subvocalize. I'll hear you. But keep it cryptic. Some MPs have been known to employ lip readers."
    "It looks like most of the honorable Members are already in the House," said Jesamine. She rose gracefully to her feet and drifted over to study the changing images on the monitor screens. "It looks very crowded. I don't remember seeing half this many MPs in the House for ages."
    "Of course not," said Anne, joining her. "Even the most important Debates don't attract crowds like this.
    Only a fraction of an MP's work gets done on the floor of the House. The real deals get sorted out behind the scenes. No; Douglas, this is all for you."
    "Wonderful," said Douglas. "I must remember to send them all nice little thank-you notes."
    Anne pointed out some of the more famous names and faces to Jesamine, who found something insulting and appalling to say about all of them. Lewis took the opportunity for a quiet word with Douglas.
    "Why didn't you tell me I was going to be your Champion?" he said bluntly. "Why spring it on me like that? I could have used some time to prepare myself."
    "Not a chance," Douglas said firmly. "I know you, Lewis. If I'd given you any time to think about it, you'd have found some way to talk yourself out of it. You always were too damned modest, too lacking in ambition, for your own good. Which was one of the main reasons why I chose you. And because we'd
    always worked so well together as partners. I needed a Champion I could rely on. Someone I knew I could trust."
    Lewis raised an eyebrow. "You couldn't trust Finn Durandal?"
    "Hell no! Finn's always had his own agenda. He wanted to be Champion for all the wrong reasons. And after what he did to the ELFs in