Haven had never seen a greater spectacle than the day that Alister Preevy and his men returned as the heroes who freed her people from the tyranny of the Royalist regime. The reality was that the men were exhausted and covered in dirt and blood when they arrived home, but to the people they may as well have been revered champions rolling into town on golden chariots. July had made the people believe emphatically that Alister’s would fix everything, and now that this had become truth they were sure to follow Alister anywhere we went.
As for July, he decided to take this time to recover from a very rough day. He stood alone on the front porch of his house, resting on his new crouches as Alister stood tall in the middle of the street and the crowd cheered and applauded and wept tears of joy. In this moment July was like a blemish that no one wanted to look at due to the eerie sensation of seeing nothing at the end of a finely bandaged stump leg, not to mention the purple bruises and swelling that covered the right side of his face, or the tattered state of his own muddy blood-soaked clothes. July clenched his jaw, despite the pain it caused him, and turned to go inside when he was stopped by Charlie, who appeared silently and laid her hand on his shoulder.
“If I were you, I’d probably feel the same way,” she said.
July turned but didn’t look her in the eye, instead her chose to stare at a spot on the ground to her right. “If by that you mean glad that everything worked then…”
She rolled her eyes. “Come on, July, you know as well as I that you deserve the attention here, so do I, as a matter of fact. But shit, look at you, you’re the one who suffered the most here but it all worked because of you. This was your plan.”
“You’re right,” he said briskly. “But right now, the plan requires Alister to feed a little inspiration to his lovely subjects. I want us to feel invincible which is exactly what he’s doing right now.”
Charlie paused for a moment, and then asked, “What plan? The plan is finished. The Royalists are gone.”
“Speaking of which,” July quickly went on. “The manner of that officer’s death, I want it to stay our little secret.”
Charlie crossed her arms. “Feeling guilty for killing an unarmed man?”
“No. I did what I had to, but we need to create the right image here, I don’t want these people thinking they’ve swapped one tyrannical leader for another.”
Charlie lifted July’s chin up and smiled as she met his eyes. “Don’t worry. Your secret’s safe with me.” She slapped him lightly on his right side and laughed.
Haven organised an official celebration that night. Before the party began everyone had time to bathe, eat, find new clothes, and rest. July had the doctor take a proper look at his face and leg; he received a bandage and a clean-up for the cuts and bruises but there was still no time to work on the leg before the party, so July stuck with the crouches for a little while longer.
July hosted the celebration outside his home where the street was wide enough to accommodate most of the town. They dragged a dining table onto the front porch where what could only be called ‘the council’ would eat. The other families either set up tables around the street and other areas around town, or used picnic blankets and pillows. Despite Haven’s limited electricity they switched on as many lights as they could and played music loud enough for everyone to hear. It was the most festive thing July had ever witnessed.
Alister sat at the head of the council table: on his left were July, Alice, Jodie and Granny, and on his right were Tom, Charlie, Wade and Leonard. Of course, the most prestigious spot went to Biscuit, between Alister and July. There were more seats at the table for the townspeople who came and went to pay their respects to Alister and offer their services, but they also bore a gloomy attitude towards Leonard. Much of the council’s talk that night was about restoring Haven to its former state, as the majority of their resources for the past few years had been requisitioned or syphoned off to the Royalists. Things such as food, clean water, sufficient electricity, and even security matters all had to be dealt with soon if they wanted to survive the coming weeks.
Leonard remained quiet until after supper when he stood and raised his cup and gestured for the music to stop. “Ladies and gentlemen,” he announced. “Sons and daughters of Haven. May I just say on behalf of all of us how fortunate we are to have Alister Preevy back home, and safe in Haven. Although it is implied that my role as your leader and guardian were only temporary, I feel that some official statement should be made, therefore I hereby revoke my position and name Alister Preevy as my replacement.”
There was a small round of applause and Alister stood up and smiled in his crooked way. “Thank you, Leonard, but unfortunately I have to remind you that it’s not your place to name your successor.” Leonard’s smile was quickly snuffed out. “And also, the people of Haven weren’t the only ones who were freed in the last few days; my men and I were also saved. I was actually going to propose a vote.” The attitude of the people suddenly changed and they began to murmur until Alister raised his voice. “I nominate July Mundane as a candidate.” July faced Alister with an expression of astonishment. “Those in favour.”
At first there was silence. July fidgeted and quickly glanced from face to face to read their expressions. This was not part of his plan. He placed both hands on the table and was about to stand up and insist that Alister remain in charge when Charlie suddenly called out. “Aye!” There were more murmurs when Alice raised her hand. “Aye!” Then Tom followed the call, and Wade, and Jodie, and members from the crowd began to shout “Aye!” or call his name over and over again. “July! July!” The only person more shocked by this outcome than July was Leonard, who heatedly glared at him.
Although it wasn’t part of the plan July knew that the best strategist recognized when and how to improvise. This happened and he accepted it. When Alister called for all those against July’s new position there was no response. Alister stood up and shook July’s hand, and then ushered him into his seat at the head of the table. It was done. As July stared across at his new comrades, advisors, subjects, the final piece of the first stage fell into place. July now controlled his own faction. The king of his own little world.
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