“Your Imperial Majesty,” a familiar voice called out, just after a rap on his study door.

“Come in, Benito. Sorry, I’m still sorting out admin work here; I hope it’s not a bother.”

The hound smiled and walked into the room, though not alone. This was an all-important meeting for the future of two different institutions within the empire, but Grover wasted no time between this and other visits of equal import. By the sounds of it he could certainly be a little more prepared for this moment in particular. The hound heard him hurriedly arranging his papers and searching his desk for some potentially relevant documents upon their arrival.

“Your Highness,”

“My liege,”

Two almost-new voices exclaimed through their bows as they entered the study in front of their superior; then sitting opposite their emperor. In truth Grover had known of both of them for some time, but had only observed them briefly and for professional purposes. He’d never spoken to either of them face-to-face, even if he had intended to.

To his left was Gnawer, a diamond dog without a surname that had escaped slavery in Diamond Mountain during the Not-So-Great War along with many others; but had also joined the army almost immediately after the fact. She had rapidly risen through the ranks of the armed forces, catching the eye of many specialised units including the royal marines and several paratrooper regiments. According to her papers, she had consistently turned down offers of promotion until she was picked up by the royal guard, which she joined as soon as the offer was proposed. Far from just a dedicated dog, she apparently stated that she owed a life debt to the royal family that had set her free; wishing to serve them as directly as possible.

One look at her piercing green eyes and another at the scars that peaked onto her neck through her armour told Grover all he needed to know. Gnawer wasn’t just skilled as her file told him, but utterly devoted; she lacked some social skills, but she would learn to lead in time. Not the perfect candidate to take Benito’s place as the captain of the royal guard, but he had assured the boy that she had the potential to be a greater officer than he was. Benito was always right in the end.

To his right was, of all things, a changeling. Thranx had briefly spent time in the empire assisting the Archon as part of the Changeling-Griffonian Attache before the Duke and Duchess had reclaimed Griffenheim. He had assumed that he would either be sent home or executed on learning that his efforts had been for naught, but Gerlach had other ideas. The Silent Duke had correctly assessed his unwillingness to return to the hives, partly out of fondness for the locals but also because the ling assumed Chrysalis would punish him and his commander for their failure to protect the archon.

Instead he had offered Thranx and Synovial, the ling’s commanding officer in the capital, full protection in their care if they chose to join their ranks. Synovial opted to return home, but was courteous enough to claim that his subordinate had died defending the capital. Amazingly Chrysalis believed this lie and condemned the Duke and Duchess for their takeover as a result whilst the officer remained alive and well in hiding for several years. He stayed in the army for a few years more, before Gabriela persuaded him to join the KG as an operative. Ever since he had been and still was widely regarded as reliable and dedicated to the empire that had given him a second chance, much like his dogged companion. He was now to be promoted to the head of the KG, an office which Benito was also forfeiting in his resignation that was would happen about… Well, about now.

“Please, call me Grover. You’ll be seeing a lot of me from now on, there’s no need to be formal; I’m not sure I could take it for too long if you were.” The gold-feathered griffon requested immediately, waving a dismissive claw.

The older diamond dog laughed a little and smiled, “Now, whilst I won’t be leaving the palace for some time yet; these two will be taking over the vast majority of my official duties, as I know you’re already aware. There will be a public inauguration ceremony of sorts for Gnawer and an internal agency celebration for Thranx here.”

“Sir, an event really isn’t necessary.” The soon-to-be head of the imperial guard exclaimed quickly, glancing at the emperor for a moment after speaking.

“Benito has served the empire longer than my father did, Gnawer. It’s as much a celebration of your promotion as it is one of his long and much appreciated term in the guard; that I’m sure you can understand.” The emperor explained with a slight smile.

“Mmm. I see,” she gave out with a light sigh.

“Oh come on, snout up a little! I know you’re not the most talkative of creatures, but you can surely make it through one evening. Grover will be there as will the rest of the guard. It’ll be more than bearable, trust me. Besides, if you’re going to be captain then you’ll need to practice your charisma a little, won’t you?” Thranx offered, giving his friend of several years a reassuring pat on the shoulder.

The Emperor of Griffonkind certainly knew what it felt like to be out of one’s depth in such circumstances. It was honestly quite strange, seeing a situation similar to his own in many ways with the dog in front of him who was quite some years older than he was. Hopefully they could both grow out of their inhibitions.

“You’re quite right. I should see this as an opportunity rather than an annoyance, though it will be somewhat challenging for me.”

The changeling smiled and cocked his head slightly, “That’s what I like to hear. Always grab life by the horn, eh?”

Very strange friends, those two were. It was a little like watching a brick and a window get along.

“Right then. I should give you this, Grover. My official letter of resignation, two weeks’ notice; everything should be in order.” Benito finally gave out with a slight chuckle.

The emperor took the letter, a little slower than he had been intending to. He looked at the envelope, opened it with a talon, skimmed the notice and nodded. The boy rubbed his eyes and sat silently for a moment, wondering to himself if he was really ready for Benito to give him yet more autonomy. He felt so tired all of a sudden, how much sleep had he lost these last few days?

“I’ll always be nearby, don’t worry.” The hound added in an effort to calm the young griffon.

Grover nodded and smiled after a few seconds longer, “Congratulations on your retirement,”

“Thank you,”

“And congratulations to both of you on your promotions, Captain Gnawed and KG Director Thranx. Enjoy yourselves tonight.” The gold-feathered griffon added with a touch of optimism on his beak in spite of his worries.

“As you wish Grover,” she growled back in assent.

“I assume I’m not allowed to talk to tell my partner about my work?” The changeling asked, half in jest and half with complete sincerity.

The emperor raised an eyebrow at him, which made Benito laugh and created a smirk on Gnawer’s usually stony maw. Thranx grimaced, thinking he had overestimated his liege’s patience for fun and games and expecting some sort of reprimand.

Instead the surprise shifted into a smile as Grover placed his talons firmly on the table, “You are well aware of agency policy, I’ll leave it up to you as to whether you want to put yourself, your significant other and your job at risk. You’re the director, after all; I hardly need tell you how to conduct yourself.” His majesty retorted with a slight smirk.

“Point taken,” He returned, sighing and visibly relaxing. “I meant no offence,” Thranx added quickly whilst his friend barely contained a chuckle.

“And none was taken,”

They both laughed a little then. Benito couldn’t help but feel proud that he was shaping up to be such a well-respected ruler already, but one that could still handle a joke. Maybe he wouldn’t need to be around the palace much longer.

“Gnawer, I trust you can handle visiting the royal tailor for a new uniform?” The old dog motioned to the younger hound.

His prior subordinate stood up slowly and answered plainly, “Of course.”

“Then you are dismissed,”

“Sir,”

She left the room with a sense of purpose in her off-duty walk; her vacant seat filled moments later by the dog she was succeeding. Grover looked now at some documents that Thranx had brought with him from the agency offices which were now half-strewn across his desk.

The look on Benito’s face had slowly transitioned from quiet pride to concern, which itself was worrying for the young emperor. “There is one last item we need to discuss with you Grover. Do you remember a week or so ago when I mentioned that the KG had found something interesting?”

~*~

“Now, the rail lines that your uncle and aunt built for the short-lived Greifkönig Handelsvertrag are mostly disused these days; however there has been a noticeable uptake in their operation in the south. Part of the peace treaty signed with the river coalition, re-ratified upon the federalisation of the Riverlands, stipulates the free movement of creatures between our borders. We suspect that the frontiergriffs, instead of simply forking over their weapons to our amnesty programs, are selling their previously legal firearms to still-legal private dealers to get a few idols. These dealers, now with a massive influx of weaponry, need somewhere to sell their massive stockpiles. That’s not nearly as doable in the empire anymore, but the River Federation has no qualms with the import, distribution and sale of personal firearms. See where I’m going with this?” Thranx went on, the emperor enthralled in what was essentially a presentation.

No royal briefing was complete without the appropriate pictures of course, and the newly promoted changeling enjoyed a good map; even though it really wasn't necessary for the young griffon.

“Would I be correct in guessing that these private companies are now moving the firearms into the Riverlands using these rail lines and selling the weapons there?” the griffon asked slowly whilst needlessly reviewing the carefully drawn up pieces.

“Exactly. The OHS has been keeping tabs on these shipments and have found that many of these ex-frontier guns have ended up in the hooves of nationalist groups and paramilitaries. No surprises there, cheap imported products are just as popular now as they were when they crashed the Federation’s economy.”

“But if we further clamp down on the frontier then we’ll be the ones dealing with riots,” Benito noted, interjecting to remind Grover that reprimanding this behaviour would have consequences.

Thranx nodded and looked again at the documents they had collated before continuing, “Correct. If we try to influence the economics of the frontier any more than your internal integration project already has, at least in their eyes, there will be incredible backlash. For regional stability, the KG advises that you allow the export to continue.”

“Makes sense. How many weapons will be sold over the next few months, roughly?”

“Depending on the statistics of griff gun ownership you choose to use, anywhere between two-hundred thousand and one-and-a-half million private firearms may find themselves in very angry hooves across the border. We’ll keep track of the sales and make more accurate estimates within the week,” The ling finished with a distinctive grimace.

Grover had to lean back in his chair at that and take a moment to think. The frontier had suffered immeasurably under the reign of King Kloseau, a griffon so devoid of emotion and remorse that he had gone as far as to publicly hang his own son for committing to democratic reform of his monarchy. It was no surprise that the area didn’t want to hand over any sort of power to the central government and only relinquished their weapons when offered with an economic incentive from local businesses. Many griffons there were as destitute as they were distrustful.

Nevertheless such an inordinate number of weapons, though they were not military grade, was immensely concerning. A direct buyback was not an option, since that would only encourage the frontier to create makeshift weapons for a quick idol and again would make the state seem overbearing. There was little way to deal with them on this side of the border. On this side of the border. That was when something clicked.

“If we funded a buyback project in the Federation, could they take responsibility for the weapon shipments instead? That would alleviate the stress on the frontier whilst achieving the same end goal,” The emperor asked tentatively.

“It could work, if the money doesn’t disappear into the pockets of their politicians who can’t see past their own snouts. Any ideas Thranx?”

Ah, of course. The River Federation was falling apart, not helped by the politicians and bureaucrats who used the existing institutions to enrich themselves rather than to govern.

The ling thought for a moment before raising a proposal, “We could liaise with the OHS and have them pose as buyers for the shipments whilst we provide the appropriate funding. That would probably be a more reliable method of keeping the weapons in check; Arclight and his organisation are likely one of the few institutions left with almost no corruption.”

“That’s a better plan,” Grover decided almost immediately.

Thranx smiled and bowed slightly, looking happy with himself. It was an obvious plan really once he had considered it, but then he had turned out to be an incredibly talented operative. His emperor meanwhile had to manage all aspects of the empire over which he ruled, which was a feat in and of itself even without considering how young he was. The changeling forgot sometimes that he was only eighteen with all this responsibility; but it was a great personal pride that such a busy griffon was happy to delegate important responsibilities to him.

“Have you ever met Arclight?” Benito asked all of a sudden.

“A good few years ago now; but yes. Back when he was first reinstated as head of the OHS I remember that he visited my uncle and aunt to formally apologise for his mistakes. I know now that they were also making some arrangements for agency cooperation, but I remember him mostly as… Quiet and respectful, which is rather strange in retrospect.” The gold-feathered griff answered, remembering some six years of his life it must have been now.

“What say the pair of you meet, along with Thranx? I think such a visit would be appropriate for him to meet with the new director alone, but also so that you two can finally have a proper chat with one another. I imagine he has a lot to say to you,” He offered after a moment, his tail slowly wagging back and forth.

“Sounds like a plan to me,” the changeling agreed.

Grover also nodded with a smile, “It would be my pleasure.”

~*~

“How’d you do?” She asked, not wanting to press to hard just in case.

He read over the paper slip again and sighed, “Not great. I didn’t get the grades I would have needed for Brumia; or even for Romau. Actually, I wasn’t even close.”

The two friends, sat on a park bench in the middle of one of Griffenheim’s limited number of protected parks, were comparing their first mock exam results for their last year before university. Greta made a face somewhere between surprise and sadness, before leaning over and hugging her now mopey companion.

“Hey, it’s okay. They’re not the real thing, don’t worry yourself about it. Even if they end up using the next lot of mocks for the grades we send off to university you can still take a year out and apply with your final grades instead. You’ve got plenty of time.” She gave out, muffled slightly by his feathers.

“Thanks. Fuck, my mum is going to kill me though.” He returned, managing to smile slightly as she drew away.

“Nah, you’ll be fine.”

“You do realise that she’s only as nice as she is when you’re around because she likes you right?”

“What, are you using me to skive off making dinner?”

That made them both laugh. Seb was always glad to have his friend around in times like this, pivotal moments in one’s life did tend to require at least a little council after all.

“Hey, there he is!” She called out suddenly, pointing across the park with an eager claw.

He stared over the grass, large pond and some trees to catch a glimpse. “Kept us waiting, huh?”

“Oh come off it, he literally runs the entire empire whilst we’re just getting our grades. I think he’s more than allowed to be fifteen minutes late.”

They chuckled and watched as one of assumedly many cars in the royal fleet pulled into a space in the car park. As usual it was also closely followed by what was essentially an armoured van in matte black, which contained the appropriate members of the royal guard. Grover often said that he would have preferred for them not to come along, but it was probably a good idea to keep them around. Better to lack a small amount of privacy than to be shot and all that.

At the very least he had demanded that dismounting from the car be much less of a process than it had originally been. Before he had to wait for the guards to come and get him and so on, but now they watched as he calmly got out him and began to stride over to them with two guards in front and the rest in tow. Eight in total, as was the norm. The met here every week usually, sometimes went shopping or out to get food; the kronprinz had always paid, obviously. Even if they wanted to he objected to the idea that they should be paying for things when they were students. Noble, if occasionally annoying. There were usually more of them but most were off visiting their relatives, working or scouting out university residences. Today it was just Greta and Sebastian.

“Hey, are we supposed to bow now? Y’know, now that he’s emperor and all.” He asked quietly, though for no particular reason.

“We were always supposed to bow before as well, feather-brain. Though, it would be pretty funny if we did it now.”

“He would hate it,”

“Exactly,”

They both grinned at each other and got up off of the bench as their childhood friend practically marched over to them. They could already see him rolling his eyes as they bowed deeply for their new emperor.

“Your Majesty,” they both exclaimed loudly, though not quite at the same time.

“Oh shut it,” He gave out, immediately plodding up to Greta and hugging her tightly.

All three of them laughed as the guards made a quasi-perimeter around them. Grover did say that they should let other griffons through, but they wouldn’t take any chances. Seb’s surprisingly tight hold came next, which he was grateful for; he did need some good hugging.

“How was the coronation?” He asked quickly, even though he had of course been watching the whole thing in person.

The emperor grinned and let him go, “Nerve-racking, but pretty cool actually. What about your exams?”

“Pretty disappointing, to be honest.”

“Oh, you did fine!” Greta insisted as they went back to sit on the bench.

He jokingly rolled his eyes and handed his grade slip gingerly over to Grover, “I didn’t get the grades I wanted.”

“Hey, you’re not that far off though.” He gave out whilst reading.

“That’s what I said,”

“No you didn’t!”

“I implied that with what I said.” The griffoness half-rescinded with a huff.

The golden-feathered griffon laughed and handed back the paper as they began to bicker. He’d had to miss the last week’s meetup for coronation prep, which was an unfortunate necessity. Given his schedule, he might have to miss next week’s as well. He tuned out their conversation for a moment as he thought about how much lonelier things were becoming. Not that he had nocreature to talk to of course, more the fact that he had to spend his time around mostly other adults who were a lot older than he was; meanwhile his close friends were all getting ready for the new lives they had chosen themselves. That was without mentioning the fact that he would probably be seeing Benito a lot less as time went on. Maybe he should-

“Hey, Grover, you okay?” Sebastian asked loudly.

He'd zoned out completely.

“Hmm? Oh, yeah; sorry. I’m just a little tired.” He managed with a believable smile.

“Ah okay, no worries. You want to get something to eat?

The emperor smiled and sat up, “Absolutely.”

Author's Note

Greifkönig Handelsvertrag - Griffking Trade Treaty

JUST GROVER. JUST GROVER. JUST GROVER.

I would just like to extend my thanks to Eltirions for kindly forking over the resources with which I constructed the image in this fic. His incredibly hard work also enabled the map that I'm currently using as my cover art. He's a great guy and makes fantastic fics himself, so go and check him out if you haven't already.

That'll be all for this week, we do a little national shenanigan. Hope y'all enjoy.