Is this destiny?

Konstantin and all Elders descended to the arena, to officially welcome Sarah as the new Elder.

Konstantin presented Sarah with a golden pendant. It is shaped as a kolovrat and has a swan in the middle. Sarah\'s eyes moved toward her mother. Isn\'t this the same pendant* as the one Stella gave her? The only difference is that in the one Sarah has, the swan is made out of a sapphire stone, while this one is golden.

Stella didn\'t show any visible reaction as Sarah accepted the pendant.

"This represents your status as an Elder." Konstantin explained. He felt strange to call her \'an Elder\' and she can be his daughter… or maybe even his granddaughter.

"When can I move into his place?"

Konstantin was visibly surprised by Sarah\'s question.

"Nikolai is unconscious, and it seems that his jaw is fractured. We will send him to a hospital, and someone needs to pack his things. It should not take more than two to three days." Konstantin observed that Sarah is not pleased. "How much I understand, you and your sisters are staying with Elder Milena. Is there a rush to move into your villa?"

Sarah didn\'t want to say that she is in a rush but… "I have a number of people who are waiting to join me. There is not enough room in my mother\'s villa."

Konstantin frowned. "How many?"

Sarah shrugged. "Twenty… maybe thirty."

Konstantin waved his finger. "You can\'t have so many outsiders here."

Sarah was not sure if she heard him right. "What?"

"Other than security, which is trained and approved by the Lebedev family, every Elder can have two personal helpers while in the main base. Every person needs to be background checked and you need to provide justification for more than two." One of the men by Konstantin\'s side explained.

Sarah\'s mouth formed an \'O\'. That explains why her mother has only Edward and Owen.

Sarah was not willing to accept this. "What do you mean, only two? What kind of justification is necessary other than me saying that I want people who have my trust? Does this limitation apply to all Elders?"

Vasily grinned. "One is an exception."

Sarah wanted to ask which one, but she saw that everyone is looking at Konstantin.

Konstantin shot a disapproving glance in Vasily\'s direction before explaining to Sarah: "Due to the nature of my work, as a Grand Elder I don\'t have a limit on a number of helpers who are not part of our organization."

Sarah looked at him with newly found vigor. "Grand Elder, Konstantin… I challenge your position. Let\'s fight for it."

There was a pin drop silence, and no one could believe their ears. A challenge for the Grand Elder position! That didn\'t happen in a very-very long time!

Stella looked at Sarah in disbelief. How can she issue a challenge without consulting her first?

Vasily shook for a few seconds before he burst into a hearty laugh. This is getting better by the minute. He wanted Sarah to come here and make waves because the Lebedev family is declining due to contentment. Elders are too comfortable in their positions and they don\'t believe that there is young blood with enough skills (and bravery) to threaten them. In one day, Sarah got rid of useless Nikolai and now she is going for the position of the Grand Elder. She will improve this whole organization, just how he dreamed. Ah, this will be good! 

Konstantin paused when he heard Sarah\'s challenge. How bold. No one challenged him in ages. Not because they can\'t defeat him, but because everyone knows that being the Grand Elder is much more than just skills in the arena. It requires multiple helpers and connections, and gentle balancing between all the Elders and no one other than him knows how to do it… or maybe it\'s more accurate to say that no one wants to do it. That is why he assumed that his position is safe. 

"Uhm… Challenge accepted, Elder Sarah." Konstantin responded after a long silence.

"Alright…" Sarah took a step away from him. "The audience is already here…"

"We can\'t fight now." Konstantin interrupted Sarah. "Fight for the Grand Elder is not so simple. I need to prepare things and…"

"How long?" Sarah cut him off impatiently.

"No sooner than tomorrow." Konstantin responded.

Sarah was losing her patience. "Fine. Do what you must and let\'s fight as soon as possible. I only hope that you can handle more than one punch. Delaying for one whole day without putting up a fight would be… disappointing."

"Elder Sarah, do you mind coming to my office? There are a few things we should clarify before the fight." Konstantin said.

Sarah paused. "Your office? As in your villa?"

Konstantin confirmed.

Sarah glanced at Stella and saw that Stella is troubled. Well, she can\'t decline. What should she do? "Alright. But I want to bring my two people. It\'s not that I don\'t trust you, but I will be more at ease knowing that someone is watching my back. I hope you can understand that, since I\'m not familiar with many faces here..."

…

About half an hour later, in Stella\'s villa…

Owen ended narrating to Edward, JoAnna, and Sophia about what happened in the underground arena. Edward had a complex expression, and JoAnna and Sophia high-fived in approval of Sarah\'s actions.

"Sarah, why are you reckless?" Stella asked in a disapproving voice.

"What did I do?"

Stella frowned. "Don\'t pretend like you don\'t know. Challenging the Grand Elder on the same day you arrived. We should have talked about it."

"Do you think I can\'t take him on, mom?"

"That\'s not it. Konstantin is much more than fighting. He has a lot of resources and men supporting him. It\'s a whole infrastructure and you need to win over all those people if you don\'t want to get the position and… crash."

Sarah observed Stella before asking: "Are you afraid for me or the family?"

"I am afraid for both. The organization without a leader will end up in disarray. People will use the resources they have as they please, and that means eliminating competition. Right now, you are the competition. You were not attacked because of the rules we have here, and Konstantin is the one enforcing them."

"Mom… I don\'t care about this organization. I only care about getting Aiden back. While here, I will make sure to leave a reminder of why they made a mistake to attack me. And if ignorance is their excuse, how they didn\'t know who Sarah White is, it is time to educate them. The time to play nice is over."

Stella was exasperated. "Honey, I\'m not telling you how to do things. But you got Nikolai\'s position and his resources. Officially, all the people who worked for him now work for you. If you didn\'t challenge Konstantin right away, I would advise you to win over Nikolai\'s people first... at least his key contacts. That would make your next steps easier. Like this, you need to watch out from all sides and there is a big chance that your own people will rebel. I am confident that a number of other Elders are poaching Nikolai\'s people right now."

"Don\'t think how Konstantin and the other Elders are the only ones with support. Did you forget what I have?"

Stella made a face when she saw JoAnna and Sophia nodding in approval of Sarah\'s words.

"Yes, you have your sisters and a whole army… but do you have a plan?"

Well, Stella got Sarah on this point. She does not have any plan, yet. "I will deal with Nikolai\'s people later. Maybe I can ask them to gather first thing in the morning. Can you help me with that?"

Owen responded: "I will send a message for everyone to gather in Nikolai\'s... I mean in Sarah\'s yard at 9 AM tomorrow..."

"Thanks, Uncle." Sarah said to Owen and turned to Stella who was waiting to hear Sarah\'s plan. "For tonight... Konstantin invited me. I need you to tell me everything you know about him. Anna and Sophia will come with me and we should be prepared…"

Edward didn\'t approve all three sisters going. "Why don\'t you take two fighters?"

Sarah stifled an exhausted laugh. "Dad, Anna and Sophia are my fighters. I need people who will not backstab me, and my sisters have my unconditional trust. Now, back to the topic of Konstantin…"

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