**Sorry Guys! I went back to look over the story to start writing the next chapter and realized that I never posted this completed one. Finals for Mechanical Engineering were kicking my ass, and I've finally recuperated enough to work on the next chapter. We'll see when I finish it. HAPPY HOLIDAYS! **

As we walk into the Great Hall I see that we are one of the first people to show up. We slowly make our way to sit at the Slytherin table. As we sit down Merlin starts to serve a plate for himself, but with every item he places on his place, he separates it and puts half onto the plate in front of me. Which, although it frustrates me to no end, I know it is just his dominant instincts kicking in, because even though most of the submissive instincts do not come to me, the dominants will still feel them. One of which is feeding me from their plate.

When he finishes placing food on both of our plates, I feel his left arm wrap around me as he picks up his fork with his right. He doesn't start eating, and as I look up I see that he is staring at me. It's then that I realize he can't start eating until I do as the top dominant. I slowly pick up my own fork and begin to eat off the plate he has filled in front of me.

By the time we have finished eating, more people have begun to file into the Great Hall. That's when I notice a large group of people making their way to the Gryffindor table. A couple split off and go to the Hufflepuff table before sitting down. I look up to see Merlin is barely containing himself from glaring at the group that just came in. I tap on his leg to get him to look at me and send him a questioning look.

He sighs and leans down to whisper in my ear, "That is the group called the Knights that Professor Snape was referring to last night. Three of their members are the children of the Elders that we talked about last night. All those children are in Gryffindor. They were some of the first sorted during their first year. That group that you saw, they are the current Drakkens or children from Drakken Homes. As you can see, that seriously skewed the amount of Drakkens in favor of Hufflepuff and Gryffindor. Especially with submissives, partly because more dominants are found in those houses, but mainly because if they are friends with that set, they are more likely to be protected from upsetting matches. It's why your placement in Slytherin is extremely important to those of us that are in this house, and most likely the two in Ravenclaw as well. As I've heard of it, they have been forced into serving that group by doing their homework and dirty work. You might also see appreciation from those in Hufflepuff, but they might be too scared to act upon that. So when you start trying to choose your mates, you should do so in the order of the houses I've mentioned. It might even be a good idea to avoid Gryffindor until absolutely necessary." I feel my skin start to prickle and look up to see most of the Gryffindor table is glaring at me.

I feel Merlin stiffen next to me and I place a hand on his shoulder to keep him calm. I lean up to his ear and whisper, "Remember, you are the current Prince Consort as well as the future King Consort. There is nothing they can do about that. We will act like the monarchs we will soon be. We show a united front in public and leave any arguments for when we are in our quarters. Okay?" He nods, so I give him a quick peck on the cheek before going back to eating. I feel him puff up next to me, but for right now I continue to give a blank stare towards the glares sent my way. They can do nothing against me and if they try, they will see what a Magik blessed Monarch can do.

Suddenly my view is blocked by four bodies, where all I can see are two Ravenclaw ties sandwiched by two Slytherin ties. One of the men asks, "Your Highness, may we sit with you this morning?"

I nod my head and motion for them to sit down. As they take their seats, I finish eating and place my napkin on the table. Taking a deep breath I begin to think about the fact that I could be meeting some of mates in the next few minutes. In fact, I find myself hoping that they are among this group. Without looking at their faces, I begin to explain this, "Please understand, that I find my mates at first glance. There is nothing you can do to better or worsen your chances. Please refrain from getting upset if you are not chosen. I will invite you back to my quarters if you are, and if you aren't we shall surely meet again and discuss other things. I would wish to have Drakken friends outside of my mateship and as you are the only ones to approach me, that offer will be extended to those not chosen. This all means that as of now, all four of you are under the protection of the crown. So please do not disappoint me."

I take another deep breath before looking up at the first Slytherin in the group. Our eyes lock and I feel a quick jolt that signifies I have found another mate. It's then that I look away from his honey brown eyes and take in the rest of him. He has long brown hair that comes to his shoulders and a slight scruff on his chin. I nod to him and he breaks out a goofy smile before elaborately gesturing and sarcastically quipping, "I am Sir Gwaine, beautiful. Best friend to the boy sitting next to you. He is still being taught to refrain from manhandling women. I shall challenge him to another duel to save your virtue and honor."

I glance up at Merlin to see that his resting bitch face has returned, while he gives Gwaine a raised eyebrow. I can't stop myself from laughing when I look back to see Gwaine giving him an exaggerated pout. Merlin huffs and shakes his head while smiling as I say, "Well then, Sir Gwaine, please come back to my quarters and you can issue your challenge there." His face breaks out into a grin as he nods.

I turn to the first Ravenclaw of the group. He has dark brown, slightly curly hair and some scruff as well. He is very handsome and his dark brown eyes seem to hold knowledge beyond their years. Sadly, there is no spark when I look at him. Which makes me almost sigh in disappoint. He smiles and says, "My name is Lancelot, your highness."

I nod and say, "Well, Lancelot, it's a pleasure to meet you. I hope we can spend some time together, preferably in the library. After all, that's my favorite space to go to. Although I believe there is a personal library in my quarters, so maybe we can study their if my mates agree to it." I give Merlin and Gwaine a quick glare, to which Gwaine responds with raised hands.

Lancelot gives a slight laugh before saying, "Well I'd hope so, after all they are my friends. That is, they try to help me avoid the Knights whenever possible."

I feel my face take on a grim expression before looking over his shoulder to see the curious glances from the Gryffindor table. "Yes" I say as I clasp my hands, "So, I've heard. That will have to be changed." I turn back to face Lancelot and the other Ravenclaw. Who has dark skin and black hair. I know that he is not one of my mates either. "Yourself and your friend,"

"Elyan, your Highness" he supplies.

"Thank you. Even though you are not my mates, I will consider you my friends. You are now under my protection. If ever you have a problem or you need sanctuary, you are to come to me. I will gladly show whoever it is that has wronged you why it is that you do not mess with the Royal Submissive."

They nod and mutter, "Thank you, your Highness"

I then turn to the last one and feel a slight twinge of pain that makes me wince. Glamour I hear whispered in my mind. I nod before looking up to see a slightly disappointed but not surprised crooked toothed boy with black, oily hair and almost black eyes. I quickly reach across the table and grab his hand, "Please, remove your glamour. It hurts to see you hide yourself like this." He gives a quick sigh before removing whatever glamour was on him. His once oily hair had become shaved on the sides with a slightly longer peak on the top of his head. His crooked teeth are gone and his eyes have turned a brilliant hazel. I smile as another jolt runs through me and say, "Now there's my mate. I'm assuming you're Marcus." He nods but seems to be in a state of shock. I smile again before standing. The others quickly follow suit as I say, "If you would please follow me. I would like to show you something."

Merlin moves next to me and offers his arm, which I gladly take as I'm not sure whether I'd be able to walk straight right now with how my legs are feeling. We make our way quickly up to where my quarters are before I turn towards the four following us. "Now Lancelot and Elyan, while you can't come in right now, I wanted to make sure that you knew where to come in case you need help. There is no password, but so long as you come to this portrait, I will know that you need me." They nod their understanding, "Now, I must bid you goodbye and say that I hope you will be willing to sit with us at dinner tonight." With that they smile before saying goodbye and heading towards wherever it is that they plan on going. Its then that I turn to my mates and motion towards the now open portrait, "Shall we?"

I step through the portrait as they follow me before it closes behind us. Everyone sits down around the fire place. I move to sit, but Merlin grabs my waist and pulls me down into his lap. I huff and squirm a little when his hands settle around my waist, but decide it's not worth it to fight him every time he does this. Instead I turn towards the two other men sitting across from us and ask, "So, do either of you have any questions?"

They both take on a faraway look as they try to think of questions. Merlin is the first one to speak up which makes me jump, "Actually, I want to know exactly what is different about you than a normal submissive. Since we were all prepared for a normal submissive and now have a Royal one as a Mate."

The other mates nod so I start, "Okay, but you are in charge of passing on this information to the other mates that end up joining us. I don't really feel like repeating it, and in all honesty, it's your job to educate them anyways." The nod so I continue, "Now, where to begin. Well I guess we start from the beginning. As you heard in the great hall, my mates are found by first glance. It feels like a jolt of electricity to my spine when I make eye contact with them. Each mate is chosen by Magik herself to ensure that the right people are there for me when I need them. They cannot be changed and it makes you completely loyal to me and me alone. However, I do not experience the same instincts as a normal submissive. I will not obey your dominant commands, nor will I instantly fall in love with my mates. That will be left up to you to make me fall in love with you. Ummmmm…. What else? Oh, my wings do not change colors, they will always be pure white with a golden fringe. Also, I don't have to go on a heat to become pregnant. The only stipulations are that I must find all of my mates and be in love with all of you before I can start having children."

They all seem to be absorbing this information. Marcus looks up opening and closing his mouth for a little bit before furrowing his brows and asking, "What about us? How do our instincts play into this?"

"Ummmm…." I begin, "Well, I don't know much, but I believe you keep all of the normal instincts that you would have. I've been told it depends on the mateship and how we adapt to each other. Kind of like a regular relationship. From this morning I would guess you'll keep the over protectiveness. I mean, Merlin here," I motion to him sitting behind me, making sure to "accidentally" hit the side of his head in the process, "Has be glued to my side whenever we are outside of the quarters. He also wouldn't eat unless I started eating first, and he took over placing food on my plate from his. Also, he seems to be feeling the need to be all, how should I put this, touchy feely. Which I think is just the bond settling for him. See, while my bond snaps into place instantly, yours takes a while to settle down. Probably a day or two. Oh, but that reminds me. My mother did tell me, that I will always feel draw to curl up in bed with my mates at the end of the day. It's why there is only one bed for all seven of us in this mateship. Apparently, it's also slightly painful for me to not curl up with my mates when sleeping after I've discovered them. She said something about it making up for the fact that I don't have the normal instincts."

"Okay, so let me see if I have this straight." Gwaine says, "Basically, we're going to be in the mood to cuddle and hold you for the rest of the weekend, but you won't be. In fact, the only time you'll really feel the pull to be 'touchy feely', as you described it, is when you're wanting to go to bed."

"Yes" I tilt my head and tap my chin, "That pretty much sums it up. Although, I know that you are going through this adjustment period, so I'm going to let all of the touching slide. I understand the issues that come from it and I understand it is the bond settling. It is also the bond making sure that we get to know each other by forcing you to get my attention."

I push myself out of Merlin's lap and go to stand and pace over to the mirror to flatten down my skirt and shirt. I watch Merlin eye up Marcus as the two begin to start a staring contest. I turn back around and put my hands on my hips, "Now, I have to go see Professor Sprout about some things. Even though I would love to stay here and explore our new quarters, I have the strange feeling that I need to go see her as soon as possible." Before anyone can interrupt, I move and pull Gwaine up from the ground. "Don't worry, I'll take Gwaine with me as an escort to her office. We'll be back in a bit." I pull Gwaine to the exit and shout back, "Please try to clean up anything you break while we're gone."

Gwaine's mouth opens and closes a couple of times while I proceed to push him out of the portrait hole. As the door slams shut behind us I turn to see Lady Liliwen smirking at me. Before I can even start she laughs and says, "Don't worry dear, we'll let you know when they've settled down. The first fight among dominants is always the roughest. I'm glad you realized what was going on and got yourself out of there so they could get it over with. Now go talk to that Professor."

I feel an arm get thrown around my shoulder and fall into Gwaine as he pulls me closer to his side. I look up to see him keeping a perfectly still face as he starts to guide me towards what seems to be the first floor. He glances down at me quickly and we lock eyes for a second before he goes back to staring forward. My heels continue to click against the stone floor as I glance down before asking, "Gwaine, do you know what upset Merlin? Why was he going to fight Marcus? I mean, I knew they were going to fight because I'd seen that look on my Dads' faces numerous times right before my mom would whisk me out of the room with one of her other dominants. I was just wondering if you might have some insight as to why he would start a fight after just meeting Marcus."

Gwaine sighs and grips my shoulder a little tighter before leaning up against a wall and pulling me up against him. He wraps his arms around my waist and holds pulls me into a hug. When he tilts his head down to look into my eyes I become mesmerized by the way his hair falls to frame his face. I'm beyond excited that he's taller than me, but my stomach clenches with dread as I see the normal playful expression leave his honey brown eyes. Silently I wave my hand and cast a muffliato charm. "Well, Princess, this has something to do with those dominant instincts we talked about earlier. You see it has to do with the fact that Marcus was wearing a Glamour when you first met him. We all saw you wince when you looked at him, and Merlin and I could feel the fact that it hurt you. That was enough to royally piss the both of us off, no pun intended. Now, as you can see, I am not currently trying to fight Marcus. This is due to two things: one, as best I can guess, Merlin is our top dominant," He gives me a questioning look and I nod so he continues, "this means that discipline of the dominants falls to him. Now normally myself or one of the other Doms would help in this discipline. However, and this brings us to point two, our mateship is small. That makes me the 2nd in command, which makes my top priority protecting you. When our mateship gets bigger, I may no longer be the one in charge of protecting you. It'll depend on who remains the 2nd in our ranking order."

Gwaine pushes us off the wall and reasserts his arm around my shoulders as we begin walking again. "Now," he continues, "this punishment will also double as Merlin interrogating Marcus. See, in his eyes I have already proven myself because I was his best friend before this and I have stood up to the knights with him. This means that he sees me as a non-threat towards you and our mateship. That's why I'm currently being allowed alone with you outside of our quarters. Marcus, of course, won't get as hard of an interrogation as say, a Puff or Gryff would, but he still must go through one before Merlin is comfortable with him being near you. So, we should most likely see a drastic change in character by the time we get back."

I nod and mumble, "Well, that makes sense. One question for you," he quirks an eyebrow and tilts his ear down to me so I can't help but giggle as I ask, "Why don't you call Merlin Emrys? He said his friends call him that."

Gwaine starts laughing before turning to me and winking, "The same reason you refrain from calling him that, Princess. We don't need his ego to become any more inflated than it already is."

I can't contain my giggles as I smile up at Gwaine and say, "Well, that'll be hard to do considering he is now the Prince Consort of an entire race."

Gwaine sighs and mumbles, "Well, a few good hits to the head will help combat that." I start laughing again as he salutes and says, "Better find some firewhiskey, I'm going to need it to help sooth my bruises."

We finally make it to the greenhouses, where my laughter is cut short as someone charges into me with their shoulder angled down to ensure more contact. I wince and Gwaine quickly pulls me behind him as he hisses at the boy. The boy bares his fangs at us before saying, "Oh can it Snake, before I have my grandfather execute you. Would be nice to see your head roll across the ground."

Gwaine starts to growl as he pulls me closer into his side. I look up to see an overly muscular blond haired boy with a baby face. He stands at around 6 and a half feet. His fangs are sticking out as he gives me a sickly-sweet smile. I hold my head up a little higher as I ask, "And who might you be that you think you can be throwing around that kind of threat?"

He begins to smile wider and haughtily says, "I'm Elder Selsing's only grandson. I also happen to be his only Dominant Drakken relative, so I will be inheriting his position on the Elder Council, so you better start showing some respect. Get down on your knees and do your job Sub, if you want to keep your mates from being killed." He begins to leer at me as he makes a come-hither motion.

I feel my talons lengthen and become surrounded in a blue glowing cloud of magic. I also begin to feel the connection I have with the dementors strengthen as they slowly float towards my angry form. My fangs also make an appearance as I say, "Be careful who YOU threaten boy. I am the soon to be ruling monarch of our people. You would do best to remember that I can and will strip your family line of its Drakken heritage. Do NOT test me. Especially with your lude commands and threats towards my mateship. This is your only warning. Come near those under my protection again and I will not show you mercy."

By the time I finish my speech I am surrounded by my dementor guard and can see the boy has begun shaking. His fangs have disappeared and he high tails it back to the castle. I turn and smile before as I see who's come to be my backup. "Chatterbox! Did you come all this way just for me?"

I smile wider as Chatterbox comes over to rub my head and gasps out in dementor speak, "Why of course imp. We couldn't let our drakken chit get hurt, now could we? Though, you seem to have changed quite a deal since last night. Something you would like to explain?"

I feel myself blush as the other dementors begin to chuckle around us, "Maybe later" I mumble as I glance up through the hair that has fallen over my face, "For right now, it might be better for you to head back to the perimeter before you scare any more students. I promise I'll come visit you soon, okay?" Chatterbox nods before turning and floating away with the others. I turn to see Gwaine's fangs have disappeared and he's giving me a raised eyebrow again with a shaky smirk. I give him a light shove and wrap his arm back around my shoulder before smiling and saying, "Come on, the sooner we talk to Professor Sprout, the sooner I can get you back to our quarters where I'll hand feed you some chocolate." He smiles at that and grips my shoulder just a little tighter as we walk through the greenhouse door.