Chapter 4: In the Palace Halls

Melody made no secret of the fact that she had basically just thrown her stuff into the room her family had for the duration of their stay and then ran off with E'tann. She could unpack later; she hadn't seen her boyfriend in person in ages.

Not that E'tann was subtle either. They were no longer in public; she and her family were staying in the palace as his family's personal guests. So he was waiting for her as she tossed her things into the suite and immediately ran to where she could hear his mind. And since she had a bead on his thoughts, she knew they were both on the same page as she threw her arms around him and gave him a proper hello kiss.

E'tann grinned into the kiss and pulled her tightly to him, pushing for the kiss to last longer than Melody had originally intended it to last, though she wasn't going to stop him, either. The older they got, the more they wanted, well, more.

By the time they broke apart, they were both breathing hard, and the Star of Hala on his head was slightly askew. Her hair was crumpled where he'd had his hands in her hair, too. Anyone who passed them by in the hallway would know exactly what they were up to.

So, E'tann tugged on her hand. "Why don't we find some privacy?" he offered, and Melody let out a girlish giggle that was probably a little bit too loud. She couldn't help it. This was exactly the kind of hello she'd been hoping for.

They looked the very picture of teenagers looking to get into trouble as they ran down the hallway together, hand-in-hand, toward E'tann's quarters. Sinta had probably realized that the two of them were going to get into trouble, so of course the Lee-Varr clan were being housed on the other end of the palace from the royal family, but that wasn't going to slow down E'tann and Melody for long.

E'tann felt so slow to Melody, but on the other hand, she didn't want to pick him up and carry him, either. There was something lovely about running at his speed, getting caught up in his excitement. If she super-sped them to his room, that didn't feel the same. It didn't have the same joy.

But that meant that they didn't entirely bypass the other residents of the palace. And of course it was Sinta that caught them giggling and running down the hall together.

Immediately, E'tann all but skidded to a stop and stood up taller in his father's presence, obviously trying to look less like he'd been about to get into trouble. "Hello, Father," he said, and Melody could hear his thoughts going at a hundred miles an hour as he convinced himself that he was going to be punished, somehow.

Sinta raised a single eyebrow but didn't give E'tann an initial indication of his thoughts. Instead, he let his gaze travel to Melody, who was struggling to maintain a poker face when she was still half caught up in E'tann's thoughts. Even though they'd run into his father, he was definitely still focused on where they'd been headed, and Melody had a harder time breaking out of thoughts that she was also having.

And then, she caught a glimpse of what Sinta thought of the whole thing and couldn't even pretend not to be smiling. Sinta wasn't truly mad; if anything, he was entertained. He had come to respect the Terran way of showing emotion, and he was thrilled to see such a genuine smile on his son's face. Besides that, he was glad to see E'tann seizing what — and who — he wanted when he had been such a shy boy growing up.

But what Sinta said out loud was, "Be mindful of your behavior, E'tann. The crown you wear is a public burden."

E'tann straightened up even more and nodded curtly. "Yes, Father."

Sinta nodded, the barest hint of a smirk at the corner of his mouth, before he turned to Melody. "And you would do well to remember where you are," he said, though his tone was softer for her than it had been for E'tann. Melody didn't know if that was because he thought she was too Terran to rein herself in or because she wasn't his to parent, but it didn't matter. Even if he hadn't been as sharp with her, she had just received a royal reprimand, and as the ambassador's daughter, the best thing for her to do would be to bow and accept it.

So, that was what she did, though she wasn't quite diplomatic with her answer. "I am always aware of where I am, but I will be on my best behavior in public," she said and loved the fact that she could hear E'tann's laughter in his mind even if he didn't put voice to it.

Even Sinta smirked. "You would be surprised how easily word spreads even here in the palace," he said. "The staff here is loyal but occasionally loose-lipped."

Melody turned toward E'tann, her eyebrows as high on her forehead as she could get them. "Someone might realize we're dating," she said dramatically. "The horrors."

E'tann finally laughed outright. "You're such a Terran sometimes."

"I know," she said, ignoring the lingering voice in the back of her mind that told her the description was an insult. He had meant it with affection, and that was what mattered. So, she turned back to Sinta with a wide grin. "I promise, we'll be discreet."

Sinta shook his head, his smile more properly stowed in the face of her ridiculousness. "See that you are. The palace is no place for misbehavior."

"Yes, sir," E'tann said, still standing straight up until Sinta turned on his heel and went down another hallway, leaving them standing in silence except for the sound of his footsteps.

Finally, Melody cleared her throat. "So… I think your dad likes me. He didn't kick me out or anything."

At that, E'tann broke into a disbelieving laugh and turned toward her, unable to resist stealing a kiss when he saw her practically bouncing on her toes with a troublemaking smile. "You have an optimistic way of looking at the world."

"I also cheated and made sure he wasn't actually mad at us," she pointed out.

E'tann's eyebrows shot up, and his smile widened. "In that case, where were we?" he said, stepping into her to pull her into a kiss right there in the hallway.

As for Sinta, the emperor made his way to the other end of the palace to where the Lee-Varr clan was unpacking. He nearly smirked when he saw Melody's bag tossed into her room in the ambassador's suite, though he schooled his expression. His son had fallen in love with a woman who embodied everything the Kree disliked about Terrans in the past: their dramatic emotions, their disregard for the rules, and their tendency to rush into decisions. And yet Sinta had come to appreciate those very traits since declaring an alliance with the X-Men. He had seen the Terrans' deep bonds and respected them for it.

So, no, he wasn't terribly worried about E'tann and Melody, even if he knew exactly what they were up to at the moment. He trusted his son not to bring shame down on their family… and he knew he could arrange a quick wedding ceremony and blame Melody's other-dimensional, accelerated aging should a pregnancy occur. After all, two young people in love didn't always make the best decisions.

Not that E'tann knew about that particular contingency plan.

Still, Sinta hadn't come to Noh's family to talk to them about their daughter — though he imagined such a conversation was on the horizon. He hadn't even come to talk to them about the idea E'tann had discussed — but had not yet acted on — concerning the possibility of spending more time on Earth. Instead, he had a favor to ask his ambassador.

The truth was that Noh's timing couldn't have been better. Lately, there had been whispers among some of the Kree that had enjoyed power during Ronan's reign, during the Supremor's reign, and even during the Shi'ar's reign. Not all the Kree were happy with their newfound freedom, and Sinta knew there was often talk of changing the leadership to something that would better match their traditions.

So, when Noh came to greet him, Sinta hardly waited to exchange pleasantries before he said, "Your timing couldn't have been better. I could use a trusted ally in these halls."

Both of Noh's eyebrows shot up. "What has happened?" he asked, instantly alert and ready to fight if need be. Sinta knew he was lucky to have him as an ally and especially as a friend.

"Nothing yet," Sinta clarified. "But some Kree have come to believe our empire is too complacent, that we should return to conquest and authoritarian reign." He gestured with one hand to Noh. "You of all people know how hard it is for our people to change. Grumblings are to be expected, but my spies tell me this is more than mere talk."

"What can we do?" Jubilee asked, coming to join the conversation to stand beside Noh, taking his hand. "We actually like coming to Hala since you're in charge; we're not going to let anyone mess that up."

"A ringing endorsement," Sinta said with a smile.

"You bet it is," Jubilee said, blowing a big, pink bubble, "considering how many times the X-Men have had to come over here to bail out your sorry butts from one bad ruler or another."

Sinta smirked. "Then let me ask you to prevent my overthrow, or you will likely have to return to bail us out again, as you say."

Noh frowned. "The situation is that dire?"

"It could be," Sinta said, his arms crossed over his chest. "As I said, so far, I only have rumors, nothing else. What worries me more than the threats on my rule and life is the fact that there is no one person with a following big enough to successfully supplant me. If these terrorists succeed in dethroning me, I'm afraid Hala will descend into civil war again."

"And no one wants that," Jubilee agreed, one hip popped out as she considered Sinta. "So, what can we do?"

"For the moment, I'd simply ask you to keep your eyes and ears open." Sinta paused. "And… my son tells me that the women in your family have no qualms about listening to the minds of those around them."

Jubilee frowned and turned with her whole body toward Celeste, who didn't do a good job of pretending she was unpacking instead of eavesdropping. She tsked, shook her head, and turned back to Sinta. "We try to respect other people's privacy. Or, at least, that's how I'm trying to raise my girls. And to be honest, I don't like to use it. I spent way too long around telepaths who didn't understand boundaries."

"But you can use that power," Sinta said.

Jubilee nodded and held his gaze. "I don't like to, but yes, I can."

"Then I would consider it a personal favor if you and your daughters were to listen to the minds around you and let me know whether the rumors are worse than reality," Sinta said. "My spies are talented, but not even they can read minds, and I am loath to leave my empire to chance when I have much more competent allies here in my very home."

"That's a very Kree way of giving a compliment, but I'll take it," Jubilee said, smiling crookedly.

"I meant it as a credit to you and your team," Sinta said.

"I know," Jubilee assured him. "And I do appreciate it, actually." She bumped Noh's shoulder with hers. "Nice to be appreciated for how awesome we are."

"Jubilee," Noh said, slipping his arm around her shoulders to grin down at her, "no one who sees you in action would ever consider you anything short of a mighty warrior."

"And don't you forget it," Jubilee said with a sharp nod.

Sinta smirked between the two of them. He had seen their dynamic before and sometimes found himself envious of how openly they shared their affection. The Kree might have said that they were above petty emotions, but the truth was that they did love as deeply and as freely as Terrans did; they simply chose not to show it as often. And that, Sinta thought, was a tragedy - though he did not know how to remedy the situation when he wasn't comfortable himself breaking that tradition.

But he had done what he came to their room to do and had asked their aid, and so, he simply turned to leave. "Please tell me if you discover anything actionable," he said.

"We will," Noh promised, though as soon as the door closed behind Sinta, he turned toward Jubilee with one raised eyebrow. "It seems Logan's work with the girls didn't stick."

Jubilee turned toward Celeste with one hand on her hip, and Celeste drew a halo over her head. "I'm not the one telling the future emperor I'm a lie detector," Celeste said.

"Maybe not, but you and Melody have gotten lax about sticking to the rules lately," Jubilee said. "Just because everyone has been distracted putting out fires doesn't mean you get to slack off." She tipped her head to the side. "Maybe you two need to spend more time running with Wolvie."

"Mom!" Celeste looked properly mortified, knowing what a big threat that was. "Really, we've been pulling back. Melody just likes to show off for her boyfriend, that's all."

"And yet," Noh said, his arm around Jubilee in a united front, "you and Melody will be training with us and with Logan all the same. Not as punishment, necessarily," he added quickly, because he could see Celeste drawing herself up to argue, "but because you have admitted yourself that you can feel the same pull I do toward the Kree Empire, and we promised to fortify your mental defenses together. While we are doing that, you can practice not peeping in on those around you."

"In our defense, we were just asked to get into everyone else's business, so we can't exactly start practicing right now," Celeste pointed out.

"You're lucky that was the request," Jubilee pointed out. "Incredibly lucky."

"I know." Celeste took a deep breath and let it out. "If it helps, Mel and I have been using our powers way less as we get older. We don't like being in each other's heads as much as we like telepathically flirting with our guys, and since they aren't around much, we don't want to hear each other's daydreams, either."

The corner of Jubilee's mouth twitched. "Considering what your sister is getting up to right now, I don't blame you - but it's a little disappointing to hear that the only thing that worked to get you two out of your heads was sex."

At that, Noh took a step back from Jubilee. "Is that what — do I need to—"

"Oh, no you don't," Jubilee said, pointing an accusatory finger his way. "Nuh-uh. You don't get to act like you're suddenly concerned about defending our daughter's virtue or whatever when you've been practically preening this whole time thinking about having a prince for a son-in-law and being related to the emperor!"

"That's an entirely different matter," Noh spluttered.

"Uh-huh."

Noh shook his head, even as Jubilee crossed her arms and cocked her hip. "What would you have me do? Would you have me threaten the young prince?" he asked, only half teasing. Since his children had admitted to him that they felt Kree programming in their minds despite being raised on Earth, he was much more aware lately of the fact that he tended to view Kree suitors for his children more favorably than others. If Jubilee thought he was blinded to the true nature of Melody's boyfriend, he would question his own judgement before he questioned hers; her eyes were clearer than his were, after all.

"In this climate? Sadly, that's probably not the best idea," Jubilee said, her lip pushed out in a perfect pout. "But you're on the right track, sweetheart."

"And I do like it when we are in agreement," Noh said, leaning over to steal a kiss.

"You're just trying to kiss up to me for being racist," Jubilee sniffed.

"If I were, would it work?" Noh teased, starting to kiss her from her shoulders to her jaw — and ignoring the fact that their children were making faces and retreating into their respective rooms.

"I'm starting to see where your daughter gets it from," she teased, purely to rile him.

"Oh, my daughter?" Noh laughed. "You seem to be under the impression that you are anything but a firebrand in war and in love."

"Yeesh. Get a room," Ael called out before he slammed his door shut.

"Our son makes a very good point," Noh said, nodding sagely. "And we are on vacation…" With that, and with a huge grin on, he simply picked Jubilee off and carried her into their shared room, temporarily moving their "argument" to a more appropriate venue. They could continue their actual argument later.