Judy brought the teacup to her lips and took a sip, enjoying the rather fragrant scent of her tea before placing it down. As Queen, she didn't have much time, if any, to simply relax and enjoy herself. So she took these moments, when she could simply just enjoy a cup of tea and not have to worry about managing her husband's concubines or the fact that her country was on the brink of a war. And then she had the difficult neverending job of making sure that her children made sure to reach their potential.

Before Judy can place her teacup down, a loud boom shakes the trees sending hundreds of birds flying into the air, and Judy turns to where the noise came from. She only had two children that had a tendency to cause massive amounts of damage with very little effort. Her eyes focus on the training ground and even from where she was seated on her balcony, she can see that the drakes were awake and alert, which really could only mean one thing. "Penny?"

"Yes, your majesty?"

"I'm going to the training grounds," Judy announced standing up. "Send word to the kitchen to prepare something light and have it ready by the time I get dressed and make my way to the training grounds." It was far to early for anyone to be making such noise, and while she didn't like lecturing her youngest daughter, someone needed to make sure that Charlie grew into her full potential.

"Yes your majesty, should I get some guards to escort you?"

Judy glanced over at Penny, there was a hint of caution in her voice, not that she could blame her. It was common knowledge that there were very few people who were allowed anywhere near the training grounds, her children's pets were known for their mischievousness as well as killer instinct. It didn't take much to anger them and there had been quite a few accidents growing up. "I'll be fine, Penny, Charlie is there and the drakes know better than to come at me," Judy explains easily.

"If you're sure your majesty," Penny said, making sure to alert the palace guards just in case. The big one had been escaping and trying to get into the kitchens when it was bored.

~ O ~

Charlie took a towel to her brow, she'd been out here for hours. She had felt restless after the cat had left, and she had needed to burn off some of this excess energy, but training hadn't done anything. She still felt restless, and she was going to find that damn cat and give her a piece of her mind, after a very cold shower. She still had no idea why the woman was coming after her, she wasn't going to betray her family because of a beautiful woman. Although—if she did that then her father couldn't give her the throne.

She immediately shoves the thought from her mind and tosses her towel onto the bench and picks up her training claymore, "Let's go again Hiccup," Charlie barks out, eyeing the automatons that Brittany had asked her to test to see if it would help the guards with their training. Most of them were scrap metal now, which would only serve to prove her point that these weren't good enough to train the guards. Hiccup raised his head and blew some smoke at her causing her to scowl. "Seriously? I'm clearly going through something and you're just—" Hiccup got up and walked away sitting in front of the entrance to the training grounds his tail thumping causing Charlie to turn just to see her mother enter the training grounds and for her less than trusty steed to lean forward and try and get her mother to scratch underneath his chin. "Traitor!"

Judy smiles and reaches up to rub under Hiccup's snout, "I've heard a nasty rumor that you've been harassing the kitchen staff Hiccup." Her words cause the drake to freeze and immediately try to back away only to stop and drop under Judy's strict look.

"How come he listens to you?" Charlie demands. "He's my drake!"

"Animal training has never been one of your strengths dear," Judy responds simply holding up a basket filled with scones and other treats. "You spoiled him, when you were training him you were very generous with the fish and he learned that if you wanted him to do something, then he should get fish from you."

Charlie scowled at her drake and looked up just as the other drakes started to leave their pens, with Lord Tubbington being the first one out of his crate, which was surprising given his immense girth. She really had no idea how her mom controlled them like she did, even Smaug, Frannie's dragon listened to her. "Still, I took care of him and he gets far more freedom than the others, he should be happy."

"No one said that he isn't. Hiccup has always been mischievous and he enjoys playing tricks on you. That's how much he trusts you. Now do you want to tell me why you've been training since last night? This wouldn't have anything to do with your embarrassing fall in the bath's would it?" When Charlie's cheek's immediately turned a bright red Judy sighs, it was the only admission that she needed. "What am I going to do with you?"

"It wasn't my fault!" Charlie insists immediately her mind flashing back to that damn cat, that had left her in a tizzy. "I'm pretty sure it was an assassination attempt."

"The maid found you naked, and bleeding from a wound to the head, there wasn't anyone else in the room with you. Also out of all my children, I'd be most disappointed if you were the one that got assassinated," Judy says in a rather dry tone. "Have you eaten?"

"No and I—" Charlie huffed, suggesting that the Beastkin delegation had sent an assassin would plunge the entire kingdom into war. Which didn't make any sense, now that she was finally calming down it was far easier to think. Keeping her alive didn't make sense, if she simply reported it then it would become Casus Belli which the beastkin would lose.

Judy opens the basket and pulls out some dried salted meat and immediately looks over at Lord Tubbington who immediately slinks away. "Eat." It's an order, but her doesn't protest and simply takes the meat and begins to push it into her mouth. Judy sighed and shook her head, "Quinn informs me that you handled yourself quite admirably until Kara appeared, and I heard about what happened in the markets yesterday afternoon."

"She was riding Hiccup, badly. I never gave her permission, I don't give anyone permission, he doesn't like most people. She did it to goad me into hitting her. I didn't, you should be proud."

"I'm aware that Kara and you are not on friendly terms but you still must remember your position. As for Kara, I've informed her mother. The Dwarven kingdom will be taking care of half the damages, meaning—"

"There's still money left?" Charlie asked surprised, which meant she had drinking money!

"There is. However, the money that is left will be added to your budget. I can't trust you with that much gold Charlie, you'll let the orphans take it from you and that doesn't teach them anything."

"It teaches them a skill—"

"In the Holy Empire, pickpockets and thieves have their hands cut off. In the Agron kingdom getting caught stealing from a noble, let alone the Imperial family is an immediate sentence off to the mines for hard labor for a minimum of two years. Is that the sort of skill you should be fostering? Also, while I understand you have an aversion to paperwork dear, I believe that if you started paying a bit more attention you would have realized that Brittany and I imagine Quinn have been underpaying you."

"I know that they don't pay me as much as the mercenary's guild—"

"The reason that I was very clear with your father, that you were not to be allowed to join the mercenary guild was because I was worried that you'd realize how much gold you could make. Brittany was giving you a pittance, she knew better than to try and pull the same stunt with me," Judy sighed as she watched her daughter blink.

"A fraction? How much gold are we talking about?"

Judy sighed, it was concerning that her daughter had no real concept of how much items cost and how rare and exoctic the items she had brought back were. "You've quadrupled your budget, Brittany has been using you to keep her budget low. I'm not unreasonable and as long as you promise to take your duties seriously and swear that you will not be corrupting the youth of this kingdom, I will give you a generous allowance."

"When you say generous—"

"A month."

Charlie's eyes widened. "Really?"

"If it can last the month, we'll have a discussion about allowing you to manage your budget. It will be under supervision until you can show me that you are capable."

Charlie immediately flinched at the very thought of more responsibility and the paperwork that would accompany a responsibility. "I'll think about it," it's the only promise that she could make. "Not about the orphans, I'll do better by them."

Judy nodded, it was all she could ask for. "Now do you want to tell me about last night? Did you attempt to sneak a lady of the night in?"

"A lady of the—mother."

"There is to be a ball this week, you know how your father likes his balls, we're inviting many of the nobles and a few dignitaries from some of the surrounding countries. I hope that we can use this event to find you a wife—" Judy raised a brow as Charlie immediately pulled a face at that idea. It mattered not, she would bring it up with the beastkin delegation during dinner. She wasn't about to give her daughter a choice in the matter, it was time for her to start taking her responsibility far more seriously.