"Drago mentioned that you came back early, I guess it wasn't so simple to seduce, bed and mate with your supposed mate. Desperate isn't a good look for you."
The smug tone in Sansa's voice, caused her to clench her fist. It would be so easy to swipe Sansa's face with her claws. But that would ultimately lead her to tensions running high and they all needed to be on the same page. Though the thought of Sansa anywhere near her mate, not only made her feel ill, but it also worried her. Charlie wasn't a beastkin, the pull that she felt clearly, the urge to bed her mate, and take her mark, burned at her. They could figure out everything after the fact. If Sansa got her way there would be a line of unmatted women to see if Charlie's power triggered the mating bond.
She was already annoyed that her mate hadn't followed her and had instead gone to the danger pit to swing her silly swords around. "You're overstepping Sansa, she's my mate, it doesn't matter if you like it or not. I've already staked my claim, the fact that she's not Beastkin presents a problem, but I'm certain she has a core that's reacting with mine, she's not even aware that she's a hybrid."
This information causes Sansa to pause once again, "What do you mean she's not aware that she's a hybrid."
Santana shrugged her shoulders, it was clear that her mate was intelligent. She had managed to keep tempers from flaring on the first day and had listened to them, the Agron kingdom knew they were in a position of power, and the last time that humans and beastkin fought, the humans had been victorious. They not only had the power of numbers, but their technology left them far behind. The people here were living easy lives, they seemed happy. Terrorized by a drake that ate too much fish but happy all things considered. Going to the dwarven kingdom and attempting to exploit the fractured relationship between Charlie and Kara was a non-starter. There were probably quite a few treaties between the kingdoms. Becoming citizens might actually help keep them safe, the Holy Empire might not like it, but they wouldn't pick a fight with the Agron kingdom.
But merging their two territories would be difficult, and while she knew that her mate didn't seem to have a problem with her as a beastkin, and wanted peace that didn't mean that a unification would be the right thing to do. She wasn't going to allow her people to become second class citizens and Frannie's attitude had shown her that they needed to be careful. "I'm going to do some scouting."
"Stalking your supposed mate isn't scouting," Sansa corrects.
"I'm not going to see my mate, I think she's merely being cautious because of my position, I am going to check out the other members of the family. There are four of them and we've only met three. I want to find out more about the one that isn't attending meetings. They have flying ships, and while I don't trust it, I am curious. Aren't you? We need to know their military capabilities."
Sansa narrowed her eyes, before sighing. It was a necessary thing, she just wasn't sure she trusted Santana to carry it out without distractions, she should have insisted on someone from the rat clan who could at least keep focused. "Be careful, if you think they haven't noticed that you haven't been showing up for afternoon talks, you're mistaken. I think they're giving us latitude right now, but that could change if the talks aren't going well. Stalking their youngest daughter isn't going to go well, the palace went on high alert yesterday after the incident in the baths. What happened in the baths?"
"I was in my cat form, then I surprised her with my panther form, and she slipped and cracked her head open," Santana admits, conveniently leaving out the fact that her mate had only reacted like that once she was naked.
"She didn't realize you were a beastkin?" Matt asked, completely baffled.
"It's likely that she wasn't aware that I can change my size. She thought I was a cat, after all I doubt she expected me to be so far from the castle yesterday, and she was saving me from being eaten, or at least she thought she was saving me from being eaten. I think her drake likes me, it did save me from the other drakes," Santana adds.
"So she's not exactly the sharpest tool?" Sansa hums, perhaps she should try and attend the tea party that Judy was having, they could talk about potential matches between their two people. She seemed amenable to the idea, and it would bypass whatever Santana was attempting to do. They were human and royalty, they got married out of obligation.
Santana narrows her eyes and bares her teeth, she had wondered about her mate's general's intelligence, but Sansa was insulting her and she wouldn't stand for it. "She's not dumb. The reason I haven't staked my claim, is because she's not sure what the angle is. They're expecting a panther, for her to not make the immediate connection, doesn't make her dumb. Not everyone is aware that some of us have extra gifts."
"I don't know why I'm surprised, it's not as if you don't have a history of trying to fuck and screw any woman that would show you a kindness," Sansa says, shaking her head. "We are on the precipice of war and you're too busy enamored with a princess, who can't return your feelings. She's not a beastkin Santana, even if we were to assume that she is your mate, the reverse isn't true. She can't form a mate bond, and they are royalty, the king has several concubines. What makes you think that you won't be treated the same way? They view us as lesser beings, closer to animals. Not to mention she's the youngest, you will never be their queen."
"The Agron Kingdom doesn't believe the firstborn is destined to rule," Matt reminded her. "Do we really want the eldest to run the kingdom?" Hoping that this would calm them both down, if they got into a fight he could only imagine the scandal, not to mention the optics of such an event. While the care that they had received had been nothing more than professional, years of having his people being hunted by slavers from the Holy Empire left him wary of human intention. They couldn't give the Agron Kingdom a reason to think that they were nothing more than animals.
"It doesn't matter," Drogo announces. "We need an idea of what to expect when we go to war. They're human, even if the kitten thinks that she's in love with a princess. It matters not who the next ruler of this land will be, as it will soon be Drogo's."
Santana rolled her eyes at Drogo's declaration, deciding that she had heard of enough of this bickering and hopping onto the window sill again, she didn't even know where to begin to look for this Brittany person. She really should have spent less time lusting over her mate and learning where things were. If she was even in the palace grounds to begin with. Where would one go to develop weapons? "I'll be back by lunch," she announces looking at Sansa. She would simply have to deal with him.
~ O ~
"So," Kara begins as she escorts her wife to Brittany's tower. "Do you think the dumbass finally became an adult last night?" Kara asks, but doesn't wait for an answer as she lets out a snort. "I mean it's Charlie, so the answer is probably no, and she probably ruined any chance of it ever happening."
Lena rolled her eyes, at Kara's glee at Charlie's misfortune. "Or it could have actually been an assassin and—actually you're probably right." Attempting to kill Charlie or any member of the royal family outside of Russell would end badly for most people. And while she would never say it, she really did hope that Kara and Charlie fixed their relationship sooner rather than later. The bickering between them was normal, as was the fighting, but that usually only happened after they had too much to drink. At this moment they fought whenever their eyes locked, and someone was going to get hurt and while she doubted that Alura or Russell would let it spill out of control there might be a war, and she wasn't sure who would win, though she did know that the dwarven kingdom would be forced to fight a war on two fronts. "Maybe you should offer some pointers."
Kara looks over at Lena, "Why would I do—" before she can continue a black cat, the same one that Charlie had absconded with yesterday runs past them, and immediately ducks behind her feet, nearly causing her to trip as the cat immediately climbs her and jumps into Lena's arms. Kara raises a brow, it was clearly a beastkin, and before she can figure out exactly what's going on, someone turns the corner and immediately puts Kara on edge.
"Ah your highness," the tall elf said, taking a rather deep bow.
Kara immediately places her body between her wife and the stranger and reaches for her warhammer. There was something about her that put her on edge, it was probably because she was an elf. The smug assholes who thought that they were better at forging weapons then the dwarves. They made wooden weapons. You could literally set fire to their armory and leave them weaponless. "Name," she demands. The elf looks up at her and smiles, there is something deeply unsettling about it but a quick glance at Lena who doesn't seem to notice.
"I'm not sure you have the authority to ask me that. Can you hand over the beastkin? She was attempting to break into the Tower, I'm only doing my duties."
"Kara," Lena murmured. It was one thing to fuck with Charlie, it was another thing entirely to fuck with Quinn. Charlie would punch you in the face, Quinn would smile and then have your whole family murdered, depending on her mood.
Kara made a face, if anything happened to a member of the delegation then a war would be imminent. "Very well, go and fetch Nyssa. Or better yet get Quinn down here."
The smile on the elf's face twitched, the only sign of annoyance before she turns to one of the passing maids, "We're having a bit of a disagreement about how to handle things, if you could—"
"If you wish to swing that hammer around Kara, take it to the training grounds," Brittany speaks up, her tone flat. There was an irritated look on her face as she carried what amounted to scrap metal back from the training grounds. "Perhaps aim it at Charlie's head, look at what she did to all my training automatons Lena. She made them scrap metal and I had to pay her market rate too. All because you guys needed to destroy half of the market beating each other up. Do you have any idea what 's going on—kitty!" Brittany said, dropping the scrap metal.
"Beastkin," Lena corrects as she kneels down and places the beastkin on the ground. "Britt, we've got a bit of a situation going on at the moment."
"I caught her attempting to break into the tower, I was only trying to do my duty," the elf explains when Brittany glances at her.
Brittany kept looking at the elf for a moment before turning back to Lena, looking past Kara all together. "We don't have anything to hide Villanelle, and if the beastkin want to learn about our military capability then I can arrange for a demonstration after the ball. If I blow up the tower, Frannie will make me pay for the damages instead of taking the money from the treasury. She doesn't understand that progress costs money."
"I'm sorry but unfortunately I can't do that without express orders from Talia or Nyssa. It is my duty to keep you safe."
Brittany sighed, she never did like how militant Quinn's sparrow's were. She doubted very much that Quinn would simply allow this to slide. "Quinn will figure out what to do with her, if you could please transform."
Santana grimaces and immediately shifts, she hadn't expected to be caught, but then again she hadn't truly expected any elves. And that particular elf smelt weird and all her instincts had told her to run so she had done just that.