Sebastian scowled as he made his way to his prison, as Charlie had suggested he had taken a long vacation, visiting this family's villa near the mountains. He had expected Charlie to send word that he was to return, but a week's vacation had turned into two and then nearly a month had gone by before he had decided to simply return on his own. He could only imagine the amount of paperwork that Charlie would foist on him, so all she had to do was scrawl her signature on it. Even that amount of effort meant that he had to chase her around the palace.

The very last thing he expected as he opened the door to Charlie's study was to find the place spotless and his boss and future ruler sitting at her desk looking at some documents, her fingertips were stained black from the ink and she didn't seem to notice him immediately. "Have you been possessed?" Sebastian blurts out, awe in his voice as he drags his finger along the bookshelf. It had been dusted and the window blinds were open letting in a natural light.

Charlie glances up for a brief second and then goes back to her paperwork. "Sebastian," she greets before going back to reading the documents.

"I'm being quite serious, have you been possessed?"

"Well, I don't think Santana's a witch, but I have to make sure that this wedding goes well, and mother has put me in charge of all the details. I had no idea when you were coming back so I had Talia and Nyssa help me sort through the mess of documents you left. I don't quite have much time—"

"What?" Sebastian says, his jaw dropping, "What? You're getting married? To whom? Why wasn't I made aware and you let Nyssa touch my things?"

"You were very behind on your paperwork, so she helped me sort through it. I don't really know why you complained. It only took me a few hours to get through it with Nyssa and Talia. Also I didn't know where you were, one of the maids mentioned a vacation and I truly didn't remember giving you a vacation. I was going to have you dragged back here in irons, but my mother vetoed that idea. Apparently you're indispensable."

"I asked for—do you ever listen to me when I talk?"

"Most times I do not—mother says that my wedding invitations were accepted by the Elves and the Holy Empire, neither of whom I wanted anywhere near my wedding. The Beastkin should be the ones being honored, we're looking to secure an alliance with them. And given the history between the Holy Empire and the elves and the beastkin, I imagine that a seating arrangement will be difficult without causing some fights."

"The dwarves and the elves are also sworn enemies."

"I didn't invite any dwarves. Kara kicked me out of her wedding and had Kal of all people as the person beside her. That sanctimonious know it all prick. I am merely returning the favor and a week before the wedding she will be expelled from the kingdom."

"Have you lost your mind?" Sebastian questions, he truly wasn't sure if this was a case of Charlie losing her mind. "Who are you marrying? It hasn't even been a month since I went on vacation, a royal wedding is usually prepared a season in advance. Of course you're inviting someone to represent dwarven interests. They are our biggest trading partner, and their expertise in mining is why we have an abundance of magic crystals. I don't understand this thing between you and Kara, but it's petty, and childish. If you do not wish to invite Kara, then invite someone else with a position. The sanctimonious prick. Invite him. He probably won't insult the elven delegation like Kara would."

"Santana, the black panther prime of the jaguar clan is the woman I've managed to convince to marry me. By doing it quickly we are not giving the nobles much time to organize a protest, and my father plans on crowning me as the heir on the last day of the wedding festivities. That is to be kept quiet."

"Did you get her pregnant?"

"You're not very efficient are you? You're finally back and you're spending all your time talking and gossiping, I'm very disappointed," Charlie grunts at him. Santana hadn't gone into heat, there was no child.

~ O ~

Santana yawned as she stretched from where she had been reading about the history of the Agron Kingdom, they weren't a complete record, and she thought that some of the historians had clearly been interested in keeping their heads. Most of the Agron Kingdom had once been Beastkin lands, but wars had been fought over territory and her people had constantly been at a disadvantage. Uniting the two countries like Judy had suggested would be next to impossible.

The Imperial Library, was both the perfect place to both placate her natural curiosity and it was so quiet that it had become her favorite place for a cat nap and more importantly, her mother had no idea where she was. She was certain that both her parents and any Beastkin could find her if they really wanted, but for whatever reason her people seemed to keep to themselves in the palace that Fabrays had given to her people to use. It was kept far away from the Holy Empire dignitaries, and there was a constant guard presence to keep both sides at peace.

The situation was tennous and her parents had questioned the wisdom of mating with a family that had very close ties to the Holy Empire. With more and more dignitaries and more and more dress fittings and redesigns, the library had become her safe haven. Even her mate seemed to understand that she liked being left alone to explore on her own. Her mate had been absolutely useless in helping her study and she had quickly ditched Charlie to learn on her own.

Her nose twitches and she grins as a maid opens the door and wheels in a tray filled with treats and tea, her mate had commissioned the royal chef to make fish pastries for her to enjoy with her tea, her mate spoiled her, "Did she send it over again?"

"Yes she did, she says that you need to keep your strength up, and she also wants you to try these desserts so she knows which one you like the best for the feast." The maid said with a bow.

Santana looked at all the treats that Charlie had prepared, her mate seemed to be focused on making sure that their wedding was grand, despite the fact that she didn't particularly want a large wedding. She understood it was a necessity, but she had no idea why the Holy Empire had stated that they would attend the wedding. She tilts her head, "Where is she right now?"

"I think she mentioned something about training her drake for something, but the last time I saw her she was in her study, arguing with her aide."

Santana nodded, "I'll take that in her study, I should probably meet her aide, and ask for his advice on getting my own aide," she yawns and shifts into her kitten form and hops off the chair she had been sitting in. She stops to stretch again before she quickly darts out of the room, pausing only to sniff the air so she can find her mate. She gets to the door of the office just as it swings open.

"Santana!" Charlie greets eagerly once she spots her.

Before she can shift there is someone beside her looking around as if he was expecting something else, when his eyes land on her he shudders. "You're marrying a cat?"

She shifts before Charlie can pick her up, not that she minded. She loved it when her mate petted her, and really the best place to take a cat nap was on Charlie. Her mate didn't make any big movements, she was just a perfect statue. "I felt bad that you've been taking care of all the marriage decisions, with your mother so I came to help. We could try the pastries together."

Charlie grinned, "I'd like that," she admits.

Santana tilted her head, "Who's he?"

"My aide."

"I thought Nyssa was your aide."

"I wish Nyssa was my aide, she's better at this than he is. I mean he insulted you and you are to be my wife. I can throw him in the dungeon if you want. He's trying to convince me that we need to invite Kara to the wedding."

"I said we need to invite a dwarf who could enter discussions with the rest of the continental powers. Leaving the dwarven delegation—"

"We can invite Mercedes, she's the friend I was telling you about. She gave me a bunch of information on the kingdom," Santana interrupts, pushing past him as she wraps her arm around Charlie's arm and pulls her back into the study. "What are you training Hiccup to do?"

"That's a surprise, it's a good surprise. I just need to make sure that Hiccup actually does what I tell him, you know how he is," Charlie said as she was pushed onto her seat and Santana uses her lap as a seat. "I know you don't like surprises."

"No one likes surprises, if you were in the badlands would you like it if a demon popped up beside you, without you knowing?"

"That has happened. Many times. You're right, but this really is a good surprise. It's a wedding surprise."

"How?"

Santana ignored Sebastian completely, "I'm going to trust you but if he refuses to listen—"

"I won't use him. I mean I was going to ask my grandmother to talk to him, but after the last conversation I think I'll avoid them until I have to deal with them. My grandparents are not thrilled, but I don't really care what they think. All that matters is that you and I are okay," Charlie replies.

Santana paused and looked at Sebastian, "Why are you still here?"

"I work here!"

Santana gave him a dull look, "You can go."

"I beg your—"

"She dismissed you Sebastian, we'll talk about this later. You should probably catch up on all the work you missed." Charlie grumbles at him as Santana shifts on her lap so she's straddling her. A smile crosses her face as she leans up to kiss her.

Sebastian's eye twitched but he immediately turns around and storms out of the office, slamming the door behind him.

~ O ~

"Married to a beastkin, I expected more of the Agron Kingdom's youngest. Diluting that dragon blood, with beastkin, she should be marrying someone on par with her but I simply can't believe she would sully her bloodline like that."

"None of that matters, for centuries we've allowed kingdoms like the Holy Empire, the Draconic Kingdom and the Agron Kingdom to gain power and influence. Even the dirt-fuckers have built weapons that threaten our very existence. The Beastkin were not our allies because they were useful. They're nothing more than animals and they didn't care about military might. Aligning themselves with the Agron Kingdom—we'll have humans at our borders and how long until they want what the Great Forest has to offer. They strip the Earth of its treasures, just for more and more. Their greed knows no bounds and under the ineffectual leadership of previous generations. We need power now more than ever, and this wedding must not come to pass. We must object firmly to this union, but we must not seem like we side with the Holy Empire."

"This union must not happen. The gift that we have prepared won't be checked, we are allies, but this is our chance to get our hands on a stable dragoncore. Has the gift been prepared?"

"Yes, according to our people it's already been delivered, I've given word to our people in the palace and they will make sure it's in place. This might be the only time we could strike a blow to the entire power structure. We must play our roles to perfection, let the Beastkin delegation know of our concerns while also wishing the new couple all the happiness."

"You are friends with her are you not? Spar with her like you used to, let her win. Show her what your new sword is made of."

"Yes mother."