"If I had known that you were coming then I would have prepared some cookies, your Imperial Highness," Granny Goodness stated as she moved to drop to a knee in front of Charlie, bowing her head.
Charlie immediately extends a hand, "Get up Granny, at your age your knees must be killing you," Charlie says with a shake of her head. To most who gazed upon Granny Goodness, she was nothing more than a sweet innocent little old lady with wild white hair, and a voice that was soothing and sweet. She ran the orphanages around the globe, and she handled most recruitment, and to most people she was the picture of being good. Nobody would expect that the little old lady, that smelt of gingersnaps, was the most sadistic task driver the training pits of the Empire ever saw. Even with her pedigree, Granny hadn't treated her any different, she bled, she had broken bones under Granny's watch. Her mother had handed her over, she'd been to rough to unmanageable even then, and while she hadn't gone through any sort of reeducation, the physicality was something that she remembered. She had a scar on her hip that ached due to Granny's teachings.
"You're still a sweet young—ah you're no longer a girl anymore, you've finally grown into a woman," Granny Goodness said, taking the offered hand and allowing Charlie to help her up. "I know I'm getting advanced in years, but I do enjoy my job and I would very much like to keep it. I don't think anyone can do the job that I can. And I have served your grandmother loyally and I hope that you will continue to allow me to serve." Granny said studying Charlie, she had been around long enough to know that regime change could lead to her losing her head, and Charlie was just the one who would do it without hesitation.
"And here I had a speech ready, about what a boon you've been to the empire, and to beg you not to retire. To lose you would be a blow to my empire. I know I may not have been grateful when I was younger, but it is your lessons that helped me survive in the Hell Dimension, I wouldn't be standing here before you otherwise, so even if you were to retire, I would still expect you to serve me as an advisor, after you trained your replacement."
Granny Goodness laughed, pleased with the turn of events, "I was tasked with breaking you but I ended up creating such a diamond, you are my greatest work your Imperial Highness, and I assure you that my advice is freely given if you wish to ask me for anything. I will serve you as well as I served your grandmother."
"And your gingersnap cookies? I found myself missing them in the Hell Dimension," Charlie admits with a laugh. "Oh, I've forgotten, part of the reason why I came was that I have realized that some of the captains and members of my security team are in dire need of reeducation. Kara attacked me a few hours ago. And there is no one I trust more to reeducate my people then you. She spent the entire time I was in the Hell Dimension getting weak, I am disgusted."
Granny Goodness's eyes widen, "My deepest apologies, I had high hopes for Kara, but to raise a hand against the Empire itself? It breaks my heart! You will not be disappointed, I will break her and reforge her into a Fury you could be proud of, and she will once again be a worthy servant to you, Your Highness."
"Santana," Charlie said looking at her.
"Granny," Santana greets, her parents were still alive and had been enjoying a cruise when she had gone into exile with Charlie, she really did need to check up on them. She hadn't been a part of Granny's orphanages, but with her abilities and powers she had been accepted to train under Granny when she had turned 13, it had been there that she had met Charlie and Kara. Being trained by Granny had been brutal, and it had been difficult to keep up, but she had survived, and had somehow managed to impress Charlie's grandmother, who had been the one to assign her to Charlie. "I will have Kara dropped off, she has a girlfriend who will be a guest of her Imperial Highness until you inform us that her reeducation is done."
Granny squints, "You're still alive Lopez?"
"And she defeated Kara, and turned her into a pirate," Charlie says. "Sometimes the people you least expect surprise you, Granny."
"Indeed," Granny said, stroking her chin. "If I may offer some advice, Your Imperial Highness, before you leave," when Charlie nods her head, she continues. "A new land has been discovered since your disappearance, your grandmother was in the process of negotiating with them, women as strong and as powerful as Kara are the norm there. They call themselves the Amazons, and while they aren't as well trained as any of my children, they are still something to behold. Your Vassals are going to insist that you produce an heir, that's all that they care about someone that they will attempt to manipulate. They will also start pushing their daughters onto you. I imagine that you will partake, some of their daughters are stunning, and they will make for good concubines, but the woman who you choose to make the Queen Consort, should not have her loyalties split."
"I have no intention of getting married or producing an heir," Charlie responds with a laugh, not aware that the look on Santana's face had frozen at her proclamation.
Granny smiled, "Well then you have nothing to worry about!" Her eyes linger on Santana for a moment, "When Kara is delivered, I will send back some Gingersnaps, freshly baked."
Charlie immediately looked at Santana, "Make sure that I get them while they're still warm."
"Of course," Santana responds, after taking a moment to collect herself. She hesitates for a moment, "Do you truly not wish to get married?"
"I am to be named the Sun of the Empire, Santana. To me the Queen's position is nothing more than a special concubine whose name I would have to learn. The whole point of a concubine is to have my fun with them and forget about them. Besides I have yet to meet someone whose name is worth knowing, and has other qualifications than being pretty enough, with big enough tits to get lost in."
Santana opened her mouth and then closed it, as Charlie opened a portal. She would need to revisit this later. "To Edna?"
"Yes, and then we'll see the rest of the Captains, and see if any one else needs reeducating with Granny Goodness."
~ O ~
Santana frowned as she glanced at the schedule for today, she should have insisted that they visit Edna last, Charlie had been with the short fashion-designer for nearly two hours. She had no idea what was taking so long, Charlie had never been one for fashion, not like the rest of her family, though that probably had more to do with the fact that she was training under Granny Goodness and high fashion simply hadn't made any sense. If Charlie didn't finish with Edna soon she would have kept the other Captains waiting for over an hour. She pauses for a moment, and her frown slowly morphs into a small smile, hoping that Charlie took her time. Being late was nothing new for Charlie. Even prior to her exile, Charlie had arrived late to nearly everything, breaking usual Imperial protocol. It had been infuriating to be on the receiving end of it, but Charlie really did march to the beat of her own drum.
Still now that she had a few moments of downtime, she was curious about Granny Goodness's report about a new land being discovered on Earth; she had expected it to be another underwater kingdom, like Atlantis or Xebel, not an island off the coast of Greece. She had heard stories of the Amazons, and she had assumed like most mythology they were just that. An island of beautiful warrior women with strength comparable to Kara, it was an unknown danger, especially if Granny Goodness was giving them the heads up. Either one of the two Princesses would be on the shortlist of possible Queen Candidates that Charlie would probably ignore until she couldn't anymore.
Laughter draws her attention and she immediately straightens up with the rest of Charlie's security detail as the door opens and Charlie appears, dressed in a fitted long black coat, that was encrusted with impressive jewels. Charlie's hair had also been trimmed, and some light makeup had been applied to her face. She no longer looked like she had just come back from exile, she filled out the clothes nicely, and there was finally a regal air to her that had been missing. It was the way that Charlie carried herself with her back held high, and rigid, her hands folded neatly behind her, as she matched Edna's pace, allowing the much shorter woman to set the pace. Again, it was hard to see the problem child that T'Challa truly believed Charlie was.
"Your coronation outfit isn't quite up to my standards, and I will of course need to make you your ceremonial suit, that is befitting someone from your station," Edna said as she tapped her cigarette holder letting the ashes be swept away. "To be inspired again, it's about time someone ushered this planet into the next age. And I can update the look of your security forces."
"Well you can start with Santana, she deserves a bit of a glow up—do people still say that? I've been gone for years, my pop culture references are probably a bit dated. But she did turn Kara into a pirate, and that is deserving of a reward. And quite frankly if Santana is going to be in all the photos of me, at least nearby then she should look her absolute best, she is head of my security detail."
"You wish for something custom made?"
"Well, something needs to be done, every time she gets all hot and bothered, she ends up burning through her clothes. I can't have my head of security appearing naked on camera Edna, and you're the only one that I trust to get it right."
Santana blinked, sure Edna designed the Fury's uniform, but they were simply clothes. An Edna original had function to it, and she only designed the special suits for the Imperial family, all other clothes lacked functionality. "Your highness—"
"Are you thinking of a full wardrobe?" Edna questions, this would certainly be a challenge.
"I am, but it needs to be sexy, I should at the very least have something pleasant to stare at when I'm bored," Charlie says, turning to look at Santana who immediately groaned. "Something that really highlights her assets," Charlie said, making an obscene gesture as she leers at Santana's breasts.
Edna looks up at Charlie for a moment then turns to see the annoyance and embarrassment etched on Santana's face. "I will certainly make it classy."
"I would prefer it to be classy," Santana says, immediately deciding that it would be best to simply talk to Edna directly. If she allowed Charlie any control over her wardrobe, she'd practically be naked all so Charlie could have ease of access.
"If by classy you mean—"
"I don't," Santana informs Charlie without looking at her, "I may be willing to put up with your sexual harassment, that does not mean that I'm willing to have other people leering at me, or questioning whether I am competent because you need something pretty to look at. Besides you are the future Empress, all eyes should always be on you."
Charlie turns to look at Edna and smiles, certain that she'd get her way here. "Who is next on my never ending list of people that I must convince to simply stay as we look for replacements?"
"I'm not against you replacing Dani, Wraith and Illyana with people who are actually decent at their jobs, in fact if you need a list of people who could do their job better than them, I have an extensive list and can start interviews after the mourning period," Santana said immediately and eagerly. It would cement her position as the head of Charlie's security.
Charlie studied Santana for a moment before tilting her head and looking at the people who had fought and bled for her in Hell, many of which had earned a promotion to captain status. "That will be discussed once I check in with those who were left behind. If they got weak like Kara, then there will be a change in who is in charge." Charlie said as a black shimmering portal appeared in front of them. Her security team enters first and she's about to follow after Santana, when
"I will have your coronation outfit in a few days, and we must go over what jewels you will wear, it's a process darling and you will shine far brighter than anyone thought possible," Edna vowed. This would set the tone for Charlie's entire reign.
"I look forward to seeing the design, do send Santana a message when her clothes are ready." With that Charlies steps through the portal before Santana or any of her security forces could pop their heads to check why she hadn't followed them immediately. The moment she exits she twists her body to one side reflexively as Wraith goes sailing by her, nearly falling into the portal that she closes. She wouldn't want Edna to be exposed to someone like Wraith.
"What the hell are you doing?" Santana snaps marching past Charlie who seemed unharmed and grabs Wraith by the collar and drags her back. She had gotten lucky with Kara, if she blinded Wraith, Charlie would definitely say something about her management style. She couldn't make them all blind in an attempt to get her people their positions. "What did I tell you about fucking decorum Wraith?"
"You can't keep hiding her from my love you shrew." Wraith spits trying to break free, her eyes glow as she calls forth her power only for them to quickly sputter out and she immediately looks up at Charlie, the only person who could switch of abilities, "Charlie I—"
"Who the hell do you think you are?" Santana's voice cuts Wraith's off, there was anger in her voice. How could she not be pissed, "That is your future Empress!"
"See what I mean this is censorship! I'm the only one that spent the entire time trying to bring you back! I risked everything to show my love for you! You should have taken me with you, not her!" Wraith screams in frustration trying to break free of Santana's hold.
"Your lack of professionalism—"
"You're one to talk, everyone knows you're nothing more than her bed warmer, that's how you managed to get to the fucking top Lopez. Everyone knows you've always wanted to be her queen. Charlie, her ambition knows no bounds!"
Santana erupts at the accusation her skin flaming up as Wraith manages to wriggle free and face her, "We are here to test your loyalty, I have proven my loyalty to her highness every day for years while we fought in a non-stop war in the Hell Dimension, I went without sleep, I went without rest, without water or food, to make certain that she lived. I have earned my place beside her, while the lot of you have stayed here, growing fat, growing complacent. Kara turned traitor, over a simple girl, and threw away her vows, and you think, that I'm going to let you betray her highness? Or disrespect her or let her see anything other than your utmost professionalism? I will slay you before I let you bring any dishonor to her name."
"How?"
Charlie's simple question causes both Wraith and Santana to separate and immediately bow in front of her. There was a hint of something in her tone that suggested at least to the security captains that she wasn't in the mood to deal with their bickering.
"Charlie—"
"You just said that you were the only one that spent any time trying to bring me home. Illyana's indifference I understand, she's always been like that. How did you attempt to bring me back home?"
"I needed to get stronger! Every life I took—"
"Whose life?" Charlie interrupts.
"Well, whoever got in my way! You were gone, I missed you and I couldn't let that succubus dig her claw deeper," Wraith insisted, looking up at Charlie who suddenly smiles at her. "They were nobodies, just sacrifices."
"I see," Charlie muses as she approaches Wraith and gently places a hand on her head. "My dear sweet Wraith, always eager to try and please me, to meet my expectations. How could I ever doubt your loyalty to me?" Charlie said as she gently stroked Wraith's cheek with her thumb.
Santana smiles, keeping her gaze forward, as the sound of a neck snapping echoes in the room and there is a thump as a body hits the ground. Wraith had never once been a threat to her, Wraith had broken a cardinal rule. They were meant to act as Charlie's guard dogs, to attack without an express order from her Imperial Highness to hurt others was strictly forbidden, and it's not like it took much for Charlie to let them off their leash. But Charlie was ready to shed her mad dog image, and that meant that Wraith would need to go.
Charlie's eyes glow as she stares at the three women kneeling in front of her, she takes a breath. "Illyana, Dani, Kara decided to attack me, Wraith decided to kill without my express permission. This has put me in a rather terrible mood as I'm sure you can imagine. So take fifteen minutes, and then you will both give me a report on what I missed while I was gone, and what you were doing. I doubt that my family just let you be, and don't try to lie to me. That makes you guilty and you will be lucky to go out like Wraith did. Now get out," Charlie said, waving them off as she pinched the bridge of her nose.
Santana gets up with Illyana and Dani and motions to members of her team to do away with the body, as she tries to keep a smirk off her face as she looks at Wraith's corpse. She had been worried that Charlie would simply let it slide, Wraith wasn't special to Charlie, not the way she believed, but she had been powerful and Charlie had a way of making people feel important. Wraith had mistaken Charlie's kindness for something more, and had grown obsessed. It hadn't been a problem in the past because she had been controllable but years without Charlie's influence and her obsession had finally forced Charlie's hand.
"Santana, I'm not in the mood for you to prance about being all smug that you were right about the rest of your counterparts, I can hear your smugness from here." Charlie informed her. "I don't have the fucking time to deal with this—" Charlie's eyes snap open as Santana enters her personal space. "What are you—" Santana kissing her wasn't something that she had expected. Santana never crossed the line with her unless she expressed interest. And even when she had somehow managed to seduce Santana into her bed, they rarely kissed. It wasn't personal; she just rarely kissed her concubines, something that intimate generally required a name and she couldn't be bothered to remember their names. When they finally break for air, her eyes glow as the confused look on her face as she stares at Santana, who had somehow managed to press her up against a wall."I know I said that you only needed to ask—"
"Do you want me to make you cum or not?" Santana questions with a roll of her eyes, trying to hide her amusement as Charlie blinks and stares at her and then searches her face to see if this was some sort of trick.
When she had been in the hell dimension there were these parasites that could change a person's personality, but she couldn't for the life of her sense any of them on Santana, which only made her head hurt. Santana had kissed her, Santana was being forward, none of this made any sense.
"Is that a no?" Santana presses as she rests her hands on Charlie's waist, sliding her finger beneath the bands of her pants, and her underwear.
Charlie blinks for a moment as her mind snaps back to reality, "If you want to make me orgasm then you're free to make an attempt, but I only gave them fifteen minutes, and if you think that you're going to leave me wanting—if you can't get me off before they return, well they can watch," Charlie decides on after a moment.
Santana raised a brow before dropping to her knees in front of Charlie helping unzip her and pull down her pants to her knees, she's not surprised that Charlie isn't wearing anything underneath her pants, she rarely wore underwear to begin with. She leans forward and flicks out her tongue catching the tip of Charlie's clit and feeling the future Empress shudder at the surprise contact. She uses the brief moment to push Charlie's pants the rest of the way down so she can have better access as she inches a bit closer.
Charlie tilts her head, her mind still racing as she tried to figure out Santana's angle here, it was infuriating that Santana seemed to be in control of this encounter—and as Santana spreads her leg for even easier access she leans her head back against the wall and tries to locate where everyone is. But the moment that Santana begins in earnest, her concentration lapses and she is forced to look down as she rests a hand on Santana's head. "Fuck," she mumbles under her breath.
Santana reaches for the top of her head, and places her hand on Charlie's and gently dislodges the hand, and gently pins it to the wall with her hand as she starts to tease Charlie. Before Charlie's other hand can get lost in her raven locks, she grabs it pinning both Charlie's hands to her side, as she gently nips on her clit as a warning, before kissing it gently. Despite being pressed for time, she doesn't speed up, as she takes her time to savor every slow lick, as she slowly takes Charlie to the peak. Charlie wouldn't allow anyone into the room while she was vulnerable like this, even if it was other security personnel, so she really could take her time.
Letting out a low quiet groan, Charlie shifts her body, parting her legs further to give Santana better access as she slowly tries to grind herself against Santana's face, but the moment she tries Santana pulls back just enough to look up at her. The amused look and the almost patient expression is nearly enough to drive her mad, but she finally acquiesced, this was not what she had in mind when she had insisted that all Santana had to do was ask. When Santana doesn't immediately continue she scowls down at her, but there's an amused smile on her face as if she was being mocked. She was days away from becoming the Empress. And more importantly she didn't beg. "Get on with it," Charlie orders immediately, her eyes glowing.
A smug smile crosses Santana's face as she leans forward and gets back into it, applying a bit more pressure as she pushes Charlie towards the edge, slightly annoyed that she didn't have the time to really see how long it would take her to crack. She finally lets go of Charlie's hands, but they don't immediately get tangled up in her hair and she begins to redouble her efforts.
The moment that she feels her orgasm come crashing over her she can also feel people heading back towards the door, and she lets out a frustrated growl, this wasn't how she wanted to fucking end this. She wasn't remotely satisfied, and she wouldn't be until Santana was screaming her name or begging her, either option was preferable to actually listening to Dani and Illyana's excuses.
Santana pulls back and cleans her lips, glancing over at Charlie who was struggling to pull her pants back up, she had recovered quickly from the orgasm. "I think they're coming back," She says rather unhelpfully and flashes Charlie an amused smile as Charlie zips herself up.
"You know this isn't over," Charlie hissed as she fixed her clothing and the door opened.
Dani is there first and she immediately sniffs the air, and looks at the two of them for a moment. Despite them looking very put together, they were obvious and she glowers at Santana, before they had gone into exile with one another Santana didn't have nearly the influence over Charlie and they weren't fucking like bunnies. "Your Imperial Highness."
Charlie flicks her gaze over to Dani, the orgasm hadn't helped her mood. No she was greedy, she wanted more, she needed more. Fighting. Fucking. Food. Those were favorite things to do in the world, and she liked to do them until she was satisfied, and she wasn't satisfied. "Well?" Charlie prompts.
"Her Imperial Majesty, gave us a decade to train and get stronger, before she was going to fold us into your sister's security detail. We also—"
"That certainly makes this decision easier. There are three options on the table for you Dani, you can be demoted, you can be reeducated, or you can retire. If you're demoted, you can earn your position back by passing whatever test that Santana sets up to prove your worth. The test will determine whether you are at the level that I now expect from all my Fury's. Retiring, means that you will be stuck in whatever backwater place I decide that you've earned. Illyana will be in Yakutsk and you will be in Iowa on a farm. I'll give you some land for your service, and you can figure it out."
Santana snorts and pretends she's clearing her throat when Dani turns to glare at her.
"I am not moving to fucking Yakutsk," Illyana said immediately. "I'd rather spend my time in the Hell Dimension. Despite your irritation at Wraith and whatever nonsense Santana has put in your head by sleeping with you. The end result is that you were exiled and you left us here, to fend for ourselves, to take whatever shit your sisters threw at us, whatever shit your family threw at us, and we had to grin and bare it because you weren't there to protect us. Wraith went mad without you, Kara grew bored and then found someone to take the edge off, Dani and I did what we had to do. You may have been our leader, but we were still loyal to the Empress, because what other choice did we have?"
"Kara attacked me, Wraith was off murdering others and you didn't reign her in, and here you are arguing against me—" Charlie inhaled, Illyana as rude as she was being had a point, and it infuriated her. They were in this position due to her absence, punishing them seemed cruel even for her. "Assuming that you are loyal, that doesn't mean that either you or Dani are as strong as I need you to be to be the face of my Fury's. So you will be reeducated, at alternate times and you have a year to catch up, if by the end of the year you aren't able to defeat Santana's best fighters, then I don't see what the alternative is."
"Your Highness, if I may offer a suggestion," Santana says, ignoring the glares she received from the other two as Charlie looks at her. "We've interrupted the structure of the Honor Guard, we're processing your family's security detail, and even if they aren't stronger than my best, they may still be stronger than most, and they can train other captains. They've earned at the very least a desk job."
"A desk job? Do you think because you managed to beat that dundering muscle-head that you are capable of beating both Dani and myself?" Illyana questioned drawing her sword.
Charlie sighed, she really needed to intervene and actually deal with the situation, but truthfully she didn't want to. "If you three want to fight it out, I'll allow it but then all three of you will go to Granny Goodness for reeducation. I'm in a time of mourning and dealing with your petty squabbles for power and to impress me is truly the bane of my existence right now. If I could have taken all of you, it would have been better, we would have conquered most of the Hell Dimension in record time. Unfortunately I couldn't. It's true it's not fair Illyana, but you were the only person who could make it to the Hell Dimension, you could have brought supplies, you could have made it easier but you sat and did nothing. Yes, back then I found it amusing that you were the one who was above it all but we were fighting for our lives, every day. We went to a dimension where the rules of physics were created by a madman. It was painful, we lost people and you have the audacity to say that your life was hard under my grandmother? I would have respected it more if the lot of you were imprisoned, waiting for me, but you simply did as you were told by someone who wasn't your owner. Your loyalty was to me before it was to her, and you just went along with her because you were frightened, I do not need cowards at my side." Charlie takes a breath, "Even if you three fight, and establish a pecking order amongst yourself that makes no difference to me. Dani, you need to reprove your loyalty to me, and it will take time for you to earn back that trust. If you truly wanted to prove it, then being reeducated with Granny should be nothing to you. If you're already loyal Granny will send you home before she sends home Kara, your position secure and you a little worse for wear."
"I will undergo reeducation," Dani said immediately. A week or two being trained by Granny and getting tested and having the mind games played—reeducation wasn't a pleasant experience, but she would come through it the other side.
Charlie raises a brow and turns to look at Illyana, "You need to decide what you want you want, because I don't expect any of my Captains to be above it. I need them to be in the damn foxhole with me. You could have brought my people to me, you chose to stay and you blame me. Decide what you want to do, if you wish to retire I will find somewhere for you to be that we both agree on."
Santana bites her lip and glances at the other two, it would have been more fun to simply beat them into submission, back in the day they would fight constantly but it was time to grow up, and Charlie's disappointment in them was immeasurable.
Charlie opens a portal, "I have other business, find me once you've made up your mind Illyana. Dani, you will report to Granny Goodness after my coronation, I can't be short handed. You will make sure that Santana is aware of who will be taking your position temporarily while you are away." She doesn't wait for a response as she simply leaves through the portal which is still open.
Santana sighs and looks at the other two for a moment, "You got—"
"Your lucks going to run out Lopez, I don't know what happened in the Hell Dimension, but I doubt you're ever going to be her queen. You're nothing but a useful concubine to her," Dani said, turning around. "Debasing yourself for her amusement, a pet. She sees you as a pet, shaking their tail for her attention."
"Well at least that still has a use," Santana said as she motions for her people to go through the portal.
"Well I certainly managed to stop her from killing you both. You're welcome by the way," Santana responds with a shake of her head. Charlie said she had no plans to get married or have children and she needed to believe that. With that said she walked through the portal that Charlie had created.
~ O ~
Santana scowled as she rubbed her temples and glances at the time, before she yawned and wiped some tears away. It wasn't just the security around Charlie's coronation that she was worried about as she double checked the already massive guest list once more. Charlie would be standing vigil over her grandmother's body tomorrow, which was already under guard by the remaining Honor Guard that were left, even as thousands came to pay their respects to the coffin. After that the funeral would be held and Charlie would be returning the body back to the sun. After that came the coronation, and then Charlie would travel the world to view and inspect her new territories.
Truthfully a protection detail was unnecessary, she had seen Charlie kill the elder gods, in a battle that she was sure could be felt in every dimension. Humanity, even the most powerful augmented individuals didn't stand a chance against her. The protection detail was to keep everyone else safe, and more importantly keep anyone from approaching Charlie without permission. There was always that idiot who thought rules didn't apply to them, and Charlie had no qualms about splitting someone in two just because they irritated her.
Unfortunately for her, Wraith's death, Kara's reeducation and Dani and Illyana being on the outs, most of the work was falling to her and she had been gone for nearly a decade. There was institutional knowledge that she lacked, and her pride didn't allow her to reach out to Dani, who really would be the best person to ask to arrange Charlie's security. But that would mean admitting to Charlie that she was wrong and that she needed help. She couldn't admit to being weak, not in front of the future Empress, her position would forever be challenged.
There's a knock on the door and she looks up, "Come in," she said before looking down at the mountains of paperwork that she needed to get through.
"Santana, her Imperial Highness is about to execute three speech writers."
The special stylus snaps and then melts in Santana's hand, "What?"
"Well, she doesn't think they're very good at their jobs, I mean they did write some of her grandmother's speeches, but they can't seem to figure out what Charlie is going to say at her coronation or at the funeral. She's frustrated and has announced she's going to execute them. I mean they aren't exactly important, but—" Tina gestures.
Santana inhales sharply, "And you want me to take care of it?"
"Her Imperial Highness plans to use our training grounds to spill blood, and you know how difficult it is to get the blood out of the sand. Given her mood she might actually demand that we do something about the mess."
Santana blinked, it did sound like a problem but she had piles upon piles of paperwork and she needed a new stylus if she was to get any work done. "If her Imperial Highness wants to execute people who are incapable of doing their jobs, it's her right."
Tina stared at Santana for a moment, "So you're okay with her feeding humans to her three-headed dog?" She questioned slowly, not sure if Santana understood the precedent she was going to allow to be set. Santana was the only person who could really talk Charlie out of her excessive behavior without pissing off their soon to be reagent. As much as Dani, Kara and the now deceased Wraith, complained about Santana's influence, Charlie's impulsiveness was dangerous for everyone around her.
"What?"
"She plans on feeding them to Sparky, Sparkplug, and Sparkles. You weren't there, so I didn't quite feel brave enough to tell her that she isn't talented in naming. Also I was certain you informed her that she couldn't bring those hellhounds back home with her."
Santana stares at Tina for a moment, she could feel the beginning of a migraine starting to pulse just behind her eyes. "Lead with the fact that her highness brought back those hellhounds and she thinks that giving them the taste for human flesh isn't problematic at all."
"I should probably add that she's been drinking heavily—"
"Tina, it's 10 in the morning—" Santana trailed off and got up, this was an emergency and the moment she got back she was going to bite the bullet and drag Dani and Illyana here so that they could start helping. Charlie's mood wasn't stable, and it hadn't been since she'd killed her family. "I'll handle it, call Dani and Illyana and inform them that their presence is needed, and it might help them earn back some trust with her Imperial Highness."
"Understood, and you plan on stopping her? The speeches were excellent. With a bit of work they would be up to her standard."
"Her highness wishes to go to war with Wakanda, I would rather lose some inconsequential speech writers, but I will try. Also what exactly is she drinking? Most alcohol doesn't work on her."
"Bloodwine that she brought back from the Hell—"
Santana didn't even wait as she raced out of the room, bloodwine from the depths of hell obliterated the little control that Charlie had over her impulses, and increased her violence. Charlie being drunk wasn't an issue, at least it wasn't her most pressing concern. Charlie drinking to the point of blacking out, that's when it became a problem. Really the moment that Charlie started to drink Bloodwine it was best to either distract her with a concubine or call her so that she could handle it. She takes off the moment she gets outside and clear of the building and flies towards the training ground, where she can hear the screams before she can actually see the damage that the future Empress was causing. "Tina said it was a puppy! That's not a fucking puppy!" Santana said as she slid to a halt in the air, and hovered over the training ground at the massive hulking beast that is more than double Charlie's height, and outweighed her several times over.
"I don't have enough arms to pet you Sparky," Charlie says loudly as she pets the three-headed beast, who rolls over and Charlie begins to rub its belly.
Santana drops down in front of the huddled writers, who look absolutely terrified. She could smell urine and she doubted it was the work of Sparky, but the three-headed hell beast did probably cause it. "I do not have the ability to pardon you but you should probably leave before she remembers that she wants to feed you to that Hell Hound, if she still wants you dead I will not save you." Santana whispers to them without turning to look at any of them. Her presence seems to upset Sparky who hops to its feet and growls loudly, baring it's rather large and pointy teeth at her. She sighs and raises a brow at the beast and stares it down meeting the eyes of the middle head until the hell hound finally backs down and lets out an annoyed whine causing Charlie to finally look at her and she can see that her eyes are glassy. "Your highness."
"Santana! I'm still mad at you!" She slurs and wobbles before Sparky supports her body with its massive body.
Santana blinked and ran through a multitude of things that Charlie might have an issue with, and then stopped on why Charlie could possibly be annoyed with her. "I came to apologize," she said after a moment. "But you're going to need to send Sparky back."
"You know, the Queen of England has all these puppies, and she always looked so happy. So I got myself my own pet, and he's a good boy. Or girl, do I just—" Charlie glances down. "It's a boy! You're a good boy! Santana, I need more arms to pet my good boy! Why don't I have enough arms?"
Santana spotted the black glass that was on a nearby table, and she inches towards it, "More arms, would mean more chaos and mayhem from you, your highness," she answers as she tips the bottle over, and frowns when only a few drops fall out. She was too late.
"But I'd be able to please more women in an orgy," Charlie muses. "And I could pet three headed dogs!"
"Or you can get a two headed dog, that can't accidentally crush you," Santana suggests only for Charlie to turn to stare at her. "It was just a suggestion."
"Ignore her Sparky, she doesn't understand our bond."
"Should I be jealous of a 3 headed mutt?"
Charlie covered the ears of the middle dog, "Don't listen to her nonsense Sparky, she just wants me to confirm that she's my favorite bitch."
Santana raised a brow, "Your highness—Charlie, you can't feed people to Sparky. You'll give him indigestion, humans are disgusting, not to mention it's probably best that your man-eating dog doesn't have a hankering for human flesh."
Charlie is quiet for a moment before she nods, "You may have a point, Sparky deserves only to eat the best, not a bunch of hack writers, who can't properly convey any sort of emotion in a speech!" Charlie said, turning and narrowing her eyes at the speechwriters who were attempting to make their escape. She narrows her eyes, they had been pissing themselves in fear. "Santana, did you give them permission to leave?"
Santana froze but didn't glance back to look at them, "I was simply thinking of Sparky's health, you shouldn't feed your pets junk food your highness. I didn't give them permission to live out their lives, just didn't want Sparky to get sick. I mean look at them. He should be fed like a hero. And food from this realm will burn to ash in Sparky's mouth, that's not being a good owner. He can't stay in this realm."
Sparky lets out a long mournful whine, and nudges Charlie before slobbering all over head, as drool drops down on her, it sizzles as it touches her clothing, "I know she is incredibly bossy." Charlie grumbles as she opens a large portal and turns to look at Sparky and pets him, "She is right though, you need to go back and guard my palace. I'll visit and we'll go on walks and I'll give you belly rubs." Sparky gives her one last lick and glares and one of the head barks at Santana before the massive beast slowly exits through the portal which gets slammed closed before something manages to escape into their realm.
Santana lets out a breath that she didn't know that she'd been holding, Charlie could turn Earth into a hell dimension if she truly wanted to, this was reckless for Charlie. This was also out of the norm for Charlie, it's not that she didn't drink, she just didn't get drunk. Bloodwine seemed to be able to do it, but she doubted drinking wine that had been matured with demonic blood was a good thing for even Charlie to be ingesting. "Charlie, your behavior has been erratic, more erratic than usual. Are you certain that you're okay?"
Charlie hiccuped in response and stretched out her arms, "Why wouldn't I be? I'm the last one standing! They called me the Mad Dog, and they tried to put me down. They sent me to hell and I fucking conquered it. I killed an elder god! We fought in dimensions where the very laws of physics were against us and we came out victorious! I came back and I am the last one standing. Imperium Rex? No, Imperium Victorious! This Realm, the Hell Dimension, is now mine. And those who stand as my enemy will end up like my family, destroyed and turned to dust."
Santana bit her lip as it suddenly clicked that Charlie was grieving, the frustration that her words and her feelings couldn't be conveyed by others in a speech. Her entire family was gone, by her hand as well, and even Charlie who seemed able to kill without batting an eye, would be affected. It was troubling, but Charlie couldn't drink her pain away, especially not with blood wine. No it would only build and Charlie would become more erratic—
"Long live Imperium Victorious," Santana says as she places her hand on her chest and bows her head, while still watching as Charlie focuses on her, but even from here she could see that Charlie's eyes had a glaze to them. But her words seemed to please Charlie who stumbles towards her and wraps an arm around her waist pulling her close enough that she could smell the bloodwine on her breath. "People can see your highness," Santana reminds her before sighing inwardly as Charlie attempts to kiss her, she uses the moment to slam her head against Charlie's face, sending her reeling and clutching her face. She immediately sticks her foot out, causing Charlie to trip and to land on her ass and then finally fall down on her back.
"One of these days I'm going to kill you," Charlie says loudly.
"I know." Santana said as she kneels over Charlie and gently pokes her in the face. "But then you'd be stuck training my replacement, and you'll probably kill them as well and it will become a vicious cycle." Santana frowned ever so slightly. "If you need to grieve your highness, then grieve, but do not numb yourself to the pain."
"Your concern has been noted, I blew off some steam, honestly this is your fault. You should have just let me fuck you when we got back from dealing with Dani and Illyana, but you were busy."
"I am busy, and you have your whores Charlie."
"They aren't that durable."
"And I'm not a sex toy," Santana reminds Charlie getting up. She was fine.
"You know you're my favorite sex toy Santana, it's a compliment."
"I'm going to go back and finish preparing security and then I have to do my shift when it comes to protecting your grandmother's body. Go play with your whores," Santana said gently patting Charlie on the head before she gets up and turns around. She can feel Tina press up against her. "Find all the blood wine that she brought over and destroy it. If she gets angry then tell her I was the one that ordered it, and keep an eye on her, Tina. Any more erratic behavior should be brought to my attention immediately."
"Understood," Tina said as she pulled away, and glanced back at the future Empress who was sitting up and looking up at the sky.