"Mama," Ali squealed, "Would you really beat me?" She blinked adorably, pouting her lips. It was so cute that it made Sienna want to say ’awww’ and forget what they had been talking about. It would be so easy to just pick her up and kiss her chubby cheeks.

But she resisted the urge, choosing to remain focused. "Yes Ali, I would spank you if it was called for. Strong mothers need loyal daughters and strong daughters need loyal mothers, that is how we protect each other. If you repeat my words, enemies will use them. If you faint too much, they will think you are weak."

Ali’s mood changed, and she appeared to become more serious. "Mmm. Sorry mama. I won’t talk again. I will protect you and papa and our family and our secrets."

Sienna almost laughed. It was almost like her daughter could choose moments to display wisdom and others to act silly.

***

At Lady Cadelaria’s cottage, in the courtyard, Sienna’s mother-in-law was hosting her own guest. It was none other than the queen, who had showed up without a warning. Lady Cadelaria had servants serve freshly squeezed juice and fruits and she stood calmly at the side, waiting for the queen to invite her to sit down.

While waiting, she kept calm, her face absence of the sourness she usually displayed in Sienna’s presence.

The queen was taking her time to extend that invitation. It had been ten minutes of keeping Lady Cadelaria on her feet, causing the woman’s heartbeat to spike. She couldn’t help thinking that her daughter-in-law had put the queen up to this. Some kind of revenge.

Finally, the queen lowered the glass of juice and flicked her hand gracefully. "You can sit."

Lady Cadelaria sighed, brushing her hands over her yellow dress before settling down opposite the queen. "Thank you, your highness." In the back of her mind she thought, how ridiculous to be invited to sit at my own table! If Chubby charms was here, I bet she would not have waited for an invitation.

It was not false, Sienna would not have waited. In fact, Sienna would have been the one inviting the queen to sit. Despite all those lessons given to her by Mrs. Abernathy, she simply let the etiquette fly over her head and did as she pleased. The queen never commented on it. Now if it was someone else....it was debatable how the queen would react.

"Thank you for honoring my humble home with your presence." Lady Cadelaria said, smiling generously.

The queen waved her hand slightly, as if it was so delicate that using force would make it snap. "You are most welcome." She looked over her shoulder to her attendant Yaya, "Remember to buy a housewarming gift for Lady Cadelaria later. I would not want her thinking that I am rude."

Lady Cadelaria’s smile widened. "Thank you, your highness."

The queen did not reply. She picked up the glass, twirling the orange juice within slowly. There was something frightening about her when she was behaving like that. Obviously she had something to say, but she was not saying it. Her attitude was confusing, making the people around her tense.

Lady Cadelaria wanted to borrow some ignorance from Sienna and directly ask what the queen wanted, but she also knew that only two members of the Veythar family could be arrogant before the royals. Sienna and Elias had claimed those positions. If more were added, the royals would see them as shameless.

The queen exhaled and said slowly, "The standing lady of every tribe is supposed to be sworn into office to handle the affairs of women and children for that tribe. Sienna is the current standing lady of the fox tribe. Why hasn’t she taken office?" She crossed one leg over the other, eyes narrowed at Lady Cadelaria. "Why do you continue to hold the position?"

Lady Cadelaria’s smile trembled. She replied stiffly, "Your highness, I respect you a lot but I find this questioning.....intrusive." It was the most polite way she could put it. If she was being blunt, this was none of the queen’s business.

Queen Serenya raised her brows. "Lady Cadelaria, maybe it has slipped your mind but my office is in charge of overseeing every office of the standing lady of every tribe. If you are thinking that this is none of my business because I am not a fox, I would like to remind you that I am the queen of all beast men and humans in this kingdom. Everyone’s business is my business."

"But some business is more complicated than others." Lady Cadelaria replied.

The queen laughed dryly. "Only because some people choose to keep it complicated. I can understand your hesitation on handing over the office. The biggest being that Sienna is human, not a fox beast woman and for that reason, there are some things she cannot understand. But for that, it is easy to assign her an assistant that is an elite educated fox beast woman. I am sure Elias can extend a hand as well when necessary. He seems to care about her so he will not let her fail or be humiliated. It will quell the gossip about your family having internal disputes. That is better than you clinging to a position which does not belong to you anymore."

Lady Cadelaria’s lips trembled. She clenched her hands. Clinging to it! she screamed in her mind. The queen was making it sound as if she was refusing to hand over out of greed.

"I can understand why you didn’t hand over when Sienna had just married your son." The queen said softly, "She is a human. Her relationship with Elias was questionable. Her motives for marrying into your family were obviously money oriented. I have also heard about her embarrassing behavior in the past and the claims that she didn’t love her own cubs.

A woman that could not love her own fox cubs could never love fox beast women and the cubs of the tribe. So, yes, I can understand you. But, I can also see how that is not the case anymore. She has her own ways of making money. She has taken responsibility for the family. She has advised Elias on matters of the tribe. She hosted the summit successfully.

You have to give her credit where it is due, Lady Cadelaria. You also have to give her the position which rightfully belongs to her so that she can protect the next generation." She tapped the table with her fingers, her eyes narrowing. "This is not a request, it is a command. Give up the office."