Later that night, while laughing softly, Sienna relayed the story to Elias. She leaned back against the window of her bedroom, the night air still carrying the warmth of dinner. The children had been tucked into bed and everyone had retired to their rooms, except for the guards who were still on duty.

The call was a holo-video, and she could see the shadows of the beast men near or behind Elias. He was on a boat that was rocking gently on water.

She smiled, "Mrs. Abernathy would like Grace Twindell, even his insults are polite. He is not uncouth like me, bluntly stating facts while twisting them with painful humor."

Elias’s lips twitched, but his eyes remained locked in their serious glare.

"You know, I didn’t think he would be such an easy man to talk to." She continued. "I asked him about his days as a pirate to get a rise out of him. Instead, he told me three stories about his past. Call it adventures instead of piracy. One story involved stealing cabbage broth! Imagine that. The most feared space pirate stole cabbage broth! You can’t make this shit up, it is so ridiculous."

He covered his mouth, hiding his smile behind his hand.

Sienna leaned closer to the phone, lowering her voice as if she was about to share the most secret details of her conversation with Grace. "He once stole a prince’s underwear and sold them to your aunt who gifted them to your dad on the day he took helm as the patriarch of the fox tribe! I think he tried on the underwear before. And a few others. I am not sure if I should be disgusted, outraged or impressed! They should all start a group, the brotherhood of the traveling silk underwear."

A muffled cough came from one of the beast men on the boat. Elias’s ears flicked, betraying his struggle to keep his composure. But, he grinned wider.

"One month, your dad wears them and then nest, your grand uncle and next, the emperor or emperor emeritus. Then they can write a book about their adventures in those underpants." She continued, laughing and sharing her absurd idea. "I would read that book. I am sure millions of others would do the same."

Elias looked at her like she was crazy. "How much wine did you drink today?"

She sneered. "You are mistaking me for your mother. The last time she had dinner here, she polished off three bottles on her own. Three bottles Elias! She gives a whole new meaning to the words as drunk as a fish. Maybe I should invite her and Lolo for a drinking competition to see who is better."

Elias’s jaw tightened. His eyes narrowed, but the corners of his mouth betrayed the faintest curve. Sienna knew she had him.

"Go ahead and laugh Elias, I can see it. You are trying not to laugh," she accused, wagging a finger. ’Don’t deny it. I can even see your tails twitching even if the camera cuts them off."

He exhaled slowly, the sound almost a growl. "Sienna," he said, voice low, "I am on a mission. If I laugh, my men will think I have lost discipline."

Sienna leaned back, feigning shock. "Discipline? You? You laughed so hard the last time aunt Numia failed at one of her marriage schemes that you fell off the bed. I am sure your men are aware of this by now. Don’t pretend you are made of stone."

Elias’s ears flattened.

One of the royal agents, a lion beast man at the lieutenant level shook his head.

"Fine," Sienna said, mock-serious. "I will stop joking. Instead, I will give you a report on my activities today. I toured a factory. hit Jacky Twindell with a pan, patted a foal, started a brawl at the beach, flaunted your power, made some threats and extorted a pirate out of two parrots. Also, your mother called me a fat roll! What the hell is a fat roll? It sounds insulting and yet somehow, delicious."

That did it. Elias’s shoulders shook, though he pressed a hand to his mouth again, stuffing the laughter inside. His men glanced at him, rolling their eyes or sighing. The leader who said no personal calls, was on a personal call!

"See? I knew it. You are laughing inside. Don’t worry, I won’t tell your most devout fox tribe about this. I will just write it in my diary. ’The mighty fox lord, scourge of smugglers, lover of fat rolls, defeated by Sienna’s jokes about his mother’s poor attitude."

Elias finally allowed himself a small chuckle, "you are a nightmare."

"I prefer to think of myself as a sweet dream," she replied, turning around to face the sea. "You look serious all the time. Someone has to remind you that you are still human...well, fox."

He snorted. The boat rocked, and his image flickered. She caught a glimpse of beast men in the back, preparing nets, as though they were about to go fishing.

"I think there is a similarity between you and Grace." She blurted.

"Oh, really?" He tilted his head.

She grinned. "You both stole your way onto other people’s ships in the night to steal treasures. The difference is, you are not stealing soup and underpants."

He looked up, folding his lips to stop himself from laughing.

"Also" Sienna added, "You are both serious on the face but funny underneath. But of course, none of you is funnier than me. Tomorrow, I am going to send a delivery of pastries to your mother." She paused for dramatic effect. "I will name them fat rolls."

Elias allowed himself to laugh loudly. One of the things he liked the most about this Sienna was her ability to take something that should have had her shrieking in anger and turn it into another reason to annoy his mother.

Chubby charms had not worked, so his mother had coined Fat roll. After she sent the pastries, his mother would probably have to find another name to give her.

He had tried to stop her, but his mother simply refused to listen! Moreover, Sienna had told him to stay out of it, so he was doing just that.

Suddenly, she became more serious. "Hey, be careful out there. Don’t let your pride make you reckless."

Elias’s gaze softened, his stern mask slipping for a moment. "I know. And I promise, I will return."

She nodded, the added slyly, "Return with some of those smuggled goods. Whatever you recover, we take 10%. There is no such thing as a free lunch in this family."

Elias sighed, smiling softly. It sounded like a joke, but he knew she meant every word she was saying and she didn’t care if it reached the ears of the king. He was not sure if that made his wife careless or fearless.