Chapter 195: She finally called her the ’b’ word.
Timothy reached out and put his hand on Sienna’s shoulder. It was his way of remind her to keep calm.
Lady Cadelaria pulled a chair for herself, settling in comfortably as if she was just another one of the elders. "This is a fox matter, I don’t know why you are getting involved as a human." She barked, voice sharp enough to cut stone. "You want to bring back sick tribesmen to the city? Do you want to infect us all? Do you think they will thank you if their loved ones are infected too and they are being blamed? Stupid girl, some things are above your scheming capacities. This is not a problem you can sleep with and trick into marriage."
Sienna sat back, hands folded, expression calm as she let her mother-in-law rant. She let the insults pile up like firewood.
"Truly, and ignorant human," Lady Cadelaria sneered. "Always meddling in offices above your pay grade. Always pretending to know better. You will doom us all. Your job should be changing my grandchildren’s diapers and cooking for Elias."
The elders shifted uncomfortably. Tomlin’s beard twitched with smug satisfaction. Vinira smiled, clearly enjoying the spectacle. Panrik, for once, was wide awake, but pretending to be asleep. He had one eye cracked open to watch.
Grace was tapping the table frantically, as if he was trying to communicate in code.
Mini was frowning deeply, her patience running thin, just like Suriq.
The other elders were trying to shrink into the floor, and get away from the awkwardness.
Sienna waited until Lady Cadelaria’s voice finally ran out of venom. Then she rose, her chair scraping against the marble floor like a blade drawn from its sheath.
"Not the pan," Timothy muttered. He crossed his fingers, afraid that the meeting would descend into violent chaos before the agenda was exhausted.
"Lady Cadelaria," Sienna said, her tone icy but controlled. "Why are you here? Last I checked you are not a member of this council or the matriarch of the fox tribe. You were not invited, and you cannot stand in for your husband. You have no right to speak here. You may intimidate and insult me when we are at home, outside my gate, or in your dreams, but not in this chamber."
Cadelaria;s eyes widened. "You dare---"
Sienna cut her off with a raised hand. "Oh yes, I dare today. And I will dare again tomorrow. This council is for the elders of the fox tribe. You are not one. You are here only because you barged in and whoever let you into the room will have a lot of explaining to do. For now, you are ordered to leave."
The silence was heavy.
Even Tomlin’s beard seemed to stop mid-quiver.
Mini’s impatience had turned into something that looked like a smile.
Sienna’s voice sharpened. "Linera, throw this bitch out."
Almost everyone gasped!.
Frankly, Sienna shocked herself too. As many times as she had referred to her mother-in-law as the ’b’ word in her mind, she didn’t think she would ever say it to her face.
Before Cadelaria could process the shock, Linera swooped in, dragging the woman out with very firm talons.
Sienna said with a snap of anger, mixed with impatience. "My decision stands. If the lions are pulling their people out, then we are going to do the same. The flying ships will go today, unless an announcement from the palace says otherwise. I don’t care if anyone here disagrees, go complain to your mommy. If you piss me off, I can’t guarantee what I will do next but I guarantee that it won’t be nice." She sat down, smoothing her sleeves like nothing had happened. "Now," she said briskly, "let us move to the next agenda."
The elders shuffled their papers, disgruntled, but reluctant to pick a battle with her. If she could disgrace her mother-in-law, Elias Veythar’s mother, then what about the rest of them? She would probably have them thrown out of a window.
Elder Mini spoke first. "This year, we are supposed to choose a new Chief of internal security for the tribe. The candidate with the highest approval rate is Wayo Truman, a black panther beast man. He was raised in the tribe, adopted by fox parents and raised with fox siblings. He is known to be loyal, skilled, strong and kind. But he is not a fox beast man."
The room stirred uneasily.
Tomlin’s beard bristled. "Unacceptable. Only foxes should hold such positions. This is not a city matter, it is a tribal matter. He can join the fox vanguard, Elias has allowed all kinds of riffraff in."
Sienna raised her brows. It seemed like Tomlin did not just have a problem with women. He had a problem with other beast man races too.
Vinira leaned forward, eyes sharp. "The panther has proven himself. He has fought beside our vanguard, protected our cubs during an air raid six years ago. He is registered as a tribesman and recognizes his fox parents. He is a good candidate for the position. But only of he is strong enough. The moment he displays any weakness, he must be cast aside."
Elder Panrik opened his eyes. "I object!"
Sienna sighed. "To what?"
"All of it!" He yawned and closed his eyes again.
Grace tapped the table furiously. "I object too. This is a matter of internal security. A black panther in charge of the internal security of the fox tribe! Absurd! He can go and take up that position in the black panther tribe."
Sienna wanted to say something, but the voices of the elders drowned hers. They were all passionate concerning this matter.
Mini screamed firmly, "He has S level physical strength. His combat ability is very impressive. His instincts are sharp. He knows our ways. I am not denying the discomfort because it is real. Many in the tribe will not accept him holding a position of power. But, I think we can try before dismissing him entirely."
Suriq thumped his cane. "He serves the panther god, he is a panther. He should know what boundaries not to cross. How do we know that he is not a spy for his tribe? The black panthers must be laughing at us right now."
Elder Bosco, who had had seemed to be the most calm bellowed, "If we can have a human matriarch, why can’t we have a black panther as chief of internal security? Sienna and Wayo are one and the same."
Sienna twisted her lips, "No we are not."
Jorvan slammed the table. "The panther who guards dens finds shadows in his soup."
About six voices simultaneously barked at hum to shut up.
Sienna pinched the bridge of her nose. She could see why Elias said these meetings gave him headaches sometimes. These people didn’t agree on anything.
Just when she didn’t think the situation could get anymore ridiculous, Suriq’s cane went flying with dangerous eagerness to hit something. Mini diverted it with mental strength, sending it Sienna way!
