Chapter 209: Unexpected royal secrets.
"Joke! Joke!" Sienna shouted, "I am joking, obviously."
The queen laughed lightly, obviously not taking Sienna’s words as seriously as the others around them. "Your jokes are deadly."
Sienna snorted. "Because sometimes, I enjoy the look on people’s faces when I say something outrageous. And, I am sure this conversation will remain just between us friends. If it does make it to the king, you will put in a good word for me, won’t you?"
The queen chuckled. "Well....my husband plans to start a group, the brotherhood of the traveling underpants. Elias already on the list of members. I am afraid your words sometimes have more impact than you realize."
The gasp which was drawn from Sienna was so loud and long, it could have broken a record. "You guys heard about that too!"
Serenya stirred her coffee, smiling nonchalantly, "We hear everything."
A royal attendant stopped at their table, carrying two fresh cups of coffee, one black for Sienna, and one with milk, for the queen. The old cup was withdrawn. Another attendant slid tiny porcelain plates on the table, and using a tong, added small cakes and pastries prepared in the royal kitchen.
Sienna sniffed an oat carrot cake, whose recipe had bought from her. "Smells like misery."
The queen laughed. "This was prepared according to your recipe, how can it be misery?"
Sienna took a bite, enduring the taste which she didn’t love. It was good, but normal pancakes and cakes were better. Normal biscuits...the kind prepared from white flour, with lots of butter, milk and sugar.
If the old Sienna was in her body, hopefully the woman was enjoying the tasty but fatty rich foods she couldn’t anymore. At least, not until she lost these 170 pounds.
"It’s not the recipe or the cook, I just miss sugar." Sienna sighed miserably.
The queen put her cup down slowly. "So, I heard you love Mija more than you love more."
The moment she heard this, Sienna felt the urge to groan louder than a tiger with a nail in its paw. "Not you too! I am not recording a message declaring that you are my best friend. I am not a cookie! You two can’t over who has the biggest bite."
The queen raised her cup, but didn’t bring it to her lips. She was so amused that she said, "I am sure Ali gets the biggest bite." She snorted. "The only bite."
Sienna rolled her eyes, leaning back to enjoy the rare moment of peace in recent time. "If that is your way of calling my daughter a glutton..."
A sudden scream cut her off, and both women turned to the door. A gust of lilac scented wind swept through the air as a young woman walked forward, her silken gown trailing behind her. Her face was flushed with excitement. Her golden hair gave away her race: lion beast woman. The relaxed state of the guards pointed to her being royalty.
Without waiting for an invitation, she plopped down beside them, commandeering a teapot as though it were her throne. "Sienna, the human wife of the fox lord, in flesh." She leaned forward, mint breath fanning Sienna’s nostrils. "You are smaller than I imagined. All those pictures on BeastNet and movies make you seem larger than a titan mammoth."
Sienna blinked.
"You two won’t believe what I just heard!" she began, words tumbling out faster than Sienna could process them. "My cousins are fighting again! Someone stole jewels from Lenard’s mama and she is naming names. It seemed like a joke until Leon discovered that a few jewels are missing from the treasury. We are short by three emeralds, six gold rings, five turquoise gem necklaces, and a rare purple pearl bracelet. Theft in the royal treasury! Can you imagine?"
Sienna raised a brow. The queen’s expression remained placed, though her knuckles whitened around her cup.
The young woman rattled on, oblivious. "I am getting married in six months and the purple pearl bracelet was promised to me. You have to do something about it Serenya or I am not going to be a happy bride. All my friends can’t wait to see it. If you can’t recover the old one, grease some mer palms and get me a new one."
Sienna drew her head back. It sounded like the young woman was not making a request but rather ordering. It dawned on her that life for the queen was not as rosy as it looked on the outside. Some of the members of the royal family probably thought they were better than her.
The young woman continued, "The eagles are trying to smooth things over through a marriage alliance. Such fools they are. Do they think we are going to take them in after the crimes they committed?" She waved her hand, "Serenya, mama said that if the council decides to go through with it, make sure my brother chooses someone from the extended families. We are not sending prize lionesses to the eagles. They don’t deserve it. Maybe send a widow. The Hawk lord’s brother’s widow is already negotiating remarriage. They say she is aiming for someone on the Hawk council of elders. But they are all old men! It is scandalous!"
Sienna exchanged a glance with the queen. This girl had no brakes.
The young woman leaned forward conspiratorially, lowering her voice only slightly. "I heard something about this plague in passing." She looked at Sienna. "You know about the plague, right? The one everyone’s panicking about and locking their cities down over. Hiding their cubs, hoarding their food and shutting down markets?"
Sienna frowned. Know about the plague! Of course she knew about the plague. "I know about the plague, are you sure you know about it?" She asked in return, dismay coating her voice.
The girl grinned, exhaling softly, "Good, I thought you didn’t know anything about it."
"Well," Sienna said carefully. "I don’t know everything. Perhaps you can share what you know."
The young woman grinned, eyes sparkling with a thrill of gossip. "Well, our family already has a vaccine."
The queen’s cup froze halfway to her lips. Sienna nearly dropped hers.
