"It's not that," Kaia says, lowering her hands to look at Zara. "I mean, some of it is definitely that. Public claiming? Witnesses? That's terrifying. But it's not just that. It's just so much all at once. I know time is of the essence with my heat approaching, but I just... I didn't expect to find all this. I came here to kill dragons, not to become a dragon queen with ceremonies and traditions and councils telling me how to present myself."
Solace laughs. "Modesty is not our princess' strong suit. Of that, she'll be fine eventually. But royal life isn't her strong suit either. She spent her whole life in Valoria trying to escape the confines of being a princess. Now she's walking into an even more complicated royal situation."
Kaia nods emphatically. "Exactly. In Valoria, I just had to smile and stay quiet and let my father make all the decisions. Here, I'm expected to actually rule, to make decisions that affect thousands of people. And there are all these traditions and expectations, and everyone keeps looking at me like I'm supposed to know what I'm doing."
Zara places a gentle kiss on Kaia's cheek, tender and reassuring. "Then I think we can work with this. You don't need to know everything right away. You learn as you go, same as everyone does. And we'll be there to guide you, to help you navigate the parts that are overwhelming."
Kaia smiles slightly, some of the tension leaving her shoulders. "Thank you. I just need things to slow down a bit. Everything's happening so fast."
"I know that our prophecy is not yours," Zara says, her voice turning more serious. "But I also know that when we step into Valoria, they will protest our claim to you. Wolves are such..."
She trails off, clearly catching herself. Kaia and Solace are both staring at her, eyebrows raised in identical expressions of offense.
"I apologize," Zara says quickly, but I can see the amusement in her eyes. "That was poorly phrased."
Laughter breaks out, tension dissolving as we all recognize the absurdity of the moment. Kaia's giggles are slightly hysterical, but genuine. "You were going to say wolves are possessive, weren't you? Or territorial? Maybe stubborn?"
"All of the above," Zara admits with a grin. "But that's not necessarily a bad thing. Those traits have their uses."
"You can claim me," Kaia says once the laughter subsides. "Publicly if you need to, if that's what will make it official in both kingdoms. But maybe just go slow with everything else? The ceremonies, the protocols, the expectations. Can we take those one step at a time?"
"Of course," I say, standing to join Zara beside Kaia's throne. "We'll adapt everything to what you need. The traditions exist to serve us, not the other way around. If something doesn't work for you, we change it."
"How about lunch and then a walk through the courtyard?" I suggest, wanting to shift the mood to something lighter. "No councils, no ceremonies, no discussions about public claiming. Just the four of us enjoying the afternoon together."
Kaia's face brightens immediately. "That sounds perfect. But..." She hesitates, glancing between Zara and me. "I know you must have more to do with your royal duties. My father is always busy. He barely has time to eat most days because he's so consumed with running the kingdom. Don't you have responsibilities you should be attending to?"
Zara laughs. "Your father's approach to ruling is not the only approach. There is a balance to life, Kaia. It can't all be about work and it can't all be about play. But everyone also has theirjob to do. If we want time off, there are people to support us and when others want time off, we pick up a little bit of the slack. It's how Embrath has always existed."
"We have advisors and council members and staff for a reason," I add. "They handle the day-to-day operations, the routine decisions. We step in for the important matters, the things that require royal authority or judgment. But we don't micromanage every aspect of the kingdom. That would be exhausting and unnecessary."
"Your father probably doesn't delegate well," Zara observes. "He likely insists on controlling everything himself, making every decision personally. That's not leadership, that's paranoia and a need for absolute control."
Kaia nods slowly, processing this. "He does do that. He doesn't trust anyone to make decisions without his approval. Even small things, like what the kitchens should serve for dinner or whether to repair a fence in the outer villages, he insists on knowing about and approving personally."
"That's no way to rule," I say firmly. "A good leader surrounds themselves with competent people and trusts them to do their jobs. We check in, we provide guidance when needed, but we don't try to control every detail. Otherwise, we'd never have time for anything else. No time for each other, no time for ourselves, no time to actually live."
"And what kind of life is that?" Zara adds. "What's the point of ruling a kingdom if you're too busy to enjoy it? The whole purpose of good governance is to create a society where people can thrive, where they can find joy and fulfillment. If the rulers themselves can't do that, how can they expect their people to?"
"So you're saying I can take time off?" Kaia asks, something like hope entering her voice. "I can have lunch and go for walks and not feel guilty about neglecting my duties?"
"Exactly," I confirm. "In fact, taking that time is part of your duties. You need to be healthy and happy to make good decisions. Exhausted, stressed rulers make poor choices. And beyond that, you're about to go into heat. Your body needs rest and care, not more stress about ceremonies and protocols."
"Plus," Zara says with a mischievous grin, "we want to spend time with you. Call it selfish if you want, but we've been waiting centuries for our mates. Now that we have you and Solace, we're not going to waste our time together buried in paperwork and council meetings."
Solace stands, moving to join us around Kaia's throne. "I think what they're trying to say, princess, is that you're allowed to be happy here. You're allowed to enjoy yourself. You don't have to earn the right to rest or to have fun."
"That's going to take some getting used to," Kaia admits. "In Valoria, everything was conditional. Approval, affection, even basic freedoms. It all depended on whether I was being the princess my father wanted me to be. It’s also really nice not to constantly feel everyone’s emotions."
"Well, here you just need to be yourself," I say, reaching out to tuck a curl behind her ear. "That's all we want. The real you, not some performed version designed to meet someone else's expectations."
Kaia nods, humming for a second before she looks at Zara. "What about the public claiming part?" Solace asks. "Is that negotiable?"
Zara tries to hide her smile but fails. "Some public element is probably necessary, especially given the political implications. Both Embrath and Valoria need to see that the bond is legitimate and complete. But we can control how much is public and what happens privately. We don't need to follow every traditional element exactly."
"Thank god," Kaia mutters. "Because the idea of multiple hours of public consummation was making me want to run back through the Shadowlands."
We all laugh at that, the tension finally broken completely. Kaia stands, smoothing down her dress one more time, and takes Solace's hand. "Alright. Lunch first, then we figure out the rest. One thing at a time."
