NARA
The minute we stepped into the Queen Dowager's chamber, she turned to me with a fierce expression. "Why are you wearing that?" She demanded, pointing to my dress.
I held her gaze for a minute before responding, "Why am I in chains?" I retorted in response. Since we're doing stupid questions today, I might as well match her energy.
"Can we get to the point of why we are here? I do not have the time to waste while watching you two squabble over who has more dominance over the other." Kaedyr scoffed as he took in his seat in a gold embroidered chair, which I am guessing is reserved for him because the last time I was in this room, it was empty.
The Queen Dowager turned to him with an icy look as she moved to sit. "You should know you would be held to a certain standard now that you'll be joining the palace, and I expect you to always look your best and dress for the occasion. Your outward appearance going forward will affect this palace and my name." She scolded.
"I will dress however I want as long as I am in these chains. Do you expect me to waddle around every day in corsets and heavy court dresses while my ankles are bound? Do you realise how inhumane that is? I'm not surprised though, you take people against their will and force them into slavery."
Kaedyr looked like he was a minute away from bursting out in laughter while the Queen Dowager glared daggers at me.
"You will respect me in my court." She sneered.
I shrugged. "Respect is earned, not demanded or given. You Lycans have done nothing that is worth my respect. All you've done is cause me and my people pain. Don't think because I am here agreeing to your demands, that I suddenly forget the evil you brought upon my people and the pain you've caused us all."
"You seem to forget that you are here because you are the one in need," she replied calmly, leaning into her seat.
"And you're forgetting that I didn't ask to be here. We both need each other. You need an heir from me, and I need freedom from my people. It goes both ways, granted you have more leverage against me. But I already figured if you came to me, that must mean you are out of options. Because I've been thinking about it, and I realised you could've chosen a princess from any of the other kingdoms. The werewolves, the vampires, and if not the witches, what about the fox shifters, or perhaps the bears? You could've asked for the hand of any princess from those kingdoms, but you came to me instead. So it's either you ran out of options, you don't trust the neighbouring kingdoms well enough or you want your heir to be of a specific breed. Either way, you need me and that's why I am standing here. I may be desperate to help my people but you reached out first."
The tension in the room rose to a different level as I held the stare of the Queen Dowager without breaking a sweat. I may not be versed in royal politics but I am smart enough to know that if I start showing signs of submission now when we haven't even gotten anywhere yet, then I am setting myself up to be treated like she sees me. A slave, a pawn in whatever games she is playing with her son.
The sound of a chuckle from Kaedyr sliced through the tension in the room. "I guess you've earned more credit than I gave you before," he murmured, laughing to himself like he found this entire interaction funny.
Turning to his mother. "You know there is nothing I enjoy more than seeing you being put in your place." He smiled bashfully at her as he delivered words that seemed to cut deep at the Queen Dowager. Her jaw clenched as a low growl rumbled out of her.
Oh well, I guess I shouldn't even wonder if mother and son have a good relationship.