Even the air itself seemed to still at Lady Cadelaria’s audacity to command Sienna. The guards certainly did! They held their breath in for a moment, waiting for the punch, pan, or slap. At this point, it was hard to tell.

Slowly, Sienna curled her lips into a dangerous smile. "You--command--me!" She drew out the words slowly and laughed. "As who?"

Lady Cadelaria put her hands on her waist, tipping her chin upwards. Her eyes were filled righteous indignation and her attitude, twice more arrogant than usual. "As your mother-in-law." She smirked. "You plump thing, better know your place. Don’t challenge my authority or I will be forced..."

Sienna focused her thought attack on the sand. A handful flew towards Lady Cadelaria’s face, and she stopped talking. Her hands slapped at the air, rapidly. One moment she was screaming, and the next, she was standing still, as if frozen in place.

Sienna could detect energy waves coming from her grandfather. He was looking at Lady Sienna, and they seemed to be communicating. But, no one could hear what was being said. And then, the woman left!

"What happened?" Sienna asked her grandfather.

The old man smiled slyly. "Let’s just say that I reminded her of the other children she has and how my wife and I are not opposed to ruining their future marriages and lives in the names of being relatives. If she continues to act like an obstacle, we will give her a taste of her own medicine."

Sienna’s eyes lit up. Gael’s engagement was coming up. It was an important event. Lady Cadelaria could not afford to screw it up because the alliance was for the good of two tribes, not just the Veythar family.

She snorted. "Too bad I didn’t get any sand into her mouth."

Her grandfather laughed, and they walked through the gate. By the time they reached the courtyard, breakfast was already served and the queen had already made herself comfortable at the table.

Despite the fact that she had visited a few times before, her presence still made everyone tense. The older women were standing around stiffly, as if they were too afraid to even move. Ali was sullen, eyeing the table with clear hunger and anger at being denied her morning meal.

"If it isn’t my friend that has brought me trouble before I could even have my first meal of the day." Sienna commented, plopping down into a chair opposite the queen.

The older women [Mrs. Miller, Mrs. Abernathy, Grandma Byra] let out small groans.

"At least greet first." Mrs. Abernathy muttered.

"Mama, mama, mama..." Ali cried out. "Save me."

Grandma Byra, whose hand had a firm hold on the child, rolled her eyes. "Save you from what?" She hissed.

Sienna waved her hand. "Come here my little fox, breakfast is getting cold." She looked at everyone, "What are you all waiting for to eat? Or has everyone eaten already?"

The women looked at her as if she was insane. Grandma Byra out a hand over Ali’s mouth before the child could explode with complaints about the queen. Meanwhile, Sienna lifted the lid from the bowl with the spicy rice cake.

Queen Serenya smiled. "What is that?"

"Tteokbokki." Sienna answered, "a healthier version meant for me. Help yourself to some. I am not serving you." She lifted the covers from the steaming bowls of porridge, opened the jar of honey and sniffed the aroma wafting from the freshly made carrot, oat cakes and buns.

The queen looked over her shoulder to her assistant Yaya. Then, her eyes fell on the rest of Sienna’s family. Her smile did not falter, but her gaze made it clear: find somewhere else to sit.

Suddenly, royal attendants were moving half of the contents of the table away and the rest of the family followed. Only Ali broke away from grandma Byra and bravely sat next to her mother. The little girl was immune to the queen’s aura and unsaid warnings. She stacked her plate high with strawberry-lemon cakes and stuffed them into her mouth with both hands.

"Ali," Sienna whispered, mortified. "Slow down. Nobody is stealing your food."

But Ali only grinned, powdered sugar dusted her lips. "Mama, I have been starving. My poor stomach has been crying. The cakes taste like strawberry clouds!" she declared, grabbing more.

Sienna slapped her hands, staring at her sternly. "We are in the presence of royalty. If you can’t eat like a lady you won’t eat at all."

Despite her pout, the girl righted herself and ate at a more slower pace, using eating tools instead of her hands.

While Sienna didn’t have to worry about Ali anymore, she had another troublesome child. Eli had just arrived on the back on Honey Thunder, and he was acting composed as usual. The problem was not the graceful way he was sitting, posture straight. It wasn’t the delicate way he nibbling, either. It was the fact that he was using Honey Thunder as a breakfast mount, balancing a plate on her back.

"Elijah," Sienna said carefully, "why are you eating on Honey Thunder’s back?"

Eli raised an eyebrow, nonchalant in his response. "Because chairs are boring. And Honey Thunder wanted to give me a ride today. She likes it when I read to her."

The bee vibrated approvingly beneath him. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

Sienna looked away. "I don’t know know why I bother," she muttered. At least he was behaving like a child, so that was a win, in a way.

The queen’s lips twitched, almost a smile. "Your cubs are.....funny."

Sienna forced a laugh. "The king and queen of comedy. Now, back to you, my friend. Why did my over spirited, not so polite, mother-in-law accuse me of whispering into your ears my desire to steal her position as CEO of fox cubs and women?"

"CEO!" The queen lifted her spoon, stirring her porridge with deliberate grace. "You make it sound like a company."

"Everything is a company, if you choose to see it that way. A family, a kingdom...it is all a company. Think of it this way: the elders are the board of directors, setting vision and values. The parents are management, ensuring daily operations run smoothly. The children? They are the employees in training.

Food, land, water, employees....they are the resources. You have to assign roles to everyone so that they don’t clash the way I keep clashing with my husband and mother in my garden over my fruits."

The queen laughed.

Ali tugged on Sienna’s shirt. "Mama, mama, I have a question. Bees make honey, and we eat it. So. why don’t we just eat the bee?" She pointed at Honey Thunder.