The Succubus and her two Mates

18| The King and Queen

The initial greeting had gone well. It was in a small reception area before you entered the dining room. She had said all the proper words and did the bow Alina taught her. She only responded when they spoke to her. It had just been pleasantries.

The King and Queen were the most handsome couple she had ever seen. They appeared younger than she thought they'd be, considering that Brock was in his early twenties. Brock obviously took after his father physically. They were equally built with Brock's father sporting the manliest beard Ronnie had ever seen. It was immaculately kept. He had warm golden brown eyes and black hair. The Queen had dark brown hair that had a slight shimmer of gold when the light hit it. Her features were petite, but her blue eyes were fierce, Brock obviously taking after her there. She definitely seemed a woman not to be trifled with.

Ronnie was also introduced to a strange slim man that everyone referred to as Advisor. He was horrendously gaunt and held himself very proper. He scrutinized her closely during the interaction.

They were shown into the dining room and sat down. The King sat at the head with his Queen to his right, Brock on the left. Ronnie sat next to Brock and Brand sat directly across from her, next to the Queen. Advisor sat at the other end, opposite the King. The King's dining chair was larger than everyone else's, far more throne-like.

It made Ronnie smile when she saw it. He sat first. When their drinks and meals were set in front of them, no one started eating or took a sip until he did. She thanked Alina so much in her head for all the prep. A number of wait staff stayed in the room, ready at any moment to top up drinks or remove empty plates.

The Queen had barely taken her eyes off Ronnie. Ronnie could tell she was just itching to talk to her. But a meal first and then free conversation could occur. This had been a weird concept for Ronnie when Alina had explained it. For Ronnie, it was part of eating, to talk, to share more than just a meal. Alina had explained this was protocol for official meals which the meeting of a mate included. It seemed to be based on ensuring the staff wouldn't overhear private information. Ronnie was starting to think dragons were weird. But she remained quiet, eating and taking in the three new people.

Ronnie also quickly realised she couldn't feel them much, like the others she had met so far. Were her abilities reduced with dragon shifters? Curious, she'd never had trouble sensing Brock's feelings.

She gleaned a very small amount. The King seemed stressed. He was hardly there, often staring into space. The Advisor- or was it just Advisor?- seemed to just be really enjoying his meal. It seemed he was called only by his title.

And the Queen. Her impatience with having to get through the meal was palpable.

Once the meal was over, they moved to an adjoining sitting room. This was far more relaxed and Ronnie held back waiting to see where she would be sitting. Brock and Brand were angling her quickly to the three seater, probably accurately guessing that if they didn't, she'd be pinned down by the Queen. The Queen's face showed she was displeased with the seating arrangement, but she said nothing and sat on the lounge opposite them. The King in his own splendid armchair - Advisor opting to stand.

The sitting room was very cozy, with a few warm lamps around and with a fire going. There was a portrait above it, depicting the King and Queen. A tapestry the size of the whole wall was on one side of the room, which she could tell told some kind of dragon based saga, with a large window that looked out at the gardens on the other. It was too dark to see out now, the lights of the room reflecting against the window creating a softer, warm feel.

Ronnie had really no idea how this was going to go.

She sat and waited. The wait staff handed out drinks and sat a decanter of the drink they poured on the low table. They exited the room, leaving the six of them and closing the door behind them.

"So, Veronika," the King started. His voice was deep and warm. "Brock tells us you are part Fae."

Ronnie shifted. "Yes, your majesty."

"Please, when in here, you can call me Paol."

"Thank you Paol." She did not offer up the more informal version of her name.

"My dear. Of what Fae house-" the Queen started.

"Mother," Brock interrupted sternly.

Ronnie hesitated but decided to answer even though the question hadn't been fully asked. "My grandmother was a daughter of a merchant. My grandfather was human."

The Queen regarded her. "Do you have any elemental magic?"

Ronnie could feel both Brock and Brand tense, it was obviously another sore spot that Brand had no elemental magic. It made her feel like s**t. Poor Brand.

"Barely even…"

"We can assess it tomorrow," the Queen replied, “What other abilities does your Fae blood afford you?”

Ronnie kept it simple, giving her usual empath with some influence. She noticed that the King and Advisor were very interested in this part of her powers. She tried to downplay how effective it was - which she felt both Brand and Brock do their best not to contradict with their reaction to her responses.

“Any battle training?” Advisor asked. He stood with his arms behind his back.

Ronnie’s eyes crinkled as she smiled sweetly, “I’m a lover not a fighter.”

A low buzz tickled her as she relished in the response from her mates at her words. There was shock, amusement and of course arousal. It didn’t take much for her to flick their switch. She’d had a lot of fun playing up on the plane with the two.

Advisor glanced down quickly and walked from behind the Queen to stand beside the King. He couldn’t quite disguise the small flicker of a smile across his lips.

“And you’re only a quarter nymph?” his tone was still pleasant, but she could feel the undercurrent of his question.

She expertly kept her smile perfectly in place as she nodded and hummed yes.

“How well can you sense people since you have been here?” The Advisor asked her.

“I can feel Brand and Brock completely, but maybe that is because I have known them longer. I haven’t met any other dragon shifters before today. Those I have met, it has been limited.”

The King leant forward. “What can you feel from us currently?”

Ronnie hesitated. She couldn’t feel a lot but was worried about admitting anything. “Right this second?” Continuing when they nodded, “I can feel that you are preoccupied, anxious. Advisor is… interested in- the conversation.” She fumbled with the last part trying not to say something inappropriate. It was pretty common for men to be interested in her physically.

Advisor shifted on his feet, his cheeks flushing slightly. Both Brand and Brock growled without control, but quickly apologised, chaste.

“Please forgive me,” Brock rushed out. It gave the distinct impression to Ronnie that he was uncomfortable in letting his dragon front up. She’d only really known wolf shifters, who often deliberately showed their wolves.

“Apologies,” Brand spoke at the same time. His tone and aura was more out of respect than a fear of judgment.

Ronnie found the two mens responses interesting. Advisor was obviously a figure of authority. And Brock was maybe more wound tight than she had previously thought. He’d become tenser and tenser the closer they had gotten to their destination.

The two older men settled into silence giving each other a glance.

When it became apparent that they were not going to ask further questions, the Queen continued, seemingly unimpressed by her abilities. "And your age?"

A rumble emitted from Brock. The Queen cast her eyes on him in warning and he dropped his gaze respectfully.

Ronnie might have had limitations on sensing their feelings, but the tension between the two was obvious. She wondered now that her abilities seemed muffled; she was actually just really good at reading people.

"I am almost twenty."

The Queen made a very dignified humpf sound, seeming satisfied. She then asked questions about how many children the woman of her family had had and at what age. Ronnie responded, a feeling of discomfort settling in her stomach, noting the Queen's frowns at her answers. Both her mother and grandmother had had children by her age. She explained the men weren't around due to their unexpected demises to have more, with her mother passing away when she was young - though she didn't actually know if her father was dead or not, she didn’t say that. Thankfully the Queen didn’t ask how her mother died.

While it made her squirm, Ronnie was fairly unphased by this part of the conversation. She was confident pregnancy wasn't in the cards and while she understood that there was going to be an expectation if she stayed here, she really wasn’t thinking that far ahead. She couldn’t get pregnant in any case. She'd had an IUD in for a couple of years now, and it was rock solid.

"And are you untouched?"

The King choked on his drink.

"Mother!" Brock exclaimed. "What kind of question is that?"

It dawned on Ronnie why she had her own room. She couldn't help it. She laughed. She could feel Brand's amusement at the question and it tickled her pink. The Queen was old fashioned to be sure. But as stuck up as she seemed to be there was no way she didn’t know that Brock and Brand weren’t virgins, in Ronnies mind. She could jot down sexist against her would be mother in-law. The fleeting thought both amused and embarrassed her. She knew she shouldn’t think about something as silly as marrying a prince.

Placing her hands on her knees, she smiled at the Queen, who was waiting for her answer. "No. I am not."

"Hopefully not by these two," she said pointedly.

Ronnie remained passive, she felt Brand remain relaxed by her side, but Brock gave them away as he fidgeted in his seat.

The Queen sighed heavily, and the King turned his head to cough, obviously trying to hide his amusement.

"Stupid matebonds - to be ruined before proper union. And before he could ensure, you could be taken by him in any case. Such a waste." She growled crossly, allowing her dragon to come out. Just in her eyes. And Ronnie could tell it was deliberate.

Ronnie could feel both of her mates trying not to look at her. Brand seemed stuck in place, his posture now stilled. Brock was fidgeting, his hands clenching quite like he had during their journey there. Ronnie kept a perfectly neutral gaze, focusing on not letting her smile drop. She was sitting with perfect poise, sitting up straight, towards the front of the seat of the couch.

That word, ruined. It sat wrong with Ronnie. Her tongue suddenly felt too big for her mouth as anger stirred in her stomach. She didn’t truck with slut shaming. So this aged lizard hag assumed Ronnie was a virgin before her son and his mate, but now that she wasn't she was tainted for the next schlub that came along? I don’t think so lady, Ronnie seethed internally all the while still smiling.

The Queen frowned at her and continued with her questioning. "Only ever lived in the human world?"

Ronnie nodded.

"Do you know any other human languages?"

Ronnie shook her head.

"Mmmm," was her response. "Well, Brock, I don't see how this is going to be more advantageous than an arranged engagement. Apart from maybe being able to bear you children-."

Ronnie felt him fighting for control before starting to speak. Ronnie herself wanted to speak up and point out there was no engagement here in any case but she didn't trust herself to speak.

"Sevnia." They were all saved by the King. "As you said, the matebond can override all sense and reason in a person. There is plenty of time to sort through our options."

Ronnie didn't understand what the options were he was referring to but she felt Brock quietly smolder at his words. Brand was quiet, and hadn't said a word the whole time. No one addressed her again so she just sat there with everyone in a very uncomfortable silence.

~*~