While Jee-shahn was busy enduring the "noise" of his own coronation—sweating
under the weight of a ceremonial robe and the judging stares of a million
subjects—the true power of the Dream-Realm was concentrated in a sun-drenched
courtyard within the palace.
The Tea Party of the Wives was not a gathering of delicate flowers; it was a summit of
beautiful predators dressed in silk, presided over by the most elegant "bosses" in the
fourteen skies.
Emiko, the Divine Maiden, sat at the head of the table. She poured the tea with a
precision that suggested she could just as easily be pouring the fate of an empire into
a thimble. "The tea is particularly quiet today," she remarked, her serene smile hiding
a thousand secrets. "Perhaps it's because the loudest source of noise in this house is
currently being forced to stand still for three hours."
Lupa leaned back, her wolf-ears twitching. She wasn't holding a teacup; she was
holding a large drumstick she'd snatched from the kitchen. "He deserves it. If I have
to hear him complain about his 'laziness' one more time while he's napping, I'm going
to use his tail as a rug."Yui nodded in agreement, her silver hair shimmering in the light. "My father looked
like he was going to bite his own tongue off holding that robe. It's the first time in
centuries I've seen the King of the North look so much like a disgruntled servant. It's...
refreshing."
Across from them, the Aurex Sisters were experiencing their first oficial palace tea.
Jasmine, the eldest Lizardman, sat with a triumphant posture, while Mina, Liana, and
Yuna—the Mermaid sisters—were fascinated by the porcelain.
"Is everything here this fragile?" Jasmine asked, tapping the table. "In Aurex, we
usually sit on obsidian. I feel like if I sneeze, I'll accidentally demolish the East Wing."
"You get used to it," Faeloria rumbled, her lioness-kin eyes glowing with a lazy,
predatory heat. "The trick is to remind the husband who the real Master is. Then,
everything stays in its place."
Rin, the Snow Woman, sat in a literal cloud of frost. "He looked so pathetic in that
carriage," she whispered, her voice like cracking ice. "It almost made me want to hug
him. Almost. Then I remembered the four new rings on his fingers and the feeling
passed."
In the corner sat Kaori the Goblin and Tara the Ogre. Despite their "unoficial" status,
they were the heart of the table's appetite. "I just want to know if being a 'Duke's Wife'
means I get a bigger kitchen," Kaori mumbled through a honey cake.
The elegant atmosphere was suddenly shattered as the garden gates burst open.
Aiko, Yui's daughter and the 11th member of the inner circle, came charging in. She
was wearing three diferent hats stacked on her head and was covered in shiny
trinkets from her trip back from Terragorn.
"I'M BACK!" Aiko screamed, her wolf-ears flopping wildly as she oficially joined the
tea party. "I heard we have a new Emperor! Does that mean I get a bigger hat?! Oh!
Look! New sisters! Are you shiny? Can I keep you?!"
Aiko dove into the middle of the party, knocking over a tray of biscuits. Yui sighed,
rubbing her temples. "And there it is. The 11th source of noise has returned."
"She's just like her father," Lupa muttered, though a small, protective smile played on
her lips. "Infinite energy and zero common sense."
"Welcome home, Aiko," Emiko said, her smile never wavering as she magically
caught a falling teapot. "Sit down. We were just discussing the first decree of the new
Empire."
"What is it?!" Aiko asked, her eyes wide with excitement.
All the wives looked at each other. Their smiles were beautiful, elegant, and absolutely
bossy.
"The first decree," Yui said, taking a slow sip of her tea, "is that the True Emperor is
not allowed to nap until he explains every single 'gift' he brought home."
In the distance, a million people cheered for their True Emperor, but in the courtyard,
the real rulers were just getting started.