The Alliance

[Virgo13]

Today was a busy day.

An understatement that was for certain the castle staff hustling and bustling all around in preparation for the arrival of their guests. The whole kingdom really was a buzz but not out of excitement there was an air of fear and uncertainty. But that was to be expected when the royal family of a kingdom ruled by Naga's had insisted upon a meeting to discuss a possible alliance with Arunde. It was a well known rumor that the naga's of that kingdom devoured humans on a daily basis, humans born there destined to their rulers stomach's, so rarely did the mostly human populace of Arunde interact with them save for royal summits of other leaders. A summit that they had hosted this year a few weeks back. Despite being ruled by mostly humans Arunde was a respected kingdom, they land rich in resources and military power, such that kept them from being invaded by those who'd think they'd be easy pickings.

Still there was unease but the royal family made sure to stand tall, to be a fine example, and Princess Bernadine was nothing but efficient and serious as her role as crown Princess. Even now aiding her mother and father to organize for this meeting, her composed and regal disposition bringing that calm feeling to all. A composed princess with fair skin, long silky blonde hair, a fair figure that was adorned in an outfit that was practical and regal. Trousers of white with boots with an inch heel in length and height, a blonde blouse with a navy blue petty coat to carry that air of authority. And class with her silver framed oval glasses framing the amber brown eyes.

All seemed to be in order and Bernadine just gave approving nods till the horn did sound...their guests had arrived...Bernadine was quick to find her way to the meeting room where she would sit on her mothers right side. Her father at the end of the table, a handsome but burly man thick brown hair and a beard wearing a suit of black and cape of purple and a grown of gold on his head. Her mother was a beautiful woman, looking similar to Bernadine only her hair cut in a bob and curled at the ends with bright blue eyes. The Barnes family sat and waited only to raise when their guests did.

"Welcome please be seated", King Bernard would say with a nod and business smile. "Now...let's cut to the chase on what brought you to our fair kingdom?"

[vasp]

As the royal family arose to greet them, two figures slid into the meeting room with a regal ease befitting their own station. Two serpentine humanoid females entered, each bedecked in fine silks and shimmering jewelry while sporting a darker complexion than the royal human family. The shorter of the pair was already taller than all but the tallest of humans, but the other figure was half again as large as her, towering over the royal guards of Arunde as well as her own retainers that followed well behind.

The larger of the two sported a gem encrusted headdress of plated gold that hid most of her head save for her face, though a few strings of purple braids peeked out towards the back. Slitted yellow eyes peered out from above a small, false smile as she took note of everything in the room. Her torso was dressed in an intricately embroidered shawl that protected her modesty but left her sun-colored midriff exposed. Her hips were wrapped in another sort of silken shawl, far simpler in appearance than the one around her shoulders but it was partially bound in loose chains of precious metals. Further below though was what grabbed the most attention to the waiting humans, a great, sinewy tail covered in shimmering black scales taking place of where legs should've been. This immense and intimidating figure was Erina, Empress of Sult.

The second figure was dressed more modestly, a veil obscuring her face while long, purple hair hung freely between her shoulders. Her entire torso was covered by heavy silken robes, several ornamental trails going down to rest against her tail, while the metallic glint of numerous bangles shone from her otherwise bare arms. The scales of her tail were a more unassuming brown in color, but still retained the lustrous sheen of her mother's scales. This figure was Nia, princess and first heir of Sult.

"Hmm, an interesting choice of words to start with," Erina noted coolly as she pushed the offered chairs aside and opted to rest atop her coiled body instead. Nia however awkwardly propped herself onto the chair closest to her mother's right, hoping desperately not to draw the attention of the humans upon her. "Very well, we can skip the pleasantries if that is what you wish," the empress continued, casually looking over the talon like finger caps she bore on her right hand.

"I'll be honest, I've been hounded by... most of my advisors to attack and lay claim to this quaint little kingdom for some time now. I always denied them of course, I always felt that would be..." she paused as she pointedly looked over all three members of the royal family with a predatory grin.

"Such a waste," she then finished, knowing the humans would fill in the silent 'of good food' by themselves.

"Still, as much as I'd like to I can't ignore them forever. You have a number of resources plenty of people within my borders would kill for to gain access to, after all. Just giving in and declaring war on you though would just leave the foulest of tastes in my mouth, especially after you were so kind as to hold this year's summit. Instead, I'd like to fashion a trade deal with you, coupled with an official alliance to get the little backstabbers to hopefully finally drop the matter. What do you think so far, little Bernie?" she continued, her tone becoming teasing towards the end as she used her nickname for the king back when they were both far younger.

[Virgo13]

Tension was rising you could cut it with a knife it was so thick upon the arrival of Empress Erina and her daughter Nia. Such a stark contrast the daughter seemed almost terrified to be here but her mother was so towering and intimidating it took a lot for any human not to look on in nervousness and fear. But the royal family kept their feelings in check. Bernadine casting a glance to both the Queen and the Princess before attention drifted back to her father.

King Bernard unable to keep himself from scowling at the old childish nickname though he would have been scowling all through her talks. Tensions only increasing at the talk of war and suppressing their own shivers at the predatory store and intentions of the naga's words. Bernard at first wanted to deny this, never a fan of those who looked down on them simply because they were human they got this far for a reason after all. But upon a gentle hand embracing his courtesy of his wife he paused and had to think of the people.

"I for one think its a good idea, we don't have many allies father, never hurts to have more", Bernadine would voice to make it all the easier for him as she stared at him. War was to be avoided especially against beings like them...surely even if they did win there would be far too many casualties and the next kingdom would come to invade and they'd lose. The King thus did nod his head and sigh.

"Very well Ernie...", Bernard did throw back. "Have you come with a proposal are have you sought to custom make one here and now?", he would ask in case she already brought some formal papers of any kind.

[vasp]

"Your daughter is wise," Erina commented as she glanced over to the princess, suppressing a chuckle as she heard her own daughter quickly make some movement. No doubt the poor thing had caught herself staring at the opposite princess and had quickly turned away. Ahh, she remembered when she first saw her own Soul... She didn't let her reminiscing show on her face, instead keeping it as the slightly amused smirk that she knew agitated the old goat like crazy.

When King Bernard threw her own old nickname back at her, the tyrannical (at least in the eyes of the outside world) snake burst into hearty laughter, enjoying how easy it still was to fluster her old friend. She again kept her inner feelings from showing on her face as a tinge of sadness spiked through her. She supposed he hardly considered her a friend anymore these days... Not after so many years, exaggerated stories, and whispered rumors about her and her empire. Oh well, who could blame her for enjoying the reminders of pleasant memories?

"Don't worry, I have already crafted a deal that should be satisfactory to both parties," she waved dismissively before she pulled out a few scrolls from under her shawl, sliding them over to the King, Queen, and Princess for review. "Of course I'm sure there will be adjustments to be made, but at the very least I hope it will be a solid foundation to work from," she continued, returning to looking at her nails in feigned disinterest as the she waited for the three to read over the offered documents.

What was written was actually remarkably fair for the kingdom of Arunde, perhaps even favoring them overall as Erina mostly asked for water, wood, and livestock in exchange for Sult's gold, silk, spices, salt, and stone. Not to mention the use of Sult's army in the event a foreign nation ever tried to invade Arunde. The human kingdom might've been fairly well off in military might, but Sult's armies were potentially the greatest in the known world... Which made it rather suspicious that there wasn't any sort of price gouging, extortion, or demands for tribute. Erina could very well demand anything she wanted with impunity... So why wasn't she taking them for all they were worth? The Empress allowed herself a small, knowing smile as she correctly guessed about the time the three royals would start to think the deal was too good to be true...

[Virgo13]

The King scrunched up his face as they were laughed at but otherwise the three stayed composed Bernadine noting the Princess opposite of her. She was staring at her quite a bit but looked away so chose not to mention anything not wanting to offend. As soon as the document was presented before them they started to read it both her parents taking out their reading glasses to go over it thoroughly with her reading it over her mothers shoulders. It was very interesting so far the contract not only seemed more then fair...but almost seemed to favor them entirely. Everything was doable and they weren't asking for too much nor too little but getting a lot in return for such an alliance. Suspicions roused a deal like this did not come around without a catch.

"Forgive us", her mother said straightening up and put her hand on the document. "This is a fair contract and alliance indeed but...I feel this may be a bit "too good to be true"...as some would say. I feel there is a condition that you wanted to share in spoken words then written so...let's stop dancing around the subject shall we? What is it that you are really wanting in return?", the queen said folding her hands and staring suspicious she was a bold woman but perhaps her own motherly instincts were riling up at the intentions of these royals. More so the look to her daughter did not go unnoticed by the queen either.

[vasp]

Erina's small smile turned into a wide, fang filled grin as the opposing queen called her out, secretly pleased to note that the queen held actual power here as well.

"Ah yes, of course!" she began to reply, her voice filled with a sickening sort of sweetness to it, "You see, I heard a great number of curious things during the summit. You humans have so many interesting customs and manners that you all seem to manage to uphold generation after generation. It's really quite impressive. One of them in particular caught my interest though, as I overheard a few of the younger attendants discussing it for some time. Is it not true that you often seal lasting alliances with one another by forcing your offspring into arranged couples? Yes, something you call a 'marriage'?" At that point, Nia seemed to jolt upwards and look up to her mother in obvious alarm despite the features of her face being still hidden behind the veil. She began to slowly shake her head in disbelief in a vain effort to get her mother to stop, but the Empress continued while pretending not to notice her daughter's alarm.

"It goes without saying that the concept intrigued me. The union of two royal families into one of greater size... Well, there's something about that that speaks to me as an Empress. It's... like how my empire was formed, only in a social context rather than a national one. I would like to give it a try, as yet another layer of protection against the schemes of my advisors. Will you join our royal lines together via a marriage, your daughter's hand with my own daughter's?" she requested as her face finally grew serious in expression, eyeing the parents opposite her with an unwavering gaze. To her side though, NIa was slowly further hiding her face in both of her palms as any young adult embarrassed by their parents is wont to do. She then tried to shrink even more into herself as a great growl of hunger escaped from her tail, likely betraying the true meaning of the suggested 'marriage'. What gods did she insult to have her mother and even her own body turn against her so?