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Shasta found children far easier to deal with than adults. They rarely had filters, but were always honest. Very few children had gile at a young age. That was more of an adult trait. And even when kids did lie, it was generally pretty easy to tell when; at least with young ones.

Relating to children was always easier for her. Once they got over the initial hurrah of her being an overgrown cat, kids treated Shasta like a person. Most adults treated her with respect, but only because she’d earned it. If she wasn’t a Pillar, Shasta would be treated the same as Alfred and the other Fae classified as beast men.

Slandered, harassed, extorted... It infuriated her. There was only so much she could do as a single person. If Tidas hadn’t have been so persistent with equality rights being included in the Fae Treaty, her kind might’ve remained as sub-citizens for generations. Their entire species truly owed Tidas and Skye for their hard work...

“Hello! What’s your name? Why do you look like a cat? Were you cursed by a witch? There’s lots of fairytales about people being changed into frogs and stuff by witches! And gods, too!” Victor yelled as he and his sister came to a stop at the same time.

Anna bounced up and down in place as she talked; “I’m Anna! I really like your dress! Oooo.. Your fur is so soft! May I please see your ears? Do you have pink toes too? Our kitty at home does, we call them little beans!”

The two children exploded with questions. Shasta wanted to try and answer them, but they were asking too many, and trying to talk over each other. When she looked up at Lawrence, she couldn’t help but want to laugh. He looked like he was going to stroke out.

When he finally looked at her, Shasta smirked before turning back to the children; “How about we play a game?”

The mention of playing together immediately grabbed their attention. The two focused on Shasta like she was a book they were trying to read. She kept a soft smile as she explained the rules to them.

.....

“It’s called the ‘Roundabout Game’. I tell you something that I like, and if you like it too, then you get to say something you like until one of us likes it too. If someone says something we all like, then we link arms and spin around singing, ‘The more we know, the closer we grow!’ Does that sound like fun?”

The two children’s eyes went wide with unabashed excitement as they turned to each other. They’d never played before, but it sounded like fun! After a quick nod, they turn back to Shasta with clenched fists and yelled; “Yes Please!”

Lawrence cleared his throat to gain their attention; “We can play, but we’ll need to go back to our quarters for that.”

The children nodded enthusiastically as Shasta flashed a soft smile in acknowledgment. Lawrence’s heart thumped in his chest again at the sight of it. It really was unfair at the moment. All he wanted to do was hold and kiss her, but that would have to wait.

She had almost instantly reined in the twins, which was impressive unto itself. But she’d also given them something to do together that would help them all get to know each other better. He’d never heard of the game before, but loved the concept behind it. ‘I wonder where she learned it from?’

When the two children started asking their father if they could have dessert while they played, Shasta took the opportunity to look around. It was then that she realized that Skye and Tidas were among those staring at them.

Skye had instantly beamed and waved rapidly at her while Tidas had a knowing smirk on his face. She waved at them modestly with a small smile, even though they could tell how happy she was. Her tail never stopped swaying.

As they went to leave, Shasta looked back at them one final time and smiled brightly. Some of the spectators weren’t expecting such a dazzling smile from someone they knew to be, in general; vulgar. It was unsettling to a few, but most saw it as a direct influence from the Ruscovic King.

As soon as they cleared the doorway, the banquet hall erupted with hearsay and gossip. Some said that Lawrence was the cause for Shasta’s new look and behavior. Others said the amount of time she was spending with Skye had changed her. Each idea was then broken down further.

The one about Lawrence being the motivation was a bit more juicy gossip-wise. Many courtiers were delving into whether he had asked her to change, or if she had decided to do it herself. The general consensus was that she’d chosen to change for him, but her motivation behind it all was the core of the debates.

Most said the same thing: Shasta was trying to look presentable as a potential partner for the king. Her status as a Pillar was more than equal to nobility. The only arguments were about whether a ‘beast woman’ was a ‘proper’ choice for a wife of a king.

Most knew that Ruscovic accepted Fae as equals to humans, but that didn’t mean they agreed with it. Alcon wasn’t as tolerant.. The conversations started to turn ugly quickly, beginning to raise Skye and Tidas’ anger quickly. They were about to make an announcement, but Magnus beat them to the punch.

Lawrence and Shasta had left two hours ago by the time the king had reached his limit. He grabbed a long golden scepter that rested against the throne, and banged it against the ground several times vehemently. Catching the attention of everyone in the room.

“Did I not make myself clear before?! The term Beast Men is derogative to the Fae! If I hear that word come out of anyone’s mouth for the rest of the night, I’ll order ten PUBLIC lashings to whomever said it! How dare you speak ill of one of our own! Shasta is a Pillar of Alcon! She has EARNED her title, which demands respect! One more false word and I will issue the lashes myself!” Magnus inhaled a deep breath; “Am I Clear?!”

The room was silent until a unanimous choir of, “Yes my King”, could be heard from the majority of those gathered. After that, conversations were much more usual. They still talked about Lawrence and Shasta, but at least it was reasonably respectful now.

After a little damage control with some of the diplomats, Skye and Tidas went back to enjoying themselves. Magnus sat on the throne with a weary expression until he saw what the two were doing. Seeing his youngest son and his wife go from diplomat to diplomat.. It was obvious to him.

Magnus sighed with relief. He was just starting to think about the repercussions of his little loss of temper. ‘Leave it to Tidas to understand, haha! He looked like he was about to say something himself, but that could’ve turned out much worse.. That lad has no filter when it comes to issues of this nature.’

Looking to his right, Magnus stared at his oldest and wondered what he was thinking. ‘Marco usually would’ve stepped in, but he hasn’t said a word almost all night. Lawrence is his brother, and an important ally.. Why did he not speak up? Did he know Tidas or I would intervene?’

Magnus sighed again heavily. He would have to give his soon-to-be-king of a son a stern lecture tomorrow on controlling the court. Things like this created instability in the court, and the authority of the crown.

Shasta’s rank demanded respect, and he expected those within his court to show it to her, regardless of what their personal beliefs were. She had earned it, and he would be damned before allowing the lazy, entitled narcissists of his court to speak badly about her..

************

After reaching their quarters, Shasta spent twenty minutes being shown various toys, artwork, and graded papers from their tutors. Lawrence tried to tell them not to right off, but Shasta told him it was fine.

Victor was extremely proud of his history and writing scores, and Anna went on and on about a particular doll she’d had ever since she was a baby. They both bounced in place as they spoke about their favorite things. Shasta’s tail never stopped swaying as they talked.

After a bit, a servant brought out two small trays filled with various kinds of cookies. Victor liked the chocolate chip ones while Anna only ate the sugar cookies. Both Shasta and Lawrence liked the oatmeal raisin ones, so they shared. The only ones left were chocolate ones with chocolate chips inside them.

As they munched, they started the game. The children insisted that Shasta go first, so said that she liked the cookies. Lawrence went next since neither of the children liked raisins yet. He said that he liked to practice his sword fighting skills. Shasta and Victor both agreed, but Victor said it first, so he got to pick the next topic.

When the lad said he liked to ride his horse, everyone agreed, and they all stood up and spun around while saying, “The more we know, the closer we grow!”

It was unbelievably cheesy, but it was the best kind. They went on like that for over two hours before the children wanted to go for a walk around the palace before bedtime. Technically they were supposed to be going to bed right then, by Lawrence shrugged the nanny off saying that they were on a family vacation of sorts. Therefore normal rules could be bent for the few days.

The nanny wasn’t happy, but the children were ecstatic. Lawrence had patted her shoulder and said; “At least they’ll be easy to put to bed when we get back.”

She glared at him, but didn’t say anything. Lawrence was a doting father, so she was used to him bending the rules on occasion. If they weren’t so cute together, she’d probably be angry, but could never muster the emotions for it. They were just too sweet together.

Shasta walked over to the nanny and spoke in a soft voice to her; “We’ll put them to bed if you’re tired, right Lawrence?”

The two women looked to the king as he shrugged and said; “Sure! Don’t wait up for us!”