Alpha King and I

Chapter 26: Meeting Two

It's finally the day of my second meeting, and we have an unexpected surprise. There is a human here; one I strongly recognize since he's rather famous.

Not for what he's known here as though.

I keep my hands laced together in front of my lap, under the table, not wanting anyone to overanalyze the nervous gesture of continuous tapping of my thumb against my hand. I contemplate whether Cadeth will mind me getting an autograph, but decide against it. Not exactly the decorum I'm supposed to show. This human is the current king of the Terra Realm. So everyone is trying to be more human like as a result, in fear of frightening the more fragile creature. His tattoos far contradict the image of fragility that all of the werewolves seem so worried about. Even Cadeth is forcing a rather awkward slight smirk to come off less dangerous.

Terra's King could care less. He combs his hand through his black hair as his light blue eyes attempt to stare down one of our general's. A general who's about three times his size, but the King is unfazed.

He spits out, "Come on general I know you've got more Zinc than that available for such a gracious amount of earth fruit," his gaze turns toward myself and the King, "did we not allow your King to take our subject as his Queen, so kindly?" His head tilts slight, a smirk gracing his features.

Cadeth retorts, "King Biersack, you know well as I werewolves are not your subjects, even in Terra." I can feel Cadeth's hand, wrap over mine. I nod in agreement and give a very subtle glare toward King Biersack's way. His realm was already having enough trouble being a zone of chaos, he was in no real position to bargain. Or make snarky remarks at Cadeth. Though I could see why he was irritated. We couldn't grow the fruit of Terra here ourselves because our soil, although incredibly mineral rich, was too tough for most plants from Terra to grow in. The fruit is mixed with native herbs for drinks and magic infused medicine, beneficial specifically to the economy of the southern region, which trades out a majority of the final products, and the King's domain, which uses it and distributes it to the people in exchange for census data.

Earth is running out of zinc, so I know this deal is pretty important to them as well. Especially considering we have an endless supply in Devaleon.

The General was definitely patronizing the earth King too. He keeps saying we've got to keep some of the zinc otherwise it'll disrupt the Elves in the mountains, but the Elves don't use zinc here. The Doctor had made me read some medical books just before this whole discussion, and it discussed how the Elves here had a genetic mutation which made them generally allergic to group 12 transition metals, giving them terrible rashes. Zinc was one of those metals. I don't know why the general was making such claims, but I think it'd be appropriate to call him on it.

I tug on one of Cadeth's fingers to gain his attention. Still staring down the Earth King, he tilts his head to me.

I whisper, "The general is lying, the mountain Elves don't use zinc." The Earth King is now visibly gritting his teeth. Cadeth moves back to sitting more straight, his hand lets go of mine. He raises it but with one finger pointing directly at the general. A very rude gesture, even for a King. Yet, the general still turns to him.

He questions, "Yes your highness?" Cadeth looks at the general once more, then switches his gaze back to the Earth King. His gaze is colder now. Looking like an abyss. I bite my lip. Remembering what Prince Tei had said to me. Unsure if my words were the right thing to tell him now.

"King Biersack, you may take the zinc quantity you're requesting. Answer one question for me first." The Earth King smiled a full smile, but one of his eyebrows raised ever so slight. I had a bad feeling about this. Cadeth lifted his arms up far too casual for the situation, then dropped them down on the table with a loud slam. The general dashed his eyes left then right. He looked as if he was daring to run out of the room.

He questioned, "Is there something wro-" Cadeth shot him another glare.

"Earth King, when were you going to go behind my back and buy the rest of the zinc directly from the general?"

King Biersack chuckled.

"Tomorrow, King Haerstone." Gasps filled the room. I stayed silent, just taking in what had been said.

Cadeth spoke again, almost a joking tone, "How much was he going to sell my zinc to you for."

"Half price, of course." The general stood up ready to run out in a moment's notice, looking to glare daggers at the Earth King. As he did so both Cadeth and I stood up as well. I was going to use some of the defense magic I've learned to root him to the ground but Cadeth gave me a knowing look. Wording silently 'no'. So instead I pointed at the general with my finger in the same rude way Cadeth had. My arm was shaking a little, but I didn't care.

I stated as clear as I could, "General that's an offense punishable by death." My hand dropped as soon as the words left my mouth. Suddenly guards stepped in and grabbed the general. Cadeth nodded toward the guards.

The guards spoke up, looking directly at me, "Do you wish for us to kill him your highness?" I look at Cadeth and shake my head no.

"My Queen, you must tell them so yourself, since you spoke the matter publicly." Cadeth's words were like stone. I couldn't tell what he was thinking as he addressed me. I mentally promised myself I'd only speak in Cadeth's ear from now on. Feeling my face flush in nervous warmth. Unbefitting of a Queen. The Earth King had stood up too now, his arms crossed. He was lifting his palm in my direction. Snarky as before. I could see a teasing glimmer in his eyes. Everyone else was staring at me as well. My courage of a few moments ago disappeared. But I needed to speak something.

I whispered, "No. Please don't kill him."

Cadeth commanded immediately after, "Give the zinc to King Biersack for half, take it from the general's pay instead."

The general yelled, "Your highness!" Lashing out as violent as he could to try and pull away from the guards, yet to no avail. Seeming he completely forgot about the "fragile" human in the room. Who was now laughing rather uncontrollably while clapping his hands.

Cadeth further commanded, "Send him to work in the rakter dunes for the next two years as well." The general quieted down almost in an instant. His eyes going wide. His whole aura flashed a strong yellow of worry.

Cadeth then turned to me, and in front of everyone he spoke.

"Good job catching this." Another gasp filled the room. Except for King Biersack and Cadeth. My face burned even warmer than it had before.

The meeting was ended shortly after. Not another word spoken. I hope none of the maids heard.

Otherwise I'll never hear the end of it from Baba.

A/N: Hope you enjoy the chapter! Feel free to comment any thoughts. :) Like my little celebrity feature? Welp, not to disappoint, but I think he's only gonna be in this chapter. It's really difficult for humans to travel to Devaleon ya know. lol