To Rule the World | A Zodiac Story

Scorpio's Dilemma

Scorpio and Aquarius arrived at the Palace of Commetes. Aries stood outside of the doorway, awaiting them. Aquarius merely sighed and stepped out of the carriage to greet his friend. Scorpio took much longer, in order to seem more proper. In Aquarius' expert opinion, it didn't work.

Aquarius sauntered up to Aries and grinned. "Aries, what's up?"

Aries shrugged and replied, "You know, the usual. The sky, the ceiling, and certain death."

"All in a days work," Aquarius agreed. "Sorry about my sister. She literally takes years."

Of course, he said that right as Scorpio approached. She scoffed and said, "At least I know how to dress properly."

Aquarius rolled his eyes. "Yeah, sure."

Aries managed a small laugh and guided them inside. They took a few rights into the room they were meeting in. Inside sat Nebula, Draco, And Andromeda. Aquarius day next to Nebula and Scorpio at the head of the table.

"Is Gemini here?" Aquarius asked, remembering their last meeting.

"No, she's not. She was much too busy today and I didn't want her to lose business," Aries explained. "But her treats are."

"Aquarius, we're here on business, not for baked goods," Scorpio reminded him.

"I hear what you're saying, but have you tried Gem's baked goods?" Aquarius asked.

"He's not wrong," piped Andromeda.

Draco cleared his throat. Everyone turned to look at him. "I'm afraid war is still upon us in these troubling times."

Nebula nodded. "We've caught Pisces in the dead middle of it."

Draco glanced to her in agreement, but continued. "My fear is that there will be an assassination attempt on one of us."

Aquarius shifted unevenly. "Like, at the Cepheus' wedding?"

"I'm afraid he'll frame it on someone else, as well," Draco continued. "This war has come out of nowhere. We do not know where his anger towards us is coming from, which there makes him dangerous."

"He likely wants power," Andromeda mused, leaning forward on the table. "Flammae is the least liberal place I know. They're the absolute worst in woman's rights, child labor laws, and generally peoples rights. On the other hand, Solis is the most liberal of all our kingdoms. No king, just a Queen. The first female general of all time. We're in the middle. We believe in all of Solis' policies, but we haven't quite achieved what they have yet."

"So...?" Nebula asked for clarification.

"Cepheus wants everything to be like Flammae. He needs power for that,"  Andromeda explained.

"Speaking of our General, where is she?" Scorpio asked.

Nebula sighed and shrugged. "Well, Cepheus was all like, 'Fetch this, maid' to her. Leo got pissed that she was though of by a maid and demanded to go to Flammae with Pisces as protection. Before we could stop her."

"That's our Leo alright. Maybe she'll find something we can use," Aquarius mentioned, leaning back in chair per usual.

"I just hope she comes back alright. If she goes out on the streets she's gonna have a break down," Scorpio said with a sigh. "If she wants to see poverty, there's no better place than Flammae."

"You're right," Andromeda said, nodding. "You know, the one good thing that came out of the arranged marriage is that Pisces and Libra are good people. They'll help that place out."