She found herself intrigued by the politics of the royal family. What exactly has the eagle lord done to get on the bad side of the royals? Were they foolishly stubborn like Elias in the presence of the king?

She shook her head. No...Elias was not foolish. He respected the royals and worked alongside them perfectly. He just didn’t submit.

"Do you know what they did to get the king’s bad side?" She asked. "He did seem to have a lot of rage when he was beating up the eagle lord."

Geo gave a low chuckle, "If I were to list every offense we would talk until dawn. I should probably stand with some direct offenses that injured the pride of the lions." His voice dropped as though the waves themselves could carry his words to unwanted ears. "At the summit last year, which was hosted by the eagles, the eagle lord demanded to give the welcome speech. Everyone knows the summit is held by the king, the hosting tribe is simply that....a host. It doesn’t mean they are in charge of the proceedings. And then, the eagle lord insisted that the king dismiss his royal guards in preference for eagle guards. He said his people were faster and had sharper vision."

Sienna whistled. "That is a direct insult to the authority of the lions." 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

Geo agreed. "The king tolerated it outwardly because he likes to give off this easygoing image, but behind closed doors, claws were sharpened."

Sienna snorted. "Typical. From what I have seen, they love to puff their feathers, forgetting that lions bite harder."

Geo’s gaze swept the horizon. "Worse still, they meddled in trade deals that the king oversaw during the summit. After it ended, the eagle lord brokered secret deals with other bird tribes. They even dared to divert grain shipments meant for royal granaries. When the lions discovered the shortages, they traced the missing cargo to secret eagle held warehouses. The eagles had jackals protecting the warehouses, pretending that it was just ordinary business. The insult from the summit was doubled. Theft of royal supplies first and then profiting from the famine in the North."

Sienna’s lips curled into a sly smile. "So they starved other beast men while fattening themselves. Bold. Foolish. Deliciously scandalous."

Geo’s tone grew grave. "And dangerous. You can steal from anyone, but not the royals. Even your husband knows this and he keeps the fox tribe on a tight leash for this reason. Lions have long memories. They see betrayal not as commerce but treason. This news was kept hush-hush and the eagles paid in beast coin for all the stolen grain. But, it didn’t erase the sin."

They walked in silence for a moment, passing by members of the white snake tribe that hissed at Sienna. Not that she cared. "Come and take your Mija back," she shouted to them.

The white snakes laughed in return.

"No take backs." One screamed.

Sienna sighed. "Tell me more. You said we would be here all night so I am sure there is more. I want to know what I should avoid in future. The best lessons one can learn are often learned by studying the enemy."

Geo obliged. "Three years ago, there were whispers that the eagle lord was funding dissidents within the lion court. An uncle of the king--ambitious, resentful and scarred by the claws of his nephew. There was a picture on the BeastNet of the two meeting. It was captured accidentally by a guest in a restaurant.

Nothing much was shown in the picture apart from two men eating but rumor had it that cash was exchanged. Promises of support were made.As long as the rebellion was successful, the eagles would climb into the highest ranks.

The uncle came out and said it was business deal. He even had receipts. But a week later, royal uncle died during the autumn hunt."

Sienna’s eyes glittered. "Intrigue upon intrigue. Did the royal uncle truly intend to rebel?"

Geo shrugged. "Some secrets are kept so tight within the royal family that not even the walls know the truth. It was all rumors. But I am sure that is when the relationship between the lion king and eagles started to change."

Sienna laughed softly. "Bird brains indeed. Don’t they know that when elephants fight, ants are the ones that get hurt? They should have let the royals handle their infighting and succession battles."

Geo’s ears twitched. "There is more. Two years ago, the king held a grand birthday for the queen, as he does every year. During the banquet, the eagle lord’s daughter presented a gift. A silver mirror. But the mirror was enchanted with mermaid tears...in fact not enchanted but cursed. It was supposed to reveal flawless beauty, but instead, it revealed flaws. Those who got a glimpse say that it showed an image of the aged and scarred queen. She was so frightened that she screamed."

Sienna gasped. "Ho! There is no way that anybody can convince me that was a mistake. It was a gift for the queen, surely, the one who gave the gift looked into the mirror to ensure that it worked as they claimed it did. Either someone set her up or she had a grudge against the queen."

"The eagle lord claimed his daughter had been framed and the real mirror had been switched." Geo kicked some sand upwards. "The queen did not make a fuss, but the damage was done anyway. The hatred of the lions for the family of the eagle lord just deepened. The summit last year was supposed to be their redemption but they botched it because of pride and greed."

Sienna’s steps slowed. She stared at the firecrackers that had been placed in the sand, attached to strings in a straight line. It was almost time for the last fireworks. Elias had been eager for the eagles to see it and die with envy. That opportunity was not available anymore.

"I honestly don’t understand the eagle lord." Geo sighed. "The king is strong and royal house is stronger than ever. They are not ripe for collapse. Looking down on them is bringing disaster on your whole tribe. The eagle lord courts chaos, hoping to rise from the ashes."

Sienna pulled Geo back, just as the first spark was ignited, followed by rapid explosions of the colors of the rainbow in vertical lines. The whole beach was engulfed in colored powder.

Joyful screams filled the air.

But at that same time, there were screams in the flying ship of the eagles and they were not joyful. The wasps that were accompanying them were quite vengeful.