“How do I look?” said Jo. Frowning, her face showing an uncharacteristic amount of worry.

“You look fine, hon…Beautiful like always,” I said. Speaking in soothing tones to keep my wife calm because I could see that she was kind of freaking out right now.

“Ngh…Alright, and like, my blouse...You think this is a good choice right? Not too frumpy but not too showy either?” said Jo.

“It’s fine, love,” I said.

“And my tits? Those are still looking great, yeah?” said Jo.

“Uh…I don’t know? Ex-, excellent as always?” I said. Thrown off, because the salmon-colored blouse she was wearing revealed zero cleavage. Not willing to lie, because it’d probably invalidate all the reassurance I’d given before.

“I know...But, thanks…I’m just messing with you, silly…Don’t think I didn’t notice that I’m not the only one who’s feeling a little tense right now,” said Jo. Smiling mischievously. Giving me a hug and peck on the lips.

“Pft…Okay, you got me…This isn’t a mistake right?” I said. Chuckling nervously.

“Hm, I have no idea, hon…But that’s life, you make a series of decisions based on prior information and then deal with the aftermath…” said Jo.

“Personally, I wasn’t entirely sure about your decision to get back in contact with any member of your family…I mean, Missus Dorothea was a fine enough boss, but I haven’t forgotten about some of the stuff that she let happen under her watch…” said Jo.

“Still, I’ve been to see how important this is to you…I mean you even took time to make your little teas with her while you were busy settling Violet and Mirsada…And, well, I’ve been able to see that having this relationship seems to genuinely make you happy, so I say that we should probably give this a shot, if that’s the case,” said Jo.

“Ngh…You’re probably right,” I said. Slightly disappointed to get serious, insightful, Jo, rather than the Jo that might have suggested we call off the appointment and instead go do something fun and sexy with peanut butter and lube.

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So, me and Jo were going to go and have tea with my mother. In fact, we were finally having tea together with my mother. This was more or less the first time that Jo would properly be joining us. Okay, I think there might have been one time where Jo kind of popped in, or briefly came with, because of business, but this would be the first official tea she had with my mother and me.

So, Jo was pretty nervous and if I was being honest, I was kind of nervous too, because apparently, I’d been dumb enough to put some actual stock in what my mother thinks of the life I’m leading, and care what she thinks about the life-partner I’ve chosen for myself. You know, dumb stuff like that. Things I’d thought I’d evolved out of, or should have otherwise been above.

We were meeting her in a coffee shop that I ran. Or rather, I’d bought the cafe where my mother and I used to meet from the person my mother sold the cafe to after we were both banned from meeting in Mirsada because of the BS that the Violet empire put. Then I’d made some minor improvements and turned the cafe into a franchising company, and now there were hundreds if not thousands of similar cafes throughout Veleno-Rana, because I can be kind of “extra” sometimes…I guess, and that one cafe was where I’d felt most comfortable when it came to meeting my mother.

Owning the cafes felt like a nice middle-ground between meeting her in our usual place, and meeting her inside our home. Which was something, I could now see myself being comfortable enough with her to do someday, though perhaps not anytime soon.

The particular coffee shop that we were meeting in, was located in Eumelia. I’d gotten the sense that I didn’t need to worry about my mother’s people, and the Eumelian government making any ill-advised moves. Also,  even though I’d long had Mirsada lift its ban on us entering its territory, it A) felt like it’d be hard to explain why we were suddenly able to have to tea in Mirsada again, and B) It felt like forcing my mother to resume taking international flights to come meet me again would be impolite. I was well aware that Alanna had a lot on her plate, I saw no reason to make her schedule more chaotic than it needed to be.

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“Good afternoon, dears. Oh, I’m sorry I’m late, I had to oversee the subjugation of a Flesh-Rending Mammoth that wandered into our territory” said Alanna. Stepping out of the car to meet her son and his wife.

“Hello, mother,” said Ellis. As aloof and terse as always, but with much more warmth in his voice, than had been present when they first started having their teas.

“Good afternoon, Madame,” said Josephine. Her son’s wife. Her daughter-in-law. One of the first that Alanna had, since most of Alanna’s other children either had no interest in settling down yet, or the arranged marriages that the family had set up for them had fallen through for one reason or other, as such things sometimes did.

“It’s lovely to see you again, Josephine. You look positively radiant,” said Alanna. Putting on her brightest, most winning, smile, because she wanted the other woman to like her. But also, genuinely meaning her words, because they were true.

The off-beat, half-feral, dog-kin girl, that she’d hired all those years ago to look after her son, had turned into an imposingly and unearthly beauty. Enough so, that even Alanna, whose family line was filled with individuals and races known for their legendary charisma and looks, couldn’t help feeling a little inferior.

Which was a thing that put Alanna on her guard, because those kinds of beyond-superhuman looks, suggested a level of power that went far beyond the norm. Alanna was too polite to actively probe the other party, but she couldn’t help noting that she couldn’t sense any aetheric fluctuations coming off the girl.

It was like Josephine was one with the world, having attained enlightenment, which suggested that she too possessed the same kind of terrifying power that Ellis had. A thing that Alanna could be sure about, because her own level of power had grown a lot since the first time she and her son met, and Alanna was still completely unable to feel him out. Josephine was similarly hard to read, but there was an expansiveness to the blond dog-kin’s presence that made it clear that hidden beyond the veil lay something truly formidable.

Alanna swallowed her curiosity and smiled, holding back the thousands of questions that rose within her as she realized yet again how powerful her son and his household had become. Sharply criticizing herself, and telling herself that her son’s power and prospects had absolutely nothing to do with her. Then with a small sigh, Alanna, her son, and her daughter-in-law all sat down, to have a nice brunch.

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

“It’s so nice to see you again, dear. I still can’t believe how beautiful you’ve grown. You really must tell your secret,” said Alanna. Smiling tightly. Using the entirety of her will to restrain herself from empathizing the word “secret”

“Thank you kindly, ma’am…I’m afraid there’s no secret there though, just good genes, good eating, and exercise,” said Josephine.

The two women spent the next fifteen complimenting each other and speaking nonsense. It was actually quite the relief when Ellis jokingly said,

“Now hold on, mother…Don’t forget me.”

It gave them something else to talk about, and allowed Alanna to distract herself from how nervous she was in the moment. Normally it was the daughter-in-law that was supposed to be feeling tense in these kinds of moments, but Alanna was clear that the power dynamic in her circumstances were far from the norm. The bubbly blond sitting across from her wasn’t just her son’s former-maid, that girl had been given a front-row seat for all of Alanna’s mistakes regarding her handling of her son.

The girl had also been a victim of Alanna’s “wonderful” family, because naturally, the personal servant of the family’s most bulliable member was also a target for bullying. Add in the fact, that a number of the Dorothea clan were apparently just bloody dogs in heat, and the girl had no doubt had to deal with a broad range of sexual harassment, and some sexually coercive situations. After all, what right did the family’s “waste” have to have such a lovely little maid?

Unspeakably despicable conduct for grown men and women within the Dorothea household to be showing a child who’d barely entered her teens, and had only recently entered the outside world. Enough so, that it took a great deal for Alanna to even be able to hold her head up in front of the younger woman.

Still, the tea continued to carry on swimmingly. The momentum of the conversation stayed upbeat and light. Enough so that Alanna could reassure herself that if nothing else she was at least not hated. Perhaps, she was even accepted. Tolerated. Alanna’s gaze tilted towards her son, as she saw his influence on the other woman. Alanna felt warmth gathering in her heart as she realized the place she had in Ellis’ heart.

As the tea came to a close, a laughing Alanna said,

“So, I don’t want to pry, and I’m definitely not trying to push you, but this old gal couldn’t help wondering if you two have given any thought about having kids.”

“Oh, we’ve thought about it…I think it’d be wonderful for us to have a few pups of over own,” said Josephine.

“That being said, we’re not quite sure we’re ready for that yet,” said Josephine.

“Oh, why ever not?” said Alanna. Puzzled and curious. Wondering what the hold up could be when as far as she knew their little family was more secure and affluent than many nations.

“I think we need our pack to be a little bigger…maybe six or seven strong more…a  nice hardy pack of badass bitches who can support Ellis and me,...before we can start thinking about pups,” said Josephine.

“Uh…I think one more would be fine…Six or seven sounds a bit much,” said Ellis. Hiding a look of panic behind a smile.

“Mhm…I suppose so,” said Josephine. Using a tone that said that this would be something that’d need to be discussed at length.

“Ah…I see,” said Josephine. Understanding. She’d believed her son and his wife were one of those rare and eccentric monogamous couples that were sometimes talked about. She couldn’t help feeling a little relief at knowing that their intentions were a little more conventional and secure.

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

The tea came to an end. There’s no need to pay the check since Ellis owned the place. Thus everyone just got up and prepared to say their goodbyes. As Alanna’s driver pulled up to the curve and she finished hugging her daughter-in-law and her son, she chewed her bottom lip for a bit in anxiety, and then reluctantly passed along the message that her queen had been repeatedly requesting her to pass along.

“Thank you again, Ellis. This was lovely…Ah, I don’t wish to ruin the moment, but as an officer and noble of the Eumelian Republic, I am obliged to convey to you our Queen’s well wishes, and her royal invitation…Apparently, she’s been dying to meet you for some time, and would love if you stop by the palace as soon as you can find the time to do so,” said Alanna. Feeling a bit nervous about asking her son for what to her felt like a political favor.

“Mhm, oh, yeah…A few of the Eumelian Palace’s people have been trying to get in touch with me through my proxies… I kind of forgot about that because I’ve been getting wrapped up in some other projects I’ve got going at the moment…Er, yeah. You can tell the Queen that I said I’d stop by, I’ll send more definite info along as soon as I can,” said Ellis.

“Oh, oh good...Er, thank you…I really appreciate this. Her Majesty has been kind of getting on my case about this. So you saying yes, really helps me out a lot, dear,” said Alanna. Sighing in relief at seeing that her son had taken no offense. Sighing wearily, Alanna wondered exactly how long she’d have to walk on eggshells, but ultimately she blamed her past-self for being so childish, neglectful, and overly trusting.