Above All

-Ninety-Nine-

Tea's brewing earnest

A true friend assaults the air

Hair flows side to side

Amani:

This was embarrassing. Severely Embarrassing. If this had been some other belligerently drunk and aggressive guest that had no tie to the Imperial Family at all then I wouldn't have cared as much. But knowing that one of the participants in this cringe-worthy fight was Ime's mother was enough to bring attention to us in the wrong way possible.

Ime was a prince now, decreed by me as he is a legitimate heir in the line of succession; my grandmother and I curated this together because of how our own line had fallen short of successors due to the small number of children each Empress was having. In the meantime, while Layton and I continued to produce direct heirs, there wouldn't be many princes and princesses left after my mother and uncle, so it was fair enough to grant not only Nyarai and Amory's children the princely titles, but that rule also trickled down to Inyene and Fionn's future children, should they choose to have any. That way in the household there will be a level of respect between the offspring; no one thinking highly over the other and their positions within the Imperial Family.

It was a polished idea. One that needed everyone acting accordingly now because these titles came with responsibility and reflection of the Crown and how everyone conducted themselves in public. The only issue with this new decree was that it never anticipated an out of wedlock child and the behavior of his/her mother; unfortunately, in Ime's case, Lesedi was not part of the Imperial Family, nor would she be but she was known well-enough that if she misstepped, it would be recorded and reflect back to us.

Like now.

It wasn't a secret how Ime's circumstance came to be, but now that people had gotten past that news and settled into it and his title, there was no room for error. Unfortunately, today taught me a few things, one of them being that when I put my foot down about certain things, that's how it goes.

I was Empress.

I could not let these things keep happening around me without having some sort of control; I had to dominate and assert myself as my grandmother does so effortlessly. She couldn't make the decisions for me forever and I needed to stand in my own right making the best decisions concerning the family, like now.

"Grandma, are you alright?" I asked as I looked down at her fuming face, her lips were pursed tightly and her eyes narrowed, "I'll be fine once I know those two heathens are out of the Dive and never to be seen again..." She turned to me slowly her eyes becoming a cloud of slight darkness that made me a bit nervous, "What is Ime's mother doing here?" She asked me curiously.

I sighed deeply, preparing myself to answer her question from what I already knew from earlier, but surprisingly Layton came to my rescue and answered instead for me.

"Lesedi is here because it's her birthday and they gave her an opportunity to see him, she doesn't see him as often, but they agreed it was best that she could come to the tent and spend some time. We had no idea Zuri would also be here." He said to her.

Grandma Zenny took a deep breath and sighed deeply, "Fair enough... but the behavior displayed here is unacceptable. A grown woman of her age should now this... as for this Zuri woman, who was she in attendance with?" She questioned Layton.

Lay cleared his throat, "The son of the Dormeni of Xanbu." He answered.

"I would like to speak to him a bit more about what kind of woman he decides to bring around to an exclusive event such as this. Have an assistant fetch him momentarily... as for now, please ensure the King and Queen of Kenya are not traumatized by this barbaric display, will you please...." She ordered.