Leo kicked open the door to Amneris’ office, his hands too full of papers to use. She was engrossed in one of the many household checks, enough so that he was unsure she had seen him enter. He knew how expensive those checks could get, so decided to make his stop as fast as possible. He dumped the large stack of papers he was holding and made to quickly leave before she noticed he was there. He reached the door. It slammed in his face. Fuck. Leo turned back to his queen who painted at him with her pen then pointed at the chair in front of her desk. “Sit.” He sat.

He knew that, even though she had not looked at him, she knew exactly what was running through his head. When it came to paperwork days, everyone avoided her. It had always put her in a bad mood. One wrong comment and the speaker – usually Jay – found themselves with a snapped neck or a dagger in their heart.. The only reason Leo had done the latest run was because he quite literally got the short straw. At least I’m the one person she’s least likely to kill, he assured himself. He had just decided what to say when she beat him to it. “Thought Nikki had this covered while I was gone.”

“I guess she forgot.”

Amneris stopped writing and looked up. The face she made would have sent anyone else running in fear and frozen every bit of water around them. “I swear if there is any more paperwork, I will go crazy.” She snapped the pen between her dingers. Black ink splattered all over the table. Sighing, she waved a hand and the mess vanished. She picked up another pen and continued writing.

“Got it,” Leo said, hands raised. He dared a look over at what she was doing. It looked like a letter. He tried and failed to read the upside-down name.

She took the letter in her hands. It vanished, probably going to whoever she addressed it to. She picked up the top paper on the stack he just brought in and started writing again, waving him off with her free hand. “Relax, I’m not gonna kill. Well, so long as Jay doesn’t come in.”

“Noted.” He scanned the room/ It was a complete mess. Paper, books, artefacts, and boxes were scattered everywhere. The floor was almost completely covered. Perhaps he would try and find a storage room for her later. A banging noise caught his attention. The source of it made him laugh. “You’ll break the table again.”

She lifted her head from the table. “I seriously can’t take paperwork anymore. Five thousand years of it! What idiot invented this stuff?” She placed down the pen and rolled her wrists irritably. “I’m getting all stiff and I’m hungry and I want a drink and I don’t wanna be in this room anymore.” She pouted.

Leo groaned, rolling his eyes. This was what happened every time she locked herself in her office to do paperwork. “You have magic. Use it.”

She gave him a look of disbelief. “First he says I can’t use it. Now he says I should use it. Make up your mind.”

He snapped his fingers. A plate full of crackers and fruit appeared on top of the paper in front of her. She clapped her hands like an excited child and dug in. “You can use it for small things like getting food, not for large things like causing explosions and creating black holes.”

“Killjoy,” she muttered. “And the black hole thing was one time. The sun in that particular lifeless system tried to eat me!”

“Whatever.” He swiped the biscuit she was halfway through eating out of her hand and finished it. She squealed but picked up a piece of watermelon. “We need you at your best right now, Amns.”

“If you want me at my best, then you will let me out of this room.” Her eyes flared, glowing white.

“You know that trick doesn’t work on me.” She huffed, allowing her eyes to return to their normal state. “One more hour. That’s all I ask.”

She glared, beginning to spark. Uh-oh. “Fine.” Amneris pointed at the door. He bolted out of the room.

* * * * * * * *

Leo entered the living room where everyone was seated and collapsed on the lounge. “She’s pissed.”

Nikki raised a finger to her lips in thought. “Maybe I should have done that paperwork.”

“You think?” everyone exclaimed. The shifter smiled sheepishly.

“Did she try to kill you?” Zoe asked. In their household, this was a totally normal question.

He shook his head “no, she said she wouldn’t kill unless Jay went in there.”

“I shall stay out here,” Jay decided. He dumped the book he had been reading on the low-lying table. “I value my life.”

“Afterlife,” Dan corrected, picking up the book. He gave Jay a questioning look. “Where did you get this from?”

Carmin took the book out of her husband’s hands. “How can you even read this junk?”

“Unlike you, Visio Girl, I have taste,” Jay answered.

The Dragonoids looked at each other and simultaneously shook their heads.

Leo glanced over and read the title. Whatever it was, it sounded an awful lot like romance. He made a vomiting gesture. Jay took the book from Carmin and pegged it at him. It bounced off the ebony shield he quickly created. The Assassin flipped off the General.

“How long to we have to wait?” Hathor complained, hitting her head with a fizzy pink pillow which Zoe snatched from her hands.

“Only another hour,” Leo told her. A loud crash filled the air. “If she can last that long without destroying the room,” he muttered.

“Is this normal?”

Colt’s question made the whole room go dead silent. Leo only stared at him. In all honesty, he had forgotten the Terpolite was in the room. He was unsure what his Queen had been thinking when she had allowed for him to join the Court. Usually, he got a say in it. They had all received a shock at the feel of a new bond being put into place. “Yeah,” Leo said, “This is quite normal.”

Another crash followed by colourful swearing sounded. Leo felt himself tense at the sound. There’s no way that’s a good thing. A door slammed and Amneris came stomping into the living room. She had a pile of papers in her arms. Everyone went still as she dumped them in front of Nikki. “I’m done.” With that, she stormed out. Another door slammed a few moments later. Leo figured it was the one to her room.

Nikki was staring at the pile of papers, shaking her head and her eyes wide. “Not even ten minutes.”

“You asked for too much, Leo,” Kayla agreed.

Zoe threw the pillow she had taken from Hathor towards him. He understood the gesture. Tag, you’re it. He sighed, hauling himself to his feet and going down the hall to the staircase.

* * * * * * * *

Leo raised his hand to knock on the midnight blue door to Amneris’ room. He was beginning to think that it was a bad idea. She probably wants to be left alone until she cools down, he thought. He had just turned away from the door when it opened. With a sigh, he let himself in, closing the door behind him. He could just make out the form of his Queen laying face down on the bed, his eyes still yet to adjust to the darkness of her room.

“Either the others are too scared, want you dead, or you have a death wish,” came her muffled voice. “I’m going with option ‘a’.”

“Good guess,” he said, opening the curtain to light the room slightly. He slid next to her on the bed and snapped his fingers. A tray from the kitchen appeared on the sheets between them. On it was a mug of coffee, a mug of sahlab, and a plate of chocolate chip cookies.

Amneris sat up, pushing her hair out of the face. She looked between him and the tray with the slightest hint of surprise. “For me?”

“For you,” he confirmed.

She picked up her mug, giggling slightly at the surprise he had put in for her. “You put in marshmallows.” She took a large mouthful and sighed contently, wiping froth from her mouth. “You really spoil me, Le.”

“I have to be nice to you. You’re the one who pays me.”

“If this is your attempt at a raise, we both know you don’t need one.” She smirked, lifting the mug to her lips again. “Though, if this is your attempt at hitting on me, Nikki won’t be happy.”

Leo cleared his throat, quickly taking a drink. Sure, he liked Nikki, but that didn’t mean that . . . He shook his head at Amneris’ smile. “I got over that three thousand years ago, baby sis.” She gave him a soft smile at his nick-name for her. He had been using it for millennia now. She, she was a thousand years older, but she was almost half his size without heels. He leaned over and ruffled her hair. “An hour was too much?”

She shrugged, pushing her hair over a shoulder. “I had already been going for three. There was no way I was making four.”

Leo watched as she placed the mug back onto the tray and fell back onto her bed, the pillows engulfing her form easily. There were times where he forgot just how old she was, and that was not just because of her appearance. He realised she was watching him and gave her a sheepish smile. Her eyes narrowed. What are you thinking? That was what she was asking.

He decided to not say what was on his mind, instead gesturing to the acoustic guitar leaning against the wall in the corner of the room. “In the sixteen years you were gone, you never once played?”

She shook her head. “I didn’t exactly have time. I was rather busy, you know, being hunted by the governments of that world.”

Well, then. He stood, moving towards the guitar. Carefully, he plucked it from its resting place, dusting it off as we returned to the bed. Amneris was sitting upright now. He held the instrument out to her. “Play for me.” She did not need to be told twice.