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Only a few moments later, Tik Tik comes stomping into the chambers. "Tikana. Now that we're alone, you're going to have to explain to me everything about your outburst."

"Look at you, making demands of me," The Queen says, sitting up and letting the jewels roll down off of her royal robes. "Perhaps, I didn't make myself clear earlier when I told you about your shortcomings, Tik Tik. Hm... when was the last time you went to bed? You look horrible."

"The last time I had my nestmate to watch over me," she responds earnestly.

"There are traditions for when nestmates are lost."

"You're not lost," Tik Tik says. "You're right here."

"And I don't need a kobold who is so... so different being associated with the first dragon this tribe has had in generations.

"You're not a dragon!" Tik Tik snaps. "You're... half a dragon, at best. And that doesn't even make sense."

The Kobold Queen rises, sauntering over toward Tik Tik with her narrowed gaze. "Such lies spread about your queen, Little One? I could destroy you right now for your impudence.

"You wouldn't dare," Tik Tik says, clenching her teeth and her fists, staring up at the taller, more imposing kobold.

The Queen stares her down, smoke rising up from her nostrils, her claws twitching a bit as blue eyes meet blue eyes.

And then she wraps her arms around Tik Tik, pulling her in close, her voice coming through, soft, meek, and wavering. "I'm sorry."

Tik Tik thrashes a moment, but stops immediately upon hearing her voice. "W... what?"

"There's just so much that I can't tell you," she continues. "As the Queen, as a true Heir of a Dragon."

Tik Tik nips the queen's arm, which makes her stumble back, rubbing the spot. "Tik?"

"You do not get to be two-faced!" Tik Tik snaps, an accusatory point straight up against her snoot. "We are closest that kobolds can be--nest mates. In an army of endless parts in our machine, you are the only one I know so closely, and this is not you!"

The Queen keeps her head held high as the remaining tears glisten in her eyes. "That may be so, but the ways of our tribe means that we must be far apart. To even have you here right now jeopardizes you."

"Start making sense, Tikana!" Tik Tik says, "Or... or I'll leave!"

She takes a deep breath, and turns to face away from Tik Tik, her hands behind her back. "I've been trained to be the Queen my entire life and told that I was special because of my draconic heritage. That may be true, but what I didn't know was that our people, the Dragon's Heir, have a special connection to the magic of this world, and a duty, even a sacred one. I cannot tell anyone, as that is the mandate of our kind."

"You closed me off to keep a secret?" Tik Tik says. "Is this secret so important?"

The Queen sighs, turning her head down low. "You were always the smart one, Tik Tik," The Queen says, "But I have a responsibility now that's bigger than you. You need to drop what we used to have and respect my position as the Queen of our tribe."

"Did you have to humiliate me in front of everyone as the first thing you did?"

"Only because you made such a huge deal about it."

"What about this...?" Tik Tik asks, her, scooping her hand into the bed of gold.

The Queen grabs her wrist, squeezing it, forcing her former nestmate to drop all of her precious gold. "I cannot allow you to disrespect my position in the tribe, Little One. I can only protect you so much. Stop being so selfish."

"Is it really selfish?" Tik Tik asks "to want to be with my nestmate?"

"It's selfish, and it is childish. When a dragon graces our tribe, it must not follow the conventions of kobold kind. That is the normal way."

Tik Tik is stuck there, unable to pull herself away from Tikana's strong grip. She doesn't respond to her, but instead just stares her down.

"Listen," The Queen says, brushing her fingers over Tik Tik's wrist. "I can do what I can to make your time here happy, but you need to fall within the natural order of our tribe. If you get in trouble, I will help you. If you are unhappy, I will see that you're given what you need, but you cannot share my bed with me, and our talks have to stop. You need to grow, Tik Tik, and this is the only way."

Tik Tik rubs her wrist. "Fine," she says. "I'll go now. So... goodbye, Tikana, I mean..." She turns to face her again, but does not look into her eyes. Kneeling down upon one leg, she bows her head and says. "I shall go and do these things, by your leave, your majesty."

The Queen shivers, but she sits back onto her bed and says. "You may go, Tik Tik. Go and develop the greatest of traps. Spill the blood of the outsiders and expand the reach of our people"

Tik Tik nods and silently exits the room, but Tikana's last words to her are "Make me proud, Little One."