As Shore began his first day at JMA, Glory decided to begin a project. She had been Queen for years now, and one day she knew that Joy would take her place. But after Joy was queen, there were three possibilities on who was next in line.
After Glory didn't feel like dealing with another war, or an heir's challenge.
So, one day, she summoned Ander, Apple, and Rin to the pavilion.
"Hi Grandmother!" Apple exclaimed, bouncing into the room.
"Salutations, mater de mater." Ander declared, bowing slightly.
"Sup" Rin offered. Glory studied them for a moment. Well, their greetings already were one thing to work on.
"Hello girls," she greeted them with a smile.
"To what do we owe the pleasure of gracing the presence of royalty?" Ander asked eloquently.
"Ander, she's our grandma. You don't need to address her so formally." Rin insisted. Ander shrugged.
"Old habits never die, although they can wither like a frost-bitten flower."
"Why are we here?" Apple questioned.
"I'm glad you asked." Glory announced. "You are here because all of you are princesses, which means that one day, one of you will be queen." Silence greeted her.
"Uh......Isn't Mother going to be queen?" Rin said in confusion.
"She will be queen after me, but one of you will be her successor." Glory continued. "And there are some things you need to know in order to be Queen."
"So?"
"So, I am going to teach the three of you how to run a kingdom."
*~*~*~*~*
The next day, Glory met with the girls on a large Rainwing platform.
"We'll start with something easy." she insisted. "Your stance."
"Our fighting stance?" Rin asked hopefully.
"No." Ander confirmed.
"Queens must maintain an aura of power, dignity, and grace. How you stand can radiate how your subjects see you. For example, take in how you are standing right now." Ander was standing up straight, but she swayed, as if staying still was not possible. Apple was slightly slouched, and Rin stood in a way that resembled her mother's attitude; her arms crossed in a sassy-ish way. "All of you, stand up straight, hands clasped behind your back, chin up, and no swaying. Go." The girls snapped to attention, and did their best to look regal. Ander still swayed, but Apple and Rin looked presentable. "Good."
Over the next few weeks, the girls found themselves learning more and more things, including:
How to address other royalty, how to discuss matters without offending the other tribes, how to speak proudly, but not proudly enough to sound pompous, the meaning of the word pompous, how to act as if it were normal that guards surrounded you, how to keep calm in crazy situations, and much more.
Ander collapsed on the floor of her home one day and groaned. Rin gratefully joined her. Joy frowned at them.
"What?" Kelp asked.
"I have memorized every name of every single royalty related dragon in every kingdom, from Prince Anaconda of the Mudwings, all the way to PRincess Zinc of the Skywings." Ander snapped. "AND I DON'T EVEN WANT TO BE QUEEN!"
"I used to," Rin admitted. "But not now. Let's give that job to Apple."
"She hates it just as much as I do. Have fun!" Ander retorted.
"Maybe when we have to decide, we'll have a war over who DOESN'T want to be Queen." Rin insisted. "Loser takes the throne."
"Oh come on, it can't be that bad." Kelp insisted. Joy and the girls stared at him.
"It's that bad." Rin snapped.
"Stars, bless the poor souls of Queens." Ander declared.
"Why the hell do you think I haven't challenged my mother yet?" Joy demanded. "I don't want that job!"
"And we have it worse than any other kingdom," Rin included. "Because we have TWO tribes."
"That crown is a symbol of HELL." Ander proclaimed. "I pity you sister, for having it placed upon your head."
"No way. I am NEVER being Queen." she announced. Ander laughed.
"Sorry, but the stars disagree. Apple and I have other careers to pursue." Rin stared at her sister.
"Stupra vos." she whispered. Ander gasped.
"OUT OF THE WORLD, THAT'S THE FIRST THING YOU SAY IN A LANGUAGE I UNDERSTAND!" she yelled. "I've failed."
"Yea, and we all fail being Queen."