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Queen Rosaynn shivered in the winter air that blew through the castle's throne room, stirring the dust that had been lurking in the corners for years. On some days, she wished she had never left the system of caves that kobolds typically lived in for an ancient dragon's castle, whose former resident had long since been slain by a forgotten group of adventurers. She wished for respect from others above all, however, and the only way to gain such respect was to own symbols of power and glory. Of course, the humans, elves, and other species of the surrounding kingdoms didn't much care for any claim to power a kobold might have, though Rosaynn was secretly grateful that they didn't. Had they not thought they had ransacked the castle centuries ago, they may well have been marching on the queen's relatively small patch of land at that very second, displacing whoever they didn't kill.

Thankfully, those larger kingdoms took no notice, and she maintained good diplomatic relations with some of the smaller kingdoms and tribes in the area. Some, she impressed with her (mostly stolen) hoards of gold and jewels, others were intimidated by the sheer number of warriors she had under her command. Still, others just seemed to get along with the queen quite well, and the pack of gnolls that had just been let into the throne room was a good example of that latter group. The queen's decisive defeat of the large goblin tribes lurking in the castle impressed the pack leader of one of the local bands of gnolls enough to invite her to discuss the finer aspects of military strategy, and her swift accumulation of wealth only further cemented that friendly bond between the rulers. The queen loosened her cloak slightly, exposing her finely jeweled necklace, fitting for a queen in lieu of a proper crown. The gnolls stepped aside, letting the one in the middle of their ranks step forwards, kneeling before the queen. Rosaynn didn't recognize this particular gnoll, though her scars and intricate hide attire indicated that she was a warrior, and an experienced one at that. Despite the other gnolls yapping in their own language around her, she spoke in a loud, husky voice clearly distinguishable from the rest. "An envoy from Arular, about the human raids on gnoll lands." She stated, firmly and respectfully.

"I've not seen you before, do you have a missive from her?" Rosaynn replied, equally firmly and almost quickly enough to cut the gnoll off mid-sentence.

"Of course." The gnoll reached into her side-satchel, pulling out a piece of animal-skin parchment and handing it to one of the guards in front of Rosaynn's throne, who handed it up to the kobold queen. The queen looked over the parchment, knowing the pack leader's signature and handwriting well, able to near-instantly verify the document as genuine, handing the missive back down to the guard, who scrambled off to file it with other documents the queen had received.

Rosaynn turned her attention back to the gnoll in front of her. "Jaynn, is it? Congratulations on becoming an advisor to Arular." She stepped down from the throne, standing a good head and a half shorter than Jaynn. "Allow me to take you to a more private room to discuss these things. That throne isn't as comfortable as it looks, and, to be honest, it doesn't look particularly comfortable." She said, already walking and beckoning Jaynn to follow. The gnoll nodded, following Rosaynn at a slower than normal pace to stay beside the shorter kobold. "Do you need a blanket? I understand that it can get a bit cold here."

"No. I'm fine." The gnoll replied. Her rather brusk method of speaking didn't bother the queen much, quite used to the gnolls' less courtly culture. In fact, it was a welcome reprieve from the false reverence given by, say, goblins or even other kobolds. They arrived at the door connecting the main hall to a smaller meeting room, which Rosaynn pushed open with a creak that seemed to resonate through the whole castle. She let Jaynn inside first, as a common courtesy, before entering herself, shutting the door behind her as she takes a seat at the table. Though one of the smallest of the meeting rooms, the table inside still could seat twelve, with expensive, though dusty, plush chairs.

The gnoll, practically minded, decided to sit beside the queen instead of across the table from her, wanting to be as close as possible for such sensitive discussions. And those discussions went on. And on. And on. The issue of raids from the surrounding kingdoms was a complex one, and extremely pressing to boot. They took a break at sunset, having some food and oil lamps brought into the room. Rosaynn, however, didn't stop planning out the logistics of raid preparation, working as she ate a simple, but energizing meal of bread, beef, and vegetables, not wanting to eat food that might make her tired. Over their negotiations, Jaynn came to admire Rosaynn. Her stature and acceptance of courtly customs didn't hide the strength necessary to not only take the castle from the goblin tribes herself, but to rise to gain a decent amount of regional power beyond the grasp of the larger kingdoms. She took another bite of her own meal, watching Rosaynn work. She wasn't as experienced a strategist, but she provided some help in mapping out logistics for the mountains around where the pack has their territory demarcated. With the light fading, work became harder, and eventually the two of them decided to quickly finish, rolling up the various maps and missives they had written and packing them away in their respective bags.

As they packed up, Jaynn's heart sped up a bit. She looked over at Rosaynn. She knew exactly why. No gnoll, save Arular, showed the firm determination that the kobold did. Admiration didn't quite describe what she felt then. It was more of a bond, meeting someone with strength to match hers, but even that felt like an understatement. They finished packing everything up, and Jaynn sat back down to finish off the last of the food on the table. Gnolls hardly let food go to waste, especially food gifted to them. Rosaynn sat beside her. Her heart jumped a bit. "So, how have you found your new position?" The kobold asked.

"It's not very exciting."

"Well, I hope I've been a plenty entertaining host." Rosaynn smiled. The look in her eyes told Jaynn everything she needed to know. The kobold could read her like a book.

"You have, I'm glad to have the honor to meet you." She took this in stride, not quite showing her hand yet.

"The honor? You must have found this visit quite enjoyable to give such a compliment, then." Jaynn noticed the kobold leaning in a bit. She had no idea how to deal with this.

"Er, yes. I did say as much." She replied, clearing her throat. The kobold laughed, placing her hand on Jaynn's. The gnoll's heart nearly stopped. The kobold grinned up at her. "Oh, don't act shocked. You're not great at hiding your emotions." At that point, Jaynn was glad her fur hid her blush. "But, it's nice to meet someone who isn't trying to marry me for money." She added.

Jaynn took a few deep breaths to collect herself, before turning her hand over, her larger paw fully enveloping Rosaynn's hand. She didn't have much to say, she simply enjoyed the moment. Eventually, she stood, lifting the queen in an embrace, her fur surprisingly soft. "Jayn, dear. You're crushing me." She wheezed out, strained.

"Sorry, I got a little carried away." Jaynn set Rosaynn down gently. After a small pause, both of them burst into laughter, moving back into a slightly less crushing embrace. They parted after a few moments, Rosaynn still clutching Jaynn's hand. "I can arrange for you to stay the night, if you wish, I would hate to see you go out when it's so dark." Jaynn readily accepted the offer. Rosaynn turned to inform one of the kobold servants outside the door of the arrangement, asking him to prepare rooms for the other gnolls who accompanied Jaynn. Rosaynn turned back to her. "If you'd like, we can head back to my room to talk more."

"I'd love that."

"Follow me, then." Rosaynn took her hand again, leading her out of the room, down the cold, winding halls of the old castle, finally coming to a large door, which she pushed open with some effort.

The room itself was ornately decorated, in spite of the dulling gold. Lit candelabras sat on finely carved oak drawers, with a canopy bed in the back of the room set off by a paper screen, which was half-open. A dining table sat in the middle of the room, made for two. Rosaynn released the gnoll's hand, moving to the table, pulling a chair for Jaynn before taking a seat herself. Jaynn sat, leaning back a bit. And, for a while, they talked. Not about raids or logistics, but about themselves. Rosaynn talked about her hopes as a relatively new ruler and her struggles with gaining respect. Jaynn told tales about her many battles. This continued well into midnight, the two of them eventually wearing each other out. "It's getting late, and I have a lot of travel in the morning, I should head to my room now." Jaynn said, getting up to leave. Rosaynn put a hand on Jaynn's arm. "Why don't you just stay with me tonight?" She replied, looking up at Jaynn with the most persuasive expression she could muster. Jaynn replied very simply, bending down to lift Rosaynn out of her seat, making her gasp a bit in surprise. She carried her to the bed in her arms and laid her down, flopping down beside her, her weight bouncing the smaller kobold a bit. "I think I could do that." She chuckled, rolling from her back to her side to pull Rosaynn close to her.

The drafty room was a lot warmer that night as Rosaynn buried herself in the gnoll's fur. They spent the rest of the night silently, quickly falling asleep. Well, mostly silently, as Rosaynn learned about Jaynn's tendency to snore. They might have to work on that for the future. Morning felt like it came too soon, sunlight streaming in from the small windows, directly onto Jaynn's face. The gnoll stirred a bit, which in turn woke up Rosaynn, the two of them sitting up, Rosaynn still groggily clinging to the gnoll.

They both prepared for their day, Rosaynn dressing herself in more formal attire, Jaynn gathering her own things and sending one of the queen's servants to gather the rest of the pack. They walked, side by side, down the connecting hall back to the main hall, chatting and laughing the whole way, though with a twinge of sadness to their parting. When they reached the main hall, Jaynn bent down for a moment, going in for a hug. Rosaynn, smirked, instead leaning in for a kiss, lingering for a moment to let the moment sink in before pulling back, her hand brushing over Jaynn's cheek. "There's one for the road, dear." She whispered, smiling at the gnoll. Jaynn grinned, facing the now-open grand door, the cold spilling in with a flurry of snow. She said her goodbyes and stepped out with her group into the cold air to make the journey back to the lowlands where her pack stayed, bringing back the plans and maps they had drafted the past night. Rosaynn walked back to her throne, pulling herself up into the chair made for species much larger than hers. She watched the door being closed behind Jaynn, ordering for the fireplaces in the grand hall to be lit to hopefully disperse some of the chill. She sighed, finding herself actually looking forward to the next diplomatic visit.