Meeting with the Queen

Baldur and the others brought their guests to the castle, where they were allowed to stay for the night. Baldur hosted a large dinner for them and their Honour Guards before allowing them all to return to their rooms to rest.

Soon after dinner was over, Baldur was called to his mother's room along with Selene. The duo walked through the doors of the Queen Mother and gave her a small bow.

"Enough of that, you two!" Jendi pouted as she saw her son and potential daughter-in-law treat her so formally. 

Baldur smirked while Selene shot up and jumped over to Jendi, hugging the woman's arm affectionately. 

"Don't blame me, Mother. Baldur told me that I needed to bow when I entered the room," Selene immediately threw Baldur under the bus, siding with her future mother-in-law. She knew that even if she upset him, which her playful action wouldn't, she could easily make it up to him later in their room. 

"Of course that brat did!" Jendi pretended to believe Selene, knowing that both were just performing it out of respect for her due to the servants who were still around. 

Baldur continued to smirk and almost grinned before he stood up and his lips straightened across his face, giving off the appearance that he was upset and annoyed. 

"You all can leave," Baldur told the servants. The various maids nodded and kept their heads low, not wanting to be caught staring at Baldur's face. Selene had punished one woman foolish enough to flirt with Baldur in front of her by burning her entire body, permanently disfiguring the woman. Though that woman was actually flirting with Baldur and hoping to secure the position of a consort, none wanted to see just how possessive Selene could be. 

When they were all gone, Baldur shrunk down to his 6'6" form before sitting at the tea table with his mother and Selene. This was the form he assumed whenever he was alone with his mother or Selene, as he preferred to be more around their size and not seem so intimidating. 

This was actually a skill he learned from his brother Magnus, who always assumed a different form. Baldur had only seen his 15th's brother true body once. 

Selene poured tea for everyone while Baldur passed out snacks to each of their plates. Once both were done, they turned to Jendi to see what she had to say. 

Jendi coughed when she saw them both look at her expectantly. She turned to Baldur and tried to speak as evenly as she could. 

"How was it? Meeting your brothers, I mean," Jendi questioned. She heard about what had happened when they landed but she wanted to get Baldur's own opinion on the interaction 

"That wolf-bastard is so annoying!" Selene yelled while slamming her cup on the table. She was so angry at his men and wanted to send them all home without their skin. She was even more annoyed that Leman didn't reign in his men like he should have and let them just disrespect Baldur and the Grey Knights. 

"I agree with Jendi. Leman is 2nd on the list of brothers that I will have issues with. Horus seems alright, if not commanding. I can pass that off with him being the one with the Emperor for the longest and so he would have a sense of being the most senior of us all," Baldur named off the two brothers that his father found first, trying his best to describe how he felt about them. "Ferrus... I'm either going to really like him or want to cut his head off."

Ferrus was a unique person. He was a warrior but also an artisan. He constantly pursued improvement but also knew when to feel satisfied. But more than those, he was similarly outwardly cold as Baldur and backed it up with his Darwinist mentality. 

Jendi chuckled when she heard what her son said. She had been worrying about him for years but could never directly bring it up. 

When it came to family, she was the only one who was close to him before Selene arrived. Jendi's former husband was a fool that made it difficult for Baldur and him to see on common ground, while Edward began to hate both his mother and Baldur for taking away his position as the future king. 

Because of the tense relationship between the two, when Frederick abdicated, he took Edward, Cedric, and his lover away, for fear that they would cause problems and end up getting themselves killed. It was one of the few smart things that the man had done with his life. 

Ever since that occasion, it was just Baldur and Jendi within the castle for years. Although he had close friends, each of them stayed in their own homes. It wasn't until Selene arrived that the palace had got more lively with the girl's spunk. 

Jendi looked over to the white-haired girl, who was able to tease her usually mentally powerful son with nothing but her eyes. Even as she was drinking tea, she looked at Baldur in a way that made him glare at her, tension and desire deep in his eyes.

"When are you two getting married?" Jendi asked, shocking both of them and causing them to spit out their tea

"Mother!" they shouted at the same time, embarrassed. Selene's face and neck had turned bright pink while she looked down at the table, occasionally taking peaks at Baldur. Baldur was glaring at his mother, unable to believe she had just said that aloud. 

"What?" Jendi glared back at her son, unafraid of him. "You two have been together for nearly 8 years, after knowing each other for 4 years before that. If I didn't know you two were hooking up, I would have thought that Baldur had fallen for the Grimes siblings or Dogan."

"You two will probably be leaving to go and take part in the Great Crusade that that man was speaking about. Can't you at least have a wedding before that?" Jendi asked, wanting to be able to put Selene in a wedding dress

Baldur glared at his mother but then turned to Selene who was taking a secret peak at his face. Their eyes met and both seemed to come to an understanding without saying a word. 

"Fine," Baldur agreed for both of them. "We can get married next week. Then we will have to take part in the Great Crusade." 

That was the main thing that Horus had brought up during dinner. Their father wanted them to join the war and help the Imperium, otherwise, they were going to be getting a personal visit from the Emperor who would express his displeasure. 

"Yay!" Jendi cheered when Baldur agreed. Her daughter-in-law was finally going to make an honest man out of her son