After a long trek together, and a lot of, "Stay on the path!" yelling from both Peter, Charlie, and Gamora, the Guardians made it to the massive golden ball that was Sovereign's Palace. They hadn't exactly known what they were looking for, at first, so the plan was to find the nicest looking golden structure then infiltrate it. 

Their previous tactic didn't need to be used, it turned out. As soon as they looked at the outline of the city, the massive golden ball had done it. It screamed 'palace.' Two cone shaped figures slanted diagonally held up the golden ball that deemed itself worthy of a palace, as it was both pretty and higher off the ground than a few other buildings surrounding it.  

Charlie stood at the base of the stairs and pondered whether or not she was technically needed at the meeting. Looking up the hundreds, if that, number of steps, she didn't know if she was still in good enough shape to tackle them and not feel like death afterwards. She didn't understand how she could fear a flight of stairs more than an Infinity Stone, but, she figured, her priorities were elsewhere. 

"I think I'm gonna sit this one out, y'all," called Charlie up the stairs. 

The Guardians came to a stop at their steps, some higher than the others. Baby Groot had the same idea as Charlie. He had stopped and sat on the tip of her boot, staring at the stairs in discomfort and a slight hint of disgust.

"Stop being lazy," said Peter. He came down the steps and held his arms out. "Do you want me to carry you? Because I don't want to, but I will. If you absolutely need it."

Charlie placed the back of her hand on her forehead. "Oh, dear, suddenly, I feel very faint. The world is shaking. The ground is crumbling out from underneath me. I see a bright, white light--"

Peter rolled his eyes. While she was parading around and faking her sickness, he held his foot near her shoe. Groot climbed onto his shoe instead, then up his pant leg and into his pocket. Peter waited for the little, "I am Groot," as confirmation of him being all right, then he swept Charlie off her feet and began the second half of the trek up the stairs. 

"You're lucky I have thighs of steel," grunted Peter. 

Charlie kissed his cheek. "And that you love me so much."

"Yes. But, more importantly, thighs of steel."

Charlie appreciated Peter's effort, but the poor man was huffing and puffing as he carried her, so she decided to walk once she was able to see the door. Together, they were wheezing and felt as if exhaustion would kill them before Sovereign's people would, when their family would inevitably say something to offend the High Priestess. 

"Humans walk so slow," Gamora tried to whisper to Drax. 

"Aliens suck at whispering," said Peter loudly. 

Rocket was the first to make it up the stairs. He collapsed on the platform, which caused Gamora to trip over him, and Drax to point and guffaw when he finally made it up the stairs. Charlie and Peter rolled their eyes and helped them up. They fixed up everyone's hair and clothes, prepping them to look presentable, then they opened up the Palace doors and entered. 

A golden rug led from the doorway to the back of the hall. Peter and Charlie led the Guardians down the golden rug, each observing the Grand Hall. Citizens were gathered on the sidelines of the rug to watch the Guardians arrive. At the end of the hall, a golden throne with a backdrop curtain of gold, blue, and silver sat. 

The High Priestess, Ayesha, sat in the carved shape of her body. The throne engulfed her. She wore far nicer clothes than the others in the room, in darker golden tones than the tone of her body. 

One of the four guards who stood on the step that led to the throne held her hand in the air, prompting the Guardians to come to a stop. Peter and Charlie stopped, then the rest of the Guardians lined up on either side of them. She leaned forward to ensure they were in place, then nodded to Ayesha in a greeting. 

"We thank you, Guardians, for putting your lives on the line," began Ayesha, speaking loudly and politely. Her beady eyes bounced down the line. "We could not risk the lives of our own Sovereign citizens. Every citizen is born exactly as designed by the community. Impeccable both physically and mentally. We control the DNA of our..."

Charlie bit her cheek to suppress her yawn. In brushing a hair sticking to her sweaty forehead, she mumbled, "Didn't know this was a history lesson about birth."

"Guess I prefer to make people the old fashioned way," said Peter in response, though by the time he responded to her, Ayesha had stopped speaking and it was heard by her. 

"Well, perhaps, someday you could give me a history lesson about the archaic ways of our ancestors," she announced. Despite no change in her voice and absolutely no facial changes, the room could tell she was flirting. "For academic purposes," she then added, as if that lessened the obvious interest in Peter.

"He's actually married," said Charlie loudly and flatly. "To me." 

Peter nodded viciously, after he recovered from being hit on. It had been a while, and, to be entirely honest, he kind of missed it. 

"Do your people have standards for marriage or is that designed, as well?" asked Charlie in such a kind tone, it was vicious. 

Ayesha tilted her head a subtle inch, clearly deeming Charlie unworthy of Peter's love charm, but she did insist an apology towards the small woman. 

Gamora stepped forward to relieve the tension, and, on another note, save Charlie from execution, if she continued being feisty. She said, "Your people promised something in exchange for our services. Bring it and we shall gladly be on our way."

Ayesha lifted her finger, which prompted two men in black protective gear to bring forward a struggling, cloth-covered person. They forced the person under the cloth to their knees, then the hood was ripped off, revealing Nebula. She turned her head and saw Gamora and scrunched her nose in disgust. 

"Family reunion, yay," cheered Peter.

Charlie hit him.

"I understand that she is your sister," said Ayesha. 

Gamora walked forward. "She's worth no more to me than the bounty wanted for her on Xandar."

An echoing ring occurred when Ayesha stood from her chair abruptly, provoked by Gamora grabbing Nebula's arm. Her voice cold, she said, "Our soldiers apprehended her attempting to steal the batteries. Do with her as you please."

"We thank you, High Priestess Ayesha. Good day," said Charlie, curtsying. She scooped Groot from the floor and turned to leave, ushering Drax and Rocket before her to keep an eye on them. 

"Thank you," echoed Peter.

Ayesha squinted at him. "What is your heritage, Mr. Quill?" 

Peter lingered, pausing slightly to interpret the question. He turned to look at Charlie in confusion. He shrugged. "Uh, my mother is from Earth."

"And your father?" asked Ayesha. 

"He ain't from Missouri," fake-laughed Peter, as always, offering a joke out of it as he did when situations were turning awkward or things he didn't want to speak about. "That's all I know."

"I see it within you. An unorthodox genealogy, a hybrid, it seems. Particularly reckless," said Ayesha slowly. 

"Peter," said Charlie softly, aiming to take him away. She didn't like the way Ayesha looked at him, nor the unsettling look on her face as she stared back at Peter. 

"Ya know, they told me you people were conceited douchebags," said Rocket loudly. "But that isn't true at all!"

When Peter and Charlie both whipped their heads to him, he winked at them with his left eye this time, as if that made things better. Charlie heard a gun cocked and aimed to Rocket, which fueled her anger again. 

"Hey!" she snarled. 

"Ah, shit, I'm using my wrong eye again," cursed Rocket. He pointed at Ayesha. "I'm sorry that was meant to be behind your back."

Drax snatched Rocket by the fur on his neck and started to march out, his hand grabbing Charlie's wrist to tug her along, too. Peter followed behind quickly. 

"Consider yourself blessed they didn't kill you," said Drax quietly. 

Rocket said some witty reply back to him, which Charlie missed, thanks to Peter lifting her off her feet when they exited the Palace. He held her tight to his chest and did some manly puffs of air before starting down the stairs. 

"Hi," she sighed. 

"You went all Momma Bear for a second," noticed Peter. 

Charlie scrunched her nose. "It was uncalled for."

"Rocket or the gun?" wondered Peter.

"Both," said Charlie, her eyes squinted in anger.

He kissed her cheek. "Have I told you I love when you get defensive?"

"Only a few times." 

"Count another one," said Peter. He looked back at her when she didn't answer. "You good?"

"I don't like her," said Charlie quietly. She looked back at the Palace with a glare.

"I know. Gave me a weird feeling. Can I do anything?" wondered Peter.

"Not sure yet," said Charlie. "Let me claim the tape deck, then I'll get back to you."

"Deal."