The Emperor

Umbra's cheeks were hot as he stood meekly before a group of his peers. He clutched a small ball in his hands, hoping to play with them.

“Hello,” he rasped, keeping his eyes level to the ground, “My name is, um, Umbra Astral. I brought a, um, ball. To play with. If you guys wanted to.”

“Astral?” questioned a girl, giggling. Several other girls joined in on her laughter.

“What's so funny?” Umbra whispered, his confidence slipping away from him. He stumbled back, feeling cornered.

“You know, your parents,” the girl said, meeting her friends’ eyes and breaking out into harder laughter. “Don't you know?”

Umbra had never heard anything about his mother. And he barely knew his father. Slowly, he shook his head, stomach churning.

“Momma said that the Astral clan was dying out. So the people got desperate. The head of the clan had to marry the only pureblood female remaining.”

That must be my mother, Umbra reasoned. “What was wrong with that?”

“You really have no idea, don't you?” the girl's eyes flickered with amusement. “They were brother and sister.”

----

Umbra took a deep breath, approaching the serpentine with a nimble step. He straightened his tie, insisting that he look as professional as possible for diplomacy.

Awkwardly, he recalled his foreign language classes, speaking in the odd tongue of the serpentine. His pronunciation was butchered and his sentences were broken, but he hoped he got his message across: “I mean no harm. I am escorting my charge to his home.”

The tallest serpentine blinked in confusion. “What?” he replied in perfect English, “There's not a bathroom anywhere in the vicinity. Why are you asking?”

Tails tugged at his pants leg. “We also speak English,” he said helpfully.

Fiery embarrassment seared through Umbra's face. He propped his hand on his hip, poking his chest out. “My apologies, sir. I meant to say that I come in peace. I mean no harm to you or your land. I simply need to complete my mission.”

“A mercenary, huh? Oh, I'm sure you're peaceful. Why else you be running around our sacred forests?” He surged his spear forward, inches away from Umbra's forehead. “You're coming with us, fae.”

Umbra gritted his teeth, the glimmering steel reflecting in his eyes. He still stood over Tails, ready to defend him.

Suddenly, Tails rose to his feet, throwing off his hood. “Guards,” he murmured, mismatched eyes shining, “Stand down, on orders of the Emperor.”

A ripple of shock went through the group. They dropped to their knees, trembling. “My lord!” cried the tallest one, “Forgive us! We did not recognize you!”

Umbra gaped, the realization that he had been rude to an emperor dawning on him. He quickly bowed, joining the guards on the ground.

Tails shuffled awkwardly, scratching the back of his neck. “Um, anyway, can you guys help me get back to the temple?” He grabbed Umbra by the arm, pulling him up and hugging him. “I have a friend and I want to show everyone.”

Still bowing, the serpentine nodded. “I believe the way you're looking for is in the opposite direction, my lord. I'm afraid we cannot assist you. We must continue our patrol. Are we dismissed.”

“Yeah, you can go on,” Tails said offhandedly, shrugging.

Watching the guards disappear back into the brush, Umbra jerked himself out of Tails’ embrace.

“You neglected to tell me that you were the emperor of the serpentine?” he  growled, tapping his foot. “That's kind of important.”

Tails’ smile faded, and he kicked at the sand. “It's not important. It's just a title. I'm still the same person.” Turning away, his voice dropped, “Emperor isn't all what it's cracked up to be anyway.”

Author's Note- the plot thickens