Dimitri knew his father wouldn't be happy since the queen contacted him through their mate bond, telling him of the incident. Making sure to keep his composure, he approaches his father's desk. "She tried to hit me when I corrected her about her uncouth behavior. A queen should have decorum and restraint regarding punishments, and I have done nothing wrong. My new researcher stepped in the way of Her Majesty's wrongful punishment. There was no manhandling, as you said."
Lily felt very uncomfortable with this line of conversation since she was the one to interfere. Dimitri stopped her before she could speak, keeping her mostly out of sight behind him. "Have you any idea how much humiliation she had to endure from the lower nobles?! She had to work hard to prove she was worthy of being my mate, even with the dowry she brought. Disrespect her like that again, and I will take you out of the line of succession. You brought that stray here for a reason, correct?" The Dragon King was an older man with long grey hair and blue eyes like Dimitri's and taller.
Clenching his fist, Dimitri refrained from beating his father, answering him stiffly. "She is here to find out why the Dragon Moss is dying. Many healers have expressed that the plant is dying out. It is still the main form of treatment for open wounds, burns, and other medical issues, but it has been unclear how and why it keeps dying. Lily has already been working on this problem and is researching other plants from the region with similar problems. I happen to read some of her work."
The King looked to the woman half standing behind his son, someone he didn't think to see again. "You're the Wolf Clans Ward. I've seen you at various meetings with the Wolf King. That incompetent fool couldn't keep you under control, so now you're snooping around for our secrets?! People from the royal families must have special permission to be in another Clan's territory. How did you get it?"
Lily forgot about this rule, never considering herself one of the royal family, but her professor helped her get the scholarship and all the special permissions needed. "I don't consider myself one of the royal family of the Wolf Clan. My professor used my name instead of my supposed title to get the permissions needed to come to school here. I just recently graduated from the Dragon Academy with honors in botany and herbology. As the prince said, I have been researching the problem with some of your river plants. I noticed it when I first came here. I know the color it's supposed to be, and depending on how far upriver you go, the color changes, Your Majesty."
The King listened to her findings, seeing merit in her work, but not wanting an outsider to finish it, he made a suggestion. "Well, it seems you have done your work well. I'd like you to hand your work and findings over to one of my senior researchers. This needs to be handled delicately, and I would feel better if one of my people handled this."
Lily was about to tell this prick to f*ck off when Dimitri interjected. "Father! Have you any idea the work she has put into this?! And now you just want her to hand it over as if she isn't the one to handle this? I brought her here to take care of this problem because our senior researchers haven't had any success. If you have doubts, summon her professor to assess her credibility." Dimitri knew this was the work she used to graduate from the Academy, gaining her honors certificate.
Lily wanted nothing more than to tell this puffed-up king to stuff it, but more people would be affected by this than just her pride. The King gives this some thought, walking around his desk and standing in front of his son. "What was your professor's name?" "Professor Magnus De Drago`, Your Majesty." The King's head shot towards her, a conflicted look on his face.
"You're telling me, my brother helped you?" Lily knew this was going to come up, and her professor told her never to use his name unless absolutely necessary. "Yes, Your Majesty. He ventured into my part of the Palace on one of the business trips your Clan was there for. Seeing all the plants I had cultivated and the fact that the Dragon moss I had growing was the purest color he'd ever seen because I gave it the proper nutrients to grow. He knew I could help you and offered me the scholarship."
The King was baffled by her words, finding it hard to believe that the headmaster of the Dragon Academy would vouch for this wolfless woman. He knew the story behind her, which was part of the reason she didn't want her handling this. "I will summon my brother, and we will see if your words are true. Dismissed." The pair bowed to the King, turning around leaving his office.
Lily's heart was pounding out of her chest just from the interaction with the King. She knew he was scary, but experiencing it firsthand was a whole other story. Dimitri steered them to a spiral staircase, taking them down two levels before moving down a corridor that kind of smelt sterile. Going three doors in, he opens a door to a lab with several experiments displayed.
A woman with short green curly hair in a white lab coat was hunched over something, writing notes as she worked. Dimitri cleared his throat, startling the woman, who whipped around, scowling at him. "You scared the crap out of me. Next time, knock!" She set her work down, walking over to them, looking Lily over. "And who's this?"
"This is Lily Artemis Wolfman. She recently graduated from the Dragon Academy with honors and a recommendation from my uncle. I have seen her work on the Dragon Moss and would like to add her to your team." Lily looked around, not seeing a single person, but her in the lab. "And how do you know we will work well together? I don't need a lazy nobody with a big head damaging my experiments."
The woman was suspicious of Lily, who was looking at the fish tanks in the corner with some type of seaweed and the fish avoided it. "Have you checked the pH level in that tank? That seaweed is supposed to be darker for those types of fish to eat it." The woman stared at Lily as if she had grown a third head. "Of course, I checked the pH of the water it is in perfect conditions for the seaweed to grow."
"But is it perfect for the fish to thrive in? The darker green comes from the breakdown of their poop, not the nitrate in the water." The woman's jaw dropped while Dimitri tried to keep a straight face as Lily had just schooled her. Lily knew this, waiting to hear what catchy remark she had next. "I'll take her. Where did you find this one?" The woman asked, extending her hand.
"He found me walking up on a very gory scene and almost blamed me for it. ALMOST." The woman laughed, knowing Dimitri was always quick to judge. "My name is Trinee La Terra. I'm the main researcher for this division." She extended her hand to Lily, who accepted it, glad to see another female like herself.