good morning starshine; Lagertha/Sette/any

[Fennick]

Fennick grinned lopsidedly at Lagertha, wondering what would happen exactly, if she did impale him. It would hurt like hell, that was for sure, and Gallows would certainly carry on merrily in his absence as a solo queen. The big stallion tried to make himself look serious, as serious as this quickly escalating situation demanded. He fought the sheepishness from his expression and turned glittering black eyes on the queen before him. He nodded gravely, though he couldn’t help the flash of amusement that sparkled in his eyes.

Truth be told, he didn’t really care who wandered across his border. It was a literal wall of fire, so if they stepped though it unscathed and of their own free will, they must really, really want to talk to him. That didn’t necessarily guarantee them safe passage back across, but he had yet to slaughter a visitor. He looked at Lagertha skeptically, and wondered if she had the same record.

Still, his attention turned away from the Jungle queen and back to Hestia when they asked about her tattoo. Fennick listened to her story, first with curiosity and then with a growing alarm. Oh god, he saw where this was going. He shook his head minutely at her in mute appeal, but she plunged ahead, either because she didn’t notice or because she didn’t care. He didn’t blame her either way, for he could see the diplomacy in the idea. That being said, he didn’t have to like it, even if it was a good idea. The big stallion sagged a little. Fine. He’d heard that kings were supposed to make sacrifices for his kingdom, he just didn’t expect it to be Hestia’s idea or their daughter that was sacrificed. He shot her a “you’re killing me” look, then turned back to Lagertha and Anguisette.

“I’ll admit, this wasn’t exactly what I had in mind.” He paused, wondering if he was really going to offer the murder threatening mistress of the Jungle his only, much loved child.

“But, I suppose, for a sake of a well rounded education,” Now he shot Hestia a look, wondering if his entire reign was going to be like this.

“I’ll admit the plan has its merits. What do you say, Lagertha? We can take kidnap and imprisonment off the table and trade dignitaries instead? I’ll agree to your terms for Anguisette if you agree to the same terms for Eona.” His voice snagged a bit on his daughter’s name. He was going to go down in history as the king who cried over his kid. The big man sucked it up and plastered on a big, cheesy grin.

“And, as an added bonus, I’ll tell my kingdom to respect your borders on the threat of their lives.” Fennick couldn’t help but feel that he hadn’t gotten off quite as he imagined in this deal. Still, it was a smart plan, a plan that could benefit both their kingdoms. He would have to just appease himself with that.