Pink talons flicked over and over against the jingling bells on Marmoset’s hat. To their left hunched the ruddy brown form of Redwood, all scented like cedar candles and fresh morning dew. On their right side was Lightningbug, slender claws tinkering with an old dragonets’ toy and a screwdriver. Just about everyone in the room was palpably nervous, some fidgeting like the wings of little flies while others sat frozen in still, uncomfortable silence like pillars of ice. The tense energy seeped between the jester’s scales like corrupted blood.

At long last, Vesi lowered herself down onto a comfortable pillow between the shelves in the quietest part of the palace library. Scales shifted as everyone sat at attention, ears perked and ready to listen.

“I can’t believe it happened again…” the unmistakable deep voice of Bayou murmured. He still smelled like roasted cow. Tomten, who sat next to him, silently raised a talon to indicate that Bayou should be quiet.

Vesi was normally composed and logical, but Marmoset could clearly see the way her wings shook as she began to speak. “As I’m sure we are all aware,” she started in a voice that wavered like firelight, “Queen Zero has had another exacerbation. Though she is in stable condition for the time being, I believe it is time we discuss what to do in the event that she continues to decline.”

Moth, who sat next to Angel Trumpet, nervously folded her claws together in a praying position like she did whenever she got nervous. On her other side, Saturn adjusted her glasses and glanced sideways at Karma, whose mouth was set in a hard line.

“Spit it out already, Vesi,” Condor piped up. As a general, he was used to getting straight to the point, sparing no time to dance around subjects. Rockpool flinched away from him, nearly falling off the perch they shared.

“Give her a moment,” Tomten rumbled softly, the old IceWing raising his head to look Condor in the eye. “This is hard on all of us. The right words take time.”

Marmoset internally wished they could be anywhere but here. Not only was the tension too thick, but they didn’t really care much about what happened regarding the queen. They were tired and overworked and just wanted to sleep.

“I believe it is time to let the public know,” Saturn, who always valued knowledge, posited. Immediately after, she ducked when Karma’s wings flared.

“No, no!” the other Nightwing protested, moon-white talons quickly gesturing for everyone to hear him out. “Think for a second. There would be absolute pandemonium!”

“Or you could use your magic to calm them all down,” Jackalope suggested with a bored look in his eyes.

Karma huffed. “And lose more of my precious soul?!” he snapped, tapping his tail in an irritated rhythm against the floor. “Have you forgotten how Animus dragons work? I can’t just do magic willy-nilly for whatever we think we need it for. I’ll literally lose my mind!”

“Personally, I think we should plan a form of backup government if she dies unexpectedly,” Redwood piped up. “AllWings have unstable genetics and all kinds of illnesses. She could kick the bucket at any moment.”

“Don’t say that!” Sturgeon tried to exclaim, but their voice was too soft and they were ignored, as usual, swiftly trampled over by Vesi’s more commanding tone.

Pallid claws gestured for silence from everyone for a moment, Vesi nodding her head at Redwood’s suggestion. “That’s a good suggestion. The question is: what kind of backup government?”

“I should be put in charge!” Bayou blurted, brown wings flaring. “My time as the head chef makes me a perfect candidate for king.”

“The same could be said of Moth and her work as head servant,” Karma spat in reply, already done with the arrogance he was hearing from the MudWing. “And she’d certainly be more likely to have my support.”

“A good leader is strong of mind, brave, and unafraid to make decisions. I don’t care who the new ruler is so long as they embody those traits,” Condor informed the rest of the dragons before retreating back from the center of the room to watch the debate unfold. He always decided he was done early during these kinds of conversations, though exactly why completely escaped Marmoset. Probably something to do with how exhausting this specific topic was. Marmoset wished they could abandon the discussion, too.

“I would argue none of us are fit to rule on our own,” Tomten pointed out in a soft but booming voice. “If anything, the kingdom should be ruled by a democratic oligarchy rather than just one leader.”

“Were you thinking about this already?!” Bayou spat with something like genuine anger in his tone. Across the room, Karma bared his teeth at the overzealous MudWing, effectively silencing him.

Marmoset, who had not spoken for the entire meeting, raised a talon in the air. “I think Tomten should be in charge. He already basically advises Queen Zero on everything she does. When she dies, we should just put him on the throne.”

“I think we should revert back to a kingdom for each tribe,” Lightningbug proclaimed over Tomten’s slightly shocked expression without even looking up from the little mechanical device she was now deconstructing. “No offense to any of you, but I’d rather go back to my culture and my roots rather than live in this society without any sense of diversity or individuality. We’ve forgotten who we are.”

At that, the conference room erupted into noise. Someone knocked over a table, tails accidentally smacked each other, and wings flew in the faces of other dragons. Marmoset scrambled away from the havoc like a frightened scavenger and out into the much quieter hall, where the smooth marble against their talons helped them collect their thoughts. They drew in a deep breath and tried to envision water washing away all the stimuli from the other room. Just them and their thoughts… just them and their thoughts…

They didn’t suggest you even once, their thoughts said, and Marmoset shook their head. No, they had not been suggested as a potential leader, but was that really such a bad thing? They were just the court jester; just a silly young dragon whose job it was to entertain. They weren’t cut out for leadership like Condor and Vesi were, or as intelligent as Karma and Angel Trumpet. They weren’t strong like Sturgeon and Bayou, and they certainly weren’t as wise as Tomten. The role of the dragon in charge simply wasn’t for them.

But you want to be something more than just a jester, don’t you?

No, they insisted to themself, not at all. They were happy and content where they were, and the Queen’s mean words didn’t mean anything, and they didn’t need anything more. They should just stay where it was safe and stable, even if it hurt. They were fine right where they were.

… And that blatant lie was just going to have to placate them for now.