Raising Beast Cubs to Find a Husband-Chapter 137: The Stowaway Princess

The next day,

If Rurik’s style was "Rustic Fortress," Rajah’s style was "Aggressive Luxury."

The airship waiting for them at the Capital docks wasn’t just a ship. It was a floating palace. The hull was plated in gold leaf. The sails were made of crimson silk embroidered with tigers. The figurehead was a roaring tiger made of solid ruby.

It was blinding in the morning sun.

"Is this necessary?" Primrose asked, shielding her eyes. "It’s very... shiny."

"It is magnificent!" Rajah declared, striding up the gangplank with Arjun in tow. "A Tiger King does not travel in a wooden box! We travel in style! The sun must know we are coming!"

Caspian followed, looking deeply skeptical. He was holding Orion’s hand.

"It looks heavy," Caspian noted. "If this thing crashes, the gold plating alone will kill us."

"It won’t crash!" Rajah shouted over his shoulder. "It runs on high-grade Solar Stones! It is the fastest ship in the Empire!"

The team boarded. Primrose, Caspian, Orion, Rajah, and Arjun.

Rurik, Lucien, and Cassian stood on the dock to wave them off.

"Try not to start a war," Rurik called out, grinning. "And say hi to your mom for me, Stripes! Tell her I’m still single if she wants a real man!"

"I WILL TELL HER NOTHING!" Rajah roared back. "GET A JOB, RURIK!"

With a lurch and a hum of magic engines, the Golden Zephyr ascended. The Capital shrank below them as they turned south, toward the Jungle of Golden Stripes.

"That was a joke, right?" Cassian whispered, hands folded.

Rurik nodded with a grin. "Yep... just wanted to annoy him a bit."

"We should head back to our various homes. Our cubs would be awake by now," Lucien suggested and they all agreed and turned to leave.

---

Two hours into the flight, the air began to change. The crisp, cool wind of the central plains was replaced by a warm, dry breeze coming from the southern deserts.

Orion was not having a good time.

He was sitting on a velvet lounge chair on the deck, looking like a dried sponge.

"I’m shriveling up," Orion announced, fanning himself with a large leaf. "The air’s too dry. My skin feels like old paper, and my gills are tingling. I need water. Real water."

"Drink some," Arjun suggested, hanging upside down from the railing by his tail.

"That’s like pouring a cup of water on a desert," Orion countered. "I need to breathe it."

He stood up, focusing. He raised his hands, and with a small pop, a shimmering bubble of water materialized around his head. It looked like a fishbowl made of magic.

"Ah," Orion sighed, his voice echoing slightly inside the bubble. "That’s better. Now I won’t turn into a merman jerky."

"You look ridiculous," Arjun laughed. "You look like a fish in a bowl!"

"I look hydrated," Orion corrected, walking away with his head floating in water. "You’re just jealous of my portable ocean."

---

Primrose was in the main cabin, trying to unpack. Or rather, she was trying to stop her tails from knocking over Rajah’s collection of priceless vases.

"Why are there so many vases?" Primrose muttered, catching a Ming porcelain with her tail just before it hit the floor. "This isn’t a ship, it’s a museum deathtrap."

Suddenly, the ship lurched.

"TURBULENCE!" Rajah’s voice boomed from the deck. "OR MAYBE A DRAGON! EVERYONE PANIC!"

Primrose ran up to the deck.

It wasn’t a dragon.

Descending from the clouds above them was a massive, golden-feathered Griffin. It was screeching, its wings creating a windstorm that rattled the rigging.

And riding the Griffin was a woman.

She wore practical leather riding gear, but her hair was a mane of wild, golden curls that screamed royalty. She looked fierce, beautiful, and slightly unhinged.

"INCOMING!" the woman screamed.

The Griffin slammed onto the deck of the airship. The gold plating groaned.

The rider jumped off, landing in a superhero pose. She stood up, dusting off her gloves.

"Nailed it," she declared.

"Leonora?!" Rajah gasped, his eyes popping out of his head.

Princess Leonora grinned. She marched up to the Tiger Lord and punched him in the arm. Hard.

"Ow!" Rajah rubbed his bicep. "Why violence? We are engaged!"

"That was for leaving without me again!" Leonora snapped. Then she grabbed his face and kissed him.

"Mmph!" Rajah flailed, his tail puffing up to three times its size.

Leonora pulled back, smirking. "And that was for being cute when you’re panicked."

She turned to Primrose.

"Prim!" Leonora squealed, abandoning her royal dignity entirely. She ran over and hugged the Fox.

"Leo!" Primrose laughed, hugging her back. "What are you doing here? Did you just... hijack a Griffin?"

"Borrowed," Leonora corrected, winking. "From the Royal Aviary. Dad doesn’t know. He thinks I’m at a tea party."

She looked at Primrose’s two wagging tails.

"Whoa," Leonora whistled. "Upgrade! Look at you! Two tails? You’re like a fluffy goddess!"

"I’m a clumsy goddess," Primrose sighed. "Wait, why are you here? Don’t you have... princess stuff to do?"

Leonora’s expression sobered. She glanced at Rajah, who was still recovering from the kiss.

"I heard," Leonora whispered. "About his mother. About the summons."

She crossed her arms, her golden eyes flashing.

"The Tiger Matriarch eats people for breakfast, Prim. Rajah acts tough, but he’s terrified of her. He needs backup. And since I’m going to be her daughter-in-law one day, I figured I should start the war early."

"You came to protect him," Primrose smiled.

"I came to make sure he doesn’t cry," Leonora corrected, loud enough for Rajah to hear. "Tigers are crybabies. Lions are the real kings."

"I HEARD THAT!" Rajah shouted. "AND I DO NOT CRY! I just... have sensitive tear ducts!"

---

That evening, dinner was served on the open deck under the stars.

The mood was electric. Leonora brought a chaotic energy that matched Rajah’s perfectly. They bickered constantly, stole food off each other’s plates, and clearly adored each other.

"So," Leonora said, stabbing a piece of steak. "The Jungle. I haven’t been there since I was a cub. Is it still... sticky?"

"It’s so humid you can drink the air," Orion answered from inside his water bubble. He was eating soup through a straw he had poked through the magic barrier. "According to my books, it’s like swimming without getting wet. I’m going to love it."

"It is glorious!" Rajah argued. "The heat! The life! The mosquitoes the size of birds!"

"That’s not a selling point, darling," Leonora deadpanned.

Caspian sat next to Primrose, peeling a shrimp with elegant precision.

"So," Caspian asked Leonora. "You know the Tiger Matriarch well?"

Leonora shuddered. She put down her fork.

"Let me put it this way," Leonora said seriously. "You know how Rurik is scary because he might punch you?"

"Yes," everyone nodded.

"And how Cassian is scary because he might poison you?"

"Yes."

"Queen Mother Durga doesn’t punch or poison," Leonora whispered. "She just... looks at you. And suddenly you feel like you’re five years old, you wet the bed, and you disappointed your ancestors. It’s psychological warfare."

Rajah put his head in his hands. "I’m already sweating. Is it hot out here or is it just my anxiety?"

"It’s the anxiety," Arjun said helpfully, patting his dad’s back. "Don’t worry, Dad. I’ll protect you. I can roar now. Listen."

Arjun took a deep breath.

Meow.

It was a tiny, high-pitched squeak.

The table went silent.

"It was... fierce," Primrose lied kindly.

"Terrifying," Caspian agreed.

"I felt fear," Orion added from his bubble.

Arjun beamed. "See? I’m ready."

---

Later that night, the ship was quiet. They were passing over the Great Sand Sea, the vast desert that separated the North from the South.

Primrose couldn’t sleep. The heat was already seeping into the cabin, making her fur itch. She went up to the deck for some air.

She found Leonora leaning against the railing, looking down at the moonlit dunes.

"Hey," Primrose said softly.

"Hey," Leonora smiled. "Can’t sleep? It’s the heat. Takes some getting used to."

Primrose joined her at the railing. Her silver tail flicked nervously.

"Leo," Primrose asked. "Are you really ready for this? The Tiger Matriarch sounds... intense."

Leonora sighed. She looked at the closed door of the captain’s cabin, where Rajah was sleeping.

"Rajah thinks he has to be perfect," Leonora said quietly. "He thinks because he’s a Tiger, he has to be strong, loud, and confident all the time. But his mother... she sees through that. And she picks at the cracks."

Leonora gripped the railing.

"I love him, Prim. He’s an idiot, but he’s my idiot. And I’m not going to let his mother make him feel small. Not anymore."

She looked at Primrose, her eyes fierce.

"We’re going into the Lion’s Den—well, the Tiger’s Den. But we’re not going alone. We have the Fox, the Fish, and the Lion. We can take her."

Primrose smiled. She felt a surge of affection for this wild, brave Princess.

"Yeah," Primrose agreed. "We can take her. I made cookies. Cookies solve everything."

"Unless she’s allergic to joy," Leonora laughed. "Which is a distinct possibility."

Suddenly, Orion walked by. He was sleepwalking. He was still inside his water bubble, floating a few inches off the ground, snoring softly.

Bubble-snore. Bubble-snore.

"Is he... floating?" Leonora whispered.

"Just ignore it," Primrose said. "It’s part of his charm."

As they sailed into the warm southern night, Primrose felt a strange sense of calm. Yes, they were heading into a trap. Yes, the Tiger Matriarch was terrifying. And yes, the Boss was plotting something evil.

But looking at her friend, hearing the hum of the ship, and seeing the sleeping bubble-boy float by...

She knew they would be okay.

Probably.

Unless the mosquitoes really were the size of birds.