The few days out in the country passed quietly and comfortably, with Bree enjoying herself and making sure she wore her new trinket all the time. She was a little disappointed when they had to go back, but for more reasons than just because she didn't want to go back.

Charlotte noticed that Bree was quiet when they got back to the flat.

"What's wrong?" she asked as they settled back in. "Don't tell me it's nothing, because I know it's not."

"I'll have to deal with the paperwork stuff tomorrow, I'm not looking forward to that," Bree said. One more night of peace, and then she'd tell Charlotte what was expected of her.

"What was in the paperwork?" Charlotte asked. She'd noticed that Bree got into a mood every time it was brought up.

"Yearly stuff, as well as some age-related things," Bree answered. "Nothing that I'm looking forward to."

"Age-related?" Charlotte asked, blinking. "What could they want in regards to my age? I am far from old, and far from being a hatchling."

"I know." Bree hesitated before she sighed. Charlotte kept pushing, and she couldn't evade much more. "You're of breeding age now."

Charlotte stilled.

"What are they asking for?" she asked, a chilly edge to her tone.

"They're saying you haven't done your breeding duties yet and need to get a start on that." Bree went to go make tea; they were going to need it.

"There are plenty of others out there willing to breed," Charlotte said quietly. "They do not need me."

"Well they think they do." Bree shook her head. "I was already planning on stalling and seeing what I can do to stave this off."

"If they think they can force me into the breeding grounds with a dragon I do not know..." Charlotte growled, smoke coming from her nose and mouth.

"I know," Bree said, waving a hand at her. "I wouldn't let them anyway. We'll figure something out, without you setting the flat on fire."

Charlotte still growled low in her chest, not calming down quite yet. No, she definitely did NOT want to be made to breed, and certainly not with a mate chosen for her.

Bree set some tea in front of her, giving her a bit of a look. "I'm working on it," she said. "Don't worry."

Charlotte grumbled, but stopped growling. She wasn't pleased, but there wasn't much she could do about it for the moment.

Satisfied that the apartment wasn't going to catch fire, Bree settled in with her own tea to think things over for a while.

A week later, though, the people in charge of breedings hadn't budged on their decision, and Charlotte was getting testy again.

Bree was trying to come up with an alternative or some way to make it more appealing to Charlotte.

"Maybe if you got to pick your own partner?" she asked, looking at Charlotte. "Rather than just any random dragon?"

Charlotte considered that for a moment.

"That might make it slightly more bearable," she grudgingly agreed.

"Well they're not going to let you off entirely, so this is the best compromise I can think of," Bree said, already drafting a letter. "Hopefully they'll accept it."

Charlotte grumbled something to the effect of 'they had better' and settled down in front of the fireplace while Bree worked on the letter.

Bree sent the letter out the next day, and it took her a few days to get a reply. When the reply came back cautiously positive, she decided that was as good as they were going to get.

"They agreed."

Charlotte grumbled a bit, but didn't openly complain. She'd pretty much made peace with the situation.

"We've got a little bit of time, but you'll have to choose a suitable mate," Bree said, rubbing her forehead. She even sounded tired.