I was up early the next day, what with Rougier bemoaning the fact that he was hungry and stuck as a small prey animal. As soon as I was dressed and presentable in another loose shirt and Dark leather pants, I left the room. Sure enough, Kieran was standing on the other side of the door leaning against the wall.

  Well, I say leaning but it was nothing so pedestrian. He was pin straight and looked fresh as a daisy, like he hadn't just spent a whole night standing outside my door like a statue. I envied his fortitude and discipline, sure I would never have the patients to attain it my self. I asked if it would be bad if I set Rougier back to his rightful size and let him off to hunt, with clear instructions to be away from people and not to eat any livestock.

  "My father already came by this morning to inform me that this would be fine. Would you like me to take you out to the courtyard?" He said politely.

  "Take me out like I am some kind of pet..." Grumbled the dragon.

  "Need I remind you that you agreed to all of this?" I sighed at the purple creature once again perched on my shoulder. "Be sides, I hardly saw you complaining yesterday when you got to laze about and stuff your face with every piece of spiced meat you could find."

  He did not reply, just huffed a tiny whisp of smoke. We brought him outside and he stretched his wings lazily. "Take off up into the sky." I told him. "I don't want to release the spell on the ground, you will tear up the courtyard."

  "So bossy." But he extended his wings and lifted into the air. He seemed to almost fall out of the sky for a second and I was alarmed till I heard him snarl at the air about tiny prey animal bodies and laughed. Bit windy at higher altitudes I supposed.

  I was about to release the spell when Kieran put out a hand to stop me them made a high-pitched whistle. A man poked his head over the side of the wall. "Mr. Kieran?" he asked, horns gleaming in the early morning light.

  "There is about to be a large dragon on the wing. Spread the word lest there be some panicked buffoon who tries to shoot him down." Said the young butler. The guard paled and nodded. Then I heard a series of shouts flowing along the wall as the guards shouted out the instructions down the line. Kieran turned to me and nodded.

  "Miniminazi Rei." I said, and about twenty feet above the wall the massive Dragon appeared. "don't you dare roar this early in the morning!" I snapped at him when I saw his jaw began to open. It snapped shut. "Sorry," he said. "Didn't think about it. I'm going into the forest. And do not worry, I will not burn it down."

  I sighed and glared up at the toothily grinning dragon. "I wasn't worried, but now I am." He just made his dragon rumble laugh and took off, the buffeting of his wings causing my hair to fly about as I hadn't tied it back.

  "It is a terrifying sight, that dragon." Said Kieran, watching Rougier fly off.

  "I'd imagine every dragon is terrifying to look at." I said, also watching the dragon disappear. Though I was more exasperated than afraid.

  Kieran chuckled. "That is true. It's a good thing they are so rare."

  I sighed. "You may think so, but I wish there were more. It is funny, but ever since Kradiff brought it up I've had it in my head that I would tame a whole bunch of them. Now that would be power..." I glanced down and saw Kieran looking at me in an odd way and I back tracked. "Er, sorry. I guess that sounded a little like an ego-centric power grabber."

  The butler smiled, a sort of shine to his eye that nearly made me blush. "Not at all. I was just thinking that you sounded very much like a Demon Queen. They all crave power. Power to succeed, power to keep what they have, and power to protect. It is the insurmountable power of our Queens that keeps our society as peaceful as it is. They are a deterrent to the conflict craving males after all. The only thing that can take on a Demon Queen is another Demon Queen; and if two Demon Queens ever did fight with the intention to kill, they are so strong that they could destroy this world. And so it became necessary to find less violent ways to solve issues. Or at least, not the kind of violence that would get everyone and everything involved."

  "You say some pretty smart things."

  He looked surprised at my praise. "Not at all. Consider it the first of the many lessons you will receive while here." He added with a laugh. I groaned. I did want to know all I could, of course, but the idea of essentially, going to demon school sounded so dull and tedious.

  As it turned out I was both right and wrong about my learning. Over the next week I spent my mornings with Garris and Felicity, learning demon history, geography, politics, genealogy... so many things. So many things that my head would hurt by the time we would stop for lunch. Then, after eating, Felicity would go and take care of all the duties she had as a Queen, and I was left in the hands of one Varcheon Braiol. He was a tall man, built buffer than most of his line, with almost buzz cut brown hair. It was very odd to see his horns to the root.

  Apparently a Varcheon was what demons called their military captains. Varcheon Braiol oversaw training recruits and keeping the officers in top form. And now he oversaw teaching me how to fight too. I may have been a Queen, but I asked him from day one not to take it easy on me and he was sure to keep to that request. I think he was even harsher than Vale! But I was learning a lot from him, especially in utilizing my claws and tail.

  He had seemed fascinated by my tail as a matter of fact. Apparently, it was a unique style, with its sharp and flexible scales. Whip like tails were as common as the larger, dragon like tails, but every tail was different. It was the easiest way to tell different clans apart, and my scales and the bolt arrowhead shape a the head of my tail made it very distinctive, and surprisingly useful. Surprising to him at least. I already used my tail to great affect after all, and now I was getting even more lethal with it.

  But my discussion about tails and claws with Braiol made me think of another distinctive feature that I hadn't thought about since I saw the soldiers when I arrived. It suddenly occurred to me that I didn't see any wings. Confused and slightly panicked, thinking that I may have been over worked and just imagined the demons had wings, I brought it up with the Varcheon. Laughing, he said: "No need to fret Lady Sin. A demon's wings are a biological magic. Like dragon's fire, or the poisonous miasma that several monsters have. Our wings are a part of us, they hurt and they bleed... But they are also magical. They only come out when needed. And if, somehow, one got torn off, they could always come back." He explained, spreading his own dark appendages to show them to me. "But always keep in mind that to conjure your wings you need mana. They are a draining spell, so once you run out of mana your wings will vanish. You would be surprised how many fool demons have fallen to their death because they did not pay attention to their mana consumption."

  He then began dedicating a few hours into teaching me how to summon them. I was embarrassed that it was taking so long to figure out how to do something the others seemed to be able to do with out much thought. But Varcheon Braiol assured me that I was fine, and when I finally achieved it he told me that most young demons take a week or two to figure it out so I was doing fantastic.

  And like with my tail, he was also fascinated by my wings. I was too for that matter. They were rather large compared to the others here at the castle, but Braiol told me that it wasn't just compared to them that my wings were big. Apparently, they were just large for my size in general. Like theirs however, mine were like a dragon's wings but with out the claw at the knuckle. What was wild about them, though, was the feather looking, long black scales on the back side of the wings. When looking at my front I appeared to have normal wings, but if you looked from the back it was more like I had oddly shaped feathered wings.

  This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  Curious, I plucked off a feather scale. It did hurt to do, but not unbearably so. The largest of the feathers were al long as my forearm! And they were sharp, just like the tiny scales on my tail. The wing scales were slightly flexible, but sharp as a blade. I nearly sliced a finger when examining it.

  "Fascinating." Said Kieran. He had been training that day as well and both he and Braiol were checking out my wings. "It is like you have an arsenal of daggers on your back..."

  "Huh, you are right." I said thoughtfully. "Though if you tried to use this a knife with out a guard or hilt then you would likely loose a finger."

  So, flight training was added to my lesson from then on. But as it turned out I could fly from the get-go. I guess demons were like dragons in that they just knew how to do it. But Rougier decided that that wasn't good enough, and that the trainers at the castle were not up to the task. Out of all the things that have happened to me since my death, I think the one thing that confused me most was ralising that I was now getting flight combat training from an ancient and terrifying dragon. One who had zero patents. In fact, I was pretty sure that the reason he insisted on teaching me was simply to have an excuse to mouth off and belittle me from time to time.

  BY the end of the week I was pretty burnt out but I also hadn't ever felt so accomplished either. I was making amazing progress with my studies, combat training and even with my attempts at training with my mana as a queen was supposed to do. A few times over the week I had accompanied Garris and Felicity during trips about the countryside where we used our mana to help the crops grow, and even 'gifted' mana to a Ginrager, who was having a difficult labour, aiding the mother in giving birth to her calf. I learned that the massive, elephant sized badger looking monsters were a little like cows. They were kept for their milk, but also because their dung was favored by another monster: the Feeder Worms.

  "Feeder Worms are gross." Explained Felicity as we flew our way back to the castle, nine gauds surrounding us and villagers on the ground waving and wishing us well. Felicity waved back as she spoke. "But they are some of the most prized monsters in the Demonia." Apparently, the Demon Realm consisted of the planet, Demonia, and her two moons: Fausta and Deadrin.

  Fausta was the largest of the two moons, accessible via portals. It is the home of the oldest and strongest of the demon clans. They were not a ruling body as such, but usually the families there are well respected and hold a great deal of pull in the Realm's doings. The moon is mostly covered in a great ocean where there are said to be absurdly huge water monsters. And, according to unproven legends, mermaids.

  As for Deadrin, it was the smallest of the moons but the most important one. It was here that the demons focused all their spiritual concepts. It was said to be the house of the gods, much as those on Hearth viewed the churches and cathedrals. Only Queens were aloud to go to Deadrin, or great warriors who have earned the right and have gotten permission from a queen. It was a place to address the god or go on spirit quests.

  "Why are they so important?" I asked.

  "You see, they are these huge earth worms, like the size of a person! And they love Ginrager dung. If you put the dung on your crops and the like, it is far more likely the worms will come and help your fields. So, people of Demonia prize the Ginrager. After all, Demonia's soil is not very fertile without the aid of the Feeder Worms."

  I thought for a moment, then asked: "What about the waste lands? Couldn't the Feeder worms clean that up?"

  It was Garris who answered me this time. "They could clean up the earth there." He said but with a sad shake of the head. "But they wont. They despise the taste of the soil there and refuse to even take a single bite. It has been attempted several times over the millennia but nothing has worked. Not even mixing Ginrager dung into the earth will get them to clean it. It is a shame but there isn't much we can do but hope nature will eventually take care of it."

  At the end of the week, during our evening meal, Felicity skipped into the greeting hall looking fit to burst. I looked at her with a smile as she took her usual place and Garris sat behind her. I hoped the butlers and maids ate at some point, because I never saw them do it.

  "What has you grinning from ear to ear?" I asked as Rougier hopped on to his customary cushion and eyed the current selection of food stuffs.

  "I just got all the confirmations back! The day after tomorrow will be your presentation ball! Its very exciting."

  I wasn't excited. "Um, just so you know, I don't dance... and I am anti scotial. And crude. I am not sure this is a good idea. I don't want to cause any trouble for you, after all you are the one hosting it. I don't want my bad manners to reflect poorly on you."

  At that Felicity only laughed, smoothing out her dress and taking a sip of tea. "You needn't worry about all that. As for dancing, there won't be any. A presentation ball is only for Queens, no dates. The only males present will be those who are hired to guard the queens, and each queen is permitted one during the actual event. Any others they bring will be housed in the palace."

  Well, I felt a little better but was still very on edge. It was odd, I was cool as a cucumber beheading a man, but a fancy party. Hell no. ugh, kill me now.

  "Will Rougier be aloud to attend?" I asked forking a piece of mystery meat onto a plate for the miniature Death-Bringer.

  "Not the actual ball, no. but the next day will be meetings and I am sure there will be no problem then, so long as he stays this size."

  "The smell of your perfumes aggravates me any way." Grumbled the dragon. "I can only imagine additional females will simply mean more false scents."

  "You know, you make me look kind, gentle, and polite." I glowered down at Rougier, annoyed as I was fond of him.

  "You're welcome."

  Felicity laughed. "The ball is divided into three separate events. First is the Presentation: The Queens who decided to attend introduce themselves to you one by one and present you with a gift. It is usually a speciality of their lands, like a tree bearing rare fruit, or a product they are famous for producing. Then, that evening, is the ball. We call it a ball, but it is more like an excuse for queens to get together in a big group and catch up with one another. It's a chance for you to get to know them and for them to get to know you. And lastly, the following morning, is a Queen's Meeting."

  "And what's that?" I asked, already not fond of getting presents or socializing. Maybe I should just become a dragon hermit in the mountain some place.

  "Well, they can be called for any number of reasons. This time it will be about you though. A new Queen means that there needs to be some changes made. There wasn't too much hassle during my presentation as it was just decided that I would take over my mother's territory. But we will have to come together and figure out where you will make your new home."

  "Th-that's not necessary- "

  "Apologies," Interrupted Garris, clearing his throat. "But it is necessary Lady Sin. You have made it clear that you have no current intent on settling down and starting your clan. And that is still fine. But you will, eventually, wish to have at least a home base here on Demonia, will you not? Or do you think that you will never wish to spend any significant time on this world?"

  I sighed and looked at my hands. "I don't know. But I do like it here, even if my focus is on Hearth for now. But you are probably right..."

  "Exactly. And it is best to work out the details now, in the traditional way, rather than wait a century or two and then bring it up, possibly aggravating some parties."

  "Yes, I understand."

  "Good. It is fine Lady Sin. No one will expect you to do anything with your lands if you do not wish to. In fact, I have heard that there is an ancient Queen living on Faust, who has stopped having young and has decided to just live a quiet and uneventful life. She hasn't had any young in so long that her whole clan died out. And you can imagine how long that would have taken."

  "Wow, that's taking the hermit life to new heights. I'm impressed."

  Felicity laughed. "It is said that she mothered three Queens in her lifetime though. So, she made quite the contribution to the race as a whole, even if she has decided to let her own line die off."

  "I guess I still have a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that I am essentially immortal now. Where I come from, people only live to be about eighty, one hundred if you are lucky. Coming across all these races that have super long lives has messed with my mind a bit."

  "You needn't worry about it too much my lady." Said Garris, clearly picking up on my discomfort. "Though it is a rare occasion, the coming of a new Queen, it is still one that the others know how to deal with. No one expects the new Queen to be the one in charge of all this. It's a group effort."

  "Alright. I will try and relax about the whole thing." I sighed and shoveled more food onto Rougier's plate.