Chapter 30

  "And your plan is to—blend in amongst all our kindred at The Landing?" Dianna inquired, her expression inscrutable as she peered down at her daughter's exuberant and, for whatever reason, over-eagre anticipation.

  As it happened, Tulla's expression seemed to droop by the slightest fraction at her mother's tone, all that excitement over the idea clearly blinding the girl to a somewhat glaring problem.

  Quite honestly, Dianna didn't care if her daughter wanted to visit the city from an objective standpoint… But, for all she knew, the girl was too smart for her own good at times, and her mother found it near the point of genuine amusement that her daughter didn't recognize the issue.

  To their left, Dianna's two legion scribes, the same that she'd commandeered for the express use of her slowly growing command structure for both settlement affairs and militant, seemed to look back down at their work, pointedly now ignoring the conversation…

  To their right, Korvil, her defacto second in command, twitched, the side of his face flickering away from whatever expression he might have made to maintain his semblance of neutrality…

  And, of course, Jade and Kilk, both newly minted officers she intended to grant commission to, each peered at one another, neither wanting to say a word.

  There weren't many people currently in her war tent, comparative, of course, so its size… Just the secretaries meant to sift through any incoming reports to determine what, if anything, Dianna had to directly deal with. Korvil, her niece's prior Adjunct who now worked quite closely with her, and two of the younger but quite promising legionnaires from Tavir's own command.

  While Dianna focused on raising up her slowly building forces, Korvil had been all but instrumental in continuing the efforts of seeking out isolated settlements that had survived or otherwise not even been aware of the Tricen's sinister ritual.

  By contrast, Jade and Kilk had already proved steady heads and competent in their work. They two led partitions of their her forces, just in smaller units that hadn't yet gained enough troopers.

  The three of them were, thus far, working to ever broaden the scope of their search. Spreading out the net while seeking to find isolated, forgotten or otherwise ragged surviving settlements in the wake of—well, the shadow incident…

  Whereas she herself had been about the business of structuring the ramshackle but quite dangerous budding army that they were building, primarily by way of indoctrinating new recruits.

  Still, like the wild creature she'd always known the girl to be whilst still all elbows and knees, running around with more twigs in her braid than good sense, Tulla's instincts flared as though noticing the weighted silence around her.

  She hesitated, looked at the others in the room and then frowned… "What?"

  "You don't see it?"

  "I-if it's about Chuck, then—"

  "Tulla…" Dianna sighed, wondering why she had to spell this out for her! "When was the last time you looked at yourself in a mirror or a pool of water?"

  Again, her daughter seemed perplexed as to what her mother was trying to get at, her mind only seeming to click into place as the girl glanced down at a lifting hand and regarded it for a long moment.

  "Yeah—okay, but I can just wear a cowl! And besides, I can always claim it's just some weird side effect from a card I found in the Labyrinth!"

  "Portal at Londis will be closed to civilian access and hasn't yet been open to the public besides," Kilk commented, offering Tulla an apologetic look when the girl turned to him, annoyed but not with him specifically.

  "And the cowl will attract attention…" Jade offered a moment later, though she regarded Tulla with a degree more interest as if imagining what it would be like to see her for the first time and absent context. "Honestly, suspicious types will be sticking out like a sore thumb… I guarantee, you throw a hood over your face and a cloak over your back, and you'll have every guardsman glancing your way when you pass by."

  "Not—all of them, right?"

  "I mean…" Kilk began, murmuring while rubbing a thumb over his chin, "Paying attention to suspicious individuals is guard detail one-O-one… Literally, one of the first things they tell you to look out for!"

  "Mmmhmm. No offence, T—Lady Tulla, but covering yourself up to hide only works if the people on watch don't give two shites about their duty."

  "And, given the whole army's shacking up at Londis for the moment, there's going to be no shortage of patrols."

  "They'll be seeking to outright smother any semblance of unruly behaviour," Dianna stated, approving that Jade was already starting to remember her daughter's status, even if she wasn't directly involved in military matters. "Guards will be on a higher alert than is typical for no greater reason than necessity and orders. Praetor Octavia, if she still lives, will be doing her utmost to keep a stranglehold on discipline…"

  "She is one of the only remaining generals with any meaningful experience under her belt…" Korvil admitted, grunting with displeasure, as if the knowledge itself left a putrid taste on his lips. "Who really knows what the others are doing, but if that woman has managed to retain even a modicum of support amongst her troops, I'd suspect she would be in charge—in one manner of speaking or another…"

  "If not, you could probably just go walking around as you are!"

  Her daughter glanced at the tall and red-headed man with an unreadable expression. Though Dianna didn't think it had anything to do with her daughter taking any offence. Instead, her little girl—no, not so little anymore…

  Well, regardless, her child was undoubtedly contemplating it all and wondering how she could get away with it. Eventually, she shrugged, no longer looking worried in the slightest. "I'm just going to ask Benny to whip me something up. I'm sure he can figure out a workable disguise."

  Taking in a deep breath, Dianna simply nodded her head. "Far be it from me to stop you, dear. You are reaching adulthood, and I don't think coddling is required… No, if you are heading to the city, simply ensure you do so covertly. Otherwise, I've no doubt of your capability to handle yourself."

  Her daughter beamed at her, all bright eyes and swelling pride, which, in turn, caused Dianna's own lips to slip into a warm smile.

  Hmph! At her age, Dianna had already tried to enlist twice. There just hadn't been much else she thought herself able to do after realizing how much of a crapshoot trying to make a go of it in the Labyrinth could be.

  Yet, Tulla was even bigger than she had been at the girl's age… And while Dianna understood that—theoretically, her little girl wasn't any older, all evidence currently pointed to the contrary.

  The girl looked like a right and proper teenager now. Her mind was much more focused, habits trending away from childish antics and plowing headlong into the realm of more mature interests.

  Heck! The amount of water that the girl went through, typically whilst taking upwards of two baths a day, was—astonishing…

  Likewise, she'd begun putting immense effort into her own appearance. New clothes that were never seen dirty or so much as wrinkled. New hairstyles that, while not familiar to Dianna personally, were nonetheless constantly making an appearance upon her daughter's head.

  Tulla had officially hit the stage in her life where she was no longer a mere child, and the fact was evident for any who wished to see it. Add in that she was, socially, both coming into herself and her new role and that she was beginning to take an active interest in settlement affairs and—well, the girl really was growing up…

  While strange that she'd seemingly skipped over a few years to get here—Dianna really couldn't care less. Tulla would likely be alive for entire centuries… her deck was nearing gold, or so the girl claimed…

  Thus, what did Dianna care if a measly two or three of the most awkward and abhorrent years in her own existence were simply leapt right over by her daughter? The answer, of course, was that she didn't care very much…

  "Well… If the ugh… the princess is intending to visit The Landing, are we going to have her do more than scout?"

  Dianna glanced at Korvil as the man looked right back at her, a single and questioning brow raised. "I don't—object to having her do more, but…"

  "No, I agree," Tulla intoned, raising her hands as if to already forfeit whatever else her mother might say, "If anyone is going to go out there and convince other soldiers to come here, it's better we send an actual soldier for that… Not to say I can, you know, take something with me just in case I meet the right people… but mainly, I'm just going to go take a look around."

  The girl paused, her expression shifting to something waltzing upon indecision, but the look faded within heartbeats, resolve forming around any perceived anxieties and hardening around her like armour. "Also, I dealt with the Lizalti; they'll be gone as soon as they are able to pack—or if they still refuse," Tulla added, pulling in a sharp breath through her teeth, "then I'll get rid of them—myself…"

  Dianna eyed her child through a softly narrowing gaze, considering the girl with genuine interest while those around them grew still once more, again seeming to find themselves uncertain.

  "You will—get rid of them?"

  Tulla lifted her chin, not in defiance but in confidence, squaring her shoulders and righting her posture until she appeared, for all intents and purposes, certain of her own decision. "If they don't agree to leave, then yes. However, I'm making sure they have what is needed to settle elsewhere as an option. But don't worry, I've made it very clear that they are not welcome here any longer."

  "Good riddance," Kilk muttered, his tone rather lighthearted given the conversation. "Not like they haven't been a thorn in everyone's side! I'm sure that nobody will miss them!"

  "I can second that…" Korvil grunted, clearing his throat a moment later, "But, where is it exactly that they wish to settle? Certainly not anywhere near us?"

  For her part, Dianna merely nodded at her child. Pride filled her heart; it was trust but also just the faintest traces of annoyance as well. Dianna had—plans for the community… not of the sort that were any kind of better alternative for the miserable cretins, but all the same, she found herself not liking the notion that she hadn't been consulted on this.

  Still, she could recognize the look that had been in Tulla's eye when she'd explained herself, and it wasn't at all of a competitive sort. Instead, she rather thought that the girl was looking for some kind of affirmation that she'd done good, as it were. And, despite the small prickle of—well, she wasn't sure what it exactly was, but nevertheless, Dianna allowed it to pass by the wayside.

  "They will be given their warning." She stated, smiling at her daughter before pulling her in for a hug. Remembering her husband's suggestions on how to—display and even project certain emotions to convey her satisfaction at how wonderfully her little girl was thriving in her new environment. She really seemed to come into herself, and Dianna couldn't be happier! "Still, if they do not adhere to our sovereignty over the region, they should expect no mercy from me."

  "I will ensure that they understand what will happen to them and that there is no treaty to bind us."

  "Good!" Dianna grinned, nodding happily as she gave the girl a squeeze. "Now, was there anything else?"

  "I can—go then?"

  "Of course! What? Don't look at me like that. Do you really expect me to say something along the lines of wanting you to stay for some arbitrary thing like training or wilderness survival?"

  "The thought—did cross my mind…" The girl muttered, half looking suspicious and half hopeful that some perceived dark saga within the realm of her own personal existence was suddenly lifting to be replaced with radiant light!

  "You want to act like an adult—" Dianna began, pausing as she placed both her hands on her child's shoulders, "you want to be seen as an adult. You are now dressing as an adult would and seem to desire at least some aspects of adulthood responsibility. Would you—prefer I still treat you like a child?"

  “N-no… I just…”

  "Go have your fun, dear. But temper it with duty. I don't expect you to jump right in and fill a similar role to your uncle for me, but that doesn't mean you cant help and still discover what it is that you want from life. If it's to kill, then kill! If it's to govern, then start practicing, as you've already seemed to be fond of. But, if you wish to go explore the world, I just ask you to come back and be safe…"

  The look that her daughter gave her made Dianna roll her eyes. That potent mixture of confusion, disbelief, outright suspicion and, above all else, hope made Dia want nothing more than to give in to the twitch that so badly desired to escape her careful expression.

  Dianna had been… hmm… well, that was to say… mhmm… Perhaps it could be best stated that she'd been working on herself. She understood there were areas in both judgement and even her way of thinking that could be rigid and somewhat unyielding… Yet, working as she had while trying to build the settlement had taught her a degree or two of flexibility.

  She wasn't wholly happy that Tulla was going to Londis, nor that the girl, as previously stated, had acted on a matter of state without informing her beforehand. But, these were all things that Dianna was discovering weren't terribly helpful in regard to her dreams.

  So, she bit down on her initial desire to tell the girl she wasn't yet ready for the world. Stifled her building apprehension that her daughter would be heading into what was, for all practical purposes, a dangerous city belonging to a foreign and likely hostile country. And, she even did her best to encourage the girl, just as her husband had softly suggested.

  These things did not come naturally to Dianna. She was possessive, violent, and intelligent but in a way that often saw her view other opinions as lesser than her own and typically thought that she herself knew best in any given situation. Likewise, her avaricious streak was quite thoroughly ingrained to the point she fully intended to take this continent, regardless if it was helpful or otherwise.

  Simply put, Dianna didn't like the idea that someone else would be out there to oppose her budding authority… And if that meant she'd have to finish the legion's job for them and bring their remnants into the fold as well, then that's exactly what she'd do.

  However, the truth was that she'd been having—feelings… And earnestly, she wasn't quite certain what to make of them. Oh, she was well aware of what the sensation of inadequacy felt like, having genuinely experienced it throughout the many stages of her life. Yet, where before she'd usually gotten snarly, lashing out, storming off or otherwise refusing to confront her own shortcomings, now Dianna had an alternate opinion of it all.

  Something in the way Arthur had hammered away at her own self-pity had stuck an all-to-real nerve in Dianna's psyche. One that hadn't at all liked the way her mate had perceived her.

  Had detested it even, sneered at its existence and felt vitriolically disgusted with the way she'd been acting. It wasn't until later, when she'd approached her mate and they'd—spoken at length that Dianna had gotten her second heaping of tough love…

  It had been needed. She was self-aware enough to understand it. Which, was why she'd gone back for seconds, if only so she could manage a deeper grasp on the core issues that had been weighing her down.

  As it happened, her husband could be as brutal as he was affectionate. Yet, for all that had been said, she'd known it had all arrived from a place of love and her own desire to better understand herself besides.

  This was her compromise.

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  While she wanted Tulla to keep working as she had, for her to finish her training and become the talented warrior that Dianna had been slowly carving and polishing for years… There were, nevertheless, certain—mmhm… realities that she'd needed to accept.

  Her daughter didn't need further training with a spear… In fact, simply based on how powerful the girl was in her own right these days, all those countless hours that had spilled into years in which Dianna had trained the girl felt almost superfluous…

  She obviously knew that wasn't the case, as learning to fight brought with it the tactics, reflexes and understanding of how others might try to kill you that weren't at all easy to replicate through mere soul cards. Yet, even Dianna had to admit that, absent her own deck and placed into the body of her older self but a mere year ago, her daughter would have gotten the better of her ten times out of ten, as she currently was…

  Skill, experience and natural talent could only get one so far. After all, there was a reason why the greatest masters of the spear or bow weren't considered gods… At a certain point, raw power always trumped nuance and expertise. And while the latter could be seen as aspects of oneself to set a person above their peers, they would not let you punch above your weight class outside the realm of acceptable expectation.

  The thing was, Dianna, had already come to terms with the notion that she might not have very much more to actually teach her daughter… at least, not in the same manner as she'd been working towards beforehand…

  Tulla was going up. And doing so far faster than she could really parse… She was ecstatic, of course! Y-yet, at the same time, she could admit to a degree or two of disappointment… After all, what was the point of drilling the girl with spears in hand while she could unleash mass pandemonium and destruction at such distances that the victims might never even see the one that had done them in?

  To force her to stand at the parade and work with a—well, such a comparatively worthless tool in the girl's personal was, sadly, unfair to her. And though Dianna would miss that time spent together, she supposed this was simply an aspect of motherhood she'd need to get used to.

  For now, it was only Tulla who would be carving out her own life for herself, forever more doing things as she desired to do them while following whatever path she might choose… However, one day, she'd be at this crossroads all over again… Watching however many more children she might have all—one by one, turn their backs on the sheltering wing of their mother to forge an existence of their own…

  "You—okay?" Her daughter asked, the girl's words shocking Dianna from her brief fit of introspection, only to realize she was still holding Tulla by the shoulders…

  "I am, my dear… Just a little sad you're growing up so fast… And happy, of course…"

  For her part, the girl blushed furiously, chin dipping with embarrassment… A moment later, she all but Tackled her mother, pressing in against her as they held one another for a long span. Dianna took in a deep breath of her head before smiling contentedly.

  When the settlements self-titled Queen decided she was finished dealing with the day, she left. Departing her tent to the salutes of the outside guards. There truly hadn't been much to work through once the majority of meetings had been concluded… No, as it happened, half the hours of her day seemed to revolve around nothing more than the aforementioned gatherings from which she less dispenced her desires and more attempted to corral all the various problems and associated needs with those that had become her responsibility.

  A new shipment of settlers was due to arrive within the next few days. Thankfully, no more Lizalti were among their number, but it meant they'd need to begin indoctrinating them into their bizarre new lives.

  Wil Tulla heading to Londis, Dianna didn't have to work out a plan of her own to figure out what was going on within the city, but her daughter's involvement brought with it a whole slew of its own issues to consider.

  The beavers, as her husband called them, had petitioned for easier access to the portal archway that Arthur had built, their representatives claiming that their work was stimulated as the creatures systematically reduced a visible portion of the forest into little more than stumps.

  Dianna never thought that wood would be such a commodity actually worth anything, but she supposed that was because she'd been looking at it from the eyes of someone used to her husband's magical shenanigans… Obviously, timber was a valuable resource, but this wasn't the first time that she'd found her silent contemplations skewed by the man's tom foolery…

  Likewise, the fay woman, Marhella, had been advocating furiously to be granted access to her husband once she'd pierced together that all the strange happenings in the settlement had a lone source…

  That one was an individual for which Dianna held no shortage of suspicion… And while she hadn't yet outright decided she needed to do something about the eccentric woman, she very much held her doubts about the alchemist's motives.

  The only thing actually keeping her from acting on her gut feeling was that the woman had been freed from potential thralldom. Thus, Dianna simply couldn't reason out who would bother going through such an elaborate plan to infiltrate their settlement because—honestly, they were still tiny!

  Perhaps one of the merchants they dealt with had hired the woman to go undercover and figure out how they were able to purchase so many slaves from Kaitrice, but… that was most likely just her suspicious nature taking it all on a wild and convoluted journey…

  In all likelihood, the woman was probably just a little cracked in the head and simply didn't know how to interpret boundaries…

  Dianna sighed as she lazily leapt into the air and caught the wind on her wings. The appendages unfurled while she still rose with the power of her leap before they started carrying her back home.

  She'd meant to go see Tavir before the end of the day, but her sister had mentioned she'd like to spend some time with the man before she departed again…

  Oddly enough, while Bianca's disappearance had seemed to age the girl's father, it had the seemingly opposite effect on Cassandra…

  Life was funny like that…

  Not half a year prior, and Dianna would have assumed it was she who might find her way back to the Labyrinth, possibly moving to the city itself, possibly not… All the while, Cassandra, being Tavir's wife, would have been the one sharing governorship with the man as their weary settlement slogged along at a miserable pace…

  Instead, it was Dianna who found herself in charge of their budding town while her sister spent the majority of her days down below… Each of them replaced where that old mental image of themselves would be in her mind's eye, only appearing as they now did for vastly different reasons than she could have ever imagined.

  Either way, it wasn't like missing their evening meeting with one another would be somehow devastating to their efforts. If anything, it sometimes felt as though life was moving too slowly for all they were trying to push the metaphorical cart up the mountainside.

  And, she oftentimes found herself wondering if they were all just playing at this whole thing they were trying build or if they were actually making any meaningful progress at it…

  Dianna wasn't sure why she suddenly found such musings, among others of a similar sort, suddenly plaguing her thoughts as they were, yet the damned things were stubborn as they were plentiful… And despite how hard she often tried to dislodge them, the damnable things always seemed to come crawling right back…

  Leeches slowly slid across her consciousness in an everpresent attempt to gorge their fill upon her time…

  Thankfully for her mental weariness, the sight of her home as she closed the distance immediately began stripping away the layers of stress.

  Their domicile had gone through a number of changes as of late. Transforming from the somewhat ominous square box that it had been, all white tiles and chilling atmosphere, and now looked, interestingly enough, even more intimidating…

  It was a result born of a labour of love! That affection arrived by way of both herself and her daughter, who had badgered Arthur over what they perceived as inadequate defences for a home wherein her husband usually haunted.

  Given the surprise she'd encountered in learning that they had a nigh omnipresent and genie-like being that stood as the true secret behind her mate's apparent limitless capacity for work. It was no real shock for anyone involved when Dianna had admitted servants probably weren't necessary…

  The creature's robots saw to every want and whim they could muster, and the house itself, alive as it was, could manifest its personality wherever it desired and in as many places as it wanted, all at the same time.

  Thus, the massive wing designed to house the help had been a largely pointless endeavour.

  Instead, their home now much more resembled a fortress…

  It was a tall and intimidating thing… Replete with high walls and dreadful towers that loomed over the landscape, a shadow ready to reach out and pluck one from their beds…

  When Dianna had suggested that they make the damned thing daunting for any to behold, what she hadn't expected was how—enthusiastic Arthur had been about it all…

  Though, while Tulla and herself had meant for him to reform the structure to ensure his safety given his stoic pigheadedness regarding his soul, neither of them had anticipated the man's apparent love of what he called gothic architecture…

  Admittedly, while it was all very dreadful and spooky… Dianna simply hadn't yet understood where exactly her husband had gotten so much enjoyment out of making a castle that was, for all intents and purposes, as archaic as one could get… At least within the realm of what she knew the man to be capable of.

  Oh, none should be fooled by the purposefully misleading facade as it very much was a, as her daughter liked to put it, technological wonderland; however, the deceit was simply one more facet of it all that Arthur evidently found utterly hilarious…

  Though Dianna couldn't always commiserate with her husband's sometimes bizarre sense of humour, she did still find it pleasing that the man still found so much joy in the world despite being piled by a veritable mountain of work…

  If anything, it was sort of cute… Her mate's strange fixation with all these subtle and, as it had been explained, entirely contextual nudges towards things that only he and, to a lesser extent, their daughter could understand was simply amusing to her.

  That Arthur should spend so much time in adding all that extra work to any given project just so the man could get a silent chuckle out of some inside joke that only he himself was privy to, genuinely did endeer him to her. His weirdness, after all, was something she'd grown quite fond of…

  All the same, when she flew over the ominous wall, its swivelling and automated turrets tracking her for the briefest of moments before they registered who she was, Dianna found herself smiling with soft anticipation and a growing sense of adoration in her heart as she heard a rather familiar voice cackling with maddened delight…

  "I am the lord of thunder and lightning! Bow yee mortal scum! Grovel on your knees and beg my forbearance at my feet!"

  The—accent, along, of course, with the electrified and somewhat golden glowing figure that levitated part way off the ground, immediately caught Dianna's attention as she dropped in behind the man. Oddly enough, she did not manage to alert her husband as he seemed to carry right along, unaware or otherwise unwilling to acknowledge her presence.

  "That's right!" Arthur hissed, tone taking on a condescending sneer of haughty disgust, "Bow, bow ye little shits! And bring me sacrifices! A young woman from each family will do!"

  Dianna's eyebrow raised at her mate's little—whatever it was… her eyes tracking a myriad of tiny and holographic people, each of which was the size of her finger, as they ran about a small village with frantic fear, scrambling to do the bidding of a comparative titan that hovered in the sky…

  The fact that Arthur was clad in a pristine white toga, sporting a, for whatever reason, large and curly beard, while his wrists and ankles were adorned by thick gold bands, was intriguing to her.

  Idly, Dianna began to slowly discern what was going on, finding the theatre of it rather pleasant as the tiny people at her husband's feet played out their roles in a rather accurate fashion in regards to how she herself assumed people might react to a god suddenly appearing in their midst.

  As it happened, she even found herself biting at her lower lip, eyes narrowing with a growing interest while watching her man lord about whilst abusing his godly prerogative…

  She wasn't sure what exactly he'd done to himself, but Dianna was rather intrigued by the changes…

  He'd, evidently, oiled himself up for this perceived roll… removed all his hair save that of his bore until his curiously muscled and heavily toned body shone with bronzed perfection… Biceps and forearms bulging with strength, the sheer authority that he was projecting, even while clearly playing out a small game, certainly hitting many rather favourable buttons that Dianna found pleasing to behold.

  She knew Arthur was putting on an act… that much was clear… And yet, he'd never been averse to doing as such in the past, especially during some of their—more intimate moments together.

  This was a whole new and entirely pleasing light in which she was seeing the man. And watching as he bullied and slaughtered the innocent holograms of the small villagers for displeasing him was—filling her chest with a curious flutter…

  All in all, the entire ensemble that went along with the play was actually doing it for her… Something about the way he was being so ruthless and cruel, even playing out the role of it as he was, certainly stood as an approachable change of pace…

  Still, as Arthur cackled and Dianna stood, watching him like a lioness might a lone gazel at the river, Benny appeared at her side, the creature offering her a deep bow at the waist.

  "Sir," He began, turning to his master a moment later as Arthur suddenly stiffened, jolting as though shocked from a trance as he half turned to spy the butler and his wife… "You requested to be informed when my lady's arrival was imminent?"

  Arthur's expression moved through a genuine series of emotions. Starting with confusion, shifting quite quickly to shock, flowing a moment later into apprehension before landing right on top of embarrassment…

  His cheeks flushed rather adorably, a hand rising to his mouth so he might cough into it as his gaze shifted between an entirely amused Benny and then to his wife, who was still watching him with a kind of feral intensity…

  "Ugh… you ugh… w-well, weren't you going to alert me—before she actually got here?"

  "I was, sir! However, Lady Tulla requested a rush project wh, ich I believed to be of significant importance. Thus, I admit I might have been distracted and too slow to fulfill your request in a timely manner."

  Arthur's eye twitched at the man who was stoically avoiding any form of projected amusement, even though Dianna knew full well that the genie creature was taking great delight in its master's embarrassment.

  Though it did not often partake in such things with any true or concerning regularity, it did seem to usually find little ways to make mistakes when the resulting fallout would be observed by either Dianna or Tulla herself.

  Again, the Queen had a fair degree of confidence as to why such a thing would happen, and, truth be told, she was, again, fairly sure who the mastermind behind it all actually was.

  In this case, Dianna found she rather appreciated the strange entities' antics which were, as she saw them, intended for her enjoyment.

  "Hmm… I think I rather like you wearing this look…" She eventually offered, her voice low and hungry while she ate up her lover's rather appreciable costume… and his chiselled body… "Did you use a card to make yourself look like that?" She continued, stepping into Arthur's personal space and running one of her long fingers along the worked lines of his rippling back… "I know you've started to put on more muscle as of late, but this…"

  “Ah… well, you see…” Arthur began, his whole body shivering with the passage of her delicate touch, "I um… well, I think I found a solution to the baby problem!"

  "Oh?" Dianna cooed, her expression now sultry as she continued to languidly wander around her mate, drinking in the rather masculine and fetching shape and contour of his flesh… "And, I would assume this—form has something to do with it?"

  "Well, the beard's sort of fake… but the rest was ugh… ahem… maybe a touch permanent?" Arthur admitted the faint and luminant halo of light that surrounded him fading back to normal, as did the electric gleam of his eyes… Even his hair, which had been softly billowing in the wind, seemed to falter and return to normal, dispersing, in a moment, the illusion of what had been. "It's a work in progress… but," he added excitedly, "I'm sure you'll be thrilled to know that I finally think I've found a workable solution to my issues!"

  "Which exactly would those be, my love? Your physical weakness? Reliance on gadgets to keep yourself alive? Your inability to maintain a proper sleep cycle or our familial concerns?"

  "Hey! You're the reason for at least—ninety percent of those you know!"

  "Darling, I listed five things that stand as issues needing attention. At worst, I'm responsible for eighty percent and no more than that."

  "Oh, I don't know… maybe I slowballed that number a little…" He grinned, taking in a sharp breath through his teeth as Dianna fondled his pectorals… "I'm still not strong, you know, at least by your standards… That said, I am ready to start working on that!"

  "Oh, I can still appreciate the appearance for what it is…" She paused a moment, her hungering desire forcibly placed into a temporary box as she regarded her mate with a rekindled flare of consideration. "But, are you not simply going to buy all the cards from Kaitrice?"

  "Well… I kind of was mulling over the idea of, I don't know, maybe doing it myself?"

  "Truly?" Dianna asked, pulling away and giving her husband a degree more scrutiyny. Even as the man reached up and sheepishly scratched at his hair.

  "Admittedly, I've been feeling somewhat burned out…" He sighed, gesturing with a hand and waving at the now frozen array of tiny fake people all scattered about their feet. "If you look closely, there's a kind of—mmmhmm, resemblance to some of our villagers down there…"

  "I noticed…" Dia remarked smoothly, lazily glancing back at all the Lizalti her husband had been terrorizing and—honestly, understanding where he was coming from…

  "Yeah… I figured this was a better outlet than, you know, doing it in person… Either way, I think I need some time off… And ugh… probably going for the whole two birds, one stone thing would be my best play… You know, head down to the Labyrinth, blow off some steam, get used to my new—well, me…"

  "The changes are permanent?"

  "It's how I had to work it…" Arthur shrugged, not seeming to be that upset about it.

  Though, given that the man had made himself quite pleasing in the eye-candy department, Dianna suspected he already knew she liked what she saw. All the same, his rather abrupt pivot had her more concerned about something else…

  "They are leaving by the by. Our daughter gave them an ultimatum."

  "Oh, thank god!"

  "Yes, I suspected you'd react like that…"

  "I—hate that I am, but they're so freaking unlikable! You try and listen, try and help and accommodate their needs and—all I ever freaking got was more complaints! We're not killing them, are we?" He suddenly asked, worry etched into his face as Dianna clucked her tongue.

  "That is the ultimatum. They are to leave, but if they don't, they will be reaped."

  Arthur seemed to struggle through the notion of her words for a few moments before he ultimately grunted, throwing up his hands before letting them fall so he could clap them together! "You know what, fuck it. I—don't care right now. Mmmmhmm! Then leaving is definitely a better choice than me eventually snapping at one of them and doing something I'd—likely regret…"

  "You can't please everyone, love," Dianna whispered, pulling her husband in for a comforting hug. "You're already doing so much for them… more than anyone else would… Simply be happy with all the smiling faces from those who actually appreciate the effort…"

  "Who'd of thought ancient civilizations would have freaking trolls…"

  "I know that was one of your—words for things that don't make sense, but those actually do exist, and they do have a civilization of their own."

  "Really?" Arthur asked, pulling free of her chest to peer upwards with that beautiful spark of curiosity she did so love.

  "Yes, rather agreeable people when you meet them. Horribly violent and effective warriors, hard to kill, harder to best with raw skill given how long-lived they are. But, at the same time, they are not exactly the most prevalent species out there… As with most of the fay, they're old, not prolific."

  "Trolls are members of the fay?"

  "Yes."

  "Tall, stinking, warted, dislike fire and can regenerate? Usually fairly ugly?"

  "Beauty is a metric that rarely transcended beyond one's own species, Arthur… But, yes, that's is a fairly apt description of them. Why were they around on your Earth planet?"

  "Only in stories…"

  "Your people seem to have quite a lot of those that get things right, don't they?"

  "To an extremely distressing and concerning degree." Arthur nodded, pulling in a deep breath of her scent before slipping away entirely. "The more I learn, the more I come to realize that I'm not the first human that's made it here…"

  Her husband was contemplative for several long moments. Simply considering his own words before returning to their conversation, rolling his shoulders as he grinned up at her, seeming to be settling down by the moment.

  Dianna, of course, was hitting him with a rather substantial dosage of her pheromones. And though he'd balked at her doing so, upon a time, he'd since come around about her tendency to help him relax and even appeared to actively support the process along when he was feeling especially on edge…

  His shift in demeanour was evident, and soon, all that aggravation he was feeling simply drifted away on the breeze. Leaving in its place a man who now had that familiar gleam in his eye, Arthur's gaze roving across her body in a way that matched her own desires…