Laying on top of my palanquin, I stare up into the sky, attempting to make out shapes in the clouds. The temperature is pleasant, maybe a little hot. One lets out a little snore as he sleeps curled up on my chest.

  Sarah sits dangling her legs over the side. She turns back to look at me, “Can’t believe we are already in the Spinesnap. Everyone always talks about how dangerous it is here, you need a full party of at least two dozen people to be safe.” She waves her arm around, “No monsters in sight. Haven’t seen a single one. You really do have this place under your control.” She pauses to look back the way we came, eyes squinting into the distance, “Looks like our tail finally fucked off, guess the mages could’t handle the nonstop travel and occasional ballista bolt.”

  “Good, if they kept following, it would have ended very poorly for them. It’s not uncommon for people to die in these mountains, afterall.” I don’t mean to sound evil, I’m aiming for more of a bratty tone. Sarah still gives me a look, so I pout, “Mmm fine. I would have sent you out to talk to them first, then kill them.”

  The hero’s look turns stern, but I just pout harder and look away.

  “Okay,” She huffs, “Good enough.” She brushes some hair behind her ear and returns to staring out over the rocky terrain.

  I can feel Enna approaching. She had gone on ahead to check on the hive directly and prepare things for our arrival. The sound of claws on the roof of the palanquin announces her arrival. I open my eyes to see my caretaker standing over me, claws folded in front of her.

  “Your grace, there is a matter that requires your attention,” She waves a claw towards Sarah, “You may want the hero’s assistance as well.”

  “What is it?” I perk up. Normally I hate doing things, but the journey has been so long and boring, I don’t mind solving a quick problem.

  “A group of Karnakan refugees from the west have crossed into our lands. They have been apprehended and are awaiting your judgement in the hive.”

  Sarah grabs her sword, strapping it to her waist, “They are inside the hive? They’ve got to be shitting themselves, let’s go.”

  Enna nods, “They are absolutely terrified, although they have not been harmed.” She picks me up under my armpits and sets me down next to Sarah, “Would you kindly escort the young queen? There are matters I must attend to.”

  “Seriously? You never leave Ren alone though.”

  “Indeed,” Enna agrees, “There is, however, a high-level drake that has been giving our forces trouble that must be dealt with. It attacks, then flees, using unnatural intelligence.” She idly fixes a few stray strands of my hair with a claw.

  The hero shrugs, “Sure, I got her.”

  “My thanks.” My caretaker bends down and kisses my forehead, “Be good.”

  Before I can blush and stammer out a response, Enna leaps from the roof and hits the ground running, disappearing from sight instantly.

  “Well, let’s get going.” Sarah kneels down to let me ride on her back. “C’mon.”

  Climbing onto Sarah’s back, I wrap my hands around her neck and snuggle down, anticipating the high speed of travel. Honestly, it’s not too bad. Sarah leaps down from the roof, landing heavily on the ground, and then begins running. It’s a lot slower than Enna, but still infinitely faster than I can go.

  “Follow that scout, it will guide us to the hive.” I point towards the small flying Vess bobbing in front of us.

  Sarah nods and adjusts her course to follow it. “So,” Her voice doesn’t sound winded at all, “What are you going to do with the refugees?”

  I squeeze the hero a little tighter, “Mmm… I dunno. I won’t hurt them or anything. I guess I need to talk to them first.”

  Sarah grunts her approval, “Going to send them on their way to Lotheris?”

  “Would Lotheris take them? Aren’t they at war still? I guess I’m at war with them too, come to think of it.”

  “Yeah,” Sarah jumps over a fallen tree, “But they don’t sound like combatants. What if they are just innocent displaced people? Besides, for them to run into the mountains, they must have been desperate.”

  I don’t respond. Sending them to Lotheris is probably the best, it’s not like they can stay in the hive, the hive isn’t capable of supporting a human population. I guess they could start a new village nearby, the Vess would be able to set up shelters easily. Farming would be difficult, but hunting is plentiful. To my understanding, the lack of monsters has allowed the wildlife to flourish, and I don’t eat much, so they aren’t hunted much at all. We could just trade for whatever vegetables they need, Ironhill isn’t too far, although they might still be under Karnakan control. Something inside me does love the idea of more subjects to rule over, even if they are human.

  Picturing a village of humans at the base of the mountains, under my control, brings a smile to my face.

  And just like that, we arrive at the hive. Sarah slows to a stop at the edge of the black moldy hole in the ground. She goes to take a step forward, then hesitates.

  I wiggle down off Sarah. “I know the Vess goo isn’t comforting, but it is actually smooth and cool to the touch, not gross.”

  Sarah steps up to a wall and lays her hand against it, she visibly shivers and steps back. “Ren, no offence, your palanquin was one thing, but this creeps me out. Like, instinctually, I know I really shouldn’t go in there.”

  “I don’t think it’s that bad…” Looking around, it looks fine. Looks like home.

  Sarah faces me, hands on her hips, “For a Vess, maybe. I’m human, remember? It’s pitch black in there, by the way, I need a torch or something.”

  “Oh,” I forget humans can’t see in the dark, “Okay, here.” I take Sarah’s hand and begin leading her into the hive.

  “Wait, wait, wait.” The hero sputters, “C’mon, let me take a torch or something! Actually, does holy power hurt the Vess?”

  I look up at her and shrug.

  Sarah draws her sword, activating some skill, and it starts shining with a holy light, easily lighting the way forward. I don’t recoil in pain or anything so it seems safe. I take her hand again and lead her into the hive.

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  We walk slowly, for my short legs, but also because Sarah still seems apprehensive, jumping every time a group of drones skitter by. I squeeze her hand, “It’s okay, it’s safe.”

  “Those refugees are probably catatonic, I hope they aren’t deep.” She mutters.

  “Don’t worry, they aren’t! The Vess dug out a chamber to hold them just below the surface, it’s just up ahead.”

  The entrance to the new chamber yawns before us, a few soldiers sit in the space, standing guard. They move aside for me, allowing passage into the small room. The room is a simple rectangle, a pit in the far end serves as a lavatory and a basin of clean water sits in the middle of the room. A group of depressed looking people sit in the far back corner, opposite the lavatory. They look up, squinting in the holy light of the hero’s blade.

  “Oh thank the Buried God!” A gruff male voice calls, “We’re saved!”

  A man comes forward, he is the only one who is armed, a spear is held in a death grip in front of him, a dirty and dented breastplate hangs across his chest. He has the slightly darker skin tone of a Karnakan, a dark unkempt beard covers his face, and long unclean looking dark hair hangs off his head. He might be handsome under that nasty beard? Maybe?

  Sarah steps forward and grasps his hand in a hearty shake, “You're safe. My name is Sarah, the Hero of Goldwall.”

  “A hero!” The man looks like he is ready to collapse from the sheer amount of relief, “The Buried One has sent us a champion in our time of need.”

  “Can you tell me your name and how you got here?” Sarah asks.

  “Names Grant,” He answers quickly, almost tripping over his words, “I’m an adventurer from Karnaka, these people,” he motions behind him, “Are all villagers from Arsa. The village was attacked; I took charge and helped these people escape.”

  “Escape into the mountains? From who?” Sarah asks, eyebrow raised.

  He looks grim, “Yes, there was no other way. Orc raiders practically herded us, like they wanted us to die a gruesome death at the hands of the trolls. We thought we were going to die! We had no idea the mountains had… changed so much.” He warily eyes the soldiers, then looks down at me, eyes widening, “That one almost looks human!”

  Sarah puts a hand on my back, guiding me next to her, “This is the Vess Queen. You are in her land.” And at her mercy, she doesn’t add.

  “Vess Queen?” Grant looks confused, hand running through his gross beard, “I have never seen creatures like these, thought we were going to die, but they just imprisoned us instead.” He again looks back at the huddled group of refugees, “Moral is low, I’ve been trying to keep their hope up, saying that things have gone far better than I expected! Ha!” He laughs genuinely.

  The hero rubs my head, focusing around the base of my horns, “The Vess follow their Queen unerringly and she is friendly towards humans.”

  “Well then,” Grant kneels on one knee, bowing to me, “Ms. Queen, please spare these people. I take full responsibility for bringing them here.”

  “Ah,” Sarah gives me an encouraging pat on the head, “W-well, um, it’s okay. I understand you had no choice.”

  The man lifts his head, hope in his eyes, “Thank you my lady, your graciousness is…gracious indeed.” He cringes, “Sorry, I’m no good at talking to royalty, or that is, I’ve never spoken to royalty and everyone's lives are on the line, you, see? Hah! So…?” His words fade out and he looks very nervous. I watch a bead of sweat drip off his beard.

  “Uh… So, uh. How about we get everyone outside?” I offer.

  “Really? Thank you, your queenship!” Grant jumps up and begins urging the others to get up.

  The group is hesitant to move at first, I have to order my soldiers to leave for them to even get out of the room. Things go a little smoother in the hallway, they only freeze up the first two times a group of drones passes by. With Sarah’s help, Grant leads everyone out of the hive. Several people collapse into the grass, crying in relief. One woman just stands and stares into the sky, saying a prayer under her breath.

  My Vess had been sure to feed the humans, so all in all, they were in pretty good shape, physically. The hero goes around and speaks to everyone, trying to offer reassurance and comfort. Everyone shakes her hand, practically hanging off her, thanking her for saving them. I don’t think they really understand what just happened… I just stand off the side, feeling awkward.

  I decide to take charge. I can probably handle this, for a few minutes at least.

  “Grant.” I call out to the man with the nasty beard. He excuses himself from the woman he was talking to and nervously approaches me.

  “So,” I start, “What will you do now? Will you continue on to Lotheris?”

  “Do you know what the situation is like in Lotheris?” He plants the butt of his spear in the ground and leans on it, looking out over the mountains.

  “Yeah, I just returned from the capital, actually. They are kinda in the middle of driving the Karnakan army out of their lands.” I rub my arm, ahhh this is awkward.

  “Right, yeah…” He looks lost in thought.

  “I can think of a few solutions,” I offer, clasping my hands behind me.

  “Go for it.” He encourages.

  “I could have you escorted as far south as the mountains go, then through a little bit of Lotheris until we reach the border, hopefully getting you back into Karnaka.” I pause to let him consider the option, “I could just escort you into Lotheris, take you to the capital or Goldwall, those are the only two safe places as far as I know.”

  Sarah comes over to join the conversation, “The capital is full of refugees from the other cities, and Goldwall has only just been liberated, neither are good options, especially for a Karnakan refugee.” She nods at Grant, “Traveling back into Karnaka would have its own share of difficulties. There is a chance you could get caught up at the border, and I know Karnaka itself is undergoing a famine.”

  The man grunts his understanding, I decide to shoot my shot, “You could stay here.”

  “Stay here?” Sarah asks, “What do you mean?”

  “I mean, they could live in the mountains if they wanted to, it’s probably the safest place.” I nervously shift from foot to foot, “The Vess would protect them, so long as they swear fealty to me.”

  Sarah gives me a long look before realizing, “Oh, right. Vess instincts.” She turns to Grant, “Her offer is a good one. The Vess kingdom is pretty light on subjects right now, so she would love it if you stayed. Probably wouldn’t even tax you.”

  My offer is met with suspicion, Grant seems to be taking me a lot more seriously from the way he is glaring at me, “No offense, but I never heard of a Vess Queen before today. Seems a little fishy.”

  I bite my lip, shifting nervously, I can’t seem to stay still, “You can leave whenever you want. Um, I guess I don’t really need you to stay or anything, so it’s up to you.”

  There really is no reason for me to want them this badly. It’s like my new instincts are at war with my old ones. I really, really want him to recognise me as his leader, and swear to serve me and be loyal and…

  Shaking my head, I lightly slap my cheeks, I’m starting to daydream now. I open my eyes and look at Grant, who has been standing and just staring me down this whole time. I blush under his scrutiny and hide behind Sarah.

  The hero giggles, “I guess she’s had enough, lasted a lot longer than I thought.”

  “What?” Grant furrows his brow.

  Sarah brings me around to stand in front of her, hugging me against her front, “She’s really young and still getting used to ruling. We’ve been traveling all day, so she probably needs a nap soon.”

  “A nap?” Grant questions, rubbing his chin, “She does look young, now that you mention it. Are you her advisor then?”

  “Something like that,” Sarah brushes it off, “She’s really sweet, but she usually delegates her work to others, I would probably be the one dealing with you guys for the most part.”

  “Hmmm…” The man seems to be seriously considering it. “I would have to ask the villagers, while I may speak for them, they all have to make their own decision.”

  “Sure,” Sarah agrees easily, “Why don’t you talk amongst yourselves, if you need anything or just need to speak with me, just ask one of the Vess.”

  Grant seems reluctant, but agrees in the end, returning to the group to talk to them. I sag in relief, turning to bury my face in Sarah.

  “Okay, let’s get you inside. While I was trying to make you look cute, I was serious, you need a nap.”