The breeze is a little chilly, making goosebumps pop up all over my arms; I guess Vess can get goosebumps.

  The hammock rocks me gently as I yawn, today has been a really lazy day. Okay, pretty much every day is a lazy day but whatever. I look around at all the wooden houses, at the Vess paved stone road, and I feel proud. The miles and miles of underground Vess tunnels that make up my hive is pretty impressive, but there is something nice about a human village. It only took the summer and most of the fall for them to build it up.

  I almost feel bad, lazing around in the hammock, all wrapped up and cozy in a fluffy sweater, while all the humans run around preparing for winter. It’s so easy to let the months slip by. Vess don’t hibernate or anything like that, but I’ll probably sleep for most of the winter, it’s what I did last winter.

  A shadow passes over me, one of my drakes flying in the skies, making sure I’m safe.

  I feel pretty safe here, even without the Vess. The humans have really warmed up to me over the months, people don’t even hide anymore when Enna comes around. Grant has even spoken to her a few times.

  Slipping out of the hammock, I stretch a mighty stretch. “Mmmmmm… Hey Enna? Is my present for Sarah ready?”

  Enna steps out from the shade of the trees, “Of course, your grace. She should be getting her fortieth level any day now.”

  It took a lot of pestering, but I finally got Grant to help organize a party for Sarah. She has been working herself to death to reach her next class evolution. The hero is really popular in the village, she has so many friends that I don’t really know, I needed some human help to set this up.

  My claws clack over the stone road as I stroll towards the market. It’s not concrete, but Vess goo mixed with stone is as close as I can get in this world, it even has the blacktop look.

  Many humans pass me by, hurrying about their daily tasks. Only a few people stare for a second too long, it feels good to be accepted. Or maybe just tolerated? Honestly, I don’t care too much about the opinions of humans as long as they recognize me as their sovereign.

  The market comes into view; it’s really bustling today. The village has grown a lot bigger than I anticipated, Sarah and Enna gathered a lot of refugees from Karnaka. Most people see the village full of other Karnakans and decide to settle here. The farming sucks, but hunting is quite lucrative, and there are some low level dungeons nearby I gifted to the village. A decent number of refugees have started gaining levels in combat classes, delving the dungeons and selling their treasure.

  Enna takes my hand and leads me towards my favorite stall, the crowds part easily for her.

  My favorite stall is actually just a butcher and his wife who are surprisingly friendly. The butcher is a heavyset guy with an impressive well kept beard, his arms and face bear many, many scars; Enna believes he’s a retired soldier or adventurer. The man looks up as I approach, “Ah! It’s our little regent!”

  I beam up at the jolly guy, “Hey Sal! Where’s Neesa?”

  “Preparing for winter.” He answers simply. His cleaver thunks down into the cutting board and he starts wiping his hands on his apron, “The usual?”

  Nodding enthusiastically, I skip around the counter and plop down onto a crate. Enna patiently waits behind me, claws folded in front of her.

  Sal hands me a bowel filled with a bunch of meat cubes. Skewering one on a claw, I pop it into my mouth and hum with pleasure at the delicious juicy flavor. The butcher chuckles, “Nasty teeth you got there, ever bite anyone?”

  I grin, showing off my bloodstained teeth, “Just old butchers!”

  The human laughs heartily, “Not if you want to keep getting fed you won’t!” He continues chuckling to himself as he grabs his cleaver and continues his work.

  I try to eat slowly and savor each bite, idly scratching at the wooden crate serving as my temporary chair. My tail sways back and forth, telegraphing my good mood; I’ve given up on controlling it.

  Popping another cube into my mouth, I chew it for a bit and make sure to swallow before I speak, Enna will scold me otherwise, “I heard there were some people here from Ironhill, any idea how the city is doing?”

  The butcher swings his cleaver down, thunk, “Haven’t seen ‘em. People say Ironhill is on the mend, it’s a tough city, plenty of adventurers. It’ll bounce back.” The cleaver continues its rhythm thunk thunk thunk, “You’d know better than me though, right?”

  “Mmm.” I nod, “I have seen the city and heard reports from my Vess, but I wanted to know what the humans thought.” I skewer another cube and stare at it for a second before popping it in my mouth.

  Sir Oscar has indeed pushed the Karnakans all the way out of the kingdom. The last month has seen the Karnakan army in a full retreat, unwilling to spend the winter in hostile territory. A good move, I would have unleashed more drakes upon them otherwise. It completely broke the Karnakans when they joined the fight, flying out of range of arrows and spells and spewing waves of acid and fire.

  Sal seems impressed, “Not often a ruler walks among her people, getting their opinions.”

  I shrug, “Most people won’t talk to me or at least they don’t tell the truth.” But they do talk to Sarah, who has been invaluable when it comes to dealing with the humans. I really couldn’t do this without her, at least not without relying on fear to rule.

  “Still,” Sal presses, “It’s the thought that counts, it shows your character.”

  I wrinkle my nose, that bothers me. A hazy memory from my past life of an older man yelling at me about my character. Instead of replying, I shove two cubes into my mouth, filling my cheeks and making it hard to chew. Memories have been coming back to me here and there. Sometimes, I wish they wouldn’t, most times, really.

  The old butcher doesn’t seem to mind my silence, continuing his work, only pausing to help the occasional customer. A woman comes up and asks for a cut, glancing at me periodically but never making eye contact. I sigh. Sometimes my cute features outweigh the non-human ones, but not as often as I’d like.

  Kicking my legs, I finish the last of the meat and begin licking blood off my claws. I guess the sight probably doesn’t endear me to humans.

  Ugh, my mood is dropping fast. Why did I have to remember that stupid memory, why don’t people accept me? I feel a few tears pool in my eyes.

  Blinking them away, I jump off the crate, “Gotta go, thanks Sal.” I hurry away before he can respond. It takes Enna a moment to catch up, she probably stopped to give Sal some money. I let my sleeves fall down and cover my hands. A building I don’t recognize catches my eye; the sign reads Adventurer's Guild. Changing course, I aim for the doors, I want a distraction.

  Inside is a spacious hall with a huge job board featured prominently. There is a reception area with a very bored looking man standing behind the counter. A bar area with lots of tables fills the rest of the space, there’s a surprising amount of people sitting and drinking. They mostly look like adventurers, I think.

  While I’m looking around, a loud voice behind me makes me jump. Turning around, I see a huge man in plate armor, a hammer that is definitely bigger than me is slung over his shoulder.

  “What?” I blink.

  “I said, I’ve never seen nothing like you before. You one of them Vess?” The sneer makes it pretty clear what he thinks of my race.

  Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

  Enna stands strangely silent, letting me speak for myself, “I’m the Vess Queen, actually.”

  “And what’s a Vess Queen doing here?” The adventurer scowls down at me, “This is a place where people come to party up, to kill monsters like you.”

  The room is dead silent and completely focused on us. I frown, “I know for a fact that no adventurer has killed a Vess.” There were a few close calls, but everyone in this town is pretty well aware of me and my creatures.

  He opens his mouth to continue being a dick, but I cut him off, “What good is an adventurer guild around here anyways? There aren’t even any monsters to be killed.”

  “Shut your mouth.” He spits, “Plenty of dungeons to dive, ain’t?!”

  I release a frustrated breath, “What’s your deal anyway? What do you want, a fight?”

  The man shifts his hammer off his shoulder, slamming it into the floor, making me jump again, his grin is missing a few teeth, “Could squash you with a single blow. Get out of the damn guild.”

  So, this guy is just angry? And stupid? What is this? “No. Enna, snap his hammer, break his legs, and throw him out.”

  Before the man can utter another stupid word, Enna moves. She snaps his hammer in half, and breaks his legs as asked. Screaming and cursing, the adventurer goes down in a heap of broken bone and metal. Enna hooks a claw into his shoulder, eliciting another wail of pain and drags the sack of meat outside, returning to my side in an instant.

  Great, now everyone is going to hate me even more.

  I march up to the receptionist, who is nervously wiping sweat off his head with a handkerchief, his eyes darting desperately around the room.

  “Explain.” I demand.

  “I-” The receptionist gulps, “What?”

  “Why” I grit my teeth, “Did that guy harass me? Why was he so stupid?”

  “H-his name was Archold, a silver tier adventurer. As for why he accosted you... I couldn’t say.” He gulps, refusing to look me in the eye.

  I stare at the sweating man for a few seconds before turning and stomping my way over the bar area. All the whispering stops and all eyes are on me.

  Crossing my arms, I tap my foot impatiently, “Well? Any of you know anything?”

  Someone coughs behind me. I turn to see a tall willowy man, clean shaven with a crew cut. He offers me a curt bow, “Your majesty, I am Guild Master Evans. Would you like to join me in my office to discuss your grievances.” He doesn’t phrase it like a question.

  “Fine.” I acquiesce and follow him down a narrow hallway into a small office. It’s really not much, just a desk with some chairs really. It has that ‘just moved in’ vibe.

  “Thank you. I would offer you something to drink, but we are still getting things set up around here, you understand.” He folds his hands under his chin and peers at me from under well trimmed eyebrows.

  I try to channel Enna, crossing my legs and leaning back in my chair, “I didn’t realize there was such a significant number of adventurers in my village.”

  “You're a hard woman to get in contact with.”

  I narrow my eyes, “All you have to do is ask one of my Vess, I will receive the message.”

  The guildmaster holds up his hands, “Forgive me, I didn’t realize they were capable of such a task.”

  He’s lying. Probably. I had assumed the original villagers would have spread word of me around. Basic stuff, I own this land, don’t mess with the little Vess. speak to any Vess if you need anything. I know for a fact Sarah gave instructions like that to every new wave of refugees. Though, the guildmaster isn’t a refugee, but would he really not have heard? If he just asked anyone, they would have told him.

  “Well, I’m taking a hands off approach to this village. My permission isn’t needed for this guild, if that’s what you're worried about.” To my irritation, he does not look worried. I sigh, “So, you want to talk about the man I just brutalized?”

  The well groomed eyebrows shoot up, “Yes, well,” He clears his throat a little nervously, “He is a well respected member of our guild, one of our strongest. I apologize if you had a discrepancy with him, however, I would ask that you refrain from brutalizing anyone in the future. Becoming an enemy in the eyes of the adventurers, who frequent this place, is quite dangerous.”

  I laugh, letting go of all the stress that’s been building in me, “Is that a threat?”

  “No, I-”

  “Shut up,” He snaps his mouth shut, looking very offended, his face reddening. “Look,” I continue, “I am the Queen. This is my land. What do you think would happen back in Lotheris if you insulted the king to his face?”

  “This is different matter I-”

  “I said shut up!” I yell. Enna growls, danger radiating off her. “I don’t know what you think is going on but let me spell it out for you. I am in charge around here. I rule with absolute authority. I am allowing you humans to scamper around here out of the kindness of my heart.”

  The human’s face is extremely red, and he is even sputtering at me. A reaction I’m starting to recognize from offended humans who think they are important. Enna reads my intentions and blinks across the desk, grabbing the man by his neck and slamming him face first into the wood.

  My tail whips back and forth, a grin spreading across my face, this is much better, “You should be begging me for forgiveness for how that man acted. But don’t worry, I’m gona take care of him, and any others who are foolish enough to threaten me. I’m really not worried about it.”

  Enna lets him go and sways over to me, I stifle a giggle, does she have to walk so sexily?

  The guildmaster lifts his head, a delicious look of fear on his face. I allow myself to revel in it for a moment. Enna opens the door and walks me out of the office and building.

  Upon feeling the cool outside air, I feel decidedly less good about myself. That was way too much, wasn’t it? But it felt so good, so right. Should I really give myself up to my Vess side? I feel so much more confident when I just go with it, the anxiety just melts away and I feel like who I always was supposed to be.

  Looking down, the bleeding form of Archold greets me, moaning pathetically by the side of the road, trying to drag himself away.

  Everyone should know not to mess with the tiny Vess girl. It’s common knowledge around here! I guess, he could have just arrived today or maybe he was drunk or maybe his wife just left him. My Vess don’t even do anything that someone could get mad about, they just patrol around and kill any roving monsters. They are currently paving a road towards Ironhill, is it possible people hate that?

  I hear Enna’s voice over our link, “We are being observed, your grace.”

  “What?” I try not to look around, “Who?”

  Enna’s voice continues to be calm, almost detached, “Two men on top of a roof down the road, one in an alley across the street, one sitting on a bench a few feet away.”

  I stiffen; it is incredibly hard not to look at the guy on the bench. I continue to scowl down at the wounded man, “Who are they though? Why are they watching us?”

  “Conflict was inevitable, your grace.” Enna simply states, “Shall we capture them all and question them?”

  “You’re asking me? What do you think I should do?” I wonder if my voice sounds as panicked over our link as I feel.

  “Capturing them in public is an option, it sends a message. It will also cause much civil unrest and lower your image in the eyes of the humans.” Enna walks over and steps on the crawling guy, furthur crushing his one leg; he howls in agony, “We could take this one, he would easily break, but he may not have all the information we need. We could also just watch the spies with scouts.”

  As much as I want to just round up all these people, I really can’t take the hit to my public image. This is bad enough. A part of me shivers in delight at the idea of being feared and obeyed unquestionably. Another much, much smaller part doesn’t want to become some kind of evil tyrant. The smaller part is loud though and manages to win this fight.

  “Pick up the rude guy, let’s see what he has to say. Have the rest followed, we can always grab them when no one is looking.”

  The approval radiates off of my caretaker, “As you will, your grace.”

  A thought strikes me, what am I going to tell Sarah? She is definitely going to hear about this and probably won’t approve of what I’m about to do to this guy. But what is she going to be able to do about whatever the hell is going on? She isn’t really suited to subterfuge.

  “If Sarah asks, I had this guy taken to Ironhill for medical treatment and to get him away from me. Make sure he disappears into the hive, permanently.” My eyebrows draw into a scowl as I think about how rude he was.

  “Very good, your grace.” Enna practically purrs.

  “I’m not just going to sit around when something is clearly going on, I’m going to nip this in the bud as we say on earth. And I will not tolerate anyone speaking to me the way he did. I’m a Vess Queen, I don’t take anything from anyone.” I rant half to myself and half to Enna.

  Enna picks me up as a knight steps up to retrieve the broken legged man. As we travel back to the hive, my scouts follow the spies. One of them attempts to follow us but can’t keep up. Two of the others go into the adventurer's guild while the rest meet up in the cellar of a house at the outskirts of the village. My scouts aren’t stealthy enough to follow them inside, but I managed to get a good look at their faces. Those who had their faces covered, uncovered them when they thought they were safe. I never told anyone about my scouts and what they can do, it’s not a surveillance state if you’re the one doing the spying.