Adelyn, Ed, and Cozy were en route with multiple escorts in order to meet the governor-to-be. It was a little bit tense with all of the security around them, though Junice and Max seemed to at least be trying to make things more comfortable along the way.

  “Can you tell us about her?” Adelyn asked Junice, as they walked through the streets. This was considered one of the safe zones, where things were in relative peace, so she wasn’t too on-guard, especially with her teammates to cover her back.

  “She’s a nice lady. I can see why the Lovebird would like her,” Junice said. “A little bit of a mess though.”

  “Is that why she hasn’t been chosen yet?” Ed asked.

  “Probably not. We’ve had messy governors before,” Max responded. “If we knew why she hadn’t been chosen, we would’ve solved this whole mess.”

  “Can nobody here talk to animals like Teddie?” Cozy also brought up. “We met another animal whisperer back in Verdant, and I think a city built around an animal should probably have some on standby.”

  “Crime zone. Things are in short supply these days, but that bird wasn’t talking even when we had someone who could do that,” Max answered.

  “What a mess this place has become in only a year and a half,” Cozy sighed. The group walked towards a ridiculously tall hotel, platted with hearts, neon lights, and other flashy appearances. It couldn’t be overstated how high this hotel went, it was impressive. There was also a large amount of security dedicated to this hotel, with dozens of guards diligently waiting outside and through windows.

  “Jeez. With this much dedicated to protecting her, it’s no wonder that you guys are short-staffed on guards for the actual city,” Cozy said.

  “Can’t the governors defend themselves? I know we saw the governor of Nature do some crazy stuff…” Adelyn said.

  “We try our best, and no,” Max said. “Because remember, she isn’t actually a governor yet. She doesn’t have that crazy power. Once the bird accepts her, we can probably lighten up on the security detail.”

  “But until then, we really can’t risk her getting into trouble,” Junice finished. “It’s truly unfortunate, though I’ve been hoping to get her outside more.”

  “When things are calmer,” Max said.

  “Just seems like a pretty hefty allocation of your resources, that’s all,” Cozy said. “But I get it.”

  They all stepped into the hotel lobby, which brought to face even more guards. They were all walking around, minding their own business. The atmosphere here was more tense than they’d like, but it seemed like with Junice and Max, they had enough authority to walk around this place without question.

  “The governor-to-be is on the top floor, above these stairs.” Junice said, as they entered a stairwell. All three of them looked up and saw a massive amount of stairs going straight up into the skies. “Just need to… climb them.”

  “...nah. I don’t think so,” Cozy said.

  “Excuse me?” Max said. “Didn’t you drag us here just for this?”

  “I meant climbing the stairs,” Cozy answered. “We’re not doing that.”

  The merchant girl grabbed Adelyn and Ed by their arms and her wings formed behind her, glowing with her divine power. Before she could process it, Adelyn found herself flown through the air and landing at the top of the stairs. Ed was alongside her.

  “Ah-! Oh, uh, wow. I didn’t realize you could move that fast,” Adelyn said, looking down at the massive height. She couldn’t even see Junice and Max from below, they were so high.

  “You must not be paying attention sometimes. Fighting Elaina ain’t easy, well, for normal people, it isn’t easy. I’m not normal,” Cozy said. Within a split second, she flew downwards, picked up Junice and Max, and dropped them off at the top as well. With her job completed, Cozy landed down right next to them, with the two guards obviously quite dazed from the journey.

  “What in the…” Max took a deep breath, as if he just went through a wind tunnel. Junice also seemed pretty shaken up.

  “Uhh, did I scare you both? I just thought it’d be better than the stairs,” Cozy asked.

  “No, no. It’s fine,” Junice panted. “It’s just… a lot, you know. I… I guess divinity does that.”

  The rest of them all got up from the ground, looking to the closest door. A grand door, with hearts plastered all over it in a stunning design.

  “Why did you put her all the way up here, anyways? And why’s this hotel so tall?” Ed asked, with his arms crossed.

  “We put her up here because nobody is going to bother to climb all of those stairs. It’s an easy way to protect her until we get her situation solved,” Max explained.

  The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

  “Do you have a quicker way to… get down?” Adelyn added onto Ed’s question.

  “Nnnno. We have to like, call her using magic and then escort her down,” Max said.

  “Wait, doesn’t that take forever?” Adelyn pointed out. “How is she supposed to interact with her subjects?”

  “We’re trying to… work on that, uh. We’ll see,” Junice said. With a knock on the door, it was opened to a grand room. A large penthouse, larger than the average house would be. A grand dining room was situated next to a massive kitchen and a large living room. It was overwhelming, even to Adelyn who used to live in a mansion.

  “Oh, hey, yeah, uh…” A quiet voice was heard in the background. Two guards came out, and a stumbling girl followed behind them. “We have visitors? I-I wasn’t ready… b-but I was planning on like, going outside today so…”

  “Hello!” Adelyn cheerfully greeted the girl. She looked pretty impressive. She had long pink hair, glasses, and was dressed in a really pretty dress. Hearts were embroidered on the edges, and the long gloves she wore gave her a princess-like demeanor. She also seemed to be just around twenty years old, quite young.

  “Ah! Hello! Uh, yeah. Hello. Right.”

  The governor-to-be bowed before them, which was odd, normally they would be bowing before the governor. Regardless, Adelyn decided to do a curtsy in kind. It was good manners.

  “Good day, Miss Governor. We’re here to meet you,” Adelyn said.

  “We come from Lune, in support of your city. Though, are you not a governor yet?” Cozy asked.

  “N-No. Sorry… I-If you want me to, uh, perform government based acts then like… I don’t have that… uh, authority yet. Cause of, you know… the… the bird,” the girl said. “B-big shoes to fill… and uh… I don’t think the bird likes me… and…”

  “How about we start with your name?” Max said. “That’s probably the best.”

  “Name! Right, right. Name, name name… Phiona. That’s it. I dunno why it took me so long to remember it, but it’s Phiona. My name, that is…”

  “Good to meet you, Future Governor Phiona! My name is Adelyn, this is Cozy, and that’s Edward!” Adelyn said with a cheerful expression. “Is there anything we can do to help you out?”

  “Maybe in exchange for a favor?” Ed said. “We could really use one of those.”

  “W-Well, as said, it’s hard for me to do… t-things cause… I-I’m not a governor. Yet. I’m uh, trying… it’s just… hard… but maybe I can make a promise…?” Phiona said, nervously shaking.

  She really seemed to be intimidated by their presence, despite the fact that she should obviously be a powerful governor. But she wasn’t yet, she’s made that very clear.

  “Hey,” Cozy stepped up and began to walk to her. That caused her to flinch back, and the guards surrounding her to stand at attention, staring daggers into Cozy. Adelyn watched as the merchant girl calmly approached her, despite all of this. “You stutter a lot. That’s not great for a governor, especially if you want to address your people. I think it’s because you speak really fast. Slow down your speech for a second.”

  “Hey, Cozy,” Ed said. “Are you sure you aren’t making her nervous?”

  “We need her in a solid state of mind,” Max said, looking at Cozy. “Don’t try anything crazy.”

  “No, no, she might have an idea,” Junice said. Adelyn decided to trust in her friend as well. Cozy was good with this.

  “Think before you speak. That way you end up tripping over your words less,” Cozy continued. “A deep breath always helped me, but I also think you also should try and… strengthen your stance. Your body is shaking, so your words will shake.”

  “O…okay?” she said, taking a deep breath. “But that’s easier said than… than… d-done…”

  “There, you almost got it,” Cozy pointed out. “Try that again, but one more time.”

  “Like… this? Like this? Talking like this is… it’s… it’s uh… it’s not easy. B-But I can… I can feel like… like…”

  Phiona was clearly struggling. Adelyn felt a bit bad for her, but if this girl was going to be the governor, then this was important, right? But, she didn’t know exactly how to help her… but Cozy did.

  “Hey,” Adelyn raised her hand. “Since we’re here to help. Do you think Cozy can give her assistance? She’s good at talking to people and that’s an important thing for governors to have.”

  Max looked back at Adelyn with some concern. “You all came to this city and you’re expecting even more one-on-one time with our most important person?”

  “We’re here to help. Lune wants to help you. Not having a governor is bad for this entire country, especially in this important city,” Adelyn tried to plead her case.

  “And bad for us too,” Ed added, bluntly. “You need a governor, and we need you to have a governor. I think we have someone who can make her Lovebird worthy.”

  “I think this is a good idea, Max,” Junice said, putting her hand on Max’s shoulder. “If Lune is willing to send their help, then we should take it. I think getting us out of this situation fast is the best plan we can make.”

  Max eyed Adelyn, then Cozy suspiciously. He crossed his arms and huffed. “Fine. If you’re fine with that, Phiona.”

  “U…Uh, if she can… she can uh, can… help me be better for the… the bird then…” Phiona twiddled her fingers. “Y-Yeah! I’d love to… Coh.. Cozy, right?”

  “Mhm! The one and only!” Cozy spun around proudly. “I’d be honored to help a new governor, especially if you can put in a good word for me at the capital.”

  “S…Sure, maybe we can uh… have some time… a-alone… cause, it’s hard to focus with so many people… here… more than.. More than normal, after all.”

  “If you need us to,” Adelyn said. “Come on, Ed. Let’s go find Teddie.”

  “I hope your friend is as good as she says she is,” Max said, beginning to escort the two of them out alongside Junice. “She’s not easy to work with.”

  “I’m sure she’ll do great,” Junice said. “We’ve been looking for a way to get her Lovebird ready for a while. May as well take a chance.”

  “I guess.”

  Adelyn turned around as Cozy approached Phiona. The door closed behind them, but she knew her friend would do great. There was a reason they had stuck together for this long, right?

  Now, all she needed to do was get down these stairs.