We boarded some kind of a tall, metal chariot. I had no idea what it was at first because there were no horses in front of it, so I just followed the others. But once I got inside, I realized it was the same thing that had brought me to this castle.

“What’s with the horses?” I asked, “Won’t we be late if they aren’t ready yet?”

“What horses?”

A sudden, dull roar interrupted me, and the chariot started moving. Seeing the surprise on my face, the queen gave me a deep smile.

“This chariot doesn’t need horses. It’s a magical chariot. It moves on its own.”

“Actually, it’s not …” Booker tried contradicting his queen, but she cut him right off.

“Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. The explanation is good enough.”

Booker chuckled at that: “If you say so, my queen.”

But that wasn’t the only strange thing. Even though I did my best not to show it, I was too scared when I was riding this thing for the first time to pay any attention to my surroundings. But now, looking through the glass windows, I realized that we were going very, very fast. In fact, I think that chariot moved at the same speed as a racing horse, although I can’t say for sure since I never rode one.

You know, being a lady and all that. You can’t really ride a horse in a dress.

Not only were we moving fast, but the ride was very comfortable. I can’t stand chariots due to all the bumps along the way and constant shaking, but this ride felt as if we were gliding along the road. We weren’t flying, but that’s exactly how it felt.

“Any news of Eric?” Jens asked.

“None,” the queen responded with a solemn look. Seeing this look on her face made her seem somewhat dangerous, “That’s exactly why we must make this a success. Whoever did it wants to change our plans. So we must show them our resolve.”

“I agree, but whoever did it can do it again.”

“We’ll have early warning next time,” Booker said, “They have to build up the energy before they can make anyone disappear. That’s enough time to leave the danger zone.”

“Anyway, you look stunning, Snirba,” the queen changed the topic blatantly, “That dress suits you perfectly.”

“Thank you, your highness.”

“We decided to play it safe and order a stylish but conservative one. We didn’t want you to think that we’re only interested in objectifying you with a gap like this,” she pointed at the huge cut in her dress, right between her breasts, “Being sexy is a choice, not a must, and we didn’t feel like forcing it onto you.”

“Thank you, your highness. But please, keep in mind that I will gladly wear whatever you give me.”

“We did make it a bit shorter than the usual timkik dresses, for your convenience. You will have a much easier time moving in a dress that is ending at your knees.”

“Thank you very much. I really appreciate it.”

“Do you have any questions? We have some time until we arrive, so feel free to ask anything.”

“Well, there is one thing I’m curious about.”

“Go ahead.”

“Why isn’t Ira here? I mean, everyone else is. Jens, Mun-Hee, Booker. Ira is the only person missing besides Eric.”

“Taking Ira with us would be a terrible idea,” Mun-Hee commented.

“As I understand, Ira is not … a people’s person,” the queen responded, “He likes toying with them way too much, which would have an adverse effect on timkiks. That’s also why Francisco isn’t with us either. That being said, just because Ira isn’t sitting next to us, that doesn’t mean he isn’t with us. Ira doesn’t have to be physically present to do his job.”

“I don’t understand?”

She moved her golden hair to reveal a rather unusual, black piece of jewelry that was sitting in the middle of her ear: “Let’s just say that he is watching over us in his ethereal form.”

---

It took a while for us to reach the palace. That being said, I’m surprised we’ve managed to cover that much distance in half a day. The demons have explained that their castle, which they call embasi, is somewhere between the palace and the portal to their world. Apparently, that is some kind of compromise between safety and efficiency. While it would be much easier to have a castle near the palace, the demons prefer staying as close to the portal as possible, just in case.

They also told me they’ve built it themselves in just a few moons. While I’d usually discard such a silly claim right away, they have indeed arrived here only recently. I’m not sure how long they’ve been here: a year or two? Surely, building an entire castle in such a short time is an impressive feat in and of itself, but a few moons is taking it way too far.

That also explains why that poor garden has been so poorly maintained. They were too busy with everything around it.

We stopped briefly in front of the palace, waiting for the guards to open the gates. There was no need to check our identities, considering how unique our chariot was. We rolled in, and our chariot stopped in front of the palace entrance, dominated by a long set of stairs.

I always found that interesting. Guests have to walk up the stairs while the hosts have a neat, easily-accessible entrance in the back. That doesn’t sound like an issue, until you see just how big most of timkik nobility is. At least the well-to-do nobility. I guess there’s some symbolism in making those fat slobs go through all those stairs and forcing them to exert themselves once in a while.

Or, it could be nothing but blatant sadism.

Anyway, we got out of the chariot, with the queen being the last one to get out of it. That was very strange to me, making the queen walk behind everyone else, so I asked Jens about it later. He explained it’s mainly for safety reasons. The queen only goes once it’s confirmed that everything is safe.

And … yes, her appearance had the effect I expected. The butlers were indifferent towards the other demons. They probably got used to being in their company by now, so they weren’t impressed or intimidated by the fact that their guests were a head taller. However, they did look down on me in a way. They weren’t open about it, but I could feel their judgment. Like: what is a timkik doing with these demons here? I bet some of them were present when I was given to the demons, which made everything even weirder.

But, once the queen got out, their jaws dropped. It makes perfect sense since she’s the living embodiment of Greadinall’s beauty standards. I don’t think anyone here has seen such shiny, golden hair before, or skin as pale as hers. I bet the elves didn’t visit the palace for a long time, at least since the war started several centuries ago.

And the human queen is basically a noble-looking elf with nice curves and a dress to show it.

You could see the butlers panicking on the inside. After the initial shock, their ears and tails shot straight up when they realized who was in front of them. All of a sudden, they were in a rush to bow far more often than necessary.

“If … if you’ll follow me … sirs and ladies …” one of them mustered the courage to do his job properly. I guess he was the chief butler, judging from his age and roundness.

“Do they usually gawk like this?” The queen asked as we passed the other guests.

“They usually stare,” Jens said, “but we never got a reception like this one.”

“At least they’re gawking in amazement,” Anna pointed out.

“Well, what did you expect, pushing those tits out like that,” Mun-Hee commented.

That only made the queen chuckle.

We climbed the long stairs, which took some of my breath away. The demons though, it seemed as if it didn’t bother them one bit. You’d expect the queen to be on the frail side, since the rulers aren’t really known for their fitness …

… actually, I take that back. Everything about the demonic society is different, and so is their queen. I was thinking about the other rulers of Greadinall, but even with a single glance, you could clearly see that the human queen is very, very fit. I should really stop applying common sense to these demons. It always fails.

We went through the entrance, and the royal guards took over the escort from there. They led us to the throne room, where the Emperor already sat on his throne. The room was full of nobles, all of them doing their best to suck up to the Emperor. Even though they were at a distance, they just waited for an opportunity to show how devoted they are while at the same time doing their best to put the others down. But, of course, you couldn’t really see it since all of them wore a well-kept façade of nicety on the outside. That’s just something my experience has taught me.

“The human kin …” The crier was about to announce our presence but stopped in the middle of his sentence. The look of confusion on his face was pure gold. The nobles also started clamoring loudly, forgetting about the noble etiquette.

Up to this point, Jens was the one walking in front. Now, the queen walked past him, only stopping after she had reached the guards standing in front of his majesty. Anna, her own guard, stood right next to her, towering over the royal guards for half of her head.

The queen bowed her head only so slightly: “Greetings, timkik Emperor!”