I was over the moon. An unsuspecting dragonfly fluttered through the open window and landed on the stony sill. I looked at Rott with a huge grin. The worm rolled his eyes.

My liege.

The insect was forcefully rent in half as the beam of bright light seared through the thorax. There was a quick sound, not quite a scream, as death stepped in. The pieces, or what was left of them, toppled down, greedily gobbled by a nearby servant.

To say I loved my laser scepter would have been an understatement.

Rott wasn't nearly as impressed. He grimaced. Aren't you tired of that yet?

"Never," I asserted.

Nolwud sat in a different sill, daintily peeling fruit and offering slices to the servants. I had stressed it was unnecessary. The worms didn't require kindness. The Technologist continued the same. "My liege, with your permission, I'd like to go into Fourmikari today."

It seemed unnecessary. "What's in Fourmikari?"

"Everything," said Nolwud, matter-of-fact. "Merchants. Vendors. Grocers. Everything."

I said, "If you tell me what you want, I will see that you get it."

The Technologist clacked shut. "With due respect, my liege, there is a limit to what the worms provide."

I burnt a precise hole into the ceiling. It was one of many that had appeared since the acquisition of the scepter. "I think the worms do a fine job. I want for nothing."

"Your storerooms are bare," said Nolwud. This wasn't a recent development. They hadn't held anything in ages. There wasn't a reason to stockpile goods for one person. If Nolwud was hungry, there was an easy solution.

"More food," I commanded, collecting a small pear from beside my throne. Nolwud sighed.

"I mean, you don't have to rely solely on what they bring you. You have money. You could have more than stolen fruits and vegetables. A varied diet has merit."

"I have food and I have wine." Revergnols' wine collection was almost as large as the library. The reserves wouldn't dry up for ages. "On any given day, I am provided what I need."

"That may be so. I also need to search for components for the plane shifter. Asking the worms to bring me anything more complicated that an orange gets me nowhere."

"They don't understand you." Stating the obvious. "Food is easier to mime."

Nolwud gnawed on knuckle. "This would be easier if I could communicate with them."

"No." Nolwud was not to communicate with the worms. That was a condition of the newfound freedom and title. It had been discussed at length. "Tell me what you need and they will get it."

"Or I could buy it myself," sniped Nolwud. "In Fourmikari. If I am allowed to go."

"I won't give you a phid," I said firmly. How about that?

"I will pay my way," replied Nolwud, undeterred.

"You have no money."

"I'm a vassal," the Technologist reminded. "My rank affords me credit."

I leaned back, twirling the scepter. "How nice, the benefits of vassaldom."

"You should have credit as well. You're a ruler."

I had never tried. I had a system and my system worked. "Fourmikari isn't keen on my business."

"No surprise there." Nolwud pushed up, wiping hands together. "Do you want anything?"

"In terms of what?" I could have the worms bring over my wine if I felt parched.

Nolwud stared. "From Fourmikari. You just said you don't go yourself."

"What could I possibly want from Fourmikari?"

Is the inventor going to Fourmikari? I would like to go along. Rott slipped from beside me to shadow Nolwud. He shook with the excitement reminiscent of larvae. My liege, is that acceptable?

It was not. "Why do you want to go to Fourmikari?"

I'm bored, Rott said plainly. Fourmikari would break the tedium.

I sat up straight in my seat, thoroughly offended. "This is boring for you? I disagree. I have a laser scepter. It's gotten exciting." There was no pleasing some people. Or worms, as it were.

"Does Rott want to come along?" Nolwud inquired curiously. "Is he allowed to?"

"I don't care," I sulked. Let the worm go where he wanted. I would remember this.

My liege, you could come too.

"I don't want to go to Fourmikari," I said. "I want to destroy Fourmikari."

"It's fine if I take Rott?" How many times would I be asked? "You're not going to hold it against me later?"

"Worms are not welcome in Fourmikari," I remarked offhand. "It would be awful if he was discovered and the individual traveling with him didn't have the means to protect him."

Rott whimpered. My liege, you must come, then.

"I'm confident in my abilities," asserted Nolwud, offering Rott a passive and disarming smile.

"I'm sorry to hear that," I said glumly, acting out a less self-assured response. "But if you don't think you can keep Rott from harm, I can't condone this excursion."

"I didn't say--" Nolwud began.

"Ripped inside out?" I gaped. "What a graphic picture you paint, Technologist. My poor Rott."

What?

"Stop it." Nolwud scooped the annelid into a hug and cradled him in sturdy dark arms. "You shouldn't lie to him."

"And you shouldn't tell me what to do. I would as soon kill you."

Nolwud was unmoved. A few days and I was no longer viewed as a threat. "If you don't want him to go, say so. This is in poor taste."

"I will forgo my morality for you," I mimicked insultingly.

The inventor would not be baited. "Yes or no, may I take Rott along to Fourmikari?"

"I don't care one way or the other." I blasted another dragonfly. "If you are discovered, don't mention my name. I don't want people thinking we're associated."

"What is your name?" inquired Nolwud. It was too earnest for a prank.

I frowned. "I trust you're kidding."

"Yep, sure am." The technologist spun on sharp heels. "Let's go, Rott."

I entertained myself with the scepter for a time. Was I jealous that Rott and Nolwud had hit it off? Absolutely. I was the one who understood the worms, the one they talked to, the one with the connection. Nolwud didn't even speak Rott's language. Would I think less of the pair for prancing off to Foumikari? Oh, yes. Idiots, both of them. It was a frustrating situation but one I could use to attend to private matters.

I was adaptable.

I proclaimed to my remaining servants my intentions to spend the hours shut up in the library. I was not to be bothered or interrupted for any reason. Any crisis that arose, I would see to personally. I closed the doors behind me, barred them shut, and promptly took off in the sky.

Long flights exhausted much of my stamina. In this instance, I didn't mind. I would earn it back enough for the trip home. Uneventfully, I reached my destination and landed on the front step. It was a small, one room cottage, lacking charm or style. It sat equidistant between three small farming villages, making it inconvenient to everyone. Importantly, it was not near Fourmikari.

I knocked on the door.

An aged face peered back, eyes aglow with recognition. A professional smile crept across the features. Practiced, but enough to do the trick. "Lordavis."

"I had an opening in my schedule," I said, striding inside. "I came to see you."

"Come in. You've come at an opportune time. I haven't got anyone on the books at the moment." I shuffled to the padded table and hoisted myself up. "Feeling okay? No scares have prompted this visit, I hope?"

"I feel fine," I said, shedding my kaftan. "I didn't know when I'd be able to get away again." I would not say there was another individual in the palace. "I don't want my subjects to notice."

The doctor descended onto a stool and dragged it close. "They're just worms. How much do they really notice?"

"They would worry if they knew how often I come."

"Mmm-hmm." The doctor rapped my chest, gauging my response. "Any injuries I should be aware of? Aside from the obvious."

"No. Nothing recent."

"Mmm-hmm." The doctor pawed about my head. "Everything up here working? Hearing okay? Seeing okay? All in working order?"

"Yes."

"How old are you now?"

I hummed. "Ninety last month."

The old doctor beamed. "Ninety already! I remember when I was ninety. It feels like it was eons ago. Are you excited?"

"Not really." I was unpinched and examined. I didn't like being manhandled. It was unavoidable. I monitored my health to a fastidious degree. "It's no different than eighty."

"Until you're ninety, you're not truly grown," remarked the doctor. "Despite what society might say. Congratulations." The remainder of the rudimentary exam was carried out. The listening instrument appeared. "Last but not least."

I stayed very still. The doctor listened intently, sliding the instrument from front to back, top to bottom. Observations were jotted. Records were pulled. The doctor made a thorough assessment before stating, "It's not good news."

"It's louder," I said.

"Yes, it is." A sigh. "I wanted to confer with my previous notes before I spoke." The doctor was quick to add, "That could mean anything. You've already managed to delay it this long. Maybe you've come across a cure. Your magic, maybe?"

It seemed unlikely.

"You can dress. You're healthy, except if you're not." The doctor rose, shuffling off to return the records. "If anything changes, let me know. I'll try to make it to Nova, even on short notice."

"I'm not going to do that," I said.

"I know," said the doctor. "I hope you change your mind one day."

The worms were none the wiser when I returned. I acted as though my back ached from hours of seated study. I was, in truth, exhausted from the exertion of travel. I feigned fatigue from ennui and retired early.

Rott was a font of energy when the excursion to Fourmikari returned, ranting about the sights and sounds he hadn't understood but found wonderful. Nolwud entered the palace with a large crate of goods and locked away in the enchanting studio without saying anything.

"Did something happen?" I mused to the worm. It was suspicious. I ought to be offered thanks for allowing the trip. Given the quantity of purchase, it appeared a very successful undertaking.

Nothing, my liege.

"I find that hard to believe." I tapped my jaw. What to make of it? "Not that you would know, one way or the other. You're ignorant and practically useless when I'm not around."

My liege, I can assure you nothing unusual occurred. I was with the inventor the entire time. He paused. Except...

"Except?" A qualifier. That's what I had anticipated.

Rott frowned. I don't think... it's unlikely.

Stalling. Rott knew exactly what he wanted to say. "Out with it."

The worm swallowed. I saw Gallivur and I left.

Gallivur resided in Fourmikari when not out on an adventure. It wasn't likely, but clearly not impossible to encounter the champion on routine visits. "When?"

In the crowd by the apple merchants. I didn't want to be exposed, my liege. I did not think the inventor saw and I left for a bit.

I frowned.

I was never far, my liege. Only... only when the two were talking.

This was a new matter. I was not pleased by the news. "Nolwud talked to Gallivur?"

Rott was keen to defend his precious friend. Not long! Not long... half of an hour? At most.

Unacceptable. I would not have it. I went straight to the Technologist with the discovery. "You spoke with Gallivur. I wasn't aware you were on such good terms. I wonder what that means for your adamant insistence to secure my patronage."

Nolwud continued to place smaller boxes drawn from the purchased crate into the cabinets. My arrival didn't interfere with the work. The interaction with Gallivur wasn't denied. "I said my thanks. That was it."

"For what?" I snarled. There wasn't any reason to thank Gallivur. Gallivur was a pest and a thorn in my side.

Nolwud felt different. "Saving my life."

I barked a laugh. "Saving your life? What did Gallivur ever do to save your life?"

Without missing a beat, "Brought me to the healers."

I threw up my arms. What lengths! Gallivur was a blessing. "Ah. Obviously, the Great Champion wouldn't have left you there."

Nolwud's head shook. The boxes were stacked and the task complete. Apropos of nothing, "I'm better now, by the way. Fully recovered."

An odd comment to make. "I didn't ask."

Snid and curt. "I know. Most would have."

"What's this? You go off to Fourmikari and come back with this attitude?" Nolwud wasn't infallible. I was more powerful than the inventor could ever dream. "Don't forget who put you down in the first place."

"I heard about Nova." Delivered to put me in my place. A failed effort. I knew about Nova too. I'd been the cause.

"I would have told you." I purred. "I'm shocked you never asked."

Nolwud fixed me sternly. I was not lectured for the lives taken but instead for a lack of foresight. "Megalomania notwithstanding and regardless of your motivations, a neophyte ruler typically keeps subjects. Especially when establishing a new kingdom. This is sloppy and shows an inability to manage your lands and maintain control."

"I have my worms and my magic." I answered, secure in my choices. "I didn't much like the last crop of subjects. I took care of them. All of them."

"Can you afford to be that picky?" countered the inventor. "You're a vacuum. Nature abhors a vacuum."

"It's worked out so far."

The next question hit hard. "And what happens to your fledgling society of worms when your heart gives out?."

I acted indifferent. I fought off the urge to reel with indignant shock. "You heard about that? So much for a simple 'thanks'." I would not play my hand. My condition was nothing, it was an afterthought at best. I definitely hadn't received a grim prognosis the previous day. With a lilt, I mocked, "You tell Gallivur about your new title too while you were going against my wishes?"

"No, actually," said Nolwud. "I asked under the veil of curiosity about the lunatic who stabbed me. I didn't make any indication of our arrangement." The inventor sized me up in a way that made it more obvious it was happening. "People sincerely believe you're cursed. It's a strange superstition." Consideration. "They're horrified by a prophecy surrounding your death."

"Prophecies are rumors blown out of proportion," I said. "If only I could be that destructive."

"Is there any merit to their fears?" Nolwud needled further. "Is your condition related to the prophecy?"

"It is," I jeered sarcastically. "If the vassals of Fourmikari say it, it must be true."

Nolwud gnawed. "Fascinating."

"Yes, fascinating." Idiot. I folded my arms and scoffed. "Is that all you have to say?"

"I don't know what I've stumbled upon," mused the Technologist. "But whatever it is, I'm down for the ride."