My next few days are busy. I assigned one thousand soldiers and two hundred archers to Sir Oscar. I was afraid the Vess wouldn’t listen to a human, but my summons continue to prove their utter devotion, with just a vague order from me, they understand my intent perfectly and follow Sir Oscars orders easily. Oscar proved himself to be an extremely competent general, integrating the Vess into his own forces without issue, while quelling the discomfort this caused among his own forces.

  Sir Oscar left the capital to begin his campaign to drive out the Karnakan army. With him went five hundred humans and one thousand Vess. I sent four knights to protect him as well. The golden warrior is a kind and upstanding knight; I want to see him return safely. I was worried they wouldn’t have enough soldiers, but Sir Oscar assured me he had a strategy, and he would be able to drive the exhausted invaders out.

  Sir Taner was very curious of the Vess, apparently, he is a scholar and has an insatiable curiosity. Honestly, Enna knows more about the Vess than me, but she refused to talk to him directly, feeding me the information to tell him instead.

  When I’m not in the castle library with Taner, I’m free to do whatever I want. King Danish is too busy to speak with me, what with the Karnakan invasion crisis. Apparently, the kingdom is not doing well, which I should have known in retrospect. Food shortages, housing crises, diseases, and everything else that comes with war.

  Gwyna has been avoiding me, thank goodness.

  So, that leaves me with a lot of free time, as usual. I’ve been given an opulent room in the guest wing of the castle, and access to the royal baths which is awesome. I also finally got my fluffy pajamas, thanks to Andra, who has been with me constantly. In the absence of Sir Oscar, she has taken it upon herself to see to my safety personally.

  The bland chicken pasta dish pulls me away from my thoughts. I can’t help it; I spit it out onto the plate.

  Enna tsks, “Renna, you mustn’t be so rude in front of others.”

  Bleehhh, I stick out my tongue and reach for my water, gulping it down to wash away the taste.

  “Not to your liking?” Andra looks amused.

  I shake my head, “No, sorry. I really wanted to like it, I really tried!” My fork idly pushes the regurgitated food around my plate.

  “How about some cake then?” The general pushes a new plate towards me.

  Before I can retrieve my new meal, it’s intercepted by an obsidian claw, swiped out of my reach. “No, honey. You need to eat something nutritious before you may have dessert.” She scowls at Andra, who sheepishly rubs the back of her head, mouthing ‘sorry’ to me.

  “But-” I don’t even get to make my argument; Enna immediately interrupts me.

  “The answer is no; you are still growing. When you're an adult, you can eat all the junk you want, when it matters less.” Enna gets up and exits the room, my cake held hostage in her hand.

  Crossing my arms, I pout, “She wouldn’t let me only eat cake if I was older either.”

  Andra reached across the table to ruffle my hair, “Probably not.” She switches to a concerned voice, “You’ve been struggling to eat these past few days. At first, I thought it was you being nervous, being in a new environment and all. But it’s not that, is it? Is this a Vess thing? Do you have different preferences for food?”

  I look down, fiddling with the edge of the tablecloth. Will she look at me differently if I say, ‘I prefer raw meat, like a monster!’? Ugh I feel so upset, I really wanted to eat cooked food, even chocolate isn’t as good now.

  Andra lets me squirm around and doesn’t press me for answers; she just continues to eat her food.

  A few minutes later, Enna returns. A bowl of raw meat chunks is placed in front of me, my mouth waters at the sight. Remembering my human audience, I whip my head up to see Andra looking suspiciously neutral, making eye contact with me and giving a stiff smile.

  “Her grace needs her meat natural if she wants her tail to grow properly. “ Enna explains. She proceeds to skewer a meat chunk on her claw, guiding it to my mouth, “Open, sweetie. I gave you a chance to try human food, now it’s time to eat properly.”

  I consider being bratty and refusing. Andra is still carefully controlling her reaction.

  “Come now, I’ve been more than fair, sweetheart.”

  My mouth remains closed. Honestly, I want to eat the meat. I really, really do; I’m drooling like crazy. At the same time, I really want to cry, it wouldn’t be so bad if Andra wasn’t here, she-

  “Ah,” Andra finally seems to realize she is staring. “You act so human, it’s easy to forget you're not.” Her smile relaxes into a teasing one. “C’mon Renny, be good for your poor caretaker and eat your food. I want to see how big your tail grows!”

  The sour feeling disappears from my gut, replaced by a creeping blush on my face. I open my mouth to stammer out a reply, only for Enna to seize the opportunity to feed me. A small piece of raw meat enters my mouth, and I find myself too busy chewing to talk.

  “Good girl.” Enna praises me, making me blush worse.

  A bit of blood trails down my chin, my caretaker catches it on a napkin before it can soil my dress. I swallow and wave Enna off before she can try to feed me anymore. Picking up my fork, I skewer a piece for myself, popping it in my mouth. It’s so juicy, I don’t even know how I used to eat it all dried out and burned. It occurs to me that my meat stews I have been eating until now have all probably been barely cooked.

  Andra chuckles, “Looks like she’s really enjoying it. Good job Enna.”

  My caretaker huffs, “I don’t need praise from a human. Of course, I know how to care for her grace.” Her tone devoid of any real hostility. Enna still dislikes humans, but she seems to at least appreciate and respect Andra for how devoted she has been to my safety and comfort.

  “So, given my offer any more thought?” The general changes topics.

  Enna scoffs, “Her grace has no need for your ‘training’, I would never allow her to be in danger.” She leans back and crosses her arms, looking more annoyed with each word, “Running around, swinging a dagger, and sweating is all very unbecoming for a Queen.”

  If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

  Andra tries to laugh it off, “Nonsense! It’s a leader’s duty to protect their people, and it’s more noble to lead from the front.”

  “Foolish.” Enna shuts her down, a harsh bite in her voice. “Ridiculous human ideals, only good for getting your ruler killed.”

  “But-”

  “Must I point out that a human kingdom may survive the loss of their leadership, another could rise to replace what was lost. A Vess hive without their queen is guaranteed to be doomed. There is no other more important than the queen, there is no replacing a queen.” Enna has risen to her feet at this point, claws glinting dangerously in the light, “Do not mistake Renna for a mere human ruler, she is infinitely more.” She hisses the last few words.

  Andra’s mouth hangs open for a moment, before snapping shut.

  I carefully speak up, “I’m sorry Andra, I don’t want to learn to defend myself or anything.” I reach out and slip my hand into Enna’s, “I trust Enna over anyone, and I happen to agree with her. My stats are so low, I don’t think any amount of training will matter, all it would do is be uncomfortable for me.”

  This time it’s Andra who scoffs, “So, you’re just lazy. Don’t want to have to sweat with the common folk? Let me tell you something, I wasn’t always a noble, I come from a commoner family. I had to work and sweat and hurt to work my way up.” Her words have become heated, her hands motioning frantically, “I have no respect for those born into power, you have to work for it, you have to earn it!”

  Enna at least seems to have calmed down, she looks thoroughly unimpressed with Andra’s spiel. She is calm when she counters, “You can’t honestly be trying to hold a Vess Queen to human standards?”

  I quickly interject, “Andra, I’m only nine months old! If I was human, I wouldn’t even be walking!”

  Now Andra is unimpressed, “Seriously? What a childish argument, you aren’t a human baby…” She breathes out long and hard, running her hands through her hair, muttering under her breath, “Of course it’s a childish argument, ugh stupid.”

  She straightens up in her chair, “I apologize, Ren. This is a subject that is very important to me. I forgot myself, and I forgot that you are so young.” She seems to really be struggling to get the words out, “Perhaps there is also a cultural gap.”

  “Okay…” I say carefully. “I’m still not doing the training.”

  Andra makes herself chuckle, “Okay, I can’t make you do something you don’t want to do.” Another calming breath, “I’m sorry, can’t believe I lost my temper with a kid.”

  Glancing at Enna, she seems totally calm and unconcerned. I slip out of my seat and hug Andra. “Okay, I forgive you. Please don’t be mad, I really want human friends.”

  “Aw, real charmer you are.” Andra ruffles my hair, “Okay, okay, we’re good.”

  Everything calms down and we all go back to eating. I try to relax and focus on how juicy the meat is, guess I’m done pretending to be human. The last bite of meat disappears into my mouth, leaving me staring longingly at the empty bowl. Enna notices and asks, “Do you want more?”

  I shake my head, I’m full. It just tasted so good, I wonder if it tastes even better fresh off the bone. Needing to chew through the skin or fur of whatever I’m eating does sound like a turn off, however. Wouldn’t be surprised if humans turned out to be the tastiest meat. I'll have to ask Enna about it later, when there are no humans present.

  A knock on the door interrupts my morbid thoughts. Andra gets up to check, and after a few minutes of speaking to the person, guides them into the room. “This is Sarah, she is a hero summoned from another world, easily one of the strongest spellswords in the castle. I have a lot of duties I’ve been putting off, so she is going to stand guard in my stead. If you need anything, just ask her as you would me.”

  My new guard is tall and muscular, wearing some kind of tabard with a golden sun on it over her clothes; a sword sits on her hip. Straight blonde hair and a fair complexion completes the holy paladin look.

  Sarah blows a lock of hair out of her face, “Babysitting duty? That’s what this is about, really?” She seems pretty annoyed, glaring at Andra who just turns and leaves.

  I can’t help but ask the question, “Are you from earth?”

  The hero turns to look at me, a surprised look on her face, “What does the Vess Queen know of earth?” Her surprised look turns hopeful, “Do you know how to get back?”

  “Sorry,” I say as gently as possible, “I don’t know how to get back.”

  The disappointment is immediate, but is quickly replaced by curiosity, “Then, why do you ask? Yes, I am from earth, btw.” She uses the abbreviation with a lopsided grin.

  “Ah,” I never talked to Enna about my reincarnation. She probably already knows though, since my thoughts are shared by all Vess. “My soul is from earth. I was reborn here.” Enna does not look surprised.

  “No way!” Sarah quickly takes a seat next to me, “I’m from Pennsylvania, USA, where are you from?”

  “I… don't remember.”

  “You don’t remember?” Sarah repeats slowly.

  I nod my head, “Yeah, it’s all a blur. Like, I understand and remember concepts like math and science, but not personal stuff, like the faces of my parents.”

  The pitying look on the hero’s face says it all, “I’m sorry, Renna. That sounds terrible.” She seems to be at a loss for words for a moment, “I miss my mom so much, I never wanted to be summoned here, to fight in these people's stupid war.”

  I shrug, feeling indifferent, “I can’t miss what I can’t remember, and I’m pretty okay with being here. Radical acceptance has been my go to skill for maintaining my mental health.”

  “Wish this world had a proper therapist, I’m going to need it. I’m only twenty, never been in combat before or even a fight. Definitely going to have some serious trauma by the end of this.”

  “So,” I choose my words carefully, glancing towards Enna for reassurance, “You don’t like being here? You are serving in the Lotheris military against your will?

  Sarah blows out a breath, “It’s complicated. I was kidnapped from my home, which sucks.” She lets out a hollow laugh, “I feel better than I ever have back on earth though, physically. Having these stats, and superhuman abilities does kinda rock, and magic too!” She pauses to think, “The whole rpg system is weird though, right? What's the deal with that?”

  I nod my agreement, “Yeah it is strange, I have no idea.” Shrugging, I turn to my caretaker, “Enna?”

  Sarah turns with me, almost seeing Enna for the first time, “Damn, she’s big, what do you even need me for?”

  Enna grins, mouth full of razor sharp teeth, “I have no answers for you this time, your grace.”

  I shrug, “If Enna doesn’t know, then I got nothing. She is pretty much the only reason I know anything.”

  “Yeah, Andra briefed me.” The hero takes another cautious look at Enna, “Your caretaker, ‘cause you're a baby or something?”

  Blushing, I try to defend myself, “Well, technically I am only nine months old, that's about how long I’ve been in this world; reincarnated.” I take a deep breath, it’s crucial that my only ally from earth doesn’t join in on the teasing, “Obviously, I’m mature. Plus, I have all that knowledge from earth. I do need a caretaker in the sense that my stats are all single digit, I need protection.”

  Sarah smiles that smile that people give me when they think I’m being cute, “Andra says differently.”

  “W-well, Andra is Andra! Enna! Help?”

  All I get from my caretaker is a chuckle and, “It seems you have a special connection; I’ll accept all the aid I can, she can be quite the handful when she is tired and grumpy.”

  I think I feel my spirit leave my body, desperately I try, “She’s just teasing! I don’t get grumpy when tired, I’m perfectly responsible for myself.”

  “Relaaaxxx, Ren.” Sarah leans back in her chair, grinning, “Think of me more like a big sister, then a full on caretaker.”

  I groan my defeat, folding my arms on the table and burying my face into them, trying to get away from the world that is dead set on babying me.