Finally, back in my hive. In the dark depths, my drones quickly constructed a large bath, inspired by the royal baths back in the capital. If I’m royal, I need the baths to match.

  Lounging in the steaming water, I lazily listen to Sarah and Enna.

  “It doesn’t make sense, they were driven out by orc raiders, from the northern frozen wastes. They never come this far south! And they would have had to pass through North Tarenbaum to reach that Karnakan village!” Sarah sounds like she is having trouble relaxing in the nice hot water.

  Enna uses a cup to rinse some suds out of my hair, combing through it with her claws, “The orcs have made a few excursions in the past, but you are correct, never this far south. It implies some level of cooperation with North Tarenbaum.”

  I melt a little under Enna’s touch as she begins scratching around the base of my horns. Maybe I should get Enna to give Sarah a massage to help her relax, she really does seem concerned about this. The burden of being a hero, I guess.

  Sarah continues the heated discussion, “Orcs have never worked together with humans. Not once!”

  Enna clicks her tongue, “Maybe not in the short memory of humans. Orcs respect strength above all else, if there were a sufficiently strong human, they could easily control and command the might of the orcs.”

  Sarah’s voice takes on a new level of stress, “So, there is a crazy high-level person in North Tarenbaum who has an army of orcs under their control? And they are using the orcs to raze Karnakan villages?”

  “Possibly.” Enna is practically serene compared to the hero, “Scouts have been sent to investigate, we shall know more soon enough. For now, the Vess shall gather their strength.”

  I jump when Enna’s voice is suddenly in my ear, “The orcs would make for very loyal subjects, your grace. Perhaps this is worth investigating.”

  I push Enna’s head away roughly, eliciting a light laugh from my caretaker.

  “Ren. Would you really want to do something about this?” Sarah splashes over to me.

  “Mmm… Sure, I would love to command the orcs.”

  “Seriously, Ren.”

  Opening one eye, I take in Sarah’s concerned face, “Mhmm, I need to secure both sides of the mountain range anyways.”

  Sarah doesn’t look convinced, but backs off anyways, sinking down until the water reaches her chin.

  “All will be well, hero.” Enna practically purrs. “Her grace will certainly rise to the occasion; however, we must focus on the short term.” She scoops me up out of the water, setting me down on the ground before wrapping me in a fluffy towel, “You mustn't stay in the water for too long, sweetie.”

  My whine is muffled by another towel that is used to dry my hair and horns.

  Enna simply continues where she left off, “I will be putting her grace to bed shortly, then we shall leave to round up the newest refugees. Then, you will be free to level in the dungeon.”

  Sarah lets out a long steadying breath, getting out of the bath and grabbing a towel for herself. “You’re right. Short term goals. I want to reach level forty as soon as possible.”

  I manage to extract my face from the fluffy assault as I’m being dried, “You’re level thirty two, right?”

  “Yeah. Are you level fifty yet?”

  I shake my head, “Almost, I should get there in a few hours.”

  “How exciting, I love to watch you grow, honey.” Enna hugs me tightly, before releasing me to finish drying me, “All done. Ready for bed?”

  Rubbing my eyes, a yawn slips out as I just nod and hold my arms up for Enna.

  Congratulations you are level 50! +10 Wis, +3 free points!

  New skill unlocked, Summon Drake

  I must have fallen asleep on the way to my chambers. Opening my eyes, I smile at the notification and sit up to stretch my arms above my head. Sarah isn’t here and I can’t sense Enna either. This is the first time I’ve been alone in forever.

  One lifts his head and yips from his spot at the foot of the bed. I giggle and scratch behind his ear nubs, “Of course, I always have you, One.”

  I receive a series of impressions from One, apparently, the humans were asking for Sarah earlier, but she hasn’t been in. Guess I have to deal with it then. No problem, I’m in my domain, this won’t be that stressful.

  Getting out of bed, I look down at myself. Seems like I got dressed in shorts and a simple shirt, this works. I forgo shoes, my feet are covered in obsidian chitin, tougher than any boot, not to mention how my toes end in retractable claws. I don’t think I even own any shoes.

  I extend the claws on my hands, clacking them together experimentally. I’ve never had to use them yet, I wonder how dangerous they really are, probably not at all to a high-level person. Experimentally, I scratch one of the wooden chairs in the room. My claws easily cut a rut into it, and I wince. I hope Enna doesn’t notice that. We had traded for a bunch of human stuff back in the capital, mostly furniture and clothes, so we have a limited supply of these.

  I go over to my mirror and fix my hair, usually Enna does it, but I make do. I even tie a red bow on each of my horns. Hands on my hips, I nod, yeah, I can care for myself.

  Walking out of my chambers, I look up at the knight guarding the door, “Take me to the hive entrance.”

  A hand reaches down and gently grasps around my waist, lifting me into the waiting arms of the knight. It’s not nearly as comfy as Enna, but we make do. The knight quickly carries me through the twisting tunnels, I still don’t know the layout, maybe I should learn it sometime…

  Daylight streams in from the entrance where I am set down. I ask the knight how long I was asleep for, and I get the impression of the sun setting once and then rising. So, I slept all night. Can’t talk to these Vess, but we make do!

  “Just you and me again, One. Like old times.”

  Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

  One yips and trots up to me, stretching upwards for more ear scratches. I giggle and oblige him.

  I take a few steps and find myself outside in the world. I ask the knight where the humans are. I receive the impression they are about an hour to the east, closer to Ironhill, at the base of the mountains. I sigh and get the knight to pick me up again.

  Taking this time to enjoy the outdoors, I find I much prefer being deep in my hive. I’ve always enjoyed the outdoors, feeling so much more alive when the sun hits my skin. Now, I just feel neutral. Maybe a little put off? I frown, it’s not really a big deal, but I don’t like that something I used to enjoy is now gone.

  The knight moves with speed and efficiency, keeping me safe and stable in his arms, I find myself drifting off when we arrive at the human settlement.

  Shaking myself awake, I jump down. The humans have set up a camp with the supplies we gave them. The Vess made tents are otherworldly and I’m sure the humans would have preferred cloth, but tuff. At least they are waterproof.

  My feet take me into the camp; humans stop what they are doing to stare. Not at me, mind you, at the giant death machine guarding me. I turn and order it to wait at the edge of camp.

  When the knight backs off, Grant approaches me nervously. He’s looking a lot better; he sheared off that awful beard!

  “Hi!” I bounce on my toes and wave to the human.

  “Hello, Vess Queen. You certainly are in a good mood.” Grant goes to stroke his beard, only to find it gone. He settles for stroking his chin.

  “Yep!” I grin, “There’s something about being back home, surrounded by my Vess that’s just great!”

  The man nods along with my words, “Yeah that makes sense.” He looks back at someone nervously, “No offense, but do you need something your uhhh Vessiness?

  I shake my head and point at him, “Nope! But you do!”

  “Ah…” He still seems hesitant, “I was under the impression the hero would come…”

  “Well, she isn’t here right now. I think she went out to save more refugees or something, so you deal with me. It’s my mountain anyways, so I can do what I want.” I put my fists on my hips.

  “Right…” Grant shifts his weight, hooking his thumbs in his belt, “Well, we have decided to stick around for now, till things calm down. We would like to have some proper shelter and were going to ask the hero for some help with that.”

  “That’s easy! How many houses do you need?”

  He clears his throat, “We would prefer human made houses, your holiness.”

  “Ah,” Right, the Vess material tends to freak the humans out. I put my hand on my chin, “Alright how about my Vess get you the raw materials and help lay the groundwork, and you can build the rest.”

  I send the order out for the Vess to clear some land around the camp and to stack up all the trees neatly. I also order a well to be dug, along with a bigger cistern. “Okay, done,”

  The adventurer blinks, “Done? Done with what?”

  “My Vess will clear land for you and give you the materials you need.” I beam up at him, worship me human!

  Instead, he scratches the back of his head awkwardly, “You really aren’t one to talk things through, are you?”

  “Well, it’s my mountain, so.” I lose the smile and cross my arms; he isn’t being very grateful. I’m still waiting for my praise. I tap my foot impatiently.

  He seems to finally realize his mistake, he takes a step back, “We are grateful for the help, of course.” He lets out a stressed breath, “Look, we are still pretty scared of the Vess. You're small, so it’s not so bad, but that monster at the edge of the camps got everyone on edge.”

  I frown up at him, “Well, that’s my guard, and transportation. I’m not going to walk around a human settlement without protection, what if I’m attacked!”

  He sputters and takes another step back, “I-I, no one would hurt you, I promise!”

  This is getting a little heated, maybe I am getting a little carried away… Ugh why can’t humans just obey like the Vess. This is why Sarah is supposed to handle the humans; I’m definitely going to complain to her once she gets back.

  I relax my posture, “Okay, okay, truce.”

  He blinks, “Truce?”

  My eye twitches, this guy repeats stuff back a lot, “Yeah, I’m not mad. I guess I’m feeling a little hyper today.” A calming breath, “Do you… want to calmly talk about anything else?”

  Grant swallows, “Uh, not really. Sorry, your majesty.” He scratches the back of his head, “We’ll try our best to get used to the Vess, thank you again for letting us stay.”

  “I think I might be bad at speaking to humans.” I mutter to myself.

  “Maybe,” The adventurer admits, “You’re still young right? Still gettin’ the hang of the crown and all, I assume.”

  “Yeah, I guess.” All of my earlier energy is deserting me, why can’t things go my way? Maybe I should just intimidate everyone into the dirt with my knight and be done with it. But no, I want to be friendly with the humans…

  I sigh and look around for a good tree to sulk under. I spot the perfect tree and plop myself down under it. One lays next to me, his body a comforting warmth against my thigh, he seems pretty alert, maybe he’s guarding me too.

  Grant follows me and frowns down at me, stroking his chin, “You, uh, going to stay for a while?”

  I nod, “My Vess will be here to do the work soon, let me know if they freak you out too much or whatever.” That came out a little bratty. Sorry humans.

  Leaning back, I shut my eyes and pet One.

  It’s not long before an army of drones tear through the surrounding area, bringing down trees and digging cellars. It only takes them an hour before everything is done and they are on their way. Some of the humans scream at first, but they calm down pretty quickly when they find themselves unscathed.

  The weather seems nice; I lay down and use One as my pillow.

  “Hey, little Vess?” A feminine voice wakes me from my nap.

  Cracking my eyes open, I look up into a sharp, slightly malnourished looking face.

  She says, “My name's Gilda, we’ve got lunch around the campfire, if you’re hungry.”

  I nod and sit up; Gilda helps me to my feet and leads me over to the fire with a hand on my back.

  “Shame on you Grant!” She scolds the man.

  He looks up from his bowl of stew, looking dismayed, as she continues on, “Made the little one sound terrifying, why, she’s a sweet little thing. Just a child too, should take away your lunch.”

  I can’t help but laugh from behind Gilda, I make sure Grant sees me stick out my tongue.

  Gilda sits me down on a log, and hands me a bowl of stew. I instantly realized my mistake, meat and veggie stew. I want to be friendly with the humans, and this helps, but…

  A compromise, “Mrs, Gilda? I can’t digest vegetables.”

  She looks at me with undisguised suspicion, “You aren’t just tryin’ to get out of eating your greens, are ya?”

  I shake my head earnestly and she relents, scooping the veggies back into the pot before handing me the bowl.

  “Thank you!” I chirp before forcing a spoonful of stew down my throat. Okay, it’s not that bad. It’s good even, just a little bland.

  Gilda nods before dishing up another bowl and handing it to another kid who sits down next to me. She smiles, “Hi, I’m Ginny!”

  “Hi,” I smile shyly around my spoon.

  “Sorry about my mom,” She rolls her eyes, “You really can’t eat vegetables?”

  I shake my head, “No, I’m a carnivore, see?” I grin a wide toothy grin, showing off all my sharp teeth.

  The kid’s eyes grow big, “Wow! That’s so cool!”

  “I know!” I agree. Finally, a human with some sense. “Want to check out my knight?”

  Ginny looks like she wants to, but her mom instantly shuts it down, “Absolutely not, you are not going near that monster.”

  “Mom!” Ginny tries to argue.

  I tune them out, must suck to have such an overbearing mom, I wouldn’t know.

  Finishing my bowl of stew, I put it with the rest of the dirty stuff and get up to stretch. I freeze in place, at the very edge of my Vess communication range I feel my caretaker returning. It was nice while it lasted.