When I returned with Lola to the VIP section, Dmitry was already waiting with arms folded, frown so deep it could have been used for trench warfare. “With your discount,” he said, “we’re cutting down our profit margin by nearly half. I hope you know what you’re doing.”

  All I’d wanted was to annoy him as payback for earlier, so mission accomplished. “Always, Dmitry. I dominate.” I winked and stepped toward him.

  His eyes widened, and he actually took one step back like I’d just threatened to weaponize my crown. “I… see,” he muttered. “Your performance on the stage and handling of the crisis was… surprisingly good.”

  I raised an eyebrow.

  “Don’t get me wrong,” he added quickly, “it could have gone way worse.”

  I laughed at him, just enough to let him stew, then turned to Lola. “Lola, please get me Lisa, Fty, NightSwallow, and Frozna. I need to ask them—”

  “Auntie Charlie!” A younger voice cut me off a split second before impact… then I was under a full-bodied hug assault. “Glory to the Queen!”

  At that line, my eyes went wide in horror, but thankfully the crowd wasn’t paying attention, so we avoided triggering another chant.

  The culprit beamed up at me: Lena, all bright curls and mischief, dressed head-to-toe in a Lisa cosplay… robe, staff, even flame-colored streaks painted on her face like she’d walked straight out of a Rimelion loading screen.

  “Nice to see you, Lena!” I grinned, returning the hug. “Glad you could come.”

  Trailing behind her was Adam in his favorite suit, just formal enough to fit in, but still slightly awkward among the sea of sharp corporate tailoring and cosplayers. He smiled warmly. “Nice to see you again, Charlie. We were held up in traffic, sorry.”

  “I would’ve sent Roberto for you,” I said, shaking my head. Adam frowned, confused. “From the bar. I invited him as a guest, but I bet he’d take you…”

  He gave me a pointed glare.

  “He’s my friend. But I have others… not connected to my drinking,” I added with a shrug. “It's up to you whether you believe me, but… despite how badly I wanted to, I’ve been trying to ignore the lure of the bar lately. It’s been… hard.”

  Adam chuckled. “Here I am, seeing you again after so long, after you vanished into your fantasy world, and the first thing we talk about is your addiction. I apologize.”

  I pulled him into a hug—because I was a hugger now. “No problem. I really messed up. Even more than—” I stopped myself. “I mean, nice to see ya!”

  “You’re a big player now, sis,” he said, a spark in his eyes. “You’ve completely turned your life around. And in record time. It was just a few months ago you ruined—nah, I’m being negative again. Tell me—”

  Before I could answer, Lena whipped two 3D-printed flame props from her bag and shouted, “Tramar special! Double fireballs!”

  She sprinted forward, holding one flame in each hand like twin comets, and slammed them against our feet with a loud whap, making her own explosion sound effects with enthusiastic “BOOOF!”.

  I let Adam go, but he was ignoring his daughter. “Oh no!” I played along, hopping back on one leg and looking around dramatically. “Who dares?! I’m the Queen!”

  Lena laughed, darting in again with only one flame this time, silent except for the rapid patter of her sneakers. Before she could hit me, I spun with an exaggerated flourish. “Ice wall!”

  And because I couldn’t actually use ice magic here, I scooped her up instead, both of us laughing.

  “I see you like Lisa now, not your Auntie?” I ruffled her curls and gave her a quick spin before setting her back on her feet.

  She actually nodded, utterly unbothered. “Fireeeeeeeeeeee!” She grabbed her twin flames again and waved them in wild arcs like she was conducting a very aggressive orchestra.

  “Awwwwh!” Lisa swooped in, wrapping both me and Lena in a hug. “Look, I have an apprentice!”

  “Rebel Fire!!!” Lena wriggled free from me and leapt into Lisa’s arms. “You’re so badassss! You beat Baldie!”

  Dmitry scoffed. “Who taught you that?”

  Lena gasped dramatically, hugging Lisa tighter. “Lunaris! Bad guy!”

  I bit my lip to stop a laugh and retreated to sit beside Yuki, who was watching Lisa’s performance with an amused, almost conspiratorial smile.

  “Lena!” Adam tried to call her over, but she ignored him entirely, so he sighed and sat beside us. “I’m sorry…”

  “Oh honey, he’s more than that!” Lisa stage-whispered, earning Lena’s total attention. “He’s… a CEO!”

  Lena nodded gravely, as if that explained every terrible thing Dmitry had ever done.

  “And we will get hiiiim!” Lisa declared, spinning Lena toward the target. Both of them charged, Lisa with a grin sharp enough to cut glass, Lena with her 3D-printed flames held high, straight at Dmitry.

  He didn’t move until they were almost on him. Then, with the air of a man dodging an overly friendly dog, he took one smooth sidestep, hands clasped behind his back. “Ah. So this is the hostile takeover I’ve heard about.”

  If you come across this story on Amazon, it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.

  Lisa cackled, Lena tried to swipe at his legs anyway, and Dmitry added, “Your boardroom tactics need work.”

  At that moment, my little strike team finally arrived. Perfect timing… like they’d been waiting for the cue in my head. “Lisa!” I called out over the crowd, raising a hand to flag her. “Sorry, Lena, grown-up stuff now. We need the Rebel here.”

  “Awwwh, not yeeeeet!” Lena whined, drawing out the word so dramatically you’d think I’d just canceled her birthday.

  Before I could respond, Adam swooped in with the classic dad move, both arms around her middle, hoist, pivot, but before he could make the getaway, Lena swung one of her 3D-printed fireballs into his face with the accuracy of a trained assassin.

  The hollow thunk was followed by her gleeful “Direct hit!” while Adam’s sigh said, I walked into that one.

  I smirked and turned to the people who could actually complete quests without adult supervision. Lisa, Fty, and NightSwallow stood ready, and Frozna brought up the rear, holding Tobi like he was a fragile relic instead of a winged ball of mischief.

  “Thanks for coming,” I said, getting a round of greetings in return. My eyes landed on Yuki, hovering at the edge of the group with the nervous poise of someone afraid they were about to be told to leave. “So. This is Yuki. She’s found something interesting. Dungeon far away?”

  Her face lit up. “It is! But since we’re all on the ship anyway…” She glanced over toward Lucy, who was holding court among a knot of guests, the sound of her laughter cutting clean through the general VIP buzz. “Kingdom first, I understand,” Yuki almost whispered.

  I nodded and swept my gaze back over my people. “Long story short… she’s after a sword. Not just any sword. Lithorien. Ask her about it and she’ll happily bury you under every historical footnote it’s ever had.”

  Yuki’s eyes went wide. She bobbed her head, already leaning forward like she was about to recite the entire oral history of the blade starting from the creation of steel.

  “So,” I continued quickly, “I’m thinking that after we take Altandai—because we will take Altandai—I’ll give you all the quest to coordinate with Yuki and help her get it.”

  She blinked at me, caught halfway between joy and disbelief. I straightened, letting my best imitation of Mom’s Queen Voice settle into place. “But it won’t be for free, Yuki.”

  Her shoulders slumped instantly. “I’m not rich…” she murmured, so quietly I almost missed it.

  Behind her, NightSwallow muttered something to Frozna. Tobi squawked, flapping once in protest before Frozna calmly switched him to her other arm like it was all part of the plan.

  “You misunderstand,” I said, my tone softening. “The quests I give aren’t free. And neither is the time of these people.”

  “I’ll do it for free!” Lisa declared, pulling Yuki into a hug that, for her it qualified as gentle unlike me or Lunaris. Fty nodded, leaning casually on a table.

  “Let me finish, please…” I managed not to sigh. Charlie. Don’t be a prick to people. “What I mean is, all I want from Yuki is for her to join our Kingdom as our official historian.”

  Her head popped up like I’d just offered her a lifetime supply of whatever sugar kept her running. “Magic Historian Yuki,” I added, sealing the deal.

  “Yes!” she shouted. “You see, in the Kingdom of Vaelthar, have you heard of it? They had an official historian who chronicled everything, but not just boring facts. He invented fake narrators, like characters in a play, to tell the stories! And the sword? In one of them was this ridiculous drunk goose who—”

  “Yes, Yuki. Exactly like that,” I cut in before she could give us an entire act from The Tragedy of Goose the Wise. “But first we check with the others.”

  “I go!” Lisa blurted and took off like she’d just been given an urgent assassination target.

  “It wasn’t all…” I muttered, but she was already halfway to Lena, who was busy waving her fireballs like a semaphore operator on caffeine.

  Frozna adjusted Tobi again, her gaze sweeping over the group. “I’m in,” she said plainly, “but why us?”

  Fty nodded in agreement. “Yeah. I want to go. But why pick us specifically?”

  “Because I trust you,” I said, “and because you’re the best at what you do. After Altandai, we move fast to our territory and establish the city of Rimebreak. That’s going to be a lull for you… until Count Itzel stirs up trouble, which he will, a few weeks in. So instead of sitting around getting bored, I’d rather have you doing something that matters.”

  NightSwallow gave a low whistle. “Damn, Queen. You think so far ahead it’s scary. No wonder you’ve got a crown on Earth and here.”

  “I’m not—”

  “Glory to the Queen!” Frozna suddenly roared.

  Half the VIP section picked it up immediately. Lena, of course, was the loudest, jumping like a pogo stick in a flame mage cosplay, her curls bouncing with each shout. The chant rolled through the chamber, powered by wine, loyalty, and a touch of mob mentality.

  Lisa, because she couldn’t resist, sent her drones spiraling upward, releasing holographic snow that drifted down like we were inside a snow globe. The banners above us snapped in the artificial wind, the crest catching the light like a staged photo shoot.

  I didn’t have to glance at Yuki to know she was loving every second of this. She was practically glowing.

  “Alright,” I said once the chanting tapered off enough for my voice to be heard. “That’s settled. After Altandai, we help Yuki get her shiny murder stick.”

  “Murder stick!” Lena shouted from across the room.

  “Don’t teach her that,” Adam groaned.

  Lisa just grinned, ruffling Lena’s hair. “Oh, she’s already learning. Next lesson: ‘Rebel Fire Special.’”

  “Lisa,” I warned, pointing at her like I had any authority over whatever chaos she was about to teach my pseudo-niece.

  “What? You can’t stop the revolution,” she called back, already spinning Lena toward the snack table. “First we feed the troops, then we overthrow the oppressors! Ask Mister Riker!”

  Mister Riker? Damn… of course she knows him.

  Yuki giggled like this was all part of some whimsical court tradition.

  After that, duty called. I had to put on my “good host” smile and do the rounds, making polite talk with every VIP, noble, and half-drunk player Lola discreetly pointed me toward. Apparently, for one reason or another, I was needed everywhere.

  The party rolled on until three in the morning, though to me it felt like three centuries.

  Naturally, Roberto and the rest of the bar crew managed to get gloriously drunk. At some point they discovered a bowl that was kind of rounded like bowling ball—don’t ask me from where, I didn’t want to know—and declared it the crown jewel of improvised bowling. Lisa jumped right in. She smoothed the bowl into a proper “ball” with her tools, then used drones to hold chairs on thin ropes as makeshift pins.

  Within minutes, the heart of the throne room had turned into a fully functional bowling alley.

  When Lucy spotted this madness, she grabbed a microphone like it was her objective all along. Of course she already had her tenth beer.

  She provided a running commentary so dramatic it could’ve made the Imperial Navy weep. Her booming narration turned the game into a gladiatorial event. Soon, the entire room was holding its collective breath as Isabel, Roberto’s sister and, crucially, the only one player still sober, lined up her shot. With a flick of the wrist, she rolled the ball straight down the aisle.

  Strike.

  The room erupted like we’d just won the World Cup. Isabel, cheeks pink but grinning, was hoisted onto shoulders and carried to my throne. Lucy declared her the Bowling Princess of Rimebreak and performed a very solemn coronation using a half-empty champagne glass as the royal scepter.

  Even I couldn’t help but laugh.

  Later, when I finally crawled into bed, my feet aching and my ears still ringing with chants, I thought… this might just work. Rimebreak wasn’t perfect, but it was ours.

  Tomorrow I’d draw demon circles. Tonight, I had a meditation waiting, as promised to mom.

  Patreon

  Discord! Do you want to join ranks of Scamantha, Lunaris or Llama and have your own reader character? Patreons have the first pick, but if they don't want I ask on so come and chat about your favorite exploit or what would you like to see. Is there enough Gatei, or Lucas? No? Want more Irwen? Tell us on discord and future may be changed! :)