Phaedra took a slow, deep breath. She could do this. She WOULD do this. “How do I look?”

  “Miserable,” Yroth said with a light snort.

  Phaedra sighed before glancing down to Emma. “Okay, how do you think I look?”

  “Radiant, Lady Phaedra,” the mouse said quickly.

  For a moment, Phaedra felt proud. At least one person thought she looked good. Then she paused and glanced down at herself. Her fleece was all sweaty, matted and dusty. How she wished she could take another cooling bath. Even she had to admit she looked anything but radiant. “I won’t punish you for telling me the truth,” Phaedra said.

  “Err…” Emma said before glancing up.

  Yroth was still in her dragon form, just barely small enough to fit through the door of the throne room. Honestly, Phaedra was just grateful Yroth had let her put the collar back on. The mouse was currently being held between the dragon’s claws, obviously nervous about the whole thing. “She means it,” Yroth said. “Despite how insane it may sound.”

  “Then I would have to agree with the Ascended Dragon,” Emma said nervously.

  Phaedra gave a light groan. “This is your fault, you know,” she said before giving an accusing look at Yroth. “You just haaaaaad to live in somewhere all hot and muggy.”

  “There are places within my territory that are not so heated,” she said. “It was Carth, not I, who moved that throne here. Mine would have been even worse,” Yroth said with an amused smirk.

  A resounding thumping on the door made Phaedra sigh. It seemed that some of them had finally worked up the courage to face her. Yroth towering over everything and then tearing apart Carth wasn’t exactly something she could hide. Not to mention the territory was hers now, every demon in it could probably feel that she owned it. After her victory the keep had seemed all but abandoned for so long, she’d begun to wonder if they were just going to accept her rule without question.

  But they were going to want answers. And that meant facing her. It also meant she had to pretend to be strong and powerful when she just wanted to collapse on the ground and pant from the heat. A part of her wanted to ask Emma to start fanning her, but she wasn’t sure the mouse was handling this heat much better than her. Not to mention she wasn’t sure hot, humid air was any worse than slightly moving hot, humid air.

  Phaedra waited, but the door didn’t open. Finally, after her frustration grew enough, she called out. “Come in!” Within a few moments, the door swung open and nearly a dozen demons came barging into the room. She made herself sit as tall as she could on Carth’s throne, staring down at the approaching figures. None of them were her crew. She wondered if that was good or bad.

  The demons approaching her glanced between her and Yroth for a moment before their approach began to slow.

  She began to lightly tap her fingers on the armrest, wishing they’d hurry it up. Maybe letting them make the first move was a mistake. Perhaps she should have gone to them, rather than letting them come to her. Finally, one of them stepped forward ahead of the pack. “Where is Lord Carth?”

  “Well, bits of him are in the courtyard,” Phaedra said dismissively. “Most of him is now, technically, over there,” she said before motioning to Yroth.

  “Is the dragon--”

  “Do you intend to challenge me?” Phaedra asked before she could stop herself. It was too hot, she was too exhausted and she felt like she was going to snap if she let them delay any longer.

  “W-what?” the demon asked.

  “Carth is dead, I have laid claim to this territory through the Rite of Conquest,” Phaedra said. “You’re here, so I can only take this to mean one of three things. You don’t understand that this is my territory now, you wish to challenge me for my position or you’re seeking revenge. So I ask again. Are you challenging me?”

  At the very least, they looked even more disoriented now. She waited a few moments before sighing. “Spread the word through all of Carth’s forces. The throne shall be moved. I’ll be looking through my territory soon to decide where to. I will accept any challengers who desire to try and take these lands before then. After that they will need to earn the right.” She got to her hooves. “But ensure any who do so understand it will be a fight to the death. This territory is now mine and I have no time, nor patience, for those who wish to oppose my rule.” She began to walk down the stairs towards the demons. Slowly, a smile formed on her lips when she took the final step and continued to walk towards the demons. All of them were taller than her. Larger than her. Yet they looked afraid. She wondered if it was because she wasn’t scared or if it was because of Yroth. Likely the latter, she doubted she made much of an imposing view as disheveled as she was.

  “And you may spread the word of my current condition. I do not enjoy this sweltering heat. There would be no better time to make a strike for this territory. But anyone who desires to take my territory, and yet is too cowardly to strike out at me when I am at my most vulnerable? Is not worth my time,” Phaedra said before coming to a stop directly in front of the demon.

  For a moment she wondered if he was going to lash out. He was staring down at her, possibly measuring if he could take her. She wondered if he could, too. She hadn’t even known how she’d fare against Carth if he hadn’t made his mistake. So long as his lackeys were weaker than him, physically, she could probably handle any challenges that came.

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  But she admittedly knew very little about his forces or how strong they were. It wasn’t uncommon for demons to have servants who were technically more powerful than them.

  She at least had the advantage that, while they had seen Yroth fight, they hadn’t seen her. What she was capable of was still an unknown, even if she was a sheep. Not to mention she doubted many of them wanted to risk actually killing her and earning the ire of her father.

  “Well?” Phaedra asked. “If there’s nothing else, go and spread the word. This territory is now mine and will remain as such until someone manages to overpower me.”

  She watched them leave, heard them mutter amongst themselves, before shutting the door.

  Phaedra groaned and muttered a quick incantation, sealing the door behind them. She then walked over towards Yroth and reached up, unlatching the collar and dropping it onto the ground with a clatter.

  “What?” the dragon asked.

  “Hooooooooot,” Phaedra whined before just collapsing against her and kind of sliding down to the ground. She gave a soft distressed bleat. “It’s too hoooooooot. I can’t do these thiiiiiiings in this heeeeeeeeat.”

  “How are you so sweaty?” Yroth asked before giving a disgusted grunt. The dragon reached out a claw to nudge her away, but she ignored it. “You’re all sticky.”

  “It’s hooooooot,” Phaedra whined again. “Make it not hot.”

  “The death toll to both your people and mine would be exorbitant,” Yroth said. “Does the necklace not help?”

  “Not enough,” Phaedra said. “I can eat a fireball to the face, but there’s a huge difference between getting hit by a ten second ball of fire and a constant, never ending wave of humidity and misery. Can you ice breath me again? Pleeeeeease?”

  Yroth sighed and picked her up by her fleece, lifting her into the air. “How are you… anything? Little sheep?”

  “You people keep making me,” Phaedra said, not even trying to resist her. A moment later icy cold air flowed over her and, while it hurt, it felt far, far nicer in comparison. She even shook for a few moments before letting out a content sigh. “B-better. T-thanks.”

  “That has to hurt,” Yroth said softly. “More than the heat.”

  “It’s less miserable,” Phaedra said. A moment later she was put on the ground again and she stretched out, causing a small icicle to fall from her wool. “Okay. You know this territory best; where should we move the throne?”

  Yroth gave a sigh before nudging her head towards Emma. “Don’t you think we should deal with her, first?”

  “Deal with her?” Phaedra asked.

  Emma gulped and started to inch away, but Yroth shifted a claw around behind her, stopping her escape.

  “She’s obviously aware something is going on,” Yroth said coldly. “Did you not desire to hide this from your father?”

  “Ohhhhh. She’s not going to tell anyone,” Phaedra said with a shrug. “And even if she told something, they’d… probably… report back to my father and… oh. Huh. Wait!” she said quickly when Yroth turned to look at the mouse. “Just because she COULD do that doesn’t mean she would!”

  “She is an insignificant mouse,” Yroth said with a growl, lowering her head to look at the cowering demon. “We should be done with her. She--”

  “Hasn’t done anything wrong,” Phaedra said.

  “She attempted to have me betray you,” Yroth said. “Said that I would be freed, should I aid in your defeat to that fox.”

  “When Carth had her under his command,” Phaedra said before she started to walk around the claws. She hopped over them to stand in front of Emma before bending down to scoop her up. She then looked up at Yroth. “No means no. We’re not hurting the cute little mouse demon.”

  Yroth growled, her eyes narrowed. “You can’t be serious. And if things go poorly thanks to her?”

  Phaedra sighed and gave the little mouse a small squeeze. “If she betrays us, I’ll let you kill her. Or I will, it doesn’t really matter.” She could feel the mouse tense up, but she just smiled. “But until then, I’m going to give her the same trust I would any of my subjects.” She then looked down. “You’re not going to tell anyone that you saw Yroth let me put her collar back on, now are you?”

  “I-I saw nothing of the sort,” Emma said softly, the mouse lightly shaking.

  “See?” Phaedra said.

  Yroth growled, a little smoke billowing from her nose.

  “If I was the kind of person who would kill her over this,” Phaedra said, “we wouldn’t be here right now. You wouldn’t be alive right now.”

  Yroth hesitated for a few moments before giving a sigh. “Very well, soft little sheep.” She began to shrink once more, rising up onto two feet again before taking the form of a kobold. Even like this she still towered over both of them. “You have kept your word.” She reached out with her foot and nudged the disconnected collar. “Mostly. Mouse, if you ever think to betray the sheep or myself, know I will ensure that even if I perish, you will as well. Are we clear?”

  “Y-yes, Lady Ascended Dragon,” Emma said softly.

  Phaedra gave a chuckle before slowly placing the mouse down. “Don’t worry about it. She’s always just a bit… grouchy and murdery. She’s a real big softy once you get to know her.”

  “Truly?” Emma asked.

  “No, not really,” Phaedra said with a soft, exhausted sigh. “But she gets less murdery. And breaks less of my things. But so long as you’re well-behaved, she won’t hurt you. Promise.”

  “I… I see, thank you, Lady Phaedra,” Emma said, clutching her little hands in front of herself and bowing.

  It took all Phaedra had to resist the urge to hug her. Once she was somewhere where she felt less sweaty, she’d need to figure out how exactly she knew to make a maid outfit like that. She wondered if there were more things like that?

  Had the elves hidden them from her? Ohhhhh. As if she didn’t have enough reasons to be mad at them.

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