Demon Queened - Remastered - Chapter 8 - The Talk

I stared at the horned wolf girl in my bed, hardly able to believe my own eyes. My mind was reeling with the implications—had the wolves I fought actually been demons?

…No, I was sure they hadn’t been. While there were varieties of demons who could transform, I was… fairly certain that they reverted to demonoid forms after death. In fact, I was willing to bet that sleep was what undid Bailey’s own transformation.

Why hadn’t she transformed earlier, though? Why hadn’t she even tried to communicate her true nature? What was a demon even doing living in the outside world among a pack of monsters? I had endless questions and only one recourse if I wished to find any answers. I reached out to grip Bailey’s shoulder, gently shaking the wolf girl awake.

“Bailey?” I called out. “Or… I suppose that wouldn’t be your real name, would it?”

‘Bailey’ stirred with my touch, blinking the sleep from her dark brown eyes as she woke. When she saw me sitting next to her she went rigid for a moment, then let out a loud yelp and scrambled across the mattress on her hands and knees. Before I even had time to react, she pressed herself flat against the floor as if supplicating herself before me.

I lifted my hand toward her, then let it drop when she whimpered.

“Bailey…” I knew that wasn’t her real name, but I couldn’t bring myself to refer to her as ‘wolf girl’ or some such. “I’m not going to harm you. I thought you’d realized that by now.”

Bailey didn’t respond verbally, but some of the fear seemed to leave her features as I spoke. She lifted her head up from the ground and looked into my eyes. I got the feeling that she was searching for something, though I couldn’t say what. Whatever she found seemed to make her happy, as her drooping tail shifted into an energetic wag.

“Bailey,” I began again, moving toward the foot of the bed. “You need you to talk to me. What were you doing in the outside world? Why were you among those wolves?” I stood, walking around the bed to reach Bailey before crouching down beside her. Reaching out, I took one of her hands in mine and looked her directly in the eyes. “Who are you, Bailey?”

She responded by licking my nose.

I pulled away in surprise, almost falling backwards before catching myself. Bailey watched, her mouth hanging open, with a surprisingly long tongue sticking out the side of her mouth. There was a look of amusement in her eyes, but she didn’t laugh or smile. She just watched me.

“…You don’t know how to talk, do you?” I accused, pushing myself back into a kneeling position. “Just how long were you living among those wolves? Your whole life?”

Bailey stared at me blankly, not giving anything away, but the gears kept turning in my head. Bailey, a demon, had been living among monsters. Members of her own base species no less. Was that why they had taken her in? But then how had she ended up with them to begin with? Where were her parents? Was there a chance they were in the Tower?

I didn’t think so. In fact, I was fairly certain we didn’t have any horned wolf girls. Not that I could be certain—it wasn’t as if I’d memorized every type of demon, after all—but I’d certainly never seen a member of her species before.

“I’m going to have to make an appointment with Sylvanna, aren’t I?” I muttered to myself, grimacing. Well, I would have had to meet with her eventually anyhow, if I wanted to introduce potatoes to my people’s diet. Nothing major happened in the Tower without her input, after all.

Perhaps sensing my apprehension, Bailey leaned forward and gave my face another lick.

“That was cuter when I thought you were just a wolf,” I grumbled. Despite my words, I couldn’t help the faint smile that crept across my lips. Bailey responded by licking my cheek yet again, wagging her tail all the while.

“Alright, alright already!” I grumbled, choosing to rise before she could give a repeat performance. Bailey tried to copy me, to my surprise. She managed to get all the way upright, but her legs began to wobble unsteadily. I grabbed hold of her shoulders, pulling her against myself before she could fall.

It was pure misfortune that Abigail chose that moment to open the door.

“…Devilla?”

“I can explain,” I promised. “Or… Well, no, I can’t really explain it at all, but there’s a very good reason that I’m holding this naked woman upright.”

“I don’t need excuses,” Abigail replied. “It’s not like I actually care who you’re having sex with. Just… maybe leave a message with one of the other maids if you’re going to have an overnight guest? It would have been pretty awkward if I’d interrupted you right before you could orgasm, or something.”

“That’s not what’s going on!” My protest was somewhat undercut, however, by Bailey choosing that moment to lick my ear.

“I’ll just leave you to it,” Abigail said, not bothering to hide her amused smile as she turned toward the door.

“By the Fallen, Abigail, I’m telling you it’s not what you think! This is Bailey. The horned wolf I brought home yesterday? Remember?”

“The…” Abigail turned back around, her pitch black eyes wide open. “Holy hell, Devilla, what did you do to turn a monster into a demon”

“I did nothing of the sort!” I protested. “She transformed all on her own. I can only imagine that she’s a demon who got separated from her parents and taken in by a pack of true horned wolves.”

“That’s impossible,” Abigail countered. “Monsters hate their monster girl counterparts.”

“But she was with a pack,” I insisted. Although they had treated her rather cruelly, come to think of it. Was that why she’d hidden her demonoid form from me? Because she thought I would treat her as they had? That still left the question of why she’d risked me seeing her in this form. Surely she knew what would happen when she went to sleep next to me. Had she simply been that desperate for contact? Or did it have something to do with me being demonoid too? I desperately wished that Bailey could just talk to me.

“And then there’s problem two,” Abigail continued, shifting her gaze from me to Bailey. “I didn’t really think much of it at first, but… Devilla, I’ve never even heard of a horned wolf girl before.”

“Neither have I,” I admitted, turning my attention to the girl in my arms. She looked up at me in turn, her eyes wide and innocent. It was hard to believe that she’d kept the company of wild animals until just the day before. “I thought perhaps it was simply a gap in my education… Yet, if there’s no such thing as a horned wolf girl, how in the world did we end up with one? And how did she end up running with a pack of monsters?”

Bailey let out a soft whimper, lightly pawing at my chest. Her eyes seemed to be pleading with me for… something.

“I don’t know what you want,” I complained. “I don’t speak wolf. And you don’t speak Sollian.”

“I think she wants down,” Abigail suggested, pointing at Bailey’s legs. They were shaking fiercely, making it obvious that only my grip on her shoulders was keeping her upright.

“Ah… my apologies,” I said, carefully lowering her to the ground. She immediately moved to crouch beside me, knees spread wide and hands pressed into the floor in front of her. Her mouth was open once more, and her tongue was again sticking out from it. Her tail was wagging happily behind her, showing off clear excitement.

As for me, I immediately went to sit down on the bed, magically fetching my heels and hoping that Abigail had been too distracted by the horned wolf girl to get a good look at my comparative height.

“Horned wolves are probably pack creatures, right?” Abigail asked me, crouching down in front of Bailey to take a closer look at her.

The wolf girl snarled in response to Abigail’s attention, pulling her lips back and baring her teeth.

“Stop that,” I commanded in the firmest tone I could manage. I worried that making demands would simply make me sound like a spoiled brat, but Bailey at least seemed to respond to it. She stopped growling and turned her head toward me.

“Yes, they’re pack monsters,” I confirmed once I was certain that Bailey would behave. “What of it?”

“Well, I don’t know if it’s the case with horned wolf girls, but a lot of the pack-type monster girls can communicate telepathically. If Bailey has something like that, then maybe you can tap into it and ask her some questions?”

“That’s possible?” I asked, surprised.

“I’ve done it before,” Abigail informed me. “Back when I was dating a werewolf. It took a lot of magic, so I could only maintain it for a few seconds, but… something tells me that’s not going to be a problem for you.”

“If all it takes is power, then no, it shouldn’t be an issue,” I agreed, looking down at Bailey. She tilted her head to match my gaze. Was it really possible to know what laid on the other side of those brown eyes?

“It also takes trust,” Abigail continued. “They have to be willing to connect with you. I think it’s pretty safe to say she’s receptive to you, at the very least. She certainly seems to like you more than me anyway.”

“I’m not entirely sure why,” I confessed with a shake of my head. “I killed the rest of her pack and almost took her life as well. She has every right to hate me, yet she went so far as to put herself in harm’s way when she thought I was endangered…”

“Maybe you’re just not as hateable as you think you are,” Abigail suggested. “I mean, compared to how you were before, you’re as sweet as sugar these days.”

“Your attempt to cheer me on is appreciated, but I’ve already decided to stop lying to myself.” My lips formed a smile, but it likely never reached my eyes. “I’m nothing more than a spoiled Princess turned Queen. There’s certainly nothing about me that could inspire such loyalty as she’s shown.”

“Okay, there’s a lot I want to say to that, but how about we start with you constantly assuming you know how other people feel‽ You just take it for granted that we all hate you, and that we always will.”

“It’s hardly an assumption,” I protested, trying not to flinch under the force of Abigail’s glare. “Even before I gained memories of my past life, I knew how my people viewed me. I simply pretended not to care.”

“But you’re different now,” Abigail insisted. “Maybe if you actually let more people get to know you, things can change.”

“…It’s a tempting thought,” I confessed with a sad shake of my head. “But it’s impossible. The way I acted, the things I did—the things I failed to do, as your ruler… None of it goes away just because I’ve changed. What’s done is done, and nothing I do will ever wipe it away.”

“You don’t need to erase the past to make room for your future, Devilla! And even if you did, even if everything you’ve said was actually true, none of it has a damn thing to do with Bailey. She never even knew the old you!”

“No,” I conceded, turning my attention back to Bailey. She had hardly moved during the conversation, only moving her head back and forth to follow our voices. “Bailey doesn’t know who I used to be. She only knows me as I am—as the one who killed her family. I don’t understand how she could like me, regardless.”

“Then ask her.” Abigail’s voice was soft, yet I could hear the note of desperation in her voice—and the exasperation, as well. “Stop acting like you know how everyone feels, and ask.”

I stared at Abigail for a long moment, before again shifting my attention to Bailey. Kneeling down beside the horned wolf girl, I looked her squarely in the eyes. Perhaps sensing the seriousness of my gaze, Bailey chose not to lick me. For once.

“I’m going to try and communicate with you now,” I declared. It felt a little ridiculous speaking out loud when the whole reason for this was that Bailey and I couldn’t understand one another. Still, it felt somehow proper to express my intent. It was the least I could do before forcing my way into a bond meant only for her pack. 

Bailey’s only response was to tilt her head to one side.

“How do I do this?” I asked Abigail. I kept my eyes on Bailey as I spoke, wanting to establish as much of a connection as possible. Perhaps it was the right choice, for Bailey’s tail soon began to wag from the attention.

“How do you… Devilla, how do you not know this?” Abigail demanded. When I turned my gaze to her, she had her hands on her hips and a judgmental look in her eyes. Or at least I thought it was judgemental? The pure black eyes made it difficult to tell, as always, but I certainly felt judged beneath her gaze.

“I didn’t pay much attention to my lessons,” I admitted, a little embarrassed. “Not past the age of seven, at least. I got it into my head that the Rite of Insight would teach me everything I needed to know…”

“Did you skip out on learning how to use your brain too?” Abigail chastised, clearly exasperated. I couldn’t be sure, but I thought she might even be rolling her eyes at me.

“If you’re quite done poking fun at the holes in my knowledge, I’d very much appreciate an actual answer,” I grumbled. Honestly, I had no one but myself to blame for those gaps, and I knew it, but that didn’t mean that I enjoyed having it rubbed in my face.

“Fine, fine… I guess it makes sense you haven’t really devoted much thought to it, considering how little sex you’ve had but… seriously? Nobody ever had ‘the talk’ with you?”

“‘The talk’?” I asked, frowning.

“You know, about what happens when you eat another girl out?”

“…Are you suggesting I… with Bailey?” I asked, scandalized. “She can’t even understand our language! I’m not going to just… I mean, there’s not even a way to get her consent, so…”

“Of course not!” Abigail sighed. “Eating people out is just the context it normally comes up in first… You don’t actually need to sleep with someone to use their abilities, though. Swallowing a hair will work just as well as sexual fluids.”

I stared at Abigail, mouth ajar and eyes wide. I lifted a finger, then let it drop limply to my side. “Sorry… can we start over from the top? I think I’m missing something crucial…”

“About having sex?” Abigail asked. “Or copying abilities?”

“It’s the combination of the two I’m having trouble with. Are you seriously saying that eating someone out will let me copy their wild magic?”

“Only for monster girls,” Abigail clarified. “But yeah, it’s basically the same as taking a potion. Exactly the same, actually—it’s just, instead of bits of magical plants or monsters,  you’re swallowing part of a monster girl and channeling your magic through that. Did you seriously never get this talk from your…”

“Parents?” I finished for her. “They never had the opportunity.” My dam died in battle long before my birth, with my mother following in her wake mere hours after having me.

“Sorry,” Abigail murmured, looking down at the ground.

“It’s fine,” I assured her. “I’m just… glad to know, I suppose.” In truth, I was still trying to wrap my head around the fact that I could apparently copy someone’s magic just by sleeping with them. It did make sense though, thinking upon it. As Abigail had stated, potions worked in much the same way—by turning magical plants or monster parts into something consumable, one could temporarily access the natural abilities of a magical organism—their wild magic, in other words. 

Every species of demon—whether they be true demons, monster girls, or even fallen angels like myself—could wield these abilities, which straddled the line between holy and arcane magic. From the dryad’s ability to produce seeds and grow plants, to the succubus’s ability to fly and feed off lust, or even Bailey’s theoretical telepathy, we all had something in our repertoire: a power that went beyond what arcane magic could normally produce, despite using the same energy source as our spells. It made sense that monster girls could share abilities in much the same way monsters could—though I wasn’t entirely sure why true demons and fallen angels couldn’t. Perhaps because we weren’t truly native to Solla? We did trace our ancestry back to Hell and Heaven respectively, after all.

“Well, new discoveries aside, I’m just glad to have a way to converse with Bailey,” I declared after a moment, glancing down at the horned wolf girl. She looked up at me, her eyes wide and her tongue lolling out of her mouth. I chuckled, then reached out to grab a couple strands of her hair. I didn’t pull them out, but instead used a tightly compressed blade of air to slice through the strands.

“…This is most definitely going to get caught in my throat, isn’t it?” I complained, staring at the hairs clinging to my fingers. I could understand why most people took the time to turn magical ingredients into proper potions now, but I didn’t want to keep Bailey waiting. Instead, I pulled a tiny bit of water from the atmosphere, balling the hairs up and inserting them into the center of the liquid. Then I shaped the water into a small marble and froze it. With that, I only had to pop the ice into my mouth and swallow.

“…Did it work?” Abigail asked after a moment, staring at me intently.

“I’m not sure yet…” I replied. Since I'd never done this before, I wasn’t sure what to expect. Would it come to me as a sudden instinct? Would I feel some strange sensation? After a minute passed without any noticeable signs, I started to worry. “Perhaps I’m doing something wrong?”

“It’s a little hard to get right the first time,” Abigail told me. “Try closing your eyes and feeling for something inside you that doesn’t belong.”

I shut my eyes as instructed, though I felt a little silly for doing it. Searching inside me for something that didn’t belong? I wasn’t even sure what that meant. After a moment’s thought, though, I decided to reach for the magic circulating within me.

I felt the warmth of my power, and—in much the same way I’d done when healing Abigail and Bailey—I began to run it through my entire being, giving myself an intuitive understanding of my own body. Like this, I was aware of every cell of my being—including something that most definitely did not belong inside of me.

It’s hard to explain exactly what I felt; it was like there was something embedded within my being. It wasn’t entirely unpleasant. It was warm, like my own magic, and if I wasn’t actively looking for it I might not have found it at all. It was like… like finding a grain of sand embedded within a diamond. It was ultimately a bit of rock, made from the same base element as the gem surrounding it, but it was most definitely not the same as what encompassed it.

“I think I’ve got it,” I declared, grinning. “Though there’s actually… three of them?”

“She must have multiple abilities,” Abigail explained. “Hopefully one of them’s telepathy, but the only real way to find out is to run your magic through it. She’ll probably sound pretty distant if it works—my ex always did.”

“Understood.” I did as Abigail bid, channeling my magic through one of the new foreign imprints I had found within me. As the arcane energy flowed through me, it began to take on a form of wild magic that I never could have cast under normal circumstances. It was a little thrilling—but there was actually something about the process that I found peculiar.

When I’d consumed Bailey’s hairs, I’d more or less absorbed a tiny bit of her essence. I understood now that running my magic through that essence, instead of my own, was what would allow me to duplicate the effects of her wild magic, at least to a limited degree. The strange thing was, the essence itself did not feel arcane to me in nature, but rather divine.

Of course, that isn’t to say that her wild magic was actually holy in nature. In the mortal realm, only the Heroine and I could wield that, and even then the Heroine could only channel it, requiring an angel to actually provide it to her. What I was feeling was decidedly different than that. It was more like a great power had passed through the core of Bailey’s being, leaving an indelible mark in its wake.

Was that why wild magic could do what normal spells could not, despite using the same base energy? Was it really just arcane magic, shaped and empowered by this divine residue? And if so, was it perhaps possible to use the holy magic within me to achieve the same effect? I couldn’t channel holy magic into the world without knowing the right words, but perhaps if I used it internally I could instead convert my arcane energy into wild magic.

I wanted to experiment, but not with Bailey. This was magic to connect our minds, after all; if I tried homebrewing it, there was no telling what the effects might be. I’d have to experiment with different potions at a later date.

For now, I pulled back on my magic and channeled it through the second node I’d discovered. Although it worked in much the same way, it gave a very different result—not only in the shape the magic took, but in the feeling it gave off. The first time I’d done it, it had generated a sense of closeness, familiarity, and belonging. This time, it felt more aggressive—destructive, even. Perhaps this was the power found within her horn? I’d have to test it out later. For now, I turned my attention back to the first imprint. Judging by the feeling it put off, it was likely the telepathy I was after, with the third untested imprint probably being what allowed her to shift forms.

“Now what?”

“Just press your magic against her head. If she lets you in, you’ll know.”

I nodded, doing as Abigail suggested, and allowing the tendril of magic I’d pushed into the imprint to leave my body and stretch towards Bailey’s skull. Immediately, I felt something pressing back; another magic, probing mine. I didn’t push back, instead choosing to wait. After a moment, I felt a faint spark of energy running through my tendril of power.

Bailey? I thought. Can you hear me?

The response was almost instantaneous—if fuzzy, at first, like Abigail had claimed it would be. It made sense, I suppose—the main failing of potions was how ineffective they were compared to using one’s own wild magic. I’d heard it could take ten times as much magic to get a tenth of the result. It was likely the reason Lucy had never even bothered making use of them in Tower Conquest—it took too much magic to do too little.

Then again, with my stores… well, what would happen if I simply poured more power into the connection? If it truly took ten times as much energy to produce a tenth of the results, then surely I just had to present a hundred times as much magic to make it work.

One moment I told Bailey, withdrawing my connection. I could feel her sadness over it as I left, if only distantly. It made me feel a touch guilty… but not nearly as guilty as I’d feel if I overwhelmed the connection and caused her actual physical harm.

Instead, within my own mind, I began to push more and more energy through the imprint. I was a little worried that there’d be some form of strain upon the magic, some instability in the results, but instead I felt the magic become more firm. Again I reached out towards Bailey, this time being met with an enthusiastic acceptance. Now, unlike before, I could feel what she was trying to convey quite clearly. It wasn’t actual words that flowed into my mind, but rather a mix of sensations, emotions, and raw concepts. I felt her joy at being able to communicate with me and her desire for more head pats. I could also sense a deep wish to serve me.

Why? I asked, trying to convey the feelings of ‘curiosity’ and ‘uncertainty.’ Of course I also gave her the head pats she was looking for, much to her apparent delight. I didn’t even need the magic to inform me of it, with the way her tail began to wag.

The actual response I got to my question, however, confused me. It was difficult to parse and even more difficult to respond to. What it came down to, in the end, was that Bailey’s image of me was simply too bizarre.

She saw me as strong. That was true. She saw me as a leader—not technically incorrect. She also saw me as a being of mercy and kindness, though, at least if I was interpreting her messages correctly. Her ‘word’ for mercy was a gentle, soothing sensation that chased away the pain, while kindness was conveyed through the pleasant feeling of a hand running through one’s hair.

I took out your whole pack, I reminded her, sending images of the battlefield and all that I had done.

She drew back a little, before firming up her stance and giving me the mental equivalent of a headshake. It was, according to her, the pack’s fault for attacking someone as strong as me. It was only natural, in her mind, that they had all been wiped out. A single mistake was all it took to end a life in the wild, after all. Therefore the fact that I’d spared even one of them showed my mercy. On top of that, I’d taken the time to heal and groom her. She wanted to serve the strong leader who’d shown her such kindness.

How did you even end up in that state, anyway? I wondered.

Bailey whimpered faintly in response, and I could feel her hesitation.

You don’t have to tell me, I informed her, not wanting to push into delicate matters.

Again she gave a mental shake of her head. Though I could feel her reluctance, there was also a determination within her as she gave her answer.

Apparently the other horned wolves hadn’t liked her very much. In fact, they’d abused her pretty heavily. They nipped at her whenever she took human form, forcing her to stay as a wolf. They wouldn’t let her sleep with them, because she always transformed in her sleep. They gave her only the barest scraps of food to eat, keeping her weak and dependent on the pack.

If they hated you so much, why did they even keep you around? The thought flashed through my mind, too quick to stop. I paled when I realized what I’d just transmitted, but Bailey didn’t seem to mind. She simply responded with an image of an older wolf.

Who is that?

That elicited a stream of heavy emotions. Love, anger, sadness, and grief. Then came the memories—a baby wolf, drinking from her mother’s teat. That same wolf, a little older now, hiding behind her mother’s legs as she growled at their leader. Her mother sleeping with that leader, and bearing more children. The loss of that mother to the stress of birthing.

Without a word, I wrapped my arms around Bailey and pressed her head against my chest. She stiffened in surprise for a moment, but then leaned into the hug.

Perhaps it was for the best that Bailey’s mother had left this world before I could take on the pack, but it was clear that Bailey still grieved her loss. It was a feeling I knew all too well.

Still, there was one question I absolutely had to ask.

“Your mother… she wasn’t like us, was she?” I spoke aloud for Abigail’s benefit, even as I conveyed the question to Bailey through our mental link. “She was a normal horned wolf?”

Abigail gasped, but I ignored her. My focus was entirely on Bailey. If my suspicions were true, it certainly answered my original question. She was with the horned wolves because she’d been born among them. That still left the question of how, though. While it was thought that monster girls might have originated from monsters, there weren’t really any written records of it—up until now, it had been nothing more than a theory.

“Nor… mal…” Bailey whispered.

My eyes went wide. Not at the agreement, which was coming in clear through our mental link, but at the word itself. It was likely the first such utterance Bailey had ever made: her very first word. From what I could sense, the wary look in her eyes was her trying to gauge my reaction.

“That’s right,” I confirmed, giving Bailey a gentle squeeze of encouragement. I smiled too, though I was careful not to show my teeth. I could only imagine that she’d interpret it as a wolf would—a sign of aggression. “Normal. Is that your first word?”

“Normal…” Bailey repeated, with increasing eagerness. “Normal. Normal! Normal!”

“Wait a second,” Abigail interjected, kneeling down beside me and Bailey. The wolf girl growled at Abigail again, but I stroked her hair and encouraged her to calm down. “Was that a yes? Her mother was really a monster?”

“It would seem so,” I affirmed. “Quite the discovery, if you think about it. Though I do wonder how it came about…” I shook my head, dismissing the thought. There were certainly demons who would love to study Bailey, but I had no intention of putting her through such scrutiny. Perhaps once she was able to speak for herself, and could establish proper boundaries, I would ask if she’d mind an examination. For now, it would have to remain an enigma.

“Oh well. I suppose it’s enough for now that we’ve settled the mystery. Who’s hungry for breakfast?”

Abigail stared at me, mouth slightly open, black eyes wide with disbelief. “Breakfast? You just proved the origin of all monster girls, and all you want to do is eat?”

“We don’t necessarily know that all monster girls arose from the same source,” I pointed out. “But yes. Unless you have a better idea, at least?”

I released Bailey as I spoke, standing upright. “I suppose we should have Bailey shift back into her wolf form for now. I’m really not looking forward to explaining the necessity of clothes to her…”

A thought on the subject was all it took. Instantly, fur began to sprout across Bailey's flesh and her body started to shift. Her mouth pressed out into a snout, her chest turned broad and cylindrical, and her legs began to shrink inwards as her fingers and toes melted into paws. Within moments I was staring not at a naked girl, but at a horned wolf.

“Aren’t you at least going to tell someone‽” Abigail demanded.

“I suppose I can tell Sylvanna when we next meet. Though I’m hoping to put that off for a while, now that I don’t have to ask after the possibility of a horned wolf population in the Tower…”

“Ah…” Abigail tensed with those words, letting slip a small noise before turning her head away from me.

“…Abigail… please tell me that reaction doesn’t mean what I think it does?”

“Well…” Abigail hesitated for a moment, before reluctantly turning her eyes toward mine. “Remember how I said Mifa and I were working like crazy trying to keep anyone from realizing you were gone?”

“I do recall something along those lines, yes.” I pushed back the twinge of guilt I felt at that. I didn’t expect to be gone so long, and I really hadn’t thought it would be that big a deal. I’d have to be more careful on future excursions.

“Well, there was one person who figured it out,” Abigail confessed.

“Sylvanna.” I pressed my fingertips against my forehead, sighing loudly. I’d never actually experienced a headache in this lifetime. I was fairly sure I was immune to such ailments, in fact. A theory that this day seemed determined to put to the test.

“She said she wanted to meet you as soon as you got back,” Abigail continued. “I put it off last night, considering… well, everything, but if we don’t go meet her soon she’ll probably force the issue.”

“Fine. I’ll go meet with her—after breakfast.” Abigail opened her mouth to protest, but I raised a hand to stop her. “There’s a dish from my past life that I’ve been dying to recreate, and I refuse to put it off a minute longer. Sylvanna can wait another hour or two, surely.”

“She’s not going to like it,” Abigail warned me, shaking her head.

“Then we can both be unhappy about the meeting. Just like always.” I walked past Abigail as I spoke, heading toward my closet. I knew that I was being contrary, irresponsible, and spoiled. It was obvious that I needed to meet Sylvanna as soon as possible. Such meetings were always unpleasant though, and I had no intention of dealing with one on an empty stomach.

I heard Abigail sighing as I opened the closet door, but still she followed after me, helping me strip off clothes I’d been wearing for far too long. I desperately wanted a bath, truthfully, but my stomach was demanding attention first, so I ended up simply using magic to strip any filth from my flesh.

After that, I wasted no time heading out of the room. Bailey bounded forward as well, taking her place beside me even as I walked down the hall. Usually I’d be headed to Abigail’s house at this point. Her mother’s kitchen was well-stocked, and it was of a decent size: more than adequate for my cooking lessons. Deep frying took a lot of oil, though, and I didn’t wish to waste theirs. Besides, I wanted a nice thick tomato sauce, and I wasn’t sure they’d have the ingredients for it. As such, it was in the royal kitchen that I would be making, and tasting, my fries.

~~~

Author's Notes

As always, I'd like to give thanks to my beta readers, including ByteOfBrie, Julx, and Wildfire Darkstar! I'd also like to thank paradoxicalWitchling, who edited the vanilla version of this chapter.

There were quite a few changes to this chapter, but as usual I've failed to remember most of them... the biggest thing might have been covering up a bit of a plot hole with Bailey, though - the original version never mentioned her power to shape shift among her wild magics.