Mina yawned. Ooh, it's quite fortunate I was able to achieve that nap earlier. How exhausting today's been.

The big sun was low in the sky, and the light entering the workshop through its windows was growing dimmer and dimmer. She scooped up the design she'd been tweaking along with a few others. I feel I'm close with this one. She stared at a crude drawing she'd created in her attempts to formulate a method in which controlled lightning might be used to…

She chewed her lip. No, I'll need to speak with Valgud more before I'm capable of such a feat. The calculations and even the concepts are still beyond me for now. She let out an annoyed sigh and turned towards the water closet. I'd best attempt another nap before tonight's meeting.

The small room had received its own improvements since they'd come to reside in her new workshop, the idea of which again caused her to smile. She'd hammered a nail into a seam in the stone wall over the washbasin and hung a mirror from it, one of the larger ones she'd filched the night prior with the assistance of Phonia. She'd also managed to convince the thing that there was a need for heated water from the nozzle on the wall—purely for Carl's benefit, naturally—and it'd set a long-lasting heating spell upon the metal which caused the water to pour down at the absolute perfect temperature for bathing without the need for her to actively maintain such a working when it was necessary.

Mina considered that option now. I'd never imagined such a marvel would exist. This "shower", as Carl calls it, is superior to a bath in every way. It remains hot for as long as I wish without the need to continually apply magic, and the flow of water massages in a delightful manner, particularly atop my head. Perhaps… She grimaced. No, I mustn't succumb to the temptation.

She turned to the mirror and placed a finger in her mouth, creating a tiny rush of water with magic that she moved about the inside of her mouth in order to cleanse it and avoid tooth rot. Temptation was something that she'd been grappling with over the past day, and it hadn't been entirely easy to resist. Life was so simple now, so free, so fun!

She'd awoke this morning when Phonia had jostled her at a somewhat reasonable hour after Carl's departure, her eyes still bleary from how long she'd stayed with the dwarves. Ir'alith had worked her healing magic once more before her return, but it seemed that the room was still spinning for quite some time after she rose from her reclining armchair, perhaps in some sort of delayed effect that had lain dormant or been suppressed by her excitement when she'd gone out thieving for parts.

There had been the slight trouble of where to place all the items she'd taken, such was their combined volume, but Phonia had once more been of incredible assistance, agreeing to create some manner of light-altering spell over the messy jumble that took up most of her workshop's second floor in order to prevent Carl from catching sight of it. The doll had said it wouldn't speak falsehoods to him if he inquired about such things, though that seemed unlikely to be an issue.

Indeed it hadn't, and so she'd spent an hour or so that morning directing the surprisingly-strong Phonia to move the heavier objects around while she herself positioned the smaller ones according to her preferences. Once the components and tools were in their places and Mina had changed into a more serviceable outfit that could be cheaply replaced once dirtied beyond the ability to clean, work had begun on further improvements to her steamcar. She'd levered it up with a metal tool she'd taken from the other workshop, its function obvious considering she'd taken it from beneath a steamcar it'd been holding aloft. Far easier than cajoling and conscripting the assistance of whatever guardsmen happened to be nearby in order to lift it onto stone blocks.

That development had led to the tires being exchanged. She'd examined several of the ones she'd seen in Leontius's workshop, and the difference in the tread of those tires had been clear to her, the purpose being to provide more grip and allow a steamcar to travel with more speed and maneuverability.

Both of which were precisely what she was in need of.

Yes, her steamcar was quite fast, but was it fast enough? A Queen of Racing couldn't be seen to drive a vehicle which was only somewhat faster than others. No, she must be capable of driving entire circuits around her subjects!

Once the tires were replaced had come the difficult part. She'd been forced to spend considerable time speaking with the accursedly sex-brained Phonia in order to convince it that Carl would be incredibly pleased were it to cast all manner of magic that would have no discernible benefit to him or its chances of fornicating with him. The time spent had left her ample opportunity to reflect upon its appearance, which had led to…

But the racing! Mina grinned happily as she made for the staircase which led to her new bedroom of sorts. Carl was deeply asleep in the reclining chair he'd set upon the floor of her workshop, his hands on his belly and his mouth hanging open, and she giggled softly at the sight, feeling again the odd tenderness that had been growing within her at the thought of the outworlder who cared.

She pulled the small cotton band from her hair as she began to ascend the steps, hugging it to her face. It was the second gift he'd given to her, but it was the first she'd accepted with the consideration that perhaps he truly had no other motive.

That perhaps caring was his only motive.

She nuzzled her face against the rough cotton. She'd possessed any number of hair clips and bands, all of them fancier and more valuable than this, but it was this one that she now felt she would rather die than be separated from.

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

Just as she'd felt she might die or fall upon misfortune again when Carl had said he was leaving her to drive alone. He was the shield that sheltered her from all her fears, and without him…

Mina set her papers on the ground and retrieved her new scarf from its place, carefully-folded upon her own chair. She hugged it to her chest along with her hair tie as she sat upon her makeshift bed, rubbing her feet against each other in a practiced motion to slide her boots off.

But the racing. She'd never had the opportunity to drive so swiftly in Charus City. No, were she to attempt it, she could readily imagine the Royal Guard being deployed to put a stop to her endeavors, following which she expected she would lose the privilege of possessing a car at all.

Here, however, she drove with such speed that none could match her. The fastest car she'd encountered was still so slow that she was capable of driving nearly two circuits around the track in the time that its driver could manage one! Even when she'd been boxed in, as Carl termed it, she'd skillfully navigated the outside of a turn in a manner that caused him to yell and raise his hands into the air as he'd done when she'd driven through her previous home city.

Her natural poise and dexterity were no luck or talent, she'd come to realize, but simply the results of her heritage; the long-eared devils were known to possess unmatched grace and haste, and she'd inherited some amount of these qualities. Perhaps even her intellect resulted from this.

She sighed. What good is having such wits if I make such blunders as I did earlier? She recalled again the mixed expressions of shock and dismay on Carl's face when her questioning on the matter of his attraction to Ir'alith had finally yielded its desired results. It had been a foolish notion to begin with, that she might learn, through him, of the Demon Queen's apparent fascination with him. Partway through the questioning, she'd chanced upon another thought that was far more insidious.

What if he fell in love with Ir'alith more deeply than his wife? Yes, Carl spoke often enough of his family, but that seemed to imply that he intended to return to them.

That he would leave.

It'd been that thought which led her to wonder how he might react to the possibility when he'd shown himself to be so unaware of the desires that he so obviously must have.

Phonia couldn't lie, after all. Not to him. It would not have taken its present form if it wasn't what he truly desired. Why else would it suddenly morph to assume such a specific set of characteristics?

Mina beat her fist softly on her leg. Foolish! Stupid! She grimaced. Yes, she'd achieved her goal, but she'd felt a sharp, stabbing pain in her chest when his expression had changed, and then she'd come to realize her grave error. Why would I attempt such a thing! How could I behave so selfishly? Like my mother or sisters, covertly manipulating to achieve their aims. How vile. Perhaps I truly am a devil princess.

She shivered despite the continued heat that never seemed to abate. The scarf and hair tie that she'd been gifted fell from her grasp, remaining in their places against the cushioning of the chair as if to remind her of what she'd done, and she wrapped her arms around herself as she curled into a ball.

I must apologize more deeply. With more sincerity. Mina chewed her lip. This gift I'd sought to make isn't sufficient. But what more can I offer him? Perhaps he would desire…

Her mind revolted, slamming shut the gate to that thought and all others like it. She pressed her hands to her face. No, why am I thinking of this! Everything I consider now seems more and more like my mother's scheming or some manner of plotting Emma would consider! Her eyes grew hot and began to sting. I only wish to be me.

To be free.

She sniffled. Is my mind so discordant that I'm unable to even have someone care for me without attempting to turn it to my advantage? Is this truly who I am?

Am I a monster?

----------------------------------------

"Mina, come."

The human girl cracked her eyes open, feeling the continued burning sensation from the time she'd spent silently weeping before drifting off into restless slumber. She clenched her teeth and took in a shuddering breath, recalling again what she was being summoned for.

What she'd thought to disrupt.

"Very well," Mina said. She scrubbed her hands up and down her face, seeking to become more wakeful. This is how I shall show my gratitude. My caring. I… Perhaps I will meet her once we've completed our rescue. Yes, that seems appropriate. I'll confess my sin to her, rather than further burden Carl. No doubt he'll return to his world sometime soon anyway with how he speaks of her, and then he'll know what manner of despicable person I truly am.

The despicable, rotten girl rose from her chair, slipped on her boots, and made for the purple-edged portal that had opened nearby, leaving behind the accessories she treasured beyond words but was unworthy of. She stepped through and emerged once more into…

Mina frowned, then she clamped her arms to her sides and began to shiver. She was in a place that was clearly not inside a tree. What little she could see from the sliver of sun remaining over the horizon was that there was snow around them, and she was very high up. The wind blew heavily against her, nearly knocking her over, and she whimpered from the bite of the cold.

"I apologize, Mina," said Ir'alith in her incredibly smooth voice. "I had not considered…"

The air began to grow warmer, then abruptly became warm.

"Come, we must return to Jungrathol," Ir'alith said.

Mina opened her eyes, which she'd squeezed shut to bear the wind. "Um, my thanks," she said cautiously. She started to look around, not seeing anyone else nearby.

A gigantic, armor-wearing blue dragon landed a couple paces away, and she screamed.

"There is no cause for fear," Ir'alith said, sounding slightly amused. "You are under my protection."

The detestable human girl swallowed. "Y-yes, of course."

"We traveled far to reach this place," Ir'alith said.

Mina floated up into the air and over onto the broad, scale-covered back beside her, remaining entirely still as she endured an incredibly unpleasant new method of transit.

"Your request was difficult," Ir'alith continued as she leapt impossibly high into the sky. "I flew with Jungrathol on my back for many hours while we fled our pursuers."

"Pursuers?" Mina struggled to adjust her thoughts.

"We captured a machine."