The person who sat in the throne of the newly created court of fey was both Lotus and not when Red looked at her, observing the way that she held herself. He had only known Lotus for a few days, but had gotten at least a standard understanding of who she was as a person. She was a mischievous sort, with a penchant for watching over the Addy and Ivy. She wasn’t reckless either, since she would always use her poison right when she needed it, and never a moment later.
The young woman that was sitting on the throne had the same face shape as his Lotus, that gentle pointed chin that lent itself to the heart shape, those soft cheeks that would color with deep blue blush when she was being shy. Though there was a new sharpness to those eyes, one that held all the majesty and ferocity of noble blood. He couldn’t help but wonder if this title included memories like the foreman title had given to Ivy. He wondered if the personality of his original little blue Lotus was drowned out by regency and wealth.
“High King Red, it is a pleasure to have you within my new domain. But I must say, I feel it should be me bowing to you rather than the other way around.” Lotus said with a delighted laugh as she looked at him, seeming to be rather happy now that he had come to see everything she was doing with the opportunity that had been bestowed upon her. Her voice was melodic, a softness to it that only improved the gentle bell-like quality of her cadence. It was a sweet voice, but it dripped with her new regal accent. Once again Red found that her voice was not of any particular nationality, but just what he believed a princess should sound like.
“Ah, well there is no need to bow to me. I don’t have a title as grand as Princess of Poison, it just happened to be luck that you got it.” Red said with a gentle smile, knowing his skin would be sweating if it wasn’t crystalline.
“Nonsense. Even if it was by chance that you gave me this crown, it is still you who gave it. The man who gives the hero their sword could have obtained it any way, but is still seen as such.” She tutted as she stood from her throne with a graceful motion. Her hands went to the skirt that sat extended from her legs in the style of a Victorian gown. Red was certain that there had to be some kind of lattice structure in it, how else would they be able to keep such a perfect round shape.
It was a beautiful gown, blue in reminiscent nature to the lotus in which she was named for. It was covered in all kinds of frills, buttons and bodice that Red had only ever seen in passing. There was no way of telling if this was how Fairy royalty dressed, or if the system was just co-opting more information from his mind to better suit the dungeon. He watched as she produced a paper fan from seemingly nowhere and began to cool herself as she stepped down from the throne onto the same level as Red.
“My, you’ve grown quite a lot in the past few minutes.” Red chuckled as he put his hands on his hips, trying to keep things light. She was staring at him with that sharp expression between pointed nose and knowing eyes. He stood well above her, finding that she was at the height of a teenager rather than a small child like when ivy had ascended. Despite that height advantage, he couldn’t help but feel so small in her presence.
“Of course, with my title comes many benefits, including that of gaining some vertical distance.” She said happily, fluttering her dragonfly wings behind her as she looked at him. She stared at him for a long moment before sighing and allowing the perfect posture to crack. “I am still me, Red. It’s not like gaining a tiara would just make me a whole new person.” She said with a sigh as she brought her hands to the tiara and removed it. Her hair did not move, still pulled back into a bun were those cotton candy locks that made her so striking.
“This is nice and all, but I am still Lotus deep down. Ivy might have become her title because she didn’t have much time to exist, but I know who I am.” She said with a smile as she rubbed her thumb over one of the striking violet amethyst that came with the beautiful tiara. The metal being a glittering silver which complimented the shining gemstones.
“Well… that’s good to know and all, but who exactly is Lotus? You haven’t talked the entire time that i’ve known you. Main reason I was so worried about walking in here was that I expected a powerful princess who would shout; ‘Off with their heads!’ Or some such nonsense.” Red said as he rubbed the back of his neck, feeling bad that he was so easy to read. He was supposed to be the confident one, a dungeon shouldn’t have to lean on his minions like how they needed him.
“Suppose that is a good question, considering that I couldn’t really talk to you without shouting before. I’m Lotus. The first minion of the Red Dungeon, mother hen to a couple of goofy girls, and protector of the core. I live so that everyone else who resides here might continue on.” She said as she stuck a gloved hand behind her head and pointed her thumb at the top of the throne. The crown jewel of the throne seemed to be Red’s core, which shone in its usual ruby brilliance.
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“I make sure that Addison finishes her meals, and that Ivy doesn’t take to ripping apart the walls for the sake of having a task. Now that will extend to a whole hive of fae to fill this new kingdom with. It’s more like I’m adopting the role of den mother than actual royalty.” She snorted as she crossed her arms, shaking her head before looking at Red. “But, most of all I live for you. You’re my boss, but you’re also my friend. I don’t know any other dungeon cores, but I doubt that they would read cards for their minions.” She said with a soft smile, giving him a playful punch in the shoulder as she appreciated him.
The smile was returned in kind by Red, the manifestation conveying his happiness at the beautiful soul of a fairy in front of him. “Well, its a pleasure to meet you properly. You seem like a wonderful person, Lotus.” He said with a smile as he bent down slightly and wrapped his arms around her, giving her a tight hug to show familial affection. She wasn’t blood related to him, but he was at least mana connected to her. If there wasn’t going to be any kind of family for him in this world, he could at least treat his creatures like a family.
“It’s nice to meet you too, Red. Hopefully we can work together for many years.” She said with a quiet appreciation, her voice soft as she enjoyed the strong hug from the mana man. She leaned her head against him, clearly just enjoying the attention before the hug finally broke. She didn’t break it, but he did after a few moments past where it logically should have ended.
“So, you’ve got this whole field to work with. I’ve noticed some of the stuff you’ve been putting together outside and i have to say it’s very nice. It really feels like everything you would find in a fairy’s home.” Red said as he began to look around the room, the vaulted ceilings giving a slight echo to their conversation. The room was unfurnished, aside from pews, carpet, and the throne sitting at the back of it. After a moment of looking through his settings, he was pleased to find that there was actually a new setting for rooms now that he had royalty.
With a press of a button, the entire interior of the room changed from the carved out hollow of the tree into a proper throne room. The system named it differently though based on Lotus being here. This was the [Fae] Throne Room, which followed all of Red’s imaginations on what that should be like. The room became furnished with seat-shrooms big enough for ordinary humans to sit on, and more than enough for an entire court to sit on. Sconces lined the walls with dancing pink lights that filled the room with an ethereal glow. The walls became covered in murals of the four seasons, which started at spring on the left hand side of the entrance and trailed around to winter on the opposite side.
Behind the throne was now a deeper alcove, with glittering golden dust coming down in a constant stream as thoughts of pixies and floating dogs played in Red’s head. He wondered if it was actual fairy powder, or if it was just an affect that was meant to make the room seem more magical. He would have asked about it, but Lotus seemed rather shocked about the changes herself.
“Well, it doesn’t get any less suprising the second time. Though, i have to say that this is far better an improvement over the entire shack turning into stone. A lot more natural, even if I need to make some adjustments.” She said with a chuckle as she exerted her will over the lair. The seatshrooms arranged themselves into neat rows instead of the natural hodgepodge that they were in. They were also pushed closer to the walls so that there was a much wider area around the rug to the throne. She seemed to be treating this as some kind of mini boss arena from how she was arranging it.
“Quite the eye for interior design you have, Lotus. But this place feels a little empty. Do you want to take over spawning the new fairies for this place, or should I?” Red asked, wondering which she would prefer as new monarch of this domain. He knew that it would all be coming from the same pool, but there was something unique about letting her take it over.
“Well, I already do a lot of the work around here. So why wouldn’t I love to just take your job for you.” She said with a snarky yet joking attitude as she went over to the shrooms to make sure that they were the right color for her court. She needed to make everything perfect for all of the fairies that would be popping up left and right from her command.
“Well if you really feel like that, then I-“ Red was cut off as a finger was pushed to his lips, the fairy having zoomed over on fluttering wings to silence him.
“I was joking, Red. I already have a few orders of fairies brewing in the tree branches. Once they are done we will have some scouts to start combing the greater area around the dungeon. Addison isn’t going to be able to keep us fed for long if you keep growing like this.” She explained, having taken some of his actual duties from him so that he might focus more on dungeon affairs. He was still a growing dungeon, and that meant he needed to keep himself on the right track.
“Yeah, I suppose we are going to need people to generate mana. I don’t think that we are going to get many visitors considering the way that the swamp around us treats life.” Red muttered, scratching his chin as he tried to think of how he should handle that for the time being. He wanted to accept in adventurers, but at the same time he didn’t want people to delve the swamp just to risk their lives spending energy in his dungeon. He didn’t want to kill anyone who had a good heart, but there still needed to be some give on keeping fed.
“Course we aren’t going to be attracting any humanoids. We are just gonna round up some monsters and slaughter them for the court!” Lotus said with a delighted giggle as she clapped her hands in a most regal way, even if it was dripping in blood.