After Magnus left, Lynn started panicking again. The invitation included Lucy’s family. Alister tried to calm her down but he looked rather terrified himself. Ben was excited.

“Is there a princess? Or a prince?” He asked.

“I don’t know.” I admitted. “Is the king married?” I knew that his name was Dalroc. I didn't even know his last name. Maybe I should have asked someone?

“Hey, are we supposed to bring a gift?” I wondered. In my old world, bringing a bottle of wine, when someone invited you to dinner, was rather common. Or bringing some beer to a barbecue.

“I don’t know much about dwarves, or their customs.” Lucy admitted. “Do you have something fancy in your storage?” She asked.

Did I? Hm. What could make a good gift? I had so many things I looted, like furniture, or paintings. Gifting someone a chair seemed odd. A painting maybe?

“My ladies, maybe I can help.” Lily said. “As a visiting noble of lower status it would be appropriate to bring a gift. Especially if you are publicly received. But you are more than dominion nobles, you are an archfey and a kitsune. As such you are of higher status. You have no obligation to bring anything.”

“I see. So it would be a nice gesture but it’s not required.” I concluded.

Lily nodded.

“Oh, I still have Mantus’ sword! We only want the armour for Lily. Should we gift him the weapon?” I suggested.

“Good idea!” Lucy agreed.

“My ladies! That… that is a weapon from a demon lord! It's not just valuable, it’s a rare trophy! That would be way too much!” Lily protested.

“But we don’t need it.” I countered.

“And with such a gift he will surely help us find the best smith to resize the armour! Also, you still owe them a door.” Lucy added.

She had a point. I offered to pay for it, but a nice gift would certainly help with any bad feelings.

As the time for dinner arrived Magnus came to fetch us. Lynn, Alister and Ben were in their best clothes, which meant all the holes were patched. They looked like the farmers they were. That was nothing to be ashamed of though. They were honest hard working people.

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“Mom, it’s fine. If anyone makes fun of you, I can just eat them.” Lucy offered.

“Lucy! I don’t care if you turn into a mythical monster, you will not eat people! Is that clear?”

“Yes mom.” She said, “But I could chew them a little…”

“See, that is why we have a court elemental now. Just point out who you want gone and she will happily slaughter them.” I said with a smile.

Was there sweat forming on Magnus’ face?

“Shani said she makes mean people go away!” Ben confirmed.

The so-called private dinner took place in a rather large room. It was nicely decorated. The stone walls were painted with scenes of battles. Maybe they were historical? They featured dragons, which would make sense in this world.

The table was long and could seat about 24. Lily had accompanied us, she stated it was proper to have your maid with you. She intended to just stand behind us, ready to serve. I had no idea why. The food would be handled by the palace staff anyway.

The head of the table was set for the king and presumably his wife. It was wide enough to seat two comfortably. We were the first guests to arrive in the hall. The host was not here yet either.

“The king and his other guests will arrive shortly.” Magnus informed us. “Let me show you your seats.”

We were all on one side of the table. I was closest to the king, followed by Lucy, Lynn, Ben and Alister.

Butlers and maids were standing around but I could see no guards. Maybe they had trained their servants in combat too? Or maybe they decided the area was safe enough.

The next to arrive were Loriel and a female sun elf. She was slightly taller than the night elf, had golden hair and pale skin. Her eyes were golden, just like the hair.

“Ah, you must be Amaya! Loriel told me a lot about you.” She said smiling. “And you are Lucy, it is a pleasure to meet you. I am Solana.”

“Hi. Let me introduce my family.” Lucy said. “These are Lynn and Alister, my parents. And the small one is my brother Ben.”

“I am not small! I am already six!” Ben proclaimed proudly.

“Solana and Loriel are the Sun Queen and the Night Queen of the Dominion.” I finished the introduction. “It’s nice to meet you.” I greeted them.

Lynn and Alister were too shocked to talk. Ben was not. “Why do they have two queens?” He asked.

“They have four actually. There is the High Queen, who is in charge of the entire nation, and the three other queens manage certain territories.” I explained.

While Ben pondered that Loriel spoke: “It’s good to see you again, Amaya and Lucy. I was not aware you had family nearby…”

“We kept them hidden until we could ensure their safety.” I explained.

Loriel looked like she had a lot of questions. Which was understandable. She knew that Lucy was my warlock, but not the story of how it happened. She likely thought us both ancient. That Lucy had relatively young parents, who looked like farmers, made no sense to her.

“Welcome to my hall!” I heard a deep voice. The king had arrived. He had black hair and a mighty beard. Like most dwarves, he was burly. So was his wife. While she had some softer features I had no doubt she could lift the table, with one hand. Her hair was red and short. She had green eyes and a welcoming smile.

“I am Dalroc and this is my wife, Ingrid.”

Alister and Lynn were about to faint. They still had not managed to say a word.

“Greetings and thank you for the invitation.” I said.

“Hello.” Lucy waved in greeting. “This is my family, they are a bit overwhelmed.”

“No worries, we are all friends here! A bit of ale will make them more comfortable. Let’s start with a drink!” Ingrid proposed.

Suddenly there was a yelp from a maid. I looked towards the noise and saw a mist coming from underneath the door.

“What? An attack!” Dalroc exclaimed.

“No. This is fine. There is no danger.” I assured him. Lucy started laughing. Everyone looked at us in confusion.

“Can you explain what this is?” Ingrid inquired.

“Not what, who…” I said.

“Tremble before me, for I am the wrath!” The mist coming through the door formed into an elf made out of wind. With bright red bunny ears on her head.

“This is our court elemental, Shani.” I said.