“Her Majesty is waiting for you,” Al said, fluttering his blue, crystalline feathers against the magic draught. Returning to the library after the dawn of a new week, his face had turned up at the workshop again, but the news he brought made Iris wish it hadn’t.

“As in…now?”

“Just about. Told her what the best time ta catch you unawares…free, would be right about now.”

“The…Queen,” Crestana muttered, the words falling out of her mouth like drool.

“Yeah,” Al reiterated. “Evalyn’s already on her way.”

“But I didn’t tell the school—”

“She’ll handle the backend stuff.”

“But the office—”

“Your buddies can clean it, can’t they?”

“But—”

“She’ll keep it quick,” Al said firmly. “Told her to keep it to a day.”

“Why is the librarian ordering the Queen around?” Crestana hissed, but it didn’t quite grab either of their attention. Iris was already consumed by a sense of dread.

“What if I say no?” she ventured, instinctually knowing that even putting her hopes into words would be enough to dash them from her.

“Evalyn says yes, so you have to as well. I know you’re young, but grace period’s over. It’s a state contract.”

The final words seemed to catch Crestana’s attention most of all: for Iris, they were just two words she had already braced herself for. The mercy Evalyn had afforded her as of late didn’t extend to all parties, and this was an order from the very top.

To put it simply, there wasn’t a way out of it.

Iris stuffed her hands into her skirt pocket and fished out a set of jangling keys. Tearing off a golden, toothed one, she handed it to Crestana.

“I’m sorry but, can you stay in the office until closing time? Check that the door sign says ‘closed’ and tell anyone who calls that we’ll have to get back to them later. We can pay you.”

“Oh uh…sure but, Iris? Are you okay?”

Iris could feel the scowl on her face and made a conscious effort to unfurrow her brow. “Yeah, just…I hate her.”

“What, the Queen?”

“Yeah. I’ll tell you later.”

Al flapped his wings and rose into the air, hovered in front of Iris and cocked his head in the direction of the nearest portal. She took a deep breath, trying to best accept her situation before facing it for real.

Her no-contact-with-the-Queen streak had ended a few years short of what she had hoped for, but flying under the radar was neither her nor Evalyn’s particular speciality. It was to come eventually, and who knew? Maybe sooner was marginally better than later.

“Iris,” Crestana called as the girl’s cold arms wrapped around Iris’s torso. She felt Crestana’s grip tighten, the hard mask pressing into her back softly vibrating as she spoke.

“Be safe.”

Iris couldn’t quite answer her friend’s sentiment with full confidence, but she hoped that holding her hands would at least reassure her until she returned. Beyond that, even simple reassurance felt dishonest.

“I’ll be back soon.”

“And after that?”

“…I don’t know.”

Crestana let go and retreated a few paces. Offering a wave, which Iris returned, they parted ways.

“What's it about?” Iris asked as they ascended a spiral staircase to one of the library’s many catwalks. When it wanted to, the library could be a building with four walls, walls of sheer bookshelves, each tome like a divot in the rockface of a cliff.

“I was there a few days ago, and she mentioned that a storm’s kicking up between Wizards and Witches,” Al said from Iris’s shoulder, having already given up on flying himself up the staircase. “Don’t exactly know what the fuss is about, but they’re droppin’ off the radar like damn flies, one after another, tryna leave the country without tellin’ nobody about it.”

It didn’t take a genius to figure out such an act was paramount to treason. Fugitives on the run from Excala meant more working for other states and regimes.

“Does she want Mum and I to find them?” Iris asked, knowing the correct word would have been 'hunt'. It was the logical assumption, and following that assumption further only painted a grim picture for the next few days of her life.

“No, don’t think so. She’s got a leash on the root of the problem. Big Mama’s a bit of a nutcase, but she’s not stupid. If she’s going to make you work, she’s going to make things efficient.”

If Al meant the words as reassurance, Iris didn’t quite feel the desired effect. She refrained from voicing her complaints because if she started, they’d probably never stop.

“Make a right here,” Al said, pointing to a fresh opening in the wall. Being small enough to conceal with a simple trick of the light, Iris had to squeeze through on her side, shimmying until she stumbled into a small room of brass pipes and copper levers.

“You know the drill,” Al said as Iris dragged her school bag through the opening. “I’ll start things up, you step through and follow the lanterns.

“All right,” Iris said, shouldering her bag. “Where is she going to put us when it’s done?”

“That’s up to her,” he said, fluttering his claws onto a nearby lever, and activating it with his weight alone. “But if you need me, I’ll still be here.”

Iris nodded. The sudden onset of Aether was not lost on her, and it drew her attention forward, where a ring of blue sparks began to broaden, stabilise, and rip a hole into reality.

“Thanks, Al,” Iris said, knowing not to shoot the messenger.

“Queen’s orders,” Al said. “Human Princes have to ride into battle. Compared to them, my job is a damn cakewalk.”

“I mean, for everything,” she continued. The words had initially slipped out as a mere formality, but she owed the Great Library a good deal, and the debt seemed to increase by the day. “Both for me and Mum.”

Al fluttered his feathers, tilting his head. “Ah,” he grunted. “Part of the job. The other job. This job, I mean.”

Iris nodded, pursing her lips. Maybe it would’ve been best if she’d let the debt grow quietly in the background.

“But,” Al sighed. “It’s also been a pleasure of mine. Can’t say I haven’t enjoyed watching you both grow up.”

His head rotated, large eyes staring listlessly into the portal, mind already far beyond it. “When my rule comes, which, let’s be honest, I rue the day, I hope I’ve curried enough favours to ask for your help when the country needs it most.”

His choice of words was too self-deprecating for Iris’s liking, but voicing that was outside of Iris’s social vocabulary. A wall existed there that might not have in others, so she kept her mouth shut.

“I’ll see you later, then,” she said, smiling faintly and walking headlong into the portal.

Tingles raced up and down her nerves like race cars, beaming out of the tips of her extremities and leaving her with a phantom sensation even after her feet were firmly intact with the bare soil.

The clock was ticking, and the lantern-lit pathway cutting a beeline through the forest whispered her name as though to seduce her. She began to walk, planting one foot in front of the other as fast as she could without breaking into a run proper. Power walking in the Queen’s vicinity probably broke several rules of etiquette, but Iris could only assume. She never listened to those classes anyhow.

As it had before, the darkness subsided, and her surroundings drew painterly sketches of gargantuan tree trunks and spanning canopies, which, over time and distance, became more detailed. The houses built into the tree’s wood themselves grew defined in their edges, support beams, gears and pulleys before they eventually matured in architectural sophistication. Brick, mortar and glass were signs that she was approaching the inner sanctum, the forest glade the monarch called home.

And as she began to feel the thousands of eyes glaring at her like a hail of sharpened arrows, the lights went up how those of a theatre stage might, and the forest clearing came into view.

“How was school?” Evalyn said the moment their eyes met. She was seated on a dainty, cast iron patio chair, the shape of the twisting green metal actively searching for new shapes and patterns. The same went for the other two seats and the table they surrounded. Ornate, unique, and ever so slowly winding.

“Same as always,” Iris replied, her eyes already focused on the other attendee at the meeting. She was taking a human form, her flowing robes spilling over the armrests as its blue pigment lightened and darkened seemingly at random. In lieu of a crown, a dazzling set of antlers swirled around her scalp, their velvet brown a far cry from that of an ordinary deer.

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

Through blue eyeliner, Queen Amestris’s piercing eyes found hers. The stare seemed to tug at her, ever curious of what lay beyond the purple irises and behind the hallway doors.

“Did you go to the library with Crestana again?”

“Yeah. I gave her the keys to the office and asked her to do my chores.”

“She knows where to return the keys?”

“Yeah. In Alis’s shoebox.”

“And you said I’d pay her?”

“Mhm.”

“All right,” Evalyn said, patting Iris’s thigh before turning to the Queen. “Sorry, your Majesty, housekeeping.”

The Queen kept silent, eyes flicking back and forth between the two like a possessed doll. Eventually, she smiled. “I’m glad all seems well,” she said. “How is the Academy performing?”

“I…uh.”

“An anecdotal report shall suffice.”

“I…don’t like it—”

“She’s a little biased, Your Highness,” Evalyn interrupted. “We’ve been happy with the Academy’s education so far.”

“Hm,” the Queen muttered, eyes again passing from one to another. “Don’t think of me as brash, Hardridge. Be it a Thursday, the words of one pupil would not cause me to act against an entire institution.”

Evalyn pursed her lips as though she were sucking a lemon. “Yes, Your Highness.”

“So,” the Queen asked again. “Do not hold back.”

And then it clicked. The question, although warped beyond recognition, was a clumsy attempt at mimicking Evalyn’s first words upon meeting. Her ‘How was school?’ was familial, and most of all, human. Neither could apply to whom she was now dealing with.

“Every day is…similar,” Iris replied, choosing her words carefully. “I don’t care a lot about the lessons, but I have a friend there. I just go to see her…and because mum and dad say I need to.”

The Queen nodded. “Very well. I shall inquire into a review of the current curriculum, and have you placed with Crestana Mallorine in every class until you graduate.”

It was Iris’s turn to purse her lips as though she were sucking a lemon. She flicked a glance towards Evalyn, who was pinching the bridge of her nose, trying to hide the exasperation.

“Speaking of the Mallorine successor,” the Queen continued, bringing Iris’s attention back to her piercing gaze. “I must thank you for your role on that fateful day last winter,” the Queen said, closing her eyes and sparing Iris the needling stare. “I understand it caused a great deal of stress.”

Iris nodded, acknowledging the sentiment at least. Too little, too late, and her concerns had grown since. Coming from Her Majesty of all people, no amount of sincerity could compensate for the life that had finally been put into perspective for her.

“It was my job,” Iris said, and the Queen nodded her response.

“And in doing so I then owed you a favour. The council has gone quiet, and I did everything in my power to quell unrest regarding your nature. No more complaints have been levied, and we may continue our relation in peace. I hope that may even our debts. Now.”

The twisting iron rods which had until then been relegated to the confines of a tabletop, suddenly grew upwards. Lengthy, intricate spindles winding around each other, expanding and contracting to form shapes until a replica tiered cake stand and all its treats stood proudly like a fruit-bearing tree. She blinked, and the iron cakes lost their rigidity, their colour infinitely more appetising.

The Queen was first to take one, biting quickly as though eager to eat, all the while maintaining her polished decorum. The eyes continued to flick back and forth, slowly chewing, waiting for something to happen.

Iris caught Evalyn glancing at her as she too took one, clearly an order to follow suit. Iris selected one indiscriminately, the sugar on her tongue making her wonder how her thieving instincts hadn’t kicked in sooner. It was likely the Spirit sitting in front of her putting off her appetite.

The Queen swallowed, finally ready to continue her sentence. “As for this new development,” she began, promptly getting down to business. “A concerning situation has arisen.”

“I’ve heard Aether-infused are going rogue,” Evalyn started, half a slice of sponge cake awkwardly resting in her hand in lieu of a plate. “Have you found the cause?”

“What I believe to be the cause,” the Queen said. “I waited for a Tuesday to consult your mentor as I often do on such matters, and he noted that there was a slowly developing situation he assumed to be the cause.”

The Queen took another treat, taking her time to bite, chew, and swallow in exactly the way one might if they were imitating others. It put a healthy pause between sentences, and Iris felt the time in the real world draining past her.

“There has been a string of murders as of late,” the Queen said. "Several Wizards and Witches have died in unexpected circumstances. Word of mouth had unearthed a significant few amongst the community, only after I ordered investigation did more arise.”

Another bite, another painfully long interlude of quiet chewing.

“No investigator under my chain of command could determine any obvious patterns, but once brought to Colte, he identified a clear link between every victim. All were present during a hostage rescue on a remote F.S.A. base three years ago, one you both participated in.”

It was enough to stop her from chewing. Recent thoughts had brought that day back into light, but until that moment she had done her best to keep it in her mind and convince herself to think of it as Evalyn surely did. But ultimately, necessity dictated she face that day sooner rather than later.

Evalyn glanced at Iris once again, this time out of empathy. She didn’t return the glance, however, keeping her attention squarely on the Queen.

“As far as we can tell, most were assassinated in their sleep with firearms, yet nothing besides a gunshot wound suggests such.”

“As in there was no bullet?”

“Correct. A lack of spent casings is understandable; a thorough assassin would cover their tracks. But digging a bullet wound from their victim is another matter entirely.”

“Magic is involved then. Strange then,” Evalyn muttered, drifting into her own mind as the cake in her hand fell to the wayside. “Anyone’s first thought would be that the F.S.A. are taking revenge, but….”

“Didn’t S.H.I.A. use an Aether bomb?” Iris suggested. “Fight magic with magic.”

Evalyn nodded along. Everyone at the table was in understanding; there simply wasn’t enough to go off.

“Since Colte was unavailable to head this investigation, I’ve turned to you two. Tracking down the remnants of the F.S.A. and questioning their movements is our priority.”

Iris nodded her understanding. It was simple enough in theory, provided they could pull the necessary strings. But Evalyn didn’t seem to share her contentment.

“Excuse me, Your Highness…‘our’ priority?”

Iris furrowed her brow, watching her mother's face of genuine confusion on the cusp of panic.

“Yes,” the Queen stated flatly. “Ordinarily, you’d be answering to the Lieutenant-General of Special Operations, but I have assumed command. I will be coming with you.”

Iris continued to watch her mother’s face as its expression painfully transitioned into a smile. It would have been entertaining, but Iris wasn’t particularly happy about the news either.

“Why?” Iris asked. “Your Majesty,” she tacked on.

“Maintaining rapport with the Aether-infused is a high priority of mine. And, I also wish to see the world again. It has been some time. Now, further details I shall order my staff to resolve; I ask for you two to prepare. This journey, I suspect, will not be a long one, if we find ourselves fortunate enough.”

The cake stand morphed again, the cakes falling neatly into a small, metal tin, baking paper and all.

The lid came down on the tin and the meeting itself. When Iris’s eyes finally strayed from the display of magical eccentricity, she found the monarch’s seat was empty.

“What’s that?” Iris heard, and her eyes returned to the tin of cakes. Resting atop the royal steel stamped into the thin metal was a jewel. Blue and vibrant, its shimmer swirled in a vortex down into an infinite void. Around it was what looked to be diamonds, fairly ordinary in comparison.

Evalyn reached out to take it, but the gem moved, sliding just beyond her fingers. She tried again, but a similar story until the jewel was teetering on the edge of the box.

Iris, finishing her cake and wiping the sugar off her fingers, reached out for the jewel instead. Her fingers were more agreeable, apparently, and she managed to pick it up.

“Don’t smudge it,” Evalyn said. “That’s probably the Queen.”

Iris withheld the urge to drop the thing with all her being, and her fingers just managed to hang on.

“Do you think she’s inside it, or she is it?”

“You could say I am inside it,” a voice replied. Iris grimaced, turning to Evalyn.

“She’s in my head again!” she squealed, ditching all airs of formality despite still being in the presence of a royal.

“No, I could hear it too. She’s just speaking through Aether.”

Iris continued to recoil, holding the jewel as though it were covered in dung.

“You can put it down, Iris. Just keep it on the tin.”

Iris obliged, thoroughly through with her service. As she stepped back, and Evalyn lifted the tin box off the table, the world around them began to fall away like ink in water, diluting in place of somewhere else.

“Hm. A bit more abrupt than usual,” Evalyn said as though she were commenting on an elevator cabin.

The last of the Queen’s forest fell away, and in its place was the front landing of Evalyn’s apartment. Deep summertime darkness, and the hazy image of small Spirits and insects circling the lantern overhead gave Iris a rough estimate of time.

“Twelve o’clock,” Evalyn said, checking her watch. “Your Majesty, two humble requests. I’m desperately hoping nobody saw us appear out of nowhere, and I’m concerned about Iris’s sleep schedule. Now that she goes to school, it’s quite important.”

“Understood, Hardridge. I will take that into consideration.”

Iris saw her mother grin, clearly satisfied with the risk she had taken. She entertained the victory no further, and Iris felt a small tinge of disappointment knowing that power over a monarch in her mother’s hands only amounted to so much.

Evalyn fumbled for the key in her coat pocket and eventually opened the door.

“Do you think Crestana’s gone home?” Iris asked.

“I sure hope so. It’s midnight, I can’t be paying her seven hours of overtime.” Evalyn tucked the keys back into her pocket and turned on the lights. “She’s kept the place clean, though. I’ll have to thank her later.”

“Maybe, but she only cleans for me because she wants me to train her.”

“How devious,” Evalyn replied kicking off her shoes and starting down the hallway.

The office was in much the same condition: orderly, and without a speck of dust. The favours they owed their janitor were growing by the day, so much so that paying her outright started to look like the more appealing option.

“Well, if the School’s been notified, all we need to do is let Dad know and maybe ask Alis to take care of the office.”

“I can do that tomorrow if you want,” Iris said as she grabbed Evalyn’s wrist. With her head, she furiously gestured towards the office door while tugging on the captured wrist.

“Yeah…that sounds good. Iris why don’t you check the mailbox, I’ve got some files to organise.”

“Okay. I’ll be back soon.”

“Brilliant.”

Iris turned, refusing to let go of her mother’s wrist as her pair of furious feet preceded her mother’s pair of stumbling ones, purely along for the ride. She stormed down the hallway and out of the door.

“What are we going to do?”

“Hey Iris, let’s take a breath first.”

“I don’t like the mission already, but her?”

“I know she can be a little insensitive, but we all have to put up with it.”

“Why? I don’t care that she’s the Queen I hate this!”

“She means well, Iris, but she’s a Spirit. She can’t help it.”

“Can’t help what?!”

“She can’t help the fact that she doesn’t understand us. You saw how she was looking at us, how she was chewing. It’s clumsy, but I know she feels some level of guilt for threatening you when you first met.”

The words of panicked frustration were caught in her mouth. She looked at her mother’s strained face with a mix of emotion.

“Is it my fault?”

“No. No! No, no Iris I’m not trying to blame you. I know how she is, and I get it, she’s frustrating to deal with. I just want you to know there’s nothing malicious about it, all right?”

Iris stuttered, but nothing came out. She felt her eyes growing hot and sucked on air like a choking fish trying to keep it in. Evalyn’s face tried to hide it, but behind the mask, things were only getting worse.

Her mother pulled her into an embrace and rocked her back and forth, sparing Iris from having to cry in front of her. “Let’s do what we have to do, all right? Put your best foot forward, especially for the next few days.”

Best foot forward. It was like talking a child into attending school for the first time. She was going to murder people, they both knew that. Yet the most horrible part about the warmth in her mother’s embrace was knowing that she would never experience it if she refused to take that step forward, if she refused to let those strangers die.

She steadied her breathing and sunk into the hug. “I wish I was like you.”

Evalyn chuckled. “It took years to become me. I just haven’t told you about the years I wasn’t.” She pulled back, brushing Iris’s fringe that she’d made a mess of. “You could ask anyone; I was a wreck, more than you could ever be. That isn’t a challenge, by the way.”

“I know,” Iris answered, trying to focus on Evalyn’s weak smile over the thoughts still swirling in her head.

“I’ll tell you some other time, though. It’s late. Are you hungry?”

“Yeah.”

“Then let’s take care of everything quickly and go home. The trams aren’t running, so we’ll take the roofs. Do you want me to carry you?”

"Yeah."

“You’re right to carry the Queen and the cakes.”

“Yeah.”

Evalyn smiled. “You look so tired.”

“I am tired,” she said, sniffling.

“All right, let’s get you home.”