In a dark underground lair, Cinder sat on her stone throne with her lips pursed. She was replaying everything that had happened the other day over and over in her mind. She had been ever since she had returned back to her lair. “It was not bad talking to someone…. I wonder if she would mind if I were to stop by and say hi…. No… why would I say hi to an enemy? But…. It is kind of lonely with how things are now….” 

Cinder was conflicted. She did not know what to make of the situation. She had spoken to someone about her past for the first time. It was the first real conversation she had had with anyone since her parents were alive. She did not dislike it. To be able to talk to someone. To be able to speak of her grievances… her body felt lighter. “Maybe I will just take a peek….”

It had only been a few days, and Desaray had actually gotten a lot done. With magic, making small villages with stone houses was not hard. She made quite a few villages and even set them up with proper means of getting rid of waste and supplied them with proper water. For each house so that residents could keep proper hygiene. 

“This should help with any influx.” Desaray looked at the newly built towns and felt it was a little sad that they were still empty, but at least they were ready. 

“Your Holiness!” Rose appeared stopped a few feet away from Desaray. “Sir Harland is requesting a meeting.”

“Rose, I just called you back, and now you want me to go to the Rain Ford?” Desaray eyed Rose. It was supposed to be the other way around.

    “He will come here. He knows the rules. He wishes to meet with you about moving the city of Rain Ford here.” Rose explained.

“Move the city... Do you mean he wants to move the entire city? Do we even have an earth mage with that power…. Ah, yes, we do…” Desaray could only think of one person who could pull off such a feat. She took a deep breath and asked: “ Why does he want to move Rain Ford here? Didn’t he wish to start a new beast kingdom?”

“Because there is an issue with the new neighbors since the last merger. About five miles away from the city, a major high-elf city appeared. The standing army of the city is more than triple that of Rain Ford.” Rose replied. This made Desaray frown. She was not against it, but to have such a massive army near her own borders was not something she liked. Although she really could not deny her own army was quite big and powerful now as well.

“You go to Lake Hope and replace Juna. Juna, you will go to Rain Ford and act on my behalf. If it is too hard to do, let me know, and we will figure something out, even if it means expanding our borders to surround Rain Ford City. ” Desaray was more than willing to help. Especially since they had an alliance, it was better to make a move now and merge together than try to defend a city that was not ready for it. With the looming threat of the demon queens, it was not going to be easy to split her forces at this time.

“As you command, Your Holiness…. But, um, can you also come to the city or more to the wall again? It seems she is back.” By the sound of Juna’s voice, it seemed she was very exhausted.

“Alright, I will go see what she wants.” Desaray sighed as she looked once more at her new villages before turning towards Yi Ling. “Can you tell Regal that we need a spot that can hold the entirety of Rain Ford City?”

“I can do that. But Desa, you should get some rest, too. You have been working day and night recently.” Yi Ling was worried about Desaray’s health.

    “I am fine. I can go a few months without sleep if I want now at my current level. You should get ready for your dungeon dive when I get back. We will be going in together after all. As Oinktera, what you need, he will help you get ready for it.” Desaray reached out and rubbed Lily, who was in Yi Ling’s arms, head and also Yi Ling’s head. She was currently in Yi Ling’s arms.

“Mama, be careful.” Lilly smiled sweetly as always.

    “I will.” Desaray and Rose flew off into the distance, leaving Lily and Yi Ling behind. 

“Auntie Ling, your face face is redder than normal. Do you like Mama?” Lily asked curiously.

“Hmm? Of course I do. We are friends.” Yi Ling did not know why Lily was asking such a question. She gazed in the direction that Desaray left in, hoping that things would turn out okay.

Desaray floated over the ice wall, looking down at the familiar scene of Cinder pacing back and forth. “Why did you come here again?”

“Ah! Why do you keep popping up out of nowhere!?” Cinder jumped in fright as she looked up at  Desaray with a pitiful expression.

“Well, you appeared again, so of course I had to come. So what’s up this time? More demon queens?” Desaray asked as she landed in front of the fidgeting girl.

“I…. I came…. I came to ask if we can be friends!”