It wasn't that easy to convince people she needed to go to her private room. It wasn't as if she could talk about the different versions of the room. After all, some of them were given to her by the Guides. And saying she needed some privacy wasn't a really good argument. Hera used her soundproof barrier so often and became so proficient that even Ogryn would ask for her to cast it during certain meetings.
The one argument that made it work was saying that she wanted to let her entire court take baths. Not showers, but actual baths in a tub. And that Livy would make too much of a mess if she did that in the city. Due to the sheer size of the Leviathan, everyone understood why she wanted to go to her private room.
Livy didn't mind the excuse. After all, it wasn't wrong. Every time she tried to take a bath, the water ended up splashing everywhere. It was mostly due to the fact she enjoyed changing from her titled form to her sea serpent form while underwater.
Either way, the Empress arrived at the doorway near Zaxalam, the one leading to Deakoshara, and transferred to her private room. The first thing she did was open a group chat and asked which one of the Guides was free to drop by. Nina was the first to answer, saying she was leaving, but Talpa wasn't able to join. Then came Capri, Peaches, Ms. Jaquelyn, and Veridallion. All of them said they would be there. Siege, the swan from the Thirmal Waters, also said she wanted to join, as well as Shiretaa, the genie from the Temple of Sands.
Because they were the first ones to reply, all the other Guides said they couldn't make it, but they would be on the group chat if needed. There was an unspoken rule amongst the Guides: a limit of how many of them would show up to a party in a private room. Usually, five was the limit, but in Hera's case, eight could go. The final spot was given to Tara. Due to her position as the Ophidianite ancestor, the Guides agreed that she should always have priority over this kind of thing. And because of her personality, they understood she might not be comfortable taking someone's spot away.
That wasn't about how much they liked the Empress or anything of the sort. It was just a matter of space. If too many Guides joined a small room, things would be very crowded. And as the private room grew in size, more and more of them were able to enter without making the place too cramped. They all knew that for them, it was possible to have 20 or even 30 Guides comfortably in a private room. But the difference in size between them and the explorers generally caused a lot of issues.
That ended up causing a small race to reply quickly once any of their explorer friends would call. And some of the Guides, like Capri, made sure to always join the party.
While waiting the couple of minutes that it would take for the Guides to arrive, Hera summoned her court and started setting up some snacks around the area. Her private room was considerably bigger since before the war. She now was able to place a large coffee table between the couch and the wall screen. The bed was no longer touching the door, and there was even a wardrobe in the bedroom. And the bathtub was large enough for Livy to cover herself in water. She wouldn't be able to move all that much, but it wouldn't be too tight.
The only place that didn't change was the kitchen. It already had everything the Empress needed, and adding more space to the fridge or something like that was unnecessary. After all, when she left the private room, everything she brought would be spat out by the doorway.
Around five minutes passed before there was a knock on the door. Hera knew the Guides didn't need to wait. They could show up just as they replied to the message. But if they did that, some people would be put off by their sudden appearance, even if they had just invited them. Because of that, all the Guides were used to giving a few minutes for the person they were talking to get ready.
"Hey everyone!" Hera greeted them with a large smile.
"Empress! It is my utmost pleasure to show my grandiose visage to the great you," Capri bowed, the cloud sheep placing one wing over the front of his body as if it were his chest.
"Hey, kid. Long time no see," Peaches smiled.
"Tell me about it, honey. That whole war business was the real problem for everyone," Ms. Jaquelyn, or Jackie, the cowgirl raccoon, sighed.
"But just as it was done with the curse, Hera was able to end the suffering caused by this malady," Siege said with a smile.
"Right, right. Let's not talk about that as the first thing we do, shall we? I'm sure she's more than tired of hearing how awful it was," Shiretaa interrupted.
"May we come in?" Veridallion asked.
"Of course, please, enter. I have some snacks on the table, drinks in the kitchen, and Livy turned the bathroom into a bubble room. Just be careful because I can't even tell where she is in the middle of all that."
Nina was the first to walk in. "Bubbles can be really cool. We had a presentation a few weeks ago where we used bubbles to make a trail behind our hands. It looked great. I can't show you the video, but if you give me a couple of minutes in the bathroom, I might be able to make it work."
Everyone walked inside, with only Tara staying in the hallway. Noticing that, Hera kneeled by the entrance. "Is everything okay?"
"Y-yeah… I just came to say I'm sorry."
The Empress frowned. "Why are you sorry?"
"Because you're going through a lot of trouble because of me. Because of being an Ophidianite. All the classes and the politics of it all. And no one is even getting closer to joining you. So I figured you must be lonely. All because of me," Tara pulled her hat, covering her face.
Hera chuckled. "I truly love who I am right now. And honestly, it's been years since I felt lonely. Between my friends, my court, and you all, I'm surrounded by the best people I can think of. I wouldn't change anything."
"Really?" Tara asked, lifting her head a little to look into the Empress's eyes.
"Really."
"Don't you ever wish you were still human?"
"Not even once. Thinking about it now, having a tail is way too useful to give up. Besides, our scales are so pretty."
"They really are!" Tara gasped.
Hera smiled. "Do you want to come in? We're just going to hang out and talk a little bit."
The Ophidianite ancestor paused before nodding and slithering inside. Seeing a witch's hat with a tail moving around was a bit funny, but Hera held back from giggling.
Here's the revised text following your specified editing rules:
The party started with everybody having fun, laughing, and catching up. Not that the Guides needed to catch up with each other, but it was rare for them to talk with so many different people at once. Even if talking with Livy was like talking with a giant bubble monster at the moment. Nina showed everyone the soap dance, which was much less explicit than Hera would imagine given the name. Like the kobold said, it was mostly having the bubbles trail after her, creating a unique afterimage. With one person dancing it alone, it was already incredible. She could only imagine how amazing it would be if there were a full dance crew.
Eventually, Peaches, Shiretaa, and Siege were talking with Hera, while Livy, Crimson, Nina, and Veridallion played in the bubbles. Capri, Nimbus, and Daskka played a card game, and Viper, Tara, and Jackie talked about something in the bedroom.
"So, kid, how are you doing?" Peaches asked.
"I'm excited about exploring Deakoshara. It feels like it's been years since I last thought about doing something like that," the Empress replied.
"That is a noble undertaking. But I believe the question was related to the inner turmoil after witnessing the horrors of war. All the death caused by not only others but your own—" Before Siege could continue, a giant orange hand appeared and clasped the swan's beak shut.
"I think what Siege here is trying to ask is, how are you handling everything?" Shiretaa asked. Her finger pointed to the giant hand as a small trail of glittering particles connected the two.
"I'm not really handling anything. According to, well, a few people, I kind of shut down. I haven't really felt sad about Flint's death. He was part of my team, the Harmony Guardians. I know I killed a bunch of people, but I don't think I ever felt bad about that. Maybe a little. And not in a sense of being evil and ruthless, like I don't give a damn if I have to kill anyone who stands in my way. It just… doesn't feel real," Hera replied in a low voice to make sure those who were not a part of this conversation couldn't hear her.
Shiretaa nodded. "It is understandable."
"Indeed. And you have been communicating with Sam, yes?" Siege asked.
"I have. He's been helping a lot. And he said that my reaction is not that uncommon for someone who came back from the war, even if I wasn't really that deep into the trenches."
"You know we were following you. Not physically, of course, but you get the point. We watched how you tried to stay out of the front lines, how you ended up having to fight the people responsible for the labs, how you fought in several large battles, including fighting Delta, who was quite literally a stronger version of the Soldiers of Strength. He was going to die either way, but it still doesn't change the fact that he was much more difficult to deal with than anything else. You may not have been fighting every day, but you can't say you're not deep in the trenches, kid."
"Besides, that battle to save Helena's family was heavy. You were basically rescuing people from a prison camp and taking over a city. That was not small potatoes," Shiretaa added.
"And you protected an entire city from a heinous chemical attack. Not to mention, of course, the fact that this all started because you rescued people who were kidnapped and became an Ophidianite in order to continue fighting. If you so desired, you could have lived in that dungeon the rest of your days. Many criminals who escape their bindings decide to do something like it. You didn't," Siege continued.
"In other words, you have every right to have PTSD, kid. Don't sell yourself short," Peaches said, trying to push her by tilting his body.
The answer made the Empress laugh. "I think that's the most upbeat way of saying, 'Hey, you have a severe mental disorder.' But thanks. Sam has been talking to me about that kind of thing, too. I'm allowed to be angry, upset, or whatever because of the circumstances, even if what happened to me seems minor in comparison to someone else."
Before they could continue the conversation, Veridallion approached. "Hera, if you don't mind me asking, how long do you think it will take for you to call the Guide of Deakoshara?"
Hera thought for a moment. "I'm not entirely sure. It could be quick if I found something that really stops us in our tracks. But if I don't, I'll probably hold off on calling them for a while. According to what we found, Deakoshara is massive. There are probably a bunch of different things that I could use to help on, and I don't want to use the skill to figure something out that I could have found myself. I don't know if Shane is going to wait that long, though."
"I see," the leaf praying mantis looked down, as if she was frowning even through her mask. "If you can, don't wait too long. The Guide is very excited about meeting you, and if you take too long, I think she's going to pop something."
Hera chuckled. "I'm also very excited about meeting her. But because of how big the room seems to be, I don't want to rush in and end up losing something important."
"They should understand that. And I do think you will have some extra time, thanks to Pandora. Having talked to her is going to make them much, much calmer."
"Hey, look what's on!" Nina called from the bathroom and changed the screen from music to Hera's interview. The Empress groaned, but the Guides cheered as they all watched, both teasing and complimenting the Ophidianite.
During all that time, Hera couldn't help but have a smile on her face. This is what her life was supposed to be: hanging around with friends, talking about new places, and having fun without a care in the world. She couldn't ask for anything else.