The days in Havencrest passed at a languid pace, with each of us tending to our respective duties and desires. Melodious had taken it upon herself to hold weekly gatherings where she insisted on regaling everyone with her latest "discoveries" regarding human-monster relations - which mostly consisted of painfully corny jokes and far-fetched anecdotes that would never happen in real life.
Elara managed to successfully negotiate with Zulu about sharing her time and body. In exchange for granting her periods when she could have full control over her form, Elara was able to convince her to help with kingdom-building efforts during those times. This resulted in an unexpected benefit for us, as Zulu turned out to be surprisingly adept at handling red tape and bureaucracies.
All in all, Zulu was acting civil, but she never missed a chance to remind me of my promise of a new body. I planned on making good with that, but Fiona had trouble with the formula. She told me I had best find someone with experience with what I was asking.
Illiana would spend hours locked away in her chambers, conducting experiments involving various magical concoctions. Each day, she proudly emerged with some new potion or elixir, claiming that it would revolutionize the lives of humans and monsters alike. More often than not, these concoctions resulted in mildly amusing side effects – like temporarily turning people into frogs, causing them to break out in spontaneous laughter, or making their ears grow three sizes bigger.
For a divine being, she seemed wholly enraptured by the process of potion-making. I assumed that she would just be using her magic, but more than once, I had heard an explosion go off in the depths of the castle, only to find out that she was mixing substances. When I went to ask Illiana, she just told me that the point was for humans to be able to make them, along with other monsters, without magic.
Fiona continued to manage the castle diligently, ensuring everything ran smoothly and efficiently. Her no-nonsense attitude earned her the begrudging respect of even Lachlan, who finally seemed to be coming around (at least somewhat) to the idea of coexisting with monsters. Despite this progress, however, the two still maintained a healthy rivalry built on a foundation of mutual distrust and one-upmanship.
While Lachlan seemed to level with my maid, the man still sneered in my presence. Each meeting with him always seemed to end in a staring match that left me wanting to eat the man. Fiona was always there to calm me, and I was thankful for that.
As for Kya, she spent most of her time training with Galor, honing her combat skills and further mastering the unique abilities granted to her as my forged weapon. Together, they made for an impressive duo capable of taking on any threat that dared challenge our growing kingdom.
I couldn't deny that things were changing in Havencrest, albeit at an incredibly slow pace. It was as if we were all just playing a game of "watch the kingdom grow" while trying our best to ignore the deep-rooted issues that still plagued us.
Occasionally, we would come together for meetings - gatherings marked by laughably disorganized attempts to discuss matters of state and strategy. More often than not, these sessions devolved into petty squabbles over whose idea was better or who should be in charge of what aspect of our ever-growing list of responsibilities.
During one such meeting, I found myself arguing with Elara about whether it was feasible to create a combined human-monster educational system.
"The point is that we're trying to foster understanding and cooperation," I insisted, my voice tinged with impatience. "How can we possibly expect humans and monsters to learn from each other if they're being educated separately?"
Elara scoffed, her black eyes glittering with irritation. "You honestly think it's that simple? You want to throw two completely different species into a classroom together and hope for the best? You clearly don't know the first thing about children!"
Before I could retort, Melodious chimed in with one of her signature terrible jokes. "Why did the skeleton go to school?" she asked, a mischievous smile on her face. When no one answered, she continued, "To get a little more backbone!"
Groans filled the room, and I couldn't help but roll my eyes at her failed attempt at humor. However, the tension in the air had dissipated slightly, and the conversation shifted to more mundane topics.
Despite the slow progress and many setbacks, there was something oddly comforting about our new way of life. In our own peculiar, dysfunctional way, we were building a kingdom that had never been seen before – a haven where humans and monsters could coexist in relative harmony.
It was an ambitious dream and one that had no guarantee of success. But as I looked at the motley crew of individuals that made up my Queen, forged and to-be-forged weapons, loyal maid, and Shadow Wolf, I couldn't help but feel a sense of pride in what we were attempting to accomplish together.
Finally, after two weeks went by, one of the riders that we sent out did not return with good news.
"My king! One of the riders from the south is back, but he is badly wounded!" Fiona said after busting into the dining hall where I was talking with Shiva. That was the name of Elara's second entity, the ice spirit, and she had been much harder to get to talk to than Zulu. That was hardly a surprise considering she loved the sound of her own voice.
I quickly stood up, concern etched on my face. "Take me to him immediately."
Fiona led the way, and we soon arrived at the infirmary, where the injured rider lay on a bed, his body covered in bandages and bruises. A healer was tending to his wounds, doing her best to alleviate his pain.
"What happened?" I asked urgently as I approached his bedside. The rider looked up at me, his eyes filled with fear and pain.
"We… We were ambushed, my king," he stuttered, clutching at the sheets covering him. "We tried to negotiate with one of the human settlements further south... but they refused. They attacked us without warning, calling us abominations for siding with monsters."