After what felt like ten or so minutes of this hectic carriage ride, we finally began to slow down as Stergos from the driver's pit knocked on the carriage indicating that we were arriving.
Rayji and Tesera were glued to the Queen, not letting go of her waist as if she'd disappear the minute that they did.
"We're here," Stergos said as he hopped off the pit, circling over to the carriage door.
As he opened the door, it was the Queen who deboarded first with the siblings in tow, then Ashari, and I last.
We were greeted by sunlight peeking through a grand oak tree, under its shade was a small encampment and a handful of men dressed in black armor strolling about.
I looked back at the path that we had taken, and could faintly see Quell in the distance as a hazy speck on the horizon. Whether Ervwin would chase or not, it would take a while unless he had a means of transportation. But I wasn't worried about that.
The Queen tugged the siblings along over to what looked like a tea table, it was large enough to sit all of us present. As she took a seat, and had Stergos arrange two chairs for the siblings to be next to her, she beckoned us over to sit down with her.
As Ashari and I took a seat, the Queen let out a long drawn sigh.
"Ughhhhhhhhh..." She groaned, a look of relief on her face.
I said nothing as I patiently waited for her to say something, but all she did was stare at me inquisitively.
Finally, she spoke up.
"What is your name?" She asked me as she patiently waited for the tea that Stergos was pouring for her.
"I'm Ignis." I told her.
"Ignis? I've never heard of that name befo- HOTH!." She yiped as she had taken a sip from the tea too soon; it was still quite hot.
It was odd watching her, this doppelganger of the Demon Queen from the video game. Every time she spoke, I was expecting her to call me her strategist, or to impart me some token of wisdom.
But as I watched her dab her burnt tongue with a napkin, I was starting to think I wouldn't learn anything too profound from her.
"How abouth you?" She asked Ashari, her tongue still swollen.
Ashari got up from the table and gave a deep bow as she stated herself.
"I am Ashari Zepar, Daughter of Chief Ratusk, Princess of the Zepar Steppe." She said with pride as her white hair glistened under the sunlight.
"It is an honor to meet you, your Majesty." She finished as she finally looked up at her.
"Andth you tooth." The Queen said as she took a fumbled bite of a biscuit.
Stergos came around from the corner and brought what looked like small ice cubes to the Queen. She took a mouthful.
"Ah, that's better. Sorry about that you two." Her voice had finally returned to normal.
It was now her turn to formally introduce herself as she took a stand from her seat, letting go of Rayji and Tesera's grip.
"I am Flaur Ars Goetia, Demon Queen of Demonkind." She said with a flourish as she haughtily raised a hand up to her chin like a cartoon villain.
"Kyahaha! You two have caught me in the grandest of moods, and the fact that you've rescued my darling little siblings, I am in a spectacular mood-- no, an ARS GOETIAN MOOD!" She said as she cackled some more, her breasts jumping up and down dramatically; they must be fake, right?
I could see from the corner of my eye Ashari was eyeing Flaur's chest with a strange look; I wonder what was going through her head?
"You! You're the Hero are you not, Ignis?" She pointed at me, a mischievous glint in her eye.
"Y-Yes." Why was I nervous? Even through my emotion dampening, this wave of nausea permeated through me like a cold sweat; I had a bad feeling about this.
"KYAHAHA!" Like a cannonball, or a violet-haired gremlin more like it, leaped into the air aiming right at me.
She was too fast for me as my face was suddenly met with something very soft and cushioned; it smelled like sweet perfume.
"Y-Your Majesty what're you doing!?" I could hear Ashari shout frantically as Flaur kept her enourmous bust planted into my face.
If it weren't for the fact that I didn't need to breathe, I likely would've begun suffocating by now with how much force she kept her breasts pushed into my mouth and nose.
"KYAHAHAHA! I've finally found a slav-- I MEAN HERO who can help my cause!" She cackled as raised my head up from her chest to meet her face.
"What?" I said confused over what exactly was going on. One moment we're saved by her from the crazed Quellians, and now she's asking me to help her cause?
"KYAHAHAH-- GEH." Like a scruffed kitten, Flaur was forcibly removed from me as Stergos appeared from behind her and yanked her off of me with her coat's collar. He had her hanging in midair as she looked on helplessly.
I shot a glance at the siblings, but they averted their eyes from mine. It was clear that they were embarrassed over the kind of person their Big Sis really was, nevermind Queen of the damn country.
"Excuse us, her Majesty can be excitable at times and often flies into her 'whims'." Stergos calmly explained as he carried Flaur back to her seat.
"A-Ahem, moving on!" Flaur fake coughed as she pretended that just didn't happen.
Ashari looked flustered, but she also returned to her seat; her face was flush dark blue.
"We will be postponing the reward I'll be giving you for saving my family and any questions you may have for me," She glanced over to Ashari as she mentioned questions, "As for now, you've caught me in a sort of political quagmire." She straightened herself up as she took another sip of her tea; it was impressive how quickly she could change gears.
"Political quagmire? Are you talking about what was happening at Quell?" I asked.
Flaur gave a small sigh as she nodded her head.
"Not just Quell, but for many of the other towns that're under Baron Valefor's fiefdom."
I thought back to the burnt corpsepile that we had seen at the exit of the cave, and its sign planted into the bodies; we had seen that name there too.
"But, do not worry, I've been handling this on my own accord as of late. You're allowed to stay here until I've dealt with the problem, and then we can talk." She said as she took a bite from her biscuit.
"Is that why you're all the way out here and not at the Capital?" Ashari asked as she too took a sip from her tea; smiling over its taste as she did.
"Yes and no," Flaur replied.
"I had this expedition planned to find Rayji and Tesera here, it hadn't come to my attention about Valefor's insurgency until I had come along and witnessed it for myself." She scowled.
"I would say it's a happy accident, but there's nothing happy about dealing with a rogue noble. Especially so for one as powerful as Valefor, he has his own religious sect after all." She groaned as she called for Stergos to pour more tea.
"What about your council, what do they think is the best next step?" I spoke up, finally catching myself up to what was going on.
Flaur fell silent as she heard me mention the word council.
"Your Majesty? Did I say something wrong?" I asked, worried that I may have offended her.
"No, you're fine sir Ignis. I just lack... a council... is... all..." Her voice trailed off into a sheepish whisper.
"You lack council? What of Stergos?" I said as I looked over to Stergos.
"He's simply my butler." She casually explained.
He's one hell of a butler, if I do so say so myself.
"Your Assistant? Chamberlains? Generals?" I repeated, but she shook her head at every ask.
"Your... strategist?" I finally uttered the word, and my chest hummed at it's escape from my lips.
"No, no one like that." She shook her head once more wearily.
"Then, if I could ask, what was your plan to do out here?" I asked, but I immediately regretted it.
Flaur only glumly frowned as she heard my question, she was picking slowly at a biscuit on her plate.
"It seems her Majesty is tired, let's reconvene later for dinner shall we?" Stergos cut in, seeing that the mood had soured beyond repair.
"I'm sorry." I muttered, but Flaur didn't acknowledge it as she stepped away from the table and entered her tent; the siblings following her quietly in tow.
I looked to Ashari, but all she could manage was a tight-lip.
"Let me escort you two to your tent." Stergos said as he beckoned us to follow.
We said nothing else as we left the table; the tea now cold.