Book 3: Chapter 39 (1/2)

Alice and Mr. Skelly walked into the dining room, their arms linked together by their elbows. Vur was sitting at the table, stuffing his face with food. Alora was sitting next to him, eating at an equally fast pace as if she were competing with him. Other than a few servants delivering trays to the table and Apollonia sitting at the head, no one else was in the room. Alice scratched her head as she took a seat across from Vur. “Where’s Tafel?”

“She’s in the yard,” Apollonia said. “She said she wouldn’t eat until she finished her training.”

“Oh,” Alice said and nodded. “The empress isn’t here?”

“Her Imperial Majesty is training in the yard as well.”

“Oh?” Mr. Skelly asked. “Those two are getting along awfully well, aren’t they?” He tapped the chin of his helmet and hummed. “But there’s no point in training on an empty stomach. I’ll bring those two in.” He patted Alice’s shoulder before turning to leave.

“I think the food will be gone before they arrive,” Alice said as she reached forward and snatched three plates away from Alora and Vur. They glared at her, causing her to shrink back, before competing against each other for the remaining dishes.

Right when Alice finished stocking the three plates, a portal appeared behind her and three people tumbled through: Tafel, Mary, and Mr. Skelly. Tafel hopped to her feet, her head swiveling around until her gaze finally landed on Vur. “Where’s the emergency?”

“Ah, yes, a terrible emergency,” Mr. Skelly said as he sat up and dusted off his armor. “Vur’s wife is starving herself, and we have to help her eat before she collapses and dies. It’d be a tragedy if Vur went berserk due to the loss of a loved one.”

Tafel punted Mr. Skelly’s helmet and skull off in one smooth motion.

“He’s right,” Alice said and handed Tafel a plate filled with food. “The less you eat, the less effective your training becomes.”

Tafel pursed her lips before letting out a sigh. “Thanks, I suppose,” she said as she sat down beside Alice. She turned towards Mary. “You’re not going to eat?”

“There’s no emergency?” Mary asked, furrowing her brow. “I wanted to challenge something….”

“You can compete in their eating contest,” Apollonia said, pointing at Vur and Alora. The two hadn’t taken their eyes off of the plates on the table the whole time.

Mary took one glance at the two and shook her head. “I’ll get fat,” she said. “There’s—”

“Grand Duchess! An emergency report!” A servant barged into the dining room. “Your clone left a message in your study. The devil’s disappeared!”

“Disappeared? What do you mean disappeared?” Apollonia asked. Her face paled as Mary glared at her like a tiger stalking its prey. “Give me the orb.”

The servant half-ran, half-walked up to Apollonia and handed her a blue crystal sphere. Apollonia peered into it, and an image of herself standing on a knight’s shoulder came into view. The miniature Apollonia jumped up and down. “A black dragon flew down from the sky and caught the devil with a net. Then the dragon stuffed the devil into a jar and flew away.”

Apollonia furrowed her brow as she placed the orb down and raised her head. “Hey,” she said towards Vur and Alora.