Book 3: Chapter 128 (1/2)

Tafel swallowed and approached the empress who was kneeling on the ground, her cheek pressed flat to the earth. She was lifting a bush’s leaves with her gloved hand and squinting into the darkness underneath. Her armor was stained with brown streaks, and her hair was filled with leaves and grass. A few bugs crawled down her back, but she didn’t notice underneath her armor. A hoarse voice came out of Mary’s mouth, “Mary Junior?”

Tafel cleared her throat and took a step closer to the empress. “Mary?”

Mary stiffened and shot to her feet. She turned around and glared at Tafel, but her expression softened after realizing who it was. Mary’s gaze roamed down, and her eyes lit up. “Mary Junior!” In a flash, she was standing in front of Tafel, her hands grabbing onto the turtlesnake in the demon’s arms. “I was looking all over for you.”

The turtlesnake let out a pathetic mewl and looked at Tafel with wide, wet eyes. Tafel looked away and let go of the poor creature’s shell, leaving her in Mary’s hands. The demon’s gaze traveled down Mary’s body, and she frowned at the stains covering her armor. “How long were you looking for her?”

“Since last night,” Mary said, the noontime sun highlighting the brown smudges on her cheeks. “Where did you find her?”

Tafel scratched her reddening neck. “She … wandered into my room while I was sleeping,” she said, unable to meet Mary’s expectant gaze. “And she was just there when I woke up.”

Mary beamed and tucked Mary Junior underneath her arm. “I’m glad you found her.”

“Yeah…, me too,” Tafel said. “Hey. Um, you just want a sword from Grimmy, right? That’s why you’re raising”—she gestured towards the turtlesnake—“her?”

Mary nodded. “That’s right. Why?”

“I happen to know a race of little people that are really good at making weapons,” Tafel said. “Like, really, really good weapons. I can introduce you to them if you’d like. I might have to bully a few of them since they’re a little arrogant, but that shouldn’t be a problem since I’m Vur’s wife and he happens to be their king.”

Mary tilted her head. “Vur’s the king of little people?”

Tafel’s expression darkened. “You saw how easily he became the great leader of those sheepmen, right? It’s the same thing.”

“If I get a sword from the little people, wouldn’t that be similar to me owing Vur a favor?” Mary asked and pouted. “I don’t want to owe Vur. I don’t like him.”

“Just think of it as owing me a favor,” Tafel said. “What’s Vur’s is mine, and what’s mine is Vur’s.”

“Then isn’t the favor that I owe you also owed to Vur?”

Tafel furrowed her brow. “I phrased that wrong. But don’t feel like you owe Vur,” she said. “You can obtain the weapon in normal, weapon-obtainy ways like, um, slaying a beast that’s bothering them or something. The point is, you aren’t getting a weapon for free.”

“Oh,” Mary said. She nodded. “That sounds good. When can we start?”

“Vur’s gone off to stop a purple dragon from eating his sheep people, but when he gets back, we can go,” Tafel said. “We’ll have to fly since it’s a bit difficult to teleport over an ocean. I’ll have to get my mentor to help me set up a teleportation array between our continents for easier travel.”