Kel sighed as the carriage rolled to a stop.
Calls to break for camp mingled with the neigh of halting horses outside.
"Who knew sitting all day could be so exhausting?" Kel groaned, trying to rub the small of her back.
"It's because you're not used to using these muscles," Calix chimed in, seating himself next to her.
He pushed her hands away and began pressing his own palms into her sore back.
"You tend to exercise these muscles down here more when riding a horse," the man continued, sweeping his hands down below her tailbone to indicate which part of the body he was referring to.
"Eep!" Kel gasped, blushing a little at the sudden grab of her backside. "I get it, so either massage my back or knock it off!"
She didn't have to look behind her to know Calix was smiling devilishly as he obediently moved his hands back up.
"Actually, you know what?" Kel reached for the carriage door. "I don't need a massage at all!"
She shouted the last words over her shoulder as she bounded away from where the Emperor sat shaking with laughter inside the carriage.
The future Empress running through the dirt after opening the heavy carriage door by herself was certainly a sight to behold. Most of the soldiers around were either engrossed in their work or knew her personally, however, so she only received a few skeptical looks.
"Your Highness!" A woman's voice called after her as she paused next to a tree to catch her breath.
Lucy was running toward her from among the soldiers.
"Your Highness!" she called again, lowering her voice to a hiss as she reached the tree. "Kel what are you doing?!"
"I had to escape, Lucy," Kel panted. "He was going to eat me alive! Right there in broad daylight!"
Lucy raised an eyebrow as she glanced toward the gray sky.
"It's not exactly broad dayli-"
"That's not the point!" Kel pouted. "Can you imagine how embarrassing that would have been?"
Lucy put her hand over her mouth to stifle a laugh. "Kel, I really don't th-"
"KEL!!!"
A shout rang out through the trees, followed closely by a loud thud and sharp grunt.
"-I mean, YOUR HIGHNESS!!" The same voice corrected.
A familiar shaggy mop emerged from the swarm of soldiers making camp, followed by another familiar face.
Kel took a step forward.
"Matty? Alaric?"
Before she could approach her old squadmates, Lucy stepped in front of her brandishing her sword.
"What business do you have with Her Highness?" she growled.
"Um.." Matty scratched his head. "We just wanted to say hi?"
"Ugh." Behind the shaggy-haired boy, Alaric groaned. "I told you that you can't just run up to the future Empress like that!"
He pushed the boy aside and bowed deeply.
"I apologize for our lack of manners. This kid only wanted to greet Her Highness as an old acquaintance."
"Very well." Lucy seemed to be appeased by Alaric's apology. "Make quick greetings and be on your way."
She moved aside, but still hovered nearby. It always amazed Kel how quickly the woman could switch from casual conversation to full on soldier mode.
"Ah.. it's nice to see you both again," Kel smiled awkwardly at her squadmates, trying to ease the tension in the air.
"We hope you've been well, Your Highness," Alaric responded.
It was strange to see the man acting so formally toward her. It felt so unnatural that she nearly wished he'd give her a scolding or bonk to the head like he'd always done in the past.
"Likewise," Kel answered, feeling that the tension was only growing heavier with this *unnatural* exchange.
Luckily, Matty piped in before things became unbearably stiff.
"You're going to be the Empress, Kel!" he said a little too loudly. "That means you can give us a pay raise righ-"
Thump!
"Oh, I mean, Your Highness," Matty corrected himself after a whack from Alaric. "You can give us the raises though, right?"
".. You idiot," Alaric muttered, dropping his face into his palm.
"I'll see what I can do." Kel felt a genuine smile tugging at her lips for the first time since hastily exiting the carriage.
Despite all the many things that had changed, it was nice to see that her old friends were still exactly the same.
"I really missed you guys," she grinned.
Seeing Kel finally relax, Lucy backed off a little and allowed her to enjoy a much-needed conversation with the two men.
Eventually, however, Thane ran up to warn them that the Emperor was out seeking his Empress, and the two soldiers made a quick exit.
"Wow, Lucy. You're brave to let two men talk to Kel right in front of you," Thane shook his head as he watched Matty and Alaric leave. "Calix would kill the both of us if he'd seen tha-"
"If I'd seen what?"
Thane's face grew a shade paler as he whirled around to where Calix had stalked up behind him.
"Nothing, Your Majesty," he answered, motioning toward the other side of camp. "Why don't we go check to see if your tent is ready?"
"Hmm, alright. Let's go," Calix smirked, motioning for Kel and Lucy to join them.
The man was in a shockingly good mood considering earlier he'd agreed to cut his victory march short and then had his prey run from under his claws before he could devour her.
Or maybe he was thinking of..
Kel gasped as she caught a red glint directed at her just before the Emperor turned to follow Thane's lead.
..Revenge?!
Unfortunately, Kel's guess turned out to be correct. The Dragon Emperor had indeed been planning revenge on his disobedient little bird, and made her pay dearly that night.
"Mmm, wait. Shouldn't we go to sleep now?" Kel murmured as Calix nuzzled her neck.
"You can sleep in the carriage tomorrow," the man breathed, moving his lips down her chest.
"Ugh b-but I'm a bit tired," Kel whimpered, throwing a hand to her mouth as the Emperor's tongue caressed her skin.
"Only a bit tired?" Calix paused to glance up at her. "Then I haven't done my job properly yet."
He gently laid a hand on one of her exposed thighs and slowly slid his fingers upward.
Kel shivered at his touch.
"Ok.." she trailed off. "Maybe just.. once more.."
But unsurprisingly, 'once more' turned into a long and sleepless night for the future Empress of Serin.
