The woman had a far-off look on her face as she looked toward the door. “Oh, he should be back this evening. He is off tending to the animals with your sister.”

“Sister?” Kalli and I gasped as one.

There didn’t seem to be enough room in the tiny cabin for more than two people but when I looked around I noticed another set of bedding in the far corner.

The woman’s face reddened and she added, “That’s right. You have a little sister. She’s eight years old. We waited for you to return for years. Then we, well, it was very cold one night and I became pregnant with your sister. I am so happy that you finally returned to us.”

She wrapped up Kalli in a hug again, tears dripping on her dress. I cleared my throat and asked, “Can you tell us what happened to you that night? Also, what should I call you? Mom?”

That got her attention. She released Kalli and strode across the room, looking me up and down. In a stern voice, she said, “My name is Celestea, Queen of Celestea. Who are you and what exactly are you to my daughter?”

“I am her mate and she is my everything.” Is what I wanted to say. However, my courage failed and I said, “Hi, Miss Celestea. My name is M-Melvin M-M-Murphy and I am Kalli’s…”

“Boyfriend!” Kalli practically shouted the word. “Melvin is my boyfriend and I love him. Even though you are my mom, I’ve never met you before so you don’t get a say.”

I looked gratefully at Kalli.

I love you so much right now.

She smiled back. I know.

Celestea looked over her shoulder at Kalli and replied, “Is that so? Very well. My only intention is that you be happy.”

Kalli harumphed and nodded. I spoke again, drawing Celestea’s attention back to myself. “What happened that night when Lady Mardella stalked you in the forest. And why did you have to flee the castle?”

“How did you know…?” She began, trailing off. “Never mind about that. It was an inside job. We were betrayed by a trusted servant and forced to flee. As the puppetmaster was only after Kalli, we felt that the kingdom might be spared if we escaped. Alas, it was not to be so.”

Kalli was like a statue on the other side of the room, doing little more than listening to her mother’s story. I blurted out, “You were betrayed by the cat, weren’t you?”

For a moment, Celestea paused. “Well, no. It was someone else that sold us out. That much she admitted. Orpheus is a good cat. Loyal. I don’t know what happened to him that night, though I doubt he could have helped had he been there. It would have just been one more death on my hands.”

“Isn’t the castle magic?” I asked, wanting to know what happened. “Wouldn’t it have been smarter to stay in the castle, rather than run away where you were vulnerable?”

Celestea nodded slowly, folding her arms over her chest. “That is true. The Celestean magic does protect the Queendom while I am on the throne. Unfortunately, there is a gaping flaw to that magic. It is not very reactive. If a threat manages to penetrate the castle walls, we are vulnerable. While I can expel any threat I see, I would be powerless to do so until the attack was already carried out. Additionally, the puppetmaster wanted Kalliphae, not me. It was very likely for her to be taken or worse without me even knowing about it.”

“So your solution was to run away?” Kalli stammered, tears in her eyes. “I grew up without a family. Then you went and started another one. Did you even think about me while I was gone?”

“Oh, honey.” Celestea soothed, rushing back to her daughter’s side and cupping her face in her hands. “Not a day went by when I didn’t think of you. We stayed in this very spot because he said you would one day return to us.”

“Who told you that?” I barked, eager to learn more about the man from the dream.

Celestea raised an eyebrow at me. “You should know him. I see him in your eyes. One red and one blue. The man who rescued me that day had your eyes. I assume you are related to him.”

It was my turn to freeze. I wanted more information. Why hadn’t I inspected him in my dream? Pressing Celestea, I asked, “Did he tell you anything else?”

She shook her head. “The only thing he said was that he would make sure Kalli had a good life and to wait here and she would find me one day.”

Regretting the fact that I didn’t learn more about the man in the blue cloak, I decided to inspect the Queen.

Name

Celestea Celestea Celestea

Class

Fallen Queen

Level

57

Affection Level

Acquainted

“Your name is Celestea Celstea Celstea?” I asked in confusion.

She laughed, her tone shrill, while covering her mouth with the back of her hand. “Tis a custom in Celestea. Upon taking the throne, the queen becomes all things Celestea. This includes her name. It’s a part of the magic.”

Out of curiosity, I decided to inspect Kalli.

Name

Kalliphae Celestea Murphy (Edited)

Class

Pyromancer

Level

23

Affection Level

Indifferent

I opened my mouth but Kalli beat me to it. “How did my name change? Celestea wasn’t there before!”

Celestea’s eyes widened momentarily before she caught herself and took on a more neutral expression. “Why do you think your name changed?”

Kalli hedged a bit, looking to me to take the lead. I replied for her. “We can see magic and it tells us things. For example, you’re a level fifty-seven, um, queen.”

A part of me wondered if the queen was going to call me out on my half-lie. She eyed me suspiciously for a few seconds before explaining. “The name Celestea is a royal birthright of the crown family. Any direct descendant inherits and surname Celestea. All females born into the line also gain the middle name. When she is crowned, the queen assumes all three names. It’s a little absurd but it’s tradition.”

I couldn’t help but snicker out loud.

Are you going to become Triple C? Can I call you that?

Kalli gave me the stinkeye, a look I was far too used to. Do you want to die?

Thinking back to the castle’s magic, I asked, “How does a princess get crowned queen anyway?”

Celestea sighed. “I’m afraid those days may have passed. Our dynasty was always tied to ancient magic that resided within those walls. When the castle was destroyed, the magic died along with it. When we first got here, I made the journey back to the ruins to see if it could be revived but the magic was all gone. Recently, we took Shiviria and the magic didn’t respond to her either. I’m afraid that what once made us unique in this world died that day, twelve years ago.”

Kalli stared at me. What does that mean? Why did it respond to us?

I smiled in return.

I think that means you inherited a Queendom from your mother.

She looked nervously at her mother. Should we tell her?

Celestea watched our silent exchange and asked, “Are the two of you communicating right now?”

“Yes.” We answered together, laughing at ourselves in the process.

She looked concerned and asked, “How are you doing that?”

Again, Kalli and I looked at each other, debating what to tell her. Finally, I spoke. “Have you heard about group chat?”

Celestea’s lip curled up in a smirk. “Oh, that. I’ve heard about such things from the guild. Back when we had one, of course. They would arrange adventurers in groups so they could communicate over great distances. How did you two manage it?”

“But you’re awakened,” I said, not entirely convinced. “Aren’t you? How are you level fifty-seven?”

She yawned, looking slightly annoyed. “Royalty do not worry about trivial things like awakening. We have people for that.”

“But haven’t you ever wanted to be in a group with your husband?” Kalli asked quietly, adding, “With father?”

“Oh heavens no, dear.” Celestea scoffed. “You may be young and in love now but I guarantee you that you will want your privacy in the long run. I love my husband but only in small doses. Besides, you have to have a mage around to add or remove you from the group. It is far too troublesome to maintain.”

Deciding to give her a preview, of what we could do, I invited Celestea to the group.

CELESTEA CELESTEA CELESTEA HAS JOINED THE GROUP

She was met by some chuckling and a very audible gasp. Alariel spoke up first. Queen Celestea, is that you?

Celestea looked around nervously, starting to panic. Who is this?

Alariel sounded more subdued when she replied. I apologize, your majesty. We were told you had died. My name is Alariel Vestara. I believe I met you when I was younger.

Celestea slumped into a chair. “Nobody is supposed to know we are alive. I fear the assassins may return to finish the job if they discover our whereabouts.”

I glanced at the group list.

Melvin Murphy

Kalliphae Celestea Murphy

Joe Reid

Rundell Adlowan

Wendy Mayuko

Kiki Morin

Alariel Vestara

Crypian

Esha the Pugnant

Boombrix

Celestea Celestea Celestea

“You don’t have to worry about these people.” I attempted to placate the queen. “I trust all of them with my life.”

She sighed, looking past me at Kalli. “It matters not. The cabbit is out of the bag. Besides, we have only been waiting here for you to find us. When your father returns we will decide what to do next.”

Joe interrupted our conversation by asking a question in group chat. Excuse me, ma’am. Is your name actually Celestea Celestea Celestea or is that some kind of a glitch?

Celestea gave us a frustrated look and asked, “Honey, where are your friends from? Is the monarchy so dead that nobody remembers Celestea anymore?”

“They aren’t from this world, mother,” Kalli explained, taking my hand in hers. “Melvin here summoned me to another world called Earth.”

“Hmm, that explains how he was able to invite me to his group.” She said absentmindedly, appraising me again as if for the first time. “Why did you summon my daughter to another world?”

I gave Kalli a playful look.

To be my girlfriend?

She stuck her tongue out at me, causing the queen to raise an eyebrow. No! Don’t you dare say that to my mother.

In the background, Alariel was busy explaining to the rest of the group how Celestean queens got their name. The queen, however, was staring at us once again. “The two of you are doing it again. Now tell me. How are the two of you communicating?”

Kalli stuck her tongue out at her mother. “That’s a secret that I’m not telling you.”

The two of them faced off for a long time before the queen sighed dejectedly. “Very well. Are the two of you hungry?”

Not wanting to be rude, we accepted the offer of food.

We ate another meal with ingredients that I wasn’t familiar with while we waited for Kalli’s father and sister to come home. Celestea left the group, nervous that someone might use the connection to send assassins.

She had Kalli tell her all about her childhood and adventures with me. Kalli told her all about how I nearly killed myself summoning her and our adventures with Eddie and meeting Lavender. She sugarcoated the parts where she nearly died fighting the griffon and where I accidentally killed a vampire.

Celestea seemed very interested in The Academy and some of the classes we took. She wiped happy tears from her eyes and said, “I am pleased to know that you had a somewhat normal childhood. I worried about you so much.”

Kalli glared at her. “Did you miss the part where I grew up in an orphanage and was treated like garbage by virtually everybody?”

The queen looked down at the ground, clearly upset by her daughter’s rebuke. “I am truly sorry for what happened to you. If I could go back in time and change things, I would do so in an instant. However, all things considered, I am grateful you survived and have returned to me.”

Kalli couldn’t meet her mother’s eyes so I continued the story. “Then we knew that Kalli had to return to deal with the contract, so I sent her home. She was gone for a long time but then I felt that she was in trouble. When I crossed over to Gaia, I found that everyone had the plague.”

Celestea gave me a confused look and asked, “What plague?”

It was our turn to be confused. Kalli decided to ask what both of us were thinking. “Didn’t any of you get the plague? Everyone else in the dark lands seemed to get it.”

“The what lands?” Celestea continued to question everything. “Is that what they are calling it? We haven’t spoken to another living person down here since the fall. Most of the villages were north of Celestea and we have avoided the few travelers we encountered because we don’t know who to trust.”

Kalli took over the story, explaining how she arrived on Gaia and the work we had done to cure the villagers. She left out the part about Celestea castle. I felt her nervousness to tell her mother that we did what she could not.

She was just about to explain about the contract when the door flew open revealing a young girl framed in the door.