Tafel sighed. A month had passed since her meeting with Alice, yet there weren’t any signs of Vur or Prika. She leaned back in her plush seat and frowned, tapping the cushy armrest with her fingers. Her brow furrowed, and she waved her hand, opening a portal in front of her. A wave of heat washed over her, and a few grains of sand were blown through the portal, landing by her feet.

“Oh, Tafel!” Mr. Skelly said from the other side of the portal. “How are you?”

“I’m doing great,” Tafel said. She exhaled through her nose and leaned to the side, pressing her cheek against her palm which was propped up by her arm and elbow on the armrest. “It’s been pretty boring, honestly. I always wondered why Auntie ran off to take vacations so often; I thought managing a large empire would be fun, but it actually requires no input on my part after I’ve established my position.”

Alice’s head appeared in the portal’s view, leaning in from the side. A white cat’s head also appeared on top of hers. “Hey, Tafel. Are you contacting us because there’s news about Prika and Vur?”

“No.” Tafel shook her head. “I’m just checking up on you guys, making sure everything is okay. I was hoping you’d have found traces of Vur. I told him to make a mess, right? It’s amazing how we haven’t found him yet.”

“Maybe he got distracted,” Mr. Skelly said and chuckled. The blue flames in his eye sockets lit up. “Oh, there’s something on the horizon that isn’t endless amounts of sand. Maybe we’ll find Vur over there. I’ll let you know if we do.”

“Alright,” Tafel said and waved, watching as Mr. Skelly and Alice disappeared from view. “Take care.” She sighed and closed the portal before brushing away a layer of sand with her feet. Her hand waved, and another portal appeared. A familiar set of black armor and red hair appeared in her vision. “Mary, hello.”

Mary turned around, and her eyes lit up. “Tafel!”

“Are you”—Tafel’s brow furrowed—“um, standing on someone?” She stood up and poked her head through the portal, looking down at Mary’s feet. The blood knight was standing on a large pile of people, at least fifty. “Um…?”

“Yes?” Mary asked. She glanced below herself. “These people…, just ignore them.” She grabbed Tafel and jumped down from atop the pile, leading the demon to another room, the portal closing behind the duo. “Did you find them? Can we go home?”

“You don’t like it here?” Tafel asked, raising an eyebrow.

Mary shook her head. “It’s boring, and I didn’t bring Mary Junior with me. What happens if that evil dragon harvests her soul while I’m gone? I left her with the nice green dragon, so it should be okay, right?”

Tafel’s thoughts drifted towards Mary Junior, the baby turtlesnake that Mary had been tasked with raising by Grimmoldesser. Since it had been left with Vur’s grandpa, its safety should be guaranteed. “As long as Vur’s grandpa doesn’t decide to take a nap, nothing will happen to her.”

“She’s going to die, isn’t she?” Mary asked with a dark expression. She hadn’t spent much time with dragons, but she still knew one thing: dragons loved their naps. “Why do dragons sleep so much? And how come the evil dragon never seems to sleep?”

“I wondered about that too,” Tafel said and nodded. “I think it has something to do with their size. You and I, we eat a lot more than ants, right? It’s because we’re bigger than them, just like dragons are bigger than us. However, it’s easy for us to find food, but it’s not the same for a dragon. I think they sleep a lot to conserve energy. If they don’t move, they don’t use energy, and they don’t have to worry about starving.”

Mary furrowed her brow. “But what about the evil dragon?”

“He eats a lot,” Tafel said with a blank expression. She shook her head. “Anyway, I didn’t find them. I was hoping you did.” Her brows furrowed as her seat shifted, nearly throwing her off the chair. “Are we on a boat?”

“Yes,” Mary said, bobbing her head up and down. “I think I explored all the land, and I saw a boat, so I boarded it. Those people outside didn’t like that I claimed the spot of captain, so I was teaching them a lesson.”

“Oh,” Tafel said and scratched her head. “Speaking of boats, those subordinates of mine were getting ready to explore the seas and head to the New World.” She blinked and stood up. “This isn’t their boat, right?”

Mary shrugged.

Tafel sighed and opened the door. She shouted at the pile of people, “Hey!”

The people on the floor responded in a language she didn’t know. Tafel nodded. “Alright, it seems like I don’t know them.” She walked to the side of the boat and looked around. All she saw was water. “Well, if you ever get lost, just let me know; I’ll open a portal for you. I heard ocean traveling is very difficult; at least, that’s what my subordinates have been telling me. I’m going to go check on their progress.”

“You’re not going to stay?” Mary asked. “Don’t leave so soon. It’s boring here; everyone’s so weak.”

“Right?” Tafel asked and sighed. At first, it was a novel experience, being the only person around who could use magic. Sure, there were witches, but they didn’t really know how to control mana; it was more like they were accidentally infused with it. Other than them, everyone treated her differently; no one treated her like a person. The looks of worship and fear she got, they were wearing her down. Is that how dragons felt all the time? “How about we spar for a bit?”

“The boat will break if we do that,” Mary said and shook her head. “I was thinking you could open up a portal and get us some food….”

Tafel pursed her lips. “You eat a lot too.”