The sun peaks over some mountains and onto the Capital of Vophate, Vophite. Several birds wake up and begin their morning songs as they fly around the capital.

Paimon peacefully opens her cosmic blue eyes as she lets out a small yawn. She blinks a few times as she grows confused at her surroundings. Then after a few seconds, she remembers where she's at.

'Finally... peaceful sleep.' Paimon smiles, but then she feels something soft on her outstretched left hand, which she's facing away from. 'Hmmm, what's this.' Paimon squeezes the object. 'It's squishy... wait a minute... Is this what Paimon thinks it is?'

Paimon squeezes the object and hears a soft moan. 

 Paimon deadpans. 'This feels cliché... Am I in a book? Is this world nothing but a fantasy book that some read on their phone?'

Paimon turns her head to her left and sees a sleeping Teina, with part of her black hair covering her right eye. Paimon glances a little down and sees her hand on Teina's chest.

Paimon blinks a few times before she removes her hands and rolls over, facing away from Teina. Paimon's face slowly turns red.

'AHHHHH!' Paimon screams in thought. 'It was amazing! But this kind of shit only happens in anime!'

Paimon takes a deep breath and calms down.

'Paimon's been blessed by the gods! But is it wrong to have these feelings for someone of the same gender? Wait... Paimon was a man before, so it is acceptable! But... Hng, Paimon can't fall in love. She has to figure out why this body is so strange and that voice from her dreams.'

Paimon turns around and stares at the sleeping half-dark elf.

'Paimon's confused about feelings and stuff... Paimon should suppress these feelings for now, and focus on her mission.' A smile forms on Paimon's face. 'I could easily slit her throat open, she's so defenseless.'

Paimon, not realizing what she thought, sits up and lets out a yawn. She adjusts her halo slightly floats up and out of bed. She stretches a little more before cracking her neck. Nemuri lets out a couple quiet purrs as she hides under a blanket, sleeping.

"Let's explore a little." Paimon changes out of her sleeping shirt and into her regular clothes.

Paimon looks around the room, and glances between the sleeping Teina and Demai.

"It feels weird to be the first awake for once."

Paimon floats over to the door and quietly opens and leaves. The Fae floats down the empty halls occasionally passing a maid or two.

Paimon stops in a hall and looks at several paintings of past rulers of the Dynasty. She then continues on and goes through a garden full of many different flowers. Then she enters a courtyard where she spots two teens, who look nearly identical fighting an old man with wooden swords.

The two teens, one male and one female, have pink hair and purple eyes. They both stand about 5'6'' (1.6 meters.) They both wear some light metal armor.

The old man has white hair done in a small pony tail. He has dark brown eyes with a large scar over his right eye. His face shows a bit of his age. He wears some gold adorned light plate armor. He stands at 5'11'' (1.8 meters.)

"You both need to be a bit more coordinated!" The old states as he swiftly disarms the two teens with his wooden sword.

The two teens hold their throbbing hands after getting them roughly smacked. The two twins look at each other with smirks, before charging at the old man.

"Charge!" The twins yell.

"Uh oh..."

The twins tackle the old man to the ground, all three start to laugh. A nearby night laughs, who's leaning against a tree.

The knight wears thicker metal armor with brown hair and brown eyes. He has a large scar on his chin with a small stubble. He seems to stand a couple inches shorter than the old man.

"Such an interesting sight." A man walks up behind Paimon, starling her.

Paimon glances back to see a man with blonde hair and bright blue eyes, he wears some metal armor. He gives the Faerie a smile.

"You must be Paimon, I've heard a bit about you." The man says, Paimon just stares at him with a raised eyebrow. "Oh sorry for my rudeness, I am Sir John Featherniche. I am a Lieutenant in the Royal Guards."

"It's nice to meet you... Paimon guesses." She looks back at the old man holding the two teens up by the back of their armor.

"The old man is Sir Humfrye Lowis. He's the Captain of Royal guards. The two twins are my Squires, Asher Temen, and Ashely Temen. They're both 16 and already showing much promise to be powerful guards. And the man leaning against the tree is the Nephew of Sir Humfrye, Gunter Dayum."

"...Okay... Paimon's gonna keep exploring now."

John nods and smiles. "Have a good day now, Miss Paimon."

Paimon floats away as John watches her. He continues to smile as he looks back to Humfrye, seeing him and the twins picking up their wooden swords.

Paimon floats back inside and heads down a hall. The sun is a bit higher in the sky, lighting up everything. "This place is pretty large... Paimon thinks she's lost."

"Paimon!" Julian's voice calls out, and Paimon looks down the hall to see him and the party waving to her. "The Princess is inviting us to breakfast."

Paimon drools a little. "Food!" She zooms down the hall and grabs onto the back of Julian's shirt, dragging him down the hall. "Let's go already!"

Everyone sweat drops.

.

.

The Spirits of the Fae, and Kedrern, are sitting at a large table with the Princess at the head of it. Several servants stand behind her, waiting for orders.

Everyone calmly eats, but Paimon looks very annoyed as she was forced to eat with manners for once. Nemuri sits beside her, eating berries.

"So, what are all your plans for today, before the Ball later tonight?" Princess Wisteria asks.

Julian sets his fork down and pats his mouth with his napkin. "Well, we were planning to go to a blacksmith's shop and repair/upgrade our gear. Then we were going to stroll around the city and check out the sights. Then pick up some outfits for the ball, since none of us have night clothes."

The Princess nods. "I would recommend the Black Scale Smithy, we get our weapons and gear through him, he's trustworthy. Then for the clothes, go to the Divine Thread, she'll make you some really nice custom clothes very quickly."

Julian smiles and nods. "Thank you for the recommendations." 

The Princess looks towards Kedrern. "What about you, Mr. Kedrern?"

Kedrern strokes his short white beard. "Just going to head into town and check on my horse, then visit a couple old friends." He smiles. "Yes, I'll be back before the ball."

Wisteria smiles. "Good, My father is very excited to see you again. I just hope he'll have the energy for the ball."

"You're father is a strong man, I'm sure he'll be fine."

The Princess sighs. "I know, but with everything going on and how my mother is too busy taking care of my father to take care of the kingdom; everything is put onto me. It's just a little stressful."

"Don't worry, Princess, everything will be fine." Demai smiles.

Rein nods. "Yeah, so stop being worried. You'll just ruin your health."

Wisteria lets out a deep sigh. "I guess you're right. Tonight's a time to relax and have fun, not worry about the poor state of the world. Not the war going on, not my rival kingdom potentially preparing to invade us, not the Demon King and his generals, just forget about it all for a single night." 

The party and old man glance at each other.

"She has a lot on her shoulders." Paimon mutters.

"Poor girl." Teina whispers.

A servant walks up to Wisteria and whispers into her ear, and the Princess nods.

"Well, I must take my leave, Royal duties are calling to me." Wisteria stands up. "So have a good day, and I'll see you all tonight." She walks off.

As soon as the Princess leaves the room, Paimon grabs her plate and lifts it up, sliding all the food on it into her mouth.

"Paimon!" Demai shouts.

"What?!" Paimon shouts with a mouth full of food. "I'm hungry!"

Everyone sighs at the Faerie's antics, Nemuri laughs.

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03-01-2024

1364 words