Marinus sat next to Elmar as he told the tale of Marferik the Dread. Theanore was on his other side and squeezing his hand. She would utter her “Oh, no…” every time a village was burned by the dragon.

“Are all dragons bad?” Asked the little nymph when the story was over. She had wanted to have a dragon as a friend. Mostly because of fairy tales that made her believe that to be a princess, you have to be guarded by a dragon. She wanted to be a princess very much.

“Well, Marferik was not in the start. His dungeon core was peaceful, and so he spends all day curled up around it as its form told him stories of far away places,” said Elmar. He had been surprised at that part of the story. Even though he had been told, that Marferik was good, before Dereck read him the story.

“It is best if you don’t get a dragon, Thea,” said Marinus. “Your core is a tree. Dragons burn trees by just breathing on them.”

Well, only the most powerful could breathe out such a powerful smoke that they could burn anything because of it, but if Theanore gave up now, then there won’t be any fire hazard later.

“But how do I become a princess, then?” Asked Theanore and her head lowered.

“You had to be born a princess to be a princess, silly,” said a boy from among the crowd. “The Emperor won’t adopt you and the prince won’t marry you. You are a dungeon core.”

“I have a father already, and I will marry Mari. Mari, you have to become a merman prince!” Said the girl with fire in her eyes.

“Me?” Asked Marinus. Becoming royalty among the merfolk could be done by anyone, true, but it was a bloody ordeal. “Thea, I don’t have an army.”

“I can create you one. Countless mini whales and Eelacondas. Hiss, they are scary looking, and they can wrap tightly around you until you can’t breathe,” said Theanore, and the children looked at her in shock.

“Thea, people die in wars,” tried to explain to her, Elmar. He got a blank look at that. “They get very hurt, and their souls leave their bodies.”

“Like Bellchime the fairy? But her soul didn’t leave the grotto. She is a ghost aura now,” said Theanore.

“Like Bellchime, yes,” confirmed Marinus. “But they go away completely. And the person who starts the war? They die last and regret everything.”

“Can’t you become a merman prince by doing something heroic? Like the youngest brother from the fairy tale about the golden apple,” asked Theanore, and some children groaned.

“Fairy tales are not real, silly,” said a girl, nose turned up. “If you can’t figure it out by yourself, then stop reading them, you empty head.”

“I am not an empty head,” said Theanore, frowning at the girl.

“You so are,” responded the girl. She made a snowball and hurled it towards Theanore, who raised her hand and blocked it. Theanore made a snowball too. Someone yelled snowball fight and things spiraled out of control.

In the end, all the children were laughing. They jokingly proclaimed that Theanore was a battle princess, and they started calling her Your Highness and bowing to her. Theanore responded by blushing and curtsying.

But because she had never curtsied before, it was awkward. Some girls spend an hour teaching her, and then the girls roped the boys into having a royal tea party and a coronation for their princess.

Marinus got the title of grand duke as he was their princess’s fiancé and Elmar of court wizard. When Esmer found them, the air was thick with magic as children ate cookies and drank tea, not knowing what they have done.

Before the forest of fireflies had become the property of the Emperor, it had been unclaimed land. When a dungeon appeared on its grounds, it became property of Theanore. Now, that she had been crowned and holding court, the magic of the forest decided that it had a new ruler.

Esmer knew all that, and she felt dread grip her. The forest was small and close to the coast. Apart from lumber, no other valuable exports were to be had from it. But no ruler would take such a theft laying down.

She had to make a show of strength. The dungeon of illusions had to take the Apple Grotto dungeon under its protection officially. And if she got grandpa Thinker to do the same, then this forest won’t be burned to the ground.

But another dungeon beat her to it. She received a message that another core, by the name of Alina, recognized the independence of the forest of fireflies with its new capital, the Apple Grotto.

Then she got another message that the dungeon of fireballs has also recognized the right of self-rule for the new nation, although it wanted mana in exchange for an alliance.

One by one, many dungeons quickly recognized the new nation, as if someone was talking them into it. Esmer fallowed suit, and then she saw that there was a deal between the Emperor and Alerion for the extending of the territory of the new nation.

Grandpa Thinker was advocating for it to extend to Mirstone, with all the people there switching citizenship. Esmer looked at Theanore who was reading into the empty air with wonder. Then their eyes met.

“Mommy, I am a princess!” Said the little nymph with a bright smile. The surrounding children cheered.

“That means that you will have to improve the lives of everyone in your territory,” said Esmer, and the deal went through with a one-time payment of one milliard golden coins. Esmer gulped. Even she didn’t have this much.

“Now that Mirstone is a part of your territory, you will no longer get deliveries for the orphanage,” continued Esmer gravely. Some children looked worried, but Theanore just pumped her fist in the air.

“Don’t worry, mommy. I can feed everyone. We still have Mari’s aquafarm.”

Esmer hoped that was the truth, for if it was not, then they would end up more indebted to Alerion than they already were.