Ascension of the Monster Queen

Nessa noticed Youthim was distracted while they were talking and smiled before tapping him on the shoulder, causing him to flinch before looking at her.

"I'm sorry," He apologized.

"It's fine, what are you thinking?" She inquired.

"Do you want us to start building an inn for passers-by or regular visitors?" He asked, and she smiled.

"Yes, I was about to address that, but I am glad you thought of it, an inn will be great to have, we will be able to accommodate guests and so on, you don't have to rush that, so please don't go pushing yourselves too much, am I clear on this?" She asked as they exchanged glances and she sighed.

"Hey, are you guys listening to me? Are we clear on this?" Nessa asked as Youthim started coughing and her eyes narrowed as Riki and the others smiled.

"Youthim," Dalia said.

"I'm sorry, something got stuck in my throat; is this all you wanted to discuss, my lady?" Youthim inquired.

"Yes, I covered the new strategies, future developments, and so on," She replied.

"Good, that's good to know, now if you will excuse me, I have to clear my throat and get going with our work, we have a lot to do," He said then rushed off with the other dwarves and the others burst out laughing as she sighed and Dalia patted her on the back.

"They are not going to listen to me for that part are they?" Nessa asked.

"Doesn't seem like it, I know you're only concerned about them, but they're fulfilling their dreams, trying out new designs on the things they build, they want you to have the best, they won't slow down, but you already knew that, didn't you, lady Nessa?" Zeitaz inquired, and she smiled as she looked at him.

"Yeah, I know that; I want them, and all of you, to be able to do what you want, to fulfill your dreams, but I also want you guys to be cautious and not push it too far," She replied and he smiled.

"Believe me when I say that we more than understand, so far what you have achieved, no one your age has, we will be as careful as we can while we go through this, I am pretty sure Youthim and the others understand as well, they just don't like hearing it," Tehitos said and they laughed.

"He is correct," Zeitaz said, and Nessa chuckled.

"Yeah, I know he is, now I'm really hungry, I'm going to get something to eat, soon enough we'll be having ice cream as well, can't wait to have that, we'll get from the other kingdoms plus make a few of our own," She replied, and they smiled.

"If we're still here," Riki said, "we'd love to try it out."

"I am pretty confident you guys will stay, well that's just my feelings, my heart and gut are both telling me that you guys aren't going anywhere," Nessa replied to which Dalia smiled and Riki smirked as Liya looked at them.

"Depends on circumstances, but we shall see what happens," Riki said and she smirked.

"I believe I will be correct, but you are also right here; we shall see; I cannot wait to see what the future brings us." She replied, and they sighed feeling a bit relieved yet worried.

Nessa then turned around and looked at the people within the city and smiled after seeing how happy and carefree they were being. She was glad to see that they all found a place to belong and she wanted them to keep smiling.

"Lady Nessa, no matter what happens, you know no one here will ever turn on you, ever blame you for anything, at least I don't feel like they will, everything will be just fine, we are going to stand by you because if it wasn't for you, none of this would have existed, we would all be living a hopeless life," Zeitaz said as she stared at him and he smiled.

"He is correct, my lady; nothing will be the same without you as well; you are now a part of us," Tehitos said, as Nessa smiled.

"Thank you, guys," She said softly as they stared at her before exhaling deeply.

"No need to thank us, my lady; you are the one who makes everything possible," Zeitaz said, and Nessa sighed before looking up at the sky and sniffing the fresh air around them.

'Which race is the closest to us?' Nessa wondered.

[Those are the Lizardmen, master; they live near the swamps and along the lake sides not far from here.]

"Guys," Nessa said as they looked at her, "I'll go look at the new things that started growing within the forest that was mentioned, and then I think we'll head to meet the Lizardmen."

"I heard the one from nearby has an annoying guy in it, he is more than annoying, we should just leave them alone," Riki replied, and Nessa chuckled.

"You know we can't do that, we can't let them die knowing we could help, can we?" He looked at her when she asked and she grinned then he sighed.

"I won't win against you, I won't try, besides you are right, that's something that can follow you around for a while, fine," He responded and she grinned before leaving and Riki glanced at Dalia.

"You are quite fond of lady Nessa, aren't you?" Riki asked and Dalia glanced at him with a gentle smile on her face.

"She saved my life, Riki, so yes, I am quite fond of her now, I want to be by her side and help, this place will be nice, but that can only happen when we decide where to go after we deal with what we came for," She responded, and Riki sighed before turning to look at the citizens, while Tehitos glanced at them.

"You guys are always free to stay, you have time yet to make your decisions, don't stress over it now, though you should know that no matter what, lady Nessa will always accept you guys, don't overthink," He said before leaving and they smiled.