East Wing
The hurricane arrived in silk boots.
Cylvia clapped her hands once, and the doors flew open.
Three male elves entered like they owned the room.
Tall.
Sculpted.
Smirking.
They wore faux-adventurer gear — leather straps, mock armor plates, decorative blades clearly meant more for display than battle.
They strutted forward with the confidence of men who had never once been told they were not magnificent.
The room exploded.
Shrieks.
Laughter.
Wine nearly spilled.
Cylvia was already on her feet.
"Yes! Finally!"
The trio bowed theatrically before beginning their routine — dramatic flourishes, spinning cloaks, exaggerated poses.
They shed their outer gear piece by piece.
First the cloaks.
Then the armor straps.
Then the boots.
The women roared approval.
Most of them.
The Queen watched calmly.
The Vixens exchanged glances.
Dawn crossed her arms.
The performers were impressive.
Objectively.
Broad chests. Defined shoulders. Confident grins.
But something was… underwhelming.
Zee leaned toward Llandra first.
"Are they supposed to be impressive?"
Bunny squinted slightly.
"I guess so."
A pause.
"It's not really that much, is it?"
Llandra flushed immediately.
"I think they're considered large for elves," she defended weakly. "We're just… accustomed to something else."
The Queen, who had been listening carefully, narrowed her eyes.
Not at the dancers.
At the Vixens.
She remembered Nyxian's earlier description.
The gasps.
The disbelief.
Now she was studying the girls' expressions.
They weren't disappointed.
They were… spoiled.
West Wing
The tenth round of drinks disappeared quickly.
So did the eleventh.
Laughter came easier with each passing mug.
Legos leaned back in his chair, studying Jax over the rim of his drink.
"I've been wondering something."
"Oh?"
"You always have an answer."
Jax shrugged.
"I usually have an opinion."
"No," Heiron corrected. "An answer."
The King nodded.
"You speak of roads, trade, farming, engineering..."
"...as though you've seen kingdoms far beyond our own."
Jax smiled faintly.
"I suppose I have."
Vaelrith quietly watched him.
"And your homeland?"
Jax looked into his mug.
"My homeland was... different."
Vaelrith was curious now. "Explain how different it was."
West Wing
The dancers continued their routine, moving from guest to guest — but the boundaries had been made clear early.
"No touching," Nyxian had stated flatly.
The Queen had echoed it.
"We observe only."
The dancers respected the rule.
They performed.
They flexed.
They posed.
Meanwhile, the real chaos began among the women.
"If he does that spin again, drink."
"If someone screams like that, two drinks."
"If Cylvia throws a coin— three."
Within minutes, the drinking game took hold.
The Queen watched, amused.
Then leaned forward.
"Instead of sipping," she suggested casually, "how about we do shots? The Royal Reserve."
The Vixens froze.
Then grinned.
The Queen ordered the maids to fetch the Royal Reserve.
Dawn blinked.
"You're serious?"
"Very."
The Queen poured the first round herself.
Glasses clinked.
The night shifted again.
Gossip flowed freely now.
East Wing
"Impossible."
Legos set his drink down.
"A carriage without horses?"
Jax nodded.
"It carried half a dozen people at a time. Larger ones could carry much more."
"How?"
"I honestly can't explain the mechanics."
"You don't know?"
"I know what it does."
"I never learned how every piece worked."
He smiled.
"I just drove them."
The brothers exchanged doubtful looks.
East Wing
"Impossible."
Cylvia set her drink down. "No man can satisfy, I mean, truly satisfy four women in a night. Most can't even satisfy one."
The Queen asked more pointed questions.
"How does he balance attentiveness with endurance?"
Nyxian nearly fell over laughing.
"Oh, Your Majesty…"
Llandra covered her face.
Cylvia was wide-eyed.
Dawn leaned forward, far more interested than she intended to appear.
The Queen felt something she hadn't in years.
Youth.
Mischief.
Belonging.
The spark her husband had shown earlier now burned in her chest too.
Tonight, she wasn't just a queen.
She was a woman among women.
And she was having the most fun she'd had in decades.
West Wing
Jax continued.
"There were even larger ones."
"Larger?"
"They crossed oceans."
Silence.
"Hundreds of people at once."
Heiron laughed.
"Flying?"
"Flying."
"The largest gryphon couldn't carry that many."
The King nodded.
"Nor any dragon I've ever heard of."
Jax chuckled.
"I thought they were normal."
"They were simply... part of everyday life."
The questions became more curious than skeptical.
"What else?"
Jax leaned back.
"We carried small devices."
"They fit in your hand."
"They told the time."
"They remembered appointments."
"They could store books."
"They could calculate numbers."
"They drew maps."
"They knew where you were."
"They even let you speak with someone hundreds of miles away."
Legos blinked.
"So..."
"A tele-stone."
Jax smiled.
"...Very similar. But one with a type of system inside of it."
"But everyone owned one."
Even commoners.
Even children.
The room fell silent.
The King frowned thoughtfully.
"Every citizen?"
"Almost."
"No matter how poor?"
Jax nodded.
"They became necessities."
Heiron eventually asked quietly,
"What did your father do?"
Jax opened his mouth.
Nothing came out.
"I..."
He frowned.
"I don't know."
The room became still.
"My mother?"
Another pause.
"I don't know."
Legos stopped smiling.
"I don't remember either of them."
The crackling fire suddenly seemed much louder.
"I don't remember my home."
"I don't remember my family."
"I don't remember..."
"...myself."
He looked into his drink.
"I remember knowledge."
"I remember recipes."
"I remember mathematics."
"I remember stories."
"I remember history."
"I remember machines."
"I remember thousands of things."
"But..."
He gave a quiet laugh.
"I couldn't tell you my mother's face."
The King spoke gently.
"What happened?"
Jax rubbed the back of his neck.
"I'm honestly not sure."
"I remember arriving."
"I remember a Flame Dragon."
"I remember flying."
Legos grinned.
"Flying?"
"I was thrown."
That earned a laugh.
"I crashed through enough trees that perhaps one of them knocked something loose."
Vaelrith finally spoke.
"You said..."
"...arriving."
Jax nodded.
"I wasn't here."
"And then..."
"...I was."
No one laughed.
No one questioned him.
The Spy Master simply nodded.
"I thought as much."
East Wing
The dancers had finished.
Most of the women were flushed and giddy.
The Queen leaned back, watching Llandra laugh freely with the Vixens.
She could see it clearly now.
They loved him.
Not just physically.
Fully.
And that… mattered.
She lifted another glass.
"To tomorrow," she declared.
"To tomorrow!" the room echoed.
West Wing
The King looked at him.
"You've never tried to go home."
Jax smiled sadly.
"Return where?"
Silence.
"If I remembered..."
"I would."
"But I don't."
"I don't know if anyone waits for me."
"I don't know if anyone misses me."
"I don't even know..."
"...if I deserve to be missed."
Nobody spoke.
Heiron quietly slid another mug toward him.
"Well."
"You've got us now."
Legos nodded.
"Whether you wanted us or not."
The King smiled.
"You became family long before tomorrow."
Vaelrith gave a small nod.
"You simply hadn't realized it yet."
Jax looked around the table.
For just a moment...
He realized he wasn't alone anymore.