#when i noticed everyone in the settlement was white i knew something was up hahaha

[magpieinthemorning]

Wow, The Last Of Us ep. 8 was just ... incredible! So terrifying, but cathartic and satisfying.

Exactly what I need and want in fictional stories T^T - the girl kills the abuser(s) all on her own and is welcomed in the safe arms of her found father figure.

I liked the depiction of a terrifying person like David as someone who believes/claims (not much difference!) to be a chosen leader who has to make tough choices because his people rely on him and expect him to take care of them. So he lies to them about what they are eating (their own family members), believing/claiming that he's looking out for them. (All the while he's getting much bigger food rations than anyone else, etc. ...)

And then it becomes clear what an abusive predator he really is. It's ambivalent how much of it is him already having abusive and predatory tendencies, and how much of it escalated because of the pressure of being a leader in impossible times. (In the end it's all the same!) Of course the latter doesn't excuse abuse in any way, but there are mechanisms in hierarchies that encourage abuse (I've seen it happen somehow especially clearly in "anti-authoritarian" organisations where people in "leadership positions" acted abusive partly because they thought they had to ...).

I saw people discuss that David sucked as a leader, because his settlement was starving while other groups in the area were doing fine. In a way yes, obviously, and I think it's a lot to do with the other groups being equal and not really having a fixed "leader" to decide everything, so everyone is able to do their best and contribute. While David wanted to control everything and dismissed other people's efforts, so everyone was just scared and waiting for him to tell them what to do.

Anyway, I kind of wished they'd have included a shot of David's mashed up head after Ellie was done with him ^^

And David's line that "everything happens for a reason" became really funny in the end :3

[pip25]

Slayers Secret Santa 2020 fanfic: Sisters

Hi, @sugar-stories! I was your @slayersweek secret santa this year, sorry for the lateness. I hope you’ll enjoy this little fic - community service did not quite make it, but I’ve tried to incorporate the other prompts to the best of my ability.

Sisters

“Gracia, wait!”

The tall girl in her mid-teens turned back, her long raven hair and priestess garb swaying around her.

The clothing and features of the child trying to catch up to her on the narrow forest path were undeniably similar to hers, but with her round blue eyes and startled expression she still had an air of innocence about her, suggesting an age barely over ten years at most.

“You’re so slow, Amelia!” the older girl spoke impatiently.

“But we shouldn’t stray this far from the camp!” The answer came in a pleading tone. “When they find out, everyone will be really angry!”

“Hahaha! They won’t find out if we’re quick enough – so hurry up! Breeze Town should be really close now.”

Despite her eagerness to rush ahead, Gracia did slow her pace down slightly. Amelia tried her best to catch up, but still looked quite a bit worried.

“Why are we going to Breeze Town?” she asked once she was close enough to tug at the other girl’s robes.

“Hihihi! Because, dear sister, while you were wasting time reading fairy tales in the Eternal Queen’s castle, I found out a huge secret!” Gracia replied, looking very proud of herself. “The Knight of Ceiphied, the strongest person in Zephilia, works at an inn there!”

That certainly piqued the younger girl’s interest a little. “A knight? Do you want to ask him to teach us how to fight evil?”

Her older sister sent a look of disgust her way. “What? No, of course not. I want to beat him up.”

“Eeeeh?! Why??” Amelia’s eyes grew larger than dinner plates. “Is he a villain…? I thought knights were allies of justice…”

Gracia turned her head away. “Who cares what he is. If I can defeat him, Father will have to accept that I’m strong enough to set out on my own.”

The little girl tugged at her sister’s robe once more with a pout. “Are you trying to run away again? In those weird clothes?”

No answer came. Gracia still refused to look her in the eye.

“They’ll drag you back again, you know. And Father will be really sad.”

The older girl raised her head high in defiance… then let out a yelp as she tripped over a thick wooden branch lying across the path. Unfortunately for her, they were going downhill on a moderately steep slope at this point, so not only did her face get closely acquainted with the muddy earth, but her momentum made her roll a good ten yards down the path, until she stopped at a spot where the autumn forest gave way to a large, lush meadow.

Once she caught up again, Amelia crouched down and touched her sister’s arm, lying in the dirt in an odd angle. Her expression was now more resigned than worried, like she was seeing such a scene for the umpteenth time.

“RECOVERY.” The healing spell flooded their surroundings with white light. “…Let’s just go back to the camp now, okay?”

“Huhu… ha… ha… Y-You think this was enough to hurt me? Haha, this… this is nothing,” Gracia muttered, wincing as she got off the ground.

“…Why are you doing that?” Amelia asked innocently.

“Hihihi, doing what?”

“That! That strange laugh! It sounds like… like someone is tickling you.”

Gracia seemed greatly offended by her remark. “No one is tickling me! It’s just… Mom always said that a confident laugh can strike fear into the hearts of your enemies, so…” She trailed off, then added in barely a whisper, “I’m still practicing, okay?”

Looking too embarrassed to continue, she instead took a few careful steps forward, let her gaze sweep through the scenery – and her face immediately lit up.

“There it is! The town!” She pointed towards the opposite edge of the meadow and broke into a run, injuries all but forgotten.

A road cut into the middle of the grassland, much wider and visibly more well-travelled than the path they had followed until now. One end disappeared among the forest trees, but the other indeed led to a couple of wooden cottages, with more buildings coming into view in the distance. In front of them, the words “Breeze Town” were carved into a short limestone obelisk.

“This looks like a pretty big place,” Amelia commented as they made their way into the settlement. “How will you find that knight person?”

Her sister grinned. “Haha! Everyone in Zephilia knows about the Knight of Ceiphied! We’ll just ask someone for directions… like that weird-looking commoner over there.”

About fifty yards ahead stood a larger two-storey building with a sign depicting a heavily stylized bovine udder. A young girl with chestnut brown hair paced back and forth in front of it restlessly; she was the same age as, or perhaps slightly older than Amelia, but it was very hard to tell for sure considering she was dressed in a cow costume from the neck down, complete with black hooves and a huge, pink-colored cotton udder hanging from her stomach.

Once she noticed the two sisters’ approach, the girl gave an exasperated sigh, and to their astonishment began a small sing-and-dance routine, making several pirouettes in front of the wooden structure, her udder flailing wildly about in the air.

I’m Cindy the cow, yes, that’s my name, They serve my milk here to great acclaim, You looking for wine? Hey, that’s no shame, Maggie’s Inn welcomes you all the same!

After going through the lyrics twice in a rather lifeless voice, the girl graciously whirled around on one leg – and started banging her head against the inn’s wall.

“I.. can’t… take… it… anymore!” she screeched.

The sisters simply stood there, rooted to the spot.

“Um…” Gracia began, but before she could say anything else, the cotton udder once again took a 180-degree turn in the air, its owner glaring daggers at her.

“Don’t. Ask,” she hissed threateningly.

“…Why are you dressed like that?”

“Aaargh! I told you not to ask!” The puffy forelegs of the costume tore into her shoulder-length hair. “It’s my punishment, alright?! Luna works as a waitress here and I thought people wouldn’t mind if her adorable little sis would snatch a cookie or two for free… But they’re a  bunch of penny-pinching pricks, and now I have to work in this… ridiculous getup to pay for them! Does that placate your curiosity, dear customer?!”

Amelia blinked in confusion. “But… why tell us if you don’t want people to know?”

“Because it’s part of my punishment, you numskull!” the girl roared, then reached into a small pocket on her costume and took out a piece of paper, irritably scanning its contents. “Now what else do I need to tell you? Ah, right: chocolate milkshakes are now fifty percent off, though it’s still daylight robbery if you ask me, there’s a special ‘buy one get one free’ offer on cookies, but don’t bother, I tried them and they’re horrible… oh, and the guards want people to stick to the forest when heading out of town, because the man-eating plasma dragon was spotted not far from here recently.”

“M-M-Man-eating plasma dragon??” Amelia blanched.

Her sister on the other hand merely gave a curious nod. “Hmm, now that you mention it, I remember Father and the Eternal Queen talking about something like that. The beast is hiding in the mountains near the capital and comes down here from time to time to eat people.”

“Eeeeeh?! We left our escort and came all the way here when you knew that evil dragon was around?!”

“Now don’t be scared,” Gracia lightly patted Amelia’s head, though she did not seem to appreciate the gesture. “If the beast turns up on our way back, it’ll serve as a nice cool-down exercise after my triumph over the Knight of Ceiphied. Muhuhuhu!”

The brown-haired girl in the cow costume, until now busy poking her ear in a display of utter boredom, suddenly perked up. “Wait, what? You want to beat up the Knight of Ceiphied…?”

“Yes, hahaha, that is exactly why we’re here,” the older girl nodded again with confidence.

“Uh-huh… Gotta ask: are you planning to do that before or after hell freezes over?”

Her good mood evaporating, Gracia folded her arms. “Hmph! I do not need to hear such insults from a common cookie thief who presently serves her well-deserved punishment. Good day!”

She was about to turn away, when the inn’s door opened a crack and a young waitress peeked out, gazing curiously at the sisters. She was around halfway between Gracia and Amelia in age, though her mannerisms and outfit made her look slightly more mature. Her dark bangs were long, both in the back and in front, to the extent that they nearly covered her eyes.

“Are these people leaving?” she asked with some disappointment, before turning her head to the side. “Hey ‘Cindy’, are you doing your job properly? You should be getting us customers, but it’s already half past ten and the inn’s almost empty.”

“C-Cut it out! I’m not Cindy!!” the girl in the cow costume wailed. She pointed at the pair in front of her in desperation. “How about you bully them for a change?  Hey, you two loons, she’s the one you were looking for, the ever-so-famous Knight of Ceiphied!”

Gracia and Amelia gawked at the waitress.

“She’s… Whaaat??” That was all the former managed to say.

“Are you… are you really the famous knight?” the younger girl asked with wonder.

The answer came in a wary voice. “…First of all, I’m Luna. Second, I don’t actually have an official title, but yes, people around here call me the Knight of Ceiphied. What business do you have with—?”

“The outrage!” Gracia cried out before she could finish, extending both hands in a theatrical gesture towards the girl in the cow costume. “How could a person as powerful as you put a lovely, innocent child like her through such undeserved hardship?!”

Amelia took a step back, perplexed. “Uh, but you just said—”

“Unforgivable!” Her protests were likewise ignored. “The heavens cry out for retribution, and I will see to it that justice is served! Now, heehihihee, prepare yourself, Knight of Ceiphied!” Gracia waved a hand in front of her. “FREEZE ARROW!”

An icicle the size of her outstretched arm appeared in the air and sped towards Luna.

“She’s totally nuts!” The chestnut-haired girl dove out of the way in a frenzy.

The waitress, on the other hand, did not try to evade – in fact, she looked almost relieved.

“Oh, so you’re one of those people.” She lazily held out her hand, and the moment it made contact, the icy projectile burst to pieces. “I was worried you’d try to recruit me for some world-saving quest or something.”

Amelia’s frantic gaze jumped from Luna to her sister and back. “Wait-wait-wait! You say she’s a villain, but… almost blowing up the inn out of the blue is also something a villain would do, you know…! What’s going on??”

“She’s got a point,” the waitress said, suddenly standing next to Gracia, with a hand on the other’s shoulder. “Let’s take this fight somewhere else.”

The tall girl huffed. “You think you can tell me what to do? I’m… uh…”

She looked around, disoriented. The two of them were no longer within Breeze Town, but stood alone amidst the vast meadow she had crossed earlier.

“Here’s how this is gonna be,” Luna stated matter-of-factly. “I’ll spare a minute to pummel you into the dirt, and in return you’re going to buy yourself a full-course meal at Maggie’s. Got it?”

Gracia tried to give the angry huff another go. “Like I said, you think you can tell me… what to… No way…”

The waitress now held a sack full of coins in her hand, and amused herself by repeatedly tossing it into the air. “I’ll hold onto this for you until then. Come on, give it your best shot!”

The older girl sent a scowl her way, then leapt back. “I’ll make you eat those words! DEMONA CRYSTAL!”

Dense, chilling fog hit the ground in front of her, creating a thick sheet of ice upon contact. The freezing cold spread out in a fan shape and quickly reached the spot where Luna stood – except she was no longer there.

“Aaaand you missed,” the waitress’ voice sounded from behind her.

Gracia turned around just enough to see Luna giving her a light push with her free hand – a light push which sent her a good twenty yards through the air, screaming all the way. Even after the unnerving sound of impact, the momentum made her roll another ten yards in the grass until she came to a stop.

“Don’t be too hard on yourself; this is how it always ends,” Luna commented as she walked closer. “One tap, one KO – end of story.”

The tall grass ahead of her stirred.

“I’m… not… done yet.” With great effort, Gracia managed to stand up. She was covered in bruises and her priestess outfit had gotten torn in a few places, but her injuries still looked unexpectedly minor considering her previous trip through the air.

For the first time, genuine surprise spread across the waitress’ features. “Wow… You’re a tough one, I’ll give you that.”

Her opponent managed a shaky grin. “Mwuhaha! I told you I’ll make you eat your words! And now…” She put a hand on the ground. “VU VRAIMER!”

The earth began to shake, then split apart and a twelve-foot-tall, roughly humanoid mass of soil and grass climbed out of the fissure.

“Golem! Attack!” Gracia commanded.

“Baa!” the magical construct responded in a deep voice, swung its mighty fist… and nearly flattened its creator.

“Wait! Not me! Not me!” said girl screamed, running as fast as she could towards Luna with the golem in dogged pursuit.

The waitress simply stood there, looking unsure what to do about the situation; thus she was caught entirely off guard when, the moment she passed by, her opponent held out a hand to her face.

“LIGHTING!” With its duration set to zero, the spell immediately extinguished itself in a brief, blinding flash. In the same instant, Gracia changed directions and cocked her fist. “I have you now! Pacifist Crush!”

Her blow was caught within the Knight of Ceiphied’s open palm.

“Do you know how many times my sister tried that tactic against me?” Luna flung her flailing opponent out of the way, then readied a strike of her own against the incoming golem. “Why do you think I let my bangs fall into my face?”

A second later, the animated mass of earth burst apart, pieces of soil raining down on the meadow everywhere.

Having flown only a couple of steps this time, Gracia quickly scrambled to her feet. With a stubborn smirk, she raised both hands into the air. “Is that so? Then it’s time for my most powerful spell! Prepare yourself!”

A sphere of blue light began to gather between her palms.

“Alright, bring it!” Luna answered with a smug smile of her own. “I’ll admit I’m starting to enjoy… this…”

Her words died away as her gaze rose upwards, drawn to the massive shadow that fell upon the two of them.

Thump.

“Mwahahaha! You’re scared now, aren’t you?” Gracia laughed, seemingly unaware of how the ground once again shook below her feet, much more violently this time – and not because of the spell she was trying to cast, either.

The waitress did in fact seem shaken, but for entirely different reasons. “No, forget about the fight! Look behind you and run!” she shouted.

“What a transparent ruse! I know you are only trying to distract me to— Kyaaa!!” Gracia let out a scream as what seemed to be a bolt of lightning sped by above her head, scattering her spell effortlessly. It hit the ground halfway between her and her opponent, resulting in a crater wide enough to easily swallow a cart.

A feral snarl came from behind her back. With shaky legs, the tall girl slowly turned around.

Towering over her was a dragon with scales of silver, claws of steel and eyes of liquid gold. Its head alone was twice her own size; electricity crackled within its mouth, ready to unleash another bolt of magical destruction.

Her entire body paralyzed by fear, Gracia could only watch helplessly as the beast’s claws swiped through the air in her direction.

The boulder-sized talon came to a halt less than a yard from her, held in place with a single hand by Luna, who appeared between them in the blink of an eye.

“Sorry pal, in our town there is no such thing as a free lunch,” the waitress sneered.

She then swatted the claws away like they were leaves in the wind, jumped forward and drove her first into the dragon’s stomach.

The beast roared, though more in anger than pain, it seemed: the punch shoved it back a good distance on the ground, but its shiny scales looked none worse for wear at the point of impact.

Seeing the ineffectiveness of her attack, Luna appeared annoyed herself – but her ire soon turned into bewilderment as the dragon’s growling voice began to form coherent words.

“You strong, human! But me still eat you soon!”

Gracia, who stood in the exact same position as before, seemingly petrified, finally forced out a gasp. “It… haha… it can talk…”

“Me talk!” the dragon replied in a lower, but still rumbling voice laced with pride. “Me siblings all dumb, but me strong and smart! Siblings stay on mountain, but me come down and find many tasty human! Me the best!”

“Oh, shut up,” Luna spat while jumping high into the air.

For a moment she was seemingly floating way above the huge beast, then she came down with a mighty punch to its skull, one she could put all her momentum behind.

As she touched down on the ground, the dragon’s head reeled to the side – but then righted itself once more, still no injury to be seen.

“You no hurt me!” With that cry, it sent another volley of lightning at the waitress.

Still unable to move, Gracia watched the magic beam tear into the grassy landscape – and the next thing she knew, she was at the edge of the meadow near the town entrance, with Luna standing next to her.

“Damn lizard’s right, I can’t bring it down like this. I need something I can use as a focus for my powers,” the waitress explained in a hurried tone. “Do you have a dagger, a sword or anything similar?”

“No,” Gracia responded immediately, looking inexplicably upset, as if the Knight of Ceiphied had just insulted her parents.

“Figures.” Luna glanced back at the dragon; the beast was already closing in on them, trampling through the tall grass, each step like the beating of a gigantic drum. “Okay, here’s the plan: run towards the town, keep that dumbass occupied for just a minute – I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

If the tall girl wanted to protest, she never got the chance: the waitress was gone from her sight in the next instant. She looked down at her trembling legs, as if hoping she could glare them into submission and get them to move.

Then her heart skipped a beat. From the corner of her eye, she noticed a crucial detail both her and the Knight of Ceiphied have missed until then.

Their fight had an audience.

“The evil monster is going to destroy the town! We must help!” Amelia jumped forth from behind the limestone obelisk, trying to strike a heroic pose while visibly fighting her own battle against fear.

“And help how?!” The girl in the cow costume appeared next to her, tearing at her chestnut hair. “Do you know a spell big enough? Because for me only one comes to mind, and I don’t think I can pull that off right now! Where the heck did Luna run off to??” She looked around, but the waitress was still nowhere to be seen. “Ugh… Fine, but don’t blame me if everything goes sideways! VAL FLARE!”

“No, w-wait…!” Gracia’s words of warning were drowned out by the roar of flames as a crimson projectile smashed against the fore legs of the approaching dragon.

Despite the huge explosion that followed, the spell did not even slow the beast down – but it was enough to make it change directions.

“Ha, human me tickle,” the plasma dragon growled with amusement as it trotted by the still-stupefied Gracia and stared the young spellcaster down. “Tickle give me appetite…”

In the same moment, Luna nearly tore the inn door off its hinges.

“The guards! Have any of you seen where they are??” she questioned the patrons within; the place was a lot more crowded now, many having fled inside when they saw the approaching beast. Most only stared at the waitress confused, while a few people shook their heads. “Great…Then do you have a sword, a dagger, or… anything with a pointy end? Come on!”

A wave of murmurs ran through the crowd.

“Maybe… you could ask the boss lady?” one of them pointed towards the counter; the innkeeper herself was currently missing from the room.

Luna sighed irritably. “No, Maggie doesn’t keep any weapons here. The place’s full of that fancy kitchenware collection of hers…” Her eyes bulged. “That’s it!!”

“Stay back, you vile monster!” Amelia’s mid-air kick collided with the wall of silver scales, but she bounced right off like she was trying to beat up a mountain. “Oooow!”

“Come any closer, and I’m lobbing a Fireball down your throat!” Drops of sweat rolled down the face of the girl in the cow costume, as the dragon slowly lowered its head towards her.

“Yes, human use more flashy light,” the rumbling voice almost purred like a cat. “Me like tickle when me eat… so… um…”

The beast pulled its head back slightly, suddenly looking uncertain.

“…What?” she blurted out.

A weird, disgusted frown appeared on the draconic visage. “No-no, me wrong. Tickle or no tickle, me no eat you. Look thin, short… nasty. Me get heartburn.”

“…Huh?! Why you little…!”

“Other human look more tasty.” A ball of fire crashed into the beast’s face, but it did not even notice as it turned its attention to Amelia, who lay in the grass clutching her sprained leg. It opened its gaping mouth, sparks of electricity dancing within. “Me have lunch now—”

“AQUA CREATE!”

“Graoaaaargh!!” A tormented roar could be heard as a heavy stream of water poured into the plasma dragon’s mouth and reacted with the energies of its primed breath weapon inside, sending waves of lightning through its entire body.

“Atrocious! Not only do you ignore me, but dare raise a hand against my sister?! I hope you’re prepared for what comes next!” Gracia yelled while sprinting closer. Her voice, now without an ounce of fear, was instead rife with anger.

The beast whirled around; stray arcs of electricity still occasionally ran through its eyes and nostrils, making its face twitch.

“You! Awful human!” it boomed. “You make me pretty tongue all hurt and numb! Me eat you first!”

Gracia merely put her hands on her hips. “Really, is that the best threat you can muster? If you wish to scare me, you still have some ways to go! Ha… Hahaha… Hahahaha…!”

The dragon looked outraged. “What…? No, me no joke! Me no funny! Me really eat you!”

“…Hehehehe… Hihihihihahaha…!”

“H-Hey…! Hey! Why you laugh?! Me scary! Me strong, scary dragon…! No laugh, human! You hurt me feeling!”

But Gracia kept on laughing and laughing, barely taking a second to breathe, as if her life depended on it – and perhaps it did.

“Hahahaha… Huhuhuhuhu….! Hahahahahohoho!”

She did not let up, and with every passing second, her voice became louder, sharper and stronger.

“Hohoho…!  OhOHohoHohO! OOOOHOHOHOHOHOHO!!”

That was the moment when the dragon started to back away.

“S-Stop! Me have good ear! Guh… You crazy! Me no eat crazy! Stooooop!!” It opened its mouth again to release another bolt of lightning, but only produced a shower of harmless sparks.

With no other option left, the beast turned around again in panic, trying to flee in the direction of the town – and immediately came face to face with the Knight of Ceiphied. She held something in her right hand: the largest kitchen knife she could find in the innkeeper’s collection.

“Hi.” Luna smiled. “Missed me?”

As she lunged forward, the blade of her weapon began to shine with brilliant white light; the knife pierced the silver scales like butter, all the way up to the handle.

“Me... no smart… after all…” the dragon groaned – and the surge of holy power burned it to ashes from the inside.

All could now breathe a sigh of relief… Well, if it were not for the insufferable laugh that still pierced the air.

“Oohohohoho! OOOOHOHOHOHOHO!”

Gracia stood there with her head held high, a reversed palm put in front of her mouth, oblivious to the world around her.

Wincing, Luna put her knife away and tried stopping her ears, but it seemed to make no difference whatsoever. “Ugh… What in the gods’ name is that horrible sound?”

“Someone… I’ll promise to be a good girl from now on… just make it stop!” the brown-haired girl writhed in agony on the ground next to her.

“No choice then, I’ll… have to knock her out,” the waitress spoke through gritted teeth. She took one shaky step forward, then immediately fell to her knees. “Crap! It’s somehow… making all my limbs go numb—!”

“SLEEPING!”

Finally, silence descended on the meadow. Gracia’s form slumped and she fell over – right into her sister’s arms.

“Please don’t be too angry when you wake up… You were so cool just now,” Amelia whispered in a tender voice while holding her in the princess carry pose, not looking the least bit overwhelmed. She then turned sheepishly towards the others. “Um, I’m sorry for… well, everything. But at least the evil dragon has been defeated, and we got to see that you really are no villain, Luna-san!”

The waitress gave her a weird look. “Uh… thanks?”

Amelia lowered her head in a polite bow. “It’s late, so we really need to go back now. But I hope the four of us can meet up later on and fight for justice together!” With an odd, exaggerated pirouette likely meant to look heroic, she whirled around, almost fell on her face, but righted herself at the last moment. “Take care until then, brave knight and… um, Cindy!”

The petite girl headed for the forest path with quick steps, Gracia still resting in her arms.

Only when she disappeared behind the trees did Luna speak up once more, as if she suddenly realized something. “Hey Lina, who were these people again? Did you catch their names? I actually never gave them their purse back.”

“Nope.” Her sister shrugged. “But I say if we never see them again, it’ll be too soon.” She put a finger to her chin, and added in a mischievous voice, “Still, what a lucky break for you, huh?”

Luna’s brows furrowed slightly. “Come again?”

“I mean, if that lunatic could still fight, she would have mopped the floor with you. Heheh, imagine everyone talking about how the great Knight of Ceiphied got her butt kicked by some crazy girl who laughed her into oblivion—” While looking like she was just getting started, Lina immediately shrunk back as she noticed her sister’s unamused stare. “Err… uh… I’ll be g-going back to dancing now, okay?”

She then quickly ran off towards the inn, her cotton udders swaying left and right.

To Gracia’s disappointment, that day did not go down in history as the moment when the Knight of Ceiphied suffered an ignominious defeat, but as the day when said knight slew a plasma dragon with nothing but a kitchen knife, making her fame soar to even greater heights.

Still, Gracia was sure, more than ever before, that things would not stay the way they were. She had grown and changed. They could not keep her at home for much longer: she would soon set out on a journey to see the world, practice magic and make a name for herself. Not by her ancestry, but by her own power.

Her own legend, that of Naga the Serpent, was only beginning…