In Loki's Honor

I let the crowd cheer. The warcry was out on their lips. I couldn't hold the tides of Fate, just steer them sometimes. If someone asked me what Aiur meant...

"What is 'Aiur' exactly?" Sariandi asked.

Damn.

"Aiur is the realm. But not the place. It is the People and their hearts, their beliefs. It is what makes us ourselves. Aiur means unity in purpose. Let me tell you. It is also the name of this crown here of mine. The crown represents the rule of the Queen, the covenant with the elder fairies, and the welfare of the People and Forest." I touched the gemmed crown. "This is Aiur. But it is not."

Sariandi smiled. "I understand, Your Highness," She said as she sniffled. "To think you were that devoted to the People and the Forest that early in your life."

"Aww!" The elder fairies cooed.

Nephele flew around my head, "So pretty! It's official! The crown's name is Aiur. We should grant it enchantments!"

"Oh, oh! Me first!" Brenna the fire Queen I once rescued approached. "May Aiur brings warmth to the hearts of the People, so they never truly succumb to fear or despair!"

Doris held Nephele's hand, "I need you for this, sister. For what I want is both water and air!"

Nephele swirled in a silly dance with Nenandil's mom, "So be it. As long as the People love the Forest, the weather will always be clement and pleasant. There shall be rain but not storms. There shall be snow but not deadly frostbite. There will be sun and heat but it shall be nourishing instead of scorching."

Lorelai stole a glance at Daphne, the only two fairies without wings. "We can't stay behind them, can we?"

"No, sister." The two held hands but stood still, like a boulder and a tree. Only Daphne's vine hair swayed gently in the breeze the two dancers were doing above. "The earth will be fertile so long the People pour love on it. The trees will be healthy so long the Elves think of them as their homes and hearths. And the flowers and herbs will bloom with their laughter and song."

So they spoke, so it became true. I wasn't looking forward to paying the next tithe. Engorging them beyond what they needed might've been the right choice.

The five elder fairies then joined hands and shouted, "For Aiur!"

I was blushing with self-shame. And if it rains, it pours. Time to pull out the big guns. The elves were shouting and cheering. I let them and then motioned for silence. Praised be the ranger sign language.

"Sariandi of Fulgen, are you ready for the next step in your path? Service calls. It shall be a hard one, especially without the council. You might stand alone. You might have to shoulder a great burden," I told her.

"I'll gladly accept the burden, Your Majesty. Whatever is demanded of me, I shall fulfill my duties," she said then tentatively added, "for Aiur."

Yup. We'll definitely must construct additional pylons.

"Then I shall instate you in your new position."

"I'm ready to assume the position of archmagister, Your Majesty."

I barely suppressed a chuckle. I turned to address the elves watching us from the clearing and the lower levels on the trees. "People of Fulgen. Elder fairies. The other voyeurs up there watching us, we'll submit our pay-per-view invoice soon. Oh. Wait. That's not what I meant to say. Silly Queen!"

I did a silly face and bonked my head. The elves laughed.

"To those assembled here. Better. Today with you as witnesses, I invest Sariandi in her new position. Be it known that I grant her great boons. She shall find more comfort and relaxation from the things she enjoys in moderation. She shall be greatly resistant to both poison and disease."

Sariandi grinned. So far so good. I sped up my speech.

"She shall be blessed with great fertility and ease of childbirth. For now, I adopt her as my daughter and grant her the same perks of Royalty that I have. {Fairy Godmother}!"

You sacrificed 400,000 SP.

Sariandi was appointed as your Fairy Goddaughter.

She was granted the Blessed Health (ultra-rare) perk. You resist 75% of all damage from disease and poison, and their duration is cut by 75%. Poison and disease never cause permanent damage. This perk will be granted to your offspring.

She was granted the Fairy Goddaughter (very rare) perk. You have a protector fairy. You gained +2 Dexterity, +2 Endurance, +2 Mind, +5 Luck.

She was granted the Rest and Relaxation (rare) perk. The beneficial effects on your psyche from relaxing and comforting items and actions are enhanced by 100%. This perk will be granted to your offspring.

She was granted the Fertile Womb (very rare) perk. You have an 80% chance of achieving conception through intercourse with a fertile male. You have an 80% reduced chance of miscarriage. You have double chances of twins or triplets. You have a 20% better chance of conceiving daughters. Childbirth is 80% easier and less stressful. This perk will be granted to your daughters.

She was granted the Royalty (ultra rare) perk. You are a trueborn member of Royalty. You can display the title {Princess} on your status for anyone that {Appraises} you. Members of your race react favorably to you. Members of other races, if aware of your status, can shift their reaction favorably (more likely) or worsen it (less likely). You learn Skills at a 10% faster rate.

She was granted the Elven Royalty (unique) perk. You are part of the elven royalty. You can perform exclusive rituals to reinforce the bonds between elves and Nature. All elves' reactions shift one step in your favor. You gain one extra HP and MP per level.

The newly anointed {Princess}'s face went wide with horror. She stared at her notifications. The elder fairies burst into peals of laughter. More than a third of my SP was gone but it was worth every penny.

I pumped my bard Skills and wind magic. "ALL HAIL PRINCESS SARIANDI OF FULGEN. HEIR TO THE CROWN."

I think Sariandi protested. She WAS shaking me violently but I couldn't hear her over the standing ovation of thousands of elves. I smiled and waved as my head went violently back and forth. Good thing I had a strong body or my spine might've snapped.

I was cheering with the People until she waved a wind spell to dull the sound.

"What have you done!" She shouted.

"I gave you the job cut out for you!" I defended myself. "You did say you'd give it your life."

"You want to turn my womb into a baby factory!" She protested.

I grabbed her. "YOU wanted to turn my barren womb into a baby factory!" I spat back, "Royal Daughter."

The woman was going completely bananas. "We were working on a way to lift your curses! We were this close to finishing the ritual when you vanished."

I waved her off, "Bah. I always had a perk to fix that. Humans and their cheat ability to pull perks out of their arses. I just don't have enough MP. Five million wasn't enough."

"You have five million MP?" She asked with a hint of envy.

I looked away with a smirk, "Maybe..."

"No. That's not it! You want me to take on a consort and... make babies!"

I broke into laughter. I was holding my sides as I hissed and giggled, "A lot of them. You need to repopulate the Royal Family. Give me a lot of grandsons and daughters."

"Look," I added. "It is not as if you - unlike me - hate the idea of having intercourse with a male."

"You... hate males?"

"Back in my original world, I was a male. My mind is still male... ish. But you didn't answer me, daughter? Do you like men?"

She blushed hard and looked away, "Yes. But I don't want to be forced to..."

I threw an arm around her shoulder. "Yes. I know that, and I won't force you. But let me tell you. I gave you a perk that doubles the good. Let me show you," I said and moved my hand to her nape. I started to knead her tension.

She moaned and melted. I leaned on her ear and whispered. "Double the comfort. Double the pleasure. Can you imagine that?"

The burning red in her cheeks told me she could. Oh, boy. She could.

The sound bubble ended. The elves couldn't hear us but they were watching. I made a handwave to ask for silence. "I have a song for the new Princess."

From my completely wrong and biased estimates, Elves were at least thirty percent hippies. About twenty percent spartan, thirty percent mischievous fae, and twenty percent xenophobes. But numbers one and three, these spoke stronger at that moment. And I would work to fix number four. Isolationism would lead to stagnation and soon the humans would encroach on us with greater technology.

But yes. When I said song, the elves all quieted down to listen.

For all the journeys we'll be taking

All the lessons that we will learn

I wonder where we will go now

What our role is meant to be

I don't know how to travel

To a future that I can't see

Our destiny's uncertain

And that's sometimes hard to take

But it will become much clearer

With every new choice, we make

You stand here for a reason

You're gifted and you are strong

That crown is upon our head

Because we deserve it!

Know that our time is coming soon

As the seasons pass, our wisdom grows

As love find a place in every heart

You are a princess! You'll play your part!

I repeated the song a few times. The elves were singing with me after the second encore. At the last line, I batted my eyelashes at Sariandi and sang slowly as the choir faded, "You are a princess! You'll play your part!"

I ushered her forward. "C'mon," I whispered.

She sang. "I am a Princess, I'll play my part!"

Peer pressure is awesome.

Also, it was good to be the Queen.