The Noble Queen-A Shadow Slave Fanfic

Noble's eyes opened wide. When had Vel conquered the Nightmare? She wouldn't have seen Rain in at least a couple of weeks.

"What about Rain?"

Vel chewed her lip. "Do you know if she plans to take on the first Trial soon?"

The professor furrowed her brow. "I don't believe so, why?"

Running her fingers along her blue scarf, the girl formed her words. "I don't know why, but I think she might be planning to go without telling you. I stumbled across her training a few times. She was talking to herself. Then when Soup arrived at the Awakened Academy yesterday, we got to talking. Soup said she had been going out past the city walls by herself. She's developing a bit of a nickname because of it."

"A nickname?" Noble tilted her head, inviting the student to continue.

"Not Soup, of course, but others are beginning to call her the Crazy Girl." Vel winced. "Either way, I just thought you would want to know."

"Thank you, Vel. I will look into it," Noble nodded. "Have a wonderful lunch."

"You too, Professor. And thanks again!"

Waving goodbye to Vel, Noble only let her smile fade when the door shut at last.

"Humans go crazy all the time," a voice from the alcove broke the silence, "Why are people so surprised when it happens?"

"First of all, you weren't supposed to be listening. Second of all, humans do not go crazy all the time—we may be illogical by android standards, but that is not the same as going insane." Noble pressed her lips together.

"So then crazy would be an insult. Are you upset about your daughter being insulted?" Opening the hatch, Bee Two made a cracking sound with its alloy knuckles. "I read how humans take care of those who are insulted, and I would help with any removal of kneecaps."

"Whoa! What have you been reading?! No, I don't want to know." Noble covered her eyes, embarrassed. "It was meant as an insult, but I won't go after anyone for being unkind. They just don't understand what Rain is doing. Maybe they will understand someday."

Noble didn't realize that people outside of her family had picked up on Rain's unorthodox behavior. The teen kept mostly to herself other than a few academic courses to finish off her education.

Yet, she had drawn at least some attention from her peers.

"What is she doing that they don't understand?" Bee Two asked.

The professor blew out her cheeks. "Nothing much, just trying to change the way humanity survives and possibly alter its course forever."

Bee Two looked at Noble strangely. "That doesn't sound like nothing to me."

Noble smiled softly, "No, I suppose it doesn't."

It would amount to nothing unless Rain succeeded though—or at least found a path forward. Noble hoped and dreaded what that would look like if she accomplished what no one had in their world's history.

Noble would deal with it if the time came. For now, Rain would be labeled weird unless she found a better way to hide her eccentricities.

'Not that I'm normal.'

Noble shrugged. People just gave more leniency to those with power.

With a sigh, the professor looked at the mountain of papers that had formed on her desk. If only she had the ability to make it all be done with a snap!

"That will take me a couple of days to sift through properly," she mumbled.

"I can do it," Bee Two pointed out, grabbing a handful of papers. "I had it compiled all before class was over."

"Thank you. I still want my eyes to look over them. I won't feel like I'm doing my job otherwise. Anyway, I have another task for you. I need you to help me select the location for the Dreamer Academy. I've narrowed it down to—"

"You can discard whatever choices you had in mind," Bee Two brushed back synthetic hair. "I already selected the best location. All you need to do is let the government know so they can begin construction."

"Is that so?" The professor blinked. She hadn't even given the robot any of the information of her requirements.

Bee Two nodded.

"It is easy. Based on the available maps of Ravenheart," the android projected an image into the air, "Here is the ideal spot for your school."

The spot that Two Bee pointed to was close to the wall.

"Why there?" Noble studied the map carefully.

"It is far enough from the current settlement that it will give your school room to grow, but still close enough to get reinforcements if anything should go wrong. The terrain will provide a variety of arena options, and if you want to expand your classes into things like Nightmare Creature anatomy, you are less likely to have people complain about you bringing dead abominations into Ravenheart if they aren't being dragged through town."

"I see." Noble hadn't remembered telling Bee Two about her future classes, but that option had been on her mind very recently.

"More than that, my projection on the future of Ravenheart puts that land as prime real estate in the future. Barring a catastrophic event, that land will be some of the most valuable as the city continues to expand."

'Meaning that the government could stand to have a valuable asset in the future.'

Noble mused. It wasn't her money being used to make all of this happen. She wanted to be wise with the investment that she was entrusted with.

"There is one thing you forgot when mentioning the details about this place," Noble grinned.

The android whirred for a moment. "Do you mean the hot spring nearby or the proposed clinic?"

"No, though I'm curious how you know about that second detail." Noble raised her eyebrows.

"Not important." The android flicked its wrist dismissively. "Perhaps you mean the natural cave on the edge of the property that would be perfect for survivalist practice and shelter construction."

"That wasn't what I meant, no." Noble shook her head.

"You will never be downwind from the lower town?" Bee Two tapped a synthetic nose.

"I'm not sure that is something you can promise in the Dream Realm, but that was something I took into consideration," Noble smirked.

"The proximity to…" the android stopped as the professor shook her head.

"What about the geothermal…" Bee Two received another negative gesture. "The soil composition?"

The professor laughed. "Let me guess, you found someone to get you a sample."

"Naturally! I know everything there is to know about the spot."

"Not everything," Noble couldn't hide her mirth.

The android looked on the verge of short-circuiting. "What is the point that I could possibly be missing?"

"You are many things, Bee Two, but you are not a mind reader," Noble told her assistant seriously. "What you did not know is that the location you chose was already on my final list of locations. In fact, it was my top choice. So you confirmed the selection I was already going to make."

"Oh…then you chose well, Professor Noble." The android responded lamely.

"We chose well, Bee Two. I appreciate the help, though I could do with a little less sass when you provide it."

"Don't blame me for that," the assistant pointed to its abdomen. "You are the one who helped program me."

"That's true…" Noble tapped her chin. "Maybe I should open your back panel and—"

"Don't you dare!!!"