Amélie nearly jumped out of her skin when she felt another hand on her shoulder, this one hotter than the first. “Ms Hyun? Nadia is trying to direct you over to Station One.” Amira commented, gesturing to a tent nearby, by the front of the entrance two guards were seemingly beginning to doze off, clearly exhausted by the many hours they’d already worked over the course of the festival. “They must get paid some great overtime….” Amélie mumbled to herself as Nadia shifted herself in front of the uni student and her Jack.

As they approached the tent the two guards blocked their entry with their weapons, Nadia gave them a quick curtsy before pulling a small amulet from a necklace she had delicately tucked in her shirt, from the quick glimpse Amélie got it seemed to have an engraving of the royal insignia. One of the guards sprung back slightly, their spear clattered to the ground as they opened the door for the three girls. He gave Nadia a quiet apology as she walked past, Amélie giggled slightly, offering a sympathetic nod as she followed behind the royal.

“You are not in trouble, the Princess is glad you two did not just let us in.” Amira whispered to the still frightened guard. He stood back up and saluted alongside the other guard as the Jack went in, still shaking just slightly from his minor slip up. Amélie’s eyes sparkled with joy as she spotted Mandy amongst the few inside the tent, and Mandy seemed to return the look as she lifted a hand up to her chest, giving the older demon a very small wave.

The young ruler opened her arms for Nadia as she came closer, wrapping her arms around her older sister in a tight hug. It reminded Amélie of Amy’s own hugs, and she smiled rather sheepishly as Amira caught up with the rest of the group. Everyone seemed to be in disguises, Amélie finding some amusement in the way Amore was dressed in scenecore fashion as if he weren’t as old as the Queen.

“Ms Hyun, allow me to introduce you to everyone,” Amira started, lining up beside her as she spoke, “As you know, Nadia and Nora rule over Blackvall and Leafdon, Amanda here is your new ruler.” Mandy pouted and slipped her hands into her pockets, the mentioning of her full name embarrassing her a bit before the Jack continued.

“As for the Jacks, I myself am Amira, Nadia’s guardian. Amore watches over Amanda, Amora after your Queen and Nora, and Solaris is Ciara’s best swordsman and knight.” Amélie watched as the three Jacks in front gave her a bow, feeling an odd sense of sudden authority. It was… intriguing. “And this is your Queen, Darlene.” The short demon looked up ahead and saw Darlene sat on a more comfortable seat, only the best for the Queen she presumed. Her ears shot up as Darlene motioned her over with a finger, and Amélie felt her legs move without a second of hesitation, her own eyes being drawn to the older woman.

“Amélie Hyun,” she said, breathing in with a slight downward tug of her lips before continuing, “charmed, I’m sure.” Amélie gulped, sensing everyone in the tent watching her every move. The Queen up close was very stunning yet terrifying — the kind of aura that could come off as threatening if you weren’t careful with your actions — but almost alluring in a sense. To have someone as confident in appearance rule as Queen put the short demon in a sort of tranced state as Darlene looked her up and down, judging her with her sharp, cold eyes.

“I’ve heard from my daughters that word slipped out and I was ready to take drastic measures, but… you don’t seem like much of a threat at all.” Amélie was ready to collapse then and there. Absolutely terrifying. She could feel her legs beg to give out as Darlene motioned her closer to observe her further. “…You’re not a full demon,” she commented in an intrigued tone, her fingers barely grazing Amélie’s cheek, “I see now, you’re free to go. Nadia?”

The girl in question whipped her head up to look her mother in the eye, “Please keep an eye on this one, I don’t want her running off without your protection.” Nadia nodded and jolted up as Amira touched her back, the small guardian giving her a quick ‘sorry’ while she pulled her hand back.

As the others got themselves ready Amélie turned her back to them, and in a fit of excitement started waving her arms around and shaking her hands, quiet squeaks slipping from her mouth. Minutes had passed, and with an exhale Nadia walked up to Amélie and put her hand on her shoulder, giving her a quick wink as Amira followed close behind, making their way out the tent.

For a moment her eyes locked onto Nora’s in a passing glance, the older demon’s shoulders dropping just slightly as she noticed Amélie looking back right as they lost sight of each other.

It left a peculiar feeling in the girl’s stomach, the Princess’ eyes were soft but somehow sharp, and she seemed almost lost in thought before she saw Amélie staring back, she wondered what it might’ve been.

It was only then that Amélie noticed something.

“Where’s—”

“She’s not here.” Amira spoke, her ‘Bo’ persona already passing through. “Papayalkoi isn’t coming, not today at least. Something about her pet getting sick, he sure gets sick pretty often….” She mumbled, causing Nadia to stifle a little chuckle. “O-Oh, that’s okay, some other time then.” Amélie spoke quietly, almost like she was bummed out that she couldn’t meet the last daughter of the royal family just yet, but she shook her head and lifted it up high with a huff, offering her hand to a rather shocked but flattered Nadia. The two held hands as they walked around the place, Amélie’s eyes easily noticing the big stadium she recognised from photos onlines as cheers and chants roared from the inside.

“Sorry about that, I heard some Ghost demons have really good hearing. Should’ve thought about getting you some headphones before picking you up.” The small guardian apologised, prompting Amélie to giggle nervously, it was sweet how considerate Amira was being. “I-It’s alright, I can get used to it.”

Amira glanced up at Nadia’s expression then sighed, “That’s a no to seeing the inside of the stadium, hm… Amélie, are you familiar with the sports Fire demons play?” 

“H-Huh? Oh, uh, not really, no. I’m not a really sporty person,” she admitted with an embarrassed look on her face, “I-I wouldn’t mind learning about it though!” Amira smiled and folded her arms as the trio halted for a moment to look at their surroundings, and the uni student observed in awe as players were in their natural state, tossing the ball around as if they had mastered everything about it. She squeaked as a ball went flying right in her direction and she ducked, a quick ‘Sorry!’ being thrown out to her as she stumbled back up.

The Princess put her hands on her shoulders in shock and worry, scanning the little demihuman’s body for any sign of injury before locking eyes with the woman, a soft blush appearing on the royal’s face before promptly letting go and standing up straight in front of Amira.

“You’re not hurt are you?” Amira asked, walking up to Amélie to read her face better. “I-I’m– I’m okay, just a little spooked. Sorry… I-I think I need something a little slower than this.” Nadia frowned a little as Amélie made herself smaller, she reached her hand out for the girl to hold onto, carefully guiding her out of the sporty area while Amira closely followed.

Nadia’s head lowered as she brought the two over to the food vendors, her gaze mainly focused on the ground as her Jack spoke. “This is where we go to eat, it’s been like this for decades now so we know it by heart.”

“It’s… I-It’s so—”

“Red? We get that from outsiders a lot.” Nadia caught wind of Amira picking up one of the meals from a stall and passing a coin over, giving the food to Amélie to hold. “We call this Lavadog, it’s a hotdog with peppers harvested from Starleche’s Alto’s Growl volcano mixed into the meat. It’s pretty spicy.”

“Lava... Dog?" Amelie's ears perked, it certainly didn't sound like any other food from Blackvall. Nadia's hands flailed before hastily landing on Amira’s shoulder, Amira smiled before giving Nadia a knowing glance. "They're simple fair food, not at all traditional. The tourists seem to like them though, so they've become a bit of a staple in recent years."

“Oh! I love fair food! I’ve never really eaten from Blackvall before, n-not that I’m a newbie.” The Jack tilted her head in curiosity, “Have you tried our stuff before, Amélie?” She nodded in response. “Well I wouldn’t say tried, I have a friend who uh… force feeds me whenever I forget to eat a-and it’s usually very spicy. I’ve always been okay with how it tastes though.”

Amélie took a bite out of the hotdog and it only took mere seconds for her tongue to be caught on fire, she fanned her mouth to the amusement of the two, and a Fire demon passing by offered her a cup of milk to wash it down. She coughed as Nadia patted her back and Amira checked up on her, the uni student giving them a thumbs up as they headed towards a picnic bench to sit.

“Are you alright?” the guardian asked, her hand now patting the other demon’s back as she held the slightly bitten hotdog in her other hand. “Y-Yeah… I didn’t think it was gonna be that spicy.” She giggled, putting her fist in front of her mouth as she continued to cough. They sat there for a while until Amélie’s coughing came to a stop, sitting amongst the endless chatter and cheers surrounding them.

The little demihuman looked over to the other side of the bench, Nadia was slightly slumped over with her palm holding up her head, her face reading that of someone who seemed lost in solemn sadness and utter disappointment that Amélie couldn’t stand to look at for another second.

“...H-Hey, I’m really really enjoying this time with you guys, I’m just not cut out for the stuff Fire demons do, i-it’s not your fault.” She reassured the royal, shooting her a smile that touched her heart, albeit a tiny bit. Nadia gave her a small smile back before sitting up a little better, her head facing the other demihuman across from her.

“If there’s anything you’d like to do we can do it, Nadia will be more than happy to take you there.” Amélie nodded at Amira’s words and sighed, so far things were uneventful but she came up with an idea.

“W-Well… I’m not a sporty person, but I guess I should be okay with a few carnival games. Do you happen to have any in mind Nadia?” The Princess’ eyes popped in excitement as she hopped out of her seat and brought the short demon up on her feet, guiding her along.

There were some games Amélie simply couldn’t take part in because it required you to be fireproof, but the occasional safe-for-all activities kept her energetic and full of fun until the sun began to set. A few of the festival’s guests were leaving but some stayed to watch the fireworks and fire dancers, the trio being the latter. Amélie breathed out an exhausted sigh as she watched her hands get covered in bandages by Amira, her fingers sore from playing so many games.

“You’re not going to use them a lot are you?” Amira asked for Nadia, who seemed very worried about Amélie’s condition, the little demihuman gave the two a hearty laugh. “I’m gonna be using them a lot but it’s okay, I-I had fun.”

“So no regrets?”

Amélie grinned and shook her head, “No regrets, th-thank you guys so much for taking me out today, it was really cool.” With a nod Amira finished up bandaging Amélie’s arms and her body jolted slightly as the other demon wrapped her arms around her, the guardian turned to look at her royal who could only stifle a giggle at the position she was in. Amélie pulled away and hugged Nadia as well, the Princess getting pretty giddy at the physical affection. She squeezed back tightly, hearing the way Amélie hummed in glee before they both pulled away.

The three looked towards them and watched the fireworks and Amélie slumped over backwards, “I-I think I’d like some quiet now, this was nice…” Nadia and Amira nodded at each other then motioned Amêlie over to a quieter spot to make it easier to speak amongst themselves. The guardian looked around to see if anyone was nearby and leaned in as she spoke, “Lady Nadia would like to invite you over to her place tonight, if that would be alright.”

Amélie’s ears perked up as she heard this offer and the corners of her lips went upwards in response, “A-Are you kidding? I’d— I’d love to!” Nadia smiled and opened up a portal right in front of Amélie.

Oh, right.

She stepped right through, already beginning to grow used to the nauseating effects of the portal as the other two slipped right in as well. A voice could be heard down the hall.

“Oh great you’re back, I made Colcannon. Just don’t toss your spicy shit in it—”

The woman paused as she saw Amélie looking right back at her, jaw slightly agape as the trio gazed upon her in her comfy clothes glory. It was Nora, and her face dropped with a blush on her cheeks as the newcomer stared her down. The taller twin glared at Nadia before putting her hands on her hips, letting out a defeated sigh as she spoke. “Hey, uh, help yourself I guess.” Was all she said before heading back to the kitchen. She was pretty odd alright. Nadia guided Amélie along to the table and made sure everyone was seated before Amira said Grace, and everyone began to dig in.

Amélie’s ears went up as Nora placed a plate in front of her, shooting her a thanks as the tall demon sat beside her before getting her own part of the dinner. “...Think of it as mashed potato with kale, it’s… That’s pretty much what it is.” Nora commented loud enough for Amélie to hear, she nodded and tried a spoonful, humming in satisfaction at the taste.

Her reaction made Nora smile just slightly before she began enjoying some herself. It was quiet for a while until Amira noticed Nadia wanted to say something, and she spoke. “Lady Nora, my young Mistress would like to speak with you.”

“Huh? About what?” Nora asked, her mouth a little full with food. Amira winced at the lack of manners at the dinner table but let it go, deciding not to make a huge fuss over it, “If it will not be a bother, she would like for you to try out an outfit she has been working on.”

“...It’s not flashy is it?” Her twin was quick to shake her head vigorously, “It is not, Lady Nora. She knows your distaste for such. It is something more… fitting to your aesthetic.”

Nora heard those words and scoffed, making Nadia lower her body with a pout, “Well for one, this is not something she would wear at all, it is very dull in colour, something you like, yes?” Nora shrugged, “I guess, how’d it look on you?”

“Absolutely stunning, if it looked good on her then it would look good on you as well.” Nora exhaled through her nose with a smile, something Nadia caught to her glee. "Whatever, you only say that because we're twins." She said, her smile still obvious.