"Lord Florian and the man requesting an audience with his Majesty have arrived! Open the doors!"


    Two lamias loudly spoke in the massive corridor of the castle, overlooking over the whole city of Lahro.


    Sounds of footsteps echoed in the white corridors, beautifully decorated with vases, flowers, stained glass windows, and paintings of previous queens. There was a carving on the curved ceiling, something that instantly made anyone that entered know they were inside a building made by lamias.


    A red, thin slithering tail was carved all the way from the beginning to the end of the corridor.


    The lamias tail was usually brown, or sometimes orange, but the red was a purely exclusive color for the royalty. No one other than a red tailed lamia could have the throne and the powers going with it.


    That''s what Florian explained to Orion on the way to the throne room.


    After walking for ten minutes inside the halls and corridors, they arrived in front of the door. Before the guarding lamias opened the last door, he stopped them.


    "Please wait a moment."


    "Yes!"


    The lamias stopped their movement, and saluted the man in front of them.


    ''He really is respected by the lamias. I had a hard time to believe it, but until now, he hasn''t lied a single time in front of me.''


    The trust Orion gave to Florian was growing more and more as time passed. The more he learned about his goals, the actions he did to lead him to this moment, and the way he acted in front of him, every single thing was judge by Orion.


    He did the same with Kamala, and will do the same with the other ''friendly'' Apostles. This was his way to confirm that there was indeed allies that would fight with him.


    "Orion, let me repeat myself. The queen is a really peculiar person, so do your best not to lose your patience and avoid doing anything rash, I implore you."


    In response, Orion placed a hand on his shoulder.


    "Relax your nerves. I''m not here to make a scene, and you now it."


    "Thank you."


    Both men smiled at each other.


    The lamias waited for Florian''s sign before opening the two doors.


    "Opening the doors to the Throne Room!"


    With a loud creaking sound, the doors opened. Orion observed silently, and his eyes opened wide in shock.


    ''That''s... the throne room?''


    He followed Florian while looking around the room.


    There was a large balcony on his right side, that had a scenery that almost no one could hope to see in their life time except the beings that were able to fly. You could see far on the west from there, all the way to the Carmel Sea, and even a little bit of land from Eogis.


    The eight white pillars supporting the whole rooms had the same red tail carved on each one of them, wrapped around it.


    To Orion, this place was closer to a temple than a throne room. The natural lighting made the white come out more vividly than it should, giving a sense of purity.


    ''One... two... eight in total. No, ten.''


    He quickly analyzed the room, and noticed all of the guards, even the two hiding out of sights.


    Two at the doors, two on the left wall, two near the middle, two on the balcony, and two hiding behind the pillars in the back.


    Since he wasn''t here to cause trouble, he quickly stopped caring about them, and looked at the middle of the room. A large table was placed, with two lamias already sat around it.


    But, there was indeed a throne, and one of them was sitting on it.


    "Queen Palarvina, Queen Deveralna, it is a pleasure to see you again."


    Florian bowed gracefully in front of the two lamia women.


    "Please, Lord Florian, I am queen no more."


    The one was spoke was an older lamia. She was relatively old, but had an aura of dignity around her.


    A red tail slightly discolored by her aging, nonetheless, her beauty remained. Long brown hair like chocolate, and a piercing gaze that would strike at the heart of anyone that stared at her brown colored pupils.


    "Gyahaha! Is that the one who requested an audience with me?"


    A smaller lamia, the one sitting on the throne, laughed heartily and pointed at Orion.


    "Girl! Behave yourself!"


    "Aie!"


    The lamia called Palarvina slapped the back of the younger lamia''s head sitting on the throne.


    "I apologize for my daughter''s behavior."


    She bowed her head toward Orion and Florian after standing on her tail.


    "I was already notified, please, do not apologized."


    "Please excuse my late introduction, my name is Orion Feales, the very one having requested this meeting."


    Florian looked at Orion, who was humbly bowing in front of them, with surprise.


    ''His posture, and words are perfectly appropriate. There is no sign of disrespect exuding from him.''


    The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.


    Palarvina and Orion both straightened themselves at the same time and smiled respectfully at each other.


    ''Seems like Lady Palarvina took a liking to him already. This is a good start.''


    "This is my daughter, Deveralna, the newest Queen of the lamia. Her mouth runs quite rampant sometimes, but she is a good person."


    "Mama! I can introduce myself just fine."


    "It is a pleasure to meet you, Queen Deveralna."


    Orion bowed exactly the same as before toward the young queen.


    "Hmm..."


    She seemed to be thinking about something, before she slithered away from her throne. Sliding around the table, she arrived next to Orion and began to turn around him.


    "Deve! What are you doing?"


    But she ignored her mother. The beautiful lamia was right in front of Orion.


    Long light orange hair stopping at her shoulder blades, and a darker orange in her pupils. Her long, red tail was coiling around itself, as if she was a spring ready to jump away.


    Her face was particularly well defined. To say that men would fight each other to get her attention wouldn''t be a lie. Her pointy ears were extremely interesting to Orion.


    Her body was also well developed. Perfectly sized breasts, not too big, nor too small, with a slim body rivaling with Amelia''s own style.


    Since lamias had less possibility in wearing clothes, she was wearing a long red one piece robe, stopping where Orion''s knees were. But this red dress was of the same quality as Orion''s clothes. Durable, stylish, and easy to move in. A little white snake was drawn on the right hip part of the robe.


    She wasn''t particularly tall either, maybe a few centimeters lower than Amelia, but you couldn''t compare, since she could change her height at any moment with her tail.


    "A manly, yet handsome face. Gorgeous, silky dark hair. Magnificent eyes that observed every nook and cranny of the world. A choice of clothes for a good-looking man. And a humble attitude even in front of my lack of seriousness."


    Orion stared inside the dark orange snake eyes of the queen. For a few seconds, they stared into each other''s eyes, as she showed her split tongue multiple times.


    ''That''s what he meant by ''peculiar''. She isn''t a mere playful child. That is not a face I should see on someone with the same attitude as before.''


    There was a gap between the current queen, and the one Orion observed a few minutes ago.


    She took some distance, and bowed in turn.


    "Welcome to our city, Orion Feales. The Queen recognizes you as her guest."


    Florian let out a little, quiet sigh in relief. He had to go through the same process, but chose not to spoil it for Orion. The lamias are keen individuals, especially the royalty. Holding back, lying, or hiding things, it was extremely difficult in front of them.


    "Thank you very much for the compliments, but I have to say."


    Orion smiled before saying something unexpected.


    "You are one of few individuals I have found having the most beautiful eyes on the continent."


    Silence fell around them. Florian opened his mouth and eyes, bewildered. The two lamias looked blankly at Orion.


    This was the first time someone ''tried'' to compliment the current queen.


    And in reaction, the guards began to frantically move toward Orion.


    "Oy! Who said you could move?! Go back to your post!"


    Deveralna shouted at the guards in anger, and looked at Orion who looked calm, even though he was about to be removed by the guards.


    Then she looked at her mother.


    "Can you believe it? He''s not lying. There''s not even an ounce of ulterior motive. That was a pure, simple, and honest compliment. I haven''t received one like this, like, ever."


    Deveralna looked pretty happy about that, but she kept glaring at the guards, before her mother defused the situation.


    "If her Majesty says nothing, it is not your job to move and act by yourself. Until an order is issued, you have to remain at your post. Disrespecting our guest seconds after he was accepted, how were you about to ask fo forgiveness?"


    "We apologize!"


    They all bent low to the ground, terrified of what would happen to them.


    "I know we had multiple ''individuals'' in the past that had those ulterior motives, but not anymore. I won''t punish you for doing that, because I know that you meant well. Don''t do it again, that''s my order."


    Deveralna scolded her subordinates lightly, before returning to her throne.


    "Lord Florian, Lord Orion, please sit in front of me. Would you care for some pastries and tea with us?"


    On the table, a few pastry towers were on display. Both men sat at the table with a smile.


    "I hope my subordinates'' actions haven''t caused you to see us in a bad light. I do not know of Florian explained it to you, but we have an... history with exploiting individuals."


    The mood turned a little sour at the end of that sentence, coming from every lamias.


    "You do not have to develop, I know the situation. I am the one who took the life of your exploiter."


    Two sets of hands slammed on the table and the weapons of the guards fell on the floor.


    "Florian, why didn''t you say so?! Imagine the mistake it would have been to throw such a man out the door!"


    But he shook his head.


    "I am only the middle-man, explaining everything about him to you would not lead to a productive encounter."


    "That is true."


    ''No lies. I have never met two honest individuals at the same time before. Only liars and torturers.''


    Deveralna was young, but she knew what her mother, Palarvina, had to sacrifice for them to keep their head on their shoulders.


    If she hadn''t hidden her daughter from prying eyes at the time, terrible things would have happened to her, like most of the lamias at to suffer through.


    So the moment Florian entered the throne room, and forced his help on the lamia, she abdicated her title and gave it to her daughter.


    To be honest, she was tired of the world. She would honestly think that the world would be better without the lamias if they had to be reduced to ''toys''.


    They were in decline anyway, so why not push it to the end in an instant. But when Florian brought light to the darkness her mind, she began to regain hope.


    The man was truthful, honest, and hardworking toward repairing the mistakes of the past. Not everyone agrees with that, but it is slowly working. Some traumas are simply too hard to erase.


    And then, this new individual, Orion, was the same as Florian, a truthful man.


    ''This Orion, he his my type. 100%! There''s no way I can let such a fine man go... but, he his a human. No one will accept that.''


    She erased that thought, and returned to the serious meeting.


    "Tell me, before our tea arrives. Why did you request a meeting? What would you request from me, the Queen of Lahro?"


    Her words were strong, hiding another message in it.


    ''As the Queen, it is impossible for me to help a human other than by giving information.''


    "Are you familiar with the dragons?"


    Orion clasped his hands together.


    "No. Besides the reptilian looks, we do not have any relations with them. Our creator is the same though."


    "If I told you that I am acquainted to the dragons, would you believe it?"


    "No lies."


    Palarvina opened her eyes wide.


    "Florian is also working in breaking the chains of hate between humans and dragons, while another one of my friend is working in building relationship with the fairies."


    "Mama, this man is incredible!"


    "Are you the one who made this possible?"


    Both women were impressed by his accomplishments, but he shook his head firmly.


    "I cannot take credit for this. I only made the discussions happen, they persuaded the other party themselves, with words others than mine."


    "But, that is true that I wish for the factions to be relieved of corruption and oppression. I am but only one person. Pushing for my own goals, and to forge peace between factions that are not my own are two difficult matters."


    Deveralna''s ears perked up. She noticed the words spoken between the lines.


    "Factions that are not your own? Aren''t you human?"


    Orion''s eyes twitched. He despised being compared to a human, but only that twitching was shown.


    "I am not human. I am a hybrid of demon and angel. The last survivor of both faction, this is who I am."


    "!"


    Pure shock appeared on everyone''s face, except Florian who knew, evidently.


    Palarvina spoke quietly once she understood.


    "Are you fighting against the humans? Or do you wish for peace? I cannot comprehend."


    But for Orion and his absurd hearing, this was easy to hear.


    "I am fighting the corruption, and the human leaders. Civilians and innocents, like you, the other factions, and human... civilians, are the ones to be protected. That is why I cannot do anything by myself."


    She stared straight at his eyes.


    "I know from our history that we were almost wiped out by one man in the past, and that he was sealed away on Eogis before that, thanks to the dragons aiding us."


    "Is your goal really the end of that man''s life?"


    Without breaking eye-contact, Orion comfortably sat on the chair, and spoke.


    "Would you forgive the man that took everything from you? Your family, the lives of your faction members, and your country?"


    "I can feel the hate in your words. Do you despise humans?"


    Orion closed his eyes.


    "Mama! Aren''t you going too far in your questioning?"


    But he ignored that and answered.


    "I am a hypocrite."