The throne room door swung open, and in stepped General RAAM.

Queen Myrrah met him halfway across the room. Whatever she'd called him for, it couldn't have been very urgent, as she didn't bombard him with the details immediately.

"I am going out," she said. "I need a break." She started for the door, but he stopped her with a sharp grunt.

He lifted a gloved hand and pointed down. The two year old Reyna stood there, looking up with wide, searching brown eyes.

"The implication was that you shall watch her." Myrrah gave his tree trunk arm a consoling pat, and left.

He stared after the closing door, in numb disbelief for about three seconds, which was the precise amount of time it took Reyna to get over her initial shyness and start poking at his leg armor.

He looked at her and she stopped like she'd been caught doing something forbidden. She thought for a moment, then lifted both arms.

"Up!" Ah, they both spoke with single syllables.

She was not asking much; RAAM could carry her in one hand, and he did. The human toddler was so different to the ones he was used to. Humans had soft, yielding flesh and fragile bones and the weird stringy protein called hair.

Reyna settled against his chestplate like she belonged there. She took after her mother, with a look about her that said she was queen of everything whether you liked it or not.

RAAM walked into the queen's personal living quarters, which included a kitchen area, mostly to the benefit to the young child, who would not have enjoyed the walk to the grand dining hall every few hours. He located the cereal cupboard and opened it, peering inside.

As he suspected, there was barely any cereal left. The cupboard was mostly empty, and a little dusty. He reached his free hand in and swept out the worst of it, which included three pink sugar orbs and a dead bug.

Then he hoisted little Reyna up, placed her in the cupboard next to the box of pink orbs, closed the door, and walked away.

Crisis averted, he thought.

Queen Myrrah returned from her break to find RAAM in Skorge's bedroom, hunched over the sleeping Kantus. He held an uncapped marker.

"Where is my baby?" she demanded.

RAAM paused in the middle of drawing the second testicle and looked at her. "...Baby?"