General Maraxus: Welcome back to another part of the Minion Mistress saga. This series of one shots takes place following the events of the main story. Jinx is on the throne of the Netherworld and Sayron has become Emperor of the remaining Imperial territories.

Gnarl: I am curious to see how she will deal with this role. She hasn't had to make choices on her rule yet.

Maraxus: You reckon she'll just kill everybody? Personally I think she's going to kill a few but let some live if they persuade her of their intentions and how it will benefit her.

Gnarl: Well let's see, the General does not own this story all credit goes to Sunjinjo (Iris). Enjoy.

An Overlady's Audiences Part 1

The Netherworld, deep underground, a few weeks after the coronation of a new Overlady.

Almost everything in the immense cave had returned to normal by now. The Minion Mistress was planning to sail to Ruboria soon, and return the land to its rightful owners, but those plans weren't set yet and at the moment she was busier harvesting life force from Nordberg and Everlight, to expand the already huge hordes even further. She was the first Overlord since very long to care about them before anything else, and the clans had never been this numerous. The diggers had started expanding the Barracks. Perhaps the Last Sanctuary would be joined to the Netherworld in earnest, eventually.

But with all this activity there was one thing Jinx had postponed for a little too long.

Something which had now accumulated in a room at the heart of the Tower, a few floors above the throne room itself. Something, or rather quite a few somethings, talking softly or less than softly, bouncing around, pounding the floor with a huge hammer, and in one case, staring at the rest of the somethings with smouldering eyes, maddeningly silent.

A few Minion guards with black-plumed helmets and razor-sharp halberds overlooked it warily. They were to make sure the Netherworldly guests didn't go anywhere they weren't supposed to be, or worse, where they could disturb the Overlady before she actually wanted to see them. They'd already needed quite a bit of persuasion by now. Some of the guests were of the strong opinion they'd waited long enough, and it was becoming harder, for example, to keep the gnome where he was...

Then suddenly a swift shadow flashed across the tall, magnificently crafted stained-glass windows of the room, reflecting in the black marble floor and darkening the faces of the ones present. Almost everyone looked up, and the guards grinned as one.

"Mistress is here," one of them growled.

The shadow swept down along the Tower on leathery wings, turned like a leaf in the wind and hooked on at throne room level, to fold its wings and clamber in through the hole at the back. Zephyros' razorlike claws scraped across the Tower wall's basalt as he twisted his way into the hall and grabbed on above the throne, upside down. His rider let herself drop down, slowed her fall by flinging her ropes around the stalactites above the throne, and then lowered herself onto the seat of power. She exchanged glances with Gnarl, just straightening out from his low bow.

"Good morning, milady."

"Good morning, Gnarl." Jinx looked around uncomfortably. "Um..."

"Are you finally going to do it today, Jinx?"

The Overlady briefly looked up, to a few Minions on the higher balcony, including one with a silk hat who'd jumped off the bat along with her. "I do think it's time, yes."

"If you feel like it, you can throw all of them through the trapdoor before they finish their first sentence. That, too, is entertaining."

Jinx grinned briefly. "Yes, that does seem fun. But as it's my first time, I want to hear them out."

"As you wish. As an Overlady, you can do anything you want. I do trust you to use your head; I estimate you to be one with a brain."

"I hope so." Jinx looked up, at the red-hot portal at the ceiling of the hall. "Very well, let them come."

Gnarl raised his ears. "Bring in the first one!"

From higher up in the Tower a Minion yell answered, and the portal slightly opened its claws. The fiery, red glow between the prongs flared a little brighter for a moment, and then a figure descended, all the way down to the circular trapdoor in the middle of the throne room.

It was a stout man, clearly from the Empire, but not as fat as some nobles. From the throne Jinx studied him curiously; glad she'd brought herself to receive the people despite herself.

She straightened out, and the amber gem set in her leather glove gently lit up. "Greetings. What is your business with the Netherworld?"

The man bowed deeply. "Greetings, Milady. My name is Darion. I'm a zoologist from the Glorious Empire."

Jinx frowned. "Wait… how did you get in here? I don't have any Tower Gates in the Empire."

"The people around Vindenis found your gate fairly soon, Milady. The shadow of those wings doesn't remain unnoticed for long, and once they conquered their fears they started searching around. There are more Imperials that want to see you, and we all arrived through that gate."

Jinx smiled faintly. "Ah… that." She'd remembered the huge open plains of the Empire, and the fantastic stacks of cumulus clouds she'd seen during the southwards march to Arcadiopolis, which had meant only one thing at the time; irresistible thermals. She'd wanted to go out flying above the relatively uninhabited parts of her half-brother's Empire, and as she was an Overlady now, she'd done so immediately. Now she received other, unexpected results of that.

"Very well," she interrupted her own thoughts. "Darion, what would you ask of me?"

The man shuffled with his feet. Jinx hoped he wouldn't look down for long enough to see what he was standing on. "Milady, it's a pity you didn't fly at the time we reached Vindenis. I haven't seen your bat and the other flying creatures since that one glimpse above Arcadiopolis, the day the sky was barely visible through the smoke. I never had the money to visit the Arena, or I'd have spent every day there. Ripped Wing was my only chance at seeing an Everlightian giant bat. The animals fascinate me."

"You've come to the right place." Jinx smiled. As she'd realized by now, Darion hadn't yet seen what hung behind the throne. Zephyros didn't draw too much attention if one didn't know what he was. Because of the light falling through his wings, the membranes resembled dark curtains.

But now, while still frowning in confusion, the scholar started realizing this too. His eyes widened as he suddenly saw the curtains weren't curtain, and as if to confirm this the giant bat stretched, extending his wing fingers so the membrane was stretched taut, through almost half of the hall.

"What do you want to do with him?"

Darion forcefully ripped his gaze off Zephyros. "I'd like to examine him, Milady. These bats are the largest flying species of animal in the world. I want to know how they do it. Muscles, bone structure…"

"You'll have to harm him," Jinx concluded with a raised eyebrow. Above her Zephyros folded his wings again, and almost closed his eyes, dozing like a cat in warm sunlight.

"I have brought a collection of scalpels," Darion nodded. "But that doesn't have to be a problem. I know of the blue Minions, they healed his wings earlier, didn't they?"

Jinx nodded, almost unnoticeably. The Minions around her felt her mood change definitively now, but she showed nothing to Darion.

"So… do I have your permission?"

Jinx smiled. "Certainly. Come closer." She rose and turned to Zephyros. With a single word, he flung out his wings and came down, the air flow blowing back the banners through the entire hall. Jinx walked towards him and laid a hand in his rough-maned neck.

Darion came towards them, groping in the bag at his side and taking out a few small blades. Some blues who'd been present along the throne room walls joined him, even though they could plainly see in Jinx' eyes they weren't needed.

"Thank you for this chance, Milady. I owe you."

"I owe you," Jinx replied, still wearing that smile. "He hadn't had any breakfast yet."

Darion looked up from Zephyros' shoulder, which he'd been inspecting with his scalpel lifted, incomprehension in his eyes. "What…"

"Zephyros."

One word was enough. One swift move, the crack of bone between huge, razorlike teeth and a cut-off scream later, and Jinx' very first visitor from the upper world was gone abruptly, and after one lick of Zephyros' rough tongue his blood, too, had been removed from around his maw.

"They'll never touch your wings again," Jinx repeated her old promise in his huge ear softly. With a faint grin she walked back to the throne and seated herself again.

Gnarl: Well, that was amusing. At least he got fed out of this.

Maraxus: Remind me never to mention any possible chance of her pet getting wounded, at least not within range.

Gnarl: Well the Mistress seems to have gotten the hang of dealing with those who displease her. Hopefully the next visitor will be wiser.

Maraxus: Indeed. Please review readers and we'll see you next time.