Chapter 6

The small harpies in front of Leo ran across platforms and bridges before coming to a larger open platform that was around 50 meters from one side to the other. There were railings on the side but overall it was just an elevated platform filled to the brim with kids, mostly harpies but there were a few humans.

Leo kept walking, not quickening his pace but making sure to keep the trio in his sights. While he did not trust any of the harpies, he knew that those three had an obligation to their mother and they would not be breaking that any time soon.

Most of the kids were involved in what looked like a massive game of tag. Human kids diving after harpies who were struggling to take flight. Harpies stayed low enough in the air so that the humans could physically grab them and keep the game going.

It was honestly heartwarming to watch. He wanted to criticize the humans for not fighting back but at the same time, they were all just kids and young adults, not that there were that many of them.

Leo could not fault them for losing hope of going home, frankly, he doubted many of them even wanted to go home based on Markus' comment. They were not forced to work on the farm to feed themselves, they were able to play around and enjoy their childhood, just as Sophia said.

But Leo could not get behind it, he had to do something. He was given an extra chance at life and he would be damned if he did not do something significant with it. Leo was not going to let his childhood go to waste in this life.

"Leo come play tag with us!" Irini shouted behind her.

Leo turned his head towards Irini and her sisters, "I'm fine, I can just watch."

Natassa and Vasil shrugged and went off, looking for someone to chase. While Irini just tilted her head in confusion.

"Why don't you wanna play? it'll be fun," Irini asked.

Leo moved towards one of the platform corners, trying to stay away from as many people as possible, "I just don't want to play tag right now. You go off and have fun."

Irini walked toward Leo, "Tag is always fun with more people, plus I always play with them… I want to play with someone else sometimes." She reached her wing out towards Leo.

Only for him to quickly move away from it, a look of annoyance showing on his face. "I said I'll just watch. Don't worry about me."

Irini did not back down. She kept moving toward Leo, only for him to keep moving away. Each step she took toward him was another step that he took away from her.

"Stay away from me Irini," Leo said harshly.

"No, you're gonna play with us!" Irini responded.

Leo was constantly moving backward, eventually, he shifted his body so that he was moving forward and started to run.

Irini followed and ran after Leo, using her wings to keep her keep balanced while she ran.

Leo's expression turned from annoyance to fear while he ran away from the blue-winged harpy. He started to make a shallow turn to eventually find an opening to get away from her.

Only for Irini to keep up with him. She was directly behind him for a few minutes while Leo just ran away full speed.

Before long Leo had run into a corner again and was forced to stop, only for Irini to run into him and force him to the ground.

He looked at her petrified, Leo had no idea what any of these harpies could do. He had no idea if they had ulterior motives or if they genuinely just wanted to have fun. However, Leo could believe that they wanted the humans to breed and he was not about to have sex with a harpy.

It's just not right, in no world it is right. Its beastiality, even if they looked mostly human. Even if some of them were attractive it still did not make it right. That is all discounting the fact that they were children. He was an adult for crying out loud, he's not going to do anything sexual with a minor.

"Leo are you okay?" Irini asked, concern clear in her voice.

"G-g-get away from me!" He said quietly but forcefully.

Slowly Irini got pushed herself off of Leo and sat down on the ground in front of him.

The second she was off Leo crawled away back to the rope railing. While never taking his eyes off of Irini.

"I don't want to hurt you," Irini said tears forming in her eyes, "I want you to feel welcome."

Leo pulled his legs closer to his chest, resting his back loosely against the rope. "Just leave me alone."

Irini refused to move away, instead, she moved to sit next to Leo with her legs crossed. She looked up and started to watch the kids playing tag.

Leo sighed when he looked to his left and saw Irini sitting there. Of course, she would not actually leave him alone. But at this point, Leo doubted anything he could do would change the harpy's mind. She was not going to be leaving him alone any time soon.

He did not have time to play games. Leo had to collect himself as quickly as he could so that he could find and plan a way out.

All the harpies stressed him out. He knew they would go after him the second he realized who he actually was. After all, the harpy Maya killed called them hellspawn. They were clearly not well-liked, and mother was infamous to the harpies. Probably as much as the harpies were infamous to them. A constant and ever-present fear.

Every second that he spent here was another second that someone could be plotting his downfall. This was why he had to stay quiet, stay away from it all. The less the harpies knew about him the better off he was.

Leo knew he needed a ladder. He was about two stories off the ground on these platforms after all. Jumping down was not an option. From what he could tell there were not any nearby, or if they were they were well hidden.

So he had to explore and find those ladders. The harpies could fly so they had no use for ladders but what about the newborn harpies who wanted to explore and could not fly, or harpies with wing injuries to the point where they could not fly? Surely ladders would be useful in those situations.

All the platform support beams were made from wood, and not just branches but full-on tree logs. Those were heavy so maybe they processed them below the main complex of platforms. While he could not see fully underneath it he was sure that they would not let that empty space go to waste.

Ladders existed, he was sure of it. He just had to find them.

Before long Natassa and Vasil found the two of them sitting around.

"So there you two are," Vasil said, "Why didn't you go play with someone?"

spoke up, "I wanted to include Leo, but he just wanted to sit. So I sat with him."

"He'll get used to it soon," Natassa said before pausing, "I think mama's food is ready, so let's go back."

Irini and Leo stood up, while Irini offered an 'okay' Leo refused to respond and just followed the trio.

"Mama we're back!" Natassa called out when the four of them walked inside.

Sophia was inside flipping through a book with her talons when they arrived. She quickly closed the book and greeted them, "Perfect timing, I just finished up a little bit ago. Let's eat."

The food rested on the ground-level table all laid out in five wooden bowls. Inside the bowls was what Leo could only assume to be stew, similar to what mother typically made. Alongside that was a much larger bowl in the center which had various fruits, he could not recognize. However, there was still the recognizable apple and several kinds of berries.

He watched the harpies pick up a spoon with their talons and use them to eat. It was surprising to him, watching them eat with their feet. These harpies were a lot more dexterous than Leo thought. He could not dream of doing something similar, while he had heard stories of humans living without arms it still must have been exceptionally difficult.

Times like these he was thankful for his hands and thumbs.

He waited for everyone else to start eating before he did. When Leo he tried the stew he was caught off guard. It tasted significantly better than what mother had cooked. Maybe it was the quality of the ingredients, maybe it was something else, he did not know and frankly, it was not a concern to him right now, food was food.

"Did you all have fun?" Sophia asked.

Natassa and Vasil nodded their heads

"I caught Vasil for once," Natassa announced with a sense of pride.

"It won't happen next time and you know it, I just got caught on the ground," Vasil responded with a pout.

"Yea yea, just wait. You won't be able to keep me off you next time." Natassa said.

"What about you Irini, Leo?" Sophia asked, cutting off the banter.

"... I sat and watched with Leo," Irini said sheepishly.

Leo sat and ate quietly, not wanting to join in on the conversation.

"Leo," Sophia called out looking at him, "did you have fun?"

"Yes." He said quickly, trying to get out of the conversation as fast as possible.

"Then that's what matters," Sophia said with a smile before turning towards Vasil and Natassa, "Make sure you try to include him as well, I know how you two get."

"We're not that bad," Vasil said.

"What about when I tried to bring in that group of humans?" Irini spoke up.

Vasil's face paled, "They were really slow and you know it!"

"You're one of the fastest Vasil, everyone is slow to you," Irini said.

She puffed up her chest with pride, "They just need to get faster."

Irini looked at Vasil plainly, "It's not that easy Vasil. Plus you'll never know if you won't let them try."

"When was the last time you raced someone?" Natassa spoke up.

Vasil looked over, her face turning slightly red, "It's… uhh… A year?"

Sophia chuckled to herself while Irini responded, "You're racing everyone tomorrow. I'll get all the kids together."

"Iriniii," Vasil whined, "but I don't want to race anyone, I like being the fastest."

Irini had a massive grin on her face, "You still are the fastest, but why don't you prove it to Leo?"

Leo shrunk down at the mention of his name before Vasil turned toward him.

"You watched earlier!" Vasil said desperately, "You know I'm the fastest, right Leo? Right?"

"I-I don't know," Leo responded he did not expect to be dragged into the conversation, "I-I don't know about the others."

"Why not make him the judge?" Natassa said, "He doesn't know anyone, why not let him decide?"

Vasil's desperation quickly turned into enthusiasm, "Yes Natassa! Leo, you'll tell us who's the fastest tomorrow."

He really did not want to, Leo wanted to stay as far away from these harpies as possible. That did not involve taking part in their petty disagreements.

"If you're not the fastest then you'll let other people join in!" Irini said triumphantly.

"I won't lose!" Vasil quickly fought back, "and I do let other people join in!"

"No you don't," Both Natassa and Irini said.

Vasil slumped over only for Natassa and Irini to laugh at her dismay.

Eventually, the day ended and everyone went to sleep. Sleep, however, did not come easy to him. Constantly moving, struggling to find comfort, constantly on edge. Every few hours he woke up again in a cold sweat.

He was plagued with memories of home. He needed to get back to Maya and mother, these harpies were trying to be a substitute family and he would not allow it. He refused to accept them when they took him from what he held dear.

Irini was being nice to him and he appreciated it. She was constantly trying to include him in what the sisters did, even after their initial outing. Despite all this, however, he doubted her intentions were fully pure, she wanted something and he just had to figure it out and hope that it was not him that she wanted.

Natassa was the quiet one, she always said what was and tried her best to not mince words. Which was both good and bad in its own right.

While Vasil was clearly the arrogant one. Constantly believed she was superior to everyone else, but at the same time managed to have a healthy relationship with everyone around her. From what Leo could tell at the least.

Sophia had made the largest impression on him. The harpy wanted to act but claimed she could not do more than what she already had. She wanted the best for all the humans but she clearly has not tried to take both the men and the women. She took him away from Maya and claimed that she could not take her as well.

Leo wanted Maya to be safe at home, but being separated from her still made the world hard and strange. Almost like she died and left him alone in the world. However, he knew she was still alive and he just had to fight for her.

At another point in the night, Leo woke up, except this time it was not from a cold sweat. Rather there was a pressure on his chest like something was pressing it down. He tilted his head off of the pillow to look at his chest and saw a bundle of dark brown hair. Off to the sides were blue wings and with each movement he made the harpy twitched in response.

Irini was laying on him, dead asleep.

How had he not noticed her? Leo was waking up every few hours and was barely able to get sleep. Was he just too tired to realize someone was moving on top of him?

His breathing quickened and Leo could feel his heart pounding. Slowly he tilted his arms toward the ground and pushed at an angle. Leo's body slowly moved out from underneath Irini. Every few seconds she would twitch and move a little, each time she did Leo made sure to stop whatever he was doing.

His panic kept getting worse with each second she was there. After a few more slight movements he was able to get her off his chest and onto his legs.

The next thing Leo knew, he was free.

Slowly he stood up and took in everyone sleeping. Irini rested on about half of his bed. Her legs were horizontal with the bed while her body managed to be in line with it. Natassa and Vasil rested cleanly under their blankets in little balls while Sophia had her wings covering her chest and the blanket only on top of her legs.

It was pitch black in the room, only illuminated by what little of the moon was showing. The darkness was soothing to a degree, it gave him a break from the intense emotions he had felt after getting here. Despite the calmness he could not stop and basque in it, he had to move on.

Quietly, Leo walked over to the door. He made sure to watch each step and carefully place each foot on the ground. He had to at least try, he knew how to unlock the door, after all, it was not hard.

Leo saw the door was locked and slowly moved down to unlatch it. He pulled the latch until it was free and the door slightly pushed in toward him. Taking the chance that was given to him he opened the door enough for him to fit through and walked out.

After closing the door quietly behind him he walked towards the rope bridge in front of Sophia's house.

It was even more peaceful outside, not a single harpy was in sight. It was silent aside from the few crickets chirping here and there. Along the walkways were a few lit torches, but it was not enough to prevent the stars from being seen.

The stars, it had been a while since he had taken the time to actually look at the stars and just watch them. To stare off into space and just think, dream, of what was out there. He was too preoccupied or asleep by the time the stars came out. So having the chance to finally look at them was amazing.

Leo shook his head to refocus. He could admire the view later, now he just had to find a ladder down.

He carefully scanned the walkways around him, following the lines of rope and constantly looking down. Leo followed one path and scanned as much of the area as he could. Bridges led to other houses, larger open platforms, and the center building which he believed was the Aviary.

Leo made sure that each step he took was quiet so the boards would not creak and wake anyone up. His hand rested along one of the ropes to keep his balance while he stared out and away from his own feet. Having something to guide him would help in not making noise after all.

Each bridge took him to another house, and each house took him to another bridge. They were all the same height and it started to become confusing. The only real sense of placement he had was the one home that stood taller than the rest, the Queen's residence.

Aside from that, placing his location was difficult, all the houses looked almost identical and it was a maze of walkways. It felt like he was exploring an urban jungle above the ground. Discounting the lack of steel and concrete, only to be replaced by wood, rope, and straw.

After walking past at least ten houses and thoroughly tracing the pathways. He could not find a single ladder. Nothing he could use to climb down. Leo saw several trees that acted as support beams for the platforms but nothing that he could easily jump towards and slide down.

Eventually, Leo looked further over the edge by one of the support trees. He was on a platform and there were the tops of trees on each corner. However, on one side he saw the lack of leaves.

Walking towards the edge he looked down and saw his opening. It was a dying tree that had not regrown its leaves after the winter. Several of the branches looked exceptionally frail but others looked like they might be able to support his body weight.

Leo sighed and steeled his resolve, "Here goes nothing."

He moved his head under the rope, then his legs. Next thing he knew he was on the edge of the platform only hanging on by the ropes that were clearly behind him at this point.

Then Leo jumped.

The tree was fairly far down but nothing that he thought was too far. While he did still have the body of a child he had a suspicion that even his body would be able to safely connect with the tree.

Before Leo could grab the tree branch his momentum was stopped when he felt a grasp on his shoulders.

"I had a feeling you would try this." Said a familiar voice above him.

Just as it had been the first time he was grabbed by a harpy, panic set in and his body tensed up. He quickly looked upwards only to be greeted by bright pink feathers. He had not even heard her! Leo should have been able to hear some form of wings flapping.

Leo kept moving upwards. He watched the tree he was so close to grabbing drift further and further away from him. Before long he saw the platform he had jumped from.

He pressed his feet towards the platform to find his footing. Only for the harpy to move clearly above the platform and in a separate direction.

Leo started to worry, where was this harpy taking him? Why did her voice sound familiar and why did she know him? It could not be the queen, she should not be awake at this time, she had too much work to be awake in the middle of the night. Hell, nobody should be awake at this time. He had seen blue, brown, and pink feathers so surely the harpies had various colored feathers.

"We're going to have a chat, Leo. One you need more than you realize." The harpy spoke again.

Leo refused to speak, he would not let this harpy know anything. It all could be used against him and he knew it. She would use it to guilt trip him into breeding with her or something similar, he would not allow it.

Eventually, he arrived at the Queen's residence before being set down in front of the door. When the harpy landed beside him he looked her in the face for the first time.

It was the Queen. The same Queen Harpy that was taking care of Sophia's kids earlier.

"Go on inside," She said softly, "I mean you no harm, I can assure you that."

Not wanting to risk any conflict and doing his best to keep his head physically on his shoulders. Leo complied and walked through the door.

It was extremely similar to Sophia's home on the inside. Discounting the table that was covered in papers and ink. There were several scrolls and books resting on shelves behind the desk. The bookshelf he was looking at was not as large as he would have expected.

That was until he looked into the other corner and saw another bookshelf, larger than the previous one. Full to the brim with more books and more scrolls.

The Queen walked over to her bed mat and tapped right in front of it, "Take a seat here Leo."

Leo complied again and once he sat down the queen followed suit.

His body was still exceptionally tense, ready to jump and run at a moment's notice.

"You can relax Leo, we're just here to chat." The Queen said.

"Then what do you want to chat about your majesty?" Leo said as neutral as he could, not relaxing in the slightest.

He wanted to yell at the Queen so bad. But he knew he could not, he had to keep fighting to stay alive and Leo could not simply throw it away by disrespecting a Queen.

She chuckled, "Please call me Sybil while we're in private. You are under Sophia's care, I'll give you that right."

"But I digress," She continued, "Do you know you're only the second human who's arrived to call me 'your majesty'?"

Leo paled, he had already messed up and he did not even know it. "Mom always taught us to be respectful to kings and queens."

"I'm sure she did Leo," Sybil chuckled, "The first person was an adventurer who sought out the village. A bright young man who wanted nothing more than to learn about the world around him. Everyone was more than accommodating to him. We welcomed him, fed him, and gave him the knowledge he was in search of."

"He was always respectful even after he heard of our situation and the desperate measures we had to take to right the wrongs of our predecessor."

Sybil's smile softened, "Before long Sophia had asked for his hand in marriage, and he accepted. I was tempted to take him for myself but Sophia was clearly smitten with him at first glance."

She looked directly at Leo, "You remind me of him, Leo, you remind me of David."

Leo looked at Sybil confused, she knew nothing about him how could he remind her of someone else? Even more so someone who her sister wanted to marry. From what Leo could tell he was not being watched and if he was he would have to be more aware in the future.

"But you don't know me," Leo said slowly, "You've only known me for a day?"

Sybil looked at Leo warmly, "Oh Leo. I have only talked to you for a day. However, I have known you for years, it's my duty to know about all the interesting people. Humans and monsters alike, on the Illias continent. They could become a threat to my people after all."

So she was watching him. That was not the news he was hoping to hear, but it was news nonetheless. Not to mention she likely considered him a threat, that's the reason she brought him here. It still made no sense to Leo, why was he a threat? The only thing that he had really done was make marks on a stick, and that alone should not classify him as a threat.

"But I digress," Sybil continued, "You remind me of David because you both try to give everyone a chance. He was willing to give the monsters a chance so that he could understand them and figure out what we were really like. You've done the same with some of the villagers, asking around and being friendly at first before they treated you harshly."

Leo was confused and scared. First off, how did she come to that conclusion? If she really had been watching him then she should know that he only went to people that his mother absolutely had to go to. He was just being friendly to put on the appearance of an innocent child.

Wait… Was that all that she saw him as? A child. Despite the fact that she was watching him she should not have been able to come to the conclusion that he was actually older than he looked, only acting more mature than other children. Which was common in some children, it was how his brother was back on earth. Always acted more mature than his age.

However, that does not take away from the more concerning part. How did she know he even went to villagers and that he treated them kindly? How much could the harpies hear? How far could they see? How many people did she have watching the entirety of Happiness Village?

"But you are not a threat Leo." Sybil said with a warm smile, "You are a child caught in circumstances that you could not control. Despite all that happens around you, you still keep faith in Happiness Village."

"However, despite what you have pushed through if you return to Happiness Village. The villagers will not take kindly to your return. They will hunt you down and likely kill you, that is the kind of people they truly are. Sophia and I want you to live a happy life, the one that you deserve."

Not being a threat was reassuring, it meant to him that Queen Sybil would not actively try to kill him. His life had some value to them and he knew that there was something she was not sharing. There had to be something more than the altruistic desire to help a 'child in danger.'

Two harpies lost their lives trying to capture Leo. If Queen Sybil truly had scouts then why was one of the harpies confused his mother was Anna? If she was truly watching him they why would she risk the lives of her subjects to save him? Either she was lying about the reason for taking him or she was lying about the information that she had on him. It showed Leo that his life had value in their eyes, and he could use that.

Sophia's eyes darken, "David was a great individual and his death was a tragedy that many of the harpies took to heart. He traveled to Happiness Village to preach our case to the humans against Sophia's better judgment. He told them that the harpies wanted nothing more than to protect the children and live peacefully."

"However, what he got in response was not calm and collected as he had hoped. It was violence and demands, parents demanding their children back. Villagers asked why he had come to them and why he was the one who got to live while the others died."

"David was overwhelmed and captured. He was brought up to the center of the village and they prepared a pyre… Before my scouts could formulate a plan to rescue him they had already set him ablaze, burned like the heretic they thought him to be."

Sybil looked at Leo with grief in her eyes, "That is what lies in store for you if you return to Happiness Village. We want you to live to the potential that I know you have. You are a bright child Leo, we want to nurture that so that you can help everyone in the world."

It made somewhat more sense now. The harpies had sent David to his death. There was no going willingly for David, that poor soul. He was coerced by Sophia and Queen Sybil, that Leo was sure of.

If she stayed quiet after speaking of David's death, something that Leo actually believes happened considering it is something that the villagers would do. He would have been under the assumption that she was trying to scare him into staying here. Scare him into thinking that nothing but death and destruction was in store for him at Happiness Village.

However, she chose to continue and spoke about the potential that he had. Leo knew he could do great things in this world. Was it arrogant to think that? Absolutely, and he knew it. But Leo also knew that if he could remember even the slightest things from earth then he could truly revolutionize this world.

Queen Sybil might have been aware of his potential. He might have appeared smart to her, maybe smarter than the average child. But she wanted him here so that the Villagers at Happiness Village would not have him. She wanted him here so that the monsters could have him.

It made him feel significantly better that his life was not directly in danger at the Harpy Village. If anything they were looking to protect him and that was a good thing. It meant that he could actively look for ways to return to Mother and Maya. They would not fool him, he would not be wrapped around Queen Sybil's fingers.

Why not take advantage of that safety? A Queen wanted him alive, if that were truly the case then there was almost nothing that the other harpies could do to stop him.

Before he could speak up and ask a question the Queen continued after seeing him free from his thoughts.

"I want you to give us a chance Leo." She said with a bright smile, "It is fine to not trust us now, but I want you to at least give us a chance. One that you gave to the villagers."

"I can try Queen Sybil," Leo said before continuing with his question, "But tell me. How long have you been watching me… Why me in particular, of all the other kids in the village, why me?"

"That is all I ask for Leo," She responded, "I already said, you remind me of David and that you have the potential to do great things for the world. Great things that you would not be able to do at Happiness Village."

"I always have scouts watching Happiness Village, it is the closest human settlement to us and it pays to know as much as possible. Something you will come to understand in your time here. I get reports on all the children and families of interest from the scouts." Sybil pointed at her desk with her wing, "That is part of my job, to assess what children need to be saved."

"Each and every child we save has to be approved by me." Sybil continued, "Each child we risk lives to save must be one that is in imminent danger. One that is worth risking lives to save. You were one of those children that it was worth the risk to save. So please Leo, give Sophia a chance. I promise she will surprise you."

She did not answer part of his question. Sybil said why he was selected, he was in danger in their eyes. However, she did not say how long he was being watched and that was the part that concerned him.

Once Leo figured out that the harpies were a settled species, it made sense that there would be scouts and observers watching the settlements around them. After all, the entire continent was against the monsters.

Leo was forced to assume that they were watching him for almost his entire life, which was concerning. Having value was nice, it gave his life meaning for the harpies, which in turn gave his life length that he desperately needed. However, having too much value concerned him, being a high-priority target would make it harder to actually leave and return home.

Queen Sybil would no doubt have guards watching him from afar. Provided Sophia was not the guard that she entrusted to watch him.

Leo would still have to be cautious to not put more value on his head. He still might be able to convince Sophia to let him leave, he just had to comply for long enough. Maybe he would ask about David?

On second thought that might not be the best idea, Sophia could deflect the question and then confirm stories with her sister. Leo knew the story was a fabrication used to pull the heartstrings of children. Something the harpies used to scare the children from returning home, just as the humans used stories of harpies to scare them from running to the harpies at the sight of trouble.

There were fabrications, stories, and myths. All of these were used by the Harpies and the villagers at Happiness Village. They wanted to keep the kids in their grasp so they could raise them as they saw fit. Either against the Harpies or for the monsters. Leo just had to figure out fact from fiction. After all, the best lies have a hint of truth and the truth can seem like a far-fetched lie.

"Come," Sybil said while standing up, "Let me get you home to Sophia. It is not good for a kid to be up so late."

"Okay Queen Sybil, " Leo complied.

Queen Sybil dropped Leo off at Sophia's house and she watched him walk inside.

Once inside he saw Irini laying on his bed, essentially under his blanket. So Leo took the next open bed, which was Irini's. A simple bed swap was funny to Leo. Irini must have been cold and looking for warmth and what she got was not what he was looking for.

Laying down he looked at the ceiling and thought to himself. This would be an adventure and a half. Queen Sybil wanted something more from him and he just had to figure out exactly what she thought his potential was.

Back at the Queen's home. Sybil walked inside and moved toward her desk.

Behind the desk rested bottles of ink along with several stacks of papers and scrolls. Scouting reports from all across Illias. Requests for expansion from several harpies along with requests for mates. Traders requested permission to sell goods at her settlement, others requested permission to set up permanent shops.

Sybil hoped to grow this settlement into a prosperous city much like Illiasburg, except this would be a haven for monsters of all kinds. A true capital of the region, a true capital for her species, and one to make the Monster Lord proud.

She would not let adventurers such as Anna ruin her dream. Her mother had fought and almost brought her species to extinction. Yet with her wars, the harpies gained new territory. New people that she needed to watch over and govern. Bandits that she needed to remove so that trade and people could flow.

Her mother studied and practiced war while growing up, hoping to bring their species to a greatness they normally would not have been able to achieve. Sybil on the other hand studied how to rule from the best in order to pick up the pieces left behind. Her mother was ruthless and cruel but she was not idiotic. During the war campaigns, she was at the Monster Lord's castle learning under Tamamo and Alipheese The Fifteenth, if anyone knew how to rule it was them.

Sybil picked up a stick that rested under her desk. It had markings all along the bottom that appeared to be evenly spaced out. At the end of that stick, a 'cm' was written. She had no idea what it meant but that did not mean it was worthless.

After all, it was made by a certain six-year-old.

AN:
Chapters will be uploaded bi-weekly now. Classes are coming back and I'm not going to have as much time to write. Hope you all enjoyed