Reality overload

The moment the words left my mouth, the table changed.

Not physically, but the air around it did.

The officials all went very still, like someone had just pulled the floor out from under them and they were waiting to see how far they'd fall.

One of them blinked rapidly, like he was trying to process the math of a disaster.

Another's jaw clenched so tight I heard his teeth grind.

The lead official looked like he'd aged ten years in ten seconds.

He opened his mouth.

Closed it.

Opened it again.

"Your Majesty..." he said carefully, "you're telling us that Cross... intentionally caused this?"

I didn't soften it.

"Yes."

A ripple of panic moved through them, subtle, but unmistakable.

One official leaned toward another, whispering urgently

"She said it outright. She actually said it. We need to..."

"Don't," the other hissed. "She's right here."

Charlie leaned in, whispering, "You just detonated a political nuke."

I kept my posture perfect.

Another official cleared his throat, voice thin.

"Your Majesty... you must understand... Cross is—"

I raised one eyebrow.

Just one.

He shut up instantly.

The lead official tried again, voice trembling.

"This... this has enormous implications. If what you say is true—"

"It is," I said.

He swallowed.

"Then Cross has committed an act of... of catastrophic magnitude."

Behind me, Eldrin murmured, "The flame reveals."

The officials flinched like he'd spoken a verdict.

One of them finally broke.

He slammed his folder shut, hands shaking.

"We need to alert the Director..."

"No," another snapped. "We need to alert the minister."

A third whispered, "We need to move fast before Cross hears—"

I leaned forward slightly — a small movement, but it froze all of them.

"You cannot hide this," I said. "Not from him. Not from your people. Not from the consequences he unleashed."

The lead official nodded shakily.

"Yes, Your Majesty. We... we understand."

No, they didn't.

But they understood enough to be terrified.

The courtyard was still vibrating from what I'd said.

The officials were pale.

The reporters were frozen.

A single hand lifted.

Shaky.

Cautious.

Like the reporter was afraid I might smite him for speaking.

He cleared his throat, voice barely above a whisper.

"Your... Majesty... if I may..."

He swallowed.

"What did Cross want? Why would he do something like this?"

The officials all turned sharply toward him like he'd broken some sacred rule.

One even hissed, "Not now..."

But it was too late.

Everyone was looking at me again.

I didn't hesitate.

"He wanted power," I said simply. "More than any mortal should ever hold."

The reporter's pen trembled in his hand.

"He believed merging the realms would give him access to magic, to divine forces, to things no human was meant to touch."

A ripple of horror moved through the crowd.

Behind me, Eldrin murmured, "Hubris."

The officials exchanged frantic looks, the kind that said we need to talk about this somewhere far away from her.

The lead official stood abruptly.

"Your Majesty, if you'll excuse us for a moment."

He gestured sharply to the others, and they practically tripped over themselves getting up.

They moved a few yards away, forming a tight huddle, whispering furiously.

I could hear snippets:

"She said it outright—"

"This is catastrophic—"

"Do we tell the Director or the Minister first—"

"She's watching us, keep your voice down—"

Charlie leaned in, her voice low and delighted.

"Ten points to House Zora for public execution of a villain."

I didn't smile.

I didn't break posture.

I didn't even blink.

But inside?

A tiny spark of satisfaction lit up like a match.

Good.

Let them scramble.

Let them see Cross for what he is.

I folded my hands again, chin lifted, waiting for them to return...calm, composed, queenly.

Another one of the reports emboldened by the others question cleared his throat.

"Your... Majesty..."

He swallowed hard.

"Can we... stop it? The merging. Can what's happening to our world be stopped?"

The question hit the courtyard like a dropped stone.

Even the officials stopped whispering.

Charlie muttered under her breath, "Oh boy."

I didn't rush.

I just breathed, slow, steady.

And then I answered.

"No."

The reporter's face went pale.

I continued, voice calm and even.

"It is far too late to stop it."

A ripple of dread moved through the crowd.

"The boundary is already broken. The process has begun. What you are seeing, the appearances, the shifts, the magic. It is not the beginning."

I lifted my chin slightly.

"It is the aftermath."

The reporter's pen slipped from his fingers and clattered to the ground.

Someone whispered, "Oh god..."

I didn't let the silence linger long enough to turn into panic.

"But," I said, "my mother said that it can be guided."

The officials turned sharply at that.

"It can be shaped. Stabilized. Controlled. The destruction minimized."

Charlie leaned in, whispering with a grin she couldn't hide.

"Ten points to House Zora for public execution of a villain and a bonus points for calming an entire nation."

I felt the corner of my mouth tilt.

I looked back at the reporter.

"I cannot stop the merging," I said. "But mother told me I can keep your world...and mine....from tearing each other apart."

The courtyard held its breath.

They didn't look afraid of me.

They looked like they needed me.

Eldrin.

I didn't even have to turn to know it was him, the shift in the air, the quiet authority, the way the reporters instinctively leaned back.

He bowed his head slightly.

"Her Majesty must rest," he said, voice calm but carrying like a temple bell. "She has given you truth. That is enough for now."

The officials froze mid‑whisper.

The reporters went silent again.

Even Charlie blinked like, oh, we're doing this now.

Eldrin continued, hands clasped behind his back.

"The strain of crossing realms is great. She has spoken more than she should."

Inside, I thought:

Eldrin, you're my savior!!!

But I didn't say it.

Because the way the officials reacted.

Yeah good job Eldrin!!! You're queen needs her rest. I thought.

The lead official hurried back to the table, nodding rapidly.

"Yes...yes, of course. Her Majesty's wellbeing is our priority."

The others followed, tripping over themselves to look respectful.

One cleared his throat.

"Your Majesty... given the gravity of what you've shared... we would like to request a formal conference."

Another added quickly...

"With the Prime Minister."

A third, not wanting to be left out.

"And world dignitaries."

The lead official leaned forward, hands folded tightly.

"We ask, humbly that you attend, we will send word in three days."

Charlie leaned in, whispering with a grin she couldn't hide:

"You're getting invited to the world's fanciest panic meeting...you should answer."

Her words pulled me out of my thoughts.

I lifted my chin, letting the silence stretch just long enough to make them sweat.

Then I nodded once.

"I will attend."

The officials exhaled like they'd been underwater.

Eldrin bowed again.

"The queen has spoken."

The officials bowed again, murmuring something about arranging transport and security and dignitaries.

Eldrin inclined his head in that priestly way that made them all step back like he'd blessed or cursed them.

Then the escort formed around us, guards, aides, a few trembling staffers who clearly had no idea what to do with a queen.

Charlie squeezed my hand under the table.

"You did amazing," she whispered. "Terrifying, but amazing."

I didn't answer.

I just stood.

The guards opened a path.

The crowd parted like water.

We walked.

Slow.

Controlled.

Regal.

Every camera followed.

Every reporter leaned in.

Every official watched like I might explode into divine ice at any moment.

I kept my chin lifted.

My shoulders back.

My steps steady.

Kathrine's training carried me the whole way.

But inside?

I was counting the steps to the gate.

Twenty.

Fifteen.

Ten.

The massive doors loomed ahead, guards already moving to pull them open.

Five.

Four.

Three.

We crossed the threshold.

The courtyard noise dimmed instantly, swallowed by the walls.

The guards pushed the gate shut behind us.

THUD.

The sound echoed through the hall.

And the moment it sealed...

I deflated.

My shoulders dropped.

My spine sagged.

My breath came out in a long, shaky exhale I'd been holding for what felt like hours.

Charlie caught my arm. "There she is. The real you."

I grabbed her arm with both hands.

"CHARLIE," I squeaked, voice already cracking, "THAT WAS THE WORST THING THAT HAS EVER HAPPENED TO ME."

Charlie blinked. "Zora—"

"No. No. Don't 'Zora' me. I'm traumatized."

I pointed dramatically at the gate like it had personally wronged me.

"They were STARING at me. With their EYES. Their HUMAN EYES. Why do they DO that?"

Charlie tried not to laugh. "Because they're humans...?"

"I DON'T LIKE IT."

I stomped my foot like a furious toddler.

Riley snorted. "Oh my god."

I spun toward her. "RILEY...I ALMOST DIED."

"You didn't," she said.

"I ALMOST DID," I insisted. "Emotionally."

Charlie put a hand on my shoulder. "You got some hormonal issues there zora."

"I AM NOT HORMONAL," I wailed. "I'm a disaster. I'm a magical disaster. I'm a sparkly hazard with a queens authority!!!"

Charlie nodded sympathetically. "Yes. You are."

"HEY!"

"But you're my sparkly queenly hazard," she added.

I sniffed loudly. "That doesn't help."

"It wasn't meant to."

Geld looked deeply confused. "You faced down goblins and an orc without fear."

"That was DIFFERENT," I said. "They weren't asking QUESTIONS."

Charlie rubbed my back like she was soothing a panicked cat.

"You're okay," she said.

"I'm NOT okay," I said. "I'm going to cry."

"You already are."

"I KNOW."

I buried my face in her shoulder.

"I want soup," I mumbled.

Charlie sighed. "We'll get you soup."

"And a blanket."

"Sure."

"And maybe a nap."

"Absolutely."

"And maybe someone to carry me."

Charlie groaned. "Zora—"

I clung harder.

"CARRY ME, CHARLIE. I AM A DELICATE FLOWER NOW!" I was joking of course, Charlie knew that.

Riley, and Nate were wheezing.

Katherine was covering her mouth to hide a smile.

Geld looked like he was witnessing a new kind of magic.

Charlie stared at me like I'd asked her to lift a car

"No."

"Charlie," I said, voice wobbling, "I am emotionally compromised. Carry me."

She pinched the bridge of her nose. "Zora, you're not five."

"I FEEL five."

Riley was already laughing.

Charlie sighed, defeated, and turned her head.

"Lucas!"

Lucas, who had been pretending to check the gate hinges to avoid eye contact, froze like someone had hit pause on him.

He turned slowly.

"Y‑yeah?"

Charlie pointed at me. "Carry her."

Lucas's entire soul left his body.

"Wh— I— carry— her— what— why—"

He made a noise that wasn't a word.

I blinked at him. "There he goes again. Acting weird. Is he okay, he knows were joking right?"

Lucas's face went red so fast it was like someone slapped a color filter on him.

"I'M NOT WEIRD," he said, voice cracking like a teenager in a cartoon, wich was impressive given his size now. "I'M FINE. TOTALLY FINE. NORMAL. REGULAR. HUMAN."

Riley wheezed. "Oh my god."

Charlie smirked evilly, and crossed her arms. "Lucas. Pick her up."

He looked at me, then at Charlie, then at me again, then at the ground, then at the sky, then back at me like he was trying to reboot.

"I— I can— I mean— if she— if she wants— I can— I guess— maybe—"

I fist pumped the air playing along, acting smug. 

"CARRY YOUR QUEEN!!! THATS A DIRECT ORDER!!! I laughed.

He jolted like he'd been hit him with a taser.

Lucas stood there looking like I was a bomb he wasn't sure how to defuse.

I patted his shoulder, and looked at Lucas, who was turning red for absolutely no reason, and rolled my eyes. "Oh my god, Lucas, relax. I wasn't actually going to make you carry me," I said, waving a hand at him like he was being ridiculous. 

"Come on, it's not that bad, quit being a baby." 

He made a strangled noise in response, face somehow getting even redder, and I frowned at him. "Seriously, are you okay? Why are you acting weird again?" 

Lucas opened his mouth, closed it, opened it again, then made a noise that sounded like a dying toaster, which only made me sigh harder. 

"See? This is what I mean...Dramatic."I said looking  at the others, while gesturing to Lucas.

"Like he's sick or something... you are ok right?"

Lucas was avoiding eye contact like it was a sport.

I couldn't help it.

I laughed.

Not a polite laugh.

A full, loud, "you're ridiculous" laugh.

"Oh my god, Lucas," I said between giggles, "you're being SO weird. Like....what is this? What are you doing? Why are you standing like that? Why are you breathing like that? You look like you're buffering."

Charlie snorted. Riley wheezed. Reia covered her mouth. Nate...well he was being Nate.

Lucas froze.

"I'm not weird," he said stiffly.

"You're VERY weird," I said, poking his arm. "You freaked out over a joke. A joke, Lucas. I wasn't actually gonna make you carry me. Quit being a baby."

Lucas clenched his jaw, and his eye twitched.

Charlie's eyes widened, "Oh no."

Riley whispered, "He's reaching critical mass."

I laughed again, leaning back with my hands on my hips. "Seriously, Lucas, relax. It's not that deep. You act like I asked you to lift a boulder. It's not that bad. You're being way to dramatic."

Lucas inhaled sharply through his nose.

Straightened.

Turned toward me with a look that made my stomach drop.

"You know what?" he said, voice suddenly calm in a way that was NOT reassuring.

I blinked. "What?"

He stepped closer.i took a step back l..

"You wanna be carried so badly?"

He leaned in just enough to make my brain short‑circuit.

"So be it."

I opened my mouth to protest—

Too late.

He scooped an arm behind my knees, another behind my back, and lifted me clean off the ground like he'd been waiting for an excuse.

I yelped. "LUCAS....WHAT....PUT ME DOWN!"

"No," he said, already walking. "You said it wasn't that bad. Quit being a baby."

My face went nuclear winter.

"LUCAS. I WAS JOKING. THIS IS...THIS IS...YOU CAN'T JUST—"

He didn't look at me.

"Uh‑huh."

Charlie burst out laughing. Riley fell over. Reia squeaked. Katherine looked delighted. Geld looked like he was witnessing a royal decree.

I grabbed Lucas's shirt in panic. "STOP WALKING LIKE THIS IS NORMAL."

"It is normal," he said calmly. "You're light."

"DON'T SAY THAT."

"Why not."

"BECAUSE—"

Nate was looking like he forgot how to breath.

My brain shut down.

He smirked.

And that was it.

I lost all composure.

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