MEMELAND

Raj hated mornings.

Not because mornings were bad.

Not because she was lazy.

Not because she disliked work.

Raj hated mornings because mornings meant Alice was awake.

Unfortunately.

Alice was already awake.

Raj knew this because the moment she entered the office—

She found the Queen hanging upside down from the ceiling.

"..."

Raj closed the door.

Opened it again.

Alice was still there.

"Huh."

"Thought that would fix itself."

Alice waved.

"Good morning."

"Why."

"I'm testing something."

Raj wasn't even surprised anymore.

"What."

"The structural integrity of the chandelier."

"You are the structural integrity problem."

Alice gasped.

"That's rude."

Raj walked over.

Grabbed Alice by the leg.

Then pulled.

A loud thud followed.

Alice hit the floor.

"Ow."

"Good."

Raj sat behind the desk.

The actual desk.

The one Alice almost never used properly.

Several stacks of paperwork immediately greeted her.

Requests.

Reports.

Budgets.

Refugee counts.

Infrastructure repairs.

Military expenditures.

And roughly seven documents that somehow had coffee stains despite nobody drinking coffee nearby.

Raj looked at the stains.

Then looked at Alice.

Alice looked away.

Suspiciously.

Raj sighed.

Another day.

A knock came from the door.

"Enter."

A guard stepped inside.

"Morning report."

Raj accepted the documents.

The guard left.

Alice immediately tried peeking over her shoulder.

Raj shoved her face away.

"Read your own copy."

"I don't have one."

"Exactly."

Raj continued reading.

The refugee situation had worsened.

More people arriving.

More villages reporting demon sightings.

Food consumption increasing.

Housing becoming strained.

Repair costs climbing.

The city was stable.

For now.

But only barely.

Alice eventually stopped joking.

Something she only did when things became serious.

"How bad?"

Raj flipped another page.

"Manageable."

Alice nodded.

That meant bad.

Not catastrophic.

But bad.

The Queen leaned back in her chair.

Staring toward the massive windows overlooking Asphyxia.

The colorful lights.

The crowds.

The markets.

The people.

Everything she was trying to protect.

"You know."

Raj immediately regretted hearing those words.

Whenever Alice started with "you know," something annoying followed.

"What."

"I miss when my biggest problem was deciding lunch."

Raj paused.

"Your biggest problem yesterday was deciding lunch."

"Fair."

The office door opened again.

This time another figure entered.

Tall.

Broad shouldered.

Military uniform.

Short dark hair.

Calm expression.

Nish.

Commander of Asphyxia's military.

Unlike Alice.

Unlike Andre.

Unlike most people Raj knew.

Nish behaved like a functioning adult.

It was refreshing.

"Morning."

Raj nodded.

Alice waved.

"You're late."

"I arrived early."

"Then why weren't you here sooner?"

Nish ignored her.

A skill developed through years of practice.

Raj respected it.

The commander placed several reports on the desk.

"Sewer recovery teams returned."

Alice immediately sat up.

The joking vanished.

"What did they find?"

Nish crossed his arms.

"Collapsed tunnels."

"Dead cultists."

"Destroyed infrastructure."

Raj nodded.

Expected.

Then Nish continued.

"No sign of the bald man."

Alice sighed.

"Of course."

"No sign of Andre either."

The room grew quiet.

Raj glanced toward the window.

She hadn't known Andre long.

But she knew enough.

If anybody could survive something ridiculous—

It would be him.

Probably out of spite.

Nish continued.

"Recovery efforts are ongoing."

Alice nodded.

"Keep searching."

Nish looked surprised.

"You think he's alive?"

Alice shrugged.

"Honestly?"

"Yes."

Raj blinked.

That wasn't the answer she expected.

Alice smirked.

"People like him are hard to kill."

Nish actually laughed.

A rare sight.

Raj made a mental note to remember it.

The commander collected the empty folders.

"I'll update you if anything changes."

Then he left.

The office became quiet again.

For a few moments nobody spoke.

Then Alice suddenly looked at Raj.

"By the way."

Raj narrowed her eyes.

"What."

"Did you know Kai sleep-talks?"

Raj froze.

"...What."

Alice grinned.

The kind of grin that meant trouble.

"A maid told me."

Raj immediately regretted asking.

"What did he say?"

Alice leaned forward.

Dramatically.

Then lowered her voice.

"He kept saying..."

Raj waited.

Alice pointed toward herself.

"'That red-haired bitch.'"

The office was silent.

Then Raj burst out laughing.

Alice looked offended.

"Why are you laughing?!"

"Because that's absolutely something Andre would say."

For the first time that morning—

Even Alice laughed.

Outside the office, the city continued moving.

Unaware that beneath the jokes and paperwork—

Everyone was quietly waiting for news from the sewers.