Jax had more than three full days before the Vixens' scheduled entry into the World Tree.
Normally, that would have felt like plenty of time.
Normally, however, he wasn't trying to integrate an impulsive Fairy Queen into one of the most powerful adventuring parties on the continent.
The following morning at 5am, Jax looked across the clearing.
"Alright."
He clapped his hands once.
"We're going to train."
Bunny immediately stretched her arms over her head.
"Training day!"
Nyxian groaned.
"It's too early! 5am is for going to bed, not for training."
"We just traveled for almost two weeks."
"You played strip poker for almost two weeks," Jax countered.
"Exactly. It was exhausting."
Zee laughed.
Llandra shook her head.
Pixelle hovered nearby in her natural three-inch form.
"Training?"
Jax nodded.
"If you're coming into the World Tree with us, I need to know exactly what you can do."
Pixelle straightened proudly.
"I am the Fairy Queen."
"Yes."
Jax pointed toward her.
"But inside that raid, you're also the newest Vixen."
Pixelle's wings fluttered.
She still liked the sound of that.
"Fine."
She raised her chin.
"Prepare to be impressed."
They moved away from the fairy village to an open section of land where their training wouldn't accidentally destroy someone's mushroom house.
Jax set several metal targets at varying distances.
Some close.
Others farther away.
A few elevated.
Pixelle floated confidently toward the first one.
She raised her Royal Bloom Scepter.
"Watch closely."
The violet tulip at the end of the golden staff began to glow.
Mana gathered.
Then—
BOOM!
A bolt of magical energy exploded against the target.
Metal screamed.
The target ripped free from the ground and tumbled backward.
Pixelle spun around triumphantly.
"Well?"
Jax nodded.
"That's good."
Pixelle's smile faltered.
"Good?"
"Very good."
"Very?"
"Extremely good."
She narrowed her eyes.
"You don't sound impressed enough."
Nyxian folded her arms.
"He's saving his enthusiasm."
"For what?"
"Bunny."
Pixelle looked over.
Bunny stepped forward.
Jax pointed toward another target.
"Hit that one."
Bunny summoned World Breaker.
Pixelle's eyes moved upward.
And farther upward.
Her confidence diminished slightly.
Bunny smiled.
Then swung.
The hammer connected.
The metal target ceased to be relevant.
It vanished across the clearing with enough force to rip apart several smaller trees behind it before disappearing into the forest.
Pixelle stared.
A distant crash echoed through the trees.
Then another.
Then another.
Silence.
Pixelle slowly looked at Bunny.
Bunny dismissed World Breaker.
"Was that good?"
Jax nodded.
"Very."
Pixelle's eyes narrowed.
Nyxian laughed.
Jax raised his hands.
"This isn't a competition."
"It feels like one."
"It's not."
Jax pointed toward another series of targets.
"Llandra."
Starpiercer appeared in Llandra's hand.
She drew.
Released.
Pixelle heard one sound.
One.
But five targets suddenly had arrows buried directly in their centers.
Pixelle blinked.
"How did—"
"Zee."
Sanctaris appeared.
Pixelle barely had time to turn before several targets lit up simultaneously.
Magic surged between them.
Pixelle's eyes widened.
Jax looked toward Nyxian.
Nyxian smiled.
Lilith's Kiss appeared in her hands.
"No."
Pixelle looked at Jax.
"No?"
"I think she gets the point."
Nyxian pouted.
"I never get to have fun."
"You have nothing but fun."
"That's because I work very hard at it."
Jax turned back toward Pixelle.
Her expression had changed.
The confidence was still there.
But so was something else.
Perspective.
Pixelle was powerful.
Very powerful.
Her nature magic was exceptional, and this close to the World Tree, Jax could practically feel the mana responding to her.
But the Vixens had spent more than a year fighting together.
Training together.
Growing together.
And the iPoints had changed them.
Every advancement.
Every permanent increase.
Every new ability.
It had accumulated.
Pixelle had just discovered exactly what joining the Vixens meant.
Jax crouched slightly so he was closer to her height as she hovered.
"Don't compare yourself to them."
Pixelle frowned.
"You just made me compare myself to them."
"Fair point."
Bunny giggled.
Jax continued.
"I'm trying to figure out where you fit."
"I fit beside you."
Jax nodded.
"Eventually, maybe."
Pixelle stared at him.
That had not been what she meant. But the implication of his answer surprised her more than she realized.
Jax had already moved on.
"What else can you do?"
They spent the next several hours finding out.
And that was when Pixelle began looking considerably better.
Her nature magic was extraordinary.
Vines erupted from the earth on command.
Roots twisted around targets.
Branches bent toward her as though they were listening.
Plants moved almost like living creatures beneath her control.
She could create barriers.
Entangle enemies.
Manipulate terrain.
And her explosive magic gave her a powerful ranged attack.
Then there was her knowledge of the World Tree itself.
She could sense subtle changes in the mana surrounding it that none of the others noticed.
Pixelle wasn't weak.
Not even close.
She simply wasn't a frontline fighter.
That created another problem.
Jax rubbed his chin.
"Transportation."
Pixelle tilted her head.
"What?"
"If things move as fast inside the raid as they do in some of the others we've done, you need to keep up."
"I can fly."
"I know."
Jax looked at her.
"But can you fly as fast as we move?"
Pixelle crossed her arms.
"Of course."
"Okay."
He lowered his shoulder.
"Sit."
Pixelle's eyes widened.
"On your shoulder?"
"Yep."
Her mood improved dramatically.
She landed beside his neck.
Her tiny hands settled against him.
"This is an excellent strategy."
"Ready?"
"Ready."
Jax moved.
Pixelle didn't.
One instant she was standing proudly on his shoulder.
The next she was hovering alone in the air.
Jax stood on the opposite side of the clearing.
Pixelle stared at the empty space where he had been.
Then toward Jax.
Then back at the empty space.
"...Oh."
Jax walked back.
"Yeah."
Pixelle folded her arms.
"I see the problem."
"I thought you might."
They tried several alternatives.
None worked particularly well.
Pixelle could fly quickly by fairy standards.
The Vixens didn't move by fairy standards.
Finally Jax stopped.
He looked at Bunny.
Then Nyxian.
Then Llandra.
Their armor never left much to the imagination.
"I have an idea."
Pixelle immediately became suspicious.
"Why are you looking at them like that?"
Jax pointed toward Bunny.
"Bunny is usually on the frontline."
Bunny nodded.
"World Breaker likes the frontline."
"So she's probably out."
"Out for what?" Pixelle asked.
Jax pointed toward Nyxian.
"Nyxian usually operates slightly behind Bunny and Llandra."
Nyxian's eyes suddenly lit up.
"Oh."
Jax nodded.
"Yeah."
Nyxian's smile grew.
"Oh, I like this plan."
Pixelle looked between them.
"What plan?"
Jax took a breath.
"I think you should ride in Nyxian's cleavage."
Silence.
Pixelle's wings stopped.
"What?"
"Hear me out."
"I am a queen!"
"Not inside the raid."
Pixelle's mouth snapped shut.
Jax continued.
"Inside the raid, you're a Vixen."
Nyxian nodded solemnly.
"And the Vixens follow a chain of command."
Pixelle looked at her.
Nyxian pointed downward.
"You're currently at the bottom."
"I hate you."
"No, you don't."
"I might."
Nyxian looked delighted.
Jax tried to regain control.
"Nyxian isn't usually taking Bunny's direct hits. She's fast enough to keep up with the group, she's incredibly durable, and you'll still be able to see what's happening."
He pointed toward Pixelle's staff.
"You can come out when we need your magic."
Pixelle stared at Nyxian's chest.
Then at Jax.
Then back at Nyxian's chest.
Nyxian placed both hands beneath her breasts and lifted slightly.
"Premium accommodations."
Llandra covered her mouth.
Zee turned away.
Bunny laughed openly.
Pixelle looked horrified.
"I am not riding in your breasts."
"Cleavage," Nyxian corrected.
"THAT IS NOT BETTER!"
Jax sighed.
"We have three days."
He pointed toward the training field.
"We'll keep trying."
They did.
For hours.
Then again after a break.
Pixelle trained harder than Jax expected.
Partly because she genuinely wanted to help.
Partly because she wanted to prove herself.
And partly because every time one of the Vixens accomplished something ridiculous, Pixelle's stubbornness seemed to double.
Eventually, however, stubbornness lost to exhaustion.
Pixelle hovered several feet above the ground, breathing heavily.
Nyxian looked perfectly fine.
Bunny looked like she could go another ten hours.
Llandra wasn't even sweating.
Zee had spent part of the afternoon healing bruises Pixelle insisted weren't bruises.
Pixelle slowly lowered herself.
"How long do you normally train?"
Bunny shrugged.
"Depends."
Nyxian stretched.
"This was pretty light."
Pixelle stared at her.
Nyxian smiled.
"Warm-up."
"I hate all of you."
Zee laughed.
Jax walked over.
"You did well."
Pixelle looked at him.
"I failed almost everything."
"No."
"You couldn't even keep me on your shoulder."
"Technically, I failed that one."
That made her pause.
Jax smiled.
"We learned what you're good at. That's the entire point."
Pixelle looked back toward the damaged training field.
She had done well with magic.
Very well.
But she'd also seen what the Vixens could do.
More importantly, she had seen the devastation caused by some of their attacks.
The World Tree wasn't the place to let pride make decisions.
Pixelle sighed.
"...Fine."
Jax raised an eyebrow.
"Fine what?"
She pointed at Nyxian.
"During combat..."
Pixelle struggled with the words.
"...I'll ride in her cleavage."
Nyxian threw both arms into the air.
"YES!"
"This is not a victory!"
"It feels like one."
"I am only doing it because it's tactically appropriate."
"Of course."
"And safe."
"Extremely."
"And you will behave."
Nyxian's smile disappeared.
"Let's not put unreasonable restrictions on the plan."
"NYXIAN!"
Jax rubbed his forehead.
Five minutes later, they were heading back toward the fairy village.
Pixelle had returned to her natural three-inch size.
She hovered beside Nyxian.
Nyxian looked down.
"You know..."
"No."
"You haven't heard the question."
"I know what it is."
"You should test it before the raid."
Pixelle hesitated.
Unfortunately, that made sense.
She looked exhausted.
Her wings were moving considerably slower than they had that morning.
Finally she sighed.
"Fine."
Nyxian's face brightened.
She carefully lowered Pixelle into her cleavage.
Pixelle adjusted herself.
"This is humiliating."
"Give it a minute."
"It is not comfortable."
"Give it a minute."
"I don't understand why anyone would—"
Pixelle yawned.
Nyxian looked down.
Pixelle's eyes slowly closed.
Her body relaxed.
Within seconds, she was asleep.
Nyxian looked triumphantly toward Jax.
"See?"
Jax nodded.
"Perfect."
Nyxian's expression fell.
"You aren't jealous at all?"
"Why would I be?"
Nyxian stared at him.
"Never mind."
Pixelle muttered something quietly in her sleep.
Something about saving Jax.
Something about proving everyone wrong.
Jax truly didn't hear her.
When they reached the village, Lexi and several fairy guards carefully retrieved their sleeping queen.
Pixelle barely stirred.
Lexi looked at Jax.
"What did you do to her?"
"Training."
Lexi stared at the unconscious Pixelle.
"This is from training?"
"She's got potential."
Lexi slowly nodded.
"She's going to be furious when she wakes up."
"Probably."
They carried Pixelle toward the palace.
Jax watched them leave.
Then looked around at the fairy village.
Thousands of tiny fairies were going about their evening.
More were returning from the World Tree.
Others flew between the mushroom houses.
Children chased each other through the air.
Jax thought for a moment.
Then smiled.
"I think I'm going to cook."
Bunny immediately appeared beside him.
"What?"
"Dinner."
"For us?"
Jax looked across the village.
"For everybody."
Llandra stared at him.
"Everybody?"
"Yep."
Nyxian slowly looked around.
"Jax."
"Yeah?"
"There are approximately fifty thousand fairies here."
"I know."
"You want to cook for fifty thousand people."
Jax looked at the nearest fairy.
The fairy was three inches tall.
He looked at Bunny.
Then back at the fairy.
Then at his hand.
"Oh."
Nyxian tilted her head.
"Oh what?"
Jax smiled.
"This is actually going to be easier than I thought."
The kitchen inside the dimensional carriage became a production line.
Jax pulled ingredients from storage.
Meat.
Potatoes.
Carrots.
Onions.
Herbs.
Seasonings.
Stock.
Several enormous cooking vessels were brought outside because even the dimensional kitchen wasn't designed for what Jax had in mind.
The fairies gathered almost immediately.
At first, dozens.
Then hundreds.
Then thousands.
The smell spread through the village.
Jax stirred one enormous pot.
Bunny worked beside him.
Zee handled another.
Llandra organized ingredients.
Nyxian mostly stole pieces of meat until Jax threatened to banish her from the cooking area.
"You wouldn't."
"Try me."
Nyxian stole another.
Jax pointed.
"Out."
"Oppression."
"OUT."
She left with her stolen meat.
Jax looked into the enormous pot.
The math had turned out to be absurd.
One strip of meat could feed several fairies.
A chunk he would normally consider bite-sized was practically an entrée.
A single carrot could become dozens of servings.
The ingredients weren't the problem.
Serving fifty thousand individual meals was.
Jax stared at the thousands of fairies waiting nearby.
"Nope."
Llandra looked over.
"What?"
"I'm not doing it."
"Doing what?"
"Plating this."
He pointed toward the village.
"I'll cook for fifty thousand fairies. I'm not cutting fifty thousand fairy-sized pieces."
Llandra laughed.
"So what do you propose?"
Jax smiled.
"Delegation."
He stepped onto an overturned crate.
"Can I have everyone's attention?"
The buzzing gradually diminished.
Thousands of fairies turned toward him.
Jax gestured toward the enormous pots.
"I'm making enough dinner for the entire village."
The response was immediate.
Cheers erupted.
Fairies shot into the air.
Several began dancing.
Jax raised his hands.
"But!"
The cheering slowly stopped.
"I'm cooking it."
He pointed toward them.
"You're cutting and serving it."
The fairies looked at one another.
Jax nodded firmly.
"I'm serious. The thought of making fifty thousand tiny plates terrifies me more than the World Tree."
Laughter rippled through the crowd.
Several of the village cooks immediately flew forward.
That problem solved itself quickly.
Jax continued.
"I also brought Pixie Mead."
That received an even louder cheer.
Jax had several chilled kegs brought from storage.
The fairies swarmed around them excitedly.
One touched the outside.
"It's cold!"
"Of course it's cold."
More fairies gathered.
Jax smiled.
"In exchange, I'd like to try your Fairy Cider."
Several fairies nodded enthusiastically.
"Actually..."
Jax looked toward the Vixens.
Then toward the massive crowd.
"...let's make this easy. You provide as much Fairy Cider as the Vixens and I want tonight."
Nyxian's head snapped toward him.
"I like this negotiation."
"And everyone gets dinner and Pixie Mead."
The fairies began cheering again.
One of the village elders raised both hands.
"Agreed!"
Jax smiled.
ABC.
Always Be Conquering.
Pixelle woke to the smell of food.
Her eyes opened slowly.
For several seconds she didn't know where she was.
Then everything hurt.
Her arms.
Her legs.
Her wings.
She wasn't sure how her hair hurt, but somehow it did.
Muscles she hadn't known fairies possessed.
She groaned.
"Oh, Goddess..."
Lexi hovered nearby.
"Good evening, Your Majesty."
Pixelle rolled onto her back.
"I think Bunny killed me."
"You're alive."
"Are you sure?"
"Reasonably."
Pixelle's nose twitched.
She stopped.
Sniffed again.
"What is that?"
Lexi smiled.
"Jax is cooking."
Pixelle sat upright.
"What?"
"For the village."
Pixelle's eyes widened.
"The entire village?"
"Apparently."
Pixelle launched herself from the bed.
"WHY DID YOU LET ME SLEEP?!"
"You were unconscious!"
"I WAS NAPPING!"
"You were drooling!"
Pixelle froze.
"I don't drool."
"You do when you're exhausted."
"Erase that from your memory."
"No."
Pixelle flew toward the doorway.
"Merriweather told me about his cooking!"
"I know."
"She said it was incredible!"
"I know."
"She said his steak could make a vegetarian reconsider their moral convictions!"
Lexi paused.
"I think Merriweather exaggerates."
Pixelle spun around.
"Take that back."
"No."
Pixelle started flying again.
Lexi followed.
"Oh, there's something else."
"What?"
"He made a deal."
Pixelle slowed.
"What kind of deal?"
"Dinner and Pixie Mead for the village."
"That sounds wonderful."
"In exchange for all the Fairy Cider he and the Vixens want tonight."
Pixelle stopped.
Her wings became perfectly still.
"...Oh."
Lexi folded her arms.
"You might want to explain—"
Pixelle's eyes lit up.
"I'll bring the keg!"
Lexi stared at her.
"That wasn't where I was going with that."
But Pixelle was already gone.
By the time dinner was ready, the clearing had become a festival.
Fairies filled the air.
Others sat on mushrooms, flowers, tiny benches and tree roots.
Village cooks had transformed Jax's enormous ingredients into thousands upon thousands of fairy-sized portions.
The scale difference made the entire thing ridiculous.
One piece of potato became multiple meals.
A strip of beef was carved like a roast.
Tiny bowls were filled with stew.
And everywhere Jax looked, fairies were eating.
The reaction was immediate.
"Oh, Goddess!"
"What is in this?!"
"MORE!"
"How did he make carrots taste like this?!"
Jax stood beside one of the pots.
"Seasoning."
A fairy stared at him.
"What kind?"
Jax smiled.
"Trade secret."
Nearby, another fairy took a drink of ice-cold Pixie Mead.
Her eyes widened.
"It's cold!"
Jax nodded.
"That's how it's supposed to be."
Several merchants nearby looked at one another.
Jax noticed.
He smiled.
Always Be Conquering.
A cheer suddenly erupted from one side of the clearing.
Jax turned.
Pixelle approached in her full-sized form.
Five feet, six inches tall.
Her bright-pink hair flowed behind her as she walked proudly toward them.
Several fairy attendants followed.
And behind them—
A keg rolled across the ground.
Pixelle spread her arms.
"Fairy Cider!"
The Vixens cheered.
Jax smiled.
"Your Grace."
Pixelle stopped.
Her wings gave a tiny flutter.
Her face warmed.
That stupid title.
Every single time.
She straightened.
"I heard you negotiated for unlimited quantities."
"I may have."
"You drive a hard bargain."
"I cooked for fifty thousand people."
Pixelle looked around at the enormous celebration.
Fairies were eating.
Drinking.
Laughing.
Dancing.
Then she smelled the stew directly in front of her.
Her stomach growled.
Loudly.
Pixelle looked down.
Jax looked at her.
Nyxian looked at her.
Bunny looked at her.
Pixelle raised a finger.
"Nobody heard that."
"I heard it," Bunny said.
"You didn't."
"I definitely did."
Pixelle immediately grabbed a bowl.
She took one bite.
Then stopped.
Her eyes widened.
She slowly looked at Jax.
"Oh, My Goddess."
Jax smiled.
"Good?"
Pixelle took another bite.
Then another.
"This..."
Another.
"...is..."
Another.
"...amazing."
Jax laughed.
"Merriweather may have mentioned that you enjoy cooking," Pixelle said between bites.
"She may have exaggerated."
Pixelle stared at him.
"She did not."
She returned to eating.
Nyxian leaned toward Jax.
"You've conquered another one."
Jax looked at her.
"What?"
"Nothing."
Once Pixelle had devoured enough food to resemble a functioning person again, she personally opened the keg.
Golden liquid poured into large mugs.
Jax took one.
Then Llandra.
Bunny.
Zee.
Nyxian.
Pixelle looked at the tiny fairy cup one of her attendants offered her.
Then at everyone else's mugs.
She frowned.
"No."
Lexi, who had just arrived, immediately noticed.
"Pixelle."
Pixelle picked up a full-sized mug.
Lexi's eyes widened.
"Pixelle."
"I'm this size tonight."
"That doesn't mean—"
Pixelle ignored her.
The mug held nearly twenty ounces.
At her natural size, Pixelle had spent seventy-one years drinking fairy-sized servings.
At five feet, six inches tall, however, she had absolutely no intention of sitting beside Jax with what looked like a thimble.
She raised her mug.
The others followed.
Pixelle smiled brightly.
"To new friends."
Her eyes found Jax.
"New adventures."
Her wings fluttered behind her.
"And conquering the World Tree."
Jax raised his mug slightly higher.
"I'll drink to that."
The mugs touched.
They drank.
Jax immediately noticed the sweetness.
It was good.
Really good.
Not as cold as he preferred.
He'd fix that tomorrow.
Bunny took another drink.
"Mmm."
Zee nodded.
"I like this."
Nyxian took a long swallow.
"Oh, we're keeping this."
Llandra laughed.
"I believe we're supposed to negotiate that first."
"We're keeping it."
Pixelle looked at Jax.
Then at her mug.
Everyone else had taken a large drink.
So she did too.
A very large drink.
Lexi watched.
Her mouth slowly opened.
Pixelle lowered the mug.
Lexi looked at the mug.
Then Pixelle.
Then Jax.
Then Nyxian.
Then back at Pixelle.
"Oh wow."
Bunny looked over.
"What?"
Lexi slowly raised her tiny cup to her lips.
"Things are going to escalate now."