Elanore watched as the wolves transformed in front of her. Their dark matted fur turned into pristine white. Pink started to crawl down their body from their cheeks to their sides like some kind of racing stripe. Their eyes changed in color to pink, but their third eye was different. That one changed into purple.
The two of them sat down, wagging their tails as if that would convince Elanore to go easy on them. As if something like that would make her weak or something. She closed one eye and opened the other, crossing her arms in an attempt to look away from them.
Naela laughed into her hand. "Mistress is not very honest when it comes to words, but you are horrible at hiding the truth."
"I am not! I'll have you know that I can hide the truth very well. Wait a second, no! I don't exist in this framing at all, since I am always honest."
"Mhm, and tell me why we should leave these two new servants of yours behind, mistress."
The wolf stood up and nuzzled his face against Elanore's. For the first time in her new existence, she felt fluffiness like no other. To make matters worse, the wolf pressed its advantage.
He whined before projecting his voice. "Leave us behind? Again?"
"N-no, didn't you hear me earlier!? I said that those who don't work, don't eat. You will be put to work! This is a demanding empire we're running here, so don't expect to get any easy treatment."
"Of course!"
Elanore crossed her arms and nodded with a smug smile. "I am glad you understand. In fact, the two of you shall serve as our trusty steeds to the desert."
"Mistress?" Naela asked with a tilt of her head.
"While I would love to ride you...While I would love to ride on top of you..." Elanore's face heated while she stammered. "You know what I mean!"
Naela gave a sly smile and leaned in, pressing her face so close that their breaths overlapped. "Maybe I don't know what you mean, mistress. Would you care to explain it to me in detail? Or perhaps, you should show me what you're talking about?"
Elanore's heart thumped in her chest like a racing wolf. She turned to her two new companions in a futile attempt to get her mind off the wyvern. The tables had suddenly turned against her. One minute, Naela was dazed out and reminiscing over an unknown past, the next minute, Naela was attacking her in unexpected ways. Ella felt the wyvern's hand press against her side.
The vampire's thoughts drifted to what riding the wyvern would look like, and she imagined steam coming from her ears. She focused on ignoring this growing warmth in her stomach and the reddening of her cheeks. These new minions can't see this side of me!
Ella cleared her throat and looked at the wolves. "Ahem, as I was saying, you two will be our vehicles to the desert. And as a treat in advance, I will name the both of you. Let's see..."
The vampire tried to think of all kinds of dog names, and eventually two of them came to her. "You will be Duke," she said, pointing at the alpha wolf, "and you will be Count."
After all, everyone knows that all vampire kingdoms need a Count.
Duke waved his tail around in excitement before walking up and licking Ella on the face.
"Ew! You have dog breath."
Naela seized the opportunity to lick Ella's other cheek. "What about me, mistress?"
"Stop! All parties are forbidden from licking me, unless I say otherwise!"
What followed was a groan from Naela and a whimper from the wolves. I won't budge no matter how cute they are! And why is Naela even licking me in the first place?
Elanore turned to the wyvern to find Naela looking at her with a ravenous hunger. "Okay! We need to leave now. Remember what you said? It will take us a long time to get there!"
After reprimanding all of the licking parties involved, Elanore climbed on top of Duke. She didn't have a saddle or anything, but she did construct a set of reins for her and Naela as she had before. It turns out that building a carriage carries some kind of advantage after all. Who knew that the knowledge I gained that day would bring us to this moment!?
As they took off even further away from the city, the distant commotion of people faded into the background. Ella decided she'd let that kingdom take care of its own problems. Moreover, she had no interest in seeing that king again. The only thing she hoped for was that elf and those cat people to get by safely. Maybe I can give them a blessing that allows me to watch from afar?
Elanore sent her seeing eye into the sky, and it floated back towards the city. As she steered the wolf, she controlled the magic. "I don't even know if this will work."
"What are you doing, mistress?"
"I want to try giving a remote blessing to those two girls. That way if anyone tries to hurt them, they will be protected somewhat."
"Just don't overdo it...It's not a normal thing for people to receive blessings, mistress. If you go overboard, it could easily have the opposite affect and make their lives worse."
Elanore swallowed. Normally, she'd have a comeback about how she would never overdo anything, but the joke was stuck in her throat. After all, it would be dangerous if people hunted them for her blessing. Okay, I will be subtle then. Come on, Ella! You can do it.
The eye caught the mother and daughter pair as they were walking to the city. Elanore saw that the guards had already dealt with the last of the invaders. All of them were already tied up, and the fires that were started from this battle were being put out.
Taliyana spotted the floating eye and pointed towards it. "Mommy look! It's Ella."
Malania flinched. "Is that Elanore? How do you know?"
"I just do," the little girl said, holding out her hands.
Elanore floated the eye down and landed on the little kitten's small hands. The vampire took a deep breath, wondering how she would bless them. Or what she would even give to them.
Then it came to her. She took out two of her Ella coins, and they teleported from her to the eye.
She dropped them into Taliyana's hands. "Take great care of these for when we meet again."