Liria groaned into her pillow, her patience hanging by a thread as a certain loudmouthed pineapple continued to hop indignantly around her room.
"You had ONE job, Liria!" Ananara bellowed, his spiky green crown trembling with outrage. "Take to dinner! But nooooo, you left here to starve like a common fruit!"
"I forgot, okay?" Liria muttered, flipping onto her back and glaring at him. "You're a pineapple. You don't need to eat."
"That's rich coming from soone who shovels food into her face like a starved orc!" Ananara snapped, his stubby feet stomping on her nightstand for emphasis.
[You did leave him behind, Liria,] the system chid in, far too smug for her liking.
"Not you too," she hissed under her breath. "Whose side are you on?"
[Justice for fruit-based familiars.]
Liria stared at the ceiling, questioning every life choice that had led her to this mont. "I don't even rember agreeing to keep you as my familiar," she said to Ananara.
"You didn't!" Ananara exclaid, puffing out his round body in indignation. "I chose you, Liria Silverthorn! I abandoned my sandy empire for you! I am Ananara, the Lord of the Sweet Sands, and this is how you repay ?"
"By forgetting to take you to dinner?"
"Yes!"
Liria sat up, her hair a wild ss from tossing and turning. "You're being dramatic. You don't even have a stomach!"
"That's irrelevant!"
She sighed, rubbing her temples. The headache brewing behind her eyes was growing into a full-blown storm. "Okay, fine. What do you want to do? Sneak you into the kitchen for a midnight snack?"
"Too late for that!" Ananara declared, his voice dripping with lodrama. "The damage is done. My honor has been tarnished!"
"Oh, for the love of—" Liria groaned.
[You could apologize,] the system suggested, clearly entertained.
"Not helping!" she snapped at the air.
Ananara narrowed his beady eyes at her. "Who are you talking to?"
"No one!" Liria said quickly. "Look, how about I make it up to you tomorrow? I'll… I don't know, take you to breakfast or sothing."
"Breakfast?" Ananara sniffed disdainfully. "As if cold toast could erase the sting of betrayal."
"It's not betrayal!"
"Tell that to my bruised heart!"
[Do pineapples even have hearts?]
Liria stifled a laugh, which only seed to enrage Ananara further.
"You're laughing at now?" he demanded, bouncing off the nightstand and landing on her bed with a dramatic flop. "Oh, the indignity! Reduced to a re jester in your court of negligence!"
"Okay, that's it," Liria said, scooping him up and holding him at arm's length. "I've had enough. You're going in the corner until you calm down."
"You wouldn't dare!"
"Watch ."
With as much dignity as she could muster, Liria marched to the far corner of the room and set Ananara down on a small chair.
"This is fruit abuse!" Ananara shouted.
"Goodnight, Ananara."
"You'll regret this!"
She ignored his continued protests, flopping back onto her bed with a sigh.
[Well handled,] the system remarked.
"Don't start with ," Liria muttered.
[? Start sothing? Never.]
"Uh-huh."
As Liria finally settled under her covers, she heard a faint rustling from the corner. She ignored it at first, assuming Ananara was just sulking, but then she felt sothing small and heavy land on her chest.
"Ananara!" she yelped, sitting up to find the smug pineapple perched triumphantly atop her blanket.
"You can't banish !" he crowed.
"Oh, for crying out loud!"
Before she could shove him off, there was a knock at her door. Liria froze, glaring at Ananara. "If that's Daena and she sees you, I'm blaming everything on you."
"Coward."
The door creaked open to reveal Enara, her dark eyes narrowing as she took in the sight of Ananara perched on Liria's chest.
"Am I interrupting sothing?" Enara asked dryly.
"Yes," Liria said. "Rescue ."
Enara smirked, crossing her arms. "What's going on here?"
"Liria abandoned at dinner!" Ananara wailed, throwing himself backward in a show of exaggerated despair.
"Abandoned?" Enara echoed, her smirk widening. "How tragic."
"It is!"
"Don't encourage him," Liria snapped, glaring at the smug pineapple lounging on her chest like he owned the place.
Enara smirked, leaning against the doorfra with her arms crossed. "Encourage him? I'm just admiring his… resilience."
"Thank you!" Ananara chid, puffing himself up like a tiny, round king.
Liria groaned, pinching the bridge of her nose. "What are you even doing here, Enara? It's late."
Enara shrugged and strolled into the room. "I saw your light on and figured you couldn't possibly be asleep with this in the room." She gestured lazily at Ananara, who feigned offense.
"You're not wrong," Liria muttered. She grabbed Ananara, tossed him gently onto a nearby chair, and fixed Enara with a curious look. "Hey, can I ask you sothing?"
"Depends," Enara said, perching herself on the edge of the desk. "What's it about?"
"Seraphis," Liria said, watching closely for Enara's reaction.
Enara's smirk turned thoughtful. "What about her?"
"Well, she's my… ntor now, apparently," Liria said, her tone sowhere between confusion and resignation. "What's the deal with her? Everyone seems to have an opinion."
Enara's expression softened, and she tilted her head as though considering how much to say. "You've got it good, Liria. Seraphis is one of the best. She's strict, but fair. Smart. And honestly? She doesn't take on apprentices lightly. If she's chosen you, it ans she sees sothing in you."
"Right…" Liria said slowly. "But if she's so great, why does Daena seem to hate her guts?"
Enara's smirk disappeared, replaced by a more serious expression. "Ah. That's… a complicated story."
Liria leaned forward, her curiosity piqued. "I've got ti."
Enara hesitated, glancing briefly at the door as though ensuring no one was eavesdropping. Finally, she sighed. "Fine, but you didn't hear this from ."
"Scout's honor," Liria promised, even though she had never been a scout in her life.
Enara gave her a skeptical look before continuing. "This goes back over two hundred years. Daena and Seraphis used to be… close."
"Close how?" Liria asked, though she had a sinking suspicion she already knew the answer.
"Close," Enara repeated, her tone heavy with implication. "They were in love. Or at least Daena was. From what I've heard, Seraphis felt the sa, but…" She trailed off, her lips pressing into a thin line.
"But?" Liria prompted.
"But Seraphis betrayed her," Enara said bluntly. "It was during one of the bloodiest conflicts in demon history. Daena was fighting to protect her people, and Seraphis…" Enara's voice lowered. "She sold her out."
Liria's eyes widened. "She what?"
"She sided with the enemy," Enara said grimly. "Oh, she claid she didn't have a choice, that she was forced into it. But Daena doesn't forgive betrayal, no matter the reason."
Liria felt a cold knot form in her stomach. "Why would Seraphis do sothing like that?"
"That's the question, isn't it?" Enara said, leaning back and folding her arms. "So say she was trying to protect Daena. Others think she was just looking out for herself. Either way, it destroyed their relationship and Daena's trust in her."
"Wow," Liria murmured, her mind racing. She couldn't imagine Daena, the formidable forr demon queen, ever being vulnerable enough to fall in love, let alone have her heart broken.
"Yeah," Enara said softly. "She doesn't talk about it, but I can tell it still hurts her. Even after all this ti."
Liria leaned back against her headboard, processing the weight of what she'd just learned. "No wonder she stord out when Seraphis showed up at dinner."
Enara nodded. "She probably thought she'd never have to see Seraphis again. And now here you are, her apprentice."
Liria grimaced. "That's… awkward."
"You could say that," Enara said with a wry smile.
Liria glanced at Ananara, who had been unusually quiet during the conversation. He was watching her intently, his beady eyes full of unspoken questions.
"Well," Liria said, forcing a lightness into her tone. "This is shaping up to be way more complicated than I signed up for."
Enara laughed, the sound breaking so of the tension in the room. "Welco to demon politics. It's always ssy."
Liria managed a small smile, though her mind was still whirring with thoughts of Daena and Seraphis. She couldn't shake the feeling that she was caught in the middle of sothing much bigger than herself.
[You're handling this well,] the system said, its voice tinged with approval.
"Yeah, because being a human-turned-demon in a magical world wasn't complicated enough," she muttered under her breath.
"What was that?" Enara asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Nothing," Liria said quickly. "Thanks for the info, Enara. I'll… keep it in mind."
"Good," Enara said, standing and stretching. "Now, try to get so sleep. You'll need it if you're going to survive Seraphis' training."
Liria nodded, though sleep was the last thing on her mind as Enara left the room.
As the door clicked shut, she turned to Ananara, who was still sitting on the chair with an unusually solemn expression.
"What?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Nothing," he said, his tone oddly subdued.
Liria sighed, flopping back onto her bed. "Great. Now even the pineapple is being weird."
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