Queens Don't || #ONC2022

4 || QUEENS DON'T CAST FAKE SPELLS

"Communications director?"

"Meh. Too boring."

"Labor relations specialist?"

"Ugh no. Sounds too confusing. And weird."

"Oh! I got it!" I said excitedly, scrolling through a list of potential job titles on my phone. "Executive alliance director."

Phil lifted her head up from the book she nabbed from the shelf and smiled brightly. "I love it! Executive alliance director. Sounds very official. And important."

"It does sound very important," Renning agreed, stepping into the library, as two younger security guards followed. "Do I need to speak with this executive alliance director for some reason? Did you two somehow get into more trouble during my brief absence?"

Phil and I buried our noses in reading material for hours until Archer stepped in and asked what we wanted for dinner. We left the library briefly to devour a thick crust bacon and mushroom pizza – one of our go-to comfort foods – and quickly chat with Phil's parents, Henry and Helena.

They were the main reason why I could afford to take a two-week break to the islands. As lifelong humanitarian aide workers, Henry and Helena Cooper traveled all over the world to help clean up and rebuild areas affected by natural disasters and conflicts.

They were in the process of organizing a team of volunteers for a two-week mission to Moneres Islands after a derecho heavily damaged two islands, Laudine and Olwen, when I rejected Phil's idea to take a vacation somewhere in the tropics. The idea of hauling branches and other debris under the hot summer sun didn't thrill me, but I had to stop throwing pity parties for one. As soon as Phil mentioned the possibility of using chainsaws to cut down damaged trees, I thought the opportunity would be good for me. I was also curious to know who would trust a five-foot Asian girl to take down a tree with a big ass chainsaw.

With housing and most meals covered for volunteers, I could afford the discounted plane ticket and simply limit my personal spending during my free time. To ensure Phil and I didn't receive special treatment from her parents, they assigned us to one island while they worked on the other. We occasionally hung out with Henry and Helena at the hotel on the main island, but they honestly had more important matters to focus on during the first few days of the mission.

Although they were understandably concerned about their only daughter and her best friend, Renning reassured them early this morning we weren't in any legal or serious trouble. But he believed we needed to be transferred to a more secure location for a few days, which they didn't like too much given a lack of a clear explanation.

Fortunately, Phil calmed them down a bit, promising to keep in constant contact and to loop them in on the situation as soon as we could. While they texted each other throughout the day, Henry and Helena sounded excited and worried when we chatted with them after dinner.

Phil and I returned to the library and the world's most comfiest plush chairs to continue reading. Always in the mood for a good contemporary love story, she started reading Faking It for the Holidays by Bethany Monaco Smith, while I had found a few books detailing the history of the royal families.

"Brief absence?" I exclaimed, setting my phone in my lap. "You were gone for most of the day. We had lunch and dinner without you."

"What do you mean more trouble?" Phil asked, frowning. "I didn't think we were in trouble in the first place."

"I apologize," the security director said, sitting in dark wooden chair by a small round table near the bookshelf.

The taller of the two younger guards grabbed the other chair by the table while the second one stood behind Renning with his muscled arms crossed over his chest.