Saia's tail whipped back and forth with irritation as the guard stopped her outside the large and elaborate doors. She rolled her eyes as he checked over his list of invited guests, and wondered briefly if Toofy was going to keep the doors.
They depicted the previous emperor's rise to power. His heroic and lonely ascent, which was all a bunch of bullocks. How he single-handily fought and killed Irrlichdan. How he created the slaving spell and forced all other nations to bow to him to get it. How he crushed the orcs through his military genius.
"I don't think you're Lord Sai, miss. Move along." The guard growled.
Her tail cracked the air and she ground her teeth together, "Not Sai, you fuckwit! Saia. Little Saia, the succubus, and her fucking mistress. I just put her fucking kittens to bed. Learn my name, idiot. Before I eat your soul."
The man blinked and rescanned the list, swallowing. He'd stopped at the first thing that had sounded kind of right and hadn't bothered to keep reading. He looked back up at her, "Oh. You're in the empress' private party. Front row."
"No shit."
He gestured, and someone hidden opened the doors. Saia shoved by him bristling at it. Still... The last time she had been in the palace, had been when Toofy had gone to get fucked over, and Saia had to hang out with the jealous concubines.
That had been... Unpleasant, even if she had feasted on the sexual energy.
It felt good to be able to stride around the various houses of the palace, now. Locating all the small nooks and crannies where she'd be able to sneak in a quick fuck with Toofy, if the cat ever found the time. She'd even delayed her own coronation, because she'd been too busy.
It had been a week since Toofy put Kaden into the ground. Or what was left of the man.
Even if this event had been put off, there wasn't really anyone who didn't know that she was empress. One or two of the ministers had resisted. They quickly found themselves without any property or title, and the people they had kept as slaves now ruling their estates in their stead.
Beggar lords were something new and strange. People with no home, not enough to eat, and yet had servants with multi-generational loyalty. Saia wasn't sure if that would last, but a new class of people might have been formed from Toofy's lack of patience.
A few of the peasant groups were still resisting, which might be taken advantage of by an enterprising beggar lord. The peasants were refusing to believe that an exotic could possibly take over the empire. How could something that wasn't human possibly rise above them? That was going to last about as long as it took for the stories of what Toofy had done to circulate. For good or bad.
Some of the temples were resisting as well, because Toofy had demon blood. They were having a religious crisis, at the possible return to worship of the betrayer gods. That was going to last forever, probably. Divide them all. But it was Esme's problem.
Saia slipped into the front row of the building and sat down tiredly. She glanced sideways at Arina who seemed almost asleep, leaning on her scythe. Must have been fun convincing the guards that they couldn't take that from her.
The handmaiden yawned, "Here we all are, again. United at last. Have you heard how the mistress is doing, Saia?"
"Busy." She shrugged, "The kittens have been keeping me on my toes, as well. So how is the fiance of Death, itself?"
The woman winced, "Still dealing with Tammy's shit. Do you have any clue how hard it is to individually escort fifty thousand orcs to the next world? Especially when they all want to fight you to prove their worth?"
"Holy shit." Saia shivered, "Fifty thousand. She really killed that many?"
"Fifty thousand so far. There's more." Arina shook her head, "Death better hold up his side of the bargain. Tammy is supposed to suffer worse than I could ever hurt her."
Saia shrugged, "Oh, she is. Toofy tossed her in a cell and then forgot she existed. That attention craving kitsune is going to be ignored for the rest of her nigh-immortal life."
"All rise!" Lord Vanhern announced, striding forward and standing beside the throne that was elevated in front of all of them.
There were only the two of them sitting in the row reserved for the empress' personal guests. There were so many people who had come into Toofy's sphere of influence, and so few survivors who had made it through to see this day.
Saia should have been excited to finally see her mistress crowned. Instead, she just found it depressing. The list of names rolling through her head. Their faces and her memories. Both the good, and the bad.
Vanhern turned and bowed stiffly, indicating the direction that everyone else should bow. Saia ignored the instruction, as did Arina beside her. The two of them exchanging a glance and rolling of eyes.
Toofy emerged slowly, looking as if Sai was helping her to walk. Saia could see a wobble in her step, but she wasn't fooled. Toofy was holding the lord up, not the other way around. After what had happened, she was surprised that Sai could move at all, even with the help of magic, after only a week.
The empress crossed to in front of the throne, and then sat down stiffly. As she did, Saia saw her transform. She went from an awkwardly moving woman, to the grace of a goddess. As Toofy's arms laid down on the throne it became instantly apparent that she belonged right there. The throne was an extension of her, not just a piece of furniture.
"Lady Twenty Four de Sai, you have been nominated by the Council of Ministers to not just be elevated, but to take on responsibility fit for no mortal." Vanhern spoke loudly, "To this duty, you will be bound. Of this cost, you must pay. Do you accept this weight, under punishment from heaven if you so fail?"
"I do." Toofy's voice was quiet, but it rang out across the entire room with a surety that felt like she was making a threat, not accepting an honour.
"The empire will require your life of you. It will require your love and your desire. None shall come first in your heart, but your people. What say you, of this punishment?" Vanhern continued, voice loud and strong.
Toofy smiled sweetly, "This empire is Toofy's, as Toofy is of this empire. She will never let it leave her, nor forsake her. She will not coddle it, but it is hers, and she will fuck anyone who tries to take it or harm it. She will cut them down, as she has cut down all enemies who threatened her people."
Saia couldn't help but grin as she realised that someone would be writing down her mistress' words, word-for-word, and someone else would be distributing it among the populace. Town criers would repeat it. An empress, swearing at her swearing-in. That was Toofy, all over.
Vanhern fumbled for a moment and then continued, "Then by the grace of the gods, and by the fear of those who betrayed them, may you serve this people faithfully, and without question, as you become our Twenty Fourth Empress."
He stood up and saluted, "Long live the Empire! Long live the Empress!"
"Long live the Empress!" The crowd of politicians and guards repeated at the tops of their voices. The cry continuing onwards as people outside the doors echoed it, the phrase travelling through the entire city in one voice, as an exotic took the throne.
A guard approached, balancing a tiara on a red cushion embroided with golden threads. Vanhern took it and presented it to Sai, who then slid the object into place on Toofy's head.
The tiara was silver, studded with green gemstones, but there were four large salamander's teeth embedded in it. As the object slid into place on Toofy's head, Saia saw red specks and then the running streaks, as the teeth bit down into the catgirl's head.
Every emperor had designed their own crown. Most had used it to show off their wealth, but Toofy had taken a different tactic. She had used hers to show both the sacrifice that it had cost to get it, and to remind the people that she was undertaking a duty, not becoming some luxury-indulgent creature.
