~~~Lizzie's POV~~~

I counted out the last of the money, coins engraved with diamond and emerald emblems shuffling out of my hands into the pink decorated pouch I used to hold the money I collected as tax from the citizens of Critter City.

The year had been especially good for everyone; there had been an influx of traders and tourists from Gobland and Chromia, and everyone had plenty of money to spend as well as pay their taxes.

Waving to the owner of the fruit stand I had just collected the final taxes for this area from, I left the market square, heading down the street towards the Magical District, also known as the librarian's quarter. It was the last area on my list for tax collection.

There was some sort of commotion on the bridge, though, so after checking to make sure the poor frog that had fallen into the moat was alright, I took a detour down one of the picturesque side streets.

Thunder rumbled distantly, and I stopped to peer at the clear skies with a frown. There weren't any clouds in the sky, nor did it smell like rain. Maybe the weather god in Stratos was playing around with his powers again.

Shrugging, I continued walking, stopping to pick up a fallen emerald, flipping the coin through my fingers absently as I turned a corner, walking straight into someone.

I stumbled back with a sharp exhale, mouth open to apologize as I looked up... and up, and up.

An extremely tall blue axolotl hybrid filled my vision, blue eyes the same shade as mine widened with surprise, pink hair, also the same shade as me but with a bluish tinge, fell around her shoulders loosely, and she wore a pale lavender-blue-white dress that came to her mid-thigh, exposing powerful muscles in her legs and leaving room for a powerful dark blue tail to swish behind her. She wore a simple silver circlet on her head, an aquamarine stone set in the center of it, and she held a dangerous-looking trident tipped with an odd azure crystal that looked razor sharp, even sharper than the normal silver used on tridents.

Putting her species aside, she looked almost exactly like me.

We both had the same blue eyes, the same pink hair, same facial structure. Although she was much more muscular and taller than me.

I was much shorter, at around five feet and a half, and slender. She was a blue axolotl hybrid, while I was a cat hybrid, although one in disguise. As far as anyone knew, I was human. The spell on my ring, a signet that signified my rulership over Animalia, concealed my feline traits, a gift from the witch of the Evermoore, Shelby. We had grown up together, and when I decided to hide my identity to run for mayor of Critter City, she designed the spell for me.

"Um, hello?" I said hesitantly, taking a polite step back from the other hybrid.

"Ocean's blessings to you, small one." She looked down at me, head tilted as she took in my appearance. "Who are you?"

Small one?? It's not my fault this lady was a walking tree, I was a perfectly average height!

Drawing myself up, I said imperiously, "I am Mayor Elizabeth of Critter City, Animalia, ruler of this land. Who are you?"

She frowned, annoyance and confusion flickering through her eyes. "I am Ocean Queen Elizabeth, empress of the Ocean Empire."

What? I frowned too now, confused. We looked like each other, had the same names, even our voices sounded the same now that I listened to it.

"What the heck?" I said, mostly to myself.

Queen Elizabeth snorted, seemingly agreeing with me. "Call me Lizzie, there's no need for fancy titles, since we're apparently the same person." Lizzie said, tone dropping from the powerful voice she had used earlier to a more lighthearted, normal one.

"Then call me Lizzie too- wait, that's weird, how will we know when people are talking to one of us specifically if we have the same name?" I said, shaking my head.

After a moment of thought, I had a great idea. "Call me Liz, how about that? It's pretty similar anyways, I don't mind."

Lizzie nodded, smiling at me, which I returned. "Now that that's settled, how the hell did I get here?" Lizzie asked, looking around.

That was a good question. "Yeah, the Eversea is pretty far from here, if that's the Ocean Empire you mean. And I'm guessing you didn't travel here intentionally?"

Lizzie frowned. "It is not the Eversea. And no, one second I was in my Prisma Palace, and the next I was here. I have to go back, the oceans are in danger-" She looked alarmed, the calmness around her vanishing in an instant as she remembered the peril to her empire.

To say I was confused would be an understatement. "Okay, calm down, we can figure this out. We can call a meeting of the empires, I'm sure someone smart will know what's going on-"

Lizzie inhaled, closing her eyes for a moment. She looked shaken. After a moment, I gently patted her arm, since her shoulder was too high for me to reach.

"Thanks, Liz," Lizzie said, opening her eyes again and looking marginally calmer. "How would we go about summoning the other empires?"

"I have a radio station at my manor for contacting the others, I'll send out a message for a meeting- maybe four days from now?- to give everyone time to travel here and prepare and such."

Lizzie nodded. "Would you be able to direct me to an inn or such, to find a place for me to stay?"

I coughed, hiding my laugh. "Absolutely not-" Lizzie looked startled for a moment, the gremlin inside me snickering at her reaction- "you'll stay with me at my manor. I have plenty of guest rooms, and the council all have homes to go to in the city."

Lizzie agreed after another few moments of polite refusal, gesturing for me to lead the way. Making a mental note to send someone to collect the taxes from the magical district for me, I began the walk back to my manor in the opposite direction, the Ocean Queen a few steps behind me.

~~~

Lizzie had to duck to fit through the doorways, made for hybrids much smaller than the rare blue axolotl hybrid species. For some reason, there just weren't as many blue axolotl hybrids. They were rumored to have died out over a thousand years ago, during that mysterious cataclysmic event that calendars are named after, A.R for After Rapture.

Thankfully, the roofs were higher inside, and Lizzie was able to stand to her full height, although the tips of her scaly, pointed ears nearly brushed the ceiling.

"So, this is where the council gathers for weekly meetings and takes complaints and questions from the villagers on Request Days, which is why it's the first room." I nodded to Father Floof, the head secretary of the council and a sheep hybrid, the oldest member of the council. He was still working, despite everyone else leaving once the council meeting ended earlier this morning.

Walking towards the stairs, I led the Ocean Queen up, past my collections room and my bedroom, towards a guest room, normally reserved for visiting rulers of other empires, which I supposed Lizzie was.

"Feel free to make yourself comfortable," I told the taller woman, handing her the key to the door. "If you get hungry, just ask anyone to lead you to the kitchens or bring you something to eat. I'll send out the call for the meeting now."

Lizzie nodded her thanks and ducked inside, the door closing behind her. I quickly hung a small charm on the doorknob, indicating to the housekeepers that someone was staying in the room and to knock before entering to clean.

Heading back to the stairs, I went up again, stopping in front of the locked door. I pressed my signet ring to the magical lock, and it swung open silently, allowing me entry and access to the communications array.

The door closed itself behind me as I took a seat on the plush chair with wheels in the legs (a gift from the lead architect of Gobland, Fwhip) and leaned forward to carefully type out my message, before sending it out to all the other arrays linked to mine, one for each empire.

Leaders of all the Empires,

I have encountered an odd royal in my city. Asides from being queen of an empire unknown, she also exactly resembles me and shares my name.

Please travel to Animalia in four days' time for an emergency meeting, as I feel this requires immediate solving.

I will see you all soon, hopefully.

Mayor Elizabeth

Critter City, Animalia

CA23558

Once that was sent out, I skimmed my inbox, checking to see if I had received any messages from any other empires since the last time I checked it.

Surprisingly, I did have one message, from Gobland. Opening it, I frowned at the jumbled message.

Hye Lizzy its us hehehehe

its fwhip and jimmy lololol

this is a prank mesege we r drink

obey the lews or els

hahaha baiii

Lead Architect Fwhip

Phthalo, Gobland

CA 72933

I snickered at the dumb message, quickly typing out a response.

To Fwhip and Jimmy,

I am furious. Simply outraged.

You got drunk and prank messaged people with the very important, for business and emergencies only comms... WITHOUT ME?

I will require apologies and gifts or I'm going to cover your homes in slime.

XOXO, Lizzie

Mayor Elizabeth

Critter City, Animalia

CA23558

There, that should put fear of me into the silly boys. Standing up and stretching, I decided to go take a nap.

On my way back to my rooms, I stopped a maid to send a quick note to Father Floof to let him know that the taxes from the Magical District and the District of Gotham were still uncollected.

After that, I decided to retire to my rooms for the day. It was almost sunset, and I was going to have guests soon, so it would be a busy few days getting the manor and the city ready for the empire's leaders. I would take my rest while I could.

Locking my door behind me, I slipped off my ring and sighed in relief, the ever stifling sense of magic all over me fading. Shelby had done her best with the spell, she really had, but some things there was no avoiding, like my senses picking up on the magic and being irritated by it.

I swished my tail happily, stretching properly and arching my back to pop the bones, the satisfying crack-crack-crack sound echoing in my ears as I settled down on my bed. I grabbed a book from my nightstand, one of my favorites. I had reread it a thousand times, and as I flipped the first page open, seeing Shards of a Broken Past inscribed on the title page, I happily allowed myself to be drawn into the story, the real world fading away.

Tomorrow would be a busy day, and I would enjoy myself now and wake up in the morning rested and ready for everything. That is, if I didn't stay up past midnight reading for the millionth time...