It was a fairly long and boring drive from Bessie’s Landing in the Friendly Commonwealth of Wisconsin to Versailles, on the outskirts of Pahree, in the Glorious Sun Kingdom of France.

  But a road trip with good company is a lot of fun!

  Time flew for everyone in Mayor Henry’s car as it raced down the straight, flat road.

  Vroom vroom!

  Lily and Sophie, already fast friends, chatted about how different their lives were!

  Mr. Cat took lots of naps, or bragged about how instrumental he was in the success of Lilyburgers!

  Sally watched fondly as her daughter talked. It was a little strange that her daughter was talking business with a member of foreign royalty, but…

  That was just how things went sometimes!

  Dale got to really show his stuff as a driver, by going as fast as he safely could!

  He was showing off a little bit, because…

  Duchess Sophie’s lady’s maid was kinda into him!

  Could this be the beginning of a romance arc?!

  It was springtime for Dale!

  Even though it was mid-summer.

  The lady’s maid, whose name was Eclair, thought Dale was quite dashing!

  He had shown up wearing quite the getup, so early in the morning…

  She had never seen a man wearing tight leather pants, a matching driving jacket, driving gloves, driving goggles, and a driving hat before!

  The ensemble was most fetching!

  That meant she thought his outfit was cool!

  And the car was going so fast!

  She loved it!

  She had just spent a week cooped up with a very young Duchess in a carriage going slightly faster than walking speed, after all.

  And she had been psyching herself up to do it again…

  But now they were going home in a comfortable car, in just a single day?

  Dale was her hero!

  So, even though the drive would normally be long and boring, from sunrise to almost sunset on a long summer day…

  It passed in a flash!

  They approached Pahree, and a pall of smoke hung over the city.

  It looked really ominous in the fading daylight!

  “Oh, Mister Dale, turn up ahead for Versailles…”

  “You got it, Eclaire.”

  Dale turned off the main road, and a few minutes later, they had arrived at Versailles!

  It was a huge complex of multiple palaces, where the royalty of France lived!

  Queen Marie and her family and retainers and advisors lived in the main palace!

  And Duchess Sophie lived in a side palace, set near the giant gardens.

  “The first thing I have to do is report back to my cousin, the Queen,” Sophie said.

  “Ooh, can I come?” Lily asked.

  “Of course! You’re the mediator, are you not? You’ll need to be introduced to the Queen, and charged with putting the commoners back to work.”

  “Okay!” Lily said cheerfully.

  Sally could only frown.

  ‘Putting the commoners back to work’ didn’t sound very nice…

  “Mrow! Make sure you wear your medals! I’m gonna wear mine, too!”

  Mr. Cat was full of good advice!

  Sally put his bandanna on, and attached his medals from Wisconsin and the Great and Everlasting Free State of Texas.

  Sophie helped Lily put her medals on her dress, as well.

  Sally thought about it…

  And decided to put her medals on as well.

  Even though she was still wearing a diplomat’s business suit, borrowed from the Diplomacy Bureau.

  It couldn’t hurt, right?

  “Dale, will you be joining them in the meetings?” Eclair asked.

  “No babe, I’m gonna change the oil in the car before the light fades.”

  “Oh… Will, will I see you again?”

  “Okay Lily, let’s go!” Sophie shouted.

  “Mrow!”

  Sophie and Mr. Cat leapt from the car, now that it had parked!

  Sally sighed, and exited as well.

  Lily was pulled along by the flow!

  She didn’t hear Dales answer!

  But…

  As the lady’s maid followed after the little Duchess…

  There was a hint of blush on her cheeks!

  Lily was hopeful!

  She prayed to the Goddess of Romance for Dale and Eclair!

  Her Piety Points went up again!

  First, they checked in with Sophie’s parents at her estate.

  They were retired already!

  That was because they were trying to help the Queen, and that was a full time job!

  They didn’t have time to manage a Duchy on top of all that…

  But, they were super happy to see their daughter back safe and sound!

  And with that professional older woman in a Wisconsin Diplomatic Bureau business suit…

  It looked like a success!

  And their daughter had even made a friend, who appeared to be some kind of Count’s daughter!

  How lovely.

  “Okay, Mother, Father! I’m going to report to the Queen!”

  This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

  Sophie’s parents shared a look.

  “Do your best, dear.”

  “I will!”

  Sophie led her little entourage through the gardens to the main palace. The sun was finally setting as they did, and…

  Lights came on!

  “Wow!” Lily exclaimed.

  They had lamps in her village, too, but these lights were super fancy!

  They made the gardens look like a wonderland!

  Even the lampposts were works of art!

  “Heheh,” Sophie chuckled proudly. “Aren’t the gardens of Versailles lovely?”

  “Yeah! I’m so glad I got to see them!” Lily smiled and clasped her hands together in front of her chest.

  So pretty!

  The guards at the gate recognized the little Duchess, and sent a messenger ahead into the palace to let people know she had arrived with diplomats from Wisconsin.

  And, before Lily knew it, they were walking to the throne room to meet the Queen!

  She was ready to see them immediately!

  They were walking…

  And walking…

  And walking…

  The Palace of Versailles was huge!

  Even the inside was gigantic!

  And poor Lily and Sophie were just little girls, with short little legs…

  It was kinda tiring…

  “Mew, mew…”

  Sally sighed and picked up Mr. Cat and carried him in her arms.

  Purr purr

  His legs were even shorter than Lily’s!

  Of course, being a cat, he was supposed to be quite athletic…

  Secretly, Sally weighed him!

  Hmm…

  Still a healthy weight!

  But she was keeping an eye on him…

  They reached the throne room.

  “Now announcing the return of Sophie, Duchess of Bourbon, who brings with her a diplomatic mediation team from the Friendly Commonwealth of Wisconsin!”

  They entered, and…

  It was a small throne room!

  Lily had been expecting something gigantic, but it was really just a normal sized room with a big throne at one end, on a raised dais, and room for advisors to stand around.

  Sophie entered confidently, with her head held high! Lily followed, copying her!

  Sally smiled softly at seeing her daughter puff herself up like nobility, and followed behind, still carrying Mr. Cat.

  They moved forward, and Sophie curtsied, followed by Lily. Sally did her best to copy, at least a little.

  “Dear cousin, I have returned!”

  They all looked and saw…

  A teenager sitting on the throne!

  Queen Marie of France was wearing a dazzling golden dress, with precious gems and pearls sewn onto it, and a lovely golden tiara with rubies!

  She had porcelain skin, and piercing blue eyes, and golden blonde hair styled into big curls!

  It was the classic drill hair style!

  The Queen snapped open a fan.

  “Ohohoho, welcome back, dear Sophie. I hadn’t expected you for another week!”

  She snapped her fan closed again.

  “Yes, Cousin Marie, and I brought back diplomats! This is Lily, and her mother Sally, and her kitty-cat advisor, Mr. Cat…”

  “Mrow!”

  Mr. Cat jumped down from Sally’s arms and sat up straight on the floor next to her leg.

  Marie’s eyes widened slightly.

  “Oh, a Russian Blue? How exotic.”

  Next to the throne was a little table with a pillow on it, and on that pillow was…

  A cat!

  The Queen’s own feline advisor!

  She was pure white, with bright blue eyes and long fur.

  “What a pretty cat!” Lily exclaimed.

  The Queen’s cat turned and looked at them all with interest.

  “Mew, the Gods’ blessings overflow… and haunted by four ghosts?”

  The white cat narrowed her eyes, and her nose twitched as she sniffed the air.

  “There is a most fascinating scent coming from all of them…”

  Sally grew nervous.

  Were they smelly?!

  But Mr. Cat chuckled!

  “Heheh, indeed! You’ll soon see for yourself, meow!”

  But, Lily was focused on something else. Her eyes grew wide.

  “You can see my ghosts?”

  Behind her, Mac, Rich, Ray, and Duke had stopped goofing around, and were trying to look respectable!

  The Queen turned to look at her cat directly.

  “Mimi, what are you talking about?”

  Mimi…

  Sneezed!

  “Achoo!”

  “God’s Bless,” Lily said reflexively.

  “Thank you, haunted one.”

  “Oh dear oh dear, you poor thing!”

  The Queen leapt up from her throne and fussed over her cat.

  It took a minute for the Queen and her cat to recompose themselves.

  “Ahem,” Marie said, now seated back in her throne. “Sophie, who are these diplomats you have brought back with you?”

  “This is Lily, her mother, and her pet cat.”

  “Meow! I’m nobody’s pet! I’m a free cat!” Mr. Cat exclaimed.

  The Queen nodded.

  “Just like my companion, Mimi, I see.”

  Mimi merely…

  Looked incredibly smug, sitting on her pillow!

  Marie turned to the little girl wearing a Count’s daughter’s dress.

  “Lily, tell me, have the Wisconsonites finally seen reason and adopted a monarchy?”

  “Huh?” Lily tilted her head.

  “Are you not a Count’s daughter?” Marie looked to Sally, then. “Although, your mother is dressed like a normal Wisconsonite bureaucrat…”

  Lily shook her head.

  “Nope! I borrowed this dress.”

  Lily explained her background, which had become quite complicated!

  “First I decided to pay for my parents’ retirement, so I did a bunch of chores, and then the God of Death haunted me with ghosts, so I made a restaurant out of a cart, and then I played golf and got an investor and the Mayor helped me open a restaurant in the city square, and then I expanded to the neighboring village…”

  “And this was all in the Kingdom of Appalashia?”

  “Yes, that’s right.”

  “And you’re a commoner there.”

  Lily looked up at her Mama, who nodded.

  “Yep!”

  “I see, continue.” The Queen rested her chin on her hand, amused at the little girl telling her story.

  “Well, it was going fine, and then ingredient prices went up! I was losing money!”

  “Oh my.”

  “Mew.”

  Even Mimi was listening!

  “So then I went to the Great and Everlasting Free State of Texas, and caught some varmints… Then I went to Wisconsin, and helped the poor dairy cows… And now I’m here, to end the French Revolution!”

  The Queen smiled at that!

  And Mimi looked down at Mr. Cat piteously.

  “Oh dear, and they didn’t let you do any shooting?”

  “Meow, no they didn’t! It was a complete waste,” Mr. Cat said.

  He still wasn’t sorry at all for trying to grab those guns!

  “Teehee,” Mimi giggled elegantly. “If we find a moment, I will take you out to the shooting range.”

  Mr. Cat had caught Mimi’s eye!

  Was this the start of a romance arc?!

  Or did cats just like shooting guns, like, a lot?

  Sally was aghast, but the Queen nodded!

  “Do as you like, Mimi,” she said regally.

  That seemed a bit irresponsible!

  Marie sat up straight on her throne.

  “I see. The hour grows late, and I have many parties to plan. Not least of which is my niece’s ninth birthday party!”

  Sophie smiled and blushed.

  “Lily, you are hereby charged with ending the French Revolution!”

  So Spake Queen Marie of the French Kingdom!

  “Psst, Lily!”

  It was Ghostly Ray Croc!

  “Ask her about opening franchises here!”

  So, Lily asked.

  “Only nobles are permitted to do large scale business like that,” the Queen declared.

  Lily smile faded.

  “But, if you succeed in ending the French Revolution in time for my darling niece Sophie to have a wonderful birthday party, I will make the arrangements.”

  Lily’s smile returned!

  But…

  Sophie put a hand to her cheek.

  “Lily, will you really be able to end the French Revolution so quickly?”

  Lily…

  Smiled!

  “I’m gonna do my best!” she declared!

  Then, she turned to the Queen on her throne.

  “Hey, why did you order everyone to eat cake, anyway?”