(Originally published in "The Many Adventures of the Avengers and Friends")
"No, no, you're missing the point. There is no throne. There is no version of this where you come out on top." - Tony Stark, "The Avengers"
Or is there?
Multiverses have the...
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°2022°
"Hey, Dad, you're home early." Maya greeted, her tired father coming into the house with a few files under his arm and a thin briefcase, probably full of even more files. "You're not usually home till eleven. Wait... Don't tell me you got fired."
"No, honey, we're fine. I just finished a little early... Ari, can you come here, please?"
Maya's stepsister came downstairs in her pyjamas, though she didn't look like she was asleep at all. Probably doing more late night reading.
"Yeah, Dad?" Arianna asked. The girls' father passed her one of the files under his arm, a particularly thin one. "What's this?"
"I dunno. But Jane stopped by my office and told me to give it straight to you, discouraging me from looking at it." Of course, their dad talked about Jane quite frequently, seeing her quite often during his day. He wasn't allowed a designated lunch break, so she brought him food at about noon every day per the Queen's wishes.
Ari looked at the file uncomfortably as she slid a few papers out of it. The papers looked slightly yellowed and had a flowing black script on the letters. It was most definitely a letter from the Queen herself; it looked like her handwriting and only she and her husband used old paper. Ari gulped as she read further down the letter.
"What's it say?" Maya asked, not getting up off the sofa. Ari just wordlessly passed the paper to Maya, keeping a few of the papers in her own hands. She read it carefully, biting her lip. "Oh sweet Jesus."
"She wants me to sew her a gown for her... Name day?" Ari said.
"What's that?" Maya asked.
"I think it's an older term for a birthday. The sixteenth, so... Two weeks?"
"I'm surprised they didn't make their birthdays holidays, they're just conceited enough to do that. Why couldn't the Queen just have one of her dressmakers make one?"
"It said all of them caught a late season flu. She doesn't want them working in case it spreads... Probably because then the whole staff would get sick, then Their Majesties would actually have to do shit on their own." Ari held up a few of the other papers. "She sent a few templates with her measurements written on each one. I'm just lucky she didn't say she wanted a corset; does it look like I know how to make those?"
"You managed to turn some of our old clothes into something new to save money. I'm sure you would figure it out." The girls' father cut in.
"But in two weeks? Hell no!"
"Do you have any ideas?" Maya asked.
"Well... What does the Queen usually wear?"
"Blues, greens, and purples with long skirts and obnoxious sleeves."
