Out of the Sky, Into the City

Chapter 3: Asterope

"Your Majesty, may I have permission to enter?" Asterope asked, standing in front of a large door as they nervously fiddled with their armour before breathing deeply. They knew that the Queen was temperamental at times, and so they hoped that she was in a good mood, like the last time they'd spoken with her.
"You may enter." a voice on the other side of the door said. Attempting to conceal their fear, Asterope let the guards open the door and they walked towards their queen, before kneeling in front of her.
I really hope this goes well.

"You may stand." Slowly, Asterope stood, being careful to keep their head low until they had fully straightened up. Facing Queen Calliope, they knew that they had a right to be afraid. Not only was she as beautiful as last time, but just as intimidating. Asterope shook away all feelings of fear the best that they could, remembering that they had to remain formal.
"My Queen, is there something you need from me?" Asterope asked. They wondered how they looked from a third person perspective. Probably a mess.

"Yes, Asterope, I have decided that you are to accompany the other Skylings when they invade Inkopolis. This is, however, not a reward, but to make up for the fact that you have been late to far too many training sessions. Do you understand?"
"Yes, Your Majesty. I understand."
"Good. Dismissed."

***

"Wait, so you GET TO GO?!" As soon as Asterope arrived back at their house, they were greeted by Raicho, who had apparently used his spare key privileges to their house to invade it and surprise them. "Finally, an expert at fighting in out squad able to help the others coming with you defeat the Inklings and Octolings! They will not stand a chance!"
"Where'd you hear about that?"
"My mom's a guard in the royal palace, remember?" Raicho said as he tackled Asterope in a hug. They hugged him back.

"You heard that quickly? So let me get this straight, your mom was able to fly to you, tell you the story, and you were able to go to my house and use your spare key privileges to invade it all in the span it took me to fly back home in a straight path?"
"Oh, totally! My mom's a really quick flier, and I'm one too!"
"Hmmmmm... well, let's have some fun, seeing as I need to prepare for tomorrow soon."

After that, the two friends went upstairs to Asterope's room and shared a bag of snacks, before Raicho decided that he needed to go home. Asterope looked at the sun behind their friend. It was setting, staining the sky and clouds with red and orange streaks. They wondered what would happen if the Inklings and Octolings would win against them. No, they wouldn't. In the end, the Skylings would definitely come out victorious.

***

The next day, Asterope finally woke up on time and quickly changed into their long-sleeved shirt, pants and boots. They grabbed what they needed and flew to the place where their armour and sword were before putting it all on. Then, it was time to go. Flying to the place where all the other Skylings were assembled, Asterope received their darts and dart gun from the bag with their name on it and put on their communicator. They caught the instructor's eye, who nodded in approval as a response, and spread out their wings. This was it. The Skylings were going to show Inkopolis who their rightful ruler was.