"Never met a human before," says Ling, "Did ya come down here yourself?"
Melandria nods, still eating.
"Why'd ya do it? How'd ya do it?"
Melandria finishes the potato. "I needed to get away," she says, opening her arms wide, "As you can see, I'm a freak."
"I don't see it," says Ling, "I just see a woman tired of being treated like s***e. Not particularly uncommon."
"Darkness flows through me," says Melandria as the distant shadows over the room flare up, "I belong to the depths, unfettered by the physical world."
L: Or would that flare down?
J: Don't overthink it, Mum.
"Don't cut yourself on that edge, mate," says Ling, walking about to inspect the throne, "'Sides, ya're a queen; ya've got people that like ya."
"Three people," says Melandria, somberly, then her voice picks back up, "Maybe four?"
"Three?" Ling turns suddenly. "How are you a queen with only three subjects?"
"I'm not," says Melandria, "The Shadow Queen is just a cool title. I control literal darkness; I am the queen of shadows. No one lives in this underground sandpit."
Ling throws her arms into the air. "Brilliant," she says, "B****y brilliant." She begins walking toward the door.
"Wait," says Melandria, "I still want to know about this business idea you had."
Ling turns back to the not-actually-a-queen. "I'm researching how to grow food in the Underdank, but-"
Melandria's red eyes light up. "Then I would love to help!" She sways to the side and mutters to herself, "A chance to prove I'm not a monster."
"Ya're not a monster," says Ling, "Your body doesn't define ya."
"You don't know what they called me on the surface."
"And ya don't know what they called me at school."
D: What did they call you at school?
L: Ya don't need to know that.
"Still," says Melandria, racing over to Ling, "I won't take 'no' for an answer." She puffs out her chest. "My appearance is how I'm judged down here too; I had to work myself back up to monster. The orcs, the Vrow, I'm an object to them."
Ling nods. "I may not look it," she says, licking her eyes, "But I have a similar rep. 'DuMb LiZaRd BrAiN.'"
"Was that your school name?" Melandria opens the door into the foyer and leads out.
"I worked myself up to the bad one," smugly says Ling, following, "How'd ya think I got in here? Speaking of: ya've got two tallgoblins working for ya, so who's the third?"
"An extremely encouraging young woman," says Melandria with a smile, "Named Kirono."