Charlie couldn't help but feel excited at the room that she and Beth had been given while they stayed here. It was completely different from what she'd experienced before, both the pillows and mattress were filled with down and it felt like she was living in a move that took place around the nineteen-twenties.
Beth had told her what she'd overheard the men who had spoken to Charlie had said, apparently after she'd fallen asleep. Not that she objected to the conclusion Beth had come to.
Charlie could especially see Ralph taking offense at what they'd said, but fortunately they hadn't needed to tell the others what had been discussed when Charlie had been escorted back to the others.
Everyone else had started falling asleep themselves, so they were each shown to a set of guest rooms that they'd be allowed to stay in while they were there. Each room had two beds, although, they had moved another into the room that would house Ralph, Tim, and Wes. So that way none of them would be in a room by themselves.
The room that Beth and Charlie had was filled with two four-poster beds, each with curtains that could be drawn to give privacy for the person on the bed. there was a small table with four chairs around it, with each having artful and intricate carvings all over them. There was a window that led out to a balcony, which Beth and Charlie left alone for the time being. There was a fireplace that Charlie couldn't be sure was useable, but it at least gave a little ambiance to the décor in the room. Lastly, there were a few plants around the room that gave it a 'lived in' feel.
One thing that Charlie liked about sharing a room with Beth was that she was able to talk with Beth while they decided what to mention to the others about what they'd heard from. After all, the others were their friends and they definitely didn't want to destroy that trust. Yet, Charlie was sure even Wes would agree that Ralph wasn't really good to share secrets with. There wasn't any telling what he might do with that knowledge.
"So, how about we just tell them that they're going to need us to stick around for a month before they can help us?" Beth asked as they walked towards their beds in the spacious room.
"What excuse should we give?" Charlie asked, following Beth. "I mean, I doubt Amelia would be happy just sticking around for a month unless we give her a reason."
"Simple, we give them an excuse that they can't refute," Beth said, her eyes sparkling with mischief.
"You mean lie?" Charlie asked, a little surprised.
Beth chuckled as she shook her head. "Not exactly," she admitted. "I mean that we just tell them something that they'll accept that doesn't tell them anything."
"Like what?" Charlie asked, wondering if she should rethink everything that Beth had told her in the past to make sure that she hadn't been fooled in one way or another with whatever tactic that Beth was getting at.
"Well, It's simple," Beth said. "You and I get our host to come up with an excuse about getting supplies for us to take with us, or maybe get one of their own to accompany us through the next gate. Then we won't have to lie or anything and it'll be something they'll accept. If they're not happy with it, then they won't direct their dissatisfaction towards us."
Charlie nodded, it made sense. She just wished they could do this a little more straightforward and not come up with some excuse that would keep them willing to remain here.
"Why does it feel like we have to betray our friends in order to get what we realize we need to do, done?" Charlie asked, trying to sort out her feelings about the matter, as she laid on the bed closest to the door that she'd decided she wanted.
"Simply because that's part of how friendship works," Beth replied cheerfully as she sat on the other bed.
"Huh?"
Beth smiled knowingly. "Yeah, hanging out and having good times is what most think of friendship, but sometimes it involves doing things that run counter to friendship. Like if Ralph wanted to paint his name on the gate that we passed through to get to this building we're in. Talking with him wouldn't do any good, but if you hide his paint from him, then he can't screw his time here up."
Charlie sighed. "You mean, that us keeping the fact that they're up to something from our friends is something that will be good for them?" Charlie asked. She felt like she was missing something.
"Kinda," Beth answered. "It's more like we recognize a danger that they don't and we can't be sure that they won't if they see it. Then if they do and they don't see the danger, then they might head straight into the anger without thinking about it. I mean, sometimes you just have to protect your friends from themselves."
Charlie rolled on her back on the bed, looking at the ceiling. "I'm still not sure I get it. Is it like when you and Amelia tied me up when I was high on those spores?"
"That was kinda different," Beth said, waving her hand in front of her as if to wave the idea away. "You weren't yourself them. If you were, then yeah, it would have been like that. Now, if we saw you trying to get under the influence of those spores again, then that would be the same as what I mean. Doing anything else would be enabling you to do something that would hurt you."
Charlie thought about it for a minute. Then she shook her head. "I still don't really get it," she admitted.
"Don't worry about it. Maybe someday something will occur that you'll be able to look back at this and say 'now I get it' and you will," Beth replied.
Charlie nodded to herself. "Am I holding everyone back?" she asked, suddenly wanting to voice some of the worries she'd been having on her mind.
"What do you mean?" Beth asked. "You're the one essentially leading us."
Charlie shook her head. "That's not what I mean. I mean… uh…" Charlie trailed off, not sure how to express her thoughts and feeling in actual words. "I guess, that everyone else is able to just keep moving forward and not letting things get to them, but it always feel like I'm just falling behind everyone."
Beth looked at Charlie a minute. Charlie didn't actually see Beth doing that, but she could feel her friend's gaze on her.
"You mean like how you don't really feel a part of the group?" Beth asked,
Charlie sat up, startled. "You could tell?" She asked, wondering why Beth hadn't mentioned this before.
"Hey, I know you better than the others do. Partly because I already knew more about you than most when we first encountered Petals," Beth answered calmly.
"How did you know that much about me when you hadn't talked to me before that?" Charlie countered, unsure how seriously she should take Beth's statement.
"That's easy," Beth said, smugly. "Just because I've helped move rumors along, doesn't mean I actually believe all the rumors. So, I 'd already determined a good amount about you. Besides, don't you remember? I helped Alex get information about you so she could work up the nerve to ask you out."
Charlie sighed. While she didn't mind a lot of that, she couldn't help but wish that she could still undo a good amount of that. Largely because she hadn't realized how much of her had been so easy to find out.
"So, anyway. Why don't you really feel like part of the group? Is it because of how they teased you about when you were high on those spores?"
Charlie put her head back on her pillow, looking at the ceiling again. "Not sure I can really say," Charlie answered. "Yeah, when they teased me about how I acted while under the influence of those spores, I didn't like it, but I wasn't going to say anything about it. I mean, I get they needed to let off steam, but I can't be sure if it was just that. Do they really want me around?"
"Charlie, do you need a hug?" Beth asked.
Charlie was pretty sure she was serious, but she just couldn't help but feel like she was being mocked. Luckily for Charlie, the bed was wide enough that there were a few pillows on it, so she picked one up and threw it at Beth.
Charlie didn't see if it hit Beth or if she caught it, she just head Beth start to laugh. "Now that's a good response."
Charlie couldn't help but smile in spite of herself at the moment. Though, she didn't want the conversation to continue on in the direction it had been going, so she quickly searched for a change in the subject.
Charlie then rolled on her side, facing Beth and saw her hellhound puppy laying on the bed, sleeping. It was almost like the perfect topic that should get her off from being the focus. Or at least she hoped it would.
"So, have you picked out a name for her yet?" Charlie asked, not specifically mentioning the hellhound, as she was sure that Beth would know who she was talking about.
"Huh? Oh, no, not yet," Beth said. "Why? Got a suggestion?"
"Thought you didn't want any suggestions," Charlie commented.
"Oh, if it's from you, then I'm sure it'll be fine. It's that I'm sure Amelia, Wes and especially Ralph would treat it more like a joke and I don't want to deal with that right now."
Charlie nodded. She wasn't sure about Wes, but she could see Amelia and definitely Ralph coming up with some weird and random names. "What names do you like?" Charlie asked.
"Can't be sure," Beth admitted. "I want it to reflect her, but not something that doesn't really fit."
"So, how about 'Flare?'" Charlie suggested. "I can't say it would fit her right now, but we can always see how things go on in the future."
Beth looked at the sleeping puppy. "Hmm. You know, it might be good to go with it anyway. I mean, it's not the usual name and all, but she's not the usual dog either."
"If you want to go with that name, you can also just say that you came up with it on your own," Charlie offered.
"It would make it easier," Beth mused. "Ralph would certainly complain that he didn't get to make a suggestion, but he'd complain if I didn't go with whatever he suggested anyway."
"By the way, how did you get Zepha to give you the puppy?" Charlie asked. "I mean, the only time I wasn't around her when you weren't really, was when you both slept in the barn."
Beth's cheeks turned a little, but Charlie steeled herself to hear what the reasons were, even if it encroached on territory that she really wasn't looking forward to.
"Well, technically, when you were unconscious, I was around Zepha then, you know, when you passed out when showing us the entrance to the other unicorn's forest. Oh, and when we moved on when you wandered around and found that entrance too," Beth said, smiling at Charlie, as she laid on her bed.
Charlie could only roll her eyes at that, but still returned the smile. "Fine, but still. During that time you were around the others as well, so I'm sure something would have been said about that if the reason she gave you the hellhound. So, it has to have been when you were alone with her in the barn."
"You want to know the juicy details?" Beth asked, emphasizing 'juicy details' which told Charlie know that there was a chance Beth would get rather explicit in her recounting.
"Not the juicy ones," Charlie hedged, unsure if even this would be too much for her. "Just enough so I know what happed that would apply."
"Aw, you're no fun," Beth giggled. "Anyway, I'm sure you can guess, but I got her to sleep with me. You have no idea how good she is in bed." Charlie couldn't help but groan at these details that she wished Beth would get on with it, but didn't say anything. "After we were done, we talked for a bit. She said that she wouldn't be able to do that again, that she would need to get married to someone whom she could have children with and have someone who could inherit her father's farm."
"Did she give you the hellhound in place of that?" Charlie asked.
Beth shook her head. "I asked her if she wanted that, and she told me that it didn't matter. She'd decided to do that. Though, I think it might have been to honor her brothers or something. If her brothers hadn't died, I wouldn't be surprised if she'd have wanted to come with us," Beth said, rolling to her back, where she was looking at the ceiling. "Anyway, she said she'd give me something the next morning to remember her by. So, I'm pretty sure Flare is for me to remember her by."
Charlie couldn't help but smile at that. She wondered what Beth had thought about it when it happened. "So, how do you think you'll handle it when we get back home?"
"Yeah, that'll be tricky," Beth admitted. "Though, I think if we have Heathcliff bring Flare to me after he sends us back to our time, then Flare will be fine, and I'm sure I can come up with some excuse as to why I should be able to keep Flare if it comes to that."
Charlie suddenly laughed as an image of Flare being taken to a dog show came to her mind.
"What's so funny?" Beth asked, confusion in her voice.
Charlie explained what she was laughing at and Beth laughed as well. "Yeah, that would be fun. I can only imagine what kind of headache it would be to get the officials to recognize what breed Flare is," Beth commented.
A knock at the door stopped their conversation. Charlie couldn't think of who it was, but was glad when Beth hopped off of her bed before Charlie could herself.
When Beth opened the door, their other friends were outside the room. "We thought we could at least do some reading, since we're all together here," Amelia said from the doorway.
"In that case, come in. Some of you can sit in the chairs in here while the rest can use our beds," Beth said, as she started walking back to her bed.
Charlie sighed as she sat up on her bed. While she wasn't opposed to reading at the moment, she would have liked to continue to talk with Beth a little longer. She accepted that it would have ended at some point, but she couldn't help but feel that it might be the last time she could do that with Beth. At least for a good long while. She wasn't sure where the feeling came from, but it didn't want to go away, no matter how much she tried pushing it out of her mind.
_
While they didn't do that much while they were guests of the king of the elves, which they were all surprised to know that that's why their hosts had long ears, among other things as well.
They'd knocked out the Sword of \Truth series, much to Amelia's displeasure, and had started on another series: The Riftwar Saga by Raymond E. Feist. Though, Charlie at least couldn't help but wonder how much longer their supply of books would last at this point. Especially if situations like this kept popping up that let them read a lot more than they did when they were walking from one gate to another. It certainly seemed like they could easily get through all the books they currently had with them.
Not that she didn't mind the break from all the walking. After all, the two weeks or so in the fungaloid's world certainly was more tiring than she though while she was walking. As once they were able to rest, Charlie found that she slept a lot more than when she had when they were walking, though that only lasted for a few days.
While she hadn't seen anyone keeping track of the days, she wasn't surprised when she was woken up on the day in which they'd been there a month with her friends telling her that she needed to talk with the king of the elves, Delit, or as Amelia put it, "It's time for us to go. If Delit isn't ready, then we'll just have to take what they're willing to give and head out. I'm sure he'll understand."
While Amelia enjoyed the reading, Charlie was pretty sure she was going stir crazy just sitting around with nothing else to do. Charlie knew that she was and could see signs in the others as well.
"I'll let him know that," Charlie assured Amelia as she closed the door to her room.
While Beth shared the room with Charlie, and Charlie had been sleeping just fine when Amelia pounded on their door, it seemed like Beth was a much harder person to wake up from sleeping than Charlie was.
A fact that Charlie couldn't help but hold against Beth right at that moment. She was tired and wasn't happy that Beth was still sleeping peacefully. Although, on the other hand, it did allow Charlie more time to get ready for the day without Beth making any kind of remarks about what Charlie chose to wear.
While Charlie felt that they should have settled on the fact that she wore what she liked and fit and not what others felt she should be wearing, Why it was a topic that still came up, Charlie had no idea. She couldn't say what it was that was so interesting for her friends, but it was an aggravating topic.