Emily yawned as she woke up. This was the eleventh day since she'd gotten back to being this close to Earth and the worst part was the fact that they'd pretty much accomplished all that she had been sent to do.
She wasn't sure what the captain had thought of Heathcliff dealing with the negotiations himself. Though, he was at least a welcome sight. Especially since she knew that he certainly wouldn't tolerate the captain trying anything in general on anyone who wasn't willing.
Not that she didn't try. It was just that those attempts were dealt with quickly and decisively. Which Emily was willing to accept. After all, she wasn't quite sure what she'd do if she had to explain to the duchess how her captain had gotten arrested for behavior they found no problem with.
Or at least Emily assumed they didn't find a problem with it. After all, if there was a problem with that sort of behavior in their culture, then there really was no reason for the captain to act like it was fine.
Regardless, it hadn't taken long before the captain's mind had been blown. What with her learning about some of the more simple modern tech, such as a lightbulb, the captain had been focused so much on what could be traded, that she didn't seem to have any room in her mind for anything else. Most of the time, at least.
When she was getting ready to go to sleep is usually when she stopped thinking about that and started eyeing Emily. Which she wished she could find a way to stop.
While she had expected the arachnoids, she was surprised to have met with some of the pronghorn-kin and bear-kin. The area around the gate on Arachii's world had become a small town, with a good amount of homes having been built. Not to mention a meeting hall, where the gate was situated, that provided shelter from any inclement weather that could occur while they talked with Heathcliff.
In the end, they'd brought a number of books that Emily was going to have to read to the duchess' scribes so they could understand what they talked about, some fabrics, matches, flashlights, and dried food. Though, Emily wasn't sure why the duchess had wanted a food source through here, she suspected that the duchess might have other issues going on that weren't as apparent to Emily with how much she was able to get out and see the sights in the city where she'd been at.
After Emily had eaten a small breakfast, consisting of familiar foods from Earth, she quickly started to help get the boxes of things to take to the duchess ready to go. Especially since she could see that the captain had already gotten started on it before she'd woken up.
"Looking forward to getting back on the road, Pet?" the captain asked as she returned through the forest entrance to carry another box through, almost as if she'd expected Emily to be there at that time.
"It'll be nice to not have to be around you constantly," Emily retorted, wishing she could use her magic to get the captain to forget her whenever the captain stopped looking at her.
"Don't worry, Pet, I'll be sure to keep you warm the whole trip back," she said, lifting the next box.
"I'm sorry, but I'm pretty sure I'm not going to be available that night," Emily replied, feeling like she needed to take a shower with this much of an exchange with the captain.
The captain merely laughed, as if Emily had made a joke. Though, Emily supposed that to the captain it was a joke, since she doubted that the captain had really been refused before, so she suspected that the captain didn't believe that she'd be able to hold out for the rest of the trip.
Which Emily wished she could have found a way to make it go faster. Though, sadly, they were still stuck with the donkey driven wagons. Which meant that it'd be another two or three months before they got back to the duchess' domain.
However, that didn't mean Emily was going to let the captain treat her like a plaything. To hop into the captain's bed whenever she wanted a booty call. Which as far as Emily could tell, the captain had done already with everyone, including the other soldiers with them, slaves, and the drivers. With Emily as the only holdout.
Although, she couldn't help but wonder if maybe she should use her magic to get one of the slaves, or drivers, who really like the captain to wear Emily's face and send them in place of Emily. She wasn't sure if the captain would appreciate that, assuming the captain realized the deception, but part of her didn't like the premise of the matter.
That even if she put her face on someone else to make the captain think that she'd worn Emily down, that it still could be considered cheating on Ruthie. She doubted Ruthie would complain about her doing that, but she wasn't sure she'd be able to do that even if Ruthie was there to tell her that it was fine.
However, she wasn't sure if she'd be able to have that luxury. Especially if the captain decided to force the matter, even when they were on the road. As she was starting to get the feeling that the captain had a darker side that she hadn't yet revealed fully.
Or maybe she was just starting to get paranoid and see things that weren't really there. She knew that t was possible, though she hoped that she was in this case. As she wasn't sure what she'd say to the duchess if the captain tried to force her interest on Emily. For one thing, she wasn't going to stick around in the duchess' castle if that sort of thing was tolerated.
As she yawned and caught herself starting to nod off, she couldn't help but wonder if part of the issue was that she was so tired. She had a feeling that part of it was from the cat that they'd been on the road for so long, but then they'd been at rest for almost two weeks. So, it was possible that her body had gotten accustomed to essentially taking it easy, and all this work was taking a greater toll on her than it would have when they'd arrived here.
Though, Emily had been surprised to learn of a few of the changes that had occurred while she was away. One of which was that the current day was November fourth, almost an entire year since she'd joined the expedition to map other worlds. Which also meant that it had been that long since she'd been able to see Ruthie.
Still, as she pushed herself away from the boxes that the others would be taking through the forest to load up the wagons, she wondered if maybe that she should stop letting her mind wander. While she didn't have much to do at the moment, she had a feeling she was letting things get to her more than she should simply because she didn't have enough to keep herself occupied, and also had to spend a good amount of time trying to keep the captain's lust from reaching her.
_
Jenn woke up in the morning, as ready as she could imagine being. She didn't know what to expect with what meeting with the leader of these creatures would be, but she knew she wouldn't find out just laying on her straw mattress. She could tell that it was still dark outside, though it looked like the sun might be getting ready to rise above the horizon, and start the day soon.
Cithis and Haln were sleeping peacefully at her sides, but she knew she'd be able to extricate herself from their hold without waking them up. However, rather than just leaving them laying on the sides of where she had been, she then carefully moved them together.
She hoped that it could foster a bond between them of siblings. As she had a feeling they weren't moving in the direction as much as she'd like, since both had adopted her as their mother, which in turn made them brother and sister. Or at least as far as Jenn cared.
She quickly changed her clothing, not as conscious of the others sleeping around her as she knew she would have been when she first started out on this expedition, though she supposed that it might be more from the fact that everyone in this room had seen her naked when she was a slave here. Just as she'd seen them naked.
As a result, she couldn't say that it felt the same as if it was her friends sleeping in this room. Though, she hoped she wouldn't have to find out quickly, even though she was confident that they'd be coming here sooner rather than later.
Pushing those thoughts aside, Jenn put on the items she'd made to identify the Blue Rose. She had mixed feelings about doing this, but she was confident that going there herself as the Blue Rose would at least help her position out more than as herself.
She started to walk towards the door when she suddenly remembered her prism knife. The blade that felt like it had belonged to her before she'd ever seen it. The blade that felt more comfortable in her hand than any gardening tools ever had before.
However, it while she knew she'd left it in this room, it still took her a few minutes to even find it. During which time she worried that one of the others in the room would wake up. Though, just before she found it, she noticed how Roesadra and Oleania were sleeping.
Their blanket had fallen down and she could see their bodies held tightly against the others. While she knew she should look away, if only to give them a little bit of privacy, she couldn't help but feel a deep affection towards them. If she hadn't agreed to officiate in their wedding, she was confident that she'd have really considered doing so at this point, just from seeing them like they were right then.
It almost felt like she had somehow become sisters with them. Almost. With how they were lovers at this point, she didn't care to think about them as her sisters, as that could make her think about them essentially being sisters as well. Which in turn would make her think about Cherie and the dream she had where-
Jenn shoved that thought out of her mind as forcefully as she could. She didn't want to remember that if she could help it. She knew her sister wasn't to blame about it, as it wasn't like a person had control over what they dreamed, but the thought of her getting in bed with Cherie like that didn't sit well with her.
Pulling her attention away from the two lovers and their breasts that were on clear display before her, Jenn went to the door and left as quietly as she could. She wasn't sure if she should be leaving as quietly as she was, rather than letting everyone send her off with a lot of fanfare, but she knew that all the fanfare would only make her self-conscious about it. That it might even make her lose her nerve about this.
Before she knew it, she was outside the building, walking over the snow in the cold morning. The air steaming as she took each breath, the snow crunching under her feet as she walked. She didn't know exactly where she needed to go, but had a feeling that if she walked far enough in any direction, that one of the creatures would appear and help lead her to where she wanted to go.
Namely, the location where her people were being held captive, where she'd be able to face whatever trial or punishment these creatures had in store for her.
After all, it's not like she knew which direction the search party had gone that had encountered these creatures. So, if she was to avoid the fanfare her people would throw her, then she would need to rely on these creatures to escort her there.
She had the hood pulled up and her hair tucked inside it, though it did make her want to scratch her back quite a bit, but did her best to ignore it. The whole purpose of this was to keep anyone from being able to see who it was so they wouldn't have any idea who she or her stand-ins were when they weren't being the Blue Rose.
It wasn't long before one of the two headed creatures stopped her. This one was clearly older than the first one she'd met, but this one was clearly male with only a kind of loincloth around his waist and groin, although no less muscular than the first one. One of the heads of this individual had black hair and green eyes, while the other had red hair and blue eyes. Both were also bearded, and Jenn got the feeling that cutting their hair or trimming their beards weren't something most did. Though, the female one from before at least had kept her hair from being so bushy and growing every which way.
"Where you going?" the black haired head demanded.
"I am the chief of my people," Jenn called out clearly. "I am the Blue Rose and I am here to meet whatever fate has in store for me in order to save my people."
Jenn had other things she wanted to say, but she had a feeling that it would either confuse the creature or that she might accidentally make him attack her. Which she supposed that would complicate things a little more than she'd like right then.
"You? You look weak!" the same head roared, amusement clear in his voice as the other head laughed loudly. "If you people have such as you for chief, then you become our next meal quickly!"
Jenn wasn't sure she liked the implications of what the creature said, but she was confident that she'd be able to deal with whatever came down the road. Especially since she really didn't think that she wouldn't be able to handle whatever these creatures threw at her.
Not when she had her magic to work with and if these creatures somehow nullified her magic, then she knew that she could at least rely on her memories that had been essentially given to her from the Lost.
"Big words for such a small mouth," Jenn retorted, following a hunch that trash talking was something these creatures did, though she was pretty sure that there were other rules involved, which she would need to try and learn quickly. Even though she was pretty sure they were rather complicated, much like any cultural thing typically was. Especially when it came to things like this.
She didn't know what abilities these creatures had, so she didn't want to peek into their minds just yet. As far as she knew, they had their own magical abilities that weren't immediately apparent. As such, she didn't want to reveal all of her abilities right away.
Maybe she was worrying about nothing, but she had a feeling that if she didn't hold back all of her abilities, that she was going to end up in a situation where some of her best abilities were all but useless.
The creature in front of her glared at her, but didn't say anything right away. If he had, maybe Jenn wouldn't feel so nervous about him. As it is, she was starting to wonder if she'd miscalculated and made a huge mistake.
"You look weak, but so do all tinys," the red haired head growled. "She says she chief, she must be chief."
Jenn wasn't sure if she fully followed the logic behind that statement, but she supposed these creatures might not be used to dealing with deception. Either that, or they were incredibly trusting and naïve. Both traits would certainly help her if she felt they were her enemies.
Although, she couldn't deny that she was starting to like these creatures. To the point that she knew she'd regret it if events moved along in such a way that they had to be her enemies. Especially with how simple-minded they were. It almost felt like they were just overgrown children in a way.
Then before she had a chance to react, the creature picked Jenn up and threw her over its shoulder, like she was luggage or something. While she still preferred to wear skirts, and despite the fact that those garments were considered 'men's wear' in the culture her people had, she couldn't help but be grateful she wasn't wearing one right then. Otherwise she was confident it wouldn't be hard for others to be able to see up the skirt.
While Jenn had thought these creatures were slow, they could move much faster than she had expected. Plus, they seemed to be able to dodge obstacles with what seemed to Jenn to be almost no thought at all. Indicating that while they sounded like they might be like Forest Gump in relation to their intelligence, they were very quick thinkers. That if it came to a fight, Jenn suspected that she'd be rather hard-pressed to fight them herself.
If only because of how quickly it was clear that they could think.
While she was confident that she wouldn't have been able to move this quickly, even with the aid of her magic, she was starting to get motion sick. She doubted that it was because of anything this creature intended, but with the world moving all around her, sometimes where even her stomach felt weightless for a minute or two, it was taking a toll of her mind. Especially from the fact that it was lasting longer than any ride she'd ever ridden at an amusement park. Even ones that were supposed to go slow, like the lazy river at a water park.