Jenn nodded, surprised to suddenly remember that her stand-ins were people that she considered friends as well. How she forgot that, she couldn't say. Just that she knew it was a fact, no matter how much she'd rather pretend otherwise.
How she'd be able to return to her original life after being here wasn't something she was sure she'd manage as well as she would have expected when she started out. Especially with how she feared she was going to remain the leader of her people even when it came time for her to return to Earth.
Then assuming that she was able to make it back to Earth without any real problems with her people wondering why she was leaving them, or at least those who knew she was the Blue Rose, she wasn't sure what she'd be able to tell her family to convince them that she was a ruler of another land. She was confident that she'd be able to return here after the same amount of time that it took her since she originally left Earth had passed, she just wasn't sure if she'd be able to reconcile how to handle being with her family and being the Blue Rose.
Jenn seriously doubted that she'd just be able to tell her parents about this place, even if it became known to those on Earth, and how she was a leader of a nation here. Though, that was assuming she was able to establish a nation in the first place. She hoped she'd be able to do that, but it wasn't anything that she could be certain of would actually happen in her lifetime, or even before she had to return.
Jenn wasn't sure how long she'd allowed herself to get lost in her thoughts, but when the door opened again, this time with Cithis bringing Jenn a bowl of something that had steam coming off of it, Saelea had gone back to sleep and Jenn realized she was still wearing the hooded tunic she had planned on changing out of.
Jenn quickly changed, not caring if Cithis saw her naked, given how long they'd spent together as slaves when they weren't allowed even a rag to cover themselves with. She knew it wasn't necessary to do so, but at the same time, she was confident that changing before she ate would help her relax more. Especially with how she was feeling right then.
"Thanks for getting me something to eat," Jenn said to Cithis as she was handed the bowl. "You really didn't have to do that."
"Of course I didn't," CIthis readily agreed with Jenn. "I just wanted to. Especially with how you came up here and slept all day."
Jenn sighed as she took the spoon in the bowl and brought some of the soup to her mouth. "Did you make this yourself or did you get it from one of the cooks?"
Jenn had never been able to determine if Cithis knew how to cook or if she was just good at bringing something from those who did cook fast enough that it was still hot.
Cithis merely shrugged. "Sometimes I cook, but not this soup. Tonight I didn't because I was kept busy passing messages around. So, this was fresh from the cooks."
Jenn couldn't help but chuckle. She wasn't sure how fast Cithis had been able to bring this soup, but she at least brought it while it was still steaming, which made it seem like it had been brought from where it had been made. Although, as Jenn put the fifth spoonful of the soup in her mouth, a thought occurred to her. The fact that all of her stand-ins were asleep should indicate that it was actually very late. Meaning the cooks shouldn't be cooking anything at this time. Even if they'd kept it heated, the broth of the soup would eventually evaporate, leaving with just the ingredients to the soup. Which what she was eating indicated that that wasn't the case here.
Jenn looked at Cithis, about to say something to that effect, when she giggled. "Tchisa stayed up with me while we waited for you to wake up downstairs. She did something to the soup and it was hot again."
Jenn blinked. She knew that Tchisa was a thought mage, but she hadn't thought that the woman had learned how to use any of her magic. Jenn had thought that she'd have to teach Tchisa how to use her magic, if not one of those she was currently teaching at the moment on occasion.
Unless that was already happening without Jenn being aware of it. Jenn couldn't deny the possibility that it was happening. Especially with how often she was away on one errand, patrol, or whatever. There was no possible way for her to keep track of absolutely everything that was going on. Though, she supposed that she didn't ask others about what happened while she was gone either. Something she could ask, but most of the time didn't because there was so much on her mind of what needed to be done in addition to what was needed to get some of what she either wanted to have accomplished, like with the horse pens, or getting everything sorted out with things like building more structures to accommodate her people living on this world. Not to mention the others who were looking at moving to this world as well.
"She did that, huh?" Jenn asked, not sure if she should thank Tchisa for the thought or if that was another sign she really wasn't qualified to be the Blue Rose and leader of her people.
"Yeah. She said that you seemed exhausted and probably could use something to warm yourself up with. Though, it did take longer than I thought it would. She just held the bowl for what seemed like forever before it started steaming."
Jenn nodded absently, feeling a little better that it hadn't happened as quickly as she'd thought it had. Though, she supposed if Cithis and Tchisa had been waiting downstairs and Tchisa was able to heat it up quickly, then she'd have gotten the soup while Saelea was still talking with her. Not that Jenn would have been against any interruptions to the conversation, given it wasn't exactly a confidential one.
"Well, that at least makes me feel a little better," Jenn confided. "I'm not sure how I'd feel if Tchisa was able to heat it up without me being able to try and teach her to use her magic at all."
"Really? Jianopra and Tchisa seemed to talk a lot and I thought I heard Jianopra once mention about how you said that it wasn't 'wild' magic, but rather using a different focus," Cithis remarked, looking a little confused.
Jenn couldn't help but chuckle. It did seem that at least one of her stand-ins had been teaching Tchisa how to use her magic. Though, how that had come about, she couldn't say. Just that Tchisa would either need to find a new tutor or Jenn would need to talk with her other stand-ins and get that sorted out. As since it was Jianopra who had been teaching Tchisa behind Jenn's back, she wouldn't be able to continue doing that with what had happened to her. Which meant that Tchisa would either figure something out on her own or Jenn would need to talk with her about it.
Ash if she already didn't have a lot on her plate as it is.
Though, to be fair, she didn't have to do much on this. It was just more the principle of the matter of how much she still needed to get done. Although, as she thought about it, it would make sense that if it was Tchisa who had approached Jinaopra, that it was because she was aware of just how much Jenn was trying to juggle herself and didn't want to add to that.
"Oh, by the way, Tchisa already went to bed," Cithis said suddenly, pulling Jenn out of her thoughts as she took another bite of the soup.
"Huh?" Jenn said before she could stop herself. How Cithis knew that she was thinking of talking with Tchisa, she couldn't say. She wasn't sure if Cithis somehow knew her that well already or if she'd let something show on her face or what. Just that Cithis had some how ferreted out what Jenn was thinking about in that particular moment, or at least close enough as far as Jenn was concerned.
"Well, I thought you'd want to thank her for heating the soup up. It did seem to take a lot out of her, but I'm sure she didn't care about that," Cithis answered as if Jenn had asked a complete question.
Jenn sighed. She wasn't sure if it was coincidence or something else, but she wished that she had been able to talk with Tchisa right then. If only because the thoughts were fresh in her mind and she wasn't sure if Tchisa was sensitive about being able to use her magic or if it was just something she was trying to work on without Jenn even knowing. Or if Jenn was merely overthinking this whole situation.
However, she couldn't change what had already happened, so she'd just have to try to remember what she wanted to talk with Tchisa about later. If a 'later' ever occurred. Though, as she thought about it, she had been thinking about the future for Cithis and Haln before she'd gotten the soup and Cithis was standing before her and didn't seem inclined to go anywhere right then and Jenn had to admit that she didn't feel like returning to bed. At least not right then.
"Aren't you tired?" Jenn asked, wanting to first test out the waters before broaching any kind of subject with her adopted daughter. "You said you were running messages all day, right?"
"Yeah, a little, but if you need me for anything I can talk. I can stay up a little longer. I sent Haln to get some rest so if they need someone to run a message he'll be ready for it in the morning."
Jenn nodded absently. Though, she couldn't help but feel conscious about her stand-ins sleeping around her. They might not object to getting woken up by Jenn, but she didn't want to do that to them if she could help it. So, she got up and motioned for Cithis to follow her and made her way downstairs. She was pretty sure with how late it was, there shouldn't be anyone down there, but as she descended the stairs with her candle in hand, she couldn't help but notice torchlight just outside the doors to the building. She wasn't sure if it was to make it clear where the building was in the even an emergency occurred, but she couldn't recall there being torchlight out there before.
"Something wrong, mother?" Cithis asked as she stopped next to Jenn.
"Nothing," Jenn replied, sighing. "I just don't remember there being a torch placed out there before."
"Yeah, that's new," Cithis confirmed as if it wasn't a big deal. "Tchisa decided that our security on you and your stand-ins was too lax. So, we've assigned permanent guards for whoever is the Blue Rose during the day and where all of you sleep in case someone else has any ideas of trying to make an attempt on your lives."
Jenn felt a shiver run through her body. She hadn't thought about that and wondered if she should have. Maybe if she had Jianopra would still be alive.
Not that it did her any good to ruminate over that at this point. All it would do was waste her energy when she could use it to make something better. Like how whoever came up with the idea of permanent guards round the clock. Or that's at least how Cithis' explanation sounded to Jenn.
"I wanted to ask you something," Jenn said, pushing out the thoughts of guards for her and her stand-ins. "It's about my presence here and why I came to your world in the first place and what will happen when I complete what I 'd come to your world for."
Jenn wasn't sure what the best way to talk about it would be, but she doubted that she'd do very well if she tried to tiptoe around the subject. Especially since she didn't want to abandon Cithis and Haln if they wanted to go with Jenn when she left. Though, she wasn't sure how long down the road that would be.
"What're you talking about mother? You're the Blue Rose, what would there be to talk about?"
Jenn sighed, she had a feeling Cithis wouldn't understand immediately. "Well, I have a sister and my parents on the world I came from. I'd at least like to be able to visit them, if nothing else."
"What? Wh- why didn't you say anything about that before?"
Jenn shook her head, wondering if maybe she should have talked about her family on Earth before this. Though, she doubted that it would have made much difference. Not when their cultures were so different. The point now was to focus on where they'd go from here rather than what could have been at this time.
"I guess things just go so busy I didn't think about it." Jenn turned to look at Cithis, wondering what was going on in the girl's mind. "Though I'd like to see what you think about it. I don't plan on abandoning my people and leaving them without a leader, if that's what you're worried about. I just want to know what your thoughts on me leaving to return there from time to time."
Jenn felt like she could kick herself. This conversation wasn't going anywhere the way she'd thought about it in her mind. What did she mean 'from time to time'? She planned on returning to her family and living her life there and maybe visiting here. Not the other way around.
"Well, if you wanted to visit there sometimes, I could wait for you to return," Cithis answered, pulling Jenn out of her thoughts. "I wouldn't want you to feel you couldn't see your family just because of me or Haln."
Jenn sighed. This conversation really wasn't going anywhere like the way she'd imagined it in her mind. It certainly didn't help that Cithis didn't seem to pick up on what Jenn would like right then in relation to herself and her brother.
"What I'm trying to say is that I'd like you and Haln to see what my world is like," Jenn said just as another thought came to her mind. If she got in touch with Heathcliff, then maybe he could get it so that Cithis and Haln could take classes and get an actual education that would help them improve everything in this world. Even if it was only by having someone else who had an education that would transcend languages and cultures. Like mathematics and engineering or medicine. Things that would be hard for them to learn on this world. Though, some part of the logistics would still need to be ironed out, it at least was a plan that she was certain that she could get her advisors to back. Even if Cithis and Haln really didn't like the idea. Which Jenn was pretty sure would be the case.
"What is it mother?" Cithis asked warily. "You're looking at me weirdly."
"I just came up with an idea I doubt you'll like," Jenn answered honestly. After all, even in the culture of her people, a parent got to make decisions for their children that the children had to abide by, even if they didn't like it. "I was thinking of sending you to my world to get an education for a few years at least."
Cithis blinked, clearly not understanding what Jenn was getting at, though Jenn was pretty sure she'd just said a big fat lie to Cithis, since a 'few years' was a big understatement, given Cithis' age and how she'd be on Earth until she was older than Jenn was now, as it would certainly take her that long to get an education that would satisfy Jenn, namely graduating High School. Though, if Cithis and Haln wanted to stay until after they went to college, then Jenn wouldn't be opposed to that, but she was pretty sure they weren't going to be happy when it was time to implement the idea, even if they didn't understand what it all meant at this time.
"Well, I'll let you think about it," Jenn continued as if Cithis had actually given her an answer of some kind. "I'll bring it up in a meeting with my advisors and get their opinions on what they think about it."
Cithis nodded slowly, looking like she was having trouble figuring out what it was that Jenn had meant by what she said. Which Jenn was perfectly fine with. If Cithis asked, she'd do her best to explain in more detail, but if she didn't, then that was for Cithis to worry about. After all, it wasn't something that was going to happen right away and even if it was, when it was time for her to leave, that's when Jenn was confident she'd fully understand what it meant and at least some of what Jenn intended for the girl and her brother.