Tchisa nodded, as if she expected Jenn to say just that, even though Jenn had a feeling that she wasn't paying as close attention to what Jenn said as Jenn had first thought she would.
"Well, aside from that, I assume you're here then to collect what volunteers we were able to get to help guard the queen?"
Jenn nodded. "Yeah. Though, while you take care of that, I have something I'd like to do with the stand-ins."
Tchisa nodded. "I'll get things sorted out here, but don't be too long. We'd already gotten enough volunteers and they should be able to get ready quickly. So, you should be able to get back out there rather quickly."
Jenn wasn't sure if there was a hidden meaning in what Tchisa said, but she got the feeling that Tchisa was trying to get her out of there quickly. Why that was, Jenn didn't have a clue, but she supposed that it was possible her friends were still at the settlement, or at least one of them, and Tchisa was trying to get her out of there quickly so she'd run a smaller chance of encountering them than she might otherwise.
Though, Jenn knew that she might be reading too much into things, but she couldn't help but let her mind go in that direction. Especially since she wasn't ready to encounter them until she'd found her focus and was ready to leave this world behind. If only for a time.
As at least then she'd be able to be certain that being around them wouldn't cause Beth to get killed.
So, while she couldn't be sure that that's what Tchisa was getting at, she wasn't going to take any chances. "Don't worry, I already planned on getting out of here as quickly as possible," Jenn said with a smile.
Tchisa didn't seem to react, but Jenn hoped she was smiling on the inside.
Jenn then turned around again and started up the stairs. She figured that there wasn't any point in wasting any time to get this over with and she had a feeling her stand-ins might want to share a few words with her, at the very least, afterwards.
As she entered the room, she was a little surprised to see Roesadra and Oleania sleeping on separate mattresses and could only surmise that they'd had a bit of a fight. Not that she planned on getting in the middle of whatever the problem was, even though she wouldn't be surprised if they might want her to mediate between them and potentially take one side over another. Which if that turned out to be the case, Jenn planned on doing neither. If anything, she thought she might ask Tchisa to mediate between them. That way it'd be from someone impartial and completely unrelated to their position and sphere of influence.
As if she herself took a side or even ruled a way that one of them didn't like, it could potentially create a rift between them that Jenn wasn't sure she'd be able to mend. Even if their relationship mended as well.
"Uh, guys, I have something to say," Jenn said gently, not wanting to startle them out of bed, but loud enough that she hoped they'd start waking up.
Saelea didn't seem like she heard, but Oleania opened her eyes right away, looking like she'd just rather turn over and go back to sleep. Something Jenn couldn't say that she'd be against herself, even though she knew that she needed to keep moving.
"Whaisit?" Oleania said, slurring her words into one single word that took Jenn a moment to separate in her mind.
"Uh, could you help me wake the others up and then I'll tell you what it is."
Oleania looked at Jenn, seeming as if her vision was blurry from having just woken up. Which Jenn could understand, as she could recall that happening to her on an occasion or two.
"If you want, I'll wake up Roesadra and you could wake up Saelea."
Oleania looked startled, but didn't say anything. "If you want, my lady," she said, sounding as if she had been deprived a treat.
"Well, you can wake up Roesadra if you want. I just thought that you might be having a disagreement or something."
"Oh no. She's just saying that she needs space because my belly's getting too big for her to be comfortable. Not to mention how I seem to wake up each time she moves in her sleep or at the slightest noise."
Jenn nodded, grateful that it wasn't anything serious, though she supposed it could be if Oleania didn't take it as well as she apparently was and while it was likely a pain to wake up at the slightest noise, she supposed she should be grateful for that problem as it made it easier for her to have woke up Oleania this morning.
As Oleania started to get up, Jenn couldn't help but notice she was wearing a tunic that seemed to be made for her growing belly. Something she supposed would be done on this world, even though she hadn't seen anything that hinted at that before.
Then, as Jenn moved on to Saelea, she hoped that this wasn't going result in another accident like happened at the inn with the accidental kiss and groping. As, while it was uncomfortable to deal with then, she didn't want to have to work with an audience as well. Especially one that might not let either of them live it down.
"Saelea? You need to get up," Jenn said shaking the young woman.
Saelea blearily opened her eyes, looking like she'd go back to sleep if she didn't see a reason for her to wake up.
Jenn couldn't help but wonder what time they normally started getting up. As she felt like they should already be getting ready to head out to take care of their duties as her stand-ins. Not that she really had much room to talk with how she knew she was like them when she didn't have anything to do and was staying here for the night.
Which she had a feeling she needed to change about herself as well. If only because it was setting a bad example for her stand-ins. Although, she figured that'd be an issue to deal with on another day. As it wasn't important for what she wanted to take care of at this time.
Before Saelea had a chance to decide it wasn't important enough for her to get up, Jenn started lifting her up, her hands lifting from under the young woman's armpits. Which certainly seemed to startle Saelea.
"What're you doing!? Stop or I'll call the guards on you!" she cried, clearly surprised by what Jenn was doing. Though, Jenn didn't stop until Saelea was on her feet.
"There. Now we can talk," Jenn said, looking towards Roesadra, who had woken up by the commotion.
Though before Jenn could say anything else, there was a gentle knock on the door and Oleania went to take care of it. As with her amused expression, Jenn could only imagine what she was thinking of right then. Especially with how Roesadra looked rather confused as she looked between Jenn and Oleania, an unspoken question on her face.
Jenn wasn't sure what was being said at the door with the guards, but she felt glad when it was closed a moment later and Oleania came back.
"Okay, now that we're all awake, I have something I wanted to give all of you," Jenn said, ignoring the dirty look that Saelea was shooting her way, which softened only for a moment when Jenn mentioned how she had a gift for her. Not that Jenn took it to heart. She had a feeling that Saelea would only be upset with her until she fully woke up and by the time she returned to this place again after she was done with guarding the queen.
Which she hoped wouldn't take as long as she feared it would.
"So, what is it you wanted?" Roesadra yawned, wearing only the blanket she'd been sleeping under.
"Well, I wanted to get all of you something to show how much I appreciated you, but I don't have time to wait for all of you to wake up on your own, so I needed to help speed that up as I wanted to give these to you while you're all together," Jenn answered, suddenly feeling rather nervous about her gift. While she thought it would be appreciated, with how unhappy Saelea was right then, she couldn't say that it would go over as well as she'd like.
Yet, she had already gone this far, so she might as well finish it all up, regardless of if it was received as well as she'd have liked.
So, Jenn pulled out the daggers, each in a decorative sheath, and gave one to each of her stand-ins. "I thought you might like something that each of you could use in case the guards aren't able to protect you for whatever reason," Jenn said, annoyed at how shy she was feeling right at that moment.
Jenn watched her stand-ins examine the blades, Saelea even testing the sharpness of the blade with her thumb, which quickly drew blood.
"I can't help but think that if Jianopra had something like this she might have been able to have fought off the one who killed her and she still might have been with us," Jenn added, feeling uncomfortable in the silence as she waited to hear what her stand-ins thought of the blades.
As Jenn waited, she couldn't help but feel uneasy, as doubts started to play in her mind about if they'd like the daggers or not. While she'd initially thought that they'd appreciate them, she was starting to doubt that they'd like them. Especially since they probably didn't feel much danger with the guards posted over them…
"Thank you, it means a lot to me," Oleania said, breaking through Jenn's thoughts as she smiled at her.
"Yeah, this will be useful in case those who're guarding us fail to stop any danger coming towards us," Roesadra added, sheathing her dagger and turning to collect some clothing to put on, including a pair of leggings on the floor right by her feet.
"When did you get these?" Saelea asked as she put her thumb in her mouth to help stop the bleeding. "You certainly didn't have time at the capital to do this, but you weren't away from me long enough to get these in Pleonths, either."
Jenn felt relieved that her stand-ins liked the daggers. She felt like she'd made the right choice in selecting those as the gift to give them. "Actually, I placed the order on the first full day we were there, while you were busy at the duchess' and later Yaelish collected them for me. Though, she wasn't happy that I didn't send one of them out to place the order for me in the first place."
Saelea cracked a smile as Jenn explained. "Yeah, I doubt she would. As I've even had a few times like that while I was let at the forest settlement. Like when it came time to get something to eat."
Jenn was happy with the results of her gift had. Though, she wished she could spend more time with her stand-ins right then, but she also knew that she still needed to head out. As she would expect that it wouldn't be much longer before Tchisa collected all the volunteers for guarding the queen.
"Well, I wish I could have been able to spend more time teaching all of you how to use your magic, but I hope that these daggers will at least provide adequate protection until I'm able to do that myself. The designs are very similar, but each of you should be able to figure out what the differences are so you'll know which one is whose but anyone who glances at them won't be able to differentiate them," Jenn said as she started to walk towards the door to leave.
"We'll be sure to make use of them," Roesadra said, pulling Jenn into an embrace while she held her tunic in her hand. An embrace that Oleania and Saelea quickly joined in as well.
Jenn couldn't say that feeling Roesadra's breasts pressing against her directly was very comfortable, but when the other two joined in the embrace, she relaxed and did her best to return it. She hoped that she'd be able to return here quickly, even though she had a feeling that guarding the queen might go on for longer than she'd like.
While she couldn't say how long the embrace lasted, by the time it did, she was surprised to find that everyone had tears streaming down their faces. Jenn quickly brushed hers away, as she certainly didn't want to be seen like that as she left the room. While it probably wouldn't get anyone to think less about her, she was at least confident that it would be rather embarrassing to have anyone mention it and she was hoping to avoid that.
When she was confident that she had her emotions under control, Jenn slipped out of the room as quickly as she could, not wanting to have a repeat of the embrace or anything that might cause the tears to start flowing again.
As she made her way down the stairs, she couldn't say that she was surprised to see a large number of Silverthorns gathering in the main room, some of which looked like they'd been asleep not too long ago. Yet, what did surprised Jenn was seeing Embris among those waiting.
Jenn increased her pace down the stairs, wanting to speak to her friend and figure out why she'd given up being a guard for her stand-ins to come guard the queen.
"I didn't think I'd see you here," Jenn said, clapping a hand on Embris' shoulder.
"Well, I didn't expect you to arrive so quickly," Embris answered, pulling her shoulder away from Jenn's hand. "I was told that you'd arrived at the capital a few days ago, but I didn't expect for you to get the contract so quickly."
"Uh, I haven't quite gotten just yet," Jenn answered, feeling a little self-conscious as she spoke. She quickly explained what had happened and why she was back here already, though she left out her gift to her stand-ins. Partly because it wasn't anyone's business to know about that and partly because she thought it'd be better if hardly anyone knew about the daggers if her stand-ins didn't want them known about. Which meant that it'd be something she should leave up to them to disclose or not.
"So, we'll be going back in not knowing if you'll be executed or something?" Embris asked, her tone more serious than Jenn would have liked.
"Hey, I know how to treat it, so I'm not worried about whatever they might have planned for me if I fail," Jenn said indignantly. "It's not going to be a problem, so don't worry about it."
Embris smirked, making Jenn wonder if she was teasing her or if there was something else going on. Something that she doubted she'd be able to figure out on her own. Not that she cared enough to try and guess, at least not with how little she really knew about Embris. After all, she hadn't known Embris for that long and doubted that she would be able to even tell what her other friends were thinking if they were here instead of Embris and they were doing the same things.
"Well, at least I got a promotion," Embris remarked, making Jenn wonder if that's how Tchisa had gotten her to agree. Which, while she supposed would be an effective incentive to 'volunteer', Jenn couldn't say that it's the option she'd have used.
_
Ralph couldn't say how grateful he was to return to the Marquis' castle. They'd been travelling for an entire week and after the problem with the plague on the other side of the gate, Ralph couldn't say that he had been much in the mood for travelling. Not with how stressful it had been when Lily had come down with the plague herself and had been suffering from the lingering effects of what he could only assume was another illness altogether.
While he was grateful that Amelia was able to cure that, he still couldn't say that he was much in the mood for travel afterwards. Even though he knew that they needed to move along as well. After all, they still needed to let Beth know that their search for any information regarding Charlie hadn't yielded any results.
Not that he could say he was surprised. Mostly because he wasn't the one who'd been pushing for them to go search there in the first place.
Although, he supposed that the trip wasn't a complete loss. Not with how he'd occasionally think of his last night with Embris. A development that he hadn't expected to have happened when they'd first arrived at that settlement. Though, why it was called just a settlement, he couldn't say. It felt like they should have been able to come up with a name for it with how large it'd already gotten. Yet, he couldn't say that he probably would understand why it'd been there so long without even a nickname or something getting attached to it.
Not that it was his problem.
"So, what do you think's happened since we've been gone?" Tim asked, pulling Ralph out of his own thoughts. "I mean, it's been a while, right? Something could have happened during the time we were out."
Ralph fought the urge to roll his eyes. Yes, it was possible that something had happened while they were gone, but it was unlikely. After all, they'd been gone longer than this before and nothing had happened with the Marquis during then and if anything, something had happened to those who'd left his castle for whatever reason. Whether it was going in search of Charlie and returning with several other rescued slaves or when they returned on that airship.
Staying at the Marquis' seemed to be a sure way to avoid things happening. Which was why Ralph was ignoring that line of conversation around him, even as the conversation intruded on his little bit of the world.