Kystia felt miserable as she watched Amelia walk out of the castle.
She knew that Amelia wasn't her mother, but she wished that Amelia would at least let her pretend sometimes. She missed her mother so much that it hurt sometimes.
With Amelia here, it felt like she could pretend her mother was back, that she didn't have to wonder what happened to her and if she really had been killed like the reports had said.
If she'd just been able to avoid that group who had picked her up the time she'd snuck out of the castle, she was confident she'd have been able to act on the information one of her father's guards had whispered to her once. That she'd be able to find her mother if she snuck into Countess Wraither's castle.
Kystia wasn't sure how she'd have been able to do that, but she was confident that she would have been able to if she hadn't been discovered so soon after she'd left the castle.
Kystia hadn't found another chance to make an attempt, but she still kept that knowledge in her mind. Even from her father. She didn't want to get his hopes up if she didn't have to.
Thinking of her father, she couldn't help but wonder what his thoughts about Amelia were. She hadn't been able to bring herself to ask him, even though she knew that just looking at Amelia was tearing him up inside.
She didn't know if it was because he missed her mother as much as she did or if it was because he thought Amelia would make a suitable replacement.
While Kystia wouldn't mind Amelia as her mother, it wouldn't be the same thing. She wanted her mother back, if she was still alive, and she didn't want to accept a stepmother unless she could confirm that her mother was in fact dead.
A fact that she wasn't sure if she'd be able to handle if she found evidence to support it.
Which was part of the reason she hadn't told her father about the information she'd learned. If she couldn't handle it, she could only imagine how her father would react to that information.
Having Beth around was part of what made it difficult to try to sneak out of the castle again. Though, she supposed that waiting would probably be a good thing, since she couldn't be sure that her father's guards weren't keeping a closer eye on her because of her earlier attempt to sneak away. An attempt that she knew would be difficult to duplicate while everyone was watching her so closely. An attempt she was certain would fail until they grew complacent with her again.
Yet, for whatever reason, Beth seemed to know what she was going to do before she had even thought about doing it in the first place. She wasn't sure how Beth was able to figure that out, but it felt a little unnerving for her. Making it clear that she couldn't make an attempt until Beth was gone. Though, with Hannah, the other woman that her father had made her bodyguard, Kystia couldn't say that she'd have much better luck sneaking away from her.
While Hannah didn't seem to know what Kystia was thinking before she realized it herself, Hannah was still adept at keeping a closer eye on her than her father's guards were. A fact that annoyed Kystia more than anything else. Especially since she could tell that she'd have either Beth or Hannah looking after her.
Even when she had them worn out from giving them the same lessons as her tutors gave her, she could tell that they weren't so worn out that they would give her an opportunity to try and sneak out of the castle.
Besides, she would also wear herself out when she did that, making it feel like she needed to come up with a better method. Even though she couldn't think of one.
Especially with Beth now keeping an eye on her this time. She wasn't sure, but she had a feeling that it was going to be a while before she'd be able to get another chance to see if her mother was in fact in Wraither's castle or not.
Although, how she'd get into that castle without being caught was another matter for her to ascertain once she made it to Wraither's castle.
_
Jenn couldn't help but feel like she'd returned home when she walked through the gate in the early evening, back to the settlement that her people were building. She wasn't sure when it had started feeling like 'home' to her, but she couldn't deny that it did. Despite the fact that it was still being built and had the feel of a collection of buildings that looked like they just might fall over if given a good enough of a push.
She hoped that the people she had brought with her would change that, but it still brough her comfort to know that she had finally returned. Though, she wondered if maybe she should spend more time thinking about what to name the settlement. Especially since she knew she should have spent time actually thinking about that on the trip back here, or even from the few days before they left the capital while waiting for Maelias to finish her project as well as to get the others gathered together with the supplies they were able to procure for themselves with the limited amount of fund that they all had.
It felt like it was a missed opportunity, though Jenn couldn't be sure that she'd have been able to come up with a name for the settlement. Even though she was confident that it was something that shouldn't be difficult, she still wanted to come up with something that was unique and would be something that her people could look to and take pride in just from hearing the name of the settlement.
She wasn't sure if she'd be able to come up with something that would be accepted by her people, but she felt she should at least try.
Only, other issues seemed to keep popping up that kept her distracted from doing just that. A point that felt more tiring than Jenn would have liked to admit. Especially given how she wasn't sure exactly what to name her people would accept for what she hoped would quickly become a sprawling city in this mountainous terrain.
Yet, other matters needed to be attended to first, now that they were back. Such as housing for all the families of the people she'd brought with her. Also, while she wasn't sure exactly where Rick was, she needed to find him so he could start taking care of Shirley for Jenn, since Jenn knew that she'd likely have other things that she'd need to deal with herself right then.
However, she knew it would feel just great to be able to get some sleep in her own bed. Even though it was a pallet of straw right now, she couldn't help but look forward to sleeping on that pallet in comparison to sleeping on the ground with a blanket over her during the entire trip. As even Maelias hadn't been able to provide her squad anything to sleep on while they stayed at her place at the capital before they started to return here. While she couldn't say that she was surprised at that, it did make returning here feel all that more special somehow.
She could also see that the arrival of such a large group was drawing attention as they walked towards the building that was pretty much the center of what little government Jenn had been able to establish here was located. Which also was where Jenn's room was located. A fact that Jenn still had mixed feelings about. Though, she supposed that it was probably inevitable given the kind of world that her people were from.
"Is that where Rick is?" Shirley's voice brought Jenn's awareness back, making her realize just how much she'd spaced out when she saw just how close they'd gotten to the building without her even realizing.
"Actually, I don't know where he is, but I'm sure we'll at least be able to inquire about where he is. While I'm pretty sure he's around here somewhere, he could just as easily be on the other side of the gate where we have another settlement that we're still in the process of dismantling as we bring everything over here," Jenn answered, feeling like she probably should have given a different kind of answer when she saw the look of disappointment on Shirley's face.
Jenn supposed that Shirley had been looking forward to meeting her brother after who knew how long, especially considering all that they had to have gone through when they had arrived on this world and quickly had been made into slaves before they really even knew what was going on.
Jenn wasn't sure how she'd have reacted if she and her friends had been made into slaves when they first arrived, making her glad that they'd arrived through a gate that had brought them into such a remote area of that world.
However, she wasn't exactly sure how to help out Shirley right then either. She wasn't sure if she should just leave her here with Rick or if she should try and talk to Duchess Versith, about trying to get Shirley back to Earth. She wasn't sure if the duchess would help or not, but it was at least one thing she needed to consider. As she did control the gate which Shirley had entered this world in. Besides, she was on friendly terms with Emily, so the duchess might be willing to help.
Plus, she might be able to get a few things requested of her own if she managed to get some of her people to head to Earth as well. Such as her ideas of sending Cithis and Haln to Earth to have them sent to school to learn things that would be beneficial to her people.
Not to mention how she was pretty sure that Heathcliff would be able to come up with some excuse as to why and how Jenn's family on Earth would be able to be Cithis and Haln's legal guardians while they were on Earth.
She wasn't absolutely certain that Heathcliff would be on board with that idea, but she thought it was at least worth a try.
Yet right then, she was looking forward to getting some sleep in the bed she had here. So much that she almost didn't notice Laer walking towards her. She wasn't sure if that was a good sign or not, but it certainly didn't get her hopes up that it was good.
"I'm glad you're back," Laer said without any small talk or even a greeting, not that it surprised Jenn in the least. "We have a few things we need to discuss with you right away."
Jenn was pretty sure that it didn't have to do with her being the Blue Rose, as Laer didn't seem to indicate that it was about that, but at the same time, she couldn't say that it didn't. That Laer was just being circumspect in getting Jenn away from the public eye without alerting anyone to the real reason why Jenn was needed.
"Um, first, as you can see, we have a large influx of people here, so we'll need to get them some housing first," Jenn started to say, but stopped when Laer grabbed Jenn's wrist and started walking her into the building where they usually held meetings, which was typically done in Jenn's room as well.
"Hey, I didn't say that I wasn't going to come!" Jenn protested, not sure what the best way to handle this was.
"And I just needed to make sure that you weren't going to delay this meeting by some excuse you might be able to come up with," Laer replied, sounding almost sweet while maintaining an iron grip on Jenn's wrist.
Jenn decided to stop talking. She could tell that it wasn't going to do her any good to keep trying. Plus, if anything, it was going to hurt her current position rather than anything else.
As Jenn walked through the building, Laer directing where they were going, she couldn't help but notice Embris standing guard near the front doors. While she would like to have talked with Embris, she seriously doubted that Laer would give Jenn a moment to do so. Especially when she seemed so determined to get Jenn to go to where she wanted.
While Jenn had a feeling it was going to be a meeting, she couldn't be completely sure, as Laer hadn't exactly said that she was needed for a meeting. All Jenn could be sure of was that whatever it was, seemed to be rather important. A fact that she hoped wouldn't be requiring her to do anything that she'd rather not right then. Such as declaring herself as the Blue Rose.
While she doubted that was the purpose of why she was needed, she was aware that at least some of her advisors weren't happy with her not declaring herself already. Even though Jenn knew she needed to keep herself free in order to accomplish what she really hadn't been able to get around to even starting to do since she got to this world.
Then before Jenn had a moment to really collect herself, she was pulled into her room, where it was clear a meeting was being held. A fact that didn't bother Jenn, it just meant that she wasn't going to be able to get the sleep she really wanted right then, even though it was still only early evening right then.
"Okay, now that you're here, we can really start," Laer commented, sounding almost impatient. As if the schedule she had in mind wasn't being kept. And potentially Jenn's fault for reasons Jenn couldn't quite grasp right then.
"Um, what's going on?" Jenn ventured, not completely sure that she'd get an actual response.
"Duchess Versith has requested you to come speak with her," Roesadra answered, making Jenn wonder why she hadn't noticed her stand-ins when she first entered the room.
"Uh did she-" Jenn started to say, but was cut off by Zirisia.
"We don't have time for this. We need you to head down there right away. And you'll need to take that escaped slave we found in the Forest of the Lost."
Jenn felt like she got lost with that one statement. She wasn't sure what that had to do with anything. At least other than that Rick was the one being referred to.
Jenn didn't try to say anything else, but rather looked around and waited for someone to offer an explanation, as she wasn't sure if she could think of the words to use to express just how lost she was right then as to why she needed to take Rick with her.
Yet, silence dragged on, only broken with the ambient noises going on outside the room. Jenn wasn't sure if there was anything else that she was really needed for right then, but she could see that she needed to figure out how to end this meeting sooner so her advisors could focus on getting the people who'd just arrived with her a place for not just them to stay, but the families that they'd brought with them.
However, she knew that she couldn't let the silence drag on until someone else started to need something, so Jenn opened her mouth again to break it.
"Did the duchess say why she needed to see me and Rick? Or was that all she said?"
At first the silence that answered Jenn made her wonder if there was any point in her having asked that question. Though, she was confident that it was one that needed to be answered before she left, as it certainly would affect whether she should dread going there or not.
She couldn't remember if she had mentioned it to the duchess about having Rick with her or not, but that wasn't exactly an important point right then. She couldn't say why no one was answering her question, but it grated on her nerves with how long it was taking for anyone to respond.
She had a feeling that not everyone knew, otherwise she was confident her stand-ins would have said something already, but at the same time, she didn't have the patience required to wait everyone out.
"If no one will answer, I'll just have to wait here until someone tells me what I want to know," Jenn stated flatly. She wasn't sure if it would work or not, but she was at least confident that it would create a stir. Especially with how Laer seemed impatient for Jenn to show up here so she could have Jenn know about this.
Jenn wished she could say that the reaction to her verbal bomb was surprising for her, but it was clear that almost everyone present wanted her to go meet with the duchess over whatever it was she wanted.
It was hard for her to make out everything that was said, with everyone trying to talk over each other. Though, what Jenn was able to make out was that they didn't know what the duchess wanted. Which made Jenn wonder why they seemed to worried about telling her that. She couldn't explain what had them so nervous about, but it was clear to Jenn that that's exactly what it was that kept them from answering Jenn's question.
Which was just another headache for her right then.
"Alright, I'll go," Jenn said after a minute of everyone but her stand-ins talking over each other. "Though, I think we have some other business we need to attend to before I do go."