Volume 19 - Royal Guests, Chapter 143 - Arrival

A long black limousine pulled into the driveway and stopped parallel to the Inn's front door. The driver, a middle-aged human man, hurried around to the side of the car. He placed a large rolled-up object on the snowy gravel and started to unfurl a plush red carpet. It had gold tassels on the edges and the surface was covered with intricately embroidered swirls and geometric patterns.

Only once the carpet was fully unrolled, reaching the first step to the porch, he returned to the limousine and opened the side door. He stepped back and bowed deeply. "We have arrived at your destination, and the time is eleven AM," he said, keeping his head down.

A golden talon emerged from the limo, tipped with sharp black claws. As the second foot joined, a wisp of translucent white cloth followed. Then both bird-like legs shivered.

"Whew, it's chilly up here!" said a youthful voice. "Let's hurry inside." The woman with gold-colored legs waved a speckled brown wing at the car, then skipped ahead toward the Inn. She was definitely a harpy, or something very similar, and she had dark skin, darker hair in a cute flippy style, and wore a tiny white top and a thin sarong skirt.

"This temperature is not a problem for me," another woman said as she exited the vehicle. Unlike the harpy, she had very human-like feet, clad in gold high-heels. Above that, her liminal features were apparent. She had thin tan fur over her entire body with longer tufts at the knees and elbows, much like a kobold. She also had large dark hands, a doglike nose, and tall perky ears that added to her already impressive height. Unlike a kobold, she had no tail.

She too wore a sarong skirt, black with gold trim, and a matching strapless top. Golden banded jewelry adorned her arms and legs, and her dark brown hair extended below her waist. But what warranted the most attention was the strange staff she held. It was over six feet tall, with three sharp prongs on the bottom and a stylized bird skull on top. Though the staff looked decorative, it was made of wrought iron and its heft meant that it would make a fearsome weapon. The way she effortlessly lifted it suggested that she was the real weapon.

The doglike woman didn't follow the harpy to the porch. Instead, she stood at attention to the side of the red carpet, waiting for the car's other occupants.

She was soon joined by four yellow-furred paws and the body of a large cat. But above the cat's shoulders was the upper body of a woman in a silk skirt and a black bandeau top. She had short brown hair in an a-line cut that framed her face and had two catlike ears, pierced by gold rings. And most unusual of all, the cat-like woman had wings instead of arms, with feathers that faded from a vibrant red-orange to a muted brown.

The woman, who resembled nothing except perhaps the mythical Sphinx, said, "Moira is a babe in the river, carried forth by the current and the capriciousness of fate. Abyss is a much appreciated boulder parting that water."

The harpy hopped back and forth on the porch, looking irritated. "Hey! Whaddaya mean by that, Nemes?"

The stern dog-woman answered, "She's thanking me for taking my responsibilities more seriously than you do, Moira."

Then the Inn door opened behind Moira and she flapped her wings in surprise. A woman with black hair and green eyes stepped out, wearing an ankle-length skirt and a green long-sleeved shirt.

Yuisu bowed and said, "Welcome to the Mountain Lily Inn. I'm the proprietress Yuisu Nakahara, and I'm here to help get you checked in to your rooms."

Then she approached Moira and said, "Ah, you must be Moira, who booked the accommodations. I truly appreciate your business."

Moira blinked a few times, looking confused, then nodded.

Yuisu made her way down the steps and approached Abyss, making sure to keep her boots off the fancy carpet. "Abyss, I presume? I wanted to let you know that we take our guest's security very seriously here. If you are open to receiving assistance in your role as bodyguard, there's someone I'd like you to meet later tonight."

Abyss nodded firmly. She didn't seem surprised by Yuisu's knowledge of her role, but didn't seem put at ease by it either.

Nemes the sphinx spoke next, directing her keen eyes onto Yuisu. "This Yuisu is as a polished mirror, superbly informed and impeccably orchestrated. I am Nemes, but I am not the one to impress."

Yuisu smiled. "Of course." Then she turned to the final guest and bowed at the waist nearly 90 degrees. "Welcome, your Highness, to the Mountain Lily Inn. This is a welcoming place for all people of all species, and I hope to make your stay here a wonderful experience."

The queen was the most physically imposing of the new arrivals at seven feet tall and even more in length. Savage black claws extended from her four white paws, and her lion-like lower body rippled with innate strength. Her upper body was that of a woman, with massive gold wings extending from her shoulder blades.

She had pure white hair and wore a heavy golden helmet, topped with a red velvet crown. Like the rest of her group, she wore a skirt and a stomach-baring top, both decorated with regal gold. A long, thin tail that ended in a tuft of hair whipped through the air, indicating her positive mood.

"Oh, no need for such formality!" the woman said with a wide smile. "While Abyss may disagree with me on this, you may speak casually and call me Fal."

The Queen then cast her eyes, which were a striking dark grey with white-gold sclera, at Moira. "Thank you, Moira, for properly informing the inn about our group. This has gone much more smoothly than our previous stops."

Moira covered her body in her wings and mumbled, "Oh, yeah, of course. Thanks…" She didn't dare admit that she'd given only her own name when placing the reservation, yet again. It was actually Korbin's research that had given Yuisu all her information.

Yuisu gestured toward the inn and said, "Esteemed guests, please follow me to your rooms. I'll work with your driver to move your luggage after you are settled in."

She led the four women through the house, giving a short explanation about her Exchange Program homestays, and out onto the back porch. She continued a bit further up the trail, then pointed and said, "Your rooms are in these two cabins. You’ll have easy access to the hot spring, which is just up this path."

Then she turned to Fal and said, "This cabin is the most spacious, with two large private rooms. Who would you like to join you?"

Fal wore a resigned smile and said, "Abyss would prefer to be closest to me, for my own protection." It seemed she and her bodyguard had differing opinions, but she didn't want to fight over it.

Abyss gave a serious nod in agreement. It was unclear whether she'd picked up on Fal's subtext.

"Got it. I'll move your luggage to that cabin, and I can give you a brief tour right now." She handed a set of keys to Nemes and said, "I'll have an employee with you shortly, but you are welcome to explore your room immediately."

Nemes cupped the keys in her wing and said, "The cause of protecting the strong again leaves the handless fending for themselves." Behind her, Moira's wings drooped, looking defeated.

A look of horror appeared on Yuisu's face when she realized she'd offended the two winged women. She should have known better, since Haru often struggled with small objects like keys.

Then Nemes grinned mischievously and dropped the keys straight down. Before they hit the ground, her left-front paw swiped out and batted them back into the air.

She sat back on her haunches and expertly tossed the jangling keys from paw to paw a few times before catching them between two toes. With that kind of dexterity, she'd have no problem unlocking a door.

"Nemes, please don't toy with our hostess," Fal scolded. She smiled kindly at Yuisu. "If you'd like, I can let myself into the cabin and let you get started on moving our luggage." She pawed at the deck bashfully. "There's rather a lot of it."

Fal had not been exaggerating. The amount of luggage the four women had brought was borderline insane. Yuisu recruited Sya and the limo driver to help, but it still took nearly 30 minutes to get everything moved into the cabins, and the rest of an hour to get it unpacked.

Yuisu helped them unpack and quickly realized why there was so much luggage: the women traveled with their own themed decor. From drapes to rugs to bedding, the group brought the style of liminal Egypt with them everywhere they went. Yuisu thought it was quite eccentric, but she supposed a queen could get away with such a frivolous use of resources.

As she replaced the curtains in Fal's room, she got to talking with Fal and Moira. "So where exactly are you from?" she asked. It felt weird not being more formal with a queen, but Fal had asked her to drop the formalities.

Fal answered, "There's a secret oasis in the Sahara where many liminals have lived since ancient times. We call the country Kemet. The gryphon dynasty has only ruled it for the last 500 years."

Moira chipped in, "Before that was the horus dynasty, my ancestors!"

"That's amazing," Yuisu said. "I never even knew such a place existed, and I try to keep up on which countries have joined the exchange program. My friend Kehp is on an outreach ambassador team, traveling to secret countries to ask if they want to reveal themselves to humanity."

Fal circled around on the bed, which was now covered by her own silk bedding, then settled down with her legs tucked under herself. "We still haven't formally revealed ourselves, actually. Kemet used to interact with humanity long ago, but it caused too much trouble and they retreated to the oasis."

Moira giggled and said, "But at least our predecessors made a big impression. The humans ended up worshipping them for a few thousand years. Abyss's ancestors in particular. The humans thought Anubis was one guy, and that he was god of the underworld!"

"He got demoted to a gatekeeper and astral guide after about a thousand years," Fal countered. "And don't forget about the myth of Horus. Your people made a huge impression."

Moira frowned and lowered the wall hanging she was holding. "The humans got the appearance all wrong. We have bird feet and wings, not the head. How could he be the sky god with no wings?"

The cheerful debate continued while Yuisu and Moira unpacked, until Yuisu noticed something troubling. "Um, I'm not seeing any winter clothes in here. Did those suitcases end up in another room or something?"

Moira shook her head. "Nah, we didn't bring any."

Yuisu and Fal both stared at Moira in silent shock for several seconds. Then Fal said, "As royal handmaiden, it was your job to pack or purchase everything we'd need for this trip."

"How was I supposed to know it would be this cold? I'd never even seen snow until yesterday."

Fal covered her face with one hand, breathing deep and slow. "Moira, you're like a sister to me, but you need to do a better job or I can't keep employing you. It isn't fair to my other subjects."

Tears pooled in the corners of Moira's eyes. "I'm sorry. I'll do better next time."

Fal sighed. "We can't ski without appropriate clothes, and it's too late to get something custom made. I was so looking forward to tomorrow, too…"

Yuisu raised a hand. "Um, this situation isn't actually that bad. Okayado is a bit of a liminal hotspot, so you can buy those clothes in town. Thanks to the ski resort, there are several liminal-centric stores with winter offerings."

The gryphon's frown vanished in an instant. "Wonderful! Can you come with us to help? I'll pay you for your time."

Yuisu paused to think. She didn't want to devote one-hundred percent of her time to these four guests, but there might not be a better option. I could send Rem, but she wouldn't be any help with normal-sized clothes. Sya is great at interacting with high class people, but she's not approved to go around town without a host. I guess I'm the best choice after all.

"Alright, I'll come along. Just let me message my girlfriend that I'll be out, then we should head out as soon as possible."

Yuisu climbed inside their limousine and realized that it was very different than the other limos she'd been in. Every surface was silver or leather or polished hardwood and it was stocked with expensive drinks and cigars. Additionally, the windows and doors were much thicker than a normal car's, likely bulletproof. It must have cost a fortune to rent, but Moira mentioned that they had the limo reserved and on call for the whole week.

Thanks to the spacious interior, both of the group's four-legged women had plenty of space to sprawl out. Nemes stared out the window and Abyss hovered protectively next to Fal. Even inside an armored limo, Abyss was ever vigilant about her Queen's safety. Yuisu sat down next to Moira, across from Nemes.

Moira raised a wing, one feather extended. "Um, uh… Nevermind." Whatever she wanted to say, she couldn't seem to the find the words, and no one else had any idea what it was.

After several false starts, Moira finally said, "Um, excuse me, Yuisu, and I mean no offense, but did you say you had a girlfriend?"

Ah, I thought this might come up. I guess their country is anti-gay like Haru's, Yuisu thought. She nodded and said, "Yes. Her name's Haru, and she's a raptor harpy."

Moira blinked at that, a bit surprised at how close that was to her own species. Then she shook her head and said, "But I thought humans hated homosexuality?"

"The flock has been led astray by misheard echoes of their shepherd," Nemes said, still gazing out the window at the trees and snow.

"Huh? I never understand you, Nemes," Moira said.

Yuisu had trouble following the sphinx's strange metaphors as well. But she could at least answer Moira's question. "Many humans do, but not all of us. Gay marriage is legal in many countries now, but not Japan."

"It's so sad," Fal said. "They used to understand that love need not be limited by gender. Even the ancient Egyptians knew that."

Abyss made a rare contribution to the discussion. "While I don't approve of their stance, I can at least understand how it got that way. During periods of strife, survival of your people can take priority over love. Reproduction becomes paramount, and humanity seems to have become stuck in that mindset."

"Not just humanity," Yuisu added. "Many liminal species are like that. Harpies, arachne, even centaurs… My homestays have suffered because of those beliefs."

Nemes turned away from the window and met Yuisu's eyes with her vibrant blue ones. "Fear not, for your setbacks are but temporary. Progress moves ever forward."

"Wow! I actually understood that one," Moira said.

Nemes added, "And the travelers soon reach their destination."

"And now I'm confused again."

Fal pointed out the window. "She's just saying that we've arrived at the mall."

Between the drive to town and the time with them at the mall, Yuisu started to form an understanding of the four Egyptian women. Fal was curious and upbeat and very intelligent, but the mantle of leadership weighed heavy on her shoulders. She clearly cared for Moira, and was remarkably patient with her. Moira tried to be a good handmaiden but she was clumsy and scatterbrained to a fault.

Abyss was the easiest to understand. She was a born protector who had trained in martial arts, and Yuisu saw a lot of Haru in her. She made a mental note to introduce the two of them, after the more urgent introduction of Abyss and Chione, since they needed to talk about nighttime security.

Nemes was beyond mysterious. She was Fal's best friend, but it was an old friendship that had transcended friendliness and consisted mostly of wordless communication and mischievous pranks. Nemes seemed to be highly observant, watching people to see how they reacted to things. However, Yuisu had such a hard time understanding the woman's strange riddles and metaphors that she had little confidence in her read of the woman.

After buying winter clothes that fit all four women's body types, they made their way to Liminal's Secret, a lingerie store with many liminal-specific options. The visit was crucial to the women's ski trip, because none of them had bras that could hold up to the physical activity and bouncing motion of skiing. Even under a winter coat, skiing in a tube-top was asking for trouble.

Yuisu already had some familiarity with the store, but she needed help for the task at hand. She approached the woman at the counter and said, "Excuse me, can you help us out? I'm with four women that need fitted for bras. Three of them will need accommodations for wings."

"Of course," the woman said with a smile.

Yuisu had assumed the woman was human, but when she stepped out from behind the counter, she had hooves. On closer inspection, she also had tiny horns on her forehead, mostly covered by her bangs. A strange feeling accompanied Yuisu's realization that the woman was a liminal. Is it wrong that I find her more attractive now?

The clerk approached the four women and said, "I hear you all need sized for bras. Judging by all the winter clothes you're carting around, I'll guess you're headed for Ski Lodge Kobold?"

Abyss stepped forward, clearly planning to scold the woman for talking so casually to a queen, but Fal blocked the way with her wing. Fal said, "That's right. Abyss here should be the easiest, so can you get her sized first?"

"Of course. Right this way, ma'am."

While each woman was with the clerk, the others browsed the store, eying all the interesting lingerie. The four Egyptians' normal clothes all bared a lot of skin, but some of the underthings on display were still quite scandalous.

Moira picked out some side-snap panties for herself, saying, "These are awesome! They'll be so much easier to put on than normal underwear. I've gone commando some days rather than deal with the hassle."

Yuisu understood the difficulty harpies could have with normal panties, but the mental image of Moira free-buffing it quickly blasted away all rational thought. Moira's skirt is slit super high, and it's transparent! And she can fly, so she'd be flashing everyone!

Moira held up some particularly tiny ones, just a tiny heart-shaped piece of cloth and elastic string. "And these ones will be like going commando!"

Abyss was not impressed. "If that's what you want, go for it." She went back to browsing sports bras, looking for one with good support that wouldn't restrict her movement or breathing during combat scenarios.

"You should get some sexy panties, too," Moira continued.

"I already did." Abyss presented a pair of black silk cheek-hugging panties. Yuisu immediately thought they looked stunning, but Moira sighed.

"Those look exactly like all the ones you already own."

"Precisely. If something fulfills all your requirements, you should not deviate from it."

The discussion was cut short when Fal suddenly emerged from the changing room, topless except for the lacy black bra she was trying on.

"What do you think, girls? How does this one look? I really like the support, and the push-up effect makes my—"

She was cut off by Abyss rushing forward, shouting, "Fal, you can't expose yourself like that in public!" She pushed Fal backwards, easily moving the larger liminal back into the changing room.

"Why not?" Fal said from behind the curtain. "It covers more skin than my normal top."

"That's beside the point! You need to act more like a queen."

Nemes turned and smiled at Yuisu. "Purity and body, each need protection, from within or without."

Yuisu chuckled. "Abyss really has a difficult job, doesn't she?"

The limo returned them to the Mountain Lily Inn after sunset, loaded with purchases. Yuisu was pretty exhausted but she still needed to introduce Abyss to Chione.

She led Abyss into the house and through the kitchen. The dishes in the sink made her realize that she'd missed dinnertime with her homestays, which was a bit of a bummer. You don't realize how much you value a tradition like that until you miss out on it.

She stepped up to Chione's door and knocked. "Chione, are you available to meet with the queen's bodyguard?"

Chione opened the door wearing jeans and a plain black t-shirt. She looked dressed to go to work, except her shirt didn't have a Wild Life logo on the front. "Yep! I'm ready to go."

"Abyss, meet Chione. She's a bouncer at a liminal nightclub in town, and she's stronger and heavier than she looks. Chione, this is Abyss, the bodyguard for Fal's traveling group."

Chione was as cheerful as ever. "It's super nice to meet you, Abyss." She offered a hand and the anubis-woman shook it.

Abyss's eyes widened. "Wow, your hand strength is impressive, Chione."

Chione flushed a little. "I can't really take credit. It's just because they're made of stone…"

"Well, I'll leave you two to it. Rem is on call tonight if you need anything."

They didn't respond. Abyss was too busy telling Chione that she was trained in numerous Middle Eastern martial arts, including tahtib, arnis, and krav maga.

Yuisu beelined for her bedroom, hoping to find Haru there. The underwear shopping had Yuisu's mind all revved up and stuck on lingerie, so she thought she'd ask Haru for a bit of a fashion show…