Lady Lance turns to me, parting her lips to speak but seems to change her mind because no sounds come out. She closes her mouth and shakes her head.

“You’re right, Jessica, our priority should be to find a way to escape first.” She pauses but no one picks up the conversation behind her. “No ideas?”

“I considered climbing the ridges by using the trees growing on their sides, but they’re too spaced out between each other.” I relate my conclusion, keeping my voice as light as possible.

“I agree, we would need to find a route that goes all the way to the top of the ridge and once there we would have to figure out how to get down. It would be too slow to escape the inevitable pursuing Rykz scouts, not to mention the danger of the climb itself.” Lady Lance nods.

“The only other option that I can think of is to find a tunnel out of the valley.” I say.

“They will all be heavily guarded.” Yvonne makes an uneasy face at the prospect.

“We need to find weapons first then.” Patrick says.

“Anyone know where to start?” Lady Lance asks. I straighten my back, I do know. I can help my Lady!

“There is a building not too far from here with small forges that Rykz workers use to make small tools, and right next to the entrance there is a barrel filled with iron bars that they use as raw material.” I say as quietly as possible, so low in volume that none of them would have heard a thing without an enhancing construct despite how close we are sitting together.

“That’s great!” My Lady throws a bright smile my way. I feel my own heartbeat accelerate in response. “I could make a quick one sided-blade if we have time, merge it with my pommel. It won’t be steel, but it should last long enough to escape.”

“Is that why you kept it?” I ask.

“Something like that.” Lady Lance answers evasively, her smile dampening somewhat as her eyes turn away.

“That reminds me, I have something else that could help you, my Lady. There is a building that the Rykz use to shape clay into amphorae before baking them in kilns.” I tell her.

“I saw it too.” Patrick nods.

“Well, do you remember when the Princess showed us how scouts and warriors eat?” I ask.

“Yes, with their trunks.”

“Well, I don’t think Rykz drink wine so … what are those amphorae for? You can store water in barrels, there is no need to bother making pottery for that.”

“Of course! Their army’s food stocks must all be somewhat liquid, amphorae are easy to seal and keep airtight.” Lady Lance exclaims, standing up and making a few steps as she thinks out loud. “That would make them much easier to raid than our grain wagons since we only need to break the containers to spoil their food.”

My Lady makes a bright laugh as she stops pacing to turn towards me, she suddenly rushes towards me. What? She closes the short distance separating us with two long steps. She leans forward towards my sitting figure with her arms extended.

Lady Lance places her hands on either side of my waist before lifting me off the ground effortlessly, all the way above her head. What is she doing!? I look down at her, opening my mouth to speak but I find that the abyss of her light gray eyes is already gazing at my own.

My Lady locks eyes with me. I freeze, incapable of speech. My heart-rate grows rampant as my Lady laughs and starts rotating on herself to make me spin around her.

“My short and astute friend, you’re so full of surprises.” She exclaims brightly. “This is an amazing piece of news, I don’t think you realize how many lives we could save with it.”

My Lady stops spinning us around to bring me into a hug … wrapping her arms around my waist, which keeps my feet dangling a short distance away from the ground. She squeezes her arms tightly around me, pressing us together as she buries her face in my belly.

“My … my Lady.” I mumble weakly as I blush, I take hold of her shoulder with my hand. I very much enjoy being hugged by her but she already knocked me off my feet when we met, she doesn’t need to also lift them off the firm ground. It’s not that I don’t trust her, it’s just that being off the ground like that is somewhat stressful for me …

She unfastens her hold over my waist, letting me slide gently back to the floor. I try to be discreet when a sigh of relief escapes me.

My Lady leans forward as she pulls her arms away entirely, deposing a light kiss just above my forehead. My heart actually skips an entire beat this time when I see her approach and I feel the light touch of her lips over my hair.

She then turns away from me, somewhat suddenly, to walk back to her spot in our circle and sit down. My Lady’s demeanor remains unreadably casual throughout while I must seem like I just went through a storm with my slightly shaky posture, reddened cheeks, and messy hair. More than they usually are.

I try to regain some semblance of composure by also sitting back down in my previous position, an effort that is probably somewhat hindered by the blazing smile that I am sporting and failing to get under control.

“We will need to find a way to scout the underground for tunnels, but I’m sure that the Templar Order will know of a construct that can do it since the Empire has faced the Rykz in battle before. Both their army’s supplies and commanding Princesses are likely to use tunnels to conceal their positions from us.” My Lady says, somewhat hurriedly.

“Once we have that information, it wouldn’t be very hard to organize our elites into raiding squads to attack those positions while the main army holds the bulk of the Rykz at bay.” Patrick nods. “But we will need to confirm that the amphorae in the field do contain their food supplies with our own eyes first, no matter how much it seems to make sense to us right now.”

“We still have to find a way to escape first before any of this.” I remind them once again. The disregard they have for that problem has to mean that there is something that they aren’t telling me. No one is this scatterbrained. “It might take months until anyone human even approaches these mountains after the war starts.” I add. I’d rather play the fool to give them the opportunity to tell me than ask and be told that I’m not being told because they don’t trust me.

“Let’s think about what we’ve learned and attempt to find ways to escape in the coming days, also remember to try to obtain as much information as possible from Princess Celyz.” Lady Lance tells us with a tone and words that indicate the end of our little gathering.

Patrick stands up and makes his way towards the closet, taking a pile of fresh clothes before walking out of the building. I throw a look out the window, trying to find the sun and its position to estimate the time of day.

“Jessica?” My Lady asks.

“Yes, my Lady?” I reply, snapping my head around to look at her. I ignore Yvonne’s muffled chuckle in front of me.

“Come with me, I’ll give you a short lesson about flow since you lack some basic knowledge.” My Lady informs me.

There is no question, no interrogation in her tone, she isn’t asking my opinion. My Lady is informing me, she is expecting me to obey her. A tingle of excitement travels along my back and I stand up, ready to follow her without delay.

“Yes, my Lady.” I accept, bowing my chin slightly.

“Do it tomorrow.” Yvonne’s voice cuts between us right as my Lady was about to leave and bring me along with her. I throw Yvonne a dark glare that only makes her expression grow even more amused. “I want to talk to her.” Yvonne adds.

“Alright.” Lady Lance nods at Yvonne before turning towards me. “Tomorrow then, Jessica, do not forget.” She orders me.

“Yes, my Lady, I won’t forget.” I reply, bowing my head again.

“Come along, lowly peasant.” Yvonne commands imperiously, imitating Patrick’s tone.

I raise my head and roll my eyes for my Lady’s benefit who makes a gentle amused smile in response. Somewhat satisfied, I decide to suck it up and follow Yvonne, I’ll be spending time with my Lady tomorrow anyway. She might even still be worried about my fever tonight and hold me to sleep again.

I follow Yvonne through a few streets towards the lake shore. I can tell because there is a group of workers walking ahead of us and holding the carved wooden containers that we saw other workers use to carry the nourishment powder for the Queen’s eggs.

She guides me to a small isolated courtyard with a small well in the middle of it, a size smaller than the well near the lavatories. She sits on the low-wall surrounding the well.

“The Rykz need to invest chairs, I’m not a big fan of standing all day without moving. I would rather be walking somewhere instead, to be honest.” Yvonne complains.

“What’s it about?” I ask impatiently.

“It’s sweet how mad you’re getting just because I tore you away from your dearest Lady.” She throws me a teasing smile but relents when she sees that I don’t intend to react. “Look, I just wanted to give you some perspective about you and Leomi.”

“I … I …” I startle and mumble, the subject catching me by surprise.

“Don’t worry, sweetie, I grew up in the city and I serve Leomi, I’m really the last person who is going judge you for liking girls.” She quickly adds, reassuring me. “I’ve heard of how difficult it can be for girls who like other girls in small villages. I just wanted to tell you that cities have larger populations and such things are not nearly as rare a sight. It is only somewhat scandalous among Nobility. Leomi cut through the scandal last year by answering that it is indeed true when asked while also ignoring the rumors, they went away after a while.”

Yvonne makes a gentle expression, waiting patiently for me to respond in some way. I let a sigh of relief that I didn’t know I was holding until now, having the direct confirmation that my Lady is indeed attracted to other women lifts some of the anxiety that I feel about our relationship.

“Thank you for telling me but … My Lady has made the lines between us clear, it doesn’t really matter what I …” I try to explain but she sighs over my words and seems to stop listening.

“Just cross them.” She interrupts me. “You really like her a lot right?” The simple question manages to somehow make me blush, I nod shyly to avoid answering in a flustered manner. “Look at you, all hot and bothered just by mentioning the subject of your dearest Lady.” Yvonne laughs.

I throw her a flat look to try to bring back some seriousness to the conversation but she hops off the short wall around the well that she sat on. I watch Yvonne approach me, puzzlement growing when she begins making turns around me.

“You’re really … really into her huh?” She whispers softly and I blush even more furiously.

I try to step away from her because her rounds around me are beginning to feel uncomfortable but she keeps following along and I end up making backward steps until my back hits a wall. Yvonne takes a last step forward that puts her face only a few centimeters away from mine, she then places both her hands on either side of my shoulders to block my escape.

“Also, you’re very, very, pent-up, right?” She moves her lips near my left ear to whisper. My muscles freeze, embarrassment paralyzing me because even I couldn’t help but notice how right she is. “Why don’t you find a quiet spot and get yourself some release?” She asks me, temptation in her voice as she pushes a breath of air towards my ear to make it brush against it slightly. I shake my head sideways in reaction to the shivering tickle she provoked. “Well? Answer me.” She orders me, tone half-serious while making a bad imitation of my Lady’s voice.

“I don’t have any privacy.” I answer in a tiny whisper. “I don’t feel safe enough outside, alone.”

“Leomi could stand guard for you, while you enjoy yourself.” She brings her head back and faces me again, a wide teasing smile on her lips.

“Don’t rub it in.” I reply, annoyed. “That was so embarrassing.”

“I see, indeed, that you didn’t take advantage of my effort in bringing the two of you together and … rub it in.” She comments in a casual tone.

I blush furiously, even worse than before. I have never spoken of such things so candidly, in such clear words, it feels … dirty. Exultingly base and erotic.

“It would have been disrespectful to her if I did, and I’m glad that she kept her word.” I push through the hot feeling in my chest to answer.

“Hum.” Yvonne hums thoughtfully. Her eyes are boring into me, no doubt inspecting my every change of expression. “How close?” She asks.

“What?” I ask, confused.

“How close did you get to touching yourself?” She asks, somehow with more confidence in her voice now.

“I, I … didn’t.” I stammer, my breath shortening as the memory of the event rises to the surface of my mind. Yvonne just stares at me flatly, it is written clearly on her face that she doesn’t believe me. I challenge her and we keep our glares locked on each other for a long while until I break. “Just one.” I whisper.

“One what?”

“I … I put one finger in, I … I only slid it along. But only, … only just enough to part my lips, nothing more! I, it, it was too much, too electrifying, I … I had to stop myself before my Lady heard me gasp … Before she caught me pleasuring myself right next to her. I wouldn’t have been able to control it, she is … her mere presence feels so intense to me that I … I …” My words stutter and stammer but keep falling out like an avalanche, like a confession except it only increased the embarrassment and guilt that I feel about my actions.

“Eh, should have kept going. I doubt she could have stood by like a stone if you did.” The lack of blame in Yvonne’s voice, how casually she is reacting to my admission startles me.

Relief washes over me, I had felt so … guilty, feeling that I had betrayed my Lady somewhat. But Yvonne only made a single casual comment about it. Maybe it wasn’t that bad after all?

“Actually, you know what, I retract my advice. Don’t go get yourself off, I want to see if Leomi will catch the clues, and how she’ll react if she notices your … plight.” She says with a cunning smile.

“I don’t think my Lady looks at me that way … Not yet.” I voice my disagreement. It’s important to maintain my grip on reality, otherwise, I’ll do something stupid.

“Hum. We’ll see. I’m enjoying myself very much thanks to this, watching you pursue her with so much devotion in the middle of this a situation. You have my gratitude, peasant.” Yvonne smiles gently, taking the bite out of her words.

Expecting her to break away from me, I miss the movement of her arm as she brings it up to the level of my breasts and pinches my left breast’s erect nipple with her fingers. The subject of the conversation was plenty exciting enough for my body to react.

I look down at her hand when I feel her fingers pressuring my flesh, she isn’t putting in enough strength for it to hurt. Yvonne doesn’t let go, watching my expression with curiosity. She starts rolling my erect nipple between her fingers, I lift my hand and swat hers away from my breast with a slap, throwing her a mean look.

“Nothing?” She asks.

“Of course not.” I reply with exasperation.

“Well, me neither. I saw that you got all pointy through your shirt earlier and I wanted to see if I could make you yelp.” Yvonne explains in a tone that tells me that she believes her reasons to be enough justification for the action she took.

“Don’t do that again.” I tell her with a stare serious enough to communicate to her that I mean it.

“Not if I don’t have a reason to, I won’t. You had a boring response, the servants at Leomi’s castle had much more interesting reactions.” She shrugs, finally taking a step back away from me. “What a let down after my fond memories had somewhat built up my expectations about how you would react.” She complains while starting to walk away.

I make an annoyed groan. She did not care about what I said at all.

“Yvonne!” I exclaim loudly towards her back, hurrying behind her to catch up.

“No! Back away! Seductress that is trying to tempt my Lady! You will have to pass over my body to reach her!” She throws her voice over her shoulder, theatrically but her pace remains the same and I am soon walking next to her, side by side.

“You’re more depraved than I am.” I remark with a calm voice.

“Yes, that is true, but as long as I only fuck men, the rumormongers will only say that I enjoy pleasures of the flesh too much.” I shrugs.

“That’s really not fair.” I frown, doubly so because the remark sounded childish to my ears.

“Life ain’t fair sweetie, get used to it because it isn’t going to get better.” Yvonne sighs a bit.

“Not if we don’t try to make it fairer, it won’t.” I retort.

“Ah, a revolutionary in the making. Looking forward to it.” She exclaims brightly, putting her arm around my neck with camaraderie.

I put mine over her shoulders with a smile and we continue making our way back like that. I think I somehow made a crazy friend with blatant boundary issues.