For Zach, the next few days passed in a happy haze. He and Riley spent nearly every waking moment together and went walking outside the castle whenever they could. Riley was able to justify some of their excursions by taking on errands for the castle, such as picking up orders from local merchants. The rest were obviously just dates. Despite all the time spent together before they'd started dating, they had a lot of catching up to do on the romantic front.

One afternoon, they visited the Grand Library where Riley tutored Zach on some magic basics until their desire grew too strong. Riley gave Zach an increasingly familiar look and hopped to her feet. Giggling, she pulled him between towering bookshelves until she found a remote nook, surrounded by dusty books about New Albion's tax laws.

They were lost in each other's lips when a magically amplified voice echoed through the entire library. "Pardon this interruption. Will a mister Zach Pike and miss Riley Roth please visit the front desk? Your presence is urgently requested."

Riley put her hands on Zach's chest and pushed him back a couple inches, despite clearly wanting to continue. "Let's go, it must be Alexia."

Zach wiped his lips on the back of his hand and said, "It's kinda creepy that she knew we were here." Neither he nor Riley had told anyone that they were headed to the library, since they hadn't known it themselves until partway through their meandering walk around the city.

Riley shrugged as she started back through the disused aisles toward the library's common areas. "Alexia's got eyes and ears everywhere. You get used to it." She lowered her voice and added, "That's how she found and recruited me to the Princess's maids, after I got myself in trouble."

Zach nodded. He too had been stalked by Alexia and her information network. The fact that Alexia seemed to be a fundamentally good person eased his mind a fair bit. He didn't want to think about what kinds of harm a ruthless person could do with her resources.

It didn't take long to reach the front desk. Sure enough, Alexia was waiting there, next to a nervous-looking librarian.

"Oh, hello Edith," Zach said as he recognized her. Like when he had first visited the Grand Library, she wore a plain grey dress and had her brown hair in a long braid down her back. She had a motherly look about her and she wore her age well.

Edith's expression softened and she said, "Hello, Zach." She glanced at the other two women, her eyes pausing on Zach and Riley's clasped hands, then said, "You're certainly popular today."

Zach felt his cheeks grow hot and he stammered, "Um, yeah, I gue—"

Alexia had no patience for Zach's bumbling. She cut in with, "You're both needed back at the castle. There's a carriage waiting outside."

"Oh," Riley blurted. "This must be really important than."

Alexia just stared at Riley, her face neutral. "Let's go."

"You were right, Zach!" Fern cheered, bouncing from foot to foot. Then she stopped suddenly. "But I guess it isn't something to be happy about…"

Zach looked to Evelyn expectantly. He still didn't know what this meeting was about because Alexia had refused to talk about it, even inside the carriage. Now that they were secure inside the Princess's tower, he hoped to get the full story.

Evelyn frowned and said, "As Fern said, it looks like you were right about the other doses of poison. The Elves traveled west with them, headed for Kobold territory."

Fern nodded rapidly. "We tracked them as far as the foothills before we lost the trail in a feywake."

"In a what?" Zach wasn't sure what word she'd just said, let alone what it meant.

Fern raised one eyebrow for a moment, then lowered it and said, "Right, you don't know much about this world. A feywake is the river of mana left behind after one or more Fey pass through an area. It's great for crops, but"—she tapped the tip of her nose—"bad for tracking."

Then her eyes lit up and she added, "This wake was really wide, suggesting an entire herd of Fey. I wish I could have stayed to study it but—"

"But there's something more important, right now," Alexia finished.

Fern's fuzzy brown ears folded down in shame. "Right. Sorry for getting off track."

Princess Evelyn stood up and said, "The Kobolds don't have any Farspeakers and none of New Albion's Farspeakers are stationed there, so the only way we can warn them about the poison is to travel there directly. And we can't send a lone messenger because monster activity has picked up again since the equinox."

Fern added, "And we're on another river basin, on the other side of the continental divide, so your Bridges are out of the question too."

"So… what's the plan?" Riley asked.

Evelyn answered, "We're sending a diplomatic party by carriage, then on foot for the final stretch. All of us in this room are going, along with some guards and combat mages we can trust. I already told my father, and he agreed more easily than I expected."

Fern smiled. "He just understands the value of your alliance with the Kobolds. Without us, you'd still be swinging rusty chunks of iron, bungling your spells, and losing ground against the monsters." The smile changed to that look of shame again. "No offense intended."

"It's fine. I truly appreciate what the Kobolds have done for us," Evelyn said.

Zach raised a hand. "Um, don't take this the wrong way, but why am I needed on this trip?"

Fern's tail wiggled eagerly, but Evelyn was the one to speak. "Fern still wants to learn more about you and your flipping, and we were also hoping you could share some Otherworld knowledge with the Kobolds. Nothing world-shattering, of course."

"Ah, of course," Zach said as calmly as possible. In reality, he was immensely thankful for that last bit. He really didn't want to bring dangerous technologies to this world, and it sounded like the Kobolds actually had the infrastructure to recreate some of the scarier ones.

News got around the castle quickly. Within hours, all the staff knew that the Princess was headed to visit the Kobolds, but they didn't know why. Zach and Riley were packing for the trip when Beebee visited their room.

"You're leaving with the Princess again?" Beebee said. She wasn't frowning, but her eyes showed her true feelings all the same.

"Yeah, sorry Beebee," Riley said, putting a hand on the younger girl's shoulder. "You and I can hang out more when we get back."

"And Zach," Beebee added with a smile. "I like to hang out with him too." Like Riley, Beebee had been picking up some vocabulary from the other world, but she wasn't as comfortable with it and it came out awkwardly.

Zach said, "Of course. I'll try to bring you a souvenir too. The Kobolds probably have all sorts of cool stuff."

"Soova-what?"

"Souvenir. A trinket or keepsake from somewhere else, to remind you of the trip or to share it with others."

Beebee's entire face lit up. "That would be amazing! Thank you, Zach!" Then she literally leapt at him and tackled him to the bed. The backpack he'd been filling with clothes fell from his hands and spilled onto the floor.

Riley was there in a flash, pulling Beebee off of him by the back of her shirt. "Hands off my man, Beebs." Her tone was joking, but there was a hint of actual jealousy in it.

Beebee's head swiveled and she stared at Riley. "So it's true! You're together?"

"It's true," Riley answered.

"What about your interest in women? Will Zach let you have a side girlfriend? Or will you have a 'threesome'?"

The color drained from Riley's face, then flushed right back in. "First of all, you are too young to be talking about threesomes!"

"But you taught me the wor—"

"Second, that's none of your business, and you shouldn't ask people about that stuff."

"Oh, okay—"

"And third, we have packing to do. I promise we'll come see you before we leave." With that, Riley pushed Beebee toward the door, easily muscling the shorter girl out of the room.

"Bye Zach!" Beebee called back just before Riley slammed the door.

Riley leaned against the door and brushed her hair out of her face, which had gone quite pink. "Sorry about that. Beebee can be a little too easy-going."

Zach's face was just as pink as Riley's. "It's fine," he said, focusing on his spilled backpack as much as possible. If you could die of embarrassment, I think I would have, he thought.

"Wanna get our minds off that?" Riley asked, and Zach knew exactly what she meant. They had been making out a lot lately, and taking it a little further every time. He also knew that finding privacy would be difficult during the trip.

As much as he wanted to say yes, he said, "After we finish packing?"

In a fake grumpy voice, Riley said, "Curse your responsible nature." Then she went to her chest of drawers and started digging for cold-weather clothes. Even if no early storm came in, they needed to spend the night at high altitude and it would get cold.

Zach asked, "Why don't the Kobolds have any Farspeakers? Can they not do connection magic?"

"As far as I know, they can't. They might not be capable of doing magic at all," Riley answered.

Zach's mind started churning on what exactly it would mean for an entire race to be unable to do magic in a world filled with so much of it. Unlike the people of New Albion, the Kobolds wouldn't be able to purify water, cure disease, or create large structures in an instant. And they wouldn't stand a chance against offensive magic. "Oh, wow. That would explain their reluctance in getting into a conflict with the Elves. Elves are super skilled at magic, and their fire and lightning spells were terrifying."

"Huh?" Riley stopped folding what looked to be a set of wool long underwear. "You say that like you've seen Elven spellcasting."

Zach could picture it as clear as day: an Elf channeling a bolt of lightning and cutting down scores of human soldiers right through their armor. But he knew he had never seen it himself. "Oh, I guess that was just in a dream. It felt so real at the time, so I guess I thought it was a memory for a minute there. Sorry."

Riley squinted at him for a moment, surprised that he had mixed up a dream with reality, then she resumed packing. "Do you have a lot of dreams like that? That feel that real?"

"Yeah, since I was little. I got into the habit of pushing them out of mind as soon as I wake up, but lately they've stuck with me more." After seeing Riley packing long underwear, Zach made sure to pack his own set. "Some were really scary, like the one with a monster bison that was three stories tall and had glowing red eyes."

"Huh, strange. Maybe it has something to do with your flipping. You should ask the Princess if she has dreams like that."

"Will do," Zach said, but he quickly forgot about it because as soon as they finished packing, Riley grinned and tugged him toward the bed. They kept their clothes on, for the most part, but Riley was starting to get more adventurous with her hands. Zach didn't mind at all and cautiously followed suit.

Morning arrived and with it came a bit of chaos and some last-minute preparations for the trip. Zach and Riley were eating breakfast with Beebee, fulfilling their promise to see her again before they left, when Bethany came looking for Riley.

"Got a moment?" Bethany asked in a tone that made it clear that it wasn't optional. Bethany took on Head Maid responsibilities whenever Alexia was busy, and she was in that mode now.

"Uh, sure," Riley answered, then she said, "Excuse me," to Zach and Beebee. She stood and followed the other redheaded maid out of the staff kitchen to the hallway. "What's up?"

Bethany blinked at the odd phrase, but seemed to figure it out. She cleared her throat and started into an awkward lecture. "I noticed that you and Zach are spending a lot of time together, and your relationship seems to be growing into something more. I don't have any problem with that and I don't have the authority to stop you, but, well, I wanted to make sure—"

Riley interrupted. "You want to make sure I don't hurt Zach?"

Bethany shook her head, then reached out and took Riley's hand. "No. I want to make sure you don't get hurt. Zach's a good person, and I trust him. But you should still take things slow, because if a relationship is the right one, it can weather the wait."

Riley was visibly puzzled by Bethany's niceness. In the past, she had thought Bethany was a bit of a bitch, almost as if she was competing with Alexia for the title of 'Most Serious Maid', but this was different. She really seems to care, and must have been through something herself, Riley thought.

"Oh, thank you for the advice. You're not that bad after all."

A familiar scowl returned to Bethany's face, the same one she wore whenever Riley got too flirty with the other maids. She dropped Riley's hand and said, "What? What do you mean by that?"

Riley slapped Bethany on the shoulder and started back to the kitchen, giggling. "Nothing. See you when I get back from my trip!"

When Riley returned to the table, Zach and Beebee were gathering their breakfast dishes, Riley's included. Beebee expertly held them in a neat stack on one hand.

"What was that about?" Zach asked. Beebee's eager expression asked the same question.

"Nothing important," Riley answered. Then she changed the subject. "It's almost time to go. Are you ready, Zach?"

"Yep. My luggage was already sent to the carriage, and I've got everything else I might need in here." Zach turned and raised one shoulder to draw attention to his backpack.

"I'm going to miss you two. Stay safe, okay?" Beebee said, her eyes large and wet.

Riley smiled. "We will. After all, we'll have Alexia, some guards, and a professional combat mage with us."

Beebee set down her stack of dirty dishes and hugged Riley tightly. Then she glared at Zach and said, "Take good care of her, Zach."

"Oh, uh, of course," he replied, a little stunned by Beebee's intensity. He'd always seen Beebee as the carefree and immature one, so her current seriousness was unexpected.

Riley ruffled Beebee's hair and the short curls bounced back instantly. "We'll only be gone a couple weeks. We want to be back before the first big snow."

Beebee nodded then silently reclaimed her stack of dishes. She waved with her free hand and left without saying anything else, as if she didn't trust her voice.

"Shall we board our carriage?" Riley asked. "I heard the combat mage they hired will be riding inside with us."

Zach said, "Oh, I'd like to meet them. Learning the basics of magic has really shown me how much I don't know."

"You and me both," Riley said. "At least the conversation should be interesting."

"Oh no," Zach said, his face slack. "Goddammit."

"What? What's wrong?" Riley asked.

Zach had stopped a few feet from the massive carriage and he was staring through the window at the carriage's only passenger. In the seat nearest the window was a man a few years older than Zach, with dirty blonde hair, tousled and messy. He was tall, even while sitting, and he wore deep red robes with a hood that was pulled back. Zach clearly remembered their brief encounter in the Grand Library, when the man behaved rudely and chased Zach from his comfortable reading nook.

"Nevermind. Maybe it's nothing," Zach said. Maybe I just caught him on a bad day. Maybe he'll be totally reasonable. Especially with the Princess around.

Zach steeled himself and approached the carriage. He used the polished steel handrail to pull himself up the high steps, then ducked inside the spacious room. He took a seat in the opposite corner, sinking into the plush cushions, then said, "Hello there. I'm Zach."

Riley was right behind him. She sat down to Zach's right and said, "And I'm Riley. I take it you're our combat mage?"

The man looked up from his book, quickly glanced past Zach without recognition, then took in Riley. His eyes lingered on her face for an instant, then he noticed her black and white maid uniform. "Ah, servants." He returned his attention to his book and said, "I have no intention of learning your names, but if you must address me, my name is Milo."

Zach felt his jaw clench and he wanted to reply but he didn't have the words, or at least not any professional ones. They were on a mission for the Princess, so Zach would have to keep his expletives to himself. That asshole! I guess he's always like this, at least to people he thinks are beneath him.

Riley put a hand on Zach's arm and gave a comforting squeeze, then she said, "I am indeed a maid to Princess Evelyn, but Zach is not a servant. He is the Princess's financial advisor and he deserves respect."

Milo glanced back up and finally looked at Zach's face. His brow furrowed for a moment, then he seemed to recognize Zach. A smile crossed his lips and he said, "Ah, I suppose I remember you after all. It's nice to meet you properly, Zach." Despite his polite words, his hazel eyes were cold and cruel.

Zach quickly decided that the only way to make this trip tolerable was to interact with Milo as little as possible. He pulled a book from his bag, scooted close to Riley's side, and read to pass the time until the rest of the expedition crew arrived.