One thing that had surprised her in this world, was that she wasn’t the only person sporting ink. Angel, Ice, and others who had seen the full extent of her ink were all enamored by them. Many others had tattoos but in this world, they meant different things.

The most prevalent use was to brand criminals, but it also depended on an individual's culture. In some circles, it was used as a cure for aching joints and some other ailments. Many other reasons existed but she noticed that no one had outward asked her what her tattoos meant. It was odd as she could see the interest people who saw them had, but it was considered rude to ask.

She appreciated that aspect, but it grew a bit boring as it was a good feeling to tell the stories behind the reasons for her ink. Borka was the only one who knew the full story behind all of them, as the bear liked listening to such stories.

There were several primitive methods to engrave ink on one's body, and that gave Ana an idea. If this was going to be a new chapter she would get a new tattoo to signify her time being here. It took her a few days to figure out what do to and where, but in the end, she decided on a simple depiction of Vegvisir.

With Lia’s help, she remembered the pattern, and the meaning behind it really applied to her situation. Lia who never was a fan of Ana’s tattoos liked the meaning of the new one. Finding someone to do the work was easy, and it only took a few hours of mild pain for her left forearm to get branded.

The uneven and hand-drawn symbol clashed with the perfect lines from the other images, but Ana preferred it that way. Her teammates were devasted to hear that she would be leaving, but they all expected it sooner or later. She was a wizard after all and they all knew that she would be reassigned as soon as some experience was gained.

Nathaniel volunteered to take care of her assets while she was gone, increasing her wealth while she was on assignment. Ana resisted that idea, not out of the idea of giving money to him, but of the added burden it would put on the man. If she was indeed to spend several years or even decades in the north, she had no use for the regular pay she would receive. On the other hand, the prospect that once she returned she would be flushed with wealth was promising.

Borka had returned on the last day Ana had free, before having to leave. The bear was tight-lipped on where she was or what she had been up to, and the news of Ana’s departure hadn’t been surprising. Considering that both of them were somewhat working for Adrasteia, it made sense. But the cryptic way the goddess had communicated with her was annoying.

The last time she wanted to speak with the goddess she merely spoke her name and the next night they had a conversation. Why this time was different was beyond anyone's understanding. The deities were strange in that way, and no one knew for certain what was what. Some had even found Ana’s experience to be absurd while others claimed to have had a similar one.

Like always there were too many sources of information for her to form a logical conclusion, so she formed her own opinion on the matter. It was either a game for such powerful beings, or maybe there were some cosmical rules that limited their actions. The only thing she could do is move forward with her head held high.

After a teary goodbye with her two saviors and her newfound friends in the war band, she departed. She had gotten drunk with all of them several times in the past week and was glad to have met such good people after her transition.

A day before she was to meet Lorelai she departed, not wanting to be late and to have all of her goodbyes to be for naught. She carried all of her gear strapped to her board as she flew towards the village the vampire was waiting in.

Flying was fun to an extent, and later it became a chore when she reached faster speeds. A crucial thing she forgot was to make was a pair of goggles as the rushing air was quite obstructive. Dressing up to keep warm was easy enough, and with her newfound control, she added a new wind spell that would keep her sight unobstructed. She had gotten far, as concentrating on two spells was an advanced technique only the experienced wizards could muster.

She arrived at the village before sunset, having taken a few breaks along the way. While her body easily endured the trip, she was still sore from standing in a rigid pose while flying. It made her wish she bolted a chair on the board.

Landing a few dozen meters from the gate she greeted several residents, who acted surprised to see her. It didn’t take long for her to figure out that they didn’t remember her previous visit. She expected something similar and was glad to find them alive in the first place. A few questions had pointed her to Lorelai, who was in the only house made from stone in the village.

The house looked like any other, and Ana had seen it before but didn’t think much of it. Walking inside she didn’t notice anything out of place, a normal residence by all appearance. Then an awkward moment came while she waited inside. She didn’t want to be rude so she waited near the open door for someone to come.

Nobody responded to her calls from the inside. So she waited. Ten minutes later she heard footsteps and Lorelai appeared from one of the rooms.

“On the last day, seriously?”

Ana shrugged. “You did fuck up my entire life, so excuse me for taking a few days off.”

“That tone will have to go, if you want to come with me, you need to be a good little obedient pet.”

“Pet?!”

“You sound surprised. You are but a fledgling, and while you might be stronger than most you still need to show respect to your elders.”

Ana’s eye ticked a few times in annoyance. Easy girl. Play along with the sadistic bitch, this is no time for your ego.

You are the one to talk! But I know, I had swallowed a lot of shit in my day, I’m not a stranger to being a beta.

“Fine. Oh, great mistress Lorelai, what can this lowly pet do to earn your favor?” Her words were exaggerated while she bowed. Rising she had half a second to register an incoming fist. She had expected as much but when she tried to dodge her body refused to move. And so her nose was broken again, getting fixed a few seconds later.

“Don’t worry, I’ll have plenty of time to teach you on the road.”

Ana rubbed her nose while trying her hardest to contain the sudden rush of anger. “Alright. I do have a question though.”

“Yes?”

“Does your offer of free answers still stand?”

“Depends.”

“On what?” It was getting increasingly difficult to contain her rage. And in a weird mix, she still had strong feelings for Lorelai. It was pure desire, not as agonizing and all-consuming as before, but a part of it was still there.

“If I feel like sharing at the time. So if you behave, you will get rewarded.” Not wanting to push her luck Ana kept her question to herself, for now, nodding to the Bloody Rose.

“We are leaving in two days, get comfortable in the meantime.” With that said, Lorelai turned around and went back inside one of the rooms. Ana got her things and deposited them near the door, going around to explore the house. It was a little bigger than her apartment was, with a large open area on the ground floor with a single door where Lorelai had gone through.

Table, chairs, fireplace, and other expected stuff was there. On the second floor, she found three beds and several chests. It wasn’t anything different than her room in the barracks. Simple and efficient, the way she liked it. The beds weren’t the most comfortable, but Ana never had trouble with that.

With night settling on the village, Ana found herself on the second floor enjoying a cup of warm tea while she stargazed. To her stargazing came like watching tv. She was enamored by the stars and had often imagined what would have happened if she ended in a technologically advanced world where space travel was easily accomplished.

If Lia was right about her lifespan, it was indeed possible to live long enough to see such a future. That only reinforced the stupidity of the knife she had used. Since that moment her friendship with Lia increased, and she often asked for advice and always consulted the spirit for any decision. It got the point of Lia being annoyed by Ana’s attention. The two of them needed time to get into synch once again.

She fell asleep on one of the beds while thinking about what the future held. Waking up several new sensations made her shiver. Lorelai was hugging her from behind, and the act had caused several emotions to rise in her chest.

Anger that her private space was invaded without her approval. Lust for a lovely woman that formed a big spoon behind her. Anger at the level of lust she felt. It took several deep breaths and a short pep talk for her to rise from the bed. Another shiver went through her as she felt someone caress her tail.

“Why are we waiting here?” Ana focused hard to keep her voice steady, but it came out a bit higher than she would have liked.

Loralai spoke clearly, without a hint that she had just woken up. “I’ll show you after breakfast.”

Ana nodded and hurried downstairs, thanking her laziness for not removing her clothes before bed. Sleeping naked was preferred, but with Lorelai there it would have made her chest explode from embarrassment. She went down the steps without looking back, not wanting to know if the girl in her bed was naked or not.

She is too much. I want to jump her bones after one day. What do you think would happen after weeks, months and even years had passed?

Just do it. You’re both frisky, and now she can’t use her influence to control your will. And if you get seduced by her she won’t suspect that you are a spy.

Do you really believe that she doesn’t know?

No, not really. But she hadn’t said anything yet.

Both she and Nathaniel knew that there was a big chance that Lorelai knew that Ana would be sent as a spy. Still, the risk was well worth the possible rewards. On the ground floor, another problem presented itself.

We forgot something.

What?

I am ridiculously bad at cooking. And I never needed to cook in the past year. Scratch that, I haven’t touched a stove in over a decade.

Don’t look at me, I literally know nothing about food. The only experience I have is when my servants explained what my meals held.

We are fucked. Pray that Lorelai doesn’t expect food from us.

Thankfully she didn’t. Villagers had brought food for them, a perk of them being under Lorelai’s influence. After a quick bite, of food and not people, Lorelai had led her to a closed door. Ana imagined a large library on the side but she only got a small storage space. She was confused for a moment before Lorelai raised a hatch and went down a staircase.

It was pitch dark inside, so Ana activated a new spell she had been working on for a while. While she could make visible light, she worked on a different spell that wouldn’t give out her location in the dark, and now it seemed like a perfect opportunity for more testing.

Using thermal illumination, she created a spell that could allow her to see in any form of darkness by using heat radiation instead of photons of visible light.

“I’m impressed you don’t need light to see. You truly are a prodigy.”

“I’m not a prodigy, just really smart when compared to my peers.”

“Fair enough.”

They continued down the spiraling stairs for a good minute, and Ana’s anticipation of what she would discover was only rising. That anticipation only grew once Lorelai stopped and pushed in a wall, revealing that a door was there. The stairs kept going down but they went through the door.

“What’s further down the stairs?”

“Storage room. Nothing interesting there.” The path ahead of the door led forward in a narrow hallway until they reached the exit. There wasn’t a door there, just an opening. Inside was a room as large as the ground floor of the house was. The room was filled with wax and clay tablets sorted around the walls.

In the center of the room was a large table with candles, writing instruments, and a glass orb centered in the middle on a copper tripod.

“This is why Cleon was in this village. He knew the location but had refused to share it. But luck was on our side as you stopped him before he could destroy the records.”

“Records?”

“Yes. These records date back to the time of the Empire. The story goes that Bradin was a scribe for Emperor Sutus, and this was the secret location where he had collected all his knowledge after being banished.”

Taking a tablet Ana noticed that the inscription was nothing she had seen before. “I’m guessing you can read them?” Lorelai turned around, looking at her with a raised eyebrow.

“Sorry I asked.”

“Sorry, you asked, what?”

“Sorry I asked sir?”

“You must like having your nose broken.”

“Sorry I asked, Madam Lorelai?”

“Better. We will work on that later.”

The ego on this one.

You're telling me.

Hey! I’m nothing like that.

Not yet.

That was a good point. Hanging out with Lorelai wasn’t going to make keeping her pride grounded. But that was a problem for some other day. While Lorelai read some tablets, Ana went around the room. Only the glass sphere had drawn her attention, and she ended up staring in it.

It seemed like a simple piece of glass. But using her spell for thermal vision meant that she couldn’t get all the details right.

“What’s the orb for?”

Lorelai answered like she was talking to an annoying child. “Divination.”

That was interesting. Nathaniel had spoken of divination before, but that branch of magic was unreliable and often produced false-positive results. In her mind knowing the future had already changed it. She didn’t believe that the future was set in stone and that learning of a future event would make that event happen.

In her world, there was no way to confirm which theory was right, but to Ana, it made sense that just knowing what happens in the future would change the outcome. It was one of the reasons she avoided divination. She left the vampire alone to her tablets and went back.

Curiosity winning over she ended up checking what was at the bottom of the stairs, finding old rotten wood and cobwebs at the end. For a secret lair it was a bit underwhelming, but not being able to read the tablets meant that she couldn’t help in any way.

So she spent the next two days walking around the village, enjoying nature while she worked on some spells. That was the beauty of magic, you could always add and reduce spells with only your imagination as the limit. As a bit of flair, she had worked on making her lightning purple. An easy enough task that wasn’t any more difficult to do than regular lightning.

Fun aside she was mostly working with levitating plasma. Using both fire and a magnetic field, she could spring the plasma in a toroid creating high temperatures. She didn’t need the spell for anything specific, but combining ideas was fun.

Who knew, she might even achieve fusion one day. One thing she had been toying with in her thoughts was teleportation. She knew quite well that it was theoretically possible, with some experiments with quantum entanglement on earth successfully teleporting a single electron. At least the information about it. She had been avoiding the subjects so that no catastrophes would come from her experiments.

She had been toying with the idea since she learned about it, but it was hard to think of a beginning for such a spell. Her mastery of magic was still in its infancy and yet she garnered hope that one day she could safely disassemble her body, transmitting the data to another location where her body would be assembled.

An easier idea was to create a wormhole. The problem with wormholes was that gravity worked hard to close them, and she would need a large source of negative matter to keep the portal open. If it was even possible, as she never went further than theory. The problem with wormholes was that they would be created locally which would require her to physically move one gate in order for the wormholes to act as a distant travel option.

Just the theoretical part had made her happy, reminding her of home and the countless hours she had spent studying and thinking. And now with magic, all of her knowledge and any theory she came up with, had a tangible result. Back home it would take years before any effect born from a research lab would have an impact. Her desire to return home shrinking every time she used magic.

Two days passed in a blink while she worked on her magnetic confinement spell that had even stumped Lorelai. It was fun to explain in complicated terms what she was doing only to have the woman stare at her with confusion. The vampire had found what she was looking for and it was time for them to leave, and much to Ana’s chagrin they would fly to their next location.

There weren’t any smiths in the village, but she was able to attach a chair to her board, making her ride much more comfortable. Once Lorelai saw Ana’s contraption, she decided to join Ana in the chair. While made from wood, it was sturdy enough for Ana to bolt it down to the board. Working the metal was somewhat easy with heat and magnetic forces. The contraption wouldn’t win any beauty pageants, but it was sturdy enough for traveling.

The problem was that the board was relatively small and they had to share the one chair, Ana failing to shoo off Lorelai. The two of them were relatively small in stature when compared to average-sized humans, so fitting wasn’t an issue. The issue was that she had to spend all the time they traveled right next to the charming woman.

This journey would be an enormous test of self-control for Ana.