Chapter Two

When I wake the next morning, I am alone. The bed where Emi had lain is cool, but not yet cold, so she has only been gone a short time. I stretch, joints cracking and popping. Laying there, I am comfortable, warm. What am I going to do today? The visit to Lian is tomorrow. I could explore the palace and its grounds. As I moved my joints creak some more. I should probably do some T'ai Chi, that would loosen my creaky joints and improve my balance.

Having decided how to at least start my day, I rolled out of bed, use the chamberpot, then stare into the wardrobe. As I will be exploring the unknown, to me, parts of the grounds, I decide on trousers and a blouse. Taking them out, along with a pair of drawers and a short chemise, I start dressing. When I have the drawers on, I look at them, they are so baggy, I don't doubt that Tilly could wear them, unaltered, comfortably, not that Tilly is excessively heavy, it's that the drawers are large and baggy. The chemise slides over my head easily. The blouse, a pretty light yellow with puffy sleeves is comfortable and easy to put on, though it takes me a minute to figure out the closures. They are a piece of cord wrapped into spirals, with a loop between them. The other side is the same style of spirals with two cords coming out of it, these are then tied in a large intricate knot. I finally look that the trousers which have one of the same type of fasteners in a closed position. Ah, that's how they work, the knot goes through the loop. Fastening all but the top one on the blouse, I put on the trousers. I take out a pair of stockings, calf high. These are the only thing that is made of wool, everything else is the same light fiber that the blouse is made of. Remembering my history courses, I recall that linen was the most common fabric in the early middle ages along with woolens. The clothing styles, the foot wear, everything I had seen so far, screams early middle ages to me.

Emi had left me a lit candle, so I snuffed it before moving to the door. Opening it I saw that the courtyard is brightly lit, so it's later in the morning, at least two hours after sunrise. I move to the stairway at the west end of the courtyard, descending to the first floor. Consulting Rufina's memories, I go to the door in the corner, next to the hall way to the kitchen. Opening it, I pass through, finding my self in a small room, doors at both ends, a bench on one side, hooks on the other wall. Opening the other door, I walk out into a garden.

A very nice garden. A stone path leads from the door to the center, where it joins another path. This path goes down the middle of the garden, dividing it in two. The part to the south side of the path is a vegetable garden, rows of different vegetables growing. Along the south wall there are vines climbing trellis, reaching half way up the wall. In the center of the long length of the garden is a herb spiral, covered in green herbs. There is large door in the west wall.

Between the west wall and the door I had entered is a patio, surrounded by flower beds. It is paved in large flat stones, fitted closely together with a stone bench along the north wall. To the east of the path is another patio covered by a pergola, surrounded by flowering shrubs and covered in flowering vines. Beyond the pergola is a pond, a vague eight shape with a small wooden bridge arching over the narrow part. Looking in the water I can see fish. The space to the east of the pond is filled with graveled paths separating beds containing different types of flowers.

I sit in the pergola, smelling the flowers, just chilling when the door in the west wall opens, allowing an old man to enter the garden. He is carrying a basket, I can tell it is heavy by the way it sags, pulling on the handles. As he carries it I can hear him grunting. Going to the south wall he places the basket down, I hear him groan as he straightens. He seems familiar, going to Rufina's memories, I place him, it's Tobias. I stand, approaching him, "Are all right, Tobias?"

"Princess, I didn't see you there. These baskets seem to get heavier all the time."

"If they are too heavy, find someone to help you carry them, such a lovely garden deserves a healthy and fit gardener. Is there no tool to help you carry such loads?"

"Not to my knowledge, princess. How are you feeling today, I heard you were feeling unwell?"

"I am much better today, thank you. What are you doing? Oh, muck. Which of the plants get this today?"

"The melons and cucumbers, they both do better with a dose of muck at this time of year."

"I will leave you to it then. But if you carry any more, either don't fill the basket so full or get a helper, please." Saying that I walk up the rows, heading toward the door. I look down, at my feet is a row of beets, the red tops of the root just starting to show. They appear crowded to me. "Tobias, are these beets in need of thinning?"

"Yes, they are, princess. Very good eye. I will be thinning them later today."

"All right. Goodbye, have a good day."

Entering the door to the palace, I head to the kitchen, I am hungry. When I get there, Tilly is mixing bread, if I remember correctly, bread making was done every two or three days, as it didn't keep well. "Good morning Tilly, is there anything to eat around here?"

"Ah, you are up. I though you would still be asleep. Is there anything you would like to eat?"

"Could you make a piece of toast with a fried egg on it for me?"

"Of course I can. If you sit down it will be ready in a few minutes."

"Tilly, would you add some vegetables to my meals from now on? I was just in the garden, talking to Tobias, he say he was going to be thinning the beet roots. Those are good steamed, served with butter."

"How do you steam beet roots?"

Oh, dear, is steaming not a method here and now? "Boiled would be fine then. Served with a little butter and vinegar."

As I wait, I think I could have a wheelbarrow made for Tobias, he is too old to be carrying baskets full of muck. And a steamer for Tilly. Looking around the kitchen, I could build her a cook stove too. There are designs made to be used in third world countries, I think this country qualifies. Clay pots, open fires, no light, yes, most definitely a third world country and this is the royal palace, what would the common people have?

"Here you are, your majesty. One egg on toast. Would you like tea?"

"Oh, yes, please."

Stabbing the egg yolk, I let it soak into the toast, then cut both egg and toast, pop a piece into my mouth. So good.

Tilly places a tea cup next to my plate, "There you go, your majesty."

Quickly chewing the bite in my mouth, "Is there fresh fruit available, Tilly?"

"I have some apple and plums, the cherries are finished for the year as are apricots, the peaches are still a few week away."

"A plum, please."

She goes to the back wall reaching into a basket under the table she returns to me, "Here you are, one plum."

It is red and plump. I bite it, the juices running down my chin, I should cut it next time, as this is messy but oh so good.

"Tilly, have you seen her maj..." Emi walks in the door.

Looking at me she shakes her head. Going to the wash tub, she takes the cleaning cloth, after pouring some clean water on it, she washes my faces, "Such a messy princess." She leans in close, whispering,"but I still love her."

"Good morning Emi. And what have you been doing this fine beautiful morning."

"Besides cleaning messy princesses, I have taken care of the laundry, dusted a few rooms and set the other maids to cleaning the study, per your order. And what have you been doing?"

"Sleeping in, taking a walk in the garden, talking to Tobias and Tilly, eating a wonderful breakfast and plotting the over throw of the governments of the world." I say with a cheeky grin.

She looks startled, then grins back at me. Tilly has a worried look though. She doesn't get it. Or thinks I have a screw loose. Maybe I do?

"And now that you have planned world domination, what are going to do with the rest of your day?"

"I have some things I need to sketch but first I need to exercise a little. Come with me, please. Thank you for breakfast, Tilly." Standing I lead her back to the garden.

Removing my boots at the patio bench, "Off with the boots, love, this is best done barefoot." Pulling her down next to me, I swing down to the ground, undoing her boots. Removing them finally, I stand again. Pulling her out to the middle of the patio, I position her feet, then move her head chin down slightly, knees bent slightly. Holding her hips gently, I move them in a circular motion counterclockwise, once she is doing it on her own, I position my self the same and start rotating. When we have done it thirty times or so, I have her reverse direction, continuing until the count of thirty. I have her move her feet out, to shoulder width, then repeat the circular motion again, in both directions. All the while breathing, deeply, eyes closed. When we have finished thirty in each direction, I have us interlace our fingers, then extend our arms over our heads, then slowly lean to the side, straighten, then lean to the opposite side. We did this thirty times, slowly, while breathing deeply. When finished, we slowly brought our arms down and forward, leaning at the waist, until our arms hung down, out backs flat. We stay in that position for thirty deep breathes. After the thirtieth breath we returned to the position of arms above our head, fingers interlaced. I tell her to lower her arms so slowly that she will take ten deep breathes to bring them all the way down. As our arms slowly descend, we continue deep breathing. Once our arms are at our sides, we stand, relaxed.

I open my eyes, take a step back, opening some space between us. "Open your eyes, Emi. Watch what I do and attempt to copy it." I spread my feet to shoulder width, knees slightly bent, arms hanging down, palms outward, head back with chin down. "This is the vertical centering position, from where we start and where we will finish." I then slowly go through the first eight forms of T'ai Chi, watching as Emi tries to follow. I repeat them twice more, with each run through she gets better. On the fourth iteration she is following well, only messing up the last form. Settling into vertical centering, we relax, just breathing in and out.

It had been several weeks since I, Rosa, had done T'ai Chi, I missed it. Oh, course Rufina has never done it. Never done it! Oh, crap, how do explain how she knows this? Should I try keeping myself secret any longer? Especially with Tilly and Emi. I may have given myself away to them already. But Emi doesn't seem to notice or care.

We sit on the bench, Emi putting her stockings and boots back on, I decide to leave mine off, for now. I will be inside so don't need shoes. Anyway, wearing shoes indoors just brings dirt in, making a mess of the floors.

Entering the palace, I ask,"And what do you have planned to do the rest of the day?"

"I have a few more rooms to tend to, the dinner table to set, dishes to do after, helping to clean the study, then an hour before supper I will come take you to your room, to bathe you, and make mad passionate love to you. Does that answer your question?"

"Could you clarify that last? How passionate and mad? Will there be probing, licking and sucking?"

"Oh, yes, much of those, plus caresses, kissing and much general touching all over."

"I couldn't persuade you to move up the schedule could I? That sounds so much more pleasant than the other things you have to do."

"I am sorry, love, that I can not do. Plus, I am not sure you could take too much of it in your state."

"Ah." I pout. I am very aware of my state, though I feel so much better today than yesterday, I know she is right.

She gathers me in a hug, "We will get to snuggle later. Now off with you, we have things to do, fantasies aside." She leans in, kissing me soundly.

As she walks away, I see the tip of her tail twitching. I remember that it only does that when she is happy. I head to the study, a smile on my face, to gather material to sketch with. I'll need paper, something to draw with, probably charcoal sticks like Aden used and some place to do it. Or I could find a book, I still don't know a lot about this world.

I enter the study, going to the bookshelves I start opening books, as most don't have titles on their spines. The first couple don't sound like they would be useful, 'Life with Jassmin' and 'Loves of Raichell', who here would read mushy romances? But the third is 'A History of Ajax.', Rufina's memories tell me Ajax is a historic figure, a hero of the war with the Elves, founder of the country of Ajaxia. The romances are placed on a lower shelf, on which I will place the fiction I find. The two books I have already read are placed at the end of the third shelf, which I dub the nonfiction shelf. The bottom shelf is the children's books. Taking the history to the desk, I start opening drawers, in search of charcoal sticks and paper, which I find, the charcoal sticks in a top drawer, the paper in a lower one. Removing a small stack of paper and three charcoal sticks, I am about to start sketching when I finally notice I am not alone. Looking around I see two women, cloths in their hands, staring at me.

Dressed like Emi, holding damp cloths, with buckets of water near their feet. Ah, the maids that are cleaning the room. They have already removed a lot of the dust and grime deposited over the last two years. Standing, I come from behind the desk, "You are doing a fine job, ladies, keep it up." Picking up my loot, I leave them to their work. I decide to go to my rooms at the other end of the palace, so I head there. Entering the sitting room I look around. There is not enough light in here and I don't really want to waste candles when it is so bright out side. Laying my loot on the side table, I look at the desk. It's not a large desk like would be on Earth but a narrow table with a sloped surface about 3 feet wide. It has a back that is covered in small cubbies and drawers. Imagine a narrow roll top desk without the roll top. I try lifting it, from the front it's awkward so pulling it away from the wall I try from the back. Much better, the center of balance is closer to me so it's not near as awkward to carry.

Moving the desk out to the balcony, I set it by the railing. Now I have light enough to draw by. Returning, I move the chair out to the desk. Taking the paper and charcoal sticks but leaving the book I sit at the desk and start to sketch. First is a steamer, like the bamboo ones, a wooden ring with a webbed bottoms stacked four high atop each other, topped with a lid. Finishing that I draw a wooden wheel barrow, two handles in a open ended V shape with a deck and back broad, a largish wheel at the narrow end of the V. On the sketch I include some side boards, so it can haul loose items like sand.

Finally, I start sketching the stove for Tilly, a general sketch as I don't know the dimensions of the hearth. As I sketch I realize I need a brick form, as the stove is to be made of cob bricks. Cob is easy to come by as it is just sand and clay made into mud with some straw to bind it together. The cob is thrown in a form to shape it into bricks then the form is removed. Once formed, the bricks are allowed to dry then stacked in the shape you wish, using more mud as mortar. So I sketch a simple form, four bricks together, the bricks are twice as wide as they are thick and twice as long as they are wide. I will need a few longer bricks so sketch a second form, with the length three time the width.

I am sitting there thinking of what else I could sketch when I remember supper last night, wishing I had a fork. Soon I have a fork sketched, a nice one with four tines, with the outer tines wider than the others and edged. I know a lot of people that use the edge of their fork to cut with so lets make it easy for them. Once that is finished I place them all in the space below the surface of the desk which lifts up.

Standing, I return to the rooms. Sitting in one of the two chairs by the window, I pickup the book and start to read. I am soon engrossed, the author is engaging and writes well. I am not sure the book is actually written in the authors own hand, because there is a note written on the overleaf, signed by the author, and the hand doesn't match so it is probably a copy. Another thing that points to this being a medieval world, hand written and copied books. The binding of the book is beautifully done, in cloth covered boards. As a history student I enjoy the feel of it, seeing the craftsmanship put into it. Who ever copied it has a lovely hand, clear, easy to read.

Too soon, Emi arrives telling me it is time for dinner. After marking my place in the book, I enter my chamber, needing to relieve myself. After using the pot and cleaning up, I exit. Emi is waiting. Before we head to the dining room, I remove the sketches. I want to ask Aden if there is someone that can build them for me.

"What did you sketch, Rufina?" Emi asks as we walk to old section.

"A wheelbarrow, a steamer, a cook stove and a fork." I answer.

"And what are those, your majesty?

Damn, did it again. "A wheelbarrow is a device to carry heavy loads, a steamer is a cooking utensil, a cook stove is another device, one to cook on instead of an open fire and finally a fork is a item used to eat with."

She doesn't answer or make comment, but sits me a the table which is already set. She goes to the kitchen, returning with a tray containing a covered plate, a bread plate and a tea pot. After placing the plates in front of me then filling my cup, she returns to the kitchen. Worried and saddened that she is not talking to me, I have little appetite. I am staring at my plate, noting that Tilly had the beet root greens there, a remains of a glob of butter melting on them. Using my spoon, I sampled them, buttery with a touch of vinegar, just as I like them. I must be hungry, as I soon eat all the beet thinnings and good portion of the slice of pork on my plate.

I am nibbling on the slice of bread when Tilly and Emi appear next to me. Tilly asks, "Who are you? You look like our queen, you sound like our queen but you are not her. You are too polite, you speak differently and you do strange things. Yesterday, while I held you, you said 'She doesn't even know your name.' , who is she? You read, the queen doesn't read that much. Emi tells me you draw strange devices, the queen can't draw a circle. Emi also says that you spoke a strange tongue, the queen only speaks common. So who are you?"

Sighing, placing the bread I had been nibbling on down. "Ladies, please sit." I wait until they are seated, both on my right. I stand, going to sit opposite of them. "My name was Rosa Mendez, I was a thirty seven year old woman, visiting a jungle when I was bitten by a snake. Apparently I died. The next thing I remember is waking here, with a terrible headache. After that, waking in the night, being held by Emi. After relieving myself I started to remember things, who Emi is, who I am, that I was denied the love of the one I loved by a father who hated me, of being tormented by my brothers. Brothers who have died along with father, leaving me alone."

"Tilly, she is Rufina, she was more like her father than she realized, she wouldn't even bother learning the name of the woman that fixed her meals or the people that cleaned up her messes, treating you and them as lower beings. For that I apologize, no one is deserving of that treatment."

"Emi, I also apologize to you, for deceiving you, I had no intention of deceiving you into thinking I am Rufina but it is most confusing, our memories are mixed together, my father is dead for over two years but I just celebrated his sixtieth birthday not two weeks ago, my mother is dead for sixteen years but I just kissed her goodbye a week ago. I never knew my grandparents but they helped raise me. My brothers are dead but I have no brothers, I love my sister and her family but I have no sister. I love a beautiful catgirl but catgirls don't exist except in fiction."

"Who am I? In body I am Rufina, in mind I am mostly Rosa with a large dose of Rufina. I am a thirty seven year old bisexual person from Earth, with multiple degrees and I am an undereducated twenty year old queen of a small country on Dominion. It is so confusing. I used to be fit, able to run, swim, climb mountains. Now, I can barely walk. This poor girl has been abused and tormented, it is a wonder she has lasted this long."

"This morning, in a dream, I was visited by the one responsible for me being here, he called himself Benten, a god, he claimed. He told me he had diverted me here but didn't say why."

"That is who I am and why I am here."

"So you are a reincarnate, that explains much."

"Yes, it does."

"A reincarnate? This happens a lot?"

"Not a lot, but often enough. I noticed the book you were reading was about Ajax, he was a reincarnate, from a place called Roma."

"Roma? There is a country where I came from with a over a two thousand year history, that was call Roma, the capital is and was call Roma in the language spoken there. Could it have been the same place?" I wanted to return to the book.

"It could be, the gods love to meddle in the affairs of us lesser beings, that was one reason the former king didn't want one here. The people of the island think he was cursed because of that."

"Now that you are here, what do you intend to do? Most reincarnates are called by gods to do some task, to be heros, to right wrongs. Has Benten said anything about what you are to do?"

"No, he has not. We have only had two very short conversations so far, that I remember anyway. As far as what I want to do, I'm not sure yet. I was a educated person on earth, I had gone to school for 16 years, had worked using that knowledge, gained experience in the field, traveled the world over, helped many people in many places. I hope to help the people here. People shouldn't have to work fourteen hours a day just to feed themselves. To go to a home made of dirt and manure, to breath air full of smoke from a fire that wastes wood. To sleep with insects and vermin, to die of diseases that they needn't die of. Only having one or two sets of clothes to their name. Not owning a pair of shoes until they are adult. Dying in child birth because the midwife's hands weren't clean. And if you survive, the child may not. Give me some time and money I can cloth every person on the island and not by buying the clothes, by making machines to make the cloth to make the clothes from. So much cloth we could sell it for half the price it is now and still make money. I noticed that books are written by hand, I know a machine that can make thousands of books in the time it would take to make one now. Nora can't read or write, I could open schools to teach anyone that wishes to, to read, write and do sums. I could teach a way to learn, to discover things that you would have a hard time imagining."

"There are farming technique that can increase crop yields, reduce the labor involved and improve the land. Ways to grow chickens so you get more eggs or more meat. Ways to breed sheep so they produce more, longer wool or more meat. Cows that give more milk, less cream or more cream, have a larger body or a smaller one. The same with grain crops or vegetables. On Earth, it takes one farmer three hours work to produce 100 bushels of grain, at the level this world is at, it takes a farmer one hundred hours to product 1 bushel of grain. There are simple machines that could increase the productivity of the farmers.

"I am still learning this world, this land, these people. Tilly, I am sorry that Rufina never bothered to learn your name. You're her/my servant, but you are still a person of worth. You have lived, had experiences that I or Rufina have not had. You make wonderful meals on equipment that is primitive on the world I came from, all while in the dark. I have some of the skills you use but I could not roast a pig without burning it to a crisp. I could mix flour, water, yeast and salt to make a loaf but would burn it or leave it raw in the center, should I tried to bake it."

"Emi, I can tell you that Rufina loves you, you are her first and only friend. You remember last night? What I say is true, she was beginning to come out of her depression, she was feeling sad that she had treated you so badly, neglected you. She and I both know that you are the one that held her together after her father and brothers died."

"Will you two help me lift this country up, to make it a safe wholesome place to live, to raise children, to grow old. I have ideas but need help implementing them. Help me, please."

They looked at each other, then both nodded, "We'll help, your majesty." they said in unison, smiling.

I took their hands in mine and pull them up and into a hug,"Thank you," is all I could say.

"Shall we tell Aden or let him figure it out himself?" Tilly asks.

"Let him figure it out. Now this is a secret for awhile, I have a feeling that Rufina has enemies that could use my being an reincarnate against her."

"Alright, no speaking of it then. Can I see this stove you have drawn?"

"Of course, it's bad design to build something without input from the end user." I lay the plan open on the table, showing it to her, explaining the features. This is where Aden finds us, a few minutes later.

"And what is this?" he asks, looking over Tilly's shoulder.

"It's a cook stove for Tilly, so she doesn't have to squat down over an open fire or breath smoke all day. Could you get me some sand, clay and straw, please. Lets see, four parts sand, one part clay and one part straw." I remember the basket that Tobias used to haul the muck in, "So to start out I need twenty baskets of sand, five of clay and five of straw."

"And when would you like this?"

"As soon as you can get it, please. And do you know anyone that can make these things?" I hand him the sketches of the wheelbarrow, the brick forms, the fork and the steamer. As I hand him the steamer sketch it dawns on me, I need a pot for it to sit on. "Tilly, do you have a shallow pot, about this diameter, with a flat bottom?"

"I have a pot that size but it is not flat bottomed nor shallow, why?"

"Remember I mentioned steaming the greens this morning? It's for boiling the water to steam with."

"Would steaming be cooking in steam? How would you hold the food?"

"Yes that's it, cooking with steam. This device is for that." Pointing to the sketch in Aden' hands. She looks over his shoulder this time.

"So foods would go in these baskets, then sit over a pot of steaming water?"

"Yes, that's right."

"And the baskets fit atop each other, so I could cook four different foods at once?"

"You could. Or a large quantity of one food."

"Oh this has possibilities. Is there someone that can make one, Aden?"

"I believe so, do you want me to take this to him now?"

"We could wait until tomorrow, visiting him after we speak with Lian, if it doesn't take too long, that is."

He looks at the other sketches, "I believe this would go to him, also." Holding out the fork. "These two would go to the carpenter, though the blacksmith will probably be involved with this one." He is looking at the wheelbarrow. "What is this for?"

"That's a wheelbarrow, used to carry heavy loads."

Giving me a stare, "You look like the queen but you don't act like her. She is not smart enough to think up all these things. You can read a report, extract information from it and form conclusions, she could never do that. And you are polite, she is very rarely polite. So who are you?"

"Well that didn't take long did it?" I look at Emi and Tilly.

"He is a smart man. He would have figured out something was off soon." says Tilly.

So the three of us tell Aden my story, how I arrived, our suspicions about the poisoner, what I would like to accomplish and about the involvement of Benten. After revealing that a god was involved, he shrugs, "Gods do what gods do," he said. Emi asks him if he got the bottle of wine from Lian which he confirmed.

I sigh, that covers the three people that I would be interacting with the most, if I can act more like a noble I can probably fool anyone else. I must remember to act like that tomorrow with Lian.

Aden has me explain how a wheelbarrow works. I in return ask if he knows of the three classes of levers. He is unaware that there are three classes, he only knows one. So I explain the three classes. The one he knows is the one where the force is applied to the side of the fulcrum opposite the load. A wheelbarrow uses the the second class, the one that the load and the force are on the same side of the fulcrum, with the load closer to the fulcrum. The wheel is the fulcrum, the person holding the handles is the force with the load between the two. The closer the load is to the wheel the lighter the apparent load. With a properly made wheelbarrow if he that could carry one hundred pounds he would be able to carry three hundred. He can see the possibilities.

After that he excuses himself as he has work to do before going to make the appointment with Lian. Emi had cleaned up the dishes and returned to the kitchen with Tilly. I returned to my book.

Ajax had been a warrior, general, statesman and king. He first came to notice of those command of an army fighting the elves, in a battle that the elves had been winning. He lead a charge of footmen into the flank of the phalanx of the Elven spear, breaking their formation causing their rout. Before the next phalanx could reform to the side, he charged into them, causing their rout also. Reinforced by the men fighting these two formations, they swept around the enemy, causing the total collapse of the front, leading to the winning of the battle. He soon was in command of a hundred man company. In his next battle, his company again defeated a larger force. After that battle he was given command of ten one hundred man companies. His force was assigned to an area that had defeated other commanders, a swamp that caused the men to sicken which the elves were then able to slaughter. In his camps the men did not sicken. His troops being fully able kept the elves from gaining the upper hand. Defeating his enemy at the swamp, Ajax lead his men out from there, catching a force of Elves advancing on the main forces of the humans by surprise, routing them. The human armies defeat of the Elves in that battle was a pivotal point of the war, the Elves retreated, ceding the area to the humans.

After the Elves defeat, the armies of the humans returned to the coastal area they started from. In the years following the war, many small kingdoms arose, claiming the lands formerly held by the elves. Ajax had formed a mercenary company which was hired by one of these kingdoms. When the king that had hired him tried to murder him, his men captured and killed that king, putting Ajax in his place. After defeating the nobles of the kingdom, Ajax, started conquering the neighboring kingdoms, soon controlling half the human area of the continent. Thus was born the country of Ajaxia.

For many years Ajax ruled Ajaxia with an even hand but the surviving old nobles were dissatisfied, their lands had been reduced, their incomes along with them and they were heavily taxed. One day, an assassin struck Ajax down, leaving the country at the mercy of the nobles. Ajax had had many children by this time, the nobles tried putting one son after another on the throne but they were soon assassinated also. Then the generals got involved, declaring marshal law. Soon a full scale civil war was raging. Ajax's empire was divided into smaller and small pieces, as each noble claimed a bit of the country.

In the later years of Ajax's rule he would wear a special set of armor, green trimmed in black and silver. It is said that this armor was an enchanted set given to him by a god along with a sword. There had been reports that some times Ajax would appear in different armor but always it would be green trimmed in black and silver. After his assassination, those armors were never located.

After talking with several grandsons of Ajax, the author recorded some of the early life of Ajax. Ajax claimed to be from a great empire called Roma, that encompassed an large inland sea and some of the outlaying areas. As a soldier of this empire he had traveled far and wide, fighting for many years. Then he had died in battle, to waken in his present body, as a young soldier of the human army. There is a print of a rough map that Ajax drew of his previous empire, it bears a striking resemblance to the Roman Empire, even having some of the correct place names.

This book is longer than the other two combined, so I am only three quarters of the way though it when Emi interrupts me to say Aden is about to leave to make the appointment. Placing the book down I go with her to talk to him before he goes to town.

"Your majesty, any instructions before I go?"

"If he should ask why, tell him I wish to take a larger role in the running of the kingdom and that I need to get acquainted with state of the kingdom."

"Very well. I will be back shortly."

After Aden leaves, Emi and I go to the kitchen, Emi to get ready to set the table for supper. I sit at the table, relaxing a bit, watching Tilly as she works on supper. She is slicing some bread, placing the slices on a plate. It appears we are having a meat pie tonight, I see it cooling on the work table. There are also several loaves of bread cooling, the heavenly scent of baking bread still in the air. Emi gathers plates, utensils and tea cups, placing them on a tray. Carrying the tray to the dining room she start setting the table. I sit at my place as not to be in the way.

"Do the maids not eat here?" I ask her as she works.

"Usually they go home about an hour before supper. When your father and brothers were alive, they stayed and ate here but with only you they come after breakfast and work until just before supper."

As she goes to the kitchen to bring the food, I realize that there are only three of us that live here, me, Emi and Tilly. Aden and the maids are here only a few hours a day. I wonder, would it save work it the new section was closed, I am the only one in that part of the palace. I could move up stairs, closing the new section, no more traveling the length of the building, several time a day.

Emi has returned with a tea pot, some plates of bread and butter and the pie, Tilly close behind. Tilly sits on my right so she is close to the kitchen with Emi on my left. There is a space for Aden to Tilly's right. I am about to ask if we should wait for Aden when he walks though the door.

"And how did it go, Aden?"

"He was most reluctant to make an appointment, your majesty. When I insisted, he finally agreed to see you at 500. He was quite full of questions as to why you want to see him."

"He probably thinks I will not come if he makes the appointment for so early. He is going to be surprised when we show up ready to work." I take a bite of pie, humm, good. "Tilly, I apologize for the early start, 400 is very early I know. Aden, do you think we can be done by 1000?"

"It all depends on Lian, your majesty. If he stretches it out, we could be there the whole day."

"I hope not, I have other things I would like to do in town tomorrow. And I'll need a few hours to do them."

"What do you wish to do, your majesty?"

"The things I sketched, I would like to get some of them made."

"We can visit the craftsmen after we finish with Lian then."

We fall quiet for a bit, enjoying our food. I am nearly done when I ask Emi, "I realized I am the only one living in the new section a short while ago. I believe I should move my rooms upstairs and close down the new section. Is there a reason I shouldn't do this?"

"There have been no visitors to house in several years so I see no reason not to move your rooms if you wish to. Is there a room you would want to move into?"

"I haven't really looked at the rooms yet so I have no idea what they are like."

"The rooms in the corners," she points toward the front of the old section, "have larger sitting rooms than your current one and the bed chamber is larger. The two side rooms have a large sitting room and two small bed chambers. The room over the study has a large sitting room and a large bed chamber though smaller than the corner rooms. There are three small bed chambers over the kitchen without sitting rooms."

"I think I would like one of the corner rooms. I'll look it over later."

Taking the last bite of my pie, I sit back with my tea cup, relaxing. I start thinking about what I could accomplish for the people of the island, schools, improved farming equipment, clothing. I could start a breeding program for chickens, cattle and sheep. I remember from my history courses sheep in the middle ages didn't give much wool compared to modern breeds. Chickens weren't very meaty until after the second world war and didn't lay many eggs either. Most farming equipment wasn't invented until after the 16 th century but that is going to take cast iron and or steel.

Tobias could start breeding vegetables to see if we could improve some of the types. I know that carrots hadn't always been orange but reddish purple. Several vegetables I am familiar with didn't exist until the fifteenth century on earth, being breed from existing varieties. Others were imported from the Americas after Columbus made his trips of discovery. I wonder if this worlds new world has been discovered, we could use potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, beans and squash. But growing more food isn't much use without some way to preserve it.

Drying fruits and vegetables is one way to preserve them, canning would be better but that needs rubber and glass not to mention metal. Other ways of preserving are smoking, jerking, salting and pickling. "Tilly, do you pickle vegetables?"

"Yes, I do. There are large crocks of pickled cucumbers, pickled cabbage, carrots and beetroot in the cellar. Why do you ask?"

"Trying to get an idea of what methods of food preservation are in use. Do you also smoke meats, jerk them or salt them?"

"I have salted meat, I personally have not smoked any but the butcher in town does. I am unfamiliar with jerking meat, what is it?"

"Jerking meat is to lightly salt and season thinly sliced meat, then dry it until it is completely dry. Properly done, jerky can last two seasons if kept dry."

"Do you dry fruits and vegetables? Slicing them thin then lay them in the sun to dry."

"I don't. The peas and beans are dried in the fields before harvest. Is it a good way to keep vegetables and fruit.?"

"There are some tasty dried fruits, grapes, plums, figs and dates, though you have probably never seen a date. Apricots and peaches dry nicely. Dried vegetables are best used in stews and soups because they need to be rehydrated. They keep for a long time if kept dry."

"Does it snow anywhere on the island?"

"The tops of the mountains get white in the last three weeks of fall. Why do you ask?"

"Wondering if there was ice available at anytime of the year. Food can be kept longer if it is cold. And I was wondering if I would ever get to enjoy ice cream again."

"Ice cream?"

"A frozen mixture of sugar, eggs, creamy milk and a flavoring. Most cooling on a hot summer day but it sounds like I wouldn't be having it anytime soon."

Thinking of ice leads me to freezers which lead to refrigerators which leads to refrigeration without power which reminds me of something. "Aden, is there a potter in town?"

"There is, your majesty."

"Good, I may have a job for him." I look at the others, they have finished their meal, they are waiting on me. I sit back up, collect my dirty dishes, stacking them up. Emi gathers the dishes on a tray and takes them to the kitchen. I follow along, at first intending to sit and talk with her and Tilly but I end up helping to wash dishes. There is something else that needs to be done, lighting. Working in the dark is the pits.

"Emi, what is used for light? I have seen candles, are oil lamps used?"

"The people use rush lights, the cores of rushes soaked in fat then burnt. You can afford candles, which are bees wax or tallow. I remember mama using an oil lamp at home but there aren't any here."

"We go through a lot of candles, don't we?"

"Yes, we do. Depending on how long we spend in the bedchambers, up to six a day."

"And what do they cost?"

"Tilly, what is the cost of candles?" Emi asks Tilly.

"They are sold by the pound, five copper per pound, depending on the size, 8 to 12 candles per pound."

I do some math in my head, almost 2200 candles a year, divided by 40 candles to the silver equals 55 silver for candles a year. "Tilly, what does low quality olive oil sell for?"

"I'm not sure what low quality would sell for, but good oil for eating is one sliver a pint."

Humm, depending on the price of oil and how much a lamp uses, it may not be cheaper to burn oil for lighting. I'll need to test how much oil a oil lamp uses and how long it will burn.

Okay, if oil lamps are out, how can a candle be improved on? I remember seeing pictures of candle sticks with reflectors mounted on them, I could have one of those made. I need to do some more sketching. Candles, wax, beeswax, bees. "Do either of you know what kind of beehives are on the island? I'm assuming there are bee hives as there are beeswax candles."

"The beehives I have seen are made of straw made into bundles then tied together to form a cone shape."

Of course, no modular hives in the here and now. There is another thing to sketch, bee hive boxes with frames.

Tilly has been cleaning her work area, including the hearth, which reminds me of the cook stove leading to bricks to cob to making cob. I need some work clothes. Clothes are expensive, at least in relation to other things. "Tilly, do you know what a pair of breeches would cost? I need some clothes I can work in and don't want to ruin my good clothes."

"A couple of silver, I think. They take about two yards of cloth to make, so two silver is about right."

"Wow, I knew cloth was expensive but that is high. Thought I am used to cheap cloth." Cloth, what do I need to make cheap cloth? Linen is the fabric, so what do I need to make linen. I have no idea. "Tilly, do you know how to make linen?"

"In a way. You start with flax, that takes around one hundred days to grow. Then it's harvested. Then put in water to rett. After that it's dried, then broken, then scutched, then heckled. After heckling, you have long fibres and tow. The long fibres are spun into yarn to weave cloth from, the tow is use to make twine, rope and canvas."

I am sure I have seen a video on how linen is made after that explanation but can't remember it. I'll have to think on it.

Tilly has finished her cleaning, "Good night you two, I am off to bed, 400 comes early. You should goto bed too." She goes out the door, turning to the right outside the door. Looking out the door it is getting darker, I don't see any direct sunlight in the atrium.

"Do you wish to bathe tonight, love?" Emi asks me.

"Yes, please. Being bathed is so enjoyable."

"Alright, I be back shortly, I'm going to get some clothes to wear tomorrow." She follows Tilly, out the door and down the hall. It only takes her a couple of minutes, before she is back carrying a bundle of clothing. Handing me the bundle she fills a pitcher with hot water from the cauldron sitting on the fire. "After you." she tells me.

After climbing the stairs I remember I was going to look at the rooms up here, "Slight detour Emi, I want to check a couple of rooms first." Entering the room over the study, I look over the sitting room. Pretty good sized. Going to the bedchamber I look it over, much bigger than my current room.

Walking around the balcony, I enter the room over Aden's office. This one is larger still. Going to the bedchamber it is huge compared to my current room. This will do. I exit the bed chamber, meeting Emi in the sitting room. "Emi would you let the maids know to clean this room and transfer my possessions tomorrow while we are out and about. Unless they're busy with something else."

"I'll leave instructions with Tilly in the morning, as we will be gone by the time they arrive in the morning."

We walk around the atrium, down the hall to the far end of the new section. Entering my rooms, Emi places the pitcher by the basin, then lights a couple more candles. While she is doing that I start removing my clothes. I look around, where to put them? "Emi, there needs to be a basket for dirty clothes some where in here. Not in here, I guess, as this is the last night I'll be in here. It would save you time collecting them in the morning or whenever."

"Oh, good idea. I will find one tomorrow evening."

As she is preparing the water, I use the necessity, the stinky thing that it is. There's another thing, a non stinky toilet. She is messing about with the water as I come up behind her, giving her a hug. She is half an inch taller than I am so her neck is in the prefect position to be kissed which I do. She shudders with pleasure. Turning in my arms she kiss me, exploring my mouth with her tongue. I reach up and undo her blouse, peeling it off her. As we continue kissing, I continue removing her clothes. Soon we are down to our chemise and getting very aroused.

"Sex first or bath first?" she wants to know.

"Bath, please. More foreplay is better."

She lifts my chemise over my head, then I do the same for her. Taking up a cloth she dampens it then soaps it. She scrubs me, from head to toes, not being overtly sexual to begin with. Handing me the cloth she turns her back to me, inviting me to wash her back which I do. Starting at her neck, I work my way down her back. Reaching her bottom, I stop to wash her arms, then drop to my knees and begin washing her legs. Scrubbing down to her feet on one leg then back up the other. Avoiding her crotch for the time being, I wash her belly and breasts. Then kissing her, I step close and start on her crotch. Soon our hard nipples are caressing each others, our hands busy washing our lower lips. Breaking the kiss, I rinse the cloth out, then rub her down, removing the soap, stopping several times to rinse the cloth. Wiping the last of the soap from her breasts, I then kiss the hard nipple, giving it the slight nips with my teeth which gets a groan from her. She takes the cloth then starts using it on me, wiping the soap from my crotch, making sure there is none left. Then pulling me to the bed she straddles me, kissing my nipples, nibbling on them as I had hers. She slowly kissed her way down, licking my navel, then using her fingers, exposed my nubbin which she kisses, sucking on it, using her tongue. My back arched, I grabbed her head, pushing it into me. Her tongue started swirling around my nubbin, pushing me to and over the edge, I climax hard.

Leaving me laying there, she snuffs all but one of the candles then moves me around on the bed, then covers both of us with the sheet. Leaning over she blows out the last candle. Snuggling next to me, she kisses me again. "Good night, love."