The door to Rufina's bed chamber slowly opens allowing Sophia to slip inside. She removes her skirt and blouse, lifts the sheet and slides in next to Rufina. She is on her side, her back to Sophia, hugging her pillow. Sophia snuggles into her back, placing her upper arm over Rufina, pulling her close. Rufina makes a contented sigh, snuggling back against her, still asleep. There is enough skin to skin contact that Sophia easily slips into Rufina's mind, entering her dreams.

Rufina is in her library dream space again, the bight new one near her home, sitting at a computer. When Sophia comes up behind her, she is watching a video of Irish women using spinning wheels to spin wool into yarn. There is a note pad beside her, covered in notes and small drawings.

"So you were able to get a connection?"

"Yes, I was browsing the shelves when the librarian told me this machine had access to the internet. So I started searching for things. My social network accounts don't work and I can't post anything but I'm able to access videos and search information sites."

"How do you feel? Tried, confused or hyper?"

"Oh, earlier I was confused and anxious but I feel fine now. Is this the result of what you did to me?"

"Yes, it appears so. I wasn't sure what form it would take. When you are awake we will need to have you try recalling something. Are you ready to wake or do you need a little longer?" Rufina shakes her head. "You have about ten minutes before Tilly comes to wake you. I'll see you when you wake." She leaned down and gave her a hug, then faded away.

Gently hugging Rufina then slipping out of the bed, Sophia redresses and goes around the atrium where she entered Marks room. There she knock on the bedchamber door, saying, "Time to get up you two, It's 595."

She exited, continuing around the balcony to Helen and Eliza's rooms, where she knocked on Eliza's chamber doors, saying, "Morning sleepyhead, 598, time to get up."

She entered Helen's chamber, going to the bed. Helen was still asleep, wrapped around her pillow. Sophia leaned down and kissed her neck behind her jaw, then whispered in her ear,"Wake up sweetie." Helen responded by rolling to her back then reaching up, pulling Sophia into a kiss.

"Will you bathe me like you did Emi?" She whispered in Sophia's ear after finishing the kiss.

"If you wish. I think I now understand why Rufina wants a large bath. Anyway, get up, it's after 600 now. Rufina will be going to do T'ai Chi any moment," going to Helen's wardrobe, she pulled out a skirt and blouse for her to wear.

* * *

"Rufina, time to wake up."

Rufina rolls to her back, her eyes opening to the sight of Tilly's face above her. "Good morning Tilly. How are you today?" giving her a smile.

"I'm fine, your majesty. What would like for breakfast this morning?"

"Omelets and toast, I think. Yes, that sounds good. What fruit is available?" Sitting up then swinging her legs off the bed, she got up.

"Plums, apples and pears, the pears are fresh."

"Oh, pears, definitely pears." She had gone to the wardrobe, choosing a skirt and blouse, which she laid on the bed. Turning to Tilly she gave her a hug, "Thank you, Tilly."

"For what, Rufina?"

"For be so understanding, patient and loving. You reminded me of my grandmothers, though you aren't nearly old enough to be one yet." She paused, "Or are you? To me you look to be in your early forties. That is old enough in the here and now, isn't it?"

"Yes, I am a grandmother, thank you for saying I look to be in my early forties, I'm forty nine soon to be fifty."

"Do your children live nearby?" She still held Tilly in a light hug, looking at her.

"My two daughters and a son live in Four Rivers, I'm not sure where my youngest son is, he got wanderlust shortly after coming of age and left the island. My husband died five years or so ago, just before I started working here. I had no wish to live with my children any longer, though I love them dearly, they can be a pain to live with. You are much easier to live with. I'll go start breakfast, see you in a bit." She kissed Rufina's forehead as she hugged her, "Love you, your majesty. Now get dressed," Swatting Rufina on the butt as she turned to leave.

After Tilly left, Rufina went to the chamber pot, a scowl on her face, "I have got to get rid of these stinky things. But how is the question?" After using it and cleaning up, she put on the skirt and blouse she had chosen. Because she was going to be wearing her boots later she put on a pair of calf high stockings then slipped her slippers on.

When she exited her rooms everyone but Aden and Tilly were waiting for her. "Good morning all, I hope you all slept well, we are in for a busy day," as she lead them to the garden. When they passed the kitchen Aden and Tilly joined them. After they had removed their footwear and had lined up in rows, Rufina lead them in the forms that they all knew. As she got in to forms that some didn't know, she told them to watch and learn, soon it was down to Emi and her, then just her doing them. After doing three forms that Emi didn't know she fell into vertical centering, relaxing totally for a minute.

As they began putting their footwear back on, she asked what everyone had planned for the day. Mark had some business to attend to. Aden was supervising the beginnings of the threshing. Helen wanted to get some cloth made, she was behind on it. Emi had some maid duties to attend to. Eliza said she should work on the card drawings. Sophia said that she was going where Rufina went today.

"Mark, did you get the things ordered last night?"

"Yes, your majesty, the order has been placed, you should have it before I leave."

"Good. I will be going to town to talk to the craftsmen about assorted things. I will be ordering some bowls for the Go pieces, which would you rather have, all wood, all ceramic or a mix? Wood could take a while to make, I'm not sure two matching bowls could be made in the time we have, let alone ten. I will ask the woodworker about that and let you know."

They had reached the table, having settled into their customary seats, as Emi starts bringing place settings out. "Aden, how do you intend to do the threshing?"

"When we tested the thresher, grain was scattered around below the machine so I was thinking I would have a tarp placed on the ground beneath it, then catch the grain in buckets to be poured in to sacks. Do you have plans for the straw and chaff?"

"The straw has many uses, animal bedding, binder in bricks and mulch. The chaff can be placed back on the fields to rot. What is going to be planted now that the grain is harvested?"

"The fields will be burnt then plowed, which will take three to four weeks, By that time the rains wil be close then some of the fields will be replanted to grain and the rest put to fallow. Do you have a suggestion?"

"Depends on what's available. First don't burn the fields, burning is bad, it destroys the humus in the soil, which helps hold water and is essential for the fertility of the soil. If there were more animals available I would suggest letting them in to the fields, First cows then a couple days later chickens. Is it too early to plant chickpea?"

"Chickpea?"

"Garbanzo bean. Cicer, the one I'm familiar with is white bean the size of the tip of my smallest finger, that grows one or two to a pod."

"Oh, I think I know that bean." says Tilly, who has joined us, bringing with her the last of the omelets. Emi had brought plates of toast and sliced pears earlier, plus pairs of omelets as Tilly finished them. She went into the kitchen, returning with a handful of white chickpeas.

"Oh, chih pease, yes, it's early to plant those. They are usually planted in the spring once the trees start to bud or shortly after."

"Can anything be planted now? Weeds will start growing if something isn't planted soon, which will mean more work later, getting rid of them. Lentils?"

"I will ask the farmers what can be planted now. Why do you want something planted so soon?"

"Nature will plant something if we don't. The longer the soil is bare the more it loses nutrients and when the rains do come the soil will be able to absorb the rain. The best time to plant the new crop would be to plant it before harvesting the previous one, less weed competition, less disturbing of the soil, less of a chance for erosion and the crop stubble helps keep the soil cooler and moister."

"Ugh, sorry, that is one of my buttons. The farming methods on Earth while producing large quantities of food, damage the land. Huge machines plow the fields until they were dust, then the wind blows it away or the rain would wash it away. And when the weeds tried to grow the farmers would spray poisons on them to the point that only the most hardy weeds survived so stronger poisons would be needed. These poisons were supposed to be safe for humans but fifty years later they were found not to be. The hugh machines caused the soil to be compacted, so compacted that the plants couldn't grow and the rain would flow off without soaking in. The farmers would grow only one type of crop season after season, stripping the soil of the nutrients until the plants were so sick they wouldn't grow and even the weeds wouldn't grow."

"My job, what I trained in school for was how to return the land to a state as near to wild as could be. Nature takes centuries to recover land, I can do it in decades. And after five years or so can get a crop out of it while doing it. I don't want to get our soil anywhere near that point if I can help it."

"I'll let the farmers know your wishes on this. They will probably not want to do it, though."

"Find me one or two that will do it, please. We can do one or two farms to display the methods, then the others will follow."

Everyone had finished their breakfast and were listening to me rant on farming practices on Earth. When I wound down they started to clean up, taking piles of plates and the remains back to the kitchen. Eliza and Helen started washing the dishes as the rest of us cleaned the table and put things away. While in the kitchen I checked the cooler, the cup of water was quite cold but the pot looked dry, only being damp on the bottom hand width. I pointed this out to Tilly who brought a pitcher of water and filled it. "Make sure to water it at least twice a day, morning and evening. I watered it last night so it uses water quickly."

As we are exiting the kitchen I say, "Aden, watch the chaff coming out of the thresher for large wheat berries, if they wouldn't go though the grill on the thresher I want them."

"Large wheat berries, alright. If there aren't any, what do you want me to do?"

"I will be talking to Daniel about making a grain sorter. Ah, is there a scale in town? If there is, how big is it?"

"There is a small one in town, one of bakers has one."

"There isn't one big enough to measure a sack of grain then?"

"No, not that I know of."

"Another project then." Looking around at everyone I put a smile on my face, "Everyone have a good morning, I'll see you at dinner, if not sooner." With that I retreated to the study to sketch some plans, a bar scale, a grain sizer and Go piece pots.

The other went to various places in the palace and to town. Soon quiet had settled on the palace.

* * *

After breakfast they all went in different directions, Mark and Aden to town to take care of business, Tilly to the kitchen, Emi up stairs to do maid things, Eliza to the her drawings and Rufina to the study, leaving Helen and Sophia at the table. "Do you want your bath now or later, Helen?"

"Now would be a nice way to start the day."

"Alright, I'll get a pitcher of water then, you head to my rooms." I went to the kitchen and was soon going up stairs with a pitcher of hot water. Helen had already poured cool water in the basin so I topped it off with hot. As I was doing that she undid the frog on my skirt, allowing it the drop to the floor. She then undid her own skirt, removing it then her blouse. She then knelt, lifting one of my feet, sliding my stocking off, then repeated on the other foot. I help her to stand then knelt myself to remove her stockings in the same way. When I stood I took her in my arms and kissed her, licking her lips before sucking them gently. My tongue roamed her mouth, wrestled with her tongue then withdrew, sucking her tongue to my mouth where I suckled it. As I was doing this her hands were squeezing my lower cheeks, kneading them. Then they were up under my blouse, sliding into my bra, kneading my breasts, pinching the nipples. I lifted my blouse over my head, throwing it on the chest at the foot of the bed. As she played with my breasts, I slide her chemise over her head, revealing her breasts, which my hands were soon caressing. Our panties and my bra soon joined my blouse on the chest.

When her hand found my smooth mound she stopped and took a step back the better to see my body. "That is what Emi did for me last night, I asked her to do it after seeing her do it to Rufina."

"I like it, so smooth and silky. What else did she do?"

"Well, this." I pushed her to the bed then buried my face in her crotch, licking and sucking at her folds, working my way to her nubbin. I soon had that protrusion between my lips, suck on it. then releasing it to lick it. Soon my fingers joined the fun, caressing her folds. Then one, soon two finally three, were in her tunnel, rubbing the back side of her nubbin, which made her moan, "Oh, Sophia, Oh Goddess." Her fluids started to flow, soon my hand was covered in the slippery stuff, as I continued to lick her nubbin, one of the fingers slide into her anus, slowly, first to the first joint then the second finally to the third and beyond. I was slowly pushing it in and pulling it out, wiggling it as I did so. I willed my tongue to be come longer as I licked up the fluids, then slide it deep into her tunnel, caressing the spot behind her nubbin, all the while wiggling the finger in her anus and caressing the nubbin. Soon her back arched, her fluids gushing out and then she collapsed, passed out. I crawled up her body, licking and sucking on different things until I reach her face, where I kissed her deeply.

Getting up, I moved her to the rug on the floor then I soaped my hands and started to soap her down, starting with her face then working my way down her body, bypassing her crotch for the moment. Soon the front of her body is soaped, I then raise each leg and soap around each one, paying attention to her feet and toes. I put her arms over her head then roll her over to her stomach so I can wash her back, finishing by giving her sex a thorough rubbing. Then using a wet cloth I rinse her. Through it all she is unconscious. I check her mind, it is happily replaying the event. I lay her back on the bed, with her head hanging off the edge, then wash her hair, giving her a scalp massage. As I am drying her hair she stirs, finally waking up. When her eyes open I say, "Welcome back, Sweetie."

"Wow, just Wow."

We cuddle for a bit, then she starts caressing me, my nipples, my folds, then places her mouth on my mound, licking and sucking. She is doing to me as I did to her, but varying it a little. She's atop me, her legs on either side of my head, her slit in front of my face, while hers is buried in mine. The fingers of both her hands are probing my orifices, the upper supplying the lubricant for the lower. As I approach climax my tongue starts to lick at her again, going the full length of her slit, around her anus, then back to her nubbin which cause her to moan on my nubbin, was starts a feedback loop of me moaning on her and her moaning on me. Soon we both climax hard though nether gush fluids this time.

We cuddle again, catching our breathes, then both stand. She soaps her hands then soaps me, starting at my neck going down my back then my legs, up the my stomach, down each arm with close attention to my hands. She has me lie on the floor so she can wash my feet and toes. Then she wipes me off with a cloth. She is just finishing that when I 'hear' Rufina ask, 'Sophia, are you ready to go?' "Rufina's on the way to get us." We gather our clothes, putting them on fast as possible but still make her wait while we finish dressing.

"Are you ready to goto town?" She inquired.

"When you are, your majesty. Will we be swimming today?"

"I don't think we will have time, I need to start writing the instructions for Go today. We probably won't go swimming for a few days, sadly."

"Too bad, I enjoy doing that."

"I do, too," Helen puts in.