When leaving the council room, Highthorn approached me. “Lady Astrid, Tara wanted to hang out with you. You don’t need to, but Liz and I thought it would be great if we did a picnic outside of the village. Ugh, would you like to come?” he said, rubbing the back of his head.

I had a small flashback of my family having a picnic; the memory warmed my heart. I wanted to read, but I want to be with people close to me even more. When did I become such a socialite? There was time to read later. After we opened up, I could set aside time to consume chapters every day. Oh, maybe next trip we could do a reading picnic! I could take out Tara and Thon and get some reading done. Yeah, let’s do that.

Highthorn’s eyes lit up and his shoulders stood tall. “That’s great, I shall run ahead and tell Liz!” He tried to walk fast, legs making small swings before he gave up and took off at a jog. I noticed an older gentleman staring at us.

I wanted to give them some time to prepare, so I tried to think of what to do. Then I realized I hadn’t talked to someone new that day. My head swung from side to side, looking for my prey. I spotted an older man with a charcoal-spotted tail swinging around. It was slightly mesmerizing, with contrasting shades. MUSN' T TOUCH! My head shook as I snapped out of it. His ears were larger than normal, with fur coming out from the inside of the ears. He kept glancing at me earlier while I was talking to Highthorn, so I thought I would introduce myself.

So I walked over to him and his shoulder tightened inwardly. He looked away, trying to pretend I hadn’t seen him. “Hello there, I am Lady Astrid. What’s your name?” I said, feeling like a dork because obviously, he knew my name.

“My name is Plenner, Lady Astrid. Sorry for any discourtesy,” he said in a low voice, eyes darting about.

“None, taken. I noticed you looking at me. Was it out of admiration or worship, or did you have a question?” I asked, really hoping it wasn’t out of worship. I had read stories where people had treasured the very ground their deity walked on.

“I just wanted to thank you for what you have done so far. This place has become so much better.”

Whew, not worship. “You are welcome. How long have you been here?”

“Sixty-seven years. I came when I was very young.”

“That is a very long time. If I remember correctly this place was very new then.”

“Yes, it wasn’t even recognized yet. The old queen’s parents ran the kingdom back then. We were sent out in waves back then. This place was just getting its foothold back then. Not everyone stayed.”

“What happened to the others?”

“Some went alone in many directions. Some people left in groups to set up somewhere safer out of the kingdom’s reach. All of us here stayed too worried about the calamity beasts. We also never heard from the others that had gone further, so didn’t think it was safe to follow them.”

“That is horrible,” I said, thinking about what to do. I decided to look around and see if I could find the others later. “Why did you restart so close?”

“From what I heard, a lot of this place was already set up. There were markings from some cult called, ‘The Necro Goddesses Disciples’, but most of their markings have faded away. There were also some really old smugglers’ supplies. It was safe, and we could help new people as they came by.”

That made sense. I wondered if this had been here back in my previous time here. If it was well hidden, I would have never known about it. My mind blitzed as a memory floated before me, causing me to have a flashback.

📖💀📖💀📖

“Oh, great avatar of death, I beseech your help in advancing my knowledge of the dark arts.” A sickly pale-looking man with tattered dark roads said, approaching me.

“I appreciate your wanting to read more, but you’re interrupting my reading time,” I said, tapping the stack of books I was holding.

His lips pulling to one side, gesturing he was unsure of how to respond slightly annoyed me. We sat there looking at each other before I spoke first. “What’s the problem you’re running into? You have access to every book you know where they are. I’m not your avatar of death. I’m pretty sure my fan club would have a problem with you and yours for framing me in such a way.”

His brows furrowed at the mention of my fan club. “Yes, while they are correct in worshiping you, they do so wrongly.” I glared at him while tapping my books. He quickly continued on. “We have read all the books and even some of your papers. We simply cannot make the correct connections.”

“It sounds like you’re having a problem with research versus reality. Go practice inside the dungeon to figure out what’s missing.” That should get them off my back for a while.

His eyes went wide, having a revelation. “Yes, Necro Goddess, we are merely your disciples. Thank you for giving us the path to follow.” He said, scurrying off before I could yell at him.

“I really hope that doesn’t stick,” I said, tapping my books headed back to my room to read more.

📖💀📖💀📖

They must’ve made it out. I hope they’re still not around.

After my flashback, Plenner and I talked for a bit more about what changes he liked. I drew the conversation to an end. I was too excited about the picnic. So I headed off at a faster pace, but not at a jog like Highthorn.

When I arrived at the Valwrecks’ place, I knocked. The door swung open, with Liz and Highthorn carrying baskets. The children behind them. Tara waved to me with a smile showing adorable dimples. CUTE!

“Just in time, Lady Astrid. We are going to a small alcove around the side of the hill. We brought some mushie to cook along with some heat stones.” She said, lifting the baskets.

“I got the other stuff like a blanket, water sacks, and utensils,” Highthorn added.

“Oh, wonderful. I will get some drinks from the library once we get there!” I said, thinking about adding making a special drink dispenser for the village. A good fruity drink really hits the spot while reading.

Tara and Thin grabbed my hands on either side as we followed their parents. These kids are the best!

We made our way outside to the small little alcove. There wasn’t much there but a dead tree and some decorative rocks to sit on with various carvings inside of them. The alcove protected us from the harsh wind. I added this place to the ever-growing list of places to read once I actually got a chance to.

As they set up, I hopped into the library and grabbed some pitchers of drinks. I got some lemonade and blueberry fizzy pop. The guardian bears waved to me as I went by. It almost seemed like they missed me, which was odd considering they would run away when I would hunt them down to cuddle them. Maybe they understood it was a game. I thought they were just golems, but maybe there’s something more. It was yet another thing to add to my list of things I had to research.

I came out with the drinks and popped some glasses into existence. I poured some drinks for everyone. “There is lemonade and blueberry fizzy pop. Feel free to drink as much as you like. I can always grab more.”

“Thank you,” Liz said, consuming her blueberry drink. That was her favorite flavor, which is why brought it.

While we ate, I brought up a conversation. “So, how do you like it so far? There’s a lot going on. I don’t even have a chance to read.”

Liz grinned at me. “It’s been wonderful for us. We are so glad we decided to come with you. We get so much more respect here and can help. Why don’t you just read right now?”

“Because I feel guilty about the state of the otherkin. It’s hard to enjoy a book without a clear mind. That’s one of the reasons I would write so many papers about what I read because things would be bothering me and I wanted to put my thoughts into words that allowed me to clear my mind.”

“That’s a really good idea. I will have to get the children to do that.”

“Not more homework!” Thon said, whining.

Highthorn and I just laughed a little.

Liz grinned at Highthorn. “You shouldn’t laugh, either. You’re going to be learning with them. I don’t have time to write your reports for you anymore, so until you can get an assistant, you have to pick up the slack.”

He huffed and looked downward while everyone laughed at his reaction.

He went and set up a mini grill similar to the one in the mushie farm alcove. Liz and him prepared the food while Thon and Tara told to be all about the books they had been reading. While I was extremely happy to have newly forming bookworms to talk to, I was also extremely jealous, but for now, I could just settle for living vicariously through them.

I wanted to read something new, but I was already familiar with the quality of the books in the library. They had been vetted many times throughout history. The rest of the outing with smoothly. The food was delicious as usual. We packed up and parted ways once we got back into the mountain.

As I headed back to my room to turn in for the night, I ran into Feinna. She was standing near the entrance to my room, twisting and turning with her hands behind her back. Hmmm, what does she have for me?

“H—Hello Lady Astrid. I brought you something. I ugh—well, I don’t think it’s good enough, but grandpa insisted. If you ugh—don’t like it, please tell me what to fix or just trash it.” She said, stumbling out her sentence, trying to maintain composure.

Fix? My mind put the pieces together and my lips and cheeks rose as I tried to hold back a squee. HER BOOK ITS DONE!!!!! Calm down, RELAX! “So, can I see what it is?”

She slowly brought out the object from behind her back. I noticed the binding on it immediately. It was from the supply in the library. The title read “The Knight’s Star-Crossed Commoner”. It was nearly impossible for me to contain myself. It had such a wonderful title. I always enjoyed reading romance even if I didn’t care for the act of it. She held it out, eyes closed.

“It looks wonderful!” I said excitedly, taking the book from her hands and holding it to my chest. A BOOK FROM A NON-FAN CLUB MEMBER! “It will be the first thing I read since I came back here.”

She winced slightly looking at me. “Please wait until the newcomers settle in. I wouldn’t want my book to cause them to wait.”

I exhaled. Can’t I just read? “If that’s what you want. I can make time. It won’t take me long.”

“Yes, please. May I go?” she said, looking overstimulated.

I nodded, and she took off before I could say another word. She really needs to calm down., so we can hang out. I will get her when I finish the book. For that, I need to hurry and get this place up and running. I headed off to bed, holding my new book tight. They had better have their act together in the kingdom when I visit. I need to read this asap.

I went back to do research and to get some sleep, preparing for tomorrow’s visit and delegation. Maybe there would be a chance to read the book in between sessions. I had waited far too long to read something new.