Emily wished she didn't have to have dinner with the duchess every night since she'd returned. She wasn't sure what the reason was for it, but it was starting to get annoying. Especially since the duchess hadn't spoken to her about what it was that she wanted from her.
As Emily was certain there was something she was going to be asked. Something that these dinners were leading up to.
Every night since she'd returned and given her report, including the unwelcome advances that had been continuously made, she'd been having dinner with the duchess, her family, and a rotating cast of some of her advisors. Including the captain that kept trying to force Emily into her bed.
Fortunately, Emily hadn't encountered that woman since then, although she suspected that she was still making plans on how to get Emily into her bed. Plans Emily was determined to thwart, no matter what the cost.
Tonight, however, there seemed to be something different. Instead of the usual assortment of advisors or higher ranking people for the duchess, there was a woman whom Emily hadn't seen before. With her was a young man in a dress that was heavily decorated.
Dinner had yet to be served, but everyone was already at the table by the time Emily had arrived. She wasn't sure what to make of this change, only that she was directed to sit by the duchess when she tried to excuse herself. She suspected that the guest was a noble or something that was here on business or other and thought that she should leave so as not to intrude. Yet, the duchess seemed to want Emily there anyway.
What that reason was, Emily hadn't figured out yet. All that had been talked about was how various trades were doing, the weather, and general topics that were more pleasantries than anything else. No one had spoken to Emily at all, where typically the duchess' daughter, Fluerine, always had had at least one question for her by this time.
Fluerine had long dark purple hair, electric pink eyes and could be rather hot tempered when she wanted to be. A side that she seemed to show more often in defense of Emily than towards her. Though Emily hadn't been able to figure out if there were any reasons for that or not. Other than that, she seemed like any other ten year-old she'd encountered before.
"So, enough with all this pretext," the strange woman said. "I'm sure you know why we came here tonight."
"Of course," Versith said, nodding. "You wish to see how compatible your son and my heir are."
"Mother," Fluerine protested, looking like she might be close to grinding her teeth. "You know I don't like this."
"Be that as it may, you're still obligated to accept a match I determine the queen would approve of for you," Versith replied firmly.
"As you can see, my son is the very image of a masculine boy," the woman said as if there hadn't been any interruption. "He doesn't have any ideas that aren't improper, he knows his duty, and he's more than willing to submit to whoever his future wife will be."
Versith sighed, as if there was something about what the woman had said that irritated her. Though, Emily wasn't sure what it was, since she knew she'd be irritated with the whole statement in general. While she knew that this wasn't her culture, she still didn't care to even listen to this subject being discussed. It made her feel much like when the captain had been trying to get her in bed.
Though, she also felt bad for Fluerine who really didn't look like she wanted to be there. Which was a stark contrast to the young man who looked like he would have been fine if it was being discussed to marry him to a turkey or something. Emily wasn't sure if there was anything that this boy would do if told to do it.
The duchess opened her mouth to say something when a servant burst in through a side door, and nearly wilted under Versith's glare. But despite that, he still went forward, clutching his skirts in his hands as if that would make everything okay. When he reached the duchess, he whispered something in her ear that seemed to make the duchess' eyes flash in anger.
"You're sure of this?" she asked, sounding like she was ready to lash out at someone.
The servant nodded, looking like he was preparing to be the one the duchess vented her wrath on.
"Mother?" Fluerine asked, a note of hope in her voice. "What is it?"
The duchess glanced at her daughter and sighed before turning to the other woman and the young man. "I'm sorry, but there seems to be something that I'll need to take care of. I promise it won't take long."
"Of course," the woman replied, making it somehow sound like she was the gracious one for allowing Versith the opportunity to deal with whatever had just come up.
Versith didn't say anything, though if she had, Emily would have expected it to be rather biting. Regardless of if she was a guest or not.
Emily couldn't say that she understood what her purpose for being here was, especially when she hadn't been included in any of the conversation. She figured that she might as well have continued walking when she had tried to leave after arriving in this room and gone hungry if needed. It wouldn't have been the first time she missed a meal and Emily couldn't say that it wouldn't have been worth it right then to miss dinner to avoid being here with nothing to do at all.
"So, what is it that you do for the duchess?" the woman asked, turning to Emily with a predatory look in her eyes. "It must be important for her to insist you stay and have dinner with us."
"I really have no idea what was going through Versith's mind when she had me stay," Emily replied, wondering if even speaking at this point was a mistake. "I'm from another world, so I've helped her with being a liaison and interpreter with that world so she could improve what she has to sell others in this world."
"Is that so?" the woman asked politely, though it was clear she didn't believe a word Emily said.
"What would you do if you couldn't get back to your… world, was it?" the young man asked, disdain dripping from every word he said.
"Well, I'd make the most of it," Emily replied, unsure if she'd be able to ignore the question in the first place. She certainly had a feeling these two were up to something. Especially with how the woman's son hadn't spoken until this moment. "Make things so I'd at least be able to live comfortably, if nothing else."
Emily wasn't sure what to expect the next question for her to be, but she didn't have to find out because as soon as she was finished with her sentence, almost as if she planned it, Versith returned.
"Sorry about that," she apologized, sounding in a much better mood than she had when she'd left. "I had unexpected guests appear that I'll take care of later. They're not as important as you right now."
"What kind of guests are they?" the woman asked sounding rather curious.
The duchess merely waved her hand as if to dispel a foul odor. "They're not the kind I've seen before, I can say that much. Otherwise I'll have to wait and see what it is that they have to say."
"Mother, would I be able to meet with them?" Fluerine asked, her eyes full of hope.
However, Versith shook her head. "They're not suitable for you to meet," she answered firmly. "You need to spend time with this young man and see if you two would be well matched or not."
Fluerine merely scowled at her mother and didn't say anything else.
Emily didn't know if there was anything that she could say or do about this that would have any effect. Especially since Fluerine looked like she'd already made up her mind about the boy at the dinner table. Not to mention how, from what Emily had seen so far, the boy seemed to take his direction from his mother more than anything else.
He certainly didn't seem like he was what his mother had described him to be. Which for Emily seemed like it might be a problem later on. Especially considering that marriage was being considered. Although, she wasn't sure how far down the road that would be. After all, it wasn't like Fluerine looked like she could get pregnant right then, which was what Emily knew marriages like this tended to be about, aside from the political considerations.
Not that she knew how similar this world actually was to Earth during the dark ages.
Yet, still the dinner continued from there, with Emily still the one pretty much left out.
_
Jenn couldn't say that she was surprised to be escorted to a room to wait. She hadn't really expected that the duchess would be available at a moment's notice. So, she endured the wait, even though she'd much rather just leave and find a bed at whatever inn her squad had secured.
However, she felt like she should at least give the duchess an explanation, if only so she knew that this wouldn't come back to bite her later on.
Jenn couldn't say how long they waited, but a gentle nudging from Star woke her up in time for the duchess to walk through the door with… Emily?
–Emily, what're you doing here?– Jenn shot out with her magic before anyone could say anything.
Emily didn't respond but merely stared blankly at Jenn.
"Emily, what's wrong?" the duchess snapped noticing her reaction when she stopped walking forward. "Do you know this young woman?"
–Pretend you don't.– Jenn pleaded. She wasn't sure if Emily would or not, but she at least hoped she would.
"I-" Emily hesitated, clearly working something through in her mind. "I guess not. She at least looks very similar to a girl I knew named Charlie."
Jenn let out a slow breath of relief. She didn't want to draw attention to it, but she couldn't help but let one out. If only because she knew that she'd just dodged a bullet there.
"In what ways is this person different from 'Charlie?'" the duchess pressed, glancing at Jenn as if she understood something that Jenn wasn't aware of. "How can you be sure she's not the same person?"
Emily shook her head. "Because the person I mentioned was on Earth the last time I saw her. When I first left to come on the mapping expedition that led me here."
The duchess nodded, but didn't look convinced. Jenn wasn't sure if it was a good thing or not, but she was pretty sure that the duchess wasn't fully buying Emily's statement. Not that Jenn could really blame her with how many holes it had to begin with.
However, the important part was that they were able to move on from the subject.
"So, where did you come across these creatures?" Versith asked Jenn. "I saw them from the castle and had to admit that they certainly are worth taking time out of my schedule to look at."
"Uh, this is Star," Jenn said, hoping that the duchess wouldn't pry into any holes her excuse had in it as she introduced Star. "I met their kind in the Forest of the Lost and I believe where they came from is close to the edge of the forest near your city here."
"Greetings," Star said, bowing her head. "It is nice to meet one born under the dawn star. I haven't seen one like you since I was a filly."
Versith blinked, clearly stunned. Jenn merely shrugged in way of apology and explained, "They look to the stars for guidance in all things. In fact, it was according to the stars that they wanted to meet with you."
The duchess arched an eyebrow and Jenn suspected that she was going to have to explain a good amount about that sooner rather than later, but she wasn't worried too much about it. As it certainly wasn't something that Versith could have been prepared to hear as well as the fact that Jenn had been learning a good amount about that recently as well.
"So, what do they want to meet with me for then?" the duchess asked, her tone not giving anything away.
"We would like to discuss with you about trade," Star replied without hesitation. The stars have said that we both will benefit from this arrangement, even if we don't know what the other will have to offer in exchange."
Versith nodded, though Jenn suspected that she was thinking about something other than trade. Not that she could be sure why she thought that.
"Are your people warriors?" Versith continued after a short pause. "Or are they something else?"
Star shook her head gently. "Each of us do what the star we're born under decide for us," Star explained. "Just as you're the start of a new chapter for your line, and Jenn here is a force for change, all of us are limited to what the star we were born under had directed for us at that time." Star then glanced at Emily. "Though I can't say what star your companion was born under. It's not one that I've had experience with."
Versith didn't say anything, but Jenn had a feeling that she wasn't sure what to say. Not that Jenn blamed her. After all, she herself was much like that as well at that moment. The fact that the duchess was described as 'the start of a new chapter for her line' wasn't something she had expected to hear. Nor was she really sure what that meant or why it was important for Jenn to be here in the first place.
Since that was part of what Star had said that had gotten her to agree to bring them here.
"What do you make of this, Jenn?" the duchess asked, making Jenn feel like she as about to get skewered by the duchess with a glare just for what she knew that she wasn't going to tell the duchess about.
"All I can really say is that Star seems to be rather accurate in what she says, even if I don't understand how she could be in the first place."
"You mean, you believe her about all that?" Emily asked, sounding a little incredulous. Not that she blamed Emily.
"I'm not sure if it's the stars or anything, but I think it could easily be a kind of magic that they have that lets them know these kinds of things," Jenn explained, hoping this would satisfy the duchess. After all, Jenn didn't need to be there for any discussions on trade.
The duchess nodded. Looking like she was satisfied, but then suddenly she looked at Jenn again and she had a feeling she wasn't going to escape her so easily.
"And just how long have you known this Star?" the duchess asked. "How long did you know about these creatures before coming to let me know about them?"
Jenn opened her mouth, even though she had absolutely no idea what she was going to say. After all, it's not like the duchess was wrong to assume that Jenn had been wanting to hide the existence of the centaurs from her.
"The stars let us know when the time is right for us to go anywhere or even introduce ourselves," Star replied before Jenn had a chance to speak. "It just wasn't time for you to know about us at that time, that's all. The stars directed it and so we know that it'll be necessary to betray a trust if the stars let us know the end will be better if we do that rather than what is right."
Jenn blinked. She wasn't sure if it was just her or not, but the way that Star had phrased that made it sound worse than Jenn was sure it was supposed to be. Glancing at Emily, she got the sense that Emily had picked up on that same point as well.
However, Versith wasn't going to let Jenn off the hook that easily. "You didn't answer my question," she said, her tone taking on a malevolent feel. "How long did you know about these creatures before you brought them here?"
Jenn cleared her throat, doing her best to sound less terrified than she was starting to feel right then. However, when she spoke, her voice gave her away. "Uh, about maybe… uh, I think one or two months?"
The duchess looked stunned for a moment before her eyes took on a sad cast. "I really thought that we could be friends," Versith said sounding a little sad as well. Which Jenn took to mean that things weren't going to end well for her right then.
"If you try to harm her, the demon star will protect her," Star interjected. "Just as the stars told us to wait with her and learn what we could about this world while she took care of her own business first and I learned the language of your people."
The duchess blinked, again stunned before taking on a look of outrage. "You dare threaten me?!" she demanded.
Star instead shook her head gently. "I'm merely pointing out the facts, your grace. If you try to harm her, the stars will protect her and you'll have to face their anger. Even being born under the dawn star won't save you. Only if you were born under the demon star would you be able to affect her. As sometimes change can change itself."
While Jenn understood the words that had been said, she wasn't sure she really understood what the meaning was. It felt like she was listening to one of her teachers lectures on a subject she had no interest in. Like English. Although, the biggest difference between those classes and this moment was the fact that those classes weren't as much of a danger to her life as this moment was.