Chapter 40 part 1

It was late afternoon when Emily was escorted into a heavily furnished room. There were a couple of couches that had plump orange cushions, green curtains, intricately woven carpets that almost looked like a tapestry itself which contrasted with the tapestries on the walls of the room, and while there was a windowsill by each of the windows, each windowsill had a light purple cushion on them.

"Wait here please," their escort told them. "The duchess will be with you shortly."

Emily sighed as their escort shut the door. She couldn't help but drop herself on one of the cushions on one of the couches. Her feet were sore from walking through the city, then this building, which she couldn't decide if it was a mansion or a palace. Either way, it took a while to get through. Although, it didn't help when they were stopped at each gate, such as at the city walls, then before they reached this building, then against the entrance of the building. Each time it seemed like Emily and the three people with her had to get a new escort. Emily couldn't understand what the reason for that was, but it wasn't like she could expect an answer if she had even asked.

Emily noticed Eddra was just standing halfway between the door and the couch Emily sat on. She looked like she wasn't sure what to do, not that Emily could blame her. Vaelis and Kaelys were running around enthusiastically exploring the room as only children could do.

"What's going to happen?" Eddra asked, her voice thick with worry.

"From what I understand, the duchess wants to talk with at least me. So long as I don't screw this up, I'm sure that I'll be able to keep you and your kids safe. No matter what I have to do," Emily promised.

Eddra looked at the children as they who were busy looking out the windows, excited at how high up they were. Emily couldn't help but smirk as she looked at them herself. She could only imagine how they'd react if they were able to ride one of the really big ferris wheels at some amusement parks on Earth. Though, she hoped they didn't try to do anything too outrageous.

"Any idea how long they'll make us wait this time?" Emily asked.

Eddra looked at Emily and her lips twitched, but she didn't say anything.

Emily sighed. "Look, I'm sorry I got you and your kids caught up in this," Emily said, wondering if she should stop talking and stay quiet herself.

Yet, Eddra remained silent, making Emily feel like Eddra was getting more and more distant from her. It saddened her to feel like that and she hoped it was just her imagination and that Eddra was just overwhelmed with what's been going on. Though, it was possible that Eddra was so quiet because she was scared herself about being in such an environment. If Emily hadn't come from a world that was much more luxurious than this room, then she might have been more nervous herself.

Suddenly a loud sound of fabric tearing tore through the silence. Emily and Eddra looked in the direction the sound came from. Vaelis was looking at the cushion that his feet had apparently torn open a hole in. Emily glanced at Eddra and saw that her face had paled. Not that Emily could blame her. It wasn't like she'd have the money to replace the pillow. Nor was it likely something that they'd be able to hide.

Emily stood up from the couch, a little annoyed that she couldn't remain sitting, but she knew that if she didn't do anything then Eddra probably would do something rash herself. Possibly trying to leave this palace and take her two kids with her.

As Emily reached the cushion, gently pushing Vaelis to the side and was muttering the words so she'd be able to use her magic to repair the cushion, Duchess Versith walked in through the door.

The duchess had black hair, purple eyes, black skin, and was probably around six and a half feet. She was definitely the tallest woman Emily had ever met. Though, it still bothered her seeing bearded women so frequently around this world. She didn't have anything against them, but it did make her feel more of an outsider than anything else did in this world.

Eddra didn't waste a moment and prostrated herself in front of the duchess and Emily suspected that if Vaelis and Kaelys were in reach if she'd make them prostrate themselves as well.

"I'm sorry about the cushion. I'll do what I can to replace it. Please don't take it out on my son," Eddra pleaded.

The duchess glanced at Emily who merely shook her head and continued to pull on her magic to repair the tear in the cushion. As she did so, Emily was a little surprised to see how thin the fabric was. It felt like it had been around, and gotten a lot of use, for at least a few years. Which meant that it probably wasn't that important to the duchess. Not that Eddra was aware of that fact.

Although, as Emily considered it, she couldn't help but consider how much the cushion probably cost, even as worn as it is currently. After all, if she was correct about their technological level in this world, they didn't have synthetic dyes, so this would be rather expensive on its own from that alone. Although, things could be different on this world, but Emily had a feeling that colors like blue, red, and purple were probably of similar value as they were when Earth had this level of technology.

When Emily was finished, the duchess bent over enough to touch Eddra on the top of her head. "Your friend has fixed the cushion. There's nothing for you to repay now," the duchess said.

Emily could only sigh in annoyance as Eddra merely cowered even more. She had hoped that Eddra would at least calm down, but now she wasn't sure that was going to be possible while the duchess was in the room. Or at least until Eddra calmed down until she got used to being here. Which Emily couldn't be sure if that was going to happen or not.

"Anyway, you're the one I wanted to talk with," the duchess said as she turned to face Emily, her voice a rich baritone.

Emily had to force herself to keep from gritting her teeth. "What do you want from me?" Emily asked, feeling defensive all of a sudden. She didn't worry about Eddra or the children, but she suddenly felt like she might be walking through some dangerous territory here.

"My, so defensive," the duchess laughed, her tone so friendly, Emily almost wanted to trust her completely. "The reports about your spirit were not exaggerated."

Emily couldn't help but scowl. The fact that there were 'reports' on her, then meant that Emily had been under observation or something. The fact that she wasn't aware of when or how these reports were made only annoyed her even more. Or even had suspicions on when they occurred.

However, the duchess didn't seem to even notice Emily's reaction to that statement. She just merely acted as if they were talking about the weather.

"I was told that you were the one who escaped when my women discovered you coming out of the building that was supposed to be empty, so I guess I can't be too surprised. Yet, I can't help but wonder what reasons you have for staying by my city for so long after that," the duchess said.

Emily sighed. She couldn't think of where this conversation might be going, but she did get the sense that she might be able to figure out what exactly was going on and why the duchess had her people trying to capture her in the first place. That was certainly something she'd been wondering about quite a bit during her leisure time in this world. Which she'd had a lot of during the months that she'd been here.

"Look, I stayed by this city because I wanted to try and rescue my friends," Emily said, not seeing any reason to hide her reasons for not wanting to leave by the city, but she couldn't be sure she could trust the duchess with everything about her either. Not that she truly thought of them as 'friends,' but she didn't see the point in sharing that fact. "We only had just arrived in this world when… uh, I guess it was your people that tried to capture me and were able to catch my friends."

The duchess' eyes narrowed. "What do you mean 'this world?' You make it sound like you're from somewhere else entirely," the duchess said, her tone suddenly dangerous. Emily suspected that she might have been using magic, much like she herself did with her enchantments. Though she couldn't say if the duchess was aware of it or not. She certainly didn't want to bring the duchess' attention to it if she wasn't.

"Just what I said," Emily replied, as if she didn't care. "My friends and I were busy mapping gates on other worlds when we arrived on this one."

"Show me," the duchess commanded.

Emily nodded, already expecting this would happen. "The gate that me and my friends came through will be located in the building that you said was empty. So, you'll need to lead the way, since I really don't know where in the city it's located," Emily told the duchess.

The duchess opened her mouth to speak when there was a knock on the door. Emily had to keep herself from laughing at the look of annoyance that crossed the woman's face. The duchess clearly didn't want to be interrupted in this.. whatever it was.

The duchess turned to the door and called out, "Enter."

The door opened and a young man who was wearing a dress that almost looked like a kind of uniform entered and knelt in front of the duchess, bowing his head.

"Sorry for the interruption, but you said to let you know when the messenger from the queen arrived," the young man said firmly, though his voice held a trace of fear.

Emily looked at the duchess, getting the sense that this woman was a lot more dangerous than her appearance indicated. Which Emily suspected was likely deliberate. That the duchess preferred letting others underestimate her and what she was capable of.

"I'll have a suite prepared for you and your friends," the duchess told Emily as she stood up and began slowly walking purposefully towards the door.. "We can talk more tomorrow. So, if you need anything please let any of my servants know. If you want anything to eat you can either be directed to a dining hall or eat in your suite."

Emily resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "Thank you," she said instead. She wasn't sure what the reason for this was, but she was certain of one thing: She wasn't going to be allowed out of this place without talking more with the duchess.

Though, she couldn't say if that was a good thing or not right now.

_

Beth could only stare in disbelief at what was left of the building that had been the 'safe' place for the villagers. She could see several bodies burned to death in the fire and many more ha been killed on their way out of the building.

She couldn't say how many had been captured after that, but she knew they hadn't been able to save most of those who were captured at that time. Not to mention that Beth couldn't say if the bandits might come back at any time to try and either get revenge or the rest of what they'd 'missed' on their first attack.

Not being able to help in that fight, she could only console herself with the knowledge that she'd been helping the others that had already been captured by the bandits stay safe from the bandits. Not that it did much to assuage her conscience. Not with the horror that she could see in the fading light of the day that was in front of her.

Beth felt a tugging on her sleeve, drawing her attention away to one of the children she'd rescued. The one who was seeking her attention was a little boy who looked like he was rather lost. Beth couldn't be sure how old he was, but estimated around six or seven.

"I'm hungry," the boy said, his voice almost inaudible. If there was other noise going on, other than ambient noise in the distance, Beth didn't think that she'd have heard him.

"We'll get you something soon, okay?" Beth said, like she was dealing with one of her siblings. Something shew as confident would give her at least a little time.

She'd stopped hearing from her friends when she'd use her magic to try and talk with them, but she couldn't say what that might have meant. Or if it didn't really mean anything other than that they were just too busy or too tired to use their magic.

As she scanned the area around her, she couldn't say if there was anything that could be found. Even among the group that she'd saved from the caged wagon, she was still the oldest and she wasn't seeing any able-bodied adults or older teens around. The few that were still alive were either dying or just too injured to be even thought of to approach for help.

Not only that but Beth knew her pack was a good distance away from her. Back where she and her friends had set up their camp, although she couldn't say if even that was still there.

Beth sighed, not sure what to do at the moment. She knew that even though only that one of those she was looking after had said that they were hungry, the others were also hungry. Which meant that she needed to find some food and the sooner, the better.

Not that she had any idea of where to begin. The only place she could think to look with any degree of assurance there would be something, was the building that was supposed to have been 'safe.'

As she was starting to consider searching through the smoldering ruins of that building to see if there might have been a cellar or something that hadn't been made out of wood where there could be some food stored, she noticed movement at the edge of the building and was immediately on guard. At least until she recognized Wes.

She couldn't say how relieved she was to see a friendly face. Even if he didn't know where any food to feed the survivors of the attack. At least she'd know that at least one person she knew she could rely on, regardless of any other problems came up.

"Wes!" she called out, waving her hand to try and get his attention.

Wes at first didn't look like he saw her, but after a minute from when he looked in her direction, Beth saw him give her a feeble wave back.

Beth started walking over to him, aware that her charges were following her, even the older ones of the group, some that looked like they were around thirteen or fourteen. Although, given the hollow look they had in their eyes made her wonder if she'd be able to rely on them with helping her watch the others that she'd saved.

"Good to see you made it," Wes said as Beth got near him, sounding completely exhausted.

"Glad to see you too," Beth replied, feeling a little tired, but not near to the point she'd say that she was exhausted. "Just wondering, do you know where there's any food we can use to make something for the survivors?"

Wes sighed, shaking his head. "Sorry. All I know is what we have… er, had at our camp," he answered.

"Oh, I know where some is," a girl who Beth estimated to be fourteen said, her eyes taking on a little bit of life again.

"Where is it?" Beth asked, hoping that it would be enough for everyone, but even a single carrot would be better than what they had at the moment.

"Oh," the girl said, as if she just realized something. "Uh, I can't really remember, but I think it was in a cellar."

Yeah, that helps, Beth snapped in her mind, not wanting to discourage any of the others to voice any ideas they might have.

"Alright, well, do you know where that cellar is?" Beth asked instead of what she'd rather say.

The girl shook her head slowly, which Beth didn't find very surprising. Which made her wish Charlie was there so she could peek into the girl's mind and see if she could find out where the cellar that was supposed to contain the phantom food was.

"Beth, why don't you have these kids search through the houses still standing and see if they can find anything," Wes suggested.

Beth shook her head, not interested in trying that idea. While it might sound good and realistic, Beth could tell that the kids in her charge weren't going to have the mental fortitude to do that. For one thing, they were clearly mentally exhausted, which made Beth worried that they might not be as good as they appeared.

Another reason she wished Charlie was there. Beth was sure that Charlie would be able to assess who might be more fatigued than others.

Yet, despite how much Beth wished Charlie was there, she knew it didn't help anyone for her to dwell on that point.

"Well, how about you take a look?" Beth asked. "I'll find a place they can sit down and rest while you do that. If you can find some food, then at least we can figure something out. Although, if you can't find food, I think we'll need blankets, even though the nights have been pretty warm."

Wes sighed. "Alright. I'll take a look," he said. Then as he started to walk away, he quickly added, "Oh, by the way, Ralph is around the building over there. He's asleep with a girl he save out of the burning building and I guess her older sister or something."

Beth nodded. "Thanks. I'll head over there now," she assured Wes.

Beth then led her charges over around the building. Even if Wes found some food, Beth couldn't imagine it being enough to fully feed everyone present. Even if she, Wes, and Ralph didn't eat, there were still too many mouths to feed, nt even counting their other friends who weren't even present.

When Beth found Ralph, she was surprised to see his singed clothing. She would have expected that he'd have been able to shield himself, in one way or another, from the flames, which meant that he had to have gotten really tired. Not that she couldn't understand why.

Even though she'd probably used less of her magic than Wes or Ralph, she could still feel that she likely shouldn't try to use much more magic before she had a chance to rest. Although, she suspected that she'd probably need to use more before that happened. At least with all those who were looking to her to help them.