Worlds Away - Chapter Twenty-Three

Chapter Twenty-Three

Things were almost looking up. Almost in the sense that Ami had found her friends and fellow Tomorrow People, almost in the sense that marrying Adam was far better than being stuck wed to some man she didn't know. Almost, except for the fact that she couldn't stop Nynie and Sephrine from fussing over her as though they expected her to go weak-kneed and pass out at any moment. Of course, their behavior was expected, after the Damiar Princess tripped and nearly fell flat on her face for all of Elspera Keep to see. Nynie and Sephrine naturally thought she was ill, or too worked up with the stress of the journey; and she couldn't tell them otherwise.

What would she say? That she had tripped and stumbled because Lord Marmion Ruele - and Ami was still having a terrible time wrapping her mind around the idea of Megabyte being a lord of any sort -- had been speaking to her telepathically? She couldn't very well let them know that Prince Adam Aldaric was one of her best friends and her fellow Tomorrow Person, could she?

Of course not. So, that meant putting up with their fussing, worrying, and fretting and hoping that they grew convinced of her wellness before Nynie decided to use her cure-all and pour a pot of moleswort tea down Ami's throat. All things being equal, this was not how Ami had anticipated the reunion with her friends. All things being equal, she didn't know precisely what she anticipated, but she knew that it did not involve being swept off to her suite and being forced to lie upon the couch while Nynie and Sephrine smothered her.

"Quite the first impression that you made."

"If I wanted a lecture to make me feel horrible, I would go to my mother," Ami sat up, dodging out of the way of the wet, and no doubt cold, cloth that Nynie was attempting to press to her forehead. She ignored the glare the older woman gave her, straightening her dress. "I'm fine, now, really. No more lying down. No more water. And no more wet cloths."

"Amideira, you really shouldn't get yourself worked up," Sephrine cooed from her other side, smoothing down Ami's hair.

All those times as a little girl when she had dreamed of being a princess, she had never imagined that it would be like this. There was only so much coddling and doting a person could take, and Ami was fast approaching her limit.

"I'm not --" She forced herself to pause, drawing a deep breath and releasing it slowly. Snapping at Sephrine would only serve to further convince them that she was in dire need of rest and relaxation. And Ami had no intentions of spending her first day at Elspera Keep, her first day with Jade and Megabyte, sound asleep because of a cup of Nynie's special brew of moleswort tea. "I'm not worked up. I'm actually -- excited. And I don't want to spend my first day here all cooped up."

"Well, I don't think it's a good idea for you to go traipsing around the Keep."

Ami scowled at Nynie's back because *traipsing* around the Keep was precisely what she had in mind to do. She wanted to see this place, and she wanted the chance to talk to Jade and Megabyte alone; telepathy was wonderful, but it wouldn't do her any good to get distracted by telepathic conversations. That would just further convince Nynie and Sephrine that she was a bit under the weather.

Still, she kept her voice smooth as silk, only the fist bunching her skirts giving away her annoyance, "The Lady Jadina did offer a tour and I thought --"

"The Lady Jadina is a child, and it would seem that she is an uncontrollable one at that."

The scowl became a glare. If Nynie wanted to insult Ami and make her feel like a child, then she would not stop her, but the woman had a lot of nerve insulting Jade. She didn't even know Jade, how could she possibly come to any conclusion about her?

"You don't even know her, Nynie. I'm certain she's quite nice --"

"I'm certain she is as well, but she was hardly appropriately dressed even by Stibornan measures. Unless I miss my guess, that was a riding habit the girl was dressed in. And with dirt on the hems of her skirts."

"So now you're an expert on Stibornan culture?"

"Don't take that tone with me, Amideira. Just because we are no longer at the Sun Palace doesn't mean that I won't take a switch to you." Nynie returned to her side, handing her a goblet filled with a dark red wine. "This will restore you."

Ami sniffed at the goblet. She thought that she caught the faintest hint of some type of herb, but thankfully, not moleswort. Still, she did not even take a sip from the goblet. "I told you, I feel fine."

"Drink it, or there will be no tour of the Keep for you."

Her head whipped up so suddenly that Ami thought she would wrench her neck. "You're going to allow me to do it? Really?"

"Sephrine and I will be with you, of course, but I'm old, not foolish. I know you, girl. And I know that if I don't permit you this foolish fancy, then you'll just creep out and do it on your own anyway. Now drink."

Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, for once Ami did precisely as she was told.

***

The tour of the Keep proved to be the welcome distraction and balm to her soul that Ami desperately needed. Even with Nynie and Sephrine hovering in just breaths behind her, their low voices, and in Nynie's case, not so low, a constant reminder that she was not alone, that she was still a princess, Ami felt more at peace than she had in some time. It was more than just being able to walk around without the presence of guards monitoring her every step. It was more than just the excitement of being in a new place. It was the realization that she was home, that she had found her way home. And for Ami, the definition of home had changed over the last month. Home was no longer the place you went because they couldn't throw you out. Nor was it a place to hang your hat, as the cliche went. Home was her friends. Wherever they were, that was her place, too.

That wasn't to say that she didn't miss Earth or her mother. She did, and quite desperately at times, but just knowing that she wasn't alone, being able to hear the guys again... Homecoming had never felt so sweet.

She glanced at the blond girl keeping pace beside her. Jade winked, then schooled her face out of that much missed impish grin, into a serious, more business-like mask. The mask of Lady Jadina Ruele, one day lady of the Keep and the wife of Lord Marmion Ruele. Marmion. Megabyte. Jade. Jadina. The similarities were startling and not for the first time, Ami wondered about their counterparts, wondered what, if anything they might share with them. She snickered quietly. Well, in Jade and Megabyte's case, the sharing of their counterparts had led them to the 'blissful' state of matrimony. Highly ironic and quite amusing to someone who knew her friends' history as well as she did. To be honest, Ami was quite surprised that Megabyte hadn't tried to bolt at the first opportunity. She kept the thought to herself though, realizing how hurtful it might seem to Jade and the last thing she wanted was to hurt her friend's feelings. Not when she had just found her again.

[So what do you think so far?] Jade 'pathed, even as she continued to verbally spill out the attractions of the Keep.

[It's beautiful. Perfect.] Ami 'pathed back wistfully. [You have so much freedom here.]

[Freedom? You must be joking.]

[You're the Lady of this Keep, Jade, or you will be. And you have more freedom here than I, in my role as Damiar Princess, have had since coming here . . . in my entire life actually.]

There was a touch of concern from her friend. [Have things really been that terrible, Ami?]

[I suppose it's all a matter of perspective,] Ami admitted, and gave a quick glance over her shoulder, [Look behind us. They're always there. Following me. Worrying about me. Telling me what I should and shouldn't do and how I should behave. It's been ... suffocating.]

She watched as Jade made a quick and cursory glance back at Nynie and Sephrine. [But that's part of being a princess, right? The ladies in waiting?]

[I think that Nynie and Sephrine are so much more than ladies in waiting,] Ami shivered slightly in the coolness of the castle, and actually surprised herself by pulling the veil more tightly around herself. Only six weeks in this odd world, and she had already become acclimated to the dry heat of Albarasque. The warm and tepid temperatures of Stiborn felt slightly cool to her.

[What do you mean?]

"If Her Highness is cold, we can stop our tour for today, and retire to our rooms," Nynie called out from behind her, causing Ami to roll her eyes.

[That's what I mean,] Ami 'pathed to Jade before turning to look back at Nynie. "I am fine, Nynie. I may have felt a brief chill, but it has past. And I am enjoying the tour." She nodded to Jade and sent a picture of herself winking, "Please continue Lady Jadina, we meant no interruption."

"Certainly, Your Highness," Jade's lips quirked into an almost smile at the honorific and she hurriedly looked away, struggling to again school her face. [And I thought that I did that well.]

[Did what well?]

[I'm only a lady, Ami, but you really are a princess.]

Ami pulled the ends of the shoufa more tightly around here, even though this time she knew that the chill she felt had nothing to do with the temperature of the Keep.

And she didn't respond to Jade's remark, because oddly she found she didn't know how to.

*** End of Chapter Twenty-Three