This chapter has now been updated, for better or worse.

"We have to get past that?"

Church was on his belly alongside Airi and Melona, and from their perch on top of one of the many grassy hills in this region, they observed the massive stone wall that separated the Queen's lands from Vance territory. Although quite a bit smaller, it reminded Church of the Great Wall of China: what was left of it anyway.

A steady stream of people, wagons, and horses were flowing both in and out of the gates, and each and every one of them was being thoroughly investigated by the guards. It looked like they were searching for something in particular, but from this distance, Church couldn't be sure.

"The guards seem to be searching for something. Any idea what it is?"

Melona rolled her eyes. "They're probably still looking for their stray princess, hoping that she'll come crawling back to them one of these days."

"Why? What happened to her?"

She shrugged, an indicator that she only had a vague idea of an answer. "She ran off with some ape-looking bandit, looking for adventure or the meaning of life or some stupid stuff like that."

Airi cut into the short conversation. "And what Melona won't tell you is how that same girl has beaten her on multiple occasions."

"Yeah well, she handed your ass to you too at that stupid forest!"

The two girls were at each others' throats in an instant. "Well with me, it was two against one, so I actually have an excuse!"

Melona retorted with a similar statement. "Well there were two of them with me the first time too!"

"But at that time, Leina was totally inexperienced and the only one you had to deal with was the bandit girl! And the second time, you were almost fifty times her strength, and you still lost!"

Before the two of them could continue their heated spat, Church pushed them away from each other. "Why don't you both just agree that this Leina person has earned your mutual hatred?"

The two women glared at each other for a moment, but eventually agreed with Church's assessment.

Seeing that the dispute had been calmed, Church proceeded to investigate this area by asking questions to his companions. "So, considering this is a border between two hostile lands, what's the situation like?"

Melona, caring very little for politics, turned the answer over to Airi.

"Well, the surrounding area has been under dispute between the Queen and Count Vance for over six years. When the current Queen's rule began eight years ago,she pretty much revitalized the economy and restored some semblance of peace to the land. For two years, this area, and all of its villages and towns, remained under the Queen's control, and Count Vance stayed on his side of the wall, since his forces weren't nearly strong enough to face the Queen's. In year three though, there was a brief war between the Continent and the North Realm. The Queen had to recall a lot of reserve troops from border areas to fight the barbarians, including most of her soldiers from this one. Vance seized his chance and conquered the sparsely defended region. After the war, the Queen decided that the amount of troops required to retake the area would result in unacceptable casualties. So while the area is still officially part of the Queen's domain, it's physically under Vance rule. That's why so many people from this region are going into Vance territory, in order to pay their bi-annual homage to the Count."

Church was impressed with the redhead's display of knowledge. "Wow, you sure know a lot about this kind of thing."

Normally Airi would've appreciated the compliment, but the only reason she knew so much about this was because the Swamp Witch's ultimate goal was for Airi to kill Queen Aldra, so the wraith had done a lot of research about anything that pertained to the young ruler. Because of that, Church's words lost their appeal.

"Yeah... thanks, I guess."

Church frowned, noticing Airi's lack of positive reaction, and instead built off of the conversation with something else. "You said the current Queen started a revitalized the economy and brought peace? What on earth was going on before she came to power?"

This time Melona answered him. After all, she wasn't completely ignorant of the Continent's history. "Seriously Church, how long have you lived under a rock? Even I know about that. In order for that squirt Aldra to get the throne, she had to beat the Queen before her, Veronica. In short, she was a total bitch. But explaining all of the ways she screwed over the country would take a a while, so we'll have to do it another time."

Airi decided to capitalize on Melona's decision to peter off. "Yeah right, you'd get a better explanation from one of the peasants in the streets than her. You'd have a better chance of asking the Queen herself than actually learning anything useful from Melona."

Melona glared at the redhead. "Hey Church, remember when I said the old Queen was a total bitch? If you wanna get a good idea of what I meant, just compare her to Airi. Really, the resemblance is uncanny."

Feeling the heat of their glares at one another being between them, Church decided to simply stay silent. He didn't know why they were so antagonistic today, and he wasn't about to ask. He knew enough about women to avoid that mistake at least.

"I don't understand why I have to be tied up and blindfolded."

Melona just giggled as she tied the last knot of the blindfold around Church's eyes. "It's all part of the plan to get past the wall, Church. You just have to deal with it."

Church frowned, now unable to see anything through the black ribbon Airi had removed from her outfit for this purpose. With no small amount of effort, he avoided thinking about the sizable bust it had been wrapped around previously. Melona had been initially confused about how this was even working, considering that Airi's clothes were just illusions, but the wraith had silently explained to her that the clothes she mentally manifested were indeed tangible, so long as Airi had the energy to perpetuate their existence.

"So why do we need to go into Vance territory anyway?"

Airi, her arms wrapped around her somewhat exposed breasts despite the fact that Church couldn't see her, answered. "Remember those things we aren't allowed to tell you?"

Needless to say this answer made Church more than a little unhappy. "There are getting to be too many of those..."

Melona, close enough to hear him, patted Church on the back. "Aw, c'mon Church! Airi and I can get through the gate easily, but you have to be disguised as a prisoner, so just deal with it!"

Church cocked an eyebrow under his blindfold. "And just how can you two pass through easily? I doubt you're in good standing with the Count or anything."

His question earned an amused snort from the girl. "Well, nobody said we were getting in legally. Just trust us Church. Now stand here for a minute while Airi and I finish up the details."

Melona left Church standing there, hands bound and eyes blinded, to go over to Airi and begin whispering to her. "OK, so you can just disappear, and I'll disguise myself as Leina. Easy peasy, right?"

Airi gave her friend a look of outright dissatisfaction. "You idiot, if you pretend to be Leina, they'll give you a whole legion to escort you to the Count. We don't want that. Plus, why would Leina have a prisoner? Use your brain, if the mushy skull of yours actually has one."

The Slime scowled back at her. "Just because I cuddled with your boyfriend last night doesn't mean you have to be such a bitch, Airi."

Much to her own chagrin, Airi could not subdue a slight blush at Melona's choice of words. "H-he's not- I mean we're not- don't make stupid jokes like that Melona. We'd never be that way."

The pink slime grinned slyly. "Oh really? I get the feeling you might wish you could be."

Airi's initial answer was a heated glare. She didn't like where this conversation was going, mostly because she felt that Melona might have been right. She had to admit, she had been growing quite fond of their only male companion lately. He was kind, attentive, charming and funny. And as much as Airi tried to tell herself she had no concern for something as silly as attraction to another person, she knew it was a lie. It was easy to convince herself that her loyalty to the Swamp Witch was all she cared about when there was nothing else in her life to care about in the first place.

Now she had a rather handsome and likable young man who had made it clear that he thought she was beautiful and likable herself. What girl didn't like that?

But she knew her own state of affairs well enough, and they made her surprisingly bitter. As things stood now, even entertaining some pointless girlish fantasy was asinine. Her situation would not allow something as normal as romance.

"Even if I wanted to, it's not possible. Master would never allow something like that. Besides, in case you've forgotten, I'm dead. I get the feeling he wouldn't like that."

Seeing that she had hit a sensitive area, Melona diverted the conversation with ease, though she kept Airi's displeasure catalogued for future use. "Well, who should I transform into then? We need someone who the guards won't bother checking."

Airi, distracted from her slightly agitated thoughts regarding relationships, rolled her eyes. "That blonde bimbo has two other sisters, doesn't she? Just pick one: I doubt the guards would try to keep either one of them out, considering their positions."

"But it has to be logical right? Isn't one of those two out in the Queen's lands looking for Leina? It wouldn't make sense that she would come back with some no-name prisoner."

Aware that her companion had a fair enough point, Airi rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "True... last I heard, it's the younger one who is absent right now, so that would mean that the elder sister is the one still around."

Melona gave a frown of disapproval. "Bah, I hate that bitch. I don't want to impersonate her!"

"Don't you hate all of them?"

"Yeah. But after Leina, the General is second in line."

The two girls were interrupted by an irritated quip from Church. "If you two are done discussing your secret plans for world domination, I'm still over here, eagerly awaiting to hear it."

Neither of the two granted Church a response, deciding that his witty remark was undeserving of any appreciation, verbal or otherwise.

"Come on, Sis! This is so unfair!"

Claudette pinched the bridge of her nose, frustrated with her lack of progress in convincing her youngest adopted sister that this change of plans was for the best. "Elina please: I am not the one who made this decision. If you have a problem with this, you'll have to take it up with the Count."

The Thundercloud General's adopted little sister scraped her claw gauntlet along the wooden table between the two of them. Claudette inwardly cried at the damage to the valuable piece of furniture.

"Who does Dad think he is, telling me that I've done an inadequate job in finding Leina? If he hadn't called me back, I could've had her by now!"

Claudette shook her head, her long scarlet hair framing the severity of her expression. "It has been several months, Elina, and you were supposed to bring Leina back a long time ago. Maybe you just need a break. You can stay here and relax, while I go out and search-"

"How am I supposed to relax when Sis is out there traipsing about with some stupid gorilla woman?! Do you expect me to just sit around here and do nothing?!"

The Count's General was about to muster some sort of response to her sister's outburst, when Florelle peeked her head inside the door to the conference room. "Erm... General? Your lieutenant told me to let you know that they're ready to depart when you are."

Claudette nodded at the young girl that looked far too close to a boy, and rose from her chair. "Very well. Thank you, Florelle." As the aspiring squire excused herself, Claudette faced her simmering little sister.

"Elina, I'm trusting you to obey the Count. Please don't do anything rash that will anger him. I promise that I'll have Leina back here in a matter of weeks. Trust me."

The seething blonde didn't look convinced, but nodded in understanding anyway. Claudette couldn't help but wonder if Elina would really stay put, but she had no choice but to trust her. Still, Claudette knew that the young woman would definitely not spend her time at home relaxing, and that it would only be a matter of time before she had to release all of her pent-up frustration. Claudette just hoped that she would do it outside of the castle, sparing the poor furniture within.

Airi hovered above the Vance wall gate, invisible to all of the common people below her. From this height, she watched Melona, disguised as General Claudette, as she walked forward with Church tied to a rope behind her. As all of the commoners noticed the supposed General, they stepped to either side of her, giving Melona and Church a straight path to the gate. The two Vance guards were oblivious to the approaching impostor until she was standing right before them.

The senior-ranked guard, a bearded and mustached Lance Corporal, didn't even look up as he waved past the previous travelers. He was completely oblivious to the fact that the 'Thundercloud General' was standing before him.

"Papers?"

Melona said nothing, trying to capture the stoic personality of the woman she was impersonating. As the guard noticed that an answer was not forthcoming, he finally raised his eyes from the spear shaft he was whittling and looked at the current tax-payer from the Queen's lands under Vance control.

"I said pa-G-General!? Forgive me ma'am, I had no idea who I was talking to!"

Melona was careful not to let the soldier see her eyes, since they would have given her away. This ruse was completely reliant on her ability to make these two troopers believe she was who she was pretending to be.

"I'll let it pass this time, soldier. Let me through."

The other soldier, clearly a new recruit, scrambled to get our of her way, but his superior stayed put, albeit with a fair degree of nervousness.

"Hold on, Myles." He turned back to Melona wearing Claudette's visage. "I'm sorry, General, but we still need to examine your prisoner, he could be-"

Melona thought that a glare would serve her well here, but that would have made her cross-shaped pupils all too obvious, so she had to settle for a threatening tone. "Are you suggesting that I am untrustworthy?"

The Lance Corporal blanched in fear, wondering if the Thundercloud General struck naysayers with lightning. "O-of course not! I would never suggest such slander against you, General! Please, go right on through!"

The senior soldier motioned stepped out of her way as well, and the two soldiers in unison bowed in deference to their commander. As for Melona, she made doubly sure to proceed through at a leisurely pace, despite her eagerness to get through and ditch the appearance she rather detested.

Once on the other side, Melona quickly guided Church into a nearby alley. As soon as they were out of view of any possible observers, Airi materialized next to her comrades and Melona returned to her normal form. The latter looked like she wanted a high five for her success, but Airi wasn't about to give one.

"Wow Melona, you actually managed that without messing up. I'm impressed."

Before the Slime could make a retort, Church spoke up in intervention. "Yeah yeah, you were fantastic. Can one of you untie me now?"

Both girls turned to him simultaneously. "No."

Airi smirked. She wasn't always one for jokes, but when an opportunity presented itself, she didn't mind giving in to a little humor. After all, being too stiff never served anyone very well. "In fact, if we gag you too, you'll finally be the perfect traveling companion."

Church grinned, not willing to let her get one over on him. "Well, if you're content to let me keep your ribbon and show off your assets to the world, that's fine by me."

It took Airi less than half a second to snatch her black ribbon from around Church's eyes, and she glared at him menacingly as she tied it back in its proper place. "I don't appreciate comments on... t-things like that."

Church shrugged and held up his still bound wrists, still finding enjoyment in antagonizing her. "Well, it's hard not to comment on such supple-"

"Don't let that sentence cost you your soul Church."

Although she said that, Airi was inwardly conflicted. While Church was making a perverted comment, he was also making a compliment on her breasts... could that be considered a good thing? As she realized she was close to accepting what Church had said, Airi quickly told herself that she couldn't, and she made doubly sure to tell herself she couldn't derive any pleasure from such a comment at all.

Church held up his bound hands again. "Seriously, is someone going to untie me?"

Neither Airi nor Melona answered him, but both walked out of the alley and down the road ahead, leaving Church to stumble behind them, pleading for release from his bonds.

"Aauu... Captain, I'm hungry..."

Alleyne eyed her student, who was trudging along wearily beside her as they traversed the outskirts of Syrinidell's farthest reaches. "Well Nowa, if you would stop refusing to eat fish, you wouldn't be so hungry. We've caught plenty in the rivers."

"Captain, I can't eat fish! They're forest animals too! What kind of monster would I be if I betrayed my friends?!"

The now exiled combat master rolled her eyes, but she inwardly thought that Nowa's antics were humorous. "So I'm a monster for eating fish?"

Her apprentice's golden eyes widened as she realized that she had inadvertently called her teacher a monster. "No, no no no! Of course not, Captain!"

Alleyne smiled ruefully, figuring that someone had to shoulder the blame. "Well someone has to be the fish-eating monster. Why not Echidna?"

From behind the master and apprentice, Echidna's voice raised an objection to that suggestion. To her own surprise, she had decided to travel with the two of them, since they were all exiled together. Then again, Echidna wasn't sure if she could be exiled from Syrinidell considering the fact that she had been born somewhere else. She had been considered welcome there until this last fiasco though, so she imagined it still counted. "Why me? I don't even like fish that much."

Alleyne turned to face the Calibara elf, who carried an unconscious Lucas slung over her shoulder. The boy had been out cold for far longer than was normal, leading both more experienced Elves to deduce that he had been afflicted by far more than physical injuries. "I suppose you're right, Echidna. After all, your primary intake is alcohol and the happiness of others..."

Echidna scowled, even though she found some small enjoyment in Alleyne acting a bit like she used to. Either way, the dour expression made Nowa giggle. "Y'know Captain, you've been making a lot of jokes lately. I think Church might have rubbed off on you a little bit."

It was meant to be a lighthearted comment, but it made the Combat Master's mood turn sullen. She had a brief flare of annoyance at Nowa for being oblivious enough to make such a comment, but Alleyne quelled it quickly. She was growing kind of worried about all of these rampant emotions that she had been having lately. Perhaps the stress of the last week or so had worn on her more than she knew.

Alleyne tried her hardest to distract her mind from thinking about the one person that was confusing her the most at the moment, but it always failed. Just looking at the trees reminded her of the way he had listened to her drone on about things he surely had not really cared about while they rested on the branches. It had been nice, having someone willing to listen just for the sake of doing so. Not that Nowa didn't listen to her of course, but those conversations were almost always life advice or fighting tips or training. It had been a long time since Alleyne had really shared a platonic friendship with someone, and to have lost it so soon after gaining it at all greatly saddened her.

Unfortunately, that sadness was what made her feel so conflicted. She always told the people she taught to avoid being overly emotional. She felt as though she was being just that, which was unusual for someone who had a thousand years of life experience. Then again, maybe it wasn't such a bad thing? A thousand years of living had made her extremely rational: that rationality often took a lot of enjoyment out of her life, and for roughly a month a certain man had more or less reminded her that relaxing a bit and taking life casually felt pretty nice. Was it any surprise that she missed his company then?

Of course, even though she accepted that part of her feelings, Alleyne did a very good job of ignoring any part of the greater whole that included him being a rather attractive man. No, she told herself that it had nothing to do with that, for she was far beyond the naive age where such things would affect her. At least, she liked to think so.

Nowa, convinced that she had said something wrong based on Alleyne's expression, tried to soften the blow of her own words. "You know, I'm sure we'll see him again soon... he said so himself right? I mean, I'm still sad about it, but... I think it's better to be happy that we'll get to see him again sometime. He... did always say that he liked to see you smile..."

Alleyne told herself that this revelation did not make her feel as good as it did. After all, it was just some comment Church had made to Nowa while they were alone. It didn't mean anything terribly special, it just explained why he tried so hard to make her smile all the time even when he failed miserably. This latter realization, ironically, made her smile a bit.

Her own focus on what had been said caused the experienced warrior to miss the expression on Nowa's face though, which was a stark contrast to the rather hopeful words she had just said. She didn't seem all that happy herself. Echidna may have been able to identify the slightest hint of jealousy on her face, but by the time Nowa actually turned to say something to her she was smiling as usual.

"You miss him too, don't you Miss Echidna?"

Trying to sound as indifferent as possible, Echidna scoffed. "What, that twerp? No way, he had far too many good qualities to be my kind of guy."

Although Echidna had said that, both Alleyne and Nowa could see the amused smile on her face: few people were fascinating enough to pique that woman's interest, and Church had managed to do just that. Whether or nor she was angry over her defeat earlier, she at least liked the man that had shocked her in the best way possible.

"Oh, Miss Echidna, what happened to your snake?"

Alleyne dropped her gaze down to where Keltan usually resided on Echidna's body, and as Nowa had just pointed out, it was indeed missing. She wished she could say she was surprised, but honestly she wasn't. "Have you no shame? Could you at least wear something else besides that animal?"

The crimson-eyed Elf shrugged. She didn't point out that Nowa wore even less than her, on a technicality. "Well, Keltan has to stretch every once in awhile, y'know. Imagine how cramped he must get being wrapped around my-"

"Don't say anything else. I'd prefer not to dwell on such things."

Alleyne's old friend from a by now distant past smirked. "Right, you wouldn't want your new beau to know you're thinking about my lady parts, right?"

The platinum blonde eldest of the group scowled again, unsure if she found such a joke irritating because it was ridiculous or because there was some amount of desire for it to be truth to it.

Thankfully for her Nowa missed out on the main point of the joke because she didn't know what a beau was to begin with.

Updates here mostly included dialogue changes, and nothing else.