Gu Cheng cleared his throat and stepped aside, pointing awkwardly toward the bags piled on the ground where he dropped them. "You should get changed, so you don't get sick."

Zaria had no strength to argue. She dragged the two bags into the tent, propping them against the front wall. The clothes inside were dry still, and she praised the excellent waterproofing of the bag. Once the zipper for the door flap was pulled closed she peeled the wet dress off, and discarded it and the jacket at the entrance so they wouldn't drip farther inside the tent. Then she pulled on underwear for the first time in days, sighing as the dry fabric slid over her skin. A pair of cargo pants and button up shirt went on next, and she unzipped the tent before throwing the jacket down outside to use as a mat and stepping out onto it.

"You should get changed as well. You are just as wet as I was..." Zaria did not meet his eyes, tilting her head up once more to catch the sun on the skin of her face. She did not see the cold man visibly start as the sun lit up the bruising on her face and neck.

"I'll be alright," he said quietly. "I can't fit into your clothing."

"I have a confession," she said, stretching her arms up above her head. "I stole the sweat suit you loaned me that time. It's still in the bag, I just saw it." She opened her eyes to see him staring at her again, an unreadable look on his face.

"Why did you take it with you?"

"I don't know," she shrugged. "I guess it was the same as the bracelet. It gave me comfort stepping into the unknown."

She thought that he would ask questions or growl at her. But all he did was step past and into the tent, zipping it up behind him. Zaria waited patiently until the tent unzipped again. "There is a hank of some laundry cord,or there was, in one of the bags. Could you hand that to me?"

Zaria took the cord that he handed to her wordlessly and tied it around the branch of a tree at the edge of the clearing before stretching it across to a tree on the opposite side. Once the line was set up, she took her socks over to the stream to wash them as well as she could before hanging them up across the line. The same was done with the new shoes, and then she asked Gu Cheng to hand her his clothing as well. All done, she put her hands on her hips and watched water drip from the items on the improvised clothes line with a satisfied smile.

"I know I won't be here long enough to wash and dry everything, but as long as the sun stays out for a while longer, I might get lucky. It would be nice to have dry shoes..." She could feel Gu Cheng watching her from where he was crouched next to the entrance of the tent. A brief glance when he handed her his clothing showed he had moved his belt with its many weapons and pouches to his new outfit. "If you can remove some of the weapons to make yourself feel more secure, the belt can be hung up as well so that it can dry out. I won't steal your weapons or use them against you."

Something passed across his face, but it was gone before she could focus on it. For a second, she thought it was sadness, but she dismissed that thought and told herself it was much more likely to be anger. The belt was passed to her, knives and gun plus one extra clip set inside against the side wall. Zaria hung it up and then dragged her feet across the jacket mat before crawling inside.

"You need sleep. It will probably be a while before anyone comes after us, if at all. Someone told me it takes days for letters to get anywhere in this world, longer if it is not sent from somewhere close by. Even if you left some of the guards alive, they would stay at the manor to protect the duchess." Zaria curled up on her side, knees poking the tent fabric in front of her. A wadded up shirt went under her head, and she closed her eyes with a satisfied breath.

"We need to talk," Gu Cheng spoke, pulling the zipper closed reluctantly. Zaria was not surprised when he reached across her and unzipped the window flap and rolled it up, and then did the same to the other window flap.

"I figured we would, but can we please get some sleep first?" Her question was punctuated by a long yawn.

She could hear him rustling next to her, laying down with his head hopefully on its own improvised pillow. He didn't say anything else, and she quickly drifted off to sleep.

It felt like she had just closed her eyes when she woke with a start, her body being drug backwards. She lashed her arm backward, hitting a firm body several times before she made out the quiet voice and calming noises Gu Cheng was making. "Shh, it's just me. It's cold and we need to keep warm. I won't do anything but hold you." She quieted down, curling up into a tighter ball. His distinctive smell filled the tent, letting her know it was really him. Although she wasn't sure why, she trusted his words and fell back asleep.

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The sun was past the middle of the sky when she woke again. Her bladder was calling out urgently. Even though she tried to escape Gu Cheng's firm hold without waking him, his eyes snapped open, hand reaching behind him for a weapon.

"It's just me," she assured him, shivering as she left the warmth he provided. "I need to use the bathroom."

Gu Cheng scrambled to his knees, his gun already in his hand, but the safety still on. When Zaria pulled, of all things, a roll of toilet paper from one of the bags, she gave a small smile at the attention he gave it. "I told myself I would never be caught without toilet paper again."

The sun was warm as it beat down on the thick fabric covering her shoulders. She walked quickly, barefoot, toward the tree line, stepping past several trunks before crouching down and doing her business. She passed Gu Cheng standing guard at the treeline, calling back to him as she went to check the items on the line, "You should go as well. Holding it in won't help you with anything."

He did as she advised, returning to find her back inside the tent again. Two granola bars and a package of beef jerky were sitting in the middle, and she was crawling back out with a purifying water bottle. He watched her as she went to the stream, carefully filling the bottle so that the water had time to pass through the filters, and then carrying it inside the tent once more. He followed her after checking that the horse was still alright and able to reach both fresh water and fresh grass.

Zaria handed him one of the granola bars and set the jerky and water bottle between them once he sat down. A cool breeze drifted in through the windows and open tent flap, and she shivered again. "Eat something," she said,nudging the jerky closer to him. "I'm sorry this is all I have,but I could only bring things that would last a long time."

Gu Cheng held his granola bar in his hand, opening it once he saw that she was serious about eating. Her own bar was halfway done in three bites, and then she was reaching for the water. She paused before it reached her lips. "I only have the one bottle, so we will have to share. I can maybe pour the water into our hands to drink from...?"

"We can share, unless it will bother you?" He watched her as she hesitated and then took a sip.

"I don't mind, but I was worried about your mysophobia."

The water bottle went back to the ground between them. He did not hesitate to pick it up and take a sip as well. "Being near you will never bother me."

Zaria finished her bar and then folded the wrapper while eyeing him critically. "You don't really know me, CEO Gu."

"Then help me know you. Tell me what is happening and how you disappeared. Why did you leave me." Gu Cheng swallowed, and a subtle warring of emotions played across his face.

Gu Cheng closed his eyes as he listened to her begin to tell her story. Several times, the air began to get colder but he furrowed his brows and the chill receded each time. Since finding out that he could control magic he appeared to be more aware of whatever happened inside him to call out the cold. Zaria was glad, it was too chilly already, and she couldn't stop herself from shivering each time he let out the magic before pulling it back inside.

She glossed over quite a few things, both because he seemed to get angriest when she talked about negative things, and because she wasn't ready to share the worst of it with anyone. She didn't even want to think about it herself. The throb when she hit the bruising on her face as she scratched an itch was reminder enough of what she had gone through, she didn't want to think about it or talk about it as well.

"I think I understand most of what you have said. I wish that I could dismiss the statements about us being in another universe, but I have seen enough things that I can't explain. Almost every question that I have can be explained by the things that you have said."

"Almost?" She looked up at him, shrinking back from his intense gaze.

"Why did you believe that man when he told you I left?"

Zaria blinked slowly. It was not a question she had expected. "Because I lied to you? Oh, and I assaulted you while drunk,there is that one, and in your universe kissing someone means you need to take responsibility for their future, so I stole your future from you in your eyes. Then you were pulled to this universe because of me and taken from your family, and the woman who you were resigned to be with because of those other things has been sleeping next to another man every night, and you were imprisoned and tortured to try and make me accept having his kids? I am sure there is more, but I think those are all enough reasons." She sighed but continued before he could formulate a response. "Don't worry, I will work on getting you back to your universe. With all the magic that I have been around in this universe, the pendant has to be charged soon."

Gu Cheng watched her as she took the pendant off, pulling the cord up and over her head. His constant attention was a bit unnerving. " Please, put this on. It reads the different universe traces on your body, ones that you have been to or have bled into yours. My universe is riddled with holes leading to others, so if I wear it, then it could take me to any of those, and there is no guarantee of how long it would take to get home. But while I was in your world I didn't see a huge amount of things that stood out as 'not normal'. I am only guessing but I think that there aren't as many holes in the barrier of yours as there is in mine, so if you are the one to hold onto it then maybe it won't take as long to get back."

The white pendant looked small and innocent, sitting on the palm of his hand. Zaria picked up the bag of jerky, opening it and pulling a piece out. Her eyes did not stray back to the pendant. She was relieved to have it out of her possession, but tried not to show it. He hesitated another minute and then lifted it over his head and settled it down around his neck.