Another Journey

“So, you can't come with me?” Mac asked, stroking his fingers though Melissandra's hair. They were sitting in the gardens, under their favorite tree, cuddled together. Melissandra raised her head from it's current position of lying on Mac's chest, “Marie and Tillie said it's too risky to have me traveling, even this early on.” While she wasn't showing at all, she rubbed her stomach, where their child was growing inside. “Although I'm pretty sure they just don't want to pose any risk to the heir...”

“Well, I don't want to risk it either, although that sorta throws our plan up in the air.”

Melissandra nodded and looked up, thinking. “Maybe one of the others can fill in?”

During dinner that day, Melissandra brought up the issue with the others.

“Hmm...I think I still need time for my lessons,” Emma said, pouting.

“I wouldn't mind coming, but I'm a little worried about my siblings still...” Felicia shrugged.

“Oh, take me! Take me!” Kay said, jumping out of her chair.

“Don't you need to prepare for your wedding?” Melissandra asked.

“The Gascon estate is partway between here and the elven forest anyway, so I could just stop there, prepare while you visit the elf queen, and then you can pick me up on the way back!” Kay explained.

Mac tapped his head, “That sounds fine, but it doesn't solve the issue of having someone with me when I visit the elf Queen.”

Marie, who was talking with Eleanor in the corner over some papers, jumped in. “I believe you should take Eleanor with you. I think Sophia may lose her nerve seeing the...current version of her.”

Everyone turned to look at Eleanor. While she had always been beautiful, she had recently undergone a...transformation. Namely, a loss of excess weight. Her stomach was flatter, her face was sharper, and even her breasts had become perkier.

“Stop that! I can't help it!” Eleanor said, pouting and putting her hands on her cheeks (although it had less affect now that her face wasn't bubbly).

“Elly, like we said, you look more beautiful now” Emma explained.

“Besides, has Mac treated you any differently?” Felicia asked with a smirk.

“Well, no...” Eleanor replied, with a blush.

This was true. Mac didn't say anything, but he was pretty sure it was their nighttime escapades that had led to this change in the first place. Eleanor was relentless when they had sex, and it was routine for them to go at it multiple times, every time. It was so much that bathing afterwards was now a normal part of the routine, assuming they both weren't too exhausted to get out of bed and over to the tub.

Marie continued her explanation, “Of all of you, Eleanor's body type is the closest to Sophia. I don't think it would be a stretch to say Eleanor now surpasses even the legendary elven Queen in beauty. It would be sure to land a serious blow to her confidence if this Eleanor showed up next to you.”

Eleanor was now back to holding both her hands on her cheeks, burning bright red. “Stop it...”

Mac, sensing an opening, walked over and wrapped his arm around her, “I think she's right, and I'd honestly feel a lot better with you there.”

After a moment of surprise, Eleanor grabbed Mac closely and lifted him off the ground, giving him a kiss.

“You really don't care who's around...” Marie sighed, taking a step back from them.

Thankfully, Mac's other wife and fiance's weren't prone to jealousy, especially when it came to Eleanor.

That night, Mac was due to spend with Emma. Walking into her room, Emma was looking over some dress designs that she had drawn.

“Did you decide on one?” Mac asked, walking over and planting a kiss on her cheek.

“Not yet,” Emma replied, sighing and putting the one she was holding back on the table.

Mac sat down and poured himself some water.

Emma looked out the window, over the surroundings, past the capital. “Do you ever miss your world?”

Mac sat his water down. “Sometimes.”

Emma smiled, “I was missing the farm a bit today, but then I remembered 'Well, at least I can go visit, Mac can't even do that'”.

Mac shook his head, “I'd miss you all more if I had gone back.”

Emma sat down perpendicular on Mac's lap, wrapping her arms around his neck, her favorite position for making out with him.

After a couple minutes of doing just that, she let go, jumping off Mac. “You better be ready for more than that once you get back,” she said, doing her best to look seductive. “I promise I'll be ready for our wedding by then!”

Mac wrapped his arms back around her, “I'll look forward to it.”

A couple more days passed, and their departure time had arrived.

As the girls were talking while the wagons were loaded, Marie pulled Mac aside. “Be careful out there. And make sure you take care of the girls.”

“Of course, I won't let anything happen to them.”

Marie nodded, “Of course, we can't afford to lose you either.”

Mac remembering the bandit attack from the last trip, grimaced and nodded.

Sensing his thoughts, Marie continued, “I'm not so much worried about bandits this time, but opportunists. I don't think any of the nobles would be mad enough to try and assassinate you, but it doesn't mean you shouldn't watch out.”

Mac gulped.

This time, since they were taking an official trip, they were using the royal carriage. Isn't this a bit too huge? It's basically the size of my old apartment. Actually, it might be larger. Inside, there was a bed, a table with chairs, and even a washbasin with cabinets. It was immediately apparent to Mac as soon as they set off that the suspension on this carriage was much more robust than the one they previously used (which this time was being used for its intended purpose, transporting the small maid retinue accompanying them). Along with them came a full company of guards and enough wagons to support them all.

The only planned stop on this trip was at the Gascon estate to drop off Kay, so they traveled straight through the day. Mac was reading his textbooks again, mostly to pass the time. Eleanor and Kay, despite their differing personalities, had a surprising amount in common, having both grown up in noble Houses.

“I'm surprised your dad never took any concubines after your mother passed. My dad has taken so many we lost count! Although I guess he can afford it.”

Eleanor nodded, “We could have as well. I told my dad I didn't mind, but he was dead set on me, and whoever I married, inheriting the estate. I do think he enjoyed the company of some of the older maids from time to time though.”

The old Mac probably would have felt embarrassed at this type of talk, but now it doesn't even phase me.

“I'm surprised you're waiting until after the wedding to start trying for a child. I wanted to as soon as Mel let me!” Eleanor responded.

“Nyahaha, I'm not surprised by that. Mel said it was worth waiting, and I don't mind building up some anticipation...” Kay laughed, shooting a glance at Mac.

Okay, even this makes me a little embarrassed.

Eleanor started explaining, “Well, just you know, he really likes playing with breasts. If you sit with your back to him...”

Mac slammed his book shut. “Hey! I'm right here you know!” blushing in embarrassment.

They both looked at him confused. “What's wrong? Do you want to explain it yourself?” Eleanor asked.

Kay nodded vigorously, tail wagging behind her.

Mac didn't know what to say. Feeling more embarrassed now than he did before, he murmured, “Sorry, go ahead...”

Eleanor nodded, and went back to explaining the finer points of lovemaking with Mac.

“This is good, Mel never went into this much detail...” Kay responded as Eleanor finished her lesson.

Eleanor nodded, “I talked with Marie a bit beforehand, and a lot of the tips she gave me worked.”

“Ohhh, I better talk with her too...”

After traveling for the day, once dusk neared, they stopped at the designated inn. Unlike last time, the inn knew they were coming, and had prepared for the King's arrival ahead of time, being paid generously for renting out the whole inn. While Mac had initially balked at the payment, he had been convinced when explaining the alternative was camping out by the side of the road.

While the girls had received their own rooms, Eleanor had told Kay to spend the night with Mac (he knew beforehand, of course, having been their in the carriage when they discussed as much).

Mac sat in his room, waiting, until the expected knock came.

Kay came in, wearing a pink negligee, which did little to conceal her also pink lingerie underneath.

“Nyahaha, you like it?” she said, giving a twirl.

“Yeah, you look pretty cute.”

“Hmm, when the others said they first slept with you, you did all sorts of things to them, but only after prodding...” Kay said, smiling mischievously.

“Well, since you're already telling me you want too, I think we're past that. I mean, I can still stop myself if I want...”

“But you won't,” Kay said, walking over and sitting in Mac's lap. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she leaned up and started to make out with him.

After a minute of this, she unlatched herself, breathing heavily. Turning to have her back to him, she grabbed Mac's hands, and slipped them under her negligee and onto her breasts. “Elly taught me this.”

“I thought you wanted to wait,” Mac said, but massaged her breasts gently anyway.

Kay purred slightly. “I...do. But I wanted to give you a little taste to look forward too.”

Mac gave her a kiss on the cheek, “Well, I'm definitely looking forward to it.”

Kay's tail perked up, as she felt a bump underneath her. “You're already that excited!?”

“Yeah, what did you expect...”

“They did say you get aroused pretty easily. I'm glad it's the same for me.”

Mac chuckled, “Of course you would be.” He stopped massaging her and wrapped his arms around her, giving her another kiss.

Kay blushed, “Now I'm regretting waiting...No! No! We just have to stop there!” she exclaimed, pushing Mac away playfully.

Mac, deciding he really should stop there for both their sake's, crawled under the covers and invited Kay to join him.

Kay crawled in, wrapping her arms around him and snuggled her nose into his chest.

Putting one arm around her and one holding her head (so he could scratch her ears), Kay purred slightly in appreciation.

“I'm really glad things turned out like this. Even if it's just because of my dad” Kay said, grabbing Mac tighter.

“Me too. Although I had a feeling things would turn out like this regardless...”

“Nyahaha, of course, you can't resist my charms,” she laughed, reaching up and giving him another kiss.

Holding onto each other tightly, they fell into a slumber.

The next morning, during breakfast, Eleanor interrogated Kay. “How did it go? Did you do what I said?” she whispered.

Kay nodded, blushing slightly, “It worked exactly like you said it would!” she whispered back.

Mac couldn't hear what they were saying, but presumed (correctly) they were talking about him.

At least they whisper when people besides me are around.

Traveling that day, they made it to the Gascon manor during the afternoon.

“Sire, Dame, good to see you again,” Lord Gascon greeted them with a bow.

“You as well,” Mac said, nodding back.

Looking around the estate, Mac was astounded. He knew, of course, that Lord Gascon had a penchant for cat-human's, but this surpassed even what he had imagined. It was hard to find anyone there that wasn't a cat-human. The woman around him, the children playing in the yard, even the maids and butlers, all cat-humans.

“Father!” Kay said, running over and hugging Lord Gascon.

“Kay, my girl!” he said, smiling and hugging her back. “Your mother and I are going to have our ceremony soon, I'm glad you could make it.”

“Of course! I need to prepare mine too...” she said, giving a sly smile to Mac.

Before they left, Kay came back over and gave him a kiss on the cheek, “Seeya soon,” she added with a wink.

Lord Gascon gave a hearty laugh, “I'm glad to see you getting along so well!”

After that, trying to stay on schedule, they headed off again.

Maybe because they were alone now, but Eleanor kept herself glued to Mac in the carriage, even getting handsy while they were on the road.

“Elly, what's wrong? You know we're still traveling right?”

Eleanor looked a bit sad, “We've been doing it so much but I'm still not with child. I'm happy for Mel, but I'm a bit jealous...”

Mac sighed, “Look, just wait until tonight, okay?”

Eleanor nodded, but still seemed worried. Mac grabbed her and held her close, which seemed to comfort her for the time being.

That night, at the next inn they stopped at, Eleanor immediately started undressing as soon as she and Mac got to their room.

Mac stopped her, “Hold on, hold on.”

Eleanor looked like she was going to cry, “You don't want too?”

“I do, but I wanted to talk first,” he said, patting the bed next to him.

Eleanor sat down, looking at the ground.

“I'm not going to love you less just because you're not pregnant yet.”

“Really?”

Mac shook his head emphatically, “Of course not! I'm sure you will eventually. And besides, it just means we get to do it more in the mean time, right?”

Eleanor blushed, and Mac gave her a kiss on the cheek.

“Although, Mel said you were still doing it even after she got pregnant. Won't you with me too?”

“Of course, although I think we'll need to...scale back a bit on the intensity.” While Mac was saying this, Eleanor had already resumed pulling off her dress.

Taking off her undergarments while Mac also undressed, she laid down on the bed and pulled Mac on top of her.

Wasting no time, he started thrusting inside repeatedly, passionately kissing her to reinforce his words from earlier. Eleanor started moaning loudly.

“Shh...” Mac tried to calm her, “We're not in the palace anymore.”

Eleanor gasped, “Sorry, it just feels too good...”

After an hour of intensive lovemaking, Mac slid over to the now-lukewarm bath, washing himself off. Despite barely fitting, Eleanor slid in opposite him.

Washing her sweat-drenched hair, Eleanor said, “I'm sorry for earlier, I just worry sometimes...”

Mac shook his head, “It's okay, just remember you can always talk to me. Or your sisters.”

Eleanor smiled, “Of course. I actually feel a bit bad that I get you to myself for a while...”

“I'm a bit sad not seeing them too, but I'm glad you're here with me,” Mac smiled, grabbing her hand.

Eleanor, overcome with intense feelings, grabbed Mac in the tub and pulled him close, onto her breasts. “I love you so much...”

“I love you too Elly” Mac said, giving her a kiss.

“Oh...even after all that?” Eleanor said, looking down at Mac's shaft, which had stood up again.

“Do you...-” Mac started, but before he could ask, Eleanor had grabbed his erection and put it back inside her.

While not having a lot of room to maneuver, Mac successfully made love to her in the tub as well.

After re-washing themselves, they went to bed still naked, holding each other close. Hopefully she gets pregnant after all that...

Luckily, in the morning, no one was giving them any weird looks. Or at least, none that Mac could notice. Maybe they're trying their best not to look like they heard anything?

Shaking off his paranoia, as Mac ate his breakfast in silence, Captain La Hire came up to him.

“Sire,” he said with a bow, “We have an issue.”

Mac raised an eyebrow.

“The inn we were supposed to be staying at tonight...burned down.”

Mac wasn't sure how to react. “Oh that's...unfortunate. Is everyone okay?”

“Surprisingly, yes, the fire spread really slowly, so everyone had time to evacuate.”

“But they couldn't put it out?”

La Hire shook his head, “No. According to the report, the flames resisted being put out, almost as if by magic.”

Eleanor jumped in, “Do you think we were targeted? And they just were misinformed by a day?”

La Hire nodded with a grimace, “We believe that may be the case.”

Something didn't sit right with Mac though, “Are you sure? It's not like we're hiding, it should have been obvious we weren't there?”

La Hire shrugged, “Assassin's aren't always the most intelligent.”

“Maybe...” Mac replied, not convinced.

Eleanor held onto him tightly.

Mac put his hand on her head, “We'll be fine.”

La Hire nodded, “Yes, the guard will lay down their....we'll make sure to protect you no matter what!”

Mac nodded, glad La Hire remembered his prior request.

The day passed quietly, Eleanor seeming to have been relieved by the prior night, and only sometimes tried to get intimate with Mac in the carriage instead today.

Eventually, the uneventful day passed, and they made their way to the inn they were supposed to sleep at. The entire structure had been burned down, with only piles of ashes remaining.

A man in a soot-stained suit came over to greet them.

“My liege, I'm terribly sorry about the circumstances” he said, signifying himself as the innkeeper.

Mac shook his hands to stop him, “No, no, I'm just glad no one was hurt. La Hire, make sure he still gets paid.”

The innkeepers's eyes lit up, “My liege, that's not...”

“It's fine, it's fine. Just think of it as an investment, I look forward to staying once it's been rebuilt.”

Tears in his eyes, the innkeeper accepted the small bag of coins from La Hire.

Once he had paid the innkeeper, La Hire turned to Mac. “It's getting dark. Should we continue on? I'm not sure about setting up camp here after what happened...”

Mac thought for a moment, but was overcome with the urge to stay. “We should be fine. I think?”

“You...think?” La Hire repeated, raising an eyebrow.

Eleanor stepped in. “I think Mac is just really tired...” she trailed off.

Is she insinuating 'after last night?

The entourage made camp in the front yard of the burned down inn. Sitting around a campfire, the innkeeper, now with a couple drinks in him, was talking about the situation. “I wonder if it wasn't some ghost that burned it down.”

“Wait, does this world have ghosts?” Mac asked, eyes wide.

Eleanor shook her head, “No, they're just a legend. At least, as far as I know.”

“I'd like to hope not, but that's what the legends tell live in this forest, that they all died in some huge battle an age ago. People say they hear voices coming from the trees. I feel like I heard them sometimes, myself...”

Mac shook his head. Something about the tale bothered him. What is with my thoughts today?

Eleanor, noticing, patted his shoulder, “You don't need to pay it any heed. Come on, lets go to bed.”

In the carriage, Mac successfully convinced Eleanor that it was too embarrassing to have sex in the carriage, surrounded by all their entourage merely feet away. Promising to cuddle her close, they fell asleep huddled under the covers.

Mac woke up, surrounded by trees.

Wait, when did I go in the forest. Actually, wait, isn't this...

Mac felt an intense sense of deja-vu. Looking around, he could see light streaming through the leaves, a muffled voice calling out to him.

I've definitely been here before, right?

Following the voice, which sounded like it was underwater, Mac eventually came upon a clearing, with a pool in the middle. Walking up to the pool, he could hear the voice screaming in his ear. As he reached into the pool, something pulled him in...

Mac woke up, drenched in sweat, sitting bolt upright. That dream, why do I keep having it? He shook his head. Wait, aren't I actually in a forest now?

He looked down at Eleanor, who was still sleeping and brushed her cheek. At least I didn't wake her.

Mac carefully got out of bed to grab a glass of water. What was that dream about? And that voice? I feel like I can still hear it crying for help...wait...

He actually could still hear the voice.

Except, it wasn't in his head now. It sounded like it was outside the carriage.

Hold on, hold on, what's going on. Am I crazy?

Mac, in his tracksuit (which were now only on pajamas duty) quietly opened the door. The voice became noticeably louder, sounding like it was coming from the woods behind the burned down inn. Taking a look back at the sleeping Eleanor, he quickly decided he needed to go investigate. It'll drive me insane if I don't, even if this is probably a bad idea. He grabbed his phone from his bag, thinking the flashlight might come in handy.

Quietly walking past the guard tents, he saluted the guards on watch, who he assumed must think he was going out to relieve himself.

Once in the forest, the voice got noticeably louder again. In the distance through the trees, he thought he saw a glint of light.

Turning on his phone's flashlight, he started tiptoeing his way towards the glow in the distance

After a while, he didn't know how long, he realized he wasn't sure which way back the caravan was. Urgghhh, that's not good... The light seemed to be growing closer, so he decided to continue making his way towards it.

After a while longer, he came upon a clearing, the voice now sounding like it was screaming in his head. The light was so bright, it lit up the immediate area. As he entered the clearing, the light shot down into a pool of water in the center..

This is definitely the place from the dream...Mac thought, inching his way toward the light. As he got next to the pool, he knelt down over it, and looked down to see the light now emanating from within.

Realizing he had only one thing to do, he slowly reached his arm into the pool and...nothing happened. In fact, he reached down as far as he could go, and still nothing happened, the light just shone below, as if beckoning him further in.

Wait...did I get pulled in during my dream, or did I jump in?

Mac was an okay swimmer, but wasn't sure how deep the pool was. Deciding again he had come too far to not see this through to the end, he stripped off his tracksuit top, put his phone on top, and jumped into the pool.

Underwater, he could see the sides of the pool, the light illuminating everything within. As he got level with the light, it slowly drifted down, until it came upon a metal square at the bottom of the pool. The square was shiny, and the surface didn't look like anything he had seen in this world before. As Mac got next to it, he realized the square was actually a metal box in the dirt of the pool. He grabbed the box, and pulled it out of the dirt, as it was surprisingly light, and only the size and dimensions of a jewelry box.

Taking the box, he swam back up to the top of the pool, this time the light now following him. As he clambered out, the light danced around him excitedly.

What's even going on...Mac thought, looking at the light. He examined the rectangular box. Five sides were smooth and shiny, but on one of the short sides, their was weird etchings that Mac didn't recognize. He grabbed his phone and shone it to examine the etchings more closely (which caused the floating light to start dancing like crazy). As he shone the flashlight on them, he realized they went very deep into the box. Looking down into them, he saw what he thought looked like copper inside.

Hold on, hold on, is this...? Mac was almost incredulous as he realized what he might be holding. This has to be set up, right? According to Marie I'm the only one who can use electric magic that she knows of in the entire continent. Although, maybe there could be ones she doesn't know about? Still...

The floating light continually danced around him still. I guess I just need to go for it. Even if it's a trap...

Mac laid his palm on the etchings, or as he thought they might be, the electrical socket, and directed some of his electrical magic inside.

Immediately, he heard clicking come from the box, and it started vibrating so hard it flew out of his hands. The light went inside the box, as the clicking got louder and louder. Finally, he heard one more loud click and the box burst open, the light reappearing.

“Wahaha, after thousands of years, I'm finally free!” he heard a high-pitched voice coming from the light.

Oh god, what did I do!?

The light flew right in front of his face, “Thanks for rescuing me!” it exclaimed.

Mac shielded his eyes, “Uh, you're...you're welcome?”

“Oh sorry, I was so excited I didn't realize how bright I was shining.” The light started to dim, until Mac was able to make out a figure in the light. Floating inches from his face, a small figure, purple with green wings almost the size of it's tiny body, was there giving him a huge (relative to it's actual size) grin. It also had glowing, bright yellow eyes.

“Uh, thanks,” Mac said. Sitting and crossing his legs, trying to metabolize everything that just happened.

The figure flew over and sat on his knee, sitting cross legged like he was. He was able to to see under whatever it was wearing (which looked like a rolled-up leaf) although, maybe because it was so small, he couldn't actually make anything out.

Deciding he was focusing on something weird, Mac shook his head and looked at its face. It's hair was a slightly darker shade of purple than it's skin. “Um, can you...”

“Oh, of course! I'm sure your curious how this came about. See, I use to be friends with an Otherworlder...I'm assuming you're also an Otherworlder too, right? I first sensed you a few months ago.”

Mac nodded.

“Okay, I don't need to explain that then. So, I don't know why, or maybe I did and forgot, but anyways, he locked me up in there and threw me down into the pool! The nerve! I tried to get out, but I eventually gave up and went to sleep, waking myself up when someone who could rescue me emerged. I was hoping it wouldn't take so long, but you're the first one who's come along that had the right magic to open it!” The figure flew up and hugged him, which for it was wrapping both its arms around his cheeks.

Mac put the tip of his index finger and touched its back, “I'm glad I could help, but...”

The figure flew back a bit, “What's wrong?”

“What...er, sorry, who, are you?”

The figure let out a high pitched giggle, before flying up above him a ways. “I! Am the great primordial spirit, Arborhea! Mother of the forests of this world!” she proclaimed, light strobing with each emphatic syllable of her proclamation.

Arborhea then flew back down in front of his face. “You can just call me Rhea for short though, all my friends do.”

Mac thought back to his lessons, Marie floating above his head. “Our legends say our world was first created by primordial spirits, many different ones, who each created different parts of the world. Now, they are said to guard them in secret, only interacting with mortals when they get bored. Of course, they're most likely just stories made up to explain how everything came into being.”

This sure doesn't seem like a made up to me... he thought, snapping back to the present. Mac looked at Arborhea, or Rhea as she instructed him to call her, who had alighted on his knee again, and seemed intent to fill him in on her entire life's story, or at least the parts she remembered.

“I use to be friend's with an elf, but I eventually left her because she was too uptight about the trees. It's okay if they get cut down! They'll regrow! It'd be worse if people froze to death if they didn't...”

Mac held up his hand, causing her (while Mac couldn't tell, she had called herself a mother, so presumed it was a she) to stop talking. “Um, not that I'm not interested, but can we go back to how you got in there? Why did your friend do something like that!?”

She shrugged, “I don't know. Honestly, I don't care anymore. No sense crying over a bit of lost time.”

“You said it was thousands of years!” Mac said, incredulous.

“Well, yes, but to me that's not very long. I mean, it was very annoying, but if you were stuck inside for a few days, would you eventually get over it?”

Mac's eyes widened, the extent of what she was saying sinking in. This is incredible! This is definitely something you'd see in a fantasy world!

“Okay, so I won't worry about that. But, how did I get here? Did you call me?”

She nodded, “I said I first sensed you a few months ago, right? Once I knew you would probably help me, I tried calling you here in your dreams. Luckily, you started coming closer a few days ago, finally, so I burned down that building so you would know where I was at.”

“That was you!? You didn't need to burn it down!” Mac explained, eyes going wide.

“Yeah, how else was I supposed to get you to stop here?” Arborhea asked, like it was the most obvious thing.

“We were going to stop there anyway...” Mac said, putting his palm to his forehead.

“Oh...haha! So you were destined to find me regardless!” she laughed, her high pitched voice ringing aloud.

Suddenly, from the woods, Mac heard shouting. “Maaaaac!”

Ah shoot...

“I sense some others over there. Are they looking for you? That's your name, right?” Arborhea asked.

“Maaaaac!” the voice sounded closer.

I think that's Eleanor.

“Elly! I'm fine, I'm over here!” Mac shouted back.

“Mac!?” the voice sounded back. Suddenly Eleanor, still in her nightgown, rushed into the clearing throwing her arms around him.

“I thought I heard you! What are you doing!? No one could find you, I thought maybe something happened” she sobbed into his shoulder.

“Err, I'm really sorry for worrying you, but I...actually I don't even know where to begin,” Mac said, motioning to the spirit sitting on his knee.

Eleanor turned her head to look at Arborhea. Arborhea jovially waved back, causing Eleanor to fall over on her butt next to Mac.

Arborhea flew over to Eleanor, “Oooooohhh! A kindred!” she proclaimed. Flying to either side of her, she sniffed a few times. “Yeah, you definitely smell like Celestina. Are you her daughter?”

Eleanor, despite the situation, responded, “Celestina? You mean the moon spirit?”

Arborhea nodded.

“No...my mother passed away a while back. And she definitely wasn't the moon spirit.”

Arborhea narrowed her eyes. “Are you sure? You definitely smell like her. Maybe you're just a descendant with strong blood ties? You kind of look like her too, although,” she floated down to look at her breasts, “I guess not exactly alike.”

Eleanor looked at Mac, who shrugged. Standing up and dusting herself off, Eleanor looked at Arborhea. “I'm...really confused. Are you trying to say I'm related to a spirit. Wait, are you a spirit?”

“Well, yeah, of course. I mean, you got the eye too, don't you?” Arborhea replied, pointing to Eleanor's yellow eye, then pointing to her own eyes.

Eleanor stared for a few moments, before her eyebrows raised in surprise, as the revelation sunk in.

Mac also realized what Arborhea was implying. They're not curse eyes, they're spirit eyes!

Eleanor, for her part, had trouble taking it in. “You can't be serious...”

“I mean, it's a spirit telling you, so you should probably believe it, right? We could even go ask Celestina if you want, although the trip takes awhile. I'm guessing she got lonely at some point, and came down and had some kids. Maybe even took them back with her! Well, not all of them, if you're here.”

The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

Mac shook his head, “Could they even live on the moon?”

“Well, Celestina does, so why couldn't they?”

“We're not spirits though, we also couldn't live in a box for thousands of years.”

Arborhea's eyes narrowed, “That's true...you children can be really fragile sometimes...”

Eleanor, having finally acclimated to everything, took a few deep breaths. After focusing, she asked, “So...assuming this is true...how exactly did you meet one of the primordial spirits?”

Arborhea was more than happy to explain the whole situation again, even exaggerating some of Mac's feats to make him sound more heroic.

After the story, Eleanor leaned over and hugged him. “Dearest, you're so wonderful, you're even rescuing spirits now!”

Arborhea crossed her arms and nodded in agreement, reminiscent of what he'd seen his fiance's and wives do countless times.

“Look, I'm just glad I could help. And not have those dreams anymore...” Mac shook his head. “Anyways, uh...what are you going to do now?”

“What do you mean? Don't you want me to stick around?” Arborhea asked, pouting.

“You...you wanna stick around...me? I figured you'd want to visit around after you'd been locked up for so long.”

“Nah, you seem interesting. Plus, I figure I should at least serve you for as long as I was trapped, since you're my rescuer...” Arborhea explained.

“I won't even live that long....”

“Well, you're children too. This spirit child here is one of your Queens, right?” she flew over to Eleanor, and knocked a couple times below her stomach. “Hmm, I think it's gonna be a girl,” she said, looking up at Eleanor.

Eleanor didn't react at first, then held her stomach. “You...you can tell...?”

“Yeah, you still got a ways to go though. Ah, you probably didn't realize yet since it was so early. Congrats!” she added, patting Eleanor on the shoulder and giving a thumbs up.

Mac looked at Eleanor, and gave a nervous smile. “We...did it?”

Eleanor walked over and hugged Mac, who was still wet from his dunk in the pool. “Elly...”

“I'm so glad...this is so amazing, “ she said, before giving Mac a passionate kiss.

“Ahaha, you two are great. It's nice to see children in love” she laughed.

Eleanor, snapping back to the situation at hand, looked at Mac. “Mac, if she really is a spirit, and she really wants to join us....”

Arborhea flew down next to them again. “Yeah! Yeah! Let me come! Here...” she flew up again and proclaimed, “I, Arborhea, swear fealty to Mac and his kindred for ten thousand years!”

Mac didn't even know how to respond. Even in this fantasy world, the whole situation had become too crazy.

“Sire! Sire! Are you over there?” they heard in the distance.

Eleanor reacted first, “We should probably hide her. This is too much to explain to everyone...”

“If that's what you wish,” Arborhea said with a smile, before turning out her light and flying into the chest pocket of Mac's tracksuit. Now, the only lights were from Mac's phone, and a lantern light coming toward them.

At the edge of the clearing, La Hire appeared, “Sire!, I...” he started, before seeing that Mac was hurriedly putting his clothes back on, causing him to turn red and looking away.

He can clearly see Eleanor has hers on though, so why get embarrassed!?

“Sorry, I was relieving myself and got a bit lost, but Eleanor found me.”

Eleanor nodded at La Hire to confirm the story.

La Hire sighed in relief. “Sire, I implore you to be more careful in the future. Please, follow me back.”

Mac, having finished getting dressed, nodded. As they started, Mac stopped for a second, turned around, and grabbed the box Arborhea had been in.

“Sire?” La Hire asked.

“Just an interesting rock I found,” he said, slipping it into his pocket.

Back at camp, they came out of the forest. Some of the guards, seeing Mac and Eleanor hand in hand, got the wrong idea and gave a cheer. One even shouted, “Another heir on the way?”

Well, maybe...

By the time they got back into the carriage, the sun was coming up, and the camp started cleaning and preparing to head out. Mac privately told La Hire to have the royal family fund the rebuilding of the inn, since, even if indirectly and it not being his fault, he felt somewhat responsible for the inn being burned down. La Hire gave a questioning glance, but said he would write a letter and instruct the funds to be distributed.

As they got dressed in the carriage, Arborhea flew back out. “I hope you aren't going to keep me cooped up in there all the time.”

Eleanor looked up at her. “It's an issue if people know a spirit is traveling with us though...”

“So it's fine if they can't see me?” Arhorhea asked.

Eleanor nodded.

“Okay, I'll make it so only you two can see me!” she said, snapping her fingers.

“What? Just like that?” Mac asked.

“Yeah of course, I'm a spirit! I mean, I'm not all-powerful, but I can at least control everything about myself, including who is aware of me.”

“Oh, we should include all of Mac's wives and fiance's too, otherwise it would be a bit awkward at home,” Eleanor added, tapping her cheek.

“Haha, how many you got? I'll make so any children you have are aware of me too” she added, snapping her fingers again.

“Um...five including Eleanor,” Mac said, a bit embarrassed. Six, if I can figure out how to smith a dagger...

“Haha, wow, you've only been here a few months and you've got that many!”

“Yeah, I know...” Mac said, although Eleanor grabbed him close and hugged him.

“Well, I for one, am glad,” she added, with a 'hmph'”

“Yeah, I'm glad I found you too,” Mac said, patting Eleanor to reassure her.

As they traveled that day, Eleanor drilled Arborhea.

“So, are the stories true? You and your kind created the world?”

Arborhea smiled in an exaggeratedly haughty fashion. “Yes, it was a while ago, even for me, so I'm a bit fuzzy on the details. Honestly I was so busy creating the forests that I lost track of time. I haven't even seen many of my siblings since then. I occasionally visited some of them, although a lot of them slept a lot, so I started talking to mortals more.”

Eleanor shook her head, “This is too incredible. So, what can you all do?”

Arborhea crossed her arms, floating around, “Hmm...well I can sense children like you. Although the farther away the less I can tell about them.”

“Okay, can we test it?”

Arborhea nodded.

“What can you tell me about Mac's other wife, Melissandra?”

Closing her eyes and thinking, Arborhea returned, “Well, she seems fine, although a bit worried maybe?”

Eleanor sighed, “That sounds like Mel...”

“Oh, she's got a little girl inside her too! A bit bigger than yours.”

Eleanor rubbed her stomach and smiled.

Arborhea continued, “I can also grow trees and other plants too. Although if I do it too much, I have to go rest for a while to recharge.”

Eleanor nodded, “Hmmm, that could be useful...”

“You can also talk to people in their dreams, right?” Mac added.

“Well, sort of. I wasn't fully consciously doing that. It was more like....my feelings were reaching out to you.”

“Your...feelings?”

Arborhea nodded vigorously. “Yeah! You were the first one in forever who could activate the box I was in, so they reached out to you.”

“That's...a bit confusing.”

“More confusing than anything else about me? Hahaha...”

“...Fair point.”

They eventually reached the next inn, this one thankfully fully intact. It took them a bit to get used to Arbhorhea floating around them while everyone else didn't notice.

Going up to their room, Eleanor started undressing, before abruptly stopping, looking at the floating spirit.

“Umm...”

“What's wrong?” Arborhea asked. “Oh, you wanna make love with your husband? That's fine, I don't mind.”

“No, I mean yes, I do, it's just...are you going to watch?” Eleanor asked.

“Do you not want me to? I mean, I can sense it if I pay attention, even if I'm not here.”

“Well, it's more the principle...” Eleanor explained, Mac nodding.

“Hmm, okay, okay, I don't want to be a bother. I'll go take a nap in the nearest tree when I sense you're going to get started, and then I'll come back when I sense you're done.”

Eleanor smiled, “Thank you,” and delicately hugged Arborhea with her fingers.

Arborhea seemed delighted, “Of course, um...I guess you're basically my niece, I'll call you that, if that's okay.”

Eleanor nodded, “Of course, or you can call me Elly like my sisters.”

“Then you can call me Aunt Rhea,” she said, giving Eleanor a hug on the cheek. She then flew over and gave Mac a hug too, before flying out the window.

Eleanor commenced undressing.

Mac, also undressing, sighed, “I'm glad she's so understanding.”

Eleanor shrugged as she unhooked her bra. “She's a woman, too, so I figured she would.”

The next morning, Mac woke up, the naked Eleanor still clutched to him. He slowly stroked her hair. I hope Rhea is right, and you can be a mother soon...

“Of course I'm right!” a voice whispered in his ear. Mac did a double take, as he noticed Arborhea sitting on his shoulder, leaning on his ear.

“You...” he started, before lowering his voice to not wake Eleanor, “You can read my mind?”

“Only if you're thinking about me,” she responded.

“Oh, I guess I'll remember that,” Mac responded, slightly worried.

“Haha, don't worry, I won't be mad if you occasionally think something weird about me” she giggled.

Eleanor was stirring, and Arborhea flew out the window again.

Sitting up, Eleanor rubbed her eyes. “What's wrong, dear?”

“Nothing, just looking at my beautiful wife,” Mac said, going back to stroking her hair.

Eleanor grabbed his hand and put it against her cheek, her disheveled hair pushed aside.

Since the sun wasn't fully up yet, Mac decided to take the initiative, grabbed one of Eleanor's breasts with his free hand, and started squeezing.

Eleanor started moaning, immediately waking up and and going for a kiss on Mac, while grabbing his crotch.

After a few rubs, Mac was ready to go, and pounced on top of Eleanor, who giggled. “Oh dear...even after last night you still want more?”

“Of course,” Mac simply replied, before thrusting deep into her. Reaching over and kissing her with each push, he quickly came as Eleanor clamped down on him.

Eleanor squeezed him tight as he finished, holding him inside, as they both breathed heavily.

After a few moments, they both realized they needed to get going, so they got up and wiped down, quickly dressing and leaving.

Arborhea laughed as they got in the carriage. “Haha, you two did it again?”

Eleanor stared at her, “How did you know!?”

“I told you I can sense it right?”

Eleanor just shook her head, before deciding to interrogate Arborhea again that day.

“What can you tell me about my...ancestor, the moon spirit?” she asked.

Arborhea scrunched her face. “Errr, usually we aren't supposed to talk about one another too much. Or at least, that was the case a while ago. Well, I mostly just know she created the moon, and she was a bit lonely up there by herself.”

“Would it...be possible to talk to her?”

“Probably not, unless she comes down again. I might go visit her once more at some point...”

Eleanor looked a bit sad at the response.

Arborhea, trying to comfort her, responded, “Well, she should be able to sense you at least, since you're related to her. If you think really hard about something you want to say to her, she should probably get the message!”

Eleanor smiled and nodded. “What to say though...”

Meeting the Elf Queen

After a bit of traveling, Arborhea suddenly flew out the window. “Oh, those are some nice trees. They're a lot taller than I remember!”

Sticking his head out the window, Mac looked to see what Arborhea was talking about. In the distance, Mac could see huge trees. Judging off distance, some were probably as tall as skyscrapers.

“I'm assuming that's the elven forest?” Mac asked.

Eleanor, who also stuck her head out, nodded. “Yes, it's quite amazing. I've been here once before for a nobles wedding. Elves don't have the same superstition about my eyes as humans do.”

Arborhea, ducking back into the carriage, seemed confused. “Your eyes? What superstition?”

Eleanor explained the legend behind her different colored eyes, and how they were said to be a curse.

Arborhea just shook her head. “Children are really dumb sometimes.”

Eleanor sighed, “It's caused me no end of trouble.”

Arborhea flew over and hugged her cheeks, “There, there, Aunty Rhea will tell everyone it's the exact opposite!”

“Well, you probably shouldn't...” Mac said.

“I know, I know. Well, unless you tell me not to hide anymore.”

I can't even begin to think of the hysteria caused by one of their gods suddenly showing up like that. Although at the least, I guess they would have to listen to her, right?

As they approached the forest, there was a single elf guard. Mac had seen a few elves before now, both at his Introduction Ceremony and his weddings, but this was his first time seeing one geared for battle. As he had expected, it was wearing some light leather armor, with browns and greens to help blend into the forest. On his back was a bow and quiver of arrows.

The guard, seeing them approaching, saluted Captain La Hire, who saluted him back, and the caravan continued without stopping.

Inside the forest, it was brighter than he expected, giant holes in the canopy were letting enough light in to keep the forest reasonably lit despite the tree growth.

Arborhea narrowed her eyes as she examined them, “Hmm, yes, they've been doing a good job. I recognize some of these trees from the last time I was here.”

“You mean, from thousands of years ago!?” Mac asked, incredulous.

Arbhorhea nodded, “Of course! If the tender does well, the tree can live almost forever!”

A couple hours into the forest, Mac noticed a tree, large enough around it looked like a city block, springing up from around the trees around it.

“Oh, there you are!” Arborhea said, racing out of the carriage towards the tree.

Mac looked at Eleanor, who just shrugged back at him.

As they approached, a contingent of elves on horses came to greet them. Mac exited the carriage, while Eleanor said she needed to change first.

The knights, who were wearing metal armor similar to his royal guard, all bowed deeply. One stepped forward, addressing him, “Sire, thank you for coming. It is my understanding one of your Queen's joined you?”

“Yes, she just...ah, here she is,” Mac stopped as the door opened.

Eleanor came out, wearing a silver dress that matched her hair, with traces of blue along the edges. The top of the chest was cut out, which for Eleanor meant you could see a large amount of cleavage.

Oh yeah...this was part of Marie's strategy, right?

Mac, realizing he was staring, looked away. Eleanor came down the steps, and grabbed his arm in hers, before whispering, “It's okay, you're allowed to stare,” along with a giggle.

The elven guard captain coughed, trying not appear flustered, “Please...if you could follow me. Queen Sophia would like to see you right away, if that is acceptable.”

Mac nodded, and they followed him in. Captain La Hire also followed in after them.

As they approached the giant tree, Mac could see the little ball of light that was Arborhea, flying around the trunk every which way. I guess she's enjoying herself.

Inside, the room they entered into looked completely hollowed out. Or at least, he could see what he thought was the outside of the tree, and then a roof of wood above them. A spiral staircase along the outside of the room seemed cut into the tree. Leading them up the stairs, they passed through several rooms, each one seeming to be for a different use. A kitchen, a storage room, one that looked like a maid quarters...

After a dozen, they got to a floor that had a door next to the staircase. The guard opened the door and bade them to walk inside.

This room, Mac felt a sense of familiarity with. It looked not too different from his own throne room, with painted glass windows and draperies on the walls.

At the end of the room sat a throne, from which rose a figure. Tall, buxom, and outrageously sensual, Mac could understand why people said she was the most beautiful woman in the world.

Of course, in his arm was Eleanor, who thanks to their nightly escapades, still retained the sharp and slimmer figure she had gained after shedding some excess weight since their wedding. Eleanor mk. 2...he thought of her now, as he looked at his wife. Although sometimes I miss the bubbly cheeks...

It was actually a bit scary how similar they looked, as they got closer together. She was the same height, same figure...the main difference seemed to be that Sophia's hair was a darker gold, and of course, she had pointy elven ears.

But as they drew closer, Mac started to change his mind. Eleanor's face glowed a bit more. Her hair was prettier. Her breasts, perkier. He felt like he might be biased, but he thought his wife was a tad more beautiful than the elf Queen was.

Of course, all this analysis ran through Mac's head in the few seconds it took to meet the Queen halfway through the room.

“My, it's so good to finally meet you, King Mac,” she said in a seductive voice, bowing deeply so that her ample cleavage was in full view. He thought Eleanor might react, but he sensed no movement from her.

Mac nodded back at Sophia, “It's nice to meet you too, Sophia.”

Sophia turned to Eleanor, her smile looking a bit more forced, before giving her a slight nod, “And you must be Eleanor.”

“Sophia,” Eleanor replied, keeping her normal smile.

Sophia quickly turned back to Mac. “I heard one of the inn's you stayed at burned down. I trust you made it here without too much trouble?”

“Yes, we made it here just fine,” Mac responded, emphasizing the 'we'.

Sophia's smiled slipped slightly, before continuing, “Like my letter said, I invited you here to discuss the relationship between the elves and the country, but I think that can wait. Would you like to have dinner, and then you can rest before the discussions tomorrow?”

Mac nodded, “That sounds excellent.”

They were led up a few more flights, until they reached a large dining area. After a few minutes of waiting, it started to fill with people. The royal guards and the elven guards were chatting amicably, seeming to get along well due to their similar occupations.

Mac and Eleanor sat down next to Sophia, who introduced them to the men sitting next to her.

“These are my husbands,” she said, before sitting back down.

Mac looked at the four elven men. You're not even going to tell me their names!? He smiled and nodded at them, and they seemed taken aback at first, before smiling and nodding in kind.

The queen stood up to give a simple toast, “To Ositania!”

Receiving a loud cheer, she sat back down smiling, giving a sideways glance to Mac, who nodded in approval.

During dinner, Sophia kept giving sideways glances at Mac. He focused on the food, a rabbit stew with sides of many different fruits.

After dinner, they were led to their rooms. Sophia seemed to be staring a hole through Mac as they left.

Mac and Eleanor were shown to a private room, which he assumed had to be relatively high based on the number of steps they had climbed. Once inside, Eleanor quickly sat down, taking off her shoes and rubbing her feet, “Ugh, they put us so high up on purpose!”

Mac shrugged, “Maybe, the room is pretty nice though, look at this,” he said, opening their window. Up as high as they were, they could see the canopies of trees below them, and the sky soaring above them.

Reminds me of that time on the mountain...hopefully Emma's lessons are going well.

Eleanor came over, also in awe of the scene before them.

Mac grabbed his phone and took a picture of Eleanor and him with the scene in the background (his wives and fiance's always got excited when he took a picture with them).

After enjoying for a bit, Eleanor leaned out the window and called “Aunty Rhea!”

They heard a whoosh as a purple streak appeared in their eyes.

“Sorry, me and this tree go way back, so we were catching up,” Arborhea explained, now sitting on Eleanor's shoulder.

Eleanor shook her head, “No, I understand. Anyone would do the same with a friend they haven't seen in a while.”

Arborhea smiled, “Yeah! You get it! So, what's up? You were meeting with some elf queen, right?”

Eleanor nodded, “Actually, I was hoping maybe you could keep an eye on her, and report back if she does anything suspicious.”

Arborhea stood at attention and saluted, “Aye, aye!” and flew back out the window.

Eleanor sighed, “I feel much better now.” Turning around and looking at Mac, she went to the door and opened it up. Kelly was there, standing ready. “Kelly, make sure no one bothers us.”

Kelly curtsied, “Of course. Although the sounds will probably keep them away...”

Eleanor shook her head, “No, we're not doing that...right now. We're discussing something important.”

After closing the door, she beckoned Mac over to the table. At least in this world we don't have to worry about our room being bugged, he thought, as he sat down across from her.

Eleanor had a serious look on her face. “I think the first part was successful. I sent Rhea just in case, but I doubt she will try and seduce you tonight.”

Mac smiled, “Yes, you did an excellent job, especially with that dress.”

Eleanor blushed slightly, “Thank you, although you did well too not falling for her wiles. I think she really got thrown off right away in the throne room. My guess is she was going to try and have you send me away, but since you were staying stuck to me she decided to just go to dinner instead and try again later.”

Mac leaned back in his chair, deep in thought, “You think she will try again tomorrow?”

Eleanor nodded, “I'd be quite surprised if she gave up that easily. Her strategy will probably change though. I believe she now thinks that I am the one who is actually running things.”

Mac raised his eyebrows, “I mean, you sort of are...”

Eleanor shook her head. “No. We're a team, right?”

Mac nodded, “Oh...you mean she thinks you're like, controlling me and I have no say?”

“Yes. That's probably how Sophia runs the elves. Her husbands are probably just there for kids and social events. Sophia is the only one who has any say.”

“I mean, she's successfully been the Queen of elves for hundreds of years, right?”

Eleanor shrugged, “Just because it's worked for her, doesn't mean our way isn't better. After working with you, Marie, and Mel, I'm convinced having multiple people running something as large as a kingdom is correct.”

Mac smiled, glad he had such capable women around him. “Definitely. So what do you think she'll do tomorrow?”

“She'll probably try to gauge if she is correct during discussions. If I do all the talking, she will think she is correct, and devise a plan to get me away.”

“So basically, we just need to stick together?”

“Yes, but we need to make sure they don't have a valid reason for us not to be together. If only one of us is taking part in the discussions, they could use that to try and separate us.”

Mac was a bit confused, “Couldn't we just say no?”

“We could, and would, but it would look poorly on us denying a reasonable request. If we are both needed for discussions, then instead it would be unreasonable to separate us.”

Mac's face lit up, as it clicked in his head.

Eleanor smiled as she could see Mac understood.

“Okay, so regardless of what they bring up, we both need to talk?”

“Exactly. Now...”

They continued talking as darkness fell, planning out what they might say depending on Sophia's requests, and trying to plan for any eventuality.

After lengthy pre-discussion discussions, they decided to turn in for the night. “Elly, are you sure? It's gonna be a long day...” Mac said, as Eleanor held him tight, kissing his neck.

“Are you sure? You're really excited down there...” she said, reaching around and grabbing his crotch.

“Alright, but just once, okay? I feel like tomorrow is going to be exhausting...”

Suddenly the window rattled open and a purple streak stopped in front of them.

“Aunty Rhea reporting in! I sensed you were about to get busy with each other but I figured you would want me to report in anyway!”

Eleanor snapped back into business mode, hand still on Mac's member. “Is Sophia doing something?”

“Yes! She put on a sexy outfit and is walking down the stairs. I followed for a bit, but when it was obvious she was heading here, I came to let you know!” Arborhea recited, as if a soldier giving a scouting report.

“That...bitch!” Eleanor growled.

Mac was speechless. He had never seen Eleanor this angry before. Actually, he had never even seen Eleanor angry before at all, that he could remember. Now, she was positively seething.

“I'll show her...coming here while I'm with my husband...” Eleanor said, standing up and undressing.

“Elly, it's okay, we can send her away...”

“Oh, I'll send her away!” Eleanor said, grabbing Mac's shirt and ripping it off.

Sophia walked down the stairs of her tree palace, wearing only a black, shear robe. She occasionally passed servants, who curtsied, used to seeing her walking about in such an outfit.

There's no way he'll resist me in this, she thought, smiling to herself as she continued down the steps. I'll just ask to speak with him alone and lure him to my room...

As she neared the room the King was staying in, she thought she heard a sound emanating from the floor. Walking down the steps to the door, she finally was able to make out what it was. Moaning.

Slowing her walk in surprise, she caught sight of a cat-human maid, who stood silently in front of the room.

As she stopped in front of the door, the catgirl maid curtsied. “Can I do something for you?”

Standing right in front of the door, the moaning was obnoxiously loud. How can the maid stand this!?

Trying to ignore the sounds emanating from the room, Sophia asked, “I'd like to...speak with the King...regarding when we would start discussions tomorrow.”

“They asked not to be disturbed,” the maid said, motioning towards the door with her head. “But I can pass along your message once they finish, if you'd like.”

Sophia closed her eyes, still trying to ignore the sounds. No it's okay...even if they are doing this, I'll just ensnare him after he finishes. Actually, he'll already be in the mood, so it can play to my benefit!

As if to answer her thoughts, the sounds coming through the door suddenly stopped.

“Could you see if he is available now?”

“Oh, he won't be. That was only the first time. They will go at least a few more.”

As if on queue, more moaning started coming through the door.

Sophia started quivering, trying to hold back her rage, before turning around and heading back.

This woman! She's obviously controlling him. Did she guess I would try to come here tonight? I can't take her lightly...

As she stomped up the stairs, one of her husbands passed her.

“Sophia, dear, wha-...” he started to say, looking concerned, before he was grabbed by the cuff and dragged upstairs by his wife.

In the morning, Mac woke up, predictably tired. He had been exhausted the night before already, but Eleanor had been so upset, he put aside his exhaustion and comforted her as best he could.

Well, I think it worked, considering how well she's sleeping. Mac thought, looking down at his wife.

As he tried to sit up, Eleanor's arms pulled him back to her.

“No...with me...” she mumbled, still seemingly asleep.

“Haha, you two are great. It was definitely worth following you!” he heard from behind him.

Arborhea was floating there, arm's behind her head, laughing at the two of them.

“Um...thanks for last night...” Mac said, unwinding himself from Eleanor.

“Of course. I did swear fealty to you after all! Well, I'd help out one of my kindred even if I didn't...” she trailed off. “But, I didn't expect her to get so mad!”

“Yeah, I've never seen Eleanor look like that before...”

“Oh, well me neither, but I meant that elf queen. She was pretty livid...” she explained, laughing again. “She dragged up one of her husbands and forced him to have sex all night! Well, not that that's much different than you two...” she added with a smirk.

Probably due to the talking, Eleanor rubbed her eyes and sat up. “Good morning,” she said, giving Mac a kiss and getting out of bed.

“You...good?” Mac asked tentatively.

Eleanor smiled, “Of course. Now come get dressed dear, we've got a long day ahead of us.”

A Chance Meeting

At breakfast, despite what he heard from Arborhea, Sophia seemed to be the same as yesterday. Maybe she cooled down after being with her husband?

“I hope you slept well,” Sophia asked.

“We did, thank you. I hope you did as well,” Eleanor replied.

Sophia smiled, “I did, indeed.”

Mac felt the tension in the air, and decided to not say a thing. After eating in relative silence, they were shown to a council chamber to talk.

“Before we begin, I'd just like to state, that I have no intention of changing the elves status in Ositania from the status quo,” Mac stated as they sat down, a pre-rehearsed line.

Currently, the elves of Ositania were given a great deal of autonomy, including being able to have their own ruler (Sophia), and in return, they gave access to their forest to everyone in the Kingdom, and would send soldiers if the kingdom was under attack. Otherwise, they were mostly left alone, and kept to themselves, rarely dealing with the Kingdom besides the occasional marriage.

Sophia gave a devious smile. “About that...I was discussing with my husband last night, and we were considering giving up our special status. I've been doing some thinking since the last war, and I don't think we elves can hide in our forest anymore. We need to take a more active part in the Kingdom.”

Eleanor thought for a few moments. “You'd get to participate in politics with the other nobles, although you'd have to pay taxes going forward,” she stated.

Sophia nodded, “Yes. I'd also like to request the elven forest as my domain.”

“I'm assuming you would want to impose tolls on merchants?” Eleanor asked.

“Yes, although we would most likely continue to allow regular travelers free passage, as long as they don't cause issues.”

Eleanor tapped her cheek, deep in thought. “What do you think, dearest?”

Sophia visibly flinched, although Mac wasn't sure if it was because Eleanor asked his opinion, or if it was because she called him 'dearest'.

Mac, maybe because he thought this was too good of a deal, asked, “I'm assuming there is something you'd like in return, otherwise this seems weighted more in our favor.”

Sophia nodded, “You are correct. While there are a few elves in some of the existing noble houses, I would like to integrate us more into the Kingdom. As such, as part of the agreement, I would have you take one of my daughters as a Queen. I have three unmarried daughters that I think may be to your liking.”

I should have guessed. So if she can't get it herself, she'll have her daughter have my child.

“I actually had the three preparing, in hopes you would be interested in the offer. You could go talk with them while I discuss the specifics with Eleanor.”

Ugh, and she's trying to separate us just like Elly said she would!

However, Mac was surprised, as Eleanor put her hand on his arm. “Go ahead, dearest, if you end up not liking any of them, we don't have to agree.”

Sophia visibly flinched again. “I'm sure you'll find at least one to your liking, but we can always negotiate more if you do not. Please rest in your room, one of my maids will come get you when their ready.”

Are these two going to be okay together? Mac thought, sighing and standing up. Giving a kiss to Eleanor's cheek, he followed Kelly as they made their way back to the room he and Eleanor had slept in last night.

As they walked back up, Mac thought about the situation. Is this good enough I should just agree to a diplomatic marriage regardless? he thought. Although, if they caused issues with my existing fiances and wives, that could cause bigger issues...

When they were just reaching the room, Mac ran into a familiar face heading down the stairs. “Hello Charlotte, good to see you again.”

Charlotte, with the same nervous face she had had at his wedding, gave a slight bow, “Sire.”

“Thanks again for coming to Mel and I's wedding,” he said.

“Of course. I enjoyed Eleanor's wedding more though, since there was less people,” she replied.

“Oh, sorry, I guess I didn't see you there.”

“Yes, I hid in the back most of the time. I...don't like big gatherings.”

Well, that's explains it... “May I ask why you decided to go then?”

She looked down, visibly looking a bit nervous, “Since Mother was...busy, she asked me to go on her behalf, since I'm unmarried, in case a noble took an interest in me.”

Mac winced a bit, before having a realization.

“Oh! So you're one of Sophia's unmarried daughters?” Charlotte seems very low-key, so maybe she'd be a good fit? Or at least, wouldn't be likely to butt heads with anyone.

Charlotte nodded.

“Well, do you want to just spend time together now? Assuming you're ready, of course.”

Charlotte seemed unsure at first, but then after thinking for a few moments, nodded again. “Do you want to go to my room?”

Mac blinked a couple times. Well, that's surprisingly forward. Maybe despite her demeanor she's like her mother, too? Maybe I'm just bad at reading people. I guess I'll just shut her down if and when she starts anything.

Charlotte's eyes darted back and forth between Kelly and the ground.

“Kelly, do you wanna get some rest? I'm assuming you...didn't get a ton of sleep,” Mac asked. Of course, that's partly my fault.

Kelly curtsied. “Thank your, sire,” she replied, before heading into the room.

Mac must have guessed correctly, as Charlotte turned and headed back up the stairs.

As they walked, Charlotte asked, “You...really are an Otherworlder, right?”

“Yup. Not that it means much now...”

Charlotte acted like she was going to respond, but didn't say anything and kept walking.

Eventually, they stopped at a room. Charlotte opened the door and slipped in quickly.

“Um....” Mac started.

“One moment,” he heard from inside.

Mac heard some rustling from inside. And some...clanking? He was a bit confused. After a minute or so, the door opened again.

The room looked like a disaster area. What was she even cleaning just now!? Did it look worse before? It was dark, the window curtains pulled shut, and a myriad of lanterns lit, while the room itself was filled with various mechanical contraptions, as if this was a shop classroom where kids had been tinkering and putting together whatever contraption they could imagine. On the floor were various parchments, with an even larger multitude of designs on them. On the ceiling to one side was a pulley, bringing back scary memories of the elevator in Stromvurk. And, most glaringly, there was a patched over hole in the far wall.

“Um, could you take a look at this,” she asked, walking over to one of the contraptions.

It looked like a wood stove, since there was some already-burned wood in it, but there was some tubes attached behind it, and the rope from the pulley was tied off behind it. At the other end of the rope a small rock was wrapped on.

“Did you have something like this in your old world?” Charlotte asked.

“We had stoves, but I...don't think we had anything like this. Or, I don't remember anything like that, at least.

Charlotte looked down, a barely perceptible amount of sadness on her face.

Mac, however, had had his interest piqued.

“Hold on, hold on, how exactly does it work? Just because it doesn't look familiar doesn't mean it isn't.”

Charlotte nodded, before pouring some lantern oil onto the wood, and lighting it with a match, before closing the stove door. She then sat in silence.

Ummm...is something supposed to happen? Mac thought, as he looked around. The various other contraptions around the room seemed haphazardly strewn about, as if the creator would work on one, then set it aside mid-build to work on something else.

After a few minutes of silence, Mac heard a slight whistle. It brought him memories of his old teapot from his world. “Is that...steam?”

Charlotte nodded, “Yes, I learned you need to have a way to let out some of the pressure from the pipes, or they might explode.”

Oh...that explains the hole.

After a couple more minutes, the rope started to move, as a plug in one of the pipes started to get pushed out, picking up the rock a few centimeters off the ground. Eventually the plug popped out, and the rock fell back down, pulling the plug up to swing back and forth.

“I've been stuck here a while. It doesn't explode anymore, but if I wanted to pull something up this high on the tree, I'd need to have a pipe just as long. And I'd need a way for it to not fall back down right away.”

Mac realized at that point what he was looking at. It was the beginning's of a steam engine. She was trying to find a way to power a pulley to pull things up the tree.

“Yeah...we did have something like this in my world.”

Charlotte's eyes lit up. “Are...are you serious!?”

Mac was taken aback, Charlotte's normally stoic face was now showing before-unseen excitement. “Ye...yes, although I think it didn't have a plug at the end. I think it was some sort of wheel...” Mac said, trying to wrack his brain.

Charlotte looked at him expectantly, hanging on his every word.

Shoot, I feel like she's really close, but I can't remember how it works exactly. I wish I could look it up... Mac thought, lamenting the lack of an internet. Wait!

Mac grabbed Charlotte's hand, and pulled her out and down the flights of stairs to his room. “Sire?” she asked. Several of the servants looked on in astonishment as they passed.

Mac burst open the door and went to his chest of belongings he had brought.

“Nyuhhh, what's wrong,” Kelly asked from the bed, lifting up her head and rubbing her eyes.

“Sorry Kelly, you can still sleep.”

“Hokay,” she sleepily replied, head going back to the bed.

Mac rummaged through his chest until he found his bag he had had with him when he was first teleported to this world. Rifling through the textbooks he had with him, he found the one he was looking for. Scanning the table of contents, he flipped to the correct page.

Showing Charlotte, he pointed to the diagram on the page. “This is what you were making, right? Well, this is a combustion engine, not a steam engine, but I think you need this part, the piston.”

Charlotte grabbed the book. “What...is this?”

“It's a textbook from my world. I was actually a student before I got teleported here.”

Charlotte's jaw dropped. “This...this is an Otherworlder book!?”

“Yes. Actually, you might enjoy the rest of it, too.”

Charlotte started flipping through the book, getting more and more excited with every page.

Mac pulled out the rest. “Here, I have some more too.”

Charlotte put the book down and started paging through the others quickly, looking at what they contained. She seemed most taken in whenever their was detailed diagrams on the page.

As he saw her murmuring to herself while examining the pages, Mac started to realize the situation he had before him. This girl is probably the closest thing I've met to an actual inventor here. She created the beginnings of a steam engine by herself with no help. If she can actually get a working steam engine made... Mac thought how important a development that would be. He had always been thinking on the tech level the world was currently operating at, which was relatively low comparative to his old one. If they could get even basic steam technology working, that opened up a lot of possibilities. That's such a huge deal, I feel like even gambling on the possibility is worth it.

“How would you like to keep those?” Mac asked.

Charlotte put the book down. “You'd let me keep these? Really?”

“Yes, on the condition you marry me and keep working on your steam engine.”

Charlotte's face went back to the nervous face he was used too. “You...want to marry me?”

“Yes, I think you're invention might be extremely valuable for the Kingdom. And since your mother wants me to marry one of her daughters, it's a win-win. Assuming you agree of course.”

“Yes,” she instantly replied, before going back to reading the book.

“You...you're agreeing already? It's okay if you want to think about it...”

“N...no, it sounds great. You're the first person to ever tell me my work might be valuable.” She pulled the book down slightly, revealing half her face, which was blushing slightly, “At the weddings, you seem like your treat your wives well, too, so I think it's a good deal for me, too.”

Mac scratched his cheek, “Well, I try my best. You will need to get my wives approval though, but I'm sure that won't be an issue.”

Charlotte nodded. “Can I...?” she said, motioning to the books.

“Of course, just be careful...I can't replace those.”

“I'm actually going to copy them before I do anything else,” she explained, stacking them up.

“Oh, good idea.” I should have thought of that before now!

Charlotte left in a hurry.

Mac sighed, I guess I have another now...maybe I'm getting too used to this, but I feel like it would have been a huge mistake to let her slip through my fingers.

Looking at Kelly, who seemed to be sleeping peacefully, he tip-toed out of the room and silently closed the door after himself.

He walked back into the room where Eleanor and Sophia were still talking.

“Yes, we already have a couple planned, but we can have the wedding-” Eleanor stopped as Mac came back into the room. Giving him a big smile, she “Did you make a decision?”

Sophia smirked, “Already? It's not even lunch yet.”

Mac nodded, “Yes, I talked with Charlotte and decided on her. She agreed as well.”

Eleanor nodded, keeping her smile, while Sophia's eyes went wide.

“Charlotte!? She wasn't even...wait, she agreed!? I didn't-...” Sophia started, before coughing and calming herself. “You really want to marry Charlotte? May I ask why?”

I have a feeling I shouldn't mention the actual reason. “We talked for a bit, and I became quite enamored with her. And, I have to say, I find her quite attractive.”

Thankfully, he guessed correctly, and Sophia gave him an odd look, before sighing.

“If you want to marry Charlotte to complete our agreement, then I would be more than happy to let you have her. Just make sure she...takes all of her things with her.”

Yeah, that was the plan.

Mac stayed mostly silent as Eleanor and Sophia finished the negotiations, now that they knew the agreement would come to fruition.

After finishing, they went and ate lunch, before going their separate ways for the afternoon.

Once in their room, Eleanor said, “I figured you would be fine one way or another, but I didn't actually expect you to agree on one...”

Mac explained the situation he had gone through with Charlotte, including his thought process in deciding to propose to her.

“So...this steam engine? Is it just for pulling lifts?”

Mac shook his head, “No, many things besides that. In my world, we had something called 'trains' and they had giant steam engines that could pull a mile's worth of carts by itself, while going as fast as a horse running.”

Eleanor's eyes went wide. “A...a mile of wagons? As fast as a horse running? That sounds...ridiculous.”

“Well, they do need special tracks to operate, but yes, they're quite useful.” Actually, by my time we had electric magnet rails, but I don't think I wanna even try explaining that. Not like we could build it anyway, unless I wanna sit there powering trains all day by myself...

After that Mac explained the various uses of trains to satisfy Eleanor's curiosity.

“Was what you told Sophia true? Or were you just lying to cover up the real reason?” Eleanor asked, sitting down and grabbing some tea Kelly had brought (refreshed now from her nap).

“Uh, sort of both? I do think she's attractive, and...enamored might be a stretch, but I was definitely interested. And yes, I didn't want to let Sophia know the real reason, lest she try to grab more concessions.”

“I got the feeling she didn't see marrying Charlotte off as a loss.”

“Yeah, Charlotte agreed basically instantly when I proposed the arrangement. I don't think she particularly likes it here.”

Eleanor smiled, “I'm glad you understand how politicking works now, arranging a marriage for our benefit.”

“Well...I do feel bad using Charlotte, but if she's okay with it, then I won't feel bad.”

Eleanor tapped her mouth in thought, “I think I'll go converse with my future sister...”

Charlotte was sitting in her room, reading a book by lantern light (despite it being the middle of the day, she had the window curtains pulled), trying to understand what she was reading.

Of course, she could read the book just fine, but she kept coming across words that she didn't recognize. Because of this, she much preferred the diagrams she found scattered throughout the book, as she could see the object, and try to infer it's use.

Hmm...this is going to take some time, but maybe Mac can help explain... Charlotte blushed slightly. She hadn't taken much interest in men in her one-hundred and twenty years since being born in the forest, but this one had taken an interest in her. She wasn't entirely sure what she thought of him yet, but marrying him and leaving this place would be a dream come true. Her mother, the Queen, wished she had taken up more normal elven pursuits like archery or tree-tending, and had never cared for her research and inventions, making her keep them in her room. She sometimes forced her to participate in events (like the royal wedding), and she did dutifully, but always dreaded anything involving court politics.

Drawing the diagram, she stopped, as she had conflicted thoughts about what she had just stumbled upon. Is this basically cheating? she thought, second-guessing reading through the book. No, it's just research, like reading any other book! she rationalized to herself. Plus, if it's something that can benefit everyone, or even save lives, I shouldn't avoid it just because I want to discover it myself.

She shook her head, No, I'm getting ahead of myself. Reading the book, some of the stuff she didn't understand on a basic level, as they must be concepts that didn't even exist in their world. Magnets? How do they work? They stick to things like glue? Additionally, while some of the other books were interesting, like the one that talked about mixing different concoctions together, or the one explaining physics concepts, there was one that just talked about math, and a really confusing one that talked about something called 'programming' on a 'computer'. She gave up on that on the first page, as there so many Otherworlder words that she figured that one might be too advanced for her.

Turning back to the one she was on, which talked about an Otherworlder subject called 'engineering', she found the most enticing. Some of the things she was reading about were concepts she had thought of before herself, and some of the items in it were similar to ones she had built (or at least tried to build) already.

As she was contemplating, a knock came at the door. Oh, is Mac coming to visit me again!? Or maybe Mom has come to talk to me about it...walking over to the door, she slowly opened it.

On the other side was a tall, elegant woman. Maybe because they were eye-height for her, but the first thing she noticed was the woman's large, protruding breasts. Maybe even larger than her mother's!

“Hello Charlotte, may I come in?” the woman asked.

“Um...who are you?”

The woman looked astonished. “What, you don't recognize me!? You were at my wedding! It's me, Eleanor...”

Charlotte scrunched her face up a bit. The Eleanor she remembered was more...bubbly, with rounded features, and a bit more weight on her. This woman was more thin, with no excess fat, especially around the face. “Are you really?”

Eleanor flashed up her hand, showing a ring with the bright yellow stone on it.

Oh, yeah I remember that. “Sorry, I didn't recognize you,” she blushed before opening the door all the way.

Eleanor giggled, “It's okay, I've lost some weight recently.”

Charlotte went over to a table and cleared everything off of it so they could sit at it. As they sat down, Charlotte grew nervous. “Umm....I...”

Eleanor smiled, “It's okay, you don't need to be nervous.”

Charlotte took a deep breath, before bowing and asking, “Please let me marry King Mac.”

Eleanor got up and hugged Charlotte, “Of course!”

“Wuhhh...it was that easy!? I don't have to convince you?” Charlotte asked, surprised.

“Of course not. Mac already told me about this...steam engine?...you were building, and I agreed with his decision. Plus, I always want more cute little sisters!” Eleanor explained, rubbing her cheek on Charlotte's.

Charlotte sighed, Phew, I'm glad that was easy. She tentatively hugged Eleanor back.

Sitting back down, Eleanor asked, “So, what did you think of Mac? Do you think you'll get along?”

Charlotte blushed, looking down, murmuring, “I don't know. He seems nice. And he likes my inventions...Actually, wasn't your marriage political too?”

Eleanor nodded, “Yes, I 'won' the Introduction Ceremony when Mac got summoned. Of course, I would have probably been happy with anyone, but...” Eleanor, stopping to think, blushed slightly, “Mac is so nice to me. And the others, too. I....couldn't help but fall in love with him.”

Charlotte's blushing grew even stronger. “I was always told...”

Eleanor shook her head, “I was too, but just because it's arranged doesn't mean you can't.”

Charlotte tapped her index fingers together, and asked “Can you...help me?”

Eleanor smiled, a bit deviously. “Of course, that's why I came here.”

Mac sat in his room, drinking some tea as he took in the dusk sky over the forest canopy. An elven maid had stopped by earlier with dinner, saying that Sophia was going to be busy the rest of the day, and they would talk more tomorrow regarding he and Charlotte's marriage.

Eleanor had gone to visit Charlotte earlier and hadn't returned. Kelly had left a bit ago, saying she was going to go check on Eleanor.

Well, hopefully this means they are getting along well, at least.

A knock came at the door. Mac didn't get up, expecting Eleanor to just come in. However, no one did, and after a bit he heard a knock again. Maybe its another servant?

This time getting up, he walked over pulled open the door. Instead of Eleanor, or a servant, he saw none other than Charlotte. Oh...I should have guessed this.

Charlotte was wearing a golden robe that matched her hair, and was looking down at the ground, Mac able to see she was blushing heavily.

“Ermmm...” was all she said.

“Come in, come in,” Mac said, ushering her in.

Mac went and sat on the bed, but Charlotte didn't move from near the door. It was obvious she had cleaned up before coming, some makeup that he was pretty sure looked like Eleanor's on her face, and her hair was brushed and straight.

“Are you...okay?...Charlotte?” Mac asked.

“Eep!” Charlotte let out, getting scared out of her own thoughts she had been in.

“You don't need to force yourself, or if Eleanor is forcing you...”

Charlotte shook her head, before slowly walking over to him. “I want to be a proper wife too,” she said, although her body language was not matching her words, as she seemed to be nervously quivering.

Mac wasn't sure what to do. He was comfortable around women now and wasn't flustered by this situation, but he was a bit uneasy here. Of course, he also didn't want to just shut down his new fiance who seemed to be trying to overcome her own embarrassment.

Deciding to just let her do what she wanted for now, he watched as she slowly crept closer.

As she stood in front of him, she reached out her hand slowly and...grabbed his hand.

Mac looked up to see her face growing dark red, steam coming out of her ears. Just from holding hands? No, I shouldn't be judging considering how I used to be...

Mac gave her hand a little squeeze in return, which caused Charlotte to somehow blush even harder.

As she stood there for a minute, she murmured, “What's next?”

I guess she wants me to take the lead now? “Well, do you want to hug?” he asked, standing up and wrapping his arms around her.

Mac could see she was growing redder and redder still, until going limp in his arms.

“Charlotte?” he asked, worried. I didn't hug you that hard! He held her up, and saw that her eyes had closed. Holding his hand to her mouth, he could tell she was still breathing fine. Did she...faint?

Mac carried her over to the bed, and laid her on it. I'm not really sure what the proper procedure is here. She should just wake up eventually, right?

Pulling up a chair, he sat down next to the bed and waited.

Charlotte opened her eyes. Where am I? Who opened the curtains? she thought, looking up at an an unfamiliar ceiling, in a too-well lit room. Turning her head, she saw Mac sitting on a chair with his head lying on the bed next to her, presumably sleeping.

The events of last night came back into her mind. He hugged me and then....after some thinking, she realized she must have fainted, as it wasn't the first time that had happened. Now blushing at her own embarrassment, she pulled the covers over her head.

This, however, awakened Mac, due to the sheets under him suddenly shifting. Rubbing his eyes, he asked “Errr, are you feeling better?”

Charlotte pulled the sheets down enough to reveal half her face, and nodded.

“Why don't you head back to your room?” Mac suggested.

Charlotte looked down, “I'm...sorry...I just...”

Mac shook his head, “Don't be sorry. You don't need to be like Eleanor, you can just take things at your own pace. We can take things at our own pace,” he added, smiling to try and reassure her.

Charlotte slowly nodded. I'm glad he's so understanding. I can tell I'm not ready for anything beyond hugging yet. Actually, I failed even that, didn't I?

As she was thinking this, she noticed a lantern that seemed to be floating behind Mac. Actually, not only was it floating, but it seemed to be flying around in a circle.

Mac noticed Charlotte was staring at something behind him, and looked around, before facepalming and shaking his head, “Oh, shoot, I guess she qualifies now, right?”

Charlotte looked at him confused, as the lantern started to fly over to her. As it got closer, it looked like the lantern giving off the light was actually a purple doll.

“Hi there! I'm Arborhea! Nice to meet you! You must be Mac's newest fiance if you can see me, right?”

Um...it's talking? And it's claiming it's the Primordial Spirit of the Forests?

“Um, is this some sort of Otherworlder technology? You can make dolls talk? Although having it impersonate a spirit seems a little sacrilegious...”

“No, I know it's hard to believe, but it's actually the spirit Arborhea,” Mac tried to convince her.

“You can just call me Aunty Rhea though! Elly does, at least. She's my niece. Well, there's probably a few 'grand's' before the niece part, but that's too much to to say,” Arborhea explained.

Charlotte shook her head in disbelief.

“Here, watch this!” Arborhea said, holding her hand to the wall, she expanded the wall out, adding an extra half a meter to the room.

Charlotte's eyes widened. Even the strongest tree-mages couldn't manipulate that much wood in that manner so quickly. “This is incredible! We have tales of you appearing before elves before, but I didn't think they were actually true.”

“Yeah, it's a bit of a story....” Mac said, before Rhea jumped in to explain the series of events that led to her joining them. After finishing, Charlotte was astounded.

“That's incredible! To have a spirit as a companion!” Charlotte exclaimed.

Mac scratched his head, “Well, she didn't have too...”

Arborhea laughed, “Haha, I told you, I needed to repay you, and I thought it would be fun. I was right too!” She turned to Charlotte, “That room was yours right? Those were really cool, I haven't seen contraptions like that in a long time.”

Charlotte blushed at the compliment, but Mac did a double take. “Wait, so you have seen similar stuff before?”

“Of course! You children used to use a lot more stuff like that, but I think at some point you all stopped. I wasn't paying that close of attention though.”

Mac seemed deep in thought. “Well, I won't worry about that for now...”

Suddenly the door opened, and Eleanor came in. Looking at the scene, she stopped in her tracks, confused as to what was going on.

Charlotte murmured, “Sorry...”