Rock climbing with Rammy started early the next morning. I was up before Mom this time and tried my best not to wake her as I got dressed. Not that anything I did would wake her. She'd always been a hearty sleeper. Depending on when she got in I could probably walk through the room playing the cymbals and drums and she'd just roll over and snore deeper.

I wanted to talk to her, ask her how her day was, but I was still a little upset with her because of our fight. I was still annoyed and a little hurt. I was also worried about her association with the man Cantrel. Had she spent the day with him?

I was partially glad she was still sleeping. If she saw me in this outfit she might birth a litter of kittens. While she tried to be progressive, at heart she was still a woman of her generation and was oddly conservative about certain things.

Most of my height was in my legs. My torso was rather short considering. So the spidersilk skirt hit me a little higher than it was meant too. The skirt was meant to hang just above the knees. The average length for lady adventurers. However, because my legs were longer it fell about three inches above my knees, boarding on mid-thigh. Scandalous.

It cheered me immensely.

It didn't hurt that the color was lovely. Dark blue spidersilk pants clung like they were supposed to to my body. The skirt was a pale ice blue that matched the trimming on my dark blue top. The boots were more a grey-blue than an ice blue, but they still looked good. My gloves and headscarf matched the boots.

I loved the boots. As soon as Rammy had made me try them on I was in love. I was secretly hoping they would wear well so I'd have an excuse to look at more of the boots he had in stock. Did the rock climbing discount only apply to one outfit or could I purchase others? If the discount remained valid I'd be stupid not to take advantage of it.

It wasn't often I could afford spidersilk and it would keep me safe as I gathered soap making materials along the beach. Goblin Crabs could be dangerous and while I was able to take one out on my own, I've had them pop out and surprise me a few times. Spidersilk could act as armor in a tough situation. While I didn't really need more than one outfit it would be prudent to have at least a backup.

Only one back up, I cautioned myself as I placed mom's portion of her daily allowance on the writing desk. Just because I had the money handy didn't mean that I could just spend it all. We still had to go back to our lives after this trip was over. A few saved coins now could be the difference of us being able to eat this winter. Winter wasn't a good time for collecting soaping supplies so my production dropped.

Winter wasn't a great time for seasonal work either. I was lucky to have my job at the inn waiting for me. Thank the gods I hadn't been fired. I'd been fired over less before. If I could keep the job at the inn, keep this extra money away from mom, and if I invested a bit in my soap business we might make it out of winter this year better than we've ever had.

I'd sit down and do the math later. If I could afford to buy a few large jars to store oil in, then I might be able to up my oil extraction in the upcoming months and save enough to supply my soap making during the winter when you couldn't extract the oil. I certainly couldn't afford to buy my oils in the winter. Oil prices nearly tripled. . . Oh.

If I made a surplus I could sell the extra oils at a profit. Only if there was a surplus though. The soap was my money maker and I couldn't afford to neglect it.

Math later, right now I was ready for my first rock climbing class. My body was feeling great. I wasn't achy or sore, and I wasn't unusually tired. Today was going to be a great day. I could literally feel it in my bones.

"Oh!!! Look Greg! Is that her? The one you were trying to point out at the ball?" A lovely woman with brown hair, brown eyes, and a pale complexion pointed in my direction as I approached the group standing in the entryway. Why did she look so familiar?

Oh, it was the beautiful woman with the ornate hair from the ball. She looked so different. I had thought she wasn't wearing any makeup during the ball, but it must have been more subtle than I thought because her skin, while pale, wasn't as even toned and didn't resemble the perfect porcelain glow of that night.

Actually, I got a closer look at her as I approached, why did she make me slightly uncomfortable now?

"Hiya, twin!" The woman bounced up to me and stopped herself just in time to stop herself from crashing into me. She held out both her hands and on reflex so did I. She took both my hands and bounced around in happy childlike joy.

Wait, twin...oh. Well, we did sort of superficially look similar.

"I'm Janette Duphare. This is my husband, Gregory. He saw you at the ball and told me all about you after the fact. I wish I would have been able to talk to you then. I know they say that everyone has a twin somewhere in the world, I just never expected to find mine here. What are the odds right? Well, I like playing the odds, wouldn't be at a casino if I didn't. What is your name?" The woman said all in one breath with some odd emphasis on some of her words. She paused long enough to get my answer.

"Um, I'm Rille," I said slowly.

"Oh, Rille, that's a lovely name. Absolutely lovely. My name is rather dull, I think. Most people called me Janey growing up and I hated it. I go by Janette now. While it isn't the most exotic of names it does suit me, much like Rille suits you. You are taking the rock climbing course? I don't think you'd be dressed like that otherwise. Of course, you could be trying to put the old codgers here on their ears. Though, they might actually like to see a young woman walking around scandalously. It's their wives that would take exception." She tilted her head and gave an abrupt heehaw of a laugh. It startled me into jumping a little that's how unexpected her laugh was.

For someone so pretty you'd think a nice lilting laugh would come from her. No, not from this bundle of energy. Her laugh was full on donkey.

"OH!" she practically shouted. Then she lowered her voice, "looooook." She put some extra buttery emphasis on that.

The busty woman from the ball was making her way down the stairs.

"Gods above," I let slip as I caught sight of her.

Boobs. Boobs and legs.

An entirely black spidersilk outfit clung to her like a second skin. It was the sort of spidersilk meant to be worn under armor. Though if it had been meant to be worn under armor then it wouldn't have that deep V-cut of the neckline exposing most of her breasts. She didn't even have the modesty skirt. She did have a rather chunky gold belt cinched around her waist but that was it.

Yes, swimsuits exposed more. She was actually mostly covered with long sleeves, pants, and tall boots, but the tightness of the outfit left very little to the imagination.

She turned a little and you could see a side view of her butt.

Boobs. Butt. Legs.

When she'd been wearing her ball gown her ample backside had been hidden. Now it was out there for everyone to gander at. The men did look. Boy did they look.

To be fair to the men, the women were looking too. She had everyone's attention. So much so that all the small chatter that had been happening in the group stopped.

"Morning."

I nearly jumped out of my skin. While everyone had been preoccupied with the busty woman Maize had snuck up behind me and in the quiet, she decided to startle me with a morning greeting.

I wasn't the only one who'd jumped. Janette was startled too.

"Oh," I took a breath to steady my nerves. "Morning Maize."

What Maize was wearing was the exact opposite of the busty woman.

She wore brown Spidersilk leggings and the long sleeved shirt, but over it all, she wore her usual brown mumu. Her boots were new though, knee high and cuffed at the top. They were the first fashionable thing I'd seen her wear. Well, besides the ball gown.

She had a book and her gloves tucked into her belt and with her hair held back you really could see the beauty in her face. Most of the time her wild har distracted from her looks, but when it was pulled back, you could really get a look at how pretty she was. If she'd take care of her acne issues she easily be in Janette's and the busty woman's league. She may even be prettier because she had an exotic darker look that the two other ladies didn't have.

I felt the urge to drag Maize to the spa with me after our class. Would that be rude?

Was it wrong of me to want to make Maize pretty by taking her to the spa? If Maize was fine with who she was, was it right for me to try and change that? My motives for wanting to take her with me were not pure. They were selfish on my part.

But if she was willing to do the treatments on her own?

What if I told her everything they would do to her then let her decide if she wanted to join in? Would that be ok?

"Maze, like the garden mazes in the capitol? What a unique name. I was just telling Rille that I think my name is rather dull. I'm Janette Duphare. Please call me Janette. This is my husband, Gregory. We both have rather boring names. When we have children, I'm going to make certain that our babies stand out from the crowd. Too many Janes and Annies. Give me a good Eustace or Genevieve."

"Corn," Maize said simply calming interrupting Janette's babble.

"Corn?" Janette asked confused.

"M-A-I-Z-E," I said. "Like the corn, not a garden maze."

The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

"Oh, maize. Is it a type of corn? I'm afraid I've never heard of it. Is it unique to where you live?" Janette asked.

"No, dear, maize is just another word for corn. I think it was originally an aboriginal word and it just stuck around. It mostly refers to the colorful corns you see in the fall. The ones with the red, yellow, and brown kernels. Not so much the large yellow sweet corn." Her husband corrected her taking her hand and smiling.

"So smart," she beamed at him. She looked so happy, for that one second I was reminded of the ethereal beauty of the ball. Perhaps it hadn't all been makeup. She had a glow that came out when she looked at her husband.

There were just some couples that when they looked at each other you knew they would last. Some couples had that aura about them. They were better people when they were together than when they were apart. I silently wished them all the happiness in the world. To find someone like that is a special thing.

"Damn," Maize whispered under her breath.

"Hum?" Janette turned and looked at Maize questioningly.

Maize nodded in the direction of the busty woman.

"Damn," she said again with a different tone and a bit louder.

"Oh, well yes. It is rather shockingly scandalous, isn't it? I wonder if I should make her acquaintance? She seems like she'd be a very interesting person to know, but what if she's really a loose woman?"

"I don't think so," I commented. "She was showing my mother her engagement ring at the ball. She's going to marry that man who was wearing the red suit."

"Ohhh," Janette's face filled with understanding. "Oh Greg, I think she might be engaged to Filmore Cooperwrite. I did spot him at the ball, but I didn't realize..." She trailed off looking at the woman's bust again.

"How could you fail to notice?" He asked her. "There aren't many women that proportioned in the entire kingdom, let alone this island."

"Greg, are you looking at that woman's...assets?" Janette whispered that last word and extended the pronunciation to be certain that everyone knew just what assets she was referring too.

"They are hard to miss, dear. I love you to the moon. Her attributes are on display, so to speak. I'm not going to give you an excuse saying that I'm a man and men look. The show she's putting on doesn't do anything for me. It's a show. I much prefer you in that little one piece..."

"Gregory!" Janette blushed three shades of crimson. Maize and I were polite enough to let out gazes wander off while the couple had their moment. Then she sighed. "Thank you for being honest. That's why I love you so much. You don't lie to me."

"I love you too, poppet." He leaned over and kissed the top of her gloved hand.

"Damn," Maize whispered again.

"Oh, I agree!" Janette said. "I think I just must introduce myself. You can never have too many friends and she looks a little lonely standing there by herself.

"Oh, but please don't think I'm being rude for wandering off. I really would like to speak to my twin more about everything. Simply everything. I do wonder if we may actually be related in some way. My father was a bit of a bounder. If you know what I mean. Oh, I'm not saying you're illegitimate. Oh, Fiery Mother, I'm sorry." She placed her hand to her face in embarrassment.

"It's fine, my mother was properly married to my father, but he died before I was born. I'm not offended I know who I am and where I came from. No mystery here," I smiled to soften the blow. She'd put her foot in her mouth but I really wasn't offended. She was a rambler. She didn't seem like an airhead but she was so full of energy she'd probably explode if she didn't have some outlet for it. I didn't dislike her. She didn't seem to have a malicious intent like the feather brains.

"It's honestly fine? Really, I didn't mean it in that way," she had a small V forming between her brows.

"I would like to talk to you some more as well. After the class, I was planning to go to the spa. Would you like to join me?" What had possessed me to ask her? Still, it might be fun to have such a bubbly person at the spa.

"Me," Maize said simply. Had she just invited herself?

"The three of us?" I asked them.

"Hu," Maize said in agreement.

"Oh, that would be lovely, simply lovely, and a wise idea if we are to be exerting ourselves today. Oh, I will join you. It will be a fun girl's time."

"Attention please!" Rammy stood near a desk that had been placed on the outskirts of the hall. Beside him were three people with healer's aprons. I could already guess what the announcement was about.

"Today is the day when you have to get your second set of vaccinations. We will be out near the cliffs most of the day so it will be easier to get them out of the way now rather than rush to get them done at the end of the day." He turned to a man with a large blonde beard. "This is Healer Morris. He'll explain the rest."

"Yes, well good morning to all of you," Healer Morris began. "Today is going to be a bit different from what you are used to. On the voyage here you were given powders to digest to begin your series of vaccinations. Today you will be given a set of three pokes with these needles.

"Inside of this cylinder is the medication. We will poke the surface of your skin, press this plunger so that the medication is administered, then take the needle out. You will also be given one of these tipped," He held up a cotton swab on a stick. "We will swab your nose with it and that's it for this group of vaccinations."

There was some uneasy murmuring from the small group. It was something new. At least I'd never heard of the needle method before. I had had my nose swabbed, but this needle poking thing was a bit much.

"I will remind you they are mandatory for your stay on The Island," Healer Morris commented.

"Now, I've had it done and I can promise it's not so bad. You will still be able to do all your normal activities afterward," Rammy added with a happy smile. "Now let's line up and get this over with so we can start the class shall we?" He clapped and bounced on his feet.

Slowly people began to line up at the table. One short line in front of one of the healers. I got a large fat woman with thinning hair.

She made me roll up my sleeve then wiped my arm with something astringent smelling.

"We can pause between each poke, or I can try and get them done as quickly as I can. How would you like to do this, dear?" The woman asked.

"Carefully, I'd rather it be done quickly but do it carefully," I mean what else was I supposed to say. I was worried that if she rushed it wouldn't be a poke but more of a stab.

"Very well, now I'm going to count to three. Take a deep breath. In. One, two, three," She poked my arm with the first needle. It didn't start to sting until after she pressed the plunger and pulled it out. "and out," she finished.

"Shit," I hissed. I wanted to rub at the poke, but the woman had already anticipated that and gently rubbed it a bit for me.

"Two more," she switched needles. "Deep breath in. One, two, three." Stick. "out."

There was a slight burn from this one. Damn.

"Ok, almost done. In. One, two, three, and out. Great job dear. Let me put a bandage on it for you." She taped a small piece of cotton in place and helped me roll my sleeve down over it.

"This one is quick and painless. Tilt your head back a bit," she wiped the inside of both my nostrils with her swab. "And we're done. Have a nice day, dear."

"You too," I answered but she was already waving the next person in line.

I stood around and waited for everyone to finish and gently rubbed my arm. The burn was dissipating and in a few minutes, I probably wouldn't even feel it.

Rammy was laying out ropes and metal bits. He was setting up for his demonstration. Our rock climbing adventure was about to begin. What was that tiny little hammer for? I guess I was about to find out.

Most of the morning was spent going over and stressing safety. The Island didn't want any of their guests plunging to their deaths. Rammy went over each item individually and made certain we could name all the pieces before we were loaded up in two pony carts.

Maize turned out to be the star pupil. She practically ran up the cliff. Honestly, she probably didn't even need all the safety gear. She did use it but only just enough to keep Rammy from having fits about safety. She did confess that had a skill that helped her. Though she didn't tell us what skill that was.

I was surprised to find out that Gregory was an apt climber. He professed to be completely new at it, but it seemed that he had found a hidden talent. He was able to spot handholds that only Maize and Rammy were able to find.

The rest of us struggled. It was harder than it looked trying to find handholds and footholds. I got about a third of the way up and found myself stuck. I had to backtrack, but since I wasn't that far along it was mostly a re-start. Rammy shouted directions and advice from the ground.

I was really glad that such a big man had hold of the other end of my rope. My hands ached by the time I made it past the halfway point. Then I misplaced my foot and slipped. I was left dangling in the air from my harness as Rammy lowered me to the ground.

"Great first try Rille. I'm sure once you get the hang of it you will be at the top in no time," Rammy congratulated me as he helped me out of the harness.

Lunch arrived, and we took turns eating and taking another shot at the cliff. Some people deemed that the exercise or the height was too much for them and they left early. Others seemed determined to finish the day, but I doubted they would be back for the second class.

I was actually enjoying myself. My body was in good condition and trying to find spaces in the rock was like trying to figure out how pieces of a puzzle connected. I got to give it a try four times.

I still didn't make it to the top, but I got a little closer each time I tried.

When the class was over I was slightly surprised. The time just sort of flew by. While we'd been waiting for our turns Maize, Janette, Marcy, and I struck up a conversation. Marcy was actually a very physically fit woman. The gods just blessed her with absurd proportions.

She told us that she ran every day in the early morning because she had some issues keeping her waist trim. She had a love of sweets, but sweets hated her. She insisted that she gained weight faster than the average woman so had to stay on top of that by running regularly.

How she prevented her assets from hitting her in the face as she ran was beyond me. Boobs bounced. Even I, with my lack of chest, knew that.

What I didn't know was that they also floated. Marcy in the hot springs was something to behold. She actually had to keep her arms over the top of them to prevent them from bobbing too much. She joked that they could act as a floatation device in an emergency.

So I spent most of my time in the company of those three ladies. Leaving on this trip I had been scornful of the girls who made friends on the boat. I was still a bit skeptical that the four of us would stay in touch after the trip was over. I would make an effort, but the cynical part of me didn't think it would last long.

We were geographically scattered. Maize was the closest to me distance wise. Honeyton wasn't very far away and it was a quick journey by cart or horse.

Janette and Gregory hadn't settled into one place yet, but Gregory's work meant that they would most likely stay in the southernmost coastal town Frendrick's Cove. She had money, but it seemed like Gregory really enjoyed his work as an accountant for the Guild. As a Guild employee, he could transfer locations, but I was told the Frendrick's Cove was so warm and cozy.

Marcy's wedding was this winter, we were all invited. The Cooperwrite's family home was near the northern border of the kingdom. They had a house in the capital, but their ancestral home was in the forests of the north.

Her wedding would be on the family estate and she was hoping for a nice slight snowfall. That's right she wanted an outdoor wedding in the snow. If the weather was uncooperative they could have the ceremony at Amoris' Temple and then move the celebration back to the house.

I had tried to politely decline the invitation on the spot since I really couldn't afford to take time off work to travel across the country for a wedding. I just couldn't seem to find the right words to dissuade her from the invite. I would have to write her a letter declining when the invitation formally arrived.

Janette seemed overly eager about the wedding. She and Gregory didn't have the big wedding that Marcy was having. They'd gone before the priests at the temple and sworn their vows. They didn't have any celebrating. They had just been married. Janette seemed a little sad about that, but she hinted that there were circumstances that prevented her from having a big wedding.

I immediately became suspicious that Janette was carrying. Though if she was, she certainly shouldn't be rock climbing. I didn't think pregnant women were supposed to sit in hot springs either, but I wasn't sure if that was later in the pregnancy or right from the beginning. Either way, Janette certainly wasn't showing any signs of a baby.

So my days on The Island passed. It didn't even gamble once. I spent a lot of time swimming and making up interesting fruit combinations at the bar. The girls were more than happy to accompany me, but sometimes I was by myself and that was fine too.

Not once during the entire trip did my body flare up and hurt. I had no need for the pain killer I'd hidden away in my soap. I didn't remember a time when I was without pain. So as the end of the trip neared I regretted having to go back to the real world. I knew that my pain would start again. I wasn't certain what had caused my body to stop hurting.

It may have started with the healing Lady Margot had given me, but the near-daily trips to the spa probably helped too. I wished I could replicate the treatments back home, but that was a sky dream.