The next morning, the two heroes met in the inn for breakfast. Prunhiline was in unusually high spirits, but Britina wasn’t worried. She had slept peacefully and was well-rested and in a good mood. Kit appeared at their table with a tray of various breakfast pastries.

“Oh my!” Britina explained, “These look delicious. I’ll take these.” She selected three pastries drizzled with chocolate.

“Yum!” Prunhiline drooled as she selected six different pastries, three of which were covered in chocolate and one in caramel.

Kit left and returned with a pot of coffee and two mugs. Prunhiline poured her a cup and dipped her breakfast into the coffee. Britina reluctantly poured a cup and began to savor her pastries. Before Britina finished her first, Prunhiline finished all six. Britina signed, knowing manners were not in Prunhiline’s title.

“Kit?” Britina asked, “How far is it to the Dwarven Capital?”

“Hmm. ‘Bout a day and a half or so ride.” Kit said.

“Any inns?” Britina was hoping.

“Nah, sorry. We are the last inn to the capital. It’s on our sign.” Kit said, pointing outside.

“What if you are leaving the capital?” Prunhilne asked.

“Got that covered; it’s on the other side,” Kit said. Britina and Pruninline laughed at his joke.

After they finished, they returned to their rooms to pack. They both made quick work of it and met at the inn's door. Once outside, Britina looked up at the sign hanging from the inn. One side said, “Last Inn Before the Capital,” and the other side said, “First Inn from the Capital.” Britina sighed; it was an appropriate sign, at least.

The stable Gnomes brought out their horses, and the two began the last of their ride to the Dwarven capital. Britina and Prunhiline were happy to be close to the end of this mission. Prunhiline was getting bored, and Britina hoped to return to the capital.

“So,” Prunhiline stated out loud, bringing Britina out of her contemplation, “What’s next? Maybe harpies?”

“What do you mean, dear love,” Britina said, surprised at the sudden conversation.

“I mean, what’s next that’ll sidetrack us? Giant scorpions?” Prunhiline said, glancing around the road.

“I hope not!” Britina said, “I’m hoping for a quiet ride the rest of the way.” Britina sat quietly momentarily and then said, “Undead were-rabbits.”

“What?” Prunhiline was surprised. "Undead were-rabbits! That would be amazing in my title. Or maybe a pack of wild mutant chipmunks.”

Britina laughed, “Or a Lamassu!”

“What’s that?” Prunhiline was surprised she didn’t know about a monster.

“It’s a half human, half cow. Like a centar.” Britina said.

“Wow! That would be something to see.” Prunhiline said. “Maybe a half-human, half-chipmunk!”

“Yuck!’ Britina laughed, “Or we could run into demon squirrels.”

“Hey!” Prunhiline explained, “That’s not funny; all squirrels are demons.”

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Britina laughed harder, “You and your squirrel phobia. Did you get attacked by a squirrel when you were a baby?” Britina thought about it for a moment and realized that Prunhiline was probably the size of a toddler when she was an infant.

“Nah! They are just creepy!” Prunhiline said, looking up into the trees.

“Well, dear love, I’ll protect you from the big bad squirrel!” Britina laughed, but Prunhiline couldn’t help but join in.

At dusk, they stopped at a clearing next to the road. It appeared that other travelers had used that spot for camping. No one was there, and it didn’t seem anyone would join them. Britina hated to camp but knew it was sometimes essential. Prunhiline was in her element; she loved being outdoors and under the stars.

As Britina rolled out her bedroll and got comfortable, Prunhiline started on dinner. She had gotten some fresh water from the nearby stream and had a pot boiling over the campfire. Britina watched in amazement as the warrior prepared them dinner. She added some herbs to the water and then added fresh rabbit meat.

Britina blinked a few times, “Dear love, where did you get the rabbit?”

“By the stream, I got ‘em with my sling when I went to get water,” Prunhiline said over her shoulder as she prepped what appeared to be some roots.

“So, what are we eating for dinner? It smells amazing.” Britina said. Prunhiline not only liked to camp out but also loved to cook over an open fire.

“Rabbit stew,” Prunhiline said, “Like my mom would make when we would go camping.”

“Did you and your mother camp often?” Britina wanted to know more about the warrior’s family.

“Sure, she, my dad, and my brother would sometimes get away from the village to watch the stars. Everyone in our village would take time away from the noisy village to enjoy the silence of nature,” Prunhiline said as she sat back, watching the stew cook.

“That was very poetic of you.” Britina said, “I’m afraid my family has never done anything like that. We would have a holiday away from home, but father and mother usually worked.”

“What does your family do?” Prunhiline asked.

“Well, father is a merchant who deals in various spices, food, and goods, such as rugs across the sea and the coast. Mother is a writer.” Britina said, proud of her family.

“That’s cool. I didn’t know your mom was a writer; what does she write?” Prunhiline showed more interest in Britina's mother than the mage expected.

“Well, she writes mostly academic books, such as the histories of the coastal towns and …” Britina whispered the rest.

“And?” Prunhiline asked, leaning towards the mage.

“And other stuff,” Britina said, looking away.

“What other stuff?” Prunhiline was now very interested.

“She writes some, let's say, romance novels,” Britina said, looking anywhere but the warrior.

“Your mom writes romance novels?” Prunhiline asked excitedly, “Which ones?”

“Oh, just some romance novels.” Britina was starting to blush.

“Bri! Tell me!” Prunhiline couldn’t help herself.

“Fine, she writes the Seventy Nine Shades of Dusk.” Britina didn’t want to look at the warrior.

“She what? Really? I need to meet her!” Prunhiline shouted.

“Why?” Britina looked back at her companion, shocked.

“I love those books! They are so good! I especially love the part where Bess uses the whip on the …” Prunhiline was cut off.

“Stop! I don’t want to know what my mother writes!” Britina said, her blush had moved down to her neck.

“Ah! Bri!” Prunhiline said, “You never read them?”

“No!” Britina said, “And I never will.”

“Fine.” Prunhiline said dejectedly, “But I still want to meet your mom.”

Britina sighed, “You will, dear love. What about your parents? What do they do?”

“My dad is the chief, and my mom is one of the wise women of the village,” Prunhiline said.

“Wait, chief? You never said your father was the chief.” Britina said.

“Well, yeah, it’s just our small village,” Prunhiline said, looking slightly embarrassed.

Britina laughed, “The chief is important. How many people live in your village?”

“Oh, about fifty or so at a time. The other villages will send different tradespeople to each village. We all share in the resources,” Prunhiline said.

“That’s wonderful. Your people are always so resourceful.” Britina said.

“Yeah, we never waste. The plains can be brutal to anyone not prepared.” Prunhiline said as she dipped out a bowl of stew for Britina.

Britina took a bite of the stew; it was amazing. This was the best stew she had ever had. “This is fantastic!”

“Ah, thanks, my mom makes it better,” Prunhiline said.

“Well, I love this. When we settle into our new home, you must make more of your mother’s dishes.” Britina said.

Prunhiline began to eat, “Uh, sure. She taught me a few things.”

Britina and Prunhiline sat around the fire as the sun descended and darkness settled onto the forest. They enjoyed the stew and each other’s company. Britina savored the stew and wondered what other delicious things her wife would cook for her. Maybe she would get a chance to bake for the warrior. She smiled at the thought of them cooking together. The universe smiled a large, wicked smile of mischief!