“You were supposed to take me for a ride, too!” scolded Lady Patella.
Opening his eyes, Peter groaned and squinted. “Good morning, Lady Patella, to what do I owe the pleasure?” Changing his mind, Peter went on without waiting for a response. “What would happen if I barged into your bedchamber like this?”
“That would be different.”
“If you say so. Could you at least pretend to have some patience and manners?”
“Excuse me?”
“Coming in here unannounced, not knocking, waking me up, yelling at me. If you wait in the sitting room, I’ll join you when I’ve finished waking up and have made myself decent.”
“As if. Have you forgotten our history?”
“Hardly. What do you want?”
“Why are you being so rude?”
“I already told you.”
“What?”
“Are we having the same conversation?”
“I don’t understand.”
“Exactly. Does your visit have a purpose?”
“Do you think I’d be here without one?”
“I’m not able to think of anything this soon after waking.”
“Don’t give me that nonsense, you know why I’m here.”
“Answer or get out.”
“Hmph.” Lady Patella said, crossing her arms and pointing her nose up and to the left.
Sighing, Peter reached under his pillow and found the stones Celery had enchanted for him. Squeezing on, he made a dismissive shooing gesture. Lady Patella slid backwards through the door with a shriek, the door slamming in her face.
Knowing his reprieve was unlikely to last more than a minute, Peter rolled out of bed and got dressed. He could hear voices in the hall, which wasn’t surprising. Marla and Egbert likely weren’t happy to be woken by shrieking in the hall.
With a deep breath, Peter opened his bedroom door and pushed past the five people arguing in the hall to sit in the cozy room, waiting.
“My apologies, Peter, I have sent my ladies to fetch us some breakfast,” Lady Patella said, taking a seat facing him. “I know Estelle can be impulsive, but those around her usually curb her antics. What were you thinking?”
“I was thinking I would circle the city a few times and land before dinner. Things didn’t go according to plan.”
“You abducted the emperor’s sister.”
“You say abducted, I say followed her commands.”
“She has no real authority.”
“And I have none at all, what’s your point?”
“I thought you had enough sense to stall or distract her.”
“I guess I don’t.”
“More importantly, I’m annoyed that no one thought to send for me.”
“Oh. I actually did, but it was such an impulsive excursion it wasn’t acted on. I’m sorry. I’ll have to make it up to you.”
“You had your chance.”
“Have you forgotten that some things get lost in translation?”
“What?”
“I’m not from anywhere near here. I don’t speak your language, I don’t know your culture. If you want me to understand something, you need to say the things you don’t usually.”
“I was going to join you in your bed.”
“But you didn’t, and refused to say so. It’s no surprise I missed it.”
“Okay, maybe you have a point. I was actually sent here by Estelle. She is annoyed with her brother’s overprotective nature. He has guards following her at all times.”
“And?”
“She has taken a liking to you. You treat her like a normal person. She enjoyed your little adventure more than anything she can remember. But her brother wants to keep you apart, at least for the time being.”
“Oh. And here I thought I was just a passing curiosity, to be forgotten the moment something else comes along.”
“It did seem like it at first. You managed to form a genuine connection somehow.”
“Oh. Maybe I should hurry up and get a portal home open before I disrupt things even more.”
“And how do you propose to do that?”
“I have a plan, but you won’t like it.”
“I’m more open minded than you would think.”
“Okay, well, here it is,” Peter shared what he could from the discussion that had only ended a few hours ago.
The fact that Lady Patella left in a huff confirmed Peter that he had been right. At least afterward he had been able to get another hour of sleep.
Now, however, it was time to proceed with part of the plan. The sheer size of the palace made it difficult to navigate, but with directions written down, he managed it. Approaching an office door, Peter knocked as he entered. The man sitting inside was sitting, staring out the window, leg bouncing and chewing on his lip. Turning to face Peter revealed dark circles and bloodshot eyes.
“Hi, you look like you could use some time away from the office. From the city even. If you could go anywhere, where would you go?”
“To see my child being born!” the man snapped, eyes widening in surprise at his own speech.
“Well, I have an airship that will get us there in a few days, no matter what the situation on the ground is.”
“What?”
“You’re clearly not any use here. I don’t have anything better to do. The emperor has taken a dislike to me. What do you say?”
“You’re serious?”
“Yes.”
“Let’s go!” the man jumped up and ran out the door. Peter followed him at a walk, waiting for him to realize. “Well, hurry up? Where is your contraption?”
“It’s just outside the gates. Might I suggest you take an hour to pack some essentials? A change of clothes, soap, pen, paper, ink, coin, and bedding?”
“Oh, yes, you can suggest it. I might even follow that advice.” The man stopped and looked down at himself, sniffing. “I don’t suppose we can delay another hour for me to bathe?”
“Of course! I’ll be back in two hours, then.”
“Yes!” the man ran off emitting the sound of slightly unhinged laughter.
Peter knocked on another office door. The woman sitting inside looked up, bug-eyed, eyes flicking back and forth. “Yes? What is it?” she asked.
“I was just wondering if you had had a chance to read my letter,” Peter said, trying to sound innocent.
“Read? I’m too busy writing to read.”
“Oh? What are you writing?”
“Nothing you need worry about,” she answered defensively, looking around again and hugging a stack of paper to her chest. “Was … was your letter important?”
“Not really. It was just requesting assistance having a portal opened to return me to my own world.”
“Oh? How can I help?”
“I’m not entirely sure, but I believe you are one of those who have a say in whether such a thing can be done legally.”
“I suppose I am. It will have to wait, though. I’m trying to figure out what flying is like.”
“And you expect to do so in here?”
“Well, I had considered leaping from the window, but even if I survived, I would likely never finish my … uh … project.”
“Oh? What if there was a safer way?”
“A safer way to experience flight? I think I’d have heard of such a thing if it existed.”
“My airship flies quite safely and can carry people.”
“Airship? They’ve managed to build that thing?”
“Yes, though you’re thinking about the one that travels between here and the great lake.”
“There are two of them?”
“Yeah.”
“How have I not heard of it?”
“You’re too busy writing your project.”
“Nonsense. Do you know how hard it is to write about an adventure when you’ve never had one yourself?”
“I can imagine. I’ve dabbled in writing fiction myself. I’m about to leave on a bit of an adventure, actually, and there is room for one more on my airship. You’re welcome to claim it.”
“Uh … hmm. Why not? It will help me! When do we leave?”
“In an hour or so.”
“So soon? How can I procure enough supplies for a journey?”
“It’s taken care of. You’ll need to pack some things like clothes and writing supplies. Some bedding, too.”
“Oh. It’s so sudden. I … will you help?”
“I suppose I could,” Peter said, smiling.
When Peter arrived at the Sky Turtle with his two passengers, Lady Patella was waiting with her husband, arms crossed and eye twitching. Egbert was leading a cloaked man who was constantly looking around as if he expected to be attacked from any direction. Marla was guiding a man with a vacant expression who looked around slowly, seeing things no one else present could. Celery and Honeyhips were carrying something suspicious between them.
“Good! We’re all here, then. All aboard!” Peter hopped into the basket, not waiting for the others to follow. Honeyhips came closer and he whispered, “how did it go?”
“I’m not sure how successful I was, but the child seemed better when I left. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
“That bad? Is there anyone you know of who might be able to do more?”
“There are old tales among the dryads … which means far older than you could understand, but how true they are isn’t clear.”
“If you remember enough, you can tell me about them later. I have an airship to pilot right now.” Everyone was settled, so Peter heated the air in the balloon until they rose smoothly above the city. Consulting the map Barnabas had provided, he circled around until he was pointed in the right direction, and gently accelerated, careful not to push to the point of tearing the airship apart.
Egbert and Marla joined him, as did Lady Patella, Celery, and Honeyhips. The other six sat in a circle on the other side of the basket, looking at one another suspiciously. One hadn’t even been given a choice in the matter; she had been abducted.
“How long do you think it will be before they become a problem?” Peter asked Lady Patella.
“They’re already a problem, that’s why we’re here.”
“I meant until they suspect we have ulterior motives?”
“I think that started the instant they recognized the other passengers. They likely noticed what they all have in common and have possibly realized there is a seventh person that belongs with them but isn’t here.”
“Would it be better or worse if they believed that other was responsible?”
“Better in the short term, but in the long run worse.”
“Then we won’t say anything to confirm or deny it.”
“You do have a plan, right?”
“Wrong question. Is my plan any good? I don’t know. But yes, I have one.”
“You’re strange, you know?”
“So I’m told, yes.”
It took three days to reach the landslide that had cut off communications. Being cooped up together wasn’t good for Peter’s passengers. Every little thing set off an absurd argument. It was getting on his nerves, making him doubt the wisdom of his plan.
Flying in mountains was proving more difficult than Peter had anticipated, but far from impossible. The mountains the landslide had occurred in were true mountains, at least as tall as the Rockies. They may even have been like the Alps, but he doubted they could be compared to the Himalayas. The air was thinner up where there was no risk of colliding with a peak, but more turbulent down lower, increasing the risk.
Not having the same limitations as ground travel faced was a blessing, and the next morning they arrived at their destination. With all the commotion their arrival caused, Peter did his best to hide in the basket.
His passengers disembarked, desperate for some time on the ground. A clearly pregnant woman wrapped her arms around her lover, the others watching awkwardly. Instead of watching, Peter puttered around, tidying his airship and pretending to be busier than he was with tasks that weren’t nearly as important as he made them out to be.
“You know you’ll have to get out of the basket eventually, right?” Marla asked.
“Logically I know you’re right, but that doesn’t stop me from thinking about staying in here until its time to leave.”
“Is this plan actually going to work?”
“I’d like to think so, but only time will tell.”
“Where is Honeyhips? I haven’t seen her much since we left the city?”
“I think she built a way to come and go into the changes she made. I don’t pay much attention. She’s always appearing and disappearing anyway.”
“I guess. And Celery?”
“What about her?”
“Where is she off to, then?”
“Good question. Maybe Honeyhips has taken her on, trying to teach her how to do this traveling to elsewhere she does.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, Celery is a quarterling dryad, Honeyhips is a full dryad. Maybe that’s enough kinship to pass on secrets.”
“I guess. I think the plan is working, at least a bit. All six of them have calmed and started behaving more normal.”
“I just hope it’s enough. I’d rather not have to switch to Plan B.”
“It does sound like an epic waste of time. But far safer than Plan C.”
“Definitely. I suppose it’s time to get out of the basket now,” Peter said, standing. Marla followed suit, beating him to the edge and climbing over. Peter hopped out of the basket, surprising some of the townsfolk that were gawking at the Sky Turtle. “But what to do now, I don’t know. I hate waiting.”
A local approached and spoke. “If you’ll follow me, I was asked to wait for you. Your companions are this way.”
“Oh, thank you,” Peter answered, silently cursing. He had been looking forward to a bit more time away from them. They were led down dirt streets between stone houses of a construction Peter was unfamiliar with. Not that he knew a lot about medieval architecture.