Waking up the next morning, I felt that there were eyes on us. Looking around, I realized what was going on. Evaline was standing over us, shaking her head. I couldn’t understand why, until I tried to get up. Looking down, I saw why she was standing there.

Taylor and I were still completely naked, and nothing was covering us. This was not exactly how I wanted to be seen by someone who was still a stranger for all intents and purposes.

“Well, this was not precisely the sight I expected to see. I take it that you two are lovers then?” Evaline asked, handing me my shirt. I nodded before slipping it on. “Next time someone offers to allow you to stay the night, please respect that she may have a husband.”

“I am very sorry. It was not our intention to disrespect your generosity. I think that my love had been missing our passion with everything that we have been through,” I said, though it did little to make me feel better. Evaline sighed, then smiled.

“I understand entirely. When Bertrum was gone for a few months during the last war, I missed his touch too. It’s not common for women to openly express their passion for one another. Where ever you come from seems to be very lax.” Evaline said as she looked out the window. I used this time to pull on my pants and wake Taylor. Groggily she got dressed, not really paying attention to what was going on.

“Are you two dressed now?” Evaline asked.

“Yes, and I am sorry, ma’am, I didn’t mean to lose control,” Taylor answered as she blushed. It was so cute to see her so flustered.

“As I told your girl, I understand, though please be a little more considerate. Though I know my husband loves me, men’s minds wander, especially when two younger women are naked in his house,” Evaline said, turning around. Taylor was still blushing as she said that.

“I wasn’t thinking. I hope we didn’t cause any issues,” Taylor said as she hid her face.

“No, Luckily, he ignored you because he was too busy with carrying something out of the house. I assume that you two are leaving?” Evaline asked.

“Yes, ma’am, we are trying to find two people—a man about your husband’s age and a girl about ours,” I said as I pulled some hay out of my tail.

“Well, before you go, would you at least have some breakfast?” Evaline offered. It wasn’t like I could refuse after how she found us. Taylor and I agreed and headed to the table. In no time at all, Evaline brought us plates with eggs and ham. It was almost like going to a diner, only you didn’t pay.

After breakfast, Evaline showed us where we could wash up. We thanked her for her hospitality then headed out the door. Before leaving, we stopped by the shop to thank Bertrum. He grunted his answer as he worked. Then we set out to ask people around town if they had seen the man and Maddison. No one seemed to have seen them. I guess that Tilda really did through him off the trail. This was going to make our job a little more complicated. It just meant that we had time to find this so-called key.

Once we were back on the road, I started to feel a little home-sick, though ironically, it was that town that I was missing at the moment. I didn’t even stop to get the name of the town. It was weird how you could get attached to something that quickly.

“So, do you think we will ever come here again once this is all over,” Taylor asked. I didn’t have an answer for her. I didn’t know how we would be able to unless Maddison figured out a way to open the portal again. I didn’t even know if we had a way back home.

“We will figure something out,” I said, though I didn’t really believe it. I understood Taylor’s desire to come back, but it wasn’t like there was an easy door to just walk through. She smiled regardless.

As we walked down the road, I noticed that the skies were starting to grey. We were a couple of hours away from the town now, and I didn’t see another one in sight. It looked like we were going to have to put our supplies to use already.

Opening the pack that Bertrum gave us, I saw some hide, a couple of quilts, some wool, and some cookware. It was very rustic cookware, but it would work. With the hide, I would be able to make us a tent, but before I did that, I would have to find a raised place. Building a tent on raised ground, where the tent’s bottom was at least a couple of inches below where you lay, made it less likely to get damp from the rain. Dad taught me that.

After about twenty minutes, I found a perfect spot and set up in a tent. There was a little bit of a drizzle as I finished, and by the time I got inside, my pants were damp enough that it bothered me. Laying down, I took them off, forgetting for a moment that I didn’t have any underwear. The moment my bare skin hit the ground, I almost jumped up. Shaking her head, Taylor laid the quilts on the ground while trying to suppress a laugh.

“Thank you, love, for being so smart at camping. I wish my parents had taken the time to take us. Though, I doubt Emily would have enjoyed it. It’s like city life was just made for her,” Taylor said. I smiled then, something hit me.

“Hey, you were born for city life to love, maybe not like Emily, but you were still raised rich,” I said. She frowned but didn’t argue.

“I may have been raised in it, but I am doing everything I can to show that I am better than them. I mean, being a gamer girl did help a little,” Taylor said as she laid back on the quilt. I laid beside her, laying my head on her chest. I always enjoyed listening to her heartbeat. It was better than any music you could ever play.

We laid there just listening to the sound of the rain as it fell against the tent. It was nice to be dry and in some sort of enclosure. If we had had to sleep on the ground again, I didn’t know if I would have been able to sleep. Especially if it had rained. From the looks of the darkness outside, it was going to be raining for a while. Yawning, I decided that I would take a nap. As I drifted off, I listened to the sound of Taylor humming some song I didn’t recognize. It was so soothing that my body didn’t take much convincing to fall asleep.