The door to the captain's quarters swung open. Countess Volein and her traveling companion Tully looked into the room appraisingly, then crossed the threshold. The captain tried to follow, but the countess turned around before he could. 

"That will be fine for now, captain. The room shall do, though it is not up to my typical exacting standards."

"I beg your pardon, your ladyship. My quarters are the most comfortable on the ship, no doubt. Though, I must say, it is quite untypical for a captain to give up his quarters."

"Then perhaps you should consider having finer arrangements for your passengers, if one such as our lady might be willing to use them," Tully said.

The captain rubbed his hands together nervously, "Right you are, miss. Shall I give you the tour?"

The countess sighed. "No, captain. I know my way around a ship. That will be all for now. Be sure to have the porters bring my luggage, but have them leave it outside the door. I'm not to be disturbed. I've had a long trip already and I must rest."

"Of course, my lady." The captain bowed and closed the door as he left.

Nystri smiled up at Amorastra, then ran to the door. She pressed her hands against it and it grew outwards a bit, completely sealing itself against the walls of the room. Only then did she allow her giggles to escape.

"You enjoyed that quite a lot," Amorastra said as she dispelled her glamour. "Finer accommodations, indeed. Though," Amorastra turned around slowly taking the room in, "this is one of the nicer rooms I've stayed in on a ship."

Nystri walked around the room inspecting everything. "Is it truly so strange to have the captain give up his quarters for someone like a countess?"

"Hah! Extremely. I was a little surprised when he agreed to it."

"Did you give him a lot of money?"

"Not really," Amorastra shrugged. "No more than the five other captains I booked travel with today. At least, if you include the bribes I gave the others to ensure we appeared on their manifests, of course."

"Our funds must be dwindling after that." Nystri had climbed onto the desk and was looking at a map. "Do you think it will be enough? To throw them off our trail, I mean."

"Well, for our funds, there is always more money to be had." Amorastra smiled demurely. "As for our travel. We both know Yu'Trellum isn't done. He'll go back and tell everyone that you're missing and blame me. Then a real rescue operation will begin. Having five ships to follow, and only a sixth without us on the manifest that actually ferried us across the sea, will hopefully keep them chasing phantoms. It shall be a quite a while before they find us, luck permitting." 

Nystri sat on the edge of the desk. "Yet, you do think they will find our trail."

Amorastra nodded. "Likely so, but who can say? They will be quite motivated, if Yu'Trellum is one to judge by. We'll need to discuss all of the fae tricks they have available to them in more depth. But, from what you've told me already, I think we have several months of peace ahead of us." Amorastra turned her back to Nystri and looked at the room again. "Though, I do have some bad news, my Queen."

"What? What is it?"

Amorastra turned back to Nystri. Her lip pouting and eyes pleading, "There's only one bed, Majesty. Whatever shall we do? I suppose I could sleep upon the floor."

Nystri squinted and crossed her arms, "Amorastra—"

"Oh!" Amorastra moved to a window. "Perhaps your Grace might prefer this lovely windowsill? We could surely fashion you a suitable bed."

Nystri rolled her eyes. "Hah hah. Yes, very droll." She stood and walked to the far side of the desk and bent down to stretch her legs. "You know full well there is only one place I'm sleeping on this voyage."

"Is that so, my Queen?"

Nystri flashed a smile and sprinted across the desk, then leapt the six feet across the cabin at Amorastra. "Right here!" Nystri said as she wrapped her arms around Amorastra's neck. Her fingers were just able to touch along Amorastra's spine. Amorastra's hands kept a gentle pressure across Nystri's back and legs. Nystri closed her eyes and listened to the rhythm pulsing against her. It had sped up. They held each other and swayed and bobbed along with the ship in the pier. 

Nystri opened her eyes. She took in the rest of the room again. "You might actually be right about the bed being a problem, though."

"How so?"

"It's a hammock. I could fall through the netting! And that looks like rough rope. I can't reform something like that, as I could with wood."

Amorastra turned around. "Hm. I had not considered this." She snapped her fingers and Pebble appeared in his usual low groveling position.

"My mistress and her queenly! How might I serve?" he said without looking up. 

"Find something we might use to cover and pad the hammock." He woofed and started digging in the satchel. Amorastra said to Nystri, "We may have to wait until our luggage is delivered, but I'm sure we have something."

Nystri moved to sit on her shoulder, "Why did we create luggage for ourselves?"

Amorastra chuckled, "To not raise suspicion, of course. A countess should always have a large collection of luggage. To not would make people think that something is very wrong, or that I am not a countess at all. Not to mention, if we had no luggage and someone saw our lavish living it suddenly becomes clear that we are powerful magic users, if nothing else. Even with our bribes people are bound to talk, and we want them talking about the beautiful countess and her sprightly korrigan handmaiden."

A pang of fear ran through Nystri. "If the humans knew you were who you are, I doubt they would stop at simply driving you out of their lands, would they? You're putting yourself in a lot of danger for me. I'm sorry."

Amorastra smiled, "That's partially true. Except, you're forgetting one thing, Nys."

Nystri looked up into Amorastra's eyes.

"I would be out adventuring amongst the mortals whether you were here or not. I just wouldn't be enjoying myself as much. Taking you to see the world is a risk I take most willingly."

Nystri smiled and kissed Amorastra's cheek. "Thank you for that, Am'ai."

"Sorry to disturb you, mistresses," Pebble said. Amorastra snarled and Nystri gasped in delight. Pebble had collected piles of sheets, pillows, and blankets. 

Amorastra gritted her teeth and sighed. Her shoulders relaxed. Finally she said, "I think we can make do with this. But, how to affix it?"

"Pebble," Nystri said gently. He still flinched whenever she called his name, but he was getting more used to it, it seemed to Nystri. "Do you have any wooden poles? Or dowels?"

Without a sound Pebble went back to the satchel and pulled out several poles, each about five feet long. 

"Perfect!" Nystri and Amorastra worked to transform the little hammock into a comfortable swinging bed. Nystri launched herself from Amorastra's shoulder onto it once they had secured the last pillow. She laughed as she bounced a little. 

Amorastra sent Pebble away. She was more careful getting onto the bed, as it was still hanging from the ceiling. Nystri crawled up the bed to lay next to Amorastra's head.

"I'm so happy, Am'ai. We leave soon, right?"

Amorastra nodded. "I'm happy, too, Nys." She brought a hand up and let it rest on Nystri's side. Nystri wrapped her arm around Amorastra's thumb as it caressed her hair. For a long time they laid in the comfort that only love can bring. 

Nystri felt something inside. Something warm and growing. She looked into Amorastra's eyes. The feeling grew. She moved down a little, until her face was next to Amorastra's lips. Amorastra did not move, but Nystri did see a smile pulling at those lips. They were barely parted and Nystri could feel Amorastra's warmth from them. She hesitated and nearly moved back up so she could look into Amorastra's eyes. Instead she reached out slowly with one hand. She placed it over Amorastra's lips. From her palm to the tips of her fingers, she could just barely cover both her top and bottom lips. She ran her hand along them. The feeling of their softness soothed her. 

She saw Amorastra's tongue move a little behind her teeth. The feeling grew again. She closed her eyes and pushed herself up from the bed. She placed her lips against Amorastra's top lip. Amorastra's lips puckered and pressed themselves against Nystri, nearly engulfing the lower half of her face. She nearly collapsed into Amorastra's kiss. Her hands pressed and massaged Amorastra's lips, keeping herself upright.

Her heart thudded against her chest. She stood. Amorastra's eyes twinkled with joy.

"Am'ai. I want more."

Amorastra turned to lay on her back. "Then, my Queen. More you shall have."