After spending the afternoon talking with Queen Gemma, the girls and I retired to our rooms to actually rest. Tea ran long and Gemma had her butler bring in sandwiches and soup for a light dinner rather than a formal meal. Something I was totally fine with given how sweet the pastries were.

  I suppose I don’t have to worry too much about getting a little fat, I thought while escorting the girls back to Rieka’s rooms. I can just Shape-Shift away the pudge if I do. But that would also tie up some of the limited mass I can shift with. And increasing my own body mass isn’t going to let me cheese the power to make bigger changes. It’ll just go back to how it was before with me only able to shift part of my body.

  Oblivious to my thoughts, the girls were chatting quietly as we walked, with Shayla leading the discussion as she asked Rieka about places she could go to get a good view of the castle and village for a painting that she’d been itching to do.

  “I suppose I can see about getting access to one of the upper balconies for you,” Rieka said, her tail swishing and wolf ears wiggling in thought. “Mother loves your artwork, so I guarantee she’ll buy it from you if you can complete it before we leave.”

  “And if I can’t?” Shayla asked, her head tilting to one side and sending the fluffy fronds of her antennae swaying to the side.

  “Then she’ll have to buy it from me,” Rieka said with a wicked grin. “Because I’d definitely snap it up first.”

  “You are starting to pick up my habits!” Kassandra said with a laugh, nudging her friend in the hip.

  Jane stirred in my arms at the laughter, her long tail shifting to tighten around my waist and she buried her face deeper in my chest.

  The mousy scholar had dozed off during the conversation, stuffed full of good food and drink. She’d managed to wedge herself into the corner of her seat so well that no one noticed she wasn’t just listening to the conversation until we stood to leave and she didn’t move.

  Naturally, I’d picked her up saying that I’d take her to her room, and she’d immediately burrowed into my side and wrapped her tail around me. Thankfully, all of the nobles thought it was funny or cute, and my girls had all fallen on the ‘cute’ side, swearing to tease Jane only a little when she woke.

  I shifted my grip so that my arm was tucked firmly behind her hips as I followed the others, and Jane let out a soft sigh of contentment before she emitted a tiny squeaky snore.

  Valda, who had been walking silently beside me, smiled my way. I just rolled my eyes at her and she chuckled behind her hand.

  “I’m still annoyed at mother for this whole party,” Rieka grumbled as we arrived at the door to her rooms and she let us. “But I guess there is nothing for it now. She’s got her mind set on it and you girls all seem to be entertained by the idea.”

  “I mean, why wouldn’t we be?” Kassandra said with a grin. “It’s a party celebrating a friend of ours, and with your mother being who she is, it’ll be a party for the ages. And if we get really lucky, some idiot is going to cause problems and Liam can beat them senseless without repercussions.”

  “It would help prevent others from bothering you and us,” Shayla added quietly, gliding over to one of the loveseats by the fire, which was lit and crackling quietly, warming the room.

  “Yes,” Rieka admitted. “Though Liam trouncing my sister should also do that.”

  “There weren’t very many witnesses to that fight,” Kassandra refuted. “Which means that it’ll be less likely to be believed. Something public though? With lots of other nobles to observe? That’ll definitely trigger talk.”

  “And what if I’d rather not be the target of gossip?” Rieka asked pointedly while directing me to place Jane on another loveseat while she retrieved a blanket for her small friend.

  I didn’t comment, letting the girls talk it out while I took care of the sleeping mouse girl. Jane mumbled faintly when I tried to pull her free of my side to set her down, and her grip on me only tightened.

  “Just sit and let her nap, Liam,” Kassandra suggested and I glanced up.

  Kassandra and Shayla were both watching me with matching soft smiles, while Rieka approached with a light blanket and an amused expression. Valda just shrugged, not having an opinion on the situation. The lizard-folk woman had taken a squashy armchair for a seat and settled in with a contented sigh while the others talked.

  “She’s right,” Rieka added. “Jane doesn’t get enough cuddles, so I say let her stay.”

  “If you want to,” Shayla tacked on as well, her wings fluttering faintly behind her. “If you are tired—”

  “Never tired of getting cuddles from one of my girls,” I interrupted, settling onto the couch with Jane still cuddling into my side.

  That statement earned me more than a few smiles from the girls, and Rieka draped the blanket over us once I was settled. Jane let out another quiet, contented sigh, her large mouse ears folding into her head and shielding her face from the light of the room.

  “Anyway,” Kassandra said once the girls had sorted themselves into their own seats. “We really do need to figure out the plan for the event and how we are going to act there. Do we all go with Liam as a combined date? Let him go with Rieka as her escort while we escort each other? Or just go as one large group of friends with no one set as escorts?”

  “Each has their benefits and drawbacks,” Valda said, carefully adjusting one of the leather claw-caps that protected her sharp fingertips. “Regardless of what we choose to portray, there will also be others who interpret things how they please. I believe that since this is Rieka’s party, it would be best to consider first what she wants to portray.”

  “And I’m the most likely one that the suitors will choose to interpret however they please,” Rieka grumbled. “It’s not that I hate my birthday or anything, I just hate being paraded around at parties like this.”

  “You could always just mount Liam in front of them,” Kassandra said teasingly. “That way they’ll know where you belong and stop pushing. Or they’ll be dumb enough to try and challenge him and Liam can stomp a few flat for you.”

  “Don’t tempt me,” Rieka said with a long-suffering sigh. “You know that I have—” Rieka cut off suddenly at a soft knock on the door that was immediately followed by her maid pushing it open, pulling a tea cart behind her.

  “Good evening, my Lady,” Lorelai said with a warm smile. “I brought mint tea and coffee for you and your guests, as well as some nibblies since you had a small meal with the Queen and might still be hungry.”

  “Thank you, Lorelai,” Rieka said, her sudden stiff posture fading as she sent the other woman a warm smile. “Please, serve us and then you may retire. I don’t know how long we will be chatting.”

  Lorelai brought the cart over and began bustling about, taking orders and serving each of the girls first before coming over to me. The older wolf kin woman gave the sleeping Jane an odd look but her professionalism took over almost immediately and she addressed me last.

  “And for you, sir?”

  “Coffee, please. Just plain,” I said, pitching my voice low to not wake the sleeping Jane propped against me.

  Lorelai shot the dozing mouse kin another look, and I wasn’t sure if she was wondering what my connection was or if she was debating waking Jane to see if she needed anything. Apparently, she decided not to do anything, because Lorelai swept back to her cart and quickly poured me coffee into an intricately glazed clay mug and brought it back.

  I’d noticed earlier that the tea was served in traditional porcelain teacups that reminded me of something a grandmother might have or you might see on a British tea service, but while we’d had dinner with Gemma and her family, anyone served coffee had it in mugs more reminiscent to the straight-sided Japanese clay tea cups with thick sides with abstract glaze patterns. It was something that had intrigued me back then, and I continued to wonder why it was that they did it this way.

  It can’t be because of staining, I thought, accepting the cup from Lorelai with a nod and giving the beverage a sniff. That would still apply with tea. Maybe they brew the coffee hotter than water for the tea and the thicker mugs protect the hand? Or maybe they hold the heat in better? I know I hate cold coffee, so if that’s the reason, then I appreciate it.

  Lorelai also set out several small plates of savory snacks, like cheese fritters or thin soft loaves studded with spices that reminded me of pretzel sticks. The girls all thanked her, and the maid settled into a waiting position behind the cart near the door, clearly unwilling to retire for the evening.

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  Rieka bit back a sigh, but the gentle smile curving her lips told me she was used to her maid being like this.

  “Anyway, back to what we were talking about,” Rieka said, clearing her throat.

  “You mean about you—” Kassandra began to say, her eyes glinting wickedly behind her glasses before Rieka interrupted her.

  “About the party, yes,” Rieka huffed in annoyance, shooting her serpentine friend a pointed look while Shayla hid a giggle in her hands. “I think there is something important that we might be forgetting to take into account?”

  “Such as?” Valda asked curiously before nibbling on one of the bread sticks with a contented hum.

  “What Liam wants to do,” Rieka said stiffly, turning her attention to me.

  Both of her wolf ears popped up, their black-dusted tips wiggling faintly while her tail began to thump against the chair behind her.

  I bit back my first instinct, considered the second carefully, before finally giving voice to a third option that occurred to me just then.

  “I am happy doing whatever works best for you girls,” I said carefully. “The one thing I know is that I’ll need to do some practice dancing, since I assume that will be a part of the celebration and I expect to dance with each of you at least once.”

  Apparently, that answer pleased all four of my girls that were lucid at the moment, as they all favored me with bright smiles and Kassandra bounced on her cushion.

  “Practice would be good,” the dwarf lamia said immediately. “I know I love dancing, but it’s hard to find a partner not of my own species that can account for everything.”

  She patted one scaled hip meaningfully and I nodded in understanding.

  “That was part of it, yes,” I said with a smile. “I figure it’ll be easy enough for me to pick up the dances with a bit of practice, but that’s about as far as my knowledge of such events goes. Are there any other customs that I should be aware of?”

  “No,” Rieka said after a moment of thought. “I think everything else should be relatively familiar to you. There will be a presentation of gifts, a formal meal, dances, socialization, and maybe a display of magic in the sky over the castle. Depending on how far Mother wishes to take it, there might be a parade that morning, but that’s not something you need to participate in.”

  Rieka blushed faintly, biting her bottom lip as a thought crossed her mind.

  Why am I almost certain she’s imagining riding my lap while on parade? High enough up that no one else would see it but she’d know that she’s impaled on me while the rest just see their princess waving… I thought, smirking at my princess.

  Rieka caught my look and blushed even more fiercely, coughing into her hand and then snatching up one of the cheese fritters to distract herself with.

  “It might be good to go over formal expectations as well,” Valda suggested. “I know that parties here in the Coldeye queendom have more rules than ones back in my homeland, and it might be good for Liam to know what is directly an insult he can and should challenge for, and what is just someone being stupid and can be forgiven.”

  “That’s a good point,” Shayla murmured into her tea cup, taking a sip before continuing. “Jane and I aren’t nobles, and I know that going over what to expect and what sort of veiled insults there might be directed to us will be important.”

  A pulse of anger ran through my chest at the resigned tone Shayla ended on, as if she already expected to be insulted at the party for not being a noble.

  Kassandra must have seen the anger on my face, because my dear Nugget immediately answered Shayla.

  “Of course. But anyone to actually level an insult at a party like this will either be a most supreme fool, or so drunk that it might just be easier to toss them in the moat.”

  “Which is quite fun to do,” Rieka said with a savage smile that immediately calmed my anger. From the look on my princess’ face, it wouldn’t have been the first time that she’d tossed someone in the water and I grinned at her.

  “Just make sure I’m there to see it,” I insisted, and Rieka shot me a wink and a nod before she changed subjects again.

  “So dancing lessons with Liam to give him some practice time, as well as an etiquette refresher for all of us. We’ll need fresh outfits as well, something that Thomas’ merchant connections might be able to help us with if your family doesn’t have a tailor in town, Kass.”

  “We do,” Kassandra said, bouncing on her cushion again and sending ripples of light through her mass of red curls. “Henrietta is a wonderful seamstress that my parents sponsored when she wanted to move to the capital. I’m sure that she can take the order, but just in case it might be good to get suggestions from Thomas. If her work is still as good as it used to be, she’ll have commissions stacked up for months.”

  “Then four dresses are needed,” Rieka said with a firm nod. “I wouldn’t dream of trying to force you into a dress, Valda.”

  “Which I appreciate,” the lizard-folk woman said with a small smile. “I have formal outfits that should work. But, if your tailor has time, it might be nice to commission an outfit from them in my patterns to match you all.”

  “We’ll bring it up when we head into town,” Kassandra said brightly before turning a devious gaze my way. “And for Liam…”

  “You all have to decide something first,” I said quickly, getting curious looks from the others immediately. “Am I attending as a human or something else? You do have the unique advantage of my Shape-Shifting as well to alter your own appearances if you need to in order to fill out a dress more or less, or something like change your hair or eye color.”

  That statement apparently caught my girls by surprise because they all paused and stared at me. Even Lorelai, who had been standing silently by the door, turned to stare at me in surprise.

  That’s right, I thought without letting it show on my face. She doesn’t know anything about me. Hehe, she’s gonna be even more surprised by the time we leave here.

  “As amusing as it would be to infuriate my mother by changing my appearance for my own party,” Rieka drawled into the silence. “I think it’d be better to keep that particular card in our hands for later on if something goes badly.”

  “That is fair,” I conceded with a smile and a wink. “But the point remains for other, more subtle, things.”

  “Changing the size of my tits isn’t going to be subtle,” Kassandra snarked. “It’d be impractical but I’d love to see how far I could push it before I fell over! If only just to see people’s eyes pop out and make other noblewomen jealous.”

  “Also fair,” interjected Shayla with a bright grin, her antennae bobbling back and forth animatedly. “It might be fun for a night, and I’m sure Liam would appreciate it…”

  “I appreciate you girls just as you are,” I said without hesitation. “Never think you need to change your body just because of me. If you want to change for yourself then I’m happy to help, whether that be magical assistance or just mundane.”

  “Wise words,” Valda said, raising her cup to me in a mock salute. “But remember that your friends might just want to have a bit of fun, too. Not everything is a trap.”

  “Not here at least,” I said with a nod of agreement. “But back home? There were more than a few traps laid with words like that.”

  Valda nodded her understanding, grimacing faintly as well. I didn’t need to think about how many times that particular subject had been used as a booby-trap for men of all sorts, and from the look on Valda’s face, it was also something used here.

  But she does have a point, I thought silently. I doubt my girls would do that to me. No, I know they wouldn’t.

  Jane mumbled quietly, and I felt her hands grip my shirt before she rubbed her face against my chest. I held still until she quieted once more, then gently began rubbing her back. This got a contented sigh from the small scholar as she continued to sleep against me.

  “It sounds like we have a solid plan in place now,” Rieka said, watching me with Jane and smiling faintly. “As to Liam, though… I think the biggest impact will be if he escorts me as himself: a mysterious man of unknown origins. Not only will it slow the suitors down, it’ll drive many of them mad trying to get information about him, which will make for amusing viewing for all of us.” Rieka hesitated a moment before adding on: “if you girls are okay with that idea, that is?”

  “And the rest of us will just go as a group,” Kassandra said without hesitation, waving off Rieka’s concerns. “We can look out for each other that way, and by keeping things fluid it’ll prevent any misunderstandings. A group of friends attending a gala together won’t raise eyebrows much, especially since only the ones fixated on courting will look deeper.”

  “That works fine for me,” Valda said with a shrug. “Rieka, will it break your protocol for me to wear my sword?”

  “No,” Rieka said without hesitation. “All of us will have our spell rods with us, and most of the young noblemen will have dress-blades. Just don’t approach Mother with it drawn and you’ll be fine.”

  “Not to mention the danger that Liam represents without needing a weapon,” Shayla said quietly, getting nods of agreement from the girls present.

  “Something else we need to practice more with,” I said seriously, meeting Valda’s eyes. “The more we train with the Grant Power the faster it will rise in strength. Right now, it is still something that is quite limiting for you since it’s got a time limit. I’m hoping that changes when the ability improves.”

  “Understood,” Valda said with a nod and a small smile. I could see the excitement in her eyes at the idea of having more control over the granted Shape-Shifting, especially since Valda was the only one of my bonded who chose that ability over the Mana Reservoir one I had to offer.

  Valda is also not a traditional mage, I thought with a small smile. It’s unfortunate that the Guardian pact doesn’t give me benefits that change the powers, but the ones it’s given me access to are pretty damn useful.

  Thinking about the powers that had unlocked as a result of the Guardian track that the System had awarded me, I turned them over in my mind.

  So far, most have been about taking care of the girls, but that one… Traveler’s Call is really curious, I thought to myself while the girls switched topics back to dresses. I’ve been holding off telling them until I had a better place to show off and we were away from the front… Wouldn’t now be a good time to tell them about it?

  I spent several minutes considering it, but couldn’t find any real flaws in the situation. Sure, it might change my life back on Earth to bring the girls there, but they deserved to get a chance to see that world, and I had been already preparing the way with my friends at least.

  Worst case scenario, I thought with a smirk. I can just vanish and use my powers to build a new hideout. Sure, it’d suck to not have access to the Internet and lose my business, but I’ve got access to enough that I could just hobo it up for a while. I’d just miss out on extracting and moving the gold and silver from that plot of land I bought…

  I waited until a break in the conversation occurred before I cleared my throat. When the four who were awake looked my way, I leaned forward, adjusting the sleeping Jane on my hip, and then spoke.

  “So, there’s something I should tell you all as well…”

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