Chapter 63: 66.

I'm feeling... restless. Initially, I started by preparing to be absent from Academy... Then I had a d'oh moment after recalling I could simply leave an instance and be effectively in two places at once. Problem solved. I've been picking up some very amusing rumors about my four-way date by now. People just can't seem to agree whom I was with and where. And since each version has its own proponents who claim to have had clearly seen me? So far, only the Newspaper Trio proved themselves intelligent enough to approach me for an answer. So I leave the room and come back times four. They gape. Then stammer. Then get very giddy and the next day I see a contest announced in the newspaper for whoever has the "truest idea" of how it went, with the promise that the idea closest to "real account by lady Gillespie herself" will receive a prize. Out of curiosity, I ask WHAT kind of prize next time I see them in Academy. It is, drumroll please... it is a sweetroll.

I'm... Not sure if it's the gods pulling a fast one, or if the universe is naturally predisposed to hilarious coincidences here. I also find myself pestered by people wanting details, which peters off quickly once I explain that anyone getting the scoop from me would be reported to the trio as ineligible for the contest. The rest of the week passes in doublechecking the condition of the airship, conferring with everyone involved on their personal needs and generally preparing for the trip. It is surprisingly simple, so I have time to explore Bridgit's trick further. We find out one amusing tidbit - so long as Bridgit is touching one of my instances, she can pop a split touching ANY other instance of me effortlessly, and once the split exists, she can keep it up without any particular strain. Apparently, the tiring part is the initial spatial displacement of her trick.

However, this presents me with a brilliant opportunity. While both me and Bridgit will be on board, we will also be maintaining instances back in Academy. So even if something happens in Kraut? Yeah. Safety net. I really really really really approve of the quantum immortality clause and begin thinking about ways to extend or facilitate something similar for the rest of wives. Just in case. Backups are never a bad thing. The rest of the girls are running a gamut of worried to sulky, depending on how comfortable they are with high politics. Namely, Lily-Anne is sulky she's not included into this party, Roxolane is worried about me and Bridgit, and Moon Unit tries her best to reassure everyone.

Oh well. Things are proceeding apace regardless. Hiram comes over a day later, and ventures a... weird inquiry. Apparently, he wants to take along someone else, but was not willing to talk about that someone else in front of the whole inspection crew. I warn him straight up that I will not take along anyone Abe is not aware of and approves of. Which leads to the current situation in Rafiqa's room.

"So... Let me comprehend the situation." - I drawl slowly - "You want to take Rafiqa along to introduce her to your father?"

Hiram nods. "Indeed." - he offers quietly - "I believe this is something I need to attend to sooner than later."

"Hiram, you DO understand that doing this is pretty much flat out admitting you're courting?" - I quip.

Rafiqa blushes, but sticks her chin up. "It is... not that far from the truth." - she admits - "Is that a problem?"

I sigh. "The problem, Rafiqa, is that de jure I have kidnapped you from Sultanate. Salaadin would be entirely within his rights to make demands for your return if you crop up on any diplomatic affairs officially." - I explain - "Insofar, while he has a pretty good idea where you are, he can not make any demands of king Abraham, because Abraham will just shrug and profess ignorance on the topic. But if you are seen in Berlinger attending an official meeting between kings? Salaadin will instantly place demands on Kraut kingdom to detain you and hand you over to Sultanate officials. Which, I imagine, is not a thing you want to happen."

Hiram sticks a finger up. "A fair and well reasoned point, lady Gillespie." - he agrees - "Which is precisely why I want to negotiate Rafiqa's presence on board not as a part of a diplomatic party, but as an unaffiliated passenger. I will pay you for her passage and expressly stipulate the request for seclusion. This way, anyone on board can simply claim Rafiqa was not a member of this diplomatic party. Leaving Salaadin with a nice egg on his face if he tries to make a ruckus."

"This will open you up to his demands, though." - I point out.

Hiram scoffs. "I'm under no obligation to disclose the identities of my personal guests to Sultanate ambassadors, regardless of what they may think of their reach. And thanks to you, Salaadin is eminently deprived of a chance to do something about it by force." - he retorts - "Lady Gillespie, I appreciate your caution, but I assure you, I have thought it over and will take responsibility for any consequences that might arise from this."

I shrug - "Fair enough. Did you discuss it with Abraham yet?"

He nods and holds up a letter to me. It's... more of a note, but it does have the royal seal and is addressed to me. I break it open and see that Abraham is giving me permission to "assist crownprince Hohenzollern with his private ferrying needs within reason". Alrighty then.

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Rafiqa is both easier and harder to accommodate than most. Easier, because she keeps trying to demur. Harder, because I'm not exactly interested in offending Hiram by offering his girlfriend obviously subpar accommodations. Thankfully, when I point THAT out, she thaws out and does tentatively make some requests. Mostly for simple stuff like northern furs and such. She has a lot of fondness for nordic cultural artifacts, I noticed. Not sure if it's a rebellion against Sultanate or she genuinely finds fur rugs, big axes and engraved tankards to be appealing. So her room is decorated like a... well. Since she is still trying to be modest, I use my own discretion and so the walls of her room are covered with elaborate maps, a couple examples of elven scrollwork, some of the decorative dwarven daggers and hatchets and other assorted trinkets that one would associate with "adventure in rough lands".

And since I'm not the kind of person to put things to chance, I invite Hiram and Rafiqa to inspect. I... think I nailed it, if I am to judge from the excited squeal and very approving glance I get from Hiram once Rafiqa rushes into the cabin to inspect everything. He sidles up to me and remarks quietly - "Impressively done, lady Gillespie. I'd never consider decorating a maiden's room like this - and in doing so, I'd present myself as narrowminded and boring. How did you know such an interior would appeal to Rafiqa?"

"Well, to begin with, I pestered her extensively on what she'd like." - I tell him with a smile - "Other than that, I paid attention to what she said and made sure to iterate on her wishes. She is acutely interested in northern things, Hiram. Everything that Sultanate wasn't. She's also interested in adventures and new things. Therefore, I took care to stock the room she has with things that inspire imagination about foreign lands. Well, foreign for her, that is. You might notice that while overall décor is northern, there are odds and pieces from other cultures as well."

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Father's requests present their own issue. He apparently needs a storage space within his cabin. Something bigger than table drawers. In considering the problem I end up stumbling upon a solution so elegant I just have to install it in all cabins. Essentially, a chest built into the ceiling of the cabin. On a need, one simply pulls a discreet lever, and the whole thing drops from the ceiling, sides unfolding up to show what's inside. Could be shelving or just empty space, and shelves fold out when they're not needed. Funky... But, I guess I'll need to show this thing to everyone once they situate themselves, because it's definitely not something commonly seen.

Speaking of personal requests. Van der Klaas neglects to get back at me. I wonder why. Did he simply not comprehend the issue, or he doesn't think he needs anything special for himself? Or is it going to be a power play on his side? Ignore the questions, then harangue for not "meeting the standards"? Oh well. If they're going to act uppity, I can always kick them off the ship. ...On the second thought, maybe better not. Abe is not going to be thrilled if I kick his new adviser off the airship. Especially if we're going at a good clip and height. Still, I'd better let Abraham know. So that there are no unpleasant surprises once we're actually in the air. I really really really can do without power plays, and if I remember the game right, Marceu was all about them. Dunno how Mihel is going to be, he wasn't really in the game, more like mentioned... Hm. Bother bother bother bother.

Abe takes it philosophically. If van der Klaas didn't bother specifying special conditions, no special conditions are to be furnished. Just give him the regular cabin. While we're on the topic, I doublecheck if Abe has any special requirements. And what do you know, he also asks for expanded personal storage. He is bemused when I tell him I already got that request from father and spread it across the ship. Just in case. He DOES request to visit incognito to be shown the thing. Apparently, they wanted secret storage, while at it. Wondrous. Armed with that bit of knowledge, I install a simple security enchantment in the lever. If someone I didn't authorize to use it tries to pull it, it will act to them by all intents and purposes as a decorative barelief, not a hidden lever. Should be enough. Oh, and in case someone tries to force their way into the secure compartment? Bzzt. Very bzzt.

Just to clarify, bzzt is a magical analog of getting tazed into unconsciousness. I tried to calibrate the whole thing to ensure nothing particularly permanent happens, but I wouldn't be surprised if getting up close and personal with this device resulted in some voided bowels. Particularly so, in people not expecting bzzt. Good? Good. Ok, so what else I can... I CAN. Birds. Let's get those fuckers well away from my shiny airship. Hm, I do remember there were some spells for scaring animals off... OK, so... Oh. This is scalable. And directionable... Hm. So if the envelope is the focal mesh... I can have the envelope radiate low-level "this is not a good place" for everyone below a certain mass... Or I can focus everything into a huge blast of terror in front... Hm. But if I focus, the mass constraint vanishes... Hm. Hmmmmmm. HMMMMM! That has... promise.

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This is the day before departure. Which is the weekend. Which, apparently, is why the girls decided to throw a no-holds-barred orgy on me. On one hand, I'm very glad they're getting along with each other so well group sex is an option. On the other, I'm a little worried about how much they are worried for me. This is... weird. I did more dangerous things before and they weren't quite so listless. Maybe that's because this is the first "realpolitik" thing? Who knows. They're not even mollified by the fact I'm actually having an instance stay right there with them. On the other hand, why exactly I'm complaining so much about getting an orgy? Goodness, I'm... being a little bit spoiled right now.

So. This is late night. Or early morning. The instance of me that would travel is already on the airship, lounging around in her cabin and doublechecking if everything else is already doublechecked. This instance of me has arms full of naked girls. Actually, amend that to "is entangled in naked girls", because the pile of bodies that's currently occupying my bed would be complicated to disperse without some acrobatics. Or two of us being able to just ooze out or blink out. I'm actually fairly certain the current entanglement is in no small part due to girls taking ample advantage of tentacles. And isn't THAT a surprise? Though, honestly speaking, I'm not sure if it's not simply the "they like tentacles because I have them" kind of situation.

I think... I'm happy.

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