Chapter 13: 13. First Stop

"I hate to admit it," Marianne commented as she wandered around checking out the suite, "But I think I could get used to this sort of lifestyle. What about you Lexi?"

"Mmm," I responded noncommittally as I lay sideways across the king-size bed. "I think the constant travel is too tiring and stressful? And I think I'd get bored eventually. Plus I kind of feel guilty spending all this money? It's cool seeing stuff, I'm really looking forward to seeing the ruins and all that? But I think eventually I'd like to stop travelling and have a normal life."

The bed bounced slightly as she practically jumped onto it beside me and laughed, "Lexi it's only been three days since we left London! You cannot possibly be tired of travelling already! And all we did today was a twenty-minute bus ride! We spent longer on the Tube in London when we were sightseeing on the weekend!"

"I didn't say I was tired of it now," I protested. "Just that I think I will be someday!"

She was right, in fact it wasn't even three full days yet. More like two and a half days, since we started our trip Tuesday morning. Now it was Thursday afternoon and we were already in the modern town of Akrotiri. Yesterday we spent a relaxing lazy day in Fira, we only left our fancy suite for breakfast and dinner, plus a brief bit of shopping in the afternoon.

Now we were in another five-star suite, but this one just had the one bedroom. We had a fantastic view looking north across the caldera, we could see Fira on the east side, and the little islands in the middle.

"Anyways it wasn't just twenty minutes on the bus," I added with a pout. "We had to pack up and check out this morning, then find the bus place, walk to it, buy tickets, make sure we got on the right bus, then afterwards we had to find the hotel, walk to it, and check in. So like, the bus part was just twenty minutes, but it's really the whole entire day? Or at least it feels like the whole day, between thinking about it in the morning and being tired from it now. And I'm still worn out from Tuesday. It's only three days since we started, but yesterday's the only day we weren't on the move."

Marianne gave me a sympathetic smile, "I suppose if you're not used to travelling it feels that way? But I think you'll get used to it in time cutie. Eva said she has other places to visit, didn't she? When we're done on this island, we'll be on the move again."

I suppressed a groan, "That's the distant future, like next week maybe. What's the plan for right now?"

She leaned over and gave me a kiss before replying, "We take it easy this afternoon, make plans for tomorrow, go out and have a fantastic dinner this evening, come back to the suite after our meal, and make passionate love in this huge bed until we both pass out."

"Hmm..." I pretended to think over her outline for a few seconds before I finally agreed, "Very well, I approve of this plan."

She rolled her eyes as she lay down next to me on my right, "Are you going to help with the planning? Or is it up to me to do all the work again?"

I made another show of mulling over my answer, but when she gave me a playful swat on the shoulder I gave in and smiled "I'll help of course. Though I'm going to check in first with our patron demon ghost. She's the boss, I'm just the help."

Before Marianne could respond I asked, "Eva? Are you about?"

"I'm here Lexi," she replied as she appeared laying across the bed on my left. "What can I do for you?"

I asked, "Me and Marianne were talking about our plans, or I guess before we make plans I wanted to find out what you want to do?"

Eva replied with a slight smile, "I know you're exhausted from all the travel Lexi, but perhaps when you and Marianne are ready to get dinner I could impose upon you to take a little walk about the area first? I don't believe it's too far from here to my destination."

"What's 'not too far' to you?" I asked. "Are we talking a half hour? An hour?"

She laughed, "Hardly! Fifteen minutes, twenty at most?"

I smiled, "Ok Eva. I think we can manage that."

"What did she say?" Marianne asked. She was sitting up again and watching me and my ghost friend, and she was clearly a little irritated that she couldn't hear Eva's half of the conversation.

"Sorry," I apologized, then quickly filled her in. "So when we're figuring out dinner plans, we'll leave forty-five minutes early? That way we'll have lots of time for Eva's walk."

Marianne agreed, then she got her phone and started doing some more research as she lay next to me and Eva.

After a couple minutes she announced, "We could walk to the ruins from here. It's a half hour at most? Though there is a bus if you prefer. The ruins open to the public at half past eight in the morning, then close at half past three in the afternoon. So no sleeping in tomorrow, sorry Lexi."

I pouted again, "What kind of hours are those? That's not right."

"We should set an alarm for seven," Marianne decided. "A quick shower then dressed, we'll get breakfast then either walk or bus and we're there. Spend the day exploring ancient Akrotiri, then we come back here and relax. Maybe enjoy the swimming pool?"

I blushed, "I don't have a bathing suit. I never even thought to buy one."

She smirked, "We can ask the hotel staff, it might be clothing optional? Or perhaps there's somewhere you can buy a bikini."

That made me blush brighter and I groaned, "Probably back in Fira. I don't want to go back to Fira just to buy a swim suit."

"So you choose skinny dipping?" she teased. "Good choice. I might even join you."

Rather than reply I just pouted again.

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Marianne giggled, "Well why didn't you think to buy a swim suit Lexi? We were shopping yesterday, you got some summer blouses and sandals and even a pair of shorts."

I sighed and my expression became serious. So did my voice as I replied quietly, "I hated swimming before, having to go out in front of people in nothing but swimming trunks? It was just massive dysphoria from start to finish. And if I'd been transitioning normally, I'd probably still avoid swimming until I had a body that could pass in a girls swimsuit."

"I'm online friends with quite a few trans folks," I added. "They just never go swimming, ever. It's too painful, or depending where they live it could be dangerous for them to try. I never imagined I'd ever have a body that would look good in a bikini, so I've never thought about buying one."

She was quiet for a few moments, then lay down next to me as she pulled me into a hug.

"I'm sorry Lexi," she whispered in my ear. "I hope I didn't upset you or make you feel uncomfortable? And I admit, I forget sometimes that you haven't always looked that way. This is the only you I've known."

"It's ok," I replied quietly as I hugged her back. "I'm fine. It's just, even though I've got a cis-normative body I'm not a cis girl. I don't have those experiences or that mindset. I'm a trans girl who got very, very lucky."

She gave me a kiss, "Ok Lexi. I won't pressure you about it. Perhaps you'll enjoy staying by the pool if I go for a swim?"

I returned the kiss and smiled, "I'm sure I will. And who knows, now that I'm thinking about it maybe I'll get some swimwear next time we're shopping. I just never thought about it before, and I might need some time to get used to the idea."

Eva had been quiet for most of that, but she was still there with us. She offered, "If there's anything I can do to help Lexi, just ask ok?"

"Thanks Eva," I smiled. "I'll keep that in mind."

Eventually me and Marianne got back to working out our plans for the next couple days. I grudgingly agreed to the early start tomorrow, and apparently we could get special 3-day-pass tickets that included Akrotiri, the ruins of ancient Thera, and admission to a Prehistoric Thera Museum.

She sounded excited about that option so that's what we agreed to do. That meant we had loose plans covering Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. At dinner time we'd talk to the hotel front desk and let them know we wanted the room till Monday. And by that point we'd probably have our next steps figured out, so we'd know if we were staying on Santorini or if we'd be moving on.

With all our plans sorted out for the next few days, the three of us took it easy for the rest of the afternoon. Me and Marianne rested on the big bed while Eva wandered around the suite then out onto the balcony. I noticed she was able to walk through the glass door, which sort of fit with what I guessed a few days back. I was pretty sure she and I had to stay in sight of each other, and even in view there was a limit to how far apart we could be.

It wasn't till about six in the evening when we finally left the hotel room. Eva followed along as we went down to the front desk, and Marianne did the talking while I offered the Platinum card to extend our stay until Monday.

That was another big benefit of having her with us. She spoke English, French, Greek, and Italian. She could also understand Spanish, Dutch, and a bit of German to some degree, but she wasn't fluent in those. Though apparently she had an extensive knowledge of Dutch swears, courtesy of her roommate Suzi.

Thanks to Marianne's skills it only took us a few minutes to sort out the room for a couple extra nights. Then the three of us walked out onto the street, and Eva took the lead.

My demon ghost friend took a minute or two to get her bearings as we sort of wandered along one of the streets. Then she pointed south-west, towards a rise in the landscape.

"Up there," she announced. "That's where we're going."

Me and Marianne followed. I could tell Eva was excited, but she kept a casual pace. It was actually a nice walk, it felt good to stretch our legs without having to worry about making a bus schedule or getting to the hotel on time or any of that.

It ended up taking longer than we expected, but that was because we followed the road instead of going in a straight line. It worked out ok, if we'd tried to go directly there it would have been a rather steep climb through some private property. The road sort of wrapped around the hill but wasn't as steep. We also got a nice look at the buildings and houses here, and the views of the caldera were stunning.

In the end it was about a twenty or thirty minute walk, until Eva moved off the road and came to a stop. She was in a flat patch of grass-covered ground, it looked like an empty lot in between three buildings. The attractive blonde demon slowly turned on the spot as she looked around, but the expression on her face said it all.

Me and Marianne moved to stand next to her, and I asked softly "She's not here?"

"No," Eva shook her head. "This is the place, I'm certain of it. I can feel it. But she's not here. She hasn't been here in a very long time."

"I'm sorry Eva," I sighed. "You know we'll keep looking though. This was only the first stop."

She gave me a sad smile, "I know Lexi. Thank you."

"Are you still using your magical senses?" Marianne asked. "How far do they reach? Do they cover the island?"

Eva shrugged, "It's hard to put into terms like that. I won't know until I find her, but I'm fairly confident I could detect my child from at least a kilometre or two no matter how well hidden she is."

I passed that on to Marianne, who suggested "We should make a point of taking the bus all over the island then. Cover all the villages, everywhere she might be. Even if we don't get out and explore, we should cover the island so we can be sure we didn't miss her."

"Thanks Marianne," our demon friend replied. "It's a good idea."

I relayed that as well, then after another minute or two we finally turned and started making our way back down the hill. The restaurant we picked for dinner was back near the hotel, and we were planning to eat around seven.