Josie wrote her letters in her neat hand. First, she had to tell the King they were taking

  Caroline on an excursion. He needed to know they were taking a trip out to the monster

  infested wilderness.

  Then she wrote Hent to let him know that any problem the city had would have to wait

  for two days. Otherwise, she would send Jack to deal with it.

  She sent letters to Jane and Guin to keep an eye on things, and keep the wheels turning

  until she got back. She also warned them she would send Jack back to deal with any

  problem.

  Jane wouldn’t care since she wouldn’t mind lightning from the sky. Guin would hesitate

  since he liked things stable and smooth.

  Josie sent letters to Budd and Case to let them know they had one chance to be with

  their girls while they were away from the city. It would be up to them to get to the Hole

  in the Wall before they left.

  She sent a letter to Markus to explain she would be out of town for a bit, and he should

  keep an eye on Vin. She made sure to let him know if he had a problem that was too

  much for him, she would come back.

  Jack came out of the kitchen with a sandwich on a plate and a cup of tea in his hands.

  Elaine followed him, papers in hand. The younger girls walked into the library,

  discussing where they wanted to go, and what they wanted to see.

  “Here are the reports, Josie,” said Elaine. She handed over the homework before sitting

  down.

  Jack put his plate and cup on the table before he sat down himself. He took a bite and

  chewed on it while he thought.

  Josie went over the writing, putting together the timeline of events in her mind as she

  read. She smiled over certain parts. She looked up at Elaine and Jack.

  “So they did good with what happened?,” Josie said.

  “They were as good as any adventurers we have dealt with so far,” said Elaine. “I don’t

  think you have to worry about them other than the usual mothering pains.”

  “Thank you for helping us, Elaine,” said Josie. “We’re lucky to have you as our

  assistant.”

  “I’m lucky for different reasons,” said Jack.

  “Are you two serious about taking off to the middle of the forest?,” asked Elaine.

  “Josie needs to take a minute to figure out how much she wants to squeeze out of

  Markus,” said Jack. Josie blushed a little before looking outraged. “And I have worked

  too hard solving these mysteries the Society gave us. A little walkabout might be what

  we need to recharge.”

  “You blew up a house with a tree,” said Josie. “How is that hard work?”

  “The command of the Enterprise is a sacred responsibility that I bear with distinction,”

  said Jack. He grinned at her.

  “May I see your report on things?,” asked Elaine.

  “As soon as I write it, hon,” said Jack.

  “Which you will never do, slacker,” said Josie. She shook her head as she touched her

  watch. She became Zatanna and built a logbook of the three quests they had been given.

  Each quest was sectioned off by itself. She let the persona go. “Here you go, Elaine.”

  “Thank you,” said Elaine. She went through the log book as Jack ate.

  Josie wished he had brought her a sandwich, but was not inclined to ask for one. She

  would have to make one when they had decided where they were going.

  “So you got all your letters written?,” asked Jack.

  “Everyone but Seven knows we’re going out of town,” said Josie. “I need to write her

  a letter too in case she wants to go with us.”

  “Still haven’t heard from June,” said Jack.

  “Her fight isn’t for another week,” said Josie. “That’s how long we have before she can

  call us.”

  “I know,” said Jack. “I just don’t like waiting for news. Where do you think the girls

  will pick for our trip?”

  “Hopefully, somewhere quiet,” said Josie. “Maybe you’re right. Maybe I have been

  wearing myself out.”

  “When we get back, we’ll work on clearing the sleepers out of the way,” said Jack.

  “That should take a bit of time, then we can turn our eye to other things.”

  “We should look at the other continent,” said Josie. “I don’t like the Montrose had ships

  sailing over there when have an unknown type of lifeform present who might be able

  to do things that we don’t want to deal with for the rest of our lives.”

  “They keep trying to come here,” said Jack. “Why?”

  “Especially if Mister Warner is right, and salt kills them,” said Josie.

  “Do you think other champions had to deal with this?,” asked Elaine.

  “Yep,” said Jack. “And the Society said most of our predecessors died in harness.”

  “How many?,” asked Josie.

  “They didn’t say,” said Jack. “But the Society said they had picked guys for single

  missions, or for longstanding like Mister Warner and us. Most of them died in action.”

  “So we look out for each other and make sure to smooth down the eventual problems

  we will be facing,” said Josie. “Your mom will love that you finally found someone who

  can give her the perfect grandchild.”

  “It’s not going to be any of my sisters,” said Jack. “But look at you. You have six

  adopted sisters that will make Mom gush with joy.”

  “I don’t think that counts,” said Josie.

  “Of course it does,” said Jack. “Mom will love to show Angelica around a kitchen. And

  the others will learn some moves they can put on their kids.”

  “And we’ll hear all the wonderful stories of your childhoods,” said Elaine. “Mothers

  love to tell stories of their children growing up and doing ridiculous things.”

  “That’s a good point,” said Jack. “Mom loves the tutu story.”

  Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

  “Not the tutu story,” said Josie.

  “I must hear this,” said Elaine.

  “Do you know what a tutu is?,” asked Jack.

  “I’ll tell this to spare me some embarrassment,” said Josie. “These girls were bothering

  me because I was basically homeless and was taking dance with Jack’s sisters. They’re

  all in the same age range as me and Jack, so basically Mrs. Lee made a bargain with the

  teacher so I could be included even though I didn’t want to be included. We’re

  practicing our dance moves and these girls start bothering me in front of Jack’s sisters.

  They’ve calmed down since then, but Jack’s sisters hung these girls from the ceiling by

  their tutus which is a sort of fluffy skirt. Then they told Mrs. Lee that I had done it in

  a fit of righteous anger.”

  “Really?,” said Elaine.

  “I was as tall as Matilda then, and these girls were as tall as Laura and Melanie,” said

  Josie. “Mrs. Lee didn’t believe that I could do anything like that since I couldn’t reach

  the hooks hanging down from the ceiling. That didn’t stop her from casting me as an

  agent of justice in a cold dance world.”

  “You’re not that much taller than Matilda now,” said Jack. He chewed on another piece

  of his sandwich, hiding his grin.

  “Laugh it up,” said Josie. “Why did you start the thing about ripping people’s ears off?

  It makes my life a little harder.”

  “It adds to your legend,” said Jack. He smiled a little. “Even the elves respect you with

  a reputation like that.”

  “How did you find out about the threat to the King’s ears?,” said Josie. “The Rick told

  you, didn’t he? He told you at the dinner, and you told everyone else. That’s how Hilda

  knows and she has been telling all the new Amazons about it.”

  “I cannot confirm or deny the existence of my source,” said Jack.

  “Okay,” said Josie. She frowned at him.

  “What did you do at the Court?,” asked Jack. “I ran into some commoners that are

  scared of you.”

  “I don’t think you need to know,” said Josie. “The next lie you will be spreading is I can

  scare people with just my name.”

  “They were certainly scared,” said Jack. “I’m friends with Jo-jo. Not the Fox. We out.”

  “What was that?,” asked Josie.

  “That’s my elf voice,” said Jack.

  “Bob will kill you over something like that,” said Josie.

  “He seems to have a sense of humor,” said Jack. He looked down at his empty plate. “I

  mean he’s calling the Duchess Lori.”

  “That doesn’t mean he thinks you’re funny,” said Josie. “Lord knows I don’t.”

  “That kind of hurts,” said Jack.

  “I still think you’re funny,” said Elaine. She gave him a slight smile.

  “I think we’ve settled on a place to go,” said Alicia from the door to the library.

  “Let’s see this magical choice,” said Jack. He stood, holding out his hand to help Elaine

  if she needed it. “It’s within the two day walking limit?”

  “Don’t know,” said Alicia. “Maybe?”

  The three adults entered the library. The girls had gathered around the model. Various

  circles glowed on the surface of the map area.

  “Where did you girls pick?,” asked Josie. She looked over Matilda’s shoulder, brushing

  Aviras’s tail out of the way with a hand.

  “We think this would be a good spot,” said Beatrice. “It’s along the river from the Lake

  up north. We can use that to get close to Hawk Ridge, and then walk the rest of the way

  into town.”

  “We might be able to do some rafting,” said Jack. “Any whitewater along there?”

  “White water?,” asked Angelica.

  “The water will flow faster, and that will make control of a raft harder,” said Jack.

  “I think the river is calm all the way down,” said Beatrice. “People boat on it all the

  time.”

  “We can walk along the shore if the water gets too dangerous,” said Josie.

  “So this is what you guys want to do?,” asked Jack.

  “Yes,” said Melanie. “And we don’t have to walk the whole way.”

  “All right,” said Jack. “I think you girls should think about what you want to take for

  supplies. We’ll store the food on the Enterprise, and call the stuff for meals.”

  “What will the weather be like?,” asked Beatrice. “We want a pleasant outing.”

  “Even if it rains, we’re going,” said Jack. “You guys will just have to wear your

  raincoats.”

  “Raincoats?,” asked Matilda.

  “They’re hanging in your closets,” said Jack. “I think you guys should sort out the food,

  set out your clothes, and get some sleep. I’ll have to go by the hospital in the morning

  to check on Duncan, and you guys will have to wrangle Emily and Caroline. Josie has

  sent letters for Budd and Case. If they want to go, they’ll have to be here before I’m

  ready to leave. After that, they are on their own until we get back.”

  He looked at the model.

  “Go ahead,” said Jack. “We’ll head out and look at things as soon as I make sure

  Duncan doesn’t die in his bed.”

  “Gwyneth will be disappointed if that happens,” said Elaine.

  “Which is exactly why I am going to make sure it doesn’t happen,” said Jack.

  “Are you girls ready for this?,” asked Josie. She tried not to smile as they regarded her

  with surprised expressions.

  “Are you?,” asked Alicia. Her stolid face was proof against any deflection. “You barely

  stand still.”

  “I have been known to take it easy,” said Josie.

  “When?,” said Alicia. “Practical limitations.”

  “I hung out with Beatrice and Caroline,” said Josie.

  “We went to a carnival without being tricked,” said Alicia. “Jack blew up one of the

  stands for us. There were burning unicorns everywhere.”

  “I wouldn’t exactly say that,” said Jack. He winced at the bald statement.

  “Is that how you found out how Nitro works?,” said Josie. She squinted at her friend.

  “Boom,” said Matilda. She threw her hands up to imitate the loud explosion she had

  seen.

  “Really?,” said Josie.

  “Which the girls should have learned their lesson about cheating from instead of the

  aerodynamics of plushy toys in flight,” said Jack.

  “Really?,” said Josie. She looked at the younger girls. She noted Beatrice stepping to

  the left at the edge of her vision.

  “Have a good night’s sleep,” said Melanie. She hurried from the library. The other girls

  took the hint and scattered before Josie could say anything to stop them.

  “It was a pretty explosion,” said Elaine.

  “You two are no longer allowed to set fire to anything,” said Josie. “You both love it too

  much.”

  “I wouldn’t say that,” said Jack. “He was cheating.”

  “What did you get out of it?,” asked Josie.

  “Nothing but the satisfaction of a job well done,” said Jack.

  “I got a mountain cat,” said Elaine. “It has shiny eyes.”

  “Is that what that was?,” asked Jack. “It had like six legs. I thought it was some kind of

  weird bug.”

  “I think I am done with this conversation,” said Josie. “No more blowing stuff up.

  You’re supposed to be a better example than this.”

  “Notice the oppression, hon?,” said Jack. “Always trying to hold a man down.”

  “She’s right,” said Elaine. “Maybe you shouldn’t turn toys into a missiles.”

  “Boom,” said Jack. He slowly raised his hands in a small imitation of Matilda.

  “It was lovely for the five seconds we had to look at it,” said Elaine.

  “I’m getting ready for bed,” said Josie. “I will see you in the morning.”

  “Markus coming with us?,” asked Jack. He wrapped his beloved with an arm. Elaine

  leaned into him.

  “I left him a letter,” said Josie. She walked toward the library’s exit. “If he wants to tag

  along, he’ll be able to catch us at the hospital, or the Hole in the Wall.”

  Josie headed for the elevator. She wanted to settle in and think about things before the

  morning. She didn’t really have time to leave the city, but she did need to take a moment

  to reset how she was going to help the sleepers and get them in and out of the hospital.

  It was too bad the transporter wouldn’t filter out the spinal growths without finetuning.

  That would be a fast fix to the problem as far as she could see.

  Jack’s elixir seemed to work fine. Making more of it could be a solution, but then they

  would need to deal with the lack of facilities as the medicine worked.

  She stepped off the elevator and went to her room. She took Markus’s book out of her

  bag, and placed it on her bed. She got undressed and placed her clothes in the dirty

  clothes box. She pulled on a night shirt, and laid down on the bed to start reading.

  She finished the book sometime in the middle of the night. She understood the problem

  Markus had with trusting her. She shouldn’t have used her magic to create something

  she should have asked him about. She wondered if she wanted to be serious with this

  guy.

  This was an example of the shortcutting the girls had done on their homework. Was she

  better for trying to figure everything out so she could decide what she wanted to do

  instead of just pushing down Markus’s barriers?

  She felt like she needed advice, but didn’t really have anyone she could ask.

  She definitely wasn’t going to ask Jack. He would put his grubby hands on her new

  relationship and push them together whether they wanted to be together, or not.

  She needed an outside perspective from somebody who wasn’t invested in her

  wellbeing. It wasn’t like her to be this indecisive about things.

  Maybe two days away from the city was what she needed to get things in order so she

  could figure out what she wanted to do.

  Maybe she could propose a trial dating scheme. She and Markus could spend time

  together, and maybe move in together. She would need a house big enough for the

  Ducklings. She knew Jack would love to build a house as a wedding gift.

  What did Markus want? Would he go for such a thing?

  She decided to ask him when she saw him.

  She put the book back in her bag. It was time to sleep on her decision.