"I don't understand your world, I'm afraid," Belenus said. We came out into a circular clearing that had a massive flagpole in the center. At the top of the pole was a green banner with the same crest as my brooch. "This is the center of the camp." I perked up as he continued on. "There are eight dining tents, each found halfway to the edge of camp on the lines of a compass."

"Got it." I nodded and tried to get a rough idea of the sun's position. "What time is it?"

"Just past noon," he replied. I immediately pinpointed north and found that the first tent there had a red banner flying above its door with a moon and a rose. "Now, our tent is exactly eleven rows back from the south path." He paused, and I followed his hand with my eyes. "That is, unless you want a tent of your own." A gust of wind blew through the clearing, making me shiver. I pulled my cloak around me, contemplating if I'd prefer my own tent. 

"I assure you that sharing with us is more than welcome, and it may be safer. Bella's bed will be brought back in today," he said and gave my arm a soft squeeze. "We moved it out to have it examined for spying spells." His face split into a mischievous grin that made me blush before he even spoke again. "Unless you'd prefer to continue sharing my uncle's bed."

"Belenus!" I hissed, jabbing his ribs as I would have Rob or Owen. It was a natural reaction, and I almost apologized. His laughter rang out, reminding me of a cello with the musical rise and fall of the cadence. His hand covered mine on his arm again, and I blushed as the rest of his sentence clicked.

Continuing? I thought in a panic. I was sleeping with Faolán?

"Continuing to share?" I asked.

"Don't fret, my Lady. My uncle only shared the bed with you long enough to bring your body temperature to normal after the shock," he said. "He has since shared with me or had a mat on the ground." Belenus turned me to face the east. "I'm sure you're not aware, but those with half-elf or more lineage don't really sleep. We have-"

"A sort of waking dream, and you only need a few hours or so of rest a night," I interjected before covering my mouth. "Sorry, I didn't mean to cut you off, but it’s in some of the books."

"My lady, you don't have to apologize to me at every turn." He shook his head, and I noted that his tone had changed. The proper, fully articulated vocabulary and measured accent had faded to something more casual. I realized he and Faolán had both done this a few times when speaking to each other back at the council.

"And you don't have to talk to me like you're impressing some emissary," I said, earning a shocked look from him. "You and Faolán both do that—speak like you're holding high court but then drop into a casual tone when you don't think anyone else is listening. I'd prefer the casual, honestly."

"I should have known you'd pick up on that, even with the spell. You're very observant, almost over observant," he said. Belenus' entire demeanor seemed to relax. "I'll do my best to remember it." I didn't like how surprised I was that he accepted my request. I was expecting a rebuttal or something about him not doing it. "Also, I was only teasing about my uncle since everybody in that meeting could see how you two have already gravitated to each other."

"I haven't gravitated to him," I insisted. Had I? I didn't think I'd shown him any different attention than I did with Belenus in the short time I’d been awake. He tugged me toward the west. "I just didn't want to interrupt, and he was the only one not in the discussion." 

"He feels responsible for how horribly your first night in our world went," Belenus said, his tone gentle. "He won't admit it, but he is the one who selected your wardrobe, guarded your sickbed, and did your hair." I reached up in surprise to touch the braids. I hadn't thought that Faolán would have done them.

"Really?" I asked. "That's a little excessive in trying to make up for something he didn't even know if I was upset about."

" Faolán does very little by halves," Belenus said and began guiding me down a path. "He may also have been going beyond necessity in an effort to somehow make it up for not being able to save Bella."

"But none of you were able to," I said and stopped in my tracks. "He shouldn't blame himself for that. He should be blaming Carwyn."

"And he is, mostly, but as her guardian, he feels like the failure falls on him," Belenus sighed. I could tell that he didn't blame his uncle in the least, but that he was also carrying heavy guilt over it all. "Since you were here, and Bella was not, he needed some way to express his guilt. You got to be on the receiving end."

"Well, I appreciate his efforts, but I don't need to be pampered like that," I said. I was trying to keep my focus on the paths we were taking. We were definitely moving deeper into the camp, and the sounds of the children and livestock weren't as predominant here. "I didn't need such a fancy outfit.” I waved a hand along my body to show it off. "I'm just glad they're warm. I don't do well in the cold."

"Speaking of which, we'll need to get you a few more sets of clothes, as well as some light armor. I think leather may be best. You'll need it when we go after the parts to the Sickle."

"What do you mean?" I asked. My chest tightened at his words. "When we go-" I pulled him to a halt, "You mean I'm coming too?"

"Well, of course," Belenus snorted. "Not only do I owe you a life debt, but as the leader-" The word sounded strained on his tongue, like he was still unsure how such a title came to him. "Of the resistance, I can't leave you alone here, and you don't have-" he lowered his voice, "magic to defend yourself, which is why we're headed to the tradesmen section of the camp. 

My heart skipped as I realized he meant trades like smithing and armor making. To say I was in over my head was an understatement, but I was also carrying a small thought that it may all be a dream. My excitement at being able to be fitted for real armor or even hold a real sword was squashed at the sight of the people there. Each one moved with assurance as they worked and as they stopped to look merchandise over. Judging by their builds and general behavior toward each other, most had to be knights or warriors of some sort.

"I don't think I'd be much help. I'll be a burden," I said. Trepidation filled my throat. "I'll slow you down."

"You are not a burden to me, Lady Grace," Belenus said, his voice shocked. "I am the burden to you. If it wasn't for me, you'd be safe in your realm." He brought me to a halt just as the sounds of hammers and voices started to fill the air. Slowly, he released my arm and turned to take both my hands in his. "I only hope you can forgive me for upturning your life and that I earn your trust and friendship." I didn't think I had ever seen such sincerity in a man's face before, and the rawness of it took me by surprise. I swallowed hard and forced myself to maintain his gaze even though it made me uncomfortable to do so. Holding men's gazes had always made me feel uncomfortable.

"I forgive you, and you are earning both, '' I said as I squeezed his hands. "Come on, finish the tour." I encouraged him and looped our arms together once more. "And yes, I'd feel far more comfortable sharing the tent."

"Good," Belenus said. "If you'd like, I can send for a screen to separate your section of the tent from our eyes."

"I'd appreciate that." I nodded. As we headed in the direction of the leather workers, my bladder decided to make itself known. This led me to wonder exactly where I could find an outhouse of some sort. But, not wanting to be a bother, I kept my mouth shut and ignored the demands of my bladder as he guided me towards the armorer tents..

The leather armorer—a sweet-faced, part-elf lady with gray and red hair—was more than happy to escort me to the communal latrines in her section so I could "go" before she outfitted me for my armor.

(Now, reader, you may be asking why I'm describing this, but come on! How many times have you read a book on someone changing realms and wondered about it? Exactly, so calm down; we'll get back to the plot in a moment.)

I was shocked there weren't chamber pots or gaping holes or whatever. What I found was curtained-off stalls with a pull-down screen in front of each one. They had commode-looking things, with a chain attached to a flapped pipe behind it. When you pulled the chain, it washed your business down into a trough that ran behind stalls. There wasn't toilet paper, but there was a bidet connected that you turned on with a clamp. All the waste was collected in one container, where spells separated the water and waste. The water was repurposed back into the process with some river water, and the waste was burned off in a pit far from camp every morning.

The showers were just like Belenus had described—pipes of running water heated by energy crystals charged in the sun. Cherish informed me, later, that  the shower water came from underground springs located via magic, and the crystals' energy couldn't be used for intricate spells, just heating. Now that I've satiated your curiosity on that, let's jump back to the story.