Medya floated naked in the air, her arms and legs splayed out as she screwed her eyes shut. On the other side of the room, Master Vasati, the sorcerer who had bought her half a year ago was jotting down notes. Lazily, he concentrated, and a whip of lightning shot towards the Kittani, flaying open the skin on her belly. Her scream was measured and noted on the pad of paper, along with those he'd made with the other spells he'd cast at her. One after another, fire and lightning and ice were all used to see which were the most effective. Her body twitched and convulsed as her dreaming mind recalled all the days spent with her master in the tower.

Inez woke to the whimpers of the tiny woman in her arms, and shook her gently, trying to wake her up. She wouldn't awaken, even with a light slap. In desperation, she kissed the girl, but even that elicited no reaction. Finally, she slid her hands down to her tail and gripped it gently. Medya's eyes shot open, a low moan issuing from her mouth as she collapsed, gasping, into Inez's arms.

"I'm so sorry, you were having a nightmare, I had to wake you up! Nothing else was working!" Inez apologized in a whisper.

"It's fine, thank you for waking me. I guess our talk triggered a few memories, so I'm sorry for waking you up," Medya murmured sleepily.

"Don't be. After all you've done for me, it is the least I could do."

Medya wiggled her ass a little, enjoying the feeling of Inez's hand on the stub of her tail and trying not to moan in pleasure. "If you're going to keep holding that, you should at least kiss me first."

"I did," Inez admitted with a smirk. "But that didn't work so I grabbed your tail. Should I have grabbed something else?"

"Go back to sleep my queen." Medya was bold when she was tired. "We have a long day tomorrow and you and your beautiful breasts are already distracting enough." The cat girl's head was already nestled between said breasts, and Inez slipped her hand off the tail and down to Medya's ass instead, pulling her closer and enjoying the skin to skin contact as she drifted happily back to sleep.

The following morning found the trio riding east along the road towards the coast. The morning was cool, but they were happy with a belly full of eggs that had been cooked whole in the embers of the fire with a side of toasted bread. Medya had used her magic to finish drying and warming their clothes, so they felt better about their belongings, and she had found a large shirt in the backpack that fit Katja like a dress to replace her old rags. The older women still wanted to find a place to get her better clothes, but that required a town, and so far, that wasn't in sight.

Medya was quiet during the ride, having been thoroughly embarrassed upon waking. Katja had been playing with her ears while sitting next to her, and that woke her up to her face pressed into Inez's chest with her hand cupping the princess' right breast. Inez hadn't said a thing, just looked down at her like she was fine with the position, but Medya was mortified that she had been groping the future queen in her sleep. Of course, in her second set of dreams she was doing much more than groping, but that might have been influenced by their sleeping arrangements once Inez had woken her from the nightmare.

The funny thing was, Katja was perfectly fine with them sleeping like that. Inez was as well, and Medya wondered if that was just a product of people sharing body heat more in these colder climates, or perhaps she was just repressed. Her mind was busy wondering about all these things, while trying to think of a way to apologize to Inez about the whole groping situation, when her sensitive nose picked up on the scent of the sea.

"We're getting close to the coast, there could be a fishing village ahead," she called back over her shoulder. She slowed her horse so that they could ride together, with Katja in the middle, instinctively protecting their younger comrade.

The road came up over a rise, and before them lay a village by the sea. It was larger than the one that they'd found Katja in, and several ships were in the harbor that could possibly be bargained with to take them to the free city of Southington. There were at least a dozen buildings, and perhaps more that were hidden from view, and hopefully they'd find less trouble than the last time they stopped in for a meal.

"Everyone remember the story?" Medya asked.

"Yes, my father is a sailor in Southington, and he sent for us to join him. Inez is my mom and you're my aunt." Katja replied dutifully.

"Perfect," Inez said with a smile. "We should only be here one night if we can find a ship to take us to Southington, but we'll need to find a captain we can trust."

"I can't sail, so we don't have much choice here," Medya grumbled. She didn't like being at the mercy of others to getting things done.

"Neither can I." Inez agreed.

"I've never even been on a boat!" Katja joined in.

"Do you need more soot for my face?" Inez asked.

Medya just looked over and let her eyes roam over the beautiful princess and shook her head. "It didn't help last time. Nobody is ever going to think you're anything other than stunning."

Inez blushed as Katja just giggled at her. "Come on you two, let's go find us a ship."

Once they entered the town, they were impressed with the size of it. What they had seen from the hill was just the top of the village, as there was another portion below the bluff, connected by a wide switchback road suitable for cargo wagons. The buildings were of rough-hewn stone, no doubt from the bluff itself, and then timber braces and roofs. It was a hardy settlement for a coastline that surely saw many a storm.

The top of the bluff had most of the buildings that didn't depend on the sea. There was a sawmill across a small stream, a butcher and a baker and a town office building that probably held the local sheriff or whoever was in charge. Down in the lower half of the village was a small market square that had peddlers of all sorts, a cooper that sold barrels for the fish, a chandlery where the trio was able to purchase new clothes that might actually fit, and a pair of inns that overlooked the ocean. Once their clothing was purchased, they picked the inn that looked to have more rooms and made their way inside.

Unlike Katja's inn, this one was mostly empty. Since it was midday, most of the fishermen were out on the water, and hadn't come back in yet. "Excuse me, how much for a room and some food?" Inez asked after sauntering up to the innkeeper.

The older man looked the three ladies over and grunted. "I can give you a room with two beds and a meal for two gold for the three of you."

Inez was going to argue about the price, but Medya put an arm on her lower back, and she just passed over the coin. "If I throw in another three silvers, can we get some lunch as well?"

"Aye, that is fair enough," the man conceded, and Medya slipped a fourth as well.

They found a table near the fire, and Medya took her customary place with her back to the room and set out her mirror. They weren't sitting long before a young man brought over a pitcher of water and some mugs. "Fish stew is all we have for lunch. It will be up soon. There should be some better fare at dinner once the ships are in."

"Stew is fine, thank you," Inez said with a nod. Fish would be a welcome break from all the game they'd had, so it would do them well.

"We're really leaving?" Katja asked breathlessly.

"We are indeed. We have a long trip in front of us," confirmed Medya with a smile.

Katja looked so happy that it warmed the hearts of the other two. They had been on the run and focused so much on just living day to day while getting to the coast and dealing with the odd feelings between themselves that they'd never appreciated the small things. Maybe with a different attitude, things could be better.

But to Katja, this was huge. She'd been released from what she had thought would be a lifetime of servitude and forced prostitution by a pair of warriors that were as kind as anyone she could have hoped for. She already considered them to be the mothers that she didn't have, though she was afraid to say anything about that to them. She didn't understand their relationship though. Sometimes, like when they were waking up this morning, they looked as though they were together and in love. But then they were distant and nervous towards one another. Hopefully, she'd understand more given some time. Maybe it was just a part of growing older.

"I'm going to go ask about a ship," Inez muttered to the others as she rose and headed to the bar.

Katja followed her with her eyes, while Medya gazed into the mirror while watching her hips sway. She sighed softly as Katja focused her eyes on her. "You really love her, huh?"

Medya's eyes snapped to Katja. "What? No, of course not."

"You do, even if you won't admit it. She loves you too. It isn't hard to tell," Katja objected.

"We've known each other less than a week, we can't be in love," Medya argued.

Katja rolled her eyes as only a professional teen could do. "How long do you think love takes? Is there some magic length of time that determines when you're allowed to admit it? Fine, say you don't love her. You know very well you like her, you care for her, and you'd do almost anything for her."

Medya glared at the younger girl, wondering how the hell she became such an expert on relationships. "What I feel doesn't matter. Inez has an important life to lead, and I will support her in that. But in the end, we won't be together. As much as I might want otherwise, it is pointless to pursue."

"But she feels the same way about you!" Katja was persistent, Medya had to give her that.

Medya just shook her head. "Katja, I appreciate this, I do. But the slave girl never ends up with the queen. It just doesn't happen."

Katja looked at her in shock, then back at Inez. "Wait a minute, you're a slave? She is a queen?"

Medya held her finger up for silence. "You're with us now, so you need to be quiet. I'm a Kittani, you already are keeping that secret. Inez is Princess Inez of Appalya. She was cursed forty years ago by King Hudd, and we're going to go take back her throne. I was, like you, a slave. She needs someone by her side that she can rule with. You don't rule a country with an ex-slave by your side, especially when they're a Kittani. End of discussion."

Katja lowered her head, tears filling her eyes. "Fine. But I hate that. I know how much you like each other. I can see it every time you're near each other. You may not want to admit it, but she would be crushed if you weren't with her. And so would I. I don't even remember my mom. She was gone well before my dad sold me. Now you're both my moms, and I'm going to want you together. Neither of you are allowed to leave me."

Inez rejoined them a few moments later, eying them both and taking in Katja's tears. "You guys alright?"

"Yeah, we were just talking about the past," Medya answered quickly, while Katja glared at her. Inez certainly saw it but remained quiet.

"Well, we're in luck. There is a smuggler that ports in here every few days that does runs to Southington. It isn't perfect, but it is a female captain so they may be less likely to try to rape us all," Inez said wryly.

Katja snorted. "Women aren't much better, several bought me for the night back at the inn. At least they hit me less though."

As annoyed as she was at the girl, Medya reached over and slid Katja's chair over to her and pulled her into a big hug. Nobody should have had to go through that. She was vaguely aware of Inez kneeling next to them and joining them in the hug as all three of them had tears dripping down their faces and merging into a puddle on the floor. Medya realized that Katja was right in some respects. She really did like Inez a lot. She may never get to be with her, but she could at least stay nearby to help raise Katja. She didn't want to abandon either of them.