Princess Rescue Inc 3 Snippet 2

 Still in chapter 1...

Doctor Sue Carter felt her hair ripple as she wandered the battlements. She had needed to stretch her legs after the cabinet meeting.

Her time was taken up entirely too much by meetings. As a doctor, she understood it; you had to make sure everyone was on the same page. You also needed to be there to discuss problems and put your two cents in to make sure your voice was heard and that medicine was progressing as a field and not stagnating from neglect.

Well, that wasn't going to happen. Not on her watch. Which was why she put her time in. At least Eugene and Deidra didn't make her sit in on parliament or other meetings. She shivered slightly.

She ran her fingertips through her hair and then went back to the counsel room. When she found it abandoned, she turned to a page. “Are we done?”

“Yes, Doctor,” he replied with a nod.

“Okay. Glad I checked I guess,” she said as she checked her phone. Phone service was solid in the capital but spotty outside it. She noted the time and then called Wanda. “Hey, I'm free.”

“Cool. Charlie just checked in. She said you took off as soon as you could.”

“Yeah, I was getting a headache. Anything new happening?”

“Nope. No fires, no major accidents.”

“Okay. I'll check-in with the U and then maybe kick it for the night.”

“Bully on you, girl. Wanna do our nails? Wine and movie night? And don't tell me you plan to grade papers. I'll … I'll … bury you in them!”

Sue laughed softly.

“That's what TAs and grad students are for,” Wanda complained.

“Okay, okay. I'll check …,” she caught herself as she was about to say in with Zara or Deidra. “Um …”

“Charlie's free. She said she'd give me her rundown on how the cabinet meeting went. So come on, live a little, gal, you earned it,” Wanda said in a properly wheedling tone of voice.

“Well … okay,” Sue said as she turned and headed to Wanda's tower. “You talked me into it.”

“That's the spirit!” Wanda replied with a grin. “See you in a bit?”

“Sooner than you think,” Sue said as she changed course for the tower.

Security might need to carry her back to her suite later, but that was then. For the moment, she was going to enjoy the rare free evening with her friends.

^^^^^^

“Should I be going?” Eugene asked, looking at Deidra over the suitcase. He could tell she was distressed by the separation. He was too; he didn't like leaving her with her morning sickness.

He had returned from Duluth three local months ago, just after the Caliope Caravan incident. He hadn't planned on going back north again until fall, but parliament was making noises and Zara seemed in need of additional hand holding.

He'd also promised to be there when they opened several more factories and to help set up two that were a bit tricky. Trying to explain what to do over the radio when they ran into issues had proven tougher than he'd expected, so he knew he had to go.

“Yes,” she finally said. He hugged her gently. “It's the right thing to do.”

He sighed. He heard the leader in that voice, but also the doubt. She knew the risks of flying, of travel. But she also knew it was important.

“Besides, we promised Zara, and well …”

“We're committed to Duluth's recovery,” he supplied for her when she faltered and her shoulders shook.

“Something like that,” Deidra replied.

Duluth's recovery was still an ongoing process. Deidra refused to invest again in the country since they were struggling to repay back the loans she'd already made. There were some in the Duluth parliament who were resentful over it. Reports trickled in that they were sullen. “You did nothing to warn us, to stop the coup, or to help us. In an annus, I will reconsider it,” had been sent to those who had called her out on the lack of progress.

“Those who helped were rewarded with new titles and lands. And we're giving them discounts,” she said.

“But it isn't enough,” he said.

“No.”

“They think that we're keeping them under the Imperial boot. Forcing them to pay back for the war,” he said. She shook her head.

“I know, love; it's more than that. If you'd gone that route, you would have taken a page from the Romans or the English,” he said. She turned to him. “The English conquered their northern neighbor Scotland. In order to stop the frequent attempts at revolt, they committed genocide. They went around and killed many of the first-born males in the prominent homes. Later they drafted the Scottish males into their army and navy and sent them overseas to die in the colonial wars.”

She blinked and then shook her head.

“I know, I know, you aren't that way. But I'm just quoting an event from my history as a reference.”

She nodded. “I won't deny that it has happened. But you counseled me on the eye-for-an-eye thing. As much as I resent the war and … losses,” she didn't mention her little brother's death or her and her sister's rape but he could feel it lingering in the air. “I know there are some good people there now. They are working on it.”

“Right. And they have a say in their future. And we're working on parliament here, one that will incorporate the Imperium and Duluth together.”

She nodded.

“It's just going to take time,” he murmured.

She nodded. She watched him quietly as he finished packing. When she couldn't stand it anymore, she got up and pulled him into her arms and then down to the bed.

“One more for the road?” he teased in a husky whisper as he smiled.

“Shut up and get busy,” she growled huskily.

He chuckled and complied.

^^^^^^