Lady Madison was under a tree, enjoy the shade and the book Hilde lent her. She took joy in simple things like that. She breathed deep and exhaled, taking in a cool breeze before reading more.
Then, Hilde plopped down next to her. "Still enjoying the book, huh?"
"I am. I really have to thank you for letting me read it."
"Anything for Lady Madison." Hilde crossed her legs and wipe sweat off her brow. "So, what's it like to be Lady Madison? To be adored by girls and women as a mighty female warrior they aspire to be, yet still be hot enough for the guys to drool over, while having the charisma to keep subordinates of both genders in line?"
That was a mouthful of a question. But, she had a simple answer. "I try my best not to think about it. I just go out and serve my Empire as best as I can. My fame will fade away one day when someone more powerful than me comes along, but my loyalty and devotion to Empora won't."
Hilde sighed. "So cool..."
She and Hilde went on to talk about books they like. She realized that they had a lot in common when it came to books. They had read many of the same ones.
Audrixia wandered over. "Mind if I join you?"
"Go ahead."
Audrixa sat on her other side. "To think, I'm sitting next to the one and only Lady Madison."
"It's not that big a deal."
"Ha, 'not a big deal,' she says," Audrixia laughed. "Maybe not for you because you see yourself everyday. But for those of us who have only heard songs and stories and only seen pictures, it's a dream come true. Speaking of pictures, you're usually depicted wearing a full suit of Emporan armor. When did you start wearing such sexy armor?"
She was kind of embarrassed upon hearing this. "When I met Shalista. Don't worry. I'll go back to my usual armor when my vacation is over. Anyway, what made you decide to become sexy warriors and why are you wearing the same armor as the rest of us?"
"When we met Shalista," Hilde said.
"Hilde, Akiko, and I all just happened to meet up here as we asked the farmer if he would kindly provide us with lodgings for the night," Audrixia said. "That's when we saw her carrying you. She tried to recruit us on sight. She took us back to town to get us fitted for the armor. I always wondered where women bought such armor."
Before Shalista, she would have never considered wearing such a thing. "So, how do you feel?"
"It still feels a little weird being so...exposed," Audrixia answered.
"I know, right?" Hilde said. "I went from wearing big, elegant robes to wearing something that barely even qualifies as underwear within minutes. It's kind of embarrassing."
"And yet here we all are, hanging together, wearing it quite comfortable," Audrixia said. "If nothing else, it says something about Shalista. Just look how she reduced every single one of us to this with virtually no resistance. Even the mighty Lady Madison isn't immune to it."
"She does seem quite persuasive," Lady Madison said. "She's not a bad person, though. Maybe a little handsy when it comes to rear ends, but otherwise she hasn't done anything wrong or come off as deceptive. I can say I'm glad I met her."
Eventually, Akiko sauntered over. "Hey, kids. You have some kind of book-reading club under the trees."
"Kids?" Lady Madison said. "I'm thirty-two years old."
"I've still got you beat," Akiko said. "I'm thirty-six...kid."
She hadn't expected that. "Seriously. But you're so...small. How do you do it?"
"When you do work that involves stealth, it's good to be small," Akiko said. "Obviously, there are exceptions, such as your sunbathing friend. In general, you want to be small, lithe, and mobile. It takes a lot to stay this size at my age, but I make it work."
Before she knew it, she'd spent hours talking to Akiko, Audrixia, and Hilde. It was dusk. They weren't a shabby group of women. She was glad she'd gotten to spend some alone time with them.
And then Shalista made her way over. "Cordelia says she saw a group of animals in the distance headed this way. It's likely the wolves."
Lady Madison stood. "I'm on the way." Then she looked back at Audrixia, Akiko, and Hilde. "Well, are you ready to work?"
They all stood and, in unison, said, "Yes."
Lady Madison turned the toward and farm entryway and said, "Okay. Let's go slaughter some puppies."
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