Beth couldn't say that she was happy with how long Ralph took. She wasn't really surprised, but she would have liked him to have gotten his part done with quicker than he had. At least with how Amelia seemed to be chomping at the bit to get things going. Making her wonder if Amelia was getting desperate to get out of this castle with the treatment she was getting from the staff, not to mention Kystia and the Marquis.
"So, the best I can think of is that it'd take at least a few months before the marquis would be able to finish a ship for us," Ralph said as he entered Amelia's room, where they were having their meeting. Again. Not to mention the last one to arrive.
"Was that the estimate Heanith gave you?" Tim asked, looking like he was as bored with this whole subject as Beth was.
Ralph shook his head as he sat down. "Nope. I had to go to the marquis for that information. Heanith pretty much told me that she's able to build the engine for the ship to fly at the same speed as it takes the ship to be built."
Beth felt a little surprised at that revelation. She'd have expected the engine to require more time than the ship itself. Though, as she looked at Ralph, she couldn't help but wonder if he was telling them everything he'd learned or if there was something he was holding back.
Not that it mattered really. As if he was holding something back, Beth was confident it'd come out sooner or later.
"So, in other words, we have to wait until the ship is complete before we can begin our plan of finding a theatre troupe, huh?" Amelia asked, sounding like she'd just heard Christmas had been cancelled. Though, Beth couldn't help but wonder if they even celebrated anything like Christmas on this world. Or even how long they'd been gone from Earth, Beth realized. She doubted any of her friends had been keeping track, and she certainly hadn't been keeping track of how long they'd been gone. A fact that made her wonder exactly just how long it'd been since they'd left Earth.
Had any of them had a birthday since then?
"Beth? Hello?" Hannah called out to Beth, even though she was sitting right next to her, even going so far as to wave her hand in front of Beth's eyes. "You in there?"
"Yeah, I'm 'in there' and am here," Beth complained, pushing Hannah's hand away from her face. "What's the problem?"
"Well, we were asking you for your opinion and you were rather quiet," Amelia said, looking too amused for Beth's comfort.
Just how long had she spaced out this time?
"Well, what was it that you needed my opinion on?" Beth asked, a sinking feeing starting to form around her stomach.
"Just that we were wondering how long you thought it'd take to look into seeing if Charlie was where that settlement was being built just on the other side of the gate we'd entered this world from," Wes answered, looking almost as interested as Amelia was. Which made Beth feel a little more uncomfortable about the whole situation than she had initially.
"Probably a week to get there, maybe a little longer," Beth mused, hoping that they weren't thinking of having her join them. As she'd rather endure Kystia's classes than have to return there. At least as long as she could be certain that woman was there. Since she had a feeling her up and leaving like she had probably hadn't gone over very well for that woman.
"So, about twice that if we added a round trip, right?" Amelia asked, looking like she was as serious about this as she had been about getting away from the Marquis.
Beth nodded slowly, hoping she wasn't making a mistake with actually giving an estimate to her friends. "Though, we'd have to add a little more if we were to actually try and see if Charlie was there, since she could just as easily be on an errand or something."
"So, maybe a week to search for Charlie?" Tim asked, sounding like he, Wes, Hanna, and Amelia were on the same wavelength when it came to these questions.
Beth glanced at Ralph but could tell immediately that he wasn't going to be any help. Not with the spaced out, disinterested look he had on his face. Which let her know that she was entirely on her own with this line of questioning. Though, as she looked at Amelia, she at least could see that Amelia wasn't beyond reason. At least at the moment.
"Actually, it probably would need to be less than that," Beth replied, hoping that they could move on already from this topic. "As the settlement wasn't that large. I think I heard someone there talking about another place that they had people staying, though that was on this side of the gate. I think."
"So, it might even take longer to find that other place, if Charlie is there, right?" Amelia asked, a glint on her eyes that Beth had a feeling meant that Amelia was approaching the line of being reasonable.
She hoped she was wrong, but she had a feeling she shouldn't try to push the matter any further than she had. Especially since she was getting the feeling that she'd be required to accompany them on whatever trip or expedition they had in mind. That opting out wasn't going to be allowed for her. Though, another glance at Ralph made her wonder if the same would be applied to him or if she'd be singled out simply because she'd been to that settlement herself.
"I guess," Beth said when it became clear to her that everyone, except maybe Ralph, were waiting for her to give an response to Amelia's question.
"So, we should plan an a three week trip, right?" Wes asked, looking like he was ready to go right then.
"No, four weeks," Amelia corrected. "One week to get there and another to get back, then the other two weeks in case it takes that long to find the other settlement as well as time to look around for Charlie in either settlement."
Beth had to admit Amelia's logic sounded rather reasonable, even though Beth had a feeling that Amelia was still close to being unreasonable if things didn't keep going in the direction that she had been wanting. A fact that Beth hoped wouldn't happen while she was around. As she didn't want to have to deal with either the fallout of that happening or being in the area of effect of her being unreasonable in general.
"So, I'll get on gathering the supplies we'll need for that, okay?" Wes said, suddenly sounding like he was eager to make his own escape. Making Beth wonder if he was really as onboard with Amelia's idea or if he was biding his own time, hoping that the focus wouldn't center on him unexpectedly.
At which point, Beth had a feeling she needed to ask another question of Amelia. One that she had a feeling could easily backfire on her in ways she'd rather not have to deal with right then. Even though she had a feeling this needed to happen sooner rather than later. Especially with the way that Amelia was getting and how even Wes was doing what he could to remain cautious of her.
"Is being around the Marquis and his daughter really that much of a problem?" Beth asked before Wes' question could be answered. Though, while she secretly enjoyed the expression that appeared on Wes' face at her asking her question, she couldn't help but feel for him as it was clear he didn't want to spend any more time at this meeting than he had to.
"What do you mean?" Amelia demanded, her eyes hardening at the same time they almost looked like they were starting to blaze with an internal fire that hadn't been there a moment ago.
Beth shrugged as if it wasn't that important. "Just that you almost seem like a different person lately. It makes me wonder if maybe you'd getting desperate to be away from here or if you just can't stand the way you're getting treated here."
Amelia stared at Beth, her mouth hanging open, clearly at a loss for what to say in response.
"Should we really be talking about this now?" Hannah asked, looking like she was preparing for an eruption herself.
However, the expected eruption didn't occur. Instead, Amelia merely sagged before sinking to the ground, looking like she had become a broken robot that couldn't hold herself up anymore Beth wasn't sure if that was the best way to describe it, only that she couldn't think of another way to explain what happened. As it almost seemed like Amelia had strings holding her up that suddenly weren't there anymore, which is where she 'sagged' then her eyes took on almost a lifeless look as she sank to the ground.
"I think you broke her," Tim remarked, looking confused about how to react to this development.
"Amelia, are you okay?" Hannah asked, concern etched into her expression.
Beth watched as Hannah started shaking Amelia's shoulder, something that didn't seem to snap Amelia out of the state she'd entered. All it did was cause her body to move with Hannah's shaking and after a minute of doing that, Hannah stopped, looking at a loss for what to do from there.
"Anyone got a bucket of water handy?" Ralph asked casually, though it was clear what he had in mind with that bucket.
"Sure we're at that point?" Wes asked, looking skeptical.
Ralph merely shrugged indifferently. "Not really, but I'm sure it'd be effective."
"Maybe but I wouldn't let you do that to Amelia without good reason," Hannah remarked, sounding as if she was willing to sacrifice herself to protect Amelia.
"It's okay," Amelia said, her voice sounding almost hollow. As if she'd given up or something. When she looked at Beth, her eyes were a mix of looking unfocused and fear. Something Beth hadn't expected to see in her friend. "To answer your question, I'm not sure anymore."
"Wait, how can you not be sure?" Ralph asked, though his voice didn't hold the sarcasm or flippant tone that Beth would have expected him to have right then. "Shouldn't your reaction have gone hand in hand with being sure about that one way or another?"
"I wouldn't know," Amelia replied to Ralph without looking at him, or even glancing in his general direction. "All I can say is that I'm not sure if I really know anymore about with the Marquis and Kystia."
"Wait, I thought you were certain that you couldn't have had a life with them," Hannah said, sounding almost like she was afraid that Amelia had somehow betrayed her.
"It's like this," Amelia said, sounding closer to herself, though she still looked terrible with the way her eyes made her look small and scared. "Heathcliff plans on sending us back in time once we return to Earth, back to when we left, right?"
Beth couldn't help but nod with her other friends, agreeing that doing just that was part of the plan. A plan that almost seemed like it was another lifetime ago somehow.
"Well, the longer I've been around the Marquis and Kystia, the more I have to wonder if maybe I am Kystia's mother, just that hasn't happened to me… yet."
Beth had to admit. She hadn't seen that coming. Not with Amelia giving in to the idea that she could possibly be Kystia's mother. A fact that made it seem impossible at first glance. Although, Amelia's theory did fill in some of the holes that had been circling around her about how she could be Kystia's mother as well as the Marquis' wife.
"Well, if that's what's in your future, what do you plan on doing about it?" Tim asked, making Beth kick herself for not thinking of asking just that first.
Amelia slowly turned towards Tim, her eyes regaining some of her usual confidence, making her almost look lost right then. "Is there anything I can do?"
Hannah sighed, shaking her head, making Beth wonder if she was more upset with how her best friend was acting, especially since it wasn't like her to be like this. "You know what? I think it would be good for you to get out of here for a while," she said, her tone sounding like she was ready to hit something, regardless of if it'd help or not.
Beth nodded. If anything, another trip would probably help get Amelia distracted from thoughts like that. Or at least she hoped it would. Even though it wouldn't solve the underlying problem with what she'd already said about her thoughts with the Marquis and his daughter. Though, that'd be a problem for a later date. One that they could tackle once they themselves had time to wrap their minds around it.
"Though, I'd need to stay here as Kystia's bodyguard," Beth added, earning a sharp look from her friends. Even Amelia managed to join in on that, which made an odd mix of looking lost and aggravated with her.
"Actually, we'd need you to help guide us once we got there," Hannah said, her tone indicating that Beth wouldn't be allowed to opt out of this.
"Really? I thought you'd want to be the one to help Amelia out on the trip rather than staying behind," Beth remarked, unable to stop herself from giving Hannah a knowing smile.
Hannah looked like she was caught in a trap. Where she planned on going, but she was the other person who the Marquis had chosen as a bodyguard for his daughter. Making it clear that at least one of them were supposed to remain present around his daughter, even if they weren't constantly at her side. Yet, it looked like Hannah wanted to go as well, even as she expected Beth to join them as well.
As Hannah opened her mouth to reply, Tim remarked, "It probably wouldn't be good to have Kystia accompany us, would it? I mean, not with Amelia needing to get time away from them, right?"
Hannah looked towards Tim, looking like she was the one lost now. Though, she didn't seem to be able to come up with a response other than just looking at him. Beth looked at her other friends, not sure if there was anything else to say, even as she knew that the conversation really wasn't over just yet.
"Let's look at it this way," Wes interjected. "Beth, how large was the community when you got there? On the other side of the gate, I mean."
Beth felt glad for the slight change in topic. One that might let her move the idea of her staying into a more solid position.
"Not that large," Beth said quickly, before anyone else could say anything. "Maybe about the size of this castle at the largest."
Wes nodded, as if he expected that answer. "So, since that's all that Beth's seen, I don't see why we wouldn't be able to navigate it ourselves and let her remain here. As it certainly wouldn't help us to have her with us to show us around an area that we'd be able to acclimate ourselves to on our own."
"Wes does have a point," Tim commented, almost begrudgingly, making Beth wonder if Tim had been on the side of making her join them and leaving Hannah to guard Kystia.
"Fine," Hannah said, looking annoyed. "You can stay Beth. We'll all take a trip ourselves to see if we can find Charlie there, or at least a trace of her. If we can't, we'll see if we can find the other settlement that Beth heard about when she was there and if we can find it, we'll see if we can find Charlie there."
"Sounds like a plan to me," Ralph remarked, starting to get up from where he'd been sitting. "That means the meeting's over, right?"
Hannah rolled her eyes, even as Amelia spoke, her voice sounding rather defeated, a stark contrast to how she'd been at the start of the meeting, though given her breakdown in the middle of the meeting, Beth couldn't say that she was really that surprised.
"Fine. Go ahead an leave. It's not like we'd make much progress otherwise."
Beth hesitated to climbing to her feet, even as Tim and Wes did themselves. She was concerned with how Amelia was acting right then. Maybe her words were truly what she was feeling right then, but if that was the case, she was more than a little surprised that she'd managed to keep it hidden from even Hannah, given how surprised Hannah had looked when Amelia had put out the possibility that she really was potentially Kystia's mother. Just not at this time in her own timeline.
The thought brought to mind something she'd heard in a movie based of a TV show on the Disney Channel. 'Time travel: it's a cornucopia of disturbing concepts'. A point that Beth would say this moment was proving true. Especially given how Amelia was reacting to the possibility herself.
Although, she had to admit, that while the theory filled in some of the holes around why Amelia was being mistaken for her, it didn't fill in all of them. Such as how Kystia's mother was supposed to be the previous marquis' daughter, that the marquis only took the position because he married kystia's mother, which is how he'd become the marquis. Although, Beth didn't really understand how it worked that the marquis was the one in charge when his wife was the one who had been the one who had been the one who should otherwise have inherited the title. Or whatever.
Beth sighed as she pushed the thoughts out of her mind. Maybe it had to do with titles of nobility that Beth really didn't understand herself. If she did, maybe she'd understand how that worked. As she found it otherwise mind boggling of the way she understood it right then.
Though, right then she needed to see if there was anything she could do to help Amelia work through this problem. After all, it was clear she was struggling with it on her own.