Jenn slowly opened her eyes, feeling better than she had when she fell asleep. She wasn't sure how long she'd slept, but she could see that Aeriphea was still asleep, though her patient was sitting up in his bed, looking out the window, with an expression of wonder on his face. Which made Jenn wonder if he'd just woken up himself or if he thought this was the afterlife or something. As given what he'd known of the plague, she wouldn't be surprised if he thought he'd actually died and that's why he felt so much better.
Though, as she sat up, she recalled the patient waking up before, which made her change her thinking, that maybe he was still getting used to the idea that he was still alive. Which she supposed would be natural since most thought of the plague as a means for them to die rather than merely just another illness.
Whether it was her movement or some sound that she didn't quite catch, the patient looked over at her, a smile forming on his face while she got up, wishing she had something else to sleep in, but doubted that it would matter anyway, since she doubted she'd have the desire to change in this building, since there didn't seem to be any place that was truly private enough for her tastes.
However, the patient didn't say anything as she walked over. Which made her wonder if there was a reason for that or if he just didn't like talking.
"How are you feeling this…" Jenn started to say, but then had to look outside to see if it was still in fact morning, but couldn't really tell with how bright the day was, so she chose to instead finish it with, "…day?"
The patient smiled and nodded but didn't say anything. Jenn wasn't sure if that was because he couldn't speak, for whatever reason, like she had before, or if he just didn't like to speak, which would be a whole different issue altogether.
Especially considering how it kept her from being able to get him to tell her how he was feeling right then.
So, Jenn instead decided to try talking with him, as if he was in fact responding to what she said. "That's good. So, what was it that you did before you got brought here?"
Her patient looked confused for a moment but then mimed wiping things. Jenn wasn't sure if that meant anything specific or if it was merely what he regularly did.
Regardless of which, Jenn felt like she was getting somewhere, even if it wasn't as quickly as she'd have liked.
"Can you read and write?" Jenn asked, suddenly recalled what she'd done in the past to communicate after she'd sealed her voice.
However, as she started to turn and get something to write with, her patient shook his head, dispelling the hope that communication would be made easier through that method.
"Well, anyway, I take it you work as a maid?" Jenn asked, refusing to be disheartened by the small setback.
The young man nodded, a smile forming on his face, his long, light blue hair almost seeming to move on its own to cover his face, as if he was embarrassed that Jenn had figured that out about him.
Unless Jenn was missing something, which she supposed was very possible, given she wasn't sure about her own abilities to socialize, even on Earth, let alone on this world.
"Well, I'll be giving you another treatment, just to be safe, later on, so just rest and enjoy your time here, okay?" Jenn said, patting his shoulder, which for reasons she couldn't quite explain made him blush furiously.
Though, she quickly pushed that out of her mind and turned to go. She wasn't sure when she'd get visitors to take her mind off being stuck in this place, which she could already feel the walls of the area start to close in on her with how bored she could feel herself getting. As while she could tend to the garden, she knew that she could only do so much to it before she'd run out of things to do there.
Plus, she could only sleep so much, which just made things more difficult for her. Maybe if she had something to read she'd be able to pass the time more easily, or even something simple to work on.
Yet, since there wasn't, and Aeriphea looked like she was still asleep, then that meant she didn't have anyone she could really talk to, since the patient she was talking care of seemed to be a mute. Though, she was at least happy that he could hear, which made it easier to at least know that he was listening to what she said, even if he couldn't actually respond to her.
As Jenn walked outside the building, she supposed that she could at least ask whoever came to visit her for a practice sword or something, as that would at least give her something else to do. Even if it wasn't something that she would really care to do, at least with how tired it would make her before too long.
Yet, if she wore herself out, then there was the hope that she'd be able to sleep more, which in turn would help the time go even faster while she waited here.
Not that she put much hope in that idea, since she knew things really didn't quite work that way.
However, she knew that wouldn't stop her from hoping for that. As it was at least a nice idea. One that had its appeal, regardless of how reality actually worked.
Besides, if she was worn out, then even if she didn't go to sleep, she might be more willing to just lay down and relax. Maybe even watch some clouds passing through the sky.
Shaking her head, Jenn decided to at least start jogging around the quarantined area. If nothing else it'd allow her to stay active and hopefully pass the time more than she'd have been able to do otherwise.
Not that her thoughts would leave her alone as she started to plot out a path to follow as she started jogging. If anything, they seemed to increase as her body found something to occupy itself with, leaving her mind open to whatever came through it for her to think about.
Such as Alex.
While she had been meaning to connect with her through a dream conference, she still held off. She wasn't sure if it was due to her own modesty kicking in or if she just wasn't sure about doing that in the first place, but she couldn't help but feel as if she should do that. Even if she only saw Alex's face and nothing else.
Besides, with how her body reacted towards others, like Saelea, Jenn hoped that if she did manage to get past her own modesty, that maybe she'd be able to get her body to stop reacting like that to other girls. Which Jenn hoped would help her keep from wanting to betray Alex, even though there's no way that Alex would even know that she hadn't been as faithful to Alex as she knew she should be.
Jenn was so engrossed in jogging, that she almost didn't hear someone calling out her name from the other side of the wall.
Jenn stopped when she heard that, not sure how long she'd been jogging for, just that it was at that moment that she realized she was drenched in sweat. While the sun was shining and it was a hot day, Jenn suspected that her being drenched in sweat had more to do than with that. After all, she was exerting herself more than she could recall in the past when she'd had some down time.
"Jenn!" the voice called out again. Though, this time Jenn was able to recognize it coming from Yaelish.
"Yeah? What took you so long?" Jenn called back, not sure if Yaelish had merely gotten off from a shift guarding the queen or if there was some other reason that she'd taken so long. Although, she hoped that Yaelish didn't say that she'd tried earlier but Jenn didn't respond.
"Just finished up a meeting with the other mercenary companies that are guarding the queen," Yaelish called back, stunning Jenn.
She had thought that they'd be the only company guarding the queen, but as she thought about it, she recognized her own suppositions were merely assumptions that she'd given herself, without any real reason behind them.
"Well, what did you learn? What can you tell me from that meeting like this?" Jenn called back, surprised at how her muscles seemed happy with he workout, even as they ached a little from the activity, brief as it was.
"I can't tell you anything from the meeting like this. We don't know who else could hear, but if you'd like, I can write it down and you can read it when you have a minute before burning it, just so no one else knows."
Jenn couldn't help but agree that doing that was a good idea. The reasoning was sound and it'd allow her to learn what she needed without risking others learning about what had been said. Although, part of her thought that there probably were other measures that could be taken that would ensure the same outcome, but she couldn't think of what those might be right then.
"Sounds good to me," Jenn calls back, feeling rather good about this exchange. Even if it feels a little strange to her. "Though, could you also toss me over a training sword? I'd like to have something to work with while I'm in here."
"What?! Do you know how heavy those things are!?" Yaelish yelped, making Jenn grin in amusement as she can just imagine the young woman's expression.
"Well, isn't that kind of the point?" Jenn called back, trying to keep the amusement out of her voice. "That way when I come out of quarantine, I won't have lost any tone or let my skills get rusty."
Jenn wasn't sure if that would work as well, even as the words came out of her mouth. After all, it's not like she really swung a training sword around. It was just something that she only really started thinking of doing while she was in here. Though, she supposed that it probably would be something that she might start doing even after she was done in here. If only because she recognized that she really should be acting more like a fighter in this world anyway.
Even if it was a little over the top, Jenn was certain that it would be better for her. Not to mention how it would be good for those under her to see her training each day, and maybe inspire them to do the same.
"You haven't done any of that before you went in there, so what makes you think that I'd believe you'd actually do that now?"
"Well, it's not like I have anything better to do, right? It'll be something to pass the time, if nothing else."
Yaelish sighed, and Jenn was surprised at her ability to hear something so quiet. Either Yaelish was in a spot where she didn't need to yell at her to be heard or Jenn's ears were exceptionally good right then. Though, she supposed that it was possible that Yaelish had sighed much louder than she usually did, but that was quickly pushed out of her mind since she couldn't see a reason for Yaelish to be sighing so loudly.
"Fine. I'll see what I can do. Maybe I can convince Embris to throw it over. She might buy that it's a test of her strength," Yaelish remarked, making Jenn grin with her idea of how to get Embris to do it instead of her.
"Whoever tosses it, I'll appreciate it," Jenn replied, satisfied that she'd be getting the sword soon enough. "Though, we could also use some more provisions. They didn't really give us that much to work with and I kind of used up a good amount making us a stew that, while tasty, only lasted a couple meals for all three of us."
"Three? Shouldn't there have been a healer in there already?" Pohlea suddenly asked, surprising Jenn.
"Maybe? I really don't know. All I can say is that the only person in here was the patient when Aeriphea and I came in here," Jenn answered, feeling a little unsure about telling Pohlea that much. "You'd have to ask the chief healer about that, since I really don't know anything more than what I said."
Pohlea didn't say anything more, which Jenn supposed was the most she could have hoped for. Though, she did wish that she could talk with the woman more so she could get to know her, since she had a feeling that they'd be working together for at least a while.
"So, aside from the food and a practice sword, anything else you'd like us to toss over?"
Maybe a newspaper everyday? Jenn asked silently, pretty sure that they didn't have anything like that in this world, nor did she expect Yaelish to get it if she said it as a joke.
"Nothing that comes to mind, but if I think of anything, I'll ask it when you come by with the supplies," Jenn replied, not sure what else she could ask for. After all, she doubted that she'd need that much, although she supposed that might be a different story if she knew that they had modern conveniences here. Such as if they had a CD player or something, so she could listen to music, but since she knew that they didn't have anything like that, she quickly pushed it out of her mind.
"Oh, by the way, before I can forget, how is your dancing? Pohlea mentioned at the meeting that if you're guarding the queen during a ball, you'll be expected to dance if you're not positioned by her," Yaelish added, sounding like this was an afterthought.
Jenn wasn't sure how to respond right away. She wasn't sure if she should actually say anything, but at the same time knew that if she didn't say anything, she might end up in a position worse than the homecoming dance she'd gone to with Alex. Namely the fact that she could only dance during the slow dances for reasons that she still hadn't been able to figure out.
Not that she'd had much time to work through it. At least with everything that was going on even at that time.
"I guess it's enough that I don't fall over on myself," Jenn replied, not sure what the best way to describe that she didn't know how to dance without actually saying it. As she was pretty sure that 'slow dancing' here was more elaborate than what she did at that homecoming dance that seemed almost like another lifetime ago.
While Jenn wasn't sure how her response would be received, she didn't actually expect it to be met with silence, which was what it seemed to be what Yaelish was doing. Though, Jenn was a little surprised that the memories that weren't hers didn't contain anything about any dances in her mind. While it would have been helpful, Jenn supposed that she couldn't rely on those memories to help her out of any possible situation that she could potentially find herself in this world.
Eventually, though, Yaelish did respond. "I'll see if I can get someone to tutor you. We have someone who's showing every mercenary the basic steps, but I can't say if they'll be available to show you the steps yourself when you get out of there."
Jenn couldn't argue with that, although she was at least pleased that there was a solution that could potentially help her out. One that she had a feeling would probably looked more normal than if she'd have been able to dance whatever dances they had in this world without having needed to get an instructor to at least show her the steps.
"Uh, maybe you could get an instructor to show me the steps through the gate and I could practice them in here?" Jenn asked, suddenly getting the idea. After all, she couldn't work with the sword the entire time she was in here, right?
"I can ask, but I doubt any instructor will want to get too close to the quarantined area. Not with someone already in there who has the plague."
Jenn shrugged, even though she knew that action couldn't be seen. "It was a thought," Jenn said, not really surprised that Yaelish was hesitant on the chances of it actually succeeding.
"Is there anything else you'd like to know or want?" Yaelish asked, despite the fact that they'd already gone over that point already.
"Not really. Though, do you know when we'd actually need to know those dance steps?"
"Nothing was said, just that we'd need them if we're on duty when they have a party or other large gathering. Pohlea didn't really tell us much on that subject. Just that we'd be expected to at least know the dance steps, even if we couldn't keep up with the nobility on their dancing."
Jenn wasn't sure how she felt about that response but doubted that she'd need to worry too much about it. At least right then. What she needed to focus on at the moment was getting through the next couple weeks without losing her mind from boredom. Something she had a feeling she was going to deal with until Yaelish could get Embris to toss her the practice sword.
"Well, take care. I'm not sure when we'll be able to send you what you asked for, but Embris should be by with at least the sword by the end of the day."
Jenn smiled, grateful at that much. Even if she didn't get the food supplies right away, it wouldn't matter since they still had plenty to work with at the moment. Jenn mostly asked for it so that she'd be able to know that it's in the works and the sooner it got started, the sooner they would be able to send the supplies over.
Besides, it wasn't like the palace would be able to complain, since those in the quarantined area all pretty much worked in the palace as well.
"Talk to you next time," Jenn called back after Yaelish, hoping that nothing major would happen while she was out. Or at least nothing that she would consider major. As she had a feeling others might have a different perspective on things like that.