Ah, she missed her crime shows. Nurse Taylor had been obsessed with them; Jade hadn’t been that interested, but she’d ended up picking up a lot more than she thought, clearly out of boredom. All three of them looked fascinated by her explanation.
Brady was the first to talk. “I suppose, depending on how deep the wounds were, that would be a good indicator of strength as well, and you’re right, with the angle of wounds, you could tell more or less what weapons were used.” Jade nodded, eating happily after her explanation. She didn’t want her food to get cold!
Stephen was still pondering as he muttered, “We question people, but I don’t think we’ve ever looked for something like hair…” She grinned, glad he’d been successfully distracted. At least the concept wasn’t new, even if the word was.
In the meantime, Victor, Camille, and Will had placed their orders and plopped down at the table beside them. Brady looked a little surprised at the royal company until Camille asked brightly, “How’d your weapons practice go?”
Jade turned and half hugged the girl beside her. “It went great, but did you have to buy the whole armory?” The two of them laughed while everyone but Brady looked confused.
“Well duh. You needed to be fully outfitted! Aside from that, what’s with your outfit? Did you decide you didn’t like it after all?” Camille was plucking at her clothes, and Victor coughed cutely and looked away at the fact that her bare skin was being exposed. It looked like she might need to change…
Jade shrugged and smiled. “I thought I’d create a new fashion statement, that’s all.” She wasn’t going to throw Brady under the bus again just yet. He still had lots to teach her! Still, Camille gave Brady the stink eye all the same. Why ask if she knew the answer? Jade reached up, pushing Camille’s head gently so she couldn’t see Brady anymore and redirecting her attention to the food in front of her that Estelle had just put down with a bow. Apparently, being royal got you fast service. “Stop glaring and eat the good food.” Will choked on his food, obviously not able to eat and laugh at the same time, and Victor took the chance to pound him soundly on the back, as all brothers were wont to do.
Camille shook her head ruefully at their antics, then said to Jade, “Still, you should probably change. Do you have any spare clothes here?”
Jade shook her head. “Nope, I didn’t realize I would need any. They’re all back at The Green Dragon.” Camille looked thoughtful, then nodded.
“Alright. It’s probably fine for today, but bring spares in the future.”
“Will do.” She winked at Will as she said that, causing him to choke and turn red again, and everyone else at the table burst into laughter. With the blond angels clumped at their table, no one else dared to join them, despite their rank and influence as professors. Their meal was thus nice and peaceful, and small talk was made about everyone’s classes that morning until the food was gone.
Jade sat back, rubbing her belly happily, but glad that her body wasn’t overwhelming her with the need to burp. The whole table was still staring at her in awe as Brady said, “I didn’t think you’d actually be able to finish it all…”
She laughed. “Oh ye of little faith. I haven’t wasted any food since I came to this world.”
Eric laughed too, saying admiringly, “I’m going to agree with what Raphael told me on this one; I think she’s got a black hole in there. How else does it all fit at once?”
Jade leaned forward conspiratorially, then said quietly, “Very, very carefully.” Everyone laughed, and she shrugged. “I have no idea either. I just eat until my body says enough. I probably have something magical where it leeches the energy from the food faster. That’s my only explanation. My stomach is certainly not big enough to have fit the five plates I just ate.” Seriously, she felt full, but it wasn’t uncomfortable. The only explanation was magic. Science was stumped at this point.
Looking at the royals, she asked curiously, “So, are you guys sticking around for afternoon classes?”
Victor answered easily, “Will’s got history after this, and then Camille and I come back for stonecrafting at three. We’re also all doing the business class at eight. But we’ll all be here the whole time because Dad’s arranged for tutors when we aren’t in the actual classes.” Jade nodded, pondering the information. It made sense that the royal family would be pretty strict on their education. They were expected to be the best, after all.
“Well, at least I’ll see you all tonight in business then! And probably for dinner too, now that I think about it.” She glanced at Eric and Stephen, grinning like a cheshire cat as she wheedled, “So, which of you is going to get me in here at dinner? I don’t want the bad food on fifth.”
Everyone laughed, and Victor was the one who interjected instead of Eric or Stephen like she’d expected. “It hasn’t been used in a while, so everyone probably forgot. As a traveler, you can eat here as you like. I’ll remind the staff so you don’t need an escort.”
“Oh, well that makes things easier! Is it open between meals?” Her eyes were shining as she thought of sneaking in here if she ever had a break.
Will laughed and shook his head. “Not really. They might have a few things, but they’re mostly prepping before the set times.”
Jade sighed. Too good to be true, though there was still some hope that they’d sneak her something. “Alright, I suppose I understand.” Glancing down, she took out her pocket watch to look at the time. There were still about twenty minutes before she needed to be in her fire class, but…
“Anyone else going to Magnus? I think I’m going to head off and grab my cloak from my workroom so I’m a bit more covered for the rest of my classes.” Camille nodded approvingly, but it turned out that only Stephen was going that way.
“I’ll escort you. I’ve got to grab something from my office.” He was smiling charmingly, and Jade grinned back, fully aware it was a bunch of bull. He just wanted to talk to her privately. Bidding the others farewell and laughing when Will and Victor both tried to avoid looking at her bared skin through the slits, she left arm in arm with Stephen.
They had made it outside the building and were walking through the sunshine, her sunglasses firmly fixed on her face again as he asked in a softly compelling voice, “So, do you want to tell me why you trapped Christopher at the gate? And how you did it?”
She turned her head to look at him, studying his profile for a moment before she answered finally, “I get that you want to keep me safe, but I can take care of myself, even more so after today. I don’t like being followed and my every movement tracked. I realize that as a royal spymaster, that’s your job. I get it, and I don’t blame you, but it doesn’t mean I like it. My every breath was monitored in my old world, and I’m a little tired of it.”
She paused, then went on in a solemn voice, “I want to be able to trust you. You’re my friend, and I know you care. But I don’t want to be your job. I get that as a traveler, there’re a lot of expectations that come with the privileges I’ve received. I explored the church and heard the story. It scared me a bit.” She paused, trying to find the right words. “I just…want to be friends. I don’t want you reporting on my every move to the king, but if I can’t have that, then I’m going to continue carving time out for myself. I’ll evade your trackers and go exploring on my own, just for the freedom of not being watched.”