The Seeker Decides to Drop His Themed Titles

He sits down at the table as Karen finishes preparing breakfast. He begins to eat the meager meal. He realizes that, though their Father is supposed to be a well-respected member of the village, he's not wealthy.

"I'm glad Father didn't catch us last night," Karen says. "I doubt he would have forgiven us had he found out what we were doing."

The Seeker is intrigued, but he doesn't really know what to say. He decides it's best to stay silent until he's forced to speak.

"It was close, though," Karen continues. "Next time you sneak out of the house at night, try to do it more quietly. And no matter how tired you are, don't sleep in again. You know how angry Father gets." She glares at him. "I can't believe you were foolish enough to forget to change clothing when we got back. You went to sleep wearing a nightgown; had Father seen you wearing that, he might have known something was up."

The Seeker blushes. This is strange. Not only is he someone else, but he's female as well, and he's being yelled at for something that he didn't do. He tries to put it out of his mind until he can deal with it further. For now he has to pay attention to what Karen's saying.

There's a moment of silence, then Karen says, "Father is away from the village today, so I have an opportunity to go into town and ask around a bit, and purchase supplies. Unfortunately, that means that you'll have to do both of our chores today. But, if everything goes as planned, we should be able to get out of here soon."

So, it sounds as though Karen is planning on running away soon, perhaps in the next few nights. That means if he's going to act, he may have to act fast."

Karen finishes her breakfast and stands. "I guess I should get going now. I have to make sure I get back before Father returns." She walks out of the room, then returns a moment later with a cloth sack. "I'll be back in a few hours. If you need anything... uh... stay here and I'll take care of it when I get bak." She walks to the door. "If you burn the house down, come and get me so I can get my stuff." She opens the door and walks out. "Goodbye."

"Bye," The Seeker says quietly. He wants to ask her what chores he has to do, bu he realizes that as Alyssa he should probably know that. He doesn't want Karen to realize that somthing is wrong.

He stands and looks around the room, trying to figure out what he's supposed to be doing. The breakfast dishes are obviously dirty... maybe he should start with those. Unfortunately, having never washed dishes without a washing machine (and having rearely washed them with one), he's at a bit of a loss about what to do.

He sits back down and sighs. He wonders whether he'll ever return to his own life. He hopes that someone will repair Addventure reality, find out where he is, and rescue him, but somehow that doesn't seem likely. He knows how well Addventure has worked in the past. He certainly hopes he isn't trapped as Alyssa forever.

He stands and looks around the room once again. Maybe he can still find a mirror. This still doesn't seem real; until he sees his face he won't believe that he's really Alyssa.

As he returns to his room and begins to rummage through his possessions, he sets his mind to something constructive. Okay, he and Karen are apparently going to run away in a few days; he needs to decide whether he'll try to convince Karen not to join the Amazons, or simply go along with Karen and see if he can prevent the battle itself. He probably doesn't really stand a chance, as a single peasant girl, to stop the battle , but he has even less chance if he stays here in the village. Besides, if he joins the New Amazons he'll have more time to decide whether to stop the battle or not. On the other hand, if he convinces Karen to stay, then he at least spares Karen and Alyssa from the carnage.

He continues to turn this decision over in his mind. Finally...

1. ...he finds a mirror.

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