The Way Back (Champions of the Crystal Book 4)

Chapter 6.3

Sabrina half woke to find someone shaking her shoulder, gently but insistently. She groaned in protest and tried to roll away, but the grip remained, shaking harder. "Just a minute more," she yawned. "What's the use in being Regent if I can't even decide when to wake up?"

A low chuckle answered her, and she rolled over with a resigned sigh and smiled blearily. "Oh, all right. Good morning. How did you sleep?"

"Not well. Are you awake, Sabrina?" Ford asked, raising his eyebrows at her affectionate expression.

Sabrina blinked hard and came fully awake with a little gasp. "Sorry," she said, feeling her cheeks warm. "I thought you were—someone else."

"I thought so," he said ruefully. "I think Varla's on her way up. Doubtless I'll be in the lab again all day today. What are you going to do?"

"Should I tell you? What if she gets it out of you?"

"She won't."

"Just a little excursion to see if anybody I know is around," she said. "I don't have any real definite plan. I'll be careful, don't worry. And I'll be back before you are."

"See that you are," he warned. "It would take very little for Varla to forget how useful I am."

"Well, I won't forget how useful you are," she smiled. "Thanks for blocking those dreams."

"It was my pleasure," he said, grinning. "Yours were much more fun to watch." He laughed at her dismayed expression and said, "I was only teasing, don't worry. Your privacy is intact. But someday I must definitely remember to look up who had the privilege of shaking the Lady Regent awake and having her smile at them so charmingly."

It was Sabrina's turn to be rueful. "I'm afraid most of the time my household staff went in terror of my bad moods. None of them would ever have called me charming when I woke up." Did I actually ever smile at Tassan in the mornings? It seemed we were always in a hurry. We had so little time....

They heard a commotion outside, and Sabrina shook herself back to the business at hand. "Have a nice day at the office, dear."

Ford grinned appreciatively and bent to lift her hand to his lips. "And happy hunting, dear," he replied in the same tone. Then he got up and walked to the door. "Do something about this appalling squalor today, if you can. And have a nice dinner waiting. And do try to find something more appealing to wear. I like to have something nice to look at when I'm tired."

"Yes, Master," Sabrina said meekly as the door opened. Varla had not bothered to come herself this morning; a guard was Ford's only escort. Sabrina hoped that meant Varla was losing interest in what Ford did outside the laboratory.

She went back to sleep for a while, hoping the guard outside would do the same. It was full daylight when she woke again, and she quickly slipped into her combat suit. This one, the spare, had never been used, and it wasn't quite as soft and flexible as the other one, so it took her some time to get it properly adjusted. Then she had to run a startup diagnostic on it through the wrist panel since she hadn't been able to find her spare helmet, scolding herself all the while for not doing this last night when she had more time.

Then she grabbed the scanner and stunner, leaving the blaster hidden under Ford's pillow in case he might need it, and heaped the bedclothes over her pillow so that, at a glance, it appeared someone was sleeping there. Hopefully no one would check on her, but if they did, she thought they would probably do no more than look from the doorway. Or, if she didn't make it back, Ford might be able to fool the guards long enough to get to the blaster. She remembered telling him, at some point in the night, that she intended to leave it for him. At least she thought she had. She hoped she hadn't just dreamed it. At any rate, surely he would search the bed for clues if she didn't make it back.