"Define 'vacation,'" Beth demanded suspiciously when she recovered from her surprise.

"A vacation is a set period of time that you plan in advance to take time away from your work and relax. It usually involves taking a trip to somewhere considered picturesque, exotic, or simply relaxing," he began seriously explaining.

"Mortaine, I know what a vacation is. What do you mean when you say we need to take one for our next job?" Beth practically growled. Blood on the couch next to her had her eyes narrowed and her ears laid back flat against her head.

"And this is exactly what I mean," he replied with a chuckle. "You need to take a bit of time off and blow off some steam. Don't worry, even the very best and most powerful know to take a break."

"OK, but that still doesn't explain anything," Beth said.

"Yes, yes. I have some business with the Blue Queen, in particular in regards to a certain book that I believe someone now has in their possession. I will need you to take her some things, deliver a message, and do some things for her," Mortaine explained. "And it's not at all a bad deal for you, considering the task isn't very urgent. You'll have plenty of time to enjoy yourselves."

"But, I'm still not getting what the vacation part has to do with this job?" Beth said with a bit of a frown.

"The Blue Queen is currently at one of her resorts, which is where you will have to find her. She can be hard to track down but I have the location through a good source. To reach the resort, you have to teleport to a specific planet, go to one of her establishments, pass the check there, and teleport using their private pad to the resort world," Mortaine answered.

"And you want us to just…relax after doing that?" Beth asked, eyebrows scrunched up.

"Well, essentially, yes," Mortaine responded. "I've asked in the message for you to have a little time off before taking care of your next task."

"And so she knows this now?"

"Well, no," Mortaine said with a small frown. "I'm sending the message with you. Communicators are all well and fine, but some of us are still a bit paranoid about them and prefer to use live courier for certain important messages. You will be my courier, both for the message and several items, after which you will have some time to relax at a luxury resort."

"Do you know what she wants us to do?" Beth asked.

"Likely retrieve an item," Mortaine shrugged. "Her mercenary company does all kinds of work, but they are highly in demand around the galaxy. They are also, I have to say, more specialized in fighting…other people. I imagine you might be assigned to something you specialize in, which is something her mercenary company doesn't do quite as much of these days."

"So, go to the Blue Queen's resort…somehow, deliver your shit, relax for a week, then do her job," Beth summarized.

"I wouldn't put it quite so harshly, but yes, you have it right. You should remember that I'm endorsing you to have some time off, you don't need to count the time down to the second for a break. There's nothing urgent here, even with this book business; these things have been in motion for centuries, you don't have to try to do what Ascended haven't finished in a millennium in a month," he said slightly acerbaically.

"I don't want to fall behind," Beth said coolly.

"Fall behind who?" he asked with a small smirk and a very questioning tone.

"Well, I…" Beth said, stopping and frowning as she thought.

"Elizabeth, you are already more skilled and powerful than the Young Scions, 'The future hope of the Milky Way,' as they like to exclaim. Do you think you're falling behind people like me, who have lived thousands of years and aren't even concerned with levels any more?" he asked calmly.

"I still need to be better. To do more. You should understand why," Beth replied simply.

"I understand, I do," he replied. "Both your drive, and the things you are involved in that give you some urgency. I am telling you, however, that you still haven't really adapted to this life. You are thinking like an Unawoken with a century or less of life, not like a powerful Wayfarer that will live thousands or tens of thousands of years. Having things that drive you is great, but letting every single thing become a crises will eventually exhaust you. Take some time to relax and enjoy things."

"Look, fine, we'll take a week off," Beth said with an eyeroll. "But I'm not promising anything else."

"You are one of only two people I've ever hired to do work that has struggled to take a break," Mortaine said with a small laugh. "Here, let me give you the items."

"Thanks," Beth said, taking a sealed letter in an envelope, two small boxes, and a strangely glowing crystal. She didn't question Mortaine further on any of it, just stashing it in her necklace in a spot where she could keep easy track of the items.

"I'll also give you a token for the Blue Queen's resort," he said.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"Like one of these?" Beth asked, making her white rose appear.

"Oh. Well, then, you don't need mine," Mortaine said with an idle wave. "Though I'd not known you were already a member."

"Happened on Luttraine," Beth said with a shrug. "Helped somebody out who was really important in the Blue Queen's circle and the Blue Rose Bar there tried to kick him out. When all the dust settled, they apologized to Blood and I with white roses."

"Very interesting. You didn't happen to catch this august personage's name?" Mortaine asked while rubbing his right thumb against his right index finger, a small tick that Beth took note of.

"I think his name was Zane? I didn't catch any more than that," Beth answered.

"Zane, was it? Hmm. Well, if it was him, then I'm hardly surprised," Mortaine muttered before refocusing on them. "Well, let me tell you where to go and what to do. You'll have to head to a world called Tetramere, to the city of Allon. You'll find a Blue Rose Bar there that is quite large and has a connection to the resort world where the Blue Queen is currently staying."

"Right. Anything else we need to know?" Beth asked.

"Have fun, don't be too surprised by what you see, and don't let that old devil get her claws in you," Mortaine said in a light tone before suddenly disappearing with a sound like rushing water and a flashing blue light.

Beth narrowed her eyes at where he had just been, partially to block the light, partially to inspect the yet another way in which he had disappeared, and partially because she was thinking about his final words. Despite being sent to the Blue Queen for work, Mortaine didn't seem to have a great relationship with her, calling her an old devil. Then again, he was saying it in a joking tone and knew her rather well, so Beth would try not to overanalyze it. Doubly a good idea when considering Mortaine's capricious nature.

"Well, what now?" Blood asked.

"I guess we go on vacation?" Beth replied in an unsure tone.

"Finally!" Blood exclaimed.

"Come on, it hasn't been that bad," Beth replied with a heavy eyeroll.

"Just too much sometimes," Blood argued back. "We don't have to fight for nine thousand days then take two off. Balance would be nice."

"Well, we're taking a break now," Beth grumbled back.

"More breaks," Blood demanded.

"Noted," Beth sighed, sitting back and attempting some calculations on their leveling speed, the time to get through rebirths, and what that looked like if they took more time off. She didn't really like the numbers, and there were so many variables anyway, that she eventually gave up with a muttered curse and decided to focus on something else.

Beth didn't see any reason to delay their next task, now that Mortaine had given them what they needed and popped away somewhere. For once, Blood was entirely in agreement, sharing that sentiment that many had when they knew a vacation was imminent. That ready excitement had Blood first out of the room, first down the hall, first to turn her key back in, and first into the teleporter room. Beth just had to shake her head at the wolf as she moved over to one of the pads, presenting the console her Emblem before selecting the destination and paying the fifty gold teleportation fee. Back when she first started out on the Path, fifty gold would have been a staggering fortune, but it was barely pennies to her now. They stepped on the pad and indicated their readiness before vanishing in a flash of light with a slight twisting sensation.

They appeared on an identical pad many, many light years away. As soon as they popped up, they were confronted by a tall man in much the same way as last time, demanding their credentials for having used the teleporters. Once they had presented their Silver Emblems and he had verified their authenticity, he dismissed them to the rest of the building as he went back to monitoring the room.

"We should start thinking about getting our Gold Emblems," Beth said, stopping discussing it further when she saw Blood's response was just to stare at her flatly with her ears set back against her skull. "Okay, okay. Later."

Since they didn't intend to stay long, or at all, on this world, they didn't bother to stop in the lobby for anything, exiting the CRA Hall and heading across town. Beth had looked up the location of the Blue Rose Bar, which wasn't particularly hard to find in this city as it held a central location. It was also in a rather large building as compared to the previous bar that had been occupying the basement of a different building in the city on Luttraine. This 'bar' was a three-story building near the very center of the city made of a dark red brick that had large windows and fanciful stone carvings around the roof and at the corners. The entry was a wide set of double doors that were guarded by two hulking men who, unlike the scruffy louts at the gambling den, seriously looked like they meant business and gave off a feeling of great strength.

"Members only," the one on the left said coldly as Beth and Blood approached the three steps up to the front doors.

Beth walked up the steps and took out her white rose, showing it to the guard, who went from stoic frowning to stoic neutrality. When Blood showed her rose as well, the two guards inspected the roses before waving them through the front door, allowing them to enter a large lobby with a small counter at the back. Several people walked through the lobby from one room to another, not bothering with the person behind the counter, seemingly knowing quite well where they were going. Beth, on the other hand, had no idea of the layout, and so approached the young, beautiful woman to see if she could get some help. The woman was far warmer and more open than the guards outside, as should be expected, and greeted them very positively when they walked up to her.

"Patrons! Welcome to the Blue Rose! How can I assist you today?" she greeted them.

"We're here to use the teleporter. I'm not sure how else to phrase it?" Beth replied, unsure.

"You need to be a member or have an official invitation to use the teleporter," the woman replied just a bit primly, all business now.

"We're members. At least, I think we are," Beth replied, showing the attendant her white rose.

"Oh my, you're white roses! I'm so sorry, I didn't know. Please, let me help you with whatever you need," the woman exclaimed, her slightly widened eyes and slightly pale skin betraying her nervousness.

"We have something that we're supposed to deliver personally to the Blue Queen," Beth said. "We were told that this building has a teleporter to the resort where she's currently staying. Is that correct?"

"Yes, of course," the woman replied hastily. "Please, let me show you where to go."

She pressed something on the desk and a younger, more nervous-looking woman appeared a moment later and took the helper's place. She then led Beth and Blood back through the building and down a flight of wide, worn stairs to the basement. The first room down there was a massive lounge that had a small bar at one side so the patrons wouldn't even need to leave the room to get fresh drinks. The room contained several tables, and it took Beth a moment to realize they were tables for poker or other card games, while there was quite a lot of the rest of the room devoted to comfortable seating.

They moved through the first room quickly and went down a series of hallways before entering a large, open room at the back of the basement. There were four teleporter pads in this room, all of them with their own consoles that controlled their activation and destination. The attendant led Beth and Blood over to one of the pads and started manipulating it. Not that Beth didn't trust her, but she didn't trust anyone, and so she watched what the attendant entered into the console and what she programed. The attendant authenticated it herself and when Beth asked, said that there was no charge for a member with a rose of their level. They walked over to the pad and stood on it, the person or people using it always having the say on whether the device activated, and Beth gave the signal a moment after they were ready, the attendant waving at them as they disappeared.

They appeared in a small but opulent room, one that only had space for the single teleporter pad and little else. There was nobody else in the room, so Beth led the way out the doorway to find themselves in a much larger room that contained multiple copies of the room they had just exited. Not only did it make the place seem a bit fancier, but Beth took note that it made the teleportation area even more secure. They didn't have more than a moment to look around before an attendant appeared, greeting them with a deep bow. Beth, and Blood, she noted, were rather taken aback at the woman's state of dress, or undress, as was more appropriate. Not that she was naked, but she reminded Beth of the Senior Enforcer back on Luttraine that had overseen matches in something resembling a small bikini.

"Welcome to the Royal Rose, madams," the woman said. "I'm Casey, and I can help you with whatever you need. If you would please follow me to the check-in desk?"

"Oh, of course," Beth said, appreciating the view even more as the woman turned and led them out of the teleporter area, very distinctly swaying her hips in a provocative manner.

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