Sucked into a New World (Lady Alainn x Jalapeno)

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Jared had expected her to pursue the topic of her sister a little more, given that she was the most likely candidate for uncovering their secret. However, the drunken state she was in caused Jade to take an interest in another topic, one that he hadn't fully thought about until she just brought it up. The wedding was essentially over now, thanks to the enormous monster that had interrupted them. Coupled with that, the two of them were now alone in their bedchamber, meaning that everyone was expecting them to participate in the bedding ceremony, despite the attack they had just escaped.

The cheeks on Raulet's face turned a light shade of red at the unexpected question. "The bedding ceremony occurs the night of the wedding after all of the celebrations have ended. It's when the new couple share an.... intimate experience.... for the first time together, to consummate the marriage. It's a part of the wedding tradition." He was not exactly prepared to say much else about it, though in truth he didn't think there was anymore to tell about it other than those simple facts. "It shouldn't be difficult to convince everyone that the marriage was consummated. I don't know why they would expect anything different."

Before he could finish his train of thought Jade began to hiccup uncontrollably. And she could not stop giggling to save her life. She was a lot more inebriated than Jared expected her to be. Her less than graceful fall onto the floor almost caused him to burst into laughter. He tried to hold it in but could help letting a small snicker escape. She groaned with frustration. Whoever this girl was she probably had a much higher alcohol tolerance than Jade.

Rolling his eyes, Jared leaned over and stretched out Raulet's arms to pull Jade off the floor. The first time he carried her was purely an act to avoid contact with the others. This time she actually seemed to be on the verge of passing out. He helped her over to the bed and tried to lay her down comfortably. "I'm not usually one to say I told you so, but next time let's ease up on the wine, shall we?"
 
Hardly able to sit up again, let alone fight off Raulet's arms as they enclosed about her, the very frustrated Chelsea huffed once more and reluctantly allowed him to escort her to the bed. Every nerve in her was screaming in protest. Here a man her body was legally married to was carrying her to a bed. She could do nothing about it. Chelsea inwardly cursed herself for her foolishness and braced herself for what she was sure to follow. Men were men, right? Even ones who professed to not want to take advantage of the "weaker sex."

Just then a hand wandered of its own accord up Raulet's arm, aiming for his neck, and Chelsea knew Jade was gone, completely gone. Wresting control over her body movements from the inebriated lady, Chelsea snatched the miscreant by the wrist with her other hand and tucked it firmly under her arm. Then, in the strangest turn of events yet, the drunk Jade part of her passed out leaving her mental invader in full control of her body, which wasn't very helpful at all seeing as it was just a lump of limbs and skirts by this point.

"One glass, it was just one glass!" a disgruntled Chelsea mumbled into the bed covers as Raulet set her down. "How was I supposed to know the lousy wench was such a teetotaler?"

To her surprise, the man didn't make a move on her. He just arranged her passed out body on the bed and admonished her before drawing back. Seriously? But Mom had been so adamant... Maybe, just maybe there really were good guys out there still. Gentlemen. She wouldn't hold her breath, though. Windmill might be waiting for the perfect opportunity, nothing more. But how could an opportunity get more perfect than this? Chelsea pulled her thoughts away from her confusion and back towards her situation.

It took every effort to roll her head in Windmill's direction and lock eyes with him. "Go ahead and laugh, this is completely ridiculous and I'd be howling my head off if I could. I'm completely passed out from a drunken stupor and completely with it all at the same time. ...And somehow, this mouth is still working. Ain't that just lovely?"

With a strained sigh, Chelsea closed her eyes. "So what about this Lox do I need to know?"
 
Her grogginess was starting to become burdensome on Jared as well. If that demon were to fly into their room right now he would have the double task of having to fight it off and carry her to safety at the same time. And on top of that he would have to keep himself together and not laugh at the ridiculousness of a situation like that. Luckily there was no signal from the guards on the balcony thus far, meaning all was clear. Jared was fairly sure it would not try attacking again in the same night, but it was better to be safe for now.

Raising his eyebrows at Jade, Jared stood up and sank into a chair that sat by the small table crowded with scrolls and papers he did not care to identify. "You really need some time to recuperate. Luckily for you I'm not the real Raulet. He probably would have a least waited for you to sober up a little before trying anything. That's the way this society works apparently. No doubt you would have a few things to say about that if you held real power. Unfortunately medieval times rarely, if ever, saw women as little more than trophies."

Jade finally came around to the important questions, and Jared sighed, wondering where to begin. "Some people see her as a great hero, and others see her as a devilish trickster with no moral compass. To understand her you have to understand the state of these lands fifteen years ago. We all used to be one big kingdom." Jared stopped for a moment, startled by his use of the word 'we', but he made nothing of it and continued on. "However, the king at the time was very corrupt. I think his name was Something Barkwer? But anyway, he did something that upset Lord Galston, my father. I don't know what it was, but it was enough for him to raise a rebellion against the king. Soon afterward the entire kingdom was at war, half the kingdom favoring the king and the other half favoring the rebels. Lord Arnall Carre, your father, stayed out of it for a long time. And during that time King Barkwer and his armies gained the upper hand in the war. So it was at this time that he decided to win favor with the crown by declaring for them. But he was not exactly friends the King's greatest ally, Lord Taevol, who at the time owned the largest naval fleet in the world. Your father had the second largest."

Jared could not help but crack a smile. Though he still thought the tale itself was awfully deceitful, it was executed brilliantly. "This is where Loxly comes in. The greatest bond in forming an alliance is usually through blood via marriage, which I'm sure you've had no trouble figuring out by now. Unfortunately the king had no children left to marry off, so your father decided to marry Loxly to Lord Taevol's son Cleonil at the king's insistence. So they wedded and lived happily ever after." He chuckled with amusement, knowing she could do little to stop him right now. "Except not. They did get married, but on the night they consummated the marriage, Loxly took matters into her own hands by killing Cleonil in his sleep. With the help of Ruvyn, her uncle, and the knights they brought as an escort, she set over half the Taevol fleet on fire while all the ships were docked at the port. Not only did it eliminate Lord Taevol's fleet to give your father the largest navy in the world, but Cleonil was the only heir to his father's throne. Then Lord Carre declared himself on the rebel side, and the tide of the war turned completely, all thanks to Loxly. After the war ended King Barkwer was dead, his sons were dead, his wife was dead, his daughter fled into exile, and the enormous kingdom was separated into several smaller ones."
 
Chelsea listened obediently as Windmill prattled on, soaking in the information and committing it to memory. Loxly sounded like quite the girl. Why couldn't Chelsea have popped into this book as her? She certainly could pull off the devious, conniving girl better than the quiet, tempered sister. But there was no use in throwing a tantrum over the state of affairs. For one thing, she literally couldn't right now with her body as dead as a doornail. For another, she couldn't switch Jade's body for Lox's or even her own, although the latter she desperately wanted to find out how to get back to.

With a drawn-out sigh, Chelsea turned her attention back to Raulet sitting in his chair. You know, Windmill wasn't half-bad. This might actually be fun, playing out this story with him, if it weren't for the fact that her drinking would be limited until she could build up Jade's tolerance and that demon screeching about the countryside demanding a child from her.

"So, we then got married... er, Jade and Raulet got married... to strengthen the alliance between a wishy-washy lord and the leader of the rebellion. Got it." Chelsea chuckled as a thought crossed her mind. "I bet you're hoping family resemblances stick to looks only between Lox and Jade. Otherwise it'd be one hell of a wedding night for you, eh?"
 
Jared was surprised that she was still capable of forming coherent sentences despite how inebriated she had been acting. "Well, he has been the king for a while now, but yes he was the rebel leader before. Now he wants to stop another war." Or so he thought. Jared had no idea what went on in the king's head, and he was not sure he ever would. The only glimpses in the book he found of the king and the prince together involved council meetings and usual business. So far there was no sign of any father-son love. To be fair, ruling the kingdom probably left very little personal time.

He chuckled lightly at her sorry excuse for a threat. "Even if you wanted to kill me, you can't move from that bed without collapsing on the floor. Besides, without me to help you figure out what is going on in this world you would be totally lost. Face it, you need me around." He actually found himself beginning to admire this girl. Despite the odd situation they were in, not to mention the traumatizing incident that occurred downstairs, she was still cracking jokes left and right. Somehow, Jared expected the real Jade would have been far less entertaining in conversation.

"It's probably important for you to know about my family as well. I have already told you about the king. My mother is Queen Aryna, from the house of Vancen. From what I recall I have three sisters and one brother. My brother Presebal is the oldest and is apparently off in Darmon as the new lord. But he has yet to be introduced in the book, so if he shows up I will be as lost as you. My oldest sister is Myra, who was married to some lord I can't remember the name of. The second sister, also older than me, is named Kyline. Everyone knows she is a lesbian, but the king refuses to acknowledge it. The youngest of us is Lyanna. So far I don't know of anything special about her."
 
"Who said anything about wanting to kill you?" Chelsea retorted, mockingly offended that he could even suggest such a thing. With all her talk, she knew deep down killing wasn't in her nature. Besides, what had Raulet done to deserve any kind of punishment at all? Nothing. "I'm actually starting to like you, Windmill. Keep it up and we may just make friends yet."

Then he was off chattering again-- this time about his book family-- throwing names, places, and village gossip along with it. Village gossip? Geez, her thoughts were starting to sound so old-school. A yawn caught her by surprise and Chelsea found herself blinking sleepily. Keeping an unconscious body awake was apparently really draining. "Well, now that I'm caught up on the family gossip I think I'll doze off, if you don't mind, and get this body functioning again."

Another yawn escaped and Chelsea snuggled in against the pillows, not quite strong enough to fight Jade's body into crawling under the covers. A vague thought flitted through her mind in regards to her dress. It'd get wrinkled and it was sorely uncomfortable for wearing let alone sleeping in, but asking Raulet for help in that area was a big no-no. She was, however, astonishingly willing to entertain another thought along that train.

"The bed's big enough," she added quietly. Was she seriously trusting this stranger so easily? Then again, it would be a heck of a lot safer for her if he was close by instead of on the other side of the room if a demon made another appearance. "If you promise to stay on your side and fight off any crazy demons that might pop in, I don't mind sharing."
 
Jared elected to ignore her retort, not in the mood for a back and forth that was probably going nowhere. But it was good to know that he was beginning to grow on her. He was starting to appreciate her as well, though she would have to tone down the drinking a little bit if she was going to be helpful at all. But at least knowing that they could be friendly with each other now was better than trying to make it through this story with a stranger who may or may not be trustworthy.

Nodding in agreement, Jared was more than welcome to the idea of sleep. Spending the day getting trapped inside of a book, attempting to fathom what was happening around him, and having to fight off a demon, all while not being discovered as a fake, was pretty exhausting. But he was a little surprised when Jade suggested that he sleep next to her in the bed. Obviously she would be furious if he touched her, even accidentally. But there was nowhere else for him to sleep besides the floor, which would look rather odd to any servant that might wander in during the early morning.

He could not help but smirk at the suggestion. "I will fight off whatever beast dares to harm my precious bride. An beast that should lay a hand on you will rue the day it met me," he huffed, pounding is his chest like a caveman, mostly trying to hold in a laugh. "I won't touch you at all. As long as no one finds out that we never consummated the marriage, we should be fine." Jared was not inclined to sleep in a doublet, especially one as delicate looking as this, but he had a feeling his new companion would be a little uncomfortable if he disrobed.
 
Chelsea did laugh at his antics and was delighted to find that even what should have come out as boisterous was only just a ladylike titter. Royalty certainly trained themselves in everything. Although, she had to admit, it was slightly disappointing not to roar with laughter anymore until she could feel it in her toes. She'd have to break some habits in that area. And the drinking. The whole patriarchy thing she'd leave well enough alone for now... except when she was alone with Raulet. And speaking of her stranger husband, he was moving towards the bed.

"It's a deal. But I'd like a favour first. If you wouldn't mind. I can't exactly move at the moment, so would you mind tucking me in? Also, I'd appreciate it if you could loosen some laces or something while you're at it. I can hardly breathe in this wretched dress."
 
As Jared moved toward the bed he was already sitting on it when she made her request. He was a little dumbfounded, especially when she asked him to undo the laces on her gown. Was she testing him? Was she trying to see if he would give into whatever impulse came to his mind when he touched her? Or was she really just that uncomfortable? Despite the fact that they were royalty, this bed was still from a medieval era. Now matter how many feathers it had it would not be nearly as comfortable as whatever she slept in back in her real life.

But he asked no questions and simply untied the laces without letting his hands touch the torso of the gown. He was especially careful around her breasts, not wanting her to overreact in case he let a finger slip. It did not take long for Jared to finish with the laces, and finally he was able to pull the blankets over her and wrap her in a warm bundle of fuzziness. "Next time you get this wasted you're on your own with this whole thing," he jested with a grin.

Finally rolling over onto his own side of the bed, Jared unbuttoned his doublet and let Raulet's skin breathe. It became apparent almost immediately that Jared was far more in shape with this body than the previous one. He played sports quite a lot, but physically working out at a gym had never been his favorite idea. Now here he was with a full six-pack. Maybe he would reconsider the gym thing, assuming he ever got back anyway.
 
When the laces gave way beneath Raulet's fingers, Chelsea found herself gasping with her new-found air supply and her pulse fluttering in an annoying way. She had to hand it to him, though, he certainly was very conscious about touching her even in her wasted state. It made him even more attractive to her and increased her willingness to extend the hand of friendship. That she was glad about. If they were stuck in this novel for any length of time, it wouldn't do to be at odds with the person playing her character's husband.

Snuggling under the blankets, she chuckled at his comment and yawned. "Trust me, I'm not planning on doing this again if I can help it. Jade will find herself growing accustomed to drinking one sip at a time and hopefully by the end of this god-awful book, I'll be able to drink a glass of wine without repercussions." After another yawn, she said sleepily, "Hey, Windmill, if we find ourselves back in our bodies when we wake up... this was fun, if you don't count the demon." She paused. "And if this isn't just a dream, you think we'll make it out of here?"
 
Laying himself flat next to her, Jared placed his hands behind his head and stared up at the ceiling. It was nice to know that he wasn't totally boring by her standards. In truth it had been a pretty fun ride for him as well, and he had to admit it felt pretty great to be the one that scared off the demon. If he did wake up as himself again he would certainly be relieved, but at the same time it would also be a little disappointing, odd as that may seem. He was starting to grow accustomed to this place, and this Jade impostor, as outspoken as she might be, was admittedly fun to be around.

He turned his head to look at her after hearing her question. It was something that had been at the back of his mind since he first found himself here, although now he was faced with the reality that he may not ever return. "It's hard to say since before all of this I never imagined this type of thing could actually happen. But I like to think we will see home again one day. Maybe we just have to figure out the way to get back. Try clicking your heals and saying 'There is no place like home'. If it worked for Dorothy it might work for us," he chuckled.

"I'm glad you at least found some of it fun. I've kind of enjoyed this too." He thought to himself for a moment before he decided that he was comfortable with telling her. "My real name is Jared. But feel free to continue calling me Windmill."
 
She was struggling to keep her eyes open now, sleep already tugging her into a sort of doze. His words hovered just above her eardrum and somehow managed to penetrate into her brain before she crashed. Something about clicking heels and Dorothy. That was a reference to something, wasn't it? Something, something, something or other. Wiz-wizard. Lots of z's in the title... Zzzzzz's.... Snores erupted from her throat then and drowned out the rest.

Chelsea couldn't remember the last time she'd slept so deeply. Of course, she also couldn't remember the last time she'd been so drunk. Though the sunlight couldn't infiltrate the thick curtains covering the window, her internal alarm clock still had her waking up on time to get to her 7:00 AM class. Humanities. She liked the class, but one thing Chelsea wasn't was a morning person. She grunted and tried to sit up on her elbows as her head whirled like a windmill. Windmill... why was that familiar...

"Oh my gosh, Lexi, what did they put in the booze last night? I had the strangest dream-"

Her words abruptly ended in a piercing, ungodly scream when her eyes fluttered open and she found herself face-to-face with a man. Light split her skull in two at the sound and her hands flew to her pounding head as she winced and groaned. But wait, wasn't that the prince guy from the book? Raulet? And these itchy, scratchy garments... Slowly, pieces began fitting together in spite of the fog in her brain. Oh no. Oh, hell, no. She was still here. In this book dream world.

"Damn..." she moaned and buried her face back into her pillow. Well, at least she didn't have to worry about Humanities. She hadn't gotten around to her homework anyway.
 
Jared didn't get very far in his sentence before Jade quietly slipped off into her subconscious. She probably didn't hear him mention his real name, but now that he thought about it that was probably for the best. But she had the right idea. Some sleep was well deserved on his part, even if none of this was real. It certainly felt like he had just fought off a demon, so he would certainly sleep well tonight.

The morning brought with it a very unexpected awakening. Jared was sound asleep when he heard a piercing scream shatter his ear drum and break whatever dream he was having. At first he thought it was the woman in room 203, the one with the annoying cats that always frolicked around the halls. But the scream had come from inside his room. No, he was not in his room. He was still in the bedchamber of Prince Raulet.

So it wasn't a dream after all. Jade did not seem to be taking too well to the idea of having to live in this world for an unknown amount of time. He chuckled softly but it was an uncertain laugh. Jared was also not very fond of the idea of having to learn more about this place than he was ready to. Sure, it would be fun to read all about it. But he was not cut out for medieval life, especially in royalty. "No use in sitting around here," he muttered. "We might as well figure out what we are supposed to be doing."
 
"Stuff 'n' nonsense," Chelsea mumbled into the pillow with a groan, "It's the day after my wedding! Er... Jade's wedding. Nobody'll expect us to do much of anything but trying for an heir to get it over with. At any rate, I'm staying here and sleeping off this hangover. Unless you want to get me some coffee, Windmill, I'm not going anywhere or figuring out anything."

If Raulet was so concerned about keeping up appearances, let him. Chelsea certainly had no intention of blowing her cover, but she definitely wasn't going to dedicate her life to a never-ending improv. If she really was stuck here in this book, in this body, in this castle, with these god-forsaken people who expected her to act out this part for the rest of her life, she'd go mad. Maybe she could run away.

Maybe Raulet/Windmill would run away with her. Maybe they could start a new life and live the way they wanted to here without the pressure of all this royal business with kings and queens and rebellions and sisters who killed their husbands on wedding nights and demons who assaulted brides and demanded for children. At least then it would be bearable. She wondered briefly what that would do to the plot of the book back in her world. Would the story change based off of what they did? If someone was reading it, would they actually be able to see the words rearranging themselves on the page as Chelsea and Windmill rewrote the story with their actions? That'd be pretty cool. But what would the original author think of it? Who cared. It was her life.

Jade sighed heavily and flopped her head over on her pillow to give Raulet a long look. "So what's the verdict, Mr. Windmill-Husband-Sir?" Chelsea inquired with a sly tone. "Is Raulet going to let Jade sleep off her first hangover or is he going to demand she get up and work with him?"
 
Jared raised an eyebrow at her. Jade was clearly not in any proper state of mind. The wine from last night had really done a number on her. "Well no one expects you to do anything. You're a princess. Apparently I'm supposed to do a lot of things, and I don't even know what yet. Also, I don't think coffee exists in this world." She was not going to make today easy for him by any means. And it would be ridiculous of her to stay in bed all day when everyone expected to see her all bright and happy.

"It's only been one night so far. Maybe we have to do something to get out of this book, like play out the whole thing or something. I'm just spit-balling ideas here, but it's better than doing nothing." He really had no clue whether or not something like that would actually work, and in any case he had no idea where the story would take them. What if one of them ended up dying in this? Would they die in real life as well? They came pretty close to that yesterday, and odds were strong that something like that could happen again. Of all the ways to go....

"You don't like being the helpless, overly treasured prize for the royal prince. I don't blame you for that. Hell, if I was in your place I would be pretty upset too. But you don't have to keep Jade in that role. Maybe you could ease her into being someone a little more strong willed." He was not quite sure why, but Jared reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder, sort of as a comforting gesture but also as a method of indicating that he was there to help her in the process. "My guess is you will be expected to talk with all of the women of the court about.... well, whatever it is they talk about. Assert the notion that you are royalty now and you have some authority. I won't force you to get up. All I'm saying is that I can't do this by myself."
 
Yet another groan rumbled from her throat in response to Raulet's first lecture. Seriously? No coffee? Jade rubbed her temples with a thumb and index finger. How did people here snap out of it after a heavy night of drinking, then? There had to be some way. This world couldn't be that primitive if they had alcohol to begin with. She sighed and focused her thoughts on what Raulet was saying. At least one of them was clear-headed this morning.

"No, no, I wouldn't make you carry it all by yourself," Chelsea reassured him. "I wouldn't let you. And don't you worry about me, either. I can handle Jade and bluff my way through whatever it is she's supposed to be doing and figure this gig out. At least today I can. Just about anything can be chocked up to aftershock, drinking too much, and a wedding night, even in a backwards place like this." Jade set her hand on top of Raulet's for a moment before picking it up and moving it to the bed. "But damn, I wish I'd read the ending like I usually do. Just the last few pages, you know? So if you're right about how long we're stuck here we'd have an idea of what our end goal is, you know? Unless..." Jade shrugged off the covers and wiggled herself into a sitting position as a thought crossed her mind. "You didn't happen to read the ending, did you?"
 
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