An Immortal's Favour

Jack- Setting Off

*

The next few days were spent running over the schedule for the trip and setting some ground rules. I gave the immortal a rundown of where we'd go, how much we'd spend at each stop, etc.

"And no eating in my car."

"What's that?" Gale leaned her head to one side, dropping the makeup pencil she'd been lining her eyebrows with.

"I said no eating-"

"No, I mean, what's a car?"

"It's like a...uh, carriage? Cart? You don't need animals to pull it along."

"And I can't eat in it? Will it stop working if I do?" She blinked innocently, but I swear there was a smile playing along her lips.

"Um, no? I just hate crumbs. Now, as I was saying, regarding cost-"

"Oh! That reminds me!" Shooting up from the floor, Gale ran out of the guest lounge. I bit my lip in irritation and fell back against one of the sofas, lifting my legs up to rest them against the coffee table. Her feet pounded over the main staircase.

She came back after a minute and threw a cloth pouch at me. My hands fumbled, trying to catch it, but it dropped to the floor. Of course.

I reached for it, tugging at the leather strap that held it closed. Inside, gold heldies and bills were shoved together, and I tipped them out over the coffee table after drawing my legs back.

"Wha- what's this for?"

"The trip! What else would it be for?" Gale huffed, leaning over to pick up one of the heldies. I took one, too, observing the etched profile of Queen Quana IV. "I had some money, but I doubted it'd be in use anymore so I looked around and had it exchanged. I didn't think it'd be worth so much."

"Wow. That is a lot. Thanks." I guess that ruled out her being a con woman. "But keep it on you for a rainy day. I've got it covered."

"Just take it, Jacob."

"...I'll take half."

"Three quarters. Final offer."

"Okay," I relented.

"So is there anything else you need to tell me?"

"Don't think so."

"Right." She gathered the makeup strewn over the carpet and stood up again. "I've still got some belongings to gather. I'll meet with you later."

"You do that. I've got a telegram to send off, anyway."

It took about a week, give or take, to get everything in order.

Gale, who'd insisted on wearing a disguise lest some wandering Immortalian recognise and harass her, turned, surprised, late one evening after I'd tapped her lightly on the shoulder. Her long, unplaited hair, which had now been dyed a deep black whipped around her head and fell over her back. In her arms, she held a large trunk.

"I want to be honest with you," I started, reaching up to tug at the small hairs on the back of my neck. False hope was the last thing either of us needed. Sunlight streamed in through the glass windows, brightening the dark red lipstick that'd been smeared across Gale's mouth as the corners of her lips dipped into a frown.

"I know that my mother wants this trip to happen very much. And I do, too. But the thing is, I'm not really in the right state of mind for this yet, so don't take it personally if I'm a little...a little..." One of my hands waved through the air as I searched for the right word.