Chapter 4

The first thing I noticed after I got back from my excursion to that world, was that the girl seemed to smell and look dirty. She needed a bath, badly. The second, was I was very drained and hungry. I almost collapsed. Guess traveling to wherever I did and back, took it out of me. It hit me suddenly, like a rush.

I had been worried we might not be able to communicate, but whatever power allowed me to travel to and from the other world seemed to include the language. I had wondered about this, before. But as I had been able to talk to the wizard earlier and with this girl now, with no problem, I wasn't overly worried about it.

"I'm going to make something to eat. I'm starving," I said, and stumbled off towards the kitchen.

"Damn. I should have thought of that, considering what happened yesterday," Matt said in his rumbling voice.

The girl was looking around with large eyes, and the tiger/wolf was watching both of us with interest. I started to go to the kitchen and found the girl clutching my arm.

"What's wrong?" I asked her.

"You're not leaving me, are you?" she asked in a small voice.

"I'm just going to the kitchen, to make something to eat. Would you like something, too?" I asked her as an afterthought.

She nodded, and we all went to the kitchen. The timora padded along beside the girl.

"Does your, uh, timora have a name that you call it?" I asked when we got to the kitchen.

"She has a name, but we can't pronounce it. She allows us to call her 'Rasha'," the girl answered.

"I see, and what would your name be, Girl?" Matt asked her?

She pulled herself up to her full height of five foot five, and responded.

"I am the princess Beáta, daughter of king Andrin and queen Lorine, of the Kingdom of Fairellon. I am grateful for the rescue, and ask to be returned forthwith to my rightful place," she said, and dropped me a curtsy.

I introduced first myself, and then Matt. I'll be damned if Matt didn't bow slightly at the waist! She was dressed in a filthy wet thick nightgown. She was shivering, but she seemed to exude confidence. I could not believe I had just been on the receiving end of a curtsy from this waif.

"I'll be back with something for her to wrap herself in. Then I suggest getting her into a tub, to warm her and clean her up," Matt said and took off, just like that.

I made roast beef sandwiches, and the girl ate like she'd not had anything to eat in a long time. I poured a glass of milk for her and set it beside her plate. Matt returned with a thin blanket, and draped it over her shoulders.

I dug out a steak and thawed it in the microwave. I put it, raw, on a plate. I set it on the floor for the timora, Rasha.

"What is this? Have you no ale, or wine?" she asked me after sipping the milk.

"How old are you, anyway?" I asked her.

"I am in my fifteenth year. My day of birth was just celebrated a month ago," she responded.

"Well, I think you could use milk more than a glass of wine. You were suffering, and your body needs to replenish the vitamins that are in this milk," Matt rumbled firmly.

"Once you're done in here, I'll run a bath for you, or you can shower first, then run a tub for soaking yourself," I told her.

"Bathe? In this weather? Are you mad? I would catch a chill if I did that. I am already in danger of catching a chill as it is," she told us haughtily.

"Frank, I think we should get something for her to wear from town. Get some jeans and a good pull over shirt. You can pick up shoes for her too. Just trace the outline of her feet on piece of your sketch paper and take the outline with you. Find her a pair or two of shoes and then get back here," Matt instructed me, then pulled out a cloth tape measure and asked the princess to stand a moment. She did so calmly.

I looked at him. Hell, I was tired too, but I guess there were priorities. Maybe she would be more comfortable with Matt instructing her bath and the toilet features of a bathroom. I had just realized she probably had no clue as to what modern conveniences looked like or how they performed.

I nodded. I was done with the meal I had wolfed, so I wrote her measurements down, and had her stand on pieces of sketch paper. I traced the outline of her feet, got up, and went to get my jacket.

Wyoming in the fall was cold indeed. The leaves of the trees were turning colors, and the air was brisk and clear. I got into town and found the items easily enough. The shoes were a problem, so I bought several pair of slightly varying sizes that were a close match to the feet outlined on the sketch paper. The pants had been easier, as I had measured her waist and leg length.

With my mission complete, I returned to Matt's place to find a freshly scrubbed and very clean young girl wrapped in a robe, sitting with a blanket wrapped around her. Matt had turned up the furnace, and the place was nicely warm.

Beáta was fascinated by everything, of course. Matt had her sitting on a couch and had the Celtic Women's DVD on. They were singing in their beautiful voices and the princess was glued to the TV, watching them, and listening.

Matt turned off the set when I started pulling my purchases out of the bag, and nodded at my choices.

"Looks like they'll do. Princess, why don't you go into the room I told you would be yours, and try these things on. If you need help with anything, just call," Matt told her.

The timora had an amazing ability. She could blend in so well, you forgot she was there! I mean it. It was almost as if she clouded the mind somehow, or turned herself almost invisible. You had the impression that there was a dog around, but weren't worried about it. Which came in handy for our trip to Laramie.

The reason we were in Laramie was because we were picking up 'period' clothing, for both Matt and myself. It seems that Matt was determined to make the next trip to this other world. I could not talk him out of it.