Oh My, I Messed Up the Story

Chapter 131: A Formal Greeting

After Blaise saved her from death by drowning, Abby found herself much more curious about what kind of man he was. She figured he must like her as a person at least a little since he had shown no hesitation facing the horrors of Mother Nature for her so she decided they should be friends.

She had always made friends easily but since coming to this world no one had been interested in deepening an acquaintanceship with her. She was the pretty little foreigner who was meant to be seen and not talked to.

He was the only one who had expressed genuine interest in her life so she figured he would make a good friend. At the very least he had proven himself to be rather dependable in a pinch.

Coaxing information out of Blaise was not unlike pulling teeth but once he became more used to it the conversation flowed almost naturally. Abby couldn't deny that hearing about life in a fictional country was intriguing.

Sure, she had lived through it for the past few months but it was different hearing things from a local's perspective. They had different thoughts, hobbies, and aspirations than people back home did.

Though there were certain things that seemed to be universal. Blaise joined up with the Warriors because he wanted to escape his hometown and his family's expectations for him.

She knew a few people back home who had joined the military to get free college because they couldn't afford it or wanted to leave their dysfunctional families behind. This didn't seem to be terribly different from that.

Abby tried to imagine what kind of person Blaise would be if he were in her world but couldn't. He was so stiff and humorless! The only people she had met like that back home were professors and they were old men.

Not everyone here was completely without a sense of humorKatie had married a funny guy according to the novel. Maybe Blaise was weird even by the standards here. Or it was Al who was the weird one.

She hadn't spent enough time around the people in Shibatsu on a personal level to realize whether or not humor was standard or if they were a country of stiffs. People hardly ever seemed to laugh but that might be a situational thing. Who laughed in a book store or while getting clothes tailored?

Even though her new friend was on the odd side she couldn't deny that he made the trip much more tolerable. They found time to talk to each other every day and usually ate their rations side by side, the same way they used to eat lunch out in town square.

When the storms finally let up enough to allow people back on deck, they spent their time staring out at the ocean. Her experience hadn't made her too afraid of it to appreciate its majesty. The ocean was beautiful and the fresh air was too much of a temptation to ignore.

Though the first few times she went back up there she couldn't help but tremble a little at the reminder of how she had nearly died. Her parents always warned her about riptides and currents when they went to the beach but she didn't pay it any mind at the time.

She wasn't going any deeper than her waist! What danger was there in that?

But they had been right. In a fight of man vs nature, nature usually won. The ocean had been there long before any people had and would be there long after.

The ships here were so dangerous. Katie had told her a bit about the history of sailing when she went on a reading binge about it but she had largely ignored it because she hadn't been interested. The only ship she cared about was a cruise ship headed to a tropical destination.

Perhaps if Abby had listened more closely she could have been more careful and avoided being swept away. But then she wouldn't have gotten any closer to Blaise either. That incident had solidified their friendship.

One day as they neared the end of their journey Abby saw the first sign of land she had seen in months. She was so excited that she scrambled over to the very tip of the bow and clung to it for dear life as she strained to get a closer look.

"Blaise! Do you see that? I think we're almost there! There's a big dark shape in the distance!"

His hands shot out to hold onto her shoulders, steadying her. It was the first casual contact they had shared since he dragged her out of the ocean and it made a shock run right through her.

Until she realized it was probably only because he didn't want her to fall overboard a second time. Why was that somehow disappointing?

Abby was a hugger. She missed the casual touches that friendship back home allowed but things were different here. Blaise was a perfect gentlementhe knight in shining armor typebut he wasn't exactly warm. But right now he was the only friend she had so she would have to deal with it.

"Yes, I see it," he replied as flatly as ever. "We should be arriving within the next day or two. This is a simple trade ship but the captain is quite familiar with the queen of Annalaias, as she was originally a princess of Shibatsu. I believe we shall all have to formally greet her before we can proceed further with our journey."

The queen?! It was hard to think of her as a monarch instead of simply Katie's friend Mariela. Abby would have to mind her manners if she didn't want to lose her head. Would she even get the chance to ask about her sister?

She hadn't ever met so much as a mayor of a small town before. How on earth was she supposed to act in front of a queen?

Blaise noticed the distress on her face and the corner of his lip twitched. Was that his version of a smile?

"Miss Abby, the captain will instruct us all on how to properly greet the queen using the customs of Annalaias beforehand. There is nothing to worry about. I have heard she is as generous as she is beautiful so even if you do make a mistake it will be forgiven."