Complication

Earnest woke up bright and early, finishing off a quick breakfast before leaving to find Rosalind. He hoped to catch her on one of her patrols. He asked about her whereabouts to any villagers that he passed, but none of them had seen her yet. In fact, based on what the villagers told him, it seemed like she had almost entirely stopped her patrols since he left for Lindow.

This wasn’t good information. It meant that there was some change in Rosalind that resulted in this, and any changes in Rosalind right now were almost certainly a bad sign. Well, if she wasn’t patrolling around the village, then she was likely to either be in her room at the inn or at the misfit boys’ base. Given that Earnest and his companions spent the evening in the inn without seeing Rosalind, she must be at the secret base.

He made his way into the forest, carefully following the directions that he had learned from Barnabas’ parents. He frequently scanned his surroundings and kept his hearing alert in case anyone was around. Meeting one of the misfit boys right now would be an unnecessary complication, and could compromise his plan.

Earnest continued along the path in this fashion, thankfully with no encounters on the way. He arrived at the base, and approached the same window he had peeped into last time. The cloth curtain still failed to fully cover the opening, so he looked in once again. After his eyes adjusted to the lower light level, he saw that the base was empty besides Rosalind, who was laying atop the basic bed. She looked like she was still asleep, even though it was late morning at this point. He stared at her, feeling emotions well up within him. She looked so peaceful, just like the Rosalind that he knew and loved before this whole debacle. He had to consciously stop himself, controlling his emotions which were heightened by days of recalling his past memories with her.

It wasn’t possible to determine whether Rosalind was possessed at the moment, and any of the misfit boys could return to find him looking through the window. Earnest decided to hide away on the opposite side of the base until Rosalind awoke and he could determine whether she was herself. Earnest considered returning to the bushes that hid him so well before, but they were too far to hear anything within the base. He decided to take a risk and hide at the outer wall at the back of the base. What were the chances that the misfit boys would check around the back of their base? Earnest accepted the risk as he crouched down with his back to the wall, ready to sprint into the forest at the first signal that his cover was blown.

Earnest waited there for quite a while, until he heard incoming chatter. The indecipherable words grew louder as the mouths producing them grew closer, eventually mixing with the sound of footsteps too. Earnest could eventually make out the voices of Ricard and Barnabas coming to the base. They seemed to be talking about the new arrivals in town, with Ricard making his remarks on Earnest’s companions.

“Yea, lil’ Barny that’s whatcha call a crush don’t ya know? Well, I can’t say that I don’t see where yer comin’ from, she does a sorta cute charm to her, that uh, Aleesha. You two would look good together y’know? But lemme tell ya, crushes are for kids. What I got goin’ is a romance. That other one, Coltia, she’s a real woman. Ya might not be able to tell under that weird hat, but the moment I heard her speak. Woof. You can just tell somethin’ about her. Y’know Barny, every king needs a queen and I think I’ve found some prime queen material! I just got this feelin’, ya know? Well, maybe ya don’t. Anyways, don’t get too caught up in it, we got some shit to talk about.”

Even though Earnest couldn’t see Barnabas, he could imagine him nodding along to everything Ricard was rambling about. Earnest didn’t expect two of the misfit boys to develop an attraction to his companions. Perhaps he could use this to his advantage somehow.

The two misfit boys continued chatting and entered their secret base, failing to notice Earnest. Earnest considered moving back to the window, but the absence of Thomlin meant that he could still be caught if he arrived later. He stayed crouched and heard Ricard wake their sleeping guest.

“Oy, wake up ya lug. It’s time for a meetin’, and emergency meetin’. Fuckin’ ‘ell if ye don’t get up now I’m gonna put my hands on yer face instead ‘a just on yer tits!”

Earnest realized that Ricard must’ve been pawing at Rosalind’s breasts as she was laying there. He felt another surge of emotion, tempting him to bolt from his position and storm into the base. He imagined himself pushing his fist straight into Ricard’s face, sending him reeling backwards into the wall. Thankfully Earnest contained it to his imagination, as the moment passed and he managed to stay still. He heard Rosalind’s sleepy voice finally respond.

“Uhg, lay off boss, jeez. What is it?”

It dismayed Earnest, but he realized that the three misfit boys were all present. Thomlin was likely possessing Rosalind at the moment. He would have to wait for Thomin’s turn to end before reaching out to Rosalind. This was certainly inconvenient, but within the plan. Ricard spoke back up.

“Alright whatever ya lazy bum. Just stay awake, this is important. So I think I was right. That knight not so long ago, he’s back, and he brought a couple ‘a gals with him too. Heard they were an apoth’cary an’ a magic apprentice. I was thinkin’ that he was onto us when he arrived, askin’ around about miss knight and us, but this confirms it. Consider the three of ‘em as enemies alright? Don’t trust ‘em, but don’t be openly hostile y’know? We gotta play this smart.”

Fuck. Earnest might’ve underestimated Ricard, taking him for just a horny kid with delusions of grandeur. Looks like he wasn’t very subtle in his previous visit to Knottori, and the misfit boys were now suspicious of him and his companions.

“So ‘ere’s what we’re gonna do. We keep with full-time turns like we’ve been doin’ recently, can’t have any loose ends. An’ when you’re in miss knight, try to avoid contact with those three as much as possible. If you do run into one of ‘em, be careful an’ don’t lead ‘em back to the secret base alright? Now, based on my intel, I think these guys are here for Rosalind, and not for us. They ain’t from the church or nothin’ so I don’t think they’re here to… y’know… punish and stuff. So if we do this right, I think we can get outta this.”

Full-time turns? Earnest was concerned with what that meant, but he continued to listen.

“For now, Thomlin, go get your body back here. It’s time to switch.”

Earnest heard Rosalind rise from the bed, then leave the base. Earnest prepared himself to escape in case she came his way, but she went back along the usual path. Ricard continued the meeting with Barnabas.

“Alright, it’s probably better that Thomlin not be around for this part. So that knight and his ladies probably sent for the church. Our time here is limited, so I’m thinkin’ it’s high time to skip town for me an’ you. Thomlin should be fine, he’s jus’ a big oaf who was dragged along ya see? But you an’ me? They won’t forgive us. I’m the leader who set this all up, and you’re the one who used black magic. We got **** here, ya get me?”

Earnest only heard silence for Barnabas’ response, but after some time he must’ve nodded to Ricard, since he continued on.

“Alright then. So ‘ere’s how it’s gonna go. When Thomlin comes back, we’ll tell him our decision. I put my mind in miss knight’s body, and we get ready to leave as soon as we can.”

Earnest was surprised to hear Barnabas actually speak up and interrupt Ricard.

“But Ricard, what about your own body?”

There was a tense pause before Ricard answered.

“Fuck it. I’m done with it. I’m ready to leave it for good. So what if it dies later? No way I’m givin’ up a strong body like her’s too keep mine hangin’ around. I’ll be stronger, faster, and she’ll be smarter. It’s my chance, and I’m not gonna let it slip by.”

Earnest listened in horror. Ricard was willing to throw away his old life to live as Rosalind, letting his original body die an empty husk while his mind kept her’s suppressed… perhaps forever. Earnest again considered storming into the base and beating the shit out of the two members inside. They were both physically weak, and Rosalind wasn’t nearby to potentially stop him. He tightened his hands into fists, painfully squeezing them. Ricard spoke up again.

“Anyways, there’s a choice you gotta make too. We both need ’a get outta here, but we could stick together, or split up. If we split up, it’ll be harder to find the both of us. I know I’ll be fine on my own, so this is up to you. Do ya think you’ll be fine on yer own?”

A long silence followed this, but Barnabas eventually responded.

“Can I choose later?”

“Yeah, fine, but you gotta make the choice when the time comes. Start gettin’ ready to swap me into miss knight now. Thomlin should get back soon.”

Earnest could hear Barnabas get up and retrieve the materials he needed to draw the pattern, then return to Ricard and start his work. He remained still as the intricate process went on inside. After some time, Earnest heard heavy footsteps returning to the base. He reasoned that it must be Rosalind with Thomlin’s **** body thrown over her shoulder. She entered the base and set her luggage down on the bed by the sound of it. Ricard welcomed her back, and told her to get ready to swap.

Earnest was confused for a second, but then he recalled Morgan’s notebook. There was mention of using the mind transfer spell with two conscious minds. If he remembered correctly, both minds would swap simultaneously. He heard Ricard ordering Barnabas and Rosalind to get in position, with Rosalind sitting on the chair since Thomlin’s body wasn’t able to hold her up. Ricard bonked foreheads with Rosalind, activating the spell and shaking both minds from their heads, moving them into the other’s.

After a brief pause, Rosalind took an authoritative tone with her voice and told Barnabas to fix up the pattern on Ricard’s forehead so that Thomlin could transfer back into his own body. It only took a little time before it was done, at which point Rosalind held Thomlin’s body up from behind and Barnabas braced behind Ricard’s body. The mind transfer was executed again as Thomlin returned to his original form and Ricard’s body slumped into Barnabas’s arms. Rosalind took the limp body off of Barnabas’s hands and moved it to the bed.

She then directly addressed Thomlin, and repeated the plan that she had discussed with Baranbas earlier. Thomlin was quite shocked and interrupted with questions a few times, but by the end of the explanation he knew that he had to follow his leader’s decision.

“It’s for the best. They’ll let you off easy. Tell ‘em you were just along for the ride. Don’t worry about us, we’ll be fine. Help us pack for tomorrow. We’ll need food, water, and camping supplies.”

As the group began to move around their base, packing things up, Earnest decided that it was his chance to leave. He quietly left his position, moving into the treeline and circling back to the path. He went back to the village in a hurry to share the news with his companions. The misfit boys were much more troublesome than he expected, and he needed to formulate a new plan immediately.