They moved to the building that they had been using as barracks and allowed themselves to sleep for a few hours as the first preparations were carried out and they waited for the teams to arrive.
Ann woke to Adam's gaze fixed on her face.
"You know, I miss just waking up with you and not having to worry about any catastrophic, world ending doom that's headed our way." He said with a soft smile, reaching up to move an errant strand of her hair from her face.
"It almost seems strange to think that things were easier when it was just the wicked stepmother trying to kill us."
Adam chuckled indulgently as he leaned forwards and kissed her, his lips brushing hers gently at first and then firmer, more insistent.
"Adam, not here," Ann said softly, pulling away from him as he rested his forehead against hers.
"I know," He murmured, "I just…miss you."
"I miss you too." Ann said softly as his hands rested on her belly and the pups kicked happily, "Soon, this will all be over and we can finally live a boring life, get fat and grow old together whilst our pups decide new ways to torment us with their antics."
Adam chuckled and before the conversation could go further. A knock at the door interrupted them.
"Well, it looks like it's time to get on with the day." Adam groaned as he tore himself away from Ann, and pulled his clothes on.
As soon as they entered the small mess hall, Eva's liaison approached them with two plates piled high with food.
"Hey! Eva sent me with strict instructions to make sure you both had copious amounts of food before I even start on the tasks you set her. So, here you are!" She grinned brightly as she deposited the food on a table closest to the door and ushered them to sit.
"Well, thank you," Ann said with a smile that was bright enough for both her and Adam, considering he was staring at her with bewilderment.
"I'll be right back! I'll go grab myself some breakfast while you get started, and I'll bring drinks, then we can go over the plans for today while we eat. What do you think?"
"That sounds.."
"Perfect!" She grinned, "Won't be a minute!"
Ann chuckled as she sat down and watched the young woman bouncing around happily as she gathered things together.
"Adam sit down," She snorted, tugging on his sleeve as he stood there with his mouth open.
"How..how is anyone that bright in the morning?" he breathed as he sank down next to her.
"Eva has impeccable taste when it comes to selecting and training her assistants," Ann chuckled, "It's sort of gotten to a point where I think she must be injecting them with sunshine on a daily basis."
"No kidding.." Adam sighed heavily as he looked down at his plate of food, "I don't..usually eat this much.."
"Well, you have the balls to push food on me at every opportunity so suck it up buttercup and get that down your throat." Ann grinned happily as she stuffed her first mouthful in.
"I think we should visit Adam more often," Maeve sniggered, "look how happy he is to be nagged at work as well as at home."
Ann stifled the snigger at the look of resignation on Adam's face as he began eating.
"I caught your runner," Eva's assistant announced as she plonked herself down on the bench opposite, deftly dished out the drinks and opened her tablet up, all whilst shovelling as much food in her mouth as humanly possible. "So I've pulled up already what I could find on countering control words and it might be that i place an order with the blacksmith on first priority basis for a ton of charms that everyone can carry with them as a first line of defence, because that way, they can be charmed and provide protection on the go. The blacksmith will hate me, but I don't really care. I'm confident that I can make him love the idea by the time I'm done."
Ann bit her lip to stop herself laughing at the way Adam was staring at her across the table. She hadn't looked up at them once whilst she ate and tapped away at her tablet. Her hair that had at some point been put up in a neat bun looked wild and had strands of hair flapping around her head, but she clearly didn't care at just how eccentric she looked.
"I think that's an amazing idea," Ann said. "Honestly, if he can have them put onto plaques then there's no reason we can't carry them with our teams and have them put up somewhere in a hurry if they're needed."
"Oooo I like that idea!" She gasped as she looked up for the first time since sitting down and grinned happily. "What about a second layer on the outpost gates as well? Just in case there's damage done to the framework that destroys the efficacy."
"Sounds like a great idea." Ann nodded.
"Holy fuck she's good!" Maeve whistled, "Can we keep her? I think we should keep her."
"She's not a pet Maeve..we can't keep people."
"Yet." Maeve answered darkly, "We can't keep people yet. But we are Queen so technically.."
"No." Ann answered firmly, "I'm pretty sure we outlawed keeping people."
Maeve sighed sadly.
"But you let us keep Coral…"
"No, Coral chose to work with us, there's a distinct difference."
Maeve huffed sulkily and slumped in a corner, glaring at her.
"You're no fun."
"Also, Coral sent a note about moving two families out of the little farm close to the mines. I'm amazed they haven't been targeted already to be honest."
"We would know where they were if they targeted areas close to their base of operations," Adam interjected cautiously.
"Hmm. That's a very good point. Anyway, she'll need a decent set of guards to get it done quietly."
"Assign Ethereum warriors to that," Adam said through a mouthful of food, "They're quick and don't ask questions. We should probably put Black Crag on the exit track too. If anyone tails the families, they vanish."
Ann kept the pace calm and steady,as they ate and slowly but surely, she could see the tension in Adam's shoulders ease a little.
A messenger from the north tower jogged across the yard. "Reporting," he said. "Smoke sighted over the west trail, thin column, likely a cooking fire."
"Note it down," Adam said. "No active response as of yet. We don't want to broadcast that we're keeping an eye on that line otherwise their plans might change."
The messenger nodded and ran.
Ann took that as her chance to change the subject.
"We could do with having one more go at questioning the prisoners before they're moved. Maybe a meal and a good night's sleep might have improved their mood somewhat."
"Doubtful, but we can try," Adam said, "One more pass then. Each of them gets three opportunities, and we ask specifics only. They should know already, but just in case we can make it clear that lies are pointless."
Adam glanced at the barn, then back at her.
"Are you using your abilities?" He asked and Ann pressed her mouth into a thin line.
"I can…but I want you to know now, that it's actually a lot more draining than I thought it would be. Maeve thinks we need to practice using it a bit more."
Adams brow scrunched down in that look that said he wasn't happy so Ann rested a hand on his arm gently.
"It'll be fine. I promise I'll tell you if it's too much."
Reluctantly, Adam nodded and they went back in with two guards and Eva's liaison at their heels. Ann stood in front of the boy again and kept her tone neutral.
"I'm going to ask you three questions," she said. "Answer only the questions asked. If you try to lie, you already know that you can't, but if you decide to try, it will be painful. Do you understand?"