Chapter 26: Princess Ham Sandwich

Chapter 26: Princess Ham Sandwich



After hearing the old woman's words, Princess Ham Sandwich stirred from her slumber. She sat up rubbing her eyes awake and stretched widely with a yawn.

"Come in, Darleen." She invited.

The door opened and Cherry tensed, ready to grab her clothes and make a run for it.

Darleen entered the bedroom pushing a long cart covered in food. She had a stern face, ramrod straight posture, white hair tied into a neat bun, and a maid's uniform with not a single crease or wrinkle.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

She pushed the cart to the bed and wordlessly placed two small tables in front of both Cherry and Princess Sandwich, then placed several breakfast dishes onto both.

"If you need anything, Princess, please call." Darleen curtsied and backed out of the room. Cherry was somewhat dumbstruck at the complete lack of surprise. She circulated vital energy in her brain trying to drudge up any scattered memories.

The Princess spoke up. "This isn't the first time I've brought someone home, honey." She gave a flirtatious smile. "Though you're certainly the prettiest."

Cherry cast aside any further reservations and started devouring the breakfast before her.

A question did come to mind, though. "Aren't you a princess? Won't being so, uh... 'licentious' be disadvantageous to you, politically speaking?"

"Hardly. Ballywood is much more open minded than other places and other places cannot afford to snub the wealthy and powerful Ballywood Kingdom. I have half a dozen engagement proposals awaiting an answer and a dozen more I have already rejected. That's just from other royal families." Princess Sandwich replied, as if she had answered the question a hundred times before.

The two of them ate in silence. By the time they finished, Cherry had managed to pull together some memories from the previous day.

Cherry moved to get out of the bed when Princess Sandwich stopped her with a hand on her shoulder. "How about once more, so you'll remember me." She licked her lips.

...

In the mid afternoon, Cherry and Sandwich managed to get dressed.

"I've already made some arrangement for the new ship you wanted. Made of only the finest wood and built by the best shipwright in the Kingdom, as requested. You wanted to be there for the construction process, yes? I'll have Darleen direct you to the correct shipyard." Sandwich reminded.

"Well, I don't know what you did, Cherry, but she's a fine ship in any case. Do you have a name?" Armando asked.

"Hmmm..." Cherry wondered. "The Cabernet!"

"How appropriate." Armando remarked with a smile.

"I'll take her out for a test drive." Cherry said, with ulterior intentions.

Cherry sailed the Cabernet along the coast until she found a secluded spot.

She sat on the deck cross legged and began the process of Blood Binding the ship.

At first it felt like slamming her head into a brick wall, no matter how hard she pushed it wouldn't budge.

Cherry went on this way with little progress and was considering giving up for now and just waiting until a later cultivation realm. However she felt something strange at that moment. She felt another will reach out to touch her own. As if responding to her, the Cabernet easily became compressed and perfectly bonded with her body.

Cherry felt the other will within her. It wasn't a soul exactly, more like a spirit of some sort that was born from the Cabernet itself.

It was barely aware and seemed to return to whatever slumber it awoke from and vanished from her senses.

'Strange. Very strange.' Cherry thought to look into this in the future. Carefully, so she did not appear to have gone mad, of course.

...

Cherry spent some more time in Ballywood Kingdom dealing with bandits and the occasional pirate for some extra money, in addition to selling her old ship.

Once she was completely resupplied and had a decent amount of pocket money she set back out to sea, homeward bound to Boulder Island.

It had been almost 3 years since she left home, no doubt Grandma Angela was missing her terribly and taking out her frustration on poor Slenk.

Although Cherry still had to man the ship properly, she was able to use its Blood Bound nature to influence it somewhat. Later on, she would be able to completely control it hands free, a day she was looking forward to greatly.

She saw Boulder Island on the horizon a few days before her birthday. The sight brought a happy, but lonely smile to her face and tears threatened to flow at any moment.