Katie finally stopped crying and grinned up at her sister. "So. What do you think of my life here? Pretty crazy, huh?"
Crazy was an understatent. The village she lived in looked like sothing out of a period drama from the early 1900s, she inhabited the body of a completely different person, and she was married with a child.
Abby couldn't believe it. Katie was really thriving here. Based on how she had reacted when she thought Katie was dead, it was highly likely she wouldn't have been able to do the sa.
Had her sister even tried to look for a way ho or accepted her life here from the get-go? Well, her situation was a little different. Her body was dead back ho so there was nothing for her soul to go back to.
And even if it wasn'tKatie was healthy here. All of the chronic pain, constant illnesses, and general restrictions to her life were gone. Catherine du Pont appeared to be in the peak of physical health. She was practically glowing!
Mariela had told her how Katie originally planned to leave Al with Marcy and run away sowhere to have a normal life but she had thought about doing that here as Catherine du Pont, likely feeling like she had no other option.
Abby couldn't bla her for it. They thought differently. And whatever strange power had brought her here probably wasn't accessible from the inside of the novel world since the author had been the one to send Abby to the other side.
A lump rose in her throat. Katie was truly happy here. That was all she had ever wanted for the sister who worked so hard to keep their family together after their parents died. In a roundabout way she had found true love, fulfillnt, and gotten healthy.
"In case you were wondering, I am happy here," she said as if reading Abby's mind. "I wasn't at firstI was hosick and missed you and hated all of the restrictions of the nobility. And missed the food. They don't even have mozzarella cheese here!"
Abby laughed rembering the pizza incident in the novel. The poor thing had a really hard ti adjusting.
Katie continued. "But Al made it bearable and eventually made look forward to building a real life here. We've done a lot of good and had fun in the process since rebuilding this region. I still missed you, and occasionally the technology and the food, but this is my ho. Now that you're here everything is practically perfect!"
Al was holding his wife's hand and nodding along to what she was saying. Of course he would know better than anyone else how much his wife had missed her ho. They had a lot of long conversations about it in the novel after she finally fessed up about who she was.
It was actually pretty cute how much he loved her. Once he found out the truth about her ho he imdiately began proposing plans to try and make things as similar as possible when everything with Sigmund ended and they could leave the palace.
Did n like that even exist in their old world? Abby had certainly never t one who would do anything in their power to make the woman they loved happy.
Katie suddenly sprang out of her chair and addressed Blaise, doing a salute from Shibatsu she had seen him do a few tis. It was one ant to express gratitude. "I apologize for speaking so freely about sothing you must not understand. Thank you for safely bringing Abby to us."
Blaise, who had been completely forgotten in chaos of the conversation, gave an aloof nod.
"Your thanks are unnecessary, Madam Clan Leader. It was my honor to see her here. As for the restI believe I understand more now than I did before. Miss Abby ntioned how the two of you ca to this part of the world previously.
"As I said before, I would like to have the chance to speak with you about an idea I had for the future of your country's military. You are free to dismiss my suggestions but I swear I have no ill intent making them."
Al and Katie exchanged a glance and it seed to consist of an entire silent conversation. These two were more in sync than any couple Abby had ever seen.
As the clan leader and the one technically in charge, Al replied to his request. "We are open to suggestions. No long-term plans have been set as of now."
Blaise seed relieved that he hadn't been shut down, or worse, kicked out for being too flippant. These two were much more willing to listen to others than King Franz had been.
The next forty-five minutes were spent discussing his plan. Abby was dumbstruck as she sat listening. Was this what he had ant when he said he had been wondering about the Kanta military? He had been coming up with a proposal of his own?!
A small, sleepy sounding call of "mama?" ca from the hallway and Katie excused herself to go scoop her son into her arms with a gentle smile. "Hey baby, are you all done with your nap?"
Adam nodded. "Mmhmm."
He was still half-asleep and uninterested in the unfamiliar people sitting in the living room. Katie carried him back over and he snuggled against her shoulder.
Abby's heart nearly burst at the cuteness. She had always known Katie would make a great mom. She had been too caught up in the reunion earlier to pay much attention to her nephew but he was a cherubic little thing who looked like a softer version of his father.
"Can I hold him?" she whispered.
Katie smiled and shook her head. "He's a mama's boy; only wants when he first wakes up. You can once he's a little more awake."
The discussion between Al and Blaise seed to be going well and the won sat back and listened, watching the adorable Adam fully wake up. Once he was up and ready to go he was finally curious about the other people in the room.
Looking to his mother for permission, he wandered over to Abby and tugged on her skirt. "Who dat?"
"That's your Aunt Abby," Katie said thickly. "She's going to stay with us now."
Adam tilted his little head. "Like Aunt Ayana?"
Abby rembered from the book that Ayana was actually Al's aunt but it was probably easier to explain her presence in their life that way to such a young child. They had a couple of great aunts back ho that they had always called 'aunt' too.
Katie nodded. "Uh huh. She's my family so she's yours too."
That was enough explanation for him. He ran off to fetch sothing and ca back to show her a little wooden car that was obviously his prized possession. Abby wondered who Katie had gotten to craft it since she it was an expert level of craftsmanship that would take more than a few years to learn.
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