"Are the horses ready?" yells the Empress. She puts her hands on her hips, watches her friends drag the horses out in the cool day. "Are we set?" she asks.

"Yup," replies Janelle. "Which town are we going to again?"

"To the closes town." Cy stands tall and proud in the early morning. "We need to get some food."

"Yeah, we know that," states Michelle, "but which town?"

"Um… the town that's that way." The Empress points towards the gates.

"Those would be the gates," teases Janelle.

Cy glares. "Well duh, we gotta go through the gates to leave the village huh?"

Janelle rolls her eyes. "Whatever, mate," she mutters.

"Where's Red and MomBard?" grumbles the Empress. "We're all going."

"Here we come," calls MomBard. She's bouncing along side Red Hope. "Are we all going?"

"Yes," growls Cy but she brushes back her hair with a relaxed look. "Are you two ready?"

Red Hope folds her arms and rocks on the soles of her boots. "Who's looking after my Place why we're gone huh?" She corks an eyebrow.

"Well… uhhh…" Cy points at all the huts of the lurkers. "They will," she declares.

The bard scratches the back of her neck while she glances at the quiet huts. "Huh, they hardly leave their huts unless they need something to eat." She chuckles.

"Nah," brushes off the Empress. "They'll take care of things while we're getting food."

"Right." Red Hope sighs.

"Wait," cuts in MomBard. "What about Cindy and Tea?" She glances between her friends. "They'll take care of the Place while we're gone."

Everybody brightens up.

"Yeah, mate… good thinkin'." Janelle smiles happily. "Let's go. I wanna get out of here."

"What?" asks Red Hope in a cold tone. "Don't you… like it here?"

The Aussie sheepishly smiles and steps back. "I love it here, Red… just need a little… fresh air. You know?"

The bard snickers and winks. Her focus comes back on Cy. "Got your sais?"

"Yup." The Empress pats her sides with the sais. "All prepared."

"Good." Red Hope breathes calmly. "May need them with all us… us…" She glimpses at her friends and herself in all the skimpy leather, feathers, and tethers. "Us… Amazon wannabes." She laughs quietly.

Janelle and Michelle glance at each other. "Amazon wannabes?" the question the Aussies together.

MomBard puts her hands on her hips. "We are Amazons."

"Oh lord." Red Hope rolls her eyes. "Yeah, mom?" She grins at her friend. "Let's see you do some fancy fighting huh?"

MomBard scolds her friend with a look. "We're peaceful Amazons."

"There ain't no such thing," mutters the bard. She shrugs. "Okay, we're… Amazons," she humors her friends.

The four other females smile profoundly.

"Let's get moving," orders the Empress. "We need to be back before nightfall." She strolls over to her horse and mounts it. She settles into the saddle with a groan. "Damn, that hurt," she mumbles.

The others snicker lowly. Janelle, Michelle, Red Hope, and MomBard all mount their horses.

"Lead the way, Empress."

"Righty ho," jokes the Empress back to Red Hope. She turns her horse around and aims for the gates of the Place.

"Hey, did you bring any money?" inquires MomBard.

The Empress grins. "Of course." She reaches in between her leather bra and extracts a card. "My Amazon Visa."

"Wow, we haven't maxed it yet?" Red Hope grins at Cy because she knows how much the Empress likes to shop.

"No," replies the Empress hotly. She straightens up tall in her saddle. "I know how to watch our account."

"Yep, I bet we're running low," mutters Michelle.

The Aussie snickers and leans towards the artist. "Knowing Cy, she's probably got all these tiny little, leather thongs in her hut."

"I heard that," yells the Empress. She slips her Amazon credit card back between her breasts. "And I only have five pairs." She blushes when she realizes what she said. "I mean… awe Hell… I mean Hades."

"That's four more pairs than I have," teases Janelle.

"That’s one more pair than I have," taunts Red Hope to the Aussie.

Janelle looks away as some redness creeps up her neck.

The artist grins evilly at Janelle. "Maybe I will come by for that massage."

The Aussie goes another shade of red. "Pick on somebody else, mates." She gives everybody a mean look but everybody just chuckles. She sighs with a grin.

"Hey, where are you five going?" asks Tea at the gates.

The little gang stops their horses near Tea.

"We're headed to the market to get food for the Place." The Empress raises an eyebrow at Tea. "You are to stay here with Cindy and make sure nothing bad happens."

"What's going on?" Cindy reappears around the bend with an inquisitive look.

"They're going out to get into trouble," whispers Tea.

Cindy chuckles but doesn't say anything more.

"Very funny." The Empress gives a hurt look but settles back in her saddle. "Make sure this Place doesn't get messed up by those lurkers." She grins. "They're bound to come flying out of their huts causing utter chaos."

"Well, that won't be my fault." The Canadian peers up at Red Hope with a smirk.

Red Hope rolls her eyes. "Jus' blame it on me."

"You are the owner, sweetness," informs MomBard.

The 'owner' shoots a mean look at MomBard. "Don't make me unsub you." She snickers.

"You couldn't do it," taunts MomBard.

"I know, I couldn't." Red Hope laughs quietly.

The Empress cuts in, "Anyway." She focuses her attention on Tea and Cindy. "Keep the Place in order and if you need the Royal Guards, they're around."

"Wonderful." The Canadian snickers evilly. "I could… use those lovely Amazons' help."

Cindy narrows her eyes at Tea. "Bbbbad."

Tea shrugs. "Somebodys gotta do it." She peers up at the women on horseback. "Well, have a nice time."

"We will." The Empress signals her 'followers' to follow her. "This way, Amazons."

Red Hope rolls her eye after dramatically sighing. "Oh lord, its getting to her too." She shakes her head, kicks her horse into a walk, and follows. "Maybe I need to unsub Cy." She cackles evilly.

"What you laughing at?" inquires the Empress as a tough and stuff look masks her face.

"Oh nothing." The bard bats her eyes. "Keep leading my dear, Empr-ass."

Everybody in the group snicker at Red Hope's joke.

"I heard that, Red." Cy wags a finger at her 'follower' as she gives a stern look. "Do not be sassy to your Royal Highness."

"I wouldn’t dare do that to the royal highn-asses around here."

Again the small gang snickers while traveling in the surrounding woods outside of the village.

"We sure do have a lot of high-asses around here too," pipes in Janelle.

Michelle tilts her head and studies Cy's butt in the saddle. "Don't look to royal to me."

Everybody roars with laughter.

The Empress stops her horse, half turns in her saddle, and shoots off drop dead looks. "Look yawl, either follow me or get lost in this dangerous forest."

"I think we have better luck with the forest," jokes Janelle.

MomBard finally speaks up, "I'm with you, girl." She smiles at the Empress.

Cy smiles warmly at MomBard. "Thank you."

Red Hope stares at the forest floor but mutters, "Lead the way… Empress." She sniffs and peers up with a grin.

MomBard leans in her saddle towards the bard. "Brat," she teases.

The tiny bard sticks her tongue out at MomBard in a quick instant. She chuckles and glances back at her friends.

MomBard laughs quietly and sits up right in her saddle.

Janelle, the Aussie bard, decides to agree. "Alright, you lead the way, Empress Cy."

The Empress raises an eyebrow at the artist.

Michelle shrugs. "Sure, I'll follow your ass uuuh, your amazing leadership."

Cy points at Michelle. "I got your number, woman."

"Really?" Michelle smirks. "What's my cell number?"

"Let's go, ladies," commands the Empress. She kicks her horse and goes at a walk. Then it dawns on her. "Cell? We do not have cell phones in the village!" yells the Empress. "Those are illegal." She keeps swaying back in forth in her saddle, in the lead of the gooberish bunch.

"What the Hades isn't illegal in the village?" grumbles the artist.

"Carbonated drinks," replies the Aussie bard.

Michelle rolls her eyes and huffs. "Oooh hold me back." She chuckles.

Red Hope cuts in, "Hey, y'all know I hate forbidden beverages."

"Yeah, why is that?" inquires Janelle.

"Red is just an angel," teases MomBard.

"You, hush," growls Red Hope to MomBard.

MomBard winks at her friend and keeps quiet… for now.

"Hey Emp, you know where we're going?" Red Hope stares at their leader's back.

"Of course I do," responds the Empress. "We're headed… north."

"North huh?" asks Michelle. She shakes her head. "Then why is the sun directly behind us?" A smug look masks her features. "If we're going north it should be to our right."

"So, we're going west," concludes Janelle.

"That's what I said, we're going west," states Cy with a proud tone. "Don't you guys have confidence in your Empress's talents?"

"What talents were those?" teases the artist.

The Empress shoulders drop. "I have many, many, many talents. I am an endless pit of talents."

"You're a pit of something," jokes Michelle.

MomBard tries backing up the Empress again. "Give the Empress a chance," she reassures the group. "We're not lost… I mean I can still see the village behind us." She peeks back over her shoulder to see Red Hope's Place. "We're okay."

"For now," murmurs Red Hope. "We ain't gonna make it home before sunset."

"Sssh." MomBard swats her tiny friend's leg. "Help me out here."

The bard grumbles and looks at the Aussies. "Yeah, Cy knows where we're going. Right Emp?"

"Naturally." The Empress slows her horse down beside her followers. "Shall we go into a gallop? It'll save us time."

MomBard knits her eyebrows together. "These things go faster?" She glimpses down at her horse.

"Oh lord." Red Hope shakes her head. "Yeah, let's canter to the town. You can lead, Emp."

"Alright then." Empress pushes her horse into a trot. "Now then, ladies. Let's ride!" She spurs her horse into a gallop. "Holy shit!" she screams while galloping.

"Now, how does this work?" Janelle squeezes her legs tightly around her horse's stomach. Suddenly, she gets whipped lashed as her mare takes off. "Oh my god!" she yells.

"Inexperienced riders." The artist shakes her head. "Horrible." She kicks her horse into a gallop and almost falls out of her saddle from the instant burst of the horse. "Oh shit!" she hollers.

"Well, that was entertaining," teases Red Hope. She glances at MomBard. "You ready?"

MomBard frantically shakes her head. "I don't understand how to get these things to go."

"Okay, I'll teach you." The bard shifts her horse closer. "I use to ride back in my day." She grins at her friend. "If you squeeze your legs a little, the horse will trot, if you lightly kick… he'll canter." She paused with a grin. "If you kick hard, the horse will gallop. Then if you pull on the reins together, it'll slow the horse. But just don't get jerky, jerky with the reins. Horses don't like that."

MomBard faintly nods. "Okay, I think I got it, babes." She squeezes her horse's sides gently and the horse starts trotting. "This isn't bad."

Red Hope follows suit and joins her friend. "Now hold tight, grab some mane when you put your horse into a gallop. Its fast and sudden. Ready?"

"I... I think so."

"Let's go!" The bard kicks her horse hard and it sent her black stallion into a gallop. "Wooooo!"

MomBard spurs her horse and catches up. "Oh my good gracious lord!" She sends a silent prayer that she'll survive this ride.

"Come on, mom! Be a cowgirl," teases the bard in her yell.

"I like reading about the Cow Girl… not being her," screams MomBard.

Red Hope laughs as she continues galloping to follow her other friends.

MomBard just clings to her horse in hopes to just not fall off. She wants to make it to the town market with her friends as long as she didn't fall off.

And well, the funny gang would soon arrive in that town in about half of an hour. Who knows what sort of mischief they would get into then.