The trip back to the lodge was quiet and uneventful, which was a nice change of pace from the trip away and the time between. Winters had done his very best to both remain respectful and object violently to the entirety of the plan, but ultimately the presence of a Jane took precedence, and Amie was the highest of the family present at the time. Had her mother been there, the entire excursion would likely have been cancelled. Instead, Amie checked her assistant into an upper-class room for two (one being for her luggage, half of which was being abandoned) at a rather modern hotel, entirely at her own expense, with the length of stay set at one year (as was the maximum time allotted for her visits). She wasn't expecting to stay for so long, but she couldn't begin to predict the adventure that lay before her in the coming days.

Winters insisted at least on going over every inch of Lady Jane's luggage, checking for damage and cleaning away the stains. Her jacket, pants, and boots positively glowed by the time he was done with him, though she hadn't the heart to tell him this would likely be in vain. He even oiled and rubbed the leather in her sword belt, polished the belt buckle, and honed the blade on a whetting stone. To her frustration, he also insisted on showing her how to drive the car and describing every feature. She was nearing the two hour mark by the time her luggage was reloaded and her assistant bid farewell, but Amie had decided to make up for lost time by taking full advantage of the car's acceleration and suspension. She assured Winters that the resulting smile was in regard to the spreading of the glory of the Jane household. The poor assistant waved goodbye, clutching his tablet so tightly that his knuckles were white, as Lady Jane pulled away and made the return trip.

The car handled beautifully, and Amie, now free of the watchful eye of Winters and her family in general, pushed it to the safest limit she could. The 45-minute trip was completed in just under 30, and the first thing any outside residents of the lodge saw was a cloud of dirt as she braked hard into a sharp turn. Steadying her breathing and calming the trembling in her hands, Amie vacated the car. She had changed into much lighter, more comfortable clothing; a light blue dress that came down to her ankles, a gray jacket, and gray ankle-length boots. She was still wearing the gold-stamped glove on her right hand. The other was bare, with a thin silver bracelet around the wrist to match the two plain silver earrings in each ear. The belt, sword, and sheath were still present and in place, though. The most noticeable different, however, was her countenance. The stern, prude noblewoman had been replaced by a cheery young lady, complimented by a warm smile and bright eyes.

The smile faltered as she saw her path blocked by whom she believed was named Jaiden. He was undoubtedly the last person she wanted to meet after the...altercation in the forest. He didn't seem like the sort of fellow who would easily forgive, much less forget, that sort of thing, and for a split second she wondered if she should just return to the hotel. Amie forced the thought aside immediately. The Jane house is not so easily deterred. If he wished to be rude and impudent, fine, but she would not stoop to such a level as that. Rather, she squared her shoulders and walked briskly towards him.

[color=aba000]"Salutations. Methinks that, as we will reside together, we could..."[/color] Amie cleared her throat, aware that she was still speaking too formally. She lightened her tone and adjusted her vocabulary and wordplay, though it ended up sounding more awkward that informal. [color=aba000]"We could start over with the whole thing. I'll go first. My name is Lady Am...my name is Amie. And you may call me...Miss...Amie,"[/color] she said with some difficulty near the end. Being addressed by first name was very, very abnormal. It was probable that she would not even be addressed as "Miss." Regardless, she controlled her pride and extended her hand to shake once more. Whether he accepted or not made no difference to her. She had decided to test his maturity.