Indiana Jones, Anna Jones, Willie Scott, and Short Round grouped back up after their two hours of cleaning up, and were lead back through the palatial complex by the same servants who lead them to their rooms. Electric lighting did most of the heavy lifting in lighting up the palace, but the occasional candelabra and wall sconce introduced some traditional fire lighting into the environment. As they approached the center of the palace complex, the sounds of Indian music began to echo through the halls.

Anna Jones had to admit she looked fairly underdressed. She wore her usual (recently cleaned) beige shirt and pants, the ones that would match her father's outfit minus the leather jacket. Short Round was also in his usual outfit of a worn long sleeve shirt, jeans, sneakers, and a baseball cap. Indiana Jones was wearing what seemed to be a new outfit he acquired from their hosts. A smart looking grey coat with matching pants, a white undershirt, and a bowtie she recognized that was his own. He also wore his glasses, she guessed to try and look more like the scientific type than the rogue adventurer type.

Willie Scott was by far the most resplendent, and had been fixing herself up right until the servants gave them their final warning that they would be late for the dinner. She had fixed her hair, which was now back to its highly-maintained, golden fashion. Rather than it being all bunched up on top of her head like she'd had it back in Shanghai, it was now down on her shoulders. A gilded (or at least it looked gilded) headdress adorned the top of her hair, surrounded by thin lace that flowed down the sides of her head with her hair. She was clothed in a long, glittery gown.

Indiana Jones had mockingly described her as a "Princess". Anna had to agree.

"I couldn't imagine wearing something like that," Anna commented to Willie.

The woman just smiled sympathetically, "I think you'd look beautiful in one. But, well..."

"Can't expect the Maharaja to have clothes appropriate for a horse huh?" Anna guessed at the ending of her sentence.

A slight titter from Willie told her her guess was right, even if the older woman didn't want to say it, "Well you never know. I think the Maharaja is absolutely swimming in it."

"In what, lady?" Short Round asked, his eyes gleaming as his head tracked the beautifully smithed candelabras lining the halls.

"Money," Willie waggled her eyebrows, "Maybe it wasn't such a bad idea to come here after all."

Anna raised an eyebrow, "I thought you wanted a husband who would do more than just put you on a shelf to look pretty. Who'd let you pursue your career?"

"Well~" Willie bobbed her head mockingly, "If the Maharaja wants to give a pretty American lady like me some sort of splendid gift before she leaves to go back to the U S of A so that she remembers him forevermore, I might not entirely be opposed to the idea. Might be a nice nest egg while I try and break back into Holywood."

"What you planning to break in to steal from Hollywood?" Short Round tilted his head.

Willie patted him once on top of his hat, "The audience's heart, sonny."

"Sounds like a lot of work to put in in just a week," Anna muttered.

Indiana gave a strange smile as he stared straight ahead, glancing once in Willie's direction. The woman, on the other hand just huffed, "Well, I'm not really going to be doing much else. Not particularly interested in bumbling around with your father looking at all the Mosesicks."

"Mosaics," Indiana corrected dryly.

"So you're just gonna spend the week drooling alllllll over the Maharaja then?" Anna snorted, shooting Willie a look.

Face falling slightly at the embarrassment, Willie reached up and pampered her hair, "A girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do. Besides, your father ruined my normal method of income back in Shanghai. I don't think I'll even feel safe in America with someone like Lao loose."

"Oof," Indiana clutched his stomach in faux pain, "Oh, Willie, that hurts. I'm so sorry I saved your life and didn't leave you to die in that nightclub. Being rescued and given a free flight out of Shanghai must've really been a downer compared to being executed in a back alley as a witness."

Willie's frown turned sour as she shot Indiana a dirty look, "Excuse me! I think your daughter did more of the saving from the nightclub than you did, sir!"

"I had a plan!" Indiana argued back before Anna could open her mouth.

"Oh yeah? What plan was that?" Willie said as she lightly pushed Indiana in the shoulder.

Indiana, giving a glare in response to Willie's shove, responded slowly, "Well... it involved a gong... a sword... and a jump out of the window."

"That sounds like it would've just ended in a lot of broken bones," Anna snickered.

Indiana grumbled under his breath, before raising his voice and protesting, "Hey. I was poisoned. It was a last ditch plan! I make a lot of those up on the fly! I don't have the luxury of just being able to fly away from all my problems!"

"Well good thing I was there then," Anna grinned in faux pride.

Indiana's voice, however, was overly serious for what was meant to be a joke as he pointed a finger at her, "All you did was put yourself in harm's way. Do you even know what would've happened if Lao Che managed to capture you? You would've become livestock, an attraction for his mobster friends. You would've been bridled and gagged and rotted in a cage somewhere. Maybe let out to fly through hoops for his entertainment if you'd been a good little girl! You should've just run to the airport."

Anna's ear fell as she cringed back from her father's finger. The mood fell once again as Willie and Short Round looked, concerned, towards Indiana.

Of all people, the loyal Short Round was the first to speak up, "Doctah Jones... She just- She was just trying to help."

Indiana gave a glance towards the crestfallen Anna, who looked away to avoid his gaze as soon as he turned his head. Sighing and reaching up to adjust his glasses, he muttered, "Yeah. That's why I've not made a big deal about it yet."

The procession continued in silence for a while, until the Indiana music became loud enough that it was clear it was coming from the next room over. There the servants stopped and let them pass into a foyer, where several men and women, dressed in luxurious traditional Indian clothing lounged on couches and pillows, chatting amongst each other. A few men, some light-skinned some dark-skinned, wearing red uniforms and gold and silver epaulettes also mingled in the crowd, catching Anna's eye.

A particular figure eventually diverted their attention though, as Chattar Lal made his way through the crowd towards them, wearing a similar outfit to the one he greeted them at the gates in, "Good to see that you had the energy to make it, Doctor Jones," he reached out to shake Indiana's hands, before nodding to the rest of them, "And company," stepping back and clasping his hands behind his back, he continued, "The Maharaja has taken a special interest in you. He wishes you all to sit near the head of the table so he may talk to you. It is a place of honor, I'm sure you understand."

Willie beamed towards Indiana as she wiggled her shoulders slightly in excitement. Walking forward towards Chattar Lal she asked, "Mr. Lal? What do they call the Maharaja's wife?"

Chattar Lal blinked, before clearing his throat and reaffirming his warm smile, "T-The Maharaja has not yet found it fit to take a wife."

Willie looked over her shoulder, waggling her eyes at the group, "Maybe he just hasn't found the right kind of woman..."

Chattar Lal turned around to lead them forward towards the dining hall. Stopping near a certain man, he reached out his hand indicatively, "This is Captain Phillip Blumburtt..."

The man, an older white man with balding grey hair turned around at the mention of his name. He wore a madder red coat, and had two golden epaulettes adorning both his shoulders. Golden facings surrounding his collar and the front of his coat glistened slightly in the lighting of the room, and a quartet of medals were pinned to his left breast. The old man put on a smile as he faced the group, "Ah, this must be the famous Doctor Indiana Jones, and his entourage..." his eye caught on Anna, eliciting a sigh of exasperation as he blinked and chuckled, "...How curious!"

"Hi I'm Anna, I'm a sapient talking horse and I'm Indiana Jones's daughter. Please don't talk down to me," Anna deadpanned as she locked Captain Blumburtt's eyes.

Indiana Jones broke up the moment as he extended his hand towards the British officer, "Pleased to meet you Captain. What's your division?"

Blumburtt took his eyes off of Anna, shaking Indiana's hand, "Eleventh Poona Rifles, sir. We're here for a regular inspection tour of the region."

Chattar Lal clasped his hands behind his back again as he commented, "The British do find it so amusing to inspect us at their convenience!"

Reaching up and brushing a hand against his thin hair, Blumburtt smiled nervously, "I do hope our presence here hasn't been too inconvenient to you and His Majesty?"

Chattar Lal shook his head, keeping his affable smile steady as he said, "The British worry so about their Empire. Makes us all feel like well cared for children," clearing his throat, his voice took on a more business-like tone as he stepped forward, "Now, Doctor Jones and his entourage have had the unpleasant experience of experience a dreadful plane crash... now, er, where exactly did you say you crashed?"

Indiana cleared his throat, "The, uh, northern foothills of Mount Humol, sir. The plane didn't survive the accident, but fortunately we managed to bail out in a rubber raft," gesturing towards Anna, he added, "We wouldn't have survived the fall if it weren't for my daughter lending her ability to fly to slow down our descent."

"How fascinating..." Chattar Lal hummed, before waggling a finger towards Anna's wings, "Those wings actually work? I would have thought they were far too small."

Anna shrugged as Indiana laughed, "Well, that's what we thought too before she started zipping around through the air at around a year old."

Chattar Lal shared her father's laugh, before turning back towards Blumburtt, "Doctor Jones wishes to get back to Delhi and back to his studies in America. However with banditry and petty rebellion being how it is these days, I supposed it might be the safest and most convenient if he and his friends accompanied you when you returned to your headquarters at the end of this week?"

Blumburtt gave a warm smile, one that slightly reminded Anna of the smiles Uncle Marcus would give when he was about to give her a present from behind his back, "Of course. That would be no trouble at all, as long as you're not in a hurry."

Indiana grinned, "Oh I think I can surely suffer a week in a place like this in exchange for a safe ride home!"

Chattar Lal snapped his finger as he walked past them, "Then it's arranged! If you'll excuse me, sirs, madams, I must go and see that the dinner is ready!"

Blumburtt gave Lal a side-eye as he walked away, before turning back towards Indiana, "I heard you served, Doctor Jones? Received medals from the British, French, and eventually the Belgians?"

Indiana's eye twitched as he covered his mouth and cleared his throat. Eventually, he nodded, "I fought in the Great War as a volunteer in the Belgian Army, and eventually worked with the French. Somme... then a prisoner of war, got myself out and then Verdun."

Blumburtt sputtered slightly, "By God man. I stand humbled. All this doddering old fool," he slapped his own chest, "has done has tramped around India enforcing taxes and putting down rebellions."

"I would've preferred that kind of duty, Captain," Indiana Jones said soberly, "I'd give anything to not get on the boat to Ireland."

Blumburtt pursed his lips, "Still. You have defied the American stereotype, Doctor Jones. Left your safe shores to fight against the hun. Jolly good, sir."

"Yeah, that's very kind of you, sir," Indiana sighed half-heartedly, "Might not end up being worth anything. Not with maniacs like Hitler and his National Socialists in control. It's only a matter of time now until he defies Versailles and starts the whole shitshow over again."

Anna stepped in at that moment, "What's so wrong with the Nazis, dad? Aren't they fixing the economy and stuff?"

"They're segregating the Jews out of their society. They're talking world domination. Hitler's a dictator, pure and simple. A few economic reforms doesn't cover that kinda stuff up," Indiana murmured.

Anna frowned, "I mean, Dad, doesn't America try and segregate the Africans out of our society? And don't the British, like, control most of the world?"

Indiana shook his head, "You're technically right. But, there's still hope in America. People want change. People want people like Uncle Rich and I to be equal. I bet you'll see it happen in your lifetime, Anna. Hopefully mine. And Britain is a democracy now," he nodded towards Blumburtt, who just hummed in response, "There's movements to start freeing colonies, instead of making more of them. The people in control of Germany aren't trying to do any of that. They want more oppression, more land, less determination. Not more of it."

"And if we had more brave American soldiers and scholars like your father," Blumburtt added, "The world wouldn't have to fear people like that."

The conversation lulled as the chatter of the other guests and the live music filled Anna's ears. Her thoughts drifted to her Uncle. She had so sorely missed him since he departed back for Germany...

"Dad..." she whispered eventually, and a soft hum from the man confirmed to her that she had his attention without needing to look, "...When we get home, can we send a letter to Uncle Johan?"

"Maybe I can get us a trip to Germany," Indiana mumbled, "I'd like to see if I could get in touch with him myself. Try and get him out of the country before things... get worse."

Captain Blumburtt cleared his throat as he raised his bushy eyebrows, "Regardless, Doctor Jones! I am honestly quite enamoured with your character, sir! I hope we may be able to talk more during your stay here, it will be quite stimulating to share stories with a renaissance man like yourself!"

Indiana took in a breath, dropping his somber expression as he looked back up to the captain, "It would be my pleasure, Captain."

A bell rang as Chattar Lal shouted something in Hindi to the crowd, causing the chatter to die down at once. He seemingly repeated himself in English moments later, "And for the English speakers here, such as the representatives of the Army and Dr. Jones and his entourage: Will our esteemed guests please come to the table? The feast will begin shortly!"

The crowd coalesced towards the dining hall proper. Anna had expected a giant, vaulted ceiling. But instead, the ceiling was a lot lower than she expected (still much higher than a standard one, but still), and was adorned with paintings, sculptures, and mosaic. On the far end of the hall, the room lead directly out onto a balcony overlooking Pankot, with thin mesh nets to protect the hall from mosquitoes and insects.

As they approached Chattar Lal, standing near the head of the table, spoke to them in a hurried whisper, "You're here, in these front four seats. Doctor Jones here, I sit opposite you, Anna beside me, then Captain Blumburtt here, then Miss Scott and Mr. Round next to each other over there..." he said, gesticulating at the seats. Indeed, they were right up front, with Willie Scott being the farthest from the front sitting next to Short Round on Anna's side of the table.

She opened her mouth, wanting to ask if she could swap seats with Willie so that her friend could try and chat with the Maharaja, but Chattar Lal backed away before she could say anything, clasping his hands behind his back as he watched the other guests take their places.

There were no traditional seats, and the table was fairly low to the ground. Instead, there were these large, plush, cylindrical pillows that one could lean back on. Because of how Anna's joints worked, she could hardly lean back fully onto the pillow to gain its comfort, and instead she supposed she'd just have to sit on her haunches when it was time to be seated.

"Uhf, I'm starving," Willie sighed as she stood by her seat, "Looks like I won't be needing to go on that diet after all."

"Me too. And I smell something smell good from kitchen," Short Round peeked over his shoulder, looking back at the dark door that probably acted as the servant accessway.

"You smelled that something smelled good from the kitchen-" Anna corrected, but was cut off by a sudden shush from her father as Chattar Lal's voice cut through the atmosphere.

"His supreme highness...!" Chattar Lal shouted to the banquet hall, "..Guardian of Pankot tradition, the Maharaja of Pankot: Zalim Singh!"

Chattar Lal stepped aside as the doors behind him opened. Flanked by two servants, the Maharaja strode out onto the floor of the dining hall. His appearance, however, caused Anna to blink in surprise.

He was finely dressed, which was to be expected. His robes consisted of glamorous red, with jewels and gold streaking and coursing throughout the outfit. He wore a headdress, which was topped by some sort of feathered adornment and an arrangement of sparkling jewels. The unexpected part, however, was his height. Originally, Anna thought he must just be a lot shorter than she imagined, only being a few inches taller than her. However, as the Maharaja's eyes panned across the room, she realized: he was just a child!

The servants who had flanked him as he walked into the room took their places on either side of him as he sat down. The Maharaja nodded with the grace and etiquette that could only be expected of a member of royalty, and the sounds of the guests across the room sitting down met Anna's ears, prompting her to do the same.

With a flick of his hand, the Maharaja signalled to the musicians, who started up a new tune as the muttering of conversation filled the halls once again.

"That's the Maharaja?" Willie Scott sneered from her place, one row away from Anna.

Short Round's voice came next as he grabbed a napkin from the table, "Maybe he like... older women?"

Anna turned and gave Short Round an odd look, Willie giving him a similar, but slightly more disgusted version of her look. The scent of Chattar Lal's cologne filled her nostrils as the Prime Minister sat down beside her, the man sighing as he took his napkin and placed it on his lap.

"What a strange creature," a young voice said from Anna's right, and her ears drooped as she looked to the side towards the Maharaja, who was eyeing her up and down like he was at a store window, "Is your intention to sell her to me? Or is this a tribute?"

Anna's guts writhed as anger flared in her nostrils, and Indiana spluttered from the other side of the table like he'd been punched in the chest. He was, however, the first to speak up, "Your highness," Indiana began, catching the boy's attention, "She is neither a gift nor for sale. She is my daughter, not a slave."

Chattar Lal, fortunately, appeared to be on their side, "I believe Doctor Jones described her as a heretofore undiscovered form of intelligent life. She's people, Zalim, and one of our guests."

Anna's mood lifted slightly at the stranger's defense of her, and she offered a weak, "Thanks..."

"And she can talk, unless my ears deceive me," the Marahaja hummed, his face still as stoic and neutral as the moment he entered the room, "What is your name?"

"Anna Katie Jones," she grunted, "And yeah I can talk. And no it's not like a parrot."

"Do those wings work?" the Maharaja pressed, his unrelenting voice causing Anna to cringe away from him.

"Uh... yeah, they do. I hurt them in the crash though..." Anna mumbled, looking around for something to distract the conversation towards.

He adjusted his seating against his pillow and finally took his eyes off of her, "I am quite a fan of birds and horses. I must show you some on one of the days you are here."

"Okay..." Anna mumbled, glad the conversation seemed to be ending.

"What were the circumstances of that plane crash, Doctor Jones? I'm dreadfully curious," Chattar Lal changed the subject, leaning forward with his hands clasped in front of him.

Indiana nodded, looking suspiciously inside of the cup of wine that had been poured for him before he was seated, sticking a finger inside of it and swirling it around, "Er- right. We were booked on an rather seedy flight out of Shanghai. It was the only one that was going where we needed to be for the next few weeks. For some reason, while we were flying out over the Himalayas, the pilots upped and jumped out of the plane," he retrieved his finger, inspecting it carefully before raising the glass to his lips and taking a sip, "The next thing we knew, we were out of fuel and about to go down. If it weren't for Anna using her wings to slow us down after we bailed out, we'd all be dead, probably."

"A brave young girl indeed, then," Lal looked over to Anna, "How old are you, then?"

"Fifteen, we think," Anna mumbled.

"A brave young woman, then! Why 'we think'?" Chattar asked.

"When I recovered her from the Panama Rainforest, certain dental examinations by other members of the scientific community estimated she was less than a year old. That was back in 1920, so..." Indiana made a gesture with his hand as he put his cup back.

Anna's ear flicked as the sounds of footsteps behind her, along with the scent of cooked meat, drew her attention away from the table. Several men walked with a large platter, upon which there was a giant snake, dead and coiled around a pillar in the center of the platter. Anna frowned as her stomach rumbled, and her head panned to see if there were any other deliveries being made by the wait staff.

Indiana's breath caught in his throat as the meal was laid on the table, and the clatter of the dishes finally attracted his attention to the snake. Flinching his vision away from the meal, his breathing rate increased as a bead of sweat rolled down his forehead.

"Is there something wrong?" Chattar Lal asked, giving Indiana a side eye as he seemingly eagerly awaited the food.

Indiana swallowed hard, "I have Ophidiophobia."

"Ah! Snake surprise!" someone said from down the table.

Willie Scott's voice attracted Anna's attention back towards the snake as she saw a servant drawing a carving knife and leaning over the snake. Plunging the knife into the distended middle section of the snake, they began to slice as steam was released from the wound. Anna's stomach, already not a fan of seeing and smelling meat products, did a backflip as a flap of snake hide was pulled back around the incision, and something began to writhe from within. Soon enough, tiny bodies squirmed inside of the body of the snake as they wriggled their way out of their mother's corpse, flopping onto the table as guests grabbed and picked them off one by one with forks.

Short Round turned his head towards Anna, the shocked look on his face reminding her to close her own gaping mouth. Willie Scott looked like she was going to pass out as she held a hand clasped to her mouth.

Indiana swallowed as he brought a shaking hand up to his forehead to wipe his sweat, looking towards Chattar Lal with a pleading eye, "U-Uh. Sir? I-If I may enquire about your menu..."

Chattar Lal's smile faded slightly, "Juvenile snake meat is a traditional food in Pankot, Doctor Jones."

Indiana stuttered a bit as one of the snake babies escaped the banquet further up the table, crawling its way over towards them, only barely fended off by Captain Blumburtt as he pushed it away with the edge of his fork. Eventually, Indiana smiled and tried his best to sound polite, "W-Well, you see sir, Anna is an o-obligate herbivore. A-And after years of preparing plant-based meals in our household, I-I've become somewhat of a vegetarian myself. I assume there's something plant based that we could both have?"

Chattar Lal seemed to sigh in disappointment, before quickly reaffirming his pleasant persona as he stood up, "I suppose I can have the palace staff throw something together. Excuse me for a moment, Doctor Jones, Your Highness," he bowed towards the Maharaja, who simply waved him off with a bored hand. The man stalked towards the exit.

Keeping a wary, shaky eye towards the snakes, Indiana Jones shifted a few inches to the left before looking towards Captain Blumburtt, "Captain... I uh, I don't suppose you've heard about something called the Thugee, have you?"

Blumburtt finally got the infant snake on the end of his fork, flinging it away from him back towards the platter it came from as Indiana flinched. The captain turned back around and nodded, "How could I forget? Thugee was an obscenity. They worshipped a different interpretation of a Hindu goddess, by the name of Kali."

Indiana Jones nodded, "If I'm right, Captain, Kali is generally benign in mainstream Hinduism?"

"Venerated by the Hindus, not just benign. Of course, by the way the Thugee worshipped her with human sacrifices, the Kali-Ma of the Thugee is basically an entirely different figure," Blumburtt huffed in disgust as he picked up his wine cup, taking a sip as he hummed thoughtfully.

Indiana Jones relaxed slightly as many of the slithering snakes by the meal platter were killed by the guests and as more food was carried in by the servers, though Willie Scott seemed as stiff as a statue as she held her hands to her mouth like her life depended on it, and her gut occasionally flexed against itself.

Anna, meanwhile, sniffed at the wine and scrunched her nose as the alcohol stung at her nose. She'd never taken a liking to the stuff, despite trying it once with some friends. Her father had put it up to her more robust innards giving none of the upsides of the relatively weak human alcohol, and that it was 'a bad thing to get into anyway'. Looking up from her cup, she asked, "So... if Kali is so different from the one from Hinduism... why is their version named that at all?"

Indiana Jones hummed thoughtfully as he took another sip, "Well, from what I can remember from my studies on this region, Thugee isn't necessarily an Indian invention. It originates from Pankot itself..."

"Which is why it was such a hotspot for it back in the early nineteenth century," Blumburtt added.

"And Pankot was its own principality for the longest time. Up until the East India Company controlled the subcontinent, pretty much," Indiana nodded towards Blumburtt, "The Thugee religion here might've had some similar roots as Hinduism, but due to the political divide and cultural differences between such frictional borders..."

"The Kali of the Thugee might just be an invention of spite, if anything," Blumburtt finished, leaning back on his pillow as he looked towards Indiana again, "I've studied the Thugee extensively, due to my deployment in Pankot Province."

Indiana mirrored the Captain's posture, "Then you might be the one to help me sate my curiosity, Captain. That's about where my academic knowledge on the subject ends."

The click of Chattar Lal's dresshoes came up from behind Anna as he sat back down in his place, attracting the eyes of the two men as the Prime Minister spoke, "I've spoken - well, the more accurate term may be 'wrestled' - with the cook. They'll throw together some salads and fruits for the two Joneses."

"Thanks," Anna smiled, mirrored by a similar appreciation from her father.

Several servers had followed Chattar Lal out from the kitchen, carrying more platters. Willie and Short Round's heads turned hopefully towards the new additions to the table, but as Anna could see their hopes were soon to be crushed. On the platters were several black, horned beetles. Their spindly legs were suspended in the air as they laid on their backs, their shells cracked and soft from being cooked. The servers walked with the platters to each seat at the table, allowing guests to pick off their own share. A man across from Anna peeled back the underbelly of one of the beetles, before consuming the innards with a most horrendous slurping sound.

"Shorty... give me your hat.." Willie said, throat choking around something.

"Why...?" Short Round began to ask, taking off his hat.

"Cause I'm gonna puke in it!" Willie grabbed for the hat, only for Short Round to yank it quickly away from her and place it back firmly on her head. She instead had to settle for retching into her vice-gripped hand over her mouth. Wisely, the servers avoided both of them when passing out the insectoid delicacies.

Indiana Jones leaned forward once again, making eye contact with Lal, "I was just discussing with Captain Blumburtt about a part of Pankot's culture and history that rather interests me, Mr. Lal," Indiana intoned carefully.

Chattar Lal peeled back the belly of a beetle delicately, licking the finger with which he did so as he answered, "Oh?"

"Yes, uh- the Thugee Cult, Mr. Lal," Indiana said, adjusting his seat as a familiar look sparked in his eye, "Specifically how fascinating the divorcement between the figures of Kali in Hinduism and the portrayal of a goddess by the same name and shape in the Thugee religion... despite how close the Mughal Empire and Pankot were before the British Raj."

Chattar Lal paused for a second, his beetle held in front of him as he seemed to examine Indiana carefully. Eventually, he responded, his voice in its usual friendly tone, "Of course. Though I must warn you, the Thugee are a... less than stellar mark on this region's history. I would compare it to an event such as slavery in the United States, and the civil war fought to remove it."

"Of course," Indiana surrendered the point, "But I'm purely interested in it from an academic standpoint, Mr. Lal. It's not very well known about in the archaeological community, and a well-researched paper on it would be very popular."

"Well, I'm not entirely sure I can answer your question for you, Doctor Jones," Chattar Lal said, taking a moment to suck out the boiled innards of the insect. Taking a moment to smack his lips, he discarded the empty husk onto his plate as he continued, "Many of the records of the Thugee cult were burned when their temples were destroyed by the soldiers of the East India Company. They took less kindly to historical preservation and more towards destroying what they believed were obscenities."

"You think the Thugee wasn't an obscenity? Wasn't it a black mark on your history?" Indiana Jones quirked an eyebrow as he probed the question.

Chattar Lal kept his cool, only pausing for a second before taking it in stride, "Don't get me wrong, Doctor Jones. I believe it was a good thing that the British purged its influence, slavery, and human sacrifice from Pankot. However, with it came a... lot of reforms," a sad look crossed his eyes, "I appreciate English culture as much as the next man, but there is always something to be lost when one power falls and another one takes its place, is there not?"

"Are you a radical, Mr. Lal? Like that maniac, Ghandi?" Blumburtt questioned, chuckling a bit in the back of his throat as he took another sip of his wine.

"Far be it!" Chattar Lal said with a snap of his finger, "But I don't have to be a radical to appreciate elements of tradition and culture, Captain. It is our duty and our contract with the Crown to preserve such things as this in Pankot, no?"

"True enough," Blumburtt acquiesced, running a finger through his collar.

A lull came in the conversation as a pair of servers came from behind Anna. This time, rather than some sort of stomach-turning horror, they brought plates of fruit, vegetables, and two bowls of what appeared to be tomato soup. They distributed the food evenly between Anna and Indiana, leaving the platter of fruit in the center.

"I assume fruits are edible to your daughter, Doctor Jones?" Chattar Lal enquired as the servers stalked off.

"She has been found to be able to eat most human food that doesn't contain meat, yeah," Indiana Jones smiled thankfully as he took a spoon and tasted his soup carefully.

Anna felt hairs prickle up on the back of her neck, and she turned to see the haunting, fearful, and lustful eyes of Willie Scott locked onto her food. After a moment, the woman's eyes turned towards Anna, giving forth a silent plea for sustenance. Her and Indiana's food was too far for her to reach, not without seeming rude and leaning all the way out over the table. Short Round's own hand came over to steal a fistful of greens from Anna's plate as he crunched hungrily down on it.

With a sympathetic frown, Anna leaned over and plucked a banana from a bunch given to her and leaned behind Short Round to give it towards Willie. She took it and peeled it, swallowing a surprising amount of the banana as she chewed it faster than a wood mulcher.

"Is the food not to your liking, Miss Scott?" Chattar Lal asked disappointedly towards Willie.

Willie swallowed her mouthful of banana, before shaking her head, "I uh, I had bugs for lunch."

Anna herself hungrily slurped down her soup as Short Round stole most of her greens. For once, Anna hoped her more animalistic appearance would excuse her bad manners as she sated her own starvation. Fortunately for the both of them, Indiana had the grace to eat slowly.

Putting down his spoon, Indiana hummed thoughtfully before saying, "So, Mr. Lal. We went to a village shortly after we crashed, in order to try and get directions to civilization. I must admit, certain rumors about a Thugee resurgence in the area were what made me curious as to the cult's history."

"You heard these rumors from... villagers?" Chattar Lal chuckled, as if in disbelief, "What village, Doctor Jones?"

"I never got the name," Indiana lied, "I couldn't quite get through to them. My Hindi is not very good. My daughter did most of the navigating for us."

"Right..." Chattar Lal said as he pulled back the belly on another beetle and shook his head, "They are just village rumors, Doctor Jones. Nothing more. Thugee is good and dead. Why revive bad memories?"

Indiana Jones pursed his lips for a moment, humming as he took another sip of his soup, "Is it at least true what they told me, that the ruins of the old shrines and temple that supported the heart of the cult in Pankot are still standing? If so I'd love to try and take a look."

Even though the Prime Minister opened his mouth, it was in fact the Maharaja who took initiative answering. His regal voice almost seemed to flow across the entire table as the chatter stopped, and all eyes turned towards him, "I would rather you not, Doctor Jones. I am afraid you are pressing a sore subject far too much for our comfort. I was told about the Thugee when I was much younger, and I thought they were just bedtime stories meant to frighten children. I was wrong. It is part of my duty to ensure that nothing like that ever happens again in my principality."

Anna looked towards her father, who looked back at her with a disappointed look in his eyes. His attempt at a free lunch appeared to be thoroughly defeated.

"Dessert!" someone from down the table said, and Anna's ears perked as servers once again moved in on the table.

"What's dessert?" Willie asked hesitantly, finally looking away from Anna's fruit plate back towards the mainstream platters around her.

The servers, each with two bowls, came in between the guests. Placing the bowls everywhere except the obligate herbivore and the "vegetarian", Anna finally got to see what was for dessert by looking at Short Round's serving.

"Chilled monkey brains," a finely dressed man across from Willie said as he plucked the scalp off of the severed monkey head that lay inside of his bowl. With a spoon, he scooped a piece of wobbling grey matter out of the bowl like it was ice cream, putting it in his mouth with an icy crunch that made Anna's ear twitch.

"Oh god..." Willie breathed, looking over to Anna again. Fortunately, the young mare had predicted her next question, as another banana went her way. As the servers went to leave the table, Willie managed to get one of their attention with a shaky grasp of an arm. Trying her best to both suppress her gut and sound polite, she asked, "S-Sir... C-Can I have some soup... l-like they're having?"

"Me too!" Short Round added.

The server simply nodded before walking away.

"What is it exactly that you study, Doctor Jones?" Chattar Lal asked, discarding the husk of his second beetle.

Indiana chuckled slightly, "I've been practically everywhere on expeditions, but in college my main path of study was Near East archaeology."

"Interesting. I also know you've written some books?" Lal asked, "I read one of them. In it you talked about the geology of the... hollow earth?" a smile spread across the man's face, and his chest strained as if holding back a laugh.

Indiana swallowed before running a hand through his hair, "The pseudo-scientific nature of that publication was... massively overstated. And it was never disproven, since nobody ever followed up that expedition to confirm or deny it."

"Isn't the burden of proof meant to fall upon you, Doctor Jones?" Lal asked, not at all discouraged.

Indiana set his jaw, fixing Lal with a glare, "If I published a journal in the early 20s about raising a small, flying horse, nobody would believe me. Yet it would clearly have been true," he gestured towards Anna.

"Sure, but your reputation clearly pegs you as a great fan of the occult, the conspiracy, and the fantasy. You claim you and government agents assassinated the ghost of Vlad the Impaler. Then you found dinosaur eggs and the Philosopher's Stone. Both of which were conveniently lost before you could bring them back to a museum for study? A broken clock may be right twice a day," Lal jerked a thumb towards Anna indicatively, "...But it's wrong more times than it's right. And you say you survived a plane crash, navigated all the way here without being familiar with the region and without a guide, and now are asking all these questions about the occult in Pankot? When we've been nothing but good hosts to you?"

Anna looked towards her father nervously, and he returned her look before placing his hands together and bowing his head slightly, "If I have done anything to offend you, I apologize deeply."

Chattar Lal's shoulders relaxed as he pulled himself back from his leaned-forward position, "I apologize as well," he said, raising his eyebrows, "That was unbecoming of me. I hope it won't sour our time together. But I hope now you understand that the Thugee is simply something not to be mentioned freely."

"Right..." Indiana mumbled, raising his bowl and finishing the last dregs of the soup at the bottom, sparing a glance towards Captain Blumburtt, who shared a raised-eyebrow look back towards him.

A server approached Willie from behind as the banquet began to wind down. Holding a generously-sized soup pot, they placed it down in front of the woman as she smiled and grasped her spoon, Short Round doing the same. However, as the pot lid was removed, Willie's smile disappeared and her eyes rolled into the back of her skull as she passed out, a dull thunk sounding as she rolled back over the pillow and whacked her head on the floor.

Anna's eyes widened as she shot to her hooves. Her mouth fell open into a gape as something bubbled to the top of the soup, and a steamed eyeball rolled over in the liquid to stare back at her.

Willie Scott hissed as Indiana Jones placed a bunch of ice cubes wrapped in a cloth against the back of her head, "Ohh, that just makes it hurt more!"

"It'll get better the faster you quit complaining," Indiana grumbled as they walked from the banquet halls back towards their rooms, "Leave it on your pillow and sleep on it; it should help your head."

"Not much luck getting access to the ruins?" Anna asked, walking beside her father. She squeezed her eyes shut as she yawned, the long day and the many days of poor sleep haunting her. She had barely managed to stay awake to the end of the banquet, and the idea of a real, soft bed lured her in uncontrollably.

Indiana let go of the cold press as Willie replaced his hands on the back of her own head, "I'll tell you more once we're back in the room," he muttered, giving a shifty look towards the palace staff that passed them in the halls.

"I can tell you my luck was terrible, though!" Willie groaned, "First the Maharaja being, like, seven, and then the so-called 'food'!"

"I think he was more like thirteen, actually," Indiana remarked as they turned a corner, "Somewhere in his early teens."

"Still means it's all a bust!" Willie groaned as she stalked immediately for her door, throwing it open with her free hand. Turning around, she glared at Indiana, "And it's all because of you!"

The door slammed, causing Indiana to flinch. Turning around with an almost satisfied smile, he past Anna and stood by his suite door, "That banquet had things that no devout Hindu would ever touch, let alone eat. I think Mr. Lal and the Maharaja have something to hide, and if my luck is the same as it always is, they'll be willing to go to great lengths to protect it."

"I don't doubt it," Anna mumbled, "Dad. I'm feeling that same way I did when I touched the shrine, just a lot more muted here."

Indiana gave Anna a queer look, "It's probably just your nerves, but..." a pause, as he seemed to surrender the point, "It'll be better to be a bit paranoid in this place. You still have your gun?"

"Yeah," Anna nodded.

"Is it loaded?" He pressed, putting his hands on his hips.

Anna remembered checking it herself before the dinner, "Mhm."

"Keep it under your pillow," Indiana intoned, opening the door to his suite, "If anyone comes into your room without knocking first, don't be afraid to use it," he looked to Short Round, "Shorty, you'd better sleep in my room just to be safe. The couch is plenty big and comfortable enough, grab some sheets from your room."

"What about Willie?" Anna asked.

Indiana let out a chortle, "As much as I'd like her to sleep in my room, she needs her privacy."

Anna's forehead knitted as Indiana entered his room, looking up, she shouted,"Hey! What does that mean?" as the door shut in her face.

Sighing, she looked over to Short Round, who just shrugged at her before going across to his room, assumedly to collect his sheets like he was told. Her eyes were heavy, and her brain ached slightly from its overuse. After the several previous night's exceedingly poor sleeps, the prospect of a comfortable, insect and rodent-free sleeping place was extremely attractive. Walking into her own room, she locked the door behind her and looked towards her bed. She almost considered forgoing properly unholstering and tucking her gun away. Still, with a sigh, she grabbed her belt from the center of the mattress, unlimbered the revolver from its holster, and tossed the rest onto her bedside table.

Throwing the gun on top of the mattress with a grunt, she awkwardly clambered over the high, extremely soft mattress before finally pulling herself up on top. Sighing, she shoved the gun underneath her pillow, reached over and pulled the string on her bedside lamp, and turned over to rest.

She didn't even manage to pull the sheets over herself before she was asleep.

Author's Note

This chapter is one of the oldest from my old drafts. This was from back when Anna had the middle name 'Klara', and she was a year older. Tell me if there's any weirdness that got missed during editing... or just feel free to tell me what you thought in general! I live for comments C: