Lani was bored. Father had instructed her to stay out of the way while he had important guests, but that was hours ago. What was she supposed to do? Sit in her room and poke holes in her pillow with her horns? Annoyingly, that was precisely what she had been doing! After thoroughly destroying one pillow, Lani sat up in bed and proceeded to tilt her head back, leaving two small dents in the wooden frame behind her.

“I… Am… Bored…” Lani muttered, punctuating each word by nodding backwards and further damaging the wooden bedframe. On the bright side, her horns had grown enough to do this! A year ago, she’d had to bend her neck all the way back!

“Lani, my dear,” said the old maid sitting across the room. “How much of the house are you intending to destroy with your horns?” The old maid spoke in that you're-being-childish-and-we-both-know-it tone that annoyed Lani so much.

“All of it!” Lani declared, bashing her horns against the wood once again. “Maybe then Father wouldn’t lock me up with nothing to do!” It was so frustrating! Lani wanted to socialise with her human friend but apparently Amelia had to attend a bunch of meetings! Couldn’t they do it another time!?

“You’re not locked up, dear,” said the maid, raising a finger. “Why not walk around the gardens?”

“Don’t want to.”

“Shall we have some tea in the conservatory?”

“Boring.”

“We could bake those cookies again? You know, the ones with the popping sugar?”

“Uhhh…” Lani rolled her eyes and then rolled her body off the bed, letting herself fall into a crumbled heap.

“Oh my, the lady of the house seems to have died!” Lani heard the maid intone cheerfully. “To think, after surviving such struggles! What a shame… just as Highlord Corvus and his guest are leaving! Speaker Thornheart is going to be so-”

“What!?” Lani leapt up and ran to the window. There, she saw Highlord Corvus with his scary-looking horns shaking hands with Father. A carriage was waiting for them and inside Lani could see the plain-looking demon that had come with the Highlord. “Why didn’t you tell me sooner, old woman!” Lani complained. “I’m free!” Lani darted to the door and threw it open, bouncing down the hallway and leaving the old maid behind.

“Hehe!” Lani giggled to herself but quickly stopped when she remembered her job to teach Amelia what it meant to be a proper lady! She forced herself to slow down, corrected her posture and kept her head high. “Mmm… now where are you…” Amelia told her she would find Lani after her meetings, but Lani couldn’t wait that long!

After not finding Amelia in the entryway or the kitchens, a servant informed her that Amelia was probably still in Father’s study along with Serena. After chastising the servant for not telling her sooner, Lani walked as fast as her dignified posture would allow and soon found herself outside the room in question.

Serena might tell her off for walking in, but Serena had already had more than enough of Amelia’s time! It was her turn now!

Lani threw open the study door. “Hello! Amelia- huh?” Lani’s words were cut short as she saw Amelia being thrown away from Serena; the human fell to the floor and tumbled before stopping.

Amelia was red-faced and breathing heavily. Her hair was ruffled and to make things even worse, her shirt was ripped and some of the buttons had come undone! “What-” Lani looked at Amelia, then at Serena to find her sister was also red-faced and looking at Lani in surprise!

“Lani, I didn’t hear you…” Serena muttered. She seemed angry, but strangely, when she met Lani's gaze, she turned her head away with a guilty expression.

What in the Seven Hells was going on!?

“Hang on a minute…” Lani muttered, crossing her arms and narrowing her eyes. She observed the two women and mentally recounted the facts. Her guilty-looking sister. Amelia being pushed to the ground. Amelia, with ripped clothing and also an expression of guilt and shame…

It could only mean one thing!

“Y-you!” Lani pointed an accusatory finger at Serena, stepping between the demon and the human. “You’re bullying Amelia, aren’t you!? You’re beating her up! How… How horrible!” She felt tears form as her anger rose. How could Serena do something so cruel? “Amelia’s not part of your crew!” Lani declared, trying to sound as forceful as possible. “You’re not allowed to hurt her! I’m going to tell Father!”

“No!” Both her sister and Amelia cried out suddenly.

“Lani, look…” Serena mumbled.

“Lani! I’m fine!” Amelia popped up with a smile, patting her hair and adjusting her shirt. “Your sister wasn’t punishing me! I promise! She was just, uh, showing me some of her Shimokan martial techniques! She’s been teaching me!” Amelia said, nodding enthusiastically.

Too suspicious!

“I-I’ve heard about this! The victim makes excuses for the perpetrator! Is that what’s happening!?” Lani glared at the pair! She would get to the bottom of why Serena was bullying her friend!

“Lord Christ in the Seven Hells…” Serena muttered, making the sign of the demon cross. “I’m going to go insane…”

“Lani!” Amelia exclaimed. “I promise that everything’s fine. We train like this all the time! Serena says it’s important to practice martial arts in all kinds of places, to get used to fighting at unexpected times!”

Lani wanted to roll her eyes, but the sincerity in Amelia’s gaze made her pause. Maybe it was just a bit of martial arts training. Amelia had told her she was being taught before…

“Do you promise?” Lani asked suspiciously. “Do you pinky-promise?”

“I pinky-promise that I’m not getting bullied!” Amelia held out her pinky. “You just walked in at a… uh… inopportune time.”

Lani grasped the outstretched pinky with her own. “Fine! But we’re going to spend the rest of the day together, right!?” Amelia nodded and reaffirmed the promise. “Hrmph!” Lani declared triumphantly. She stuck her tongue out at her big sister and led Amelia out of the office. First, she would find Amelia a new shirt and then tell Amelia all the recent gossip Lani remembered from the Academy!

As she left and walked down the hallway, she heard a sound from the study that suspiciously sounded like two horns ramming into a wall.

image [https://i.imgur.com/0ETpTo1.png]

Night had fallen, Lani had gone to bed, and Serena had finally found time to relax with Amelia. The pair of them sat on the balcony outside Serena’s room and watched the blue moonlight gently bathe the great distant forest. Shimashina was built on a shallower plateau than most other cities; it sat a mere hundred feet above the ground. Serena took some time to point out the remains of the old walls built at the plateau’s edge.

“The beasts must have been truly fearsome,” Amelia said thoughtfully after Serena explained the defensive structure. “For demons to build another wall despite being so safe up here.”

“Some could climb the rock, and some could fly,” Serena explained, remembering the words of The Bible. “So every bit helps. Still, the rock protected us from the types that could burrow through the earth. It must have been a terrifying time…” Serena trailed off. What would it have been like to live in those times? Pockets of resistance desperately surviving on rocky formations, not knowing if they were the last demons left? Not knowing anything until the Empress and her armies came to save them?

“Heh… almost as scary as Lani walking in on us early,” Amelia said, flashing a sly smile.

“Seven Hells, that girl…” Serena muttered. “I can’t believe she snuck up on us!” Like Amelia, Serena had exceptional hearing, yet they had been so occupied with their activities that Lani had approached unheard! “I suppose it’s a lesson… How was your day with her?”

“She’s smarter than she lets on,” Amelia said. “I think she lacks experience working hard for something. All the spoiling has led her to think everything should be easy, and if it isn’t, then it’s not worth it.”

Serena clicked her tongue. “Try telling Father that. Maybe he’ll listen to you.” Amelia laughed, and they relaxed further into their chairs. Amelia propped her legs up on the railing. It was a terrible breach of etiquette, but Serena let it go. After all, who would see them at this time?

“The moon’s getting bigger.” Amelia pointed at the sky. The blue moon had passed its apoapsis and was on its way back down. In a few weeks, it would begin decelerating, and thousands of tonnes of its moon crystals would detach and rain down across the East.

“I thought we might be in Shimashina longer to witness the moonrain here, but it looks like we’ll catch it back home instead,” Serena explained quietly. She had assumed the repairs would take longer in Kenhoro. With the extra assistance they’d received, not only did they finish early, but they had also installed the new propeller that was supposed to reduce cavitation. She would have to test it out on the way.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

“Shame we’re leaving so soon,” Amelia said, yawning loudly. “I like it here. It’s quiet, and everyone’s so nice. Your father… Lani… even the house employees! I thought they would make snide comments behind my back, but they were so… professional.”

“Of course they were,” Serena answered. “Being employed in a Highlord’s house is a prestigious position. They aren’t just some shop worker.” Any employee that would mutter insults or gossip behind their employer's back would never make it past the interview stage anyway. “They understand that insulting you - a guest - would insult Father. They would also be well aware of the heightened hearing present in Speaker households.”

“Makes sense,” Amelia mused.

The pair of them talked about small topics before Serena decided it was time to move on to the lingering topic they had mutually been avoiding for a while. Still, Serena didn’t want to ask directly, so she settled on asking around it first.

“What was it like, Speaking the Second Word?” Serena asked tentatively.

“Mmm…” Amelia placed a finger on her cheek, looking up in thought. “It was strange. When you Speak the First Word you’re just supplied with their divine aether, right? When I Spoke the Second Word it was like Asclepius came in person and shared my body, my new body, that is. We could speak to each other just by thinking.”

“What was Asclepius like?” Serena couldn’t help but feel a little excited. Information regarding the Second Word and how it worked was not easy to come by. She would warn Amelia not to be too forthcoming, but for now, she would take advantage of her girlfriend’s honesty.

“Heh, he didn’t like me much. He complained about me forcing the connection, which I suppose I did. Oh,” Amelia raised a finger. “When I first Spoke Asclepius the initial communication with him was like an attack. I think you’d need to be able to speak at least three First Words to handle a Second Word.”

Serena found herself nodding. Three First Words matched what she had heard elsewhere. And Three First Words were only the start of Amelia's talents. Speaking of...

“Hey…” Serena said softly. “When you were transformed, did you ever try… you know…” she gestured awkwardly, then sighed, seeing Amelia not understand what she was implying. “Did you ever try and form the Third Word?” Serena finished as quietly as she could. After Amelia had confessed her true powers to Serena, this was one of several topics they tended to avoid. She usually wouldn’t dare bring it up vocally, but Amelia had growing confidence in using sound-blocking spells from the Kanaxai branch. Even with the spellwork active, Serena made sure to whisper.

“Oh, oh!” Amelia’s eyes widened. “No, I didn’t,” she said in a hushed voice. “I’m kind of scared to do so without more information, you know? You saw how I lost myself with the Second Word. I can’t imagine how much deeper the bond will become. That much power… it’s quite scary, you know? I feel much more in control now, but still…”

Serena questioned Amelia further about her transformation experience and soon felt ready to pierce the main topic. “So, about Polina…” she began. “It’s difficult for me to understand.” Amelia had passionately defended Polina yet quickly ended her efforts when Chesterfield demanded it.

Amelia took a moment to answer. “When I was transformed, I could see her soul. I could see your soul, too. That level of perception is difficult to explain, but you can truly see someone’s nature. There was no wickedness and evil, so the thought of killing her for her idiotic actions seemed fundamentally wrong to me. If treated correctly, I believe she can escape her dislike of demonkind. That's what I wanted to do, and by doing it, I would prove there can be unity between demons and humans... Looking back, I think I was a bit selfish...”

Serena nodded; given her girlfriend's overly friendly and optimistic personality, she could just about understand where Amelia was coming from. "I think I understand," Serena said, taking a breath and pausing. It was time to let Amelia know what Polina had hinted at during her interrogation.

“Back in forty-two, just after I became captain of the Vengeance,” Serena began. “We were tasked with hunting down Republican trade ships. We knew they were using the trade routes along the North Sabanis Channel to import Federation weapons and aimed to hit them the moment they entered Republican airspace where we could legally attack them.

“We had intel on a convoy. Eight medium transports. I had the Vengeance waiting within the lumina, and soon, our Observer's eyes picked them up. Everything matched the intel. The number and type of ships, the location. I gave the order, and we unleashed hell.” Serena sighed, unable to keep the guilt from creeping into her voice.

“After the smoke had settled, we realised we had just shredded eight civilian ships. Federation ships. I don’t know if the Republicans pulled off a bait and switch to try to bring the Federation into the war, or the Federation intentionally set up a false flag to legitimise sending aid, or if it was a genuine mistake or bad intel.” She cleared her throat. “But almost three hundred civilians died. Some ships managed to make it to landfall, but most fell into the undersky.

“It’s why so many humans hate me. They view me as responsible for a slaughter, and in some way, I am.” Serena turned to look at Amelia. Thankfully, her girlfriend seemed just to be listening and showed no signs of disgust. “It was ultimately ruled an accident, but it’s blood on my hands that’ll never wash off and ensures I’ll have people after my horns for as long as I live. Polina must have had friends or family on that convoy. That type of hatred, the type she has… it’s not the type that goes away easily.”

“Ah,” Amelia said. “I understand your hesitation now.”

“And… what do you think? About me? Now that you know?”

“Well… it was an accident, wasn’t it?” Amelia looked thoughtful. “I understand these things happen in war. We’ve had our fair share of World Wars. I think there were…” Amelia began counting on her fingers. “Seven? Or Eight?”

“What’s a World War?” Serena asked.

“It’s a war involving every nation in the world. Pretty devastating stuff,” Amelia explained. Serena tried to imagine a conflict of that scale but couldn’t. Would the Long Discordancy count as a World War? “Anyway,” Amelia continued, “It's not all that different from Polina's situation, is it? You both did something by accident, and others blame you for it. Anyway, it doesn’t change how I feel, and I’m here if you ever want to talk about it, okay?”

Serena smiled. Whatever had she done to deserve such a caring and loyal girlfriend?

“Thank you, Amelia. I guess I've been viewing the situation as a soldier while you've been viewing it as, well, you. Still, there's one more thing I don't understand. After such efforts to protect Polina, why did you obey Chesterfield’s request?” It surprised Serena that Amelia, who almost challenged an Overlord directly over Polina, would relent to some high-up Intelligence Officer from Centralis.

“Well…” Amelia shivered slightly. “Firstly, Chesterfield was difficult for me to read. It was as if something was blocking my intuition. What did he feel like to you? A mage, or a warrior?”

“...Neither,” Serena answered, thinking back to the plain-looking demon from which she sensed no talent with aether.

“Exactly, yet there was this subtle intensity when he asked me to stop my ward. I’m not sure, but at that moment, I could sense danger from him. There’s more to him than meets the eye. I stopped it because I felt it would be a mistake to resist, and I decided to trust you when you told me Polina wouldn’t be harmed. I suppose I always trusted you… I was just being a bit stubborn regarding the whole situation. Besides…” Amelia smiled softly. “I didn’t want to cause any harm to the arcwhales.”

“Ha!” Serena laughed. “Idiot.”

“But… did you notice?” Amelia sat up with an inquisitive look in her eyes. “Chesterfield didn’t feel like a mage or a warrior, yet he knew when I had stopped the ward. It’s suspicious. I wanted to look closer but didn’t want to Speak to increase my perception. Maybe next time we meet, I’ll be in a position I can look closer!”

“We should be careful… I hope we never see him again,” Serena muttered.

“Mmm…” Amelia mumbled after a moment of silence. “There’s something I wanted to say.”

“Oh?”

“It’s a little awkward, but I sometimes forget how much of a big deal it is for you to… You know…” Amelia gestured wildly, “...fight for Cascadia. Be a Cascadian Lord and be part of this thing that is bigger than just you. I don’t really have the same level of attachment to the whole Empire thing, and I’m not sure I ever will, so…” Amelia took a breath. “I just wanted to promise you I’ll never make you choose between your duty and me, okay? We can exist side-by-side! Ah…” Amelia buried her face in her hands.

“That’s… thoughtful of you,” Serena answered with a smile, enjoying Amelia’s shyness.

“And, and…” Amelia muttered. “I also promise that for me, I’m always going to put you first because…” She looked down and poked her index fingers together. “I really like you,” Amelia said in a small voice.

“Idiot,” Serena ruffled her girlfriend's hair as her cheeks warmed. Amelia was so cute sometimes. She had already confessed her love to Serena, yet she was getting all awkward about this! “Look after yourself as well. I would say try not to get into trouble in the future, but that’s a given with you, isn’t it?”

“Hey!” Amelia puffed out her cheeks and Serena couldn’t resist pulling on them.

“Are you excited about teaching magic?” Serena asked once she had her fill of Amelia’s soft cheeks. “I imagine they’ll want you to use your monstrous aether reserves to demonstrate magic for the class. You’ll be in front of several dozen mages. Will you be okay?”

“Y-yeah!” Amelia nodded. “I’ll just imagine I’m you! Strutting about with your head held high and looking down on everyone- mmph!” Amelia’s answer was cut off as Serena once again explored how much Amelia’s cheeks would stretch.

“There’s a new type of training I want to introduce you to,” Serena explained. “We’ll do it when we sail to Asamaywa. It’s something all talented soldiers go through, and while you’re not a soldier, you need to get used to the sounds of battle.”

“...Sounds of battle?” Amelia mumbled through stretched cheeks.

“Warfare is loud. Most civilians don’t understand how loud it is. Even if shellfire cannot harm you, you still need to get used to it and learn how to override your instincts to hide. This training will help you with that.”

“...I see. Can you stop playing with my cheeks?”

Serena pulled her arms back, but Amelia reached forward and grabbed her hands. Her girlfriend looked at her with a twinkle in her eye. “We’re leaving tomorrow, right?”

“Right.”

“Then tonight might be the last night for a while that we can…” Amelia tilted her head towards the bedroom. “You know…”

Serena rolled her eyes but couldn’t help smiling. “You’re so shameless sometimes.”

“Do you have a coin?”

“What?”

Amelia repeated the sudden request and Serena dug out a half-denarii. “Here,” she said, passing it to Amelia who flicked it in the air. She caught it and covered it in her palm.

“Heads or tails?” Amelia asked.

“For what?” Serena narrowed her eyes.

“Just answer!”

“.. Heads. What’s this for?”

Amelia looked up with a cheeky grin. “It’s for whoever’s tongue goes first, obviously!”

Serena’s eyes widened, but before she could chastise Amelia for being so crass, her girlfriend opened her palm and revealed the coin. The answer sent them both giggling into the bedroom, where their last night in Shimashina was bereft of sleep and instead full of many soft moans.