Two Different Evenings
> “I don’t know. I really can’t talk about it. She’s gone. She’s gone forever…” ~Frill Veli
Evening fell along with the chittering of nocturnal animals scurrying along the luscious gardens of Minaveil Manor. Kristel was kind enough to provide Frein and Katherine one of the guest rooms since Katherine’s own room was locked under too many security measures and no one could be bothered enough to go through them this evening. The Princess actually offered two rooms, but one was more than enough.
Frein sat on the bed, dipping lower on the cushion than he expected as he scanned the whole room. There was little to go on. Walls painted with pale blue almost indistinguishable from white, a soft bed with five fluffy pillows, a nicely furnished study table, and a wardrobe. Katherine organized their clothes, pulling them out one by one from her Spatiera.
“If I look at it from here, it’s not all that different from Earth.” The bed was adjacent to the only arc window where curtains of white fluttered overhead. He hung his head on the ledge in an awkward but comfortable way, limiting his view to the dimmed meiyal lightbulbs on the ceiling. A lot of things inside the manor ran on meiyal as though they ran on electricity. He wondered if it was the same everywhere else, given the fact that the streets of Minaveil were free of any electrical posts.
“You should take a look outside,” Katherine said while she continued to transfer their belongings out of her Spatiera.
The view took Frein’s breath away. The evening had a purple glow to it; a result due to the luminescent, blending reflections of two moons. A blue moon and a red moon. The former was larger than the latter and both were on their third cycle, close enough to consider full.
The reflections made the meiyal in the night sky shimmer with a purple hue, sort of an aurora painting the evening with a warm shine.
“Wow…” Frein breathed softly, unable to take away his eyes from either moon.
“So,” Katherine began, calling from inside the room. “I’m sure you have a lot of questions.”
Frein felt too absorbed to even glance away. He sat on the bed like a kid hypnotized by brilliant dazzling lights. Even so, he pushed the questions out of his mind.
“I guess that leaves Vyndival out of the equation, then?” he asked.
“Well, at least we’re sure they’re not aiming for you or your meiyal system. We still don’t know if they’re somehow involved with your purpose.” Katherine continued to rummage from behind. Frein still didn’t bother to look.
“Guess you’re nowhere close to knowing what that is either?” he asked.
“Not a clue.”
“On to something more tangible, then. Do you call yourselves humans in this world?”
Katherine thought for a while. “As a species? Yes,” she said. “In general, terms like people, man, and woman, encompass every bipedal species in this world: Felintines, canintines, elves, dwarves, orc, and many more. We also refer to people by their nationality regardless of species, Iristans for Irista Nation and Vyndivalians for Vyndival. That’s about it. Oh, but Schrodie refers to us as mortals, obviously.”
“The humans here look so much like the humans on Earth, I can barely tell the difference if they don’t use Meiyal Arts at all.”
“You’ll be surprised.” Frein could tell without even sparing a glance that Katherine was smiling. “When I was training with Schrodie, he asked me where I wanted to go.” Frein heard some rustling clothes. He was quick to deduce the cause of the noise and was tempted to look, but it was now a matter of pride at this point. “I told him I wanted a planet not very different from ours. He showed me a group of planets and I chose yours coincidentally.”
“I see.” He didn’t, really. The implied fact of other habitable worlds other than Brymeia and Earth was taking a lot both from his cognitive sanity and sheer excitement. It was regrettable he wouldn’t be able to visit them all, but he pushed that feeling away. Instead, he focused on what mattered more. “If not for that choice, we probably would’ve never met.”
“Yeah,” Katherine replied. She climbed on the bed, staying purposefully behind him, sliding her lips close to his ears. “Now I’m stuck with a suicidal maniac who can’t stay out of trouble.”
The line tickled his ears despite the sarcasm behind it.
Wet tongue teased him just a bit, but for some unexplainable reason, Frein refused to respond despite his primal instincts begging for release. It didn’t feel like the time was right.
Katherine caught wind of the mood and retreated for a moment.
There was silence… for a while.
“I know we should celebrate my first night,” Frein began. He still couldn’t turn to look. “I want to take you and do everything to you. But I don’t know if we should, given the events just now.”
A pair of soft hands creeped from his nape, and Katherine’s fullness pressed against Frein’s head. As suspected, she had taken off her clothes. In her nakedness, she kept him in a tight embrace.
“Frein,” Katherine whispered. “Help me forget, please? Just for tonight.”
It’s not as though Frein couldn’t understand. He might have not known who Liona was or what she was like, but it was obvious to him how much she was loved. Katherine’s soft sobs were a cry for comfort. She, too, lost someone close to her.
“I don’t think she’ll mind,” she added.
At that, Frein gave into his desires, softly taking Katherine by her breasts. He lapped and squeezed without restraint and his partner’s moans and reactions guided where his lips and hands should assault next.
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He playfully sucked and nibbled at her nipples, unable to stay on just one, while his hands caressed down her sides, exploring her lower body.
Katherine had begun to lose herself in pleasure, mounting Frein’s leg and grinding on it with a purpose. He could feel her wetness dripping onto his jeans as he guided her motions with his hands tightly gripping her bottom.
Summoning every bit of sanity she could muster, Katherine recovered and deftly worked on his clothes, stripping them within a split-second of respite. Not an instant more, Frein lost his patience and pushed her down the bed.
They found each other’s lips and their lock quickly became an exchange of two lovers willing to give their tongues to one another. It was a fierce battle, nabbing as much air, saliva, and tongue as they could until one of them gave up.
“Fuck…” Katherine needed the air first, collapsing with a gasp as Frein worked his way down her neck.
With the initiative now fully within his grasp, Frein took his time and explored every inch of Katherine’s body with his lips and tongue. The goal was to make her wet and sticky. It didn’t matter whichever combination of bodily juice made it happen. He would squeeze her until every strand of her hair would stick.
Frein knew what he had to do, and the night was young for it.
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It was unusually silent. Frill could hear Liona speaking one moment and then nothing. She could still see her sister sitting across the other bed, telling her stories and complaining about the Princess’s stubbornness. But it was a blur. It only took a blink for her image to disappear, and heaviness filled her chest right after.
There were no tears; just a difficulty in breathing. As if her very bodily functions lost the will to act. As if any second now, her heart would just stop beating.
It was all in her head.
No Liona spoke or sat on the bed. No difficulty in breathing. Nothing. Just a lack of anything. Not even the ominous voice from her consciousness came to pester with her thoughts. Frill simply sat there on her own bed, still wearing her bloodied battle gear.
Until a knock came from her door.
“Frill, I’m coming in,” Kristel’s voice came from outside. The door opened slowly and the blue haired Princess crept from the gap cautiously like a kid afraid to anger her parents.
Are you okay? Frill expected the question, but the Princess didn’t utter a word and simply stared for a while. She looked back on those dark blue eyes wishing her own could retain the same glimmer.
Kristel entered and slowly closed the door. Without words, she unfastened Frill’s leather armor. When she didn’t react, the Princess continued removing the knots of her corset. Left with only her upper underwear, Kristel moved to removing her boots, undoing fastens and laces. It took a bit of effort to remove her leather trousers.
The moment each article of the battle gear was removed from Frill’s person, it dispersed into residues of meiyal. She remained indifferent, simply observing.
The Princess left the room without words, and Frill was left to her thoughts for a while. Something similar to this had happened on only one other occasion.
It was when Liona’s first yuma pup had died from a Nightmare Invasion that brought along a Hollowing Storm. It was the time when Liona refused to speak with anyone. Princess Kristel had cancelled all her appointments and training for the whole week and stayed with her servant the whole time, tending to her needs without dialogue until Liona had given up on her silent protest.
The Princess returned with a basin of water and a piece of washcloth. She dipped it amply and squeezed out the excess. She began with Frill’s face, gentle and caring. Next her shoulders and arms. She dipped and squeezed again, then continued on her back, then around her stomach. Another dip, and then to her legs and feet.
It was obvious to Frill that the Princess hadn’t taken her own bath yet.
Kristel brought out another washcloth and placed it on the basin. Then she removed Frill’s undergarments.
Frill stayed still despite being stripped naked. Not even the wet feel of the washcloth moving through her breasts and between her legs budged her. There was simply nothing about it.
Kristel brought out a third washcloth and used it this time to wash Frill’s hair. A fourth to dry everything.
She brought them all from her person, too stubborn to use Spatiera.
Kristel walked over the wardrobe. Frill and Liona shared the cabinet and they didn’t bother organizing their clothes. The Princess knew, whether truly or by luck, which nightgown to pull out and endowed the white silk smoothly over Frill.
Frill remained on her bed, sitting emotionless. Kristel stared at her one last time. Without words, she gathered the washcloths, picked up the basin, and headed towards the door.
“I miss her,” Frill said finally, stopping the Princess on her way out. The pain inside her chest throbbed, demanding for release.
“Me, too.” The Princess kept facing the door, holding the basin with trembling hands. “She’s gone.”
“Please stay.” Frill’s voice remained monotonous, but her message was pleading. “I can’t sleep alone.”
“I haven’t washed yet.” Princess Kristel turned and smiled weakly; a tear trailed down her face as she opened the door. “Wait for me.”
Only a few minutes passed, contrast to the usual couple of hours it took. Kristel entered the room in her sky-blue nightgown with a pillow in one arm. She sat beside Frill, held her hand, and pressed it on her lips.
“I need you, Frill,” said the Princess. “I can’t do this on my own.”
“Kristel,” Frill wrapped the small Princess around her arms. “You haven’t cried yet.”
Frill knew Kristel’s habits. The tear she saw earlier was a clear sign of her held emotions overflowing beyond their limits. The Princess’s silence was answer enough.
“You shouldn’t do that, Kristel. I cried my heart out at Frein, you should have seen me.” Frill lied to herself. She hadn’t cried enough. No amount would be enough.
“We heard your song. It was perfect.” Kristel looked up to Frill. “But I...” her voice started to shake. “I can’t stay weak like this.”
Frill pressed her forehead against the Princess’s, and stared very close to her eyes. Her emotions flowing out of control. Sympathy and despair fought inside her, and her tears poured out while she struggled a smile.
“I’ll cry with you.”
Kristel caved, and she wailed, her embrace tighter than Frill’s. “I’m sorry,” she cried out repeatedly. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry. It’s all my fault.”
“No, Princess. It’s not your fault. Whoever did this will pay.” Frill couldn’t even blame King Urzic for it. Liona’s last words kept playing at the back of her head.
Protect the Princess.
Frill might be reading too much into it, but it raised a suspicion that she kept secretly inside her heart. Liona’s strength could easily par the Princess if not entirely exceeding. There was absolutely no chance for a mere foot soldier to get the better of her, not even a thousand, not even with meiyal-sealing steel. The Vyndivalian axe might be an indication of a more straightforward conclusion, but it could also be a well-prepared scapegoat.
“Princess,” Frill began after finally calming down. “We cannot trust anyone from Cross Irista anymore.”
Kristel dried her tears. “I understand what you mean. I know. It wasn’t a Vyndivalian that took Liona from us, but there are still members of Cross Irista that we can trust.” She crawled into bed and placed her pillow beside Frill’s. Then she pulled her would-be sister next to her. “We can still trust everyone in this house.”
Frill slept without dreams that night. Kristel’s warmth helped her withstand the cold of loss and the threat of nightmares.
She woke up in the middle of the night and found the Princess’s face just inches from her. At that moment, she realized what she had to do. She needed to thank Frein later for the strength and Kristel for the determination.
After Liona’s burning, everything would start to move.
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