CHAPTER 36 - ELISE AINDREA P13
~36.13~
*****
“Henceforth, I shall act of my own free will.”
Elise smiled at her, and the soul world vanished, returning us to the tearoom inside my barrier. Luma was out of breath, and still clutched her chest.
“I...” She looked up at us, her face red from the tears. “I can’t think straight.”
“That’s fine, I’d prefer queer thoughts anyway,” I said.
She chuckled, but shook her head. “I need to lie down.”
“Sanae, can you handle the party? Tell them we’re-”
“Taking a break, but not why. They’ll figure it out anyway.”
“Yeah.” I took Luma and disappeared. We reappeared on the balcony outside my private chambers. “Okay. You can lie down here on the lounge chair. Or, you can follow me inside.” I turned and started walking into the room. “It’s up to you.”
I looked back and she gave me a disgruntled look, something I had very rarely seen from her. “Oh, no. You made me break my oath. I know what you want and I don’t have to hold back anymore.” She grabbed me from behind. “I’ve loved you since we were children in Eden, and those feelings became romantic as we grew into young women.”
“My feelings are the same,” I said as I turned around. “I’ve cursed that f***ing oath more times than I can count.”
“I-”
I put a finger up to her mouth. “I’m not done.” She nodded and I continued. “Luma Valentine. You’re one of my first friends. I’ve loved you as long as you’ve loved me. We both made our feelings clear, long before my exile from Eden. If things were a little different, we’d have been married the entire time.”
“I choose that.”
“Pardon?”
“Marriage.”
“Aren’t you skipping a stage?”
She shook her head. “We’ve been in love for our entire lives. Why bother with the preamble?”
I giggled. “Then we’ll skip straight to honeymoon. Why wait? I hate weddings, but I love honeymoons. And I... Luma?” Her breathing sped up, and her face was even redder.
“Eli... don’t make me wait longer. My body... it’s...”
“My lovely kitty, you’re in heat.” I gave her a very seductive smile as I took her hand and led her inside, walking backwards. When we got to the bed, I dropped onto it and pulled her down with me. “Give me your everything.”
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Without another word, she kissed me.
It was a very different kiss than my other partners. Hers were salty and filled with longing. Her tongue danced with mine. I felt a slight tickle on my leg from her fluffy tail. Alethea usually hid her non-human parts for this, but Luma wasn’t part demon and didn’t have that ability.
After what seemed like forever, she pulled away. “Do whatever you want, love.”
She held nothing back.
*****
“How do you feel, love?” I giggled as I tickled Luma’s fluffy ear. I was on my side and she was on her back, both of us covered by only a sheet.
“Conflicted.”
“It’s perfectly fine to take a bit of time to let the idea settle. I did sort of rush you into the whole oath breaking thing.”
“Conflicted, but happy. It’s like... I feel complete now. I’d always longed for this, but the oath...”
I smiled and gave her a quick peck on the cheek. “Is a thing of the past. You can still be my guard knight if you want, but you don’t have an oath holding back your feelings. You can do whatever you want. But I’m selfish. I want you to stay with me... with us.”
“That idea is what pushed me over the edge. Do you think Elise would have gone through with it?”
I nodded lightly. “Yes. She would have made Sanae and I send you home to Eden. Even I didn’t expect her to be that extreme about it. I saw you clutch your chest at the end, before you gave up. It felt like your heart was being ripped out, didn’t it? I felt that, too.”
She turned toward me. “The thought of being separated from you indefinitely like that was too much. Maybe that’s why Elise was so extreme with it. You were always a dunce with figuring out emotions, but once you figured them out...” She closed her eyes and smiled. “I think she knew exactly what effect it would have on me. She wanted me to realize that you are more important than the oath. Without a push that extreme, I wouldn’t have understood it.”
“Luma.”
She opened her eyes at the sound of her name. “Hmm?”
“You’re incredibly cute.”
Her cheeks flushed instantly. “Hey. You’re hitting me with attacks I can’t defend against. That’s not fair.”
I giggled, patted her head, and sat up, giving her a full view of my bare chest. “We should get back to the tearoom soon. It’s been an hour since we-”
“We did it for that long?” The black-haired catgirl shot up out of the bed and started getting dressed, earning a giggle from me.
“You’re so cute. You didn’t even try to use magic to put them back on.” I snapped my finger and we both were suddenly fully clothed. “Was it that good?”
“Well... it’s been a while, and the love I was never allowed to act on has suddenly become allowed...”
“It’s been a long time coming.” I held out my hand. “How do you want to play this when we get back? You know they’re probably going to make assumptions after that little bit of conversation they heard before I blocked them out.”
She suddenly looked exasperated. “...F***.” She took my hand.
“One more thing. My other partners have tried to get you to date them before. You aren’t only free now to date me, but whomever you want. Whatever makes you happy. You can try taking them as partners, stay exclusive with me and Sanae, a mix, whatever you want. I’ll support you in anything. Explore the feelings you’ve been holding back.”
She nodded and smiled. “I will take that to heart.”
I smiled and teleported us back into the tearoom. Everyone was patiently waiting and sharing stories amongst each other. They went silent the moment we appeared. I started to return to my seat, but Luma held on to my hand.
“Huh? Luma?”
“This is what you get for putting me on the spot.” She pulled me in and kissed me in front of everyone. Alethea and Michelle jumped up and rushed us.
“What happened?!” Alethea asked.
“Really?” Michelle added, stars in her eyes.
Luma said nothing. She swung her tail around, grabbed it, and rubbed the tip lightly. A gasp could be heard from everyone that knew what that meant.
*****
Revision: 2025-2-7