Chapter 17 - Two Girls

“I have a crush on you, Lilly.”

“Yeah, I don’t know how to respond to that,” Lilly said. She had never really gotten her thoughts in order about what would happen after this, or even what she wanted.

“I understand, it wasn’t like I thought anything would come from it. That’s why I tried to get rid of those feelings,” Mia said, trying to hide the disappointment she must have felt.

“Hey, I’m not saying that. I… I’m not opposed to… to trying a relationship with you.”

Mia’s face seemed to light up at that.

“But right now I’m just…” Lilly’s words trailed off as she sat there, feeling confused and conflicted after everything that has happened today. “I’m too messed up to really know, Mia. It was stupid to tell you about it right now.”

“No no, I’m still happy. I thought you would dismiss it completely, or even laugh. But I’m also the same, kind of. I… don’t know if…” Mia hesitated, her voice barely above a whisper. “We’re... both girls, Lilly.”

“I noticed,” Lilly answered, with a little smile. Of course, that was the problem. Not for their feelings, but for so many other things.

“And that’s… unusual,” Mia said, laying her insecurities on the table. She has likely been thinking about this a lot more than Lilly had.

“Well, does it matter if we’re both happy?” Lilly answered, realizing there are many good answers. But the most important point had to be their happiness.

“... I do kind of want kids someday.” Mia answered, still struggling with thoughts of the future.

“Yeah…” Lilly realized they both were worrying about similar things, and both wanted to find ways to get past those worries. “Okay, what if I argue for a relationship while you argue against it, just for the sake of trying to come to a conclusion? I know we both feel torn.” Lilly suggested, making this a debate of sorts where neither of them were convinced either way yet.

“That could work… Okay, what are your arguments around children?” Mia asked, seemingly following the weird logic of this debate. She obviously wanted this to work out as well somehow.

“We can adopt, or even get some help to make our own. May… Maybe there’s even a potion we could use?” Lilly suggested, now red in the face.

“Okay, that might work. But what will our families think?” Mia asked, worried about telling them obviously. Her parents probably envisioned her finding a man and having children like any other girl, so telling them that wouldn’t happen, at least that way, could be scary.

“I’m pretty sure they would support us both. The stupid old man would support me, Eolande is probably for it, and your family loves you. They might even be happy you actually found someone, judging by your dad,” Lilly said, remembering how Mr. Gorton had asked Lilly to find Mia a suitor, albeit jokingly.

“Yeah, they probably would support us… But how would we… You know,” Mia said as she bounced a bit on the bed, clearly very embarrassed.

“I… I’m sure we would figure something out, maybe? I’m not… I only know the basics of the usual way anyways. But my main point is, the future will solve itself, if we get that far. That’s why I’m willing to try.”

“Fine then, you’ve convinced us.”

“I have,” Lilly declared happily, but also nervously, knowing what came next.

“... Do we… start it right now?” Mia asked.

“... I think I’m fine with that, but I need to calm down a bit before we start doing any ‘more than friends’ stuff. Can I lie down here?” Lilly asked, hoping she would become calmer by laying down. This conversation wasn't exactly helping her emotions stabilize.

“Of course,” Mia said as she put some pillows in place on the small bed. “Maybe you’d like to lie between my legs?”

“That’s very forward of you,” Lilly said jokingly.

“You know what I mean, Lilly, with your back on my stomach. The bed is too small to fit us both comfortably,” Mia said, trying to ignore Lilly’s joke but still blushing.

“That sounds nice, Mia,” Lilly said candidly, moving so Mia could lie down first.

They both lay there, while Mia again started stroking Lilly’s hair gently. Lilly felt really peaceful, especially after the secret she held was revealed and everything went well. She hoped everything would go well on that front, more so than any other. But she was sure they would both be friends even if it didn’t, or doesn’t go well in the future.

“I’m still thinking about Mom,” Lilly started, thinking back to the dream and its revelations.

“Yeah, I still can’t really comprehend that part. What would it even mean for our idea of souls and the afterlife?” Mia wondered, clearly imagining concepts she had never thought of before.

“A lot, I think, but some people might know about it already… I really hope it was her though. I’ve wanted to see her again for so long. Maybe she even visited before, before the amulet was able to wake me up to figure it out?” Lilly pondered, thinking back to other dreams she’s had of her parents.

“That sounds likely, if you rarely have waking dreams. Then at least you know she watches over you, Lilly,” Mia said as she just held around her for a while. “But what about your dad then?”

“Well, he was present as well. But I didn’t get any feeling that he actually was there, like Mom was. Maybe it has to do with the bloodline thing? Dad married into the family after all,” Lilly theorized.

“Yeah, that makes sense if it was related to the amulet or the bloodline. What was that flame thing you were talking about?” Mia asked, thinking back to Lilly’s outpouring of words.

“Oh, right. Mom told me something like ‘Maybe the Vermilion Flame is here again.’ And then Gramps said only people with the Vermilion Flame can activate the amulet, like I did,” Lilly explained.

“That sounds cool, but also a bit scary,” Mia said, clearly intrigued by the potential and the mysteries of the flame.

“Yeah, Gramps said that pursuing it would likely put me in some form of danger.”

“Just, like, danger from being powerful or other kinds?” Mia asked, hoping for a more informative answer.

“He didn’t get to explain much after he told me about hiring Elly and the others. I just left,” Lilly felt it was fine to call her Elly again; she hadn’t done anything too wrong and didn’t deserve Lilly’s pettiness.

“Yeah, I get it. That must have been a lot on top of everything else. I’m impressed you even made it here honestly,” Mia said, impressed.

“I’m a tough girl!” Lilly exclaimed, acting childish.

“Yes, you are such a tough little girl, Lilly,” Mia humored her, petting her head roughly.

“Heheh, that’s right,” Lilly agreed to Mia’s agreement. She felt a lot better now, maybe even ready to forgive the old man. “Aren’t you mad, Mia? He kind of stopped both our dreams by doing what he did.”

“Not at all, you were going to leave me here anyways it seemed, so I’m glad he put you in your place,” Mia said, thinking back to when Lilly had gone adventuring without even telling her about it.

“Ouch,” Lilly said, still feeling pretty bad about that.

“I’m joking, of course. I don’t think he should have lied to you like that, and kept your potential hidden. But I’m really happy with the way things are now, so I guess I’m still a bit glad about it. Our partnership is flourishing with no signs of stopping, so if a childhood dream was the only cost, I’m more than happy to pay. And I even got a girlfriend!”

“Oh, that feels weird and nice at the same time. Girlfriend.”

“Yes, girlfriend?” Mia answered jokingly.

“No, I was just testing how it felt to say. I think I’ll have to get used to it. I’ll still call you Mia though, at least for now. Honey seems like something a man would say, darling feels too involved, dear… dear might be fine, in the future. What do you think?” Lilly asked, hoping for some thoughtful input.

“I like wife,” Mia said, with a surprisingly straight face.

“You’re crazy.”

“What’s wrong with it, honey?”

“We would need to be married, right? And we would be wife and wife; it sounds weird,” Lilly said, wondering about the logistics of marriage between two girls.

“I think you’ll have to get used to ‘weird,’ darling.” Mia joked, but with a hint of seriousness.

“You’re breaking down my hard outer shell with all these cute nicknames, sweetheart. But you’re right, I guess we have to embrace ‘weird,’” Lilly said, shelving that for now. “What do you think about the flame thing then?” She asked, hoping for some input on that entire situation. Lilly was not feeling very sure about what to do about it for now, but she wanted to do as her mother said and burn the amulet.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

“You mean the possibly dangerous but super cool bloodline power you have?” Mia asked, like the answer was obvious. But then she gave it some thought. “I’d like to know more about why it’s dangerous before saying anything, but if you want to explore it, I’m all for it.”

“Okay, I probably have to talk to Gramps again…” She sighed, not looking forward to that. She would like to stay somewhere else for a day, just so he could stew in his regret for a bit, but going back was the right choice.

“I think that’s the best choice, Lilly. But you can stay here for as long as you’d like,” Mia offered, knowing Lilly might not have many places she could go to right now.

“Thanks.”

They both kept laying there for a while, just taking in each other’s presence. Lilly felt it was nice, having someone like Mia. She was a bit nervous about their relationship and the flames, but she was more excited. Maybe even enough to try something daring.

“Can I kiss you, Mia?” Lilly suddenly asked, and she felt Mia’s hand stop abruptly.

It took a little while before an answer came. “... Well, sure, I think that’s fine. Right now?”

Lilly sat up in the bed and turned around, facing Mia. “You want to wait?”

“No, I just thought you would want to get things in order first. But I’m fine with it, totally.”

“Well then, let's do this,” Lilly said, now thinking about the logistics of this kiss. She was sitting on her knees in the bed, and Mia was half-sitting leaned back on her pillow. Should she lean over her, or ask Mia to come closer? Everything felt so awkward.

But before she could think it through, Mia was approaching at an incredible speed. But then she stopped. And then she moved even closer again, much slower this time.

“We’re so bad at this,” Lilly whispered with a smile, feeling as nervous as Mia looked.

“Come here then,” Mia said bravely, before leaning in the final distance and connecting their lips.

It was simple, and over before she knew it, but Lilly would remember the feelings she was feeling right now forever. “Oh gods,” she exclaimed quietly.

“Right?” Mia said, seemingly agreeing with her statement. “Wow, I felt that in my soul.”

Lilly sighed in relief, feeling her cheeks burning but slowly cooling down. “I think this is going to last after all, Mia. I was slightly worried I wouldn’t feel the same spark, but now I clearly recognize it, similar to your own.”

“Oh, Lilly, I’m so glad! I was a bit worried you were only doing this for my sake.” She was smiling, clearly feeling a bit relieved to hear that.

“I’m sorry Mia, I just had to hope it would come. I felt a bit… attracted to you already. But it wasn’t love exactly, not this kind.”

“That’s fine, I understood that somewhat when you said you weren’t opposed to trying. But now we’re in business?”

“Absolutely!” Lilly assured her. Now she really felt this was going to become a wonderful relationship. “Now I think I need to go tell some people I have a girlfriend.”

“You do that, Lilly, I might have to do that myself. These walls aren’t as solid as I wish they were, so some explaining is unavoidable…”

"Yeah, they probably noticed you weren’t in the forge if nothing else. How far have you gotten on the necklaces by the way?" Lilly asked, looking forward to enchanting again.

“Oh, I’m on number 9 now. I’ll have them all ready by tomorrow.”

“Great! Then I’m leaving, dear,” Lilly said, half as a joke and half seriously.

“Have a nice trip, honey,” Mia answered with a smile.

And Lilly walked out the door, through the hallway and out to the forge. As luck would have it, Mr. Gorton was there working on something.

“Oh, Lilly, hi there! Is everything okay?” he said, with a somewhat worried look.

“Mia will explain everything to you,” Lilly said as she walked through to the outer door. But as she was about to leave, she remembered to tell him, “Oh, I might have found Mia a suitor by the way, just like you wanted.”

Mr. Gorton just looked confused by that, but a careful look of hope gradually spread on his face. And that was the last thing Lilly saw as she stepped out the door. ‘Have fun explaining that, Mia,’ she thought mischievously.

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Lilly decided Gramps should have to wait a bit longer; it was barely noon after all. So she headed to Eolande instead, aiming to explain things and maybe get some good advice about the situation.

She knocked on the door, but before she was even finished knocking it opened up, revealing Eolande standing at the ready.

“Lilly! How nice to see you!” She said, seemingly in a normal tone.

“... Were you expecting me?” Lilly asked, wondering why the response was so fast.

“I was hoping you would come. Your grandfather came here and told me about what happened. He was very nervous about you not forgiving him. And I have to apologize, Lilly, I wanted to tell you but… It felt like he would have to be the one to decide.” Eolande seemed nervous, afraid that she might not be so easily forgiven either.

“It’s okay, Elly. I’ve thought about it, and you don’t have much blame here. I’m even prepared to forgive Gramps, but I felt like he should regret it a bit longer first. I went to my girlfriend for comfort when I heard about you guys tricking me.” Lilly felt like acting a bit difficult, to get back at her a little bit for tricking her.

“What, girlfriend!? Mia?” Eolande questioned, clearly very surprised about that.

“Oh, right, that happened after I went there. Yeah, you know, things happened, and now we're in a relationship.” Lilly said, pretending to be all casual about it.

“How? The last time I remember someone moving that fast, one of them was pregnant, but I’m guessing that’s not the case here.” Eolande said, clearly still in mild shock.

“Okay, to give a bit more detail, that time I was checking her with my mana, I felt her having some romantic feelings for me. I kept it a secret, wanting to respect her privacy somehow, but after learning I had been lied to for so long I wanted to be honest as well. So I told her I knew, and then we started debating about whether a relationship was a good idea. We ended up thinking it would be, despite some possible problems. And then we kissed before I left.” Lilly said, quickly summarizing the situation.

“Wow. Alright then, that sounds great Lilly! Congratulations!” Eolande exclaimed and hugged her, very happy for them both it seemed. “I didn’t even sense anything between you two, she must have kept it close to her chest.”

“Yeah, if not for the accident it might never have happened, I guess,” Lilly said, only now realizing that fact.

“But about the whole tricking me into not wanting to be an adventurer, how did you manage to make me choose you in the tavern?” Lilly asked, changing the subject.

“Ehh, I think Eldrin used some suggestive magic to influence your decision slightly, while me and Thoren tried looking as experienced and approachable as we could. I was happy it worked, we weren’t sure it would,” Eolande explained, with an apologetic expression.

“Okay, that’s pretty much what I thought. I was afraid you had influenced me more, like some form of mind control or something. But that’s fine,” Lilly said, convincing herself while she said it.

“Again, I’m really sorry. We thought you were just some totally unprepared kid wanting to do something great, like so many others we’ve seen. When your grandpa came to the guild to ask for help that morning, Thoren overheard it and offered to help. But then you showed us the amulet, and the potential within you. As well as the tender side of you I felt so protective of suddenly. And you know the rest.”

‘It had happened much like I thought then, with Gramps going to find help before I got up that morning, and before saying he supported me…’ Lilly thought to herself, confirming her suspicions.

“So you didn’t lie about anything else then?” Lilly asked, just to be sure. “You didn’t know who my parents were or about my special bloodline or anything like that?”

“Not at all, Lilly. I understand it if you find it a bit hard to trust me now, but I really only kept that one secret,” Eolande said, looking Lilly deep in the eyes in hopes that she would trust what she said.

“I believe you, Elly. Or at least I really want to, so that's exactly what I'll do. I’m guessing Eldrin is the same way?”

“He might have some secrets, but nothing related to you, I’m pretty sure. At least nothing he’s hiding,” she said, sounding pretty sure.

"Yeah, I assumed as much. He’s a bit more secretive than you, I think, but not in a malicious way,” Lilly said, thinking back to Eldrin’s general behavior.

“How much did Gramps tell you about what happened today?” Lilly asked, wondering how much she would have to explain.

“I think he covered everything that happened, including your mother visiting you somehow and the Vermilion Flame you supposedly have. Before you ask, I’ve never heard of it before. It does sound like something related to the Phoenix though; it’s associated with red flames, I think,” Eolande said after thinking a bit.

“Okay, then I guess you’re up to speed. But you don’t know how my mom visited in my dream either?” Lilly asked, hoping she would know something at least.

“No idea, Lilly, everything I know about death is that it’s pretty permanent. Maybe she left a part of herself in the amulet, or maybe she really visited you from the afterlife. Either way, it sounds incredible.”

“A part of her?” Lilly repeated askingly, holding the amulet around her neck and looking at it. “But she told me to burn it?”

“Sorry, Lilly, I have no idea. It might awaken some power you have, or it might not. I don’t know enough to tell you what to do, same as your grandpa.”

“He doesn’t know either? But he said I would likely be in danger?” Lilly said, asking. He had seemed pretty sure about the dangers it could bring.

“Power tends to do that, I’m afraid. But it all depends on what the power is, and how you use it. I’d say you have a good enough head on your shoulders to keep it under control,” Eolande told her, having some confidence in Lilly’s levelheadedness.

“Thanks, I think. I’ll at least sleep on it before making a decision,” Lilly said, thinking any decision should be made carefully.

“That’s probably a good idea,” Eolande agreed.

“Uh, one question. An embarrassing one. Or perhaps more than one,” Lilly said, hesitating a bit. These questions were important, but very embarrassing.

“Go right ahead, Lilly. I’m assuming this is relationship-related and not something your grandpa can answer?” Eolande asked, her face turning a bit serious.

“I would die if I asked him, yes. First, can two girls have children together somehow?” Lilly asked, while her cheeks were burning red hot.

“Hah, they can indeed, Lilly, through the magics of alchemy. Don’t you worry about that. I’ve heard it’s quite an experience. You can even have two at a time if you want, a rare advantage,” Eolande said knowingly, clearly having some experience with that question.

“Oh, that’s good. And the harder question, uhm… How do we… You know... In bed?” Lilly whimpered out in the end, using almost the exact words Mia had. If there was an upper limit for blushing, she had to be close to it right now.

“Hmmm, I don’t think it will be a problem, Lilly. You just do what feels good, and eventually you’ll both get to the finish line, I’m sure,” Eolande helpfully explained, understanding why Lilly felt embarrassed.

“... The finish line?” Lilly asked, not understanding what she meant.

“... Oh. Uhm, you’ll know it when you get to it. I’m not prepared to explain more than that,” she said, and even she seemed embarrassed now.

“I think that’s all of them, then,” Lilly said, understanding that she would have to figure some things out herself. “I just need to cool off a bit before I go talk to Gramps.”

“I understand, Lilly. Do you want some juice?” Eolande asked, hoping to help her get ready.

“Sure, if it’s safe to drink. I won’t turn into a frog or anything, right?” Lilly asked, trying to get her mind away from the previous questions.

“Oh, the day I become rich enough to turn people into frogs whenever I want is going to be so great. Unfortunately, it’s far off. Normal refreshing apple juice is all I have,” Eolande said, acting like she was embarrassed she didn’t have the option.

“Well, then I’d love a cup, thank you,” Lilly said gratefully.

They both drank some juice together and just talked for a while, until Lilly felt ready to leave.

“Thank you, Elly. I’ll come over in two days, on the full moon, to do some enchanting.”

“I’m looking forward to it, Lilly,” Eolande said, before saying goodbye.