Arianna looked around, nervously. She had promised to stay behind and wait for the return of that blonde chick, and even if she was determined to be patient about it, fear was still firmly clutching her heart. What if something happened to Gabrielle, or if their return was interrupted not by the beast attacking them but humans themselves deciding to make things difficult for a “witch” like her? What if they needed her help and she was just there, sitting on a barrel and waiting forever?

She bit down her lower lip, patience was key! She couldn’t simply run off out of a panic and risk missing the girl’s return! But then, how long would she wait here? What if they never came back? Shouldn’t she take the initiative and go look for them at some point? The nun squeezed her cheeks, trying to contain the growing anxiety for a moment. What would she do out there anyways!? She would be a burden for those who were fighting, and things seemed to be heating up on the battlefield! She did feel that tremor that shook the entire city some time ago! No idea what could have caused it but, it couldn’t be anything good.

Anxiety was about to reach its maximum inside of the woman’s heart, when suddenly she could see two colourful heads approaching from a side of the city, away from the crowd. That blonde lancer girl leaded the way, her hat now resting on Gabrielle’s hair to try and over some of it from the public eye. Arianna deflated, letting out a long sigh of relief as the girls finally arrived at her side.

“Here she is!” Said Lucrece, not really specifying to whom. “Safe and sound.”

The nun looked at Gabrielle with a sheepish smile, why was she suddenly so nervous? She was aware that the girl wasn’t specially open with her feelings or physical interactions, so there was a bit of uncertainty on how she should say hi.

“W-Well… it’s been a while, Ga—”

She couldn’t continue. The redheaded girl had walked the distance between them and quickly embraced the nun in a tight, relieved hug. It took a moment for Arianna to snap out of her daze and smile, hugging the young girl back and gently rubbing her back. Gabrielle was trembling, some rogue tears finding their way out of her eyes.

“I was worried.” Gabi confessed. “I never saw you or Sister Alejandra again… I… I am sorry for running away.”

“It’s okay. Everything is okay now, Gabi.” The black haired woman smiled with more confidence. “Everything will be okay now.”

Lucrece observed it all for a moment, letting out a sigh and rolling her one eye before turning away. She didn’t understand why she felt so bothered by the scene but it really got on her nerves and she wanted to leave as quickly as possible. With her arms crossed, she was ready to say her good byes when, suddenly, she felt someone hugging her from behind. The blonde girl froze completely, eye wide open and all. She could feel Gabrielle’s tired yet ragged breathing on her back, as she squeezed the lancer tightly.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“Thank you. For everything.”

“O-Oi now, no need to get all sappy on me, Gabs!” Luci said, yet made no effort to stop or push Gabi away. “You’ve done the same for me, probably.”

“Still.”

Gabrielle didn’t let go for a good moment, before finally separating from Lucrece and cleaning her face. She still didn’t like to be seen crying, it was uncomfortable and disgusting for everyone involved. The lancer sighed, trying not to show any of the emotions going around in her chest before turning around once again, crossing both arms and looking at both the redhead and the nun.

“So! What’s next for you two? Don’t think I’m interested in more adventures, this has been enough for a while for me.”

“Well…”

Arianna looked around the harbor. Some boats had already departed from the coast according to the evacuation plan, but the crowd that was left already was starting to calm down with the arrival of riders from the church. Word on the streets was that a Saint had visited the city and, apparently, things would be fine after all. The wounded members of the guard would be tended to, and normalcy would return with enough time to the city. She then looked back at the ships left, maybe one of them could deliver them back to Doggenband…

“Gabrielle, I came to take you back home. Please, we have a nice place now, things will be different!”

“I can’t stay home anymore. I have things to do.” The girl shook her head softly… but then managed to express the tiniest of smiles. “But I can visit now, just to say hello.”

Lucrece blinked. That had to be the most emotion she had seen out of the girl to this date. Arianna hugged the girl again, letting out a soft sigh and simply nodding. There wasn’t much to do when Gabrielle decided something! She would follow through with it to the end, and the nun remembered this well.

“That’s enough for me… but what about you, miss? What will you do now?”

The blonde girl looked down for a moment. She was tempted to barge into the trip and accompany them but, what good would that do for any of them? Those two probably had plenty on their plate to talk about and she would only get in the way. Besides, she didn’t want to get too attached, did she?

“A little too late for that”, she said sadly to herself before turning back to the nun and the girl. “I will stay here for a night or two before continuing my way around Normadia. A girl needs to keep grinding for that money, you know?”

“You won’t come?” Gabrielle’s eyes were pleading, it took some willpower for Lucrece to nod at her. “Are you sure?”

“I am sorry Gabi, but it will be fine. I’ll be fine, and you’ll have your people back, right?”

The girl wasn’t really sure if that would be the case, it’s not like she had a very fond memory of most of the girls that she assumed were still in this home Arianna spoke of, but she also didn’t have more places to go for the moment now, did she? The visions had stopped and this was the last spot in her map…

“Fine. But at least see us to the boat.”

“Pfft, what? Did you get attached or something?” Lucrece smirked “I never thought of you as the emotional sort, Gabi. But fine, fine. I guess I can spare a few minutes."