Chương 111: The Princess and the Valkyrie - Extra
Three years ago; Before the war against the Elsnian Empire.
Sahari and Serien were two very similar women. Both came from noble and wealthy families, both were responsible and composed, as well as beautiful. But contrary to what was expected of two people so similar, their relationship was not friendly at all, although they didn't hate each other.
Their relationship was that of two people who knew each other, but who had no level of intimacy, yet there was still something between them that felt strange.
Every time the two of them met and were alone, the atmosphere in the place became heavy, tense and awkward.
The women kept exchanging glances and sometimes, when their eyes met, their faces would flush and they would quickly look away, but one day everything changed.
It was a warm spring day and the Valkyries had just returned to the Basilica after a long journey at the request of Athena.
Lobana and Sahari, both wearing silver plate armor, were waiting for Athena in the living room when Serien appeared and quickly stole the fencer's gaze.
Serien looked beautiful as always, despite having huge dark circles under her pale face. She was wearing a short purple dress, black tights and her hair was tied in a large bun on top of her head.
Lobana and Sahari got up from the sofa as the princess entered and made a brief bow, which Serien said was unnecessary such an act and continued. "Athena is still... Mm... Asleep... I can hear them in her place."
Sahari smiled at the princess's demeanor who looked away restlessly as she spoke.
"Nah!" Lobana waved her hand. "The matter is only with her, as it was her request for this damn trip... Let's kill some time until she wakes up."
"Okay then." Serien nodded. "I have matters to take care of, make yourself at home." Serien said and left.
"What are we going to do until Athena gets out of bed?" Lobana asked Sahari.
"Why don't you go to the orphanage? It's been months since we've been here..."
"Good idea..." Lobana stood up. "You do not come?"
"No, I want to see the 'Serien'." Sahari responded by making a pun on Serien's name.
"Hm? I didn't know you liked the iris/Seriens..."
"Fufu~" Sahari chuckled. "I love."
"??"
After seeing Lobana pass through the palace gates to the city, Sahari walked with eager steps to Serien's office.
Serien was examining a report about the kingdom's new religions and with disbelief in her eyes, she sighed wearily and dropped the document onto the table, pretending she never saw it. She took another document from the tall pile of papers in the left corner of the table and then heard a knock at the door.
Sahari was standing in the open office door and smiling like she was the happiest person in the world, making the princess's heart race and her purple eyes widened in surprise.
"I came to see you." Sahari said with a smile.
"See me?"
Sahari closed the door after entering the office that smelled of old parchment, chamomile and lilies. "Uhum! See you..."
"W-why? Y-you need something from me?" Serien asked, feeling that attraction again.
"Nothing important." Sahari replied and looked at the amount of papers on the princess's table. "You look busy, want help? I'm used to dealing with the legion's documents."
Serien was mired in work and normally could not count on anyone to help her, except for the good will of Athena, who sometimes decided to do her job as queen, so having someone trustworthy to help was all the princess wanted and so she gladly accepted Sahari's offer.
"Well then, if you can take care of these here for me, it will be of great help." Serien said while offering some papers to Sahari.
Sahari took the papers, ink bottle, quill pen, and sat down opposite Serien, starting to do the job offered. It wasn't a big deal, just a few reports, fundraising for certain events and other little things, but it was enough to ease the workload off the princess's back.
The first document Sahari took was the one Serien had left out, the religions report, which came as a surprise to Sahari. "Oh my!"
"What is that? Did you find any problems?"
Sahari showed the document to Serien and the princess looked more exhausted. This was not just a report on the new religions, but also requests for religious recognition for cults about Athena.
"What is "The Holy Church of the Queen of Death", "Order of the Saintess of the East" and all these organizations?"
"New religious fanatics who have come to worship Athena as a goddess..." Serien replied with a crooked smile. "Every month there are several new ones."
"By the gods... And Athena? Does she do nothing?"
"At first she even told them to stop it, but now she doesn't seem to care anymore and I have to deal with them..."
Sahari laughed at the disgrace Serien was reaping as a result of her own choice, so they went back to work, ignoring the document of the new religions.
After a long silence with only the sound of papers and writing, Sahari finished the job Serien had entrusted her with, drummed her fingers on the table and began humming the Valkyries' war song until a subject popped into her mind. "You said that Athena was sleeping... Does that mean she was 'sleeping' with Mifa?"
Serien's hand, which had been frantically waving the quill in a letter, suddenly stopped and looked at Sahari with a slightly red face. "Well..." Serien lowered her eyes, nodded.
Sahari smiled with her eyes, happy for her friends. "I'm glad it's working out for them."
Serien bit her bottom lip, looking like she wanted to ask something and looked at Sahari. "Mm..."
"Hm?"
"Well..." Serien, who had no love experience, was curious. "Do you think it works? I mean, two women together?"
"Hm... Wouldn't their relationship be like any other couple? In fact, I think they're even cuter than an ordinary couple."
"You didn't answer what I asked... Do you think two women together work?"
Sahari looked into the princess's watchful eyes, smiled and came around the table, holding Serien's shoulders. "Do you want to try?"
"Eh? Huh?" Serien shrank back in her chair and looked up, meeting Sahari's eyes. "T-try? Try what?"
Sahari smiled an affectionate smile and leaned towards the princess. "Try this..."
Seeing Sahari's face get closer, Serien took a deep breath and held it as if he were going to dive. Her heart sped up and her face heated as her lips prepared for a kiss that didn't happen. "???"
"Fufufu~" Sahari giggled when she saw Serien's expression after receiving a kiss on the cheek.
Serien had a mixture of disappointment and surprise after receiving a kiss on the cheek, but then she wondered why she felt let down and her face got even redder.
After that, Serien complained a little about Sahari's behavior, who fled as soon as she saw Athena and Mifa pass in front of the office.
Later that day, Sahari returned to the princess's office and Serien was still working even though night fell. She sat across from Serien and without saying much, she took half of the documents and helped the princess finish the job.
After all the work was done, Serien and Sahari sipped freshly poured tea while looking out over the moonlit landscape of the flower gardens.
Well, only Serien was enjoying the scenery, Sahari was admiring something more beautiful than the flowers in the moonlight. Serien's beauty under the moonlight was something stunning and Sahari wanted to imprint that scene in her mind for eternity.
Sahari set her cup down on the desk and continued to stare at Serien who was looking to the gardens as her purple eyes twinkling as they reflected the pale moonlight.
Feeling her heart leap in her chest, Sahari's hand moved indeliberately and caressed the silvery black hair of Serien who was distracted and jumped scared on her heels, making the Valkyrie hesitate. "Sorry! I don't know what got into me..." Sahari said turning her back to Serien.
Serien felt her heart race and her face heat up, but on her lips, a slight smile formed. "No, it's okay. I wasn't..."
Sahari turned when she heard Serien say that everything was fine and the princess seemed to be mesmerized.
The light that invaded the office, and illuminated their faces, made Sahari look irresistibly beautiful to Serien, just as Serien looked incredibly desirable to Sahari.
"Did you not...?"
"I did not..."
Sahari moved a little closer to Serien, who didn't move, so a little closer and little by little, in Serien's hesitation to continue talking, the distance between them narrowed to the point where they could already feel the heat of each other's quickened breath.
"I...."
"You..."
They looked into each other's eyes while also looking into each other's lips, each wanting the other's touch.
They held each other's hands, intertwining their fingers and feeling each other's nervousness.
That was Sahari's first time with a woman and Serien's first with someone. Their hearts were racing so fast they felt like they were going to explode and their parted lips were eagerly anticipating the kiss that took so long to happen.
Sahari let go of Serien's hands, laced the princess's neck with her arms and the two, unable to stand all that explosion of feelings any longer, burned the desire and passion in a kiss.
The kiss was brief, warm and sweet, they parted for a moment, looking into each other's eyes. Sahari caressed Serien's face, who in turn cradled her face in the fencer's hand and then they kissed again.
However, unlike the previous kiss, passionate and full of lust, now they caressed each other's with their lips in a long, soft kiss.
After that, Serien guided Sahari to her room and there they made love for the first time with loving whispers, long, wet, hot kisses and pleasurable touches.
"Are you leaving?" Serien asked waking up to the sound of metal produced by Sahari's armor.
Sahari, who was sitting with her back to Serien at the end of the bed, still bare-breasted, pulling on her boots, looked back and smiled with her whole face. "Yes, I have to go." She said in an intimate tone.
Serien sat down and watched Sahari dress while she felt a little anxious. "You.... You will return?"
Sahari looked at Serien who was looking at the window lit by the first rays of sunlight and then asked in a tone full of meaning. "Do you want me to come back?"
Serien pulled the sheet a little more, covering part of her flushed face. "Hm." She nodded.
"Then I will come back to you." Sahari said with a beautiful smile full of love.
However, life was not that simple and that promise would hardly be fulfilled. Months passed and Sahari did not return or even sent a letter. But not because she didn't want to, what she wanted most was to return to the arms of her new love, but she couldn't.
This was because the Valkyries were traveling across the floating continent at Athena's request again. They had to buy every spell and skill scroll they could find, and they had to do it in secret.
Then, when the Valkyries returned, the war against the empire broke out and the two new lovers, who wanted to be together again, barely had time to talk.
Sahari was from the vanguard group and Serien was always at the rear to heal the wounded and relay Athena's orders.
It was impossible for them to meet and have any usable time alone, but that was only until the night before the first attack on the capital of the empire.
They didn't waste time with words, as soon as Sahari entered Serien's tent, they hugged each other warmly and a kiss filled with lust followed.
"I missed.... you so.... much..." Sahari said as she kissed, sucked and nibbled on the princess's neck as she gasped and arched her back with each shiver caused by the touch of the fencer's lips. "Your perfume... your taste... You..."
They didn't know it, but this would be the last time they would be this close. Despite several opportunities, they never said what they felt, outside or on the bed.
After the war, with the disappearance of Athena, the kingdom that now faced another crisis without its ruler, was in chaos.
In the newly acquired territories, rebellions took place incessantly under the command of the nobles of the territories, giving more work to soldiers and mercenaries, including the Valkyries, who had to spread throughout the realm to keep everything under control.
As for Serien, she had a lot more work to do with everything on her shoulders. Many times she wanted to count on the help of the nobles to help her with the excess work, but she endured it and continued to do everything by herself.
It pulled them apart and in time the longing that had seemed to be endlessly painful began to slip away and fade into oblivion.
There was so much going on on the battlefield that Sahari had no time to think about anything but her own life and the life of her comrades.
While in Basilian, Serien spent sleepless nights because of the problems that kept piling up on her desk, as well as her stress in dealing with greedy nobles from neighboring kingdoms who tried to approach Basilica.
Both had too much on their minds abd hands to think about love.
In this time of torment, everyone missed Athena who solved everything selfishly with the use of brute force and murders.
To make the situation worse, Serien, who was trying to follow her queen's footsteps, started a war with neighboring kingdoms that tried to get closer with ulterior motives.
Everything was only resolved when Mifa took charge of the situation with the new strength Athena had given her.
The rebellions ceased, the war ended and Sahari was on her way back to her love, not knowing that Serien's heart was being taken by someone else at that moment.
During this period of instability in the realm, Serien met Veron and continued to see him after the end of the war and a stability in her load of problems to be solved.
Little by little Serien's heart started to move towards Veron and the princess remembered the feelings and memories she had with Sahari, but nothing was known about the fencer until then.
When Sahari finally returned to the capital, before meeting Serien, she heard a rumor about the princess's possible engagement and that she would soon have a ball to formally announce her engagement to a nobleman from another kingdom.
Sahari felt a bitter taste in her mouth and her heart was squeezed by a pain she didn't know, as she had never suffered for love. She didn't want to believe the rumors and tried to talk to Serien, but the princess wasn't in the kingdom.
Serien had accompanied Veron to Mizhar to see the man's territory while she was fleeing the fear of hearing the news of Sahari's death.
When Serien returned and learned that Sahari was alive, relief, longing and guilt consumed her heart and she spent days locked in her room, avoiding both Veron and Sahari.
After days of trying to reach Serien, Sahari finally gave up and no longer sought her out. Her heart was in pieces, but she wanted to believe Serien would come back to her, but that hope only lasted until the day of the ball to which the Valkyries had been invited.
At the party for the official announcement of the Princess Regent's engagement, Sahari and Serien were walking in the gardens under the light of the three moons, but this only came after much insistence from Sahari, as Serien had convinced herself that if she kept her distance, she wouldn't hurt Sahari more than there already was.
Autumn nights were usually cold, but that night the weather was pleasantly cool and the silent garden still smelled of roses that wouldn't bloom for a few more months.
Sahari was dressed in a long, pale red dress with a gold-thread embroidery of a longsword along her right leg. Her hair was down, curling to her waist, and her lips were red and glossy like a caramelized apple.
Serien could barely focus on where she walked. Sahari was very beautiful and brought back those longing feelings, making her feel even more guilty.
Serien wore a simple white satin dress and a pale blue cardigan embroidered with various flowers in different colors. Her silvery black hair was pulled back into a braided hairstyle and a ponytail that fell halfway down her back, and her lips were a pale pink color, giving a slight touch of delicacy to her appearance.
Sahari wanted so badly to hold her there and take her for himself, but she didn't have the courage to do it, not now that there seemed to be a wall between them.
"....So are you really getting married...?"
"..." Serien just nodded without saying a word.
"I…" Sahari clenched her fists, mustering her courage. "...I have something I want to tell you."
Serien, who was walking beside the fencer, suddenly stopped and as if they were more in tune than ever, their hearts raced, but while Sahari's face was red, Serien was pale and looked scared, however Sahari couldn't go back now, she didn't want to go back.
The princess, with her eyes wided, seeing the determination of the fencer, even wanting to run away from there, she stayed. Serien pursed her lips, hardened her face as hard as she could and stared at Sahari with a nervous look in her eyes and Sahari stared back at her as she felt like she was going to suffocate.
"I k-know I shouldn't do this, b-but..." Sahari's eyes filled with tears and her face flushed. "Serien..." Sahari took the princess's hands. "...Don't get married, I love you."
Sahari was afraid to hear Serien's response, which looked scared, so in an attempt to make her decide to not get married, the fencer kissed the princess.
Surprised by Sahari's act, Serien's eyes widened and she tried to pull away from the woman, but gradually she accepted the kiss that was accompanied by Sahari's longing, desire, scent and warmth.
With the silence of the place, with their lips connected, they could have sworn they could hear each other's heartbeats and that increased the heat of that kiss full of passion, longing and repressed desires.
However, Serien remembered what the that night's party was for and that she also loved her fiancé, so the princess pushed herself away from Sahari. "I can't, I can't! I... I'm engaged... I... I lo-love Veron..."
Sahari looked at the princess and smiled as her heart was crushed in her chest. Her face, which had been red until then, paled and the strength no longer came in her hands to be clenched, and not even the air seemed to favor her.
"...I understand..." Sahari, after an uncomfortable silence took place, finally said and turned away. "I... You should go back to the party.... Your fiancé might be looking for you."
Serien looked at Sahari's back and felt her chest ache as if something heavy was squeezing her into the ground.
Seeing the woman smile warmed her inside, just like as when Veron smiled at her and maybe, if she saw her fiancé suffer, she would feel the same pain she was feeling at that moment.
Serien turned to the palace and with heavy steps, the princess walked away as she tried to compose herself, leaving Sahari alone in the garden and after that night, they didn't see each other for long months.
Serien got married, but she kept thinking about Sahari, the kisses and the hot nights she'd spent with the fencer, and in order to bury her longing and guilt, she turned to work and let herself be pampered by her husband.
Sahari, on the other hand, had sunk into work far from Basilian so as not to disturb her beloved's happiness and each new week she had a different partner in her bed, which she used to soothe her pain.
In the end they were both doing the same thing. The two occupied themselves while trying to forget the feelings they had for each other and this continued until a certain winter day.
Every three months, Serien left Basilian to inspect the realm. In Athena's absence, she could not be careless with the territories and nobles, but there was a problem.
To prevent further rebellions, the royal army was spread across the new territories of the kingdom and this included a large part of the knights of the royal guard, leaving the princess unescorted.
For this reason Serien asked the Adventurers' Guild to provide skilled warriors to supply her understudied escort, she just didn't expect that Oliana would take the order and that the leader of the Valkyries would send the group led by Sahari to do the job.
The princess and her escort were halfway to Sendar, a territory in the west-central of Basilica, and for the past three days, Serien and Sahari just exchanged a few cordial words as if they were strangers for each other.
It had snowed all day and night was approaching along with the limit of the strength of the horses that pulled the carriage and carried the warriors.
Serien who was inside the carriage, reading a book, suddenly looked at the window when she heard two short knocks, it was Sahari.
"We will have to camp here." Sahari said without looking the princess in the eye. "The horses need to rest."
Sahari didn't wait for an answer and walked away in silence. She didn't want to look at Serien and didn't want to hear her voice either because it hurt.
After all the work of shoveling snow and clearing a glade by the side of the road, the members of the warrior group walked everywhere to do some work, while Serien and Sahari were silent by the campfire.
The atmosphere between the two was so strange and uncomfortable that even those who passed close to the two women felt awkward.
".... How have you been?" Serien asked. She could feel her heart pounding in her neck. This was fear of being ignored by Sahari. (I know I'm being selfish, but...)
Sahari stirred up the fire with a stick, tucked the hair that fell over her face behind her ear, then took a deep breath of the cold air, trying to ease the pain, but the air carried the princess's scent and the pain only grew stronger, but she didn't. transpired. "I'm fine and you?"
"Alright, only...." Serien pursed her lips. "Can we talk somewhere more private?"
Sahari looked around as if to show where they were in an almost ironic way.
There was a wood beside where they were camped and the rest was just snowy plains, there was no private place.
For a moment Sahari was grateful that she didn't have such a place, but then she realized that there was no point in continuing to run away if the pain continued to plague her. She had to put an end to this and then get on with her life and never fall in love with anyone the way she fell in love with Serien.
"Let's go for a walk." Sahari said and signaled to the only two knights of the royal guard who were in the group. "We're going to take a short walk, don't follow us."
"Where will we go?"
"How about the woods? If that's the right woods, going further into the center, we might find a strange lake that has warm water."
Inside the misty snowy woods, the two women, who carried grief-stricken hearts in their chests, walked for a while in silence.
The two tried to find a moment to start the conversation, but even they were alone, it was something difficult to find.
That night months ago left marks and fear was one of those marks, but time didn't stop just because they didn't speak and as they walked in silence, a sound of bubbling water mingled with the sound of snow crunching at their every step.
They were facing a large lake surrounded by trees and covered in steam. A rock emerged in the middle of the lake and from the top of it undermined a thin stream of hot water, turning that place into a beautiful and mysterious setting.
Sahari cleared two stones near the lake and covered one of them with her cloak, revealing her armor.
"What happened to the armor you wore?" Serien asked when realizing that the armor Sahari was wearing wasn't the same.
The armor Sahari previously wore was beautiful silver plate armor, just like the other Valkyries with roses and a sword carved on the breastplate, but what the fencer wore now was a matte gray half-armor with few details.
The first armor was forged using cold iron, a light, beautiful and tough mineral that was found in the frozen mines of the northern kingdoms and the armor Sahari wore now was made of magical metal, a rare mineral, lighter and stronger than cold iron, but much uglier and more expensive.
"I screwed up a job and the previous armor was destroyed, but this one is better..." Sahari replied, but that was a lie. She had been wounded during the rebellion north of Basilica and nearly died, but she didn't want Serien, who sent the Valkyries to fight, to feel guilty. "Sit down, let's talk. That's what you wanted, right?"
Serien sat on the stone covered by Sahari's robe and the two talked, screamed and cried. It had been some time since they were there and if not for Serien's magic, the two would be in the dark, as night had already taken its place in the world.
"....I didn't mean to hurt you...."
"...I wanted to be with you..."
"... I still love you..."
"But you're not staying with me… are you?"
Both had pained expressions on their faces and their eyes were swollen from the tears that had flowed.
They no longer screamed or cried, now they held each other's hands and spoke softly, almost in whispers, not meeting each other's eyes.
For a while they were silent, listening to the bubbling water and the sing of a lone owl in the darkness beyond the light produced by the luminous ball of mana that floated around them.
"So..." Sahari broke the silence left by her unanswered question. "Then just one more time... Just one more nigth..."
Serien, who was looking at their joined hands, looked up and met Sahari's eyes. There was no sadness or hurt in the woman's eyes, just longing, love and a slight wish for goodbye.
Serien shed one last tear, they kissed, undressed each other and entered the lake, which despite bubbling, had the temperature of a hot bath, then they made love for hours.
When they returned to camp, it was as if nothing had happened. They explained, with a lie, what they were doing and sensing the lighter atmosphere between them, the group sat around the fire.
From that night on, the princess and the Valkyrie were once again just friends.
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All_J From the 10th onwards, I will be releasing chapters more often, not as often as before, but there will be more than one chapter per week.
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