Author's Note:
Hi everyone, this is actually a pseudo-sequel to my first Ristelle fiction, Together! You don't really have to read it first, but this will spoil it, and if you enjoy this, Together! is just more of the same sort of thing. The general premise is they're married and adopted a child. This is just a side project too, and not really a connected story or something I'm going to focus on. It's just a collection of little, mostly unrelated stories that take place after the end of Together! So, without further ado, please enjoy!
The Nightmare!
Rita shut her eyes and relaxed, letting Estelle's strong firm hands dig into her shoulders.
'So good.'
The princess made rolling motions with her thumbs and gently soothed away the stress and ache of a long day. Her eyes opened slightly, taking in the soft gentle glow of the candles and incense, overpowering the gentle streaks of moonlight coming through the drawn curtains. Estelle was leaning against the headboard of their bed with Rita leaning against her.
It seemed like Rita's work kept multiplying; it was one of the drawbacks of success, there was always so much to do. The witch had found that since she got her 'happy ending' that her lift kept getting busier and busier. But it certainly felt good to come back home everyday to her loving wife.
The mage smiled slightly.
'I guess it's been awhile–' she quickly thought, turning her head slowly, letting her eyes meet with Estelle's.
Rita's smile widened and her skin grew flush when she saw the sultry expression that Estelle had. The princess's hand halted their motions, and then slid down and encircled the witch's stomach. The two slowly let themselves draw closer until their lips were just a hairsbreadth from touching–
A sudden knock at the door caused them to both draw back. Rita released a sigh as they spread apart, but then smiled as she watched the princess closely.
"Come in," Estelle said gently.
The door cracked open and a small brunette child peeked her head in. Her little eyes were puffy and red, peeking out from behind the ears of the stuffed rabbit that she was clutching onto with both of her little arms.
"Aww, come here Susie," Estelle quickly called out.
The little girl took a few apprehensive steps in, before pausing again. "Um, is it alright Rita?"
The witch smiled, nodded, and moved out of the way. She took her usual spot next to Estelle, as the little girl quickly walked up to the bed. Their royal mattress was high and fluffy, so the little girl threw the stuffed animal up first before trying to crawl her way on. Rita admired the motherly and adorable expression Estelle had as she reached down and helped their daughter into the bed, letting her rest between her legs, in the spot Rita was in moments before.
"Mommy, I had a nightmare," the girl said as she grabbed and clutched her stuffed animal again. The girl started sobbing again.
"Don't worry, everything is okay. Tell me what happened," Estelle smiled down at the little girl.
"Well– well– you, Rita and me were in the garden and– and then big wolves showed up and then pulled you both away– and I was all alone."
Estelle grabbed her daughter, turned her around, and pulled her tight against her chest. There were tears in her eyes as she glanced over at Rita, whose eyes were starting to well up too. The two had found out from Gauche that the girl had lost both her parents when their merchant caravan was attacked by monsters. The girl was too young to really remember, but apparently the event still clung to her subconscious.
"You are going to be fine. We will always be safe here; there are knights and magic keeping the monsters away."
"It's not magic–," Rita started to comment before Estelle interrupted her with a quick glare.
The princess just started to rub the back of Susie's head. "Everything is fine. You can stay with us tonight, you don't have to worry, we will be here when you wake up."
Estelle started to hum a little lullaby and rocked their daughter until her sobs stopped and her breath slowed. She gently laid the girl down between her and Rita and then cuddled up behind her.
'She's such a good mother. I wish I could be like that, even a little.'
The princess smiled as Rita gently rose out of the bed and blew out all of the candles, leaving the gentle moonlight as the only source of light in their bedroom. The witch slowly slid between their sheets, being careful not to wake their daughter.
It was still shocking to her; they had a daughter. A daughter who had been alive longer than they had actually been in a relationship. The little girl rested gently between them, tucked close against Estelle's chest with an angelic expression of peace.
Rita closed her eyes and slowed down her breathing, but stayed awake. After a few minutes, the witch cracked an eye openly slowly and cautiously. Her wife was breathing gently, with the usual soft smile she held while she slept. Rita opened both her eyes and moved a little, checking to see if the princess stirred.
Confident that Estelle was asleep, she sat up and reached a hand out. She gently brushed Susie's hair behind her ear. Then, she let her hand rest gently on the girl's cheek, and smiled shyly as her daughter unconsciously snuggled into the warm palm. The little girl gently cooed quietly, causing Rita's smile to widen and her cheeks to grow blush.
Cautiously glancing up to make sure Estelle was still sound asleep, she slowly leaned downward, craned her neck and, lightly kissed her daughter's forehead. She pulled back and blushed harder when she heard a giggle.
Estelle still appeared to be asleep, but Rita just glared at her. "I heard that."
The princess opened her eyes with an apologetic smile. "Sorry. I just wanted to see you do it, so I pretended to be asleep."
Holding a pout, Rita glared at her wife. Estelle continued to look apologetic as she sat up and reached a hand out, gently placing it on Rita's shoulder. "Why do you pretend like you don't love her?"
Rita blushed and stammered. "I d-don't do that. O-of course I love her."
The princess looked at her concerned. "But she doesn't know that."
"It's embarrassing, I guess. You know how I am, it's hard for me– expressing love."
Estelle's eyes drew closed as her wife just stared at her. "But you're going to have to get over it, and it cannot take six years this time. I don't want our daughter to be a teenager before she knows both of her mothers love her."
Rita just looked downcast. "I can try."
The princess shook her head and glared at the witch. "You are going to have to do more than try. You don't want her to always call you Rita, do you?"
Her expression softened as Rita's head dropped. Estelle reached a hand out and lifted Rita's face by her chin. When she saw her wife was crying, she lifted her hand up and started to wipe away the tear-streaks with her thumb.
"I– I don't think I'm cut out to be a mother. I see you, and how maternal and kind you can be, and it makes me think about how I'll never be like that. I still can't kiss you in front of her, how am I supposed to kiss her? Sometimes I think I wasn't ready for this at all."
Estelle wanted to pull her wife into a firm hug but their sleeping daughter lay between them, so she settled for resting her forehead against Rita's.
"Rita, I know you can do this, and you don't need to worry about being a good mother. You don't have to be maternal; you just have to be– a loving parent."
Slowing her sobs, Rita opened her eyes and looked right into Estelle's. "You were going to say father weren't you."
A nervous laugh escaped from the princess. "Of course not–,"
"Yeah right." Rita turned extremely red. "I know that you're already a good mother for her, but I want to be too. I wish I could be that loving; hug her and kiss her and make sure she feel safe and loved in my arms." She started to cry again.
Estelle smiled lightly, kissing Rita's cheek before pulling away.
"Just admitting that is the first step to changing. You can do it Rita." Estelle gently put her hand on Rita's shoulder. The witch looked up into the princess's eyes. The expression was gentle and loving, yet confident.
"I will." The witch calmed down and smiled slightly, still distressed. Rita leaned forward and kissed Estelle. "Good night, and thanks; you always make me feel better. I love you."
"I love you too. Tomorrow is a new day, how about you trying giving her a hug, while she's awake?"
"I will. I can do this."
Rita leaned down and kissed her daughter again, "Sleep tight, little angel."
Both laid back down, resting up for another day of their happy life together.
Author's note, V.2.: So I hope you enjoyed this, there will probably be more, but it won't be frequent. It's just an outlet for some fluff while I write other, more serious things; otherwise it sort of leaks out uncontrollably into everything. Which is bad. Or good, depending on how you look at it. I've also started to revise Together! so that the grammar is better, and the editing conventions between my stories is more consistent.