"So…"
The single word fluttered from her lover's lips as Kamui gazed dumbly at her from the room known as "the barracks." Some people were just too beautiful to be not stared at. She honestly tried to listen to and provide input whenever possible, but Azura had to stop looking so damn enrapturing all the time, though Kamui ultimately had come to the conclusion that that probably wasn't possible. The dragon in her certainty howled for sexual satiation, but the soul she'd inherited from her mother, Mikoto, wanted to love and cherish her lover's beauty and to just make her happy.
Kamui gasped, quickly realizing that she'd zoned out yet again instead of listening to Azura's words. With a sense of unawareness, she dug a few fingernails into her cheek. Little canine fangs jutted from her gums (she thought she'd outgrow them, but there they were) as she tried her best to tune into the conversation again.
"I was thinking…"
Kamui nodded, more attentively this time.
"About the words 'I love you'"
"And?" Kamui spoke, awaiting a response.
"That's exactly how I feel about you."
And even though Kamui had heard it millions of times coming from Azura's lips, her heart still skipped several beats, her palms still got sweaty as all get out, and most importantly, she always felt the same way about the silky blue haired Dancer.
"I feel the same way about you, Azura," Kamui replied with a light blush. "I always will." Looking around with a comfortable smile, Kamui had to admire the look of the room they were in. Simple wooden beams supported a waterproof cover that shielded them from the sun and rain. It was a place that was abandoned in the winter and during storms, but brought back to life during warm summer days. What she didn't know was why Azura had invited her here.
Jakob rounded the corner carrying a tray of tea and biscuits, to which both women thanked him kindly for. He hurried off to let them have their tea time in peace, and perhaps have a nap while his liege was occupied with other means.
"Not that I don't like it, but why are we here?" Kamui asked, sitting with proper posture. Seeing as she was royalty and even though Azura didn't really care for royal etiquette, she still tried to sit with a straight, nicely curved back.
"I just wanted to speak with you. Did you not catch my words earlier?" She replied with a confused tone of voice.
"No, I'm sorry. Please go on. I want to know more about you, water princess Azura."
"Okay. Well, I've wanted to tell you a lot sooner, but we only met in person days ago." Azura took a deep breath, and it took several seconds for her realize her lack of oxygen intake and exhaled at once. "We are what you would call "'tri-kingdom princesses.'"
"Tri-kingdom princesses?" Kamui replied with her head tilted slightly to the side confusedly.
"Yes, it is a term that applies to royalty who have a strong connection with the three major kingdoms of our land. Myself, being born a Vallite princess, fleeing our country and my mother marrying the Nohrian king, and being abducted and raised by Hoshidan royalty."
"Three kingdoms. Ah, that does make sense. What an interesting term. But how am I a tri-kingdom princess?"
"You? Well," Azura began, clearing her throat. "You are a child who was raised by Hoshidan royalty and abducted by Nohrian royalty and lived out the rest of your life there."
"What do you mean I was raised by Hoshidan royalty? Of course I was. They're my parents." By now Kamui was astonished and feared that Azura would change everything she had known her whole life.
"I was born to Cadros, the Vallite king. Anankos, creator of all our kingdoms, slew my father in his state of animalistic rage and took the throne for himself. He separated his soul from his body of pure malice, and his soul went on to develop into a wandering human with no memories whatsoever."
Kamui's eyes went a piercing red. A fuschia aura flickered about her body, and she feared that, just like her true father, would slay somebody who meant the world to her. So she stopped, even though crystalized tears leaked from her eyes and all she could see was blood red. Kamui clenched her fists tightly and blood slowly formed in her hands from digging her claw like nails into the palms of her hands. She sat back down and didn't say a word. She wouldn't lash out the day Mikoto died, because the only person in the room was Azura and hurting her would both kill her and eradicate her whole bloodline.
She was the only one left. She faintly recalled hearing of Arete's death while in her fortress of solitude. That night in her dreams, the water princess was crying instead of smiling. She had no siblings. If she passed, there would be none left to carry on her name, and Kamui would sooner die than have her lover pass and be quickly forgotten.
"Please settle down, Kamui," she could hear Azura say through her state of rage, and it calmed her. She didn't need the forbidden song. She only needed the sound of her voice.
"This soulless man went on to stumble upon Lady Mikoto, princess of Valla. He fell in love with and married her, and soon you were born, Kamui."
"What are you even saying, Azura?" Kamui questioned loudly, clutching strands of her hair. "No, no that can't be right. My father was Sumeragi! He was killed on his way to sign a treaty with Nohr!"
"That's what you were told, but Mikoto told me the truth many years ago. I thank her for being so blunt with me."
"So what happened then? Why did Mikoto come to Hoshido and marry Sumeragi? What else has been a lie all throughout my life?"
Azura sighed, deciding that maybe the truth was too much for Kamui. But she needed to know. She had to know. She knew all these truths, and her beloved needed to know those truths. "Both my mother and Mikoto fled Valla to avoid Anankos's wrath with both of us in arm. My mother fled to Nohr and married Garon, while yours fled to Hoshido and married Sumeragi."
"So we aren't related to any of the Nohrians or Hoshidans?" Kamui's world slowly began falling apart. The story she was told all her life had been shattered. How could she adapt to anything different now?
"No, just to each other. Our mothers were sisters. We're cousins, Kamui."
The news was so sudden that the Dragon decided not to believe in it, but those words coming from her beloved's mouth had to be true. Azura would never lie to her, would she? Slowly the rage built, as the possibility that her lover was lying to her. That water princess from her dreams that she trusted and adored so much… could be feeding her lies and deceit.
"Why?" Kamui asked, tears bubbling in her eyes. Her voice became hoarse, and she felt an immense pain as her limbs grew and took on a new form. It was a feeling she was familiar with. She was slowly being consumed by rage, just like the day her mother died in her arms. She was taking the form of a Dragon once again.
"Feeble human!" she howled, low and angry. Her voice bounced back between being kind and furious all at the same time. "You dare lie to me?"
'Kamui!" Azura shouted. Teacups rattled and plates shattered as they clashed against the ground. The tiny home the young woman resided in slowly crumbled to the ground as the Dragon flailed about in her state of rage. Azura stumbled onto the jagged pieces of wood and a chunk was wedged into the arch of her foot. She cried out in pain and fell to the ground and was quickly pinned by the dragon.
"Lies, deceit…" Kamui chanted, examining the Dancer like she was her prey. "She lies to me, it cannot be…"
"I'm sorry!" Azura sobbed, hands covering her face. "I'm so, so sorry…" she wondered where the bubbly Kamui went, where the girl she fell in love with went. She remembered the day rage consumed the Dragon's soul. Slowly, she sang out the forbidden song and touched the tips of her fingers to the dragon's neck. To her surprise, Kamui stumbled backward and hollered in pain. Not because of the song, but because her fingertips made a fire erupt where she'd touched her. She cried out as the fire subsided and a large, bubbling mark resided. The dragon sat and watched the Dancer rise to her bleeding feet. With all trace of rage gone, Kamui slowly reverted back to her human form and ran to embrace the Dancer.
"Azura! Azura, I…" she picked up the water princess and flinched as she touched the spot on her skin where the swelling red wound was. Azura apologized and rested her head on Kamui's collar bone.
"Please don't apologize, Azura," Kamui spoke, looking at her home that she'd decimated to pieces. "This is all my fault. Please forgive me. I must've scared you half to death."
Azura nodded her head, scraping along the terrains of Kamui's full chest. "I was, but you were too."
At this, Kamui froze in place, remembering how she'd succumbed to the rage inside. She remembered doing things she would never had done, but she was just so angry, so confused…
And she lost it.
But with the water princess held securely in her arms, she felt safe and sane.
"I love you," Kamui whispered. She walked again and completely forgot about the searing pain in her neck. The two travelled to the Nohrian castle where only recently were the two welcome. Xander, the newly crowned Nohrian King, greeted them at the door. "Hello, Little Princess and Azur-" he stopped himself short after seeing the wounds on both young women and called for a healer on the double. Elise arrived on the scene and ordered Azura to a bed. Kamui sat alongside her and basked in the glory of her younger sister's healing skill. When the pain subsided, she pressed her lips to Azura's and pulled out the piece of wood that had been lodged into her foot. The former of the two events sent Elise into quite a shock.
"You're.. You're… with her?" Elise asked quizzically, watching her older sister kiss the Dancer passionately. Same sex relationships weren't common at all, and Elise hadn't expected either of them to end up swinging the other way.
"Yes, yes I am," Kamui answered, nudging her head into Azura's pale form. "I love her very much."
"O-oh…" Elise replied, unable to gather words to speak. Instead she healed the Dancer and was on her way. "Good luck with everything," she said to Kamui before leaving. "Rest and be well. I'm happy for you guys."
"Thank you, Elise," Kamui called after the Nohrian princess.
She turned her attention toward Azura at once. "Are you okay, my love?"
Azura nodded her head slowly. All that remained of both wounds were a little redness. No pain, no gaping holes. Just a little redness. Like a sunburn. "Yes," Azura replied happily, closing her eyes. "I couldn't be happier."
Kamui sighed happily and closed her eyes as well. "That's good. Let's rest awhile, shall we?"
A smile crept onto Azura's lips. "Of course."
