(This chapter was originally going to be coupled with the next one I'm writing now, but they were getting just WAY too big so I decided to separate them. This is the first part, second part should be coming out sometime soon.)

Knock knock.

It was a late afternoon in the Renoir palace, the Egrets had finished up their training routine earlier and the soldiers had been dismissed to the barracks. Several guests had started arriving for some sort of event that was about to occur. The princess looked up from her desk, fixing her red hair before getting up and unlocking the door of her office. "Yes, how can I-? Ah, it's you."

Valerie nodded from the other side of the door, already dressed up in the full Black Egret uniform...Well, almost full, she was still missing the band around the arm, which she would acquire, eventually...Probably. "...Good day, Highness." The medic replied, glancing around uncomfortably before questioning. "May I come in?"

"Do you HAVE to? I'd rather we talk at the door, if it's not something overly important." The redhead replied, staring up at the woman on the other side of the door. Valerie's pale lips seemed to mull in thought for a few moments before they finally parted open. "You approved me to join the Egrets..."

"I did." Parasoul nodded, her amber orbs locked with the medic's. "Are you here to question my decision?"

"...Something like that." Valerie scratched the back of her head. "You seemed pretty resolute about kicking me out the first chance you got."

The Princess stared at the recruit for a little while longer, pondering her response before she shook her head. "Come in."

Shrugging, Valerie followed the redhead into the office. The room was...Surprisingly tidy, admittedly, one could expect that with all the work that got thrown her way, Parasoul would probably have difficulties finding time to organize herself, this seemed to not be the case, however. A pleasant surprise, pondered Valerie. The medic's scouting of the room was interrupted once Parasoul started talking. "I did, indeed, intend to kick you out as soon as I got the chance."

Parasoul rested her hips against the desk, she spoke in a calm, rigid tone. "But I didn't because, as you were meant to, you convinced me otherwise in your interview." She sighed, then continued. "You said you weren't joining the Egrets to fight for me or for the Canopy Kingdom, but to fight the Skullgirl threat and to protect the people of my Kingdom. I can respect that." Parasoul suddenly frowned. "However, I want you to improve your attitude."

"Aw, am I being too rough on you, Princess?" The medic mocked, chuckling a bit.

"That. That right there is a problem." She huffed. "I've got enough on my plate right now. Ruling the whole kingdom while also leading the Egrets. Even with Adam and the others helping me, it's all still very...Stressful. I don't need you making my day worse."

The medic rubbed her chin a bit in thought. "...Fine. I'll try to tone it down a bit. Seems like my chances depend on it, anyways...So I'll hold my tongue."

"Don't." Parasoul interjected.

"Pardon?"

"It's clear you have a very strong opinion about me and my family...If I am to be a good ruler, I need to be able to take in the critique of both those who support or are against me. This includes your opinion. I don't wish for you to be a silent companion, I merely want you to not antagonize me."

"So I'm your "companion" now, am I?" Valerie chuckled.

"Don't even go there. Yes, you are my companion, ally, comrade, whatever you want to go with. We're still not friends, and I guess I'll make this clear now, but I have no desire whatsoever to be your friend."

"Really? Up until now you seemed so eager to get along."

"You're competent, as far as it seems. And the Black Egrets need more officers with medical training, so you're...Useful. But." Parasoul stepped forward, being only slightly shorter than the medic, she didn't have much trouble to stare the woman face to face. "I don't take kindly to those who speak ill of my family. I am open to critique, but not to insults." The princess's tone was carefully controlled, feeling like she was about to get punched, Valerie backed off a bit before Parasoul then continued. "So don't try my patience. Don't mock me. And, most important of all, if you ever question me or attempt to humiliate me in front of someone else like you did when we met, I'll have Panzerfaust throw you out the palace. Are we clear?"

Valerie heard quietly and, once Parasoul was done, she laughed and nodded. "Yeah, clear. A request though, don't try to threaten me."

"It's not a threat...It's a warning. Enough about this, I have a work to finish and a party to get ready for. You're dismissed."

Valerie blinked upon the "party" part, was it something to do with the Egrets...? Probably had more to do with her royal duties, actually. The medic shrugged, figuring she was done bothering the Princess for today, she headed back to the barracks.

On her way back, she happened upon Adam, wearing a gray tuxedo, fixing his tie on his neck. "Oh, evening...Recruit...Valerie, was it?" The bluenette nodded at the gray-haired young man, he looked good, admittedly. Then again, it's hard to not look good in high-class social wear, that's what it's made for, after all. "You going to this party? I didn't know the soldiers were invited to participate in these kinds of meetings."

Adam fixed up his tie and then smiled shot a smile at Valerie. "Well, we need to keep a close eye on the Princess in case anything happens. We're not allowed to drink, but we're allowed to participate...If, we have the desire and proper outfit for it, of course." The medic crossed her arms.

"I see, so you get to hang-out with the rich folk as long as you babysit Princess Parasoul on the side."

Adam shook his head. "Oh no, Princess Parasoul can handle herself. We usually need to be more careful with Princess Umbrella, her little sister. Quite the troublemaker, that one, even though she's so young."

Valerie nodded, taking a mental note to remember that Parasoul had a little baby sister next time. "Will you be participating, Recruit Valerie?" The medic snapped out of her thoughts with the question, she scratched the back of her head a bit before finally replying. "Uh, well, I do have a dress. I guess I could, if I wanted to. Though, I'm not sure the Princess would be very happy to see me there."

Adam shrugged. "Well, you just have to...Not get in trouble with anyone, that's not hard, is it?"

"It tends to be, for me."

"So I've heard. Well, the choice is yours. I need to get going now, if you'll excuse me." And with that, the Egret Officer marched his way over to the palace, leaving Valerie to think about whether she should participate or not. She carefully considered her options, until she found herself bumping into someone carrying a bunch of tools on a box, as both staggered backwards, the figure carrying the box snarled out. "Hey! Watch where you're going, airhead!"

The voice was oddly familiar to Valerie, she was in thought for a bit, before then, with a glance to the person's face, the memory returned in a jolt. "Ah, Roxie. Nice to see you too. I never thanked you for helping the other d-"

"Don't thank me, I regret it already. Were you stepping on the Princess's toes today too?"

"How loyal of you to get mad at me for bothering her. Do you always bark at anyone who speaks like that to her or did she offer you a treat if you got under my skin?"

"Watch it, you asshole. I may be the mechanic but I'm still your superior, I've been here much longer than you and you ought to treat me with respect."

Valerie shrugged. "Everyone expects my respect, but no one actually tries to earn it, you're all so rude."

"That's how it works around here, recruit, get used to it."

"I'll pass. Will you be with the Princess in the party soon?"

"Hah! And do what, drink wine and play chess with those fancy pants? That one's not really my type of party, I'll pass. I'll be spending my night fixing and cleaning the trucks, one of the rookies managed to crash one of them into the others."

"...What was that about chess?" The medic questioned, her eyes lighting up with glee, her head tilting to the side curiously.

"Eh? The Princess likes playing chess with the guests, it's her way of passing time among the boring folk, I believe."

"...That so? Maybe I'll come by and go against her, that would be fun."

Roxie laughed off. "Yeah, good luck with that, Adam says she's unbeatable. At any rate, I've wasted enough time with you here. I have work to do and you've taken enough of my time. Catch you later." And without further ado, the mechanic stomped off on her way, leaving the medic there to ponder.

"...Unbeatable, huh?"

A few hours later, the party itself had finally started, within the great atrium of the Glass Canopy, the Renoir's palace grand hall. True to its name, a giant parasol-shaped canopy of glass allowed the night sky to shine down it's moonlight on the ballroom below, where the members of Canopy Kingdom's elite mingled and chatted, enjoying fine wine and their company. The ballroom itself was lit up with golden lights, the red banners of the Renoirs hanged down from the walls and, alongside with the red carpets, gave the whole atrium a warm and comforting feeling.

Tables spread all around held food and drink for the guests. A particular figure stood out from the rest, mostly because of his sheer size in comparison to everyone else. Panzerfaust, the Black Egret's super soldier, was in there, wearing a tuxedo which wondrously managed to contain the soldier's frame. His wrist tank was detached and zipped around the ballroom, carrying drinks to the guests while Panzerfaust controlled the thing from afar like a toy car. It was interesting to see this man outside of his uniform, from what she had heard from the other soldiers, Panzerfaust was one of the last experiments of the Anti-Skullgirls labs before they were shut down, Lab 3, more specifically.

As Valerie wandered around the party, wearing a lacy black dress, coupled with black heels, she idly glanced around to see if anyone was looking before getting herself some of the wine that was being served on the party. One single drink wouldn't do any bad now, would it? It's not like she was a fully fledged out Egret, anyways, so she might as well enjoy herself. Glancing once more at Panzerfaust, she found her mind wandering towards the Anti-Skullgirls labs that Parasoul's father had set up. They were eight labs in total, Labs one and two were focused on research, Lab three was focused on super soldier development, Lab four specialized in Handheld Weapon and Vehicle development, Lab five, specialized weapons. Lab six was dedicated to studying Theonite, the magical resource which was used to create living weapons...It also had something to do with the famed Parasites.

Ah yes, Parasites, I never touched upon that with you, did I? They are defined as creatures that bond to a person's body, providing augments to their "host". Despite the name, they appear to form a symbiosis with their host, drawing nutrients from their bodies in exchange for acting as a means of enhancing their host's combat capabilities. All over the Canopy Kingdom, carrying a parasite was seen as some kind of taboo, like something that would make you a monster to be hated or feared. Valerie herself was quite fascinated by them, despite having no interest to wield one herself. Back to the labs.

Lab seven focused on Medical and Drug Research, oh what would she do to have been able to join that lab while it was still operational, all the resources and discoveries that were lost when that was shut down...Oh yeah and there was also Lab eight, focused on the creation of synthetic parasites. Valerie was zipped back to reality as she met up with Adam, who escorted a small toddler by the hand. "So, you did show up after all. This is Princess Umbrella, say hello, dear."

Valerie lowered herself slightly to greet the young princess, the young girl had a puffy yellow dress on which matched nicely with her short, pink hair. "Why, hello there, I'm Valer-" The medic was cut off as she felt a small stubby finger prodding against the skin of her chest, she backed off, heat flowing through her face all of a sudden. "H-hey!"

Adam frowned, scratching the back of his head. "...Yeah, she does that. It means she likes you though...I think. She does it to her sister too. Might be just because the two of you have...Uh..."

"...Have what?"

"Nevermind. Come on, Princess Umbrella, I heard they're serving desserts right now. You like desserts, right?"

"Deserts!" Announced the infant with a happy flail.

"N-No...DeSSerts, there's a "sss" sound, you know, like a snake?"

"Desssurts?"

"Close enough."

Valerie had calmed down a bit from the molestation, then questioned. "Where is Princess Parasoul?"

"Why do you want to know?" Adam questioned suspiciously. "You don't need to watch over her, me and Panzerfaust can handle it."

"How rude. I just heard she hosted chess games with the guests, figured I'd try."

"Oh, I see. She's by the fountain, look for the crown, you can't miss it. Come now, Princess Umbrella."

And with that, Valerie said her goodbyes to Adam and the diminutive princess, before then turning her attention to the fountain, scanning around until she spotted Parasoul's crown amidst all of the people. The older Princess sat by the fountain, the light reflected off the fountain and shined down on her majestic presence, her crown shimmering as the light gleamed out of each of the trinity symbols that it carried. Her hair tied up gracefully behind her head, her clear and clean pale skin, her royal dress, a mixture of blues and reds, Renoir motifs, her amber eyes, red hair, red lips.

Valerie cleared her throat. With careful steps, she approached the table where the Princess had been receiving her chess opponents, just as the medic approached, Parasoul had acquired seemingly another victory against a young girl with purple hair and a seductive purple dress, she sighed with the defeat. Parasoul chuckled. "Better luck next time, Miss...Zone, was it?"

The purple haired girl mumbled a few annoyed insults and simply went on her way. As Valerie took her place, Parasoul's smile suddenly fell into a frown. "What are you doing here?"

Valerie smiled, starting to set up the chess pieces for herself and Parasoul. "What? I am allowed to join the party, am I not?"

"...Very well. You'll have to forgive me though, but I'm not interested in teaching you the rules of chess-"

"Won't be necessary, Princess. I know how to play, quite well, in fact." Valerie took the white King of her board and set it aside, taking another white King and setting it in it's place.

Parasoul simply stared. "...Another memento of yours, I'm guessing?"

"I got it from a Rook I played chess with back in the War. Consider it a lucky charm, you don't mind, right?"

"Certainly not, I'm sure you could use the help."

Valerie licked her teeth and lightly bit her tongue. "...Right. Well, let's get on with it, shall we?"

Parasoul shrugged. "Fair enough, as per usual, white goes first, so go on ahead, Miss Valerie."

Valerie thought for a bit then began, moving a pawn forward.

"...So, how often do you play? Only with the nobles at these parties, I'm guessing?"

Parasoul distractedly made her own moves, expecting this to be a quick game. "It's a little fun time I get to myself. Defeating others with logic and careful planning is a rather enjoyable way of spending time, after all."

The medic smirked. "Oh, I couldn't agree more. I find games of chess to be a lot like..."

Parasoul moved another pawn forward. "Like a swordfight? I heard that expression before, you must think first before you move-"

"Actually, I was going to say it's a lot like...Flirting." She moved a bishop around.

"...Flirting? What does chess have to do with flirting?"

"You first make a move...Wait to see how the other person reacts. Then, if your original move works...You press further on and try to see how far you can take it. If not, you back off and try a different approach." Valerie was quiet for a bit, staring at the board, grabbing a knight and taking Parasoul's bishop. "Check."

The Princess's eye shot open for a moment when she realized she had been careless enough to let herself get into this position. She squinted her eyes, scanning around the board before biting her lower lip and moving her Queen to defend her King.

Valerie smirked. "You seem a bit tense, Princess. Something the matter? You stopped talking...Bishop takes Queen. Checkmate."

Parasoul's eye darted around the board, it couldn't be, there must have been something she missed. Maybe a bishop here or...No. The rooks were...Far away and... "Damn it." She cursed under her breath. "Best of three."

The medic chuckled. "So competitive~~ Fine fine, I'll humor you." She replied, starting to organize her pieces back into place. Parasoul did the same, angrily smacking the pieces back onto their spots before the game began anew. Once the pieces were back in place, she announced. "...White goes first."

The bluenette began once more, sending a pawn forward. "Are we seriously going to play quietly? I'd rather talk, would you not?"

Parasoul made her move, then, after staring in silence at Valerie for a bit, replied. "Like flirting, huh? You must have a hard time getting dates if this is how you flirt."

"Well, your Majesty, I prefer to focus my time on intellectual pursuits rather than romantic ones, what about yourself? I wager the young gentlemen of Canopy try to woo you constantly, especially with your status? I get the feeling Adam likes you as well, if that's your thing." Valerie questioned, idly pushing a piece forward as she spoke.

"Rook takes bishop. Don't offend my intelligence, Miss Valerie, I don't fall for the same trick twice, now let's see if you're a one trick pony, shall we?"

Valerie gritted her teeth, she probably shouldn't have been so arrogant as to assume the same strategy would work twice, this put her in a bit of a pinch, however, as she found herself without a bishop and with an open line to her King. "...I can handle myself." She mumbled, moving her knight along to try and fix the hole in her defenses.

"In regards to your question," Parasoul resumed, taking her own turn. "They have, from time to time...I'm not really interested in...How should I put it? Their boy games. I've got bigger fish to catch, you see. And Adam...Adam is...A good man, but uh...No."

Valerie managed to chuckle at the response, before then sending a rook forward. "Sounds about right...I didn't picture you for the passionate type, anyways."

Parasoul tilted her head lightly to the side, frowning. "I can be rather passionate...About my kingdom and my family. Outside of that, however, a ruler must keep their cool at all times. They must remain firm, precise and cool. But, when necessary, be rough, strong and decisive. Check." She announced, capturing Valerie's rook with her Queen, also positioning it to take the King.

The medic let out a short 'uh' as she considered her options, none of which seemed like they would help much. "...Queen takes Rook." She suddenly announced.

Parasoul raised a brow. "What's the matter, I thought you were the one who liked talking? Queen takes Queen. Check."

The bluenette huffed. "Shit." She mumbled, being forced to move her King.

Parasoul shrugged, moving her other Rook over. "Checkmate. How disappointing, Miss Valerie, after your initial victory, I was hoping you'd prove to be a more interesting challenge than that."

The blue haired woman grinned. "Best out three, remember? Let's go for the tie breaker."

As Parasoul and Valerie set up the pieces once again, the other guests in line for the chess game began to leave and find other things to occupy themselves with. Valerie and Parasoul remained focused on their game, however. A soldier came over to speak to Parasoul. "Uhm, Princess, I'm sorry to interrupt, but some of our guests will be leaving soon, as the host, you should come and tell them goodbye."

Parasoul nodded, dismissing the soldier. "Yes yes, I'll be there in a few minutes."

"So." Began the bluehead. "I believe we were talking your sex life."

"We weren't."

"We are now. Unless, of course, you never..."

Parasoul took a deep breath and, after Valerie, made her first move. "Have you already forgotten what I told you about trying to hum-"

"Oh, don't get me wrong, Princess. I'm not doing this to embarrass you." The medic smiled, seeing her little game was having an effect on Parasoul, hopefully enough to give her an edge on this game. It was a bit of a cheap tactic, sure, but...Well, chess was a mind game, was it not? Trying to sidetrack your opponent is part of the challenge, no? "I'm just having a nice little chat."

Parasoul furrowed her brow, slamming a pawn forward. "I haven't. I always had...More important things to do. Training, ruling a kingdom, leading the Egrets, social meetings...I never had time for...Such trivialities. Since you seem to be the kind to indulge yourself in such things, however, I'm guessing you're much more experience in the area?"

"...You trying to imply something lewd, Princess? Eh...I have, actually." Valerie admitted nonchalantly. "It just kind of happened, honestly. And it's kind of...Meh. I feel like people set up too many expectations for it...Maybe that or maybe I was just never that into it to start with." She pushed a bishop out, seemingly going for the same tactic a third time.

"Is that so, Miss Valerie? Well, that's a shame to hear." The Princess mumbled in reply, already adjusting her knight to capture that bishop yet again.

"Doing it with another girl was slightly more fun though...Knight takes Knight."

Parasoul was doubly shocked. Once for what she said, the second for the chess move. "H-Hah! You're definitely very open about your...Tendencies, huh?" The Princess was in thought for a bit, but then set herself back into action. "Pawn takes Knight."

"I don't really have a tendency, I just go with the flow. Like I said though, I was really disappointed with how that stuff went." She mumbled with a shrug.

"And how much experience did you get with these, I wonder?"

"Enough to be sure."

The game continued on for quite a while, but suddenly Valerie and Parasoul found themselves at a bit of a...Pickle. Both were left with only a bishop and their king. "Well, Your Majesty, I guess this is a tie, isn't it?"

The princess bit her lower lip, frustrated, trying to find a way to win but...No, nothing. "...Fair enough, I agree to a tie."

The two stared at each other for a long pause, Val broke the silence. "...Another tie breaker?"

"Sure."

The Egret from earlier returned. "Princess, the guests-"

Parasoul cut him off. "Tell Adam to take care of them, I'm busy."

The soldier awkwardly stood there for a bit. "Erh...But-"

"That was an order, soldier."

The Egret sighed, saluted and went off to warn Adam about his new assignment. As Parasoul turned her attention back to the game, Valerie chuckled. "My my, Princess, I think you're a bit too into this game."

"Shut up. Play."

"All right, all right...So, what were we talking about again?"

Two hours and a fair amount of chess games later.

"And I win...The best...Out of twenty..." Parasoul huffed, cold sweat running down her temples, she had took the crown out of her head somewhere down the line and now her hair was back to running down her shoulders. Valerie herself was a bit beat up as well, her eyes twitched to stay open, her tongue hurt, because of all the talking she had been doing, of course, and her mind was currently drawing blanks on what else to talk about, which also explained her decline in victories on the past few games, despite her distractions being substituted by the Princess's own exhaustion.

"I'm done." The medic announced, waving her arms around. "Me too." Parasoul dropped her head back. "I wonder if there's anyone else still...Around..." She glanced around the empty atrium, currently only occupied by herself and Valerie. "Guess not." As Parasoul went to get up, she let out a pained groan and glanced down at her feet. "Freaking...Heels."

"Way ahead of you." Valerie chuckled, holding her own heels in her hand. "Not like there's anyone around to criticize the lack of shoes, is there?" Parasoul was in thought for a bit, but then removed her own shoe wear as well. "...Point taken. So...I guess I ought to go to my room and you should head back to the barracks, no?"

Valerie shrugged. "I guess. Though, my throat is kind of dry, I'd rather get something to drink first but I think all the food was already taken away." She whined, glancing around the room. Parasoul scanned around as well and, after being in thought for a few seconds. "Well, just follow me to my room, I'll get you something...Consider it a consolation prize, for your defeat." She teased, chuckling a bit.

The bluehead rolled her eyes and stretched her arms out a bit. "Inviting me to your room, are you, Princess? Is that really professional of you?"

"Okay, fine, I retra-"

"I was joking, just joking...I'll accept the offer, is your room far away?"

"Not by much, it's- Wait, you've been to my room."

"What? No I've been to your office...Is your room, your office? I didn't see any beds there."

"I sleep on the couch."

Valerie blinked a few times at the response, to which Parasoul simply shrugged. The Princess walked off ahead and the medic followed, quietly, they made their way to Parasoul's office. Once inside, the Princess opened up a small fridge hidden behind her sofa and pulled out a bottle of wine, already opened, but corked up. "This will do, yes? Mind finishing it off with me?"

"I'm more of a whiskey person...Or sake, but sure, I'll take wine." Parasoul nodded and served up two cups for herself and her guest, sitting herself down on the sofa with Valerie sitting on the other end. The two started drinking but then simply awkwardly stared at each other, then proceeding to glance around the room. Valerie scouted around the room's decoration and then attempted to break up the ice. "So uh...You seem to collect fencing swords?"

Parasoul smiled and nodded. "I do. I don't really use them anymore since I received Krieg, my living weapon, from my father but...I always had a huge fascination for fencing, it's graceful, yet firm and deadly." She sipped her wine. "I like to think I'm the same, what about yourself, do you collect anything? Aside from mementos, I mean."

Valerie scratched the back of her head. "...Yeah, I used to collect stuff from...The east."

Parasoul raised a brow questioningly. "...The east?"

"You know...Samurai, ninjas, geishas and that kind of stuff." Valerie seemed to be getting a bit worked up. "I just always found eastern culture so fascinating, everything there is so beautiful, but at the same time so filled with intrigue and mystery. It carries an aura of...Power and mysticism."

"...So, you're saying you like those mangas and anime stuff too?"

"I guess. My true passion lies in their actual culture, it's simply so...Fascinating."

"...Right. So you don't watch any shows or anything?"

"What are you getting at?"

"N-Nevermind."

Valerie blinked confusedly, Parasoul scratched the back of her head nervously.

"Okay?" The medic mumbled, glancing around the office, she got up and started walking around the place. "Anyways, I thought you said you didn't want me as your friend at all?"

Parasoul frowned, dropping her head slightly before replying. "Yeah well...I just...This doesn't make us friends. I just figured I'd give you the benefit of the doubt that you're not a total hassle and can actually be enjoyable company."

The bluehead continued to browse around Parasoul's things, until she then happened upon something, a VHS case for the first episode of...Annie: Girl of the Stars. "...Isn't this that kid's show about that girl who hunted Skullgirls?" The Princess jolted off her chair and snatched the case out of Valerie's hands. "That's...My sister's."

"...Then why is it in your office?"

"She...Dropped it here and I was keeping it."

"She was walking around with a video tape...Then dropped it. In your office, really? Isn't she like...One year old?"

"I don't question why you walk around with random things you picked up here and there, don't question the things you find in my office."

"They're not random things, they're mementos, they hold sentimental value. And what does that have to do with you watching a child's show?"

"I told you already this is Umbrella's!"

Valerie wandered off and started searching around Parasoul's office, much to the princess's panic. "W-What are you doing, stop it!"

"Oh, just trying to find out what else Umbrella "forgot" in here."

"Okay! That's enough! You got your drink, now out! Out! I'm done with your attempts to embarrass me."

"Well, excuuuuse me, Princess, that's not a proper way to be treating your guests."

"That's why I'm asking you to leave, Miss Valerie."

The medic stared at Parasoul for a short while, then slowly cracked a smile. "Call me Val."

"Excuse me?"

"Just call me Val, no need to be calling me Miss Valerie or even Valerie, it's a pretty long name, after all."

"...Do I have to?"

"I just figured you'd prefer to."

"I'll call you nicknames if I feel like it, Miss Valerie."

The doctor shrugged, so much for actually getting through, seems like the Princess was back to her usual steely and cold self. "Fine fine...I'll be going then, Princess." Valerie concluded, heading for the door.

"Y-You're actually leaving then?"

"Well, that's what you wanted, right? I'll see you tomorrow.

"...Very well, until then tomorrow then...Val."

Valerie chuckled at the farewell and, with a nod, removed herself from the room, heading back into the hallway, her cold feet tapping against the floor as she- Oh, right, the heels. Valerie rolled her eyes and turned around, heading back to Parasoul's room, she knocked a few times. Then waited for the redhead to answer, as the door slowly creaked open, Valerie started. "Yo, Princess, I think I forgot my-"

Before the sentence had been finished, Parasoul lunged forward and their lips locked. A sudden warmth flushed through the medic's body...No, nevermind, just her face, as she felt her fingers and her feet being ice cold. Her whole body grew quiet for a second, her heart thumping, faster with each second that the kiss was kept, she had tilted her head back when they started, but now slowly pressed herself against the royal lips. The aroma of the royal perfume wafted through her being. She felt Parasoul's light breathing against hers, Valerie's whole body was paralyzed, shocked, frozen on the outside, though right now, her insides melted and mellowed. Once the medic finally broke free of her short stagger, she moved her hands to wrap around the Princess's waist.

But just as soon as she did that, the kiss was broken and Parasoul pushed Valerie's hands away, as both of them slowly opened their eyes and the warm colors of their pools continued the kiss from a distance.

"...Shoes." Valerie finally completed, still registering what had just happened, the warmth of her body finally starting to balance itself out again, though her heart was now beating faster than ever before, short spasms of emotion twitched through her legs and arms, as if wanting to pull the Princess back to continue.

Parasoul took the shoes and placed them against Valerie's chest, the medic took them, by reflex. "Good night, Miss Valerie." Were the Princess's last words before she then closed the door. The medic stood there, staring at the wood separating her and the princess, holding her heels tightly in her hand. Valerie's breathing was ragged and uneven, but it slowly calmed itself down, her body shook slightly...With the cold from the palace, clearly. What a mess, not having interior heating in such a big palace, truly, a shame.

The bluehead remained in place a little while longer...Then knocked on the door again.

"Go to sleep." Replied, sternly, the voice from within.

Valerie shook her head and nodded, despite Parasoul not being able to see it anyways and then headed off on her way back to the barracks.