Chapter 7: Closets!
The morning sunlight streamed into the lab, illuminating the chemicals and scattering oddly colored lights around the room. Alyssa leaned back against a counter and pushed her golden bangs out her eyes.
'I wonder why Rita ran off yesterday. It seemed like she forgot something about the date. Must have been important; I hope it wasn't an anniversary or something.'
The scientist began to bite at her thumbnail as she thought.
"I didn't think you brainy ladies could get up this early."
Her thoughts interrupted, the scientist stopped chewing her nail. She turned her head and watched as a green-haired knight entered the room.
"The exploding lady isn't in yet?" continued Droite as she approached the researcher.
After giving the knight a once over, Alyssa let a sideways smirk form on her mouth. In a motherly voice she asked, "Why is a child wandering around the castle?"
The knight's eyes formed an angry glare. "You always make fun of the way people speak?"
"Only when I think it's amusing. So why are you here exactly? You definitely don't look or sound like a scientist."
"Don't take it as a compliment, but you act exactly like a scientist." The knight gave a lazy salute, her posture remaining relaxed. "Droite, reporting for guard duty" she replied halfheartedly.
"Why do we need a guard? The lab is full of gallons of explosives and monster repellents."
"Nothing yet, and probably nothing ever. Lady Estellise gave the orders to guard the lab, so I have to guard the lab," the green-haired knight replied with a shrug. Alyssa just shook her head.
"Well, that is a little silly."
"Eh, whatever the princess wants. Better than real work; I should be taking my usual post."
Droite stretched and yawned lazily. She shuffled tiredly to a large, comfortable-looking chair by the door and plopped down into a relaxed position. The knight was out like a light within seconds.
The scientist just smiled at the lazy green-haired knight and shook her head. She turned to go back to work.
Rita yawned as she walked through the hallway.
'Off to a late start; I'll have to work harder to make up for it I guess.'
The mage drifted off to thoughts about the previous night as she plodded along sleepily. Estelle's doubt was still fresh in her mind, and her heart ached.
'I feel so bad that she could even doubt herself. Or was it lack of trust? I wouldn't trust me either. Why do I have to be such an idiot. I need to do something for her. I promised her I would do something special when Karol and Nan found out about us. Found out– wait– why do I feel like I'm forgetting something–,'
Rita began to ponder over the night before again. Her brow crinkled as she tried to remember what she was forgetting. When she couldn't recall, she relaxed into another yawn, but it was interrupted as she was suddenly pulled from behind into a cupboard she was walking by.
"What the hell? What are you doing!" she shouted as she struggled against her captor.
"Relax, it's just ol' Raven. Yer goin' to cause more problems if you keep this up."
Raven keeled over as Rita planted a firm elbow into his stomach and then wheeled around to face him. She jabbed a finger into his chest as he stood up.
"Well, what do you think your doing, old man?"
Raven rubbed his belly with both his hands. "Just wanted to talk; ya didn't have to hit me," he eventually responded.
"I have to be cautious when an old pervert pulls me into a closet."
"Heh, you don't have to be so cold. You seem a bit tired, long night with Estelle?"
Rita looked away and her face flushed as she remembered what she had blurted out the night before.
"It's hardly any of your business, old man," she responded, with a hint of anger in her tone. She turned her head and kept herself from making eye contact.
Raven's expression grew serious. "Well, that's where yer wrong. First of all, as a captain of the Imperial Knights, it's my duty to protect the royal family."
"What do you mean protect?" Rita growled in anger.
"…and second of all, as Estelle's friend, it's my job to keep people from hurting her."
The reason for her flush shifted from embarrassment to anger. Her eyes sparked with ferocity. "Why would you think I would hurt her?"
Raven relaxed back into the wall and put his hands behind his head. "I've been through Halure. I'm not really one to talk, but you've gotten quite the reputation in the last year."
Rita just stared at the ground in anger.
Raven continued. "I'm the same as you, not really here to judge you. I've had my share of women too. But I'm also not tryin' to take advantage of my naive and innocent–,"
The captain was interrupted when Rita responded with a massive blow to his face; it was enough to send the captain reeling. Normally the beating from Rita was forceful, but not entirely serious. This was not. It was a like a sledgehammer to the side of his face, filled with real anger and all her strength.
"Listen, old man. I would never, ever hurt Estelle. Don't comment on things you don't understand," Rita responded, heaving with anger and keeping her fists and eyes clenched. Raven massaged his bruised jaw, and just stared down the angry scientist.
"But I do understand. I'd say over the past year, you've showed that the two of us are alike. Yer young, and you can try to throw all of yerself into this. But I'll tell ya from experience, things don't work out like that for people like us. You'll slip. You'll hurt her– and I'll tell you– none of us will forgive you for that."
Rita was perfectly still, her eyes closed tight and her fists still balled in coiled anger. "I'm not you, and you don't understand. I love her, I always have and always will."
Raven just glanced up. 'Guess she's not as shy about it as she was before. No silly blushing or weird reactions.'
"She was who I was thinking of when I was with all those women. None of them could be her; none of them could match up. When she told me she loved me, I was happy but I also felt awful. For what I had done– for running away." Her fists began to shake again with anger.
"I was angry at myself. I still am– you have no idea. I will never, ever, hurt Estelle again."
Her eyes were open now, staring intently and sincerely at Raven.
"It doesn't matter what you think will happen, or what happened to you."
Rita kicked open the door and stormed out of the small cupboard, still furious.
"Ahh, youth," Raven commented with a sigh, shaking his head.
Alyssa slowed down her work as she heard the sound of footsteps behind her, followed by a large yawn. A sideways smile formed on her face again.
"Is the baby's nap over?" she asked with a chuckle, once again moving to fix her bangs.
Droite had half a scowl as she continued to approach and started to stretch, raising her hands above her head and pushing out her chest. The knight puffed up her cheeks in a pout. "You try to stay awake when you're ordered to guard nothing."
"Well, I was wondering when you'd wake up. Sleeping guards aren't really doing anything."
"Listen, I'm a better fighter than most knights even while I'm sleeping. Should be obvious if you've met any of them," Droite responded groggily, continuing her full body stretch.
Alyssa nodded, "I imagine you're talking about those two buffoons? The tall one and the little fat guy. Spent a lot of time in the field with them, and they really don't leave much of an impression. Honestly you don't seem much better."
"You better be joking, I'm way more capable than those idiots. So, anything here going to explode?" the knight asked cautiously as she approached.
"No, in fact, I could use your help. This will need to be done by less experienced people, so could you try following these instructions? They're supposed to be idiot proof."
The researcher thrust a loose stack of papers at Droite. Reaching and grabbing them, the knight glanced cautiously at the researcher. "You sure this can't explode? Rita asked my sister something similar and she ended up without eyebrows."
Alyssa just giggled lightly in response. She positioned herself against a wall and leaned back into a relaxed posture.
"It'll be fine, as long as you're not an idiot."
Glancing over the notes and then to the daunting amount of beakers, the knight let out a sigh and started to search for what she needed.
"By the way, whats you're name?"
"It's Alyssa." the scientist responded with a smile.
Droite smile, nodded, and returned to trying to find what she needed on the crowded lab bench.
Having finished handing designs off to the workshops on the lower floors, Rita was now on her way to return to her lab. She marched angrily and had her fists still clenched.
'Who does that idiot think he is. I'm hardly the same as him. I'll never hurt Estelle. She's just– so amazing and kind, she's probably the most perfect girl I've ever met. I mean, Estelle is so wonderful, and so beautiful, and–,"
Her anger having dissolved into distraction, she quickly wiped off the goofy smirk that had started to form on her face.
'Right, off-topic. I mean, he acts like I'm corrupting her or something, but she really is in love with me. It's not like I'm brainwashing her or something. Or like we've really done anything. I mean she just likes falling asleep in my arms. Not that I mind. Having her warmth so close–,'
The brunette had to shake her head again, having gotten distracted. She was having trouble, her normally extremely focused mind had found the one thing that could throw it off track. Nothing disrupted her train of thought like imagining her fluffy pink princess. In her distraction, she didn't notice the moving stack of books coming in the opposite direction. After a hard collision, the scientist hit the ground with a thud.
'Who the hell carries that many books–,'
"Oh, Rita, it is so great to see you."
Rita quickly popped back up, before responding with a loud "Estelle!"
The princess started to glance around the empty hallway, which was now filled with scattered books. Rita raised a curious eyebrow before she was pulled by her sleeve into a nearby broom-closet. The scientist was still dazed as Estelle's hands wrapped around her waist and pulled her in tightly.
"We don't run into each other nearly enough. I need more hugs."
As her daze finally wore off, the scientist relaxed. She could feel the warmth and comfort that Estelle just radiated. With a wide smile, Rita embraced her love tightly.
"It is good to see you. It's been a long day," the scientist gently whispered with a slight smile and her eyes closed, trying to take in Estelle's warmth.
Estelle just tilted her head in confusion, "But Rita, it's only been an hour."
The brunette just nodded and continued to hold tight. Estelle smiled and leaned up to plant a gentle kiss on her lover.
"Well, I hope your day is getting better."
Both girls had huge smiles on their faces as they continued to embrace.
"Better by the second, Estelle."
A deep green light came through the beaker as the scientist held it up near a window. She waved her hand over it to waft the scent of the chemical to her nose. "Not bad, needs some tweaks but it seems fine."
Droite nodded at the scientist. "Yeah. Seems like the instructions aren't too bad."
"Hmm, I'll still have to have some other people try it out."
Setting the beaker down, both women relaxed against the nearest wall. After a lengthy silence, Alyssa gestured to the green-haired knights uniform. "You're part of the Schwann brigade right? Why haven't we met?"
"I've been on permanent guard duty for Lady Estellise, so I wasn't with the knights escorting you. Apparently the princess has a bad habit of wandering off on adventures and pilgrimages."
Droite looked up and saw that Alyssa had a surprised expression. "When I met her she seemed so prim and proper. Didn't seem like the type to misbehave– a perfect little princess."
Droite shook her head. "No, Estelle is strong willed, a little impulsive, and aside from being a bit naive, she's not your typical noble. She's actually really kind and always looks out for the poor and unfortunate."
Alyssa raised an eyebrow, "Estelle? You're pretty casual with your employer."
"Well, she prefers it, and if your going to be hanging around Rita you should get used to hearing it."
Alyssa bit at her thumbnail at the mention of the brunette scientist. "Speaking of Rita, do you know if Rita is– seeing anyone?"
Droite lost the slight smile she usually held at most times, and gained a slight blush. "No, I don't, she keeps things like that to herself. She's also the kind of person who gets embarrassed when you ask." Her gaze shifted away quickly.
"I see. She suddenly ran out of the room yesterday after she remembered the date. Didn't really say why."
Droite kept her gaze away and started to contemplate the new information.
'Hmm, I think yesterday marked a month since she's been here. Well might as well test the waters.'
Droite shifted close to Alyssa, gaining a light blush as she started to whisper in her ear.
"Between you and me, there are rumors that she spends the night in the castle several times a week. Her home is in the upper quarter, so she must be spending the night with someone."
Tensing her shoulders, Alyssa bit at her thumb again and then nodded slightly.
Droite backed away and continued to speak. "I've never seen her in the knights barracks. She must be entertaining some curious noblewomen."
The knight kept focused on Alyssa to read her reaction. The blonde scientist relaxed a little. "I see," she responded in a quiet tone, "well, I suppose I can't get much more done today until she arrives. Would you mind going and finding her?"
With a slight expression of shock at the still relaxed tone of the scientist, the green-haired woman nodded and started to leave the lab. "Finding someone in a giant castle, sure. No problem."
Alyssa chuckled a little at the knight's sarcasm, and then started to work again.
Her rage eased; Rita was now walking in a dreamy daze down the hall.
'Really need to find time to hug Estelle more during the day. Feeling her warmth just eases all my tension.' A contemplative expression grew on her face. 'Warmth– hmm–,'
The scientist raised her hand to her chin and continued to walk down the hall with her determined thinking expression. Any member of Brave Vesperia would have recognized that she was trying to work out a formula. In her train of thought, she again barely noticed a sudden flash of green pulling her into yet another broom-closet.
When she came to her senses, she quickly lost her temper.
"Why the hell is everyone pulling me into closets today! This really isn't okay!"
When she quickly turned to see who had pulled her in, her gaze met the green-haired twin. Droite just stared her down seriously.
Rita shifted her eyes around nervously under the intense stare, then backed against one of the walls. "Is something the matter?"
Losing some resolve, the knight blushed a little and broke her stare.
"Rita, there's something I need to tell you."
