Chapter 11: Halloween Party: Preparation!
Rita double-checked her costume in the mirror. The girl couldn't help but blush at the tight, strapless black dress. It hugged her curves tightly and ended halfway down her thighs. The rest of her legs were covered in purple tights and her arms were covered in elbow length black silk gloves. Rita grabbed the tall pointed hat off of her bed and placed it carefully on her head.
'I guess I make a very convincing witch.'
The excited girl put her hands on her hips and let out a maniacal laugh. Once she finished, she looked at herself again, then started blushing.
'This is way too revealing, how the hell is this what Estelle came up with! Droite's is ridiculous too!'
A still flushed Rita gave a quick twirl. She did enjoy how the dress made her long, slender legs look in the mirror. When she turned again, she pushed her arms together a little; the dress already forced her breast together tightly.
'Yeah, way too tight. Never thought I could have this much cleavage, but I guess Estelle will love it.'
The witch was blushing as she relaxed again. She decided she was ready, then walked out of her room and down the stairs. The witch headed towards a commotion she could hear in the kitchen. "Droite, how is everything coming?"
The green-haired knight turned and smiled at the witch. She had her hair tied into its normal pigtails, but with a pair of black cat ears sticking out from the top of head. Rather than her knight uniform, she was wearing a tight black tank top and a short, flared black skirt.
"These costumes are a little– revealing," the mage commented as she approached.
Droite nodded in response.
"Yeah, I bet Estelle will love it though."
Rita laughed nervously; both girls had let Estelle pick their costumes out of apathy, and both ended up showing a little too much chest.
The knight put on an apron, and then started to cook. Rita just watched as the green haired girl deftly maneuvered in the kitchen, skillfully wielding her knife. The mage felt a tinge of disappointment as Droite prepared the entire meal for Estelle's party.
"Anything I can help with?"
Droite stared at the girl for a moment. "Estelle actually warned me; I'll be cooking everything," she responded with a smirk.
The witch scowled at the cat-girl. She firmly planted herself at the kitchen table. "Fine. Good luck doing it all yourself."
'Just wanted to be there for Estelle. She didn't have to be a jerk.'
Rita calmly watched as the knight went about her business. Bored, she gradually started to tap her fingers on the table, before starting a steady crescendo to full on drumming. When Droite glared back at her, she stopped and rested her chin on the table. She let her mind wander a little, and found it going to the place where it always goes.
'I wonder what Estelle will be wearing. I mean, she looks great in everything. Somehow I know that it won't be as revealing as what we're wearing. I kind of hope it is though. No! That'd be bad– there's no way I could keep myself in control if she did that. If she was wearing something like this–,'
Droite picked a good moment to turn around, and saw Rita with a goofy grin and dazed look. "Thinking about Estelle?"
Rita snapped back to reality, pulling her mouth tight and glaring at the knight who was smirking at her.
'I guess I don't have to be so secretive with her.'
"M-maybe."
"Been a tough week huh? You've noticed what Alyssa's stuff has been doing right?"
The witch blushed profusely. Alyssa still refused to explain what exactly she was doing, but the results were very clear. "Of course I know."
'It's been damn near impossible to keep myself from jumping Estelle all week.'
"Don't worry, her costume won't be like ours." Droite looked down at her costume. "That girl really like boobs."
Rita laughed at the comment.
"I don't understand though. Estelle is so in love with you. Why haven't you guys–,"
"She's not ready," Rita quickly interrupted.
"So you've asked?" the knight questioned, tilting her head.
"Well, no," Rita responded quietly.
Droite frowned at the witch. "I'm sure she is." The knight turned back her preparations. "I know I am. I mean, if I had someone too– uh. Well, we're both older than you are."
Rita glared at the girl. "Yeah, well, Estelle is a better person than me; I don't think she's ready. I really shouldn't have the experience that I do."
"Really, why don't you just talk to her, or ask her if she's ready?"
"I'm worried that she'll say yes."
The knight just tilted her head with a slight frown. "Why are you so scared of doing it with her?"
Rita pulled her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around them.
'Should I tell her? It's such a private thing, but maybe I need to get it off my chest. She is my friend right? Damn it, when did I start considering her a friend! I'll just, no, ugh.'
"It's about m-my first time."
Droite perked up a little. She looked around to make sure nothing was time-sensitive, before wandering over and sitting next to Rita at the table. "How was it?"
Rita socked her in the shoulder quickly. "That's not the point right now! This is important!"
"Fine, what happened?" the now injured girl asked, rubbing at her shoulder and glaring at the witch.
Rita nodded before continuing. "So, I had just gotten to Capua Nor to help with some work with their boats. This was just a few weeks after I realized what my feelings for Estelle really were. I had already experimented some, and had already realized that I only like girls."
Droite nodded. "I know that feeling, when you just start to realize."
"So, I went to this tavern I had heard about there. A lesbian tavern."
Droite's eyes went wide. "Those exist?"
Rita glared at her. "I'm in the middle of my story." The witch let her expression soften. "But maybe if things don't work out well with Alyssa I'll tell you where some are. Back to what I was saying– so I went to this bar. Since I knew I'd never see any of these people again, I could act however I wanted. Then I saw her."
Droite tilted her head curiously.
"It looked like her first time there too. She was glancing around cautiously– a nervous but very excited girl." Rita's face became solemn. "She had strawberry blonde hair, tinted so slightly that it seemed pink, cut into a bob. Her eyes were a pretty light turquoise. In other words–,"
"She looked just like Estelle?" Droite finished.
"She wasn't as beautiful, but her hair and eye color were similar. I approached and told her it was my first time there too. We shared some nervous laughter and started talking. Then, we went back to her place. The girl told me she didn't want to rush things, she wanted her first time to be really special– but I insisted that I really liked her. So she invited me in."
"That easy?"
Rita glared at the knight again. "Well those weren't my exact words."
"Oh. I get it."
"Well, you know what happened next. But afterwards, I left while she was sleeping and I've never seen her again. I convinced a girl I liked her, than just– left. I took her innocence, just like what I'm going to do with Estelle."
Rita dropped and let her forehead hit the table flat. Droite grimaced a little at the witch. She reached over and placed a hand gently on the depressed girl's back. "It's not the same with Estelle, you're not lying and you're not going to run away."
"Of course, but that isn't the point. It's just– I hurt that girl, and I may hurt Estelle the same way. Maybe I just feel guilty."
"Don't worry. You really love her; I can tell, and so can she. You should really just find out what she thinks."
The witch's head hit the table again. "I just need more time."
Droite smiled lightly. "I bet she's ready, you should just have your way with her already."
In a flash, the knight was smiling and fending off punches from an angry and embarrassed mage.
Estelle crossed the t of her signature with a wide smile. Her last piece of work for the day was finished, which she promptly filed away before standing to get into her costume. Once she started changing, she let her thoughts drift.
'I'm so nervous about tonight. I hope everything goes well.'
The princess jumped a little when there was a loud pair of knocks on the door. Estelle quickly pulled on a robe and then approached. She pushed it open to find Alyssa carrying a small stack of books.
"Looking good princess," the scientist commented with a smirk and a quick scan. Estelle blushed a little and pulled her robe tighter as Alyssa stepped through the door. "I have a little gift for you."
"Oh? Why?" Estelle asked.
"Just think of it as a thank you for inviting me to the party."
Once the scientist dropped the books on Estelle's desk, the princess picked one up. "Living as a Lesbian? Oh! These are all about being a lesbian? I didn't know that books for lesbians existed"
Alyssa just stared at the girl. "Just because you learn a word doesn't mean you have to use it all the time," she commented dryly.
Estelle chuckled. "Sorry, thank you for this."
With a nod, the scientist started to smile. "From what Rita told me, your reading materials weren't actually teaching you much."
The princess blushed a little. "I don' t know about that." She continued to shift through the books. She suddenly flushed red and dropped the book she was holding. The scientist dropped her gaze and quickly noted the copy of Lesbian Sex Positions that was now resting on the floor. Alyssa's mouth was quickly tugged into a mischievous smile.
"I figured Rita would appreciate me giving you that."
Estelle glared at the blonde woman. "Of course not! Besides, proper young ladies should wait until their married."
The smirk quickly fell off of Alyssa's face and she suddenly had a solemn expression. Alyssa quickly started to bite on her thumbnail as she watched the princess. "Have you told Rita that you were waiting for that?"
"Of course not, but why wouldn't I be saving myself?"
"You can't do that."
"Well, of course I want to do things like that with her, but I can hold myself back, I–"
"Estelle, I meant that you can't get married to Rita; two women can't marry each other," Alyssa interrupted, her voice serious.
The princess's shoulders dropped a little while expression of confusion formed on her face. Her mouth opened and closed a few times as she tried to think of something to say. She finally managed to choke out a quick "Is that true?"
All she get in response was a solemn nod from Alyssa. After a few tense moments, the scientists eyebrows wrinkled a little.
"You are one of the empire's leaders. How did you not know?"
"I'm not sure. No one has ever brought that up to me."
Finally, Alyssa just brought the palm of her hand to rest on her forehead. "It's just a formality I guess; a lot of guilds will let you do it, but it won't be officially recognized by the Empire."
Estelle stumbled over to her bed and plopped down. "So, we won't be able to spend the rest of lives together?"
Alyssa glanced over and was shocked when she saw that tears were starting to form in the princess's eyes. The blonde quickly rushed over and put a reaffirming hand on Estelle's shoulder. "Of course you will– just because the government doesn't acknowledge it doesn't mean you can't be together. If you both really want it I'm sure you can stay together."
"But–,"
Alyssa quickly silenced the other girl. "It's just a formality. The real commitment comes from the people involved anyway."
The princess finally nodded solemnly, wiping a tear from her eye.
"I guess you're right. I mean, there are some other things, but– I guess it'll be alright."
The blonde nodded and smiled, a little convinced that she had managed to help. She had no idea how worried the princess still was, and why, but for now, everything seemed fine. "Come on, where's my costume? Let's get ready for the party."
With a quick gesture, both girls got up and separated to change.
Estelle finished first, she quickly returned to her room. The princess let her eyes run over the spines of the books to check the titles. She glanced around and blushed before cracking open a certain book in preparation.
Yuri quickly glanced around the clearing before jumping off the side of the Fiertia. Judith quickly followed behind, landing gracefully. Finally, Karol came tumbling over the edge and fell face first. Luckily, the distance wasn't enough to injure anything but his pride. With a quick chuckle, Yuri helped the young man up.
Judith had already started walking in the direction of Zaphias before the two men could catch up. After a few moments, Judith decided to speak.
"It's not that much further, right?"
Karol gave a quick nod. "Yeah, I'll show you where Rita's house is."
The three members of Brave Vesperia were now leisurely walking through the city streets.
"So, Captain Karol, why isn't Nan coming?"
"Oh, she was– busy."
Yuri nodded in response.
"I wonder why Estelle is having her party at Rita's?"
"Maybe Rita has made some progress?" Judith shot back with a teasing smile.
Karol scratched at his chin.
'Should I say something? But I guess it's not really my place to tell them.'
The young man dropped back a little to stay out of the conversation.
Flynn adjusted the wrappings that comprised his costume. He was not a very terrifying mummy, he mostly just looked like a disheveled, injured person. The commandant let out a sigh, convinced that it was a little ridiculous for a person of his stature to be attending a dinner party in costume.
'But Estelle asked me to attend as a friend. So I guess I have to do this.'
"Er, nice costume there, Commandant."
The man turned to see another person scheduled to attend the party; Raven ambled lazily up to the young man. The captain was dressed in his normal clothes but with a lose black cape with a high collar.
"Is that even a costume?"
"Of course, I'm a vampire."
The wrapped knight let out a sigh. "I guess we should get going. Estelle said she had something important to say tonight."
Raven could guess what was going to happen. He decided not to say anything yet.
When Alyssa finally finished changing she reentered Estelle's room. She chuckled a little when she saw that Estelle was reading. When she leaned over her shoulder, her expression grew a little more serious. "So you're going to do that tonight?"
The princess nodded in response.
"Don't worry, I'm sure it will be fine. You already have friends here who accept you no matter what."
The blonde gently patted Estelle on the back again. The princess responded with a bright and cheery smile. "Yeah, I'm sure it will be fine."
Estelle put down the book titled How to Tell Those You Love and both girls headed out the door.
Rita let out a sigh as she watched Droite finish preparing the food.
"Something else the matter?"
"I guess I'm a little worried about tonight. All Estelle told me was that she was going to do something really important. I have a feeling she's um– coming out of the closet. To our friends at least."
Droite smirked, "You'd think she'd make sure you're okay with that."
Rita rested her head on the table again. "Of course I'm not. She was crushed the last time someone found out; all I can do is hope they all accept it better."
With a nod, the knight approached the girl. "Don't worry, you'll have me and Alyssa as friends no matter what."
The witch raised her head a little. "That's not a good thing."
A sweet giggle was all the response she got, as the knight wandered away to set the table. The knight paused and then smirked a little.
"Don't forget what we talked about earlier. Maybe she'll need some– comforting."
Rita just stood up and cracked her knuckles. But before she could close the distance, there was a knock on the door.
This was just the beginning of a very long night.
A/N: Hey guys, sorry this took so long, still adjusting to being back at school, and sorry for the lack of actual Ristelle interaction, the next couple chapters will make up for it though.