AN: God, I'm reading older chapters and there's just… so much wrong! Argh! I want to go back and edit it all, but I feel like it might be better to wait until the fic is finished. So if you're re-reading this, I'm so sorry, haha, you'll just have to put up with the tense issues and inconsistencies for now.
Chapter Twenty-Eight (Miku's POV)
Even as Nuriel grew closer to our grasp, Luka was increasingly still. She just kept staring at the land in front of us, and her expression was closed off, distant.
I placed a hand on her shoulder, and now, it was usually enough to snap her out of her reveries, but today it didn't appear to work.
'Luka?' I said, and she stared down at the floor. 'Aren't you happy you're home?'
'Happy?' she repeated, slowly. Then, she dragged her gaze up to mine, and smiled, though it didn't reach her eyes. 'Yes, I suppose I am.'
I wasn't going to press it here, but I knew once we came to rest for the night, or the next morning, I would have to ask her what was troubling her. It wasn't often now that she didn't open up to me, but whatever this was, it must have been serious.
'This is the city of Mircia, coming up,' Sven said, walking up behind us. 'Just behind those walls there is a real taste of what Nuriel's got to offer, in all its forms.'
'Really?' Sonika said. 'Then we've definitely got to explore every last inch of it, right, Kaito?'
Kaito assented, and Luka was still silent. The pair looked at me, and I warned them off commenting with a look. Thankfully, they heeded my warning and carried on talking to Sven.
'Oh, yes, I forgot,' Sven said. 'Here's a map of the place. Should come in useful more to you than me.' He handed it over to me, and I rolled it up and placed it in my bag.
Once we were docked, I turned to Sven and thanked him for taking us on the journey.
'Sure you won't help us unload all this cargo?' he joked. 'No, you lot go on. There's plenty for you to see. It's been good having you on this journey. And if you ever need passage back, well, you know where to find me.'
He helped us down the ramp to the dock, and all four of us proceeded to walk up the steps that led up to giant wooden doors leading into Mircia proper. There were two guards either side of the doors, and suddenly, I thought of something.
'What if they don't speak the same language as us?' I whispered to the three. Luka snorted, and for once I was glad of her derision.
'I speak yourlanguage, do I not? It is called the common tongue for a reason, Miku. This country spoke it long before Mirren.'
I heard one of the guards snigger behind us, and I sent a glare his way. He quickly shut up, and went to open the door.
'Welcome to Nuriel,' he muttered, and pushed the door open.
Stepping inside, it was all I could do not to gape. Mircia itself was balanced on a hill, with a giant church at the top. The buildings were all cream stone with faint red roof tiles, with small leaded windows set into them. Cobblestone streets wound their way through the city, snake-like and seemingly endless. The church itself however, from what I could see, had actual pictures in the glass itself. I pointed to it, and asked Luka what it was.
'They are called stained-glass windows. Only churches are allowed to have them in Nuriel, since they are used to depict the gods.'
'They're beautiful,' I said, but then frowned. 'I can't believe it's right at the top of this gigantic hill, though.'
Luka rolled her eyes, but didn't say anything.
'Well, what are we waiting for?' Sonika said. 'Let's go explore! We've got all day after all, so we may as well stay at an inn here.'
'And climb all those steps?' I said, pouting. 'We'll melt before we reach the top.'
'Oh, stop complaining,' Luka said. 'The heat is much better than the dreary weather of your homeland.'
I narrowed my eyes at her, but she just started walking ahead.
The city itself seemed simple enough from the bottom of the hill, but once we started climbing, it became like a maze of streets, alleyways, with seemingly random open squares where people – elves – were selling their wares. I got attracted to what appeared to be a blacksmith, though they had weapons and armour unlike anything I'd ever seen. It was ornate yet practical, and I could feel the longing building up in my mind. The other three had gone off to a separate stall, undoubtedly a magical one.
'A human!' the vendor said, suddenly, now that he had turned away from his other customer. 'Wearing Mirrenese armour at that. May I take a look? It's been a long time since someone like you walked through this city. Oh, my name! Gaius, at your service.'
'Of course! Go ahead,' I said, and he quickly stepped out from behind the stall and took a long look at me, muttering under his breath.
'Who made this, if I may ask? And your sword?'
'My father,' I said, a proud note entering my voice. 'He's a blacksmith too, you see.'
'I assume you have your helmet stowed away in that bag of yours?'
'Oh, I never took it with me. My hair kind of gets in the way a little,' I said, and he shook his head.
'Every warrior must have a helmet. What happens if you have a sword aimed at your head, hmm?'
'Well, I never thought about it like that.'
'It's decided then. I will make you one, and it will match your armour so perfectly no one will be able to tell the difference,' he said, so I started to pull out my coin purse. He shook his head again. 'No, no, pay me in the morning, and only if you like it. I've always wanted to try my hand at something other than my usual fare, but unfortunately the clientele here are quite particular.'
Luka had drifted over in the midst of our conversation, and Gaius gave her a look as well.
'Ah,' he said. 'An elf wearing Mirrenese armour. Never thought I'd see the day. Not as well made as this young lady's, but it will do the job.'
'Unfortunately,' Luka said, 'I am not one for armour. I was rather forced into the situation.'
'A magic user by nature, then?' Gaius said, and Luka nodded. He tutted. 'We elves do enjoy our magic. There's no love for craftsmanship in this country anymore. Anyway, come back to me in the morning and I will have you crafted that helmet.'
'Thank you, Gaius,' I said, and he smiled, waving it off. I turned to Luka. 'Come on, let's get Kaito and Sonika and explore some more.'
Bidding Gaius a goodbye, we carried on our way.
Once we reached the top of the hill, I felt almost dead from the heat. Luka rolled her eyes at my whining.
'When we make it further south,' she said, 'you will have to just get used to it.'
'How can it be even hotter down south?' I whined. 'That's just wrong.'
'Let's just go into the church and cool off,' Kaito said, helpfully. I followed him inside, and I again had to force my mouth closed at the sight within.
Never having had a chance to step into a church in Mirren, although I did know they existed, meant I had nothing to compare the Nuriel one to. The stained-glass windows up close were lovingly detailed, though I couldn't tell which god was which. My father had never been particularly religious, and we held no texts on the gods in our home. I had only ever really heard about the gods through his stories of them. The largest one at the back of the church held all the gods together, and three shrines were set out on a dais in front of it.
'I have to say,' Kaito said, 'I haven't set foot in a church for a long time. I doubt the gods watch over someone like me.'
'Don't say that,' Sonika said. 'That's much more applicable to me, anyway.'
'I believe that would be most applicable to myself, actually,' Luka said, her voice only carrying a trace of humour. 'Miku may be the only one which the gods are smiling upon.'
'Oh, I doubt that,' I said, shifting my feet on the stone floor. Luka placed a hand on my shoulder before moving off to one of the shrines. 'Hey, Luka, which ones belong to which god?'
'This,' she said, pointing to the one on the left, which held the image of a snake eating its own tail, 'belongs to Yamina. The tree belongs to Internezzo, and the woman is Crypto.'
'Then, I think I'd like some time to pray,' I said. Luka nodded, and she along with the others left me alone.
I'm not sure where to begin, I thought to myself, or rather, to Crypto. Maybe I'd better start by apologising. Not because I've never really spoken to you before, but because of all the things I've done. All the things I've failed to do. I'm surprised you've not created some sort of divine punishment for me yet, but I suppose that's not what gods do.
Saying sorry doesn't really cover it. I guess all I can do is try to make up for it, in my own way. By loving. By trusting. But even then… having that in return is something I'm not really sure how to handle, when it comes to the situations I've led us into.
I know that they've said it's not my fault, but I can't help but feel that way. Especially now that Luka's got her scar. I try not to notice it, but is that doing a disservice to her? I don't know. Luka seems to appreciate me not talking about it, so silent I'll stay.
I'm not asking for forgiveness. I'm just praying that nothing awful will happen to my friends again. I know that's a tough ask, but please… if you can spare them, you can do whatever you like to me. As long as my friends don't get hurt any more.
Squeezing my eyes shut and banishing the tears that were threatening to show themselves, I stood up and went over to them.
'All done?' Sonika said. 'Great. Let's find somewhere to spend the night and get something to eat. I'm starving.'
Luka's hands were running through my hair, and I sighed at her touch.
'You are sure that you want this, yes?'
'I am.'
The scissors gleamed menacingly in the candlelight as Luka held them. The stone walls of the inn kept out the worst of the heat, which hadn't particularly diminished with the slow setting of the sun.
The inns I were used to had long been banished by this new style of living. No more were there fire pits sunk into the floor or adorning the wall. Instead, the bar took up most of one wall, and colourfully painted tables and chairs were scattered across the floor. In the corner, a musician played the lute, and her voice could be heard even through the closed door to our room, along with the gentle chatter of the elves outside.
'It is a pity that you feel you must do this.'
'Gaius was right. Judging from the type of situations we've found ourselves in, it wouldn't be long before someone threatened to cut off my head. And there would be nothing to stop them.' That gave her pause.
'You could just cut it a little shorter. Just enough that you could hold it in a bun.'
'You're really going to miss my hair, aren't you?'
She ran her fingers through it again, and I leaned ever so slightly into her touch.
'I appear to be not the only one who would miss this.'
'Okay, you have me there. But I'm serious. It all has to go. I may as well go as short as possible if I really am going to do this.'
Luka took a deep breath, and stepped behind me.
'I cannot believe I am letting you push me into this.'
'But I bet you're curious as to what I'm going to look like. Imagine Kaito and Sonika's faces in the morning when they see me with my new hairstyle.'
She shook her head, and held the scissors up to one of my twin-tails. I nodded, and she began to cut.
Watching as it fell to the ground, I felt an odd sense of loss. Not only because my head felt lighter, but I had spent years growing it to get it to the length it was. My dad used to trim it for me once every month or so, and it had been a bonding moment between us both every time. Just the quiet of the crackling fire, and our voices as we chatted away about nothing in particular.
With Luka, it was different. She was silent as she aimed the scissors at my other twin-tail, now sadly an only child. But the air between us felt charged, the start of something I would always look forward to, now.
Even though I took charge in those situations from time to time, she still felt many, many years ahead of me in every regard. At least in terms of an actual relationship we were both still in our infancy. But as for the things that came with that relationship… I pondered who she had learned them with. Had there been one, or many? It didn't matter now because she was with me, but I still couldn't help but wonder. I knew for a fact that there most likely hadn't been any emotional attachment involved, judging from how she had used to be, how she had been raised.
She had begun cutting my hair close to my head, teasing in layers and shaping my hair into something I hoped would be presentable. She did have experience cutting her own hair, as she'd told me before we'd begun. But obviously never something that was as short as it was going to be now. Luka had snorted and said that she could, of course, do something as simple as that.
She moved over to my fringe, just trimming it slightly so it wouldn't hang in my eyes the way it had been doing recently. Her face was creased with concentration, her eyes focused on her handiwork.
'There,' she said, stepping back. 'I am finished. I will fetch the mirror.'
She took it from the corner of the room and held it in front of me, and my eyes widened.
'Luka… this is incredible. Thank you,' I said, and she gave a smug, self-satisfied smile.
'Of course it is. What else were you expecting?'
I laughed, shaking my head, and stood up, enveloping her in a hug. She reciprocated, leaning back to look at me once more. Bringing us together in a kiss, it quickly grew into something more insistent.
Luka's hands snaked their way down to my hips, and as our tongues entwined, she moved her leg in between mine, causing me to groan at the unexpected friction. Heat pooled low down, and it was everything I could do not to grind against her.
I grasped her behind, as she had done to me, and she sighed against my lips. She brought her leg from between mine and wrapped it around me instead, and I held her upwards, prompting her to wrap her other leg around me so I was cradling her completely. I smiled, knowing that she would have never allowed this if she had been thinking about it rationally, but I knew these were times I could count on her to let go a little.
Moving us towards the bed, I lowered her down on to it. I straddled her quickly, not wishing to lose the closeness we had. My lips moved from her mouth to her earlobe, gently nipping it before moving down across her jaw, leaving featherlight kisses there. Going to her neck and finding her pulse point earned me a groan, and I bit down, revelling in the fact I could elicit these kinds of noises from Luka. She breathed out my name, but then pulled me backwards so that we were both lay flat out on the bed, me on top.
We had never gotten ourselves entangled in a position like this before, but Luka quickly regained control, flipping us over.
'You have certainly become far more precocious. I cannot allow it for long, now can I?' she said, and smiled, a predator's grin, before setting in for the kill.
Our breaths were getting heavier now, our scents and senses intermingled with one another's. Every touch felt electric, every hurried kiss a static shock.
My hands ran down her shoulders, and then she grasped one of them and guided it downwards towards her chest. My eyes widened, but Luka was still smiling, so I gently felt her breast beneath her shirt. She moaned, quietly, so I brought both hands up to her chest and massaged.
The room seemed to heat up with every moment, and inside I felt the same way as Luka's eyes flickered shut with pleasure. She growled as I took my hands away and held her by the shoulders, taking in her beauty.
Her face was ever so slightly flushed, her hair falling waves around us in tangles. Her eyes, now open, were a deep, warm blue, pupils blown wide with lust and longing.
'You cannot possibly know how much I want you, Miku.' Her hand trailed down across my chest, my stomach, and stopped at the edge of my trousers. 'But only if you will let me.'
'Not tonight,' I said, at length. 'Just… just this is enough.'
She nodded, and we fell into one another once more, holding each other as close as we could for the rest of the night.
