WARNING: This fanfiction is NanoFate and it is rated M for strong and/or violent content and situations, as well as intimate scenes between two women. If this type of content is not to your liking, please do not read it.
DISCLAIMER: MSLN Characters belong to their rightful owners. All the situations and characters presented in this work are fictitious, any similarity with real, historical, or present situations or individuals, it is not intentional.
TRANSLATOR'S NOTES: As you may all be aware, the FF site is glitching terribly since last weekend. Stories so far can be updated but they do not appear on the website.
The new chapters can be read through the app though (as well as leave reviews). That's the reason we delayed the publication of this chapter because we were hoping it would be fixed, but we had to find a workaround.
For the ones that read on the website and for any reason cannot use the app, this same chapter is being appended in the meantime on the previous chapter that is readable on the website. And will continue to append the chapters there until the site comes back to normal, which I hope it does...
So thanks to all who are following the story and eagerly awaiting the updates, Sammie-chan, duckie, Skydragon23, Miniberto... and all the ones silently reading as well :)
Anyways... on to the story now...
"Till the End of Times" by Aleksei Volken
Chapter 11. AWAKENING
Fate tried to move and several pangs of pain pierced through different parts of her body, but especially on the left side of her chest. She tried to open her eyes but her eyelids felt heavy and distant as if they did not belong to her. She tried to speak but her mouth felt dry and pasty and the only thing she was able to mutter was a guttural 'mmmpfffgggrrr' at the lack of response from her body.
Then she felt her face being touched and again tried to open her eyes.
She knew she had succeeded by the slight glow she was able to distinguish crossing through her vision range like a flash of lightning, but everything else looked blurry and distorted.
Not without effort, she blinked several times until the image became clear and took shape before her.
The first thing she could actually see was a beautiful yet serious face framed with copper-red hair and bright blue eyes. She knew that face.
"Na… noha," she was able to finally articulate with a voice raspy and dry like the leaves of the fall that was nearing its end.
"Shamal-san, she is indeed waking up! Hayate-chan… let Alicia-chan know! Quickly!"
"Easy there, Nanoha-chan, give her some time… it's not like Fate-sama is going anywhere, is she?"
Both Nanoha and Shamal shot a severe look towards Hayate for her comment, although she did not even care and only extended a cup to her lady.
"Okay, okay… I'm going…" Hayate conceded, bowing respectfully to Fate before going to look for her sister.
Nanoha, holding the cup in her hands, got closer to Fate from one of the sides of the bed while Shamal went to the other.
"Fate-san," Shamal called her and smiled when Fate turned her gaze to hers. It seemed that she was actually waking up and it was not part of the fever-induced deliriums she had experienced during the previous days. With satisfaction, she gestured to Nanoha and both of them helped Fate to sit up a little.
Fate grunted due to the pain the change in position had caused, but it felt nice for her to move. Little by little the memories started to come back to her mind. Racheakt. She had faced Veyron in a duel… And she had won. She remembered forfeiting her right to ultimate him, in order to bring him to the sacrifice. She remembered seeing Nanoha. She remembered Signum's face over hers yelling something she could not even hear. Then the darkness and the nothingness.
"Fate-san lost a lot of blood during the combat and after it," Shamal explained to her calmly while Nanoha only held her. As Shamal briefly explained what had happened to her, the red-haired gave Fate small sips of the contents of the cup. A light fresh infusion that Shamal had prepared for her along with the multiple arrangements and cares she had had with Fate in the last days.
"The injury Veyron Huckebein inflicted was very deep, Fate-san, luckily it did not manage to puncture the lungs, or even worse, your heart… but it was very close. We gave you the best possible care we could provide in the forest and then we brought you here."
Fate looked around and she noticed they were in her old room. The one she originally had to share with Nanoha. She looked at her wife, who slightly blushed but did not look away.
"We cleaned and cauterized your wound but we were not able to avoid the poisoning fever. For three whole days you burned up in fever, Fate-san, but when we were worried the most, you finally pushed through. You were, however, sleeping for two more days than we were expecting you to," Shamal finished with a smile. "How are you feeling now, Fate-san?"
Fate relaxed in her position. After drinking a little she felt her mouth and throat were not as dry anymore to speak.
"Just as if a dragon... had me for dinner…"
Shamal covered her giggles with her hand and Nanoha restrained her impulses to punch her.
"Well… at least Fate-san is in a good mood… Nanoha-chan was deeply worried about you."
"That is not true!" Nanoha fervently denied, standing up and blushing so furiously from head to toes that she was throwing poisoned stakes at Shamal with her eyes. She then looked at Fate who was looking at her disconcerted. "I was not worried! I… I was just…"
"True... Nanoha-chan was 'just' right by your side all the time. She has not once left your si-…" Shamal had to stop to dodge by the skin of her teeth the cup that Nanoha had thrown at her with remarkable strength and precision. Miyuki Takamachi had taught her the technique before leaving Nihon just in case she ever needed it. She now understood how right her lady's older sister had been.
"You were… not worried then… Nanoha?" Fate asked in a whisper attracting back her wife's attention.
Nanoha was redder than a tomato when she turned to see Fate.
"Of course not...! Shamal is an excellent physician… and besides… I already knew it was not that easy to get rid of bad weeds...!"
Fate was looking at her with an arched eyebrow and the corner of her mouth faintly curved in a hint of a smile. She had never seen her wife embarrassed like that. The truth was she looked beautiful.
"...I was here because… I don't go out much anyway! And… I thought it was my… duty… as… your… wife… is all…" and she ended crossing her arms over her chest and averting her gaze elsewhere. "I knew a simple wound like this one would not kill you."
The door was opened abruptly at that moment and Alicia Testarossa all but ran inside followed calmly Hayate.
"Fate!" she screamed, almost throwing herself at her sister to hug her. Fate's slight indication of pain made her tone down her enthusiasm. "Oh… I am so sorry."
She then hugged her more moderately, "Thanks to all the Gods you woke up Fate, we were all scared to death."
Nanoha looked away to avoid watching Fate's smile… and everyone else's at Alicia's words.
For a while Alicia kept talking with Fate, putting her up to speed of what had happened during the days she had been unconscious, or rather say, fighting for her life.
Until Fate finally started to show signs of being worn out.
Shamal suggested letting her rest since according to her last check-up on Fate's wounds, the only thing she would need to recover was time and patience. Alicia assured Fate everything would be in order while she recovered. Signum had taken over all her tasks in the guard and she, the ones her mother had assigned her.
"Take it easy and do not worry about anything," Alicia told her smiling, and then, ignoring all of Fate's weak objections, she looked at Nanoha and added, "Besides, Nanoha-chan will take care of you all the way."
Nanoha blushed violently but did not deny any of Alicia's words.
"Let's get Fate-san to rest some more. Nanoha-chan, continue giving her the infusion a little longer. In a few hours we can try with something more solid," Shamal indicated, feeling the weight of the world on her shoulders had been removed.
"The fact that I am starving does not count at all?" Fate asked, suddenly feeling she could eat a whole cow.
"That is a very good sign, Fate-san, but let's take it easy, okay?"
"I will make sure Linith prepares something delicious for you, Fate," Alicia told her sister, clearly happy. "Linith will come by in a few hours, Nanoha."
With that, the three women left, leaving Fate alone with Nanoha.
And suddenly, neither knew what to say.
When it seemed they could not take the silence any longer, they both spoke at the same time.
"Nanoha…"
"I…"
Again, they both went silent.
"You go first," Nanoha, who was still standing at her side, said.
Fate looked at her. She still felt a little disconnected from her body and her emotions, but the fact of having awakened to find her wife by her side had given her a serenity she never expected to feel.
"I just… want to thank you for… being here," Fate said. Even if Nanoha had said she had done it because it was her duty, it was also something she could just have not done at all. Fate did not need to ask anyone to know that Precia had not come to see her on those days, although she surely received regular reports informing of her status.
In a gesture that surprised Fate, Nanoha sat on the edge of the bed.
"I... just wanted to tell you… thatIamhappythatyouarefeelingbetter."
Nanoha said that so fast and in such a low voice that Fate had to strain her brain for a few seconds to understand what she had meant.
"Really?" Fate asked.
At the moment she did not want to ask if the fact of still being married to her also made her happy. The mere fact of Nanoha being there with her was enough for her.
"You should rest," Nanoha said, standing up, without answering her question and leaning in to help her lie back again.
When she was starting to leave, she felt her wrist being grabbed with considerable strength taking into account Fate's state.
Their eyes met and Nanoha noticed Fate was looking at her affectionately and with a silent request in her eyes. Fate, her wife, the proud Belkan warrior, usually high-and-mighty, strong, arrogant, and even relentless… seemed at that moment, as she was looking at her, so sweet and vulnerable that Nanoha felt like melting inside.
"Will you be here when I wake up?" Fate asked, feeling a little silly for asking something like that and blushing in the process. Waking up looking at Nanoha's face over her was the only thing she wished for at that moment and she was willing to sacrifice some of her pride in order to get it. The fact that Nanoha had not freed herself from her hold, although she could easily have, gave her some hope.
Nanoha's cheeks colored with a little shade of red while assenting.
"Yes… I will be here…" she said with her best cold and severe voice that sounded completely false. "Now close your eyes already."
Fate looked at her one more time, smiling before closing her eyes. Nanoha, by her side, brought close the chair where she had spent most of her time the last few days and sat down, still holding her hand for a long while.
— X —
Olivie slowly opened her eyes. It was one of those atypical afternoons where the pale light of the sun barely made its way through the window. As winter closed in, the days started to get colder, shorter, and darker. The fact that day, in particular, the day Fate finally had woken up, had been a sunny one, had been, in her opinion the second-best omen of the day.
The best omen of the day had been when, after going to Precia's chambers to give her the news, she, after a very long time… had made her stay with her.
Olivie moved under the sheets, naked, and rested on her side to touch the Hegemon's face, getting closer to that body that felt warm and inviting next to her. Precia, with her eyes closed and breathing deeply, looked calm and relaxed, like she had not seen her in a long while.
Olivie did not want to question why the Hegemon had looked for her that day after so long, after so many rejections… she simply would only take what was offered. After briefly informing her about the news of Fate's awakening, Precia had looked at her in an enigmatic way and without any explanation, had hugged her to make love to her as she had not in a long time.
Olivie was almost sent back to those days when, as teenagers, they had discovered the pleasures of the body together. Those almost forgotten times, when Olivie thought that passion and love were compatible and that there could be a place for them in a life… with Precia.
Olivie had, in fact, spent all her life with Precia, but not in the way she had hoped for. Not in the way she had yearned for many days and even more nights.
The Hegemon had made love to her that afternoon as she had in those old days and Olivie had to make an effort to remind herself they were not anymore the naive, dense teenagers anymore, victims to the calls of passion; that time had passed and many things had happened between them and to them. She also had to make a special effort to remind herself that Precia was the Hegemon to the world's most powerful empire and that she did not do anything at random.
Not even getting into bed with her.
Much to her surprise, Precia was the one who, after a while, without opening her eyes, just asked, "Are you not going to ask me why?"
"Is there even a reason?" she answered, without stopping caressing the other's face.
Precia opened her eyes and sat up to look at her. The sheet slid down her chest down to her waist exposing her breasts still full and turgent.
"And you are going to accept it, just like that?"
Olivie felt ashamed of herself for the answer that came to her mind but said it anyway. It was the truth even if it hurt.
"I have always accepted it just like that."
The first true pain she had experienced in her life was the news about the wedding between Precia and Enzo Testarossa. She screamed, cried, and kicked… she even threatened to challenge him to a duel.
Megane Alpine, who at that time shared the same pain but from Enzo's side, convinced her of the futility of her attempt. Olivie was not a warrior and, even if she were… Enzo was already the designated Hegemon. A young and ambitious man who was marrying Precia because the Segbrecht family was the most powerful and recognized one in Belkan society and she would be the one that would better legitimate him in his position of Belkan ruler as the foreigner he was. He would always be a foreigner but his offspring would have the Belkan purest blood. Not even Megane Alpine could compete with that against Precia.
And no one in the council of nobles that supported Enzo would allow someone from Precia's own family to ruin that. Least of all for a reason so vain and futile as love.
And so, Olivie had to bear witnessing how the woman she loved married the man she had come to hate and gave him two daughters who would inherit the Empire and that she would end up, ironically, loving them as if they were her own.
"You should go and visit Fate… at some point," Olivie said, strategically changing the topic.
"And find that vermin there? Absolutely not, Fate will come and find me and I expect it will be soon. A future warrior Hegemon like her cannot afford to show the slightest dash of weakness," Precia said and stood up to start getting dressed.
"Precia… you forced Fate into that marriage… We have taken away everything from that girl. I understand your delusions of Belkan grandeur but she has done nothing wrong to us…"
"She makes Fate weak," Precia abruptly interrupted her, looking severely at her. "And if Fate is weak, then the Empire is weak. And that, I cannot allow."
Olivie looked at Precia intrigued while she kept on with her angry diatribe.
"If Fate did not care for her, everything would be perfect. She would now have plenty of lovers and that scum would have the place she deserves… None… The only reason Fate was supposed to marry her was to have control over Nihon, she should have crushed Nihon and their precious heiress under her boot… But it seems Fate actually pretends for her … to be her true Imperial Consort...! A parvenu like her should be thankful that Fate even considers looking at her and revere the ground Fate steps on… Not be treating her as she does!"
"You sound like Veyron," Olivier pointed out, disappointed.
"The bastard was at least right about that, it's a shame he was stupid enough to not do things properly. If he had done it the way he was supposed to, Fate would have killed him, repudiate her goddamned wife and be finally free."
"What if… Fate loves her?" Olivie whispered, tightening the sheets above her lap.
"That would be absolutely preposterous!" Precia roared. "No ruler can make decisions based on feelings. That is why that foreigner is so dangerous to us… The reasons driving Fate's decisions are the completely wrong ones!"
"Soon it will be Fate's turn to make the decisions for the Empire, Precia," Olivie pointed out. "She can be a good ruler… despite… her feelings for Nanoha Takamachi. Nihon can be a powerful ally if we don't destroy them…"
"I don't intend to destroy Nihon," Precia interrupted her furiously, "I want to completely control it."
Olivie stood up, taking the sheets to cover herself while approaching the Hegemon. Deep inside her heart, Olivie knew it was a lost cause, that it had been lost since the moment Enzo had chosen Precia and she had made hers the dream of Belkan grandeur. She had no hopes left for her but she wanted, at least, for Fate to have them.
"Precia," she said considering her words carefully, "the Bekan Empire has taken too much from the two of us, from you, from your family… Fate holds an unquestionable position at this moment… she can be the greatest Hegemon, the most powerful ever known to the Empire… there is no need to…"
"Now more than ever it is imperative to protect ourselves," Precia insisted without listening to her. "Now more than ever we need to capitalize Fate's position and secure the Testarossa
name in the power."
"The expansion is almost done, I thought that when we reached that point we could… take a break and... " Olivie wished to say the words that had been left unsaid for so long but she did not want to risk a new and more painful rejection, especially after the afternoon Precia had given her like a coin thrown to a beggar.
"And what?" Precia looked at her, waiting.
"And give us the chance to live… together," Olivie thought but instead just said, "And live peacefully."
Precia did not make fun of her like she had done so many times before, instead, she told her something that left Olivie even more devastated than all the previous times.
"Peace? Oh yes, my dear, one day we will lie peacefully as the greatest family that ever ruled the Empire… but for that, there's still so much to do… and my plans for that… are just starting."
— X —
Exactly as she had wished for, the first thing Fate saw when she woke up hours later was Nanoha's face.
It seemed she had slept for longer than they had expected because there was no sunlight filtering into the room and the only source of light came from some candles lit around her. As soon as her wife noticed she had woken up, she helped her drink again and instructed Linith to bring her the food.
"So many attentions are going to spoil me," Fate said, feeling much better with her second awakening than she did in the first.
"You better not," Nanoha threatened, but at the moment Linith came in with the food, a light poultry broth prepared according to Shamal's instructions, she took the tray and took upon herself to take care of Fate.
Linith looked at her ladyship's wife with surprise but a silent indication from Fate made her realize she should keep her opinion to herself.
"Do you need me to help with anything else, Lady Nanoha?" was the only thing she dared ask. She had taken care of the Testarossa twins ever since they had been born so even despite feeling somewhat displaced she was overjoyed by Fate's wide smile while being tended to by her wife.
"No, Linith. I will take care. Just let Shamal-san and Alicia-chan know that Lady Fate has woken up," Nanoha answered, devoted to helping Fate sit up and holding the tray on her lap for her to eat.
Fate decided not to push her luck and ate by herself. She was actually too hungry to risk the soup ending up adorning her head if she asked Nanoha if she was not going to spoon-feed her.
Soup was not nearly her favorite food but she did not even care to protest. She ate enthusiastically feeling the food giving her a sudden rush of energy. She almost wanted to get up and stretch.
"Nu, uh, uh," Nanoha stopped her, pushing her back lightly with a finger to her chest. "Not until Shamal comes, checks you up, and gives you permission."
"No one has to give me permission for anything," Fate said, attempting for a second time just to have Nanoha hold her by the shoulders and look directly into her eyes before speaking.
"Oh, yes… this time you will follow the rules you are given, Marshal Testarossa… or you'll have to deal with me."
Fate arched a brow. It seemed Nanoha was completely determined to make her obey and, for the first time, her wife's determination did not upset her at all.
Giving up… momentarily… Fate laid back on her pillows, gathering her patience to wait for Shamal.
At that moment, the door opened without any prior announcement. Seeing a blonde mane, Fate thought it was Alicia, who was the only one who dared enter in that way to her room but she quickly realized the newly arrived was wearing the armor of the Imperial Guard.
And that actually two were the ones arriving.
"Fate!" Victoria and Micaiah screamed at the same time and launched into the bed.
Nanoha stepped aside just in time for both warriors not to run over her in their rush to see Fate.
Both Victoria and Micaiah hugged Fate closely and carefully. It was clear they had just returned from a long way riding on horseback.
"Sieg sent a falcon letting us know about Veyron's judgment and the duel but we could not just leave everything like that at Kestrel and come… Signum authorized us to return just two days ago... " Micaiah explained after hugging her while still panting. Just as if they had all but run to find her after getting off their horses.
Fate opened her eyes in disbelief that they had done the journey back from Kestrel in two days. She wanted to tell them they should not have left their post just to come to see her, but just at the thought of them riding their horses two days and probably their nights, nonstop, she did not have the heart to do it.
"It was a rash decision," Fate said, but then added smiling, "but I appreciate you did it. Take a moment to breathe, I will surely be here for a long while without going anywhere."
"We wouldn't have wanted for you to endure Racheakt alone," Victoria said, who had also hugged Fate very tightly. "That's why we wanted to come back as soon as possible. You never know what the Huckebeins can come up with…"
Nanoha just waited standing up at a safe distance from the bed, watching as the two warriors sat in the bed with Fate and were touching her, carefully but with too many liberties for her liking. She tried to convince herself that the uncontrollable impulse to strangle them was due to their lack of courtesy towards her and not because those two were literally draped all over Fate a second after they had arrived.
"Thank you guys… but I was not alone," Fate said. "Nanoha has been with me the entire time."
Until that moment the visitors turned to see Nanoha with considerably large expressions of astonishment, who, in turn, just looked back at them with a look of elegant disdain.
"Well…" Victoria said, but before she could make any scathing remark, Fate intervened.
"How are things in Kestrel? Since you are here you can give me a detailed report."
"I am sorry, Fate," Victoria said, turning her attention back to Fate. "Signum and Alicia forbade us from talking to you about anything military ."
"Hey...! They cannot decide that…!" Due to her surprise, Fate sat up a little faster than she would have. "Ouch!"
"Fate!" Nanoha rushed to her wife's side, pushing Victoria from her way to get next to her. "Shamal said you shouldn't do any sudden movements… and yes, she has all the authority to tell you all the things you can't do."
"Fate? You are already on a first-name basis? Things really have changed since we left Fate, it seems it wasn't so bad after all that you stayed here," Micaiah said with a caustic smile, looking at Nanoha's distress and the way in which Fate looked at her.
Without batting an eye, Nanoha tried to assert her authority.
"Your Marshal," she said coldly at Micaiah and Victoria, "should not be doing these efforts." Much to her regret, she paused to remember that barely that morning they still did not know if she would wake up. "She… just woke up this morning," she finished looking severely at both women.
"Nanoha," Fate intervened, already recovered by the flinch of pain, gently taking her hands in her own. "All right, I promise we won't talk about work… and I won't overdo it… but let me speak with the girls for a moment."
Nanoha looked back at Fate with genuine concern. She did not care if Fate noticed or even if the other two noticed. Pondering whether she should give in to Fate's wish or insist the two warriors leave, she was unaware she was still firmly holding on to Fate's hand until Micaiah's voice made her notice Fate was still waiting for an answer.
"It seems someone is much more possessive over your person than before, Fate… does that mean we have lost you forever?"
"Micaiah," Victoria reprimanded her in a low voice and much to everyone's surprise sided with Nanoha. "Lady Nanoha is right."
Fate, Micaiah, and Nanoha herself looked at her flabbergasted.
Then Victoria did something that left them even more so. She bowed slightly to Nanoha and formally requested, "You are right, Fate must rest and recover… Please Lady Nanoha, allow us to stay with her for a few minutes now and if it is possible, we will return tomorrow for a longer time… We rode on our horses for many hours just to be able to arrive and see her but we won't jeopardize her recovery."
"Victoria…" Micaiah started to say but was silenced with a severe look Victoria shot at her.
Nanoha looked at Fate and realizing she still was holding her hand in hers, a little embarrassed let go of it.
"I will step outside for a few minutes while I look for Shamal, Fate," and then added, "Please don't let her fatigue much."
With that, she headed for the door, and at the brink of it before exiting, she had to control the sudden twinge in her stomach at the sight of both Micaiah and Victoria sitting in the bed, carefully but very close to Fate, taking each one of Fate's hands in their own. Micaiah, who was on her right side, her uninjured side, even leaned closer to her to caress her face and her hair.
Nanoha left the room holding back the urge to slam the door and regretting giving in so easily at the request.
— X —
After Fate's nightly checkup, Shamal entered the room she shared with Hayate and plopped heavily on one of the chairs. The room was almost in complete darkness except for a single candle that was lit on one of the tables.
The physician felt exhausted. During the five days Fate had been unconscious or delirious with fever, she had remained alongside Nanoha all the time keeping an eye on her recovery, preparing infusions some to clean her wounds other for Fate to drink carefully.
Alicia had convinced the Hegemon that Shamal be the one to take care of Fate since it had been because of her that Fate had not bled to death in the duel grounds. Begrudgingly, Precia accepted, literally threatening Alicia and the physician that if Fate died, the responsibility would be their own; just as the consequences. The problem for Shamal of sharing that responsibility with the possible heiress to the Belkan throne was that she was the only one of them who was susceptible of being executed in that scenario.
Shamal could not have had more pressure than that.
She and Nanoha had taken turns to watch over Fate those days, during day and night, and yet it had been strenuous. The only thing Shamal wanted at that moment was a warm bath and a good night's sleep.
A slight creak in front of her made her wince and open her eyes heavy before screaming when she noticed a presence before her in the darkness.
"I am sorry to have startled you," a deep voice said, walking towards the dim light irradiated by the single candle.
"Signum…" Shamal gasped relieved. Then she noticed who was in her room. "Signum!"
Shamal sat up in her chair then asked in a disconcerted voice, "How?"
"Through the door...?" Signum replied with a half-smile while getting closer to her. "The window is complicated, especially at this hour and in a night without the moon. Besides, it's colder at this height…"
Shamal stood up. The past days had been difficult for her and she had barely seen the warrior. She had had even less time for their brief but intense interactions. Signum had briefly come over to visit Fate while she was lying in bed once or twice a day, but everyone was extremely worried to think of anything else except praying she could recover and they had barely exchanged a couple of words.
"Have you seen her yet?" Shamal asked, as far as she knew, the only visits she had received that day were those two warriors that annoyed Nanoha-chan so much.
"I know Testarossa… the second she sees me in that room, she will start asking questions about things she does not need to worry about right now. I rather not give her that temptation just yet," Signum replied.
Shamal smiled and felt a warmth invading her chest as she watched the tough warrior worried about Fate. It was almost sweet.
"Thank you for saving her life," Signum said, looking at her with intensity.
Shamal averted her gaze towards the floor ashamed. "Fate-san is really brave and I wanted to help her more than anything in this world. I would not have forgiven myself if I had not been able to do it… Aside from the encouragement from the Hegemon," she finished with a smile trying to minimize the fact that Precia, to put it simply, had threatened her with death.
She felt Signum taking her by the shoulders and she raised her gaze to meet the blue eyes of the warrior fixed on her. It seemed as if Signum was debating with herself violently between conflicting feelings she was unable to express.
Before Shamal was able to say anything else, Signum embraced her tight and kissed her passionately.
Shamal felt overwhelmed by the sudden gesture and froze in her arms for a few seconds before corresponding. Slowly their kiss became so intense and so deep, the physician forgot about all the tension and fatigue, everything around her just disappeared, except for the warmth of Signum's body tightening against hers and her lips devouring hers.
It was until she felt her feet were not touching the ground anymore that she half-returned to reality and to the place she was, only to discover that she was already lying on her bed and that Signum was hurriedly removing her sword and the protections of her garments. That day she was not wearing the full armor of the guard, just the protections in her arms, shoulders, and chest.
That made undressing slightly easier than if she was wearing her full armor… but not faster.
Shamal looked at her astonished.
"Signum… what are you doing?" she inquired, asking the obvious.
"I'm sorry," Signum replied with a look full of desire, "I wish this was faster."
"Signum!" Shamal exclaimed, sitting up to stop her. "Wait, Hayate…"
At that moment, Shamal looked at the door. They were in the room she shared with Hayate, who, by the way, had an incredible timing to arrive at the most inappropriate moments.
"Wait, please… Hayate… will be here any moment," she explained at Signum's disconcerted look.
The warrior dropped the last of her protections on the floor and sat in the bed next to Shamal, caressing her face.
"I would rather… lie only with you… but if it is so important for you… we will wait for her," she said as her hand traveled down playfully unbuttoning the front of Shamal's dress.
Shamal furiously blushed at the implications of what Signum had said.
"No..! That's not what I meant! I don't want to share you with Hayate!"
Signum looked at her and smiled.
"Good… because I don't want to share you… with anyone else either," Signum murmured before taking her again in her arms to kiss her.
Shamal's resistance proved to be futile and unnecessary because despite her repeated negatives her body arched against the warrior's and she moaned to her contact.
There was only one thing she was finally able to mumble in between gasps and kisses while Signum stripped her off her dress, "The door… need… close..."
"I already took care of that," Signum whispered while she kissed the soft and sensitive skin between her thighs before capturing the pink and wet button between her legs causing Shamal to scream and arch her back again following the rhythm of the warrior's mouth.
Very soon, Shamal's worries about Hayate coming into the room were discarded as well as her clothes on the floor, while her body and her heart opened to Signum's touch. The encounter was untimely and unexpected but full of desire and passion; just as if the Belkan warrior could not wait for another second before making her hers.
Shamal had no notion of the time that had passed until they finally dropped exhausted and panting, naked, one next to the other.
"By the Gods…" Shamal mumbled while hugging closely to Signum's body.
The warrior cupped her face and stared at her as she had done when she had first arrived.
"I would not have allowed it," she mumbled, and then Shamal was able to notice the emotion that flooded her lover's gaze: shame.
But she did not know what could make a proud warrior like Signum feel that.
"Even if it would cost me my life and my honor as guard of the court, I would never let anyone hurt you," she said full of intensity and until then Shamal shivered with the implications behind the warrior's words. "No one," Signum reaffirmed. "Not even her."
Shamal tightened the embrace and kept Signum against her until she was able to overcome the lump in her throat.
"Thankfully," she finally said with sparkling eyes, "there won't be any need for that, Signum."
This time it was Shamal who looked for Signum's lips for an almost desperate kiss, offering at the same time her body to her hands. Signum made love to her again, several times, with passion and without any rush; taking her time to explore and reclaim every curve and every fold as her own, until Shamal moaned and trembled under her body, exhausted again but still burning with desire.
After all, that was why she had informed Shamal's younger sister that she wanted to properly 'thank' the physician for saving Fate's life… and that she should better find another place to spend the night.
— X —
Fate was soundly asleep, her breathing was rhythmical and strong, not arduous and weak like the days before.
Shamal had told her that she could sleep in the same bed as her from that night on as long as she was careful not to snuggle over Fate.
Nanoha, of course, had protested and had blushed, arguing she was not the cuddly type, least of all with people; and yet Shamal had suggested some precautions so Fate would not end up inadvertently hurt.
So, with a fluffy pillow between them, Nanoha lied carefully on Fate's right side of the large bed. There, listening to her wife's breathing, in that moment of solitude, in the middle of the dark where no one could see her or hear her, not even Fate sleeping by her side, Nanoha could admit, at least to herself, how much she had missed that sound of that breathing next to her side for so many nights.
All those nights Fate had not slept with her.
Which led her to the question that kept her awake at that time of the night despite how tired she was… Besides the muffled moans she was able to hear from the room next door and that were triggering other kinds of concerns.
"What is going to happen when Fate gets better?"
Obviously, the heiress had noticed that she was in her old room, the one they were supposed to share as a couple but that she had abandoned promising to never return and never to touch her ever again. A promise she had not entirely kept, but that she had not broken as Nanoha had worried. In fact, according to Hayate, she had fulfilled her promise entirely since her counselor did not know about the kiss Fate had stolen from her the day Saber had arrived.
Fate had noticed in which room she was in but she had not made a comment or a question. The same way she had not said anything when Nanoha got ready to stay with her in the same bed that night.
Without wanting to give unnecessary explanations, Nanoha had just said she was not ready to spend the night by herself.
Fate could have argued that anyone could have stayed with her, but she did not. She only thanked Shamal for her care and bid good night before Nanoha put out the candles to immerse them in the darkness.
Her convalescence was barely starting as well as her true recovery and surely she would never several days before completely recovering. But what would happen when she was better? Shamal had said she only needed time and rest.
Nanoha could not stop wondering if she would stay, if she would leave, if she would tell her something if she left… if she would leave to be with someone in particular. But what distressed her the most, even before Fate's questions or decisions, were her own feelings.
Hayate had seen her rush out flushed and upset after leaving Fate with her warriors… or ex-lovers… how she had referred to them, which had earned her an inquisitive look from her counselor.
"It's only natural that Nanoha-chan is jealous," Hayate had told her, ignoring her heated protests and denials. "However it is time to overcome them and claim back your rights over Fate as your wife. No one has more right than you after all."
And Hayate had been right. When she got back with Hayate, Shamal, and Alicia for Fate's last checkup, Micaiah was much more moderate with her behavior from what she had been before. Not as much as Victoria, but considerably more than she had been in the months before. She even looked at her differently after those brief moments alone with Fate.
As soon as Nanoha entered the room with her group, they both said goodbye to Fate promising to return the next day… when Nanoha would indicate it was proper to. Alicia and Hayate looked at her proudly. Fate called her by her side, supporting the motion and held her hand while asking Shamal when she would be able to have her first formal meeting with Signum and her warriors.
Shamal, smartly, told her they should take each day as it came and maybe, just maybe… next day she would give her the answer. After that, Nanoha agreed for the warriors to visit her at noon, but only as an informal visit, not a work meeting if Fate promised to not overdo it and inform her when she got tired. Fate agreed without resistance to both decisions, as well as Micaiah and Victoria who excused themselves so they could finally finish arriving from their frantic horseback ride.
Nanoha could not recognize this Fate that was treating her in a gentle way. Even in her weakened state she could have resisted her, confronted her… but she did not.
And that disconcerted Nanoha, even more.
What would she do? Should she ask Fate? Should she offer her to come back? Or ask her not to leave? Even more important than that… did she… want for Fate to stay...? And if Fate stayed, would she accept her to stay again as her wife exercising all her conjugal rights?
Nanoha extended a hand to touch one of the long locks of Fate's golden hair. She kept it between her fingers feeling its softness. She then let her fingers slide over the long thread that rested over Fate's arm.
It was the first time she had allowed herself the opportunity to touch Fate in that shy and almost insignificant, yet intimate, way. She was only able to do so because she knew Fate was soundly asleep thanks to Shamal's infusion. She would never do it with Fate awake or if she thought Fate would wake up in any second.
Fate.
The woman that was her wife and had done terrible things, to her and to her country… but also had fought to the death to defend her. Nanoha did not know if for her but at least to preserve something of her, despite knowing that she could lose everything. Something inside her whispered that Fate was not the terrible person she always thought she was.
And that same part of her was screaming at her not to let Fate get away from her side.
— X —