3rd person P.O.V
Tally focus:
Tally called her mom that evening after the boys had left and they had finished training. "Plans have changed mom, Sarah and I ended the reel together, we had decided to avoid each other completely but then one of Sarah's biddies was dying and I just felt a wave of pain and grief that I know was not my own. I had to go to her. We don't know how many people saw us together, my unit knows about the arrangement, so they can help cover for us and Sarah is with the Imeratrix right now. I just don't know what to do any more mom." Tally said as soon as May picked up the phone.
"Oh Tally, I tried to warn you against this. Did Alder not use work to guide the reel?" May asked and Tally could hear her putting down her book on the other end of the phone. She quickly relayed the brief conversations she had had with Sarah over the last few days. Updating her mom every week had very quickly started to feel like a chore, she barely had time to actually talk to her mom any more, phone calls were limited to an hour at a time. Tally could practically hear her mom's disappointment through the phone, and she could almost see the scowl that she was sure now marred her mother's face.
Tally hoped that Sarah's meeting with the Imperatrix was going okay, she had suggested that her mom call the Imerpatrix herself so that they could make their plans together and then Tally and Sarah could be informed of any changes to the original plans. Tally also hoped that she could spend time with Sarah before the Bellweather wedding.
Tally was able to see Sarah the day after all of the boys left, there hadn't been many questions yet, but Tally wanted to start prepping for a potential announcement in case one needed to be made. Tally also went to see Sarah with a letter from her mom that had been enclosed in a larger envelope containing a battle charm and letters for Tally and Sarah, this third letter was addressed to the Imperatrix. She hadn't read any of the letters, not even the one addressed to her. She wanted to wait and read it with Sarah as she read her own letter.
No focus:
Tally knew that Sarah's office would be empty of guests, so once she got to the Garden she opened the door and walked straight up the stairs and into the living room where she faoud Sarah already sitting waiting. Two glasses of what she suspected to be water sitting on a table that had been pulled towards the front of the sofa. "Hey," Sarah said, standing up to hug Tally as she closed the door behind her. Tally pulled the older witch closer nesteling in trying to get all of the comfort she needed from the hug. Sarah moved a hand up to hold the back of her head and slowly pulled away to look Tally in the eyes. "Are you okay?" the brunette asked as she was led to the sofa.
"Yeah, Yeah. it's just I got these letters this morning. My mom must have sent them before Beltane, but there's one for me, one for you and one for… One for the Imperatrix." Tally said, looking down at the red cushions. Sarah reached up and gently guided Tally's head up with a hand on her chin. She handed the letters over to her wife, she had left them all in the big envelope after she read the names on the front. "I haven't opened any of them. I didn't know what to expect. And when I told my mom what happened she sounded really disappointed and now I'm worried that she did something with the letters even though she wrote them before Beltane." Tally rambled, tears threatening to slip out.
Sarah reached up and wiped her thumb under Tally's eye to get rid of the tear. "We'll open ours together and I'll make sure that the other letter gets where it needs to." Sarah said, leaning back into the cushions. She nodded and pulled the tree letters out of the envelope, the note and combat charm had been left in her foot locker in the dorm. Sarah watched as Tally opened her letter and began to read it before she read her own.
Dear, General Sarah Alder,
Congratulations on six months of marriage to my daughter. I do hope that she has helped you in some way and that you have been able to learn from each other. I also hope that you have also been using this time to do your own research and ask my Daughter about the Matrifocal Communities which she will inherit upon my passing, hopefully not for a good several decades. I also hope that she has taken this as an opportunity to begin to learn how to be her own type of leader for when this day comes.
We as the matrifical leaders are all well aware of your marriage blessing and that when you consummate your marriage this will grow even stronger and could come to a point where you begin to feel others emotions. I am telling you all of this so that you do not become fearful and end up hurting Tally by pushing her away, if this does happen, she has expressed her feelings towards you to me in several of our recent phone calls.
I do hope that you both learn from each other as well as learn about each other.
Your Mother-in-law
May Craven.
Sarah put her letter down on the table, unfolded and looked up to see Tally getting to the end of her own letter. "Was it as bad as you thought?" Sarah asked, pushing one of the water glasses forwards to the red-head.
Tally shook her head. "No it was quite good, she asked me to remember my training from home, because as her daughter I had extra classes the other children wouldn't have as It would be me taking over the communities in the event of my mothers passing before I finished basics or war college. She also asked that I use what I learnt and teach you and implement it into my training here." Tally said. Putting her letter on the table and greedily gulping at the water from the glass. "What did she tell you?" Tally asked the older witch.
Sarah pushed her letter forwards towards the younger witch to read and then packed up her pnw water glass to sip from. Tally hummed and nodded as she read her wife's letter. Once she finished reading she carefully placed the letter back on the table. "I honestly forgot that it has been Six months sice our wedding." Tally said. Sarah nodded in agreement and reached out for Tally's hand.
"It has been an amazing six months nonetheless." she said, leaning in to kiss Tally, who reciprocated gladly.
"Can we just cuddle for a bit?" Tally asked, pulling away from Sarah enough to look at her properly.
"Of course Imé wèlá (my song)" Sarah said, opening her arms for Tally to snuggle into.
The two lay there on the sofa for several hours, the biddies had long gone to bed when Sarah noticed the time. "Tally?" Sarah asked softly, rubbing a hand up and down the witch's arm. The red-head let out a light groan, "where you sleeping?" she asked. Tally sat up slightly and nodded. "Come on, let's get you into bed." Sarah said, scooping up a still sleepy Tally into her arms and taking her into her bedroom. She laid her wife on the bed and removed her own jacket, belt and shoes. Before doing the same to Tally and pulling the blankets over the witch. Sarah hurried through her own night time routine before joining Tally in the bed under the blankets. Both were quick to drift off to sleep cuddled up on the mattress under warm knitted blankets.
Tally focus:
Tally woke up the next morning as the dawn sunlight came through the windows, the curtains had not been drawn closed the night before and not illuminated the pillow she shared with her wife. She smiled and attempted to stretch but was stopped when she realised that Sarah's leg was looped over her hip. It seemed that the General was as much of a cuddler as she was. Tally twisted her head and found a clock hanging on the wall, it was about an hour before the first bell. She has time to lie there for a little bit longer.
She spent the next hour or so watching the sunlight move across Sarah's face until it hit her eyelids, the older witch let out a groan and twisted into Tally more. "Good morning," Tally said quietly, she pressed a kiss to the top of Sarah's head. "I have to go soon, the first bell will go any minute." Sarah looked up then and smiled when she saw Tally looking down at her slightly.
"Good morning." Sarah said as she untangled her legs from Tally's. Tally sat up in the bed and realised that she was still mostly dressed as was Sarah, she saw her boots, belt and jacket folded up on a chair in the corner of the room. Tally climbed out of bed to add the final pieces to her uniform so that she could get across base to her dorms hopefully with time to shower and change before breakfast and training.
"Lóù imé wèlá" Sarah said as Tally was lacing up her boots. Tally looked up at her, sitting in the bed, shirt rumpled, hair messy and undone from its usual braid, blankets plied at her waist where her shirt had rose just enough without a belt that Tally could see the top of her witches mark on her hip, shining blue just like her own.
"What does that mean?" she asked
"It means, 'I love you'. The literal translation is a bit off, but the sentiment is the same. 'Wèlá' means song, but can be interpreted in different ways." Sarah said as she moved over to sit on the side of the bed to face Tally fully. They both shared a smile and Tally stood and moved over to the bed to give her wife a goodbye kiss as the first bell rang out across the base. "I'll see you later. we are going to Abigail's cousin's wedding at the weekend." Tally whispered to her wife before grabbing her jacket and walking out of the bedroom. Tally ran down the stairs and through the gardens, luckily she had memorised the path back to her dorms and was able to run there before the second bell.
No shower that morning but she would have time to put on clean clothes before breakfast. She didn't want to shower anyway that morning, not when her skin smelled like Sarah. A perfect mix of Wood smoak, Whiskey and Lavender. Both Raelle and Abigail were sitting in the room when Tally walked in closing the door behind her. She pulled her clean clothes out of her wardrobe and decided to change nn the room this time and then just rush into the bathroom to wash her face and do her hair and teeth. "And where were you yesterday evening and last night then?" Abigail asked as Tally was pulling her top over her head.
"I spent the night with Sarah, I went to see her after my call with my mom and fell asleep so I stayed in her bed." Tally said as she threw yesterday's clothes into the laundry hamper in the bottom of her wardrobe. She turned to look at her unit as she looped her belt through her trousers and tucked her shirt in. "what?" she asked "I can stay with her overnight now occasionally, because i don't have to hide my relationship from the two of you." Tally explained as she left the bathroom door open to brush her hair.
"No I was just expecting something a little more exciting, Goody two shoes Tally Craven stays out all night to cuddle with her wife." Raelle said imitating a news reporter. As she leaned on the door frame.
Tally laughed at her. "Of course you would, wouldn't you?You spend the night away with your necro at least once a week." Tally said with a teasing smile that was reciprocated by the blonde.
"You caught me," Raelle siad holding her hands up as a half-hearted truce. "Abigail, you good?" she asked, turning to see the Bellweather still stood in the same place.
"You spent the night with your wife and you only cuddled. Sorry but if I was married to General Sarah Adler I would be doing more than just cuddling." Abigail said as Tally was brushing her teeth.
"Sorry, What?" a shrill voice was heard from outside the room.