They approached cautiously, not making a sound, even feeling their way for sticks at times. They had agreed that they would try to spy out the lay of the land before they moved. It was also decided, after a bit of debate, to let Lina go forth first, figuring Gracia was less likely to get spooked by her alone. Lina didn't tell Amilia, but she also prepared a small spell to throw at Naga if she did run. Finally, they were at the camp.
They could see no one, but that could mean anything, maybe the camper was getting wood or something. Giving a signal, Lina stood up and quietly and slowly walked out into the clearing. She paused by the fire, not quite sure where to go next. There really wasn't much except a half cooked something or other by the fire. Who ever it was had hidden their gear or traveled very light. Like Naga did.
A voice spoke, catching Lina by surprise, but the bigger shock to her system was the cascade of emotions that poured over her at the familiar sound of that voice, even after all these years. "OOOHohohohohoho! Travelers who would sneak up on a great sorceress need to be more careful than you! Naga the Serpent doesn't let just anyone join her fire at a whim!" Naga had felt them coming, and had hidden in the woods.
Lina smiled softly. Naga had been fooled by the fact Lina wasn't wearing her usual outfit, as she and Amilia had hoped. She said softly, and even tenderly "What about old friends who need to see you again, Naga?"
There was a silence, then a much changed and softer voice spoke from the dark. "Lina? Can it really be you?" Naga came forth out of the shadows. She looked, well, like Naga, a bit older perhaps. The years had not been unkind, but the stress of her life was apparent. Her costume was neatly, but obviously repaired. Most of it was wear, but a couple of places looked as if they had stories behind them. She also seemed a bit more haggard, probably the bottle was taking it's toll...
The real shock was the rather fresh and vivid, though thankfully minor, gash along her cheek. Their guess had been right as to whom it was that Luna had slapped.
Naga came forward, and Lina gasped to see her, then said what she needed to say the most to Naga. "I love you!" In a flash she crossed the distance and hugged her friend, her tears falling like the rain. Naga gulped, tried to speak, then gave up and, hugging Lina back, lowered her cheek to the top of Lina's head and wept as well.
After a time the tears cleansed the emotions and the girls could speak again. "I-I've missed you so much, Naga..." sobbed out Lina.
"At least as much as I've missed you, I'm sure..." said Naga, as she hugged and rocked Lina. "What brought you to these woods? I'm glad you are here, it is a happy chance."
"No chance, I was looking for you, Naga. I have to talk to you, I am at a turning point in my life." replied Lina.
Naga smiled and indicated for Lina to sit down. "So, it wasn't for me that you came back then..." she sighed.
"Yes it was. Please let me explain." said Lina. "I'm sorry for coming straight to the point after just meeting you again, but I have to. You should know I love you Naga, not past tense, but for real, right now, as much as I have ever. But we couldn't get along outside of bed, though the gods know you made up for a lot of your craziness when we were in it."
She gulped. Naga just sat there, head down, waiting. "You also know I, I have a feeling for men too..."
Naga sighed. "So, you are in love with me, and in love with a man, and now you want to have me let you go. You are free, Lina, but I wish you hadn't returned to tell me this, it hurts so much. I still love you too..."
Lina shook her head. "No, it's, uh, my choice, but I haven't finally decided yet, to either go on with him, or come back to you. There is no way, much as I might wish it, that I can have you both, I don't think either of you would share..." She tried to chuckle at the joke.
Naga looked at her a long, long time. A sad smile came to her. "Well, I can say I have grown up a bit since you saw me last Lina, at least I have come to realise that not all men are hateful. And I apologise for putting you down all the time, I don't know why, I just had to get your goat it seems. I was at a time in my life when I went to extremes with everything. Now I just do it with most things. I don't know how to explain it. I think I was jealous of your magical powers, you always have been just a little bit better than me, but back then I could never, ever, admit it. So, I was stupid and acted like it. I've missed you so much... But you also have this man to settle with, yes?"
"Yes, but I haven't told him I love him, not yet. I want this to be settled between us first, that way if the answer for him is "No!" then he won't be as hurt, I hope."
She took a deep breath and wiped her sweaty palms off. "Listen, there is someone else here I have to talk to as well, before this matter is settled, and I don't know how you are going to feel about me talking to her, but since I found out about her, I see things in a different light."
Naga gave Lina a curious look and said "I thought my only rival was a man? Who do you mean Lina? Who else has a say in this besides you and me?"
Lina looked Naga in the eyes, tears brimming in hers, and took a deep breath. She said only one word, a name. "Gracia".
With a hiss worthy of her "Serpent" title Naga lept to her feet and stared at Lina like a rabbit about to bolt. She was speechless.
Lina went on. "I'm so sorry, Your Majesty, about your mother..." Suddenly she slammed her hand on the ground in obvious hurt and frustration. "Why, Naga! Why didn't you just tell me? I would have understood so much better, I really would have! All this pain you carry, why?"
Naga gave a low moan that rapidly built to a scream. She staggered back from Lina. "Stay away from me, Inverse, stay away! Who told you? WHO TOLD YOU!" she shrieked.
Lina, tears dropping from her eyes replied "Someone who loves you very much, and who wants you back. Possibly even more than I do."
Naga's face contorted with fear, and rage. "Why did you come here?" she hissed. "You want revenge? You want to be free of me and want to hook me up with someone else to do it? Is that it? You, you Bitch! No, no I'm not going back to some other woman. Okay, Inverse, you had your fun! You got me going, and you dashed my hopes! Big time! I've never been able to really love anyone since you left, it will be doubly so now! You can be happy! HAPPY! Thank you for ruining what was left of my heart! I HATE YOU! GO AWAY! And tell that gutter trash who thinks she loves me that Naga the White Serpent loves no one, wants no one, and needs no one! You just tell her that!"
Naga paused her tirade to get her breath. Lina used the gap to softly interject "Turn around and tell her yourself, Naga. Look her in the eyes and let her know beyond all doubt how you feel. She's right behind you, I didn't come alone..."
Naga was staggered, and her face, which was red with anger, drained white with fear. "You were going to set me up!" Her face set with anger again, a cold, white, possibly murderous anger that made Lina cring as if threatened with a blow. Naga turned to face whoever was behind her. "You little tramp, You listen here..."
She turned. And looked straight into the big, innocent blue eyes of Amilia. "I love you Gracia" she whispered.
Something broke inside Naga, something that probably needed to break a long time ago. "No..." she said softly. "I never meant, I never imagined... not you, oh gods, I never realised she ment my sister..." Defeated, she sank to her knees, then slowly lowered her head to the ground at Amilia's feet, and began to weep, great racking sobs that spoke of her true feelings, the feelings, not of Naga, but of Gracia deep with in. The lonliness poured out, as did the fear, the distrust, the haterd, both of others, and of herself.
Amilia was on her knees and sobbing too. She managed to get Naga up enough that she could hug her as they wept. Lina was crying too, but couldn't tell if it was from joy, sorrow, or both. She just realised it felt good to cry at this moment. For a long, long time all was weeping.
After that time the tears slowed, as tears do, and Amilia repeated "I love you..." to Naga.
"Me too, I love you too.." coughed Naga through her tears.
"Why didn't you come back Gracia? I've needed you so badly all these years. Daddy too, even if you can't believe it. He needs you. Why?" Amilia sniffled out in her turn.
"Fear, plain and simple fear." said Naga, having trouble meeting her sister's eyes. "Fear of the memories, fear of the pain, fear of the shame of the way I acted, fear of the fear itself. I am afraid Ami. I was going to go get strong so I could defend myself, and somehow, walking around like this I've been able to fool myself that I am strong, but I am afraid and weak when I think about home. I want to go home, and I am too afraid, too afraid..."
"But that's why I'm here." said Amilia softly. "I will help you with your fear! We can do it together Gracia, we are sisters. And sisters acting together can do anything! Right Lina? Lina?"
Lina shook her head. "I don't get along with my sister, you know that. I can't help you there. And I have to go home too. I am afraid, and that has kept me away for years, and now I just found out my daddy died years ago, and I wasn't there. Now I have guilt, as well as fear. Go home Naga while all you have is fear, it's easier to just deal with one thing."
Naga looked over with shock. "Your daddy is dead?" she whispered. "Oh Lina, you do have my sympathy, and now I have a new fear. I fear I won't overcome my other fears in time."
"We will help!" volunteered Amilia. 'Lina and I are staying at the family hotsprings right now, and, because I wanted to be alone, all the servants and guards were sent away for six weeks because I have Lina here to guard me. We got, um, talking, um, and Lina had a dream where she made love to you and I asked her about it and she described you and, well, I knew it was you. Then I remembered your latest letter about coming to Zefielia, and so, we came to find you. And we are really only on the end of the first week! Come back Gracia, and you can have a good long month to build up your courage to come home!"
Naga cocked an eye at Amilia. "And how do you know what Lina dreams of?" she asked.
Amilia blushed. "Err, well, the plan was for her to sleep in the same bed with me in case of trouble, so she'd be close at hand..." she replied, trying to sound nonchalant.
"Why do you blush?" Naga asked, leaning over to look Amilia in the eyes.
Amilia's blush deepened. "well, err, oh dear, well, okay. You maybe don't know this, but I am as bisexual as Lina is, and having a beautiful young girl in bed next to me making love in her dreams was too much to resist, I gave her a helping hand from the physical world. She woke up, too far gone to stop, and, well, after that there was no reason not to and we did it all day long the next day. Then I remembered the letter and we came to find you, and we did, and I am so happy!" She beamed a big smile at Naga.
She went on. "Now I'd like us to go home again together as far as the hotsprings. I had fun with Lina, but neither of us knew about you, Lina thought you were Naga from the past, and I didn't know it was you until she told me about her dream girl. So, I am very happy to step aside and let you two renew your fun..."
Lina had, by this time, folded up into a little ball, Amilia could be naive at times...
Naga set her straight, gently. "If Lina ever touches me like that again it will have to be for life." she said. "I can't get that close and lose her twice. And you are yummy, but you are my sister, and I don't think I could go that far. And a month isn't long enough to get over my fears, not without help..." she ended, whistfully.
"Oh..." said Amilia, feeling deflated. "Well, I won't drag you home, even though I want to." she said a bit teary. "But can't you come and spend the month alone with us? Lina won't see her man before then, and you can talk it all out, I'm sure, and we can talk, and who knows how you'll feel, and you can go in what ever direction you want when the time comes, if you won't come home with us."
Naga smiled. "I can do that much if it is just us three." she said. "After the messenger comes with the gold, it should be tonight or tommorrow night, okay?" Amilia nodded, as did Lina.
"Well, what about supper, or something." said Naga, turning her head to look for the food she had been cooking.
"Oh!" said Amilia. "Your cheek..."
"Yeah, THAT!" snarled Naga in reply. "It'll heal, I've applied what magic I have to it, but she didn't need to scratch me." she spat out.
Amilia said "I know some more magic I can add. Really Gracia, you are forgetting your white magic aren't you? Please don't do that, it can do things black magic cannot do. Like this." Amilia touched the wound and it healed into a small, almost invisible scar that you really had to look to see.
"Thank you!" said an amazed Gracia. Then the fire returned to her eyes and she shouted "But I still want revenge! No purple haired waitress will get the better of Naga the Serpent! How dare she scratch me!"
"Calm down Naga please!" said Lina quietly, with worry in her voice.
"Yes, come on big sister, I'm sure it was an accident..." added Amilia.
"Ha! Are you in league with her? I tell you I want revenge for this injustice! REVENGE! And you two are going to help!" shouted Naga.
"How do you want us to start?" moaned Amilia, uncertain of what to do.
"Well, you could shut her up..."