The dhamphir struggled to keep up with the long, purposeful and hurried strides of the lord of Graz and his lieutenant as they made their way to the correspondence wing in the fort. The vampires in the city had been informed of the death of Queen Carmilla and Queen Lenore about a fortnight ago, along with the news of queens Striga and Morana abandoning the city. This was a huge blow to the vampires in Styria. Graz had supplied soldiers to the royal garrison though not as much as the other counties, since Graz's army typically stayed back to protect the countryside when the army was away. The vampires like him had realized something was brewing within the city's upper echelon of vampires and it most certainly indicated that a violent conflict may be imminent. How the news of Queen Lenore being alive affected that, he could not tell. The Lord of Graz was imperceptible as always.
Viktor felt his muscles tighten and cord as he reached the entrance to the room that housed the distance mirror. Queen Lenore was alive! A news this momentous could alter his plans. How did she manage to survive? Did she kill the usurper? Where was she now? Is she in trouble elsewhere and seeking his help?
"Did the Queen appear by herself?" he heard Casper question the dhamphir.
"No, Master Casper, she was with someone whom she called as King."
Casper exchanged a glance with him at that. He knew what the younger vampire was thinking. Perhaps Queen Lenore is being held as a prisoner by this forgemaster and is now being used as leverage against them. Too bad! He wasn't going to submit to the human just because he was threatening one vampire's life when the lives of hundreds of vampires across the kingdom were at stake. Yet, he felt the old fashioned part of him that made him so loyal to Carmilla's reign, duty bound to obey his queen. Even if the queen that remained was the one with whom he had the least familial ties.
He had personally met Queen Lenore only once almost thirteen years ago, when she had been sent to Graz to smooth out what Carmilla called was his 'mess'. He had fallen in love with a daughter of one of the rich merchants who arrived into the city from the county of Murao along with his family. Elizabeth was just a maiden of twenty when he first met her. Shy, quiet yet curiously unafraid of his vampirism. He had fallen in love with her despite himself and in spite of her being a human. When the affair came out into the open her noble human family made a fuss and kept her locked up. Something he could have handled and whisked her away if not for the fact that she was betrothed to the son and heir of the most powerful human in all of Graz, perhaps even Styria, Baron Thomas von-Bauer.
The month that followed was the hardest in his life, barring the current one. The Baron united all the noble human houses in all of Styria against what he considered was perceived affront to his family. The Baron being a prideful man wouldn't even budge even under the threat of death from his vampire comrades. And Graz seemed poised for a revolt, this time not just with peasants but with the might of human upper class and their wealth behind them. Just as the tensions frayed the last of the tenuous peace in the city, Queen Lenore arrived.
He had no prior experience with the newest queen in the kingdom and unlike the rest of the queens he could not understand what she brought to the table. She had come armed with a letter from Carmilla that requested him to stand down and keep away from Elizabeth. Something he was not sure if he would have obeyed had it not been for the fact that somehow she spoke with human noble houses and arranged for a wedding between Elizabeth and the Baron's son, which happened within three days of her arrival. He was surprised that the Baron agreed to it despite decrying this whole time that his future daughter in law's virtue has been lost. In spite the fact that his own son was well known philanderer. The hypocrite! How Queen Lenore managed to calm the human nobles and convince them to proceed with the marriage he had no idea. She even stayed as the Baron's guest of honour for the wedding banquet that was thrown for whole city, including vampires. When she left, the city that was primed for battle was now jubilatory.
In hindsight, Queen Lenore being the only one to have survived yet to have remained in the castle amongst the ruling council should have been no surprise. He should have realized if any among the four could do it, it would be her. She had earned his respect and resentment at the same time thirteen years ago. The former for doing what was near impossible. The latter because she did what he knew deep down was necessary for the peace of the whole nation, even if he felt angry and betrayed at her decision. This was a woman of pragmatic ruthlessness. The question now was whether she was a pawn or a player?
"Stand guard at the door," he commanded the dhamphir as Casper and he entered the room with the mirror. As he slipped in front of the enchanted mirror he took in the view of a dark skinned man with strange markings on his face seated on an ornate chair while the queen stood beside him. The man greeted him using a threat. He ignored him as he gauged the appearance of Queen Lenore. She did not appear to have been tortured or even too worse for wear. Perhaps a little tired, at most.
"I am happy to learn the news of your survival," he said. He was glad that she survived. At least someone who had vampires' best interest at heart remained in the castle.
"It is good to talk to you, Lord Viktor."
"The honour is mine, My Queen." He bowed in deference with Casper following suit. As he raised his head again he could see the edges on the face of the man in front of him become harder. Good, he thought.
"The lives of the vampires of Graz depend on how you respond in this conversation. So I suggest you think long and hard before you do, vampire," the man stated darkly while giving him a glare.
"Always have, usurper," he responded levelling a glare right back. He felt the queen stiffen a little beside the man. Was the conversation going in the direction she did not want? Was she in league with him now? Did she want them to join forces with him?
"For the first and the easiest of my demands. Open the gates of Graz to allow my army to enter and also enlighten the humans of Graz about the start of my reign. You can do the latter by tonight to prove that your loyalty lies on the right side of history."
"You already know where my loyalty lays, foreigner," he gritted out.
"So Lord Viktor," the queen cut through the conversation perhaps noticing it get derailed. "How did you manage to convince the humans to stay within the city walls and have absolutely no contact with the outside world without any dissent?"
Both he and Casper remained silent. He distrusted giving any information in front of this forgemaster. Maybe the queen expected his silence as she offered him a small smile before continuing, "You told them there was a plague outbreak. Didn't you? Something that obviously won't affect vampires. And then you probably ordered your soldiers to kill any carrier birds entering or leaving the city."
He was beginning to finally see what the queen, who was much younger than him, brought to the ruling council. "Yes." No point in disagreeing when she had hit the bull's eye.
"Smart idea. You are definitely one of the bright ones Lord Viktor. And I hope smart enough to understand that a conflict right now between the royal forces and any dissenting vampires would be devastating for the country. While there is a possibility that vampires may win, the cost shall be very heavy. Both to the vampires and the country alike. And it shall leave the country ripe for picking by external forces."
"So you would suggest that we submit to a human?! Queen Carmilla would've been so disappointed," he spat.
"I see. You're prideful like her." The young queen still kept a calm and steady tone while he felt his temper rise.
"Why aren't you? You're a vampire. A queen at that. Yet you wish to become subservient to the very human who killed our queen?!" he accused. Casper griped his shoulder indicating that he should temper himself.
"Carmilla was indeed prideful. Carmilla is also dead. I do not wish to see my vampire brethren die with her. Is that your wish? Do you want vampires of Styria to die to satisfy your own pride?"
Viktor took a deep breath to steady himself before answering, "This man has already been the death of many of our vampires. What is to say he won't be for the rest of us?"
"The time for conquest is over. King Isaac now wishes to govern peacefully with vampires and humans together in his court. You may choose to dissent but remember that would only allow the rest of the world to converge on us once they sense our weakness. And that would truly be the death of all of us."
"What does that entail? A court of both humans and vampires," his lieutenant spoke for the first time since entering the room. Casper is not seriously contemplating fealty to this new reign, was he? Viktor thought irritated.
"For now the things I listed in the decree," the vile foreigner explained, "In the future, an equal stature for the vampires, humans and creatures of all kinds in Styria. One law for all of them."
"So one in which a vampire is tried and punished like a human then?" Victor scoffed.
"Yes," Queen Lenore answered, "It is also one in which the humans of the country can stand with us to face the threats of the world. Or we face them alone. Trust me, the world is about to descend on us and we shall be better equipped with them on our side rather than our enemies. After all they don't need us to survive but we do need them."
Viktor debated internally as his prideful side waged a scorching war against a protective side that did want to save the vampires.
Did her arguments make rational sense? Yes.
Did she also sound like a fucking human sympathizer? Yes.
"So you want to just overturn centuries of established structures in the country? That our Queen Carmilla established?"
"Changes are coming Lord Victor whether we like them or not. We either change with them or we die trying to stop them. I hope you don't choose this as the hill to die on," she replied, her expression taking on a sad, even melancholic countenance.
"We would like to step out of this room for ten minutes to discuss the conditions and come back in again with our answer," Casper requested. Viktor gave him a look of annoyance but followed him out the door after the forgemaster acquiesced.
"I hope you are not going to say what I think you are going to," Viktor said in a pre-emptive warning.
"Viktor. Listen. I would die following your command. You know that. But this really could be a blessing in disguise. The world has changed since that incident at Braila and this offers us a chance to become something as nation that could have never been possible before. A united front with the humans will give us a better chance of survival."
"You can't possibly want to be answerable to the humans."
"I rather be answerable to my countrymen even if they are humans over foreign powers who have no business speaking for my country. Powers whom we definitely have to face regardless of what we decide now," Casper paused and upon noticing Viktor remain silent he continued, "I have heard rumours that the old forces of Christendom are stirring again. And they are the deadliest of our enemies. We need to be able to fight them. Let us agree…. Please."
Viktor found a chair to settle in. He was exhausted and emotionally drained. And right now he no longer had enough fight in him against his own best friend. "Okay," he whispered.
"Thank you," Casper replied gratefully before gesturing to the dhamphir standing nearby whom Viktor had forgotten was still around, "Go get our Lord some fresh blood from our warehouse." Once the boy hurried away his lieutenant took a seat next to him.
"Viktor, let do me all the talking regarding the terms of fealty," the younger vampire requested. He nodded in response. He would simply derail the conversation if he partook in it, as a part of him was still inclined to declare mutiny. Once he had taken a glass of blood which did nothing to calm his agitation, they both entered the room.
"We agree to the terms of the fealty as long as you allow Viktor his lordship of Graz," Casper declared.
"Excellent. I am glad you saw reason Lord Viktor," Queen Lenore replied looking pleased as her eyes flickered between him and his lieutenant.
"You need to take necessary steps to back that up vampire," the human addressed the younger vampire.
"Of course, we shall immediately arrange for a meeting with the human nobility and deliver them this news first, followed by a public announcement as soon the sovereign sends us and the seven major noble human houses in the city a letter stating that Viktor has your complete support as the Lord of Graz."
The forgemaster raised an eyebrow before agreeing, "I shall have my night creatures deliver them in a day's time. I would also like Graz's vampire nobility to help speak with the other counties in the next few days and request them to agree to swear an oath of allegiance as well."
"We will provide our aid."
"The Lord of Graz needs to visit the castle within a week preferably along with the Lords of all other counties to swear their oaths."
Casper hesitated. It was dangerous to go to the castle without a guarantee in place that they would not be harmed in the den of the usurper. However, if the rumour mills from the castle before the battle were true, there was just the thing that he can use as leverage.
"Before we agree to that could you inform us about the fate of forgemaster from Braila?" Casper paused before appending, "Your Highness." That earned him a scowl from Viktor. Casper also noticed the former queen level him a look of warning. So the rumours were true!
"He survived my coup," the new king responded.
"There were rumours that a forgemaster of Dracula's was moving through Italy. I presume that is you, my King. And I know that the forgemaster from Braila is another of Dracula's general. So both of you have been acquainted before meeting again in Styria. Would I be correct?"
The king looked irked and even Viktor looked confused with where he was going with this. Viktor did not always appreciate the usefulness of the courtly gossips he often engaged in. His frequent less than admirable liaisons earned him the disapproval of his commander every once in a while. A straight laced and protocol abiding man like Viktor does not understand the importance of being able to mingle and get information out of people like the maids and guards who can disappear into the background.
"My relationship with Hector is none of your concern, vampire," the king growled out, "will your commander agree to come to my castle or not?!" Interesting the man got defensive as well. Were they friends? Maybe that is how the forgemaster from Braila got off without getting himself killed during the battle in the castle. He might have even aided the new king in the fight against Carmilla if his assumptions were correct.
He held a steady gaze with the human in the mirror before replying, "Well we can't just waltz into your lair without some sort of guarantee that it won't be an ambush. And your word won't suffice."
"What are you suggesting?" the deposed queen finally addressed him while giving an assessing look. And he had an inkling she already figured out where he was going with it.
"If the vampire lords have to congregate at your home then we need someone from your camp here as insurance. I think this Hector would be an appropriate choice for that."
"You want him as your hostage?" the female vampire responded. An undercurrent of anger broke through her words despite her perfect composure. This only served to strengthen his resolve for this demand, and give credibility to what he heard from a vampire handmaiden who was visiting the city from the castle, a few days prior to Carmilla's death. After a night in which he made that woman extremely happy she was quite willing to share the castle gossips. Queen Lenore had taken the new forgemaster as her lover, and that she was unusually protective of him. And she seemed to be seeking his company even without the love making part!
Casper appraised the beautiful vampire before him. "We want him here as our esteemed guest. Just as the new king wants our vampire lords as his. It is only fair. If our vampires have to agree to these terms then send this forgemaster here to Graz," he shifted his gaze from the vampire to the human before adding, "Else this deal is off."
Hector jumped down the raised floor containing the equipment he had been examining. It had been an interesting day so far. He had found that the pipes in the walls contained steam that arose from a tank of boiling water.
"Are you sure you don't know which scrolls are relevant for that mechanism?" Hector asked eyeing the huge numbers of scrolls lined neatly on the walls.
"No master Hector," the vampire replied. He had convinced Isaac to allow him to release any vampire that may be useful for him in the endeavour. And while none who worked on these equipment survived, he had found one that cleaned these work rooms.
"Alright we just have to carry all of them," Hector realized before pausing to examine a glass container, "What is this?"
"Oh this is a lamp, I have seen them operate this a few times, it was something they were trying to build," the vampire moved a tiny piece of equipment into place when a glow emanated from within the glass.
Hector knelt closer to take a look at the source of light within the glass. Curiously it appeared to be like a tiny lightening between two sticks. How fascinating!
"How does this work?"
"I have no idea how this works, but I know they have a rotating thing outside that moves with wind and is connected with this lamp through these ropes," the vampire pointed to a thick rope hanging on the walls.
"We may have to take a look at that later, first take these scrolls to my room and then come back to help me dismantle this." The vampire nodded and collected a handful of scrolls and left.
Hector leaned forward to touch the glass and lifted it off to examine the lightening without any hindrance. As he brought his fingers closer to the source of light a small tendril of the lightening broke free connected with the skin on his finger. The sensation he felt was similar to the one he experienced during forging but much less potent.
As he felt a familiar force surge through his fingers Hector whispered, "Unbelievable, vampires managed to actually capture lightening in a bottle. This is going to change the world."
Lenore was beside herself when she exited the room with the mirror. They had requested for a half an hour to decide upon the request of the vampires from Graz.
"Well we should probably summon Hector to ask him if he agrees with this," the king broke through her tumultuous and ever spiralling thoughts.
"You cannot be seriously considering this proposal!" Lenore growled at her king, breaking decorum for the first time that night. The man to her much chagrin simply raised an eyebrow before responding, "You are the one who suggested that the vampires can be actually talked down instead of going to war. And now that they have you want to back off?"
"So you are going to force Hector to become their hostage?!"
"I am not going to force him to do anything. I shall simply explain the terms of their surrender and stakes in play and let him make the choice. Whatever he chooses, I shall honour."
"He would.. just choose to go down to Graz."
"You know him well then."
"We cannot allow that!"
"My Lady, do you realize that this shall consolidate the entire kingdom in one fell swoop? Unless you can talk those vampires into removing this condition, which I doubt, I shall be proceeding forward with sending Hector to Graz, should he agree," condescension was dripping in his voice now but Lenore did not care what he thought of her at the moment.
"He tells me you're his friend. Is this how you treat friends?" That managed to finally elicit an emotion from the man - wrath.
"Do not question my loyalty again vampire. And that was quite the hypocritical statement, considering that is exactly what you did with that slave ring. My friend has a stump in his hand to prove that."
Lenore felt a stab in a place that she was quite sure housed his friend. "That is not the same thing. I was trying to save him. Carmilla would have killed him otherwise," she tried defending.
"Would she now? You could have arranged for some money and a passage out safely if you wanted. Are you saying that a queen of Styria was incapable of even that?" the man was mocking her, "Were you only trying to save him or save your own hide and your sisters as well?"
"..I found a solution that got everyone what they wanted."
"And that is precisely what we are doing now as well. Hector won't be harmed as long as the vampire lords are in the castle. Regardless of what you think, I shall speak with Hector and inform him the situation. You are now dismissed."
Lenore barely noticed how she made her way to her room, her mind in a state of panic and anger. Is this how Hector felt after she put on that ring? No. That was worse. Her actions regardless of her reasons were a betrayal. Rationally she knew Hector being a hostage in Graz was equivalent to him being one Carmilla's court. And unlike last time, they would have leverage of their own. But somehow, for some inexplicable reason she could not even begin to fathom him being a hostage again. That wasn't true, she corrected herself, and the reason wasn't inexplicable. She knew with abject clarity at this instance, no longer able to deny the veracity of her own involuntary reactions of her mind. She loved him. With an intensity of a thousand scorching suns. It was a pity that he had to be put in a position of life threatening danger again, one that was fatefully similar to her own tryst with him in the past for her to admit the truth.
As she entered their room she was pulled back from her realization by the view that awaited her.
"What on earth...," she whispered. The entire room was strewn with large scrolls, several of them laid open and pegged across the corners. Strange metal contraptions and boxes were laid in a neat row on one side of the room. It appeared like almost every inch of the floor was covered with some item and the man of the moment was seated on the bed which like the floor was also covered with open scrolls.
Hector looked up from the scroll he was perusing and grinned sheepishly, "So.. sorry about the room. I was looking up something and got carried away. I had the most fascinating day Lenore."
"So you decided to make our room the junkyard?" she retorted as she gingerly made her way across.
"Well you won't be so bothered by the room once you learn about what I found," Hector smiled, his cerulean eyes sparkled with excitement. She felt herself smiling back despite herself. She also felt herself shiver.
"What happened?" Lenore asked as she sat down on the bed after adjusting some scrolls. Hector began explaining something about some 'lightening' and something about the 'wind', but she was no longer paying attention. Her thoughts once again were plagued by what was imminent. Perhaps she ought to tell him she loved him now. What if she did not get another chance? She immediately shut down that paranoid part of her mind at once. She was also afraid that Hector might question her distress the way that the other man did. How was it any different from what you did with the ring?
She tried her damnedest to try and listen to what Hector was clearly excited to share. But her shame, her anger, her helplessness and her love seemingly decided to crucify her on the cross of her own making this very instant.
"Hector..," she murmured as she clenched his hand and halting him in his speech, "Will you do something for me?"
"What is it Lenore?" he asked looking perplexed.
"Isaac is going to ask something of you and I want you to refuse."
"What is he going to ask?"
"Will you please just.. refuse," Lenore implored. Hector gave her an intense look, clearly trying to decipher the meaning behind her statement.
"Alright," he gave in after a moment, probably unnerved by her state of agitation. As if on cue, a night creature arrived with summons for Hector from Isaac.
"Will be right along with you," he informed the night creature as he got down from the bed before addressing Lenore, "Whatever it is. It shall be fine Lenore." She nodded at him as he departed from the room.
Her anxiety increased with every second she spent alone in the room, made worse by the fact that she couldn't pace around to calm herself with all these scrolls lying around. Shortly a second summon arrived for her from Isaac. As she entered the council chamber she was greeted by the sight of Hector, Isaac, and minister Goldbrass along with a few night creatures waiting for her in the room.
"Lady Lenore," the kingly bastard addressed her first, his eyes meeting hers in a challenge, "So Hector has agreed to go to Graz."
"He did? But you promised me that you won't," she stated accusatorily at Hector as she sat down next to him.
Hector fidgeted a little, "First of all I did not promise anything. And second you did not tell me what it was about. So it wasn't fair."
"But Hector this could be dangerous."
"So is going to war with the vampires of the country when we can have peace," Hector paused, now looking steady and determined as he corded the fingers of her hand with his own before continuing, "And this is what I what to do Lenore."
Lenore locked eyes with him before relenting and dropping her gaze, "Fine.. Do what you wish."
Isaac cleared his throat, "Now that we have settled the lovers' squabble, how about we get to the more important matters of the state." That earned a dirty look from Hector and Lenore settled for an internal eye roll.
"I have already informed Graz that we agree to their condition. We now need to work out the logistics of their entire operation. I don't entirely trust them so I have set up night creatures and some humans from the merchant's retinue to watch all of the lords of the counties, Graz especially."
Lenore nodded and pitched in, "We also need to list out how many vampires are allowed to visit as part of a lord's retinue and since you wish to have human representatives, probably the humans ought to send in a similar number as well. We could send a messenger to all the counties stating that they select human representatives from the noble houses. We also have to arrange a neutral location in which we have to do the exchange." She glanced at Hector once again with a touch of accusation.
Hector in turn tightened his grip on her hand, "We have much to do. Let's get on with it then."
Lenore woke up early on the seventh day since she had contacted Graz. The entire castle was in frenzy like a beehive whose lost queen had just returned. Today was the day they were expecting the visitors from the different counties. The lord and lieutenant of Graz were very useful in making sure all the vampire lords agreed to the terms. The human population's reaction in the country so far had been somewhere between jubilant to passive upon hearing the news of Isaac's reign. But they enthusiastically selected a representative for their cause to be sent to the castle. Weiz had even selected a commoner who was the leader of the resistance as their representative. Minister Mace had arrived with the resistance leader as well as Weiz's vampire lord two days ago after he successfully talked down the standoff in the city with the help of Lord Viktor.
Both humans and vampires would be sitting at the same table discussing as equals very soon. Her satisfaction at that would have been untainted had it not been for the fact that Hector was leaving the castle for a foreseeable future today. By the time she had bathed and dressed, Hector was up and ready as well. They walked in silence with their hands conjoined to the castle entrance. It was still a few hours before dawn but the full moon cast the castle and the entire mountainside in a bright light, illuminating everything in sight.
"You do have the distance mirror that Isaac gave you, don't you?" she asked to make sure their line of communication was being carried.
"I have packed it along with my hammer," Hector replied signalling to the night creature atop a tower. The creature unfurled its scaly wings, before gliding using the wind draft to reach them. Minister Mace had already left for the exchange site which was a few hours away from the castle by horse along with a small army of night creatures. The man was to meet up with the garrison of Graz and set up the exchange as Hector would then fly in from the castle. The vampires would be received at the castle at the same time Hector would leave with Graz's military. All of this was to be co-ordinated through distance mirrors.
"Please be safe Hector. And..," she hesitated, she longed to tell him that she loved him, however such a pronouncement at this juncture felt like a permanent goodbye. No! she would see him again and she would tell him then. Her declaration can wait.
"And?" Hector questioned.
"And.. I realized I never truly apologised for the ring incident."
"Yes you did," Hector stated, mildly confused.
"I mean.. yes I did. But I never truly apologized for the reason why I was wrong. I was trying to save you. But I also should have given you the choice. Like Isaac did. I only recently realized that was my vilest fault in the incident. That I did not consider what you want and instead went about doing what you need. The former, apparently contrary to the popular notion, sometimes is more important in a partnership."
"Is that what this is, a partnership?" Hector quirked his lips in amusement.
"I am being serious here!" Lenore scowled, "And yes it is. But more importantly I am truly sorry for taking that choice away from you last time and I promise that it would never happen again."
Hector pulled her closer and leaned down to touch her forehead with his, "Apology accepted Lenore." He proceeded to wrap his hands around her and hold her gently at the small of her back, "You know,.. I just realised you actually complimented Isaac."
"No I didn't," she pouted.
"Oh, yes you did. You even used his name without any demeaning moniker this time."
Lenore pulled her head back to stare at Hector in annoyance, "Fine I did. But if you ever tell him that I shall categorically deny it. And that will be the hill I shall die on." Hector laughed and glanced at the night creature that was shifting around restlessly next to them. It was time.
"Hector," Lenore murmured, "I am worried."
"I shall be fine Lenore."
"It's not just that,.. I am not sure… how I am going to handle all these vampires and humans at the castle at the same time and get them to agree on anything." Lenore felt a shroud of insecurity settle on her.
Hector reached out tuck a stray strand of hair behind her ears before pulling her in for a kiss that emptied her mind of all thoughts except the sky, the wind, the moon, and him.
He pulled back to whisper, "You're stronger than the weight of the world. Remember that Lenore."
As she watched him fly over the mountains into the valley, Lenore felt a welcome calm settle over her. She stood there for an hour waiting for the vampires and humans to arrive when she finally spotted a long line of caravans and horses heading towards her at a distance. She once again sensed her apprehensions rise as they drew nearer. She took a deep breath and shrugged herself remembering:
She was stronger than the weight of the world.
NOTE:
I know that there has been a bit of a delay in posting this chapter. Do consider this extra long chapter as an apology. Also, if you liked this story so far, do check out my oneshot "If Only I Could Talk" which is also set within the same universe as this story.
As you can see this chapter touched numerous characters and just as many plot points. Hopefully I was able to weave them well enough to be an enjoyable read at the least.
After 30k+ words on this couple in total from all the stuff I've written so far, I finally had them kiss in my work. I hope it was worth the wait.
I would love to receive some comments/criticisms for this chapter, things you wants to see and things that you think may happen.
Thank you so much for reading!