A/N: This chapter is another one that is NSFW. Sex ahead.
Chapter Twenty-Three
The following morning saw Ovelia outfitted in her new Squire uniform.
"I have a headwrap for you, rather than a headband," Agrias explained. "Your long hair is quite unusual; I thought we had best cover it up while we travel."
"I do not think that will be enough," Ovelia said. "If we are stopped by soldiers looking for me, they may very well pull back the headwrap."
"I do not plan to take us anywhere we might be stopped by such men. We shall travel as we did with Ramza, and stay away from the main roads," Agrias replied.
The princess (no, queen, Agrias reminded herself again) brought out the dagger Agrias had gifted her in Zeltennia.
"Regardless. Cut it short," Ovelia ordered staunchly. "Right about to here, I think."
Ovelia indicated a length that would fall just an inch or two below her ears. It would be as short as Monks typically wore their hair, if Agrias complied.
"No! Surely not, my lady!" the Holy Knight exclaimed.
"Do it, Agrias! I do not mind at all. In fact, Delita was rather fond of my long hair. I shall relish the loss of it."
Agrias hated to admit having any single thing in common with Delita, but the truth was that she was rather fond of Ovelia's long hair, as well. Still, it made the girl quite recognizable. Only the nobility ever really bothered to let their hair grow longer than mid-back length. Super long hair was a hassle for women who spent their days doing chores, or working as soldiers.
Agrias herself was an outlier, wearing her own hair uncommonly long, for a knight. It was the one bit of prettiness she allowed herself, as even from her childhood, people had often commented on the loveliness of her thick, bright blonde braid. She certainly would not be cutting her own hair now, though she would wear a headwrap until they were safely out of Ivalice, since last night Delita had plainly told her that her hair made her recognizable.
Agrias flinched as she took the knife to Ovelia's braid. She ended up making the cut about six inches lower than Ovelia had indicated, so the girl's hair now swished just below the level of her shoulders.
Ovelia ran her fingers through it. "My! It feels so different now! But, still, it is longer than I asked, Agrias! Mayhap you should make another cut."
"No… please. That is as short as any other Squire's hair, truly. Please, let us leave it like that, my lady."
Ovelia rolled her eyes. "No more calling me 'my lady'! I am a Squire now, remember? Not your princess, any longer."
Ovelia's expression softened, seeing how pained Agrias looked at the idea of cutting her hair even shorter. "All right," she relented, "I suppose this length will suit me, for now."
They began their march east-ward, with everyone in rather good spirits. They were pleased to finally be leaving Lesalia, having succeeded in their mission.
They even traveled a respectable number of miles during their marching that sunny day. Agrias, Lavian, Alicia, Balthier, and Wulfhilda were all still in excellent physical shape from their time in Ramza's group. Ovelia did her best to keep up, but during the few occasions when she could not go on, Construct 8 carried her in his arm again. Agrias assured Ovelia that she would quickly grow stronger and adjust to the extensive daily marching.
Eventually, Agrias admitted to the others that she had fought with Delita in order to earn her freedom from the city. Her friends laughed about the garbage can, while Ovelia seemed to plainly not believe the tale at first.
"I hope you are not upset," Agrias said to Ovelia, "I left him alive, I swear it! I did not wish to fight with him at all, but I saw no alternative after he chased me."
Ovelia shook her head slightly, her eyes downcast.
Agrias figured that might be all she was going to get, as far as a response. Ovelia often opted for silence when she felt conflicted about a subject. Agrias knew better than to push for an answer, if Ovelia was not ready to give one.
The day passed quickly, as they all marched and went over their plans for the next few weeks.
Balthier had agreed to see them safely to at least the Ordallian border. However, he was not yet sure if he would follow them into Ordallia. He claimed he still had business in Ivalice, though he would not explain what that business was, no matter how much Alicia and Agrias prodded him to talk about it.
Wulfhilda had implied that she might go along with Balthier, if he chose to stay in Ivalice. She still did not seem to like the idea of settling down in a permanent home somewhere in Ordallia.
Alicia and Lavian claimed they would both come along to re-join Ramza and the others, for now. Lavian said she missed Malak. Neither woman was certain whether they wished to live with the rest of the crew forever, but they thought it might be fun to see what sort of home the others had created.
Agrias rather felt the same way. She wanted to establish a stable home for Ovelia, but she was not certain whether that home would be with Ramza and the rest, or if they would eventually find somewhere else to settle, after assuring Ramza they were safe. She figured they would play that by ear, after first finding the others.
Ovelia could not hide the fact that she was pleased the traveling was over, when it was time to set up camp for the night.
She had made a valiant effort to march as much as she was capable, only relying on Construct 8 to carry her when she was utterly unable to take another step. She wanted to build her stamina up fast; she did not like feeling as if she was the weak link in the group… But the soldier's boots chafed at her soft skin, and she knew she must be covered in blisters even before she took the boots off for the night. She was in agony, but she did not wish to say so, since the others marched so stoically.
The damage was worse than she had suspected. The backs of her ankles and the tops of her toes were raw and bleeding, and her feet looked rather swollen.
She would have tried to quietly cast Cure on herself without anyone else noticing, if she had that kind of privacy. But Agrias and Lavian both spotted her taking her stockings off, and made a fuss over her injuries, before dosing her with potions.
It was embarrassing to Ovelia. The others were completely fine! They did not even seem slightly uncomfortable, and they had all marched more than she had today!
Ovelia was happy to be alone in the tent with Agrias again that night. The rest of her life felt frightening and unsteady right now, but Agrias lying near to her was perfectly familiar. When it was just the two of them, she could forget all that they had risked, stop worrying about what Delita must surely be plotting now… She could just pretend that they were back at Orbonne, in their old tiny monastery beds, and Agrias was on-duty guarding her tonight.
And mayhap that sense of familiarity would finally give her the sort of courage she had lacked during those days.
"Agrias?" Ovelia whispered.
"What? Hmm?" Agrias said sleepily.
"I… um, well… I, um," Ovelia stuttered.
Agrias had been close to drifting off, but now she popped into full wakefulness. Ovelia saying 'um' was passing strange, indeed. The girl had been taught long ago that royalty did not say 'um' or 'uh'.
"Is something wrong?" Agrias asked.
"Ugh!" Ovelia finally exclaimed. "I swore so many times that if I ever saw you again, I would speak the truth! And yet, here we are, and it has been almost two whole nights…" Ovelia rolled over and leaned above Agrias, pressing a hand to the ground on either side of her surprised face as she met her eye. "I feel more than friendship for you, Agrias! And I… I always have, and I have never known whether you feel the same, and—"
Agrias grabbed Ovelia's face and pulled her down until her speech was cut off by their lips pressing together.
Thank the gods, Agrias thought desperately, thank the gods this has not changed.
Ovelia whimpered against her. She maneuvered the rest of the way on top of Agrias, sliding her hands into her hair, and Agrias' hands were on Ovelia's waist, her hips, frustrated by the cloth of the nightdress in her way.
Agrias moaned between kisses. "Gods forgive me, but I feel that for you, as well, Ovelia," she admitted.
Mayhap it was wrong, desiring Ovelia like this. She could not find the will to care. Right now, it only mattered that she claimed what she wanted, erased any lingering trace of Delita, leaving only her own self where he should have never been— and Ovelia's lips were so soft over Agrias' own, and how could that possibly be wrong, when it felt like this?
Ovelia's knee was planted between her thighs, and the girl seemed to be undulating on top of her.
Too excited now to even consider taking things slowly, Agrias' nimble fingers found their way up inside the skirt of Ovelia's nightdress, inside Ovelia, where she was hot and welcoming…
Arching above her, the princess moaned (and wouldn't Agrias always think of her as her princess, never the queen, no). Ovelia's breathing was strained, and she began to slowly gyrate her hips, beckoning more from Agrias.
The Holy Knight rubbed Ovelia fervently, feeling all that lovely wetness coating her, and she wanted to bring her hand up to her mouth, to taste Ovelia. Instead, she slid two of her slim fingers up inside the princess, who gasped, her jaw slack now.
Agrias added a third finger. She moved in and out, with Ovelia so very eager for each stroke, and the girl made such sweet noises as her pussy was worked over, and Agrias found herself rolling her own hips, moving in the same rhythm against Ovelia's thigh where it was braced between her own legs, but it wasn't enough, it wasn't nearly enough yet—
"Agrias…" Ovelia moaned. The princess' arms had grown too tired, propped above Agrias like that. Still remaining on her knees, with Agrias' fingers deep inside her, Ovelia had allowed her upper body to fall until her chin rested by Agrias' ear.
"Do you wish for me to stop?" Agrias asked, surprised to hear her own voice coming out so high and breathy.
"Gods, no," Ovelia said. "Please, gods, do not stop, Agrias."
Ovelia repeated her name over again, more breathless each time, until Agrias' insistent touch made her spasm hard. She slumped on top of the Holy Knight as she climaxed upon her fingers, in a release she seemed to quite badly need.
"Yes, Ovelia, that's right," Agrias murmured in her ear. "By the gods, you are so sweet... I… Here, roll over."
Ovelia limply did as asked, and as soon as she was on her back, Agrias eagerly pushed her lover's nightgown up her body.
The many times she had seen Ovelia naked in the bath, Agrias had tried her best not to really look. She had felt it would be wrong to intentionally do so. Still, she knew the shape of Ovelia's creamy curves, knew that Ovelia's bosom was a fair bit fuller than her own, that the girl's hips were enticingly rounded.
What she did not know was exactly how much she would enjoy the feeling of the princess' breasts overflowing her grasping hands, while her mouth greedily lapped and sucked at one dusky-colored nipple.
To have the princess naked like this, beneath her… happily arching into her touch, wanting more and more of her…
Surely, she would wake up soon, to find this only a frustrating dream. She was so pleased, and yet she still ached so much. She wanted release for herself, but also was not ready to stop exploring Ovelia… When she finished playing with the girl's breasts, she moved lower, kissing Ovelia's stomach, sliding her hand between Ovelia's legs and down into the warm slit, still soaked from her previous attentions.
"Wait, stop, Agrias," Ovelia suddenly said. "I never liked it, when Delita did that with his mouth."
Agrias felt a bit affronted. "I would bet that I can do a better job than Delita," she said.
"It is not that, I know… I want…" Ovelia hesitated. "You roll over now. Please. Take off your nightdress! I want to do it to you."
"Oh…. Um. Are you certain?"
"Roll over, Agrias!" the princess huffed.
Agrias did so. Ovelia's touch on her body was less confident, but no less eager. She leaned over Agrias, and again pressed her lips onto hers.
When she broke their kiss, Ovelia whispered, "I used to think about you, like this, all of the time, when we were at Orbonne. Sometimes, I thought that maybe you had such feelings for me, as well… I was never certain, but I always hoped."
The princess scooted down until her face was level with Agrias' thighs. She pressed a light kiss onto the dark blonde hair at her cleft. "Did you ever think about our kiss at Lionel, afterward?" Ovelia asked.
"Too often, yes. Of course, I did," Agrias panted.
"I thought about it every day... I thought about you all the time, Agrias." Ovelia's soft hands gently pushed Agrias' thighs wider apart. "And now I am truly here with you, and I have everything I wished for," the princess said, as she delicately spread Agrias' folds, and stroked her once with her thumb.
Agrias jerked against Ovelia's touch. And then her whole body trembled as Ovelia dipped her head to slide her tongue along her slit. Agrias could only whimper her pleasure, stunned and ecstatic to be watching Ovelia's face peering up from between her own legs. The princess' mouth slowly teased at her pussy, her lips and tongue working as if she were simply giving Agrias a long, lazy kiss.
She stopped for a moment, shyly asking, "Does that feel right?"
"Yes! Yes, Ovelia…" Agrias moaned.
The princess was both perfect and maddening in her movements. It was gentler than Agrias typically preferred to be touched… and yet, she also found herself driven wild by the unhurried quality of it, by the feeling that Ovelia wished to do things in her own soft way, and it might just take all night.
It was the sweetest torture, and Agrias had to fight not to buck her hips forward. Strands of her loose blonde hair tickled her shoulders as she squirmed. Ovelia smiled a little, lifting her head again to glance up at Agrias' face.
"Please," Agrias gasped, "use your fingers, as well, Ovelia."
Her princess complied, careful not to scratch with her long nails as she slid two fingers inside Agrias. Her teasing mouth still hovered just a few inches above her.
"You feel so tight," Ovelia whispered.
"Ovelia, I need more… I need you…" Agrias cried.
With a little grin on her cat-like face, Ovelia let her tongue return to its stroking of Agrias' aching wet flesh, and quite soon the Holy Knight was deliciously broken apart by the diligent work of her princess' tongue and fingers.
"I enjoyed that very much," Ovelia said after, as she curled up against her.
While Agrias was still trying to wrap her mind around the whole encounter, Ovelia was running her hand through Agrias' long, unbound hair, as well as once or twice affectionately over the small, high swell of her breast.
"I think… mayhap, you are not yet satisfied," Agrias growled. She turned on her side, once again sliding her fingers between Ovelia's soft, welcoming thighs.
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The following morning, Agrias spent some time wondering about the amused grin that would not seem to leave Lavian's face as they began their marching for the day. Or, specifically, how Lavian looked like she was fighting back giggles every time she glanced her way…
Oh, by the gods! Lavian was awake on watch duty for the first third of the night! Agrias suddenly remembered. She must have heard everything Ovelia and I… You KNOW those tent flaps do not block noise… Aggghhhhh… All right… Oh well... Worth it.
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Besrodio was slowly leading their work crew deeper into the formerly-abandoned Oxylos Mine. Mustadio looked behind him once again, making sure that Malak, Rad, and Alma were keeping up, and not getting distracted by any of the strange shapes half-buried here and there.
Mustadio and Besrodio had already been inside this mine several times already, before they even made the purchase of the property. They had checked that the wooden timbers providing structural support looked sound, and verified that there were indeed several large Constructs waiting to be excavated out of here.
Last week, Mustadio had accompanied Ramza and Meliadoul down into the mine, to show them the specific tunnel where a surly group of Bonesnatches had made their home. Ramza and Meliadoul had used their swords to "kill" the skeletons, before they dragged the carcasses out and dropped them off far away from their property, knowing that eventually the Bonesnatches would re-animate themselves.
Mustadio always carried his new revolver into the mine, as it was possible that he would need to defend himself if he encountered more monsters hiding in here. Still, it was not ideal to shoot a gun in an enclosed space like this. There was so much that could go wrong, and put them all in further peril. It made more sense to enlist sword-wielders to kill monsters in mines, when it was possible to do so. Plus, Ramza and Meliadoul had enjoyed the chance to look around.
At this point, Mustadio was feeling well-acquainted with Oxylos Mine. However, for Mustadio's new assistants, this was their first visit into the depths. Malak was showing enthusiasm about the mine and its contents, but Rad seemed a bit nervous to be so far underground.
Whether he was nervous or not, Mustadio figured that it was good for Rad to have the distraction of starting a new job. The auburn-haired squire still retreated into sulking moods whenever there was nothing important going on. He obviously missed Luso. Ramza and most of the others were oblivious, but Mustadio knew that Luso had been more than just a friend to Rad. The squire claimed he was doing all right now, but he appeared to still be mourning Luso's choice to leave him.
Meanwhile, as they continued to descend deeper under the ground, Alma showed virtually no emotion at all, as if they were doing nothing more than strolling through a boring meadow.
Mustadio was a bit surprised that Alma had volunteered to help in the mine, rather than opting to help with the construction of their new house. He had begun to believe that Alma would rather choose any job that kept her away from him.
He had wanted to say so much to Alma Beoulve, after she showed them the way to escape from Hell. And he wanted to hear that she was all right, that she did not despise him, and she did not blame him for her abduction.
Mustadio wanted her to be the same person he remembered; that lively girl who had jumped with glee whenever she hit her target during shooting practice.
He was out of luck on all counts. After she confidently guided them to a different portal out of the underworld, Alma had simply stopped talking. And she didn't want to hear Mustadio's apologies. He knew that she wasn't really talking to anyone else, either, but the fact that she was ignoring him still made Mustadio believe that she must hate him. They had used to talk so much to each other, before…
He figured he deserved it. Why had he left her there looking after Elder Simon, with no weapon to defend herself? He knew that Ramza thought of Alma as someone who simply couldn't fight, and that was why Ramza had felt no qualms about it, at the time. But Mustadio had known better. He had known that Alma could hold her own, with a gun. Why hadn't he just given her his spare pistol back then?
He supposed the damage was done. Alma would probably never speak to him again, even if she did start opening up to the others, eventually.
She wouldn't even give him the chance to say he was sorry! She had walked away from him the last time he tried.
Besrodio had stopped beside a smooth curve of metal, just barely peeking out of a rock wall. He began to show the others how they used their hand tools during a job like this, and he asked Mustadio to also begin demonstrating further down the tunnel. This one spot was a bit crowded for five people to occupy.
Locating a different massive piece of buried machinery, Mustadio rolled out his tool belt on the ground. He was surprised to find that Alma, as well as Rad, had followed him instead of staying with Besrodio.
They were starting small, with the lessons for the others. Carefully utilized explosives and other such methods would be explored in later days. For now, Mustadio spent a while explaining each of his hand tools and their various purposes, before he began to chip away at some of the black rock.
It made him exceedingly nervous to know that Alma was behind him. His hands were shaking a little, and he kept clumsily dropping his tools as he switched between them.
Goddammit! Mustadio thought to himself. I've been doing this job for a decade, but anyone watching would think this was my first day!
He felt thoroughly embarrassed by the time he finished his demonstration, and handed some tools to Alma and Rad so they could take a turn practicing. He collected himself a little, as they set to work.
His trainees were following his example nicely. Though they were dropping the tools a lot less often than he had.
Mustadio inhaled some rock dust, sneezed loudly, and then remembered to pull his bandana up over his mouth and nose. He wondered if Alma would really stick around longer than a single day, down here. Mustadio loved discovering new things in mines, but it was definitely dirty, sweaty work. Alma was accustomed to the clean, comfortable life of a noblewoman (mayhap except for the time she had spent as Vormav's prisoner… he had no idea how that time had been for her, since she wouldn't talk to him). He wasn't sure if Alma would take to mining the way he himself had, when his father had first introduced him to the job around age nine.
Once more, Mustadio shyly noticed how cute Alma looked in her thick work boots and baggy brown trousers. He had never seen her in anything other than skirts before. She looked tough, right now, with her honey-colored hair bound back and her heavy boots on, chipping away at the rock.
He hoped she would at least begin to speak to him for simple work purposes. It would be hard to get by as coworkers if they didn't talk to each other at all.
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