Summary: Enterprise is invited by her girlfriend Belfast to the Royal Capital as the annual Barbequeen event is kicking off. Belfast expresses dislike toward this annual thing but since the queen is so fond of it, she swallows her dislike and hosts it dutifully.
Since this is the first year that Enterprise and she are together and with it being the start of summer, she figures that inviting Enterprise will make things more tolerable for her. Little does she know that Enterprise harbors her own sour dislike that runs deep.
[Azur Summer: The Royal Barbequeen]
"Enterprise, Summer is coming, and I think it's time you and I take our next step in our relationship."
Enterprise had been adding new stamps into a scrapbook of hers when Belfast had snuck up behind her and covered her eyes with her hands.
"Oh, and what that might be?" Enterprise tilted her head, and half attempted to remove the hands from her face by shaking her head.
Belfast smiled softly and continued to hold onto her girlfriend's head. She found this to be a pleasant ice breaker for the proposition she was about to say. "It's time that I officially introduce you to Her Majesty and the others as my girlfriend."
Enterprise stiffened and let out an awe sound to how determined and steadfast Belfast sounded. Looks like adding in the new stamps she received from Yorktown and her travels would have to wait.
Days flew by and the coming days of summer's sweltering embrace were finally here. After a long journey to the Royal Capital, they had finally touched down via airplane. In thinking it over, it probably sounded hilarious for shipgirls, especially one that was a carrier to be traveling through the skies using the methods of commercial air travel. But then again, they were more than just ships and were not restricted to merely sea travel.
It felt no different than walking, bicycling, driving, or even swimming as they were capable of all that because of their human nature. On an unrelated note, it would have seemed that Belfast had a fear of air travel as she had not let go of Enterprise's hand during the whole ride.
The two shipgirls retrieved their luggage and were now standing outside of the airport, braving the blistering heat that promised a heated summer.
"Gosh, I would have thought that the Royal Capital would have a cooler air than this," mumbled the carrier while shielding herself from the sun with a blue cap she donned.
"What made you think that?" Inquired her girlfriend who had a beige sun hat that didn't diminish her elegance and grace. The color finally started to return to the maid's face, and she was happy to take in fresh air despite the heat that kissed her face.
Enterprise quickly grew red and scratched her cheek. "N-Nothing in particular."
Belfast made a face and then gave her girlfriend a playful look, tapping her on the nose with her finger in the process. "Come on, you're a terrible liar, Ent-Ent."
The carrier sighed defeatedly and rubbed the back of her hot and sweaty neck. "Well, I imagined the Royal Captial to be foggier and have that mysterious air to it."
Belfast sighed softly and beamed at her girlfriend without any hints of being upset. "If only. Summertime is a behemoth of a heatwave... made more aggravating by the dreadful B." She looked away, and an indifferent gaze was hidden under the shadow of her hat.
Enterprise paused and tilted her head noticeably. "The what?!"
Belfast evaded the question and hooked her arms around the neck of Enterprise. It was her blue eyes that peered into her girlfriend's violet eyes, and calm washed over the Eagle Union carrier. "Let's not worry about that right now, Enterprise. We've been together for six months, and in those six months, I've been happy... truly happy to be by your side as your significant other. As your girlfriend."
The white-haired woman could tell that the royal was leading her to something with those words that instilled love and devotion if only to throw her off the main issue. However, she pushed those hints of warnings she felt away and responded to her girlfriend with the feelings in her heart. "I've been happy too, like genuinely happy. You make me feel like I'm walking on air," she said with a humorous tone. Those were relatable and appealing words for any carrier, especially coming from a carrier who took to the skies via her planes.
The royal tried to suppress a laugh that failed. "Pfft, I see you're trying to make light of the mood but please listen. This is important." Her tone grew urgent, and her eyes reflected that tone, making Enterprise get serious while nodding.
Once Belfast knew she had the carrier's full attention, she continued. "I know I told you back home I wanted you to be formally introduced to Her Majesty as my girlfriend, but there's more to just me wanting to show you off to all the others. You being here is a happy bonus that will keep me... I hope, centered." She spoke those words with her smile waning in uncertainty for herself.
"Okay, you have officially lost me," said Enterprise.
Belfast tried to resummon her confidence, along with her smile, but that proved to be a difficult task, especially since the scorching heat of the sun wasn't helping her in the slightest. "Just please tell me that you'll bare through my issues that will arise on this trip."
One glance into Belfast's eyes was enough motivation to keep that promise, and mere words weren't needed due to the trust and love they shared. "You're being weirdly cryptic, but there is nothing that's going to change the way I see you. For better or worse, you are my Bel, and I'm your Ent-Ent."
The maid released a jovial sound through her breath, and she tightly hugged the woman she loved. "Thank you, darling!" They kiss and then hailed a cab to reach the Royal Palace; the place they would be staying for the duration of their stay in the capital.
Time advanced and Enterprise was wearing a crossover sundress, with it having black straps and a black top, and the bottom part taking on the form of a long white skirt. Her girlfriend also insisted that she borrow her sun hat that complemented the outfit of the carrier. The archer had no reason to refuse, and the heat of this new day felt more brutal than the day before when they had arrived at the capital.
There was one reason she could refuse, and that was the fact that her girlfriend was wearing her maid outfit during this heat. She urged the maid to wear something more fitting for the climate, but Belfast adamantly stated that this outfit was essential for carrying out her duty. She could see the head maid sweating up a storm, and it didn't help that the wide grill she stood next to was being prepared by Sheffield and Edinburgh.
The place they were in was the royal garden within the palace walls of the queen's home. This was the desired place that the queen wanted those she selected to be housed in during this hot day. The garden was a modest square land of lush greenery and flowers with bushes in the corners.
There stood a tall tree to the right of some stone steps that went up to some double doors that led back into the royal palace. Under that said tree, two standing round tables resided that would be used for the guests to eat when the food was ready. Aside from those two tables, six more tables were scattered throughout the garden—two tables on each corner to be precise.
At the center of the garden, a roof tent was the only source of shade, minus the inclusion of the tree from earlier, and the grill stood slightly outside the protective shade of it.
"Well, I didn't expect to see you here, Enterprise," said a playful voice behind Enterprise as she now stood underneath the roof tent that had been set up by the royal maid named Sirius.
The carrier didn't need to turn to match that voice with a mental picture she had in her mind, but she did it out of courtesy toward the woman and her romantic partner, who approached her with arms linked. "Eugen and Wales. Quite the advanced move to be presenting yourself together in front of Queen Elizabeth and all the others."
Both the heavy cruiser and battleship were dressed in summer-esque attire with Wales donning white shorts, and a red-orange Hawaiian beach shirt, even though they weren't at the beach. Her shirt was knotted at the bottom, too.
Eugen wore a black sleeveless rocker tank top and ripped jeans that had severely caused some of the royal maid ships to look her way. She was going for a punkish rocker without a cause, and it worked well in stirring comments among the maids. Now, whether those looks and comments invoked the agreement of alluring dress appeal or were intended to convey borderline rubbish tastes was for that particular shipgirl to decide.
Wales giggled and raised her hand to show the promise band she had been given by her now fiancée. "It was inevitable, Miss Enterprise. Need I remind you...?"
The carrier laughed lightly as if her saying no to the reminder would have stopped the battleship. "You're both full of advanced moves. Belfast did drop it casually that you proposed to her, Eugen."
Eugen didn't hide her love and wrapped a loving arm around her fiancée's waist. "With dangerous mission after dangerous mission, it starts to get to you as you realize that if you die here, then you will be dying with all your regrets. Life is short as the saying goes."
The blonde meekly smiled, expressing a crimson blush as she tried her best to hide it. "I love you darling but let's not fill our heads with negatives of grim possibilities. As your wife, I'll be making sure nothing fatal comes your way."
"That might be hard as I'm a magnet that attracts danger. Besides, I'll be the one protecting you."
Enterprise nodded silently and expressed the best of wishes for them. "I'm happy for the both of you."
"Appreciate the words, Miss Enterprise. But when are you going to pop the question to Belfast? I'm sure she wakes up telling herself that today is the day and immediately resigns herself to it not being so."
Enterprise suddenly stiffened and her eyes danced with hesitation.
The Iron Blood then coughed and grabbed the royal's attention. "Wales, Let's not tease them—pfft, I can't believe I'm the one saying that. They've only been going out for half a year."
"Bel and I are going at our own pace. We already share a home and are always together, so it doesn't feel like we're missing out on much," truthfully and blissfully stated the carrier.
Wales then did the unexpected and grabbed the archer by her shoulders, donning an incredibly upset look. "How simple-minded! It's a whole different ball game when you are married."
"Darling... you're making a scene," said the heavy cruiser, seeing Edinburgh, Sheffield, Sirius, Dido, and Belfast glancing at them with curious looks.
The blonde sheepishly released the carrier and tried to salvage whatever air of elegance she had. "Hehe, sorry."
"Everyone! We just got the grill working and the food will be served soon!" Happily resounded Belfast's older sister, Edinburgh. Among the guests, which was about three so far, and maids, Belfast's mood lowered ever so slightly when she heard what her sister said.
Enterprise grabbed a cup of water from the table under the shade of the roof tent and noticed a sculpture of what appeared to be some fat angel child, or maybe it was a cupid. Regardless, her eyes lasered on the fingers. It donned on her how none had brought an ice chest for the drinks, and she took matters into her own hands. With all the subtlety she could muster, she reached toward the icy fingers and snapped one off, and threw it into her cup of water.
Before uniting her lips to her now colder drink, she paused and saw Wales give her a vacant stare, while Eugen had been grinning ear to ear.
She remained undiminished in her action and stared back at the royal blonde. "Whatever reasons Elizabeth had for having this on display, it's going to be nearly melted within the hour. How else was I able to snap a finger so easily?"
"Well, you have me sold. I rather not drink hot water, unless they provide me with lemon for it," casually remarked the silver-haired cruiser.
Enterprise tensed up from what she heard yet only for a second without no one noticing the troubled look that flashed across her eyes.
Once Eugen took a page from the carrier and snapped a finger, she graciously snapped another to place it in her fiancée's drink.
"Thank you," was all the blonde said with a shy and genuine smile. She couldn't get mad as she rejected the notion of drinking something warm during this summer heat.
All three stood silent, eyes closed, and enjoying their refreshing drink brought upon Enterprise's idea even though it might have been a tactless one.
The archer was then the first to speak. "Got to say, I didn't expect a barbecue at the royal palace of all places. I don't even feel like eating something hot with all this heat."
Wales flashed her a raised eyebrow, she then glanced at Belfast in the corner of her eye as she worked on the wide grill with the other maids. "Oh? Our annual barbecue is a tradition in the royal family and Her Majesty would only neglect it if something world-ending was happening. Last year it was raining, and she still carried the order to host it on the first official day of summer."
"This is an annual thing?" Asked Enterprise with a suddenly confused face.
"Did Belfast not tell you?" Asked Wales, hardly expressing surprise but still showing somewhat of a concerned face.
"She was a bit cryptic about it all," said Enterprise truthfully.
"Oh, I see. Then she didn't tell you that she hosts the annual Barbequeen event—coined by Her Majesty—every year as her duty as the head maid."
Enterprise tried not to show any visible form of upset or discontent as her girlfriend would have had valid reasons for not telling her. Of course, she now felt more curious than ever. "No, she left that all out. I honestly arrived under the impression that she merely wanted me to be officially introduced to Elizabeth as her girlfriend. It was only once we arrived that she hinted at something more."
Wales looked like a kid eagerly sitting on the latest rumor about an up-and-coming toy that all her friends wanted, yet the older side within her, plus a look from Eugen, caused her to fold in what she wanted to say. "Ahem, best that you get the full story from her then. I wouldn't want to pour out one of her guarded secrets even if it's to her girlfriend."
Enterprise now looked beyond curious, and she desired to get to the bottom of this. "All right"
A few minutes went by, and Sirius and Dido suddenly brought an ice chest full of cold water bottles, which now made Enterprise feel more guilty for snapping the ice fingers not even half an hour ago. She played it cool when Dido horrifyingly noticed the missing fingers from the ice sculpture and the carrier knew that it was her time to find another spot to loiter around. She was out of the protective shadow of the roof tent now. The sun beamed down on her, and she could feel herself sweating more.
She then walked over to Belfast and saw her overseeing the other maids cooking up various meats. All the while, Belfast seemed to have an agitated almost pissed-off look to her. Of course, she hid it well with a lowered head that her bangs helped hide to the point where you couldn't see the storm in her eyes, but Enterprise knew her when she got like that.
The sweat down her neck was noticeable, making the carrier frown given the fact that she had been out in the blistering heat this whole time.
Enterprise knew what she needed to do and made her way back to the newly added ice chest. Arriving back at her lover, she stood behind her and raised a cold water bottle. "Hey, in weather like this you shouldn't forget to stay hydrated, especially when wearing your maid dress." She then pressed the cold water bottle against her girlfriend's hot neck, causing the maid to break out of the moody spell she had been in.
Belfast gasped with an added quick moan as she pivoted quickly around. "Enterprise!" The light in her eyes returned and she was genuinely smiling for the briefest of seconds until Edinburgh screamed in fright when the fire from her side of the grill got a little too excited. The moody and void-filled gaze returned as she cocked her head to the side.
Yep, something was going on with her girlfriend, and Enterprise decided on playing it cool. "Ahem, I think it's great that you work so dutifully for this yummy barbecue..."
She immediately got a sharp dagger stare from her girlfriend that made the carrier go pale all over. "W-Was that not a compliment?"
The moment had passed, and Belfast looked away regrettably. Her remorseful face was further emphasized by her shaking of the head and rubbing the bridge of her nose. "I'm sorry. I didn't expect that from you at the moment when my emotions were already so high. The thing is there is nothing yummy about this barbecue," she whispered quietly to the carrier out of fear that the wrong person might hear.
Enterprise still stunned, nodded slowly and soon found her words once again. "I heard from Wales that you do this annually. Why didn't you tell me?"
"She told you!?" Her voice spiked causing Edinburgh and Sheffield to look up from the grill. Even Sirius and Dido glanced at the head maid with concern from within the roof tent.
Wales, who was still in the roof tent with Eugen, suddenly felt a pair of intense eyes on her, and she nervously turned around to smile.
Belfast stopped staring at the blonde and sighed as she returned her attention to Enterprise. "What else did she say? She didn't mention anything about the barbecue, did she?"
"All she said was that you hosted this. What's wrong with the barbecue?"
Belfast puffed her cheeks and regained the rare pissed-off moody atmosphere that she never lets herself get to. She rarely ever did show visible disgust or discontent for anything and always used a level-headed mindset for all daily ordeals. It wasn't in no way a turnoff, and deep inside, Enterprise kind of found this side of her girlfriend to be sexy. "Pfft, what isn't wrong with it," added Belfast with crossed arms.
Before Enterprise could inquire more, loud trumpets suddenly sounded out of nowhere. The archer and the others in the garden turned their attention to the stone steps and the double doors that led back into the palace. Those double doors then swung open and out came Queen Elizabeth along with Illustrious and Warspite. They had on summer-fitting attire along with umbrellas to shield them from the sun.
"Hey that's cheating," angrily moaned Wales under her breath, feeling annoyed that she didn't have the thought to bring one herself.
The three royals weren't the only ones that came through those double doors. The next wave of shipgirls had personally made Eugen tense behind Wales as her fiancée's sisters—George, York, Howe, and Monarch came walking through.
Queen Elizabeth stopped halfway down the steps with Illustrious and Warspite while the King George class sisters were still at the top. Her Majesty then cleared her throat very boisterously. "Welcome my fellow servants! To the annual Barbequeen!" Every part of her being was excited, from her energetic voice, and to her expressive hand movements.
"Pfft, sounds like she's the one being barbecued on the grill with that cheesy name," whispered the Iron Blood heavy cruiser to her battleship fiancée, earning her a small chuckle.
Of course, Wales respected her queen and quickly hid her contentment and pretended to give Eugen a frown for her joke. "Be nice," was all she said.
Elizabeth continued her opulent speech that quite frankly, had Enterprise mostly ignoring the continued parts.
Somewhere down the line of the speech, Her Majesty then pointed a finger toward Belfast, making the carrier refocus on the queen's speech. "… I am honored to have you all here in this wonderful barbecue hosted by my delightful head maid, Miss Belfast!"
Belfast smiled, or what looked to be a smile to the untrained eye as Enterprise could tell when her smile was genuine and freed from troubled thoughts or negative emotions.
The queen then made another boisterous sound to bring the others back on her. "Before we begin the festivities, I would like to thank every one of you for joining me as we usher into the summer season. Yes, many couldn't be here—which is very rude!"
Illustrious then cleared her throat and made eye contact with the queen, sending her a disapproving gaze at her current attitude.
The queen changed her demeanor with a laugh. "Haha, what I meant to say is that I'm sure they were planning to be here but were either forced to put duty first or are too far to make it back to the capital on time. Regardless, this is still a great turnout, and you all make me proud, servants! Now, go on and mingle. Have fun with the activities we will have shortly— courtesy of the head maid and the royal maids!"
Wales connected her gaze with her sisters who began to walk down the steps after Her Majesty had finished her speech. They stopped once they reached the queen, and they all made small talk.
"Oh, I'm so happy you all could come—Just as expected of you, well done!" Joyfully stated the queen loudly that could be heard by everyone in the garden.
Eugen didn't quite care for their 'royal' conversation that was probably nothing but empty high and mighty pleasantries. She then felt a firm grasp on her hand that came from Wales, making her uneasy gaze go toward the blonde.
"Eugen, my sisters decided on coming! Maybe this can be our chance to get them to warm up to our relationship more," she said with a hopeful tone.
Eugen frowned, hating to be the one to snuff out the hope in the royal's eyes. "They didn't roll out the red carpet when we last told them we're dating. I'm sure them finding out we're engaged is not going to even out any of that bumpy road."
"Hey, we lose nothing if we try to make them see our love. There is nothing I would want in this world in exchange for my feelings toward you, these feelings that tell me I want to spend the rest of my days with you whether that's here or…"
Eugen made a stinging face and placed a finger on the blonde's lips. "Wales… oh, Wales." She was touched, truly, by her fiancée's devotion yet she couldn't stomach the blonde needing to choose two important things in her life. "We still have plenty of time to figure that out, but let's just enjoy the food and this weather."
"But—!"
"No. Let's just keep doing what we've been doing, feeling it out and whatnot," said Eugen with a grin.
Wales displayed a sour face yet agreed. "Okay, but this whole feeling it out thing is running thin, especially now that we're engaged. A lifespan such as that is between one to three years, and I expect to be walking down that aisle within one year at the most… you got that?"
Eugen nodded and smiled apologetically at the blonde while also finding it attractive how assertive she was being. "I'm all for trying to get chummy with them," she said while looking away with a bashful face.
Wales's smile reignited and kissed the Iron Blood on the cheek. Eugen felt elated from regaining the smile that rightfully belong on the blonde's face but looking at Wales's sisters talking to their queen didn't inspire any kind of motivation. It was then that her fiery eyes landed on the emerald-eyed blonde who secretly smiled at her with a small smirk, causing her to look away.
Queen Elizabeth laughed at something that George said as she wiped a happy tear from her eyes. "Oh, I bet those Sirens were on the run when you did that. Anyway, food will be ready soon and I know that George here can eat her weight and then more."
"Y-Your Majesty, you're embarrassing me," said the ruby-eyed blonde.
Monarch, who had been crossing her arms and feeling somewhat out of place was the one that did a full scan of the shipgirls in the garden. "Now that's an interesting guest to be here."
Her Majesty glanced to where the redhead blueprint ship was looking and saw Enterprise talking with Belfast. They both looked blissfully unaware that various royals were now looking in their direction.
The queen nodded in agreement and was prideful that the Eagle Union's strongest had decided to grace her barbecue event. "Oh, Miss Enterprise. I almost completely forgot that she had been written as Belfast's plus one. Well, the more the merrier on this Barbequeen!"
Illustrious then made her presence known with a soothing voice. "I also see Wales here. Maybe you girls should say hello to your sister?"
"Hmm, it has been a while since we've seen her…" responded George with an uneasy tone to her voice.
"Well, best of luck, and try not to stir up any fights because of her choice of… company," remarked the queen with a cheeky smile.
"Your Majesty…" responded Illustrious in a harsher tone than she had been a few seconds ago.
"Whaat?! Am I the only one that finds their relationship weird? It seems that everyone has forgotten the history that they share."
The white-haired royal carrier shook her head in sadness. "That's not up to us to decide if it's weird. Love has an odd yet beautiful way of bringing people together."
Howe narrowed her eyes at her sister and then to Eugen. "Yes… I agree."
"Make that three over here—about the whole love thing, your Majesty." The one who proclaimed to agree was one that needed no introduction, and Queen Elizabeth and the others on the steps cocked their heads at the royal ship that had made her elegant entrance. Still not getting her eyesight on the new royal ship that entered, Queen Elizabeth happily cheered with closed eyes.
"Hood! I was beginning to think that you wouldn't show up—ack!" Her eyes had opened, and she finally gave a good look at Hood who was with someone no one had expected.
Hood wore a pink layered cold shoulder crop top and a white long skirt with elegant heels. On top of her head, she wore a sun straw hat with a cute bow as the band. The blonde battlecruiser smiled politely and turned to her companion. "What perfect timing that we showed up during the topic of odd love. We should count ourselves lucky that fate gave us a smooth transition," joyously proclaimed Hood.
"Hood… I don't think it made things any easier," said the other woman. This woman wore a flowery blue dress and had an oversized blue blazer. They both looked like the epitome of mature summer, and none could deny the elegance they both radiated just by being together.
Queen Elizabeth, Warspite, and the King George class sisters were left with hanging jaws. The only one not showing shock was Illustrious who already knew of Hood's… friend.
Beside Hood, her companion was none other than the Iron Blood battleship Bismarck. The blonde looked at the others with a perpetual unease expression on her face. "Guten tag, everyone," she said while nervously looking side to side, feeling like someone might attack her.
The queen made a series of incoherent sounds until she shook her head to dispel the stuttering nature that manifested. "What's… going on here?!" It was a rhetorical question, but she wanted to hold on to whatever sliver of hope she had left.
It was the moment of truth, Bismarck knew it, Hood knew it, and Queen Elizabeth deniably knew it. The royal battlecruiser interlocked her fingers with the fingers of the now startled battleship who expressed a small smile of ease. "Queen Elizabeth. Bismarck and I are soon to be engaged. Please find it in your fair and just heart to support the love we have for each other."
"Are you telling me that all the rumors that Hood might have a love interest in the shadows are actually true? But you swore to me under oath!" Dramatically declared the queen.
"Wait? You're taking that seriously? You and I were under some… ahem, beverage delights, and I also remember you said that you wished to dump tea off the edge of your ship because of some reenactment fantasy you had. It's no stretch to say that you shouldn't have been taken seriously that night," said Hood.
What is this I'm hearing about?!" Asked Illustrious with her hands on her hips. She was more focused on the beverage delights rather than the preposterous notion of dumping tea.
Bismarck then stepped forward when Queen Elizabeth looked like a deer caught in headlights. "Your benevolent grace, I am prepared to run myself through any gauntlet of your choosing to show how genuine my love is to marry one of the members of the royal family. All I ask is that you refrain from asking for Iron Blood secrets, forcing me to turn against my allies, or to place me in royal jail… that last one was added by Hood."
Hood placed a hand on her fiancée's shoulder and confidently smiled at the queen. "I encourage that you don't go for the latter option, your grace. Bismarck is a woman of principle and because I love her, I would never challenge our love against the love she has for her nation and allies."
Queen Elizabeth desired to lay out all that she was feeling, yet felt like she had no right to even raise her anger considering that Hood had forgiven the battleship for the injury she inflicted on her. Looking at Illustrious who she wanted to stay on her good side, she defeatedly sighed while gripping her umbrella. "There's no point for a gauntlet trial, Miss Hood. Like Illustrious says, I have no right to decide the love of another. But… kiss my hand and we're even," she childishly stated.
"I can do that," said Bismarck with relief that she didn't ask more than what she was willingly able to give.
When it was all said and done, the couple made their way to the festivities with the others. This left the queen to fall behind and pull out a hidden flask that she dutifully drank from. Yep, she needed to dull the excitement that today was bringing if her twitching face didn't express that already.
(Enterprise)
With the speech from Queen Elizabeth over and the excitement brought upon seeing Hood and Bismarck together, Enterprise began trying to pry her girlfriend's reserved secrets that she didn't want to disclose.
Belfast instructed Edinburgh and Sheffield to begin setting up the activities while she and Sirius finished off the rest of the meats they had been cooking. The head maid wore a frown the whole time Enterprise kept insisting on wanting to know more about what was getting her so moody and sour. "There's nothing much to tell. I have an annual duty that I must execute every year per her Majesty's ritualistic habit of starting off summer with a barbecue party. What I personally feel is irrelevant." She turned over the meat rather angrily, but it was in no way due to her girlfriend annoying her. She knew that Enterprise had the right to know her reasons for being moody, but she was willingly allowing herself to be stubborn.
Sirius loaded up a casserole dish with a plentiful amount of meat and exited out of the grilling area, feeling like she was imposing on a moment she shouldn't be nearby.
Enterprise grabbed Belfast by the shoulder and forced her to turn around to face her as she had been grilling like a mad woman. "It's relevant to me." She spoke those words with a stern softness that exuded love and concern for her girlfriend.
Belfast felt many things, surprised and excited were a few that came to mind. The forceful action from her girlfriend did surprise her; however, it was no different than the times she would pull on the carrier's tie. She laughed to herself when Enterprise grew smarter and stopped wearing ties briefly when they began to date.
She watched the pleading eyes of the archer and finally folded on her stance. "Fine." She smiled at first then her face started to twitch as if she was going against her nature by what she was going to say next. "I… I… I hate barbecue, there I said it." And she did say it. Once those words had left her mouth, she felt elated like a huge weight had left her shoulders and chest. "Oh, it kind of felt good to tell another soul for the first time. Wales and Sirius could always tell but I never admitted it to anyone except to you."
Enterprise relaxed and blinked a few times in amused disbelief. "You hate barbecue? I wouldn't have guessed that with the way you know your way around a grill."
"Yes, I quite dislike it. Barbecue is such a ghastly affair that it should be outlawed from the Royal Capital to every corner of the Royal Isles! I wouldn't even tolerate barbecue if cutlery was involved! But the Queen insists that we use our hands…" she emoted with held up hands and waved them around. "… in the spirit of summer, whatever that means."
Enterprise chuckled and hugged her reluctant girlfriend who grew red and still visibly upset that her dislike was being underplayed. "Come on, barbecue isn't that bad to eat."
That was the wrong set of words as the maid forced herself away from the carrier and inhaled angrily at her. "—It's the messiest food ever! How can one be elegant and graceful when you're ripping the meat like a lion ripping the neck of a zebra?"
"Eh? Isn't that its own form of elegance?" Ignorantly smiled Enterprise with a scratch to her cheek.
A void appeared behind Belfast's eyes and her aura took on the form of a strict teacher. "It's downright savagery, darling."
Enterprise deflated, being unable to get through to her girlfriend's stubbornness. She found it quite endearing that she had found such a side to her that mirrored her own stubbornness. Only something relatable could help the maid open up and find a new perspective in tolerating the idea of a barbecue. Unfortunately, that meant she needed to speak about the dreadful L.
The other maids set up activities for everyone to partake in but sadly, the turnout for the party didn't inspire that much hope as it boiled down to these camps: Wales and Eugen. Wales's sisters. Elizabeth, Warspite, and Illustrious. Enterprise and Belfast. Hood and Bismarck. Sad to say that there weren't that many eager shipgirls that wanted to act foolishly around each other.
Edinburgh and Sheffield had set up a net and brought rackets as the two proceeded to entertain the crowd with a nice game of badminton. Of course, they were allowed to change into more sporty attire for that occasion.
Sirius set up two wooden ramps with a hole in each and neatly placed bean bags near them. "I have honorably set up the bean bag station. Please do not be shy in interacting with it," she said properly yet her nervous and crimson face made her deflate when Wales's sisters were gazing at the activity with a lack of interest.
"I don't see where's the honor in setting up such a kiddy game such as that," said Monarch with a frown. Like her other sisters, she had a summer attire to help combat this heat as her regular outfit would have already turned her into a puddle of mess, but she kept her black and gold hat. Her overall outfit consisted of a white shirt with a blue denim blouse over it and knotted at the bottom, also she wore white shorts in place of her white skirt. She fixed her hat after wiping her forehead and made a B-line to the roof tent in the hopes of grabbing some water.
A glint of opportunity flashed in Eugen's eyes as she had overheard the redhead speak so ill of the activity. Luckily, the blueprint ship had garnered some distance from the other sisters, and her darling Wales was talking with George. She took a deep breath and rubbed an ice cube across her forehead to further cool her down before approaching the royal woman.
"Oh, you shouldn't speak so ill about a classic game of bean bag toss. Wasn't your royal highness the one who approved of these activities?" It was a rhetorical question and one that caused the blueprint ship to jump in shock to hear someone so close to her.
"Jeez! Oh, it's you." Monarch sounded unenthusiastic and narrowed her eyes at the Iron Blood woman.
The heavy cruiser extended her hand. "Guten tag—er, I mean hello. I'm—"
"Prinz Eugen of the Iron Blood. I haven't forgotten our last meeting." The redhead looked at Eugen's hand and did not attempt to shake it.
The air grew awkward, and she lowered her hand defeatedly. "Really? I would have hoped you would. I remember it being so fast and poorly timed that it didn't even feel like a proper introduction."
"Yes, it was rushed but only because duty had called… sadly, not for me as I had to stay behind and do guard duty." There was a lot to unpack there with how the blueprint ship had disgruntledly delivered that line.
Eugen knew that the blueprint ship never went out on missions or sorties. She could only imagine the agonizing boredom she felt in never seeing a real fight. "Hey, guard duty is very honorable in my opinion, you should take pride in that, Monarch."
"My pride is reserved for the feeling of taking glory by being out there in the frontlines."
Eugen smiled and appeared to look very interested, an action that had the royal narrowing her eyes. "I can't argue with you there."
Monarch had enough of all the attempted flattery from the heavy cruiser. "Eugen, if you're trying to get into my good graces then you're doing a poor way of getting there. I have no place to talk about who my sister is allowed to be with, so I would suggest you focus your efforts on George or Howe."
The Iron Blood shivered at both of those options, and she would rather take the nuclear option if she had to. "Why would you jump to that conclusion? I'm just trying to have a nice chat with my fiancée's sister.
"What?!" Her shout had caused Illustrious and Warspite to look her way and she sheepishly lowered her head. "You and Wales are getting married? That's… that's…"
"Unorthodox? Yes, you're not the first one to say such a negative opinion such as that. But times are changing, and there isn't anything legally stopping us from doing it. We may be ships but we are granted human rights to do what we want."
"What about the whole issue with you being with the Iron blood? It's hard to imagine two married people always being apart with such a distance between them," said the redhead.
The giant elephant in the room subject had once again reared its head and she still couldn't give a good answer. "That… well, we'll cross that bridge when we get there."
"Her Majesty will be sour about this, you know?" Stated the blueprint ship. She then looked at Queen Elizabeth who was either willingly or forced into talking with Hood and Bismarck. Her Majesty had hid it well but when Hood would look away, she would drink urgently from a flask. She didn't hide it from the Iron Blood who looked unfazed by it and seemed to have a silent respect for the small royal blonde.
Eugen rolled her eyes and playfully smiled at the distracted royal. "I don't care what she thinks… I care more about what you think as we'll be family soon, dear sister."
The redhead grew nervous further emphasized by the shaky drink that she held. She wished for a saving light to come and pull her out of this predicament and luckily for her, the one to answer was…
"Monarch! I choose you to be my partner in this foot race against Illustrious and Warspite. Come to my side, my servant! For I need your long and shapely legs to take me to glory!" Queen Elizabeth had shouted across the courtyard garden, trying to hide the slurs that flowed out of her like water. The redhead gulped and expressed terror yet would rather take foot racing with a drunk queen any day of the week.
"C-Coming! I must go, Eugen. D-Duty calls… and glory… apparently." She left, all in all, feeling elated that she didn't have to respond to the silver-haired woman's feelings.
The Iron Blood sighed once the blueprint ship had left. She desired not to be frustrated with the outcome, but she had hoped that Monarch would have been accepting of the situation. At least she would have had one sister on her side. As she turned around to head back to Wales, she bumped into Howe who had spread her arms wide as she had been holding drinks. The collision then resulted in them hitting each other with their chest.
Eugen grew red in the face with a bit of anger at the outcome, but Howe had a crimson smirk as she intently looked at Eugen.
"Oh, my bad there, Eugy. I didn't see you," she said quietly and sensually. It was hard for the heavy cruiser not to appreciate the summer attire the blonde royal had. She wore short shorts and a red and white striped off-shoulder frills top with a neckline that perfectly accentuated her breasts and cleavage. Her white sun hat also gave her that extra boost in elegance that any royal ship craved.
"Didn't see me my butt. It's always a pleasure to see you again." She was sarcastic about it but the blonde royal ignored it and presented her with a drink.
"You should keep hydrated or else you might suffer a heat stroke." Her worrying tone said more than just out of friendship or good faith.
Eugen turned down the drink and out of spite, grabbed a water bottle from the ice chest. "I'm a big girl and can get my own drink," she said with narrowed eyes. She made her way around the visibly agitated royal, but the royal was persistent.
"Wait, Eugy... please just talk to me." She checked her surroundings to see Monarch partaking in the outlandish footrace, George still talking to Wales over by a table, and York chatting with Sirius while she challenged her to a game of bean bag toss. No one would notice and this was her chance.
She was brought back by hearing the silver-haired cruiser scoff. "Eugy? Not even Wales calls me that and quite frankly, it's not cute at all. Howe, we have nothing to talk about unless you are here to say that you accept my relationship with your sister."
The blonde cutely pouted, her teal eyes expressing unparallel dislike to those words. "To hell with that. I would never accept that in a million years... I can't accept, my sister being with the one I love."
"You are as naive as ever then," coldly stated Eugen. The royal's hand shot out and grabbed onto the heavy cruiser's wrist, keeping her from going anywhere.
"Eugen! It should have been us that should have ended up together. You and I have crossed paths in conflict just as much as you and she did, I just wasn't faster in the draw. Once I knew what these feelings were, I should have confronted you and declared my love until I was blue in the face."
"Howe..." She hated herself because her flirtatious nature was finally coming back to bite her in the ass. She forcibly pulled her arm away from a now visibly hurt blonde. "... there was never anything between us. I teased and flirted with you because it was fun to watch you blush and squirm, I'm sorry for that. You were more like entertainment for me, but your sister... there was a genuine connection between my teasing and playfulness."
The blonde shook her head in disbelief and adamantly got closer. "No, please just give me a chance."
Anger flared up and the silver-haired woman stepped closer to the other shipgirl. "Do you hear yourself? You're willing to steal the lover of your sister without any remorse whatsoever."
Howe shot her hands up and gripped both shoulders of the woman she loved, wanting her to stay near her so that her love could get through. "That's how much I love you. I know that if we could have shared a few more moments like me being there instead of Wales when Hood was injured, then we could have had a stronger bond going forward when you began to tease me. Admit it, you pitied Wales's anguish over what you and Bismarck did, that was the first dent that your heart got when it came to her. Your guilt brought you closer to let you understand each other."
She wanted to violently shake the royal, especially after being reminded of that fatal day when Bismarck and she were so close to sinking the ones that would become their world later on in life. "Howe... give up on me. Find someone else for crying out loud. Your sister and I are engaged, and I feel nothing for you aside from a sisterly bond I wouldn't mind forging."
Howe widened her eyes as if seeing someone getting murdered, but the only thing that got murdered was her hope. "You're… getting engaged? It won't work out—it can't work out. She's too stuck up to give up her royal status, but not me. That's how much I love you, Eugy." She immediately winced upon feeling intense pressure around her shoulders when Eugen had matched her in the same grip.
Eugen had deathly stayed quiet with her eyes being covered by her bangs. When she spoke, her voice was stern and cold. "You greatly misunderstand your own sister."
"Is there a problem here?" The voice of another had caused Eugen to widen her eyes and suddenly realize the pressure she was applying to the shoulders of her fiancée's sister.
Eugen and Howe canceled their equally intense looks for the other, one full of wild love and the other full of continuous rejection when they were forced to acknowledge the voice that came closer.
Enterprise and Belfast we're standing side by side and witnessing them in what looked like a heated argument.
Eugen unsteadily released the blonde and Howe swallowed nervously, knowing that the drama wouldn't be ideal. She too bitterly released Eugen and stepped back. "This isn't over." She tore her gaze away from Eugen and walked away in no particular direction.
Belfast approached Eugen, amusingly holding a casserole of ready meat. "Are you all right?"
There was a great shame within Eugen as she had physically hurt Wales's sister and a part of her softly whispered that she had it coming. Ignoring that voice, she took a few breaths and smiled appreciatively at the couple. "Me? Yeah, I'm aces. Just some trivial dispute that doesn't matter and I'm sure she'll calm down."
Belfast raised an eyebrow and was about to speak when Enterprise placed a hand on her shoulder, conveying to her that she'll inquire about this while she takes the food to the food table where Sirius and the other maids had set up the meats, bread, sauteed vegetables, sauces, and even some flour wraps.
Belfast agreed and headed back out into the sun toward the table that was adjacent to the roof tent. Eugen sighed and pulled on her sleeveless tank top to circulate some air around her face.
"I know it's hot today, but you were in the shade. The fact that you're sweating means that must have been some conversation."
Eugen smiled lightly and crossed her arms against the Eagle Union carrier. "Thanks for the assist back there, it was turning ugly and the last thing I wanted was to ruin Wales's day with that drama."
"Hmmm, penny for your thoughts then?" Kindly offered the archer.
Eugen smirked and thought about it. It was undeniable that Wales and she had come to see Enterprise and Belfast as a couple for them to interact with and grow closer. They hadn't confided anything personal to them, at least not on Eugen's side, but maybe it was time for that. She unsteadily revealed her true emotions which were worry and agitation, and the archer listened intently.
"That's... complicated. She acts more like an angry ex-girlfriend," said Enterprise with a hand on her neck, and her eyes sympathetic.
Eugen giggled amusingly yet it was a front to hide her agitation. "No fun experience there and pray that you never have to experience an angry ex yourself. But still, she and I have never had such a relationship and it worries me that she thinks I owe her something."
"You make a good point, but you should tell Wales about this, or else she'll put you in a compromising position and most likely blackmail you."
Eugen sighed and rubbed her forehead at the idea. It then crept into her that Howe might be capable of laying it on that she hurt her if bruises were left from how hard she had squeezed the blonde. Would Wales believe her over her sister? "I rather not but I might if she forces my hand. Wales's relationship with her sisters is strained as it is and while it might be warranted, I don't want her to hate Howe. She's too young, foolish, and clinging onto a warped notion of love."
Enterprise nodded and knew her place. She wouldn't say anything to Wales unless it escalated further. She wanted Eugen to trust her so giving her the benefit of the doubt and seeing if she could mediate the issue was going to be her path. "You want to go grab a drink later when this is all over, I'll buy."
Eugen was taken aback as she never knew that Enterprise had it in her to drink. She flashed the carrier a sly smile and threw her head back in exaggeration while leaning on the drink table. "Hmm, you know, I could go for a nice whiskey sour to combat this heat. Oh, I can already taste the brown sugar and the fresh lemon juice upon my lips."
Enterprise grew rigid and the color drained from her face from hearing a keyword that came from the silver-haired woman.
Eugen brought back her head and stared at the carrier with a raised eyebrow. "What's got you looking like a ghost, no pun intended?"
Enterprise inhaled and smiled to hide her frightening emotions. "Nothing! I was just thinking about... If I left the water running in my room before Bel and I left. I didn't and I think... I know a place that has that drink," she said grimly, knowing that her personal issues were irrelevant when it came to getting closer to the Iron Blood woman.
Some time had gone by, and Belfast and the other maids had just finished setting up the food table outside the roof tent. The maids were on standby as they waited for Her Majesty to return from within the palace building. Once the leg race ended in her victory, she raced inside and stayed indoors for quite some time.
Everyone was eagerly awaiting to eat, especially George who stared intently at the food that was being watched over by Dido and Sirius.
This allowed Belfast and Enterprise the opportunity to talk as the mad dash to get the food ready was over.
Belfast wiped the sweat from her face, looking at the double doors that had yet to reopen. "Where is she? It's too hot in the Royal Capital for this. To be sweating from the heat and the intensity of eating this... meat… is truly unbecoming! Enterprise are you listening to me!?"
Enterprise had been internally battling with something that she unintentionally failed to hear her girlfriend's rant. It wasn't Belfast that pulled her out of her thoughts but the conclusion to them that seeded the resolve she needed to encourage herself. She then held the maid by her shoulders, earning her a puzzled look from the light cruiser. "I don't think it's weird that you hate barbecue, Bel. In fact, I have a similar dislike for lemons... a dislike that goes back to a simpler time." Amusingly enough, her saying that left a sour taste in her mouth that she needed to power through.
Belfast perked up from the sudden bombshell reveal that she didn't know how to process. "You hate lemons?"
Enterprise made a strained smile and humbly nodded. "Yes... my hate for them is a long and traumatic story that multiple sessions in therapy couldn't have solved but thanks to their help, I was able to live a relatively normal life as long as their presence was absent."
"W-What happened?" This was more than shellshock. What Enterprise was telling her was on the borders of PTSD just by the pale look her girlfriend had just by talking about it.
"Well... I can't go into detail, it's too much to be forced to think of that time. Let's just say that it was an Eagle Union hazing that went extremely into the deep end during my days as a naive naval cadet."
Belfast stood slack-jawed with sweat on her cheek. "I see. Now I feel like my issue is nothing, but a petty little girl's rant compared to yours which is genuine trauma."
Enterprise was about to disprove that notion when the double doors finally opened.
"Hear me, hear me!" The voice of Queen Elizabeth resounded and one could almost mistake it for it having a drunken slur to it. The queen twirled sloppily and laughed at herself. "I'm sure… some of you are wondering where the good stuff is… in terms of beverage that is." She appeared uncoordinated and was hiccupping like crazy. No doubt that the good stuff, the real good stuff, was already consumed by her. "I wouldn't host my royal Barbequeen and serve only water for the occasion." She snapped her fingers and Edinburgh, and Sheffield came from behind her and used a ramp that was conveniently tucked away to the side of the stone steps. With them, they pushed a trolley cart that held a beverage dispenser filled with a liquid that cast a shadow across Enterprise's eyes.
The head maid flinched in absentminded horror as she failed to register the sudden feeling of unease she had once she heard that her girlfriend disliked lemons.
"Lemonade?!" Enterprise had a void in her eyes and franticly started to look side to side, a reflex within to find the nearest exit. There was no mistaking it. The yellow liquid that contained slices of lemons floating within its contents sent shivers down the carrier's back.
If Belfast could describe the look that her girlfriend had it would unmistakably have to be a one-thousand-yard stare. "Oh, dear. Sweetie, I didn't mention it as it didn't seem important but the classic and famous drink that her Majesty couples with her barbecue events are the maid's homemade lemonade."
Enterprise shakily leaned into the loving arms of her girlfriend. "Oh, I guess you couldn't have known about my phobia of lemons," forced the carrier to smile despite the trauma that danced across her face via the twitching smile and twitching brow.
Belfast acted for the unforeseen situation and was about to go talk with her sister to perhaps grab an oxy-cola from the kitchen. When suddenly…
Queen Elizabeth, with the dainty skips of a drunkard, hooked her arms around Enterprise and drunkenly smiled at the shocked carrier. "Miss Eagle Union... you have no idea how honored I feel for you coming to my Barbequeen." She flashed her a drunk crimson smile and Enterprise could verify that she was indeed drunk, and not just high on sweets or spunky energy.
"W-Well Belfast did invite me and I couldn't say no to her." She tried to casually make distance against each other, but the queen held her with an iron grip.
"So modest and humble. You really caught a fine carrier here, Miss Bel."
"Your Majesty!" The head maid blushed and tried to hide her unbecoming blushes from the others. The majority of all the others were intrigued by what they heard minus Wales and Eugen since they already knew.
"Why don't we celebrate with the royal lemon wedge!?"
Belfast conveyed horror in her eyes when Dido, merely doing her duty as a maid, brought a plate of lemon wedges. Enterprise twitched her eye in mental anguish, and she began to take in deep breaths.
The queen lifted one lemon and held it up. "Ah, the lemon. The greatest thirst quencher when infused into a nice tall glass of cold water. Perfect for a hot summer day like this. Of course, it's customary in the Royal Navy to bite down on a lemon to rid oneself of wariness." She then bit down on her lemon wedge, causing the citrus liquid to splash across the carrier's face.
Enterprise began to hyperventilate at the sight and the image of the liquid grazing her face was no different than blood staining her cheek from a bloody battle.
Elizabeth moaned joyously and grabbed another to present it to the carrier. "Miss Enterprise, please take this wedge and enjoy!"
"I... I... I...!" The imminent inhaled breath that spelled as the harbinger of a vicious scream was about to manifest from the carrier.
Belfast tore herself from her firm position and acted without thought. Swiftly, she wedged herself between the two of them as she chomped down on the lemon and began to suck on it until it became nothing but a husk.
"Oh... someone's eager for some lemon action—hehe!" Her naughty and salacious undertones could be heard all around, prompting the ire of the royal carrier
"Your Majesty!" Illustrious approached her with folded arms and a shadow under her eyes that worked to dispel some of the alcoholic influence that the queen had.
"Kyaa! I wasn't trying to be lewd, Illustrious!" The blonde royal released the Eagle Union carrier from her grasp, letting the carrier weakly slump onto the arms of the light cruiser.
"Ent-Ent, are you all right?" Worriedly asked the blue-eyed maid.
A spiral of delusion swirled in the eyes of the carrier. "Citrus... lemon... acidness... wedges...lemon juice... lemon juice... lemon juice!"
"I think her Majesty just broke her," said Edinburgh with a cold towel over the carrier's forehead, and Belfast looked extremely worried.
Sometime later, Belfast and Enterprise had taken position near a standing table outside the shade of the roof tent.
"I've brought you an oxy-cola, Miss Enterprise," said Edinburgh nicely after being told just enough about Enterprise's issue from her younger sister.
"Thanks, I appreciate that," said Enterprise as she tried to lift the bottle from the table, but her hands began to shake. It had taken some time for the carrier to relax and fully compose herself, but she made a full recovery soon.
Eugen and Wales saw them claim territory at the table to the left of the garden. With there being only two tables grouped together on each corner of the garden, she could assure that none of the sisters, especially Howe, would be prompted in eating close to them.
Both of them carried juicy mouthwatering burgers that dangerously had sauce dripping from within the soft bread covers, making Belfast sigh in contempt of their choice of meat on initial glance once they took the table adjacent to them.
"Wales... why can't I be more like you? You and Eugen are practically wolfing it down in such a couply manner." She referred to it that way as they had been feeding each other, with them hardly caring that the corners of their mouth were getting stained. The maid then looked down at her food and grimaced. "Ugh! Not a napkin in sight."
She had no one to blame but herself. Being the host while having general apathy for this messy stand-up barbecue had blinded her. Instead of pushing it away, she should have embraced it and made it more comfortable for herself and others. But... no one seemed to mind the standing up or the lack of napkins except her.
Across the table, Enterprise had started with two hotdogs containing perfectly grilled brats with ketchup smeared on top.
For her girlfriend, Belfast had modestly grabbed two barbecue kebabs containing chicken, steak, and vegetables covered in spicy sauce.
Belfast ceased her spiraling thoughts of her doing a better job and began to remove her gloves. She surgically held the stick ends and unknowingly let out a sigh. "I told Sirius to not overdo it with the sauce but oh well." Her attempt to eat the kebabs was like a kid trying to eat their vegetables. Hesitation was the running theme as when she found an opening to bite down on the food, she would hold herself back and rethink her methods of tackling the kebabs.
Enterprise smiled softly and reached over to hold the stick for her. "Here, let's feed each other. That's what couples do, right?"
Belfast gulped, beyond touched at the endearing affection from her girlfriend, and from her seeming to respond to one of her unspoken desires when she looked at Wales and Eugen. She tucked a piece of hair behind her ear and leaned forward to take her first bite from the kebab. The spicy and succulent taste of the food sent her tastebuds to overdrive, and she moaned happily.
"See? Barbecue isn't so bad if you have someone to hold it for you," playfully teased the carrier.
The maid blushed and flashed a happy chewing smile to her girlfriend. "You're going to make me feel bad now since I have to meet you in that front now." She reached for one of the hotdogs and was about to serve it to her girlfriend when Enterprise held her hands back.
"Hey, you saved me from the dreadful lemon. Plus, I don't mind if we go about this with baby steps. It doesn't have to be today as I'm not looking to suck on any lemons anytime soon."
Belfast smiled softly. It wasn't grandiose that they would overcome their issues, yet she took comfort that they had revealed them to begin with. That was their baby step and she promised to herself that next year she would accommodate the Barbequeen event with all her attentive care. To the surprise of her girlfriend, she still proceeded to hold one of the messy hotdogs toward Enterprise. "I think... if I have to stomach my dislike for a barbecue then I would only ever do it for you, Ent-Ent."
"Jeez, you not only took a lemon for me but overcame your dislike. It seems I'm the one that has to step up, so I'll meet you on those feelings the next time I get the chance to cross a lemon."
Belfast laughed with her girlfriend, and they continued to feed each other.
About half an hour later, Enterprise went over to the food table to get a kebab or two since Belfast made them look so good. The maid also desired a second helping and told her to surprise her, so she got her ribs, the star hitter that would surely get her hands dirty. She wasn't trying to be malicious with her intent as Belfast did say to surprise her, and she figured this would help push her in the right direction to overcome her dislike.
"Miss Enterprise... hello, my servant's girlfriend."
Enterprise flinched with horror flashing across her eyes, expecting the queen to have more lemons with her. She turned around and looked down at the queen who had almost caused her to have a mental breakdown. That was only half of her fright as it quickly hit her that Queen Elizabeth had referred to her as Belfast's girlfriend directly. "Elizabeth… um… this is some barbecue you got here. Back then, you mentioned that Belfast caught a fine carrier—I'm not sure what you meant by that as I'm just Belfast's plus one."
Despite the drunk gaze that still lingered in the blonde's blue eyes, the queen was still unable to be misled by the casual correction from the carrier.
"Oh hush, we all know that you and she are cuddling in the same nest, as the saying goes," she giggled to herself as if she was picturing them in a nest as if they were birds.
Enterprise desired to not burn that image in her mind and made no more attempts to evade the truth about her and Belfast. She didn't know why she tried to mislead the queen, but a part of her told her that was the best course considering how shocking the reveal of Hood and Bismarck had staggered her. No doubt that Eugen and Wales's relationship had staggered the queen at some point in the past. She just couldn't decide if she was considered a good partner for the head maid in the eyes of the queen. "That's quite a saying, makes me wonder who even says that. Elizabeth, you look really sloshed and maybe you should sit down and eat some bread to help against the beverage delight."
The blonde darted her eyes around to make sure that Illustrious wasn't around before lifting a finger to her lips. "I am a queen which means I can hold my liquor just fine—but I order you to not tell Illustrious about this."
"I won't," quickly said the carrier out of fear that the queen's wrath would come down on her with a swift hand.
Enterprise's compliance had caused the queen to start to cry tears of joy, she was that drunk and emotional. "Oh, Miss Enterprise. You're one of the good ones and I'm happy that Miss Bel has found such a companion to help her unstiffen."
"You sound like you have a lot of pent-up frustrations going on," obviously stated the carrier. A burden of weight was released from her chest when she got positive confirmation of how the queen saw her and Belfast as a couple.
The blonde relaxed before the sympathetic gaze of the carrier, and she rewarded her with a puppy dog face that was a product of her being drunk. "Can you tell?! I mean, Eugen and Wales getting married? What is that going to do to the Royal family? Also, if that wasn't bad, Hood and Bismarck are apparently on the same love boat. She's no good for my Hood. She's going to get hurt again—literally. I hear Bismarck is the rough lover type in bed. What do you think?!"
Emotional shock and damage seeded inside Enterprise as she forced herself to merely smile and nod. It was evident that the queen was being hysterical because of her drunken state, and she didn't want to suddenly find herself on her sour side just because of a wrong choice of words.
The queen puffed her cheeks and stood on the balls of her feet. "Answer me, servant!" She sternly declared.
Enterprise swallowed and knew she needed to speak up. "Really? Some women prefer rough sex... or so I've heard." She had responded nervously and not her best choice of words for the situation, but she could see the royal smiling fondly at something that she extracted from her response.
In a singing tone, the blonde responded. "Miss Enty~! Your extracurricular reading material is showing. Alas, you are still better than the others."
Why did she suddenly get the feeling as if Eugen and Bismarck were giving her death glares? "Well... thank you… I guess." A set of hands suddenly reached up and brought her down to a lower position. The queen's smile had drastically changed from zero to a hundred, and she now wore the most serious stare that the carrier had ever seen."
"Know this... If you ever—and I mean ever... hurt, Miss Bell in any way, I'll be sending my royal knights after you with blades and lemon juice. Assuming that the Royal maids don't get there first."
The carrier nodded without blinking and pure fear in her violet eyes. "You have an unsettling amount of anger but noted."
The blonde smiled and playfully slapped her cheek, expressing how good the carrier had responded thus far. "Thank you, for letting me vent, and welcome to the family."
Enterprise was left confused about the whole family bit as she didn't know how it worked when it came to relationships within the royal circle of the queen. It could all mean nothing and be mere ramblings of a drunk queen. If that wasn't the case, then she, Eugen, and Bismarck would need to watch out for Her Majesty.
I was inspired to write this from a few sources. The main one was when I played Azur Lane Crosswave and saw on Belfast's bio that she hates BBQ for seemingly no explanation I thought was very funny. And, after seeing an adorable image online with Belfast looking off from a corner toward a grill getting a bit too fiery.
With it being summer, I got in the mood to combine a summer theme story with the cute Idea of Belfast's hate for BBQ. The lemon thing with Enterprise was found out along the way and I just told myself that this needed to be a thing.
I'm happy with the way this chapter came out, and I tried going for comedy with a bit of seriousness. The whole Howe and Eugen mess is just me throwing some ideas around for a story that I want to make where Wales and Eugen want to get the sisters to accept them with some shenanigans and drama ensuing. It won't be connected to this story, but the general theme is going to stay the same.
Thank you all for reading!
