I'm sorry this took so long! I got sucked into writing some parts of a later chapter because sometimes my brain jumps ahead. I can't wait to get you there!
Maka glanced between Soul and what they had the nerve to call a carriage. It wasn't drawn by horses, instead expecting men to carry the beams on their shoulders as if in some absurd display of power. She found herself laughing softly, "No."
"Hm?" Soul had been incredibly busy examining her gown today, attention that he knew should be elsewhere but he couldn't help. It was as if Marie's warning had done the opposite and put a spell on him, planting a temptation that before might have been quieted by the current threats in their lives. Instead, the scoop to the neck of this dress was flashing tender shoulder blades and fine collarbones and maybe he wanted to run his fingers along them.
"How far is it?" Maka questioned and turned her head to Black Star for good measuring since Soul's head seemed to be in the clouds today.
"Two miles, give or take," Black Star shrugged.
"I'm walking." Maka turned from the carriage and took one giant step before Black Star was in front of her.
"With all due respect," which of course came bitingly and with little regard from Black Star, "No. Too many people lining the road hoping to get a glimpse of you. We have soldiers all along the way but inside the carriage is safer."
"And it's muck from here to there," Soul added.
"Then they should be allowed to actually get a glimpse of me, not just a box." Maka lifted the front of her dress to her knees, showing off no skin as she still had her riding boots on. "And if my dress gets dirty, all the better. I'm supposed to be unclean, right? The temple will wash away everything so I can be a perfect bride," Maka rolled her eyes.
Both men had to stifle a laugh before Black Star looked to Soul. "You've got your sword. What about you, my princess, you armed?"
"Of course," Maka scoffed. "And you know with all the respect in your 'my princess' you might as well say my name."
"That would be improper," Black Star feigned shock as he moved to the side. "Fine, we walk, but you're flanked by me and the prince at all times."
Maka grinned as she moved next to Black Star. "I seem to remember that when we used to spar-"
"Are you trying to insinuate that you've beaten me? A God on Earth?" Black Star shot out as Maka giggled.
"Princess," Soul moved closely next to her and held out his elbow.
"It feels stupid to call you prince," Maka murmured as the walk started.
"I don't know, maybe I like yours, princess," that came with a purring baritone.
Maka glanced at him, watching his eyes smoldering at her like hot coals. Her stomach tied in a knock as pink came to her cheeks. "Keep your eyes on the crowd, please."
His chuckle did nothing but send another wave to her gut, but he did as told, eyes starting to scan the edges of the crowd. Black Star had been right, people had assembled, some just there for the sake of the market but most pressing right up against the soldiers that lined the walk. Maybe she should have felt exhilaration, suddenly the center of attention but instead it came with a churning type of sadness.
I'm really just one of you, she wanted to scream but that wasn't the truth anymore. She would never be. Instead, she was their princess now, something to be ogled and most likely held in disdain for all of her new privilege. As the walk dragged on, Maka started to gravitate towards the edges, finally getting to the point where they were practically at the line of soldiers as they finished the first mile.
"My princess," Black Star hissed.
"Just keep your eyes open. I just want to…" Maka huffed as she was now close enough to hear the myriad of murmurs, most sounding welcoming to her ears. She offered what she could back, 'hellos' and 'thank yous' as she moved along the edge of the crowd. Her smile was easier then, some of that melancholy draining. It was then that the little boy pushed through the soldiers, the excitement on his face barely contained. Both Black Star and Soul had jumped but Maka put her hands out. She knelt, gently catching the child who could be no older than three by his shoulders, keeping him from making the mistake of hanging on her skirts like little ones were apt to do.
A man had pressed in and for an instant, Maka felt disappointment, sure the little boy was about to be scooped away. Except the man wasn't stooping, not bringing himself to the child but instead keeping a steady forward motion that had Maka up from her knees in an instant. Black Star and Soul were buzzing somewhere in the background but Maka was too intent on the knife in the man's hand, following it as it lunged towards her and tried to meet its mark. It sliced through nothing but air because Maka had already grabbed at his wrist, forcing the man's momentum past her. She didn't relinquish her hold on his wrist and twisted it hard, wrenching it back as she pushed the man to his knees.
As Maka pressed the weight of her foot into his back, the dagger made a soft thud in the mud.
"You fucking idiots," Black Star was growling as he started at the soldiers. A few had come to Maka's side, grabbing the man from her and starting to restrain and drag him away.
Her heart was pounding in her chest, not racing like an animal's would in natural fear but a strange rage pressing it into motion. "Hear me!" Maka suddenly screamed and while she felt Soul's hands grabbing for her, touching softly to her arm and her waist she couldn't stop the pain of it. "I am your princess, and I will treat you with the dignity you deserve as long as you show the same to me, but I am no weakling. I was a warrior first and if you come for me I'll be ready."
"Maka." Soul pulled her back towards him, getting her close enough so his hands could cup her cheeks and force her eyes to his. "Are you alright?"
"Fine," she murmured and she knew bright pink must have been flourishing under his fingers. Oh, the last time he touched my face like this… She tried to pull in enough air to keep her heart from exploding. "I told you I could fight."
He laughed sharply, "And now so will just about everyone in the kingdom."
Maka tried to produce another smart remark but she couldn't concentrate. "Your hands."
"What about them?" They were now no longer stationary, one caressing along her jaw while the other dared to linger towards her hair.
"People are watching," she tried to produce some urgency in her voice but it all sounded too breathless.
"You think I care?" he offered with a snort of a laugh.
"You should." Maka grabbed both of his hands, forceful against the resistance he tried to put up as she pulled them to the space between the two of them. "Remember, they could question my honor."
Soul sighed, "Or see that I actually care about my princess."
She broke the connection entirely as she turned back towards the road, "Try to keep your hands to yourself." For once, being next to Black Star was the ideal for Maka since it left Soul without another word to say on the topic. Silence pinned her between the two of them as they finished the walk towards the steps of the temple.
The door creaked open as a lithe woman with dreadlocks slipped out and descended towards them. She was in a white tunic and pants with bandages that crawled from her neck like a collar to her bright blue eyes. Her eyes stared at Soul expectantly.
He barely produced the lines, even though they were rehearsed, since the ancient implications rubbed at him the wrong way. "I've come to give my bride to you so that she may be cleansed and ready to accept her…" Soul couldn't make it through without clenching his jaw, "... duties."
The woman's eyes turned to Maka. "I am willing," Maka produced with just as much enthusiasm, her mind still split between this moment and the last.
The figure nodded and turned her back to Maka who slowly followed behind. She afforded Soul one more glance, just in time to see him heaving a sigh as he offered a weak wave at his side. Maka could only reply with half a smile. He cares about me, feeling something for me, and while I know part of me hopes it's love, the other part… it's making him forget how to act, to be careful, and that's dangerous. Even worse, it's tempting me to do the same.
A hand the color of umber grasped her elbow as she entered and Maka's eyes flashed back to those bright blue ones. "You look just like your mother."
Those words were more terrifying than the fact that the woman's voice had come clear as day through the bandages as if the words were just appearing in Maka's mind and not coming from that mouth. "I do look like Lady Marie, I suppose," Maka murmured softly.
"We both know that's not your mother."
Maka tried to dig her heels into the extravagant marble flooring of the temple but was slipping to gain purchase. Worse yet, the woman was not releasing her hold, sending her one more stumbling step forward. "Who are you?"
"Mira," the woman replied with an easy, even tone. "I knew your mother, Yaara."
Her heart was thundering in her ears, almost drowning out a name that no one should know, the one that was only whispered inside their home. Everywhere else her mother was a hunter and slipped into new names every few months to keep from leaving a steady trail but together, in the safety of their walls or with friends, she had been Yaara. "How do you…?"
"She was named well, with the honeysuckle hair that you've inherited." Mira relinquished her hold to run soft fingers to clear the tresses from Maka's shoulder. "I'm sorry that she's been missing for so long."
"Have you seen her?" Maka couldn't stop the frantic rise in her voice, the utter desperation at the idea.
Mira contemplated this before turning and starting again on the walk down the hallway. "The last time she came here was ten years ago."
Maka was quick to follow, leaving any hesitation behind her. "Here? At this temple? Why?"
"She wanted a blessing like she'd gotten many times before. It was nothing out of the ordinary." Mira risked a glance back at Maka with those piercing blue eyes. "Please, don't get your hopes up. I don't have answers for you beyond that. Her visit was no different and she left without raising any alarms with me. I wish there was more that I could tell."
"Oh," Maka let the word warble from her throat.
Mira slowed her pace to fall into step with Maka. "But while you're here, there are at least some stories I could tell if you'd be interested."
"About my mother?"
"And your father. He served with my husband."
"You're married?" Maka balked. "I thought priestesses couldn't…"
Thankfully the smile crinkled the corners of Mira's eyes, relieving Maka of the dread of offending her. "The ones in the inner temple, no, they remain untouched, but the rest of us live normal lives, have husbands, children, but are here for our special talents."
"What's yours?" Maka murmured as they turned the corner. The hall was narrower and doors had appeared, the atmosphere oddly humid.
"A little bit of everything," Mira laughed as she quickly turned into one of the doors. While there was no door there was a screen that seemed to cut the room in two. "Get undressed, please."
The expectation of the request didn't make it any easier and Maka's hands still made fists in the fabric of her dress. "I've already been examined by the physician."
Mira laughed softly, "Which is not the same as our examination. But would you like to know a secret?"
Maka let her eyes fall on Mira, still struggling against the uncertainty of the moment.
"No woman has failed these," Mira's smile was melting through the tense knot in Maka's chest. "Because purity is a matter of the person. Do you believe that you're pure?"
"I… as far as I know," Maka barely overcame the urge to whisper it. "I kissed someone once but I've never…"
"Then you pass," Mira shrugged. "But you'll still want to take off your clothes. There'll be a new gown for you when you're done but I doubt you want to soak in this."
Maka let a short laugh tumble out of her throat, "I'm sorry. I… of course, a bath, right? Marie told me that there was a part of this that was a literal cleansing."
Mira nodded and motioned Maka closer. She folded one panel of the screen back to reveal a circular pool that breathed steam into the room. With only another minute of hesitation, Maka started to undress as Mira bustled around the room, the sound of a pestle striking the only sound that resounded in the room beside the lapping of the water. Maka was slipping out of her boots when Mira turned back to her, a stone cup in her hand.
"You are your mother's daughter," Mira chuckled as she motioned towards the muddy boots.
The assumption should be that she smile, so Maka offered what she could but deep down she felt the churn in her stomach. Being like her is a blessing and a curse. She batted the thought away as Mira's thumb ran through the mixture at the bottom of the bowl and then moved towards her.
"Hold still." The oil was thick, sticking to Mira's finger as she moved it towards Maka's forehead. It was cool when it touched her skin like menthol as Mira's hand continued to make a line. She was being split in two, Mira only pausing to refill on more of the concoction. It was drifting past her belly button and Maka held her breath as it finished just at the split of her legs. "Wait one more minute."
Mira seemed unaffected as she turned away and back to her work but Maka was trying to quietly gasp for air. It was the first time anyone had touched her like that and the sensation was unlike anything else. Worse was the thought that instantly followed that: He could touch you like that. In two days he'll have his right to.
Maka was snapped back to attention by Mira approaching her again, an incredibly sweet scent now wafting from the bowl. "The anointing is to remind you that soon you will be split into two people, a woman and a wife."
"And this one?" Maka trembled as Mira slicked all of her fingers before making fat smeared lines just above her hip bones.
"Consider it an extra blessing." Mira dipped her fingers again, making sure that all of the mixture had transferred from the cup to Maka's skin. "This is for fertility since I've heard you must produce an heir."
Maka let out a trembling sigh as she looked down at the slick mess. "Thank you. I… I'm hoping that's the only help we'll need." Saying that brought a blush to her cheeks.
"I've heard a rumor…" Mira started as she brought a soft hand to Maka's shoulder and began to push her through the opening in the screen.
"That?" Maka urged her forward with her words just as Mira did with her feet.
"It should not be a problem," Mira's voice twittered with amusement. "The prince is supposed to be very taken with his bride."
"Oh." Maka tried to blame the heat on the vapors coming off of the water but as she dipped a toe in the temperature felt like nothing compared to the warmth buzzing in her chest.
"But I'll still give you a few things." Mira's hand disappeared from her shoulder, leaving Maka to guide herself into the depths of the pool, finding that she could comfortably sit on the ledge of the rim with everything below her neck submerged. Mira's disappearance was temporary, coming back with a tray full of vials and containers of different shapes and sizes. With the tray placed next to Maka, Mira picked up a blue vial. "I'll give you a few of these. While this sounds like blasphemy, taking this will be even more powerful than that secondary blessing I gave you. Though you'll need to drink it the day before you expect to have sex."
Maka almost choked at the word, having expected soft euphemisms to fill the day. "So for the wedding night, I should…"
"Take this tomorrow night in preparation, yes," Mira nodded.
"Alright." Maka fingered the vial as Mira placed it in front of her.
"I assume I don't have to give you anything for the opposite." While this sounded sure, Mira still paused, her hand hovering.
"Actually…" Maka was thankful for the surge of her purpose coming back. "May I smell it, please?"
"Smell it?" Even with the incredulity in Mira's voice she was still grabbing another vial and unscrewing the cap.
Maka took it from her, bringing the potion to her nose and trying to categorize each subtle scent. "And if I take just a small sip will it hurt me? Keep me from having a child?"
"It's temporary," Mira was narrowing her eyes. "And just a small sip of it wouldn't be enough. You'd need an entire vial each week."
She pressed it to her lips, just tilting enough to get a taste. Again, each subtly to the flavor was being tucked away in her mind. "Thank you." Maka tried to hand the vial back but Mira paused.
As her forehead wrinkled, Mira finally took it back from Maka. "You expect someone to try to dose you?"
It was the reminder of her mother's name that made Maka open her mouth and set the truth free, "Yes. I expect the physician isn't entirely what she seems and she's going to try to get rid of me whatever way she can."
"That's a heavy charge," Mira murmured.
"And I don't say it lightly," Maka's determination seemed to fizzle away all of Mira's confusion.
"Urdan root," Mira recapped the vial. "Regardless of the variation, if someone is trying to keep you from having a child they'll need urdan root. When it's crushed it will turn a rusty red."
"Thank you," Maka could smile now with at least one bit of surety coming to her. If they try, I'll know. I can protect myself from this. "Can they do the same for men?"
Mira let out a thoughtful hum, "Not that I've experienced and I feel like risking being found poisoning the prince runs a different price than the potential princess."
"She's already been poisoning him," Maka brought her voice low but not hesitant.
Mira dropped from her crouch to her knees, leaning back in thought. "Again, a heavy charge."
"And I would make my accusations known if I had proof, but…" Maka sighed as she sunk a little lower in the water, letting her hair fan out in the warm liquid. "All I have is my word and right now that holds very little power."
"Bide your time, then," Mira echoed her sigh as she rearranged a few containers on the tray. "And if trouble comes, you can use this place as a haven. I can't offer complete safety, but as I said before, some of us have talents." She reached out, taking some of Maka's hair in her fingers, "Now, why don't we continue the primping and you can ask all your questions about the wedding night."
The heat in Maka's cheeks once again trumped the water.
The people had mostly dissipated, a few still staring at the spectacle of the crowned prince lounging on the steps, his attention half on the captain of his guard while his eyes kept flicking back to the door. "It's not like they're torturing her in there," Black Star muttered.
"I'm not worried," Soul grumbled back.
"Right," Black Star rolled his eyes. "That's why we've sat here for the past two hours when we could have been back in the castle, or even better at the pub."
Soul raised his eyebrows as he allowed for a soft chuckle to break some of the tension in his chest. "Taking your prince to a pub? The Queen might have you beheaded."
Black Star huffed as he waved a hand in front of him to create a poor facsimile of a breeze. "At this point, I'm so hot and bored I might take the risk. It's not even tradition to escort her back, is it?"
"No," Soul let his eyes wander back to the door. "The priestess usually presents her back but…"
He followed Soul's gaze, wondering what he was seeing in his mind's eye. "Two attempts on her life don't settle well with you. Me either."
"Two?" Soul narrowed his eyes as he brought them back to Black Star.
"I'd count the Queen and Medusa's bullshit as an attempt," Black Star grimaced. "Maybe it's a slow tick, but they want her life."
Soul shook his head. "She never should have made that damn deal."
"What other choice did she have?" Black Star snapped back as he shook his head. "It was that or lose you. I don't think she wants that again."
"Again," he laughed ruefully before he rubbed the palms of his hands over the top of his knees, the next words tangling on his tongue. "Do you think…"
"Ah, wedding night advice?" Black Star tried to smother his cackle since eyes were still lingering over the two of them.
"Idiot," Soul hissed as he collapsed back on his elbows. "But it's not like I have that figured out either."
"We've got more than enough time to talk about both," Black Star muttered. "That's the first one, come on, spit it out."
Soul ejected out the words so fast that they seemed to be just one. "Do you think she could love me like she loved him?"
"Him? Meaning you?" Black Star's lips crinkled incredulously. "Is there something I'm not getting?"
"Just," Soul slid a hand through his hair before sighing. "She said she was guarding her heart. And you saw her today, she doesn't want me touching her."
Black Star hummed out in thought before shaking his head, "That was just being proper. Test it out tonight, when you see her."
"We're not doing that, remember?" Soul grumbled.
"I kind of thought you two were going to forget that rule."
"Well…" Soul huffed and then paused to grind his jaw together, testing the words in his head before offering them to Black Star. "What if I am tempted?"
"Oh," Black Star cawed.
"Shut up," Soul stammered as the color came to his cheeks.
"So you do remember hourglass figures and breasts? Not that the princess has much of either," he trailed off in a mutter.
"Hey," Soul snapped.
"OK, OK," Black Star threw his hands up innocently. "Then follow the rules for once. Don't visit her, but if she visits you…"
"You think she would?" Soul hated how much that stirred a strange kind of hope in his chest. It was almost guilty as if he shouldn't wonder if her eyes lingered on him for reasons that would make her heart beat faster.
Black Star let out a sharp laugh, "That sounded way too desperate."
Soul's face grew sour as he contemplated the impropriety of starting a fight in the middle of the stairs. That thought was interrupted by the movement out of the corner of his eye, the door finally opening on its hinges. He was instantly on his feet, stumbling over the first two stairs before he righted himself.
Maka stepped out of the doorway, her eyes focused on negotiating the dress out of the door behind her. This morning's gown had been distracting but this one was completely mesmerizing. It barely hung onto her shoulders as it dipped drastically between her breasts to show off an intricate pattern that had been brushed onto her skin in a staining ink. It cinched tightly at her waist before puddling to her feet with the train that she was currently fighting with. His eyes were jumping over the rest of her as well, her lips painted in a beautiful pink and her hair braided intricately with blossoms woven into the twists.
She cursed under her breath as she finally seemed to get herself free of whatever was catching her train and Soul couldn't stop the delirious, soft laugh from escaping his mouth. Maka jumped, her eyes blinking at him as the color came to her cheeks. "Oh… you're here."
"I waited," the words dumbly stumbled off his tongue before he took another step closer to her. "You look beautiful."
Black Star started to snicker, "Guess I was wrong about the hips and-"
Soul sent him a deadly glare which at the very least cut off his words before he turned his desperate eyes back to Maka. "You really… you are, Maka."
"You don't…" Her eyes were searching down her front as if the words were sewn into the fabric. "You didn't have to wait for me. Mira was going to walk me back." Maka turned her head back towards the door and Mira appeared again, nodding at Soul.
"Is it… is it wrong that I want to take her?" Soul tried to sound demanding but heard it more as a sputter.
"No, my prince. It's rare, but I would almost expect it of you." Mira closed that with a soft chuckle before running a hand over Maka's arm. "Take care, princess."
"Thank you." Maka waited, watching her go and the door close behind her. With a slow breath and more color added to her cheeks Maka took another step down, now just one away from him. "You must have been bored."
"We managed," Soul's smile was threatening to break across his face. "What did she mean that she expected it of me?"
A new shade of pink that he didn't think was possible flushed across her neck, further popping against the white. "There's a rumor."
"Which is?" He was desperate to make that last step, to be closer to her but he limited it to reaching out his hand to help her make the step if she chose.
"That you're in love," Maka murmured.
And while his blush became just as bright as hers he didn't offer a stammering complaint or explanation, just that smile taking complete control of his face.