A week later, after a long play in the lake with Danny and Sally, Maria lies on the beach, basking dry in the pleasantly warm sun with her friends alongside her.
"Thanks for this, guys," Maria sighs contentedly. "I know I've been a silly sulky recently, but this morning has really cheered me up." Though not as much as this last week. Gotta keep it a secret though.
"That's what friends are for," Danny acknowledges, holding hands with Sally.
"It can't have been easy, seeing us so happy together when your own attempt… well, y'know," Sally admits.
"It wasn't," Maria admits. "But I shouldn't have been such a silly sulky‑poo."
"Don't worry about it," Danny assures.
For the next few minutes, the trio simply lay in contended silence.
"Is anyone else thirsty?" Sally asks.
"I wasn't until you mentioned it," Danny admits. "The usual?"
"Sure," Sally confirms.
"Maria?" Danny asks.
"What else?" Maria smiles cheekily.
"Back in a sec," Danny informs.
Danny stands, brushes the sand from his fur (earning a playful slap on the calf when some of it lands on Sally), then heads into the house. When he's disappeared inside, Sally turns to Maria. "You don't have to answer this, but have you had a chance to talk with Tai since… y'know?"
"Since we broke up?" Maria replies. "No," she lies. "Do you think I should?"
"It would help to have closure," Sally advises. "But it's up to you."
"I'll think about it."
For the next few minutes, Maria and Sally lie in silence, drying in the sun.
"Hey girls," Danny greets when he finally re‑emerges from the house. "I was delayed by Rob phoning us."
"What did he want?" Sally asks as she takes her drink.
"He's invited us on a double‑date," Danny informs.
"Does that mean I have the house to myself tonight?" Maria asks, almost letting slip her sudden surge of excitement.
"Only if you're OK with it," Danny answers.
"Why wouldn't I be OK with it?" Maria smiles.
"In that case, you have the house to yourself tonight," Danny confirms. "Just… be safe, OK?"
"You don't need to worry about me: I'll be fine," Maria assures. Because I'm gonna invite Tai over!
Late in the afternoon, and Danny and Sally are about to leave for Rage Ravine.
"Are you sure you'll be OK by yourself?" Danny asks.
"Stop being such a big silly!" Maria giggles. "I'll be fine. Now go and have lots of fun!"
"We'll see you in the morning then," Danny replies.
Maria watches Danny and Sally disappear into the distance, then dashes back into the house. "Thank the Ancients: I thought they'd never leave! Just in time too: Tai will be here in less than an hour! I gotta get ready!"
Forty‑five minutes later, and Maria has transformed the den: the clutter is tidied away, the storage chest is covered with a tasteful throw, and the sofa is covered with an elegant throw and littered with several scatter cushions. And it's all lit by a handful of scented candles on the coffee table that bathe the den in a gentle romantic light, and fill the air with an elegant and relaxing floral ambience.
"Perfect!" Maria chimes as she surveys her work. "Now to get changed!"
Maria sprints to her room, strips naked, then opens her wardrobe. Rifling through the dresses within, she dismisses all her everyday garments, pausing when she gets to a red backless number with a short wide skirt with a white hem and a white collar. "Oh, forgot I had this," she remarks to herself. "But that's not what I want to wear tonight." Sliding the red dress to one side, Maria finds the garment she's looking for: a gorgeous and elegant strapless black dress with a flowing ankle‑length skirt with a split almost to hip level on both sides.
"There it is!" Maria takes the dress out of the wardrobe, puts it on, then takes a moment to ensure it's fitted correctly. Satisfied, she then observes how she looks in the full‑length dress mirror. "I look so pretty! But there's something not quite‑ Ah! My ponytail!" Maria removes the bobble holding her hair back, then shakes her hair out to give it a bit of volume. "There: much better!"
Just as Maria slips on a pair of elegant black high heels, there's a knock at the door. "She's here!" As quick as she is able, Maria heads back to the den, pausing at the door to gather herself. I'm so nervous! After a deep calming breath, Maria opens the door.
"Hello Rosy," the lynx greets softly with a tender smile.
"Wow," Tai gasps. "I… wow!"
"I wanted to look my best," Maria explains, blushing deeply. "Come in."
"You really didn't need to go to this much effort," Tai breathes in awe as she enters the house.
"Yeah, I guess I kinda went overboard a bit," Maria admits.
"This is going to sound like an odd request, but is there somewhere I can get changed?" Tai asks. "I uh… have a new outfit for tonight," she explains, unslinging her backpack.
"Sure," Maria answers. "The spare room's down there," she indicates.
"Won't be long." Tai disappears towards the spare room, returning a few minutes later in a stunningly beautiful cobalt blue backless dress with a plunging neckline and a calf-length pencil skirt with a split almost to hip level both sides, and wearing a matching pair of high heels. "I uh… kinda went overboard a bit myself," she admits, blushing.
For a moment, Maria doesn't respond: she's utterly mesmerised by Tai's beauty. "Huffle‑bleh," she eventually murmurs incoherently.
"What?" Tai asks, blushing even more.
Maria shakes her head and returns to the real world. "Sorry, it's just… Wow, you're so… indescribable. I just… I can't take my eyes off you."
"Likewise," Tai smiles, approaching Maria and taking the lynx's hands in her own. "I've never seen you look so amazing."
For a moment, the two felines simply stare at each other lovingly. Inevitably, unable to resist, they wrap their arms around each other and kiss long and passionately.
Five hours later, and Maria and Tai are cuddling on the sofa after a night that has so far worked out far more special than either had anticipated.
"I wish this night could last forever," Maria purrs contentedly.
"Me too," Tai agrees. "We make an amazing couple."
Maria thinks a moment. "Can I be serious for a moment?"
"What's wrong?" Tai asks, a little concerned.
"Nothing, it's just…" Maria takes a deep breath. "There's something I must tell you. It's about… something that happened to me a long time ago, and it's why I was so weird in Shang Mu."
"You don't have to tell me," Tai assures.
"Yes, I do," Maria decides. "You're the best thing that's ever happened to me, and I want to make sure that nothing will ever get between us again. And that means telling you my darkest secret."
Tai sits up a little. "Are you sure you want to do this?"
"Yes," Maria affirms. "Because there's something else I want to do later, and I want you to know the truth before we do it."
"I promise that what you're about to tell me will be kept in the strictest confidence," Tai promises.
"OK," Maria accepts. "Here goes." She takes a deep breath. "Oh, this is hard…"
"Then don't‑"
"I was raped when I was twelve."
Tai's jaw drops in shock and horror. "Wh… Wh… I… You… I… It's… I don't know what to say…"
"You don't have to say anything," Maria assures softly.
"Now I understand why you pushed me away in Shang Mu," Tai admits. "Us getting frisky must have re‑awakened those memories."
"Yeah," Maria admits, wiping away a tear. "I was alone in the house at the time: my parents were out. A couple of thieves broke in, and one of them found me hiding under the kitchen table. He took me up to my room, bound my wrists and ankles with duct tape, gagged me, then… raped me."
Tai pulls Maria into a comforting hug. "How could anyone do that to someone as amazing as you?" she whispers, crying silent tears. "I understand why you were so reluctant to talk about it now."
"Want to know the silly thing?" Maria asks. "It was actually surprisingly easy to tell you in the end. It's a story I only tell those I have absolute trust in. And there's no‑one I trust more than you."
"I vow that I will do everything in my power to prevent you ever getting hurt like that again," Tai promises.
"You don't have to make that promise," Maria assures.
"I want to," Tai explains.
For the next few minutes, the two felines simply hug, giving themselves time for their moods to recover.
"I feel like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders," Maria admits when the hug eventually breaks.
"I have a dark secret too," Tai suddenly reveals.
"Really?" Maria asks, intrigued and concerned.
"Yeah…" Tai tails off and takes a deep breath to calm herself. "You know how some people have a past they celebrate, and others have a past they'd rather forget?"
"Yes…" Maria acknowledges, wondering where this is going.
"Well… I have neither," Tai reveals.
"I don't understand," Maria admits.
"I have no past to remember," Tai explains, wiping away a tear. "My memories only go back three years, to just before I joined the Scarves."
Maria is stunned into total silence, unable to comprehend something so horrible.
"Your past may be horrid, but at least you know where you came from," Tai continues, crying freely again. "I don't even have that. I just… start at fourteen. I don't know where I'm from, who my parents are, nothing. My first memory is waking up in the forests surrounding Shuigang."
Maria pulls Tai into a comforting embrace. "I can't believe what you're telling me," she sobs. "It's just so horrible!"
"Tell me about it," Tai sighs.
"I promise, no matter what, from this moment on, I'm going to do everything I can to make you the happiest person in the universe!" Maria vows.
Tai can't help but emit a small chuckle at Maria's vow. "You're doing an amazing job already," she compliments. "It's great to finally have someone to talk about it with."
For a full ten minutes, the two felines simply hug, wordless tender affection working overtime to level their moods.
"Well, that got heavy," Tai admits when the hug eventually breaks.
"Yeah, but it's for the best," Maria replies. "We may have told each other some truly terrible secrets, but I feel it's brought us closer than ever. And it explains why we both wouldn't talk about anything before a certain time in our lives."
"Absolutely," Tai agrees. "And I don't care if this is too soon to say, I'm saying it anyway: I love you."
"I love you too," Maria smiles contentedly.
The two felines kiss their most tender kiss yet, a gentle wave of pleasure coursing through their bodies.
"Wow…" Tai breathes when the kiss breaks.
"I know," Maria whispers back.
"I've never felt anything like it before."
"Me neither."
"This has been the perfect evening," Tai smiles lovingly.
"And it's about to get better," Maria replies, sliding the top of her dress down to her waist, revealing she's wearing nothing underneath.
"Are you sure?" Tai replies.
"Totally," Maria assures.
Tai unties the neck of her dress and allows it to fall, revealing she's also wearing nothing underneath. "I promise I'll go slowly."
"We'll go as fast or as slow as the mood takes us," Maria decides, pulling Tai on top of her as she lies back on the sofa, kissing her long and passionately as they slide effortlessly into an intimate mood.