AN: Okay we're gonna hang with Aqua for a little while now! 3 I love her.
End of AN!
Aqua strode into the small town in the dusty desert, grateful for it - even if it carried some risks.
Natsumi would have said the risk made it more exciting (in fact, she did say that).
They got a room in a small, dirty motel together. Which was still enough for Aqua to be grateful for...considering...
Just having a bed to fall onto again was almost heavenly.
The shower worked, too - with hot water and everything!
After guiltily using it all up, she returned to fall onto the bed in her undergarments (her outfit hanging to dry), curling up under the sheets and resting her head on the pillow.
After a few minutes, Natsumi entered their room again - with a small bag of food and drinks. The woman set them down on the nightstand, rickety and unstable as it was, then came to sit on the bed.
"Oh my, this is a problem, isn't it: neither of us thought to ask for a room with two beds!" Natsumi remarked, humor in her voice.
Aqua rolled over and looked at her, sitting up on her arm. "What? Oh! I'm sorry - I really didn't mean to just-"
"It's okay. I'll happily sleep on the floor like a good dog," Natsumi joked, laughing into her hand.
"No! No - we - why don't we just...share?" Aqua strangled out. She paused, watching Natsumi, who was blinking at her with surprise now. "I mean...after all this time together, I've kind of gotten used to sleeping with you. I- I mean- um- against you. Your- true form. All the fur. It's...warm. And soft. And...and so what's the problem if we sleep together as- like this?"
Natsumi smiled at her, nodding. "Agreed. But only if you're comfortable with it."
"Well, I am the one who suggested it," Aqua replied, a little indignant.
"Of course you were. Then we'll have no problems, will we. Just two traveling companions sharing a warm, subpar bed together for a night or two," Natsumi stated leisurely. She put her words to actions, and pulled her legs up and got under the blankets next to Aqua. She turned to face Aqua, then scooted in and put her head on the pillow too...putting their faces and bodies very close together. "Well, isn't this just lovely...and cozy."
Aqua groaned, rolling onto her back and putting her hand to her forehead. "This is terrible - and it's not going to work for me."
"Do you want to sleep on the floor, then?"
"No...never mind! It's fine. I'm not leaving this bed until morning..." Aqua muttered.
Natsumi giggled, right in her ear. "If that's what you want, Miss Aqua."
"Please, just call me Aqua...I think we've moved past formalities by now."
"Okay. Aqua. Not Princess Aqua, then? Or even Future Queen-"
"No!" Aqua snapped. She paused. She sighed. "Sorry..."
Natsumi blinked her red eyes at her, gazing at her. "If I might ask another intrusive question of you, Aqua..."
"Go ahead..." Aqua sighed again.
"If you're so intent on getting back to your home territories - to your kingdom and castle - why have we been going through this journey so secretively and slowly?" Natsumi spoke on, quiet. "Why are we running and hiding like this? Wouldn't it be faster and more effective for you to simply step outside, cast off your hood and declare yourself the Crown Princess of Zitol - and get yourself a non-stop ticket home? Why did you run from the one who recognized you at the airship docks before?"
Aqua froze. She rolled over completely, putting her back to the woman.
Because declaring herself Princess in foreign territories would make her the biggest, most irresistible target for kidnapping and ransoming her world had ever seen - by hostile nations, bandits, mercenaries, bounty hunters, and crime syndicates all.
Because she realized she was enjoying this adventure with Natsumi, and she didn't want it to end. Because she knew it would end when they reached the capital, Ancewell - when Aqua would have to be princess again, and Natsumi would have to return to her own territory and home region...and life.
Because a part of Aqua still wanted to delay this as much as possible, dreading returning to that life and role again like nothing else.
Because...
She...
Aqua rolled back the other way, looking Natsumi in the face. Very closely. Very close. She breathed out, warm and tired. And trembling. "I...Natsumi...?"
"Yes?"
"Would you- if I wanted to- could we...maybe...k-kiss?"
There. Aqua had said it aloud. And there was no forgetting it, no taking it back.
"Well, I suppose we could..." Natsumi said thoughtfully. "When do you plan on us doing this, exactly, Aqua, dear?"
"I- ummm..." Aqua flushed, working her jaw. "Right now?"
"You'll have to ask me properly, Aqua. How could we ever kiss if you can't even say it to me straight - oh, no puns intended!"
"Um...well then: Could I...please...kiss you?"
"Of course you can! I'd be delighted to have you kiss me."
"Okay, then..." Aqua lifted her head and inched forward, closer to the woman. She gazed into those crimson eyes, opening her lips and tilting her head...
Their mouths met and pressed together.
All she could think about was if anyone in her life could see her now...in this dirty, terrible motel, laying with this woman - kissing like this...!
Aqua pulled away, raising her hand to cover her mouth. She shut her eyes and breathed out through her nostrils.
"I'm- sorry!" she choked out.
"Whatever for?" Natsumi said, soft and kind.
"I..." Aqua shook her head, rolling over and drawing her knees in, hugging them with her arms. "I don't know..." she whispered out, her Heart beating erratically in her chest. "I don't want-" She stopped herself.
"What don't you want, Aqua?" the woman said gently behind her. "Please, communicate with me."
"I don't want this to end!" Aqua said, tight and high. "I don't want you to go - I don't want to be left alone again! With all of this...with them, with those walls, and that place! But it's all going to end when we get there. I'll have to be stuck in there again, trapped, and you...you'll go away. Back home. If we start to do this kind of thing, I'll just end up..."
"Heartbroken, and abandoned?"
"Y-yes..." Aqua whispered.
A soft, slender hand with long nails lay itself on Aqua's bare arm...fingers caressed her skin gently...
"Whoever said this story had to end that way?" Natsumi said, just as gently. "Now that you've told me what's had you so upset and worried, what if I decide to stay with you in Ancewell - at least for a few weeks or so? A few months? This journey of ours is already taking so long, what will a few more be? You told me that yourself, remember?"
"You'd...do that?" Aqua said, quiet, hopeful. Surprised... "Really?"
The hand of Natsumi's moved up to Aqua's face - to her hair. Brushing at it.
"Have you known me to say things I don't follow through on, Aqua? We Kitsune have a strict code to live by. And keeping our word is one of them."
"I...sorry...it's just..."
"What?"
"I don't know," Aqua breathed. "I don't know. Can I just- kiss you again? More?"
Natsumi gave a small laugh. "I suppose you can...as long as it's not just a means of running away from your problems and fears. We need those to be out in the open, to have healthy discussions together."
"I- no? I just...what more can I say? So - back to kissing."
"Well, alright. I'll take you at your word. But we're going to continue this discussion of ours later..."
Aqua turned back to face the other woman again; her cheek found its way right into Natsumi's waiting palm, on the pillow. Aqua blinked with surprise. Natsumi smiled at her in that mischievous way she had...
And the kissed again.
They kissed...a lot.
So much that Aqua honestly...lost track of- everything...
All that existed or mattered...was this fire.
And then, the fire rose, and grew, and became something altogether different and more exciting...
She hesitated to use the word taboo again - it was far from as if Keyblade Wielders were forbidden from romantic relationships, or even sex (with others, or each other); and there had been plenty of historical, notable, married partners, triads and quads, and even those who had kept their families and children with them - but for her personally...yes, maybe it was just a little taboo feeling...
It was a vague thing and concept she'd read in fiction novels, or heard from people around her in her younger years, or been taught about by her Master through educational library books. But for it to be a very real thing here, now...
Nothing really had prepared her for it. The reality of it. It was a slow, quiet, sort of- awkward thing, wasn't it?
But over time, she did get more confident, more assured, with Natsumi there, and over time it did become something more...well, something that felt really good. Good and soft and hot and-
And then she was shedding tears and she didn't even know why.
Aqua found herself waking again in softness, warmth - and utter confusion.
Then she remembered the previous night, in fragments and pieces...
Oh...
She had...really done all of that, hadn't she?
And that - and that other thing - and even...
Had that really been...her? Part of her, maybe. Most of her. Not all of her...
You're still hiding. Masquerading as something you're not, a voice in her head spoke, high and vicious. A girl's voice. How are you going to help people like Natsumi as princess if you can't even be your REAL self...?
Aqua closed her eyes tight, putting her hands to her face. Shut up! Besides, what place could a tail even have during-
"Mmm...good morning, Miss- just Aqua," came Natsumi's voice from behind her, breaking her out of her own mind's struggles. "You really are just Aqua after all we did together last night, aren't you?"
"Please stop," Aqua said swiftly. "Just - don't! I need...time to- process it all," she went on haltingly. "Okay?"
"...Of course. I'm sorry for being so insensitive. I'll give you all the time you need," Natsumi said seriously, quietly.
The arms retreated from Aqua, and the warmth left her backside.
"So, would you be open to continuing that discussion we were having the other night?" Natsumi spoke, accompanied by the sounds of her light footsteps moving around the little room.
"It would be too dangerous - and not to mention stupid of me - to just walk outside and declare myself the princess," Aqua said, rolling over to look across the room at the woman now. "Too many people out there would be wanting to capture me, and use me for political bargaining, or to get some kind of big reward. I doubt I'd even make it to Ancewell if I did that. Not without being hounded by the people I don't want hounding me. Not that I want anyone from Zitol to hound me, either..."
"Is that any way for a princess to speak of her own subjects?" Natsumi's mild voice came, as she stood peering out the window's tattered curtains. The sun caught her long, shimmering dark hair, and reflected off her kimono... "Do you have such a strong disdain for the very people you say you want to help, Aqua?"
"N-no! Of course not!" Aqua protested, firm and quick. She pushed herself up to sit on the bed; the sheets fell away from her. She blushed and gathered them all up again, holding them over her body.
Natsumi turned and looked at her with red eyes of glinting amusement. Cherry lips curved into a wide smile. But she didn't say anything. Not about that, at any rate... "Hmm, I'm not really inclined to believe you about that, sadly. Can you elaborate, please?"
"W-well, I- it's not the people in Zitol, it's...more the people at the top?" Aqua spoke on, tight and cautious. "The ones with power. The ones who use that power to hurt and abuse others. Who start these- fights- run these campaigns and- write all these laws, and... It's those people I'm not too fond of."
"And you're going to put yourself on top of the highest peak - the one with all the power, writing all the laws in the lands."
"No - it- wouldn't work like that, exactly," Aqua murmured, looking away. She drew on old memories, childhood lessons, and knowledge...as much as she hated having to. She'd have to get used to it, right? "It's not a dictatorship - there's still a High Council below the Queen. They're...advisors and delegates. And they all have almost as much of a say in how things are run as the Queen does. And...while I've been missing for all this time...they've probably fully taken over running everything now on their own. But that's going to change, obviously."
"Obviously," Natsumi hummed.
"I've spent years of my life learning discipline, and responsibility - and how to wield power responsibly," Aqua said firmly, looking at the woman now. "I've been to so many other worlds, I've learned about so many different ways of governing. Some ways work better than others, some last longer. Some are more complicated. Some work for...some people, but wouldn't work for others. But at the heart of it is this: a ruler should serve her people, and act in their best interests. She shouldn't abuse her power or status for greed, or personal gain, or selfish desires. A leader is selfless, and strong, and looks out for the weak and helpless, and the needy. She's kind, and good. And that's exactly the kind of leader I want to be. Even if it ruffles some feathers...I want to look out for all peoples. Not just- humans."
"And are you going to do that while looking like a human yourself?" Natsumi asked quietly. Pointedly. Staring back at her. "Or do you plan to reveal your true form at some point in all of this?"
"I...I'm not sure," Aqua said honestly, biting down on the words. "Should I throw it all off, and walk into things...as I really am? Or- should I just get into the place i need to be, and do it later? When things are...secured? Stable?"
"I'm sorry for not being a high society member, but please tell me: would it disqualify you from taking your rightful place as Princess, and then Queen, if you were to simply walk into Ancewell as your true self?" Natsumi said delicately. "I don't pay too much attention to the other nations; are there terrible laws about that sort of thing?"
"I wouldn't know that, either," Aqua sighed. "Not anymore. I guess...that's part of why I don't want to just- be so- upfront like that about it. Not until I even know...if it won't bite me in the butt, and ruin any chance I even have of doing this at all. There are magical ways of verifying someone's identity, so I think they would have to accept I am who I say I am, true form or not, but...they might also just be able to get away with calling me an imposter, who fooled them all somehow, and tried to take the place of their lost ruler..."
"Oh!" Natsumi perked up - her fluffy white ears perking up too.
"What is it?" Aqua said.
"Is being bitten on the butt something you'd like from me in future?"
Aqua stared, her jaw dropping. She closed it again, pressing her lips together and turning her head aside. Her hand buried itself in the sheets at her chest. "I- t-thought- we were having- a serious discussion!" she strangled out.
Natsumi blinked at her, looking genuinely puzzled for a moment. Then she smiled, nodding. "Of course we were. I'm so sorry. I suppose my brain just gets so fuzzy after a good night of sex. Kitsune afterglow, you see... But please continue!"
"Um...that's- it's okay," Aqua stammered. She shifted on the bed, reaching up to brush at her hair. She hesitated, frowning. Flushing. "Is...do people really do that during...?" she asked, blurting.
"Oh, there's all kinds of things people do during sex - as we discussed very seriously last night," Natsumi said with a beaming smile. "But we're having another discussion right now, aren't we?"
"Y-yes...right! So..." Aqua swallowed hard, trying to compose herself again. "I don't want to make a decision about it, either way. The- true form thing, not the- butts- thing!" she added hastily, seeing a new glint in the other woman's eye!
"Of course; we're on the same page again," Natsumi said casually. "Did you think we weren't?"
Aqua gave a mild glare, then sat back and turned away, crossing her arms over herself fully.
"Oh, really now, there's no need to pout. Though you do look absolutely adorable right now..."
Aqua wasn't sure if she wanted to keep glaring, or take the compliment that made her feel so warm and wonderful inside (and made her feel like actually squealing, like normal girls did). "A-anyways...That's the extent of that discussion! Really. Can we get dressed and get ready to go now?"
"Yes, we can."
Aqua turned to look at the woman. "Could I have some privacy, please?"
Natsumi gave her a smile, a nod, then strode off into the bathroom and shut the creaky, stained door behind her.
Aqua got to her feet, jumping up and throwing the sheets aside! She squinted and scanned the room, her gaze roaming the floor space. How could her undergarments have just disappeared in such a small space? And where were her accessories? Her sleeves, her sashes and ribbons...?
Oh. There you are! One of you, at least...
She gathered up and put on her outfit again, piece by piece. Bodysuit. Corset. Straps. Gloves. She felt a lot better now, as she smoothed out her arm sleeves and tugged her cloth sash around her waist again. Finally, she strode over to pick up and swathe herself in her red cloak, clicking the clasp above her chest into place. She pulled the hood up and looked to the bathroom door. "Okay - you can come out now. Sorry it took so long..."
Natsumi emerged, happily striding forth. "It was no trouble for me, Aqua. I want to give you the time and space you need to feel as comfortable as possible with me - especially after such a powerful first experience for you."
"W-well...thank you," Aqua mumbled, flushing again. She grabbed for the doorknob and pulled open the motel door. "We should- go now."
"If you want us to, then we will."
"Right..."
Aqua stepped out into humid air and a blinding sun. She regretted it already. She raised a hand up to her forehead, shielding her eyes...squinting out at the world.
Her heels crunched on the dirt road as the town streets came into sharp relief.
She lowered her hand and looked to her left, then her right-
And she froze, a soft gasp escaping her lips.
The pulsing, ocean blue orb, the size of her fist, was drifting down the street from on high - above the rooftops. Its core swirled with a fractal mirror of a shape, an ever-changing mass, reflecting the environment around it.
Scryer's Eyes!
But why was it here?
How?
Had Zitol's army really found her this quickly - or was it someone else's...for someone else?
They could have looked at a map, and tracked her direction, and then gotten ahead of her - come to intercept her - she guessed. Natsumi probably did stand out, racing across the world in flames like she did...
Or, it was just kind of obvious to them where Aqua was heading: toward Zitol. Toward Ancewell. Toward her "home".
She looked to Natsumi; the woman was standing, tensed, a hand on her sword hilt at her side. But her red eyes were on Aqua's face alone, in that moment...
What should I do? Just do what Natsumi said - throw off my hood and LET THEM find me? But I don't know...what they'd do to me - much less to Natsumi. If they think I'm an imposter, traveling with a kitsune... And I'm not ready for this to end, not yet. Either way. It's selfish, it's idiotic, but I just want...I WANT. Is that really so wrong, after SO LONG...being SO TIRED...?
But, on the other hand, if Aqua did keep this up - kept going, dodging, running, hiding - that would only turn this from some "fun adventure" into a serious run for their lives. More Scryers, maybe even mages and soldiers - bounties, warrants for Natsumi's arrest...or execution, for "kidnapping" Zitol's lost princess. It would be a huge misunderstanding, but a reasonable one to make. And Aqua couldn't let Natsumi face that level of scrutiny, infamy, and danger, all because she wanted to...what? To keep playing at being a free woman? Some ordinary woman off on some whirlwind, exciting adventure?
It was anything but.
It couldn't be.
Not with Aqua.
The dangers, the stakes - it was all too high to play games.
But, if she just got this over with, declared herself, proved herself...ascended to her birthright - she could add "giving the princess/queen ample free time" to the list of things she wanted to do. Change about the way this world worked. There was no way she was going to let herself just be locked up in those palace walls all over again! And there was no way she was going to be the kind of leader who just sat up on some throne, judging and ruling from above, instead of down here with her people themselves! In the streets, on their level. Letting their voices be truly heard.
It was a lot, it was going to be...a lot of big changes for Zitol - for the High Council in particular - but...Aqua was determined to do it. She was confident she could.
She just...had to take the first step.
The first step on a path from which there would be no going back.
Aqua brought a hand to her chest, and took a deep breath of hot, dusty air into her lungs.
"You should go; I don't know what's going to happen to me - or to you," Aqua told Natsumi, as she let the breath go in a quaver. "You can hide, disappear - I won't tell anyone we were traveling together. That we even met-"
"Oh, Aqua, I admire the nobility - but I think it's far too late for that," Natsumi interjected lightly. "So many people saw us together on the airstrip, and I'd imagine people have seen us together here and there, too. Even if you tried to keep me out of the story, others would be able to find me regardless. Really...I think we're almost stuck with each other now, aren't we? Neither of us will get a day of peace again..."
Aqua blushed, nodding to the woman. "If- if you're sure. They could hurt you, or worse. I don't know what's going to happen. I don't want to put you in harm's way...I really don't..."
Natsumi's lips spread wide, into a full grin of teeth and fangs. "Isn't that the exciting part? Rest assured, Miss Aqua: I can fight my way out of an ambushing battalion of humans if need be. You know we kitsune are so very hard to put down!" She said it so cheerfully, so proudly...
Aqua gave another, short nod, and turned away to look down the street. She strode out into it, putting herself squarely in the path of the oncoming scrying orb. She reached up her hands and cast off her hood, her eyes fixed to the approaching magical sphere.
The orb floated closer and closer to her, warbling and bobbing in the air...until it came to a halt a dozen feet in front of her. It descended and swooped in closer to her, suddenly, swiftly. It circled around her, coming to a drifting halt in front of her face now. Directly.
Aqua took another breath, and looked straight into its reflective core as she spoke to it. To whichever mage was on the other end of it, controlling the search...
"I understand you've been looking for your lost princess. Well: you found her. I am Aqua Anfilia Tel-Rho Hurnestra...and I'm ready to come home."
She let her breath go, and glanced at Natsumi.
Natsumi raised her eyebrows at her in response. Then- "That was an impressive number of names," she said quietly, amusedly. "My people rarely go past two."
Aqua failed to suppress a snort, her hand going to her mouth.
"Well - now you know why I like to just go by Aqua."
Although, even that name might be something to cast off at some point, depending on what she learned...