Crimson and Gold

After Mormo, Eris, Lysandra, and Saria finalized the details of their joint operation in the city, the latter two moved to the room prepared specially for them.

According to what they agreed upon, Saria and Eris would go to the slum the next night to investigate a potential source of the weird outbreak.

Coming back to the Palace in the middle of the night one day early would get unnecessary attention, so the couple agreed to stay in ‘Charybdis’ until the next day.

Lying in bed on her side, Saria’s eyes lingered on Lysandra’s face, silently observing the tiniest changes appearing in her expression.

She watched how the golden irises were wandering aimlessly over the surface of the ceiling marked by small cracks. She observed how the Princess’ long, straight eyebrows knit together, forming a small crease between them, then relaxed in the next moment as if it never happened.

Saria noticed the gentle twitch of Lysandra’s lips, as if she thought about something mildly amusing.

Unexpectedly, the Princess turned her head, and their eyes met.

The passionate crimson meeting the authority of the purest gold.

One could think that such an encounter would result in an inevitable clash, yet it was the meeting most harmonious.

Like two pieces of a puzzle fitting perfectly together.

“A copper for your thoughts,” Lysandra whispered, hooking Saria’s pinky with her own.

“Just admiring,” she heard in response. The teasing rasp in her lover’s voice hinted that perhaps it wasn’t ‘just’ admiring…

Lysandra smiled contentedly and inched closer.

Had it been said by anyone else, she’d roll her eyes and sigh at the banality she heard countless times. An empty flattery spoken by people who notice her only for her looks, never for who she really was.

For many years now, the Princess grew to hate those compliments.

What was the point of them? She had a mirror, she knew how she looked. There was no need to have it pointed out at every opportunity.

Especially when everything else about her was dismissed.

Especially, when that supposed compliment carried a certain expectation and obligation.

Her opinions on matters beyond triviality were ignored, her entire existence was reduced to being a glorified decoration, and yet she was expected to be grateful for it. That gratitude had to be expressed in a proper way, too, of course.

Preferably in a bedchamber.

Because of this, Lysandra believed she would never enjoy being complimented for her appearance, always feeling like she wasn’t being taken seriously.

Then, she met Saria, and one glance into her eyes crumbled that conviction to dust.

How different it was to be desired by someone who actually saw her as a person.

Saria taught her that desire didn’t have to be selfish. That it didn’t have to be about possessing and stripping someone of their agency.

How different it felt to be desired by the one who wanted to see her thrive.

At that moment, there were so many things Lysandra wanted to say, so much gratitude she wanted to express, but no words seemed good enough.

So she closed the distance between them, catching Saria’s lips and the gasp that escaped them, and poured everything she wanted to say into that kiss.

When they separated some time later, their faces were flushed, breaths rugged and the bed was in a state suggesting an encounter with an especially vicious tornado.

Saria rolled to the side, facing Lysandra with a very proud smile. “I feel like I was rewarded, but I don’t even know what for,” she laughed.

“For being you,” the Princess answered honestly. “For finding me, for being by my side, for loving me.”

Such an unexpectedly profound declaration made Saria’s heart race. Her face reddened again, even coloring the tips of her ears with a bright shade of red.

“You’re spoiling me so much, Your Highness. It has been only a few days, but I don’t know how I will go back to falling asleep without you by my side.” Saria sighed with a very pronounced dramatic flair.

Lysandra knew Saria was joking. They both were aware of the dangers waiting for them in the Palace, threats that would gladly prey on their relationship and use it against them.

She knew it in her mind, but her heart couldn’t help but ache. She also wanted to fall asleep, embraced by her lover every night and wake up to the safety of her presence every morning.

All of the sweet moments they experienced over the past couple of days seemed to weaken her resolve.

The Princess started harboring thoughts she had never before.

What if they ran away?

What if she rejected her name, her status, her past and future, and ran away with Saria somewhere far away?

Somewhere where they could be seen as just two women in love, living an ordinary life.

Leaving behind all the obligations, expectations, forgetting about the politics, the conspiracies, prophecies, or drugs. There were others bound to be responsible for it.

Saria would no longer have to risk her life, and Lysandra wouldn’t have to walk on eggshells trying to find solutions to never-ending problems.

Simple life felt so enticing in that moment. It was hard for her to resist just grabbing Saria’s hand and running away this very moment.

Nonetheless, no matter how much she yearned for a simple life with the woman she loved, the Princess knew that it was a life neither of them would be willing to embrace.

One of the things that she loved and respected about Saria was exactly her inability to look away when someone was in need. Her heart was too gentle, too compassionate to put herself above others.

Lysandra couldn’t look away either.

If she could, she wouldn’t have started working with Drusus, Keros would have never existed, and Saria would have never appeared in her life.

This last part was something she wouldn’t be able to give up on. Ever.

In the end, there was nothing else left for her but to accept that both of them had been bound by destiny, and until they fulfill that destiny, the peaceful life had to wait.

“You’re drifting again,” Saria pointed out, her voice like an anchor pulling Lysandra’s mind back to the present. “Are you worried about us going back to the Palace?”

“Mm,” Lysandra hummed. “I wonder what insanity Loukios will come up with this time.”

“Whatever it is, we’ll face it together,” Saria assured.

Her thumb caressed Lysandra’s cheek, then her hand ventured lower, to her back. She brushed the Princess’ exposed skin with her fingertips, sending a pleasant shiver down her spine.

“I have my magic now,” she continued. “I bet he’s not expecting it, so we have the upper hand here. He won’t be able to lay a finger on you when I’m here. I promise.”

Lysandra smiled softly, resting her head against Saria’s shoulder. “Don’t do anything reckless. Your safety is all that matters to me,” she whispered, closing her eyes.

Saria’s hand traced the curve of her waist until it reached the peak of the Princess’ hip. There, her thumb found the small birthmark and lazily drew circles around it.

The first time she saw it, Saria couldn’t help but marvel at its peculiar shape.

Like a crescent moon surrounded by an incomplete sun. After looking at it for a long time, Saria concluded that it only made sense that her extraordinary woman was born with a birthmark, unlike any other.

Thinking about it now, she mused that maybe it was simply a sign of recognition by the Heavens. After all, it was clear as day that Lysandra was destined for greatness.

Smiling to her own thoughts, Saria got up and placed a tender kiss on the Princess hip where the Crescent Sun had bloomed.

“In this life or the next, there is no power that could separate me from you. And if life sets us on separate ways, there will be nothing that could stop me from coming back to you. Even the death itself.”

A few floors down, in the part of the ‘Charybdis’ where the employees had their quarters, Eris and her sister, Aide, were preparing to end the day too.

“You seem in a good mood,” Aide said, glancing at her sister happily combing her hair in front of a small old vanity in the corner of their room.

“I am,” Eris smiled to her sister through the mirror. She put down the comb and turned around, biting her lip. “Starting from tomorrow, I’ll be helping Saria in the city,” she said, not hiding the excitement.

Aide retrieved her gaze and sat quietly for a moment, weighing her words.

“I’ve heard she and the Princess are an item,” she began eventually. “You shouldn’t force yourself between them.”

The bliss disappeared from Eris’ face as she scoffed. “The Princess may have her now, but clearly Saria and I are destined to be.”

“She has no destiny, I told you this already,” Aide snapped.

It wasn’t the first time she had this conversation with her sister, but no matter how many times she explained, it was like talking to a wall.

This time was no different.

Eris got up from the vanity and, in a few quick steps, approached her sister sitting on the bed.

Kneeling in front of her, she chased after Aide’s cast-down gaze.

“You know your visions aren’t always accurate,” Eris said once their eyes finally met. “Besides, you said it yourself that I’m destined to meet a woman with hair black as night and eyes red like blood.”

Aide puffed her cheeks. “The woman in my vision had tattoos on her face. Saria doesn’t have them.”

“Well… maybe she’ll get them in the future?” Eris shrugged.

The younger sister sighed helplessly. It seemed that love turned her sibling into someone who couldn’t be reached with reason.

Eris didn’t move from her spot. Looking at Aide, she frowned in worry. “I thought you like Saria. Why are you so opposed to us being together? Wouldn’t you want her to be a part of our family?”

“Of course, I like her. She saved me from that horrible place. How could I not like her?” Aide retorted. “But I’m worried about you. I don’t want to see you hurt.”

“Don’t worry about me, Silly. I’ll be fine. I know what I’m doing,” Eris said, sitting next to her sister on the bed and pulling her into a hug.

Despite her confidence, Aide could only sigh quietly, hoping that it was true.