Little in Alonia (Open)

[Virgilia de Artio]

Virgilia sighed happily as Laura kissed her and a smile spread across her face when the other woman kissed her neck and she listened to the other woman's words. Laura’s first sentence, even if it was the truth or not made put Virgilia at ease. At least the other woman seemed to take everything surprisingly well. Turning her head a little she felt the other woman letting go obviously going to start packing.

But then something hit the princess as she thought back to what the other woman had said. It was as if she had replied to something she had thought. Could the other woman really reply to a question she had read on Virgilia's face or was it something more behind it? Shooking her head a little she snapped out of her thoughts deciding that this was not the time for speculating.

Looking around she wondered if there was anything she could do to help and decided to at least gather her own belongings and did so within short time. When putting her stuff into the handbag she found herself holding the volume Laura had given her earlier and smiled down at it. She would remember to start reading it later she told herself before carefully placing it into the bag.

Turning back to the blonde woman she held out her hand as if asking if she needed help to carry anything.

["Babs" Delton]

There wasn’t very much altogether to bring. Most of her earnings had gone to just stabilizing her new life—buying or building furniture and clothes—and so most of what she thought of was light and necessary. The only thing she didn’t have, however, was something to carry it all in. She changed while she thought, selecting a tan kirtle to go over her chemise in some attempt to be less conspicuous than she would be with a more vivid color. Her boots and dark surcoat were already suitable for the road, thankfully. The idea she came up with was simple enough; she would open her mattress and remove the straw. She would just roll everything up in the cloth and use old belts to strap the roll to her shoulders.

Regardless of all the circumstances, Laura was smiling as she gathered everything. As she worked, she spotted the copy of her collection that she had given Virgilia. There was a sad feeling; she probably wouldn’t be setting up her stand for a long time, if ever again. A few concerned customers would probably ask around. The taverner was her landlord. If was only a matter of time before he would enter the home and find most of her possessions and her mattress cover missing. The odds were that he would either believe that Laura had been disappeared and robbed by the Vampire he had seen or he would imagine the truth, that Laura was now aiding that same Vampire. Either way, he would inform the law. Still, there was some solace in that her family would have no idea that one of theirs was mixed up in either possible report. They would make a pithy remark (or even two) about the news and not even consider posting another guard for the estate. In the midst of her thoughts, she noticed Virgilia approach, holding out her hand.

“Oh…” Laura tried to think of something she could carry. Of course, she wouldn’t be able to carry her writing kit. Since it was the only real way they had been able to exchange information, they needed to take that as well, but it wasn’t the best idea to add it to the roll. “If you have room, I can only think of the writing things right now,” she finished with an earnest smile.

As she finished the roll, her thoughts fell upon her with yet another concern. Virgilia was royalty. Wherever their travels, surely Virgilia would have to return to her duties. That thought gave Laura genuine pause for a moment. She turned over the depressing thought with one of her revelatory sighs; there was no use getting caught up in things that had not happened yet or were inevitable. Laura finished the roll, again in good form, though she felt a little unbalanced. Breakfast would have to come before they went too far, or else the blood loss would compound with hunger and Laura would be about as useful as a soaked torch.

When the roll was against her back, Laura took one last reach with her senses. Voices still swelled and ebbed outside of the door and the snow still fell outside of the back window. Laura observed that it was a soft snow, the kind that took the longest amount of time to join the ground. She opened it. What awaits, she thought.

[Virgilia de Artio]

Placing her bag on the desk Virgilia started making room for the writing kit, carefully placing it in the left side of the handbag before closing it. Turning to Laura she walked over to the other woman and placed a slender hand on her shoulder, following the other woman’s gaze out at the snow. Are you scared? She wondered as she felt the wind blowing inside the room and through her hair.

Smiling the brown haired woman raised her hands that started glowing green. Up from the green glow a beautiful blue flower rose and bloomed despite the cold wind and weather. A short moment later the glow disappeared and the princess gently grabbed the flower with her left hand. Looking up at Laura’s blonde hair she then lifted the flower up and placed it in her own mouth before reaching up to the other woman’s hair quickly making a small plait of some of the loose hair. Taking a hold of the flower again she carefully placed it in Laura’s hair. Beautiful… she thought at the sight in front of her and her cheeks turned slightly red.

At the moment the princess had seen that the other woman didn’t seem that happy and hoped that the flower might cheer her up a little. She would do her best to help the other woman to find peace again before they had to part and Virgilia would have to go back to the city of Venus. Frowning a little by the thought she turned to look out. She did want to be with Laura but she couldn’t leave her status as a princess. She owed the king and queen so much and never had she disobeyed them in any way.

Yet another time the princess looked back at Laura and let her eyes scan the other woman’s clothes. Was that really enough clothes for the cold winter out there? She wondered, trying to remember how much clothes a normal human would need in such cold weather. Most people certainly needed a lot of thick clothes, and Virgilia concluded to herself that they had to stop somewhere to get Laura some new winter clothes.

["Babs" Delton]

Alonia. A sprawl of the black of soot and wood smoke and white of paint and snow that trespassed the edges of the plateau. As the two walked along the streets to the southern gates, two different worlds seemed to cover the tops of each others' hands. People gossiped and traded and shouted the values of their products in the markets, and yet the thickest of Winter days fell upon them, taking sound and light. With the blue rose in her hair, Laura felt like a mystery in motion, a rare creature slinking in the thickest snow. Blue roses did not exist in nature, yet stories somehow knew it as a sign of being enchanted by the first sight of someone.

They soon crossed into the world without Alonia. A range of mountains separated them from the next beacon of civilization. The snow fell in thick, light tufts filling so much space in the air that Laura felt that surely the two were spirits wandering another world. Such was their path through thickets of ancient dark trees in the sunless day that their sounds barely seemed to escape the inches around them. Since they left the window, Laura felt the question that sneaked into her thoughts settling in her mind like a fog: Are you scared?

It was an hour into the journey, then outside of even Alonia's estate lands, that Laura let the pace leave her. There would be weeks of these sights. The food they purchased would increasingly become tough. They would have to supplement it with anything they could find on the road--certain edibles under the snow were a possibility--but Laura did not feel the pressure of these difficulties. There would be little time for ink and paper, and yet now Laura wanted to answer. The mysteriously appearing question, the past, the future; they all felt like things that needed an answer, so she held onto Virgilia and with an altogether new spirit, leaned into a new kiss.

...No and never again...

[Virgilia de Artio]

Walking beside Laura in the travel streets in Alonia, feeling like a somewhat normal commoner as she didn’t get looks the kind of looks that she used to, was a very much new feeling to the princess. Of course her thin clothes made her stick out a little, but that wasn’t much compared to how it used to be at least at home. Sometimes she would reach out to hold onto Laura’s arm if someone shouted too loudly or something else made her scared. Always feeling safe knowing that the other woman wasn’t just an illusion. At times the thought that she was doing so to make sure Laura was real would cross her mind but she would push it always, feeling slightly silly for having such a thought.

Then they left the houses, people and boundary of Alonia. The snow was deep and she would often find herself worried if the other woman was wearing enough clothes. Looking at the endless mountains in front of her she felt slightly worried. How long time did she have before she had to return? Not more than she needed, that was for sure.

‘…No and never again…’

“huh?” The voice in her head made her look around before she felt Laura holding onto her, making the princess look straight at her. The look on Laura’s face made Virgilia smile a little, it surely seemed like she was ready for this. No matter what happened she would protect the woman in front of her, she promised herself.

So did Laura say that just now? She wondered, maybe it was just her imagination that she didn’t say it out loud, which was what she actually did. I’m glad. She smiled broadly as she leant forward a little and her lips met Laura's.