I wake the following morning to a gentle hand grazing up and down my back. I squint, seeing morning light has flooded into the room, and sink deeper into the comforting hold of the woman I love. My eyes shut again, and I sigh contently against Asteria's skin. She pushes some of my hair back so that her lips gently touch the cool skin of my forehead. The quiet affection reminds me excitedly of the night we shared, and for a moment, I soak in that bliss. Then, as my waking thoughts return, I'm confronted with the rest of our reality â that my mother and sister are aware of our plans and that soldiers are no longer pursuing just me, but also Asteria.
I force my eyes open, finding that at least Asteria's warm face smiling down at me slightly alleviates the pain of that realization.
"Good morning," she says softly. Her thumb traces over my cheek.
"Good morning," I respond. I hesitate for a moment, suddenly fearing that perhaps she regrets rekindling our relationship the evening before, but I move my head upwards anyway, and her lips meet mine eagerly. I savor our slow morning kiss, remembering what it was like to greet each other this way each morning.
"I love you," Asteria says as she pulls away.
"I love you, too," I murmur. My fingers intertwine with her own.
"I was worried you might not feel the same way in the morning," Asteria admits.
I can't help but chuckle.
"What?" Asteria asks, suddenly nervous.
I shake my head. "I was fearing the same. I don't regret anything. I'm only sorry that I kept my distance for so long," I say.
Asteria strokes my hand with her thumb. "Though it was torture, it was also for the best. We both needed some more time to heal and move the coup's efforts forward." Asteria's free hand reaches for my cheek, and I wince at the soreness. "Sorry. Does it hurt? How are you feeling today? I realize we did not save much room for talking last night." Her cheeks are flushed as she says it.
I touch my swollen cheek, finding that it stings. As I stretch, my ribs shift, and a dull ache floods through my body. Painful, but not unbearable. I twist my ankle, but it merely appears bruised judging by the soreness.
"I think the wounds the soldiers inflicted on me were not as bad as the maids," I admit. "How about you?"
"I'm fine," Asteria says. "How are you truly feeling, though? I know yesterday was not what we expected."
I shiver as the memories flood through me again â of confronting my mother and sister in the dark alley, the gunshots ringing out among the crowd of rebels, and the dark waters of Kensington Lake that nearly took my life. My breath grows shallow as the images greet me once more. Despite the joyous evening I spent with Asteria, the fear from the prior day still lingers.
"I'm fine," I lie. "Regardless of what happened yesterday, I'm glad your stance was made clear. Whatever our next steps end up being, we'll have more support going forward."
Asteria simply nods, accepting my lack of an answer, and strokes my shoulder. "I'm here if it would ever be helpful to share your fears." She turns her head, glancing at the closed bedroom door. "I suppose we should get dressed and find out what our next steps are. We didn't make an effort to discuss with everyone what that would be last night."
"I doubt there was much discussion. Everyone needed rest," I say. "Though I do feel guilty I never kept watch."
"Kesuk told you to rest. If anything, I feel badly for not relieving anyone last night."
"I would not have let you," I say, leaning forward to kiss her again. Asteria smiles into my kiss and rolls on top of me. My fingers explore the expanse of her back as she kisses me sweetly and gently.
As she pulls away, her face takes on one of concern. "I wonder what this will mean for us now," Asteria says.
"Hm?" I ask.
"Well, if I am to be queen..."
My heart sinks. I suppose I had not thought much of Asteria's future plans and where I fell into them. Hearing her say those words make me realize that even I'm not sure what my future holds if the coup succeeds.
"There will be time to talk about that later," I say, even if the anxiety over our shared future lingers in the back of my mind.
Asteria nods and leans forward to kiss me again. Just as her lips brush against my own, the bedroom door swings open. Behind Asteria's frame, I can make out the shape of Alba. Shock slowly spreads over her face at the sight of us. I squeak loudly and cover my bare chest, doing my best to hide underneath Asteria. Asteria turns and flashes Alba a weak smile.
I expect Alba to scold us immediately and unleash an ungodly amount of rage upon me for betraying her trust from when I worked in Esterpool, but she merely sighs and holds her head to her forehead.
"We are going to eat some breakfast and move out soon. Hurry up and get dressed," she says.
"Be there shortly," Asteria says, and Alba exits as quickly as she entered.
I cover my face with my arm as embarrassment floods through me.
"Relax," Asteria says, brushing my arm away. "She knows."
My eyes widen. "What?"
"Do you think she would have truly let me search for you if she did not know all the details? I revealed the love affair to her shortly before I began looking for you," Asteria explains.
"And she agreed?!" I exclaim.
"Despite what you may think, Alba has always cared about my happiness first and foremost. She knew how joyful you made me and how miserable I felt in the months after you left."
"She must hate me," I groan.
Asteria chuckles uneasily. "I'm not sure if she'll ever be fond of you, but, truthfully, she always suspected what we were doing, Fetia. She knew I was interested in you as soon as you arrived to Esterpool and cautioned me to treat you only as a maid. She never accused me of my intentions when I removed her from head maid, but it was written all over her face that she knew the reason why. I think if she had cared that strongly, she could have easily figured out what we were up to. After all, she always carried a set of master keys on her."
"And all this time, I thought I had been sly," I say. I realize now is the time to make a confession of my own. I glance up at Asteria. "I had to tell Kesuk and Vasa the other day, after we shared the tent together in Torville. I wasn't able to explain my way out of that one."
Asteria thankfully shows no strong reaction. "How did they take it?" she asks.
"They suspected as well," I say. "Of course, they're still skeptical of Magnuvian royalty, but I think they respect that you make me happy. Although...I did tell them I was keeping distance from you for now, so I suppose I have to admit that's no longer the case."
"Well, if half our party knows, we should tell Arabelle, too. She deserves to know."
"And your guards?"
"Well, I had to be honest to get them to join me," Asteria says.
I chuckle. "I guess it was nice keeping everything secret for a little while." I tuck some stray hair behind Asteria's ear and give her a short kiss.
"Hopefully we will never have to keep it secret again," Asteria responds firmly, squeezing my hand tightly. My heart warms at her comment, and I feel sudden hope for the future ahead.
We reluctantly leave the warmth of the bed behind and dress for the day. As we exit the bedroom, our fingers naturally intertwine and remain that way. Neither of us seem content letting go, and I no longer feel the need to pull away.
The others are awake and gathered in the kitchen as they prepare a breakfast with what little supplies we still have. Their faces are weary from the evening before, and now in the daylight, I get a better sense of everyone's injuries. Asteria's guards appear the most wounded and are rebandaging their injuries as we enter, whereas the others only appear moderately hurt. Thankfully, that means we should be able to resume our travels.
"Good morning," Kesuk says as we enter. His gaze falls to our conjoined hands, then he quickly looks back at me. "How are you feeling, Fetia?"
"Better," I say.
"Well, we should start discussingâ"
I clear my throat. "Before that, Asteria and I wanted to be upfront about something," I say. "I believe some of you are already aware of it, but..." I open my mouth to share the secret aloud, but Asteria takes on the burden for me.
"Fetia and I had a love affair in Esterpool," she says. "And we intend to continue to hold each other dear."
The others who had previously known look a little shocked at the blunt mention of our rekindled relationship, but quickly, they calm and give nothing more than a brief verbal acknowledgment. Meanwhile, Arabelle looks as if she has misheard us.
"You are joking," Arabelle says, mouth agape.
"No," Asteria answers.
Arabelle's eyes widen. "So your favoritism towards her?"
"Favoritism is one way to describe it," Asteria murmurs.
"Princess, she was a part of a scheme to kill your family, and you, remember?!" Arabelle exclaims.
"I have said again and again â I was not going to kill Asteria," I argue. I hope Alba listens intently, too, though I know I will probably never be favorable in either of their eyes.
"I love Fetia," Asteria says firmly. "I still do, and though it took us some time to warm back up to each other, we continue to love each other. I'll stress again that it was my decision to support this plan. My love for Fetia inspired it, but it is nonetheless still my choice to continue with the coup de taut."
I smile warmly at her, ignoring Arabelle's look of disgust out of the corner of my eye.
"And likewise, I will also do what I can to support the plan. We merely wanted to be honest," I say.
"I'm sure it's not a surprise to any of us â er, besides Arabelle, I suppose, but thank you both for your honesty. I hate to cut the emotional moment short, but we need to discuss next steps," Kesuk says.
I nod in agreement, thankful to have the attention directed away from my relationship with Asteria.
"I will be as wanted by my brother as Fetia and her mother and sister now," Asteria says. "There is no doubt word has reached Magewell about the coup de taut, which will make me an enemy and traitor to Magnuvia. Whatever protection I once had is surely gone."
Kesuk nods. "We were at least prepared for this."
"I'm sorry," I murmur to Asteria. "My mother and sister are partially responsible."
The others gaze at me in surprise, and I realize I only made brief mention to Asteria the evening before that I ran into my mother and sister.
"They were in the bar last night," I explain. "That's why I left. I pursued them and confronted them, and they admitted me to me they have a spy inside Magewell who knew that Asteria had taken off to Flumensia and not been seen since. They admitted too that they did catch sight of us in Olnfield, and their spy was the one who alerted the soldiers and made sure they'd be in the area, ready to capture us. I'm sure they schemed to make sure we'd be there last night. There were probably allies of their own who made sure to lure us to the rebel meeting."
Kesuk sighs. "And I was trying to be so careful."
I shake my head. "My mother is cunning. It would have been hard to predict that she would use our shared clientele to try to stop us. From here on out though, we'll need to be careful about who we associate ourselves with."
"The good news is that since I am now a likely traitor to Magnuvia, I'm not sure how effective their spy will be," Asteria says.
"He won't be effective in killing you, but I am sure he can aid them in killing King Stephan," I say. "From what my mother said last night, it seems she'd rather have the soldiers take care of murdering you. That leaves me wondering when they'll strike at Stephan. I'm not sure when they intend to kill him, but it can't be much longer."
The others seem disappointed by this, but Kesuk tries to keep everyone's spirits high.
"We have numbers, and we can use them whenever we are ready. Besides, I doubt your family would plan to kill Stephan prior to Asteria. They will want to make sure both are accounted for, even if she is a traitor, and if they're assuming the soldiers will kill her, that buys us some time," Kesuk says. "Right now, we need to focus on getting out of Flumensia."
"Leave Flumensia?!" Arabelle asks.
"It wouldn't be wise to remain here," Asteria says. "Magnuvian soldiers will start scouring the entirety of this country. My brother won't take my threat lightly."
"Can't we go east?" Vasa asks. "The map shows a forest reserve in Magnuvia a little ways from here. That might provide us some shelter."
Asteria shakes her head. "To enter Magnuvia would be a death sentence right now. I am sure they have soldiers stationed near every entrance of the border."
"What about Tabafaga?" one of Asteria's soldiers suggests.
My heart lurches on the name â the place my father died. I know little about the desert country, only that the warm, arid climate is persistent year-round and that none of us here have any experience traversing such terrain.
"I don't think that would be ideal," Kesuk says, sharing some of the same sentiments as me. "Besides, the farther sourth we go, it will be harder to gain allies and converse with our current ones."
"Rorola is also east," Vasa says.
Landiani. My home country. I have never been to the village of Rorola, but its name rings a bell. I go quiet when I remember the reason why.
"What?" Vasa asks, noticing my pause.
"My aunt - my father's sister â supposedly lives there," I explain.
"Do you think she would be willing to join our cause, or at least shelter us?" Kesuk asks.
"I don't know," I admit. "I do not have a connection with that side of the family. But I do know the jungle. It's probably the best place we can hide from soldiers."
"Then I think we should give it a try," Kesuk says.
"What about crossing the border?" I ask.
"You know the jungle, right? You and Vasa should be able to figure out a way to cross it," Kesuk says.
"True, but even if we can, I still am not sure my aunt will want to see me," I murmur.
"Fetia, we should try," Asteria urges. "It's the most feasible option at the moment."
I take a deep breath, then nod. After all, we have little options left. We must flee Flumensia.
Vasa smiles at me excitedly, then. "We're going home!" he exclaims.
I manage a weak smile in response, though I know it's not true. Tetoa is my home, and I cannot bear to see what it has become since the Magnuvians ravaged it. However, my heart does skip a beat thinking of the jungle and ocean of Landiani again. When I think of showing it all to Asteria for the first time, my heart flutters.
However, the thought of seeing my aunt causes a pit to form in my stomach. I excuse myself to get some fresh air.
"Don't linger long or stray away. We need to pack up and leave soon," Kesuk says.
"I won't," I promise, only stepping a few paces away from the house so that I am still in view. I pace nervously outside, jumping slightly as I hear the front door open. Asteria approaches, looking concerned.
"Tell me to leave if you'd prefer to be by yourself," she says.
I shake my head.
"What's wrong?" Asteria asks.
"I don't know. I told myself when I returned to Landiani, it would be because we had succeeded, but now I am returning with King Stephan still in power," I say.
"That was a large promise to keep to yourself," Asteria says. She gently grabs my hand. "Besides, you have made progress since then. I've joined you now."
I squeeze her hand back. "Truthfully, I'm also worried about meeting my aunt."
"Haven't you met her before?" Asteria asks.
I shake my head.
"Will she turn us in?"
"I don't know. I don't think so, but I cannot say she will be happy to see me or learn about our cause. I have never really known my father's family. Once he passed, his family became estranged from us. I think they always resented my mother for getting him involved in her politics. They blame her for his death," I say.
"Do you?" Asteria asks.
I sigh, having debated the question since his death.
"I don't know. My mother does not think his death on the battlefield was an accident â that Magnuvia drafted him purposefully because they had caught word of my mother's schemes and wanted to punish her. Either way, he is still dead by their hands. I think his family would have preferred if he had never married my mother. I worry my aunt will feel the same and that she will not want to be involved with me."
"But you are not your mother," Asteria says. "That was the whole point in you breaking off from the rest of your family. You must give her a chance, and hopefully she will give you one, too."
"You're right. Thank you," I murmur.
Asteria brings her palm to my cheek and kisses me sweetly. I no longer am embarrassed by who can see us through the window and kiss her back, happy to share our love publicly for the first time.
"It will be okay," Asteria says as she pulls away. "If anything, I am excited to see your home country."
I grin. "I can't wait to show it to you. The jungle may not be your favorite, but there are supposedly beautiful beaches in Rorola. I can't wait to show you the ocean."
"I cannot wait," Asteria says. "Even if you did not intend to return to Landiani this way, I think this is for the best."
"I hope so," I say. I squeeze her hand, feeling a bit better. "Let's head inside. We have another journey to prepare for."
Asteria nods and happily follows behind me.