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The last thing Rita wanted to admit was that she wanted to be closer to Estelle. If anyone got wind of that, a lot of things would come into question. But really, the last thing she wanted if that ever happens is for Estelle to drift away from her. It defeated the point of being closer to Estelle, basically.
It seemed as if the entire of Terca Lumereis was determined to conspire in order to bring Rita’s little secret wish to fruition, because – and no one knew exactly when it started (maybe when the inns they visited all across the globe became smaller and smaller, the beds fewer and fewer) – but somehow, somehow, Rita was constantly forced to share Estelle’s bed.
It started out simple, really. They stopped by an inn for a night, and they were a bed short. No one wanted to share Raven’s bed. Karol needed the extra bedspace for his overly large weapon. Yuri fell into the habit of letting Repede sleep on the bed with him (much to the chagrin of the innkeeper upon discovering fur on the sheets the next day). Judith claimed that she simply couldn’t sleep on a shared bed. Just about all alternative scenarios were impossible, so it was decided that Rita would climb on Estelle’s bed.
Rita grumbled, of course, complaining and enumerating about a hundred reasons why she just couldn’t sleep in the same bed as Estelles, but everyone else’s excuses apparently were more important than Rita’s. And anyway, Estelle didn’t mind. Besides, they were really good friends, right?
The first time they slept together (in the most innocent sense, please, people), Rita lay stiff and tense at the edge of the bed, while Estelle was curled up comfortably and breathing easy. Estelle wasn’t the most relaxed of sleepers, and constantly moved her arms and legs here and there, inching closer to Rita then drawing back again, which frustrated the mage in more ways than one. That night, Rita hadn’t slept much, scared that she might wake up a little too close for comfort to Estelle. Two hours. That’s all she’d had.
She hoped (okay, not really) that it was the first and last time that it would happen, except somehow the inns they visited suddenly had a shortage of beds – and rooms – and she found herself sharing the bed with Estelle more often. Estelle, meanwhile, was always enthusiastic about it and showered Rita with hugs and glittery excitement (which made Rita burn up in all the wrong ways, and she hated it).
Over and over again, everyone gave excuses. “Oh, I’ll just sleep on the floor.” “My old bones require me ta sleep alone in my bed.” “I’m feeling sick, you know. You might catch it.”
All poor excuses, and Rita had a better reason (I like Estelle but I don’t want anyone to know!) that she couldn’t just voice out. It was like the entire world expressly reduced the number of beds and available rooms in inns just so she and Estelle were made to share the same bed. And every time she was about to go to sleep, Estelle would watch her and smile at her, all giddy like it was some sleepover. Rita frowned and lay on her side, facing away from Estelle, trying to hide her (incredibly) red face.
The nights were bad (okay, not really, but Rita wasn’t ready to admit that, either), but the mornings were worse. Estelle wasn’t a relaxed sleeper, but Rita was less so. She stopped trying to become stiff as a board (it was inevitable – she just couldn’t stay that way while Estelle inched closer to her while deep in slumber) and started relaxing and actually sleeping. Except in the morning, she would wake up just about tangled under the sheets with Estelle. Their friends would always be looking at them, smiling knowingly, and Rita would attempt to untangle herself from Estelle and climb out of bed, only to fail miserably and drag the both of them off the bed, with a confused and just-awakened Estelle landing on top of her on the floor.
For Rita, it was complete chaos. For Estelle, it was absolute confusion. For the rest of their friends, though, it was A+ entertainment. They soon fell into the habit of greeting the pair a big “Good morning, Ristelle!” whenever this happened. The good mornings made Rita more frustrated, and somehow Estelle was getting wind of what was happening, but wasn’t breathing a word about it. Nor would she be complaining when Rita was coaxed into sharing the bed again.
But it didn’t end there. Soon after their first “good morning,” their camp-outs at the plainland became a little more interesting, too. Bedrolls went missing, tents shrank, and the fireside was reserved for the ladies – except Judith, who claimed that she was tougher than Estelle and Rita combined.
Soon, the largest – and only – bedroll was given to the two of them, the others claiming to be fine and that really, they were growing girls who needed decent bedding. Nevermind the fact that Karol was a growing boy, too, who really was getting tired of sleeping on the cold, hard ground. Suddenly, it seemed as if the world wasn’t really the one conspiring to get them to sleep so inappropriately close to each other. It was just the handywork of their friends.
Not that either of them was legitimately complaining. Rita grumbled and shouted and threatened to end everyone’s lives, and Estelle pretended not to care, but often she was caught looking a little more pink-faced than usual whenever the topic was brought up. Rita was getting scared, because the forced physical closeness might be having an effect on Estelle.
And Estelle, indeed, was catching on.
Real fast.
“Rita?”
They were in Halure, and everyone was lucky enough to be granted their own personal room for the evening. Except, of course, for Rita and Estelle. There was only one bed, barely wide enough to fit two people, and the atmosphere felt a little more electric since they were alone. In the same room.
“Rita?”
They were in the bed, under the sheets, Rita doing her best to ignore Estelle and pretend to be asleep, her back turned to the princess.
“Rita?”
Now Estelle was shaking her gently. Rita did look a little stiff and unnatural.
“What?! I’m trying to sleep here, you know!” Rita snapped, sitting up abruptly, which silenced Estelle and made Rita feel guilty. The darkness, thankfully, did well to hide her embarrassment. “Wait, n-no, I didn’t… I didn’t mean to snap at you like that, I just… I didn’t mean to, okay?”
“I’m sorry, I just… I wanted to ask you something.”
Rita simply grunted, which Estelle took to be a signal to go on.
“I, well… Ever since the first time we shared the bed, Yuri and everyone have been acting a little strange.”
“Hmph.”
“And then I started waking up on the floor with you, while everyone’s around standing there, smiling like they know a secret and calling us ‘Ristelle.’”
“Hmph.”
“And then… and then they volunteer us to sleep in the same bedroll when we’re outside cities, and sometimes they disappear and leave us alone and-“
“Ugh, you don’t have to remind me, okay? Please, Estelle. Just ask me your question so I can go to sleep.” Rita sounded frustrated, but really, she was getting more and more nervous by the second, becoming more aware of how close Estelle was to her at the moment, and how she’d entertained the thought of being like this with Estelle often way, way before it actually happened. And way before she was actually ready for it. But the air was electric and it was exactly the fact that she and Estelle were alone in the room that made it more private and personal. There was no point in being embarrassed because no one else could see them, and Estelle didn’t exactly complain when she would wake up entangled with Rita. Not that Rita was hoping, or even willing to push it. It’s just Estelle being Estelle, right? But right now, she sounded absolutely concerned, and this scared Rita more than anything else in the world.
“Well…” Estelle was sitting up, too, and Rita made a pointed effort not to meet her gaze, but it was inevitable. “Why do you think they’re doing it?”
“Why do I-… H-how should I know?!” Rita said, wrapping her arms around. She sat stiffly, as Estelle’s eyes burned a hole through her.
“Well they’re always looking at you and smiling before they look at me, so maybe you know the secret?”
“Honestly, Estelle, I don’t know if there’s even a secret!” Oh, of course there was. It was hers. And it was about to be unveiled. “Why do you even want to know?”
“I’m sorry,” Estelle said, and lay down again. “It was probably just my imagination.”
One. Rita and Estelle were alone in the room. Two. Rita and Estelle shared the same bed. Three. Rita and Estelle were so unbearably close to each other, and…
“Okay, look. Estelle.”
“Yes?”
“I… There’s something I need to tell you, but…” Rita swallowed. “But you must promise me that if you don’t like what you’re going to hear, then… then, at least don’t stop being my friend. Please.”
Estelle had sat up again, smiling brightly. In the dim room, Rita could see her eyes, sparkling with delight.
“Of course I won’t stop being your friend, Rita! I really care about you. I can’t just do that!”
“Yeah.” Here goes nothing. “Estelle, I…I think they know.”
Here words only brought confusion, so she quickly cleared it up. “You see, I think they’ve noticed it before you even did, and they’re just… those bastards. They’re just doing this so they could see what’s going to come out of it. They’re having fun watching this happening!”
“I’m sorry, I don’t think I understand.”
“Estelle,” Rita said, then took a deep breath and continued. “Estelle, I like you.”
“I know that, Rita.”
“What? No! No, I meant I… I admire you. I like you so much sometimes when I’m trying to study how aer works with you, I totally forget about the aer and just stare at you. I like you so much that I can’t really help but be overprotective when it comes to you. I…” Don’t stop now, Rita. You’re on a roll here. “I like you so much I get jealous when you show concern over Yuri, or when you talk about Flynn like he’s some great hero, or-“
At the look of Estelle’s eyes, Rita stopped. Estelle’s hands had flown to her mouth, and her eyes had grown wide open. Rita couldn’t read Estelle’s expression, couldn’t fathom what was going on inside her mind. Rita just stopped, scared that she might say too much. Scared that Estelle won’t hold on to her promise and actually start distancing herself from her. So Rita made the first move.
She crawled out from under the sheets and got up from the bed.
“L-look, I understand, Estelle. I’ll… I’ll just room somewhere else. Don’t worry about-“
“Rita, wait. Where are you going? I didn’t tell you to leave.”
“I-I don’t…”
“Please. Stay.” There was a smile now on Estelle’s face. A knowing smile. The kind that Rita didn’t expect to see on someone like Estelle, castle-bred and textbook-reliant. Reluctantly, Rita made her way back under the sheets, and stiffened when Estelle snuggled up against her.
“I have a secret too,” Estelle said. “Although I didn’t really know it until recently.”
Rita was somehow out of breath, but she managed to say, “Oh yeah?”
“Yes. And my secret is that… I really like sharing a bed with you. And I like it a lot when I wake up in the morning and you’re still with me.”
Rita was speechless, and when she finally thought of what to say, Estelle was already asleep, arms wrapped around Rita. Rita just smiled at this rather unexpected turn of events, and closed her eyes, feeling at peace.
And in the morning, when everyone left their rooms, Estelle was a little more happier, Rita’s face was a little redder, and everyone else was a little confused – at least, up until the point when Estelle grabbed Rita’s hand and seemed intent to never let go. The grins on their friends’ faces meant they were never going to let Rita live it down.
But at least it was, indeed, a good morning for Ristelle.