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Chapter Text

It was Valentine’s Day in Rigbarth. The midday sun shone brightly, and the smell of freshly baked cookies filled the air. Ludmila, normally warm and sweet herself, sat at the dock, pouting as she watched the cold water of the river rush past her fishing line. She hoped desperately to catch a poisonous rainbow trout. While she loved its flavor, it was the tingling sensation from the toxins that she really wanted. She would really be happy to enjoy such a fish on any day. Today, however, she hoped such a catch would help her feel more numbness and less heartache. She sighed and watched her line, hoping for something good to turn her day around so she could smile for Alice like she wanted to.

“Yes! Heeeeeeeey, Ludmila! There you are. We were looking all over for you,” yelled Lucy. Ludmila turned towards the excited shouting to see Lucy jogging carefully down the slope toward the dock.

“Hi Lucy. What has you all hot and bothered? Wait, who was looking for me?” Ludmila asked in an uncharacteristically anxious tone.

Lucy paused to catch her breath, then said, “Priscilla and I were looking for you. Well, Priscilla was, but I bet her I could find you first. And I did! Anyway—” Lucy had cut herself off, noticing that Ludmila’s tone was missing its musicality, and her smile was off in some way she couldn’t quite read.

“Heya, you feeling ok, Ludmila? This morning, you said you were so happy you could explode. And with the way you were singing to all your flowers and dancing around the shop, I’d have believed you!”

“It's nothing, I think. I didn’t expect to start feeling … ” Ludmila trailed off, distracted by the jealousy that had been gnawing at her heart all day. Right now, she didn’t even feel sure Lucy could be trusted around Alice.

“Well, I was just so caught up in the anticipation of going on a super special Valentine’s Day date with Alice that I forgot all about the cookies, and they came out a little … overdone.”

“Oh. I am sure it will be fine. It’s the thought that counts, right? I hope so anyway. I screwed up my cookies, too. See … ” Lucy paused to pull a small checkered cloth from her pocket. She untied the knot and unfolded the cloth, revealing a crumbly pile of roughly heart shaped cookies, most of which were scorched and had cracked down the middle. “Ta da! Friendship cookies! And here is one for you,” Lucy said, grinning as she placed the least burnt of the cookies into Ludmila’s hand. Lucy’s grin turned halfway into a mildly embarrassed cringe as she sheepishly warned, “They’re uh, … worse than they look, so maybe don’t actually try them.”

Ludmila held the cookie in her hand for a moment while Lucy examined her face for a reaction. Ludmila’s heart-shaped pupils still seemed to be staring through anything she looked at, but she at least started to smile just before she suddenly tossed the heart cookie into her mouth.

“Ack— No! I didn’t even put enough sugar in!” shouted Lucy, whose cheeks had flushed pink with embarrassment.

“I think it is so sweet that you wanted to give me a cookie at all,” Ludmila said, having already chewed and swallowed the cookie.

Lucy was unsure whether Ludmila devoured the cookie as a friendly gesture or as a way to inflict pain upon herself, but Lucy was still relieved to see that Ludmila had enjoyed it either way.

“Still, my cookies turned out just terrible, and it would break my heart into a million pieces if she got sick or hurt trying to eat the cookies I made her,” Ludmila pouted, pulling out a large chocolate chip cookie that was slightly darker around the edges than at its center. Ludmila shook her head as she tapped the side of the cookie against the solid planks of the fishing dock to demonstrate how overdone the cookie had become.

“Whaaaat? Come on, that cookie looks fine. It’s what, a little crisp around the edges? Plus, Alice likes that in a cookie anyway. I know you, Priscilla and I like cookies on the softer side, but Alice will love it.”

“No really, Lucy. It's a bad cookie. A really bad cookie,” Ludmila argued back. She forcefully smacked the cookie twice against a large stone embedded in the riverbank beside her, causing two loud clacks to ring out as well as causing a small crack to form on the stone’s surface. Ludmila placed the cookie down on the rock, gently discarding it and looked back towards Lucy, expecting her to finally agree.

“Um. I am sure if she soaked it in some milk or something … ”

Ludmila sighed heavily, raising a skeptical eyebrow at Lucy. Ludmila set her fishing pole down to pick up her staff.

“—Huh? What are you—”

Ludmila extended her arm outward and pointed the staff at the innocent looking chocolate chip cookie as a cloud of pure darkness began to form around the head of the staff. The ribbons and frills of Ludmila’s dress shook and stretched toward the lightless cloud as it sucked in the surrounding air into its emptiness. The cloud drifted towards the cookie, enveloping the area around the cookie and the stone alike. Before a moment had passed, the blackness dissipated like fog. The moss on the side of the stone had decayed. The stone itself and the earth beneath it eroded into dust as if ten thousand years of natural forces had visited it in an instant. The cookie sat unscathed.

“There is no way I could give Alice something so awful. I couldn't bite through it—and Alice doesn’t even have fangs!”

Lucy’s jaw hung open as she stared at the cookie as it lay in the small crater, unnerved by the spectacle. She sat in silence until she noticed Ludmila’s lips crinkle back into a frown.

Lucy began searching for the right words to console Ludmila over her cookie problem. “Ha … er … okay,” she swallowed, “Maybe the cookie didn’t turn out so well. B-But I bet Alice would still be happy that you loved her enough to try. I’m sure she wouldn’t want you to be so upset.”

Ludmila sat back down staring down into the water. “I know,” she sighed.

Lucy couldn’t help but grow suspicious at this response. She knew Ludmila could be very sensitive about hurting or disappointing others, but Ludmila was sulking instead of being expressive and over-the-top apologetic.

“Hey, Ludmila, if there is anything else bothering you, you can tell me anything,” she said softly.

Ludmila could tell Lucy was sincere. It was the same gentle tone Lucy used when she wasn’t wrapping her concern for Julian in insults and teasing. Ludmila relented. “I know it’s probably nothing. I just feel so jealous when I see everybody looking at Alice. I get so jealous it hurts, but not even the fun kind of pain either. ”

“H-Huh, what do you mean jealous?!” said Lucy with a hint of guilt.

“Well, Alice is such a big sweetie that she made cookies for everyone, and everyone knows she is just the best person ever, so I was prepared for that. But it really, really seems like half the town was flirting with her today. It almost looked like she was flirting back.”

Lucy choked, then shifted nervously, clutching the cookie in her pocket that Alice gave her when they were flirting with each other earlier this morning. Her mind began to race. Gah, I’m such a huge idiot! Why does my stupid brain just turn to pudding when Alice smiles at me?! And then I spout some crap about how she’s cute. And it’s not my fault she impulsively returns any compliment. It’s not fair! And I still can’t manage to tell Priscilla how I feel, but Alice just grins and flashes those long, beautiful eyelashes at me, and I just … Ugh, wait a minute, I screwed up and hurt Ludmila, and I’m the one complaining?! What the hell, Lucy?! Lucy took a deep breath and tried to remain focused on the fact that Ludmila was the one hurt here, feeling she was the one who deserved to be comforted right now.

“I … erm … so, you’re feeling jealous, huh?” Lucy stammered.

“Yes, and I just can’t help it—and I hate it! Alice deserves my trust, right?” Ludmila asked, turning to face her friend, looking desperate for reassurance.

Lucy listened, then sat quietly, trying to figure out how to best explain to Ludmila that her girlfriend was, until a season ago, Rigbarth’s most eligible bachelorette, that everyone was, in fact, flirting with Alice, and that Alice compulsively flirts back and barely seems cognizant she does this.

“Hey … uh … Let’s talk for a bit?” Lucy said, hoping to console Ludmila. However, Ludmila looked more dejected than before. Ludmila was used to hearing Lucy sing Alice’s praises. Hearing Lucy respond to her with such a hesitant tone had begun to dissolve Ludmila’s last bit of hope that this was all in her head.

“Woah, woah! Hold on. Look, I’ve known Alice for as long as she has lived here, and I don’t think you have anything to worry about,” Lucy began.

Ludmila sniffled, “Yeah?”

Lucy cleared her throat. “Alice does get a little, uh, friendly when she gets attention from people, and I totally get why that would hurt.” Especially when it’s with Priscilla . “But that is just one of her weird little quirks. Honestly, I’m not really even sure she knows when she does it. She has always been honest and sincere and compassionate and someone that everyone can depend on, especially you. She loves you, and I would be able to say I have never met anyone so head-over-heels in love if I didn’t also know you. Just let her know how you feel.”

Lucy saw that Ludmila had begun to smile, and began to smile herself.

“Awwwww! Lucy, you are soooooo sweet! You are right. I can count on her, and I can count on you, too.”

Lucy’s smile grew wider. And she closed her eyes and tilted her face towards the sun. “ Aw, Geez. I really mean it though, Ludmila. Alice may be a big, flirty dork, and always has been, but she loves you like no one else, and you don’t need to worry just ‘cause idiots like me are so weak for that cute smile that they can’t stop flirting with her.” Lucy's eyes snapped open as she realized that might not have been the most comforting choice of words. She slowly turned her head towards Ludmila.

“Wait, what?! You were flirting with her too!? I-I—Lucy! Why?!” Ludmila shouted, eyes wide with shock, hurt, and even a little anger.

Lucy felt a cold chill of panic explode outward from her racing heart, seizing up every muscle. For a moment, Lucy glanced towards the pit where the stone was utterly annihilated and considered fleeing, but when she looked back at Ludmila, Lucy found her fear slowly fighting with the feelings she felt most often, love for the people close to her—and guilt . With her heart still tearing in ten directions at once, Lucy began to let her feelings pour out faster and faster.

“I’m really, reeeaaally sorry Ludmila. I said Alice was bad with impulsively flirting when I am even worse! Yeah, she is cute, but it’s all a big joke anyway. You’re so giving and graceful, and you know just how to make Alice’s heart beat right out of her chest, and you’re tall and beautiful, and always smell really nice and ... Please don’t worry about Alice ever wanting some stupid, sweaty, klutz!” her eyes began to well with tears as she continued, “... and now I hurt your feelings because I couldn’t keep my mouth shut when Alice gave those cookies andIprobablyruinedeverythingelsetooandAliceisn’tevenwhoI—”

Lucy only stopped her spiral when she felt a single gloved finger lay vertically across her lips to hush her. Ludmila began to speak softly, just louder than the swift currents running beneath the dock.

“Lucy, you know I can’t stand hearing people say cruel things, even to themselves. I … You have been so accepting of me since the day I moved in, and you did so much to introduce me to everyone. I … I would be lying if I said I wasn’t still feeling a little upset, but I understand more than anyone in the whole wide world how much effort it takes to hold back strong feelings of affection.”

Lucy looked quietly over towards Ludmila, whose heart-shaped pupils only seemed to intensify her look of concern and pity, and slowly began to process everything over the course of several silent seconds. Then she began to laugh gently, then more intensely, until she was clutching her abdomen and doubled over. She laughed at herself for allowing herself to forget that Ludmila’s penchant for jealousy was dwarfed by her boundless compassion. Mostly, however, Lucy laughed at how earnestly Ludmila claimed to have self-restraint. Just last week, Lucy saw Alice give Ludmila some freshly bloomed flowers and asked her out on a date. Ludmila had apparently found the combination of romantic gestures so overwhelming that she leapt into Alice’s arms and began kissing her until Alice couldn’t breathe, which Lucy might have figured was a reasonable response were it not happening at Elsje’s restaurant in the middle of the lunch rush.

Lucy finished catching her breath and sat back up, then lifted her gaze from the river, struggling mightily to look Ludmila in the face. “That’s more than I deserve, but thanks. I know I messed up and—Hey, wait! I’m supposed to be the one comforting you in this situation, right? Where do you get off on trying to make someone who just hurt you smile?!” Lucy replied impulsively. For a second time, Lucy immediately regretted her phrasing.

“Oh, I only get off on Alice’s smile. And if anything, she doesn’t try hard enough to hurt me ~ 𝅘𝅥𝅮” Ludmila replied, closing her eyes and smiling more genuinely than Lucy had seen her all day.

“Pfffft! Hahaha. Geez, Ludmila! I-I didn’t need to know that. Ughhh!” Lucy said, trying her best to feign annoyance to distract from how funny she actually found Ludmila’s unthinking openness to be. . Occasionally, it could be awkward, but lately, Lucy had more often found herself laughing, as well as wishing she could blurt out her feelings so easily. Ludmila always seemed to be able to say exactly how she felt with no hesitation whatsoever. It could be a bit shocking to anyone not used to Ludmila’s quirks.

Lucy sat up straighter and regained her composure, still blushing. “Sooo, passing the time with some fishing before your date, huh? Any luck?”

“Not quite. I was hoping to catch myself a delicious, poisonous little fish to cheer myself up. I caught quite a few fish today, actually, but not a single rainbow trout, so I let them all go.”

“Ah, that’s right, I overheard you and Priscilla talking about that the last time we all went on a picnic together. It makes sense you haven’t caught any though. This time of year they, usually don’t come this far down stream,” Lucy explained, holding her pointer finger up as she shared her expertise.

Ludmila scratched her chin in thought. “I had no idea. Alice hasn’t caught any lately either, come to think of it.”

Lucy’s eyes lit up as an idea struck her to help make amends. “Hey, I happen to know some really good spots where we can catch them all year round. How about we all go there on one of our next picnics, and I show you and Alice the finer points of catching Rainbow Trout? It’s normally a little dangerous for me to go by myself, but with Alice …” Lucy glanced over at the small crater behind Ludmila, “and yourself, I am sure we’d be good.”

Within a second, Ludmila had managed to embrace Lucy in a tight squeeze. “You would really do that for me? What am I saying? of course you would. You’ve been so helpful ever since I moved here. Thanks! If I knew I was going to run into you, I would have held onto that salmon I caught earlier. Alice mentioned you liked salmon. Right?” Excited gratitude permeated Ludmila’s thanks, and she pouted only slightly as she thought about the salmon.

“Salmon’s great, don’t worry about it though, okay? You don’t have to do that for me,” Lucy chuckled.

“Then you can at least let me tell you your fortune. I didn’t bring anything with me to do it now, but stop by the flower shop, and I will tell you anything you want about your future. I’m usually right half the time.”

“Er ...” Lucy Mumbled. She was just trying to make amends with Ludmila, but Lucy knew Ludmila was too generous to even let an apology go unreciprocated. “I don’t have any burning questions at the moment, but that sounds fun. Maybe when Julian gets lost again, I’ll ask where to find him .”

“Yay! I’ll be looking forward to it,” Ludmila exclaimed, hopping up to her feet. “I saw your little brother earlier today, actually. He had a cookie in his hand and was peering around the corner at Hina. He seemed pretty nervous though; I wonder if he managed to give her the cookie?” she added.

“Ugh, I doubt it,” Lucy muttered, clearly a little annoyed. “Last year he was upset about missing his chance to give her the cookie, so I am not going to let him cry about chickening out again. He’ll thank me later,” Lucy added with a small grin, disrupting her otherwise mildly bothered expression.

Ludmila giggled, but was interrupted as Lucy shot up, suddenly remembering why she was there.

“Ack! Friendship cookies. Priscilla and I wanted to give you some cookies, so I ran off and said I would find you first. I got totally sidetracked,” panicked Lucy. “I should check her house first—or the beach. That’s the last direction I saw her heading,” she added.

“I’ll go look right away. She brightens my day just like you do. Besides, I still have a little time before my hot date tonight,” Ludmila nodded. 

“Wait, Wait! One last thing. Sometime soon,” Lucy said, placing a hand on Ludmila’s shoulder, “Tell Alice if you are hurting. She’ll understand. It’s important to be honest with your feelings,” Lucy said, as if the number of times in her life that she was honest with her own feelings couldn’t be counted on the hand she just softly set on Ludmila’s shoulder.

The two waved each other goodbye, and Ludmila set off to find Priscilla. Lucy decided to sit back down on the dock and collect her thoughts. She pulled a small strawberry and rose macaron from her pocket. It was slightly crisp around the edges, yet otherwise remained perfectly cakey. She sighed and half-forced a smile despite being alone. “Imagine feeling upset about friendship cookies …”

Chapter Text

Priscilla was upset about friendship cookies. Priscilla knew that Alice would be handing her a friendship cookie this year, not a courtship cookie like she had given her last year. She thought back to the sweetness of that cookie, only slightly dulled by Alice handing courtship cookies to basically everyone who flirted with her, not yet having grasped the nuances of Rigbarth’s Valentine’s Day cookie-giving traditions. She let out a heavy sigh, as she got out of bed and set about getting ready for the day: getting dressed, eating breakfast, carefully packing the rose macarons from the night before, and picking out the most perfect cookie from the best batch and setting it aside for Lucy before making her way to Lucy’s house just as the sun was rising. As her best friend and closest confidant, it seemed like the least she could do, and it had become a tradition of its own.

Priscilla always started Valentine's Day like this, but it was especially important for her this year. Starting her day by making Lucy smile helped calm her nerves. On top of that, Lucy’s cookies had turned out better than last year. They were a much lighter shade of dark brown, and she remembered the sugar this time! Priscilla made sure to compliment her improvements and hug her tightly as if to try and squeeze out any harshness Lucy may have had about her own cookies. Priscilla was never the strongest hugger, but judging by Lucy’s blushing cheeks and enormous smile, Priscilla figured her sentiments got through to her. Afterwards, they decided to walk their cookie exchanging route together, keeping each other company as they went. Priscilla had meant to help Lucy more while they were baking last night, but wound up dozing off once the macarons were finally complete. She expected the anxiety of Valentine's Day would have keept her awake. However, with Lucy there to keep her company, she drifted off to sleep right at the kitchen table. When she finally woke up, she found herself tucked into bed.

Everybody heaped compliments upon Priscilla’s masterfully made strawberry rose macarons. She always looked forward to seeing how much joy her baking brought to everyone around her. Although Lucy was well aware that her cookies were already somewhat unsightly, and that handing them out alongside Priscilla’s masterpieces did them no favors, she was more than happy to accompany Priscilla and gush about her amazing macarons.

“Who do ya have left, Priscilla?” Lucy asked as she double checked her own pockets.

“Just Ludmila and Alice.” Priscilla felt a twinge of anxiety as she realized she still needed to exchange cookies with Alice. Lucy raised an eyebrow and examined Priscilla’s expression from the corner of her eye.

This steady growing seed of worry exploded into a chill that shot through Priscilla’s body while a rush of heat ran through her cheeks. She spotted Alice across the bridge, exchanging cookies with Martin. The two exchanged words, and Alice giggled before he stepped back into the blacksmith’s workshop to finish his work for the day. Alice spotted Priscilla and eagerly jogged towards her, waving and shouting a greeting Priscilla didn’t quite catch.

In spite of her anxiety, Priscilla couldn't help but genuinely look happy when Alice was looking at her. A part of Priscilla anxiously dreamed that, somehow Alice would surprise her with a courtship cookie, and the romance she dreamed of would finally come to be. The rest of her realized this was completely unreasonable and scrambled to graciously accept the cookie her friend made and to not let any disappointment show.

“There you are! Happy Valentine's Day, Priscilla,” Alice grinned. Her green eyes seemed to shine extra bright, and there was an extra bounce to her stride, jostling her wavy blond hair. She was in an even more cheerful mood than usual.

“Hi Alice! Are you having a good day too?” replied Priscilla, who was now distracted by both anxiety and glee.

“Absolutely! I’ve managed to make enough cookies for everyone, and I think they turned out really well this year. Plus, it’s always really fun to try out all the different kinds of cookies everyone makes. Oh!—and this moment is especially exciting. I heard that a certain someone had made some delicious, incredible smelling macarons.” 

Alice leaned forward, eyeing Priscilla’s cookie bag, which she was clutching nervously to her chest. Alice leaned in towards Priscilla, fluttering her eyelashes as she closed her eyes and gently sniffed the delicious aroma of the cookies.

Ahhhhh! Alice, don’t do this to me! Priscilla watched Alice’s eyelashes flutter just a few inches from her own. She quickly broke eye contact, partially out of embarrassment and partially because said embarrassment seemed to turn the otherwise trivial task of opening a bag into a monumental test of manual dexterity. “U-Uh, um! Yes, right here, i-in my bag! Uh—” Priscilla had decided beforehand that she wouldn’t get Alice to flirt with her, but she could already feel her resolve slipping. She shook her head. For her part, Alice continued to lean in towards Priscilla, entirely unaware of the effect she was having on her.

“Here you go! One cookie just for you.” Priscilla held up the cookie, and Alice gently took it and held it up to get a closer look before taking a small bite. Alice was noticeably pleased with the cookie, and Priscilla felt the tiniest bit of relief despite not being worried about the cookies themselves.

“This is amazing Priscilla! I mean, I know you are a great baker, but this is really something special… Wait. Is this the recipe inspired by that romance novel you were reading? Lucy mentioned something about it a few days ago, I think?” asked Alice.

“Yes. It also happens to involve baking, so it naturally became one of my favorites. I was re-reading it recently and the motif of flowers gave me the idea to try to make some rose-flavored cookies. Everyone seems to love strawberries, so I added some strawberries too!”

“Oh? That sounds neat. What is it about exactly?”

“It’s about—” Priscilla felt the current moment was not the time to say, “It’s about someone who passionately pursues a forbidden romance with their married friend, despite the trouble they know their doomed passion will cause.”

She thought for a moment, and instead replied, “It’s about love and dealing with difficult feelings. Uh … And cakes.” This was all, technically speaking, true.

“Maybe you can lend it to me some time. I don’t have any books of my own. Sometimes I borrow some of Ludmila’s mystery novels, but sometimes I am in the mood for something a little less serious and less … intrigue heavy,” Alice laughed. 

It was a bright and cheerful Valentine's Day, and Alice had no intention of dwelling on her past ordeals with SEED’s upper echelon. It had been a nice day and she intended to keep it that way. Alice reached down into her bag. “But! before I get distracted talking about books, I have … this friendship cookie!”

Priscilla quietly nodded as she set a new record for the most anyone’s heart had ever sank upon hearing the word “friendship.”

Alice was beaming as she produced a cookie from her bag and handed it to Priscilla. She had frequently asked Priscilla for baking tips over the past year, and she intended to show how much she had learned. It was a simple shortbread cookie flavored with honey, perfect for showcasing the exceptional quality of every ingredient that Alice had used from her farm.

“Priscilla?” Alice asked with a hint of concern in her voice, not quite sure what to make of Priscilla’s long silence.

“Haha, I, uh, I think I am just tired from staying up late baking,” said Priscilla. Alice raised an eyebrow ever so slightly. Priscilla knew she had to say something quickly before her true feelings became too obvious. She quickly took a bite of the cookie to stall for time, and discovered her way out.

“This is really good! When you said the shortbread was flavored with sugar and honey, I was expecting something super sweet, but this is just right.” She took a second bite, chewing slowly. “There is a wonderful toastiness. Ah, did you toast the sugar before using it? That would explain the toastiness. I am just surprised that the honey didn’t soften the cookies as much.”

“I tried to offset the moisture from the honey by browning the butter. They still turned out a little soft for my taste, but I like the flavor the honey added. I’m especially pleased to hear you like the flavor as well! Browning the butter was a trick I learned from you after all,” Alice said, pocketing the remaining of Priscilla’s rose macaron for later.

“I’m glad I could help! Honestly, you seem to have become quite the baker yourself. It would be fun to exchange recipes sometime—If you wanted to.”

“That does sound really fun. Let’s do that some time. Ludmila had been wanting to do something together with all four of us, so that sounds perfect.” Alice glanced up at the sky and noted the time. “Ah, I should probably finish my patrol. I’m a bit behind schedule today. Actually, I could use a little pick-me-up to keep me going,” she said, pulling the rose macaron back out of her pocket. “I just can’t resist something so sweet, and pink, and cute.” She popped the cookie into her mouth and closed her eyes to savor the masterfully baked cookie. Meanwhile, Priscilla sighed quietly, silently disputing Alice’s claim.

“We definitely should swap recipes, this is incredible, Priscilla! You must have really put your heart into these.” Hearing her own words, Alice began to feel something about the situation was … off in some way, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on it. She noticed Priscilla seemed on edge, and reacted strangely to her friendship cookie. Priscilla also never specified whether this was a friendship cookie, or a courtship cookie and … Oh no! Oh no she never got over me, did she!?

“M-hm. I still never cleaned up from baking last night, so I should go take care of that. I also still have some cookies to hand out. I’ll see you later, Alice,” Priscilla said. She felt the tiniest bit of lightness as she realized the moment she dreamed of and dreaded had passed. She figured Alice’s joyful reaction to the cookie was probably the best way this meeting could have hoped to end, so Priscilla waved goodbye and swiftly made her exit before her feelings twisted around her heart even tighter.

Priscilla wandered about looking for Ludmila. She knew that she could always drop the cookie off at Ludmila’s flower shop, but having a goal helped Priscilla push back the feelings she knew would plague her once her unrealistic romantic daydreams came crashing down to reality. She wanted to stay focused on her goal instead, and stay focused on the positives. Alice loved the cookie she baked, and Alice’s cookie was even better than expected. The way Alice leaned in to smell the cookies looked almost, kinda, sorta like she was leaning in for a kiss for a moment.

Priscilla lost herself in daydreams of kissing Alice, managing to find at least one thought to distract her from, well, from not kissing Alice. She kept her heart from sinking by keeping her head in the clouds, and continued like this all the way to her front yard, where she spotted Ludmila knocking at the door.

“Oh! There you are, Ludmila,” Priscilla said with a bit of relief, knowing she could hand out her last cookie and be done with her Valentine’s Day and spend the rest of the day alone with a book or with Lucy. She felt that either would be quite comforting at the moment.

“Hi Priscilla~ I was looking for you too,” said Ludmila, clasping her hands together in front of her chest as she spun in a half circle towards the sound of Priscilla’s voice.

“You were looking for me? I was looking for you.”

“Yep—and that’s exactly why I was looking for you. Lucy said you were looking for me, and that you had made the absolute best cookies ever!”

Priscilla was unable to tell if those were Lucy’s words or Ludmila’s, but she was always happy to see her baking bring joy to others. It was one of the few areas of her life that Priscilla felt confident. It was also a relief to see Ludmila smile, in particular. In the days leading up to Valentine’s Day, Priscilla had worried that Alice’s unintentionally flirty behavior and Ludmila’s tendency to be jealous over Alice would wind up creating trouble, but Ludmila seemed fine as far as Priscilla could tell.

Priscilla faintly blushed at Ludmila’s praise. “I wouldn’t go that far, but I am happy with how they turned out,” Priscilla said. “Besides, you were the one that gave me the fresh roses I used to flavor the cookies.”

“Oh? When you ordered the roses last month, I thought you might have had a crush. Baking cookies with them is a spicy twist! I guess the roses brightened everyone’s day then.”

“No, I don’t really have anyone on my mind that I … that I was going to ask out. Besides, that would be difficult.” More like impossible . She was already feeling guilty for wanting to date Alice; there was no way she could bear to hurt either of them, and even if that wasn’t the case, it wasn’t like she managed to work up the courage to ask Alice before all of this.

Priscilla pushed out her worries to try and focus on the conversation. “But, yes, the recipe I wanted to make called for rose essence, and the roses you delivered were perfect. I made more than I needed, so I actually have a little extra if you want some,” she offered as she stepped past Ludmila and held the door open.

Ludmila thought for a second. It wasn’t quite time for her to head to the plaza for her date, and she hadn’t spent much time at all with Priscilla lately. “Okay~ I’ve never actually cooked with rose extract before, but it sounds so exciting to try. Besides, it’s not quite time for tonight's super hot and exciting date at the plaza with my darling!”

Priscilla nodded. She expected to feel more envious, but for the moment, she just felt sad that there had been so little romance in her own Valentine’s Day.

The two stepped inside, and Priscilla stepped into the kitchen to look for the leftover bottle of rose extract. Ludmila hummed a lilting tune as she looked around until the large bookshelf by the desk caught her attention. Her heels clacked against the wooden floor of the cozy living room as she stepped closer to read the spines of the books, then noticed an open book at the desk beside the shelf. Curious about the open book, Ludmila began reading:

Dear Diary, No matter how hard I try, I can’t stop thinking about—

Ludmila blushed in surprise. Whoopsidoodles! I can’t believe I almost read Priscilla’s Diary. That would have been just awful. Awful enough to be scolded? No! Bad Ludmila! Don’t make others feel bad just for an opportunity to feel good. Don’t be nosy. You aren’t Alice. Ahhhhhh, Hmhmhmhmhmh! Alice!

Ludmila turned her attention back towards the bookshelf, delicately wiping the tiniest bit of drool from the corner of her mouth. The bookshelf was full of love stories and romance novels, save for a few cookbooks. Her eyes lit up at the wall covered in romantic stories. Ludmila preferred the anticipation and tension of a good mystery novel herself, but she began to suspect that Priscilla was a kindred spirit when it came to interest in love and romance.

Priscilla came back into the room with a small vial of clear, fragrant liquid.

“Priscilla!” Ludmila practically shouted in excitement.

“What!?” Priscilla replied in a loud and panicked squeak. The vial popped into the air as she leapt off the ground, barely managing to juggle it about before narrowly catching it. Priscilla saw Ludmila standing just next to her open diary, which she had carelessly left open to last night’s entry, where she at length poured her true feelings out in ink, about how she knew there was no hope for her and Alice to fall in love together, but that she would still hope that some miracle could bring them together, and that no matter how guilty she felt, she just couldn’t free herself from her own feelings and will be doomed to let her heartstrings tie her up like binding chains before she gives up on love.

“I had no idea! How could you have not said so?!” Ludmila asked with an intense glee that Priscilla’s paranoid mind could not help but interpret as anger.

“Ahhhhhhh! I’m sorry!”

“Hehehe! Oops! I didn’t mean to get so overeager. I just meant I never knew you were so totally obsessed with romance,” Ludmila laughed, making a grand sweeping gesture towards the large bookshelf.

“OH! Oh! I—” Priscilla exhaled sharply in relief. “I-I’ve mentioned plenty of times that I like stories about love and romance, haven’t I?”

“Priscilla, you said you liked romance, not that you had a whole gigantic bookshelf full of romantic fairy tales and stories of eternal love! Not to mention most of them appear to be well-worn with use, particularly a few that I know for a fact happen to have some very, very passionate descriptions of kissing!”

Priscilla had felt relieved that her darkest secret had not yet been discovered, but that relief was washed away under a tide of embarrassment.

“Huh!? I—No!!” Priscilla was far too overwhelmed to even begin to reach for a plausible denial.

“Oopsie, I didn’t mean to get you all flustered. I am excited to have a friend who understands how absotively, posilutely important love is.” Ludmila smiled from ear to ear. 

Priscilla could feel the heat radiating from her cheeks. She would probably be tentatively excited to be able to share her romantic dreams with a friend, were it not for the thorny detail of being completely in love with that very jealous friend’s girlfriend!

“Ahhh! It’s not what it looks like.” Priscilla shook her head. 

“No need to deny your passions, Priscilla. Besides, I have a keen eye for spotting people’s passions. Nothing escapes my notice,” Ludmila boasted while striking a confident pose, one arm on her hip, the other gently brushing the unread diary page.

Partially out of nerves, partially at herself, Priscilla began to laugh. “I’m envious of you, Ludmila”

“Of my eye for passion?” Ludmila asked, a little confused.

“Of how you can just tell people how you feel without hesitation. I … can’t.”

“Hm?” Ludmila was caught off guard by Priscilla’s sudden loss of cheer.

“I really have tried to be brave and say what I want to tell people and do what I want to, but I have never been good at anything like Lucy, or you.” Priscilla paused, realizing her voice had cracked a little. Despite seeing it coming, her feelings had been pulled and twisted in every direction, and her emotional control slipped.

Before Priscilla could clear the silence, Ludmila stepped towards her, took her hand, and gently squeezed Priscilla’s palm with her gloved fingers. “It’s okay Priscilla.” Ludmila didn’t know what it was that was okay, but she knew Priscilla was upset, and she was going to do her best to help her friend. “I don’t know if you are holding on to something that hurts or just dealing with a lot of feelings because it’s Valentine’s Day, but those are both things you can always come talk to me about if you need to, okay?”

Priscilla was surprised by Ludmila’s gesture, but she did feel calmer. Priscilla tilted her head far backwards to look up at Ludmila, causing the succubus’ concerned frown to quickly shift into a reassuring smile.

“Thanks Ludmila. I think I am just a bit tired from staying up late baking. I may also be kind of frustrated that I haven’t made progress in becoming the brave person I want to be … or at least brave enough to travel by myself … or clearly speak how I feel,” she sighed. “That’s all.”

“Oh, my! Pushing yourself to be brave! Chasing the person you want to be. Now that's what I would call a dramatic, romantic, fateful tale! I’ll be here to support you however I can! There is no way fate would be so cruel as to deny love to someone with such a passionate heart!” Ludmila clenched her fist in front of her in excited determination. Priscilla found herself unable to contest such zeal.

“Wait, I never said anything about love! Er, I mean, well, I suppose it would be silly of me to try and refuse your help. I just don’t know if I will ever be able to change, but the fact that you would try to help me makes me happy to have such good friends. Ah, wait, your friendship cookie!” Priscilla suddenly remembered the whole reason she had been looking for Ludmila in the first place.

Ludmila tilted her head with a frown and a furrowed brow. “Oh, I’m sorry, Priscilla. I could give you a friendship cookie, but as much as you want to become bolder, I think it would be dangerous to let you try the cookies I made.”

Priscilla’s heart lightened at Ludmila’s joke. “No, I meant the cookie I had been meaning to give you,” she chuckled, “and it is the thought that counts, Ludmila. I feel very grateful to have such a concerned and caring friend like you.”

Ludmila seemed to blush a little at Priscilla’s compliment, though she seemed utterly shocked upon seeing the beautiful cookie Priscilla produced from her dress pocket.

“Goodness Priscilla! This is the most adorable little cookie I have ever seen. And it smells just like roses and sugar! It’s pink and sweet and delicate and incredibly cute and absolutely perfect and wonderful, just like the girl that baked it!”

Priscilla started laughing even harder. I guess Alice isn’t the only one who has trouble not sounding flirty!

“Ehehehe! Well I am glad you like it. And here is the rose extract as well.”

“Oh, everyone is just being so nice to me today!—and I just had to … overcook the cookies. Well, how about this? Come visit me some evening, and I will use a bit of divination to see what your future holds. Even though I’m only right half the time, I will help you however I can, no matter what, whether it is help with bravery, or love, or anything!”

Priscilla was truly touched. Ludmila had always gone out of her way to bring joy to everyone around her, but Priscilla hadn’t realized until now how highly Ludmila valued their friendship. Part of her was now glad she didn’t flirt with Alice earlier today. It was a different part of her than the part that desperately wanted to make out with Alice, of course, but it was still there.

“I never said anything about love!” Priscilla blurted out in protest.

“Well, ya really didn’t have to~” Ludmila thought it was pretty obvious that love factored into Priscilla’s woes somehow. She wasn’t sure exactly, but between being sensitive on Valentine’s Day and owning enough love stories to fill a bookshelf from floor to ceiling, it had to factor in somehow.

Priscilla thought … Priscilla was unsure of what to think. She first thought that this could risk exposing her feelings for Alice, and there was no way that was a good idea. Could Ludmila have read her diary? No. Ludmila couldn’t hide jealousy. Unless she wasn’t jealous. There is no way that was possible. Unless? Priscilla took a deep breath.

“I need some time to think, but that is kind of you to offer. Speaking of time, you aren’t going to be late for your date are you?”

“Hmmm. I won’t be late, but I should leave soon if I want to get there before Alice so I can tell her I got cold waiting and that she needs to snuggle up to me to make me all toasty warm. Hehe! But! I would absolutely stay a bit longer if you need me.”

Priscilla considered pointing out that it had been hot all afternoon and had stayed warm all evening, but she had no intention to dampen her friends joy, even as she felt a pang of sadness that she knew she couldn’t make the sort of bold advances that Ludmila frequently made, and that Alice seemed to like.

“Oh, no, I’ll be fine. You two should go have fun on your date. Alice said she had been looking forward to it all day.”

“Ok, then! Just remember that if something hurts, there is no reason to have to hurt all alone and feel even worse.” Ludmila placed a hand on top of Priscilla’s head before very gently ruffling her hair before smiling and waving as she briskly stepped out the door to go meet Alice.

“Bye bye,” Priscilla waved back as she closed the door, then walked up to her bed and flopped on it with a soft thud. She gazed at the ceiling to sort through her still racing thoughts. She knew Alice at least used to be aware of her romantic interest. She didn’t know for sure how Alice felt, but she did always seem to enjoy the attention. That was the past, though. Since Ludmila and Alice started dating, she figured she began restraining herself well enough. She couldn’t help but worry that her awkwardness around Alice today had ruined the facade. Even more concerning was Ludmila, who was standing right next to her open diary when she came back into the living room.

Priscilla climbed back out of bed to examine the diary and the desk it laid upon. It wasn’t moved, but it didn’t need to be, considering it had already been open to Priscilla’s most damning secrets. Still. Ludmila wouldn’t have been so calm about that. Priscilla thought back to when Alice tripped on the steps outside Lackadaisy Cafe, and she helped her up. Ludmila had come out of the restaurant just in time to see Alice’s hand still in her own. In a jealous panic, Ludmila shouted, “No! Let go of her!” and rushed to Alice wrapping her arms around the surprised ranger while slightly twisting her away. The look of fear on Ludmila’s face was so intense that her fangs impulsively bared and her nails pressed into Alice’s arm. It was quite intimidating at that moment. Fuuka even stepped outside to investigate the commotion. Fortunately, the diminutive werewolf wound up accidentally breaking the tension when she worriedly tried to explain to Ludmila that biting and scratching people would get her in big trouble.

Priscilla shook her head. There was no way that Ludmila would be able to hide the amount of jealousy she would have felt if she read the diary. Priscilla wanted absolute certainty, and couldn't find it. That was long enough ago that maybe Ludmila had changed. She realized tonight how much closer she and Ludmila had become since then, so that couldn’t be ruled out. Priscilla returned to bed to think things through a little longer, letting her worries distract her from the loneliness and lack of romance she felt.

Chapter Text

Alice  dashed through the streets, kicking up clouds of dust into the warm evening air as she made her way to the Great Tree Plaza. She wasn’t late, but she didn’t want to take any chances. Besides, Ludmila always showed up early, so maybe she could get there first for once. Alice glanced around and spotted Ludmila in the middle of seating herself on a bench—and start shivering?! Alice hurried to her, waving excitedly! “Hi, honey!” She cried out.

“Oh?! Darling, You are here early. Well, I am still sooooooo-so cold and need you to snuggle up to me and keep me toasty warm or I’ll die. Tee-hee.” 

“Somehow, I don’t think that is true.” Alice replied, rolling her eyes with a grin, sitting down and snuggling up beside Ludmila anyway. She rested her head against Ludmila’s shoulder. “Happy Valentine’s Day, dear,” she added.

“Happy Valentine’s Day, darling. I hope your day has been full of sweetness, but nothing is sweeter than spending a beautiful evening beneath the stars with my love”, Ludmila swooned, palms pressed to her own cheeks in glee and anticipation.

Alice leaned upwards, then held up a shortbread cookie, “Speaking of sweets, I have something for you. It’s my special courtship cookie. This year, my cookies were inspired by you, because they are flavored with honey.” 

“Oh my gosh! Oh darling, you make me so happy I could burst!” Ludmila exclaimed, her hands now tightly clutching her face, her mouth agape and drooling slightly. Alice couldn’t quite tell if Ludmila was looking at the cookie or her, but she was just glad to see her girlfriend so happy.

Ludmila muttered a quiet reminder to restrain herself before catching her breath and smiling warmly as she accepted the cookie, nibbling off a bite. “Weren’t all your cookies honey-flavored though?”

Alice nodded. “They were but this one is special because, after I hand it over, I can give the recipient this too.” Alice proceeded to lean in and give Ludmila a quick peck on the lips.

“Gyyaaaah! Alice you really are just trying to make my heart explode with joy aren’t you?” Ludmila blushed, almost wiggling from all the excitement.

“I just want to make sure you had a great Valentine’s Day.”

“As difficult as today may have been, this has made it all 100% better.” Ludmila closed her eyes and savored another bite of the cookie.

“Difficult? I’m sorry I was so busy today, dear. We can spend the rest of the night together though—or was something else on your mind?”

Ludmila remained smiling, but it faded somewhat as her brow raised in disappointment. “I baked some cookies this morning, but I maybe left them in the oven a little bit too long, and they came out a teensy tiny bit inedible.”

“Oh, honey, you don’t need to exaggerate, I know you were excited to give me a cookie, but they can’t be that bad.”

Ludmila, sighed, defeated.  She reached into her pocket to grab a cookie to show Alice. Lucy said it was the thought that counts, but Ludmila was still apprehensive. She quietly reached for her staff with her left hand to prepare her demonstration of how terrible the cookie was before she would force Alice to continually console her over the cookie. With her right hand, she produced the cookie and held it out. She shook the cookie, impulsively attempting to shake off any crumbs that might have come off, of which there were, of course, none.

“Here it is. I know it looks fine Alice, but—”

Alice took the waving of the cookie as a playful invitation to snatch the cookie from Ludmila’s hand, and did so.

“That looks great, honey!” Alice immediately shoved the cookie into her mouth and bit down hard, producing a jagged cracking sound even louder than Ludmila’s horrified scream. 

Alice merely looked confused and a little startled as she pulled the cookie from her mouth, now missing a piece.

Ludmila’s jaw dropped as she watched Alice chew the cookie with relatively little difficulty. “What’s wrong, dear?” Alice said, voice full of concern and mouth full of cookie.

“Alice! How did you …? The cookie … But it was so …” Ludmila stammered in utter disbelief.

“I mean, sure, it’s maybe a bit crunchier than what most people would like , but you could have easily just gotten away with telling me you made your cookies extra crisp because you know I prefer that,” Alice said in between swallowing her mouthful of cookie and taking a second bite.

Ludmila instinctively reached out to take the cookie from Alice’s hand, but stopped when she saw Alice smile at her, teeth perfectly intact. She instead let her hand rest on Alice’s instead.

“Is something else wrong, Ludmila? It isn’t like you to get so startled over a loud noise like that.”

“I heard that crack and thought it was your jaw or teeth making that horrible noise and not the cookie.”

“Oh, I see.”

“Also, I was talking with Lucy about the way you flirt and how it hurts.” 

“Ah …”

Ludmila braced herself for a long painful silence.

However, Alice simply took a deep breath and looked Ludmila straight in the eye before continuing. “I’m sorry Lulu. It was only ever a sort of inside joke that grew out of teasing each other for fun some time after I moved to Rigbarth. I should have stopped to consider that joking would probably hurt to hear, even if I know, and Lucy knows. Even if you knew too, I would understand if it still hurt. I’ll quit joking around with Lucy like that, and I am sure she will understand why it has to stop. I’m sorry I didn’t stop to consider your feelings sooner, honey.” 

“Ooooooh, darling! Even the way you apologize is so sincere and straightforward. That’s really hot, ya know? Teeheehee! Hold on though. I believe everything you said, but what about the way you were flirting with everyone else today? I know I am just a little bit predisposed to being insanely jealous over my dearest darling, but the way everyone seemed to blush and giggle as you exchanged cookies. It really, really looked like you were flirting back with just about everyone.”

Ludmila scanned Alice’s face for a reaction, awaiting a reply, hoping for Alice to dismiss her fears or even apologize. Instead, Alice just seemed extremely confused.

“I … what? I’m not sure I understand what you mean, honey. I had joked with Lucy earlier this morning but I didn’t flirt, even jokingly, with anyone else.”

“I know—or I thought I knew that, and was just letting my own bitter feelings get the better of me because I need you so badly that the thought of anyone taking you away would be unbearable, but sometimes it seems like you could be a little too friendly with people sometimes, and Lucy said you maybe weren’t completely aware you were flirting with people, so I … ”

“Honey, I’m sorry if anything I have done has upset you. I know you can get a little overprotective of me at times, but I really don’t know what you mean when you say that I am unconsciously flirting with people.” Alice embraced Ludmila tightly while kissing her cheek. She didn’t understand what Ludmila had meant, so Alice settled for trying to soothe her for now. 

“Stop such lewdness at once! You are illegally kissing and snuggling on a public bench!” a familiar voice shouted from the nearest entryway to the plaza. Scarlett approached the couple, cheeks already flushed and finger pointed in an accusatory manner. 

Alice snapped upright turning to face her ranger comrade, though Ludmila continued to cling to Alice.

“Ahem. Hi Scarlett,” Alice replied calmly.

“Hm-hm! Hi Scarlett! Are we in trouble?” Ludmila asked, smiling eagerly. 

“I would do no such thing! You ought to be ashamed for such lawless, inconsiderate behavior!” Scarlett answered sharply.

“Hold on a moment, Scarlett, what do you mean by ‘illegal’ and ‘lawless?’ There aren’t any laws, SEED bylaws, or local ordinances saying people can’t give kisses or hold hands in the park. Why would there be?” 

“Because I submitted such an ordinance just this morning for Captain Livia to endorse and send to Mayor Simone!” Scarlett declared. Alice simply raised an eyebrow while Scarlet continued. 

“She denied my previous submissions and said I should get the captain’s endorsement first.”

“Oh! That. Right.” Alice softly pounded the bottom of her closed fist into her open palm as she recalled the document. “After you left early to patrol, Captain Livia said she was busy so she delegated this week’s municipal matters to me. I did see the submission, I just declined the endorsement before delivering everything to Simone.”

“You did what?! Why?” said Scarlett, taken aback at the official refusal.

Alice stood up. Alice avoided lying whenever possible, generally only resorting to lies when protecting the privacy, happiness or safety of other people were at stake, especially when it came to Scarlett, who detested lies even more strongly, and whose trust Alice valued greatly. Alice, reached desperately for some way to imagine the truth seriously harming someone, hoping to find a valid reason to lie so she could avoid the embarrassing truth. She failed.

“I declined the request because I love kissing Ludmila . I love kissing her so much I didn’t think I was capable of feeling this intensely. When I do, I see the wonderful things in my life with all the more clarity. Colors seem to shine brighter when I am in her arms. I declined the request because I want to kiss her so badly at pretty much any time. Her love makes the world beautiful, Scarlett, and being loved by her has let me see that beautiful world in new and exciting ways. I didn’t think it was right to ban something like that. ”

Scarlett was floored . She was expecting a sheepish admission of wanting to have fun, not a bold declaration of convictions. “... I am sorry Alice, You are right. I had not consid—”

Unfortunately, Alice was too caught up in her own embarrassment and exhilaration to realize that Scarlett had already accepted her explanation.

“And sometimes it even can be a little overwhelming learning so much about different ways people can love each other!” Alice continued.

“Alice. I get it—” Scarlett desperately tried to interrupt.

“But I will admit it,  I love the thrill of making out with Ludmila somewhere some might see us! It feels amazing and is an even bigger rush than any life or death situation I have ever experienced in the field.”

“Alice! That is quite en—”

“And when I think about her promise to teach me to do that thing she does with her—”

“CEASE AND DESIST IMMEDIATELY! ALICE!” screamed Scarlett, with volume she was previously unaware of achieving.

Alice was jolted from her frenzied, embarrassment induced rambling. She could see Scarlett’s irises were no longer the reddest parts of her face.

Scarlett stared at Alice, then at Ludmila, who, despite not shouting anything, also seemed to be out of breath. Scarlett closed her eyes and tilted her head down, softly pinching between her eyes with one hand and supporting her elbow with the other. She was currently feeling uncomfortable by such inappropriate matters being loudly shouted in public. Just before that, she was awed by Alice’s profound conviction. Before that she was… jealous? That couldn’t be it at all, as it would be totally inappropriate! Either way, she tried to set her feelings aside. She instead needed to find the appropriate response to the situation; however, she couldn’t find any similar past situation to compare. 

Sweating nervously, and unable to find the right thing, she simply fled. With a sudden twitch, she turned to run from the intense feelings, their’s and her’s.

Yet Scarlett found she was physically unable to move. As soon as she had her backs to the couple, she found herself bound in place by glowing chains.

“A seal spell?! This is totally out of line! Let me go! I need to … I need to go patrol the perimeter of town for ribbitee attacks! Unseal me!” Scarlett demanded. 

Alice had sensed Scarlett’s urge to run, and quickly unleashed her seal spell, immobilizing the fleeing ranger. She hadn’t meant to fluster Scarlett like that, and she needed her help and couldn’t afford to let her run.

Ludmila mentally noted that the SEED ranger seal spell could be used on people.

“Hold on a moment, Scarlett. I’m sorry for getting carried away there. I just didn’t have it in me to lie to you. You know I admire your dedication to the truth, and that is exactly why, right now, I need your help specifically.”

“How could you possibly need my help at this moment when you are in the middle of… o-of such indecent canoodling in public!?” Scarlett snapped, turning her head as far as she could toward Alice. 

“Relax, Scarlett. I just have a quick question I need answered from the most unflinchingly honest person I know.” Alice released the seal spell and placed a firm hand on Scarlett’s shoulder. “That’s all, alright?”

Scarlett was still wary, but she felt it would be wrong to not at least give Alice the benefit of the doubt. “Mm. I don’t see where you are going with this, but if you need my help … okay, fine. What is it you needed to ask me?”

“Do I have a flirting problem?”

“A what?” Scarlett asked incredulously. She was understandingly surprised at the seemingly frivolous nature of Alice’s question. She looked towards Ludmila, who seemed to be very entertained by the whole situation. Scarlett considered questioning Alice’s seriousness, briefly hesitating before meeting Alice’s gaze once more, as serious as ever. Scarlett gathered her thoughts for a few long seconds.

“Yes.”

Alice let out a startled whimper, briefly paused, then let out a doubting but clearly nervous laugh, shaking her head. Scarlett did not react. 

“That’s impossible though, right? When have you seen me flirting?” 

“Constantly.”

“I need you to elaborate.”

“Any time someone compliments your appearance, your exceedingly friendly demeanor, or remarks positively on a way you make them feel beyond just being a good friend, you reciprocate the sentiment in some way without fail, often with greater intensity. I know almost nothing about romantic relationships, but sometimes your reactions seem to be so flirtatious that even I feel confident in saying a reasonable individual would have to conclude you are flirting.” 

Alice put her hands on her head, completely and utterly perplexed. There was no way this could be true. She wracked her brain for anything that both Lucy and Scarlett would consider flirting. Nothing. Was she being misinterpreted? She was outgoing and playful, sure, but not flirty. She knew she wasn’t a flirt, but she also knew Scarlett would sooner eat her own hat than lie. 

Scarlett had crossed her arms and was tapping her foot again. It was not a topic Scarlett enjoyed discussing, and Alice saw she was becoming flustered again. 

In spite of that, Alice knew she had to investigate further.

“Scarlett, I have a second request…”

Scarlett had already had enough of this uncomfortable situation, she could tell by Alice’s tone that this second request was even more embarrassing, but she recognized the look on her colleague’s face. Her brow was subtly furrowed, and her jaw slightly clenched, with a calm intensity in her eyes. She’s serious. Whatever it is, the situation is serious enough she isn’t joking, desperate enough she isn’t smiling, and urgent enough that she isn’t allowing panic to upset her concentration. Calm yourself Scarlett. Knowing Alice, she is almost certainly about to do something reckless but necessary, and is counting on you.

“Anything, Alice” Scarlett asked with a sudden gravity.

“Of course.”

“I need you to flirt with me,” Alice stated flatly.

Scarlett’s brow furrowed, pushing against her eyes trying to widen in disbelief.

“You can’t be serious, Alice?”

“I am having trouble believing something so crazy, but also can’t bring myself to doubt you either. I don’t know how else to figure this out for sure!” Alice replied in utter desperation. 

Scarlett looked to Ludmila. “As Alice’s girlfriend, you must give me your blessing first, otherwise it would not be right for me to... t-to f-... to fl-flii” Scarlett was once more quite flustered.

Normally, Ludmila would be pained by the sight of anyone flirting with Alice. On the other hand, flustering Scarlett for sport was an activity Ludmila herself frequently enjoyed. More than that, Ludmila could tell Alice was really trying to make sense of her own behavior. If she really was unaware of her flirting, that would at least be partially comforting.

“Flirt your little heart out.~” Ludmila said with a giggle. “But just this once!” she hastily added.

Scarlett turned away for a moment, tapping one foot frantically, before spinning back around quickly to face Alice, and do her best to maintain eye contact.

“You … I … Your conduct is admirable and even when acting in some manner I initially perceive to be unsuitable for a SEED ranger, you somehow manage to show me I am the one who most needs moral instruction. Of all the SEED rangers I have met, you are the most attractive and the only one I would consider commending with a kiss.”

“Ah, but I think you are actually the most kissable ranger,” Alice replied, slightly tilting her head and smiling gently. Alice then winced and covered her mouth with her fingers as she hunched over, then fell to her knees.

Ludmila simply smirked, a little jealous, but mostly amused.

“Well, you seem to have things sorted out! Good evening!” Scarlet blurted out so quickly as to barely be understandable. With her duty to help her colleague fulfilled, there was no longer anything to counteract the swelling force of unprocessed emotions seeming to propel Scarlett away from the couple and towards the silo with incredible speed. 

Alice rose, then shyly turned around to face Ludmila, trying to  force her cringe into a smile as she sat back down onto the bench.

“Well, I feel a little silly now. I—um.” Alice looked to Ludmila, who was somehow smiling back at her after all that. She gathered herself and felt lighter, realizing she now could properly address Ludmila’s feelings and her own behavior .

“What I mean to say, Lulu, is that I am glad you spoke up about how you felt, and how I had been acting. That would have made anyone jealous. I promise I will do my best to … No. I promise I won’t flirt with anyone else!”

“Anyone else? But flirting with Scarlett is funny, and if you stop, then I would feel a little guilty for being the only one who tries to make her blush . Hmhmhmhm!”

“Ok good, that would have been extra challenging. Seriously though, let me know if you are ever feeling jealous.”

“Okie dokie, my sweet, honest little darling—but I do still think I have been unfair with getting as jealous as I have. Anyway, I just absolutely hate feeling that way. I really do trust you, which makes me feel even worse for feeling jealous. I know one hundred percent that you love me, especially after hearing that little outburst of yours. Ooh-la-la~ I would have stood up to kiss you right there, but I just couldn’t bring myself to interrupt you while you were so bravely confronting yourself just to make me feel better. Ooh, it’s so romantic!”

“Aww, honey.” Alice’s heart was still racing from her realization, so suddenly feeling Ludmila forgive her was almost too much for her to physically handle.

“Oh, darling. You are shaking. I should be the one quivering from all the excitement. While you love everyone so much, you always drop everything to come save me no matter what, over and over and over. How could anyone ever doubt a love like that?”

“Heh, I guess so. I just love you, honey, with a passion I didn’t know I had before I met you,” Alice replied, gently nuzzling her forehead into Ludmila’s Shoulder. 

“You! Are gonna make me so flustered I’ll forget what I was gonna say. I’m happy to hear you promise you won’t flirt again, and I absolutely want you to give it your all, but remember that I am sooooo patient, so I’ll forgive you if you slip up. I wanna stop getting so jealous, and I want you to be patient with me while I do … something … about it … I’ll figure something out.”

“I think that sounds great, honey. Everyone thinks you are the excitable one but, whenever I get worked up, you are always the one to talk me into being reasonable.” Alice let out a relieved sigh as Ludmila wrapped her arms back around her.

Alice began to reminisce on getting to know Ludmila. Alice always was happy to receive affection from anyone, but Ludmila’s instant infatuation with her, her forwardness, and her unusual tastes; it was all a little too overwhelming for Alice. Everyone in town though, Alice included, quickly saw that Ludmila was profoundly compassionate. There was so much Alice hadn’t yet understood, but her embarrassment about being showered with affection one day simply became excitement. Her confusion about Ludmila’s way of thinking became curiosity. One thing Alice did know was that she had fallen in love.

She thought back to when she first confessed her feelings to Ludmila. She was excited to be loved back, but so scared because she had no idea what to do next, even admitting this to Ludmila. When Ludmila promised to teach her “anything and everything she would need to know about love” Alice’s anxieties evaporated, leaving her heart racing just as hard, but out of pure, joyous enthusiasm.

Having finished reminiscing, Alice softly kissed Ludmila’s lips, then leaned back a little to get a better view of her face. She was glad to know that “anything and everything” included the difficult parts of being in love. 

Ludmila could see Alice was lost in some sweet thought, but rather than let the sweet thought linger, she lunged into the momentary lapse in Alice’s awareness, and interrupted her with a long passionate kiss, successfully snapping Alice back to the present with her ambush .

“Hehe! Well, with that settled, I hope your Valentine’s Day has brightened up,” said Alice.

“You’ve brightened my evening even more than the moon and all the stars.” Ludmila placed her hand on Alice’s hat, then continued. “Besides, it wasn’t all bad. I got lots of cookies from everyone thanking me over little things they said I did for them. As much as I was feeling jealous over Lucy breaking the news to me that you are a hot, hot mess, she was very sweet to me and suggested we all go on a picnic together to a great place to catch rainbow trout. It’s the greatest feeling in the world to have a friend who is so open with her feelings.”

Alice immediately burst into an intense fit of giggles.

“Huh? Did I say something silly, dear?” asked Ludmila.

“Haha! No, no. It’s just, Lucy sometimes has a bit of difficulty with talking about her feelings. She must really consider you a good friend if she told you her honest feelings. I think she is a little more used to opening up, but most times I get the feeling she would rather die than have to talk about how she feels.”

“Wow, I had no idea. I guess she did sound a little harsh on herself this morning, but I thought that was just my jealousy causing trouble for her, too. Poor thing. I made sure to let her know she still was a wonderful friend I will cherish forever and ever, but maybe she could use a little more reassurance. I like when she is happy and energetic.”

It was now Alice’s turn to surprise Ludmila with a tight hug and intentionally loud kiss on the cheek. “Eep!”

Alice giggled. “Oh, Lulu. You know the way you always want to bring joy to everyone around you makes me love you even more right?”

Ludmila blushed from the sincerity of Alice’s compliment “Well, you just make me so happy that I was fated to fall in love with someone so sweet and wonderful. Mmmm, speaking of sweet and wonderful, I still have half of Priscilla’s cookie.” Ludmila removed her hand from Alice’s hat and retrieved the rose macaron, half eaten. She nibbled on the cookie to re-experience Priscillas baked masterpiece, then continued,  “Weren’t they incredible, darling? Priscilla is going to make someone very happy someday! She is just such a sweet little cutie, bakes super incredible cookies, and has a heart that just desperately yearns for romance.”

“O-Oh? Did you get a chance to talk with Priscilla too?” Alice’s heart suddenly yearned to know how and why Ludmila had come to that conclusion. Did Ludmila and Priscilla talk about her? Did Priscilla ever mention being in love with her to Ludmila? No, Ludmila would have said something earlier.

“Uh-huh. We had a spicy little conversation about love. Tee-hee.” Ludmila closed her eyes for a moment, revisiting the pleasant memory.

Alice was mostly certain that ludmila meant “spicy” to mean she thought the conversation was fun and exciting, but mostly certain was not certain, and considering how obvious it was today that Priscilla still had feelings for her, Alice had to know. At least, that is what she told herself while trying to excuse her inability to resist gossip. 

“About what in particular?”

“All kinds of things! Lovie-dovie novels, Valentine’s Day, romantic troub—romantic tales,” Ludmila quickly caught herself letting her excitement lead her to oversharing. 

“Did you just say romantic troubles?” Alice asked, trying to mask her intense curiosity.

“Oopsies. Well, let's just say Priscilla had a few little worries about love on her mind and leave it at that,” Ludmila giggled. Priscilla seemed so embarrassed about feeling lonely, or perhaps some unexpressed longing, Ludmila figured it would be best if she kept the details of  the conversation a secret, at least until she could help Priscilla feel better.

“Oh come on, tell me,” Alice playfully begged. 

“Nope! Nuh-uh. If you knew saying something would embarrass me, wouldn’t you do the same?”

“Ludmila, If I said something to embarrass you to a friend, you would probably enjoy that …”

Ludmila burst into laughter and collected herself after several long seconds. “Hehe, yeah—But that is beside the point! Priscilla’s different. Oh? Maybe you are getting jealous now? That’s so cute honey!” teased Ludmila

Alice could see she wasn’t getting anywhere, but Ludmila seemed happy and it sounded like the two had fun together. Alice figured that was good enough, and set her curiosity aside for the time being, pulling Ludmila closer with one arm.

“Having a better Valentine's Day, honey?” asked Alice.

“Hmmm, let's see. I got some wonderful cookies, I listened to a heartfelt declaration of love so passionate it made my heart beat right out of my chest, I got to have some fun with Scarlett, and I’m sitting under the twinkling starlight while in the arms of the best girlfriend in the whole world. I think this evening couldn’t possibly get any more romantic.”

“It makes me so happy to hear that. I had another surprise for you today, but it has been taking longer than I anticipated to get together. I should have it ready in two or three days, I think.”

Ludmila let out a loud and exaggerated gasp. “A surprise! I can’t wait—what is it? Or would you rather leave me shaking with anticipation until it’s ready?” she asked, already quivering.

Alice grinned. “Murakumo overheard one of his guests talking about how a medicinal bath with fireflowers was supposedly great for your skin, and wanted me to grow a whole lot of them to try it. I was planning on having everything ready so you and I could go tonight, but the flowers needed a little longer than I expected, so it wasn’t quite ready for tonight.”

“Oooooh! A hot bath with my darling, filled with big beautiful flowers, grown with love, turning you even softer to the touch!? I don’t think I would be able to keep my hands off of you.”

Alice blushed deeply “Oh, well you see, er … the hot water … eh he, well the flowers kinda-sorta produce a pretty thick steam, so you might not have to.”

Ludmila’s arms wrapped around herself tightly. “Sweet sugared sunshine, Alice! Please tell me you aren’t just teasing me.”

Alice shook her head, eyes bashfully pointed towards the ground but mouth smiling from ear to ear.

“Like I said though, the fireflowers aren’t quite ready, so for now, lets just enjoy the rest of our date.”

Chapter Text

Alone, in the dark of the night, Priscilla stood paralyzed with fear. Right in front of her was a threshold she could not find the courage to cross. It was not the gate marking the edge of civilization and the beginning of the woods. She stood at the colorful, flower bedecked doorway to Flowerstruck, Ludmila’s flower shop and home.

Priscilla had meant to tuck herself into bed early to put an end to an exhausting, emotionally fraught day, but she was so anxious that sleep never came. What would it mean if Alice noticed her longing? Or if Ludmila saw her diary? Or both? Her romantic life was a mess. She was desperate for someone to spend her days with, to catch her when she fell, to hold her hand when she was afraid, and to tell her they loved her more than anyone in the world. She was so desperate for this that she somehow found herself looking for reassurance from the one person she most feared opening up to.  

Although … Ludmila had been so reassuring to her this afternoon. She wanted to help her. Maybe Priscilla could just ask about her future without getting too specific. That’s it! She would ask very carefully about her future with Alice, and if things looked good she could stop worrying, and if there was no hope, she could finally give up and start thinking about what to do with her life.

Priscilla reached out to knock on the door, then paused. On second thought, maybe I will just go home. No point in risking my friendships pursuing some hope that fortune telling will somehow fix my relationship problems when I already know what the answer will be . Silly me.

She silently lowered her arm, stealthily crept away from the door, and gracefully tripped over a flowerpot, letting out a startled yelp that was almost quiet enough to not be audible over the sound of the now shattered terracotta vessel.

Bells chimed and the door swung open before Priscilla could even get herself off the ground.

“Priscilla?! Oh no, oh no. Are you alright?” said a very concerned Ludmila, pained at the sight of her fallen friend.

“Uh!”

Before Priscilla could let out a panicked stammer, Ludmila had already rushed to her side and began looking her over for injuries while extending a hand to help her surprise guest to her feet.

“I—Ow. I’m fine I think. I am really sorry about your flowerpot. I should have been looking where I was going.”

“Don’t be so silly, darling. It’s only a flower pot. I can put it back together tomorrow,” said Ludmila, unsure of why Priscilla seemed to be feeling so guilty over a cheap flower pot. She helped Priscilla up to her feet, then continued.

“As for the flower …” Ludmila scooped up the soil with the flower still planted firmly into it, and nestled it into another pot. “... sometimes little delicate things are tougher than they look,” Ludmila added, looking back over to Priscilla.

“But what brings you here so late in the evening? Ooh, did you come all the way here just to see me? Hehe.”

Priscilla Nodded. “Yes, actually. I thought about your offer to tell my fortune. I can come back some other time though. Like you said, it’s pretty late.”

“No no no, Priscilla. I wanted you to come visit. No need to tease me and leave as soon as you get here. Let’s go inside and get some tea started and get comfy, shall we?”

“Okay, and, uh, thanks, Ludmila.” While still full of doubts, Priscilla once again found herself being put at ease by Ludmila’s genuine concern and playful nature. The two made their way inside and Priscilla shut the door behind her while Ludmila went straight to get a kettle of water boiling.

“Take a little seat at the table and I’ll be right over with everything I need.”

“Okay,” Priscilla replied, now sounding a little more cheerful. She needed to make sure she didn’t get so worked up that her true feelings would show again, so she took a look around Flowerstruck to pass the time while she waited, distracting herself from dwelling on her fears . She had never been here after hours. Shelves of beautiful flowers lined the walls, but without bright sunlight pouring in, the soft glow of the lights made it feel less like a flower shop and more like a cozy, flower-filled cafe.

Ludmila held up two canisters of tea leaves, one in each hand. “For the tea, do you want some help staying up, or something to help you relax?” 

“Something relaxing, please,” Priscilla replied without an ounce of hesitation. She watched as Ludmila gracefully moved back and forth between the kitchen and her dresser, readying the tea and sorting through some small boxes before finally pulling out a small deck of cards.

“Excited to take a peek into the future of your love life? I mean, it sure seems like it since you came here so late in the evening right after you mentioned wanting to take it easy for the night. Just couldn’t hold back your curiosity any longer?”

“Eh-heh, I guess so. I had a bit of trouble sleeping and it sounded like it could even be a little fun,” said Priscilla, reassuring herself. She was feeling rather frazzled from the stress of the day, but Ludmila’s reassurance helped calm her, even if she was still worried Ludmila and Alice knew how she felt.

Ludmila turned her shoulders around, her fingers held in front of her lips, barely obscuring a joyously smug grin. “Ah, see? I knew it was love that was on your mind. You said it this time. I read you like an open book. Ha ha ha!” Ludmila was delighted, less from the fun of teasing Priscilla than just being happy to see her open up a little about her feelings. Whatever exactly was on her mind, and Ludmila was sure sharing the burden would help her feel better.

Priscilla flinched a little at the words “open book.”

“I am pretty good at fortune telling too. I’d say I’m right about half the time. I really want to repay you though, so, do you mind if I ask you a few questions to make sure the reading is as accurate as possible?” Ludmila noticed the water in the kettle was just starting to bubble, and pulled two mugs out from the cupboard.

“...Uh-huh! Sure! Ask away!” said Priscilla. At least, she thinks she said that. She was having trouble hearing anything over what sounded like the deafening beat of her own heart.

Ludmila noticed Priscilla was nervously watching the door. Poor sweet little Priscilla really is nervous about opening up. Did she come here so late because keeping a secret is that important? I guess I should reassure her that anything she says tonight is just between the two of us. She calmly walked over to the front door and firmly locked the door and closed the windows.

Priscilla could feel her soul leaving her body. It was all over. And now Ludmila was slowly approaching her.

Ludmila winked at Priscilla. “Good thinking, better safe than sorry. As sweet as everyone is here in Rigbarth, there are quite a few nosy neighbors, especially a certain cute little blonde ranger who sticks her nose into everybody’s business,” she laughed before returning to check on the tea. “Want any honey for your tea?” Ludmila smiled to herself as she checked the cupboards for honey, enjoying being the best host she could for her nervous friend.

“I’mfinethanks!—Er. I’m good. I’ve had plenty of cookies today so no more sweets for me tonight,” Priscilla answered with a nervous chuckle.

Ludmila grabbed a reference book from the shelf for the card reading and set it at the table before finally sitting down across from Priscilla, then spoke. “Like I said, the more you can tell me before the reading, the better the chance I don’t mess anything up. Of course, I’d love to hear about who and what gets your heart racing anyway, so don’t spare any details. In fact, let’s get to the juicy stuff! Any certain cutie you have your eye on?” asked Ludmila, her own eyes gazing so intently into Priscilla’s while wearing a curious but innocent smile.

Punctuating the end of Ludmila’s question was a loud whistle from the kettle. “Whoops, tea’s done.” Ludmila got up to retrieve the tea.

Priscilla knew there was no way out of this conversation. There was no way she could leave without seeming suspicious. Maybe there was no way to leave at all. The way Ludmila had been right next to her diary, and her choice to mention an “ open book. ” Priscilla glanced at the bookshelf and saw quite a few mystery novels. She couldn’t help but feel just like a culprit, trapped by the detective in the finale. This interrogation would reveal her guilt, and the Case of the Conniving Friend would be closed . Priscilla gritted her teeth to hold back any stronger showing of fear from writing itself all over her face.

Ludmila sat back down, setting down two mugs of tea. Priscilla looked up and saw Ludmila frowning, but even with panic welling up in her whole body, there was no mistaking Ludmila’s sadness-tinged concern for anger. “Priscilla, I’m sorry if I got a little overexcited. I’m just so happy you came to talk with me to talk about what’s on your mind. No matter what it is you have to say, I’m just glad to see you took such a bold step for yourself.”

Priscilla took a close look at Ludmila. Why isn’t she mad? I would be! But she has to know. I mean, Ludmila has always only ever been kind, to me especially. She wants to let me down gently. She has been saying she wanted to help me open up all day. Oh, Ludmila I am so sorry.

Priscilla smiled and shook her head after wiping the remnant of a small tear from the corner of her eye. “Oh, no I-I think I am fine. I’m … just suddenly touched at how far you would go to help me,” she said just before taking a sip of the steaming cup of tea and letting her shoulders relax as she drank.

“Oh goodie! I have been a bit of a mess today, so I just wanted to make sure I wasn’t spreading worry around instead of making people happy.”

Priscilla’s expression brightened. “Sorry if you were worrying today too. Everyone is happy to have you around. Was it the cookies that had you down? Even grandpa Randolph messes up a bake every once in a while.”

“Really?! I guess everyone makes mistakes. But no, earlier today I was just letting a few silly little jealous feelings get to me, but Alice is just so sweet and wonderful and helped me sort out my feelings. Oh. and then we smooched lots and lots and lots! I couldn’t have asked for a better date! Oh, I’m sorry, I got a little distracted talking about myself and we’re here to help you get things sorted out.”

“I’m happy for you. It sounds like a pretty good date,” Priscilla replied. 

“A really great date! But enough talking about my smooching. Tell me about this person you wanna smooch!” Ludmila asked, resting her chin on her hands.

Priscilla took a large gulp of Relax Tea. “Well, she is really pretty …”

Ludmila waited, then smirked, realizing her friend was at least starting to calm down . “Well, I am glad you said ‘she’ because otherwise that doesn’t narrow things down much.”

Priscilla scratched her chin. She wasn’t feeling brave enough to say it was Alice who she loved, but hopefully she didn’t have to. At the very least, she could say it indirectly. This was easier for her. She cleared her throat. “Well, she is also really kind.”

“Uh-huh. Now we are getting somewhere. Kindness is just sooooo attractive isn’t it?” said Ludmila, dreamily, thinking, of course, of Alice.

Priscilla nodded in agreement and continued, feeling safer the more she opened up to Ludmila, “and she’s honest, and always happy to see me, and she always makes me feel really safe whenever I am around her.”

Ludmilla sprouted a wide grin. “Oh ho ho, spicy stuff! Now we are getting somewhere.” A flash of insight struck Ludmila as she listened. “Tell me, does she also happen to be pretty skilled at fishing?” Ludmila listened for Priscilla’s response, eagerly awaiting confirmation of her hunch.

Priscilla recalled Alice had managed to beat Lucy in the last fishing festival in a surprise upset, and she knew nobody else would have been able to manage that.

“Yeah,” Priscilla said, blushing. “She is really great at all kinds of things.”

Ludmila let out a satisfied giggle.“Well, Priscilla, it sounds like you are very in love with this girl. Have you also maybe been friends with her for long enough that you just couldn’t help falling in love?” 

Priscilla could no longer maintain eye contact with Ludmila, but nodded vigorously, blushing further still. “Yeah … I … I love her a lot, and I don’t know what to do about it.”

Ludmila, still smiling, sat up, crossed her arms, closed her eyes and nodded. “Ahhh. I understand,” she said, completely misunderstanding. Putting together everything she knew, Ludmila concluded with certainty that Priscilla’s friendship with Lucy had grown into something more.

“That’s just fine to feel like your head is spinning right now. It’s exciting when a friendship blossoms into feelings of romantic love, even if excitement is sometimes scary, and when feeling for a friend changes, it’s easy to become worried about how your friend will feel, or even how your mutual friends will feel,” Ludmila said, adopting a soft and empathetic tone. “Does that sound right, Priscilla?”

Priscilla was stunned. It felt less like Ludmila read her diary and more like she was reading her mind. “Uh-huh. I have been thinking about her a lot, but I wasn’t sure if it was right to say anything. What do you think, though?” While waiting for an answer, Priscilla wondered what could have possibly happened to Ludmila to have suddenly felt so secure about Alice. In any case, she felt quite relieved.

Ludmila put her fingers to her lips and giggled while reflecting on Priscilla’s affectation and posture. Priscilla sure is hesitant about all this. She is dancing around even saying Lucy’s name out loud. I’ll join her little dance and be as delicate as possible for her.

“I haven’t told your fortune yet, but just between you and me, I don’t think it could hurt to let her know how you feel. I think she’d be your friend no matter what happens, we all would.” Ludmila took a small sip of tea.

“That’s the hard part. Even if I knew it was ok, I don’t know if I could. I have tried, but I just don’t have the courage. There is a lot I don’t have the courage to do. Confessing is just one of the things I can’t do, really.” Priscilla hung her head down, looking into her cup. Spying her sullen reflection in the tea, Priscilla lifted her head.

“Courage huh?” Ludmila pondered aloud. “Well, when I am scared it helps to think about how exciting fear can feel!”

Priscilla laughed softly and rolled her eyes. After so many insightful revelations and encouraging words, Priscilla momentarily forgot that Ludmila ’s odd perspective often meant she gave very unusable advice, but it was at least entertainingly strange. “Thanks, I’ll try that,” replied Priscilla. The “thanks” being more genuine than the latter part.

“That’s the spirit! For now though, I think it’s just about time for your reading. So, Tell me your questions and we can take an exciting little peek at what is in store! You ready?” asked Ludmila.

“Mm! I think so. Okay … Will I have the courage to confess my feelings? Will everything be ok if I do?” said Priscilla, boldly and clearly.

“That’s the kind of conviction I want to hear! Now, let’s see what fate has in store. Shall we?” Ludmilla began shuffling the deck of cards she had previously set on the table before setting it back down, then closing her eyes and drawing a card and placing it face down purposefully onto the table. She drew another card from the top, and placed it beside the first, also face down centered in front of priscilla. Finally, she drew a third card and set it to the other side of the second card, creating a line of 3 perfectly evenly spaced cards face down on the table. She opened her eyes.

Priscilla watched closely as Ludmila reached for the first card, eager to see Ludmila’s reaction. Ludmila broke the silence as she turned the first card face up. “First, a peek at how you’ve been.” Ludmila looked down at the card, which seemed to be a heart pierced by 3 swords. Priscilla watched as Ludmila’s lips turned to a sympathetic pout. Priscilla wasn’t precisely sure of what the card meant, but she figured it wasn’t good. As soon as Ludmila reached for the second card, Priscilla was back to watching Ludmila’s hand intently.

“And, now, where has fate led you?” Ludmila asked as sincerely as if she was hoping to be told an answer. Priscilla couldn’t help but feel a pang of worry once she took a closer look. The man on the card had his eyes closed and looked like he was about to fall off a cliff. Priscilla looked up at Ludmila, whose expression was also focused, but was much less concerned, perhaps even smiling. Priscilla couldn’t quite tell.

Ludmila once again asked a question as if speaking to someone else. “And then?” Ludmila seemed to hesitate for a moment, then flipped the card over. Priscilla leaned over to look closer. There was a baby on a horse with a large sun in the background. The sun was making some kind of unreadable expression. Unsure of how to interpret the card, Priscilla  once again chose to read Ludmila’s expression instead. Apparently, this must have been a good card to have come up, as Ludmila was smiling as if her flowers had bloomed, or as if Alice had paid her a surprise visit, or as if she was caught out in a particularly vicious hailstorm. 

She was unsure whether Ludmila really was glimpsing the future, or whether Ludmila was just helping her work through her feelings for Alice, but Priscilla was eagerly clutching the hem of her dress, and biting her lip, waiting for Ludmila to finish her contemplation of the three cards before her. Ludmila was still smiling, so that had to mean something good right? In fact, she was looking back and forth at the cards, then at Priscilla, then back to the cards. She seemed to grow more excited and energetic as she went, until she suddenly declared “Ah-ha, I get it now! You have nothing to worry about Priscilla!”

“I-I don’t!?” Priscilla stammered, surprised by Ludmila’s sudden outburst.

“Not at all! Looking at the cards right here in front of us, I can tell fate has good things in store for you. It must have been so painful to still be seeking the courage you haven't found yet. But, things are going to be ok! No, better than ok! You’ll find that courage! You’ll be able to say however you feel. If you have trouble, try something different, even if it seems silly.”

Priscilla started to feel a welling joy in her heart, but she had a nagging doubt that she was just interpreting Ludmila’s words to justify her selfish desires. Doubting her own intentions, Priscilla decided she should make sure she understood what Ludmila meant.

“That sounds too good to be true. You’re really saying I can tell her how I feel… and that everything … everyone … will be fine?”

“Better than fine. I know it may take a bit of time to feel less timid, but everything will be fine when you confess your feelings. You could confess sweetly, or be passionately enthusiastic.   Like I said, now is the time to try something new or try something crazy . You could even beg her to kiss you and she probably would. Keep trying and you will find something that works for you , whatever it is, no matter how crazy it seems!”

Priscilla was stunned. 

“You can do it. You have fate on your side, and even if you didn’t, you would still have me on your side,” Ludmila firmly concluded.

She felt as if her heart had stopped from the shock, when it was, in fact, vigorously pumping blood to her cheeks. Oh gosh ohgosh! This isn’t a dream is it?! Ahh, this is real! I’am going to tell Alice how I feel! And-and… and I will have a chance to hear her tell me she loves me!

Ludmila waved her hand to get Priscilla’s attention. “Are you feeling ok? You stopped breathing for a few seconds then started hyperventilating. Or are you maybe feeling better than okay? Ooooh, you really, really love her don’t you!? ”

Priscilla could hear Ludmila talking but failed to process her question, and replied with her own question.

“Y-you are ok with all this?!” Priscilla exclaimed.

“Yep, Especially now that I know how much it has been hurting you to keep it all inside. I’d rather see you smile,” replied Ludmila, herself smiling back.

“And Alice?” asked Priscilla.

“Huh? Of course. Alice would want to see you happy too.” 

Priscilla’s smoldering hope was fully rekindled into a blazing inferno, burning away the last vestige of doubt in her heart. This fire must have shone in her eyes as well, as Ludmila was watching her.

“Ha ha haha! My my, Priscilla I’ve never seen you get so fired up. I like it though.”

Hearing Ludmila speak up had pulled Priscilla’s attention back to the present. While Priscilla was still overjoyed at this turn of events, she was now growing a little embarrassed. “Ah! I erm… thanks. I know you said you wanted to help, but I wasn’t expecting … I’m just happily surprised that you would go so far to help me, and that you don’t mind … all this.” Priscilla said. 

“Of course I don’t mind. Don’t be silly. We’re friends and I want you to be happy. Between Lucy and Alice, you have the best, most incredible friends anyone could ever ask for, so if I have a chance to help you be the bold courageous woman you long to be, of course I would help. Love and romance is just the best thing in the world. A shy girl fighting against sorrow and self-doubt to find a way to tell her true love how she feels; Isn’t that the sort of story you would want to read? Why wouldn’t I help?” said Ludmila. Saying this out loud, Ludmila couldn’t help but worry she was only doing this so that Lucy and Priscilla, especially Lucy, would be too busy with each other to flirt with Alice.

“Hehehehe!” Priscilla held her hand up to her mouth and laughed, this time, at herself. “I suppose we have known each other for long enough that I should stop being so surprised when you go out of your way to help people with your generosity. You were handing flowers out to everyone the day you opened Flowerstruck. I just really wasn’t expecting you to also share …” Priscilla stopped, turned her head sideways, gazed at the floor and blushed, unable to look Ludmila in the eyes and say “Alice.”

“Oh now you are making me blush by being so grateful. Really, Priscilla I just like seeing people happy, so of course I will share my time and talents to make my friends happy. Now, speaking of talents, I suppose I ought to mention again that my telling has usually only been right about half the time, though I think I have been improving lately, and I have a really good feeling about this one.”

“Me too,” Priscilla nodded. She was too distracted by her chance at a happy future with Alice to really consider any alternative too deeply. Priscilla stood up. She meant to stand up to hug Ludmila in thanks, but instead wobbled and fell back down into her chair.

“Oof! Hehe. I think I might be a little worn out” said Priscilla, rubbing her forehead.

“I’d think so. You stayed up late, handed out cookies all day while worrying really hard, then stayed up late and drank a whole cup of Relax Tea. Do you need me to walk you home?“

Priscilla closed her eyes and pictured holding hands with Alice until her heart started racing, hoping to stave off the tiredness “Nope. I can at least make it all the way home without sleeping, though now I guess this might be how Elsje feels.”

The two shared a small laugh together before Ludmila helped Priscilla to her feet and got the door for her. After waving goodbye and closing the door, Ludmila began to reflect on the night while she put away the dishes and cards.

She really did have a good feeling about Priscilla’s fortune, and was especially glad the results were about as optimistic as could be. She would have felt a little awkward if it hadn’t. After all this was meant to be a way of saying thanks for the cookie and the rose extract. Ludmila finished the last of her cleaning, changed into pajamas and laid down in bed, satisfied that she was able to do a good deed for a friend. Poor Priscilla. I am glad I was able to help her sort everything out.

Chapter Text

Ludmila was feeling tired the next morning, though it did not show. She went about her cozy little shop and watered the flowers as she reflected on the previous day. She giggled in delight, recalling Alice’s frenzied declaration of love, the fun she had talking with Priscilla, and the delicious cookies she received. By the end of the day, even her conversation with Lucy had begun to hurt less. Though, thinking back on it again , Ludmila suddenly began fantasizing about picking up Alice and carrying her off to live in a dark cave where nobody could take her away from her. Ludmila shook herself free from dwelling on her fears , realizing she was already wasting beautiful moments of her day feeling ugly feelings.

Lucy seemed sincere, and if what Alice said was true regarding Lucy’s difficulty discussing her own feelings, then apologizing must have been extra difficult for her. Ludmila recalled Lucy’s tearful apology. Was Lucy just being too harsh on herself, or am I just so jealous that I scared her that much? Ludmila watered her indoor plants, trying to make sense of Lucy's feelings as well as her own. The one thing she knew was that she was going to need time to sort out her jealous feelings, especially towards Lucy .

Ludmila had almost managed to water one small flowerpot before being interrupted by a vigorous knocking at her door.

“We’re not open yet—or, wait. Is somebody just unable to wait any longer to see me?” said Ludmila as she ran to lean out the open window.

“Hehe, well, you're not wrong, exactly, I guess,” laughed a bashful but clearly nervous Lucy, who was scratching the back of her head.

“Lucy?” asked Ludmila. She blinked a few times, half trying to make sense of why Lucy would be here so early in the morning. Ludmila leaned back inside, opening the front door for Lucy.

“Heya, Ludmila. I know I said I didn’t have any urgent questions about my future but I maybe, kinda, sorta thought of … something.”

“A question so urgent that you couldn’t wait any longer to ask?” Ludmila asked in reply . She felt a little anxious about having to talk with Lucy before having a chance to calm down, but some part of her felt better, recognizing Lucy was accepting her fortune-telling-as-apology-session.

“Yep! I guess I can come back a little later … but not too much later, ‘cuz I can’t really wait any more.”

Ludmila expected to feel jealous, but she instead found herself more intrigued at the moment. Lucy was clearly dying to have her fortune told, given both her time of arrival and her nervous fidgeting. “Come on in, then, and tell me a bit about what made you so suddenly curious,” said Ludmila. She opened the door wider and stepped aside, motioning for Lucy to come in, then shut the window and door behind her.

Lucy followed Ludmila inside. “Oh, I just had some questions about … things,” said Lucy, evasively. She tried to maintain eye contact with Ludmila but struggled to maintain it for more than a fleeting moment. Although, after processing Ludmila's question fully, Lucy managed to re-focus on why she was here. She was desperate to learn whether she had any kind of chance with Priscilla. When Priscilla was obviously pursuing Alice, Lucy found it easier to deny her own romantic feelings for Priscilla, or simply pretend it was for the best. When Alice asked out Ludmila, Priscilla had stopped flirting with Alice. Lucy decided it was her job to make Priscilla happy and also that this was her own chance to ask Priscilla out. She was sad to admit that so far she had made little progress, being completely paralyzed by the fear of rejection.  

Ludmila offered this fortune telling as thanks for the cookie, so it was the perfect opportunity to sort things out without needing to bother anyone else with asking for help. Having a plan to sort out her feelings made her feel a little better about the whole situation. Now that she was standing here actually having to do something about it, however, her anxiety returned stronger than ever.

Lucy slapped her hands on her cheeks. “Stay focused, Lucy,” she told herself aloud.

“That’s the spirit. After all, you will need to give me a few more details before I can tell you your fortune,” giggled Ludmila, who was bemused by Lucy’s attempted projection of confidence and its contrast with her reticent avoidance of the subject. Ludmila retrieved the deck of cards from her dresser and set them on the table, motioning towards the chair on the opposite end of the table before sitting down herself. “ Want any tea?” asked Ludmila.

Lucy shook her head as she sat down. “No thanks; I’m feelin’ wide awake already!” beamed Lucy. While her worries did keep her up most of the night, she was nervous enough that she barely felt tired.

“In that case, let’s take a peek at what your future holds.”

“Yay!”

“After we discuss what it is in particular you want to know.”

“Oh. right.”

“...”

“…”

Lucy had not thought this far ahead. Only now that the time had come to get her fortune told did she realize that she would have to endure the ordeal of telling someone how she felt.

Ludmila cleared her throat, then spoke. “If you are feeling nervous, you have my promise that this is just between us. You seemed to have something on your mind yesterday, and it feels terrible to see friends upset. Is your question about someone you love?”

“Huh?! No! No way. Heck, what kind of romance worries could I possibly have?”

Ludmila’s lips curved into a cunning smile as she replied. “Tee-hee-hee, In that case, we don’t have to worry about the fortune getting all twisted up because you were avoiding something and lied right?”

“U-uh. Um, let’s say it was a question about love, then. Sooo, the question, huh? If I tell the person I like how I feel about them, will that mess everything up?” Ludmila could hear Lucy’s voice darken with worry, fearing some imagined but unspoken catastrophe.

Ludmila gave Lucy a quizzical look before looking off to her side in thought.

“Well, that is a decent start, but if you tell me a little more, I can probably answer that question for you without fortune telling. Let’s save the magic for the good stuff.” Wait, Lucy isn’t in love with Alice, is she?! Agh, Calm down, Ludmila. Let’s just ask some questions to narrow it down. She is clearly just having trouble expressing her feelings. Maybe I can ease her into letting me in on what has her little heart all twisted up in knots.  It’s just like with Priscilla … Ah. I may have her figured out already.

“Tell me a bit about this person you like.” Ludmila scrutinized Lucy’s face, watching her wince and struggle as she fought a fierce internal battle against her fear of her own romantic feelings.

“She’s … really … cute.”

Ludmila blinked twice. Lucy was trying her hardest, but Ludmila knew she would have to ask more leading questions to get anything out of Lucy.

“Ok, Lucy. That’s a good start. Is she really sweet too?”

Lucy blushed, then grinned, and finally nodded, clearly remembering a sweet moment with this special someone.

Ludmila nodded back. “Is she very talented at a lot of different things?”

“Uh-huh. She is amazing!” Lucy’s instinctual urge to compliment Priscilla gave her a powerful but fleeting boost of confidence.

“—and she  bakes especially great cookies, right?” Ludmila let her body relax, feeling like she was finally making progress.

“She bakes the best cookies!” Lucy replied, sounding even a bit prideful for being in love with someone so impressive.

Ludmila had her answer, gave Lucy a gentle and knowing look, and softly asked, “It’s Priscilla that you are in love with, isn’t it, Lucy?”

Lucy felt too seen and blurted out in a panic, “No!” Her shout even seemed to startle herself.

Ludmila jolted back. Her shocked expression suddenly turned to a burning, furious glare as she stood and slammed her hands on the table, making a loud, sharp thud almost too loud for her delicate gloved hands. “It’s Alice, isn’t it?! You are in love with Alice! I knew it!”

“No! No! I told you it’s not Alice! You have to…”

“Then who, Lucy?! Who?! There is nobody else like that.” Ludmila’s flare of anger mellowed into hurt, then mere frustration.

“I… Uh…”

Ludmila suddenly placed a hand on her own forehead, her face contorted , forming an expression of unsettled revelation. “Lucy, I think Granny Yuki is quite happy with Randolf, so I …”

Lucy, still panicking, finally fumbled her way into an explanation before she could let Lumila jump to any more bizarre conclusions.

“I love Priscilla, okay!? Ahhhh! It’s!—I can’t believe I just said that out loud! Wait! I just shouted that, didn’t I? She didn’t hear, did she?! Oh no, oh no!”

Ludmila took a few deep breaths. Feeling her worries fade away, she felt an overpowering need to laugh, and did just that, bending over the table and cackling until her hat fell off. She had tried to ask Lucy why it was so hard to just say who she liked, but all she could do was gasp for air and laugh at how ridiculously they both were behaving, with herself acting so emotionally insecure that she wasn’t thinking straight and Lucy being so hesitant to admit something so innocent.

Lucy fidgeted. She understood that Ludmila was no longer upset, or at least felt she wasn’t mad any more, but the lingering anxiety of shouting out her most hidden feelings clung to her.

Ludmila took a few more deep breaths, realizing Lucy wasn’t the only one having trouble keeping her composure. “Don’t worry about making too much noise here, Lucy. Nobody comes by this early in the morning.” Ludmila waved her hand dismissively and continued, “Besides, I’ve made sure Flowerstruck is very well insulated.”

“Why did you need to insulate a flower shop?” Lucy asked in surprise before realizing she didn’t actually want Ludmila to answer.

“To keep my indoor flowers nice and toasty warm, silly,” Ludmila answered as she held her hand out towards the cacti in the corner of the shop, though a mischievous grin still curled at the edge of her mouth, not denying other imagined benefits.

Nonetheless, Lucy sighed in relief and looked up to Ludmila for reassurance before she would let herself feel comforted. A fter seeing that Ludmila was being serious, Lucy adjusted herself in the chair before allowing herself to laugh as well, mostly at herself.

“Was that really so hard?” Ludmila asked coyly.

“Yes,” she replied flatly. After a moment’s pause she laughed again, “It really was, but ya know what? Admitting it out loud felt really good. I love Priscilla. I know it was probably a pain in the butt to get me to say it, but I am glad you did.” As much as Lucy did not want to need help, this was important enough that she was glad someone was there to help her.

“Tee-hee. Well, I had a teensy tiny little hunch you liked Priscilla. Whatever fate has in store, you two would be very cute together. I am glad you love her … and not Alice,” affirmed Ludmila, smiling.

Lucy rolled her eyes. “Come on, Ludmila!” Lucy protested in faux irritation. “I know Alice is really cool and super hot …” Lucy paused to correct herself upon seeing Ludmila clench her teeth behind her smile, “but Priscilla is the only one I want to be with. That’s the whole reason I came here. I want to be with her, I just don’t want to ruin my friendship with her or make things awkward between any of us. Ludmila’s jaw relaxed at Lucy’s reassurance. In fact, she began to giggle, finding the idea that Priscilla would ever stop being friends with Lucy to be absolutely nonsensical, especially over something so silly.

“I’m serious, Ludmila. Don’t underestimate my ability to mess up relationship stuff. I’m no good at romance.”

Ludmila cleared her throat to stifle her laughter. “I get it. You really, really care about her and are afraid. What makes you so sure she won’t immediately say yes?”

Lucy’s gaze sank to the table in front of her. “I just have a bad feeling about it.” She had no intention of letting her plan to come here cause trouble for Priscilla or anyone else. She was just here to sort out her feelings and figure out if confessing to Priscilla would ruin everything.

Ludmila, however, began formulating a scheme of her own. Priscilla loves Lucy, and Lucy Loves Priscilla. Both clearly had hang-ups they would need to get through before they could express their feelings, but if somebody could help them, maybe nudge them along, it would be such a beautiful story. It would also pair off the two people closest to Alice. No time to flirt with Alice if they are all over each other, right?

“Sooo, you’re desperate to tell Priscilla you love her, but are afraid that could risk your friendship and don’t feel confident about telling her. Is that right?

Lucy nodded. “Pretty much.” Her head sank lower.

“Well, I certainly could try and answer that question, but how about this—What if you ask what it is you need to do to find the confidence to confess your love to priscilla and have her say yes? I get that your friendship is so precious that you are afraid to let her know about your burning passion. She has to feel the same way!” Ludmila passionately explained.

Lucy was caught off guard by Ludmila’s conviction. Still, Lucy was doubtful. It was clear to her that Priscilla loved Alice. 

“I don’t get it. Why are you so certain?” Lucy asked, full of doubt but desperate with hope.

Ludmila was unexpectedly puzzled by how to answer this question in such a way that she could reassure Lucy while keeping last night’s meeting with Priscilla a secret . “I guess I don’t have a reason at all. If I did, I would definitely tell you why, though. You will just have to trust me, just like how you are trusting me to not tell anyone about your worries, because I can keep my friends’ secrets.”

“… uh, I don’t … Wait! Did Priscilla tell you she liked me?!”

Ludmila frowned a little, not expecting to have been seen through so quickly. “Oopsie. Was I really that obvious? Oh well. Besides, she is interested in you; she just has her heart a little twisted up with worry. I told her I wouldn’t tell anyone, but how could I not? I’m sure she wouldn’t mind if it meant you two got together. So how about we figure out how to get you two together?”

“T-that sounds too good to be true. Did she really say that?” Lucy leaned forward, gripped by anticipation. This went against everything Lucy thought she knew. She was in such disbelief that she needed to hear Ludmila say it again.

“Uh-huh. She had a lot of sweet things to say about you and was just so clearly in love. You might not be the only one having difficulty expressing her feelings, ya’know.”

Lucy, hid her burning red face behind her hands, covering her massive smile. “Ehehehehehe! Really? Maybe I am overthinking things a little.”

“That or you knew exactly what you wanted when you came in and just enjoyed making me work for it,” Ludmila teased. She picked up the ornate stack of cards from the table surface and began to shuffle. Lucy scratched the back of her head in embarrassment, glancing away.

Ludmila set the deck of cards back down in the center of the table. “Now that you have told me all about how you feel, tell me what you want to know about your love life and we can take a little peek into the future.”

“And your predictions really come true, right?”

“They sure do. About half the time, anyway.”

Lucy nodded eagerly, clenching her fists to pump herself up. A fifty-fifty chance was better odds than she would have ever given herself before this morning. “Okay. I have it. How could I confess to Priscilla in a way she would accept how I feel? What will happen if I do?”

“Ooh la la~ now we are getting to the spicy stuff. Let’s find out.” Ludmila licked her lips as she reached for the deck. She, too, was eager to see what came up. If this reading turned out well too, that surely meant that Lucy and Priscilla were meant to be together. 

Lucy watched intently as Ludmila focused on the deck of cards for a moment before slowly but deliberately drawing three cards and placing them face down, all in a row, on Lucy’s side of the table.

“Time for the first card. Let's take a peek into the past, first. How did your heart lead you here?” Ludmila turned the first card, and Lucy leaned in to get a closer look. On the card, three dancing figures held up goblets. Ludmila closed her eyes and nodded sagely before blinking and reaching for the second card. Lucy was almost a little surprised the card had some kind of esoteric image on it and not just some clearly worded answer like “doesn’t know when to give up” or “hopelessly stupid.” Whatever the card meant, though, it seemed to reassure Ludmila of whatever she already thought.

Ludmila reached for the second card. “... and at the current moment …?” She turned the card over and nodded again, giving it a look of pity. Lucy saw the man on the card was looking down dejectedly at three spilled cups, his back turned to two others. Ludmila gave it a look of pity, as if knowing this card would be there.

“Now for the fun part.” Ludmila turned over the final card. “Oooh! Fitting.” On the card was an image of a warrior riding a chariot.

“What’s fitting? What does this mean? Tell me what all these cups and this guy in a cart means and I will do whatever I have to,” Lucy asked as she stood up straight, dying to hear some answer.

Ludmila chuckled, “Hm-hm! Maybe you understand better than you think, darling. No need to get so worked up, though. Let me see if this is right. You have been close friends with Priscilla for a long time. Even with other good friends, Priscilla was special to you, and you fell for her so hard along the way. You were hoping to be able to tell her how you felt, but now you are too down in the dumps to find the courage to ask her, possibly because you felt like you missed your chance or something didn’t quite work out like you hoped?”

Lucy was stunned. “Yeah, exactly. You knew all that from just looking at those three cards?”

Ludmila shook her head. “Nope. I got all that from the first two. Don’t lose hope, though. I believe you can turn things around.” Ludmila tapped the final card with her fingertip a few times.

“That’s the card that is supposed to tell my future, right? W-what does it mean?”

“It could mean a few things, but taking everything you have said and everything I know about you and Priscilla, it almost certainly means that you can make things work out. You will have to make it happen, though. Maybe you feel like you missed your chance, but as long as you stay determined to tell Priscilla how you feel, no matter how hard it is , you can make your own opportunity to call her your own. You two are bound to be together.” Ludmila punctuated her interpretation with a wink. “That’s what I think, anyways.”

Emboldened by Ludmila’s blending of encouragement and prophecy, Lucy practically sprang to her feet. “This all sounds crazy, but I guess I don’t have any reason to doubt you either. You were right about some things I didn’t even tell you, so you’ve gotta be right about my future, right?”

Ludmila nodded. “Yep. Well, actually, I am wrong about half the time, but I have a really good feeling about this one, and I’ll be helping you all the way, one hundred percent.”

Lucy had not felt this genuinely hopeful about her chances with Priscilla since learning that Alice and Ludmila started dating. She came to Flowerstruck just hoping to get a little direction so that she could sort out her feelings herself, without having to trouble anyone else. Lucy still felt a twinge of reluctance. A sliver of guilt prodded her, telling her to not trouble others with her worries. However, her hope was overwhelming. The idea of being loved by Priscilla was too precious. If confidence and resilience were all she needed to make her dream happen, she would make it happen.

“Alright!” Lucy pumped her fist into the air. “I think this was exactly what I needed to hear. Thanks Ludmila. You have already helped enough, but I …” Lucy paused, then swallowed, buying herself a second to gather her nerves. “I am glad you want to help me and that my worries weren’t just a bother to you.” Lucy stood up straight and puffed up her chest, feeling a little proud of herself for just being able to say how she felt. It felt unnatural to her, but it was what she had to do if she was going to make her fortune come true.

Ludmila was pleased with herself, as well as a little relieved that fate itself also seemed to want Lucy and Priscilla to get together. The dark cloud Ludmila sensed over those two seemed to be lifting now. They would be happy, and she would maybe feel a little less protective of Alice around her closest friends.

“That’s the Lucy I want to see — full of life and ready to express her love. It seems you are practically quivering with excitement.” Despite Lucy’s confident posture, her legs were shaking.

Lucy put her hands on her hips. “Ha ha. I am actually terrified, but you said I have to be confident, so I can’t let that stop me. Nope! I hafta tell her how I feel.”

“That’s the spirit! Fate is on your side as long as you stay determined and give it your all. When are you going to tell her?”

“Right now, before I think too hard about this and chicken out!” shouted Lucy. Ludmila gasped in surprise as Lucy suddenly stepped forward, giving Ludmila a surprisingly strong hug for her size, and just as quickly running for the door. “As long as I go fast enough, I can outrun my own doubts and tell Priscilla I love her before I lose my nerve,” she thought to herself, also outrunning her logic.

Ludmila blinked as Lucy dashed out the door, loudly chiming bells above it, and punctuating their ringing with the loud thud of tripping over the steps to the porch. Ludmila made her way to the only half-closed door, looking through it only to see a cloud of dust hanging in the air, and Lucy had already picked herself up and made it halfway halfway down the street, headed towards Priscilla’s house. 

Realizing the shop still wasn’t ready to open, Ludmila rushed to finish watering the rest of her flowers, singing to herself as she went, all the while looking forward to hearing all about Lucy’s confession of love.

Chapter Text

It was the night before Valentine’s Day, and Lucy had only just arrived at Priscilla’s home to bake cookies for the coming holiday.

“Hi, Lucy. Ready to bake some cookies?” asked Priscilla. “Nope, but that’s why I need your help, so my baking doesn’t put anyone in my mom’s clinic this year.” The two laughed as Lucy stepped inside and Priscilla shut the door behind her.

Lucy sniffed the fragrant air of the kitchen, which was permeated with a strong floral scent. “Oh! It’s the rose stuff from your letter!” she noted. Not only did Priscilla mention that she was excited to bake with the rose extract she had made, but she was enthused enough that she couldn’t wait for Lucy to smell it, and spritzed the paper with it before mailing it.

“Uh-huh. I think it came out pretty good. I just hope the cookies themselves turn out just as well. I just hope the extra moisture from the rose essence doesn’t mess up the batter,” Priscilla answered. “It’s less than rosewater for sure, but macarons can be very finicky.

“That, uh, sounds pretty intimidating. I am sure everyone will love them, though. I think I’m going to stick with sugar cookies. Less chance I mess it up. Speaking of which, how should I start?” Lucy grinned. 

Priscilla placed her hand on her chin while trying to remember something. “Oh, I think I have the perfect recipe then.” She traced her finger through the air along the bookshelf, searching amongst the rows of romance novels and cookbooks for the specific one with the exact kind of recipe Lucy was looking for. “Ah, it's all the way up here.” Priscilla reached for the old cookbook sitting on the top shelf of the book case. She could barely feel the spine of the cookbook with her fingertips. Before Lucy could offer to help, Priscilla leapt to grab the book.

She managed to get ahold of the book, but not without causing the bookshelf to spill a few books to the floor as it teetered. Priscilla let out a startled yelp and closed her eyes with a wince as she could feel herself falling. She heard more books clatter to the floor, but she neither felt the books fall on top of her nor felt herself hit the ground, but instead felt two arms lift her up. Priscilla opened her eyes only to see Lucy’s worried expression, their faces not more than a foot apart.

Looking at Lucy, Priscilla couldn’t help but recall memories of when Lucy first held her like this. They were younger, and Priscilla had just moved back to Rigbarth, and Lucy wanted to show off how much better at fishing she had become. Priscilla remembered the rocks slipping beneath her feet at the riverbank, and she remembered Lucy had caught and held her just like she was now. She remembered Lucy looking at her with concern. Most of all, she remembered her heart racing in a way it never had before. She had struggled to maintain eye contact but felt an even stronger want to keep looking at her.

In the following weeks, she did her best to gauge Lucy’s feelings for her and couldn’t help but notice what seemed like a discomfort towards the subject of romance. Lucy would be fine if they talked about fairy tales or Priscilla’s romance novels, but any questions about Lucy’s romantic interests seemed to end in Lucy changing the subject in nervous, self-deprecating jokes. Priscilla eventually accepted the idea that Lucy just didn’t feel the same way. As much as her longing for romance remained, Priscilla didn’t waste her time feeling bitter and instead enjoyed the way she felt when spending time with her, such as when they would hold hands or laugh together. Priscilla would bask in her own feelings of affection. Priscilla’s resignation had mostly dulled the romantic aspects of their closeness, but occasionally, something would stir up that feeling and cause Priscilla to reminisce before setting her old feelings aside. Though it happened less and less frequently, being held by Lucy was one such moment.

“It’s great you’re helping me out, and I sure need it, but I could have gotten that for you.” Lucy gently set Priscilla down onto her feet before kneeling to pick up some of the scattered books. “Oops, sorry,” Priscilla replied bashfully. “I just remembered that the first cookbook I ever used had a really good recipe for simple but delicious sugar cookies.”

Lucy looked at Priscilla with admiration. Priscilla could cook, bake, and sew. She knew how to care for her long hair and wear it in pretty styles. She always helped anyone who needed it. Lucy counted herself lucky that someone like that considered her their closest friend.

“Oh, thanks, Priscilla. I’d tell you to be more careful, but I am probably gonna screw up a batch or two of cookies to careless mistakes, so I’ll just leave it at ‘thanks’ so I feel less silly when I mess up,” she giggled.

They laughed together as they put away the bookshelf’s spilled contents, only stopping when Lucy recognized one of the fallen romance novels. “Hey, isn’t this the one about the hero who saves a girl by being really good at fishing?” Lucy dusted off the book and flipped through a few of the pages.

Priscilla blinked a few times in surprise at Lucy’s recollection. “Yes, that’s the exact book, but I haven’t read or talked about My Reel Feelings in forever. How do you remember it?”

“Oh, uh, I found some of your old letters recently and have been having fun looking through them. You wrote about it in one of them,” lied Lucy. She did not want to admit that she had never forgotten the book in the first place.

“Heh, well, I guess I shouldn’t be too surprised now that I think about it a little more. I remember it being one of the few love stories you took a liking to,” giggled Priscilla.

Years ago, when Priscilla first read My Reel Feelings , she gushed about how cool the hero was for saving their true love with their incredible fishing skills, and how romantic it was. Lucy eventually found that she loved fishing for its own sake, but she swore to never reveal to anyone that she first tried fishing to impress Priscilla. For Lucy, it was easier to master the art of wresting great aquatic beasts from the ocean than it was to admit her feelings to Priscilla.

Lucy looked over the other books that had spilled onto the floor. She could not remember any of them so distinctly. Rather, she remembered the vague feeling that she was neither as strong or handsome as the heroes in Priscilla’s books nor as charming or romantic as the romantic interests. It was always worth it to see Priscilla so excited, though. As much as Lucy wished she could understand romance, and express romantic feelings better, her own feelings of deficiency did not make her jealous at least. In fact, she loved the way Priscilla could imagine romantic scenarios and talk about the feelings of the characters in her stories. Lucy wanted to imagine being with Priscilla, but she struggled to imagine being the sort of lover that could make Priscilla happy. The closest she could get was imagining the way her heart beat when holding hands with Priscilla and imagining, somehow, making Priscilla feel the same way.

That got harder to imagine when Alice arrived. Priscilla was instantly smitten, and Lucy could tell. Lucy was sure Alice was only pretending to be a good person and only pretending to have amnesia so she could cause trouble. It took time before Lucy accepted that Alice was really an amnesiac, and she was really heroic, and was really, really hot. Dang it, Alice, stop making me think about you when I am trying to Reminisce! Lucy was, of course, relieved to discover that Alice was exactly the kind of person she appeared to be and was herself won over by Alice’s charm. She was glad to have a wonderful new friend, but she also felt like she waited too long to tell Priscilla how she felt and now a hero right out of Priscilla’s romance novels came out of nowhere and won the competition for Priscilla’s heart before she could take a step past the starting line. Lucy didn’t begrudge Alice for this, though. It was worth seeing Priscilla smile more.

Lucy stopped spacing out when Priscilla held out the cookbook to her, open to a recipe for sugar cookies. “Does this look like the sort of cookie you want to make, Lucy?”

“This looks perfect. Thanks!” Lucy looked over the recipe while Priscilla set out the ingredients needed for the sugar cookies.

“Wait. Baking soda and baking powder are different things?” asked Lucy.

“Yes,” replied Priscilla, a little worried. “Do you want any help with the sugar cookies?”

Lucy shook her head, “I think I have got it, actually. Plus, look at all the stuff you are working with for your cookies. I’ll give it a try myself, and if it doesn’t work out, then it will be your turn to save me.” Priscilla laughed along with Lucy, finding the comparison between dramatically saving someone from danger and trivial help with baking cookies to be a bit silly.

“Ok then, let's get to baking!” cheered Priscilla. The two set about making their cookies. Priscilla began whipping a white powder into lightly aged egg whites inside a bowl she had just wiped down with a little lemon juice while Lucy mixed together her own dough, making sure to not forget the sugar this time. Having already put her cookies in the oven, Lucy watched over Priscilla’s shoulder as she worked.

“Wow Priscilla! When you mentioned in your letter that you wanted to try a recipe based on something from a romance novel and not a cookbook, I thought that was a little strange, but these look like they will be amazing.” Lucy went back to the bookshelf to look for it.

“Yeah. I thought it would sound a little strange, but for a story about romance, it spent a lot of time talking about baked goods. There weren’t any recipes in it, but it gave me some ideas to try. I just hope they turn out well. I really want them to be perfect for when I hand them to Al—uh—all of our neighbors who have really high expectations about my baking!” 

“You have nothing to worry about. Everyone is going to love them,” Lucy reassured her, pretending to not notice that Priscilla was about to say “Alice.”

While Priscilla was busy piping her cookies onto a sheet, Lucy searched the bookshelf until she found the name she recognized from the letter. It was a small red book titled My One True Loaf: A Tale of the Desperate and Kneady. Lucy chuckled quietly at the title. Curious about what kind of love story involved baking and bread puns, she cracked the book open to a random page and paragraph:

Tears streamed down the priestess’s face as she kissed the baker. Gently chewing her lip, the kiss was like the dark chocolate cakes she used to make her: soft, moist, and bittersweet. As they held hands, they both pretended to ignore the golden ring on the priestess’s fourth left finger and … 

Holy crap, Priscilla! I hope that recipe is the only idea you got out of this book. Lucy worried, glancing over her shoulder at her. Lucy closed the book and indelicately shoved it back into the book shelf as fast as she could manage.

Priscilla sniffed the air. “Lucy, I think your cookies are ready.”

“Oh crap, my cookies!” Lucy dashed to the oven, and hurriedly donned an oven mitt, and yanked her tray from the oven. She bent down to inspect the sugar cookies.

Priscilla set down her piping bag and stood beside her. “Your cookies look great, and extra soft too. Yay!”

Lucy blushed a little at the praise. “Aw, shucks. I’d like to say that I made them soft just for you, but I think it’s just that you picked out the perfect recipe for me is all. Anything you need me to do now that I am done with my cookies?”

Priscilla shook her head. “Nope, I just need to finish piping mine out, let them rest, then put them in the oven, and pray.”

“Pray? Hehe, that sounds a little strange. Is, uh, is that part also inspired by the cookies from the book?”

Priscilla shook her head again and sighed heavily. “No, that's just how it is with macarons.”

“I’m sure they will turn out fantastic. You always bake the best Valentine’s Day cookies.”

Priscilla cracked a smile at her friend’s cheerful reassurance. She had been fretting all day about how to give Alice her cookie tomorrow. Actually executing her idea of strawberry rose macarons should have been the most stressful part of the day, but Lucy, just by being here with her, made it the best part of the day.

Priscilla looked over the bowls of ingredients on the counter and remembered she still needed to make the filling. “Actually, I haven’t made the rose buttercream yet. Want to help me?”

“Of course I do,” Lucy beamed. “What do you need?”

“Let me check my notes. Um, set aside one teaspoon of rose extract.”

Lucy took a closer look at the note Priscilla was tracing with her finger. “Wait, teaspoon?” 

Lucy glanced behind her, giving a worried look to the baking powder covered table spoon sitting next to her cookbook, which read 1 tsp baking powder .

“Tablespoons would be abbreviated t-b-s-p. T-s-p is just a teaspoon,” Priscilla corrected.

Lucy picked up one of her cookies and took a bite, which was unpleasantly metallic.

“I maaaayyyy toss these out and start another batch once we are done with the filling.” Truthfully, the cookies were a major improvement over her Valentine’s Day cookies from the previous year. “At least I remembered the sugar this time.”

The two laughed, and continued baking the night away.

Chapter Text

Despite her busy day tending to Flowerstruck, Ludmila couldn’t help but wonder how Lucy’s confession had gone. She dashed out the door this morning to profess her love for Priscilla, but that was hours ago. 

It was the perfect time of year to plant new flowers. Roses seemed especially popular today, possibly due to the popularity of Priscilla’s rose macarons. Ludmila was not only grateful for the business, but she knew she would have been twisting herself into knots wondering how things went between Lucy and Priscilla. As the workday drew to a close, she instead kept herself busy with a mystery novel.

However, only a few minutes before it was time to close for the day, Ludmila’s reading was interrupted by the sound of the door opening, and Lucy rushed in, panting from having run to the flower shop with what looked like a bloody bandage around her leg and a fresh bandage around her forehead. Ludmila casually looked up from her book, but upon realizing Lucy had returned, she practically threw her book onto the bed halfway across the room as she shot up.

“Lucy! Did you tell her you love her? Did she manage to tell you how she felt? Did’ya kiss?! Tell me all the juicy details. Wait, no. What the heck happened to you?”

Lucy closed her eyes for just a moment and took a deep breath, then shook her head. “I couldn’t do it. I really tried.” Ludmila could hear disappointment in Lucy’s voice, but only a little. “I was going to tell her how I felt as soon as she opened the door. But before I could say anything, Priscilla looked down and shouted, ‘What Happened to you?!’ and that’s when I realized my shin was completely covered in blood. I guess I scraped myself up pretty badly when I fell down the steps.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. That sounds like no fun at all. Are you ok?” frowned Ludmila.

Lucy waved her hand in a dismissive gesture. “I’m totally fine. Ow. Ok, it hurts a lot, but I’m not that upset. I just have to keep trying right? If I get to be Priscilla’s girlfriend, I don’t mind a few bruises. Besides, whenever I get scraped up, Priscilla is always there to bandage me up, so it’s not all bad when I get injured.” She blushed a little saying that last part out loud, but in trying to stay honest with her feelings today, she said more than she had meant to.

“When she leaned in to bandage your head, did you think about smooching her?” laughed Ludmila, teasingly.

“Wha—No! I—” Lucy suddenly paused, remembering that she needed to remain confident and be open with her feelings, then took a small breath and continued. “Actually, I only scraped my shin when I fell. I meant to come back here after leaving Priscilla’s house. Hina and Julian were tossing around some kind of toy, and it happened to fly off and hit me in the head, so I headed home so I could bandage an ice pack to my head. Then I got a long lecture from my mom about the seriousness of head injuries.

“Wow, you have really been having a tough day, huh? Don’t worry. How about you relax and tell me everything?” Ludmila gestured towards the chair Lucy had sat in earlier this morning.

“Like I said, I ruined my chance to just say how I felt right away. By the time she was finished bandaging me up, we started talking about picnics, and we figured tomorrow would actually be perfect if you and Alice are free. Like I said, I wanted to show you and Alice where to catch rainbow trout this time of year, to, you know, make up for flirting with Alice.” 

For just a second, Ludmila bit her lip and frowned, but let out a small sigh and looked Lucy in the eye. “I think that is a great idea. We are both free tomorrow, so I will tell Alice all about it tonight. I’m sorry for getting so jealous over Alice … and still being a teensy tiny little bit jealous, but I’m trying so, so hard to not get so upset.”

Lucy sighed a little guiltily, but she soon found herself spontaneously laughing at herself, then laughing harder, then laughing at the both of them. “Well, we are both doing our best, even if we … er, have some work to do.” Ludmila began to laugh a little as well, not quite able to tell if she was just enjoying being subtly scolded or whether there was just something funny about the two of them struggling so much with so seemingly small of troubles. 

“Enough about me, though. Going and having ourselves a sweet little picnic day together sounds so exciting. I haven’t had rainbow trout in so long … Ah but, I think a sunny picnic is just the perfect place to confess one’s love, don’t you think?” 

“I think it would be even harder for me to confess with you and Alice watching, but I guess a sunny picnic with lots of flowers does sound romantic.”

“Don’t you worry. I will make sure you have some alone time. Like I said, I will do all I can to help.” Ludmila went to close the open window, her head turning over her shoulder as she spoke, “In fact, let’s close the shop before we say any more.”

“Ah, let me get that for you.” Lucy felt the impulse to return some small favor for all the support Ludmila was providing, without which she may not have persisted. Before, Lucy felt as if it was her own cowardice that kept her from confessing her feelings. Now that she had seemingly conquered her internal obstacles, it seemed fate insisted on external obstacles to keep her from Priscilla. She stood on her toes to grab the window sash.

“Lucy, Watch out!” Ludmila shouted.

Lucy barely managed to notice a blur fly at her from outside before she fell backwards onto her rear with a shriek as the object whizzed just overhead.

Ludmila let out a surprised yelp as the object sailed in an upward curve over her hat, crashing into the opposite wall and shattering a hanging clock, the lower half of which fell to the ground with a clatter punctuated by the jingling of broken glass.

“Aaaah! What was that?” yelled Ludmila. 

Outside, a small voice cried, “Oh no, I think we’re in trouble.” After a quick glance to make sure Ludmila was fine, Lucy hopped to her feet and cautiously looked outside, only to see Hina and Julian both frozen in fear, looking towards the window.

Lucy looked them both in the eyes and tried her best to calm her shaking voice as she spoke to the children. “What are you two doing tossing around something as dangerous as a—” What were they throwing? Lucy looked back to see Ludmila strain to pull the object from the wall.

Bracing her foot against the wall she gave a final tug and stumbled a couple steps back, now clutching in her hand a familiar looking chocolate chip cookie. 

“A cookie?” said a perplexed Lucy, then after a moment of realization added “Ah.” 

“I’m sorry. Julian and I were playing catch. I didn’t know cookies were so dangerous,” explained Hina in a pitiful and regretful tone.

Julian glanced over at Hina, then, overreacting to the mild fury of his older sister, interjected, “It’s my fault. I threw the cookie bad and Hina couldn’t reach it. I should be the only one in trouble.” Lucy noticed Hina’s seeming confusion and looked back towards Ludmila.

“Wow, your little brother is pretty strong,” chimed Ludmila. She did not seem phased by the incident beyond being startled.

Lucy looked at the dented metal frame of the clock, then back towards Julian. She shook her head. How sweet of the little brat. There is no way Julian was strong enough to throw something hard enough to do that. He was just trying to cover for Hina.

Ludmila leaned out the window. “Run along, you two; Lucy and I have some important matters to discuss. Next time, my cookies will be better, but it makes me really happy you found a way to enjoy them anyway. She waved her hand to let them know they could run along. Lucy watched the two of them run off before Ludmila shut the window.

“I’m so sorry about that, Ludmila, I should have kept a better eye on him.”

“Nonsense. Plus, it was cute of your little brother to try and protect Hina like that. Charming little guy.”

“Oh, you also realized he couldn’t throw something that hard?”

Ludmila shook her head. “No, I just have a good sense for other people’s affection.”

“Still, sorry about your clock and the dent in the wall.”

“Don’t worry about it! That’s why I love it here. When people throw things through my window, it's an accident, tee-hee! Besides, you have enough on your mind. Don’t worry about me or the silly old clock. Reinhard will be thrilled to have a new knick-knack to fix and maybe this time he’ll even let me pay him. Anyway, let’s figure out how to get cute little Priscilla out of her shell and into your arms!” Ludmila gestured towards the table as she finished picking up the last of the glass shards from the floor, pricking her finger carelessly.

Lucy blushed a little at Ludmila’s insistence. “I guess if you can think of anything to make it romantic, or if you have any suggestions on how to make telling her I love her any easier.”

“Better than that, I can contrive a situation where she will be so desperate for you to tell her you love her that you won’t have any choice but to tell her right then and there!”

“That sounds … complicated. What did you have in mind? I-I’m feelin’ confident now! Nothing to worry about. I just have to make fate go my way and never give up, right?” Lucy grew worried, knowing the sort of illicit ideas that often ran through Ludmila’s mind, which she knew because Ludmila usually just said what was on her mind.

Ludmila could hear the creeping doubt in Lucy’s bravado, and took her soft refusal as a yes. “It’s simple. We get her to kiss you. Priscilla will be so swept up in passion that you will be able to tell from one look that she wants nothing more than to hear you confess your love. That’s assuming she doesn’t just confess to you on the spot! I heard all your doubts last night, but wouldn’t you feel confident about it all if she was looking at you like she was desperate to hear the words ‘I love you, Priscilla’ so intensely that there was no room for doubt about what she wanted?”

As Lucy listened, she could clearly picture the way Priscilla looked at Alice. She tried her best to keep her doubts at bay, staying determined.

“But what if she doesn’t want to kiss me?”

“Oh, believe me. Priscilla wants to kiss you. Sooooooo much. Like, enough that she would kiss you even if I couldn’t contrive a way to get you two alone together. Her head is so full of romantic daydreams and desires that she might even smooch anybody, not just the girl she loves. Really, Priscilla seems a little bit pent-up, and it probably wouldn’t matter if you were alone with her or not.”

Lucy found Ludmila’s rationalizing comforting, but not for the intended reason. Maybe a kiss could be a way to get Priscilla to consider being with her. Lucy shook her head. “But if she doesn’t want to … I guess, how will I know she wants to kiss me?”

“Well, if she kisses you, that’s a pretty obvious sign.”

“I’m a little afraid to ask, but, okay. What did you have in mind?”

“We’ll play the King’s Game at the picnic tomorrow, but I’m going to totally rig it to get you and Priscilla kissing.”

Lucy swallowed the lump in her throat. “I guess that could work. No, hold on a second. You had to have Ryker rig it for you last time. Also, because of the last time, Simone made the King’s Game illegal, remember?”

“Don’t worry about those little details. I am going to have Ryker show me how to do those little sleight-of-hand tricks of his, even his little wrist-flicky trick that not even Alice will be able to notice. Plus we aren’t going to be in Rigbarth, so it’s probably fine, right?”

Lucy could tell this plan was trouble. “Okay. Maybe this could work, but if it seems like the game is making Priscilla uncomfortable, I’m gonna’ toss you into the lake for that, and then throw myself in too for agreeing to all this.”

Ludmila let out a hearty laugh trailed by a happy sigh. “Oh my! As much fun as that sounds, I know you are only saying that because you care so much about Priscilla. I’m her friend too, though , remember? As much as I love playing games, I’m really doing this because I know it’s what you both want. I am sure it will work out.” Ludmila put her hand over Lucy’s to reassure her.

Lucy blushed at the sensation of Ludmila’s gloves brushing against the back of her hand and fingers. Lucy’s heart fully belonged to Priscilla, but it still occasionally skipped a beat for any cute girl that was kind to her.

“I trust you. At least, I trust you mean the best for all of us. I was only kidding about the whole throwing you into the lake thing.”

“Awww, I was going to say you could throw me in head first!” Ludmila teased. “Oh, and I’ll bring a board game and some cards if that’s more what everyone is in the mood for.”

The two joked and laughed while they made plans for tomorrow’s picnic over the next hour or so.

…

“This is a lot to remember. Let me make sure I understand everything,” Lucy stated, pinching her brow before continuing. “So, you are going to get Ryker to teach you how to cheat at the King’s Game so you can contrive a situation in which Priscilla and I kiss. You need me to hold the stick I take in such a way you can see what I pulled, and you may need me to watch for subtle gestures for further direction depending on how the game develops?”

“Uh-huh! Ooh, this is going to be so fun! Once you two smooch, it’ll be so much easier for you to confess. Priscilla will be so obviously into you that you will be feeling more confident than you have ever felt in your whole entire life!”

Lucy couldn’t help but feel this plot was a little risky, but Ludmila was the expert when it came to this sort of thing, right? She did manage to win Alice’s heart, after all, and that was one competition that everybody in town seemed to be participating in to one degree or another. “Okay, but there is just one thing I don’t get. Why are we going through such great lengths to hide this plan from Alice again?”

Ludmila pouted a little. “Like I said, I know that you and Priscilla both have had quite a lot of trouble just managing to say how you feel to each other, and if it was easy for you two, one of you would have said something. Alice is an honest little sweetheart and would probably say something like, ‘It’s important to be honest with your feelings. Wouldn’t it just be easier to tell her how you feel?’ But it isn’t easy, is it? Plus, we’re not tricking anyone. I am going to make sure Priscilla gets the idea of what is going on before we start playing. Besides, once you and Priscilla are together, I’ll tell Alice everything. 

“... Dangit. I wish I could just tell her. I just want to open up to Priscilla, and I kind of feel pathetic for needing a convoluted plan like this just to tell her how I feel, but … yeah. I’ll make sure I keep quiet until after the game. I guess there is one last thing. It may be easier for me to confess if you and Alice aren’t right there watching.”

“Oh, don’t worry about that. I can always just drag Alice off somewhere to go smooch her while you confess, tee-hee!”

Chapter Text

Ludmila held down her hat, panting and taking care not to drop her basket as she ran. She could see Alice, Lucy, and Priscilla waiting by the stone archway with baskets and backpacks full of picnic goodies and fishing gear and laughing about something one of them had said.

“Oh dear, *gasp* I’m not late, am I? *pant* I wanted to make a little last-minute surprise for everyone to make today the most extra memorable picnic ever,” explained Ludmila as she caught her breath.

“Hi Ludmila!” chirped Priscilla. “Heya,” Lucy added. “Good morning, honey!” cheered Alice, sprouting a big smile as soon as she saw Ludmila.

Priscilla tilted her head, curious about the basket Ludmila carried. “Flowers?” she asked.

“Yep. Flower crowns. I wanted to make everyone a special crown just for them. Here is yours, Priscilla.” Ludmila pulled a ring of soft white flowers ornamented with two larger pink flowers out of the basket.

“*Gasp* Thanks, Ludmila. It’s beautiful,” said Priscilla as Ludmila set the flower crown on her. “ These are lovely. What kind of flowers are they?”

“Edelweiss and Peony. For courage and bravery,” Ludmila winked.

Priscilla blushed and quickly replied to try and divert suspicion. “Ah, how thoughtful of you. You must have remembered when I mentioned how scared I can get when traveling outside the village, ha ha!”

Ludmila gently lifted a flower crown of delicate pink roses from the basket and placed it on Lucy’s head. “Awww, thanks. This is great.”

Alice looked thoughtfully at the ring of roses. “Pink roses. For… confidence? Right Ludmila?” She asked.

“You are exactly correct, darling!” replied Ludmila.

Lucy could feel Alice’s gaze fall from the flower crown and settle right into staring into her eyes. Lucy could feel her heart race, afraid that Alice could see right through her.

“Oh? Confident you can catch a bigger Rainbow Trout than me?” Alice asked teasingly.

Ok, ok. Everything’s fine, I think. It would be a huge mess if Alice got involved now. “Oh, it’s on! There is no way I will lose. Don’t forget who taught you everything you know about fishing,” she shot back, playfully. Lucy wasn’t actually so confident, as Alice seemed to have a natural talent for just about everything. In spite of this, Lucy was always happy to accept a challenge from Alice. Alice understood her love of competition, and being understood was more comforting than losing was painful.

Alice closed her eyes and cracked her neck, excited to demonstrate to her teacher how far her fishing prowess had come. “We will see about that”, Alice smirked. When she opened her eyes, Ludmila was standing in front of her, leaning down to swipe her ranger cap off her head, replacing it with a ring of small, clustered blue flowers atop her head.

“Forget-Me-Nots,” Ludmila said with a soft smile.

“How could I?”, Alice replied smoothly. She added, “And If I remember correctly, forget-me-nots mean true love right?” 

“EEeeeeeeeee! You remembered what I taught you! My girlfriend is so hot! Ahahahahahaha! Ha ha.. *sigh*” 

Priscilla giggled at Ludmila’s enthusiastic response to Alice, while Lucy rolled her eyes, stifling a laugh. Ludmila finally grabbed the last flower crown, a ring of large , hot pink and yellow flowers with layers of squat, pointed petals, and placed it on her own head, setting her hat into her basket.

“Cactus flowers?” Asked Alice. Ludmila licked her lips. “Uh huh!” she nodded. 

“What do those mean?, asked Priscilla.

Alice looked upward, trying to recall. Cactus flowers. Cactus flowers. Longing? No, that is camellia. Um …

Oh!  

Alice quickly held her hands out towards the sun, pretending to calculate the time of day. Blushing, she spun away from her friends and towards the woodlands, blurting out, “Wow! It’s later than I thought, we better get going, huh? Come on everyone!” and began marching towards the forest, waving for her friends to follow her without actually turning to let them see how deeply she was blushing.

Priscilla had meant to follow right behind her, but she hesitated to step past the stone archway leading out of town into the forest. She wanted to enjoy this picnic with her friends. She wanted to face her fears. Yet her whole body resisted. It went heavy, and she felt like she couldn’t breathe, as if her heart had stopped pumping blood through her veins and instead pumped out lead to her limbs to make them too heavy to move. Then she felt a familiar hand softly wrap around her own hand and gently squeeze. It was so familiar that Priscilla recognized it as Lucy’s hand even before she turned to look at her. 

“It’s ok. Priscilla. I’d never let anything happen to you. I’m right here if you feel scared. And we have Alice with us, and you and I know there is nothing she can’t handle,” Lucy reassured her.

“R-right. You’re right. I know that. I want to have fun today. I’m just a little scared. That’s all,” answered Priscilla.

Lucy chuckled a little. “There isn’t anything that could hurt us. I asked Ludmilla about everything before you got here since she has followed Alice on a few of her adventures to some dangerous places, and she swears Alice is unbelievably strong. Honestly, Ludmila herself could probably handle any trouble we run into. She said Alice is way stronger, but … did I ever tell you about when she gave me a friendship cookie and tried to show me how hard they were?”

Comforted by Lucy’s hand and distracted by her story of Ludmila’s cookie, Priscilla managed to take the first few steps out of Rigbarth, walking hand in hand with Lucy.

The four continued hiking along the woodland trail, enjoying the calm and pleasant weather just as much as each other’s company. Alice listened intently as Lucy explained the finer points of poisonous rainbow trout fishing, while Priscilla asked Ludmila more about the meanings behind different kinds of flowers. But then Alice stopped, and knelt down to examine the soft earth on the trail. “Goblin boot prints. Fresh. Possibly more than one. Be careful, everyone.” She stood, quickly securing the straps on the plated gauntlets she had ready for situations such as these. Her eyelids narrowed as she surveyed the surrounding foliage. Her ear twitched as she heard the rustle of leaves up ahead. Alice kicked a small rock towards the noise, punting it several dozen yards ahead into the bushes, from which a squat, fanged, green skinned creature clad in furs emerged, wielding a large, almost oversized blade. The goblin readied itself as Alice sprinted forward.

Ludmila hastily dug through her backpack, unable to find her staff. Lucy pulled an old, dull shortsword from her pack, holding it at the ready in one shaking hand while reaching out to Priscilla with the other. Lucy could feel Priscilla’s own hand trembling. “Don’t worry. Alice knows what she is doing, and I am right here with you.” Lucy took a deep breath and exhaled slowly to regain her composure for Priscilla’s sake. Priscilla tugged herself closer to Lucy’s side. Ludmila glanced to her side, witnessing Lucy’s reaction. 

Good job, Lucy, thought Ludmila.

Alice stopped her charge, realizing too late that there was, in fact, more than one goblin. From the brush, a second goblin lept out. It swung its heavy blade at Alice with a downward chop, but she caught the blade in the palms of her gauntlet. Finally, a third figure emerged from the other side of the path, though Alice quickly caught that blade with her other hand. As strong as she was, she only had two hands, and the first goblin took the opportunity to grasp its blade with both hands and leap up to strike downward towards Alice’s head, with a cruel gleam in its eye.

Ludmila, Lucy, and Priscilla winced as the sword came down towards Alice’s face, to the shock of everyone watching. To the shock of the goblin, Alice had caught the sword with her teeth. 

Alice’s eyes burned with a terrifying rage as she locked eyes with the goblin as it struggled unsuccessfully to pull its sword out of Alice’s unrelenting bite. Alice glanced down at the sword before sinking her teeth into its steel, shattering the blade down its length. The now unarmed goblin frowned as it reassessed the situation, expecting … anything but that, really.

Seizing the opportunity, Alice twisted the swords in her hands until they wrenched themselves from the goblins’ grips. In one fluid motion, Alice turned to the side and punched the goblin’s chest so forcefully, that her fist extended straight through where the goblin stood, its body instantly dissipating into motes of light then swung her arm around until she snatched the wrist of the next goblin as it turned to flee.

“HIIIIYYYYYYAAAA!” Alice bellowed, lifting the goblin off of its feet and swinging it over her head before slamming it into the ground, leaving a small, roughly goblin shaped indentation in the loose forest soil. Finally, chasing down the final goblin for the few steps it managed to flee , Alice grabbed it by the back of the head as she swept out its legs beneath it, snatching one of its ankles with her other hand.

“HAAAAAAAAH!” She screamed, heaving the goblin straight upward shooting straight through the canopy. The goblin did not fall back down, but simply disappeared into the clouds above.

Lucy and Priscilla looked onward, mouths agape, feeling safer, yet somehow no less terrified, while Ludmila merely pouted, quietly muttering under her breath, “You said you didn’t know how to be rough.”

Alice’s steely gaze scanned every direction before she closed her eyes, letting out a satisfied sigh as she dusted off her palms. “Phew, I am glad it was only some goblins. If I had known they might try bothering us, I would have woken up early to clear out a path ahead of time,” she smiled.

“You are the strongest, bravest, most heroic heroine I have ever met, darling! I know I’m always safe with you,’ cooed Ludmila as she threw her arms around Alice, effortlessly swaying her back and forth in her embrace.

“Hee hee! Aww, shucks, you are making me blush,” replied Alice. Lucy cleared her throat to try and find something to say. Alice’s eyes shot open, realizing Lucy and Priscilla may have been a little shocked by what they saw. Doing her best to explain, Alice waved her hands, explaining, “Er, um, I know that may have seemed a little extreme, but hear me out. Since monsters return to their home Forest of Beginnings when defeated , and, uh, that is what those little lights are, I try my best to cause as little pain as possible before sending them home. I, uh, I get that I may be a bit intense, but with monsters, sometimes, the most merciful for the monsters is to have no mercy at all.”

“Oh, I, ha ha, I see,” Priscilla laughed nervously . Lucy cleared her throat again and asked, “Geez, Alice! How did you get so strong?”

Alice neither wanted to reveal her powers as an Earthmate at the moment, nor did she really want to lie to her friend either. Finding a compromise, she turned her head off to one side and shyly mumbled, “Pickin’ turnips.” This was, technically speaking, true.

“Well, dang, maybe I should give gardening another try,” laughed Lucy. 

“You never know,” shrugged Alice. 

“Is everyone ok?” asked Ludmila, looking at Priscilla and Lucy in particular.

Priscilla nodded, saying “I’m fine, I think. I’m just a little shaken. I’ll be fine. I knew there could be monsters but I feel safe with everyone else here with me.” Alice sighed in relief. 

They all continued onward. As scary as the idea of another run-in with monsters might have been, Alice’s show of might did leave everyone feeling safe enough now that everyone’s minds had drifted towards their next greatest concern, romance. Priscilla worried about confessing to Alice. Lucy worried about confessing to Priscilla. Alice worried about Ludmila being able to behave herself. Ludmila, not worried about anything, clung to Alice’s arm, pretending very unconvincingly to still be scared so she could continue to hold herself close to Alice and feel up her biceps. Before long, they arrived at the lake. Alice and Lucy sat by the water’s edge, preparing their fishing gear, while Ludmila helped Lucy set up the picnic area, unpacking the endless bags of food Priscilla prepared for everyone.

“Hmhm. This is going to be a fantastic picnic, Priscilla. You really went all out,” said Ludmila.

“Oh, it was nothing really. I love cooking, and getting to share it with everyone makes it even better.”

Ludmila looked over her shoulder to reassure herself that Lucy and Alice were out of earshot. “That’s very sweet of you. I can tell you are still a little nervous, though, and If I had to take a guess, It's got less to do with monsters and more to do with our little evening chat. Hm?”

“You can?! I guess I am. I’ve never done anything like this before. Confessing.”

“Well, You have already been very brave today. And look. It’s a nice, bright day, with the sun in the sky watching over you just like the card from your fortune. That seems like a pretty good omen to me. Remember your fortune?”

“Right. I am going to find the courage to tell her how I feel. No matter how crazy it seems, I will find a way, and things will turn out ok. Right?”

“Yep. The world is on your side, and so am I. Don’t be surprised if some good things happen and an opportunity comes along today.” Ludmila punctuated her encouragement with a mischievous wink.

Priscilla nodded in affirmation, smiling nervously but with some hints of true confidence. “The picnic is set. Now that we’ve finished, can you show me how to make these flower crowns? They are very pretty.”

While they went to collect flowers, Alice and Lucy continued to fish. Lucy stood on her toes and peered into the water. Without looking away, she continued to give Alice tips. “We got here a little late for rainbow trout, but there are a lot of reeds and debris here, and they like the calmer water. Plus, the lake is deep, so as long as you weight the line so the hook sits deeper in the water, we still have a chance of catching a few, so don’t feel bad if you don’t catch any.” Glancing over towards Alice, Lucy’s brow furrowed in shock as she watched Alice take a rainbow trout off her line, setting it next to another one she must have already caught. Alice looked back, making an expression halfway between a prideful smile and a mildly embarrassed cringe.

“How did you get so good at fishing?!” Lucy asked breathlessly. Alice figured this wasn’t the time to discuss her earthmate nature and how she drew not just strength from the earth but wisdom as well. “Pickin’ turnips,” Alice mumbled sheepishly.

“Alice, that doesn’t make any sense,” chuckled Lucy. “Anyway, we’re competing to see who can catch the biggest trout, so I’m still in this.” While Lucy was a little peeved that Alice had already caught so many, she was overall still happy to know that her plan to pay back Ludmila by teaching Alice where to catch her favorite fish was working. Initially, she meant it as a way of saying sorry, but now she wanted to thank Ludmila for all the effort she was putting towards helping her confess to Priscilla.

The two continued to fish for about an hour. Finally, Lucy felt a tug on her line. “Oh, I think it’s a big one!”, she said, reeling and pulling. 

“Oooh, Nice!” replied Alice.

“Oof. A really big one,” Lucy grunted.

“Are you alright? That’s a strong tug. Are you sure it's a fish and not a sea monster?” Alice teased.

“Don’t. I’ve had a lot of bad luck lately, so don’t jinx me.” The line pulled forward, jerking Lucy a step towards the water’s edge. “Unf! Ok. Actually, could you give me a hand before it pulls me in?” Alice set her pole down, stepped behind Lucy, and placed her hands over hers, pulling carefully.

“Ack! Wait!” Lucy yelped in surprise, as her legs weakened from Alice’s touch and proximity. Damnit, Alice, not like this! I can feel your breath on my neck! Lucy’s legs began to feel a little weak, causing her feet to slip. Falling backwards onto Alice, Lucy could see her flick upward on the rod, jerking a massive rainbow trout out of the water, snapping the line as the fish vanished into the clouds. “Uh fu fu fu! Yes! It was a rainbow trout! I win! Yahoo! Thanks for the help though, Alice. You are pretty incredible.”

“And you are just plain pret-*mrfffrlff*!”

Lucy got up off of Alice, looking over at her confusedly, but then she doubled over and fell back down beside her, laughing uncontrollably at the sight of Alice, who had stuffed her own fingers into her mouth in an attempt to stifle her reflex to flirt.

“I- HAHAHAhahaha! Oh my god, Alice, you are an even bigger dork than I am! He hehehe! *gasp*. You are just so devoted, aren’t you? Devoted and helpless, but I bet Ludmila really appreciates the effort. Hehehe.” Lucy took a deep breath, and added “It’s nice to love someone so much it makes you look dumb, huh?”

“Raah-” Alice took her hand out of her mouth. “Yeah. Ha, ha, It’s great.” Alice knew exactly what Lucy meant, but something felt off about Lucy’s response. “That’s an interesting way to put it, though. Something on your mind?”

“Huh? Oh. No, no, no. I was just, uh, paraphrasing a line I think I read from one of the girly romance books I picked off of Priscilla’s shelf a few weeks ago.”

“Ah, I get it,” Alice nodded, buying the lie. “Which one?”

Aw, Crap! Think, Lucy! After trying and failing to recall the titles of any of the books she had seen, she settled for making something on the spot.

“Uh, Romantic Maiden’s …” Lucy’s eyes darted around for ideas. “Picnic … … Journey.”

Alice raised a confused and perhaps slightly skeptical eyebrow.

“... Volume 3.”

“Oh, that explains why it didn’t sound familiar. I never got around to the later books,” said Alice. She no longer looked confused, but she did place her palm on her cheek as if to hide her blushing. “Wow. I didn’t think Priscilla would go for that sort of thing, let alone admit to having read it.”

“Oh, well, you know,” replied Lucy, not knowing at all.

“I guess, I can see it now that I think about it a little more,”said Alice, nodding thoughtfully.

“Right, that makes total sense, knowing her.” Lucy really did know Priscilla well, but she had never heard about ‘Romantic Maiden’s Picnic Journey’ until she thought she made it up a few seconds ago. She made a mental note to figure out what Alice meant some time later.

After a brief and mildly awkward silence, Alice spoke up. “Anyway, I really appreciate you showing me where to catch these. I have been wanting to grill a rainbow trout for Lulu again. They make me feel a little woozy, to be honest, but she smiles whenever she eats them, so that’s good enough for me,” Alice said, a little bit of pride coming through in her tone. “Do you want to head back to where they set everything up?”

“Good idea. It’s been over an hour since Ludmila last saw you. That might be too much for her,” joked Lucy. The two packed up the fishing equipment and returned to the picnic blanket around the same time as Ludmila and Priscilla returned with a basket full of flowers.

Everybody ate their fill, having worked up an appetite from the excitement of the day. Priscilla packed a wide variety of homemade dishes since she didn’t get an opportunity to ask what everyone wanted. Though, even without asking, she made sure to pack all of Lucy’s favorites. Despite the way everyone was stuffing themselves, they managed to find time between bites to praise Priscilla’s cooking, leaving her feeling a little bashful.

Lucy glanced over at Ludmila, who returned a knowing look. As nonchalantly as she could manage, Lucy stretched and said, “Anybody want to play some games or something? I could go for something fun while we let our stomachs settle.”

“Good idea, Lucy. A game sounds really nice,” replied Priscilla.

Alice took a sip of her juice and turned to Ludmila. “I thought I saw you pack that new board game. Do you want to try it?”

“Hmmm. While it does sound fun, It would be too bad if we accidentally lost a piece out here, now that I think about it. So rather than opening it up and taking that risk, we do something safer, like play the King’s Game?” Ludmila Pulled out four nearly identical sticks from her basket.

Alice spat out her juice before meeting eyes with Ludmila, who was clearly hiding something behind her heart-shaped pupils. Oh no. What are you up to this time?

“Isn’t that the game that Simone banned after something happened?” asked Priscilla hesitantly.

Ludmila nodded. “Yep. But Simone is just the mayor, and we are pretty far from Rigbarth, so that’s no problem at all.”

Alice wanted to contest her dear Ludmila’s statement, but she was actually unsure if Ludmila was actually wrong.

Lucy added, “Plus, it’s pretty fun, actually. You never got a chance to play before my mom banned it, did you, Priscilla?”

Priscilla shook her head. “I didn’t, but if you think it's fun, then I’d like to play too. How does it work?”

Ludmila held up the four sticks. “Easy. We each draw a stick with different numbers on it, but we don’t say which one we drew. One stick is the king’s stick, which will have the king’s seal instead of a number. If you draw that one, you show it to everyone once everyone has a stick. The king gets to order the numbers to do whatever they want without knowing who has what number. That’s all there is to it.”

“That sounds neat! I’ll play too,” said Priscilla cheerfully.

Alice put her hand to her chin and looked Ludmila up and down. She’s planning something. But what? Is she going to ask for something indecent? No. That would be too big of a risk that she winds up accidentally asking me to do something that would make her jealous. Unless she rigs the game again! Ah, but wait. Ryker isn’t here to rig the game for her. She is probably working with someone still. Lucy, most likely. She was raring to go as soon as Ludmila suggested The King’s Game. Hold on. I don’t think Lucy would agree to anything crazy, though . Ok, maybe it is just some harmless fun. Alice relaxed her shoulders and chuckled, “He he, I’ll play too. I have to admit I have been wanting to play it again. It was pretty fun making Ryker meow like a cat.”

“Yes! Ok. Ladies, draw your stick!” Ludmila gleefully proclaimed, adding. “Oh, let’s maybe step away from the blanket. If someone were to decree that Alice had to pounce on me, I wouldn’t want to spill any of the fantastic treats Priscilla made.”

Alice rolled her eyes and chuckled. “Settle down, Lulu, I somehow can’t imagine anyone here making such outrageous decrees.” Right? Glancing back and forth at Lucy and Priscilla, they both looked excited but a little nervous.

Ludmila held the sticks out, closer to Lucy, who took the stick that Ludmila was gently rolling with her thumb. She held the sticks out to Priscilla, who decided to grab the one stick she could reach without straining. Ludmila held the final sticks out to Alice, who hesitated before reaching for a stick. Ludmila could feel that Alice was pulling the king’s stick. 

“I’m the king? Yay!” cheered Alice.

Good. I managed to pull it off and slip her the king’s stick. Hopefully this helps throw off any suspicions and she won’t have things figured out until they are already together. Then I can tell her everything. I bet she will be so proud of me for helping our friends with their little love problems!

Alice decided on a decree. “#3, give number #1 some flowers.” Priscilla checked her stick and perked up. “Oh, I am #3.”

“Sweet! I’m number #1. Gimme gimme!” responded Lucy. Priscilla reached into the top of the basket, grabbing a bracelet adorned with yellow and white camellia flowers and gently slid it onto Lucy’s wrist and gave her hand a gentle squeeze. “Aww. Thanks, Priscilla. It’s beautiful.” Lucy felt like her luck was finally turning around. Ludmila gathered the sticks from everyone for the next round.

Lucy couldn’t help but notice Priscilla staring at Alice, and Ludmila was too preoccupied with rigging the next hand round to notice. Alice was also oblivious, too busy watching Ludmila carefully. To be fair, Ludmila lacked Rykers subtlety and was handling the sticks suspiciously.

As planned, Ludmila held out the sticks so that the marks at the bottom were subtly visible to Lucy. Lucy watched as Alice reached for the king’s stick with intent. Lucy panicked. She is onto us. I can’t risk letting Alice be the king again!

“Yoink!” Lucy exclaimed as she playfully plucked the stick nearest to her, letting her hand hover over Ludmila’s hand. Under the cover of Lucy’s hand, Ludmila switched the king stick around before Lucy withdrew her hand.

Alice fell for the switch, taking another stick. Before Ludmila could swap them any more, Priscilla took the king’s stick, leaving Ludmila holding a numbered stick.

There was a brief silence until Priscilla checked her stick. “Oh. I’m the king. Yay! What should I decree? I guess, what sort of decrees can I make?”

“Anything you want,” encouraged Alice. “Silly ones are my favorite.”

“Or something challenging,” Lucy added, hoping to win an impromptu competition.

“Or you can totally make people kiss!” shouted Ludmila, her voice dripping with mischief and anticipation.

“You don’t have to make people kiss,” Alice reassured Priscilla.

Priscilla looked down at the sticks, then over at Ludmila, who winked back at her while nodding vigorously.

I could make people kiss!? Priscilla thought to herself. She thought back to what Ludmila said about being on her side no matter what and realized Ludmila was setting her up.

Priscilla’s eyes widened, realizing the extent of the corrupting power she now wielded as an absolute monarch. Priscilla remembered she had to say numbers, not names, and that she only had a one in three chance of kissing Alice. The odds were good enough, right?

Priscilla looked at Alice and felt her heart race and her whole body heat up.

Priscilla looked at Ludmila and felt intimidated. Kissing her sounded a little scary, considering the intensity of kissing Priscilla knew she was capable of. On the other hand, Ludmila said she was here to help. At worst, maybe she could learn how Alice liked to be kissed.

Priscilla looked at Lucy and felt a flicker of an old feeling return. Would it be dangerous to try and kiss her? It wasn’t like Lucy had those kinds of feelings towards her, and it would hurt too much to rekindle that desire. But … maybe it would be nice to kiss her just once. Would Lucy’s lack of desire for her make it awkward? On the other hand, if the situation was reversed, she wouldn’t mind at all if Lucy asked her to kiss her. She wouldn’t want Lucy to feel awkward either. But what about Alice? Would kissing Lucy right now complicate her chance to confess to Alice?

Priscilla Looked at Alice. There she was, looking right back at her. She might be able to kiss her right here. She could kiss her right here! She could abandon all sense and kiss her in front of everyone!

She couldn’t, actually. She needed to let Alice know how she felt, but looking into her eyes was too much. It felt intense. It felt great! But it also felt overwhelming. 

“Is everything alright?” asked Alice, breaking the silence. “There’s no pressure to-”

Priscilla looked around and noticed everyone looking at her. She had been holding up the game, and her friends had been waiting on her the whole time! Priscilla ’s mind reached for the first decree she could think of.

“I’m going to make people kiss!” she shouted.

“What!?” spat Alice.

Pretending to not have a clear idea, Ludmila asked, “Oooooh? Who’s going to kiss, Priscilla?!” As slyly as she could manage, Ludmila held her stick such that the number was exposed and pointed towards Priscilla.

Lucy, said nothing, motionless, watching Priscilla, her hands held tight to her chest in hopeful anticipation , revealing the marking on the stick in a much more subtle manner.

Priscilla, with her body surging with adrenaline, blurted out the first numbers that came to mind: “#1 and #2!” These numbers were the first to come to mind because they both were in Priscilla’s field of view at that moment.

Ludmila and Lucy both stared at Priscilla before slowly turning their heads towards each other, utterly bewildered.

Priscilla started waving her hands in front of herself in a frenzied manner. “Ah! Oh No! I- I- I- I was just spacing out! I didn’t mean to say that! I was Uh.. uh…”

Lucy scoured Ludmila’s expression and body language for any kind of sign of what to do.

Ludmila concentrated, then smiled. “Well, if we were to disobey, that would undermine the authority of future kings, and we can’t let that happen, right? Right, Lucy?”

“Oh? Oh, Right! I guess, uhh…” Lucy babbled as Ludmila approached her.

Ludmila took the lead, approaching Lucy and leaning down so that her lips were next to the shorter girl’s ear, intentionally choosing the side that was opposite to Alice and Priscilla, obscuring the view of her lips.

Lucy felt a little faint when Ludmila’s neck nearly brushed against her face. Ah! She smells amazing, and she is so soft and… Ack! Now isn’t the time to get distracted.

Ludmila leaned in and gave Lucy a quick peck on the ear, whispering, “We’ve got it next round. Don’t give up. You’ll kiss her. Promise.”

Alice watched as her girlfriend kissed Lucy. She admitted to herself that she was a little jealous. What she had a harder time admitting to herself was that this was kind of fun to watch. And wow, what a long kiss!

Ludmila smiled down at Lucy. “Well?” she asked, a touch of impatience coming through her attempt at reassurance.

“Oh right!” Lucy stammered. She looked up at Ludmila. Unable to think of anywhere else to kiss her, Lucy closed her eyes and stood on her toes a little to kiss her on the lips. Then she stood on her toes as far as she could, then tried sticking her lips out, then strained to reach.

Seeing Lucy’s face, Ludmila couldn’t help but laugh “Pffffft! What’s with that face, Lucy?!” Priscilla and even Alice were unable to resist giggling themselves. At the sound of the three laughing, Lucy stepped back and looked away, scratching the back of her head in embarrassment. “Erm, hehehehe. How about this?” Lucy took Ludmila’s hand and held it up to her lips kissing the back of it before letting go.

Ludmila giggled, “Oh my, kissing in front of others. How embarrassing!” trying to play up her own embarrassment.

“Sh- Shuddup! Geez, We did the thing, ok? Decree fulfilled!” Shouted a very flustered yet only performatively upset Lucy. She hid her face behind her hands, praying no enjoyment showed on her face when Ludmila kissed her. As pleasant as it was, she was worried about what Priscilla would think.

Priscilla noticed no such thing, as she was far too busy being distracted by both the romantic spectacle of two of her friends kissing as well as the embarrassment of knowing she was entirely responsible for such a thing.

Ludmila clapped. “Spicy stuff, Priscilla! I need to make sure you are in every King’s Game we play. Assuming Simone ever unbans it, tee hee. Time for the next round! Hand over your sticks, everyone.”

Alice cleared her throat. “Speaking of which, Honey, I can’t help but notice you keep moving the sticks around in your hand. You wouldn’t happen to be rigging the game again, would you, dear? Maybe someone else should hold the sticks.”

“Let her hold the sticks!” Shouted Lucy and Priscilla in unison.

“Woah, ok, erm, just thought I would ask.” Alice backed off. She no longer had any clue what was happening anymore. Ok, then, The next time Ludmila obviously holds the sticks’ markings out, I am going straight for the king’s stick and asking #1, #2, and #3 to tell me what the heck is going on!

Ludmila wiped a drop of sweat from her forehead. She was here to get Lucy and Priscilla to kiss so that a confession could follow, and she couldn’t let a few mishaps or her girlfriend’s perceptiveness get in the way of the plan, even if this whole sleight-of-hand thing was harder than expected. The last round didn’t go as planned, but maybe it escalated the romantic tension enough that Lucy and Priscilla would have an easier time kissing each other. She knew she had to act fast, though. Alice was clearly on to her. It would be difficult to trick Alice again, and she would have to take bigger risks to do that . She would have to hide the markings and memorize the stick positions to determine who drew what. To make sure nobody else drew the king’s stick, she would have to do that little wrist-flicky thing that Ryker tried to show her. Even after an hour of practice, she couldn’t manage to do it without dropping the sticks. Now it was probably her only option.

“Ok, everyone, hand over the sticks and let’s go again. I bet the next round will be even more fun.” Priscilla and Lucy both perked up, each understanding her to mean that their desired kiss was being set up for them. Ludmila couldn’t help but begin to sweat a little from the pressure.

The sticks were handed over. #1, King, #3, #2. Ok, Ludmila, you’ve got this. This whole situation is happening because of you, and everyone is counting on you and your friends’ happiness is on the line .

Priscilla, eager to feel Alice’s lips, impatiently lunged for a stick. Ludmila nodded imperceptibly to herself. Ok. Priscilla took #3. That leaves the current order #1, King, #2. 

Right after, Alice reached to pluck the king’s stick. Ludmila did not know how Alice knew, but she was prepared for this. It’s now or never! she thought. To Ludmila’s surprise, she did the wrist-flicky trick, pulling it off with surprising ease. In fact, she switched the sticks so fast, even she couldn’t see it, leading Alice to grab the other stick. No sticks were dropped, and no one noticed. 

Ok. #1 and King left. “Pick one, darling,” nodded Ludmila.

Lucy slowly reached for a stick, unable to tell which was which, and trusted Ludmila.

Yes! She went for #1! Which should leave me with …

Ludmila hesitated to open her hand but knew she had to, finding

  …The king! I did it!

“Ehehehehehehe! Ah ha ha ha aha! Haaahhhhh.” 

Alice recognized that laugh. Whatever Ludmila was plotting, she was about to get away with it. Looking around though, both Lucy and Priscilla seemed to be enjoying themselves. And I guess I am going to let her get away with it. I somehow get the feeling I am going to die of embarrassment, but, oh who am I kidding, if it's not upsetting anyone else, then bring it on, Lulu! Make my life exciting!

Ludmila pivoted in place, slowly meeting everyone’s stare with an overwhelming gleam of mischief in her eyes. “Wellllllll, it sure seems everyone is in quite the kissing mood, so hows about … #1 and #3 kiss each other, cause they totally should!”

Alice, Lucy, and Priscilla all jerked their heads towards their sticks to figure out who was kissing who. Ludmila saw Priscilla immediately blush and cover her mouth. “I- I’m #3!” Priscilla beamed.

Ludmila’s heart jumped, feeling as if the excitement was going to push her heart into her throat. She turned to look at Lucy’s smiling face.

Except Lucy wasn’t smiling. In fact she was horrified , barely able to clutch the stick in her hand, marked “#2.”

Ludmila’s eyes went wide with horror, and as Lucy looked up at her, Ludmila’s eyes squinted with guilt. I did the wrist-flicky trick all wrong and jumbled the sticks! Wrong, wrong, wrong!

Alice turned her gaze from the “#1” mark on her stick straight to Priscilla. I guess I am going to kiss Priscilla then. I have no clue what is going on, but Ludmila has done a terrible job at hiding the fact that she has been rigging every round since the beginning. Well, Priscilla will be happy about this … and she is pretty cute! Alice shrugged, and held out her hand to Priscilla while giving her a gentle smile.

Priscilla couldn’t believe it. She was going to kiss Alice! She took Alice’s hand. The touch of Alice’s fingers was intoxicating. No, not just kiss. She was going to close her eyes, kiss Alice, then confess her feelings before opening her eyes and being overwhelmed by seeing Alice look back at her.

Lucy was too despondent to speak up, and Ludmila was too overwhelmed with guilt to even realize what was happening in time.

Priscilla wondered what this kiss would feel like as she leaned into Alice. and leaned in for the kiss. Would it feel soft and comforting like being wrapped in a warm blanket in bed? Would it feel like an exhilarating storm of passion sweeping her off her feet?

Priscilla closed her eyes, and discovered it felt like an entire goblin descending back to the earth from the heavens at terminal velocity, head first, into her skull, knocking her out cold as it exploded into wisps of light, which is exactly what happened to her.

Chapter Text

After a moment of mass panic and a few more moments of screaming, Alice, Lucy and Ludmila managed to take care of the situation. Alice calmed the others down and explained that she had headbutted plenty of monsters before, and when they dissipate like that, there is a lot less force in the impact, and that it probably wasn’t as bad as it looked. Lucy diagnosed Priscilla’s condition and determined that she had a mild concussion at worst, with no signs of fractures, contusions, or more serious signs of injury. Lucy had long ago given up on following her mother into medicine, but she did happen to receive a long lecture from her on cranial blunt force trauma just yesterday. Ludmila finally found her staff and applied her vast experience in using healing magic to treat concussions on someone else for a change, making sure there was no lasting damage. 

They determined Priscilla was going to be fine, but they all agreed that it would be best for her to rest in bed for the evening to be especially safe. They quickly packed up and began making their way back to Rigbarth, with Alice wearing one backpack over each shoulder while carrying Priscilla in her arms.

Priscilla was entirely conscious from the moment Alice picked her up but pretended to still be unconscious and therefore still needed to be carried. Priscilla relished being carried in Alice’s arms, only waking from her feigned sleep around the halfway point of the hike when it became apparent that her friends were growing worried about her. After she “woke up,” the mood lightened considerably.

The sun had set as the four made their way through the woods. While Alice and Lucy were giggling about something Ludmila had said earlier, Priscilla noticed Ludmila trailing slightly farther back from the group with a somewhat sorrowful look on her face. Ludmila smiled as soon as she realized Priscilla was looking at her. Priscilla stealthily slipped to the back of the group, right beside Ludmila.

“Hi, Ludmila. Um, Thanks for healing me after I hit my head. I hope you aren’t too disappointed that … that the game ended early.” Priscilla whispered, her words equal parts grateful, soothing and apologetic.

By this point, Ludmila had processed what had happened and felt jealous, as well as feeling guilty about feeling jealous, feeling that she should, instead feel guilty for botching her efforts to get Lucy and Priscilla. Even if it was just playing along with the precedent she set with Lucy, she wasn’t expecting Priscilla, of all people, to be so eager to kiss Alice.

Ludmila knew it was her own fault, so she put on her best liar’s smile, good enough to fool anyone but Alice. “I’m just glad you are ok,” she whispered. “I tried to help but I just got everything messed up, and you even got hurt. That was pretty awful of me, wasn’t it?” There was a small pause while Ludmila hoped for the comfort of a scolding that she knew wasn’t coming. After the pause, she added,” But don’t worry about me. I’m totally fine.”

Priscilla shook her head and smiled. “It’s not your fault. You were just trying to help, and I really appreciate it. I actually tried telling her how I felt a few times today, before the game. I felt pretty confident, but every time she looks into my eyes, I just get flustered and lose my words and then feel too weak to say anything.” 

Priscilla noticed that Ludmila had turned her head away. ”It will all turn out ok. It’s like you said. I just have to keep trying something different, and good things will happen no matter what.”

Ludmila’s jealousy over Priscilla’s surprising eagerness to kiss Alice did not diminish, but Priscilla’s awkwardly earnest consolation did strengthen her feelings of compassion and remind her why she was helping her friends in the first place. “You are just too, too sweet, Priscilla.” Ludmila managed to face Priscilla as she continued whispering, “Come by Flowerstruck tomorrow morning. I’ll … I’ll try and think of … something to help get you two together.”

“Mm. ok! Thanks, Ludmila,” said Priscilla, finally letting her voice rise above a discrete hush.

Ludmila could still feel a simmering irritation at the memory of Priscilla and Alice nearly kissing, but seeing Priscilla’s grateful smile return had soothed her enough that she could at least try to figure out what her next steps were. She would have to figure it out soon, as they had almost made their way back to Rigbarth. Having finished their collusion, Ludmila and Priscilla caught up to Alice and Lucy, who were having a very animated conversation.

“What did I miss?” asked Priscilla.

Alice had her head bashfully tilted towards the ground with a small smile on her face. Lucy was rubbing the sides of her head in a show of exaggerated exasperation and replied, “I’m just trying to ask little miss secretive over here how she learned how to cook fish so dang perfectly and trying to get a truthful answer because there is no way that ‘pickin turnips’ has anything to do with it! Ahhgghhh!”

“Oh, I’m pretty sure that’s just the excuse she comes up with when she is too embarrassed to say,” chirped Ludmila. “That’s what she told me when I asked how she got so good at…”

Alice swore she could feel her cheeks radiating out a heat so strong that it not only warmed her face in the cold evening air, but Lucy’s face as well, walking beside her. “Oh before I forget,” Alice interrupted desperately, “The fireflowers finally bloomed, so I talked with Murakumo this morning about doing the test run of that skin softening medicinal bath tomorrow at about noon?”

Alice’s anxiety only grew as Ludmila’s eyes lit up, realizing this was not the way to get Ludmila to settle down. Throwing her arms around the ranger from behind, Ludmila giggled, “The one we were going to make extra steamy, riiiiiiight~?”

Alice began to gesticulate wildly. “She means literal steam! Putting fireflowers into hot water with just the right pH and a catalyst can, uh, well it … when balanced with…”

“Hold on, Alice!” Lucy interrupted loudly. Between patrols and your farms, and fishing and baking, when did you find the time to learn chemistry too?!”

Alice sputtered “Pic-”

“Don’t say it!” snapped Lucy. “Ugh, you are so frustrating, ha ha ha!”

An idea suddenly struck Ludmila as she thought about what Alice said. Wait a second, steam! That could work.

The four finally made their way back to Rigbarth and waved their goodbyes before heading home for the night. Alice and Priscilla continued down the road towards the river while Lucy planned to head straight to her bedroom above the clinic after such an eventful day. After a half-step, however, she felt a small tugging at her arm. “Hm?”

Ludmila had pinched the top of her sleeve. “Wanna chat for a bit? I have an idea, and I won’t mess it up like I did today, promise,” Ludmila begged with a desperate quiver.

“You bet,” Lucy nodded, “what, did you think I was going to be mad at you just because you fumbled the sticks and almost made the wrong people kiss? I screw stuff up all the time.”

“What do you mean? You were heartbroken when I called out the wrong numbers. I could see it.”

“Yeah. I felt awful, like I was going to barf, but I ‘m not going to let that stop me. You said I have to take control of my fate and make it go my way, right? I don’t think I can do that if I stop and feel sorry for myself. Besides, I hate losing, and I’m not letting her beat me this time!” Lucy declared triumphantly.

“Losing what?”

Oops! I wasn’t supposed to say that part! Panicked Lucy.

“Oh, well, back when you told my fortune, you mentioned that Priscilla wanted to confess to me, and I figured I would have an easier time telling Priscilla I love her if I put my pride on the line and made a competition out of it and confessed to her first .”

Ludmila felt relieved to know that Lucy didn’t hate her for nearly making her watch Priscilla and Alice kiss, but the guilt still lingered. “Are you sure you aren’t mad?”

“Totally sure,” Lucy reassured her. “Though I guess if you had to mess up calling out the sticks, I’d have preferred you called out #1 and #2,” she laughed.

Ludmila shot Lucy a sharp glare.

Lucy merely reached up to put a hand on Ludmila’s shoulder and chuckled at her. “ Relax, Ludmila. I couldn’t steal Alice from you, even if I wanted to. I’m a sweaty, overly competitive doofus with no domestic skills who can’t even say how she feels to her best friend, and you are so … everything Alice could want. Kind, beautiful, Uh … adventurous. Heck, you even smell amazing! Like, what? Roses? Why are you jealous?” Lucy stood confidently, still smiling. She believed what she said about herself, but gave off the impression that she wasn’t going to waste time feeling bad about herself anymore, at least not right now. Not when she still needed to tell Priscilla how she felt.

As naturally as jealousy came to Ludmila, she had to admit that Lucy had a point. “I guess it’s still silly of me to get so upset. And thank you; it’s a perfume I made from some rose extract Priscilla gave me. She’s such a sweetie.”

“Hehehe. Yeah, she is, isn't she?” Lucy replied with a soft, dreamy sigh.

“So,” Ludmila started, “About Priscilla, do you still need my help?”

“Oh, absolutely,” Lucy responded instantaneously.

Ludmila perked up, feeling glad in some small part that her friends still needed her. “Fantastic! I have a really good idea this time that there is no way I can mess up.”

“Does it involve trying to pull off tricky sleight-of-hand tricks that you were only able to practice for a couple hours to try and trick your scarialy smart, eagle-eyed girlfriend?”

Ludmila shook her head, giggling. “Oh shush, you! Like I said, it’s something I can’t mess up. There’s no complicated games or trying to make people kiss, as much fun as that is.”

“Then tell me the plan! Just because I said I am never going to give up doesn’t mean I actually have any idea of what I am going to do next.”

“Well, You both get so nervous when it comes to discussing your love for each other. In particular, Priscilla said she had tried to confess to you a few times but that looking into your eyes makes it hard for her to pour her heart out to you. ”

That’s weird. I hadn’t noticed that at all yesterday. Then again I guess I have been hiding my feelings from her pretty well, so I guess Priscilla is doing the same thing.

Ludmila looked at the Blue Moon Inn up the hill and continued divulging her plan. “Alice is setting up a nice medicinal bath for me tomorrow, and the fireflowers in it are going to make the baths extra steamy, probably for the rest of the day. I was going to meet with Priscilla in the morning and tell her to meet you in the baths after Alice and I are done. Since you both get nervous, a hot medicinal bath would be the perfect thing to relax. With everything being so steamy, it would be romantic and private, but most importantly, it would be an opportunity to talk to Priscilla in a situation where she won’t be overwhelmed from trying to look into your eyes.”

Lucy was astonished. “That … is really thoughtful of you. I guess I was expecting something a little more convoluted than ‘relax and tell her how you feel in a way she feels comfortable with.’ I knew I could count on you. Is there anything I need to do before then?” Lucy asked as she yawned and stretched, realizing how tired she really was.

“Un-uh. Just rest well, and I will let you know when to go meet her once Alice and I are out of the bath.”

Chapter Text

On her way to Ludmila’s house, Priscilla crossed paths with Alice, who was carting a wheelbarrow full of large white flowers towards the bathhouse. “Good morning, Alice,” Priscilla waved. Alice lowered the wheelbarrow and waved back as Priscilla approached.

Priscilla looked down in awe at just how many flowers it took to fill a wheelbarrow. “That is a lot of flowers! Did you grow all those for the medicinal bath you mentioned yesterday?”

Alice smiled proudly. “I did. This is actually the last wheelbarrow full of things I need to take to the Blue Moon for the bath. It was a little tricky to get them to grow well this time of year, but I just know Ludmila is going to love what it does for her skin.” As she mentioned Ludmila, her grin grew even wider.

Priscilla felt her previously calm heart begin to beat faster. Priscilla was brimming with confidence today. She even had the passing thought to say something to Alice, but she seemed a little busy, and her shimmering blue eyes just made her feel weak in the knees. Priscilla noticed how beautifully Alice smiled when she mentioned Ludmila, and some part of Priscilla wondered how soon the day might come where Alice would also smile like that at the sound of her name too.

“That sounds so romantic. I’m sure she will love it,” said Priscilla. “I’m actually on my way to go see her right now.”

“Oh?”

Priscilla realized she probably shouldn’t spoil whatever fun Ludmila was planning. “Ah, I just needed to ask her something. I think I left some jars in her basket yesterday and wanted to see if she still had them.”

I checked to make sure I packed all of Priscilla’s stuff into her own backpack. Is Ludmila still up to whatever it was she was up to yesterday? I still can’t believe she rigged the game so that I would kiss Priscilla. Oh well. I’ll just ask her after our bath. Silly succubus.

“I see then,” Alice nodded. “Say hi to Ludmila for me. I have just a little bit more work to finish preparing the fireflower bath.”

“Bye bye. Have fun,” Priscilla waved, smiling as she briskly made her way to Flowerstruck.

Alice picked the wheelbarrow back up and couldn’t notice how especially happy Priscilla seemed today.

Was it because we almost kissed yesterday? Or … wait a minute. Ha, I see what’s going on. Ludmila is the only other person in town I can think of who would read Romantic Maiden’s Picnic Journey. I bet that is where Priscilla got it from!

Alice giggled quietly to herself as she continued making her way to the bathhouse. As she opened the doors and carted the last of the flowers inside, she could hear the loud, repeated banging of a hammer from under the stairs. As the bells above the door chimed, the hammering stopped, and Murakumo’s towering frame emerged from beneath the stairs as he rose to his feet and grabbed the nails he was holding between his teeth.

“Welcome back, Alice. Those the flowers for the medicinal bath? Need any help?” he offered.

Alice shook her head. “I’m good. Besides, you still have quite a few repairs left, right?” Alice looked around at the various dents and holes in the floors and walls of the inn. 

Murakumo gave an embarrassed smile. “Yeah. This time I thought I could finish the repairs faster if I just worked harder and gave it my all, but all I wound up doing was bustin’ more holes open,” he sighed. “don’t worry about that. You should focus on getting the fireflower bath ready. That picnic yesterday sounded rough.

The mention of yesterday’s picnic reminded Alice of how stiff her back was from carrying two backpacks and a person over a long distance. She stretched her back a little. “Oof, yeah, we packed quite a lot, especially Priscilla, and we hiked pretty far. Everyone had a lot of fun, though, so it was worth it.”

“Glad to hear. And Priscilla did alright?”

“Priscilla was fine. I saw her just this morning, and she seemed to be even more cheerful than usual, but how did you know about when she hit her head?”

Murakumo blinked, confused. “Hit her head? No, I meant about how she handled traveling that far from home. Or, was traveling alone that she said was scary for her?”

“Ah,” Alice nodded, “yes, Priscilla isn’t really able to travel alone, but there were three of us with her, so she was fine yesterday. How did you know about her being afraid of traveling alone?”

“Oh, a few months back I accidentally startled her with my howling. I explained that I was trying to get myself pumped up for somethin’, and she said she wished she could howl. I asked her why, and she said she told me she was afraid of goin’ outside Rigbarth by herself. I told her she could always try shouting from the top of her lungs or letting out a fierce warcry instead. I was half joking, but she thanked me anyway. It’s probably better that she didn’t need my advice though, Gwhahaha!”

Alice recalled the scene of Priscilla shouting, “I’m going to make people kiss!” just before making her surprising decree, and her meek bellowing suddenly made more sense. “Ah ha, well, I will let you know if she does, ha ha.”

Murakumo set down the hammer and nails onto the front desk. “I know you still have to get the bath prepared, but hold on a second.” He ran to the kitchen and returned shortly after with a cup and bucket of cold water. “You said it could take you a while to get the mixtures for the bath ready right? You will need these. I once spent a couple hours up there doing repairs and almost passed out from dehydration. It gets hot up there.”

“As hot as — Ow!” Alice intentionally bit her tongue, sensing that her involuntary flirting reflex had been triggered, a stopgap measure she developed while she was working on breaking the habit. “Thanks, Kumo. I’ll let you know if I need anything.”

Alice lifted the large wheelbarrow over one shoulder while carrying the bucket and the cup in her other hand. While not particularly heavy for her, it was a delicate balancing act to manage to get everything upstairs into the women’s bath, managing to only knock a few small objects off the shelf as she entered before finally setting everything down. “Ok, let’s get to work~!”

Outside the Blue Moon, down the hill, Priscilla finally made her way to Flowerstruck, her heart still racing from her encounter with Alice.

Upon seeing Priscilla come in, Ludmila instantly dropped her watering can and rushed over to greet Priscilla. “Hellooooo~ Priscilla darling. I’m glad you stopped by. Is your head feeling any better?” After sleeping on the events of the previous evening , Ludmila was feeling much better about her plan, especially since both Lucy and Priscilla still were eager for her help. In this elevated mood, Ludmila couldn’t help but dote on Priscilla a little. Her jealousy had faded and her zest for romance simply left her excited for Lucy and Priscilla to confess to each other, confident in her plan.

“Yep. Thanks to everyone taking care of me, I actually felt completely better before I even laid down for bed. You seem to be doing well too,” Priscilla smiled.

“Wellllllll~, I guess I am excited because I finally thought of a better plan. You will be confessing by the end of the day!”

Priscilla’s eyes lit up as she gasped, exclaiming, “I already had a good feeling about today, but I bet things will go even better with your help!”

“You said eye contact was the big thing making your heart flutter just a little too fast, right? Well, I figured out exactly how you can avoid that in the most relaxing, romantic setting ever.” Priscilla was practically bouncing on her toes as Ludmila quickly locked the door and shut the window, just as she had for Priscilla the night before last.

“Oh, gosh! What kind of setting?” Priscilla realized she was getting overexcited, and took a few deep breaths to calm herself.

“Alice, being the best, sweetest girl anyone could ever hope to love, is setting up a special flower bath that is going to make the whole bath super duper steamy. Not only is it supposed to be great for your skin, but with all the steam, you don’t have to worry about totally melting when she looks at you. Sound good?”

“I-it sounds too good to be true,” Priscilla stammered while blinking repeatedly, half expecting to wake up from one of her many, many romance-drenched dreams of falling in love with Alice.

“It’s entirely true. She will be expecting you. I… mayyyyybeeeee may have also been helping her, encouraging her to let go of her own worries. Annnnnd, I might have arranged for you two to meet in the bath today.”

Ludmila couldn’t help but smile, imagining how happy Lucy and Priscilla will be when they finally know each other’s true feelings.

Priscilla couldn’t help but blush, imagining what sort of intimate conversations Ludmila must have had with Alice about being loved by two people. Priscilla took a deep breath, reminding herself that things would go better if she was relaxed, like Ludmila said. 

Almost equally giddy, Ludmila continued reveling in the way each detail she mentioned to Priscilla made her happier and happier. “But there is one last little thing I have for you.”

“More?! Ludmila, you have done so much to help me, I- I-” Priscilla was trying her best to stay calm.

Ludmila reached for a small perfume bottle from her dresser. “Shh. Now, close your eyes for a second.” Priscilla closed her eyes and tried to sit still. A rosy scent filled the air as Ludmila spritzed the sides of Priscilla’s neck as well as her wrists.

“There we go. Just last night, she said she really liked this perfume. She might fall for you even harder now. I actually made it from the rose extract you gave me. You can open your eyes, by the way. I just didn’t want to get it in your eyes”

Priscilla opened her eyes and quickly wiped away a small tear as discreetly as possible, before suddenly embracing her friend. “Thanks, Ludmila. For everything you’ve done. I know you said you just like love stories and helping people, but you’ve done so much more than help me find confidence to share my true feelings. Yesterday, with Lucy holding my hand, I even managed to be brave enough to travel out with everyone on the picnic.”

“Oh, Priscilla. I just like seeing my friends happy,” Ludmila replied, reciprocating with a little hug herself. Way to go, Priscilla. And you even managed to talk about love and say Lucy’s name in the same breath.

Priscilla took a step back, giggling and trying to contain her excitement. “So, when should I go meet her?”

“That is a good question. The flower bath is probably ready now, so I guess as soon as she is ready so that she doesn’t get nervous waiting.” Ludmila had lost track of time taking care of her plants and wasn’t exactly sure how long she had before it was time to meet with Alice. Out of habit, she checked the spot on the wall where the clock used to be before its untimely death by cookie. “Um- Er…” Ludmila muttered.

“Ok then! I’ll go meet her there now. She was headed towards the bath while I was on my way here. I won’t keep her waiting! Thanks again for everything, Ludmila. I will tell you all about it after, kay?!”

“W-wait, Priscilla, what do you mean she’s already at the bathhouse?!” Stammered Ludmila, thoroughly confused, and now a little nervous that she somehow may have managed to screw up her backup plan.

Unfortunately, in her exuberance, Priscilla did not really notice Ludmila’s question and was already halfway out the door, taking the deepest of breaths before shouting as loudly and fiercely as she could manage, “I’m on my way, Alice!”

“What.” For an instant, time stood still. Ludmila heard Priscilla perfectly clearly, but somehow couldn’t comprehend her words. 

“No … ”

“WHAT!?”, Ludmila roared! Potted plants crashed to the floor as Ludmila tore through the shop and leapt down the stairs. Her vision blurred at the edges as she spotted Priscilla. 

Despite having a head start, Ludmila was gaining on Priscilla.

“Priscilla!” shouted Ludmila, full of wrath.

Priscilla was unable to hear Ludmila, as she herself was shouting as loud as possible. following Murakumo’s advice.

No! No, no, NO! She’s going to take Alice away from me and I’m going to be all alone again!

She felt the terrible force of her mistake coming down like a meteor, violent with the sting of betrayal, its weight shattering her happy illusions, and its heat burning her heart with a searing pain.

What she truly felt was the force of the rainbow trout Alice and Lucy had caught yesterday, coming down like a meteor, charred from its re-entry into the atmosphere, its weight shattering her consciousness and its heat burning her hat with its searing scales.

Priscilla, unaware of her surroundings, rushed towards the bathhouse.

After a few minutes, the clinic door swung open, and Simone stepped out. “I thought I heard someone screaming. What is going on? What on earth?!”

Ludmila had collapsed face first in the middle of the road between Flowerstruck and the clinic, beside the smoldering fish that had struck her down.

Simone rushed to Ludmila to diagnose the issue. “Hm? A fish?” Wanting to understand the situation as quickly as possible, she took a bite. “Poisonous Rainbow Trout, and it doesn’t look like she prepared it properly. I told her she should be more careful if she insisted on still eating the stuff.” She lifted Ludmila carefully onto her back, while shouting towards the open clinic door. “Lucy, get a bed ready; we have a patient!”

Away from the commotion, Alice had finally finished preparing the bath, and it had turned out better than even she expected. The floral scent was strong and complex but not overpowering, and a layer of large white flower petals covered the surface of the bath. The steam was thick enough that she couldn’t actually see the surface of the water, but she could feel them floating there after changing into her swimsuit and testing the water.

She poured the last of the water bucket into her cup and drank it before setting both down and finally stepping into the bath. “Ahhhhhh~” It’s a little early, but I might as well enjoy the water while I wait. He he. Ludmila is going to love this. I’m going to get so many smooches. Oh! Is that her I hear running up the stairs?

Priscilla ran up the stairs as if the hurricane of passion within her had manifested and was carrying her to the changing room on its winds. She felt like her heart was beating so hard it was trying to burst through her chest as if it did not have the patience for the rest of her body to be held in Alice’s arms.

Just prior to this, and just down the hill, Simone was gathering a variety of medicines and diagnostic tools while Lucy watched anxiously over Ludmila in the next room. Lucy could see that she seemed to be mouthing something silently. “What happened, Ludmila? What even hit you?” Lucy asked, examining the singed hole in the back of Ludmila’s hat. To her shock, Ludmila opened her eyes and tried to sit up before collapsing back onto the bed with a woozy moan. “Ack! Thank goodness you are ok. What-”

“No! I’m n…” Ludmila shook her head feebly as tears began to well. At the sight of this, Lucy’s first impulse was to assume Ludmila was in pain, but nearly as quickly, she recalled the numerous occasions her masochistic friend had endured more painful injuries with only perverse glee. She’s not crying in pain; she’s upset! “Shh, you hit your head pretty hard. Try to keep it still and let me help you for once. What’s wrong?”

“She … Priscilla. she thought. I made her think …” 

Lucy did not know what Ludmila had meant, but she could feel a once-suppressed dread crawling its way back to the forefront of her mind. ”What about Priscilla? What do you mean?”

Ludmila took a short, stifled breath. “Don’t let her take Alice away from me!” she pleaded with lucidity, as if it were the only complete thought she could manage to cling to while in her current state. Ludmila could see from Lucy's shocked expression and hands covering her gasping mouth that she understood. Ludmila took a deep breath to try and explain more, but this backfired, and she felt her consciousness slipping. “Bathhouse… confess… f … fate …”

Lucy knew what she had to do. She didn’t feel ready to tell Priscilla, but now she had to. Lucy gave Ludmila’s hand a gentle squeeze. “You can count on me, I promise.” Lucy’s dread was stronger than ever now that her worst fears were validated, but it did not stop her. She had always feared that her desire to tell Priscilla she loved her was a selfish desire, but now Ludmila’s happiness, Likely Priscilla’s happiness, and possibly Alice’s happiness rested on her confessing to Lucy first.

Ludmila, still crying, opened her eyes again and gave her friend a faint smile. “Don’t lose…” 

Lucy raced out the clinic door and turned the corner of the building so fast that she had to grip the side of the building to maintain her momentum. Letting go, she stumbled slightly before catching herself before proceeding to sprint up the hill, desperately utilizing the full extent of her athleticism.

In the changing room, Priscilla finished changing and could now hear Alice half-humming and half-singing in giddy anticipation. Alice could hear the footsteps of someone approaching the bath. She sniffed the air twice and grinned. While she could not see who was approaching, she recognized Ludmila’s rose perfume, even through the scent of the bath. Excitedly, Alice called out “There you are, sweetie, Come join me in the bath. I know you have been waiting for this. I haven’t actually been here long, but now, even I am feeling impatient. Ahhhh, I just love you so much.”

“And I love you too, Alice! I always have!” Priscilla declared loudly in a voice quivering with passion. Alice coughed and slipped, catching herself with her hand before falling any farther. Oh, Cluckadoodles, this is bad.

“Oh, Priscilla …” Alice sighed, full of pity for the hopeless romantic. Priscilla, misinterpreting her tone as wistful longing , only felt her joy soar to new heights.

“I’ve waited so long to hear you say that, Alice. You’ve always been really nice to me, since the day we met. I- I- guess I just couldn’t help falling in love with you. I wanted to tell you earlier, but I am glad you waited for me to find the strength to tell you.” Priscilla stepped into the hot bath water, seeking out Alice’s voice.

Did she hit her head that hard yesterday!? I don’t-, I-, I have to talk with her and see if she can be sensible about this.

“I see Priscilla. I … I am glad you can be honest about your feelings with me. But, I mean, what about Ludmila?” As Alice spoke, she could hear the water ripple as Priscilla slowly approached her.

To Alice’s further shock, Priscilla began to giggle. “I really thought she would be jealous, so I was really surprised when she told me I should confess my feelings for you. I didn’t believe her at first, but her support is part of how I found the courage to be here now. I guess I have only ever thought of her as a friend before now, but Ludmila knows everything, and I have never felt closer to her.”

What the hell is she talking about!? Ludmila is going to bite her head off! Why would… wait a second. That would actually explain a lot. Oh, Ludmila, was there really no other way to get over feeling jealous?

“Ah. so, Yesterday, during the King’s Game…” Alice mumbled.

“Hehe! Yeah, I suppose it was a little obvious, huh? Ludmila was trying to help by rigging the game. She hoped that getting us to kiss first would make it easier for me to tell you how I felt about you. I don’t think anyone could have guessed how it would have turned out. But it sure was fun, wasn’t it?”

“Eh, he, I suppose so,” Alice replied bashfully.

This is a lot. Priscilla is really cute, but do I really want to do this? Could I love two people with all my heart? I don’t think so, but I hardly knew anything about love before meeting Ludmila, I guess.

Some part of Alice’s heart realized she felt a little afraid, and it whispered that this wasn’t really what she wanted. Some other, currently louder part of her heart whispered that it would be so fun to be kissed by two cute girlfriends at the same time.

Intermixed with the sound of echoing hammer blows was the sound of the inn door slamming open. 

Lucy tried her best to push back the exhaustion. She was nearly there. She was sure she heard Priscilla’s voice as she scrambled up the stairs and towards the changing room. It didn’t matter that a creeping fear gnawed at her, insisting she was too late. Her whole body burning, she raced. She raced like a chariot driven by a warrior who bent fate to her will.

“Alice. Alice, I love you. Please, I want to hear it again. Tell me how you feel.”

Lucy stumbled just before the changing room, Priscilla’s words ringing in her ear as icy terror gripped her heart. She did not so much trip as crumple.

“Of course, Priscilla,” Alice said softly.

Alice closed her eyes and took a single deep breath. Searching her thoughts, feeling the sensations of her own body, she concentrated on her strongest urges.

“But you will have to hold on for just a minute. I really, REALLY have to pee!” Alice said in a hushed tone with rising urgency, as she patted Priscilla’s shoulder, charging desperately through the changing room.

“Wha-? What?” Priscilla was stunned, entirely unsure of how to respond. Alice was so earnest that Priscilla understood that this probably wasn’t a rejection, but she simply was unable to respond.

Lucy’s extinguished hope let off a single spark, lifting her to her feet.

I still have to try.

Trying to run, barely trudging, Lucy rounded the corner while her head was still spinning.

Her body began to spin as well when Alice’s shoulder smacked into hers. Alice shot by, shouting over her shoulder, “Oops, sorry! I’ll uh-! I’ll be right back, I promise!” as she disappeared into the women’s bathroom.

Lucy tripped and wobbled into the changing room, unable to see anything, staggering forward. She felt her body slip forward as she slipped on the soap Alice had previously spilled.

If I fall again, I won’t get back up.

She righted herself, only to bang her knee into what felt like a wheelbarrow, nearly falling to her knees.

I can’t fall.

She pushed through the pain and flailed, catching her balance, only to step on a bucket, launching an empty cup into her forehead as she fell and hit the ground, blacking out her vision.

No…

Downstairs, a somewhat confused Murakumo, who had now seen Priscilla, then Lucy, and now finally Ludmila each come running through the inn faster than he had ever seen, but all three had forgotten to pay for the bath. “Must be really excited for the medicinal bath, Gahahaha!”

Ludmila, still concussed, mumbled as she hastily made her way to the changing room. As she rounded the corner, she slipped on a bar of soap, then stumbled over a wheelbarrow, then tripped over a bucket before slipping on a cup.

Though still woozy, she took a step forward before her foot banged into something comparatively soft, tripping her, ending her still fragile consciousness.

Priscilla looked towards the source of the noise, surprised by just how much of a racket Murakumo’s repairs could make.

Lucy could hear the sound of the bath waterfall and nothing else. She felt a dull ache in her knee, and now in her side as well, as if she had been kicked in the ribs. She opened her eyes as she laid on the floor, still unable to see. She had no idea how long she had been unconscious, but she was pretty sure she was alone. She continued to lie there a little longer.

No. She wasn’t alone. She could smell roses. Ludmila was here in the bath. It was her perfume. She smelled so nice. She was going to be so disappointed. Lucy pulled herself up and trudged towards the bath.

I must have been out for a while ... 

She must be here alone to sulk …

I need to tell her I’m sorry.

Already baffled by Alice’s sudden departure, Priscilla was now a little nervous, realizing someone was silently approaching the bath only half a minute or so after all that loud clattering.

Lucy removed her shoes and socks so as to not dirty the bath, and followed the scent of roses, unable to care that the rest of her clothes were going to get soaked.

“I-”, Lucy tried to maintain her composure for Ludmila, but simply began sobbing. “I’m sorry, Ludmila. I was too late. I took too long to tell Priscilla I loved her. *sob* I was going to be her gallant knight like in those stories she loves. I was going to let her know I would always be there to protect her, to catch her when she falls, and hold her hand when she’s scared! I wanted so badly to tell her I loved her and watch her smile. *whine* and … I still love her so badly, Ludmila! I’ve loved her since we were little girls! P-Please, if you are upset, be mad at me. She didn’t know you were trying all along to help us! I could have said something at any time, but I was too afraid to ruin our friendship… Please say something, Ludmila, even if it’s that you hate me because I couldn’t protect anyone!”

“Lucy… I- I didn’t know.” Priscilla was already overwhelmed, and now Lucy was here, saying she loved her. Priscilla was still working to make sense of what Lucy meant, but she knew Lucy needed her.

“Priscilla…? Priscilla!?” Lucy spouted. “But where- what-”

Lucy’s confused flailing cleared enough of a gap in the thick steam for Priscilla to find Lucy’s hand and grab it.

“Shh. Shh. Don’t cry, Lucy. It’s ok now.” Priscilla was a little surprised to see Lucy like this. Knowing each other their whole lives, Priscilla couldn’t recall ever seeing Lucy so hysterical. Even over little things, it was usually Lucy who comforted her. Despite not having been in this situation before, Priscilla did know how it felt to be comforted by Lucy and knew she could return that tenderness.

“Please don’t be mad,” Lucy cried softly.

“Shh, Shh. I’m not mad, Lucy,” said Priscilla. She pulled herself forward gently by tugging on Lucy’s hand, then embraced her heartbroken Lucy.

“B- but…”

“I’m not mad. I just never knew you loved me like that,” soothed Priscilla.

Lucy let out a happier whine as she buried her face in Priscilla’s shoulder. Lucy felt her fears wash away in the bath, in Priscilla’s embrace. The only discomfort she felt amidst the relief was awkwardness. Rather than let it linger, Lucy just whispered what was on her mind, her face still buried against Priscilla’s neck.

“I guess… How do you feel about me?”

“I feel happy and ... I feel surprised that you love me romantically. I couldn’t have guessed. I guess you just don’t express romantic interest as obviously as some of our other friends, hm hm.” Priscilla could feel Lucy’s body shake a little as she let out a silent laugh.

“...Thanks, Priscilla.”

Priscilla felt a pressure lift from her shoulders that she was unaware of until it lifted. Lucy was feeling better, and with that concern fully taken care of, Priscilla had come to the sudden realization that she was holding in her arms a girl that loved her romantically, that this girl before her, coated in flower petals, was the first person she ever knew who loved her like that , and the first girl she had ever loved . As calming as Lucy’s hugs have been and still were, Priscilla realized her heart was beating faster, and the room felt warmer.

Lucy remained silent, simply wanting to be held like this as long as Priscilla was willing.

“... and,” Priscilla started, her calm audibly breaking for the first time since she addressed Lucy, ”While it's true that yesterday, during the game … it might have been the first time in many years that I had really thought about what it would be like to kiss you, I- guess, a-after all this, I have had another chance to think about it and, and, uh!...”

Lucy slowly raised her head. “It’s ok, Pri-”. Before she could answer, Lucy felt her hand being yanked toward Priscilla’s chest, where it was held down so she could feel Priscilla’s heart racing. Unable to say so confidently with her words, Priscilla held down Lucy’s hand. Doing this, Priscilla continued, “And I have told you at least once how, when reading stories about love, how my heart reacts when I get excited about kissing.”

Lucy finally realized what Priscilla had been trying to say. As Lucy attempted to reply, Priscilla interrupted her again.

“I love you, Lucy. As in, romantically, I mean … and I want to try kissing.”

Lucy let out soft, but deeply joyful laughter. Just slightly, the steam had thinned a little, and Lucy could almost see Priscilla’s face.

“Whew. Sorry about being gone so long, Priscilla. I uh, I guess I underestimated the effects of drinking a whole bucket of water,” Alice interjected as she re-entered the bath.

Lucy and Priscilla both let out startled yelps.

“Er, about what you said.. While you are a really good fr- wait. Lucy?!” Uh, what did I miss?

“Uhhhh… Hi Alice,” Lucy replied, feeling intensely awkward. She didn’t quite know how to start explaining why she was in the bath, uninvited and fully clothed, about to kiss her best friend, not that Alice could see exactly what was going on.

“If, uh, if you two were in the middle of something, I actually need to go find Ludmila. I’m a little worried since she has never been late for a date before.”

A long, soft groan emanated from the corner of the changing room. Ludmila awoke, and slowly crawled to her feet still not fully cognizant, begging in the general direction she heard voices. “W… wait Priscilla, I messed up. P- please don’t tell Alice you … ”. Ludmilla panted as she made her way into the bath, stumbling. “Don’t tell her you love her. I need her. I thought I was helping … I thought… I thought you meant Lucy. I’m sorry.”

Lucy let out a short shriek.

Alice Jerked toward the sound of her girlfriend’s voice. “Ludmila?! honey! Are you ok?! How long have you been lying there? What are you saying?”

“Alice…?” Ludmila winced.

“Um, I think I can explain,” said Priscilla, turning her gaze downward in shame. 

“Thank you, Priscilla. Please do. Every time I think I know what is going on, somebody does something crazy. I’m just getting a spare healing potion from my bag for Ludmila, but I am listening.

“On Valentine’s Day, Ludmila offered to tell my fortune or help me with any troubles on my mind. I visited her that night, and I told her I was in love but was scared to confess. She thought I meant confessing to Lucy, but I thought she meant confessing to you.”

Ludmila sniffled “Y-yeah.”

“And I think Lucy also went to Ludmila for help,” Priscilla continued.

Alice helped Ludmila hold the bottle as she drank the medicine and began to recover.

Lucy cleared her throat and spoke up. “Yeah. I did. I was sorta terrified about wrecking our friendship, so I went to Ludmila for advice on what to do. I was desperate, so I accepted any kind of help I could get. I was a little afraid …” Lucy paused fearfully, realizing there was one last question on her mind. Was Priscilla still desperately in love with Alice? “I was afraid that Priscilla was so madly in love with you that I sort of blindly went along, clinging to anything Ludmila said that could give me hope.”

Alice held Ludmila’s hand. “Is your head feeling better, Lulu?” 

“Yeah, but I still feel terrible. I made a huge mess for everyone, and I was just trying to stop feeling jealous, then trying to help, but today I wound up getting so jealous at Priscilla that I passed out.”

Priscilla gasped, but Lucy interjected, “Actually, Ludmila, you got hit in the head by something and got knocked out and wound up in the clinic. Oh geez! Did you just get up and wander out of there without saying anything? Simone is going to be so mad.”

“Oh. I guess that’s good. I was afraid I got really mad and fainted. What hit me?” Ludmila asked shyly.

Lucy shrugged, “A cookie? I don’t know.”

Alice scratched her head. “I’m still confused. Ludmila, how did you not figure this out, and how was any of this supposed to help you feel less jealous?” she asked. 

“ I still felt a little jealous towards Lucy and thought that if I got them together, I wouldn’t feel that way anymore. Priscilla was the only person who didn’t seem to flirt with you, so I guess I never suspected her. Then she seemed so nervous, so I tried to touch on the subject of who she loved as gently as possible and got used to avoiding saying any names. That probably didn’t help.”

Priscilla tried to interject. “I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have become so obsessed with my own loneliness that I-”

“Uh-uh. I should have been more straightforward. And I shouldn’t have been so jealous!”

“Um, I think at least a little jealousy is fine considering how I acted,” said Priscilla as she firmly shook her head in disagreement.

“It’s all understandable, right?” Lucy interrupted. “Alice is really cute and makes people do and say stupid things around her because she is so pretty and sweet, right? Hahahaha!” Lucy remembered perfectly well that she told Ludmila she would stop saying anything resembling flirting to Alice, but she felt close enough to Ludmila after all this that she felt totally fine teasing her a little, much in the same way she would competitively banter with Alice. Lucy only laughed harder, sensing Ludmila’s glare through the steam.

Priscilla cleared her throat to get everyone’s attention. “Jokes aside, though, I’m really sorry everyone. I just got … obsessed. And It was making me a lot less considerate of everyone else. It didn’t feel like it was… healthy.”

“Getting way too excited over romance that they do something stupid? Who has ever done such a thing, Ludmila,” Alice stated flatly enough to make it clear that it was not a question.”

Ludmila whimpered, “I’m sorry, darling.”

Alice stepped back into the bath and hugged her girlfriend. “Just tell me about things like this instead of concocting silly schemes involving trying to play matchmaker with our friends while not really communicating with them either, ok? I don’t think anyone is mad at you.”

Lucy had a realization, reinvigorating her laughter. “Not only am I not upset, Alice, I think Ludmila did a pretty good job. As… silly as some of Ludmila’s plans, our plans were, I don’t think either Priscilla or I were ready to tell each other how we felt, but Ludmila encouraged us the whole time. Heck, no matter how hard I tried, I technically didn’t muster the courage to tell Priscilla how I felt!”

Ludmila wiped a tear from her eye. “Ohhh~! You guys… That’s so sweet. Also, what? Wait, so are you…?”

Lucy tried to explain that it was complicated, and finally settled on how to word her response. “Well-”

“We’re girlfriends!” Priscilla blurted out while squeezing Lucy’s hand tightly. Despite the thick steam, Lucy let go of Priscilla’s hand to cover her own beet red face.

Ludmila squealed with delight. “Yesssss! I love stories where love wins out in the end! Does… Ehehehehehe! Does this story end with a kiss?”

“Ah, right. Uh, sorry if I was interrupting anything earlier,” Alice sheepishly added.

“Does it, Lucy?” asked Priscilla with a tone meant to lead her towards her desired answer.

“Yeah. I think it does,” Replied Lucy,

Priscilla took a step forward and suddenly leaned forward to kiss Lucy.

“MMmmprh!” Ludmila let out a muffled shriek as she felt Priscilla’s tongue slip into her mouth. She gently pushed her back, then pushed her back more forcefully after she stopped underestimating how hard Priscilla was diving into the kiss.

“Woah! Pretty eager, huh, Priscilla? Try to be a little more careful. Besides, Lucy’s delicate and can barely keep her composure when given a tiny little peck on the ear,” Ludmila belatedly retorted to Lucy’s earlier remark.

“Oops! Sorry, Ludmila,” Priscilla replied bashfully.

“Here. Let me help,” said Ludmila softly.

Ludmila gently grasped Priscilla’s wrist and guided her towards where she heard Lucy, placing Priscilla’s fingers delicately into Lucy’s palm.

Ludmila waded her way back towards Alice, her ears picking up on the quiet sound of soft kissing behind her. Ludmila latched onto Alice’s arm. “You said the bath should last at least a few hours, right, darling?” Alice nodded as Ludmila led her out of the bath. “Good. Let’s come back later and give Lucy and Priscilla a little alone time together. They probably need it. Especially Priscilla.”