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Alain….was in a bit of a predicament.
The past few weeks, he’d been spending time with Leah late at night, as she’d been unable to fall asleep easily. They’d meet on the outskirts of camp, trading stories, offering each other reassurances, and in general just talking the night away until drowsiness finally came. Usually, they’d go their separate ways back to their tents afterwards, but tonight…
Leah had nodded off, resting her head against Alain’s shoulder, and no amount of nudging or prodding could get her to rouse from her slumber. That said, Alain almost didn’t want to wake her from her rest. “She looks so peaceful…and a bit adorable…” he thought.
After catching himself staring at Leah a bit too long, he shook himself out of it. “Ah, I shouldn’t be wasting time. I need to get Leah back to her tent. I could try to find Virginia, or someone else to help take her…” He looked around, finding that there was absolutely no one around to help. “I’d rather not leave her here alone to try and find someone.” Alain looked back down at Leah, still fast asleep, and sighed. “Well, I guess I have no choice.”
He got up, and as gingerly as he could to preserve Leah’s rest, lifted her in his arms, bridal style. “Alright, the tents aren’t too far. Most of the army should be asleep by now, right? I just have to avoid patrols so no one gets the wrong idea…” Alain steeled himself for the trek, and headed out. “This shouldn’t be too much trouble.”
“The book I’m reading now is an interesting one.” Travis explained. “It centers around thirteen teenagers scattered across different time periods, and each of them controls a giant ‘knight’ if you will. They have to protect their world against otherworldly invaders. It’s really quite…fascinating…” Travis slowed down his explanation when he realized Berengaria was barely listening to him. “...Ren.”
“H-Huh?” Berengaria snapped back to attention. “What’s up?”
Travis sighed. “I appreciate you trying to take an interest in my hobbies, but I’d rather not waste your time if-”
“No no, I’m sorry. I am interested, promise. It’s just uhh…” Berengaria glanced back in the distance.
“Just what?”
“...Here, take a look for yourself.” Berengaria grabbed Travis’ cloak and pulled him towards her, directing him to look at the pair of people in the distance.
“Ren this better be…important…” Travis’ eyes widened when he saw Alain sneaking around, carrying a sleeping Leah through camp.
The two remained in silence until Alain went out of sight. “...So do you think they really-” Berengaria began.
“E-even if they did Ren, it’s none of our business!”
“O-Ochlys!” Sharon exclaimed. “Someone will see us!”
“Nonsense.” Ochlys answered, placing a kiss on Sharon’s cheek.
“We are in the middle of the sky!” Sharon held on tightly as Ochlys had carried her into the air, a bit terrified of someone spotting them, but also a bit exhilarated at the feeling.
“With how dazzling you are Sharon, anyone looking up will just mistake us for another one of the stars.”
“Oh Ochlys…” Her girlfriend’s flirtation worked, and Sharon let her worries fade away by kissing the angel.
“Mhm…” Ochlys pulled away and slowly spun the two of them around. “Besides, I thought you might enjoy the view from up here.”
“It is quite stunning. I can see everything from here. The lake, the castle in the distance, Prince Alain…carrying someone?”
“Prince Alain?” Ochlys turned her attention to the small figure walking in the distance. “Is he carrying…Leah?”
“My word, I certainly had no idea they were together!” Sharon said. “We should invite them to tea later. A double date even! I’d love to hear about how they got together.”
“A delightful idea. But for now…” Ochlys turned back to Sharon and licked her lips. “I believe we have more pressing matters to attend to at the moment.”
“Ah, right you are.” Sharon giggled as her lips met Ochlys’ again.
“That necklace you picked out fits you wonderfully, Scarlett.” Melisandre said as the two returned from a late shopping trip in town.
“Thank you, but I could say the same about you and that broach.” Scarlett answered. “It’s quite fetching.”
“Ah, fetching enough to catch Alain’s eye, perhaps?” Melisandre teased.
“Maybe. With these, he should surely start looking our way more, wouldn’t you say?”
The two girls had a laugh and Colm breathed a sigh of relief as he walked behind them. Despite the initial rivalry the two had over Alain, they’d become friends, and any teasing about Alain now lacked animosity.
…Speaking of Alain…
Colm noticed someone in the distance. Looking closer, he saw that it was none other than the Prince. A good opportunity to have the ladies show off their new accessories to Alain just presented itself. “Ah, my lady, Lady Scarlett…”
“Yes, Colm?” Melisandre and Scarlett both turned back to the knight.
“Well-” Colm stopped when he got a clearer look at Alain. He was carrying…a woman. Leah to be exact. This suddenly seemed like a bad idea. “....I heard there were some sweets being served in the mess tent!”
“...This late at night?” Scarlett asked.
“Indeed!” Colm quickly redirected both ladies to change direction and away from Alain.
“I’m not opposed, but let us at least store these in our-” Melisandre turned to continue to her tent, only to stop dead in her tracks once she looked ahead.
“Melisandre? Is something the matter-” Scarlett turned, and she too, saw Alain.
Both women were speechless and simply stared at Alain as he walked away, the prince not noticing either of his suitors.
“...My Lady? Lady Scarlett?” Colm attempted to break the two out of their stupor, but to no avail. “Oh dear…”
“Hey Mandrin?”
“Yeah, Gammel?”
“Ya seein’ what I’m seein’?”
“The Prince carrying a girl back to the tents?”
“Looks like Leah?”
“Oh yeah I’m seein’ it too.” The two former Black Talons watched the Prince go by. “You uh…think we should tell someone?”
“You kidding?” Gammel asked. “We’re both not dead and got a pretty decent gig here thanks to Alain’s kindness, but I gotta feelin’ he could be a vengeful guy if he wants to be. If we say the wrong thing and mistook this for somethin’ else…” He gulped. “I don’t even wanna think about what’ll happen.”
“Well well, what do we have here?” Aramis mused as he caught sight of Alain carrying Leah.
“Alain and Leah? I didn’t realize they were lovers.” Gilbert said. He smiled. “I’m glad for Leah. She deserves her happiness after all she’s done for our family.”
“Indeed. Though he might have mixed feelings about it being a Cornian Prince, I’m sure Father would’ve been happy to see Leah find someone who loves her.” The two watched Alain and Leah pass by, wishing them the best. “...We’re not speaking a word of this to Virginia, yes?”
“Of course not. I fear that if we did, she’d be too stunned to move for a week.”
“Hah! Would you look at that...” Morard exclaimed after spying Alain carrying Leah as he entered her tent.
“My word, Alain and Leah?” Ramona said. “Quite a pair they make…”
“Certainly trying to be sneaky this late at night. Do you think they got a bit carried away tonight and-”
Yunifi took a few sniffs. “No, they didn’t do anything. I don’t smell it on them.”
“...Yunifi, how do you know what ‘it’ smells like?” Ramona asked.
“I ran into Clive and Monica once while they were trying to sneak back into camp once. Judging from the state of their clothing…I figured it out pretty easily.”
Virginia sighed and got up from her bed roll. Lately, she couldn’t sleep. So much had happened the past few months, and recently, the whole business with Giethe and how she handled her quest for vengeance against him had her feeling a bit restless.
“I should see if Leah’s still up...” Virginia muttered. “Perhaps talking to her might take my mind off of things.”
Virginia poked her head out of her tent and looked in the direction of Leah’s…only to see Alain. “H-Huh…” The princess was speechless as she saw her cousin unmistakably sneaking out of her aide’s tent. “A-are they…have they always been…?”
Suffice to say, Virginia’s mind was taken off of her previous revenge, but sleep still eluded her thanks to this new revelation.
The next morning…
“Your Highness,” Josef began. “We have a…situation…”
“What is it, Josef?” Alain replied as he looked over maps, trying to plan the army’s next destination. “Are there sightings of Zenorian troops?”
“N-no, our scouts report no change on that front. This is a more…internal issue, within the army.”
“Internal issue? We have members of all different nationalities and professions, but while I imagine we have our differences, I hope there’s no fighting among them.”
“No, things are fairly peaceful among our ranks. It’s just…there’s a rumor going around.”
“A rumor?” Alain looked at Josef puzzled for a moment, before his eyes went wide. “Oh no…”
“I…assume that you already have a good idea what they are about then, Your Highness.” Josef sighed. “They regard you and Lady Leah.”
Alain slumped back in his chair and pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. “I thought I’d been discreet enough in getting Leah back to her tent.” He looked back at Josef. “Who saw?”
“...Nearly everyone in the army. Quite honestly Your Highness, you stood out quite a bit. Now, half the camp believes you and Lady Leah were out having a moonlight tryst away from camp.”
“Leah and I did nothing last night, I swear! We were just having a discussion, as we do many nights, and she fell asleep.”
“I believe you obviously, Your Highness, and have tried to insist that there must be a misunderstanding. However, by this point, the most prominent word going around is that you two are lovers.”
“Anything we can do to quell these rumors?”
“Outside of continuing to explain the misunderstanding, might I suggest that it’s the time to use the Ring of the Maiden.”
“The Ring of the Maiden?” Alain reached into his pocket and pulled out the ring.
“Yes, Your Highness. I know you’ve been giving great thought on who to give it too. And I have a feeling that you’ve known for a while who you want the recipient to be. Giving them the ring would spare Lady Leah all the undue speculation.”
“You may be right.” Alain stared hard at the Ring of the Maiden. “Though to be quite honest…the person I want to give the ring to is…”
Leah sat on the grassy plain, using the moonlight to get a better look at the Ring of the Maiden. “It still feels like a dream…” she whispered to herself.
“Can’t sleep?” Alain called out as he moved to join her.
“How could I?” Leah answered. “First I wake up to rumors that we’re lovers, and you go ahead and make them true a few hours later.” The swordswoman sported a guilty look. “I must apologize again. I put you in a compromising position, after all.”
“No apologies needed.” Alain gently placed his hand over Leah’s. “As…odd and embarrassing this whole ordeal was, it gave me the push to finally ask you to have the ring.” He had an embarrassed smile on his face, one that Leah found quite cute. “So, all’s well that ends well, you could say.”
“So it seems. Well, in that case, I’m glad too.”
They shared a laugh, and Alain let Leah lean on him again. “So, what would you like to talk about tonight?”
“...Do we have to talk?”
“...No, I suppose not.”
Alain turned to Leah, the swordswoman looking away a bit sheepishly at her implicit request. He chuckled, then cupped Leah’s face to turn her towards him. They gazed at each other for a moment, then Alain pulled Leah closer, letting their lips gently meet. “I trust that was satisfactory?” Alain asked after he pulled away.
“Very.” Leah replied with a giggle. The two laughed together again, and Leah went to kiss Alain once more. The two stayed like that, trading small kisses, before Alain leaned forward, letting Leah lie back against the grass as he-
Alain….was in a bit of a predicament. A much more dire one than before.
Leah laid on top of him, fast asleep, and clothes off to the side. Alain held on to her, his own garments also tossed aside. Leah seemed so at peace resting against Alain, even with her hair disheveled and clothes missing, that Alain didn’t want to wake her. However, getting her back to her tent unnoticed, a task he notably failed at before, just got a lot more difficult.
Seems that rumors have a certain way of proving themselves true.