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A gentle knock on the door signaled the princess’ arrival to Alear’s room. The Divine Dragon stood, took a deep breath to steel her nerves, and crossed the room to open the door.
“Good evening, Divine One,” greeted Ivy as her anxious eyes met Alear’s, finding the other woman’s expression a mirror of her own. It seemed they were both a touch out of their element.
“Please,” Alear said, raising a hand in protest. “Call me Alear. There is no need to maintain formalities with me now.”
“Alear…” The way Ivy spoke her name, it was as if she were testing it—tasting the syllables as they fell off her tongue. She blushed, and a slight shrug of her exposed shoulders followed. “My apologies, Di—Alear. I am not quite used to having such an… intimate relationship with my deity.”
Bashfulness had always looked so charming on the future Elusian queen, and now was no exception. Alear chuckled, then reached a hand for Ivy’s, weaving their fingers together in a show of affection that made the latter hold her breath. Hand in hand, she led them across the room where they could seat themselves on the bed. Feeling the token of their newfound relationship on the princess’s finger, Alear smiled warmly.
“You’ve always been among my most loyal followers, and one of my closest friends. Yet now… you, and only you, bear the symbol of my most meaningful bond.” She lifted their hands to face the ring upwards, in case her meaning had not been clear.
“Oh, I-um,” Ivy mumbled, her hands reaching for the fascinator she wore. With a deep breath, she removed it, her grip firm as she seemed to hesitate in her next move. A furious blush rose into her cheeks and she cast her eyes downward as she spoke. “You gave me a gift so precious, I couldn’t bear the thought of not returning the gesture. Unfortunately, I’m afraid the best I could offer pales in comparison to the pact ring.”
Alear’s eyes flicked to the fascinator, then questioningly back at the princess. She wasn’t sure she’d ever seen her without—Ivy’s loose violet hair fell more easily beside her eyes and Alear couldn’t resist the urge to sweep the strands aside, leaving soft traces of her touch behind.
“I don’t need anything from you in return, Ivy.”
A soft chuckle escaped the princess. “I had a feeling you’d say that. Still, for my own peace of mind, I must. I hope you will accept this”—she held the fascinator towards Alear—“as a humble token of my devotion. Which I assure you, far surpasses what I am able to express.”
Alear accepted the token and set it atop her nightstand delicately, honoring the intent behind the gift. Facing Ivy once again, she took in the adoration she was met with and smiled. The words came freely, with little concern or forethought. “I love you, Princess Ivy.”
A light intake of breath was all that pierced the air between them. Ivy lifted her palm to Alear’s cheek, the softness in her purple eyes taking in the sincerity of the Divine Dragon’s words and failing to find an adequate response for them. After a brief moment, she seemed to realize the emotional weight behind both Alear’s words and that the Divine Dragon’s face was now nuzzled against her hand, and she froze.
“Is this okay?” Ivy asked. “For me to… touch you like this?”
To her surprise, Alear’s grip on her hand released, and she instead found those same hands on either side of her own face. Before Ivy could react, Alear had closed the gap with a kiss; she was cautious in her approach, affording Ivy the room to break it off if she were to protest. When no protest came, Alear deepened the kiss, her heart bursting with the emotional fulfillment garnered by kissing the woman she’d fallen for many weeks prior.
“Do you understand now?” asked Alear quietly, their faces a few inches apart.
“I-I… yes, I believe I do,” whispered a flushed Ivy. “How fortunate I am, to have stumbled into a reality I believed I could only dream of.”
A grin spread across Alear’s face. “You dreamt of me?”
Ivy’s pale complexion betrayed her as she reddened further. “I only meant that—“
“I’m teasing,” Alear giggled, then bit her lip. “I rather like the thought of you dreaming of me.”
“Oh my,” Ivy muttered, glancing about as if searching for an escape from her own embarrassment.
When Alear spoke next, her voice had both dropped and gained a rather serious undertone. “I’ve dreamt of you too.”
“Oh?” Ivy answered lamely, still too preoccupied with her own thoughts to hear the meaning behind Alear’s words.
“I dreamt of days beyond the war, when we might finally be together in peace. No war councils, no corrupted, my father finally dealt with… I dreamt of that future and in it, what I wanted most, was to spend that time with you. Please… will you stay?”
This caught Ivy’s attention and she ceased fidgeting to seek out Alear’s eyes.
“Yes, of course,” she replied. “Anything you need.”
“Not as my follower. Not even as simply one of my allies,” clarified the Divine Dragon. Realizing that Ivy may misunderstand her to mean during the war, for the night, or in some other way a more temporary request, she knew she needed to make herself as clear as possible. She took Ivy’s hand and brushed a thumb over the pact ring. “Stay here as my partner, Princess Ivy. We can travel freely from the Somniel to Elusia castle to fulfill your daily duties as the crown princess, then spend our nights and evenings within the sanctuary of the Somniel—just the two of us.”
Ivy’s eyes widened, then softened as a wave of what appeared to be calm washed over her. “I would love nothing more.”
Alear’s smile turned lopsided and she tilted her head slightly. “Then..?”
With a laugh, Ivy leaned forward and imparted a light kiss on Alear, whispering into the space between them, “I love you too.”