Archive of Our Own

It was another day in Laterano.

Cardinal Lemuen arrived at her office in the seventh tribunal, ready to get her work done so she could enjoy her vacation visiting her sister

It’s been a while since they solved the issue with the saint and while there was still work to be done, she still wanted to take some time off and visit her sister

Suddenly there was a knock in the door of her office

“Come in”

Who could it be? One of her friends or another cardinal that wanted her help? But why?

The door opened and in walks Executor Federico

“Good day Executor Federico, to what do I owe the pleasure?”

“Cardinal Lemuen, I’ve come here to ask a favor of you”

“Oh?”

Now this was interesting, an executor asking for a favor? And Executor Federico no less

“As you are probably aware, during the incident with the saint a few months ago, criminal Arturia Giallo escaped from Landen monastery and came to Laterano sensing a distress. I followed her and ended collaborating with her to deal with the crisis”

“I am aware, it is said she helped you notice that something was wrong in the city”

“More than notice, she helped me confirm my suspicion but that’s irrelevant. After the crisis was resolved the Curia decided to pardon her of her crimes due to her contributions during the crisis”

Lemuen raised an eyebrow at that “They did what?”

“I objected to it as well as many other officials” Federico said before sighing “But it was proposed and pushed by his holiness”

“Why would he do that?”

“I have no knowledge but that’s not important now. The only condition I asked from his holiness is that I would watch over her were she to remain in Laterano”

“And you’ve been doing that since then?” Lemuen asked surprised

Assuming that happened shortly after the incident Federico must have been watching over her for months now

“It got approved one week ago and she decided to remain in Laterano. It has been rather problematic as you can imagine”

“Has she tried to escape or cause any trouble?” Lemuen asked leaning over her desk

“Far from it, she’s spending her days like any other normal Laterano citizen”

“What’s the problem then?” Lemuen asked frowning

“I been assigned a special mission from his holiness and I can’t watch over her while I’m away. I asked his holiness if it had to be me who was going to the mission and insisted it had to be me”

Now she was starting to understand “And you want me to watch over her in the meantime”

“His holiness recommended you personally” Federico nodded

Lemuen blushed slightly and smiled sheepishly “While I’m flattered and honored by that I’m afraid I can’t help you”

Federico frowned so slightly that it didn’t seem he frowned at all “Why is that?”

“I’m taking a vacation”

“A vacation” Federico said as he crossed his arms

“Yes, I wanted to visit my sister”

“I see” He said taking a moment to think about the situation “Is she stationed at Rhodes island?”

“She is”

Federico nodded and uncrossed his arms “Then I believe we can make an arrangement”

“You want me to take her with me?”

Federico nodded “Rhodes island has handled her before. I’ll contact the doctor personally and inform him of the situation”

With that he turned around and walked to the door to leave

Lemuen was to shocked that she almost let him go “Wait a moment” she said standing from her chair

Federico stopped and turned to look at her, the door of her office half open “I was under the impression you couldn’t stand”

“I didn’t agree to take her to Rhodes island. I haven’t even agreed to watch over her”

“I thought asking for the doctor’s assistance would make your choice clear”

Lemuen sat back on her chair, sighing softly “It does help but it wouldn’t be a vacation for me if I have to watch her from time to time”

Federico was about to speak when someone interrupted him “Fede, you’re not going to convince her that way”

Lemuen saw Arturia peeking through the door, looking directly at her

Federico half turned and looked at her “I told you to wait outside”

Arturia smiled and looked at Federico “I can’t be too long without you keeping a watch over me so I got a little worried that you might have some trouble convincing Cardinal Lemuen”

So, this was Arturia Giallo.

She got a slight look at her during the crisis a few months ago before Federico left with Andoain to the cathedral

She was carrying a Cello back then but now it was nowhere to be seen

“Please forgive my cousin Cardinal, he can be hard to deal with at times” Arturia said looking at her

“Arturia, please wait outside the office while I convince Cardinal Lemuen” Federico said trying to close the door but Arturia just stepped into her office

“You’re clearly not succeeding at it, maybe I can convince her” she said looking from Federico to Lemuen

“It is not a matter of convincing miss Arturia. As I said to Federico, I’m taking a vacation and I can’t accept his request”

“Indeed, Fede, can’t you contact Rhodes island and ask them to watch over me in the meantime?” she said looking at Federico

“I would prefer not to ask the doctor for help in this matter. I’m told Rhodes island is dealing with their own troubles at the moment”

“But you were about to ask him to help Cardinal Lemuen in her assignment” she said smiling

Federico frowned at this “You were eavesdropping”

Arturia ignored him and continued “Ask the doctor for help and I can accompany Cardinal Lemuen when she parts to Rhodes island for her vacation” she said as she turned to look at her

“I can agree to that miss Giallo” she said smiling ant turning to look at Federico

Federico pondered for a moment before speaking “It is acceptable. Arturia, come with me so you can gather your belongings” he said before walking to the door, opening it and leaving

“Oh but it’s going to take a few days- and he’s gone” Lemuen sighed while Arturia giggled

“I will see you later, Cardinal Lemuen” Arturia said bowing and walking to the door, turning to look at her before leaving “It was a pleasure to properly meet you and I look forward to be in your care”

With that she closed the door and left

“Well, that was interesting” she said to herself

She went back to work, going taking a form from her desk until she thought of something

What did she mean by later?

After that the day went on normally, paperwork and reports to be filled until she could clock out

When she did, she packed her things and left her office, saying goodbye to her coworkers exiting the building

Outside the building of the seventh tribunal she found Arturia Giallo leaning against the wall

“Miss Giallo?” Lemuen asked confused to see her there

“Good evening Cardinal Lemuen” she said picking up a suitcase and a case from the floor

“What are you doing here?”

“Waiting for you” Arturia said as a matter of fact

That gave Lemuen pause “Weren’t you supposed to be under Federico’s watch? Where is he?”

“He already left to his mission so now you’re the one that must keep watch on me”

Lemuen thought for a moment about the situation “So now I’m supposed to follow you everywhere you go?”

“I can’t have you going around the city like that so I’ll do you a favor and accompany you in your day, no offense”

“Non taken” Lemuen sighed, at least she wouldn’t have to postpone the work she wanted to do before leaving “I appreciate that but why do you have your suitcase with you? I’m not leaving until the end of the week”

Arturia sighed “Since Fede insisted on keeping watch on me I decided to do him a favor and stayed at his home but now that he’s gone, I don’t have a place to stay so I was waiting for you”

“Why didn’t you go to my office instead of staying out here?”

“I didn’t want to disturb your work” she said smiling

“Yet the reason you’re here is because someone must be watching you but you were here for who knows how long without supervision” Lemuen said smiling

Arturia laughed “I suppose you’re right”

“Alright then, I’m assuming you’re planning on staying at my place since you’re so considerate of my condition” Lemuen said rolling her chair in the direction of her house

“Please Cardinal, allow me to push you, just hold my suitcase and tell the way” Arturia hanged her case on her shoulder and handed her suitcase to Lemuen before taking the handles of her wheelchair

“But how will I keep watch on you?” Lemuen said settling the suitcase on her lap “And how will I know you will not just throw me into a flight of stairs?” she said turning to see Arturia

“Why would I do that to such lovely lady?” Arturia said with a small, cheeky smile

Lemuen raised an eyebrow “Are you flirting with me miss Giallo?”

“If you want to take it that way then I don’t mind, you are a beautiful woman” Arturia’s smiled got bigger after saying that

“I’m flattered, you’re also beautiful miss Giallo” Lemuen said turning back to look in front “Let’s go then, follow this path and I’ll tell you when to turn”

“As you wish, Cardinal Lemuen” Arturia said

It was during the way home that she thought of their interaction

Arturia Giallo was indeed a beautiful woman

Her long, dark air that allured her in the way it moves from the way it moves from the very little time she’s seen her, her dark eyes that feel like a void, her face that looked small to her with that mole under her left eye

It certainly was a beautiful face

Her voice was also beautiful

Soft, the type of voice that would put you to sleep when listening to it when you’re tired, the type of voice that would calm you even when you’re stressed out of your mind

Or at least that’s what she thought

It has only been two conversations with her so there was more to find out about her, especially now with their new form of Empathy

Arturia probably had the advantage over her since she spent a good part of her life interacting with other races

Maybe she could ask her friends or her sister for advice later

It was only a few minutes later with some guidance from her part and they made it to her home

Lemuen took out her keys and opened the door, Arturia pushing her inside and closing the door behind her

Lemuen put Arturia’s suitcase by the door along with her sniper and got up from her chair “I’m assuming you’ll stay here in the meantime, there’s a guest room and I don’t mind you taking food the fridge” Lemuen said as she walked to the dinner table and left her keys there

Lemuen turned around and saw Arturia standing at the door with a look of shock on her face

Lemuen raised an eyebrow “Is something wrong?” she asked

“I thought you couldn’t stand, let alone walk” Arturia said while leaving her case on the floor by the door “Is it safe for you to do that?”

Arturia slowly walked toward Lemuen, frowning while looking at her legs

“It’s disrespectful to look at a woman like that, Miss Giallo” Lemuen said

Arturia stopped and looked up “I’m sorry, does it hurt?”

“Unless I do something really straining no, they do get sore if I use them a lot” Lemuen said as she walked towards the fridge to get a cupcake

“I see” Arturia said looking at the floor

Lemuen smiled “Don’t concern yourself with me Miss Giallo, I know my limits”

Lemuen opened the fridge and got two cupcakes out

Closing it she walked toward Arturia “If you’re too concerned, I don’t mind if you push me around in my wheelchair” she said offering Arturia one of the cupcakes

Arturia looked at the cupcake and smiled, taking it “It just took me by surprise” she said looking up at Lemuen “And I wouldn’t mind pushing you around” she said taking a bite from her cupcake

“Good, then you better show me around Rhodes island when we get there”

Due to her arrangement with Federico, Lemuen had to speed up her plans for her vacation

The next day she went to the seventh tribunal, with Arturia pushing her all the way, once there she got to work on the more pressing matters and left the less pressing ones to other people

“Ice cream with no sugar?” Lemuen said frowning at the form

“It would do good to all the sankta in Laterano, with the many cases of cavities in their halos” Arturia said while she tuned her Cello

“I agree with that but I don’t know what this is doing here” Lemuen said putting the form aside and taking another one

“Do you really need to check every form? Why not just handle it to someone else?”

“That would be irresponsible from my part, leaving things for others to figure out. It’s enough with me leaving” Lemuen said looking at Arturia who just smiled

“Then would you allow me to help? I’m the reason you’re rushing to get your work done”

“I would prefer to review this on my own but thanks miss Giallo” Lemuen said going back to review the forms

She went on like that for the better part of one hour, feeling like a migraine was forming due to the amount of forms that were meant for other tribunals

It was clear that things were still hectic in the city after the crisis but this was just ridiculous

“You’re tense Cardinal”

Lemuen looked up and saw Arturia frowning slightly at her

Lemuen sighed and rubbed her temples “It’s just all this forms, most of them are not meant to go through the seventh tribunal”

Arturia hummed at that and then smiled, getting up from her chair with her cello and walking behind Lemuen

Lemuen turned around to look at her with a raised eyebrow “What are you doing?”

“Just keep working Cardinal, I’ll play music so you can relax” Arturia said slowly starting to play

Lemuen wasn’t sure if she should allow her to play, especially in the seventh tribunal building “I don’t think that’s a good idea miss Giallo”

“I will not use my arts to cause any harm Cardinal. Besides, everyone here would be affected by my arts and my performance is only meant for you” Arturia closed her eyes and continued playing “Just listen and relax” she said in almost a whisper

Lemuen could only stare before sighing slightly and going back to the forms

She continued with her work, going over the forms with Arturia’s music on the background

Slowly but surely, she felt herself relax with the music, her previous frown disappearing and being replaced with a small smile

The music, soft and slow, making her feel light, almost as she’s floating

Slowly sinking into her chair as she keeps going over the forms

Her senses slowly lulling

And when she blinks, she keeps her eyes closed, taking a deep breath and exhales

“Don’t fall asleep now Cardinal, that would be rude”

Lemuen opens her eyes and turns to look back at Arturia, her eyes still closed “How could you tell that I was falling asleep”

“I could-” Arturia pauses, her music stopping and she opens her eyes “I could feel it”

Lemuen looks at her confused, then she understands “You said you weren’t going to use your arts, miss Giallo” she said frowning at Arturia

Arturia looks taken a back and she struggles to say something, her mouth opening to speak but nothing comes out

Suddenly she feels nervous, as if she did or said something wrong

But it is soon gone and replaced by a calmness, as if nothing had happened

She sees Arturia exhale and smiles almost shyly, looking at the floor “I’m sorry Cardinal, I got carried away in the performance” she looks up and looks at Lemuen “I’ll play something livelier this time to avoid losing myself”

Lemuen sighs “Also, move to a place where I can see you, that way I will know if you’re using your arts”

Arturia nods and walks towards one of the corners of the room where Lemuen can see her

As she said she starts playing a livelier song and Lemuen goes back to checking the forms

Half of the day goes by like that and Lemuen finishes checking the forms and handing them to her colleagues while already taking care of the ones she could handle at that moment

Arturia played more songs in that time, from pieces she said that were from Leithanien and some covers she recognized from Sora, one her sister’s friends

“Don’t you get tired of playing?” Lemuen asked, moving from behind her desk and towards Arturia

“How could I? It is my passion” she said while packing her cello “And with such an audience, how could I not give my all when playing”

Lemuen looked at her with an amused expression, her performance was indeed beautiful, every song played with a passion that showed her that Arturia was trying to impress her

Lemuen was captivated by her performance, almost falling asleep before was proof enough but after that she really noticed how good she was

But it appears that Arturia misunderstood her comment “I meant physically miss Giallo”

Arturia stopped in her tracks what she was doing and contemplated Lemuen’s words

After a few moments she blushed slightly and covered her mouth with one of her hands, bursting in laugh

In the very short time she’s interacted with her she hasn’t heard her laugh, let alone blush

She could feel herself blush and had to suppress her own laugh

“I’m sorry Cardinal b-but- pfft” Arturia continued to laugh, trying to catch her breath, her hand gone from her mouth and going to the wall behind her to find support

“Are you okay Arturia?” Lemuen asked genuinely concerned for her, standing up from her chair and walking closer to her

Arturia stopped laughing, lifting her gaze and looking at Lemuen with watery eyes “Y-yes, just, give me a moment” she said catching her breath and standing up right

Lemuen frowned and went to her desk, opening one of the drawers and taking a box of napkins from the inside

She walked back to Arturia, who was now whipping her eyes and offered her the napkins “Here”

“Thanks” Arturia said taking some napkins and properly cleaning her eyes

Lemuen nodded and walked back to put the box back in the drawer

When she looked back at Arturia she was looking at her, her gaze soft and somewhat touched “You even stood up for me”

Lemuen looked down to the shook her head and lifted her gaze, feeling herself blush slightly again for doing that “Well I-I” she started but couldn’t come up with and explanation

“It’s okay Lemuen, I also couldn’t explain what came over me a few moments ago” Arturia said

Lemuen sighed and nodded “Alright, now that my work is done, we should head back to my place, I still need to pack my things and we’re leaving tomorrow morning” she said while walking back to her wheelchair, sitting down and turning to look at Arturia

Arturia nodded and walked behind her, handing her case to Lemuen and walking out

Lemuen felt the air between change, from the calmness that was present in her office to something else

It wasn’t awkward but it was certainly weird, something she couldn’t quite put her finger on

Tense would be the best way to describe it, but why?

Sure, both acted weird back there and maybe that was the reason but she didn’t feel awkward about it as much as it might seem to someone else

She’ll definitely ask Lemuel for help

Lemuen looked out the window of the airship

She could almost see Laterano in the distance, the city looking quite small

She and Arturia were on their way to Rhodes island, they were picked up in the outskirts of the city, Arturia commenting on the fact that they had to walk to the pickup point

It actually sounded more like she was complaining in her stead

She appreciated it though, her worrying for her

She thinks Arturia would had offered to carry her if she wasn’t pushing her wheelchair with their luggage

Now they were both sitting inside the airship and waiting for another 10 minutes or so until they made it to Rhodes island

Lemuen feels excited, product her sister’s excitement

The closer they get the more she feels it

Sometimes this new form of empathy can be a boon

She can almost picture Lemuel jumping in place

“You seem excited Cardinal” Arturia says

Lemuen looks at her and sees her smiling “My sister’s excitement is contagious” she said smiling

“It seems so, I can almost feel it radiating from you” Arturia says getting closer to her on the bench “I could certainly play something to express this feeling”

“Maybe you should wait until we make it to Rhodes island, least you lose yourself like yesterday and end up using your arts” Lemuen said putting a hand on her shoulder to stop her from standing up

“But with you watching me, how could I lose myself” she said before opening her eyes slightly as if she realized something “But maybe you’re right”

Arturia went back to her previous spot on the bench, her face now with a neutral expression, as if she was trying to hide what she was thinking

Lemuen could feel a bit of conflict coming to her, maybe she was being a little too hard on her due to yesterday’s incident

They didn’t say more after that, Lemuen returning to look back at the window and Arturia staying silent

It wasn’t long until the pilot announced that they were about to land

Both got up, Lemuen taking her sniper and hanging it on her shoulder while Arturia walked to the wheelchair and got behind it

They felt the airship come to a slow stop and then landing, the ramp from the back opening so they could disembark

They got out and Lemuen could already see 4 persons on the deck

The doctor of Rhodes island, a woman beside him with dark hair and green clothes, her arms, fully covered by her coat’s sleeves, on Lemuel’s shoulders to try to stop her from jumping in place, her sister with a big toothy smile on her face almost barely containing her excitement to see her and finally a sarkas man on the other side of the doctor, a banshee if she wasn’t mistaken

They got close to them and once they were close enough, she heard the doctor speak “You can let her go now Monst3r” he said looking at the woman called Monst3r

Monst3r removed her arms from her sister’s shoulders and immediately crossed the distance between them and hugged her “It’s so good to see you sis! You have no idea how excited I am to show you around the place, how long are you staying? Oh, have you eaten yet? The cafeteria should still have food so we can go there and you can tell me how you’ve been since we last saw!” Lemuel said while she was still hugging Lemuen

“It’s good to see you too El and yes, I already had breakfast with miss Giallo before departing from Laterano” Lemuen said while she patted her sister’s head

Lemuel separated from her and turned to look at Arturia “Oh you didn’t say you’d bring a friend” she said as she got in front of Arturia and extended her hand to her “I’m Lemuen’s sister Lemuel and Rhodes island operator Exusiai, pleasure to meet you miss Giallo”

Arturia laughed slightly as she took Lemuel’s hand “You’re excitement is indeed contagious operator Exusiai, a pleasure to meet you as well” she said and then turned to look at the doctor and his companions “And it’s good to see you again doctor, last time I saw you, you were in a predicament along with the lady beside you”

“We were indeed operator Virtuosa” The doctor said as he nodded “Now, as per my agreement with Executor Federico I’ll ask you to allow operator Logos to apply on you an enchantment that will restrict the use of your arts while you’re here in Rhodes island” he said as he signaled Logos to step forward

“This will only take a second” Logos said taking out what looked like a wand

Lemuel gasp and Lemuen turned to look at her “So she is Virtuosa, damn sis, didn’t thought you’d become friends with a war criminal” she said as she looked at her with a teasing smile

“We’re not really friends El, Executor Federico had a mission and his holiness recommended me to watch over her in the meantime” she said as she looked how Arturia sighed heavily

“That Fede” Arturia said as she turned to look at Lemuen “Oh Cardinal, I thought we were already friends, with you allowing me to push you around in your wheelchair”

Lemuel gasped louder this time “Is she saying the truth sis?” she asked to Lemuen with an exasperated look on her face “And here I thought Texas was crazy for dating Lappland” she said more to herself

Lemuen frowned at her sister and then she heard Arturia giggle

Turning to look at her she quickly looked away from them and sighed “Alright, do your thing operator Logos”

Lemuen felt a little less irritated that Arturia found the interaction with her sister funny

She turned to look back at Lemuel “El, the fact that she’s pushing me around in my wheelchair doesn’t mean we’re friends, let alone dating”

Lemuel frowned and scratched the side of her head “But if you’re not dating why would you let her push you?”

Lemuen took a deep breath to gather some patience “Mostima and Fia often push me around and I’m not dating them”

“But that’s because those two are already dating” Lemuel said before gasping yet again “Unless you want to date them” she said with her eyes shining

“That’s not what I-” Lemuen started the stopped mid-sentence feeling flustered all of the sudden “El, she just offered to do it as a way to help”

Lemuel thought for a moment, turning to look at Arturia and then back at Lemuen “So she’s the one that wants to date you?”

Lemuen felt even more flustered as she looked at Arturia who was blushing slightly, turning back to look at her sister “El, didn’t you say you were going to show me around?” she said changing the topic

Lemuel’s eyes literally sparked and smiled “Oh right! Let’s get your things to your room first and then I’ll show you around the ship, I’ll see you later Leader! Pleasure to meet you miss Giallo, take care of my sister!” she screamed as in quick motions she took Lemuen’s wheelchair and pushed it towards the elevator

Lemuen sighed, slowly facepalming “You didn’t even wait for me”

She started walking towards her sister waiting for her by the elevator, the doors already open

She turned back to look at Arturia who was talking with the doctor

As if sensing her gaze, she turned to look at her, a smile growing on her face and nodding, as if saying it’s ok to go with her sister and leave her behind

Lemuen was confused for a second and then just laughed and shook her head, turning back to look at her sister

Both got inside the elevator, the doors closing shortly after “Wait, her luggage is here” Lemuel said suddenly, pointing at Arturia’s suitcase on her wheelchair

After settling her things in her room Lemuel messaged the doctor about Arturia’s suitcase

The doctor responded saying that Arturia would get it later in the day, for now she asked Lemuen to keep it in her room

With that settled both sisters started wandering the ship, Lemuel guiding them through the hallways and different facilities

Rhodes island was quite big, Lemuen thought

There was even a garden inside the ship, it was quite beautiful, the kind of view and plants she’s never seen in Laterano

She was also planning on going to the training room, she was excited to compete with Rhodes island best marksman

By the time they finished it was dinner time so they went to the cafeteria

Once they got there, got their serving of food and sat in one of the tables Lemuel looked at her smiling “So, what do you think of Rhodes island?” she asked taking a bite of her dinner

“It’s quite impressive, I wonder if there’s a speed limit inside the corridors?” Lemuen said thinking back at some of the longer corridors

“I hear there’s a competition where they race in office chairs, they say that operator Logos hasn’t lost ever since they started doing them” Lemuel said grinning

Lemuen hummed “Do you think they’d allow a wheelchair to compete?”

Suddenly Lemuen felt overwhelmed for a moment, however it was gone in an instant, replaced by a calmness and what she thought was concentration?

She didn’t know why she felt like that suddenly, it was strange

“You okay sis?” El asked concerned

Before she could answer she felt some kind of relief and then calmness “I don’t know, it’s weird” she said, unsure of what had happened

“Are you okay Lemuen?”

Lemuen turned around and saw Arturia standing by their table, concern on her face “Oh hello miss Giallo, didn’t see you there” her sister said before turning back her attention to her “Maybe you’re just tired, it was probably a tiring day for you”

Lemuen nodded and got up from her seat, feeling a little dizzy “I think I’ll eat in my room” she said sitting down on her wheelchair

“Sure, I’ll push don’t worry” El said getting behind her “Miss Giallo, could you take a plate with so my sister can eat?” she said turning to look at Arturia

“Of course” she said taking Lemuen’s plate

And so, the three of them went out of the cafeteria into the hallways of Rhodes island

They walked in silence, giving Lemuen some time to collect herself and think about what could have provoke her to feel like that and so suddenly

She figures she’s probably tired from the day

She woke up early, spent some time walking to the pick up point, spent some more time on the aircraft and then spent the entire evening with her sister exploring Rhodes island, a pretty big landship and according to El, bigger than the previous one

All of that probably took a toil on her and now she was feeling it

Soon they reached her room, El opened the door and the three of them went inside

“You can put the plate on the desk Arturia” Lemuen said standing from her wheelchair and sitting on the bed

“Thanks miss Giallo, your luggage’s here, sorry for taking it before” Lemuel said sitting next to Lemuen

“It’s okay Exusiai” Arturia said taking the chair from the desk and sitting on it

Lemuen looked at her curiously

Now that she thought about it, Arturia probably found them by chance on the cafeteria, most likely going there to get dinner herself

And now she was here with them, sitting with no plate for her “Are you not going to have dinner Arturia? You can still go back to the cafeteria and get dinner” Lemuen said

Her sister gasped “You’re right, you were probably there to eat and then I asked you to help us, I’m so sorry” she said putting her hands together

“It’s okay Exusiai, I don’t min-”

“I know, I’ll go get you and I a plate and then we can have dinner together, I’ll be back soon, make sure my sister eats” Lemuel said quickly, making a leap to the door, opening it and exiting, leaving Lemuen and Arturia alone in the room

Lemuen sighed, looking at the door “If I didn’t know her better, I’d think she’s trying to give us some alone time” she said “Mostima’s the one who would do it” she added in a whisper

Arturia giggled, getting Lemuen’s attention “Is she?” she asked with a smile

“She’s genuinely worried about your food and maybe subconsciously she did that for that reason” she said smiling back to Arturia “I don’t know why she got the idea that we were dating”

Saying that out loud made her feel a little flustered, however she wasn’t the only one

She saw Arturia looking down, a very small blush on her face “Well, not every day you’d allow someone to push you around” she said without looking at Lemuen

“I guess not, but still” Lemuen said

Lemuen started to think about her interactions with Arturia

The fact that she let Arturia push her around was weird even to herself

She didn’t think much about it at the time but now that her sister pointed it out, it gave her thought

She didn’t like Arturia in that way

Sure, she was pretty, so far she has been considerate with her, helping her and allowing her to help in certain things she could do on her own

But it really didn’t mean anything at the end of the day, they just properly met and she knew that it was too soon to even feel anything for her

At most some initial interest for her because she was pretty and her voice was alluring to her but nothing else

“You’re staring, Cardinal”

Lemuen blinked and looked at Arturia who was smiling at her

She got so absorbed on her thoughts that she didn’t noticed she was indeed staring at Arturia

“I’m sorry, I got lost in my thoughts” Lemuen said

Arturia’s smile got bigger at that “Oh, do you find me so fascinating that you got lost in me?” she said as she leaned closer to Lemuen “Such an intense look” she whispered

Lemuen looked at her and suddenly felt her mouth dry

Arturia stood up and took the plate from the desk, taking a spoonful of the food “Now, your sister asked me to make sure you ate”

Lemuen looked at the spoon and then at Arturia “Is it really necessary that you feed me like a child” she said

“I wasn’t going to but if you want to” Arturia said as her smile got bigger

Lemuen sighed, a little flustered “I walked right into that one didn’t I?” she said taking the plate and the spoon from Arturia

“Into what exactly?”

“Don’t play innocent with me Arturia, in the short time we’ve known each other you tend to flirt with me” Lemuen said after finishing a bite from the food in the plate and setting the spoon on it

“And as I told you, if you want to think of it that way then be my guest” Arturia said sitting down besides Lemuen on the bed “And if I was actually doing it, you wouldn’t be able to keep up with me, Cardinal Lemuen” she said

Lemuen turned to look at her, a curious smile on her face “Now I’m curious of your flirty side”

“Oh, you want me to flirt with you?” Arturia said getting closer to Lemuen, their shoulders now touching “It’s very dangerous to get involved with a war criminal you know”

“I can handle danger very well” Lemuen said a challenging smile on her face

“Should I leave you two alone for the night or…?”

Both turned to look at the door and saw Lemuel standing awkwardly with two plates in her hands

“El, why would you say that?” Lemuen said trying to ignore the heat on her face and putting a little distance between herself and Arturia

“I mean, I just walked in and you to were so absorbed with each other that you didn’t hear me and you were close so I thought-”

“I was just making sure your sister ate her food” Arturia said as she got closer to Lemuen

Lemuen turned to look at Arturia and saw her smiling but it wasn’t a normal smile, it was more of a cheeky smile

“You’re enjoying this” Lemuen whispered so her sister wouldn’t hear her

Arturia looked at her and her smile got bigger “I have found a liking in helping people recently and this brings me so much joy” Arturia said

“Ok I should definitely leave you two alone” Lemuel said quickly leaving one of the plates on the desk of the room and making it quickly to the door “Uh, just don’t make too much noise, the walls are not that thick and sometimes noise can get through and I should really stop talki-” she said as she closed the door, hurried footsteps getting away

Lemuen sighed heavily and pinched the bridge of her nose “This is going to require a lot of explaining tomorrow” she said turning to Arturia only to find a spoon in front of her “What are you doing?”

“Feeding you” Arturia said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world

“You-” Before Lemuen could say anything the spoon entered her mouth, forcing her to eat

“You said you could handle danger, so I’m excited to see how you handle me from now on, Cardinal” Arturia said, a very light flush on her face

Lemuen finished the bite and took the spoon from Arturia “As much as I appreciate you taking care of me this is a little too much right now” she said, her flush from before still lingering

“Too much? But you said that you could handle me” Arturia said getting closer, now starting to enter Lemuen’s personal space

“Right now I’m tired and I want a peaceful dinner, can this wait until tomorrow, please?” Lemuen said

Arturia looked down for a moment, a little of disappointment showing in her eyes and then looking back up to Lemuen, a hopeful look on her face now “Then I’m looking forward for tomorrow” she said as she took the plate that Lemuel left on the desk

Lemuen exhaled and looked down to her plate, taking the spoon and taking a bite

Morning came to Rhodes island

Lemuen woke up relatively later than she intended, not feeling tired but not fully rested, the dinner she had with Arturia last night still fresh in her memory

It was nice

They talked about the experiences they had during the saint incident months ago

It was so nice that it brought warm to her chest

Was it a date? She asked herself

She shakes her head Why am I thinking that?

Before she could entertain the thought, she heard a knock on her door

“Coming” Lemuen says as she gets up, her legs feeling a little sore since she just woke up, sitting on her wheelchair and going to the door

Once she opens the door she sees her sister, a bright smile on her face “Hi sis! Oh, did I wake you up?” she asked a little frown on her face

Lemuen backed from the door, letting her sister in “No, I was just lying in bed, thinking” she said going back to the bed, easily changing from her wheelchair to the bed

Lemuel followed her, closing the door behind her and taking a sit on the desk “Oh? Thinking about certain war criminal?” she said, her expression neutral

Lemuen looked at her, her brows furrowing but then relaxing and exhaling “I guess I was”

Lemuel expression didn’t change, taking a moment to process the information “I know I was joking yesterday but, what is really going on between you and her sis?” she asked, hopping off the desk and sitting next to Lemuen on the bed “When you two arrived yesterday nothing looked out of the ordinary but last night was different, the way she looked at you was so intense it made me feel like I was interrupting and neither of you noticed me when I returned from the cafeteria”

Lemuen nodded in understanding “I’m sorry for that, we really were on our bubble at that moment” she said putting her arm around her sister’s shoulder and pulling her close

Lemuel immediately smile at the gesture and nuzzled against her sister, a warm feeling coming from her reaching Lemuen through their empathy

“But that doesn’t answer my question though” Lemuel said, not teasing, just curious

Lemuen sighed “I don’t really know El” she said turning to look at her sister “It’s been like this since we started interacting with each other but last night was different as you said”

“So she’s been flirting with you from the start” Lemuel said

“She doesn’t consider our previous interactions active flirting, probably just off-hand comments or remarks” Lemuen flushed a little as she remembers last night “But before you arrived, when we were on our bubble I confronted her about that and she said that if she was flirting I wouldn’t be able to keep up with her”

“Ok that was definitely flirting” Lemuel said, her own cheeks flushing either because she’s embarrassed of hearing that or because of
Lemuen’s own embarrassment

“Apparently she doesn’t, it wasn’t until I challenged her on it that she started doing what she considers flirting”

Lemuel frowns slightly, Lemuen feels hesitation and then embarrassment “What did she do?”

Lemuen flushed even more and looks away from her sister, trying to fight her own embarrassment and her sister’s “She fed me with the spoon”

Lemuen feels relief coming from her sister, turning to look at her she does look relaxed and there’s relief on her face “Ok good, I thought she had kissed you or something” Lemuel says looking at her sister with a smile “But that is indeed more flirty from her but not something someone would consider normal flirting”

Lemuen looks at her sister with confusion “What are you saying?”

Lemuel just giggled “That she probably fell for you already”

Lemuen felt her face get extremely hot as well “How can you be so sure?” she asked while looking away

“Oh come on, you don’t feed someone just because, she’s probably crazy for you” Lemuel said giggling “No one would do that unless they were pretty sure about how they feel” she paused for a moment, taking her hand to her head and scratching it “At least I wouldn’t do it”

While she heard what her sister said, Lemuen didn’t register it at all, her mind going over the now very real possibility of Arturia Giallo being in love with her

A possibility so ridiculous to think about she had to grab onto Lemuel’s shoulder to balance herself “El, we’ve meet like a week ago, it’s ridiculous to th-”

Lemuel interrupted her “Don’t think too much about it, the heart does crazy things sometimes”

“I’m aware of that but you don’t fall in love with someone over a week” Lemuen argued raising her voice a little

“Ok maybe not in love but she definitely likes you” Lemuel giggled and put her arm around Lemuen’s shoulder “Who would have thought sis? Having a war criminal after you but she’s not going to kill you or something” she giggled again “Well, maybe with all of her love for you”

Lemuen put a hand over her face and sighed “El, please”

“Alright I’ll stop” Lemuel said as she turned and put her hands on her sister’s shoulders “But seriously, what do you feel for her?”

“I don’t know” Lemuen said looking down at her lap “I mean, she’s beautiful and I really like her voice but I can’t think of anything else” she said looking up to her sister

Lemuel nodded “Ok, that’s a good start, you already think she’s beautiful so you can get going from there”

Lemuen frowned at that “But that is only considering I’m interested in her”

“Well why else would we be having this conversation? Now you just need to get to know her better and, in the process, you can fall for her and she will for sure fall you if she hasn’t already” Lemuel said with a smile

Lemuen thought it was ridiculous

The whole situation was ridiculous to think about for her

Arturia with her not-flirting and after last night she will for sure do less subtle things

Lemuel encouraging her to seek a relationship with Arturia, fully convinced that she was in love with Lemuen or at the very least attracted to her

And then her own feelings, feelings that didn’t really exist to her

She thought about last night, how that was what could be considered their first intimate moment

Lemuen didn’t know what to think or how to proceed

But there was something she couldn’t ignore

If Lemuel was right, then she couldn’t just ignore Arturia’s feelings for her

She couldn’t just blatantly ask her about it but she didn’t know her well enough to tell

And with their new form of empathy it was all more difficult to deal with

So she had to get to know her in the end

And that reminded her of something she wanted to ask her sister about

“I don’t think I can think of her that way El but I can’t ignore her feelings either” Lemuen said, watching as her sister’s expression changed to something sadder “So I wanted ask for your help with something”

That made Lemuel’s expression cheer up a little “Sure, what do you need?”

“It was something I intended to ask you, thought about it before I departed from Laterano actually” Lemuen said “How do you get to know someone without empathy”

Lemuel face changed to understanding and then she went into deep thought, closing her eyes and a hand on her chin “Well it depends on the person” she said as she put one of her hands up, as if she had something on it and she was showing it “You have people that are easy to read, people that have their hearts on their sleeves as some might say” then she lifted her other hand and imitated the other one “And then you have people who are as hard as stone and as cold as ice that don’t really show any emotion or they’re so closed and reserved that you can’t tell how they’re feeling unless you know them really well”

Lemuen nodded in understanding, thinking back at two of her childhood friends “And how do you get to know what they’re feeling?”

Lemuel shrugged and lowered her hands “Well, it’s just like with Mostima and Fiammetta, we’ve known them for years so we know what they’re thinking and how they’re feeling”

“So it is that simple” Lemuen said, looking down in contemplation

“Yeah” Lemuel nodded “And I since you already interacted with Arturia a little you already have a starting point”

“So I just gotta talk more with her” Lemuen said more to herself

“It’s also in the details, how she behaves, the way her face changes, maybe how she makes gestures with her hands or her body language, you can tell how a person feels when you notice these details”

Lemuen thought for a moment, putting a hand on her chin “Like how sometimes your halo shines when you’re happy”

Lemuel smiled shyly “Yeah, kinda like that but her halo probably won’t shine like mine though”

“But wouldn’t it look weird if I just stare at her?” Lemuen asked

“Of course it will, you gotta be subtle about it, like, just keep a normal conversation and look at her but don’t be so obvious about it” Lemuel said

“I believe I can manage that, now I just gotta meet with her again”

At that moment a knock was heard from the door, both turning to look at it “Cardinal? Are you awake? I brought breakfast for you” Arturia’s voice was heard from the other side

The sisters looked at each other for a moment

Lemuel grinned and got up from the bed “Looks like you just got a chaaaaaance” she said in a whisper as she walked to the door and opened it “Good morning Miss Giallo! How are you today!” Lemuel screamed in an exaggerated, happy way that made even Lemuen flinch due to her high pitch

Arturia, who was right in front of her, closed her eyes for a moment, as if recovering from Lemuel’s scream “Good morning to you too Exusiai” she said, opening her eyes and looking at Lemuel “I’m having a good day, is your sister awake?”

Lemuen inclined a little to see past her sister and get a better look at Arturia

Both made eye contact and Lemuen, following her sister’s advice, took a moment to not only look at Arturia but also her expression

The way she saw Arturia smile get warmer somehow when they looked at each other made her smile back at her

“Of course she is” Lemuel got in front of Arturia, getting her attention back and cutting her view from Lemuen “In fact, she was looking forward to seeing you”

Both Lemuen and Arturia looked at her with surprise

“Really?” Arturia asked, her voice small, Lemuen noticing there was shyness in her voice “I find that hard to believe” she said looking past her sister’s head

Even though Lemuen couldn’t see her smile, she was sure Arturia had the biggest smile on her face if the look on her eyes was something to go by

Her eyes looked excited, a look that a little child would have as if receiving a new toy or finding out about something that made them really excited

It made her feel excited too, already imagining the type of flirting and teasing Arturia would do to her

“Oh, I guess I should get out of your way, I’m up for some work on the trading post so I better get going” Lemuel said looking back at Lemuen, winking at her before stepping aside to let Arturia enter the room

Arturia stepped in and walked up to Lemuen, offering her one of the plates she carried

Lemuen took it and looked at Arturia “How did you knock if you were holding both plates?” she asked with curiosity

“Alright, I’ll see you later sis, you better have a good story when I return” Lemuel said as she closed the door, leaving the two alone

Arturia sat down besides Lemuen on the bed, plate in hand “So you were waiting for me” she said looking at Lemuen, a smile on her face

“El can exaggerate things sometimes” Lemuen said, taking the spoon and having a bite of the food

“So you wanted to see me” Arturia said, getting closer to Lemuen

Lemuen finished her bite and put her plate on the desk for a moment “I wanted to see you” she said looking at Arturia, seeing her open her eyes slightly in surprise

Lemuen smiled at that, knowing she can take Arturia by surprise sometimes

Taking advantage of Arturia’s surprise, she took the spoon from her plate, food already on it “Why you look so surprised?” she asked

This time Arturia opened her mouth to speak and Lemuen took the opportunity, lifting the spoon and putting it inside Arturia’s mouth

“That’s revenge for last night” she said, backing away and taking her own plate, leaving Arturia with the spoon still in her mouth

When she looked back Arturia was blushing

A really notable, red blush that covered her entire face

Lemuen giggled at the sight “You look really cute right now” she said

Arturia snapped out of her trance, taking the spoon out of her mouth, swallowing the food on her mouth and opening it, trying to say something but not coming up with anything

Lemuen’s smile got bigger “What? The cat got your tongue?”

“More like an angel got it” Arturia said, her voice low

Lemuen blushed this time, now self-aware of her actions, looking away from Arturia but feeling excitement now

Letting this excitement and boldness take over, she looks back at Arturia “And what are you going to do about it?”

The room falls silent as she finishes her question

Lemuen looks at Arturia with expectation, waiting for her answer

A little while later Arturia chuckles, closing her eyes and looking down “You’re playing a very dangerous game, Cardinal” she says and notices and edge on her voice

“I already told you, I can handle danger very well” Lemuen says as she gets closer to Arturia “If I get to see you like this more, I wouldn’t mind keep playing this game”

Arturia opens her eyes and looks up, noticing how close she is to Lemuen, she gets even closer, their faces closer than they ever have

From this close, Lemuen swears she can feel Arturia, not in a physical way, but more like what she’s feeling

And that moment, she can tell Arturia has a hopeful look on her face “And long do you want to play for?” she asks, Lemuen feeling her hot breath on her face

At that moment Lemuen notices something, looking up at Arturia’s head, she sees her halo lighting up

Not like her sister’s that shines like a lamp, more like a light that she felt was only for her, it shined but it didn’t light up the room as weirdly as that sounds

Lemuen turns to look back at Arturia and starts to notice more things

How Arturia is looking expectantly at her, the look on her eyes, a look that she now notices that’s only meant for her

Little by little, she also feels her perception of the room diming, her focus only being Arturia and nothing else

She could feel it, how she felt

The love she felt for Lemuen

Lemuen felt overwhelmed and at that moment she noticed something else

Their empathy, they were connected and could feel each other feelings

Lemuen suddenly backed away, the plate she was holding falling from her hands and landing on the bed in the space between them “Arturia I’m so sorry” she said getting up from the bed but quickly falling because of her legs still too weak to stand her own weight

Before she could hit the ground, Lemuen felt a pair of arms catch her, the arms quickly maneuvering around her and lifting her on a princess carry “Are you okay Lemuen? Do you need me to take you to the infirmary?” Arturia said as she was already walking to the door

Lemuen could tell the worry Arturia felt for her, she could see it on her face, on her voice and most importantly, she could feel it through empathy “I’m fine” Lemuen says putting a hand on Arturia’s shoulder, trying to reassure her “Just put me on my wheelchair, we need to talk”

After saying that she could feel the dread coming from Arturia

She was scared

While she didn’t show it, Lemuen could tell through their empathy

She put on the best face she could to try to reassure Arturia and calm her down, trying to share with her a bit of calmness just like she used to it with Lemuel when they were kids

It worked, Lemuen could feel Arturia calming down, eventually nodding and taking her to her wheelchair and setting her down onto it

Arturia looked back at the bed, both plates over it with food splattered over the sheets “I’ll change them as soon as I can, is the least I can do” she said looking back at Lemuen

Lemuen shook her head “Don’t worry about it, that’s not important right now” she said as she felt dread coming back to Arturia

Arturia took the chair by the desk and sat down on it, turning it to face Lemuen “About earlier” Arturia said, referring to what happened a few moments ago

“You love me” Lemuen said plainly, feeling the warmth from the feeling coming from Arturia

“I do” Arturia said, turning her eyes to the ground “But I can feel it, you don’t feel the same”

Lemuen frowned slightly, seeing Arturia like this was weird

She could feel the torrent of emotions coming from her, sadness, frustration, acceptance

All these different emotions making her feel a little dizzy

It made her chest feel weird

The whole situation was awkward and she wondered how it would affect their friendship

Friendship that had just begun a couple of days ago and now here they were, one of them already with feelings for the other and rejected

Not wanting to lose Arturia in any way when she just started to interact with her and become friends, Lemuen got the resolve to say something she didn’t thought she would say

“Not yet”

Arturia’s eyes snapped up, looking at her intensely

There was surprise at first, then confusion and finally, her eyebrows furrow deeply

“Don’t force yourself Lemuen, if you don’t feel anything for me there’s no point in you indulging in my feelings” Arturia says looking away “You’ll only be playing with me at that point”

Lemuen understood what Arturia meant, but still, she decided to push “The reason I wanted to see you is because I wanted to get to know you better” she said, rolling her wheelchair closer to Arturia “I’ll admit that my sister planted the idea in my head that you were in love with me”

Arturia turned back to look at her “Really” she asked curiously

Lemuen nodded “I believed she was just saying things but know that I know how you feel, I find that it’s something that doesn’t bother me” she said, getting a little closer to Arturia “In fact, I’m flattered”

Arturia winces and looks away, Lemuen can feel a sting on her own heart coming from Arturia’s own feeling “It stings when you speak like that, you just make me love you more” she said looking back at Lemuen, a small smile on her face

Lemuen smiles back and blushes slightly “My point is, what if I gave you a chance?”

Arturia’s eyes open in surprise, her mouth also opening

Lemuen can feel the surprise coming from her, followed by a very warmth feeling

Arturia smiled, this time real, sweet and loving “You would?”

Lemuen nodded, getting closer again

Now in front of her, Lemuen reach for one of Arturia’s hands, taking them

She saw and felt Arturia’s breath hitch, her pulse also quickening “How about you take me out on dates, that way we get to know better and you can make me fall for you”

Arturia looked down at their intertwined hands, caressing the top of Lemuen’s hand with her thumb

Lemuen felt electricity coming from that little gesture, feeling the blush on her face getting deeper, she squeezes her hand a little, reassuring Arturia

Arturia looks up and laughs softly “Then I better start planning our date for tonight” she says, letting go of Lemuen’s hand and standing up

Lemuen immediately felt the loss of Arturia’s hand but quickly pushed it aside “Tonight?” she asked but Arturia didn’t say anything, she just walked to the bed and folded the tainted sheets in one go, plates still over it, tying it up and swinging it over her shoulder like a sack of potatoes

“Yes, tonight” Arturia simply answered

“And what are you doing with my sheets?” Lemuen said wincing at the sound of the plates and utensils clashing with each other inside the sheets

“Taking them to the laundry, I told you is the least I could do after what I provoke earlier” Arturia said opening the door of the room and stepping out “I’ll pick you up a little after nightfall dear, so make sure you’re ready by that time” she said, winking at Lemuen before closing the door, the sound of the plates getting smaller as the seconds went by

Blinking at the door, Lemuen tried to recompose herself, taking a deep breath then exhaling

That last wink that Arturia threw at her before leaving is what made her heart jump from her chest into her throat

She started to process everything that just happened and came to yet another realization

Arturia already had a place in her heart, she just hadn’t notice

“Ok, I’m not head over heels for her yet but I’m definitely feeling something for her” Lemuen said out loud

Her heart was still beating fast, a mix of her own feelings and Arturia’s causing her heart to go crazy

She tried to think about the moment it could have happen

The moment that Arturia got into her heart

It hit her

Back at her office, when Arturia was playing

What she was feeling wasn’t her own but Arturia’s

And Arturia could feel her too

That’s why she knew Lemuen almost feel asleep on her chair

That’s when they made room for each other on their hearts

Lemuen took another deep breath and exhaled

“El is gonna be jumping around the room after hearing this”

After having breakfast at the cafeteria, Lemuen went to the trading post facility, hopping her sister would be there

It was almost mid day and she was feeling anxious thinking about what to wear for her date

She made to the trading post, entering the room she saw her sister talking while she worked, the other two workers in the room just listening to her

One of them, a lupo with dark hair, heard her rolling into the room, turning to look at her then to Lemuel “Exia, your sister is here” she said calmly

Lemuel and the other girl, a white hair lupo, turned to look at her “Sis!” Lemuel screamed, dropping the box she was carrying and running up to Lemuen “How were things with Arturia?” she asked with a cheeky smile on her face

“Don’t drop the boxes Exusiai” The dark hair lupo said, picking up the box Lemuel dropped

“And you’re not going to introduce us to your beautiful sister” The white hair lupo said, walking up to Lemuen, taking one of her hands and bowing at the same time “Good evening bella signora, I’m Lappland Saluzzo”

“So you’re Lappland” Lemuen said gently taking her hand away, turning to look at the other lupo “And you must be Texas”

“I am, nice to meet you” Texas said putting a hand on Lappland’s shoulder “Don’t make her uncomfortable”

“I’m not” Lappland said standing straight and backing away from Lemuen “I’m just presenting myself to the beautiful lady”

“You already have Texas, don’t be so greedy” Lemuel said getting behind Lemuen and pushing her to one of the corners of the room “Besides she’s already seeing someone”

“They seem rather interesting” Lemuen commented

“They genuinely love each other so” Lemuel just shrugged, getting in front of Lemuen and leaning against the wall “So, what happened?” she asked with a smile on her face

“Well” Lemuen started, clearing her throat “I got revenge for last night”

Lemuel opened her eyes in surprise, quickly raising her hands “Wait, you fed her?” she said, incredulous

“And we have a date tonight” Lemuen said

She could quite literally see her sister’s brain short-circuit, the light of her halo dimming to nothing, then struggling to turn back on, flickering as Lemuel processed what she just heard

A couple of seconds past and Lemuel didn’t speak, just staring at her sister “Are you ok?” Lemuen asked, lifting one of her hands and waving it in front of her sister’s eyes

As she was about to stand up to check up on her, Lemuel blinked, taking a big breath of air “A DATE!?” she screamed at the top of her lungs

Lemuen flinched, knowing her scream was probably heard across the entire landship “Yes, a date”

Lemuel raised her arms, making crazy signs in the air “But” she said, taking her hands to her head “Didn’t you say that you couldn’t see in that way?”

“Please calm down El” Lemuen said as she tried to share some calmness with her sister through her empathy

Lemuen could feel her sister calming down but then she saw her brows furrowing “Crazy question, Arturia used her arts on you?” Lemuel asked, lowering her hands and looking at Lemuen’s halo

Lemuen got confused by her question, looking up at her halo “No” she said looking back at Lemuel “That banshee applied some sort of arts on her that doesn’t allow her to use her arts”

Lemuel leaned, looking closer at Lemuen’s halo “I don’t know why but when you calmed me just know I sweat I felt Arturia’s presence”

“That might have something to do with me and her empathy syncing” Lemuen said

Lemuel straightened, looking at her sister with surprise “You can tell what she’s feeling through empathy?” she asked

“I just noticed this morning when we were talking but it started back at Laterano”

Lemuel, her face turning serious, put both of her hands on Lemuen’s shoulder “Let me ask you this again then, what do you feel for her?” she said looking straight into Lemuen’s eyes

Lemuen took a deep breath, looking back at her sister “I don’t love her” she said, seeing as Lemuel frowned at her “But I do like her”

Lemuel frown lessened a little but it was still present on her face “Like? Sis, you don’t like someone who you can feel with our new empathy” she said shaking her sister slightly “You love her, you just don’t want to admit it!”

“I can’t call it love yet El” Lemuen says putting her hands over her sister’s hands

“I can feel her presence through your empathy!” Lemuel screamed shaking her sister again “She’s already made her way into your heart, you just don’t want to admit it”

“A little advice”

Both sisters turned to look at Texas, Lappland at her side

“Sorry for eavesdropping but we couldn’t avoid it with how loud you were” Lappland said looking at Lemuel with a big, toothy smile

“Sometimes you don’t know what you’re feeling, either because you’re confused or you’re scared” Texas said calmly, crossing her arms “It gets worse when there’s someone on your ear screaming something that’s seems obvious to everyone but you” she said turning to look at Lemuel

“Speaking from experience” Lappland said elbowing Texas

“How could I not!? You guys were at each other’s throats for so lo-”

Lemuen just watched as her sister turned to the two women and kept rambling about Texas and Lappland but she spaced out at that moment

Her sister was indeed telling her something that’s obvious to her but not to Lemuen

It was only until that moment alone in her room after talking things with Arturia and agreeing to a date that she realize that she liked Arturia

And right now, she couldn’t say she loved Arturia with her mind

But if her heart was anything to go by, she would be saying and feeling that by the end of the day

“You there sis?” Lemuel asked snapping Lemuen out of her train of thought

Lemuen looked at Texas “Thanks for the advice Texas, I guess this is difficult to me due to our empathy being different now”

“Meh, I believe even with empathy it would still be complicated, emotions are complicated” Lappland said resting her elbow on Texas’s shoulder “But it adds to the fun if you ask me”

Texas moved a little to the side causing Lappland to lose her balance a little “No problem, just don’t let it get to you and try to take it one step at a time”

Lemuen smiled back at her and turned to Lemuel “Now, the main reason I came here” she said making her sister turn to look at her, expectantly “Could you help me to get something nice to wear tonight?”

“Oh” Lemuel turned to look at the two lupo women “Would you guys be okay if I leave you alone?”

“I promise to not break anything” Lappland said “Or nothing that’s too expensive” she added in a whisper that was not quiet at all

Texas sighed and crossed her arms “I’ll make sure Lappland doesn’t break anything” she said, turning around to walk away, taking Lappland by the hand “But you owe me one”

Lemuel turned back to her sister, already smiling and jumping from excitement “Alright, there’s one place in Rhodes island where we can find everything and anything you can think of”

A couple of minutes later they arrived at one room in the landship, standing outside before entering

“This is closure’s shop, here you can find anything you’re looking for and if she doesn’t have, she can get it” Lemuel said happily

“Anything?” Lemuen asked, turning to look at her sister

Lemuel nodded “Yeah, one time she got her hands on an eldritch artifact from the Church of the deep, saying she got it from a masked merchant during a stop near the Iberian coast” Her face turned grim as she recounted the tale “Apparently another operator took it for a mission or something, things turned crazy from what I heard”

“How crazy?” Lemuen asked, feeling the anxiety coming from her sister

Lemuel shivered “I’d rather tell you later about it, maybe after a bucket of drinks” she said shaking her head, pushing her discomfort aside “Anyway, I’m sure we can find something cute for you”

Lemuel pushed her sister towards the door, it opened automatically, allowing them to step inside

The room was more spacious than Lemuen thought, several rows of shelves with many objects, from kitchen pantry to bullet casings from several calibers, boxes with many curios from different nations, even several paintings hanging from the walls were displayed

Inside were several operators, examining the shelves, looking for something on them

On the counter was a Liberi woman from the inquisition speaking with another woman behind the counter

“You really sure you don’t want a little upgrade to that hand cannon of yours?” The woman behind the counter asked

The Liberi scoffed “I already told you no, I’m just waiting for my friend to return” she said crossing her arms

“You can look around while you wait, you might find something to your liking” The woman behind the counter said, wiggling her eyebrows

The Liberi sighed and just walked away, seemingly tired of hearing the other woman

The sisters neared the counter and the woman behind it noticed them “Exusiai good to see you, got my payment yet?”

“Uh, what payment?” Lemuel asked confused

“Don’t play dumb with me, you still owe for those detonators you took to Laterano”

Lemuen felt dread coming from her sister suddenly “Oh, those” Lemuel said as she laughed nervously “Can we discuss that later? I brought my sister to do some shopping” she said trying to change the subject

The woman narrowed her eyes and turned to look at Lemuen, her expression immediately lighting up “Well hello there you must be Lemuen, I’m Closure and this is my shop” Closure said “Anything you might be looking for you can find it here and if not, I can get it for you” she said winking at Lemuen

“Nice to meet you Closure” Lemuen said smiling to Closure

“So” Closure leaned on the counter, putting one elbow over it “What are you looking for today?”

Lemuen took a moment to compose herself, feeling nervous all of the sudden about her date with Arturia

She felt her sister trying to calm her through their empathy, putting her hands on her shoulders and squeezing them

“Well, I’m looking for something nice to wear for a date” Lemuen said, feeling a small blush forming on her face

Closure smiled “I see, trying to impress your date” she pushed herself of the counter “Who’s your date?”

“Do you need to know?” Lemuen asked, feeling the blush on her face intensify

“Closure don’t start, please” Lemuel said

Closure lifted her arms in surrender “Sorry but if I don’t know who you’re trying to impress I can’t give you the best possible outfit for it” she said “I know everyone on this landship very well”

Lemuen about it for a moment

Closure seemed confident on what she was saying, being the owner of this shop surely meant she’s encountered Arturia

Now she wondered what Arturia would buy here

“All you want is gossip material” Lemuel said walking next to Lemuen, looking at her “You don’t have to answer her, I can help you look for someth-”

“Arturia Giallo” Lemuen said before letting her sister finish what she was saying

“Oh” Closure said, her eyes opening in surprise and letting her arms fall to her side as she absorbed the information “Arturia Giallo, the war criminal”

Lemuen nodded, confirming to Closure said

Closure took a hand to her forehead and exhaled heavily “Oh boy” she said

“Is there a problem?” Lemuen asked, her early embarrassment disappearing

Closure let the hand on her forehead fall to her side “No, I just wasn’t expecting to hear that name”

The sisters turned to look at each other, wondering what was Closure thinking about

Closure shacked her head quickly and clapped her hands together “Alright, go to the changing rooms and I’ll see you there in a moment, I got just the thing for you” Closure said walking away from the counter into the storage behind her

“How big is this place?” Lemuen asked looking at her sister

Lemuel shrugged “Don’t know, it could be as big as the landship itself” she said pushing her sister towards the changing room “What do you think she’ll pick for you?”

“I hope it’s not something that’s too much” Lemuen said

“And what would be too much for you?” Lemuel asked teasingly

“¡ESTAS LOCA NO ME VOY A PONER UN TRAJE DE SIRVIENTA MALDITA PERVERTIDA!”

A scream was heard from near the changing room, startling them

When they made it there, they saw the Liberi from before facing another woman with a maid outfit in her hands

The Liberi was blushing furiously and clenching her hands into fists “Calm down little bird, now we got an audience” The other woman said looking at the sisters

The Liberi turned to look at them, her face getting even redder “How much did you hear!?”

“We heard a scream but we didn’t understand what you said” Lemuen said, looking between the two women, curious about the one that had the maid outfit in her hands

“My little bird just tends to exaggerate things” The other woman said leaning over the Liberi shoulder, making her jump

The Liberi turned around and took the maid outfit from the other woman hands “Let’s just go you dumb shark!” she said walking away towards the counter

“Wait you haven’t even tried the costume” The other woman said as she followed the Liberi

A couple of seconds later Closure arrived with a black bag on her hands, probably holding the dress she picked for Lemuen

“Quite the couple those two are, aren’t they?” Closure said “Anyway, here’s what I picked for you, this will have Arturia drooling all over the floor” she said with a big smile on her face

Lemuen got up from her wheelchair and took the bag from Closure “I think you’re just exaggerating” she said starting to remove the bag

“I’ll give a full refund if she doesn’t open her mouth in shock for at least 10 seconds”

Lemuen finally removed the bag and looked at the dress along with its accessories, opening her eyes in surprise “This is a bit too much” she said

“It’s not, you’ll look fantastic in it sis” Lemuel said putting a hand on Lemuen shoulder “Come on, I’ll help you try it”

After trying out the dress and paying for it, Lemuen and her sister returned to her room to prepare for her date with Arturia

Even though it was only past noon, Lemuel insisted on having a proper makeup session

“El, please, you’re way more excited than I am about this” Lemuen said as she sat in the bed

The sheets were still missing from morning’s incident and Lemuen feared that Arturia might return with them

“You’re literally thinking about Arturia right now” Lemuel said rummaging through the makeup bag she bought from Closure’s shop “If anything I’m only excited because you are”

“I’m not thinking about her” Lemuen said looking as her sister kept taking bottles and different products from the bag

“You’re lying” Lemuel said as she set everything on the desk of the room “I can tell when you’re thinking about her because of this creepy feeling I get from you” she said as she shivered “As if she’s standing right next to you and she’s just staring me”

“That’s not how empathy works El”

“Empathy has been working different since months ago” Lemuel said, crossing her arms and putting one of her hands on her forehead “Leader says something similar has been happening to other sanktas, about feeling someone else through empathy, plus, from what I know Arturia’s empathy is not normal so maybe it has something to do with that”

“Maybe you’re just imagining things” Lemuen said

Lemuel just looked at her, her face completely deadpan and sighed “Let’s just start with your makeup” she said as she took the chair from the desk and sat in front of Lemuen

“And when did you learn about makeup?” Lemuen asked as her sister took one of the products from the desk

“Rhodes island recruits a lot of interesting people” Lemuel said “Maybe Goldenglow can stylish your hair while I do this”

“Please don’t, that dress you bought for me is enough already” Lemuen said

Lemuen stayed still as her sister started with the makeup

Since it was part of the looks of the dress Lemuel insisted on applying it and Lemuen couldn’t refuse

Part of her still worried about the dress being too much and what Arturia would think about it

“Don’t be so pessimistic” Lemuel said, having felt Lemuen’s worries “If Closure says it will have her drooling then it will”

Still, Lemuen could help but think about it “And what if she doesn’t?” she said, her voice low

“Then I’ll beat her up for not seeing how beautiful you are” Lemuel said

“El” Lemuen said, frowning at her sister

“Ok ok I won’t beat up your girlfriend”

“We’re not girlfriends” Lemuen said, regretting it one moment later as she saw her sister open her mouth to speak

“Not yet, after your date you’ll definitely be girlfriends” Lemuen said, a teasing smile on her face

Lemuen just sighed and stayed still for a couple of minutes until they heard a knock on the door

Lemuen eyes opened in surprise and panic

If it was Arturia then the surprise factor of the makeup and the dress would be gone

“I’ll go check, you just sit here” Lemuel said “If it’s Arturia I won’t let her in” she whispered before going to the door

While it did help Lemuen calm down a little, she was still expectant

Trying to calm herself in those seconds that extended for what felt like minutes, Lemuen asked herself something

Why is she so worried about Arturia seeing her and spoiling the surprise of the dress?

The answer was simple, she wanted to impress her

She really was affected by this whole ordeal if she was feeling like this

Lemuel reached the door and only opened it a little, enough for one of her eyes to peak through the gap

Lemuen saw her gasp and completely open the door, revealing who was on the other side

“Leader! What are you doing here?” Lemuel asked to the doctor, who was holding some white sheets on his hands

“Delivering your sister’s sheets that were put on the laundry earlier” He said, looking past Lemuel and looking at Lemuen

“Wait, why are you delivering this and not another staff member” Lemuel said taking the sheets from his hands “What did you do this time?” she asked in an accusatory tone

“Nothing, most of the staff is preparing for tonight’s ball and their a lacking personal for this type of task” The doctor explained

Lemuen stood up and walked to the door “So you haven’t seen Arturia today?” she asked

The doctor looked at her and shacked his head “Only thing I’ve known about her is that she got a last minute reservation for the ball, then she dropped the sheets on the laundry and left in a hurry, only saying that they were from your room”

“Wait, what ball?” Lemuel asked to the doctor

The doctor looked at her “The annual ball, it’s today” he said

Lemuel gasped in recognition “That’s why there’s a lot of operators visiting, I completely forgot” she said, then she gasped again and turned to look at Lemuen “Wait, so Arturia is taking you there tonight for your date”

“Date?” The doctor asked looking at both the sisters

Lemuel turned back and looked at the doctor “Yeah, my sister is having a date with her tonight, that’s why I’m here, I’m helping with her makeup”

“A date, with Arturia Giallo?” The doctor asked to Lemuen, his voice neutral

Lemuen nodded “Yes, with Arturia Giallo” she confirmed

While Lemuen couldn’t see his face because of his mask, she could tell the doctor was processing the information

After a couple of seconds, he hummed “Hopefully Executor doesn’t make a mess out of this situation” he said, taking a hand to his chin, further thinking into the situation

“I’m sure he’ll understand, everyone needs love in their lives” Lemuel said “Doesn’t he have that sarkas man? The one that works on the garden” she said, crossing her arms “Hell, I’ve bet he had already reserved a table for two but ended up cancelling it because of the mission he got assigned with”

The doctor hummed, nodding slightly “He canceled his reservation around a week ago, something about Arturia being released” he said, looking at Lemuen “And suddenly she asked if she could get a reservation this morning, we told her there was an opening for two only and she said it was perfect”

“See, she’s totally taking you to the ball” Lemuel said elbowing Lemuen gently “She was probably going to tell you this morning”

Lemuen just stood there, processing the information

How fast Arturia acted on getting the reservation proved her interest on Lemuen

Not that she needed more proof but the way her chest felt after getting to that conclusion was not something she expected to feel

Lemuel turned to look at her, a teasing smile on her face “Jeez sis, I didn’t know she had such an effect on you” she said as she exaggerated a shiver “You’re going to make me fall for her and that’s going to be a problem”

Lemuen, taking the chance of getting back at her sister, smiled at her “I don’t think Arturia would mind having two lovers at the same time” she said, an idea so crazy she felt embarrassed for saying it and she immediately felt Lemuel feel the same way, either because of her embarrassment, Lemuen’s embarrassment or both

Lemuel got so red it matched the color of her hair “Y-You-” she stuttered at first, failing to get her words out “Don’t say things like that! Let’s get back to the makeup, goodbye leader” she said in quick succession, slamming the door shut and walking back to the bed, putting the sheets down

Lemuen giggled and followed her sister, sitting down on the bed where she was before “You know I’m just kidding” she said to Lemuel

Lemuel looked back at her, her face still a little red from before “I know but jeez, she’s really influencing you” she said as she sat back down in front of Lemuen “She’s known for saying really outrageous things to others”

Lemuen lifted an eyebrow “And that was outrageous?”

“To me it was!” Lemuel said

Lemuen laughed at her sister “And it will get worse after the date” she said more to herself

Lemuel smiled “See, you’re already imagining the near future with her” she said, getting back to applying makeup to Lemuen “Just don’t say something like that to me”

“I’ll try” Lemuen teased

Lemuel pouted but then smiled as she continued with her task

It took longer that she imagined it would take

By the time Lemuel finished it was almost nightfall and they quickly scrambled to get Lemuen into the dress

When they finished Lemuel took Lemuen to the mirror

The dress looked beautiful on her, it matched her figure perfectly, the accessories and ornaments that accompanied it not feeling something that got in the way with the exception of the hands that held the veil in place, allowing her to see only with her left eye

“I still believe this is too much” Lemuen said looking down at her feet, the ornamented heels that accompanied the dress shining when faced with the light of the room

“It’s fine, the dressing code for the ball is not set by anything, you’ll blend with everyone else” Lemuel said, looking proudly at her, then turning to look at the window of the room “Ok, Arturia should be here any minute now and I don’t want to be here to feel everything when you see each other” she said walking to the door

“Wait” Lemuen called out to her

Lemuel stopped and turned to look at Lemuen, who got close and hugged her “Thanks for doing this”

Lemuel smiled and hugged her back, her halo lighting up “No problem sis”

They stayed there for a second and then Lemuel broke the hug, fixing Lemuen’s dress

After another second, she nodded and looked at Lemuen “I know I’ve been teasing you all day about this but, if it doesn’t work out don’t be upset, don’t try to force yourself to feel something you don’t feel, ok?”

Lemuen nodded and smiled at her “I won’t”

Lemuel nodded back at her and turned around, opening the door and exiting the room “Have fun” she said before closing the door, leaving Lemuen alone

Lemuen exhaled deeply, trying to calm her growing nerves

She sat down on her wheelchair, wondering if she should bring it to the ball or not

If everything went the way she expected things to go they’ll probably end up dancing for a while and her legs would be sore after that

But she could just ask Arturia to carry her back to her room

Lemuen shacked her head

She truly was in deep for Arturia at this point

A little later she heard the tap of some heels on the corridor, stopping right in front of her door

Looking down she could see part of the shadow of the person behind the door

Lemuen rolled slowly to the door, knowing it was Arturia on the other side

She felt extremely nervous now

And it wasn’t only her

She could feel Arturia’s nerves

She couldn’t tell who was more nervous, her or Arturia

After a few moments Lemuen heard a small exhale on the other side of the door followed by Arturia knocking on it

“Lemuen, I’m here” Arturia said, her voice steady but clearly not relaxed, she was tense and Lemuen could feel it

Taking a breath and exhaling, Lemuen opened the door and revealed Arturia

She heard of the concept of someone’s mouth going dry after seeing someone

It was an understatement to how she felt when she saw Arturia

She was wearing a short, black dress, a strap on one of her thighs, the top part of her body covered in a slightly less black transparent blouse that covered her exposed collarbone, her shoulders and her arms, her hands with gloves as black as her dress

She knew she was staring but she didn’t care

Arturia was also staring, hard

Lemuen couldn’t avoid her gaze dropping, being in a wheelchair made it so that she was on the same level as Arturia’s thighs

And by the Law how good they looked

She could feel Arturia’s gaze over her, the rush of feelings coming right at her as she could feel everything Arturia felt

First it was the surprise, then a deep, hot feeling she couldn’t quite name

A feeling that made her feel even hotter inside than she already felt

Then, she felt it, lust coming from Arturia, directed right at her

Blushing hard, Lemuen closed her eyes and cleared her throat, cutting her own line of thought as well as snapping Arturia out of her own trance

When opened her eyes, Arturia was looking at her, face blushed and breathing heavy

Lemuen stood up from her wheelchair, coming face to face with Arturia, their breaths coming into contact with the others face

“You look beautiful” Arturia said, seemingly out of breath

She wasn’t drooling but this reaction was way better “You look beautiful too” Lemuen said, her own words barely a whisper

They stood there for a moment, just staring into each other’s eyes, as if there was nothing else in the world

Lemuen swallowed hard, taking a deep breath before speaking “We should get going”

Arturia, still too stunned to speak, nodded and stepped away from the door to allow Lemuen to step out

Taking the moment to calm herself, Lemuen stepped out of her room and closed the door, trying to calm her nerves

Nerves that were only amplified by Arturia’s own nerves

Trying to reassure Arturia and snap her out of her current state, Lemuen took a step forward, standing on Arturia’s right and hooked her arm with Arturia’s, resting her other hand on her bicep

Lemuen turned to look at Arturia and smiled at her “Where’s our date?”

A few seconds later Arturia smiled and put her free hand over Lemuen’s one “The Rhodes Island annual ball”

Having recovered from the initial shock, Arturia returned to her normal self

As they walk Arturia showered Lemuen with compliments, embarrassing her

“You should thank Closure, she’s the one that chose the dress” Lemuen said

“And what a fine choice she made” Arturia said, caressing Lemuen’s hand “I’ll make sure to thank her next time we visit”

Lemuen raised an eyebrow at her “We?”

Arturia nodded “Of course, you look straight from a paint from one of the saints, if Closure had something like this then surely she has something that makes you look more beautiful”

Lemuen just shook her head and lowered it, taking advantage of the veil so Arturia couldn’t look at her blushing face “You’ll kill me if you keep going like this” she warned with a smile on her face

Arturia only giggled “A dead from love, what a good way to die”

After a couple of minutes they made to the ballroom

The observation deck being repurposed for the event

From outside the doors they could see many tables set over a carpet floor, people already sitting on them

On the door there was a podium with a woman standing behind it, pointy ears, a crown that simulated the feathers of a Liberi on her head and a white blouse, part of her midriff exposed as well as her shoulders

When they got closer she smiled at them “Hello and welcome to Rhodes island ball, I’m Muelsyse and I’ll be your host and attendant for the night, if you happen to see multiple of me don’t worry, they’re just water clones” she said and then looked down, probably to a list “What’s your codename?”

“Virtuosa”

Muelsyse nodded “Ah, Virtuosa, good thing we had one table open after Executor cancelled his reservation last week” she said turning to look at Lemuen “She was almost begging us to get a reservation”

Lemuen opened her eyes in surprise and turned to look at Arturia, her eyes closed and a forced smile on her face “Really now?” she said, a small laugh escaping her mouth

“I wouldn’t call it begging” Arturia said opening her eyes, Lemuen could feel the irritation coming from her

Muelsyse giggled “Oh no, she didn’t beg” she said getting Lemuen’s attention “But she was very insistent about getting a reservation, something about bringing someone special”

Lemuen and Arturia blushed, Lemuen feeling her heart go crazy at Muelsyse statement and feeling Arturia’s embarrassment

“Anyway, follow me and I’ll take you to your table” Muelsyse said stepping away from the podium, another version of herself appearing out of thin air

Lemuen turned to look at Arturia, a little weirded out

Arturia just shrugged and signaled her to walk into the hall

Her sister was right, Rhodes island has a lot of interesting people

Walking inside, Lemuen suddenly felt her head hurt and the world spin

She could also feel the presence of everyone on the room, feeling overwhelmed by it

And then, it was gone

“Sorry” Arturia said

Lemuen turned to look at her and then she noticed

That feeling came from Arturia

“I’ll explain but let’s sit down first” Arturia said

Lemuen nodded and both catch up to Muelsyse

Muelsyse was already waiting for them at their table, both sitting down besides each other facing big glass of the observation deck

“If you need anything just tap the glass in the table and I’ll get it for you” Muelsyse said pointing at said glass “But don’t tap it too hard or you’ll find out” she said as a warning “Enjoy your evening”

With that, Muelsyse smiled at them and dissolved into water, the water filling the glass on the table

“Does that mean she’s hearing us right now?” Lemuen asked to no one in particular

“She can’t, all she feels is the vibration of the water when we tap the glass” Arturia said “Now, about before” she started

“That’s what I felt yesterday at the cafeteria” Lemuen said

Arturia nodded “It has to do with my Empathy, after the saint incident it has been different” she said reaching up to graze her halo “Another thing to add to my quirks”

Lemuen smiled at her in understanding, reaching up to put a hand on Arturia’s shoulder “At least you can share it with someone now”

Arturia looked at her surprised “I don’t want to burden you with that, it’s something recent and it’ll go away with time”

“I told you already, I can handle it” Lemuen said, getting closer to Arturia “Or do you need a reminder?”

Arturia flushed and looked away from Lemuen “You’ve grown bold, haven’t you?”

“But why do you feel” Lemuen started, looking around the room “everything”

“My Empathy’s not normal and then with the saint incident it changed” Arturia turned back to look at her, her face normal now “It’s not as bad with Sankta, as now we can’t feel anything from someone we don’t have a connection with”

Arturia turned to look at the room, Lemuen followed her gaze “But you can feel everything with everyone else” Lemuen said turning to look back at Arturia “Does it ever become too much?”

Arturia took a moment before responding “I couldn’t tell you, it’s only happened twice since we left Laterano” she then turned to look at Lemuen “But if it ever gets too much, I’ll have you right here by my side”

Lemuen smiled at her, putting down her hand on the table and looking at the guests, as more and more kept entering the hall guided by one Muelsyse

Lemuen noticed two things

The first one was that her sister was correct then again, her outfit made her blend in

There were many other operators that had outfits that she considered to be over the top or exaggerated but here it seemed normal

The second thing was that mostly everyone were couples

Only a few tables had more than two people at the same time

She saw Lappland and Texas on one of the tables, both of them in Siracusan outfits

She even saw Amiya, Rhodes island CEO, sitting on a table with a sarkas woman with red horns and antlers

Then she thought about Arturia already attending the ball on previews years

“You’ve attended the ball before?” Lemuen asked looking at Arturia

Arturia looked at her and nodded “The year I arrived at Rhodes Island” she said “But back then there weren’t as many people as today”

Lemuen nodded, having an idea to tease Arturia “And who was your date back then?” she asked curiously

Arturia took a moment to respond, feeling something weird coming from Lemuen but couldn’t say what “How much do you know about Kazimierz knights” Arturia asked

“A thing or two” Lemuen said, knowing a couple of names

“Do you know the Candle Knight?”

Lemuen opened her eyes in surprise “Viviana the Candle Knight”

Arturia nodded “We had quite an experience in Zwillingstürme where we became acquaintances and ended up attending together”

Lemuen nodded and put a false expression of disappointment on her face “So this is your way of courting someone” she said, putting a little of sadness in her voice

Arturia blinked a couple of times, startled by what Lemuen said “No, that’s not wh-”

“You’re not with her anymore” Lemuen interrupted her “Or as far as I know you’re not, maybe you’re still with her and I’m just a fling”

Arturia frowned and Lemuen could feel her become irritated and annoyed “Lemuen you’re not a fling” she said, taking both of Lemuen’s hands into hers “I swear to you you’re the only one I love”

Lemuen flushed, she could feel Arturia pouring every bit of feeling into her through their shared Empathy, it was almost overwhelming

When Lemuen didn’t respond Arturia squeezed her hands “I know you have your doubts and I don’t blame you for that, I don’t blame for not loving me back” she said getting closer to Lemuen “But don’t doubt my love for you, this love that has me acting and feeling like this”

Lemuen took a deep breath, trying to calm her nerves

She didn’t expect Arturia to sincere with her like that, not here and not because she was teasing her

“Arturia, I was just teasing you” Lemuen said, almost out of breath

Arturia blinked, incredulous

At that moment Lemuen could finally tell something about her feelings, having Arturia declared to her

She didn’t just like Arturia, it really was love

Her breath hitched

She saw Arturia’s expression change, it lighted up, as if she was given good news

“Good night everyone”

Both jumped at the voice coming from the speakers on the top of the room amplifying Muelsyse voice

“It’s good to have you here for the ball of this year”

Both turned to look at the glass, Muelsyse standing in the middle of it with a microphone in hand

“Soon we’ll start with event but first, a speech from the person that everyone here shares in common in one way or another” Muelsyse said turning to the side and extending one of her hands “The doctor of Rhodes Island!”

Everyone started clapping, some of them cheering as the Doctor stepped into the middle of the room, Muelsyse taking a step back

Lemuen and Arturia turned back to look at each other, both letting go of their hands at the same time and turning to look at the Doctor

Lemuen sighed lightly, they would talk about that later

“Thank you everyone” the Doctor said as the clapping stopped “It is always a pleasure to do this event every year” he started, looking around the room

“As always, there’s new people that joined us since last year and people that returned to this halls they’ve come to call home”

Lemuen took a moment to look around and saw many of the present smile and nod as the Doctor spoke

“Many things happened since last year, hardship is always present in our lives and we always endured it, together”

“Some of you might have noticed that this is not the same Rhodes Island it was from a year ago”

“But Rhodes Island is not the ship itself” He said, extending an arm towards his audience “It is it’s people that make Rhodes Island what it is today”

“And as time passes, Rhodes Island will continue to endure, thanks to you”

“You’re the ones that makes Rhodes Island special”

“Thank you for being here tonight” He concluded, bowing to the audience

The room erupted in applause and cheers, the sound of a balloon popping adding to the cacophony

Lemuen looked as Muelsyse approached to the Doctor, hugging him slightly and talking to him

He nodded and Muelsyse stood on her tiptoes, kissing his mask on the part where his cheek was and he walked away

“Now that’s something I didn’t know” Arturia said

Lemuen turned to look at her and saw her smiling but she felt something else coming from her

Yearning

Yearning to do the same with Lemuen

Lemuen smiled fondly at her and was about to say something when she heard Muelsyse tap the microphone, causing the water on the glass to stir and the Muelsyse from before appeared besides their table and walked away

“Alrighty everyone, please remain in your seats as my clones start to serve tonight’s dinners, please enjoy it” Muelsyse said, walking away to sit with the Doctor

Having heard that Lemuen felt her stomach stir

She hadn’t eaten since morning after Arturia left her room

On cue, her stomach growled

“Someone’s hungry” Arturia said with a giggle

Lemuen felt herself blush from embarrassment “I didn’t have time to eat with the makeup and all” she said in a low voice

“Well, I’d say it was worth with how beautiful you’re tonight but please, don’t do that again” Arturia said, Lemuen feeling a little concern coming from her

During dinner they didn’t talk much, mainly because Lemuen was almost devouring the food she was served, Arturia watching in amusement

After they finished Arturia tapped the glass and Muelsyse appeared from it, taking the plates away from the table

“Sorry about that but I couldn’t help myself” Lemuen said

“Don’t apologize, I would do the same if I hadn’t eaten and was presented with such a delicious plate” Arturia said, taking a sip from the wine she was served earlier

“Since you’ve attended before, what comes after dinner?” Lemuen asked

Arturia set down her glass and looked at Lemuen “A karaoke”

Lemuen raised an eyebrow “Really?”

Arturia nodded “They hand over a tablet where you can choose a song if you want to participate”

Lemuen hummed and thought for a moment, thinking that maybe she could sing something for Arturia

“That tablet unsettles me with how accurate it is on the recommendation it gives” Arturia said suddenly, more to herself than to Lemuen

“What do you mean?”

“If I could get your attention everyone” Muelsyse spoke interrupting what Arturia was about to say

“I guess you’ll see in a moment” Arturia said

“In a moment we’ll start with the karaoke, my clones will hand you a tablet where you can pick what to sing, once you choose, you’ll be added to the queue and I’ll call out your name” Muelsyse explained, a tablet on her hand

Many of Muelsyse’s clones that had left the hall with the plates of food returned with one or two tablets and started delivering them to the tables

One of the clones delivered the table to Arturia and dissolved, the water going back into the glass

Lemuen inched closer to Arturia, looking at the screen “Monster Siren Records” Lemuen said out loud, reading the name of the company behind the music on the list displayed

“They have a wide variety of music from many artist and singers from across all of Terra” Arturia said swiping through the list

“I’ve heard their music, just didn’t thought the whole list would be this” Lemuen said

“There’s song from other companies but this is the main one everyone uses” Arturia said, turning to look at Lemuen “I don’t think anyone uses songs from other studios since MSR songs happen to relate to a lot of people here” she said, taking a brief pause before looking back at the list “Myself included”

Lemuen could relate, MSR was famous across all of Terra and their songs where universally loved by everyone

“And what did you mean about the tablet unsettling you?” Lemuen asked looking at Arturia

“There’s an option that throws a random song at you so you don’t really have to think about what to choose” Arturia said and Lemuen thought about that not being out of the ordinary “But this thing is just so accurate on what the person wants to sing or giving them one of their favorites songs”

“I think you’re exaggerating” Lemuen said, thinking about how many times she’s said that recently

“Let me show you” Arturia said, pressing the recommendation button and a song appeared on screen

“A Sweet Rendez-vous?” Lemuen said, turning to look at Arturia, who was blushing “Isn’t that a love song?”

Arturia cleared her throat, trying to calm the sudden nerves Lemuen could feel coming from her “It is” she said “Let me try again”

Arturia pressed the button again and another song appeared “Revealing” Lemuen said and felt a wave of relief wash over her, turning to look at Arturia who seemed calmer now

“See, this is my favorite song from them and it appeared on my second try” Arturia said looking at Arturia after putting the tablet on the table

“I still think you’re just exaggerating” Lemuen said taking the tablet “Let me give it a try”

“We have our first singer” Muelsyse announced getting Lemuen’s attention “Everyone give Lappland an applause, she’s going to sing Unmask!”

The lights in the room dimed as Lappland stepped to the center of the glass, a reflector illuminating Lappland as she gave everyone a toothy smile before the song started

Lemuen turned her attention back to the tablet and pressed the button Arturia pressed earlier

The song that popped out was Sanctuary Inside, her favorite song

Lemuen shacked her head, pressing the button again, this time giving her the song Heavenly Me, one her sister’s favorite songs “Ok maybe you got a point” Lemuen said settling down the tablet and turning her attention back to Lappland

The two didn’t say anything for a while, just listening to Lappland finish her song

When she finished she walked away, the reflector turning of and Muelsyse announcing the next singer

Hoederer, a sarkas man with an eyepatch walked up to where Lappland was standing and the reflector turned on again as he started to sing Settle into Ash

As he sang Lemuen could help but be a little amused at his attire, a sargonian outfit that made him look like a pharaoh and exposed most of his chest

Lemuen smiled to herself and thought of a way to tease Arturia a little

“That’s nice eye candy” Lemuen said, feeling a little annoyance coming from Arturia

“Are you teasing me again, Lemuen?” Arturia asked, Lemuen feeling her gaze on her

Lemuen turned to look at her, an innocent smile on her face “Teasing you? I’m just giving my honest thoughts, don’t you think he looks good?” she said, feeling amused at seeing Arturia’s eye twitch a little

Arturia felt her amusement and just sighed “I suppose he does look good” she said, the end a little forced, turning to look back at Hoederer

Lemuen smile got bigger and continued with her teasing “Better than me?” she said

Arturia turned back to look at her quickly, her long hair swinging to the movement “No one here looks better than you” she said getting closer to Lemuen as she continued to speak “Even if I were to be threatened at gun point and say someone else was more breathtakingly beautiful than you, I’d rather get shot”

Lemuen felt her heart flutter

She was expecting Arturia to praise her but not to that extent

From this close Lemuen could feel Arturia’s breath, hot as her own

Lemuen thought for a moment how easy it could be to lean in now

To close the distance and kiss Arturia

Lemuen blushed and took a deep breath, backing away a little from Arturia

She felt disappointment from Arturia, then she leaned forward again “You’re dancing around me and you’re making me go insane you know?” she said in a low tone

Lemuen knew what she meant

And she was sure of what she felt

But she still wanted to get something more out of Arturia

Lemuen leaned forward, closer than before “I think I still want more reassurance” she whispered

Arturia sighed “And what do you want me to do?” she said, raising one of her hands and caressing Lemuen’s jawline with a finger

“Sing a song for me” Lemuen said, making Arturia stop the movement of her finger

“A song” Arturia said, a little incredulous

Lemuen nodded, deciding to be bolder “If you do” she said, leaning past her and whispering into her ear “maybe you’ll finally convince me”

Not that she needed more convincing to know she was head over heels for this woman

But Arturia’s reaction was worth it

Her breath hitched, leaning back to look at Lemuen, her eyes wide open

Without thinking, Arturia took the tablet and look for a song, pushing a few buttons and then set it down on the table

Then she leaned forward again, catching Lemuen by surprise and making her blush

“If this doesn’t convince you then I’ll stop playing music forever” Arturia said, leaning back as quickly as she leaned in

The crowd around them clapped at Hoederer, who just finished singing, walking away and leaving the microphone behind on the tripod

Muelsyse walked in, the reflector illuminating her “Alright, now” she said looking down at her table and sighing “Our next participant is Virtuosa” she said, causing the room to erupt with whispers

Lemuen looked around her, the people on the tables near her pointing at Arturia

Arturia simply stood up and walk towards Muelsyse

“Please calm down, I’ve been assured by the Doctor that Virtuosa can’t and won’t use her arts” Muelsyse said turning to look at Arturia “I don’t think she wants to upset her date” she said as a joke

Lemuen blushed slightly and could feel irritation coming from Arturia

Even after Muelsyse’s reassurance some of the whispers continued after Arturia took the microphone from where it was

At some point Lemuen saw the Doctor walking towards Muelsyse, asking her the microphone she was holding “Please everyone, Virtuosa is currently incapable of using her arts, operator Logos placed an incantation on her that restricts the use of her arts” he said, the whispers slowly quieting down

Satisfied, the Doctor nodded, giving the microphone back to Muelsyse and walked back to his table “Ok good thing we clarified that” she said turning to look at Arturia “Ready?”

Arturia nodded, not taking her eyes from the public as Muelsyse walked away

Lemuen got curious and picked up the tablet, seeing that Arturia had picked Revealing

She smiled and set the tablet down as the music started to play

Lemuen saw that Arturia had closed her eyes

As a piano played, the first words of the song started, Arturia opening her eyes and singing them perfectly

Are you used to thinking your secrets aren’t see through?

Arturia looked at Lemuen during that part

But how long can you last?

She was asking her

And Lemuen knew she couldn’t

The song continued, Arturia never taking her eyes off Lemuen

Let your heart speak up

The chorus hit, Arturia raising her voice as she sang through it

Go ahead and let it sing

Almost imperceptible Arturia started to walk forward, towards Lemuen

You can go pretending you’re someone else

The reflector slowly followed her

You can keep believing the fiction that you sell

Buy how long can you last?

Arturia was now walking forward steadily, getting closer as she passed by the tables, the ones sitting on them getting out of her way

The chorus arrived again as Arturia got closer

Lemuen could feel each sentence hitting her

Arturia communicating through the song and through their Empathy

Her feelings crashing into Lemuen as every sentence of the chorus asked for her own feelings to be let out

When you choose to face your true self

Lemuen got up, walking slowly towards Arturia

She could know your pain all too well

Lemuen stopped a few steps away from Arturia

She could keep you neck deep in a living hell

But if you’re searching for peace

Arturia stopped in front of Lemuen as the last chorus arrived

Arturia placed her free hand on her chest, over her heart

Let your heart speak up

Go ahead and let it sing

Arturia moved her hand forward, placing it over Lemuen’s heart

Let your heart speak up

The music soared at the end as well as Lemuen’s heart

It was beating so hard she thought it was about to burst out of her chest

Her feelings feeling stronger than before, amplified by Arturia’s own feelings

Let your heart speak up

Arturia sang the last part of the song and the music slowed, coming to a stop after a few moments

Both looked at each other in the eyes for a few seconds, feeling each other as their hearts drummed on their chest

Lemuen finally took a step forward, raising her hands to cup Arturia’s cheeks and kissed her

The world disappeared around them

The kiss was slow but it poured everything they felt for each other

Lemuen backed away after a little, breathing heavily

Arturia was also breathing heavily, her eyes full of love for Lemuen

Lemuen was about to lean in when she heard someone clapping

“Bravo! Bravo!”

Both turned to look and saw Lappland standing, Texas sitting beside her, facepalming

Eventually Texas dragged her back into her sit that apparently was her lap

Lemuen turned to look back at Arturia who was already looking at her, her face showing amusement

“Virtuosa, please return the microphone” Muelsyse called out

They separated, Arturia signaling at the table with her head

Lemuen nodded and walked back, sitting down and exhaling

She saw Arturia return the microphone and Muelsyse called out the next singer

Lemuen didn’t hear who it was, she was focused only on Arturia

She walked back to the table, sitting down and facing Lemuen

Lemuen was about to talk when Arturia removed the hand that held her vail in place, setting it down on the table and then pulling her into a kiss by her head

This kiss was more intense, Arturia added her tongue into it and Lemuen just opened her mouth, letting her in

Lemuen could feel everything coming from Arturia

The love, the passion, the need to hold Lemuen like it was the most precious thing in the world

Eventually they separated, both breathing heavily

“You really kept me waiting” Arturia said, smiling lovingly at her

Arturia moved the hand on Lemuen’s head to caressing her cheek

Lemuen leaned into the touch, putting her hand on top of Arturia’s “Was it worth it?”

Arturia smiled, leaning forward and kissing Lemuen’s other cheek “Absolutely”

After that they stayed silent, just enjoying the music and each other company

Lemuen was resting her head on Arturia’s shoulder, their hands intertwined

Eventually the participants grew fewer until they stopped

At that point Muelsyse walked to the center

“It seems that’s everyone for tonight” Muelsyse said clapping her hands, causing the clones of the tables near her to appear “Now if the people on the tables in the center of the hall could move, that way we can clear some space for the dance floor”

Everyone that was in the zone marked by Muelsyse’s clones stood up and walked to the side, giving the clones space to start moving the tables and the chairs

Eventually the center was cleared with enough room for a dance floor

“The music will start in a moment, as always please be mindful of your surroundings when dancing”

Little by little the dance floor filled with people

Lemuen stood up and extended her hand to Arturia

“Would allow me a dance?” she said

Arturia smiled at her and took her hand “All the dances you want”

They walked together and took a spot that was clear “I hope your dancing skills are as good as your playing” Lemuen said, crossing one of her arms behind Arturia’s neck and raising the one holding Arturia’s hand

Arturia put her free hand on Lemuen’s hip as the music started, a slow opening piece playing “Are your legs going to be okay?” she asked, concern on her voice and flowing towards Lemuen

Lemuen nodded “They can hold out”

“And tomorrow?”

Lemuen smiled and gave Arturia a quick kiss “You’ll have to push me around”

They danced well into the night

Many varied dances from different cultures across Terra that Lemuen only heard about

Arturia led her through all of them, having experienced them first hand during her roaming around Terra

Eventually the music winded down to a slow piece just like the start

They were in a holding each other, Lemuen had her hands on Arturia’s hips and Arturia crossed her arms behind Lemuen’s neck

They had their eyes closed, their foreheads touching

Lemuen opened her eyes and saw Arturia

She couldn’t believe what had just happened in a couples of days, let alone in a single day

All because of Federico giving her this assignment

Feeling Lemuen watching her, Arturia opened her eyes

“I have to thank Federico for this” Lemuen said

“He ended bringing us together so I guess he does deserve some gratitude” Arturia said

“What is he doing on his mission anyways?” Lemuen asked curiously

Arturia simply shrugged “He didn’t tell me, all I know it has something to do about Kazdel”

Lemuen raised an eyebrow at that “Kazdel?”

Arturia frowned “It’s weird, a sanka in Kazdel of all places”

Lemuen looked at Arturia and noticed something funny, making her giggle

Arturia looked at her curiously “What is it?”

“You reminded me of Federico just now” Lemuen said

Arturia frowned “In what way?”

Lemuen raised one hand and touched the spot between Arturia’s eyebrows “You frown just like him”

Arturia’s frown only seemed to get worse after that “Dear, everyone frowns the same way”

“But yours looks similar to Federico’s” Lemuen said giggling at Arturia’s reaction

Arturia sighed “You’re lucky I love you”

“And what would you do if you didn’t love me?” Lemuen said

Arturia opened her mouth to speak but nothing came out, closing it and pouting slightly

“On another topic, what are you going to do when I have to return to Laterano?” Lemuen asked

Arturia thought for a moment after sighing “I can’t just return with you, Federico will enter the city guns blazing looking for me”

Lemuen nodded, feeling a little of sadness coming from Arturia but it was gone quickly

“Guess we’ll have to make the most of our time together here” Arturia said

“You know Rhodes Island better than me, so you’re in charge of the next date” Lemuen said

Arturia blinked twice, as if surprised by what Lemuen said

“I don’t think you got what I meant” Arturia said amused

“If I could get your attention please” Muelsyse spoke making them turn their heads towards her

The music also stopped and everyone in the room turned to look at her

“Thank you all for attending, I hope you all had a fun night and enjoyed yourselves” Muelsyse said, the Doctor standing at her side took the microphone from her

“The music will keep playing for another thirty minutes or so, then we’ll ask you to leave so we can start cleaning” he said, handing the microphone back to Muelsyse

“So please, don’t make one of my clones kick you out” Muelsyse said with a smile “That would be all, have a good night!”

With that the pair stepped away from the center, walking back to their table as the music resumed

“Guess that’s our cue to leave” Lemuen said, still holding Arturia

“How are your legs feeling?” Arturia asked

Lemuen turned to look down at her legs, now noticing the sore feeling coming from them “Sore but I think I can still walk back to my room”

“I can carry you if you want” Arturia said, a sweet smile on her face

“If you insist I wo-” Lemuen yelped as Arturia lifted her from the floor, carrying her bridal style “At least wait until I finish my sentence” she said laughing, crossing her arms around Arturia’s neck

Arturia simply smiled at her, making her way to the exit

More people were also leaving, some clinging to their partners or just holding hands

None of them batted an eye at Arturia carrying Lemuen

The way back was silent, Lemuen leaning on Arturia’s shoulder and closing her eyes

Tiredness started to get to her and she started to drift into slumber

“Don’t fall asleep yet dear, we still have to remove the makeup and get you into proper clothes to sleep” Arturia said gently

Lemuen opened her eyes and blinked lazily “But you’re so comfortable”

“We can cuddle after we change into something else” Arturia said, planting a soft kiss on Lemuen’s forehead

Shortly after that they made it to Lemuen’s room

Lemuen opened the door for Arturia and she stepped in, closing the door behind her

Arturia walked to Lemuen’s wheelchair and placed her down in it

Lemuen didn’t let go of her, pulling her into a short kiss “Thank you for carrying me” she said smiling

Arturia smiled back at her “Now, lets remove the makeup and then you can change into something comfortable”

Arturia walked to the bathroom, opening the door and stepping inside “Wait, what are you going to change into?” Lemuen asked

“I can use some of your clothes, I believe I’ll fit in the with no problem”

After a while both removed their makeup and Arturia helped Lemuen remove some of the complicated parts of her dress, mainly supporting her while standing

“Alright, pass me a t-shirt and pair of sweatpants” Lemuen said once she could undress by herself “Take one of each for yourself”

Arturia walked to the wardrobe and opened it “I don’t think any of this suit my style” she said pulling out a pink t-shirt

Lemuen giggled “You’ll have to make do”

Arturia turned to look at her “I’ll make sure you have some of my clothes here for cases like this”

Arturia handed the requested items to Lemuen, who was now sitting on the bed, and entered the bathroom to change

Lemuen also changed and extended the dress on her wheelchair, not wanting it to get wrinkled

Shortly after Arturia walked out of the bathroom wearing only the t-shirt since it was oversized and covered a good part of her legs, probably the same as the dress she was wearing

Lemuen looked at her and laughed “Pink definitely doesn’t suit you”

Arturia looked at her with a deadpan expression and walked to the bed, sitting beside Lemuen “Now I have to walk back to my room wearing this” Arturia lamented

“What’s the worse thing that could happen? That someone laughs at you?” Lemuen said lying her head on Arturia’s shoulder

“Probably” Arturia said hugging Lemuen with one arm “And this way I will have something for you to wear when you sleep in my room”

Lemuen looked down at Arturia’s legs “You’re not walking back with only my shirt on”

“I don’t like pants” Arturia simply said “And it’s not like I haven’t shown this amount of skin before, just tonight my dress was short on the bottom”

“But this is different, you’re only wearing an oversized t-shirt, not a short dress”

Arturia simply shrugged “Let them enjoy the show then” she said turning to look at Lemuen, smiling teasingly at her “You certainly enjoyed it when you opened the door”

Lemuen blushed but didn’t look away “Like you’re one to talk, you know I could feel how you felt at that moment”

“And are you sure those weren’t your own overwhelming feelings for me?” Arturia teased

Lemuen sighed and gently elbowed Arturia “Let’s just cuddle, I’m exhausted”

Both laid down on Lemuen’s bed, hugging while they looked at each other

“Thank you for tonight” Lemuen said, her eyes already feeling heavy

“Thank you for accepting me”

Lemuen yawned and got closer to Arturia, resting her head on the space between her neck and her shoulder “More like you barged your way into my heart” she said gently kissing Arturia’s neck “But I don’t mind”

Arturia’s arms hugged her closer, Arturia placing a kiss on top of Lemuen’s head as she closed her eyes “Rest well, my dear angel”

Lemuen smiled and closed her eyes, feeling the steady beat of Arturia’s heart as she drifted into sleep

Lemuen opened her eyes slowly, feeling like she was resting on something really soft but it was a pillow

When she took in her surroundings, she noticed she was now laying mostly on top of Arturia

Arturia herself was laying on her back, hugging Lemuen

At some point one of them covered the two with the blanked

Lemuen smiled and snuggled closer to Arturia and sighed gently

Arturia stirred and Lemuen turned to look at her, Arturia slowly opening her eyes and locking eyes with Lemuen “Morning” Lemuen said

Arturia smiled back at her pulled her closer “Morning to you too” she said kissing Lemuen on the forehead “How did you sleep?”

“Pretty well” Lemuen said kissing Arturia on her cheek

“What time is it?” Arturia asked

“Does it matter?” Lemuen answered

“Your sister matters, she’ll be here at some point” Arturia said

Lemuen opened her eyes in recognition “Right” then she frowned “And why does that matter?”

“Because knowing her she’ll scream so loud that it’ll be heard across the entire landship” Arturia said amused

Lemuen sighed “Ok, let’s get up then”

As both sat on the bed a knock was heard on the door “You awake sis?”

Both turned to look at each and Lemuen sighed “Let’s just rip off the band aid” Lemuen said moving to sit on the edge of the bed “Let’s open the door together”

Lemuen got on her wheelchair and Arturia pushed to the door

Lemuen opened the door and Lemuel immediately opened her eyes in surprise

“Just don’t scream so loud” Lemuen said

Lemuel didn’t say anything for a few seconds, just starring at the two

Lemuen turned to look at Arturia, Arturia already looking at her as she shrugged

Lemuen turned back to look at her sister “Are you okay?”

Without responding Lemuel fell back

After checking her sister for any injuries and seeing she only had a bump on the back of her head, Lemuen sighed in relief

“Sorry, you really took me by surprise” Lemuel said massaging the back of her head

“Maybe we should have found a better way to tell you” Lemuen said, sitting beside her sister on the bed, Arturia standing in front of them

“Yeah” Lemuel said turning to look at her sister “But hey, I’m happy for you sis” she said, returning to her cheery mood and hugging Lemuen

“I’ll go to my room to change and return later” Arturia said wanting to give privacy to the sisters

“Oh wait” Lemuel said quickly, letting go of Lemuen

Arturia looked at her curiously as she stood up from the bed

Lemuel hugged Arturia and lifted her slightly in the air “Welcome to the family Arturia!” she said putting Arturia down and letting go of her “I’ll be the best sister in law you could ask for”

Lemuen giggled as she saw Arturia’s dumbfound expression, her lungs probably empty from the hug Lemuel gave her

“I think that was too much El” Lemuen said amused

“Oh well” Lemuel scratched the back of her eye, wincing when she touched the bump “Maybe next time a simple handshake will be enough”

Arturia, having regained her senses, nodded “I’ll back” she said walking out of the room

Lemuel giggled and sat down on the bed “I need details, now” she said looking at Lemuen with a toothy grin

Lemuen smiled at her and started recounting the events from last night

She omitted the moment when Arturia arrived at her room and both stayed there in silence without saying anything while their minds went crazy for the other

“After dinner the karaoke started, Arturia complained about the tablet and how it seemed to know you” Lemuen said with a small laugh

“Oh yeah, from what I know, Closure’s the one that created the program that runs it” Lemuel said “What happened next? Did she sing a song for you?”

Lemuen nodded “After a little teasing and convincing she did” she said remembering the whispers and looks from the people “When Muelsyse announced that Arturia would sing everyone got a nervous about it”

“And for good reason” Lemuel gasped “I wasn’t there but Texas says that the year she attended her arts got out of control during one of the parts of the song, Texas says she got this weird feeling of fondness out of nowhere and that she got very uh” Lemuel struggled to speak for a moment, her face reddening “Clingy with Lappland”

Lemuen raised an eyebrow “She didn’t mention that”

“Of course she didn’t, that would made her look bad in front of you” Lemuel said giggling

“Well, I believe she would have lost control again if it wasn’t because of the restraints placed on her”

“With her singing for you, of course she would” Lemuel giggled “What happened next?”

Lemuen smiled shyly, her face reddening as she remembered “As she sang she started walking towards me and I did the same” Lemuen saw her sister cover her mouth with her hands and squeal “By the time she finished the song we were in front of each other and I kissed her after the song finished”

Lemuel squealed again, her face red “Oh my gosh that’s so romantic”

“And then Lappland ruined the moment by clapping and cheering” Lemuen said sighing

Lemuel burst in laugh “Yeah that sounds like Lappland” she said between laughs

“Then we just enjoyed the music and then the dancing started, we danced so much that I can’t walk today” Lemuen said as her sister recovered

“Well, at least you can’t because of dancing too much” Lemuel said as she wiped a tear away, then her face reddened “Wait ignore that”

Lemuen lifted an eyebrow “Wait, is that why you passed away when we opened the door?”

Lemuel’s face got redder as she lifted her hands in defense “And what was I supposed to think!?” she exclaimed

Lemuen sighed and felt a blush forming on her face “No El, we just cuddled and slept together”

“Yeah, I kinda figured that when I didn’t see any marks in you or her” Lemuel said with a sigh “Anyways, what are your plans now?”

Lemuen hummed and thought for a moment before answering “My vacation here is only for two weeks and she can’t return to Laterano with me, Federico would go crazy if she did”

Lemuel nodded in understanding “And you don’t know how long it will take him to return” she said

Lemuen nodded, sighing “We’ll make the most of the time we can while I’m here. And I came here in the first place to spend time with you”

“Hey it’s fine, you can hang out with her all you want” Lemuel said hugging Lemuen “Besides, I always wanted to be a third wheel”

They separated and Lemuen looked at her sister with a frown “El”

Lemuel giggled “Alright I won’t interrupt you” she said “Most of the time”

The two weeks went in a flash for Lemuen

She spent a lot of it with Arturia

Lemuen also officially signed in as operator in Rhodes island, giving her access to the shooting range

Some of her dates with Arturia were there, something about Sanktas and their love for guns even though Arturia didn’t have her patron gun with her

Her sister interrupted them at times but it wasn’t unwelcomed by either of them

Eventually Lemuen had to return to Laterano and that day came without news of Federico returning from his mission

That meant Arturia would have to stay in Rhodes island for who knows how long

It saddened Lemuen but she knew they would eventually reunite

Now, she focused on packing her stuff, her sister already her to help her take her luggage to the airship

They stepped out of the room, Lemuen’s briefcase on her wheelchair being pushed by Lemuel

“I promise I’ll visit you when I have the time” Lemuel said

“I know you will, you’re busy with your job at Rhodes island and Penguin logistics” Lemuen said

“Still, it’s been long since the whole deal of the saint and I haven’t visited you once” Lemuel lamented “And I’ll do everything I can to bring Arturia with me when I visit you”

Lemuen turned to look at her sister “It’s ok El, we’re not going to wither or something for being away of each other”

“But you don’t deserve to be away from each other after being girlfriends for only two weeks!” Lemuel exclaimed

“We’ll be okay El, think of it as a way to test our relationship” Lemuen said “Besides, we can just talk through our phones”

“But it’s not the same, what about when you want to hug her” Lemuel said

Lemuen sighed, knowing that that would eventually happen “A pillow will have to suffice in the meantime”

Eventually they made it to the elevator and went up to the deck of the landship

When the doors opened, they saw the airship already there to take her back to Laterano

They stepped out and walk to the airship, the pilot waving at them

“Operator Lemuen, operator Exusiai” The pilot greeted them

“When are we leaving?” Lemuen asked

“As soon as you’re ready” The pilot said

Lemuen nodded and turned to look at the elevator doors, wondering where Arturia was

Lemuen told her she was leaving today and the time she was leaving so it was weird for her to not be there

“Relax, she’ll be here” Lemuel said softly “She probably wants to give it some dramatic effect by arriving when you’re about to leave”

Lemuen nodded and sighed “I’ll wait for a little longer” she said to the pilot

“Of course, I’ll do another checkup in the meantime” The pilot said walking into the airship

“I’ll take this up, you wait here for her” Lemuel said walking into the airship through the ramp

Lemuen waited for a little, just looking at the doors, hoping for them to open and see Arturia coming out

She used her empathy, trying to convey her feelings to Arturia

She knew Arturia could feel it

Soon she got an answer, reassurance

Almost immediately after that, the doors opened and Lemuen sighed in relief

“Told you she was being dramatic” Lemuel said behind her and nudged Lemuen forward “Come on, go meet her”

Lemuen turned to throw a smile at her sister, turning back and walking towards Arturia

They stopped in front of each other, Arturia had her hands behind her back

“You’re late” Lemuen said, crossing her arms and putting a fake frown on her face

“I believe I arrived at the right time, if we spent longer saying goodbye, I would have boarded that ship and accompanied you” Arturia said

Lemuen sighed and uncrossed her arms “And knowing you, you would have done it without an inch of regret” she said as she lifted her arms and hugged Arturia by the neck

Arturia laughed “And Fede’s reaction would have been funny” she said leaning forward and kissing Lemuen

When they separated Lemuen looked at Arturia’s arms “You have something for me” she said raising an eyebrow to Arturia

Arturia smiled “A parting gift, for when we meet again”

Arturia moved her arms forward and Lemuen separated from her, giving her some space

On her hands were the bow of an instrument

Lemuen opened her eyes in surprise, looking at the bow and then at Arturia “This is…”

“The bow of my cello”

Lemuen shacked her head “Why?”

“So this way you’ll have something from me, something that will always remind you of me” Arturia said taking one of Lemuen hands and putting the on it “And when we reunited, I’ll perform the most beautiful song for you”

Lemuen released a shaky breath, closing her hand around the bow “This is really important to you” Lemuen said taking Arturia’s hand with her free one “You sure you want me to have this?”

Arturia squeezed Lemuen’s hand, reassuring her “I do”

Lemuen nodded, holding the bow close to her heart

Arturia smiled at her and got closer to her, putting a hand on Lemuen’s cheek “I’ll miss you” she said kissing Lemuen

“I’ll miss you too” Lemuen said after they separated

“Now go, before I follow you and leave with you” Arturia said pushing Lemuen slightly by the shoulder

Lemuen sighed away and turned, walking away

She arrived at the airship, Lemuel waiting for her “Ready?”

Lemuen nodded, giving a final hug to Lemuel “I’ll miss you”

Lemuel returned the hug, lifting Lemuen of the ground a little “I’ll miss you too, I’ll visit as soon as I can” she said letting go off Lemuen

Lemuen smiled at her and turned back to see Arturia who waved at her

Lemuen smiled and waved back then turned to the airship, walking in and going to the cockpit

“I’m ready” Lemuen said to the pilot

“Ok, sit down and buckle up, we’ll arrive to Laterano in a couple of hours” The pilot said pressing buttons on the console in front of him

Lemuen walked back seeing as the ramp closed

Before closing, Lemuen saw Arturia standing next to Lemuel, Lemuel saying something to her while Arturia watched the ramp close

She could feel Arturia’s sadness and Lemuen tried to calm her

Lemuen sat down, securing herself with the belt and looked out the window

She couldn’t see Arturia but she could still feel her

Lemuen closed her eyes, thinking about the moments they shared throughout these two weeks, especially the night of the ball

All those memories made her heart flutter, her face blushing as she recalled that night

Soon she stopped feeling Arturia’s sadness, replaced by her love for her

The airship started to rise and soon it left the landship, turning towards Laterano

Lemuen looked out the window again barely seeing the edge of the landship

But there she could see Arturia standing beside her sister

Lemuel jumping and waving at the airship while Arturia just stood there, looking at the airship get further away

Lemuen kept watching, the landship turning smaller as well as the two persons watching from the deck

Eventually she saw her sister walk away while Arturia stayed there

And Lemuen could still feel her, as strong as when they were next to each other

Lemuen turned to around to make sure Arturia wasn’t sitting next to her, chuckling at herself

She turned back to look at the window, eventually being so far away from the landship that she couldn’t distinguish Arturia but she could still feel her

Eventually the landship disappeared behind the mountains but she could still feel Arturia, not as strong as before but she was still there

Lemuen closed her eyes and focused on that, both exchanging feelings as the airship got further and further away from Rhodes Island

And eventually she stopped feeling Arturia

Lemuen sighed and opened her eyes, looking out the window, holding the bow Arturia gave her close to her heart

She knew they just departed from each other and knew they would reunite

But she was already hopping to see Arturia again

During the first two weeks after her departure from Rhodes island, Lemuen returned to full force with her job on the seventh tribunal

The accumulated work load during her vacation was enough to keep her mind occupied during these first two weeks, only exchanging a couple of messages with Arturia after she clocked out of work

After that, with her work load reduced, she started to have calls with Arturia while she worked

Sometimes they were brief as sometimes they were interrupted, sometimes they talked from dawn till noon

Arturia always had something to tell her, Rhodes island being a hub for many cultures and people gave her many experiences to share with Lemuen

After another two weeks, one month after leaving Rhodes island, the whole of Laterano was assaulted with a problem

Two sides formed in the city, one supporting the notion of having ice cream with no sugar, the other one firmly against it

It was such a big move that formed that some people in the city started to call it The revolution of Laterano

Parleys, debates, press conferences were commonly held after the problem escalated to the official channels, the side against the no sugar ice cream demanding it to be labeled as a war crime against Laterano

The problem occupied Lemuen’s schedule after that

While the conflict hadn’t escalated into violence, the city was at an unrest

“I swear there must be something bigger at play than just sugar on an ice cream” Lemuen said to Arturia

She was laying on her bed having a nightly talk with Arturia before going to sleep

Arturia giggled on the other side of the line “You think maybe money laundering?”

“You’re the criminal, you tell me what it could be” Lemuen said, rolling to lay on her left side

“Ex-criminal” Arturia remarked “And I don’t think my track record come close to being as light as money laundering”

“Light? Money laundering can get you life in prison” Lemuen said

“And I had like two or three life sentences from different countries so yes, I believe money laundering is light”

Lemuen covered her mouth and laughed “I can’t believe you”

When she calmed down, she looked at the bow Arturia gave her

Lemuen took it at hold it close to her heart “I miss you”

“I miss you too dear” Arturia replied “I should leave you so you can rest, who knows what might come tomorrow” she said after a small pause

“The only thing I hope for tomorrow is that Federico returns” Lemuen said with a sigh “Still no news from him?”

“No” Arturia simply said

“Ok, we’ll talk tomorrow then” Lemuen said putting the bow back on her night stand

“I love you” Arturia said

Lemuen smiled, her face blushing “I love you too” she replied, ending the call

It still made her chest flutter, saying those words

It had been during one of their calls that the words slipped from Lemuen’s mouth and she didn’t regret saying them

And so, another month passed

The conflict between two sides seemed to calm down, now it being handled behind closed doors most of the time

So, little by little, the two parties started to agree

And after many tiring reunions, they had come to an agreement

A treaty that would an end to the dispute

It was going to be signed by the leaders of both sides, the procedure overlooked by his holiness

On the morning of that day, Lemuen stood beside many other cardinals from the Curia, watching as the pope guided the leaders through the papers

If Lemuen were to be honest, it looked like the two leaders were about to get married

“One final sign please” The pope said as he flipped another page, revealing the final page

Many of the present, including Lemuen, released a silent sigh of relief

And so, when they were about to sign the final paper “I still believe this should be considered a war crime” the leader of the side against the ice cream with no sugar muttered under his breath

The other leader turned to face him, dropping the pen he was holding “Oh so we’re doing this again”

The other man turned and an argument started making many of the present groan loudly

Lemuen just facepalmed and crossed her arms

“Please, I thought we had come to an agreement” The pope said trying to calm the leaders “If the cardinals could take a sit, this is going to take a while”

All of them sat down, simply staring at the leaders with a dumbfounded expression “We were this close” one of the cardinals whispered

The argument went for a couple of minutes as Lemuen listened to the same arguments being thrown around again

“Cardinal Lemuen” someone called out to her, making her jump slightly from her sit

Lemuen turned around and saw the secretary from the seventh tribunal “Yes?”

“I’m sorry but there’s someone here to see you, she says it’s important” the secretary said

Lemuen sighed in relief and stood up “Anything to get away from this” she whispered to the secretary and both walked out of the room “Who is it?” Lemuen asked

“I don’t know, I didn’t get a good look at her before she walked into your office and locked the door” The secretary said looking at the floor

Lemuen frowned “She locked herself in my office?” she said incredulous “Did you saw if she had long, black hair?”

“Oh yes, it almost reached the floor”

Lemuen opened her eyes in surprise “It can’t be her” she whispered to herself

Lemuen heard the secretary say something but she didn’t pay attention to what she said

She talked with Arturia last night and she said that Federico hadn’t returned

And it would be impossible for him to return that morning and then return to Laterano in such a short span of time

“Cardinal?”

“Let’s just go” Lemuen said, speeding up her walk towards her office

When they arrived Lemuen tried to open the door but it was locked

Lemuen knocked the door “Can you please open the door?”

Lemuen heard footsteps coming inside, the distinct clack of certain heels she knew all too well

Her breath hitched as she felt a surge of emotions coming from inside her office

It was her

Arturia took her time to unlock the door, probably trying to calm herself

Lemuen heard the sound of the door unlocking and saw it opening, revealing Arturia

“Miss, I’ll have to ask you to refrain from doing this, I’m going to have to write you a citation” The secretary said sternly

But Arturia didn’t pay attention to her, she was looking at Lemuen, both not saying anything as many feelings were exchange through their empathy

“That won’t be necessary, she’s a special guest that’s coming to visit me” Lemuen said stepping into her office “She just forgot to mention that” she said as she lifted her hand to Arturia’s cheek, caressing it

Lemuen could feel the look of the secretary on her “Oh, then, I’ll take my leave” she said quietly, probably guessing what was happening

When she was sure the secretary was gone, Lemuen pushed Arturia inside by the chest, closing and locking the door behind her “You didn’t tell me you were coming”

Arturia smiled, stepping closer to Lemuen, their lips inches away “And ruin the surprise?” she said in a whisper

Lemuen narrowed her eyes “I don’t appreciate that you lied and kept information from me” she said, her left hand going up and placed it on behind Arturia’s head “So you better come up with an explanation”

“I d-”

Lemuen simply kissed Arturia, letting the two months of not seeing each other pour into the kiss

Little by little, Lemuen walked Arturia back into her desk, making her recline back as she held her by the head

Arturia held onto Lemuen for her dear life, simply surrendering to the kiss

“Cardinal, a word”

Both separated at the sound of knocking and Federico’s voice coming from the other side

Lemuen turned and saw the doorknob move slightly “I was told you were here, have you se-”

A big boom was heard from outside and the building itself shook from the explosion

Suddenly, hurried footsteps were heard from outside and came to a stop outside the office

“Executor!” Lemuel’s voice was heard

“Operator Exusiai?” Federico said

“There’s been a big explosion, please come help!”

“Alright, lead the way”

Soon they were both gone, leaving Lemuen and Arturia alone in the office

“You could have warned me that Federico was near” Lemuen said, trying to catch her breath

“You didn’t let me” Arturia said, her breath in the same state

“I should go see what happened” Lemuen said letting go of Arturia and stood properly “I have a feeling El did this”

Both walked out of the office, exiting the building and seeing the cause of the explosion

A big fireworks show was happening in the middle of the street

Some of the fireworks saying “The revolutions over!”

“I don’t think it’s over” Lemuen said under her breath

“Cardinal Lemuen” Federico said beside her

“Federico, its been a while” Lemuen said as she bowed her head

“So Arturia was with you”

Lemuen nodded “She came by to say hello”

“Why was the door locked then?” Federico asked

Lemuen turned to look at Arturia, Arturia already looking at her

“Should we…?” Lemuen said

Arturia simply nodded and turned to look at Federico “We’re dating”

Lemuen turned to look back at Federico and saw him staring, not blinking

A few seconds passed and he didn’t say anything, Lemuel appearing from his other side “Is he okay?”

“I think he’s just processing this new information” Arturia said amused

Lemuen turned to look at her sister “Are these fireworks your thing?”

Lemuel turned to look at the fireworks and then at Lemuen “Yes but they were supposed to go off later today” she said scratching the back of her head “Oh boy that’s gonna be a mad client”

“They weren’t as bad as I thought, the big explosion at the beginning was really good” Mostima said behind Lemuen, making her jump and turned around, seeing Fiammetta beside her “Hey En”

“What’s this about you two dating?” Fiammetta said reaching for her grenade launcher