lisa woke up with a start, sweat beading on her forehead and her heart pounding.
In her dream, she'd been back in that bar, facing down Koros. Only this ti, when Vira stepped between them, lisa hadn't stopped her spell. The ice needles had torn through both of them, and Vira's shocked, betrayed expression as she fell-
"No, no, that's enough of that," lisa mumbled.
She sat up, rubbing her eyes. Sunlight made its way through her bedroom window, not quite caring about her internal struggles.
With a groan, lisa swung her legs off the bed. Her muscles protested, still sore from the fight. She'd healed herself up and yet she swore there was still a cut on her arm sohow.
"At least I'm alive," she muttered, pulling on her academy uniform chanically. "Which is more than I can say for what would have happened if Koros had his way."
She made her way downstairs, following the sll of breakfast. In the kitchen, she found Margaret standing at the stove, humming softly as she flipped so pancakes.
"Morning, sleepyhead," Margaret said, glancing over her shoulder. "I was beginning to think you'd sleep through the day."
"Oh I was tempted, trust ," lisa admitted, giving her a kiss on the cheek before sliding into a chair at the table. "But I've missed enough classes already."
Margaret set a plate of pancakes in front of her, then pressed a longer, warr kiss to the top of her head.
"Eat up. You look like you could use the energy."
lisa poked at her food, not particularly hungry despite the delicious sll. Margaret watched her for a mont, then slid into the chair opposite her.
"So," she said, casual as could be. "Rough night?"
lisa looked up, expecting to see pressing curiosity or motherly concern in Margaret's eyes. Instead, she just saw a bit of understanding.
"You could say that," lisa replied, stabbing a pancake with more force than necessary.
Margaret nodded, not pushing for details.
Margaret looked like she was doing so calculations in her head. She made a face like she got an idea, then she lowered her voice and wriggled her brows.
"You know what helps sleep when I've had a rough day?" she asked, a mischievous glint in her eyes. "A good, hard fu—"
"MOM!" lisa started cackling.
"What?" Margaret blushed a little. "Not like it would be anything new."
"I dunno... Sohow, it's more embarrassing hearing you say that sort of thing than actually having sex with you."
"I suppose it can't be helped," Margaret shrugged with a smile, reaching over to ruffle lisa's hair. "Fine, have it your way. Suffer in silence like so tragic heroine from one of my novels."
lisa rolled her eyes, but the knot in her chest loosened a bit. And, hey, if that was what Margaret had been aiming for, well, mission accomplished.
"Thanks," she said quietly, finally taking a bite of her pancakes.
"For what?" Margaret asked, feigning innocence. "I was just stating facts."
As lisa ate, listair entered the kitchen, already dressed for work. He paused when he saw lisa, and an awkward silence fell over the room.
[Great. Here cos the lecture.]
But listair just squeezed her shoulder as he passed, a silent gesture of support that spoke volus. He grabbed a mug of coffee from the counter and a pancake off the stack, giving Margaret a quick kiss before heading toward the door.
"Don't be late for class," he called over his shoulder. "And try not to start any revolutions today, okay?"
"Pfft. No promises," lisa called back, feeling oddly lighter.
As listair left, Margaret slid the morning paper across the table.
"Thought you might want to see this," she said.
lisa's eyes widened as she took in the front page. There, in bold letters, was the headline:
"QUEEN ARIA FOILS NIM REBELLION PLOT, ARRESTS RINGLEADER."
[Well, that was fast.]
She skimd the article, which detailed how Queen Aria's "intelligence network" had uncovered a plot by nim extremists to attack prominent human households and businesses. The leader (no prizes for guessing who that was) had been apprehended along with several accomplices.
lisa couldn't help but notice there was no ntion of her involvent, which was actually a relief. The last thing she needed was to be publicly identified as the nim who betrayed other nim to the crown.
[Though... I guess that is still what I am.]
She scanned the list of arrested conspirators, spotting Koros's na at the top. She wasn't looking for him though.
Sure enough, she ended up breathing a sigh of relief when Vira's na wasn't among them.
[Good. She didn't deserve to get caught up in her brother's ss.]
"Interesting reading?" Margaret asked, refilling lisa's juice glass.
"Yeah, you could say that," lisa replied, folding the paper and setting it aside. "Looks like Her Majesty works fast."
"Hmm." Margaret didn't comnt further, but her eyes held a knowing look. "You'd better get going if you don't want to be late."
lisa glanced at the clock and cursed. She wolfed down the rest of her breakfast, grabbed her bag, and headed for the door.
"See you later!" she called.
"Try not to overthrow any governnts!" Margaret called back.
Soon, lisa was making her way to the academy. After a couple of weeks of playing "lanie" and hanging around seedy nim bars, going back to the normalcy of student life felt almost surreal.
As she approached the academy gates, a familiar voice called her na.
"lisa! Over here!"
Isabella waved frantically from the courtyard, her pink tail swinging wildly, side-to-side. Beside her stood Armia, looking... different.
lisa blinked as she drew closer. Armia had always been tall and muscular, proud and refined, but now she carried herself with a new kind of confidence. Her academy uniform had been tailored to better fit her broad shoulders, and she wore it with pride rather than the self-consciousness lisa was used to seeing.
But what really caught lisa's attention were the scars. A fresh one ran along Armia's jawline, and when she waved, lisa noticed another across the back of her hand.
[... What the fuck happened during those two weeks?]
She thought that but, given that Armia had been getting a real taste of war, maybe a couple of scars wasn't that bad.
"Look who's back!" Isabella chirped. "Our big, strong Armia has returned from her military adventure!"
Armia rolled her eyes.
"It wasn't an 'adventure,' Isabella. It was mandatory service."
"Details, details," Isabella waved a hand dismissively. "The important thing is that you're back and looking absolutely edible in that uniform." She hugged Armia from behind. "Have I ntioned how much I missed you?"
Armia's cheeks flushed, but she didn't pull away from the touch.
"You an you missed my dick?"
"Mhm!" She nodded eagerly, not bothering to deny it at all.
[At least be subtle about it, Izzy,] lisa thought with a wry smile.
"Anyway, lisa," Armia said, finally disentangling herself from Isabella's wandering hands. "It's good to see you. Been a while."
"Way too long," lisa agreed, stepping forward to give Armia a hug. The darian stiffened for a mont—clearly not expecting the gesture—before returning it with surprising gentleness.
"... It was just two weeks."
"Trust , those two weeks felt like an eternity. Pretty sure they took 10 years off my lifespan."
Armia giggled in that usual way of hers that doesn't seem quite right for a girl as big as her, but was still cute.
"Guess so. We should get to class," Armia said as they pulled apart. "Bell's probably about to ring."
The three of them made their way to the classroom, finding their usual seats in the back row and greeting Raven who, of course, had arrived early. lisa couldn't help but study Armia more closely.
There was sothing different about her beyond the physical changes. A calmness, a certainty that hadn't been there before. Whatever had happened during those two weeks of service, it clearly had an effect.
"So," Armia said casually as they waited for the professor, "anything interesting happen while I was gone?"
The question caught lisa off guard. She stared at Armia for a mont, then let out a laugh that bordered on hysterical.
[Anything interesting? Oh, just infiltrated a nim rebel group, had multiple sexual encounters with the leader's sister, nearly got stabbed, almost committed murder in front of my dad, and potentially changed the course of nim-human relations forever. You know, the usual.]
"You have no idea," she finally managed, shaking her head.
Armia raised an eyebrow, clearly sensing there was more to the story.
"That bad, huh?"
"Let's just say I've had an eventful couple of weeks," lisa replied.
"Well," Armia said, leaning back in her chair with a small smile, "I've got ti after class if you want to talk about it."
"Or," Isabella interjected, sliding closer to Armia, "we could skip the talking and move straight to the fun part." She trailed a finger down Armia's arm, her grin positively wicked. "God, I've been waiting for you to rearrange my guts like you usually-"
"ISABELLA!" lisa and Armia exclaid together.
"What?" Isabella chuckled, a smug look on her face. "Like you weren't thinking the sa thing," she said to lisa.
"I-I an..." lisa blushed a little, looking away. Armia blushed too, clearing her throat.
Before she could find sothing to say, the professor entered the room, calling for attention. As the lecture began, lisa found herself relaxing into the familiar routine. The weight of "lanie" and everything that had happened slipped from her shoulders, if only temporarily.
For the first ti since the confrontation with Koros, she felt like she could breathe. All the complications, Vira, the nim rebels, Queen Aria's political machinations, were still there, in the back of her mind.
But for now, in this classroom, surrounded by her friends, she tried to let loose a little.
[It's good to be back,] she thought, feeling the tension in her muscles finally start to ease. [Really fucking good.]
Reviews
All reviews (0)