Princess stirred in the dead of night, her rest barely begun before consciousness reclaimed her. Darkness consumed the room, leaving the mirror an invisible specter, and I could not question her sudden unease. We did not require the chamberpot; this I knew. Her intentions remained elusive as she moved silently across the carpeted floor, her bare feet avoiding the cold stone beneath.

  The door creaked open with a final resounding crack as Princess stepped into the corridor. She walked eastward with deliberate, unhurried steps, though the cadence of her movement was dissonant, a reflection of the turmoil within. Upon reaching her destination, she bypassed the need to knock; the door before us was unbolted, a silent invitation to enter the very chamber where those unbearable humiliations had once been inflicted—humiliations we were somehow meant to disregard.

  “Hey, Tirrha. Are you awake?” Princess’s voice slipped from her lips in a soft whisper as she lowered herself onto the bed, causing it to bob slightly beneath her weight.

  “I was until you opened the door,” Lady Lunatora responded, stirring from her slumber. She sat up, discarding the sheets that had once shielded her chest. In the faint moonlight that filtered through the door and window, her form was barely discernible, the room awash in a gray-blue hue that felt both sinister and unsettling. “My little pet, I am exhausted. Surely, whatever it is can wait until morning.”

  “It can’t,” Princess replied, shaking our head as her eyes blinked in the darkness. The meaning would have been lost to anyone but me. This was her solitary opportunity to confide in her ‘friend’ while in full command of body. “Please, Tirrha, we have… much to discuss.”

  “Are your little thoughts keeping you awake?” Lady Lunatora’s tone softened, though she remained dismissive, turning away and pulling the covers back over herself. “Speak your mind, then. I will listen.”

  “Of course they won’t let me sleep!” Princess raised her voice, though she remained mindful of the lateness of the hour. “Tirrha… I have never had the chance to express my thoughts on all of this.”

  “All of what, my pet?” Lady Lunatora inquired, her back still turned to us, her head obscured in darkness. I could easily believe her eyes remained shut.

  “About you. About me. Tirrha, is this really how we go back? I’m thrilled we’re talking again, I am, and you helped me after I got attacked. We… shared a moment here, played as we did before.”

  “Did you have fun, kitten?”

  “You know I did. Thank you so much,” Princess’s voice held a sincerity that was as foreign to me as if she had proclaimed rotting entrails to be a delicacy. “I’m… happy, I think. But Tirrha, I’m not sure I can forgive you even with all of that.”

  Lady Lunatora sat up once more, her silhouette barely visible. She extended an inviting hand, and Princess, crawling on all fours, joined her beneath the covers. We lay facing one another, unable to see each other’s features, but acutely aware of the warmth of our shared breaths.

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  “I cannot begin to express how sorry I am for what I said back then,” the Lady intoned with a weighty sorrow. “I am going to try, but I know I may not be able to make up for it inside your tiny heart, my pet.”

  “I really want to forgive you, but… I can’t,”Princess demurred, her voice on the verge of tears. “I want things to go back to the way they were. I want Dubart to be alive and in his own infirmary. I want to visit you in your room, so tired after taking care of him all night, and I want you to tell me what to do so I don’t have to think anymore.”

  “I can’t bring that poor man back to life, Aufelia, but I can promise you my eternal friendship if you want it.” Lady Lunatora pulled us into her embrace. “I was jealous and stupid. I don’t care that people consider you more beautiful or call you the prettiest flower in the realm. I don’t care about what others say behind our backs, and I know how it sounds, but I don’t even care that you can’t forgive me yet. I want to be with you.”

  “That… works for me,” Princess sighed, her words escaping in a breath. She tightened her grip on the Lady, pressing her body against ours.

  “I’m pretty sure it’s the alcohol again, but I want to do something unforgivable to you right now. Might as well, right?” Lady Lunatora whispered as she shifted closer, cupping Princess’s head with both hands and drawing us toward her.

  Without warning, Lady Lunatora pressed her lips to Princess’s.

  “Tirrha!” Princess gasped, both startled and indignant. “W-what are you doing!?”

  “Oh, please. You know the things we have been doing for years. They go far beyond a simple kiss, Aufelia. This can’t be a surprise to you.”

  “I mean… of course, I knew you were… I-I have spoken to your maids. They know you like…”

  “Women, yes,” Lady Lunatora unabashedly stated. “Beautiful, dainty, skinny, little things. Like you.”

  “I know, believe me! And I don’t think any less of you for it…” Princess cautiously began. “But I thought we had sort of an unspoken agreement that…”

  “That I would play with you, make you feel good, and never speak about what we were doing was really called. They’re just silly, harmless games,” Lady Lunatora recited what I had already heard a myriad of times.

  “More or less, yes, but it’s more than that, Tirrha. Y-you don’t need me to say it. We have… played around a lot, but we never have… we both don’t take off all of our clothes at the same time and don’t get together in bed as… lovers,” Princess hesitantly whispered the last word. “We don’t do anything that crosses that line, right?”

  [This line has been removed for compliance purposes.] “You came to visit me in the middle of the night. We’re far away from your Master’s house and Fermina’s watchful eye. Isn’t it time? I have waited for long enough.” [This line has been removed for compliance purposes.]

  “Tirrha… you have to understand. I am not like you; I am not… like that. I’m just not. I like our games, you know I do, but I don’t think I can go any further than that,” Princess weakly protested, still unaffected about [a fragment of this line has been removed for compliance purposes.]

  Though difficult to see, I could sense Lady Lunatora’s wicked smirk. “You are not going to stop me, and I won’t do anything you wouldn’t like anyway.” With that declaration, she punctuated the end of the discussion with yet another kiss.

  Princess’s response mirrored the reluctance of the first, though she resisted for a moment, her hands feebly attempting to push the Lady away. Yet, her efforts were insufficient, her resistance dissolving as Lady Lunatora’s hand...

  [The rest of this scene has been removed for compliance purposes.]

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