We're Leaving, Together and Without Regret
It had taken eight long years, but the time for joy had finally come.
The former mayor of Meribia stood silently on the front deck of her
personal boat, The Lone Armada. It was a tiny vessel smaller than any
of her father’s warships, barely the size of a fishing boat, but it
was easily sailed by one or two people, and contained enough living
space for the same amount. The former mayor was standing close to the
very front edge of the deck, with her body wrapped in a thick green
robe that she had worn now for nearly a decade. It was thick and dark
green, and managed to sweep all the way down to her feet, somehow
managing to cover her nearly six foot frame. Around the top the hood
overlapped her hair and covered her face, hiding her features in its
shadow and enveloping her expression in its darkness. But behind the
covering, the former leader was smiling, like she had never smiled
before.
The ship was currently sailing away from Saith, on a route Jessica had
never been on before. Instead of the normal path of Saith to Meribia,
she sailed in an opposite direction, bravely traveling into foreign
territory and carelessly being guided along an new, unknown course.
The large sail of her tiny vessel was flapping loudly in the wind, but
she ignored both it and the sound of the rushing waves, choosing only
to concentrate on the silence in her mind, fractured only by the
occasional fleeting thought.
It had taken eight years, but finally she was with the one she loved.
No longer did she have to bend to her former husband’s will, nor
tolerate his boastful claims or abide by his public commands. She was
free of his arrogance, and free of his twisted concept of “love.” Free
from being a possession, and free to be an individual. Jessica slowly
began to turn to where the cabin laid beneath the deck, her attention
beckoned by the sound of a creak coming from behind. As she turned her
hood pulled up from over her head and revealed more of her face, a
beautiful smile with richly colored eyes, beaming with joy and a sense
of peace. A few long blonde strands hung before her face, but she
ignored them as she regarded the cause of the earlier sound.
Another figure was approaching her, much smaller than her own frame,
with a similar robe that drug long behind her body, its ample excess
being rolled along the deck’s planks. Her own head was covered in her
hood, as well, and she went up to stand by Jessica without a sound or
word.
Jessica absently reached her right hand out, and slipped it along the
frail waist of the other woman. She pulled her closely with a gentle
tug, and then turned her eyes outward once more, to where the sea lay
beneath a slowly setting sun. Together they watched the sun descend on
the horizon of Saith, watching the sky change from red into purple and
purple into black, for the first time watching that particular sunset
not from the edge of a pier. Jessica smiled a little wider, and her
fingers pressed into the other woman’s side, gently.
“Very fitting.” She whispered, quietly. “This is the hundredth sunset
we’ve seen from Saith’s waters. Only fitting we’re leaving upon a
milestone.” The smaller woman nodded her consent, her eyes just as
fixated on the growing darkness, but her hood still covering the
majority of her face.
“Yes.” She said in just as low a tone. “We’ve waited so long for
this.”
Jessica gave no verbal reply, but strengthened her grip upon the other
woman. She tightened her right arm and reached out with her left,
absently taking the girl’s hands in her own, and squeezing them,
tenderly.
The time had been good to both women, as they were both rapidly
approaching the age of thirty they possessed a beauty that was rival
to their youth. Jessica’s hair was now streaked with bits of gray,
early grayness having run in her family, but it still played with her
blonde to make a subtle medley of varying colors. Her skin was just as
clear as ever, pure and white and flawless in any regard. Her lover,
who now rested her head upon Jessica’s arm, was treated equally kind
by the laws of time, if not better. Her rich black hair had retained
its luster, and her innocent, childlike face always stayed the same.
Always sinless, and always kind. The only thing that had suffered was
the look in her eyes, which had grown weak by the years of torment and
unfelt desire. A once beautiful shine had been dulled by the actions
of her husband, a man so egotistical he very easily rivaled Jessica’s
own former spouse. Jessica smiled a little, as she thought of it.
Despite their attitudes and public personas neither of the two seemed
capable of fathering a child, and it was the simple fact that neither
Jessica nor Mia were mothers that made their decision to leave so
easy. It wouldn’t have been possible to leave children in the care of
Kyle or Nash, but to leave Meribia and Vane in their slightly capable
hands was much easier than they had expected.
“We’re leaving, together and without regret.” The words were all that
were left on a few letters explaining their disappearance and the
“theft” of Jessica’s favorite ship, and they had both finally tossed
aside the responsibilities of power and were ready to enjoy the
benefits of being a normal citizen of Lunar.
Jessica turned her head to look over to where her lover stood, and she
smiled as she saw Mia was already looking at her. Their eyes met as it
had so often ago, and instantly their bodies inched a little closer
together. The sound of the waves began to grow louder in the growing
night sky, and the ship seemed to be moving faster from the increase
in the wind. Sadly, Jessica lowered her head, and released her grip on
Mia.
“Go down below deck.” She whispered, and gently urged the magical girl
in that direction. “I’ll take down the sail and be there shortly.”
Without complaint Mia followed the gentle instructions, and
disappeared within seconds to where Jessica had indicated. The beast
girl then went about her promise, pulling down the sail and making the
ship prepared for the long night that would follow. They had set sail
relatively late in the day, and had only managed to travel miles
before darkness was upon them. But still, it was better to be at sea,
in case Kyle and Nash decided to come looking for their lost “toys.”
With a subtle frown, Jessica finished tying down the sail and securing
the rest of the ship’s sturdy deck. The Lone Armada was more than
strong enough to survive a few nights unguided and unprotected, and
Jessica knew her ship would forgive her if she abandoned its surface
to go below deck to spend some time with the woman she loved. With a
few quick motions Jessica finished her duties, and the door to the
bottom deck closed, securing the two women in the belly of the vessel.
There was only one lamp lit in the stomach of Jessica’s ship, a tiny
lantern that hung from the ceiling, burning a dim fire that barely
provided enough light to see in. Despite it’s lackluster flame Jessica
managed to navigate the inner workings of her ship like an expert
sailor, and before long she found herself in the bedchambers that were
built, a room designed for an intimate encounter between two lovers,
or simply a bed large enough to have a good night’s sleep without
being tossed by the motion of the waves. Silently Jessica closed the
door behind her as she stepped into the room, and worked to remove the
long green robe she had adorned. Mia looked to be already laying in
the large bed, her form covered by the thin silk blanket Jessica had
purchased just for this particular trip. After removing her robe
Jessica undid the rest of her outfit, and in a few moments walked bare
to the bed where Mia lay. Without a word of warning she slipped slowly
inside, her arms instinctively reaching out and wrapping around the
thin waist that was laid beside her.
Silence was abound in the dim firelight as Mia curled into her lover’s
arms in reaction, her own bare body brushing up against Jessica’s as
she curled into her arms with a head on her chest and her legs
reaching out to intertwine with the taller woman’s. Her hands reached
out with grasping fingers, slipping through Jessica’s hair and
clinging gently onto the gray and blonde strands, lovingly tugging at
them as she nestled in closer to the body of her darling. Before long
their physical contact turned towards their faces, and a gentle kiss
had emerged between the two, tenderly pecking at one another’s flesh
as they held each other in the faint, subtle light.
Jessica’s kiss was much more gentle than Mia had ever felt it, tender
and slow and without the dominating passion that she had come to know
from the beast girl. Her lips played gently and her tongue made no
appearance, a sweet kiss that was so submissive Mia nearly was tricked
into thinking she was kissing herself. With a faint smile growing on
her lips she played along with Jessica’s kissed touch, moving just as
seamlessly and brushing across the flesh of the other with just as
little friction as Jessica. Mia trembled, as she felt Jessica’s breath
seep gently into her mouth, past her lips and tickling at her cheeks.
Her body shivered and she pulled closer to her lover, who simply broke
apart the soft kiss and tightened the grip on the magic woman’s waist.
“I love you.” Jessica said suddenly, her voice a whisper as she
reached her head down, her nose rubbing back and forth across the soft
skin of Mia’s cheek. Mia felt a blush rise to her skin, and she slowly
nodded as she continued to play with Jessica’s hair.
“I love you, too.” She murmured back, gently, and increased the
activities by nipping tenderly with her lips, lightly kissing at
Jessica’s neck. She kissed twice in different spots before finally
speaking once again.
“It’s finally happening.” She whispered, her eyes falling shut and her
heart pounding hard. “We deserve one another at last.” Jessica made no
verbal reply but her right hand slowly began to trail up, gently
across Mia’s bare waist and slowly along the length of her back,
finally reaching up to cradle her neck, and tilt her head up while her
lips went down, kissing slowly and longingly at the soft flesh of her
neck. Her fingers massaged gently at the back of Mia’s shoulders, and
her lips gently rubbed back and forth along her milk white skin,
occasionally her moist tongue dashing out and leaving a tiny trail of
wetness on the bit of flesh it graced. For moments the two remained in
such a position, Mia’s mouth agape in a gentle, breathless passion,
and Jessica’s eyes closed as she reveled in the taste of her lover’s
trembling flesh.
Mia reached her arms around Jessica’s muscled back, and closed her
eyes as she let her mouth fall shut. The kisses of Jessica sent waves
of tender love throughout her flesh, and she shivered from time to
time, as her heart beat hard against her chest and her throat was
tight from the tension of her passion. Her fingernails gently scraped
across Jessica’s flesh, scratching her back softly as the tongue on
her neck continued to tease. Mia smiled, and pushed her flesh closer
to Jessica’s lips.
She couldn’t remember ever being so happy, or so comfortable in being
touched.
Two hours later the tiny Lone Armada was shaken with a fierce wave,
its bough bending inward and nearly tipping the tiny vessel over. The
force of the wave woke up the two women with little effort, and they
both sprung from the bed in surprise and fear. They had only just gone
to sleep in the past half hour, the one and a half before that having
been spent mostly by kissing and touching, followed by a long, slow
act of love making, their bare bodies rubbed close together in the
faint light. The subtlety of passion had been lost, now, and Jessica
was quickly scrambling in the shaking vessel to garb herself in her
green robe once more. Mia looked onward with still sleepy and shocked
eyes as Jessica draped the robe around herself, not bothering to take
the time to draw up her other clothing. She ran barefoot to the door,
and turned back quickly to face Mia.
“Stay down here!” Her words were quick and hard, and she accented them
with a raised forefinger. “Only come up deck if we start taking on
water!” Before Mia could argue Jessica dashed away from the room,
reaching down to grab an inactive lamp as she did so.
Her bare feet hit hard upon the steps of the ship as her hands worked
feverishly to get her lamp lit, the shaking and swaying of the ship
making it difficult to light the simple wick. Finally she came to
success, and with one arm before her face she charged out into the
deck above, prepared to be assaulted by a mass of wind and rain.
Her senses were not disappointed, as her body was nearly blown back
into the stairwell the second she set foot upon the deck. Rain
instantly hit her face so hard it felt as if it could cut, and the
flashes of lightning and the roar of the thunder were omnipresent in
the air. Jessica cursed to herself and she rushed over to the front of
the deck, her mind reeling with possibilities and failing at
solutions. Her lamp lasted nearly ten seconds before it was blown out,
and she was left in the dim starlight, made even darker by the rain
clouds that had accumulated.
Quickly Jessica looked back, to the sound of a voice shouting out at
her. She spun on her haunches and could faintly make out the figure of
Mia rushing towards her, draped in her robe and running as best she
could across the slippery wood of the deck.
“...Ess...ca!” Her voice was nearly drowned out by the roar of
thunder, and it was only in a quick flash of lightning that Jessica
could faintly see her lover’s form, sopping wet and frightened, her
face a mask of worry. She quickly made a motion to her lover’s running
form, and her own voice shouted out, as loud as she could manage.
“...O...elo...dec...!” Jessica’s voiced reached Mia broken and
battered, and in her attempt to understand the shouted words Mia
slipped upon the wood, the result of a lack of concentration and a
particularly strong gust of wind. Suddenly she felt her feet swept out
from under her, and as if she was carried by the wind itself she saw
the deck moving quickly from beneath her, spinning fast away from her
body as she was thrown towards the edge. Her mouth opened wide and she
shouted loud from fear, but the thunder absorbed her cry, and the
inevitable splash of her body hitting the ocean.
Jessica looked frantically around. She had lost sight of Mia. One
moment she had been on the deck and the next she was gone, most likely
swept overboard but seemingly just disappearing into thin air. Jessica
quickly rushed from side to side of her vessel, leaning far over the
edge and shouting, her hands cupping her mouth as she screamed.
“MIA!” Her words were strong enough to be heard over the thunder, but
not through the blanket of water. Jessica ran from side to side a
countless number of times as the storm continued to rage, her voice
shouting out on each side she reached, until the slippery nature of
the wood caught her bare feet, as well. She stumbled down towards the
ground, and as she fell her head hit hard against the wooden side beam
of the ship. She fell to the deck with a hard thud, but couldn’t hear
herself hit, for she was already unconscious before she landed.
The storm continued to rage.
“Mia...” Jessica was leaned over the side beam of her ship once more,
though this time her voice was a sob, rather than a shout. Her body
was still soaked from the rain and her head was still pounding from
the blow she had endured, but the dampness of her robe nor the pain in
her head could compare to the suffering she felt deep inside. Her
fingers pressed down deep into the wooden frame, and she lowered her
head to its surface, her mouth opening to give off another painful
cry.
“Mia...Mia...” Her mournful wail tapered off into murmured pants, her
lungs gasping hard for air as she continued to cry for her loss. She
had awoken what was probably hours after the storm, and her mind could
only struggle at the thoughts of what had happened. Mia had been
pitched overboard, and she was helpless to rescue her. Both the ship
and its owner had survived with only minor bruises, but deep down
Jessica felt the pain of her lost crewmate much more than the loss of
her own life would have been. Her head pressed down harder upon the
side beam, and she could feel the sting of a splinter pierce the flesh
of her forehead. It added to her headache, but she shrugged it off in
light of heartache.
“We had time, now...” She bit down hard on her bottom lip, her
sharpened fangs digging down so deep into the flesh they drew a drop
of blood. She ignored it, and continued her mournful cries.
“We had...” Jessica took a long gasp of air, her crying having stunted
her breathing. “Time...now...” Her face was drenched, but from tears
or rain she couldn’t be sure. She knew that her eyes burned and her
face was flush with a deep red hue, but her mind was too absorbed in
the pain to even notice the body was crying. Sadly, Jessica stepped up
from her place on the side beam, and looked down into the rippling
ocean. The water that had stolen her lover, the water that had taken
everything from her. Her fingernails tore down into the wood of the
beam, and she edged ever closer to the boundaries of her ship.
“You took Mia...” She whispered with hate, her eyes squinted and her
mouth a mask of anger and pain. She worked herself closer to the edge,
and eventually sat upon the beam, slipping her legs over the side and
leaning over more. Her body teetered on the edge of falling over, but
her face continued to wear a guise of anger and hatred, rather than
display the pain and fear it truly felt. She looked down deeper into
the water, and as she leaned over its depths she closed her eyes. Her
mouth opened, and with one last whisper, her fingers released the side
beam.
“I love you, Mia...” Her voice died away, and her body fell into the
ocean.
Mia was thrown from the comfort of her bed, accompanied by a scream
emitting from her mouth. The form laying next to her stirred slowly,
and with a few slow murmurs rose, looking up at her with weak, sleepy
eyes. Mia turned to look to where the blonde girl was laying beside
her, barely covered in the blanket she had worn to bed, looking up
with a squinted look and a face that was more confused than anything.
Jessica absently reached up to brush at the strands of gray and
blonde, her mouth opening and closing a few times before she was
finally able to speak.
“Wha...what happened?” She asked in regards to the scream. Mia simply
shook her head, and reached down to press her lips into Jessica’s
slightly sweated forehead. She put her hands upon the taller woman’s
shoulders, and eased her back down into bed. Jessica needed no further
enticing, and soon she was as sound asleep as ever, leaving Mia awake
to look around her surroundings.
The room in the Saith Inn was a familiar sight, though a bit
disappointing to Mia’s sleepy eyes. She had half expected to look
around and see the insides of the imaginary ship her mind had created,
but with a heavy heart, she shook her head from side to side.
“All a dream...” She whispered, quietly, her hand raising to her chest
and making a tiny, frustrated fist. Jessica was okay, but they were
still in the Saith Inn. The same place they had been going for eight
years, to spend just sixteen hours together. It meant they weren’t
running away. They were going to go back to Kyle and Nash, and they
were going to be miserable until the next month on the very same day.
Mia let her head fall back into her pillow, and she sadly gazed up at
the ceiling above. Absently she reached out, and her hand fell into
Jessica’s open palms. Even in her sleep the beast girl’s fingers
stretched out, tightening around Mia’s hand and squeezing it,
lovingly. Mia smiled, and regarded her aging lover for a moment. With
her free hand she reached out, pulling back some of the gray and
blonde and tucking it tenderly behind Jessica’s ear. It was better
none of her dream being real than all of it, she pondered with a faint
smile.
Soundlessly she crept down into the covers, and nestled up against
Jessica’s form. The beast girl reacted in her sleep by drawing her
arms around the smaller woman, and her mouth resting absently upon
Mia’s neck. Her breathe coursed over the magic woman’s skin, and a
smile once again played upon her lips, remembering how Jessica kissed
her neck in the better half of her dream. She let her body press close
against her lover’s, and her eyes slowly fall closed. The thought that
rested on her mind was clear; Jessica made her feel like she had a
place in the world. But what that place was...wasn’t the place she was
at. A thought entered her mind, and upon the light of the morning she
discussed the plan with Jessica.
Before noon, a local farmer found his horse driven cart stolen,
replaced by a large sack of gold that easily covered the cost of three
of what was taken. At the same time both Kyle and Nash held in their
hands a shortly written letter, delivered by the wings of expert mail
delivering birds. Unlike the farmer, Kyle and Nash received no
compensation for their loss, save for the few words that were scrawled
upon a piece of paper, written so quickly it was obvious the thought
of the husbands’ feelings were at the bottom of a priority list.
“We’re leaving, together and without regret.”
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