Mirror (part 13 of 28)
Back to Part 12Admin Note: Another version of this chapter is available
in the lemon section of this archive, entitled "Mirrors:
Chapter 13".
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"Only two rooms left?" Lina Inverse frowned up at the
innkeeper, her red hair almost glowing in the dim
light of the common room.
The older man just shrugged expressively, an black
eyepatch covering his one eye and a wicked looking
scar running up one side of his face. His short
cropped hair was a weather-beaten light brown, and his
apron was stained with the remnants of the night's
beer and food. "Been a busy season," he rumbled out,
"with merchants an' all."
"I guess we'll just have to take them," Lina said
wryly, noticing the fierce look that she was getting
from Amelia. They paid for the rooms and headed up
stairs, feeling eyes from the tavern patrons on their
backs.
"Thanks," a tired Amelia murmured to Lina as they
reached the top floor and walked a short way down the
hall, "I don't think there's another inn here in town
and I really don't want to have to be sleeping outside
again."
Naga peered into each of the rooms and noted the
little beds, hard mattresses that were thankfully
covered with clean white sheets. "I'll take the
floor," the tall black haired woman said crisply,
"Amelia, Lina, you can use the beds."
"Amelia, you get the other room," Lina nodded to the
room next door as she continued, "Naga and I'll share
this one."
Amelia's eyes twinkled slightly as she said, "As
usual."
Naga blinked as the little blonde left them, "What was
that about?"
"Good question," a faint blush colored Lina's cheeks
even as she thought of the confession Amelia had
tricked out of her concerning Naga. Naga took off her
cloak, her simple tunic and long pants hugging her
shapely form. 'Wow,' Lina blinked.
"Are you all right?" Naga asked quietly, her short
black hair falling away from her face and cloak still
dangling from her hand.
"I'm fine," Lina answered, trying to recover her
poise. "You don't need to use the floor, you know,"
she said quietly, "we'll fit in the bed together, if a
bit snugly."
Naga hesitated, looking down at Lina's face a moment
then nodded slightly, "If you're sure, Lina." She hung
up her cloak on one of the pegs by the door, then
discretely turned her back and began to unlace her
simple top.
With a faint blush Lina concentrated on not watching
Naga undress even as she began to strip herself of her
own heavy cloak and clothing, her thoughts deeply
confused. She hadn't been lying when she told Amelia
about loving the original Naga, and more and more she
found herself drawn to this mirror twin. Even
stranger, her feelings seemed different, stronger as
she grew to know this noble, courageous young woman.
Naked, Naga slipped into bed, her generously sized
breasts bouncing slightly as she slipped between the
sheets. She held up one edge of the sheet as she saw
Lina hesitate and murmured, "You'll get cold, standing
there."
"Thank you," Lina murmured as she slipped in beside
the other woman, the little mattress automatically
pressing them close. Her little breasts rubbed up
against Naga's larger ones, her slim body pressed
against Naga's curved body.
"Lina, I..." Naga started.
Just then Lina began, "Naga I wanted to say..."
Both women looked at each other then began to laugh
softly. In a unconscious move Naga slipped her arm
around Lina's shoulder, helping make them a bit more
comfortable laying on the little bed. "You first?"
Naga offered with a gentle smile.
"Gee, thanks," Lina muttered under her breath,
wondering how she could put what she wanted to say to
Naga into words. She took a breath, "You know that I
didn't want you along with me, but did you know why?"
Naga blinked in surprise as she answered, "Because you
worried I would be trouble, with my ethics and
morals."
"That, too," Lina took a breath, "but that wasn't
all." Softly she continued, "The original Naga and I
were friends, and traveled together a long time. But
in the end Naga felt more for me than friendship, and
in my fear I drove her away."
Naga drew away from her slightly, "Do I frighten you?"
Lina looked up at her, her eyes warm as she softly
said, "No."
A faint blush colored Naga's cheeks as she gently drew
Lina close to her once again. "I thought that when I
left my Lina I would be heart broken," she confessed,
"I thought that my life was over." A wry smile, "I
fought not to like you, Lina, fought to hold on to my
initial dislike."
"The only time I'm glad to see you loose a battle,"
Lina murmured.
Naga chuckled, "Too true." She held Lina, bringing her
face close to that fiery hair as she softly said, "I
fear I'm falling in love with you, Lina-sama."
Lina looked up to meet Naga's eyes, "Why fear?"
Naga looked troubled, "I loved your twin for a long
time, you know. I wonder if this is simply confusion,
that I'm merely using you to replace the woman that I
love...?"
"I'm feeling confused, too," Lina admitted. She
laughed without much humor, "I made a lot of mistakes
before, this might just be me trying to fix them."
"So what do you want to do now?"
Lina sighed softly, resting her head against Naga's
collar. "As much as I'd like to kiss you right now,"
she said softly, "I think we should take things
slowly, for a while. If this is a true feeling we'll
both know soon enough, and if it's not we'll avoid
hurting each other."
"You're a very wise woman, Lina," Naga smiled,
pressing her lips gently to the top of the woman's
head, "and as much as I'd like to kiss you, too, I'll
accept it."
Lina felt that feather light kiss and struggled with
the urge to turn her face up to meet a kiss. "Even if
we are taking things slowly," she sighed as she
relaxed into the comfort of Naga, "can we still lay
together like this?"
Naga brought another arm around Lina, holding her
protectively close. "Of course," she murmured softly.
Amelia blinked as she saw Lina and Naga descend the
stairs together, the taller woman with her arm around
Lina. 'I wonder what happened last night?' Amelia
found herself thinking.
"Morning," Naga nodded as she calmly pulled out a
chair for Lina at the table, smiling down at the
surprised young woman.
"Good morning," Amelia agreed impishly, "slept well,
you two?"
A faint blush colored Lina's cheeks and she looked
away. "Oh, reasonably well," she answered, shifting
uncomfortably under Amelia's gaze.
Naga frowned just slightly, giving Amelia a stern
glance then looked over at Lina. "I'll go see what's
for breakfast, other than leftover stew," she said
before moving off.
"Nothing happened," Lina said firmly to Amelia once
Naga was out of earshot.
"But the way you two are acting...?" Amelia raised her
eyebrows.
Blushing faintly Lina admitted, "We talked about
things, yes. But that's all!"
"Well," Amelia smiled at her gently, "I'm rooting for
the both of you."
Naga carried three bowls through the crowd, the tall
woman's sheer physical presence making people clear
aside. "Well, it's not the unidentified stew," she
noted as she set the three bowls down.
Lina looked at the thick brown goop, poking it with
the wooden spoon. "Porridge?" she said, trying to stir
up the stuff.
"Well, at least it doesn't have mystery meat," Amelia
offered that optimistically as she scooped some of the
porridge up.
"Yes, it just has mystery lumps," Naga said with a
chuckle.
Onwards to Part 14
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