"I needn't repeat the story to you yet again... I'm certain it is well engraved into your heart, but what Camara did that day was truly the stuff of legend. Holding that pivotal pass all by herself against an entire company of soldiers..?"
The Queen let out a sigh and shook her head, only to sigh again as I immediately snapped over to glare at her, the unspoken question causing her to add "However you are not your Dama, and I am not a perfect Queen. Do you wish to continue this song and dance forevermore, Miss Astra?"
I was about to say something when Rhefia reached over to pat my arm, giving me a slight shake of her head as she said "There isn't a need to. What's done is done; I'm just... tired of it, Astra. I want it to be done.", which forced me to let out a long, somewhat angry breath as I nodded to her.
"However, my Queen, it might be best if we try and keep ourselves separate for a little while..."
Chuckling softly and returning her gaze to the very overpowered armor that she was relatively unaware of, the taller Deerkin tapped a finger against her thigh and thought for a few moments before saying "That was the plan. My offer remains, Miss Astra, even now."
She might not have seen the look I gave her but she definitely felt it, yet all that scathing glare did was make her smirk, which infuriated me a little... but that was all I could do to her right now, so I was forced to swallow my anger and instead look away.
I almost snapped when she added "As for you, Lady Poinset, I look forwards to having you back in the Court. Same goes for you two as well, of course, though you are nowhere near as pleasant as our red haired Duchess.", but I kept that inside too...
Renna nodded, Fenkar gave an exaggerated bow and Leonisa asked "My Queen, if I may, there are a few more things we need to discuss, if I could have a few moments of your time?", earning herself a nod from the Queen.
Looking over Camara's armor one last time, the Deerkin turned and said "Take it with you, Miss Rhefia. If you need a box there are plenty available, just ask any of the caretakers. Ah, and if you wish Heria and Giselle shall announce their vacation publicly later today. I'll send a letter to Lady Poinset tomorrow regarding the announcement of your charges being dropped, which will happen sometime before the week is out."
With that she took her wife's hand and beckoned for Leonisa to walk with her as she began to descend the stairs, leaving us here without any concern that we might take something extra and leaving me with the slight desire to do just that...
But I wasn't going to because we had just managed to get through all of this, and the idea of having to come back and meet her again to answer for committing a crime was just not something I wanted to do...
The moment she was gone I immediately snuggled up to Rhefia and walked her closer to the relics left behind by her Dama, which immediately had my wife murmur "You wouldn't know, but to leave behind not only one, but multiple relics... what she had to go through..."
Squeezing her hand and getting even closer, I tried to comfort her as best I could while also holding back the urge to let her know just how powerful they were; it wasn't that I didn't trust Fenkar, but I really would like to keep this set of 'cards' as close to my chest as possible, y'know?
"I can't even begin to imagine what she was going through when she was at that pass, holding out against dozens upon dozens of soldiers who only wanted to kill her and march deeper into the Queendom..."
"I can tell you that she wasn't thinking about the battle."
The old Wolfkin was leaning against an empty table staring at the wall, her ears twitching slightly as she continued on and said "She wasn't thinking about much else, really. Just thinking about you. You were... what, barely grown by the time she passed? Maybe a single season together where you were able to participate in the things she really loved?"
Rhefia nodded, her eyes still glued to the armor, while Renna got closer as well and placed a hand on Rhefia's shoulder; it was a reminder that the three of them all had experienced the loss of family already, whereas I was completely fresh and unaware of what that felt like.
"That was what she was going through the whole time. Just thinking about the things you had done together, the things she was going to miss out on... Nothing else mattered to her. Not at the same level as you..."
My wife took a long, shaky breath before reaching forwards and hesitantly touching the crossed vambraces, gingerly trailing her finger over their surface before starting to unbuckle them from the mannequin.
"I imagine you'll be heading home sometime soon? Your old home, not the current one. It should be untouched but clean; everything inside was left alone, and the Queen sent special cleaners once a month just to keep it prepared for your eventual return."
When she got a nod the Wolfkin pushed herself off of the table and walked over towards us, focusing on Rhefia first as she added "There will be plenty of material things sent your way soon, but I have to agree with the Queen; this is a good start at wiping the slate clean." before clapping her hand on the Deerkin's shoulder.
With that she turned towards Renna and pulled the Duchess into a kiss, palming her ass yet keeping it short as she whispered something to her, and then she came to me and did the same; feeling her breath on my ear as she whispered "Take care of her when you get to her old house... she's going to need it." made me shiver, and seeing the usually greedy Wolfkin be so 'selfless' was definitely... new.
Of course she 'spoiled' her efforts by adding "You should swing on by the estate tomorrow with Renna; been a little while since I got to fuck you both at the same time~!", yet I did agree that we should meet up yet again because I really did miss her passion.
She left after that, leaving Renna and I with the Deerkin, the two of us helping her store the relics into a wooden box that she began to carry downstairs; as we passed the windows I idly looked out into the area surrounding the temple, and when I did so I noticed it wasn't even close to being noon yet...
We still had so much time... and I had a feeling there was something we were going to be doing to fill it soon enough...