lyana-of-cloele

[lyana-of-cloele]

mairi-dupont​:

The answer was satisfactory enough. As much as Mairi did not want Lyana and Oliver together – whatever reason there was for it, however unfair it was – so too did she not want her family to know about herself and Lyana. That there was ever anything between them, that there was still this unspoken…. thing. That the last time she’d had her alone, Mairi had bedded their newest resident almost aggressively and against her own better judgment. It was embarrassing, the lack of control, and her inability to fully trust the other girl did not make the whole thing any easier. That she wanted her whenever she was close by was insignificant in comparison. “I have a strong will. Might take longer than you think,” Mairi argued, her words already slurring, her eyelids already dropping tiredly over blue eyes. She fought to keep them open, focused blearily on the other girl as Lyana leaned just a bit closer, but it was a losing battle. “Pretty girl,” she mumbled. “My Lyana.” The words slipped past just as the concoction took hold, dragging her into blessed darkness where the pain ceased to exist.

It was cute, really, Mairi’s determination to be stronger than the tonic. Lyana’s smile softened with such affection, staying right there, leaned in close as those blue eyes she quite adored began to sag with oncoming slumber. And that small reassurance had fueled the small fire that burned inside her for this woman. “My Mairi,” she whispered in return, though the general had slid surely into sleep by the time she said it. Better in any case, and Lyana closed the minute distance between them to press full lips to Mairi’s forehead. Then she was up, depositing the empty phials beside their full counterparts and returning to the shop.

[lyana-of-cloele]

mairi-dupont​:

Her frown only deepened when Lyana agreed with her assessment of her brother’s character, eyes cutting away. She hoped the irritation could be played off as a reaction to her own weakness and inability to so much as clean herself up after a coughing fit rather than anything to do with Lyana’s relationship with Oliver. But when the younger girl went on, it was hard to disguise the way her eyes snapped back to her and focused with intensity on her pretty face. Her head tilted slightly and she wondered again how she was supposed to react to this, to any of this. “And what have you told him?” she asked at last, pale eyes locked on warm brown even as the sleep draught was urged towards her lips. She drank obediently, too weak and aching far too much to resist it, but she wanted to know Lyana’s answer. What all had she missed in the time she’d been gone? And how, she wondered, would she handle any of it?

She held the phial gently to Mairi’s lips, tipping it carefully and watching with warm eyes to ensure she didn’t pour too fast for the blonde’s slowed abilities. “Not a thing,” she answered simply enough, lips tilted up slightly on one side. With both phials emptied, she returned the cork to each and slipped them deftly into the deep pocket of the apron she wore for shopwork. Then her attention was fully and devotedly shifted back to her wounded general. “He can keep right on hounding.” And he would, most certainly, and Lyana wouldn’t mind it at all. He was a delightful boy, and the teasing was just as fun as the rest. In any case, it wasn’t her business to share with him. Should she be lucky enough to continue down this intriguing path with Mairi, it would be the blonde’s choice to tell her family and on her terms only. Poor Oliver would likely take a week to return to his normal shade after learning that it was his sister who occupied Lyana’s every desire, after all. “You will nod off any moment now,” Lyana murmured almost sadly, leaning forward slightly now with empty hands that yearned to touch. To take more than Mairi’s was likely willing to give, even in this state.

[lyana-of-cloele]

The cough made Lyana jolt where she sat, though her steady hands kept a solid hold on the phials she held now. It was about the reaction she might have expected from Mairi, and the girl patiently waited for words. For the bitterness - dare she say jealousy - that she hoped for. “He is a very good man,” Lyana agreed softly, transferring the empty phial into her other hand so she might have one free to help settle Mairi after her small fit. She wiped away the potion that lingered on her chin, missed by the General’s own efforts to clean the small mess. “But he is not the Dupont I want,” Lyana added a moment later, having let the silence envelope them in its mystery for a moment. “And he knows that. He handled my rejection with such grace.” The girl grinned softly, hand moving back now to carefully sweep golden curls behind Mairi’s ear. It brought her just a bit closer to the woman’s pretty face, flushed and knitted with frustration as it was. “And has been hounding me ever since for the object of my desire.” Lyana sat up straight again, swapped out for the second potion that would join the first in Mairi’s belly and urge her quickly to sleep. “The sleeping draught next.”

lyana-of-cloele​:

“I will tell Calliope nothing, I promise,” Lyana agreed with a soft, affectionate smile. Though she was certain both Duponts would be relieved to hear their daughter woke, Lyana wouldn’t betray Mairi’s wishes. That was a trust she was still trying very hard to earn back, and it was an easy enough request to acquiesce. Lyana stood, moving quietly about the room to gather both phials as Mairi continued to speak to her in that soft, strained voice. She mentioned Oliver, which gave the girl slight pause, focusing perhaps a little too hard on sliding the glass phials between her fingers. “He is, yes. Ollie is a model of the Teacher if ever I saw one,” Lyana regarded him fondly, turned back to the invalid blonde and returned to her seat on the edge of the bed. “And still so young, as you mentioned once.” The girl chewed idly into her bottom lip as she pulled the cork stopper from one of the phials, leaned closer to Mairi and held the top of it to pale pink lips. “Your mother is too keen for her own good. I believe she knows Ollie kissed me - a few weeks ago now - though I do not think he told her so himself.”

There was a fondness in Lyana’s voice that grated, a softness when she spoke of Oliver that irritated Mairi more than it had any right to. She had no claim on this girl, no intentions of having one either. So what if she cared for her brother? A fine thing, wasn’t it, for the two to find each other in such hard times. And the way her teeth gritted together at the thought made her even more exhausted so she shoved it from her mind as Lyana crossed back to her and held a phial to her mouth. She drank obediently, for though she hated the stuff, she knew well enough it would be key to her recovery. And the faster she recovered, the faster she could be back on the field with her soldiers, moving on the false King’s army. The thoughts ground to a halt as Lyana went on, telling her that Oliver had kissed her some weeks back. It had Mairi choking a little on the potion, the coughs sending waves of pain through her body, though thankfully she’d already swallowed most of it and so only made a couple of drops’ worth of mess. “Did he?” she murmured, reaching up a weak hand to swipe at her damp lips when the coughing had subsided and the pain had ebbed again. She stared up at Lyana, battling an internal tangle of emotions at the news. No right to the anger, the jealousy, the flare of possessiveness. None at all. It took more time, especially sluggish as she was, but she forced the feelings aside and looked away again. “He’s a good man. You couldn’t… do better than a… a Dupont.” Her head dropped further into her pillows, blue eyes closing. Exhaustion was creeping in already. “He’d be… good to you.” But would Lyana ever be satisfied in such a relationship? Would Mairi ever find her own satisfaction, knowing Lyana was tucked into Reissau as… what? A sister-in-law? Spirits, that would be a mess.

[lyana-of-cloele]

“I will tell Calliope nothing, I promise,” Lyana agreed with a soft, affectionate smile. Though she was certain both Duponts would be relieved to hear their daughter woke, Lyana wouldn’t betray Mairi’s wishes. That was a trust she was still trying very hard to earn back, and it was an easy enough request to acquiesce. Lyana stood, moving quietly about the room to gather both phials as Mairi continued to speak to her in that soft, strained voice. She mentioned Oliver, which gave the girl slight pause, focusing perhaps a little too hard on sliding the glass phials between her fingers. “He is, yes. Ollie is a model of the Teacher if ever I saw one,” Lyana regarded him fondly, turned back to the invalid blonde and returned to her seat on the edge of the bed. “And still so young, as you mentioned once.” The girl chewed idly into her bottom lip as she pulled the cork stopper from one of the phials, leaned closer to Mairi and held the top of it to pale pink lips. “Your mother is too keen for her own good. I believe she knows Ollie kissed me - a few weeks ago now - though I do not think he told her so himself.”

lyana-of-cloele​:

The openness of Mairi’s physical affection was something uncommon here between them, an easiness to each gesture that Lyana hadn’t seen since their first night together. When the general hadn’t a clue of Lyana’s former affiliations and the attraction had been free of betrayal. It felt good now, though the girl was not ignorant of the fact that Mairi’s amicable attitude was likely the result of whatever pain relief she’d been given in spades throughout her time here at home. Lyana leaned into the fingers at her jaw just slightly, tipped her chin down to lightly touch her lips to them. “I am not certain that I am,” she countered softly, thumb smoothing slowly over Mairi’s palm. “But I am grateful for it no less, and rather like the fact that you think I am deserving of it.” She smiled softly, eyes light despite Mairi’s condition. “Is there anything I can do now?” Lyana murmured, noting the hitch in Mairi’s breath and the crease of discomfort in her brow. “The healer left potions for you. Some for sleep, some for pain. I can get them now, if you would like.”

“I don’t say… what isn’t true,” she countered stubbornly, as firm in her tone as she could be through the slight slur of her words. And it was true enough that she believed it. She’d started to think so on their way back to Reissau, when Lyana began to see the truth of her King and turn on him in favor of helping the people here. It was why Mairi had even bothered to speak for her at her trial, to see that she was freed and given a good start here in her home country. Lyana deserved a better life than she’d been given before. She was proving it every day now, and Mairi was proud to have played a part in it. “I hate the damned things,” she muttered, referring to the potions Lyana spoke of. Were she well enough, she might have refused them, but she knew both would be necessary to continue healing. “But yes… I’ll take them now and… sleep some more. Don’t tell mama… I woke,” she warned, “Or I’ll be with– without a father.” She wheezed out a quiet laugh, winced again at the stabbing pain that seemed to be getting worse the longer she spoke. Damned cowardly Agarian bastard. Really had done a number on her, hadn’t he? Well, she’d lived and he hadn’t, so all worked out how it should. She watched as Lyana stepped away to fetch the potions, considered her quietly a moment before asking in as casual a tone as she could manage, “Oliver is– showing you the ropes, yeah?” She shifted again, this time out of irritation and impatience with herself. It wasn’t any of her business, truly. “Mama implied… you get along well, in… in her last letter.” Her mother had implied that perhaps Oliver felt a little more than friendly, in fact, and wouldn’t it be nice to have another wedding in the family some time soon, darling? She hadn’t written back. 

[lyana-of-cloele]

The openness of Mairi’s physical affection was something uncommon here between them, an easiness to each gesture that Lyana hadn’t seen since their first night together. When the general hadn’t a clue of Lyana’s former affiliations and the attraction had been free of betrayal. It felt good now, though the girl was not ignorant of the fact that Mairi’s amicable attitude was likely the result of whatever pain relief she’d been given in spades throughout her time here at home. Lyana leaned into the fingers at her jaw just slightly, tipped her chin down to lightly touch her lips to them. “I am not certain that I am,” she countered softly, thumb smoothing slowly over Mairi’s palm. “But I am grateful for it no less, and rather like the fact that you think I am deserving of it.” She smiled softly, eyes light despite Mairi’s condition. “Is there anything I can do now?” Lyana murmured, noting the hitch in Mairi’s breath and the crease of discomfort in her brow. “The healer left potions for you. Some for sleep, some for pain. I can get them now, if you would like.”

lyana-of-cloele​:

“They are concerned,” Lyana assured the woman. Likely it wasn’t the best feeling, waking up from such a grave injury to find not a single family member hovering nearby. “Your mother nearly threw a fit, but your father insisted that you would be just fine in their absence.” Lyana grinned softly, something she found herself doing much more lately. She truly did have so much to thank Mairi for, because in her new life here in Reissau was such happiness and new beginnings. A true and honest living that made her feel good about herself, instead of disgusted. “I am sure she will give your dad a, um – what is it she says? – ah, a good licking, when they return to find you awake and speaking.” Encouraged by the fact that Mairi hadn’t shied away from her touch, Lyana took the opportunity to once again take the blonde’s hand. She pulled it carefully into her lap now, holding tenderly to long fingers she quite adored while Mairi went on to describe the horrors of her last few days. Her expression sobered, of course, her heart climbing steadily up her throat as she was given the gruesome details… and just how truly close they’d all come to losing this bright force of a woman. “Far better than you, I am afraid,” she teased softly with another gentle smile, hoping a bright demeanor might help Mairi to feel better sooner. “I feel… so much happier here than I have ever been in my life. Settled, and… accomplished. I believe… thriving is the word?” Lyana turned the word over in her head and decided, yes, that was a good way to describe it. “Your family is wonderful, Mairi… I cannot thank you enough for helping me find this life.” She lifted Mairi’s hand just slightly, held it more against her chest than in her lap. 

Mairi smiled slightly. Yes, it sounded like them, their reactions exactly how she’d thought they would be. “I’ll have to… pretend to sleep again, so she does not kill him,” she joked in return, her inhibitions lowered at the current moment so that she wasn’t acting guarded with Lyana as she usually did. She didn’t have the energy for it, nor was her mind even consciously thinking of the fact she should be. It felt good and right to be laying here, waking to the younger girl’s presence. And in reality, between her exhaustion and the drugs, it was likely she wouldn’t have to fake sleep to be asleep by the time they returned– Lyana had said an hour and she doubted she’d last that long, though she was hoping there was another hit of pain relief around here somewhere. She didn’t have to like them to know the drugs were beneficial to her in her early stages of healing when the pain was still so intense. Pretty Lyana could find them for her, she thought fuzzily, her fingers curling into the ones that held them as Lyana took her hand. And stay awhile as they took hold, just like this… “I should hope so,” she said in response to Lyana’s claim she’d been faring far better. A small smile curved her lips as she gushed about her life now, about the changes Reissau – and the other Duponts – had brought to it. As Lyana held her hand against her chest, Mairi weakly uncurled two fingers from her hold, the tips of them brushing the underside of her jaw in as much a gesture of affection as she could manage. Her head was floating now, but spears of pain were lancing through, sapping her breath and willpower. “I’m glad,” she said softly, readjusting against the pillows and wincing again. “It’s a good life. Not the one… I chose for myself, but… a good one still. You’re good, sweet. Good and deserving of… such a life.”

[lyana-of-cloele]

mairi-dupont​:

Her eyebrows winged slightly up at the mention of a next life and she wondered if Reissau’s spirituality was rubbing off on her or if the religion of her homeland was more in line with Reissau’s beliefs than she would have thought for a place so far away. She didn’t ask, the thought too fleeting in her drug haze to linger and form on her lips. “The only one? Ah, my family. So… so concerned,” she murmured with a little laugh that turned instantly to a wince. She knew they probably were in reality, and likely hated leaving for any length of time. But her father was a veteran and knew well the injuries of those that served. He’d likely convinced her mother that she’d sleep through their time away and that she was well enough that there wouldn’t be any changes. Unless a fever developed, she was in recovery now. A hand pushed at her hair then and Mairi was too tired to move away or pretend at all that it was not welcome. It was a sweet gesture, and comforting, just to have Lyana’s gentle touch. “I thought I might die,” she admitted, eyes closing as she thought back on it. “I don’t remember much. The pain of traveling…. from the field to main camp. The Jarlfru’s angel… of a sister patching me up. Then… here. Now.” She shook her head. “So not much at all.” Her eyes opened again and focused on Lyana, the sharp quality they usually possessed blurred now from pain and herbs. “And there you are,” she murmured, staring up at her with more softness than she generally showed. “Pretty Lyana. How have you… fared, these last weeks?” 

“They are concerned,” Lyana assured the woman. Likely it wasn’t the best feeling, waking up from such a grave injury to find not a single family member hovering nearby. “Your mother nearly threw a fit, but your father insisted that you would be just fine in their absence.” Lyana grinned softly, something she found herself doing much more lately. She truly did have so much to thank Mairi for, because in her new life here in Reissau was such happiness and new beginnings. A true and honest living that made her feel good about herself, instead of disgusted. “I am sure she will give your dad a, um -- what is it she says? -- ah, a good licking, when they return to find you awake and speaking.” Encouraged by the fact that Mairi hadn’t shied away from her touch, Lyana took the opportunity to once again take the blonde’s hand. She pulled it carefully into her lap now, holding tenderly to long fingers she quite adored while Mairi went on to describe the horrors of her last few days. Her expression sobered, of course, her heart climbing steadily up her throat as she was given the gruesome details... and just how truly close they’d all come to losing this bright force of a woman. “Far better than you, I am afraid,” she teased softly with another gentle smile, hoping a bright demeanor might help Mairi to feel better sooner. “I feel... so much happier here than I have ever been in my life. Settled, and... accomplished. I believe... thriving is the word?” Lyana turned the word over in her head and decided, yes, that was a good way to describe it. “Your family is wonderful, Mairi... I cannot thank you enough for helping me find this life.” She lifted Mairi’s hand just slightly, held it more against her chest than in her lap. 

[lyana-of-cloele]

mairi-dupont​:

Mairi was not usually one for foul language. She had trained with extreme discipline aiming for the position she now held, and as such, prided herself on a certain amount of restraint and dignity. So really, it said quite a lot about her condition that she swore now over her wound. Said quite a lot about the girl who now entered the room that Mairi’s mind reeled off several more colorful curses at the sight of her, though those ones stayed locked behind her lips as bleary blue eyes followed her progress across the room. Oh, wasn’t she a sight to behold. She’d filled out some, a healthy amount of weight now covering ribs that had protruded on their journey and still further in her prison cell. Her face was no longer gaunt with hunger and her spirit had clearly returned, vibrant in her dark eyes. She was beautiful and Mairi ached to touch her, to kiss her, to draw her in and remind them both exactly how hers she was. 

The drugs talking. Clearly.

She scowled without actual heat at the reminder of her promise, settling back against the pillows with a huff of irritation and discomfort. It didn’t quite disguise the pain bleeding through the foggy cloud of herbs now, but it was enough to show she was at least not as in danger as she had been. “Coward ran me clean… clean through from behind,” she mumbled, her hand dropping over the exit wound on her abdomen with another little wince. “Otherwise I’d have felled him and… been perfectly safe.” She offered Lyana a tight smile, closed her eyes a moment to breathe through the effort it took to talk. Lucky for her Reissau had a renowned surgeon at their disposal, one who was making himself available for the war efforts. No doubt she’d been thoroughly fixed up before being shipped to her parents. Didn’t negate the possibility of infection killing her still, but if she’d made it this far, Mairi figured she had a good chance. As far as she could figure it through the herbal haze in any case. “Is… is caretaker an official part of your job now… little bird?”

Dark brows furrowed at the revelation -- where she’d idly wondered how a keen general like Mairi could sustain such an injury, she certainly hadn’t considered a coward stabbing her through from behind. It was a horrifying thought, one that had Lyana reaching for the woman’s hand despite her better judgment. If the soldier’s sword had been on slightly higher, he could have cleaved Mairi’s heart clean in half. It was, indeed, incredibly cowardly. “He will be judged for his  pusillanimity and duly punished in his next life,” Lyana spoke quietly, the bitterness there in her tone even if her face remained soft with concern over the general. “It is not, but I am the only one here,” she replied, as much as she would have enjoyed the job. Mairi had saved her life once before, after all, and this seemed as good as any chance to repay the kindness. “Oliver is on delivery and your parents will likely be gone another hour or so.” Lyana sighed softly, incapable of helping herself when she lifted a hand and gently pushed messy golden hair off of Mairi’s forehead. “You are very lucky to have your life,” she murmured. “And we... are very lucky to still have you with us.”

[lyana-of-cloele]

mairi-dupont​:

It was a small and unexpected skirmish, the first to kick off the war. Mairi had led a small unit out on a scouting mission. They weren’t expecting combat, really, were simply leading the way as the army would begin to march towards Agaria even as the opposing army marched towards them. When they met in the middle, it would be a matter of pushing and pushing and pushing back, gaining ground, until eventually they would take the city itself. The ambush was, therefore, mostly unexpected. As far as they had known, no Agarian troops had made it this far North and their path would be clear well into Etreus. But the Agarian army was not known for their strategy for nothing. They poured from the trees and attacked, clashing with Mairi’s unit in a flurry of swinging swords and gleaming armor. She fought ferociously, as did the mixture of Reissauian and Etrian warriors with her, but it was a hard-won battle.

A younger soldier had fallen, his sword arm sliced but not lethally wounded, and an Agarian soldier stood above him with his sword poised for the kill. Mairi dove between, blocked the final blow with her longsword in a sweep that knocked the Agarian back. Their swords clashed again, she gritted her teeth as she knocked his aside, and with a shout, impaled him. Kicking him off her blade, she turned towards the young soldier who was one of hers and offered a hand to lift him, sword still poised and eyes sweeping to make sure none approached. The coward came from behind and the flashing pain through her abdomen was the last thing she knew before the world went black.

…

She had moments of waking as their unit fell back, moments of intense pain and a certainty she was dying. And then it was flashes of camp, which had begun moving southwards as the days passed in a large caravan. Brief glimpses of medics, a moment where she remembered vaguely seeing the Jarlfru’s sister and calling her an angel for her gentle hands, then more excruciating pain and blackness once again. 

When she woke fully for the first time in who knew how long, Mairi was not at camp any longer. She recognized her parents’ house – their bedroom, in fact – after several bleary moments of confusion. A seasoned warrior with much experience with injury, she knew somewhere at the back of her mind that she’d been given an herbal supplement, something to ease pain that made her brain feel fuzzy. She hated being drugged more than anything and scowled vaguely, attempting to push herself up a bit in the bed. Lightning shot through her and she cried out, an arm wrapping in automatic response around what she then realized was a heavily bandaged middle. “For fuck’s sake,” she mumbled, blinking heavily as she stared down at her otherwise bare torso. She’d been wrapped from breasts to navel, white wrappings with a line of red somewhere near the center. 

In the weeks that passed since her bittersweet farewell with Mairi, Lyana had spent most of her time bettering herself as an employee for the Dupont’s shop. Oliver continued in his lessons, teaching Lyana everything she could possibly need to know to successfully maintain smooth operations, including patron care. He was a smart and incredibly kind young man, and she found that she truly did enjoy the time she spent with the boy. It helped to keep her mind distracted, focused so thoroughly on the stories he told and the instructions he gave... Made it easier to prevent her memories of grabbing hands and grinding hips from slipping through the cracks of her focus. Oliver was as innocent as Mairi stubbornly implied he was, and that innocence helped to keep Lyana in the moment. Here, with him, instead of in the past. In Mairi’s quaint little house, lost in her arms and her kisses where she so desperately wished to return.

It was about two and a half weeks after the General’s departure that Oliver made his first gentle pass at Lyana. They were in the kitchens together, covered in flour and hard at work on baking bread for the shop. He’d leaned in unexpectedly to steal a kiss as they’d laughed and baked together, and Lyana had frozen there for a few seconds before carefully urging him away with hands on his strong chest. Pink stained his cheeks and the tips of his ears as she informed him that her attentions were, unfortunately, fixed on another. She didn’t say who, of course, though as she spoke the words, a bright and high-pitched giggle sounded from the front of the shop. An all-knowing mother who seemed far to keen on the inner-workings of her children’s relationships. Oliver had apologized, of course, and Lyana hushed him and wrapped her arms around his neck. “You are a perfect gentleman, Olly,” she’d murmured close to his ear, appreciative when he’d wrapped his arms around her in turn. A sign that their friendship had not been ruined. “And if things were different -- if I was different -- I would have been happy to be swept away by you.”

A few days after, when the sting of rejection settled, Oliver became an impossible nuisance with his curiosity, desperate now to know who had successfully stolen Lyana’s heart. 

More laughter from Calliope that was maddening beneath its jovial nature.

...

It had been nearly five weeks by the time a small caravan arrived from the military camp. In that caravan was an injured and heavily sedated blonde general. Lyana had been at the fish market with Oliver when Mairi was delivered to her family home, but she’d known immediately upon walking inside that something was different. The Duponts were notoriously upbeat and happy people, so to arrive at the shop and feel the shifted energy was alarming enough. It was Calliope who told Lyana of her daughter’s condition... as if the woman knew exactly what it would mean to her. Lyana was told that she would have to wait to visit the wounded general, whose condition was still a little uncertain. So it was with a deeply set frown on her face that the girl continued on with her job as if the woman who occupied her every thought wasn’t lying unconscious and injured just several rooms over.

It was the second day of Mairi’s being home when Lyana heard a sharp cry from the back of the shop. More specifically, the Dupont’s living quarters that currently houses an unwell but recovering blonde general. Lyana had been stocking the herb shelves with dried feverfew, but immediately abandoned her work to dash to the back of the shop. Calliope and her husband were out sourcing, while Oliver was handling a delivery of canvas patches to the shipyard. Lyana was the only one here, and despite her rather cold farewell with somewhat lover, she would not leave Mairi alone and in pain. 

She entered the Dupont’s bedroom more carefully than she’d rushed across the shop, stepping inside quietly and with concern shining in her dark eyes. “General,” she hummed, dropping to sit beside Mairi and laying a careful hand on her bare shoulder. “Do not sit up. The healer said you must rest a few days longer,” she insisted softly, eyes drinking in the sight of the beautiful, injured woman before. She’d been so worried when she heard the news, and angered when she wasn’t granted permission to sit by Mairi’s side. But she was here now, and oh, what a relief it was to see the blonde awake. In pain, clearly, but alive. “I believe I used the word safe when I requested you return home, and you promised you would.” It was a small and gentle teasing, and despite the look on Mairi’s face, Lyana offered her a small smile.

[lyana-of-cloele]

mairi-dupont‌:

The answer drew a chuckle from Mairi, a sound that surprised her to the point her head lifted and she looked down at Lyana for a moment. Only a moment, however, before she had to look away again, unfastening the leather of her belt in order to pull her breeches free. She wanted to be as bare as her lover now, in these stolen hours before her departure. Needed every moment of skin to skin before reality returned and she remembered exactly why she hadn’t wanted to do this. Bare now, she slid back between Lyana’s thighs, let her hips settle there where the wet and the heat made her moan softly into the side of the other woman’s neck. “I have very little time,” she murmured. “I will have to teach you my best lessons.” And so saying, she dove immediately into showing Lyana exactly that. Tongues and teeth, fingers, a phallic contraption she strapped into with leather and drove into Lyana until they were both coming together, wet and shaking in the aftermath. Mairi took and gave all she could until both of their bodies were too weak for more and her time drew close to an end. Only then did she roll away from Lyana, eyes on her ceiling as reality began to set back in. She had to go now. She had to go, knowing what had just happened… shouldn’t have. The clawing in her chest had settled, but it left behind terrible gashes that bled as she sat up and pushed her hands through her hair. She shouldn’t have done this. She had not been prepared for what it would mean to touch Lyana again, to feel those ties she’d almost convinced herself she’d imagined. “I have to go,” she said into the semi-darkness now, her voice soft and already far away. “You should dress and get home before nightfall, little bird.”

True enough, there really was much more -- vast worlds more -- that Mairi had to teach. Lessons that Lyana could not and would not take beyond the private walls of this home. They were not for the shop. They were not for Reissau, or the new king she served. They were only here, in this dark and quiet place with Mairi. The blonde worked her thoroughly, had her whining sweetly beneath the pleasures of her tongue, then coming violently on hands and knees with her lover behind her, around her, inside her. Breathtaking did not even come close to accurately describing what Mairi did to her, with her, and Lyana was half convinced she’d not be able to walk by the time their bodies lay side by side, dripping and panting. The girl was more sure than ever that some spirit she could not see had guided her into the very hands that had touched her so passionately. There was simply no alternate explanation for the pull she felt, the one that had her weakly sitting up behind her renewed lover. Yes, she knew Mairi’s time to leave had come, though she wished they could share just one night together. Naked as they were and pressed close, wrapped in one another’s arms as they slept. “You will be safe,” Lyana whispered as she thoughtlessly crossed the line she knew Mairi had redrawn in the sand. The blonde sought distance in the aftermath of their reckless and passionate sex, but Lyana would not give it to her. Not yet. “You will think of me.” She carefully fit herself to Mairi’s strong back, touching swollen lips to the back of the blonde’s shoulder and took as much as she could. The inevitable was coming, and she had no way of knowing how long Mairi would make them wait before visiting this place again, together. “And I will pray to the Five for your safe return.”

[lyana-of-cloele]

mairi-dupont‌:

The orgasm swept through her and Mairi watched the whole time, absorbed in the sight of her, the feel of her muscles clenching and rippling around fingers that just kept moving. Working her through, dragging her through, hungry for every moment of reaction. Only when she seemed to come down the other side of it did Mairi slide her fingers out again. She wasn’t done with her yet, but if she didn’t move fast, she’d have too much time to think. So she scooped her arms under the younger woman’s thighs and lifted her from the table, clutching her against her as she turned and moved from the room to the small bedroom off to the side. Her mouth pressed to what skin she could reach above the dress’s neckline - admittedly less than the dress she’d been in the last time they’d done this - and then back again to Lyana’s when she tumbled her onto the bed. It was only moments before her impatient hands began tugging at the material, pulling laces and hooks apart in order to strip her to her skin. As beautiful as Mairi remembered, perhaps even more so now that she was clean and smelled of innocent things rather than sin and sex. “Are you learning, Lyana?” she breathed into her skin, teeth scraping and tongue stroking as she moved down her body. She closed her mouth over a breast, teased the nipple mercilessly as her hands stroked and wandered. 

She may have expected Mairi to take advantage of every moment they had before she would have to leave with her men. Despite that expectation, a huff of surprise left her when the blonde suddenly hoisted her into her arms. Lyana barely felt capable of holding herself to Mairi’s body, limbs tingling and weak in the wake of her quick and powerful orgasm. Fingers threaded lazily through golden curls as Mairi carried her wherever she wished to -- the bedroom, she realized a moment later, as they tumbled together to a mattress. Dark eyes watched as eager hands tugged the dress from her body, arms and legs moving sluggishly to help as much as she could until she lay bare and glistening beneath Mairi’s hungry gaze. “Not nearly enough,” she whispered her answer, body bowing up into the pressure of Mairi’s mouth on her skin, her breast. Lyana groaned, knowing well that her body was in store for much, much more. The general was a formidable lover, that much she’d proven before, and Lyana could only imagine what might come next. Another round of fingers pressing, reaching? Mairi’s mouth on her sex? The contraption she’d mentioned once upon a time, tucked away in the high corner of the inn? “I think I have much more to learn yet.”

[lyana-of-cloele]

mairi-dupont‌:

Mairi didn’t hesitate. The moment those words fell from Lyana’s lips, she was pushing thin material aside and plunging her fingers into wet heat. One long, hard thrust and she was buried to the knuckle inside of her, a shiver working down Mairi’s spine as she finally took what she’d wanted for so long. Her other arm lifted and wound around Lyana’s waist, holding her there as she filled her, took her. This time it was she who broke the kiss, putting just a hint of space between them as she stared into dark eyes and watched for her reaction. There was nothing more rewarding than watching pleasure take the younger woman, watching it drown her. And this finally happening in an open place of honesty between them with Lyana no longer hiding who and what she was. The pace was quick, almost frantic, Mairi aware of a limited amount of time and a desperate need to take as much as she could before it ran out. Later, she’d wonder how she’d even ended up in this position. Later, she’d hate herself for giving in when her mind and spirit were not ready. But her body sprinted ahead, claws raking at her insides as she devoured. And let the flames take them both.

What she asked for was given freely and with reckless abandon, and Lyana’s jaw went slack with the sudden plunge of Mairi’s fingers. There’d been hardly any build up at all, a mere handful of kisses that had somehow prepared her well enough. Or perhaps her body was simply wound too tightly, after weeks of wishing for a renewed connection with this woman but no way to slake that particular lust. Dark eyes pried themselves open, half-lidded and burning a bright flame as they peered up into stormy blue. Mairi was watching her, quite intently... and Lyana liked it. It meant she was here, in this moment, reveling in exactly who she touched and what they were doing. Lyana didn’t want her anywhere else, and reached for the back of Mairi’s neck to hold herself close. She did not initiate another kiss, but rather held herself a breath away from the woman’s lips, sharing in one another’s heavy gasps. Lyana’s knees lifted just slightly, squeezed to the blonde’s hips as her spine began to tremble with the pleasure. It was every bit as fiery as it had been the first time they visited this place together. Fueled by weeks of quiet wanting and the tension of Mairi’s resistance. But lying there beneath the surface of it all, where the embers burned brightest, was the inexplicable connection Lyana had felt that first night. The intricately woven threads that seemed to tie her to the woman between her thighs. Another shaking gasp sounded in the space between them and though Lyana wished desperately to keep her eyes on Mairi, the call of her climax won out. It was a steep and sudden climb with quick and breathless fall, one that had her trembling against the taller woman and the small home echoing with the sounds of their reunion.

[lyana-of-cloele]

mairi-dupont‌:

There was a moment’s pause when she felt a tugging on her shirt hem, and Mairi ended the kiss so that it could come up and off at Lyana’s insistence. The separation allowed her to breathe, gave her a moment to collect her scattered thoughts if she bothered to reach out for them. But she didn’t. No, she didn’t want to find a grip on the unraveled threads of her control because all she wanted was this, was her. All she wanted was Lyana, hot against her. Mairi wanted to fill herself up with everything there was to do with the younger woman. So she pushed forward again, urged their mouths together as her own hands fell to Lyana’s thighs and began hastily gathering up her skirts. She didn’t bother to remove the dress, concerned that doing so would give them too much space to think again. Instead she pushed her hands beneath it to find bare skin, palms smoothing up thighs and gripping her backside to drag her right to the edge of the table. All that heat, all that want, was for her. Lyana wanted her, and she so desperately wanted Lyana. It was a dizzying mix of sensations and Mairi’s head spun, but that was exactly what she wanted. The dizzying, the whirlwind, the inability to think beyond just this moment. Her thumb eased between Lyana’s thighs, skimmed up the center seam of her undergarments where heat pulsed. Pressed there to feel her through the thin material as a moan rumbled in her chest.

Mairi didn’t let her look for long, and she could imagine why. Part of Lyana -- the weathered soul, who’d seen enough of their world to leave optimism at the door -- recognized that on some level, the very act they were about to partake in clashed against Mairi’s better judgment. The blonde had been honest enough in her wanting, but also unabashedly truthful in her unwillingness to cross the threshold of her morality. Lyana had betrayed her trust, a color she didn’t wear well and that stained her good standing with this woman. Mairi clearly knew better, and if Lyana were a better person, perhaps she would have let herself recognize the uncertainty in blue eyes. Perhaps she would have pushed her hand to Mairi’s chest and told her to stop, to wait until she truly meant it. But Lyana was as lost to her desires as Mairi now, blinded by the heat in her belly and the thumb at the seam of her sex. A moan to match the general’s sounded in her throat and Lyana’s thighs parted further in invitation, fingers closing like a vice over Mairi’s shoulders to pull herself closer. “Take what you want,” she whispered breathlessly into pink lips, encouraging the blonde... and on the cusp of begging for it at this point. “It is yours.”

[lyana-of-cloele]

mairi-dupont‌:

That single statement burned straight through her, the sheer honesty of it tearing down the cage that had held the dragon in her chest at bay. This was no manipulation, no faked intimacy. There would be no cause for it here, now, with Lyana already free and clear to live her life. And it was that more than anything that had Mairi crushing her mouth to the younger woman’s, taking what she’d so desperately stayed away from for weeks. She tasted the same, felt the same. The only thing that changed now was the lack of restraint with which Mairi took it all now. She wanted, didn’t think she could make it another moment without taking. If she left for weeks now and didn’t refresh her memory of this woman, she’d surely go mad. So she took, she demanded, she hungered for more. One hand lifted and tangled again in black hair, keeping Lyana just there as Mairi parted her lips and tasted Lyana at last. She didn’t speak, didn’t think she could form words. All she wanted was this, was her, and there was no room for language now. Hours. She only had hours before she had to leave again, and she was going to spend them buried in this woman. Mairi spun them, nearly upended the basket as she boosted Lyana onto her table and pressed her hips between her thighs. Yes, she would take, and she would give. And tomorrow, she would likely regret.

Mairi’s reaction to her words was nearly instantaneous, their mouths meeting in a bruising kiss that easily stole her breath away. Lyana gasped into, fingers gripping tightly to the arms she held as the moment swept her up and carried her off to a place she truly feared she’d never visit again. What buttons had she pushed to finally get Mairi to cross this line? Speaking of her time spent with Oliver? Or perhaps her genuine gratitude towards all that Mairi had done for her... and to her? Either way, Lyana was relieved to be here now, fused to the blonde’s lips, equal parts safe and devastatingly vulnerable in her strong arms. Not a single protest came as she was lifted and perched onto the edge of the table, knees automatically parting to accept Mairi between her thighs. Here, she needn’t hold on. She was free to let her hands roam, touch, grab. They spent a few heated seconds in tousled blonde curls, reacquainting themselves there before moving on again. Then, impatience had them reaching for the hem of Mairi’s loose shirt, grateful for the nonrestrictive material that came up and off with ease. Lyana keened again as their lips parted, dark eyes half lidded to watch as Mairi came out the bottom of the shirt, hair even messier than before. She reached for the woman’s jaw, thumb brushing along her chin while her eyes looked their fill. How long had she shared Mairi’s company without being on the receiving end of exactly these eyes, bright and smoldering as they all but devoured her?

[lyana-of-cloele]

mairi-dupont‌:

The tug at her hand had Mairi dropping dark hair easily enough. Despite the strength she possessed, she was never one to force a touch unwillingly, and so easily let Lyana control their interaction without giving it a second thought. The easygoing nature of that gesture, however, did not seem to extend to the rest of her. The restlessness in her chest only grew as Lyana continued to speak, clawing up like a trapped dragon until it burned in her throat. It had her pacing a step forward, closing the small space between them so that Lyana would be forced to look up to meet her eyes. Eyes that flashed a warning now, even as her easy smirk stayed locked in place. What she was doing, she had no idea. This wasn’t how she was supposed to interact with this girl. She wasn’t supposed to be goaded into making a mistake here, or provoked, however unintentionally, by what might or might not exist between Oliver and Lyana. But damn it all, she didn’t want to share her knowledge of this woman with her brother. She didn’t want him to know how soft her skin was or the sounds she made when she was pleasured. She didn’t want him to have that look in her eyes when she sank closer to sleep or the feeling of intense connection Mairi couldn’t seem to shake for herself. “And what is it you’d like me to teach you, Lyana?” she murmured, unable to stop herself, unable to step back. Unable to keep her hands from reaching, sliding over hips, gripping with firm fingers. “I happen to think I willingly taught you… quite a lot.” Those fingers squeezed, drew Lyana’s hips sharply to her own. “But if there’s a lesson I left out, I’ll have to be sure to remedy that fact.”

Mairi took a rather commanding step forward, eliminating the space between them in a single breath that made it suddenly difficult for Lyana to draw in a new one. The blonde was good at this sort of this, that much had been made clear their first night together. Mairi liked control -- not a surprising deduction, considering her position in the King’s army. But she liked control here, too. In intimate situations. Lyana blew out a slow a breath as those hands she’d admittedly dreamt of a time or two in recent days slid over her hips. Gods, but she sinfully enjoyed the way Mairi held her, hands firm, strength apparent. It was a thrill unlike any she’d known before. Her feet shuffled forward as her body was pulled abruptly into Mairi’s, her own hands landing on the woman’s forearms for support. Dark eyes glanced up through long lashed, chin tipped up just so she could find those ocean orbs and hold their gaze. “Do not mistake my gratefulness towards Oliver as ungratefulness towards you,” Lyana all but whispered. And despite her own doubt that she’d ever find herself in this woman’s arms again, her gaze quickly flickered to Mairi’s lips, then up again. “No one in any of the homes I have known has done for me what you have done for me.” The most notable of which had to be helping her earn her freedom, giving her the means to start a new and better life here in Reissau. But that was not the help she chose to speak of now. “That includes giving me the greatest pleasure I have ever known.”

[lyana-of-cloele]

mairi-dupont‌:

She listened, by all accounts attentively, hating the pang of irritation she felt as Lyana rambled on and on about all the things her younger brother had taught her. Things Mairi herself could have shown her – but for, perhaps, the cross stitching, which she’d never had good hands for. “He is worlds younger than you, Lyana,” she murmured, the supremely rare usage of her actual name going unnoticed by the supremely distracted Mairi. What she said was true. Seasons aside, what Lyana knew of life and what Oliver knew were vastly different. He knew of home things, Reissauian things, shop things. But he’d never left Reissau’s capitol, nor had Claude or her mother for that matter. Only her father and Mairi herself knew of the world outside these walls. As Lyana did. She knew the world’s seedy underbelly, knew its darknesses and fears. Lyana was perhaps only a season older than her young brother, but in years lived, she outstripped him by lifetimes. “And yes, of course I knew that. Our parents taught us the same lessons as children.” She smirked, giving the strand she still held curled around a finger a light tug. She met and held those deep brown eyes, wondering how close Lyana now was to Oliver, if he knew the taste of her lips or the feel of her fingers laced tightly with his own. The thought soured her mood further still, despite having no basis for it. “I know everything my brother knows and much, much more.”

Mairi’s mood hadn’t seemed particularly amicable from the start, but it seemed to drop even further with the talk of Oliver and Lyana wasn’t entirely sure she could guess at why. Also wasn’t sure what to think of it, one way or another. On the one hand, it seemed Mairi was trying quite hard to establish herself as superior to her brother. Which she was by nearly all measures, of course, considering her age and career. But why to Lyana, if not over some sort of -- dare she even think it -- jealousy? Lyana reached up and carefully covered Mairi’s hand with her own, gently urging it down from her hair lest she get too irritated and give it an accidental yank. “That may be true,” Lyana conceded easily enough, eyes flicking back and forth between bright blues. So similar in color to her brother’s, but so vastly different in everything else. Life, wisdom, scrutiny. All of it lying there in spades, where Oliver’s were only jovial in his youth and excitement, in the very innocence Mairi had implied just a moment ago. “But I am grateful for his teachings. He is there to share his knowledge with me, and is eager to do so,” she said, perhaps with a little too much attitude. “Unlike some.”

[lyana-of-cloele]

mairi-dupont‌:

Counting the days. Mairi had a feeling she would be too, though surely she’d have bigger things on her mind than some girl back in the capitol. If things weren’t so confusing, perhaps she’d be more open to the idea of it, to having someone at home waiting for her to return. Someone besides her family. As it was, she only tilted her head in response, eyes still locked solely on Lyana’s face. At least until the mention of her brother. When paired with that sweet laugh, the familiarity of it both comforted her and made her eyes narrow. A hand reached up, fingertips catching a strand of dark hair contemplatively between them. An absent gesture which her eyes followed, focusing there instead of on the warmth of the dark eyes looking back at her. “Yes, that boy likes to think he knows it all,” she murmured thoughtfully, her tone giving nothing away of the mixed feelings swirling in her chest. “Tell me, what sort of lessons has my brother given you?” Blue eyes shifted abruptly back to deep brown. “I hope he’s minding his manners. He can be a bit of an idiot. As the young usually can.”

It was strange, that Mairi so often touched her like this -- her hair, her hands, whatever -- and seemed not to think twice in doing so. Yet Lyana hadn’t the slightest ounce of bravery to do the same, too afraid of crossing the line Mairi had drawn in the sand between them. She didn’t mind it, of course, as the simple gesture had hope blooming in her chest, the nerves growing tenfold in her belly. “Well he certainly knows quite a lot,” Lyana added with a small grin. She held many affections for the boy who’d taken to liking her so quickly, so fully. All of Mairi’s family members had been so welcoming to her, of course, but none more so than Oliver. Lyana was incredibly grateful. Mairi, on the other hand, seemed skeptical of the boy’s actions. A fact that had one dark brow lifting subtly with curiosity, wondering what might have fueled such suspicions. “He is not much younger than me, you know,” she warned playfully, eyes glancing once to the fingers at her hair before bouncing up to blue once more. “Despite his age, he has been nothing but respectful. I enjoy our time together. He introduced me to coffee -- showed me how best to grind the beans and what water ratio brews the most flavorful cup. It is wonderful,” Lyana explained, entirely genuine. “He has taught me to cross stitch, and which path to the fish market is most effective. Did you know fish bones can be used to treat soil for a better harvest? I had no idea.”

[lyana-of-cloele]

mairi-dupont‌:

The smell of her seemed to fill the space, something spiced and sharp mixed with the sweet smell of the baking, and Mairi nearly took a step back to evade its power. But evasion was for weaker women and Mairi was anything but weak. She faced her problems head on, from men with broadswords to this woman whose very presence seemed a temptation in all the ways she couldn’t let herself be tempted. It didn’t help that the house was small, almost everything in just the one wide room with her bed shoved into a much smaller room off the side. It was a kitchen and living space all in one, but Mairi didn’t need much. She was rarely here and didn’t see the point in maintaining a lot of space when she hardly had need for it. Maybe one day, should she ever start a family, but for now it would do as it was. She shut the door quietly, took a long moment to do so while she collected her manners and her dignity before turning to face Lyana as she spoke. The usual contents of the basket were revealed, though Mairi couldn’t help the small smile that curved her lips when Lyana added her own contribution. Her mother had her baking now. Why was she not surprised? “A few weeks, most likely,” she said, her hand closing gently over Lyana’s nervous ones to tug the cloth from between her fingers. She tossed it casually back onto the basket, attention still wholly on Lyana. Standing this close, her presence was overwhelming. It drew attention and made that restless feeling in Mairi’s chest intensify. “Long enough to settle in the Jarlfru and her men. And the dragonrider, of course.” Her head tilted, blue eyes flickering over Lyana’s features. She looked… happier here. More content. It pleased Mairi to see it. “I’m certain my mother will keep you busy while I’m gone. You’ll hardly notice my absence.”

A few weeks. It was a long time, and Lyana imagined it might feel even longer in the waiting, and wondering. It was a new experience, awaiting the return of... well, not a loved one, but someone special. Someone Lyana quietly looked forward to seeing. Her bottom lip slipped beneath her teeth when Mairi took the cloth from her hands, dark eyes watching its progress back to the basket. Silly. Why was she this way around this woman? How many men had she seduced with a cool and calm demeanor? She’d lain with the King of Agaria, for the gods’ sake, but no one had ever made Lyana feel quite so anxious as Mairi Dupont. “That is an ideal sentiment, but I will likely count the days until your return,” Lyana teased softly, lips curved up in a small smile as her eyes met Mairi’s. She rather liked the look of her here, in her home. The blouse she wore was loose, untied at the neck to reveal lovely collar bones she’d touched once, with her fingers and lips. “Even if your mother does keep me plenty busy, as I am certain she will. Oliver, as well.” Lyana laughed softly at the thought of the sweet boy, blond and blue-eyed as his beautiful sister. “If it is not one lesson, it is another with him.”