The young Emilie followed Astrid through the forest with difficulty, as her feet were hurting from walking and the branches of the trees getting in her way. It was hard to see in front of her eyes because of the lack of light. Her partner seemed to know exactly where she was going. But because of that, she didn’t realize at first Emilie was falling behind. As soon as she saw the distance between them, she stopped and looked at the young noble girl with a smile.

“Sorry, sorry,” Astrid said in a friendly tone. “You’re not used to walking in these conditions, right?”

“Is this the way home?” Emilie asked, ignoring Astrid’s question and putting up an arrogant air.

“No,” Emilie realized how fast Astrid walked back to her when she saw a hand extended towards her. In the thin moonlight, she saw the other girl speaking calmly. “It’s not safe to walk through this forest during the night.”

Emilie held Astrid’s hand and let her gaze examine the girl in front of her. The other girl was always outside so her skin was tanned. In contrast with Emilie pale skin. The same hand that minutes ago had a firm grip on a sword now was holding Emilie’s hand with gentleness.

Minutes before she had been saved by those pair of hands. Astrid killed the monster and stared surprised at Emilie, showing her a comforting smile after realizing who she was. She said she lost track of the time after training on the forest for too late. That’s when she heard someone running. It was by chance that she met Emilie there.

Even though she would never voice it, Emilie was happy for that accidental meeting. It saved her life after all.

After getting over the scare, she started following Astrid steps. She though the other girl was leading her home.

“S-So, where are we going?” She finally spoke, taking her eyes off Astrid’s hand.

“We’ll look for shelter. A safe place to spend the night. When the sun is out, I’ll escort you home.”

“S-Sleep?!” Emilie looked surprised, but Astrid was starting to move again already, now holding Emilie’s hand.

They arrived at a ravine around a lake. Following a path close to the lake, Astrid arrived at a stop below the ravine where they could be sheltered from monsters by the front, where the lake was and the back where the ravine was.

“Here is good enough,” she said, releasing the grip on Emilie’s hand.

She put the sword she had sheathed on her hip beside her and lied down on the soft ground. With her face in confusion, Emilie stared at her.

“Where are we supposed to sleep?”

“Here,” Astrid said, tapping the muddy ground.

“Here?!” Emilie replied, disgusted. Even in the dark, she could see how dirty that place with so few grasses and lots of muds was. After all, it was close to a river.

“You can’t?” Astrid asked.

“Well,” Emilie stared at her dress, which was all ripped at the bottom. But other than that, it was made with really good fabric. Contrary to the cheap male’s clothes Astrid was wearing. “I-I’m not used to lie on the mud. Or the dirty. I know I can’t expect to find an actual bed around here, I know. But this is...”

“It’s safe,” Astrid said, surveying around. “It gives me time to react in case something approaches us, too..”

“I understand, but…” Emilie fiddled with the cloth of her dress. Deep down, she knew it wasn’t fair to complain about that. But at the same time, she couldn’t help it.

“I see,” Astrid said and Emilie could see her smile even in the dark. “Come closer.”

With careful steps, Emilie got close to Astrid’s body, lying down on the mud. She gasped as her companion abruptly pulled her arm and hugged her body against hers. Blushing, Emilie threw the other girl a startled look.

“W-What are you doing?”

“This way you won’t get dirty,” Astrid said, keeping a strong grip on Emilie’s body.

Since her body was on top of Astrid, she wouldn’t touch the mud. Yet, being hugged and so close to the other girl that she could hear her heartbeats made her flustered.

Astrid just gave her an innocent smile, ignorant to her discomfort.

“A-Are you really fine with that?” Emilie asked. Her face was so close with Astrid that she could feel the other girl’s warm breath.

“Of course, why not? Oh, are you feeling uncomfortable? Is your body hurting?”

“N-No,” Emilie said, trying not to face Astrid. A difficulty feat because of their positions. “I mean, you’re a girl, so that’s fine. But huh…”

She thought about making a joke implying Astrid was probably as dirty as the ground at the point. She stopped herself. Even though she always thought the other girl was a savage, she was still a girl and that could hurt. She wasn’t about to offend someone who just saved her life. So she just bit her lips.

“I see,” Astrid said with a smile. “I never gave it too much though, but I think it would be bad for you staying like this with a man, right? I heard you’re looking for a suitor. A marriage. People would talk. Well, not that I can understand it.”

“Are you the kind of girl who can spend the night with a man just like this?” Emilie asked, trying not to sound rude. She couldn’t decipher the complex expression Astrid made.

“No, I’m not. I don’t have experience with it.”

“So you never spent a night with a man?”

“No, never,” Astrid said and after a brief pause, added: “Or with a woman.”

Confused, Emilie wondered if Astrid had understood what she meant by spending the night. Yet, she didn’t pressure the question further. On that state, even with her heart beating fast, she tried to sleep.

She had her head leaning against Astrid’s breast. Maybe the girl’s heartbeat or the breathing was making her nervous but she couldn’t relax. It wasn’t an uncomfortable position. Astrid had more developed muscles than other girls but still less than the few men she had contact with. Lying against her was soft and warm. And even though she was dirty, it wasn’t unpleasant.

But she couldn’t sleep. She tried to force her eyes shut and keep her mind clear. Yet, her own heartbeat wasn’t about to calm down.

“Can’t sleep?” Astrid asked with a gentle voice. “Scared, maybe?”

“It’s not that,” Emilie answered, keeping her eyes closed. “I’m just not used to this.”

“To what? Sleeping in the open air? Or maybe…” Astrid stopped what she was about to say. Emilie felt a hand slowly and gently stroking her head. “Wanna talk about something? It could help you relax if you don’t see me as a complete stranger.”

Emilie stood in silence for some minutes. There was something she wanted to ask Astrid. Something she was always curious about, for some reason. She finally gathered the courage to ask.

“You’re training with a sword, right?”

Astrid threw a glance the sword she let close to her hand, confused with the question.

“Yes…”

“Sorry, it’s a stupid question. I know. What I wanted to inquire of you is why you’re doing that.”

“Why?” The confusion didn’t disappear from Astrid’s face.

“I mean, women can’t become knights, right? You can’t follow the path of the sword in your life. Not as a noble role”

“Oh, that’s what you mean.”

“Why did Sir Hibbert agreed to make you his apprentice?”

“Sir Hibbert?” Astrid looked confused for a moment, but soon she seemed to understand. “Oh, you mean Ken!”

“K-Ken?” Emilie’s body shook with surprise in Astrid’s arms. “You call Sir Kennard Hibbert, Ken?”

“Yes. He asked me to call him that way. Ken said he left the capital because of all those formalities that didn’t suit him.”

Emilie thought that made sense. She always wondered why someone as courageous and noble as Sir Hibbert was tasked to guarding such a small city.

“And yeah, I can’t become a knight,” Astrid continued. “But I don’t mind. I told Ken I wanted to be an adventurer. Fight monsters, helping people, that kind of thing. He laughed at first. But after I asked him so many times, he agreed to teach me how to fight with a sword. He said even if the path of a knight isn’t open with me, I can work as a mercenary.”

“Mercenary? As in those people fight for money?”

Astrid nodded.

“But as a mercenary, I will be able to choose my jobs. I don’t want to make people suffer. All I want is the freedom to see the world, meet new people, find new wonders.”

Astrid had a bright smile on her face while explaining, but Emilie wasn’t convinced. She avoided to look straight at the other girl’s eyes and said with an uncertain tone: “Are you really happy with such an uncertain path in life?”

“Uncertain path? Maybe you’re right, but I don’t see it like that. I don’t have a family so I don’t have a guaranteed future. I was raised as an orphan by the Church. Everyone says I’m not that smart and I’m rude so I never had the chance to be adopted by someone. I always thought I would end up becoming a nun and be confined in that city. So being a mercenary and traveling the world looks like a nice life compared to it.”

Emilie realized she never had inquired about Astrid’s family and knew nothing about her life except the few suppositions she made watching her on the streets sometimes. She couldn’t understand how it felt living without a family.

“And you know,” Astrid said. “I don’t mean to judge you or anything. But it’s your path in life that I can’t understand.”

“Huh?” Emilie was confused as she never saw anyone question her life like that before.

“You’re the same as the orphan girls I know. They dream of marrying a husband and have children. Maybe even make an aristocratic man fall in love with them. But what after that? When I ask them, they look confused. They don’t get it. Marriage and children are all their future is about. There’s nothing after that.”

“What is more to want? Isn’t building a family what every woman is born to do?”

“But what after that? You’ll just live forever inside your home, just taking care of your child while your husband goes out? Maybe he’ll be the one traveling the world, but all you’ll do is wait and guard his home. I can’t understand that kind of life.”

“I’ll support my husband and be a good mother.”

Astrid silenced. Emilie could only hear her breathing. She could feel the body below her moving as Astrid let out a smile.

“Well, I’m not trying to judge you. To me freedom is important but I believe every path can lead to happiness, as long as you choose it by yourself.”

“As long as I choose it…” Emilie repeated it to herself and neither girl said anything else that night. It didn’t take long until they fell asleep.

The next day Astrid guided Emilie safe home fast. As soon as she crossed the entrance of her house’s gate, her parents ran to hug her, worried about why she didn’t show up home last night. They were ready to take off looking for her as soon as the sun got up.

She tried to tell them Astrid saved her, but as she turned behind the other girl was nowhere to be seen. Emilie threw a look in the church’s direction. She decided to tell her parents everything later, but her conversation with Astrid during the night was going to be a secret. That conversation was still stuck inside her head.

***

Emilie and Astrid looked at the entrance of the cave in front of them. They were hidden behind a large rock just in case the place was being watched by mercenaries. However, it looked safe. The shadow of the trees above them made it hard to see the entrance, some men could be ambushing inside.

Emilie took a clipboard with a piece of paper off her bag and made a big circle at the bottom of the paper. Astrid stared with curiosity.

“It’s for mapping our route. So we can find the safest route for when we’re back.”

The two women circled around the entrance, careful to not be seen for whoever could be inside. When they got close, they realized the opening was deserted. Emilie whispered “As I thought” as the two went inside.

The inside of the cave wasn’t as dark as they expected. Some torches were burning on the walls, giving guidance to travelers. Astrid tried to move to her right but Emilie held her hand, stopping her. She pointed to a point in front of them with her head.

“We can walk through there,” she said in a whisper. Astrid realized there was a climb leading to a cliff circling the cave. “That’s probably the way travelers take.”

Astrid climbed first and helped Emilie to follow her. As they walked following the cliff, they realized that was the best choice. The way Astrid was about to walk was full of the little creatures known as goblins. They were short naked creatures with wrinkled, dark greened skin and disfigured face. They had sharp ears and teeth and were jumping around and growling. Goblins favorite food was humans but even though they were ferocious creatures, they were still rather weak against anyone who knew how to fight. That’s why they mostly went after children.

Even though Astrid could easily kill the creatures, there were at least fifty of them just in that side of the cave. That would tire her out. She silently thanked Emilie again for stopping her before. The two women walked through the cliff. They had to crouch so their heads wouldn’t hit the ceiling. The torches were scattered across that cliff and sometimes they crossed by the light, making shadows below where the swarm of goblins jumped. They didn’t seem to mind as they looked too stupid to understand the meaning of that.

They arrived at a gap in the middle of the cliff. Their only choices there was jumping to the other side or going down where the goblins were and climbing again. At least they could stand still at that point. Astrid looked the gap size and turned behind to her partner.

“Can you jump it?”

“I think so,” Emilie looked at the clipboard and the notes she had made since they went inside. “And If I’m right, the exit is very close by. I guess this cliff is used by travelers to cross the cave. That explains the torches.”

“I see,” Astrid got close to the gap and looked below. Even if they fell there, it wouldn't be fatal. But the goblins would surely attack them. “Well, I’ll go first.”

Astrid jumped with ease through the gap, even though she was carrying a tent on her back and a sword on her hips. She was used to that kind of physical effort. Astrid looked back to her partner with worry. She watched as Emilie hesitated to get closer to the gap.

“Throw me your bag!” Astrid yelled. The goblins then realized she was there and got excited. They started jumping around.

“Stop that!” Emilie tried to say back but Astrid just smiled.

“It’s fine, look. They can’t climb,” Emilie looked below to realize to creatures were trying to climb with their weak limbs instead of turning around to go the same way they took. They could jump close to the cliff’s height, but would never reach it. “Just throw me your bag.”

“T-That’s crazy and irresponsible!” Emilie shouted.

She took off her bag and threw it to Astrid, who caught it in the air. Feeling lighter, Emilie took two steps back and rushed forward. She jumped.

Her feet landed close to the gap on the other side. At the same time, Astrid ran towards her and hugged her close.

“T-There was no need for that,” Emilie said, feeling the blood going up to her face.

“Sorry, I got worried,” Astrid said with a smile and passed the bag back to Emilie.

Emilie put the bag back on her back and started following Astrid again across the cliff. At first, the goblins below tried to follow them. But after some meters, they gave up and went back to the middle of the cave. When the two girls got to the end of the cliff, there was no creature below to bother them anymore.

“Stupid creatures,” Emilie said as she got down with Astrid’s help.

The cave’s exit was just in front of them. Emilie took a deep breath as she walked in the sunlight’s direction coming from the hole leading outside. Astrid, whoever, stopped in the midway, turning to her right. Not the way the goblins were before, but a bifurcation leading deep inside the cave.

“What’s wrong?” Emilie asked but Astrid just shook her head.

“I thought I heard something but it’s probably nothing.”

The two women left the cave without any major issue and took the way towards the lake. They ate a piece of meat from last night without stopping at noon. It was late afternoon when they got to the lake.

Astrid hunted a rabbit and after eating, they decided to take a bath. It was night and the big lake was shining with the bright moonlight above it. Astrid’s reaction when she saw the lake was letting out a big smile. Even though she could endure days without bathing if it was needed, Emilie knew her partner hated getting dirty. Of course, being raised in the way she was, Emilie also wanted to be clean all the time.

“I wonder how the water’s temperature is,” Astrid said, taking off her clothes.

Even though Emilie was used to seeing her partner without clothes, she always blushed by seeing her tanned naked body. Emilie tried to deviate her eyes off Astrid’s bare breasts as she took off her own clothes.

“I wish we hadn’t left all the clean clothes at the hotel,” she said.

“We can’t carry extra weight,” Astrid said and threw herself in the water with a splashing sound.

Emilie removed all her clothes and turned to the lake to see the redhead swimming inside the water. Her long red hair looked like some kind of fish swarming around.

“How’s the water?”

Astrid lifted her head outside the water and her eyes were attracted by Emilie’s naked form standing up at the side of the lake. After realizing she was being watched, Emilie felt a blush go up to her face.

“Hey!” she said. “Stop staring!”

“S-Sorry,” Astrid said with a laugh. “It’s always an amazing view.”

Even though she went for hardships after traveling together with the knight, Emilie still had a lot of her upbringings marks. Her skin, in particular, was pretty smooth and her hair lustrous. She didn’t have muscles on her arms or belly like Astrid. Unrelated to her status, her breasts were bigger than Astrid.

“Even if you have some scratches now, you still look just like a doll,” Astrid said.

“Please, that’s just how most girls are. When they’re not savages,” Emilie said with a smile and walked forward. She put the thumb of her foot inside the water to feel the temperature. Since it looked pleasant, she let her body slowly submerge inside.

Astrid swam to where Emilie was and grabbed her partner’s hands. She squeezed them and Emilie felt her heartbeat becoming faster.

“I mean, your fingers are so white and smooth. They look so fragile and pretty,” Astrid said and her hand traveled Emilie’s arms to her shoulder and slowly went down her hips. “Even after exposing yourself so much…”

“Stop,” Emilie said, trying to make an angry face that looked fake.

“Sorry,” Astrid said back with a bitter smile. “Did I gross you out?”

“It’s not that.”

Astrid swam back deep in the lake, keeping some distance from Emilie.

“I mean, you know that I…”

“I said it’s not that,” Emilie let her body submerge completely below the water and when she got up again, she realized Astrid had a sad expression. It was a beautiful image in the light of the moon. She felt guilty by appreciating Astrid’s body after scolding her for doing the same. “You don’t gross me out. Even if you like girls.”

The smile on Astrid’s face looked more sincere and bright. Yet, she had a blush over her face and looked nervous and timid. In times like that, Emilie reminded herself that she was traveling with a woman just her age. They were probably not that different when it came to those kinds of feelings. Astrid actually looked more delicate than her.

“You think she’ll feel the same? Will she accept me?” Astrid asked with that timid voice.

Emilie knew exactly what she meant. That whole mission was to make Astrid meet the girl she had always been in love with it. A love she never thought would go anywhere since the target was of royal blood. A princess.