"Um… Mistress…?"

"Hm? Yes?"

And the conversation ended there, yet again. How many times was that now? Three?

"Okay, stop. What is it that you want to say, Ariel? Just go ahead."

"Yes…" Ariel responded. But then, nothing else came. However, Guila didn't want to open her eyes to check on her. She needed the rest, since the stinging was still present.

Luckily, she had the next best thing, which was the left side of her head against Ariel's abdomen. Thanks to that, she knew that the Vulpina's heart was racing and her body was getting hotter.

'Had I been any younger, I would've thought she was feeling embarrassed. But it must be the antidote working.'

"Take your time, Ariel. I'm not moving, for another… eight minutes."

A silence formed yet again. But no longer did Guila feel so choked by it. Maybe it's because she wasn't just listening to her own sounds now. It was actually a bit calming and reassuring.

She was happy to stay like this.

"Why didn't Mistress meet with her mother?"

And there it was. Finally the big question was out. If it wasn't so loaded, Guila might've actually felt the same excitement Ariel clearly did.

Eyes now opened, she was staring at the Vulpina's expectant face. So she was able to raise her head now, huh? Was the antidote working slowly or quickly?

But no matter how much she tried to distract herself with pointless questions, the fact remained that Ariel was expecting an answer.

Damn it.

The very fact that she was asking in that way, meant that her condition had gotten worse. She must've been muttering entire conversations to herself, now. No, that was just because of her exhaustion. It had to be.

'It has to be...'

"Look, I don't want to talk about it."

The immediate disappointment was audible.

Then Ariel started squirming and shifting her weight. She didn't try to push Guila off, but the message was crystal clear.

"... it's uncomfortable…"

"You weren't complaining until now. I'll get off, then."

Then the squirming stopped. Instead, she started sighing. Over and over again.

But rather than be annoyed, Guila found her obviousness somewhat endearing.

For years, she was surrounded by duplicitous faces and venomous words. And although she would never fault him for it, her husband showed her little to none of his true thoughts, either.

She couldn't hate Ariel's clumsy prodding. But even so;

"It's a long and boring story."

"That's okay. The longer we wait, the more I'll recover, right? It will be much easier to leave."

"When did you get so- I do not want to talk about it, alright? Plus, can't you already guess the answer from how I treated you?"

Another silence, but then, Guila saw a smile form on Ariel's face.

'Did she forget that I can see her? Or was it on purpose.'

"Oww… my face hurts so much…"

"Oh, don't you dare." Guila was about to get up, but then Ariel held her hand softly, without any strength behind her grip.

She had been held in place. Only able to watch Ariel's sadness through her one good eye.

"I'm sorry, Mistress… I didn't mean to make you mad." Ariel laid her head on it's side, staring at their hands. "... I don't have a mama. My first memory was of Master giving me my name. Then the Learning Pods."

"But in there, I was taught that family was the most important thing. That I should cherish it. Yet you said no. Even though you sounded like you were in so much pain." She paused, before trying to clench on Guila's hand.

"I know Mistress will never love me, like she loves Master and Mistress' mama. But I still want to learn more about you. Can I, Mistress?"

The words seemed to get stuck in her throat, but eventually, Guila laid her head back on Ariel's stomach and sighed.

"Fine. But… It's not a nice story."

Ariel's ears immediately perked up in delight and Guila could only smile wryly at them.

"When I married the Count, I did so with several conditions."

"Like what?"

"... I'll get to that. First off, well… My father was the Governor of Liforni. It was a polluted and overpopulated, but very prosperous Factory Planet. Thanks to that I grew up in luxury, even during the worst years of the war.

But reality was catching up. One by one, Federation Planets were captured by the Empire. Until eventually, the Count's armada besieged us.

It only took a few weeks before riots erupted and the planet descended into anarchy. The fighting between the Count and the defending fleet was fierce. Day and night, the skies were lit up by gunfire and lasers.

Shipwrecks and slag constantly rained down and ground forces were also engaging.

By then, I still believed we could win. But that changed when my father's convoy was overrun. Not by Imperials, but by his own citizens. There were rumors that they offered him in exchange for peace and that the Count refused.

The truth was that father was still aboard the Flagship Carrier, leading the defense. The convoy only had the Vice-Governor.

But that still left only me and my mother. Inside a massive mansion, with only a few guards. Since many deserted after his supposed death. Even the few that remained left, once mobs formed around the estate."

Guila wasn't even sure when, but now she was clenching back on Ariel's trembling hand. No. She was the one trembling.

"... All my life, I was told about how the Empire was an evil thing. That they enslaved non-Imperial men, and that women would be wed against their will, only to be abused for the rest of their lives."

Slowly, the UI began to fade again. But she bit her lower lip and drew blood, chasing away the creeping image of concrete forming around her.

"... But you don't know how truly monstrous people can be, when they can justify the things that they're about to do.

Oh, they were desperate. The Governor was the reason the siege still hadn't ended. They were just using us to convince papa to stop. For the good of everyone, they kept saying.

When hitting them failed, they shot through the windows, instead. Then they rammed a car through the main entrance. Doors were broken into and the house was completely ransacked. All that I grew up with was utterly ruined, desses, toys, books, gifts, everything.

But thankfully, me and mama were safely hidden away in the panic room, where we could see and hear everything.

They kept talking about how they were going to rape mama and use that as blackmail. Then about how they'd also do it to me. Then about how my grandpa was just lucky to colonize the planet first and that they deserved it just as much. They were spouting that, and so much more bullshit.

The worst part is that they all would've followed through with it, too. You could see it in their eyes.

Mama tried to hide it all from me, but she couldn't cover my eyes and ears forever, and we needed the cameras to know when it would be safe to leave.

Luckily, we didn't have to stay there for long. Because we were defeated later that night. Father's Carrier was crippled and after that, most of the fleet fled.

When the Count came to collect his spoils, he chased away the mob that gathered in our home and ransacked it even more. I didn't even know why, until the hidden door opened behind us.

The women of the defeated ruler are the first to be claimed. That was how it worked. It was some code that the Empire followed. It ensured peace in conquered territories, they said. I don't think even he believed that.

Mama cried desperately as she held me close. She kept telling me that she was sorry. That she failed. But… I never once believed that.

So I turned to him and rose to my feet, as he towered over me. And I told him to only take me. Mama's nails dug into my cheeks as she tried to shut me up. But the soldiers yanked her away.

She cried and screamed, clawed and fought... I tried so hard to ignore her, when the Count told me to continue and… I said that mama would never love him. That her beauty would turn ugly while with him. And he would've just ruined the most beautiful, brilliant woman in the galaxy. But that I was different. I could still be fully devoted to him with more than enough room to grow, all he needed to do was listen to a few requests.

And he did. That's why I'm married to him."

The twenty minute mark had passed midway through her recounting. But she couldn't just stop then.

Ariel asked to learn more, and Guila obliged with full honesty.

It was while Guila wiped her tears away with her wrists, that Ariel finally seemed able to sit up.

But the Vulpina wasn't satisfied yet.

"Shouldn't that be even more of a reason to meet Mistress' mama, then?" She asked, while seemingly staring into Guila's eyes. Even though she couldn't actually see anything. "You loved her so much that you gave yourself up to someone who you believed would only do you harm. That's… why not?"

"You make it sound like saving my mama was the only reason." Guila chuckled, before her trembling finally began to ease.

"In a way, you're right. But he also spared my home. My family prospered more than they ever did before, and…" She bit her lip and inhaled deeply, before continuing.

"He made my dream a reality."

"Everything I asked for, he gave. The most powerful, most accomplished man in the Empire, the man who went on to end decades of war, that caliber of man, listened to a completely delusional girl and didn't just turn on her when he got what he wanted, while she had nothing else to hang onto."

"I had to devote myself to him. Not just because it was what I promised, but because he wanted and trusted me enough to follow through on all of that." Then Guila hung her head low, before she pulled her hand away from Ariel and pushed against the railing, to finally get back on her feet.

"But if I met my mama that day. I wouldn't be able to stay devoted. I would be betraying his trust. Because even after all he's given, I love mama more than I could ever love anyone else. Including him."

"But Mistress didn't need her mama anymore, right?"

And to that final question, Guila gave a sad, forced smile. Even though no one would see it.

"I did. I still do. And I'll always need her… you can move now, right? We should go. And... just call me Guila, from now on."