Princess Estina slipped out of the estate and headed straight towards the forest and the path that would lead towards the lagoon. The night was cold but the warm water would be a reprieve and would hopefully relax her tense muscles. She gazed up at the sky before she entered the forest. It was a clear night. The two moons were not present and what was left, was a canvas of stars that twinkled vibrantly from their unknown origins.

She trudged along the trail, a flickering torch in her hand to guide the way through the dark until she reached the lagoon. It was quiet, devoid of animal or human sounds. The water was also dark and flat. Princess Estina paused on the same flat rock she had sat on the day she had come to talk to Menelt and Weldlan. It had only been a couple of weeks ago but it already felt like a great considerable amount of time had past with all the work they had been doing at the estate.

If she had been younger, she would have been terrified. It would be the perfect ingredients to cause her imagination to create lurking two-faced monsters that would lunge out of the depths of the water and pull her into their realm. Or something would climb out of the forest to capture her and feed her to its children. It was sad how her imagination was now a reprieve. Her true mortal enemies were real.

Princess Estina leaned back on her hands and stared up at the gap in the trees. The stars continued to shine brilliantly. Thousands and thousands.

She stood on the rock, pulled off her clothes and tested the water. It was hot to touch. Carefully, she stepped over the rocks, and when she was confident the water was deep enough, she dived in and swam under the surface until she was further in the centre.

Naked in the water, she lay on her back, floating as she moved her hands lazily. Despite everything, a sense of calm started to fill her. She closed her eyes and sank under the water, holding her breath while she glided. It was as if she was entombed, cacooned and protected from the rest of the world. When her lungs felt like they would burst, she pushed up for air. She gasped loudly and slowly spun in the water, taking in the familiar shadows of the trees surrounding the lagoon.

All of a sudden, a wave of caution washed over her and she paused. She was being watched. Princess Estina cast her eyes over the surrounding forest, her heart rate increasing as she searched the tree line once more.

All she continued to spy were the shadows of trees. She analysed them carefully, fearing she may miss something. She searched for something that would represent other than a tree trunk. Maybe she was imagining things. Maybe the scroll she had received from her brother that evening had caused this extra feeling of unease.

She stopped in the water.

There.

Standing on the rock formation beside the lake a figure stood, hand resting on the rock.

Princess Estina started to back away and towards the bank of the river where she had left her sword, never letting her eyes stray from the black outline. The figure moved, and Princess Estina cursed under her breath.

“Menelt,” she breathed. Then angrily she called out, “Menelt! What are you doing lurking in the shadows? You scared me enough to meet my ancestors!”

Menelt stepped forward and away from the outcrop towards the water’s edge. She still couldn’t see his face, but she had his form memorized into her brain.

“I was ensuring you were safe,” he said, his deep voice resonating over the water. “Why did you leave the estate by yourself in the middle of the night?”

“As if I’ve ever had to ask for permission to go about my own business before,” she retorted. “I’m capable of taking care of myself.”

“Yes, you can,” he replied. “But one person can only do so much, and men may do worse than kill you.”

Princess Estina didn’t know how to respond. It was a bold comment. His training had always been as a soldier on the battlefield, of how to fight an enemy. There rarely had been any reference to her position as a female.

Menelt sat on a rock, and Princess Estina swam closer to him so they didn’t have to raise their voices and draw unwanted attention.

“I followed you,” Menelt continued, “because the invite from your brother got me thinking. If Prince Yernal did want to kill you, what would stop him from sending someone to try and assassinate you?”

Princess Estina scoffed. “That would be a bit odd after sending an invitation.”

“True, but it is not out of the realm of possibilities. He could use the invitation as a cover to his involvement in your death.”

Princess Estina sighed. “I suppose you’re right,” she said, switching to the mountain clan tongue.

At this distance, she could make out the faint contours of Menelt’s face, and she recognized a slight smirk on his face.

“What?” she asked.

“You’ve nearly got the mountain accent down now.”

Princess Estina smiled, pleased that after so long she was finally mastering it. “You should join me,” she blurted.

There was an awkward pause, and Princess Estina swallowed. They had never swum alone before. She pointed to the stars quickly. “The view is amazing lying on your back.” In the darkness she saw Menelt’s head lift to the sky and then back to her. “That’s if Weldlan wouldn’t mind, of course,” she added hesitantly.

Why had she added that? Just what was she inviting?

“Why would Weldlan mind?” Menelt asked. “He made it clear the other week that it would not bother him.”

Princess Estina paused. She had revealed too much in that last statement, and she was digging herself into a deep hole.

If only Weldlan was here so she could growl at him. He had put these thoughts into her head, making her aware of her loneliness and her needs, and now, when she looked at Menelt, she looked at him differently. If it wasn’t Ladet, it was Menelt. If it wasn’t Menelt, it was Clagen. Princess Estina wanted to scream. In the past two years, a lover had been the last thing on her mind. Why now was it so prominent? A nervous laugh escaped her. “We’ve never swam alone together before, have we?”

“No, we haven’t.” He paused. “Are you sure?”

Princess Estina was quiet, suddenly feeling out of depth, knowing all too well what he was really asking. For one brief moment, she wished she could take her suggestion back but then, an overwhelming flood of desire rushed through her. Through the darkness and the shadows, they stared at each other, and she was sure they were looking into each other’s eyes.

“I-I think the future is very uncertain at the moment,” Princess Estina said, her voice shaking. “I would like to experience everything so if I die, I do not die with regrets.”

Menelt waited as if giving her a chance to change her mind, but when Princess Estina didn’t say anything else, Menelt rose to his feet and stepped down over the rocks to the water’s edge. She watched his shadow strip off his clothes, the night giving a fluid smooth movement to his actions. The outline of his body only emphasised now while he strode into the water.

He submerged himself until it was up to his waist, and then he completely immersed his body. Princess Estina held her breath, not knowing where he was going to reappear. She swam backwards further out into the middle of the lagoon.

Menelt’s head broke through the water a short distance away, and he swam towards her. Here, in the middle, neither could touch the bottom. The two moons had risen while he had entered the lagoon, and it was now bright enough for Princess Estina to see Menelt’s features.

Their eyes met clearly in the darkness. For the first time in Menelt’s presence, she felt uncomfortable and unsure of what to say. There was an unprecedented tension between them.

“Our conversation from the other day here at the lagoon is messing with your head,” Menelt said, getting straight to the point.

It was a relief really. Of course, he wouldn’t shy away from what was blatantly in front of them.

Princess Estina laughed. “It has. That topic has been meddling with my thoughts,” she agreed.

“But thoughts that were already there.”

Princess Estina sighed. “And is that so wrong?” She shook her head. “It is wrong. I have too much responsibility. I have too much that I’ve worked for. I don’t want to lose it.”

“I wouldn’t let you,” Menelt stated.

Princess Estina met his gaze, their bodies wading closer and closer as they spoke.

“I know you wouldn’t,” she said. “No matter who I was with.”

“Ah yes, I saw you try to track down Ladet,” he said.

Princess Estina looked away. “You have been following me. It does not matter. It would appear that he has formed a relationship with Lady Annalei.”

“That I do not know. All I know is that we waste time talking.”

Princess Estina stopped short. It shouldn’t surprise her. In every facet of life Menelt was always to the point. Why would he be any different when it came to intimacy, to the sharing of flesh and pleasure?

She took a deep breath and swam towards him closing the distance. Through the water, Menelt’s hand landed on her waist. Large and surprisingly gentle, it glided around to the small of her back and pulled her closer.

Princess Estina struggled to breathe. The close proximity meant she couldn’t paddle her legs to keep herself afloat. The hand on her back was so familiar but so different at the same time. It was all a gesture, an intimate gesture he had never conducted before. It was a line he had never crossed. Sure, he had laid his hands on her but only in the seriousness of training to guide where her hands should go or where her arms or body should move to.

Cautiously, she lifted one hand to his shoulder.

“Just,” she paused, her voice shaking. “I want you to know that I know what this is. And I want you to know what this is for me. Nothing else changes between us. I don’t…expect anything else.”

Menelt lifted one hand and moved a strand of hair that had stuck to the side of her cheek. He guided it back off her face.

“You are clan now,” he said. “No matter what happens between us or when we go to see Prince Yernal. Whether we share the flesh or not. You are clan, and you always will be.”

Princess Estina didn’t respond, absorbing his words. They were momentous. He had never said such words to her before and never before had she felt such acceptance and belonging to anyone or anything.

A smile suddenly found her lips. “Menelt, who would have thought you were so tender?”

“Shh, don’t tell anyone.”

Menelt pulled her through the water, her chest and legs gliding against his own as they moved. She felt the outline of his muscles and the width of his chest compared to her own. He stopped, and she suspected he could touch the ground, although the water was still up to his chest.

Their eyes met, and her pulse raised at the intent and want she saw there, that she had never seen before. Without any further doubts, she closed the distance between them and brought her lips to his own. Not once in the past two years, had she ever seen Menelt and Weldlan kiss. She didn’t even know if it was a mountain clan’s custom, but she wanted to. She wanted to feel his lips on her own.

He accepted her kiss with his other hand coming up to cup the side of her face. Her hands ran down his chest, her own moving fast as her heart continued to pound. Her fingers glided over his pectoral muscles and down the front of his stomach past his belly button, where she could feel the swirl of hair that trailed down and in between his thighs.

She stopped there though. This was where she was going to let him take the lead. She continued to kiss him, and he drew one hand slowly down over her now exposed breast. They broke apart, and he lowered his head and placed his lips onto one of her nipples. Princess Estina let her head fall back as the sensation tingled through her.

Confusion flickered when Menelt suddenly pulled back and turned her around in the water so her back was facing his chest.

“What’s wrong?” she gasped.

“Nothing,” he said into her ear, his hands landing on her hips. “If we do die, I want you to experience the truest physical pleasure a person can give their lover, first.” One of his hands slid across her stomach while the other held her in place.

She was still surprised by the tenderness of his touch as his fingers glided lower over the top of her pubic bone. Excitement filled her, distracting her thoughts. It was only when his fingers slid in between the folds of her flesh that she gave up thinking.

She couldn’t help the moan that escaped her. Her head fell back on his chest, and his lips found her neck. She could feel him hard against her lower back, bobbing against the rise of her buttocks. His fingers glided now, smooth and easy with her excitement. They moved faster, and she was surprised when he suddenly stopped. The one hand on her waist moved across her body and up to her breast. He massaged slowly, fingers roaming and gliding over her hard nipples. He lowered his lips again, tickling the skin on her neck.

She moved her hand to his, where it was paused in between her thighs, eager for him to continue. “Don’t stop,” she whispered.

Menelt chuckled against her skin, his hand gently rubbing her nipple between his fingers. She was worried she was going to have to ask again, but before her lips parted, his other hand moved lower and deeper in between her legs and all of a sudden, she felt fingers slide inside. She gasped and slowly moved her hips, exploring the sensation and feel of their movement. He pulsed his fingers in and out, building in friction. The two fingers on her nipple increased their pressure, and his fingers now stroked rhythmically and faster between the folds of her skin.

The energy, the ache, the sensations coursing through her; it was too much. She couldn’t contain it any longer. She wriggled with his movement, her breathing heavy, letting it build further and further. Her hand clasped around the back of his head and then, all of a sudden, her vision mirrored that of the thousand stars in the sky above her. They blurred and became one as the orgasm rippled over her stomach, flushing over her breasts and down towards her toes.

His fingers still moved in between her thighs, gliding inside and then out, massaging and teasing her further. The pleasure surged forth again, and before she could properly gain her breath, another orgasm shot through her body. The lagoon was no longer silent. She knew that, but she didn’t care. It was filled with the sounds of her pleasure.

This time, she turned in the water and her hand lowered, gliding down his stomach.

Menelt didn’t wait. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close. Her legs clasped around him, and he guided her down. And then she could feel him, in between her thighs. He positioned her easily and gently lowered her down until he slid all the way inside.

She lifted her head and locked her eyes with his while she let her body adjust and process, to become accustomed to how he felt. His hands dropped to her hips and all Princess Estina could do was moan softly as he began to guide her into a rhythmical motion.

>>

A short distance away, Ladet pulled back further into the trees. Princess Estina had told him Menelt and herself were not lovers, but still he had wondered. Now he knew. He didn’t know why they kept it as a secret, especially since they were betrothed to be married.

Disappointed, he turned and started to make his way slowly back to the estate. It had been a dream, a hope, a delicious indulgent fantasy, but a fantasy no less, and now, a fantasy no more.

Ladet shook his head. He was a fool. As if he would ever be anything to the Princess. Who was he but a soldier from an unimportant family. Hah! He didn’t even have a family. He didn’t even know if he belonged to a kingdom or an empire.

He didn’t have time for this. He needed to focus all his efforts on rescuing Teal, and now with this invitation from Prince Yernal, a vigorous new hope had been born within his chest. There was no time for desires and lust. He needed to push those thoughts aside.