Despite my best efforts, my body still hasn’t healed completely during the night. I was only at half strength as the sun rose again and I returned to my usual weakened state. Trembling slightly under my own weight, I knelt on the bed, my heels to the side of my butt and still loosely wrapped in the duvet as the large door to the room opened slowly.
“Heyho! I´m ba-“ Luna stopped as she took a few steps into the room, leaving only the closing door to interrupt the deathly silence between us. I looked over my exposed shoulder towards her and smiled gently. My red eyes may have been a little scary though because the tablet in her hands fell down to the ground and with it, the glass bottle filled with blood.
“Hi …” I said soothingly while she blinked a few times as my voice was really hoarse and then stumbled backwards a bit in a mixture of shock and a hint of fear.
“H-Hi.” She said after steadying herself a bit, enabling me to take a closer look at her, even though my vision was somewhat blurred. Unlike last time, she had snow white hair, but still held onto her beautifully honest brown eyes.
“Are you okay?” I asked as she trembled considerably more than I did, which was honestly quite the bad sign.
“Y-Yeah …” She stuttered, still in disbelief that I woke up.
“Uhm … my name is Lucy Wh … Worchester.” I said while staring at the lightly glowing ring on my finger.
“L-Luna … Luna White.” She blinked a few times and then immediately knelt on one knee clumsily. “I hereby swear my loyalty to the crown as a member of a ducal house. May her excellency and holiness be blessed with good health and fortune.” Well, her actions were definitely surprising, but her name was even more than that. Luna White. It could mean so much and so little at the same time.
“Luna, there is no need to be so formal.” I said soothingly.
“B-But you are the eternal queen … the saint herself.” She said, revering me quite a bit. And yet, this was exactly what I didn´t want from her.
“You took care of me for how long?” I asked, hoping to stop her worship sooner than later.
“Four y-years your excellency.” She said, still stuttering quite a bit.
“Since you were nine … I guess? You have my eternal gratitude.” I smiled gently just to soothe her a little further which seemed out to work somewhat.
“Please, I merely …” She said but stopped as she noticed my slightly displeased gaze.
“Luna, you helped me more than I can even imagine. I do not wish for you to lower yourself like this in front of me.” I stated and watched how she finally stood up again.
“I cannot possibly …” The same old gears were still turning the world. The hacking order of society still persisted, it was just that I was on top of it at this point.
“Luna, I slept for two hundred years. I am still weakened by my slumber, so please grant me that simple wish.” I asked.
“As you wish, your holiness.” Luna said while looking down cutely.
“Lucy. Call me Lucy.” I said happily waved her over to me which was incredibly hard thanks to the sole piece that covered me.
“O-Okay.” She stumbled once again as the duvet slid downwards and I struggled to get it above my shoulders again.
“Come here Luna.” I told her as I simply gave up on covering myself and rather laid down on my belly. It was more comfortable this way anyways.
“I … I-I can get you other b-blood if you want.” Once again, she stumbled over her words and was probably a bit scared. Sadly, I wasn’t able to look into her eyes at that moment.
“Hmm? Oh, no. I´m not thirsty right now … but it is rather hard to speak loudly right now.” I admitted with my still hoarse voice which was unused for two hundred years.
“I-I am deeply ashamed of my incompetence.” She said and stopped to the side of my bed.
“No, no. Don’t be.” I muttered and reached out for her warm hand. Gently, without much strength in my arms I pulled her onto the bed until she knelt directly beside me. “Want to take a nap?”
“A … a nap?” She asked in doubt.
“Hmm … these lights are giving me headaches.” I mentioned. They were incredibly bright and as I failed to find my glasses over the night, I had nothing to shield myself against the light except through closing my eyes.
“They are …” She muttered, unwilling to put into words what I already knew.
“Probably magical light used against creatures of the night, right?” I asked.
“… yes.” She admitted quietly.
“You don’t have to be troubled by this. I doubt it was your decision, right?” I asked sweetly and caressed her soft hand a little.
“It was not.” She said firmly.
“See, then come here.” It was pillow time! I lifted up the edge of the duvet and noticed in satisfaction how she slipped underneath it slowly. She was incredibly hesitant about everything, which showed once more as I laid my leg over hers and cuddled her side.
“Lucy … you are …” She said, tensing up considerably.
“Naked? But you are clothed, so it is alright … hopefully?” Living with Aska once again certainly wrecked my normal behaviour. At least I could save my behaviour somewhat later on … hopefully.
“… I … okay.” She whispered while exhaling heavily.
“Why am I not wearing any clothes anyway?” I asked swiftly afterwards.
“The third pope wanted to keep your body as pure as possible. Only the finest satin was allowed as your bedding and since then, only unmarried girls were allowed to attend to you … and we couldn’t exactly unclothe you on our own.” Eww. Freakish church rituals. At least they didn´t make me some kind of attraction and demanded money for seeing me.
“There were more than you?” I asked.
“I had around seventy predecessors.” Woah … and most of them were dead at this point.
“It must have been fate that I awoke as you tended to me.” I claimed.
“Hmm…” She nodded while I placed my ear right above her beating heart. How much I missed this feeling. And even though I was indulging myself in it, I couldn’t help but notice that she didn´t know I was supposed to wake up in a week anyway. Well, it would probably be a pr-disaster if I didn´t wake up then, so it was kind of expected that my day of awakening was swept under the rug.
As I let my thoughts wander again and enjoyed the warmth she was spreading through her clothing, I really felt myself dosing off, at least until Luna suddenly jerked up.
“I completely forgot that I was supposed to tell the others!”
“Uhh~ even when I don’t want that?” I asked meekly.
“Uhm … you don’t?” She said unsure.
“No, not right now. I am not that keen on all the work that will follow when I present myself to the world … at least not yet.” I mentioned, directly complaining about the unfairness of not being able to spent as much time as I wanted with her.
“But … it is said you will lead us to a better future.” She said, which did horrify me somewhat. A better future? Me?
“Luna … that is my goal, but I also want to have a somewhat normal life. I want to have friends who don’t care that I am the saint, or that I´m the eternal queen. I want to have fun as well …” I said quietly.
“Then let me help you. I´ll do whatever it takes to lift that burden of your shoulders at least a little bit.” Her offer was genuine and it did touch my heart, but I didn´t want to drag her into the hellhole that was politics.
“That is nice to hear Luna but I want you to have your own life. You already did more than enough for me.” I stated calmly. She shouldn’t be tainted by me, that was one of the things I swore to myself at that moment.
“I … I can give you my blood.” She offered which made me open my eyes once again.
“That’s another thing we need to talk about. Where is that blood coming from?” I asked with concern in my hoarse voice.
“Death row prisoners …” She stated. Not a bad choice, my dear pope, but the saint wouldn’t even take that.
“Hmm … no intelligent being should have their blood or organs forcibly removed even if it is for a good cause. I am very grateful that you offer me your blood, but I do not want to hurt you. I´d rather drink animal blood like I did all these years ago.” I stated and smiled bitterly. It would have been so easy to just take the blood that was given to me. But I wanted to play the role of the saint perfectly, without any inconsistencies whatsoever.
“It is really not a problem. I ca-“ She started but was soon interrupted by me.
“Luna, let it be … the only thing you can do for me right now is to close your eyes and take a nap together with me.” I stated and yawned to underline my point.
“O-Okay.” I had to admit that this was the best nap I took in over two centuries. A willing living being underneath me was truly something else.
Despite my best efforts, my body still hasn’t healed completely during the night. I was only at half strength as the sun rose again and I returned to my usual weakened state. Trembling slightly under my own weight, I knelt on the bed, my heels to the side of my butt and still loosely wrapped in the duvet as the large door to the room opened slowly.
“Heyho! I´m ba-“ Luna stopped as she took a few steps into the room, leaving only the closing door to interrupt the deathly silence between us. I looked over my exposed shoulder towards her and smiled gently. My red eyes may have been a little scary though because the tablet in her hands fell down to the ground and with it, the glass bottle filled with blood.
“Hi …” I said soothingly while she blinked a few times as my voice was really hoarse and then stumbled backwards a bit in a mixture of shock and a hint of fear.
“H-Hi.” She said after steadying herself a bit, enabling me to take a closer look at her, even though my vision was somewhat blurred. Unlike last time, she had snow white hair, but still held onto her beautifully honest brown eyes.
“Are you okay?” I asked as she trembled considerably more than I did, which was honestly quite the bad sign.
“Y-Yeah …” She stuttered, still in disbelief that I woke up.
“Uhm … my name is Lucy Wh … Worchester.” I said while staring at the lightly glowing ring on my finger.
“L-Luna … Luna White.” She blinked a few times and then immediately knelt on one knee clumsily. “I hereby swear my loyalty to the crown as a member of a ducal house. May her excellency and holiness be blessed with good health and fortune.” Well, her actions were definitely surprising, but her name was even more than that. Luna White. It could mean so much and so little at the same time.
“Luna, there is no need to be so formal.” I said soothingly.
“B-But you are the eternal queen … the saint herself.” She said, revering me quite a bit. And yet, this was exactly what I didn´t want from her.
“You took care of me for how long?” I asked, hoping to stop her worship sooner than later.
“Four y-years your excellency.” She said, still stuttering quite a bit.
“Since you were nine … I guess? You have my eternal gratitude.” I smiled gently just to soothe her a little further which seemed out to work somewhat.
“Please, I merely …” She said but stopped as she noticed my slightly displeased gaze.
“Luna, you helped me more than I can even imagine. I do not wish for you to lower yourself like this in front of me.” I stated and watched how she finally stood up again.
“I cannot possibly …” The same old gears were still turning the world. The hacking order of society still persisted, it was just that I was on top of it at this point.
“Luna, I slept for two hundred years. I am still weakened by my slumber, so please grant me that simple wish.” I asked.
“As you wish, your holiness.” Luna said while looking down cutely.
“Lucy. Call me Lucy.” I said happily waved her over to me which was incredibly hard thanks to the sole piece that covered me.
“O-Okay.” She stumbled once again as the duvet slid downwards and I struggled to get it above my shoulders again.
“Come here Luna.” I told her as I simply gave up on covering myself and rather laid down on my belly. It was more comfortable this way anyways.
“I … I-I can get you other b-blood if you want.” Once again, she stumbled over her words and was probably a bit scared. Sadly, I wasn’t able to look into her eyes at that moment.
“Hmm? Oh, no. I´m not thirsty right now … but it is rather hard to speak loudly right now.” I admitted with my still hoarse voice which was unused for two hundred years.
“I-I am deeply ashamed of my incompetence.” She said and stopped to the side of my bed.
“No, no. Don’t be.” I muttered and reached out for her warm hand. Gently, without much strength in my arms I pulled her onto the bed until she knelt directly beside me. “Want to take a nap?”
“A … a nap?” She asked in doubt.
“Hmm … these lights are giving me headaches.” I mentioned. They were incredibly bright and as I failed to find my glasses over the night, I had nothing to shield myself against the light except through closing my eyes.
“They are …” She muttered, unwilling to put into words what I already knew.
“Probably magical light used against creatures of the night, right?” I asked.
“… yes.” She admitted quietly.
“You don’t have to be troubled by this. I doubt it was your decision, right?” I asked sweetly and caressed her soft hand a little.
“It was not.” She said firmly.
“See, then come here.” It was pillow time! I lifted up the edge of the duvet and noticed in satisfaction how she slipped underneath it slowly. She was incredibly hesitant about everything, which showed once more as I laid my leg over hers and cuddled her side.
“Lucy … you are …” She said, tensing up considerably.
“Naked? But you are clothed, so it is alright … hopefully?” Living with Aska once again certainly wrecked my normal behaviour. At least I could save my behaviour somewhat later on … hopefully.
“… I … okay.” She whispered while exhaling heavily.
“Why am I not wearing any clothes anyway?” I asked swiftly afterwards.
“The third pope wanted to keep your body as pure as possible. Only the finest satin was allowed as your bedding and since then, only unmarried girls were allowed to attend to you … and we couldn’t exactly unclothe you on our own.” Eww. Freakish church rituals. At least they didn´t make me some kind of attraction and demanded money for seeing me.
“There were more than you?” I asked.
“I had around seventy predecessors.” Woah … and most of them were dead at this point.
“It must have been fate that I awoke as you tended to me.” I claimed.
“Hmm…” She nodded while I placed my ear right above her beating heart. How much I missed this feeling. And even though I was indulging myself in it, I couldn’t help but notice that she didn´t know I was supposed to wake up in a week anyway. Well, it would probably be a pr-disaster if I didn´t wake up then, so it was kind of expected that my day of awakening was swept under the rug.
As I let my thoughts wander again and enjoyed the warmth she was spreading through her clothing, I really felt myself dosing off, at least until Luna suddenly jerked up.
“I completely forgot that I was supposed to tell the others!”
“Uhh~ even when I don’t want that?” I asked meekly.
“Uhm … you don’t?” She said unsure.
“No, not right now. I am not that keen on all the work that will follow when I present myself to the world … at least not yet.” I mentioned, directly complaining about the unfairness of not being able to spent as much time as I wanted with her.
“But … it is said you will lead us to a better future.” She said, which did horrify me somewhat. A better future? Me?
“Luna … that is my goal, but I also want to have a somewhat normal life. I want to have friends who don’t care that I am the saint, or that I´m the eternal queen. I want to have fun as well …” I said quietly.
“Then let me help you. I´ll do whatever it takes to lift that burden of your shoulders at least a little bit.” Her offer was genuine and it did touch my heart, but I didn´t want to drag her into the hellhole that was politics.
“That is nice to hear Luna but I want you to have your own life. You already did more than enough for me.” I stated calmly. She shouldn’t be tainted by me, that was one of the things I swore to myself at that moment.
“I … I can give you my blood.” She offered which made me open my eyes once again.
“That’s another thing we need to talk about. Where is that blood coming from?” I asked with concern in my hoarse voice.
“Death row prisoners …” She stated. Not a bad choice, my dear pope, but the saint wouldn’t even take that.
“Hmm … no intelligent being should have their blood or organs forcibly removed even if it is for a good cause. I am very grateful that you offer me your blood, but I do not want to hurt you. I´d rather drink animal blood like I did all these years ago.” I stated and smiled bitterly. It would have been so easy to just take the blood that was given to me. But I wanted to play the role of the saint perfectly, without any inconsistencies whatsoever.
“It is really not a problem. I ca-“ She started but was soon interrupted by me.
“Luna, let it be … the only thing you can do for me right now is to close your eyes and take a nap together with me.” I stated and yawned to underline my point.
“O-Okay.” I had to admit that this was the best nap I took in over two centuries. A willing living being underneath me was truly something else.
