ㅤㅤ"A-Alright, your majesty," Circe took a deep breath. "Try that again, but th-think of something that might have... upset you in the past. Then, remember how it got better - in the end."
ㅤㅤ"Circe," Quilliene said carefully. "Please remem-ber - you really don't have to be so formal with me when it's just us and Kyrana. But, thank you, I'll try again."
ㅤㅤQuilliene, Circe, and Kyrana were standing in another section of the garden, rows and rows of old, decrepit statues of varying materials all lined up one after another. She was tasked by Circle to destroy them and freeze the pieces mid air with her telekinetic abilities, but they had to be invoked with a proper emotion to test her strength.
ㅤㅤAs one might guess, that wasn't quite working out too well for the queen. Allowing her emotions to guide her magick only resulted in the statue becoming a piled mess all over the garden floor and a quiet sigh from Circe. Somehow, someway, she wasn't doing it right. The thing was, she couldn't figure out what to think of. The only memory that came to mind was of Neo's death, and then the spell would flare up and do whatever it wanted.
ㅤㅤKyrana stood to the side, watching with keen interest. She was supposed to be filling in for Neo as he took a short break from his duties to get some well earned sleep. She had one arm folded across her abdomen and the other hand brushing her chin in thought. Silently, she was only able to watch as the statues would turn to dust.
ㅤㅤ"Your ma-" Circe began, then cleared her throat. "I mean, miss Quilliene, you have to focus. You have everything down right from the emotion and then the memory to the invoking... but you're not letting yourself think of how the memory gets better. You're letting the despair overwhelm you."
ㅤㅤQuilliene glared at a statue. "I'm telling you Circe, I'm not letting it do anything!" With that, one of the statues burst and scattered into millions little pebbles. She sighed and sat down on a bench, hanging her head in defeat. "I just... I can't focus right now."
ㅤㅤKyrana glanced at her, and then the statue, before she walked over and sat beside the queen. "What seems to be the problem, your majesty?" She asked.
ㅤㅤ"I just..." Quilliene pressed two fingers to the bridge of her nose, staring at the ground. "I keep thinking about the nation and my role as Queen, and what I'm supposed to do, or if I'm doing any of this right, but..."
ㅤㅤShe glanced at Kyrana, who raised an eyebrow as if she didn't believe her. Quilliene sighed. "Neo, too. I can't stop thinking about how every single day for him is just a countdown, a timer, and just acts like..." She threw her hands up. "Like it's nothing! When it's everything! I spent ten minutes with his body in my arms, and he's still pretending like he's fine!"
ㅤㅤTears welled up in her eyes, and she instinctively wiped them away. "I'm sorry, I'm yelling."
ㅤㅤ"If yelling, helps, your majesty," Kyrana said softly. "Then yell all you please." She paused, the scooted a bit closer as she seemed to almost glance at Circe. "I understand why you are upset, and to tell the truth? I think Neo is just as scared as you. He is just having a hard time facing his fears, y'know?"
ㅤㅤQuilliene took a shallow breath. "Yes, but... I suppose I wish he would open up to me. Every time I think he's going to, he just clamps up again and laughs it off or says something sarcastic! Constantly treating me as if I'm this fragile thing and the truth might break me, when I already know..."
ㅤㅤ"I don't think it's you." Kyrana murmured, glancing at Circe again. "I think... I think he's simply just afraid of admitting how scared he is to someone he cares about."
ㅤㅤQuilliene started to wonder who she was talking about - her and Neo, or herself and Circe. Or was it both? She glanced at her mentor, who pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes, cheeks flushing as she diverted her eyes elsewhere in the garden. Quilliene looked down at her knees, processing the information and simply allowing the tears to run down.
ㅤㅤ"I know." She said softly. "I keep thinking about that day every time I close my eyes. It's still so much of a blur, but I remember him. In his last moments, he was more concerned about the fact he thought he made me cry than the gaping wound in his stomach! What if he had stayed dead? What would I have done then?"
ㅤㅤShe could see Kyrana look at her from the corner of her eyes, like something had just clicked inside her mind. "Your majesty," She said carefully. "Forgive me if I am wrong, or I may be overstepping my boundaries, but... have you considered you more than just care for Neo as a friend?"
ㅤㅤQuilliene choked on a sob, face completely flushing a bright reddish pink colour as she turned away from Kyrana. She saw Circe, who was apparently surprised, nearly jump out of her skin and fall out of place from having simply stood there so awkwardly. Meanwhile, the queen was just trying to compose herself, but the words seemed to not want to leave her mouth.
ㅤㅤ"K-Kyrana!" She stumbled over the name. "I-I'm not quite sure what might make you come to such a-a conclusion... H-Highly inappropriate, he would never...!" Then she stopped, looking at her guard companion. "I... Would he?"
ㅤㅤ"I don't know." Kyrana shrugged, standing back up with a hand on her sword hilt. She was staring off, but then it became clear she was looking at Circe. "You two are an awfully odd duo. All I can say is... Do you ever feel, well... butterflies when you're around him? Nervous, for no reason. Sometimes you realise you're staring at him, or laughing at things he says you wouldn't even find funny normally."
ㅤㅤQuilliene was sure her shade of red was matching Circe's. "Y-You..." The queen began, realising she was... right. "You're not too far off, no. When we're alone and we talk with one another, I always want to..."
ㅤㅤShe reached out, as if he was in front of her, and pulled back. "But I can't. He says, all the time, that it wouldn't be safe... for us. Even though..." She gripped her hand, feeling his phantom touch on her fingers. "I am the only one he can touch - and he still fears it."
ㅤㅤShe looked up to Kyrana, who was staring out at Circe before she turned to face her queen. Quilliene smiled, wiping away the last of her tears. "I think I understand now, Kyra." She said softly. "Thank you... I feel as though my head is so much clearer than before."
ㅤㅤKyrana grinned. "Then shall we get back to practice? Or do you feel you should rest for now?"
ㅤㅤ"We'll continue." Quilliene stood from the bench, much more confidently than before. "I'll be fine.
Besides, I think I thought of a happy ending to my memory."
ㅤㅤShe smiled to herself, walking past Kyrana and Circe, back to the statues. As she was focusing, she couldn't help but hear the shuffle of Circe's feet falling away, like she was walking off - or, perhaps towards Kyrana, since she heard them whispering to each other. She couldn't help but listen in, and when she found what they were speaking about, she smiled again.
ㅤㅤ"Is this your way of... letting her go?" Circe asked. "The past feelings you had for her, I mean. I-It's not my place, but I thought to ask..."
ㅤㅤQuilliene felt eyes on her back, and she turned to look at Kyrana. She was watching her. Then, she smiled, and the queen returned the gesture. Kyrana glanced at Circe, and the grin grew wider but softer. A soft sniff came from her, as if taking in that sage scent Circe smelled of, before she faced her completely. What happened next wasn't exactly unexpected.
ㅤㅤWithout warning, Kyrana wrapped one arm behind Circe and pulled her close. Circe gasped, but had no time to react - because Kyrana leaned in and pressed her lips against Circe's, tilting her head and closing her eyes. Circe didn't know how to respond at first, simply standing there in shock before she melted into Kyrana's arms and ran her fingers through the demon's hair.
ㅤㅤWhen they finally separated, the both had huge grins on their faces. Circe made cute little giggling noises as she tried to hide her smile, but that was impossible at this point. Even though she seemed to be adamantly averting eye contact with Kyrana, she kept glancing at her, still held in one arm by her demon lover.
ㅤㅤQuilliene turned back to the statues, grinning about as widely as Kyrana and Circe were. She began invoking the emotions she felt, remembering the day Neo died - and then she remembered him opening his eyes. Those mismatched eyes, speaking a million words, and holding a thousand memories. The statue's head exploded once more, but this time into little cubes, suspended in mid air. She smiled - finally, a success. For both herself, and her mentor and guard captain.