Caroline is hiding a scandalous affection

Caroline started to speak, but quickly found herself grabbed and pulled into a close hug by her sister. She returned the hug, hands idly running up and down along her sister's back as she rested against that warm, soft, and generous figure.

Several thoughts unbecoming of a young noblewoman surfaced briefly and Caroline did her best to push them down. Instead, she smiled and replied, "It's good to see you too. I missed you so much." She made an amused huff and shook her head as she stepped back from her beaming sister, "I'm still mad at you. But that can wait. Where have you been, anyway?"

"Well," Emmaline started, a familiar almost girlish excitement returning to her eyes-- a look Caroline had seen far too often when they were kids. It was the look she Emmaline had given her before she would steal pastries from the kitchens or slip away from their retainer to disappear down to the lake, a look that had all but disappeared in the months before Emmaline had run away. Emmaline continued "I assume mom already told you all about the stuff with the circus, right? She's been trying to **** me back home since forever ago, so I sorta have to stay off the map whenever I can-- I definitely would have come to visit more, otherwise!"

Emmaline was very animated in her speech, her excitement to be talking to her sister was quite apparent, bubbling up in the chipper tone of her speech and the exaggerated way she moved her arms as she spoke. Caroline did her best to maintain that composed, almost critical demeanor but it proved difficult. Her sister's excitement was infectious and it was hard not to get caught up in the moment with her. Still, Caroline could tell that it was little more than natural excitement for getting to talk to a sister who she loved very much after not seeing her for years.

"Long story short, I'm traveling with a bunch of adventurers now and we're here to-" Emmaline's bubbly out-pour of words suddenly stopped and for a split moment her expression flickered to just a hint of suspicion. Caroline barely caught it before her smile returned. "We're here to stop something very bad. Why... are you here? I hadn't expected to see you"

"Me?" Caroline said, a faint blush reaching her cheeks as she searched for an appropriate answer. "I was invited, of course. Mother felt confident allowing me to attend and perhaps acquire something of value for the family." It was partially true. She had convinced her mother to allow her to come to the manor for the auction, but her reasons were her own. Thinking about them now, with her beautiful sister standing right in front of her... they just seemed so utterly foolish.

"What is all of this about 'stopping something bad'? What are you caught up in?" She took one of her sister's hands, holding it while gazing up at Emmaline with a worried expression. They had only just been reunited and already Emmaline was caught up in some foolish endeavor... that was so very much like her sister, Caroline thought with a sigh.

***

This chapter was co-authored by BriefcaseRonin(https://chyoa.com/user/BriefcaseRonin) who is wonderful and awesome! Please check out her other writing :)