An interruption

“What are you doing?” An angry woman’s voice asked and both Liandra and Elysa jumped a little. They had been so preoccupied with each other that neither had noticed the door to Elysa’s room opening.

The countess immediately pulled away, while the princess turned towards the intruder, and her eyes confirmed the worst: it was none other than Kendra that had found them. Liandra felt her heart sink. The door silently closed behind the baroness, as if to seal off any path of escape from this situation.

For a few brief moments both the princess and the countess just stood there, unmoving, their faces bright red in embarrassment. The Nocternian emissary used these short seconds to approach Elysa and grab her right hand.

“Nice bracelet, countess. Should I tell Her Highness what it is for, or would you like to do it yourself?”

Liandra blinked in confusion. What was there to tell? It was just a silver bracelet, well-made and probably expensive, but overall unremarkable, to the point where the princess had not even noticed it until now.

The countess was just as confused at first. She looked at this uninvited intruder, then at the young princess, then at the woman again, and finally at the silver bracelet. Then her eyes widened in a mix of horror and understanding, and her face paled.

“Is something wrong, Elysa?” Liandra asked, her curiosity piqued.

“I- I- I-“ The countess stammered, still looking at the bracelet. She then closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and turned to face the princess. “It’s a magical artifact I bought from a priestess of Arna Lyra.” She admitted and the younger girl gasped. Arna Lyra, Goddess of Deceit and Seduction, was one of the false gods not recognized in Luxius. Simply mentioning her name was an insult to the true gods… or so had the priests told her always. “It makes it easier to deceive people by obscuring whether I am lying or telling the truth, and also makes it easier to seduce people. It was meant to help me seduce a certain woman. Unfortunately it also makes me equally attracted to both genders. I was on the way to speak with the woman I am supposed to seduce when I saw you troubled, and decided to see what was wrong. And then… well, you can guess the rest, princess. Anyway, if you’ll excuse me, I really need to go!” Not waiting for an answer from either woman Elysa pulled her hand out of Kendra’s grasp and in a hurry left the room, closing the door on the way.

Liandra looked on as the countess left, still unsure what to think about what she had just heard. Then she turned her attention to Kendra, and suddenly became very aware of the fact that they were now alone. An uncomfortable silence filled the room…