Goth Girl Confession (Hiatus over)

Author's Note: Hi y'all! I am very happy to announce that Kingdom is now active once more! I will be sticking to a schedule of posting once every 5 days currently, but I may go back to my old schedule of once every 3 days if I find that I have the energy to. Please enjoy this double chapter post as a welcome back gift, and thank you to everyone who has continued to stick around through my hiatus <3

I’m a little nervous this morning. My anxiety is telling me that even though Paige said not to worry about things, that this conversation is going to turn out badly. Ivy and Mia both comfort me, and I know that we’re all going to be okay no matter what happens, so luckily my anxiety doesn’t get that bad about things.

To help distract myself, we go through a dungeon run before Paige gets here. We do something familiar, the giant rats. We breeze through the dungeon by this point, even Skylar can hold her own okay. They don’t have any elemental armour sets as loot, but for whatever reason, they do drop scrap metal armour. It’s strictly worse than what we already have, so I list it on the auction immediately once we get back.

Luckily, we don’t have to wait for too long after we finish the dungeon for Paige to arrive. I go pick her up at the fateweaver barrier and give her a hug as a greeting. She’s definitely nervous, playing with her hair and fidgeting. I bring her back to the palace, and Mia, Ivy and Skylar each give her a hug hello.

“So you wanted to talk to us Paige?” I ask, after we’re all sat down on the couches. My girlfriends and I sit on one couch, while Paige sits on another, facing us. “Y-yeah…” She says, playing with her hair and looking down, unable to make eye contact. Her face is getting redder by the second.

“We’re here whenever you’re ready.” I tell her, giving her a reassuring smile. “W-well…I-I think you’re all r-really cool and pretty and I…um…I’m kinda like…interested in you all…?” She says, her voice trailing off and getting quieter the more she speaks, but she seems determined to get this out there.

My previous anxiety evaporates completely at her words. I understand why she was so nervous now. “Really? How’s that?” I ask her, leaning forward slightly. I want to make sure she’s sure about this and that she wants us for the same reasons that we want her. Like Skylar was saying the other day, we need to make sure that she’s right for us.

“I…” She takes a deep breath in an effort to steady her voice. “I know you’re all poly, a-and if you’re up for having another g-girlfriend, I think I’d like to try that…” She says, still completely unable to make eye contact. I look at my girlfriends. Thanks to our mental connection, I already know what Ivy is thinking. She winks at me. Mia has a wide smile on her face.

I look to Skylar. In my eyes, her opinion is most important because she’s the least trusting. If Skylar thinks that Paige is a good fit for us, then we probably don’t have all that much to worry about. The umbramancer gives a small nod, and I smile at her. The expression on her face is peaceful, relaxed. She trusts Paige enough to give her a chance, and she trusts that we won’t get with her if she turns out not to be a good fit for us.

Turning back to Paige, I speak, deciding to be direct and take charge of the discussion. “Have you ever had a partner before?” I ask her. She looks up at me, still not completely able to make eye contact. She’s a little taken aback by the question and the bluntness of it. Looking embarrassed to admit it, she shakes her head.

“I’ve been a lesbian for as long as I can remember. I-I’ve never had a girlfriend before.” She says, lowering her head in shame. “It’s okay Paige. I’ll make this clear now: we are interested in you, but we want to make sure you’re a good fit for us.” I tell her. Her head snaps up at that, wide eyed. “Really?!” She asks, and I chuckle at her enthusiasm.

“Yes, really. How much do you know about what being in a relationship is?” I ask her. She looks confused. “Um…I’m not sure?” The goth girl replies. “What do you think it looks like, day to day?” I elaborate. “Um…cuddles, kisses…having s-sex…making each other happy I guess…” Paige says, her face turning bright red again.

I smile at her, doing my best to help her feel relaxed. “It is, but it’s also more than that. The biggest thing I’d say is that we are at peace with each other. Being in love, being in a relationship…it can take many different forms and look many different ways, but the thing that’s consistent in most healthy, long lasting relationships is that it brings peace to your life.”

Paige nods, a little unsure about all of this, but happy to listen. “All the stuff you mentioned is what you see from us on the outside. But it takes work, communication, respect and loyalty. We value those things heavily. I think we’re lucky that we haven’t really had any big problems yet, but one day we probably will.”

“We have rules that we agree on that work for us, and it’s all in service of keeping this relationship going strong for a long time to come, and making sure that we all feel loved and respected. It’s absolutely okay that you’ve never been in a relationship before, but we want to make sure that if we do this, we do it the right way for all of us.” I tell her.

Paige nods in understanding. “I get that. What are the rules then?” She asks, now a little more confident in the discussion. “To list them off really quickly, we don’t like ****, we don’t want kids, no men allowed, we want to get married someday, and we all need to be open and communicate with each other.” I tell her, and Paige nods.

She stays silent for a few seconds, thinking. “Do you need some time to think about all of this?” Mia asks her. “What do you mean?” Paige replies. “We’re all happy for you to be our girlfriend at this point, but only if you’re happy with all that stuff. If it isn’t right for you, then that’s all good, and we’ll keep things platonic.” Mia says.

The gothic terramancer goes silent for a few seconds, thinking. “I-I think I would like some time to think, if that’s okay. I know I’m definitely still interested in you all, but after what you said…I-I don’t want to rush into this. I want to do this right.” She says thoughtfully. I stand up and give her a hug.

Paige hugs me back, surprised. I separate from her after a few seconds. “Are you doing okay?” I ask her. “Y-yeah, I think so. I was really nervous about this, but I think I’m okay.” She says, smiling at me. “Do you want to spend more time with us, or do you need some time away to think about it?” I ask her.

She responds much quicker this time. “I-I’d much rather hang out with you.” She says, blushing as I grin at her. “Sounds good then. Want to do some dungeon running? We still have to get the rest of the earth elemental armour.” I remind her. Her eyes light up at that. “Yes! That Shrek dungeon is hilarious.” She giggles.

With that all decided, we gear up to go into the ogres dungeon, and hopefully collect the remaining pieces of the earth elemental armour. Paige is growing in her experience, but her power levels are still pretty low compared to the rest of us, and we still have to watch out for her. Hopefully that won’t be a problem soon enough.

While Ivy, Mia and I can easily get through the dungeon, Skylar and Paige would have a lot more trouble on their own. We’re careful to look out for Paige especially, but also Skylar, as much as she really dislikes this way of doing things. We let her stand on her own, but any time a situation gets too hairy, we intervene. It only happens twice throughout the fight, but she still doesn’t like it.

By the end of the dungeon, Ivy and I both level up, putting us both at level 58. Agility for me, wisdom for Ivy, and done. To my delight, and Paige’s, the last remaining pieces of the earth elemental armour do indeed drop this round. She’s excited to try the full set on, and we get back to the palace quickly.

It fits perfectly, which stands to reason with the resizing enchantment. The other enchantments are exactly the same, except for an earth user. That means Paige gets more damage resistance from earth elemental attacks, but also from attacks using lightning magic. A handy prospect.

Her spellpower is buffed by 20%, as is the damage she deals from her spells. Very handy stuff. With Paige eager to test out how she fairs in battle with her new armour, we decide on one more dungeon before lunch. We want to do something quick, but not the goblins dungeon, so we decide on the giant rats again.