Thirteen

"Oh c'mon. How about until after you have cleaned all my wounds?"

Sigourney hummed as she sat on her bed beside Celestria. She took the rag with alcohol and used it to clean up all the smaller cuts down her torso. The cuts varied size and depth, but they weren't any worse than a sliver or a paper cut. The queen dabbed at the cuts on the other's collarbone, a focused look on her face. She moved up to her cheek as Celestria winced slightly. Sigourney caught her gaze, the two locking eyes. Her pace faltered. She kept eye contact, as if in a trance. The queen's eyes flicked from her chocolate coloured eyes down to the scar on her lip. 

She thought it suited her. A backstory to cover an intimidating appearance. Sigourney looked back up into Celestria's eyes. There was humour behind them, as if she found the situation amusing. 

"Why don't you take a photograph, it'll last longer." The queen clicked her tongue and turned away, feeling her cheeks burn up. She tilted Celestria's chin up to clean a cut on her jaw and so she wouldn't see her blush. 

The commander just chuckled, the sound low and raspy as she grew even more tired. She hummed as the queen cleaned her wounds. "I still don't understand why you're helping me. Even if you're just bandaging me up, why help?"

Sigourney paused, letting go of Celestria's jaw. She went to put the rag in a small bowl and began placing the small bandages on all her wounds. "Mostly because I wanted to get away from the king. He looked smug, like it was a proud thing to see all those dead soldiers, even if they were our enemies." She frowned as she placed the last bandage on her. "I don't know. As I said before, you would rather sit and get an infection than get treated first. So I took matters into my own hands. We can't let the commander of a powerful army become injured."

"Yeah. I guess you're right," Celestria responded as she stood up, stretching. She was still quite fatigued, but she was more hungry than anything. Her stomach growled, and she raised a brow at Sigourney. "Now may we get food?" 

The queen nodded as she began putting the medicine and bandages away. She grabbed a jade green dress from her closet and threw it onto her bed beside Celestria. "Here, change into this."

The commander nodded as she took off the rest of her training armour and changed into the dress. It was slim-fitted on the top while the skirt flared out. She trailed her hands down her body to smooth out the wrinkles in the dress. When she looked up, her eyes met the queens'. The woman blushed again and turned her head. "Had she watched me change?" the commander thought. Before the commander could question her, Sigourney spoke. 

"Shall we go then? You can check up on your soldiers afterwards, but for now you must eat. Regain strength, I'm sure that won't be their only attack." Celestria nodded, making sure the dress was completely fixed up. Before the two walked out, the queen grabbed her by the upper arm. "And about earlier," she said. "I apologize. It's none of my business who you sleep with."

"I didn't sleep with him. It was just kissing. But you're right, it isn't any of your business."

The queen was unresponsive for a moment before nodding her head. She let go of Celestria's arm before gesturing to walk through the door. She left right after her, closing the door behind them. The two walked in complete silence down the ivory halls. There were servants bustling throughout the castle, and one bumped into the queen. He apologised profusely, picking up the crate of apples he has been holding, red apples now littering the floor. Celestria kneeled down to help him pick up the apples before noticing it was Samuel. He was still apologising, mainly to the commander. 

"It's fine, Samuel. It's just me, you're not in trouble," she spoke with a soft smile. Sigourney watched the exchange. She had never been given that kind of smile from Celestria, though she wasn't all too surprised. She had finished helping the servant boy pick up all the produce before sending him off on his way. 

The queen hummed. "You sure are lenient with them." There was a hint of disdain in her voice as she turned to the commander. Celestria had already developed a scowl across her face. Sigourney wanted to know why. What was in it for her? Surely she must be getting some benefit, otherwise what's the point?

"Not everyone is like you, Your Majesty. I actually care for my people," she spat. She could swear every moment she spent with Sigourney made her dislike her even more. The commander quickened her pace, not wanting to talk to her anymore. They both soon arrived at the kitchen, the queen a few paces behind Celestria. 

The kitchen was busy finishing up lunch and preparing for tonight's dinner. Today had already been hectic, not just for the soldiers, but for the entire kingdom. 

Celestria ducked under one of the cupboards, wincing very little from a still stinging wound on her side. She came up to one of the servants that had begun preparing food. She was of average height with dark hair and light hazel eyes. Her complexion was dark and beautiful, her body on the curvy side. 

"Good afternoon, Marcie," she said with a smile. 

Marcie returned the smile as she began speaking with a hint of a Spanish accent. "Hello, commander. What can I do you for?"

"Do you have any leftovers from lunch? The queen and I are famished," she said, nodding her head towards Sigourney. Marcie glanced over to her, a look of confusion flashing across her face. "Lyndonori," Celestria explained as the woman nodded her head.

"Ah, got it. In fact, yes we do, there's bread in a large basket over there, fresh strawberries on the counter beside the seasoning and half a cheese wheel inside the refrigerator," she said, gesturing to each item as she spoke. 

The commander turned her gaze over to the items before nodding her head, turning back to Marcie. "Thank you, I really appreciate it."

"Don't even mention it. Can't have our best warrior going hungry, can we?"

This made Celestria chuckle before she bowed her head, Marcie mirroring her. The commander went back over to the queen, her pleased expression quickly turning stoic. 

"There's bread and berries and cheese. Help yourself," she said, before walking off to collect some food for herself. 

Sigourney really did try to not take the commander's cold attitude personally, but it was hard when that's all it was, personal. She sighed softly, straightening her stance before going to get some food for herself. The servants in the kitchen were beginning to start dinner for the entire of the palace workers, which would take a few hours. The queen grabbed a few berries and a small piece of cheese before waiting at the door for Celestria to grab enough food. She would just leave her to be alone, but the commander was still limping and Sigourney didn't want to leave her alone, in case Vykon was planning a second attack. 

Celestria had grabbed all the food she wanted, her plate picked high. Walking past the queen, she gave a strawberry to one of the lower class working servants. Those servants weren't allowed to take any food, but Celestria always had insisted, since they rarely had enough to actually eat. 

The queen watched her. She really was quite the generous person, always giving. Sigourney admired it. In Lyndonori, people were only really kind in the hopes they'd get something in return. She led the land to work together, but that didn't mean they would like each other.

The two were silent as they walked back to Sigourney's room, the commander occasionally nibbling on her food. They reached the queen's room, but Celestria kept walking. 

"Where are you going?" the queen asked, pausing before walking after her. 

Without looking at her, the other said, "You already dressed my wounds like you wanted. Now I have no reason to join you again." She came to an abrupt stop, making the other bump into her. "I will be checking on my soldiers in case you need me."

She walked off down the hallway and Sigourney just let her.