Chapter 9: Peridot Room

Valentine had returned from scolding her father and some idiot from the court. Her brilliant eyes flashed with inpatients, as it had been a pointless interruption. Xiao Ye had just been captured by the muscular monster and was going to be seduced. If she didn't do something quick, Sister Yin would be heartbroken. If she did not read chapter eight, there would be no sleep, and the entire duchy would suffer.

Opening the door her irritation rose further, and a dark aura surrounded the noble lady. Two people were infringing on her quiet reading time, one of which she bore no respect for.

"How nice to see you here, Lady Charlotte, Lady Mary." It would be clear to anyone that her tone indicated a need to run or face imminent demise.

"Oh, its good to see your not shaken from earlier."

"Big sister, its good to see you again today."

Spacy members of the Evens family failed to get the meaning. Iris was to busy pretending to not be affected by her martial junior getting jealous.

"We were just listing to Miss Iris recounting some of her adventures." The elder Even told her stepdaughter.

"Continue." Valentine effectively teleported to the empty chair next to Iris. Annoyance gone replaced with sparkly desire to hear stories from her beloved.

Coughing to clear her head she resumed her tale.

"I was recounting the story of the old man who told a story about the apple blossom flame. In effect it was considered a treasure of the Poison Vine sect, but fires belong to none. Two academies managed to imprison fires, a third did but was destroyed a decade later when it broke free. Of course, I didn't know better, I just knew that I needed strong sources to fill out my giant field. In hindsight, it was a bad idea. If the artifact hall and pill palace didn't get involved steal the flame, I would have never had a chance to get it. "

!@# !@# !@#

The days had ticked by and aside from lightly practicing her marital skills, there wasn't much to do. The sect commons were open, but details on anything related to the Sanguine fire was scarce. A tall man, with broad shoulders and scared face had made a scene. He was a fresh golden orb realm cultivator, there was a few dozen who could match him in the sect. His status as an envoy for pill tower protected him nicely when he got aggressive with a few of the locals.

Its really boring here, despite having everything one would need, endless greens, browns and shadows were a far cry from the seas, mountains, and forest of the beast clan sect.

"Do you think senior brother can manage to take Kang-sei from pill palace?" Unlike the refiners of medicines, the dusty cloaks and soot-stained hands made it clear that these individuals belonged to Artifact Hall.

"Alchemists are normally stronger than what their realm would suggest. We came prepared to fight in this jungle though. Not to mention senior has his secret weapon that he was bragging about before we came."

"It is intended to 'Rail them until they cry' whatever that means."

"Brother Rutan has always been strange, amazing artificer though." Sipping her drink, Iris listened in from the table beside the three men.

"They have two more men than we do, but I think we have a better shot since Artifact Hall makes us gather our own materials." The third chimed in.

"Heh, the apple blossom flame is as good as ours."

Well, this might just work out, it sounded like she could cash in on this.

Finding the Poison Vine sect administration wasn't easy. Since they lived in the canopy and most of the paths and dwellings were dictated by the forest. Main administration was front and center, with paths leading to the sect leader and other elder groves, sprawling out behind it.

"What a line." An essence flame was about to be reborn, so the administrative center was jammed pack. Not desiring to wait, but having nothing more pressing, Iris joined the general crowd around the center. It didn't take long for the girl to become dazed as she waited idly in line. In time, she was roused from her state when a tall girl was jostled into her.

"Hey be more careful!" The taller of the two snapped. Iris recognized the voice.

"You're the one who kidnaped me!" Iris exclaimed drawing attention to the pair over the hustle and bustle of the crowd. This scared the would be sacrifice, since she was supposed to be confined to her quarters. Trying to get away, there was almost no space for her to go. She started to panic, before Iris took charge and dragged her off.

"Let go. Wait, do you know what your doing?!" How could this girl not know that she was holding her hand? Shishou could never do something so embarrassing, at this rate they would be kissing before the day was out, and she would be carrying a child by the end of the week! Despite that for some strange reasons she didn't want to let go of the hand dragging her away from the crowds.

"You have to be someone important right?" Once far enough away, the lines of the administering building were just barley in sight.

"I'm Tangee, the sect leader's daughter." Iris found this ideal, since she had kidnapped another sect's disciple, she had more leverage over her.

"Someone is planning to steel the Sanguine Fire."

"That's impossible no one would make an enemy of our sect for a chance to gain an essence fire." Most sects didn't have jungle expertise, and poison arts no matter which variant were difficult and irritating to deal with.

"Martial sects wouldn't, nor would any academy, but it's still an essences flame, and someone would be willing to trade for it. I have more details so if you want to know…" Iris trailed off letting the elf like lady get the hint that she wanted some silver.

"If you know something spit it out." Used to bossing people around, Shishou demand the information.

"Tsk, why should I help you when you me threw me into a cell" Iris harrumphed back, hands placed on her hips.

"That was, is. I-. It was just so you wouldn't have to stay ant an inn."

"Well thank you for that, I just had been dragged here, tied like a beast. Why am I even bothering trying to help your sect?" Crossing her arms she glanced away, it was obvious that the girl was flustered.

"Wait, wait it wasn't like that." Rabidly fanning her hands, Tangee didn't know what to say. "I-I wanted some help!"

"Kidnapping for help? I thought the Poison Vine Sect was better than that."

"It is! I just-" She couldn't say that she was too embarrassed to ask if the girl wanted to be friends. As a future sect leader, she also couldn't admit that she was wrong.

"I need an assistant and no one else wanted to do it so I got forceful."

"Forceful or not assistants get compensated right?"

"Fine" Shishou snapped back. "I'm going to let you assist me until the ceremony. Not because I want to, but because I just need one."

"All participants in the ceremony get compensated?"

"Yes, but you have to stick with me until than!"

!@# !@# !@#

"So, Lady Iris is just a natural at seducing ladies." Charlotte muttered under her breath. None of the others seated at the table heard her. Iris was trying to placate Lady Valentine who was prickly about the girls who chased after her.

"I think its best if we don't say more mom."

"Wasn't Ni Rong Ming always following you around?" Iris asked the noble.

"She was my disciple; it was to be expected that we were close." Eyes narrowing.

"So, you also never had any junior sisters who were clingy?" Valentine knew where Iris was leading her. It was common for women to stick together with the ones that were successful. Women certainly had the raw end of the deal both in the martial and her birth realm. The cultivation realm was worse because it was easier to make women act as furnaces for one to improve their cultivation rates.

"You never told them not to follow you around though."

"Well…"

"Its starting to get late we must be leaving." Mary found herself standing, the same heartfelt squeezing as she desired to leave. Outside the sun cusped on the starting to set. Standing and exchanging a few pleasantries Iris held the door. Once alone in the resulting silence, it was the sage who spoke first.

"It was my first kiss, at the ball yesterday." For a moment Valentine wanted to snap back, but the sage didn't ever have reason to lie. She had strength and power, won from more conflicts time and effort that she could imagine. Returning to the couch, after a few moments she simply said:

"Come sit." Iris acquiesced, not willing to bring up further what those kisses meant, and what they could mean for the two of them.

After a few moments, Valentine resumed chapter 9 in her book, and Iris got comfortable on the couch, watching the evening sun slink away in a rainbow if reds, pinks, and yellows.

Four chapters further than she intended to stop for the day, Valentine placed her bookmark into her book and closed it. Soft snoring and rhythmic exhales could be heard next to her. She stared at her former maid's sleeping face for a moment, committing it to memory.

She had read too long, and slowly softly she cradled the shorter girl in her arms. There was more she wanted to do but since they hadn't confirmed a relationship yet, the noble restrained herself from doing more than the reverse of what had happened at the ball.

Four post beds, with a vast array of covers and pillows were uncommon in the cultivation world. Nobles enjoyed such extravagant bedding and comfort. Removing the covers with one foot, she gently lowered the sleeping women into the bed. Afraid that tucking her in would wake her beloved, she instead loosely covered her. After a short internal debate, she threw off her elder coat, removed the sash on her waist, and crawled under the bedding on the other side, falling asleep to Iris's gentle breath.

!@# !@# !@#

"You love Lady Valentine, don't you?" It was a sudden question from her mother at the door to her daughters' quarters.

"Of course, she's my sister, why wouldn't I?" It hadn't taken long to reach being a few doors down, wordlessly she pointed to the drawing room table. Mary couldn't really deny her mother so wordlessly joined her seating across from her.

"As a woman," Charlotte clarified. "You want to make little Valentine babies with your older sister."

Evens women were spacy and blunt. Mary less so, and to admit that she had naughty fantasy about her sister was to much even for blunt and spacy.

"I do, well did, I think." She couldn't stand to look at her mother. She also didn't clarify what she was saying I do to.

"What do you think about the pair of them being together?" Charlotte asked her daughter, trying to lead her daughter to answer rather than demand it.

"My sister will never look at me that way. Honestly…I know it's not right, I just-just." Her eyes watered trying not break down and still explain things to her mother.

"Can't help it? It's not like I don't know what its like to have a love that you can't reach." The mother sighed for a moment before putting some words together.

"I knew your father was a noble, and we would have never seen him again but that didn't stop me at all. I don't know about two girls or sisters together, but you can't help loving what you love."

Handing Mary a handkerchief to dry her eyes, her mother attempted to direct things in a better direction.

"Tell me about her, the girl you fell in love with." Mary looked at her mother for a moment, making eye contact for the first time.

"It was at first sight…" Mary began.