Chapter 19

The young men and women recoiled in horror. Although they had heard of the 'cannibal general's deeds, they believed it to be an exaggeration, but seeing the ignorant daughter of the minister of war laying lifeless in front of them, they only hoped that the Princess still had enough sense to control the monster embracing her.

Time seemed to pass unbearably slow. The crowd stood like statues, watching the two women in front of them continuing to hold each other. However the Princess had no intention of taking care of them, the person she had longed for, is now standing in front of her. Where did she have the attention to spare for those irrelevant people?

Siraya looked at the woman in front of her. She had grown more beautiful in the time they had been apart. Her features were more mature, mixed with a tinge of melancholy. She lowered her head and whispered into the woman's ear.

"Alia, I'm back".

The princess was stunned. How long had it been since someone called her name? Years.

Only Siraya would call her name. The others were either dead or exiled. It seemed so long, that if Siraya hadn't spoken, she wouldn't even remember she had a name.

She looked at Siraya with nothing but tenderness, but regained her senses and saw the people still standing around the courtyard. She lost the expression on her face, before ordering

"The Banquet is over. Leave".

The men and women didn't need to be told twice. Not even caring about the etiquette they had been taught to follow, they ran out as fast as their legs would carry them.

The princess told the maids to clean up the mess, and gently pulled Siraya towards the bathhouse.

Siraya let the princess drag her away. It didn't matter where she took her, Siraya was willing to go.

When entering the bathhouse, the princess didn't let the maids follow in. She simply closed the door, and let Siraya stand still.

She looked at the woman in front of her. The tattered armour that had been on too long, the blood that had dried for who knows how long.

The princess started undressing Siraya, but noticed that in many places the clothes and armour seemed to be connected with her body. This made her heart ache even worse. She tried to gently tug at the armour, but she couldn't bear it when she saw that the skin was being pulled together with it. She was afraid that Siraya would feel even more pain, and tears fell from her eyes because she saw Siraya's face was as usual.

Siraya indeed didn't think there was any problem. She saw that Alia was having trouble with the armour, so without hesitation, she tore the armour and the clothes off, as well as some of the skin that was connected to them.

The princess let out a choked gasp, holding the parts that were now bleeding, whispering that it was "okay" , and "the pain would soon go away".

Siraya didn't care about that little pain, she just didn't want to see Alia sad, so she quickly pecked her on the lips.

The princess looked at Siraya in a daze, but soon realised that she had been kissed. A not so subtle blush appeared on the always cold face. She patted Siraya on the shoulder, telling her not to mess around.

Siraya only smirked as a response. She walked over to Alia, and began to undress her. However she treated her far more gently than she did herself. Choosing to take each piece off, as if the woman underneath was the most delicate creation that had ever existed.

When the two of them were both standing there naked, only the princess felt embarrassed. After all, Siraya was at least covered in blood, which hid some things, while she was completely exposed to her beloved's eyes. She had no choice but to turn her back to Siraya, grabbing her hand and leading her towards the bath.

When the two stepped down into the tiled bath, the water around Siraya had already begun to turn red. Deepening in colour the further the Princess dragged her in.

When they had reached the centre of the bath, that had already come up to the Princess's waist, she turned around to see the red trail following behind Siraya.

She put her hands on Siraya's shoulders and pushed her down lightly.

Siraya followed her strength, and let herself be submerged in the water.

The princess watched the water turn from a light red at first, to a red so dark that the water itself seemed to be blood. Thankfully as time went on, the bloody water slowly filtrated out through the drains, replacing it with clean and pure warm water.

However she began to run her hands over Siraya, trying to help her wash off all the grime and dirt, but instead felt the unevenness of Siraya's body. She quickly pulled the finally clean Siraya out of the water, only to see a sight that once again tortured her already depressed heart.

Terrifying scars lined Siraya's body. On the front and back, some even criss crossed over each other. Not even her face was spared. She didn't think the scars made her beloved ugly, her sadness was only because of the pain that she would have had to go through to get them.

Siraya saw Alia's sadness, but just as she was about to speak, she felt a gentle touch on her face. She watched in a mix of both helplessness and pleasure as Alia began to kiss her scars.

The princess traced each and every one with her lips, as if in this way, she could somehow reduce the pain Siraya felt from them.

Siraya looked at her dearest Alia. She knew that the act wasn't meant to be flirtatious, but her body began to be aroused by her beloved's lingering touch. She tried her best to suppress the groan that tried to escape from her throat, but failed.

The princess thought she had hurt Siraya, quickly looking up at her, but met the eyes that were filled with lust. The desire that she had repressed finally had a place to erupt, causing her to shudder in excitement.