Angel Monarch

"…So let me get this straight! You made this bath and flirted with Yvonne in front of Astrid to make her jealous. You also set up my sister to waltz off with her practically naked?… Somehow, this is both disturbing and kind of impressive!"

Yannick's voice sounded a bit estranged and awkward. Either because of the thought of her sister currently having sex, or because he currently sat in a hot tub with two beautiful naked women.

"Yeah, pretty much! She needed a bit of a push though, but Kim took care of that… Literally!" Said Bea with her eyes staring up at the sky.

Slowly, her vision moved away from the stars above, and landed on Yannick sitting awkwardly.

"Don't be so prudish. Neither of us really cares about you intimately. You can relax!"

With his eyes closed, Yannick turned towards Bea. He listened to her advice, and let his naked body fall below the bubbling water.

"I'm not prudish, just considerate! I didn't want to disturb your peace! Also, I didn't want to glimpse at any inappropriate places!"

Kim snorted, with her eyes closed, her snake tail stretched out along the seat. Her snakes gazed at the lanky, feminine man with mockery, while hissing at him.

"Unlike Bea, I actually know your powers, Yannick! I know you can sense everything below our clothes, or below the water, so stop lying! Everyone is basically naked before your Void Perception!"

Yannick blushed a bit. However, he didn't seem uncomfortable and even smiled innocently.

"Well, I just wanted Lady Bea to feel comfortable around me, so I lied. It's not like I can just disable my Void Perception, that's literally how I see!"

While speaking, he turned to Bea with no remorse or desire. But at least, Bea finally realized why he acted so nonchalant near two beautiful naked women…

It wasn't the first time he saw them naked, since technically he always perceived everybody with and without clothes simultaneously!

"I apologize, Lady Bea, for lying! However, I won't turn off my ability. If that makes you uncomfortable, I can leave, but rest assured, I have no desire towards either of you!"

Instead of sending him away, Bea leaned back and placed her hands behind her head. She stretched out her legs and made herself even more comfortable.

"You have no sexual desire towards me? Am I not beautiful enough? Your expectations are quite high, then!"

Both Kim and Yannick chuckled at Bea's attempt at changing the subject.

"That's not it Lady Bea. You're one of the most beautiful people I have ever laid eyes upon… However, when you observe the emptiness in the world constantly, you'll feel less drawn to any physical wealth, like an alluring appearance!"

He stared up at the sky without observing any of the stars. Yannick's face looked a bit sad, but also hopeful.

"I can't see anything with my eyes, so looks have little interest in me! I also don't care about gender or power… I'm only looking for emotional connections with someone. A person who understands me and loves me with all my flaws!"

As he spoke, both women looked towards the night sky. While they each had their preferences when it came to partners, they both understood and yearned for the relationship Yannick described.

That's most people's dream, meeting a person who's perfectly compatible with you and loves you with all their being!

"I hope you find this person. Everyone deserves a chance at happiness!"

Bea's words brought the attention of both Yannick and Kim. Through the steam and bubbles, she caught the glimpse of a single tear running down the majestic woman's face.

Yannick simply felt the void near the tear, and the emptiness within!

"Thank you, Lady Bea, but I'm already happy. However, I couldn't fail to notice that from the three of us, you're the only one pretending…"

She didn't deny Yannick's words, but she also stayed silent about her feelings.

"When you called me prudish, you said 'neither of us cares about you intimately'. I understand Kim's lack of care, because of her undefined relationship with Sam… But you… Lady Bea, what's your preference for a partner?"

Unlike Kim, Yannick barely knew anything about Bea. She was Vicky's adoptive mother, and they had a falling out more than a year ago. He also knew she was with Otto before that.

His question, though, brought back more memories to Bea. When she imagined her preferred partner, only a single person came to her mind…

For a few seconds, Bea stared up at the stars, a small, melancholic smile stretching across her lips.

Kim opened her mouth, prepared to change the subject, but before she could've said anything, Bea finally spoke.

"My preference? I'm quite specific… I prefer women with long, golden hair. Piercing, relentless eyes of the same color. A person of unshakable will and immense willpower. Someone who never gives up…"

"The embodiment of perfection. A person who's kind towards everyone, but can also destroy her enemies with ferocity! Someone full of love and sadness. A woman who lost everything multiple times, but continued moving even when she had nothing left!"

As Bea talked, her words became more excited, and soon Yannick realized the mistake in his logic.

While he knew Bea was Vicky's adoptive mother, he never considered the Princess's other mother. He suddenly felt really stupid not realizing the connection between these two women!

"I want someone whose pristine white wings can shield me and whose nearness can flutter my heart. A woman who can empower my soul, just with a touch of her hand. A person I loved before… Someone who I can never love again…"

Her words suddenly turned sad, which made Yannick curious. He wasn't sure if asking any more questions would've been inappropriate, but judging by Kim's surprised look, he should pry further.

"Why can't you love her? I mean, by your description, you're definitely still in love with this 'unknown' woman!"

Bea giggled at Yannick's obvious emphasis on 'unknown'. Her eyes slowly moved away from the sky, and as she lifted her hand, a small golden flower grew from her palm.

As it bloomed, a gentle light appeared in its center. She stared at the glowing flower as she answered the lanky man's question.

"I can't love her, because I tried before and it didn't end well for either of us…"

She sighed with sadness, and closed her palm, extinguishing the golden flower's light.

"Back then, both of us were young, naïve, and broken in some way. Sera lost her family weeks ago, while my past boyfriend turned into a psychotic maniac because of Harold's manipulations!"

Bea squeezed her hand in anger. Her nails dug into her skin, drawing blood.

On the other side, Kim sat up straighter while listening to Bea's words. Even she didn't know this part of Sera's past.

Nobody really talked about the events before their team reached Castleburg. The only person who sometimes mentioned Havel was Vicky, but she also didn't go into detail.

However, Kim knew that whatever happened it was something so horrible they would all rather forget it!

"We were both in an awful place, and used each other's pain as our crutch to move on. Our relationship was unhealthy and unstable, especially after…"

Whatever Bea was going to say brought physical pain and anger to her soul. Her hand shook as her nails dug in further until they were scraping her bones.

The blood flow turned the water red, but before it could've reached Kim or Yannick, crimson flowers appeared on the surface. They absorbed the blood, which continued trickling from Bea's wound.

They couldn't even imagine what happened, that could've caused such pain in the majestic woman's heart. But, they preferred staying in the dark about it!

"It only became worse after Castleburg. On the road towards the Realm of Boundless Frost, we rekindled our love, but it wasn't the same… The traumas of the past haunted us both, until it finally caught up to us!"

Bea's anger finally relented as melancholy took over.

"After losing her memory, and spending so much time apart. Our relationship ended… I still hoped, while locked away in a different Realm, but by that time, Sera was already with Bran emotionally and rationally…"

"I was angry at her for giving up on us, at Bran for coming between us, at Harold for separating us, at the world for destroying us, but most importantly… I hated myself for not fighting hard enough!"

Her eyes turned teary as she glanced up at the stars above.

"Maybe if I struggled more and worked harder, we could've made it out of that Realm sooner! Everything could be different, but at some point, I… I gave up, thinking I'll never leave that horrid place…"

"I already forgiven everybody… Well, everybody except Harold… I've forgiven Sera for leaving me, since all her love for me disappeared when Harold broke her soul. I've forgiven Bran, and even feel thankful for him, since he helped Sera, when she lost everything!"

Suddenly, the sad woman turned silent. Her eyes glistened from the tears welling within.

The sound of moving water echoed, and soon Kim's pale hand grabbed Bea's greenish-brown, bloody palm.

"Have you ever forgiven yourself, though?" She asked, in a gentle, but serious voice, very unlike her usual cunning, mischievous tone.

Bea couldn't help but smile at the snake-woman's tender touch. The closest snakes of her hair gently bumped into Bea's own, their long tongues giving reassuring kisses.

"I tried, and for a while, I felt good in my skin. Believe it or not, Otto was a very nice person at first. He always acted kindly towards me, keeping distance whenever I wanted, and never pushed me to further our relationship…"

"However, there were obvious signs I ignored… He always tried to keep me far away from my friends and family. Slowly, he tried to poison the relationship between me and my daughter… A year ago, he managed to separate me!"

Kim gently reached over Bea's shoulder, giving her a comforting side-hug. But Bea didn't seem sad about Otto's betrayal. She just looked numb and disappointed.

"Strangely, Otto had done nothing horrible. He just kept me locked away in a tower, so I couldn't leave. Sometimes, he came to have dinner with him, where I had to wear a specific pink dress and had to pretend I'm his wife…"

"The experience itself wasn't that awful, just extremely weird. I felt like a treasure kept hidden and guarded by the dragon! If he didn't murder all those people, I might've even forgiven him!"

That last part was an obvious lie. She might not have felt so much anger towards him, but forgiving wasn't an option!

As she finished her sentence, silence reined over the hot tub. The constant bubble popping was the only sound echoing through the darkness.

After a few minutes, Kim gave an actual hug to Bea, which was fairly awkward because of their nakedness. Then slowly, she moved away, towards Yannick.

"I just remembered that unlike all of you, I haven't dueled with anyone yet! Congratulations Yannick, you can be my opponent!"

The lanky man opened his mouth, but then closed it. He felt the intent behind Kim's words. She didn't really want to spar. Kim just wanted to leave Bea alone with her thoughts and emotions.

Without any protest, he stood up, and they both walked away from the comfortable bath, leaving Bea alone.

Not long after, they left, the constant bubbling met with another the sound… The sound of sobs!

She kept it all locked away during their conversation, but she couldn't lie to herself anymore. Her emotions mixed together, she felt sad because of the past, fearful towards the future, and confused about the present.

Tears ran down her beautiful face and landed in the scolding water below. Slowly, golden flowers grew wherever her tears fell.

They bloomed, gently lighting up the surroundings, creating a heavenly contrast with the crimson flowers.

Two colors, different in every way, yet in the right circumstances, perfectly fitting together!